“Is all this yours?” I ask, studying the weapons on her belt.
“Yes.” She arches a brow. “Problem?”
My cock throbs as I run a hand over the tight tactical pants stretched over her curvy backside. “You’re irresistible in anything you wear.”
She draws a clear canister from her belt and spins it in a palm. “Got my bottles washed. They’re ready for milk. And my guns are loaded. Ready for war. Anything else?”
Marne glances back at me.
I’m so turned on that it’s hard to crush it under the weight of the trouble I’m certain my brother is going to cause when we get back. He wasn’t receptive to the idea of me getting a mate, though I’m not sure why. Tessi can mend our family.
“Azrim…”
Tessi nods. “You’ve warned me a few times.”
“We need to get him pulled together, not just for our family, but because we have to go fight soon.”
All joy leaves her body. She holsters her bottle. “Why do I get the feeling you’re not going to let me go with you?”
“And walk you into the Neb’s den?” Rorsar asks. “I’d rather eat claws. I might like sharp stuff, but that’s a torturous end for sure.”
I chew my cheek, trying to find the words to ease Tessi’s disappointment.
“No. We fight together.” Tessi’s serious.
Marne shakes his head. “Not happening.”
“On whose authority?” she demands. “Yours? Viriden?”
I take her wrist in my hand. “Mine.”
She pulls away from me and gets up.
I reach for her. “Tessi, I can’t lose you.”
“And I can’t lose you. How am I supposed to watch your back if you leave me behind?”
My claim mark is fresh on my mate’s neck, and I’ve already hurt her by trying to protect her. “Please don’t be upset.”
She shrugs off my contact. “I need a moment.”
Tessi walks into the back.
I run a hand over my mouth and check the navigation. We’re just minutes away from Mindor with the hyperthrusters at full power.
Spike puts in an earcom and hands me one. “Zorin.”
I put in the device and respond. “I hear you.”
He walks into another compartment and grabs a rack of ammo for one of our guns. “I have seen this before. It’s not that she is angry with you. She is sad. I…sense it in her as much as I know it, since I am a half-breed. My mother was human. I suggest you figure out why she is sad and resolve that. But consider why you go on these walkabouts too. Perhaps she is not so dissimilar to you.”
“Thanks.” I get up, and lean toward Esrynne. “Tell me when we’re dropping into Mindoran airspace.”
“Understood.”
28: Zorin
I walk back to the rooms at the rear of our ship and find Tessi sitting in one, looking out a window. Her knees are tucked up to her chest. I lean against a cabinet and sigh. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
