Page 12 of A Monster’s Future

It stared back. After a long moment, the kukee licked my hand where it had bitten me earlier and left little indents with its teeth, almost like it was apologizing.

“Ah, so now that you’re good and caught, you’re placating me? I won’t work.”

But it was totally working. The kukee was adorable, and there was nothing I could do against its cuteness. I’d always been weak toward small, helpless creatures.

“Are you hungry?” I asked. I picked up the piece of nullvein since it was the only thing there, and handed it to him.

He took it and chucked it back at me.

Okay. No more nullvein. It was probably hungry if it was trying to steal the adhesive. Usually, the kukees didn’t mess with our things unless they deemed them edible or were desperate. The nullvein was edible, so that was understandable, but not the glue. This one must be hungry. Thirsty too if it had been in my tool kit on this ship and not inside the stronghold dotted with fountains.

With it still in my hands, I searched for a way to keep it contained and decided on a leather pouch. I shook out the contents, a collection of metal fasteners, and stuffed the creature inside. To make it more comfortable, I grabbed one of the ripped-up towels lining its nest and tucked it around the creature before cinching the pouch closed.

With it tied to my belt, I made my way up the ladder and to the mess hall.

Julie was there, sitting across from Chris. I had a simultaneous surge of jealousy and relief. Jealousy that she was on a date with the human leader of Ellaston, and relief that it wasn’t with Ashtrr. Chris I could handle, though it might be a political nightmare since he was Clara’s brother.

Trying my best to ignore them, I filled my flask with fresh water and offered some to the kukee with the cap. It lapped it up eagerly.

There was a gasp. “You snuck a cooki on board!”

The kukee ducked back into the safety of the pouch for a moment before peering out. I turned to see Kat, Trsak’s mate, and another female behind me.

“I did not. He stowed away in my tools.”

The creature eyed the food on Kat’s tray, its eyes growing wide. It made a split-second decision, dashing out in an attempt to snatch some of the food right off her tray. I caught it before it reached the food.

“It’s hungry,” I said.

I couldn’t help but notice that Julie and Chris were watching the interaction now. The replicator offered up the food just as I heard my name being called.

“Grtirr, to the bridge now.” It was Trsak, and he sounded serious.

Shit. What now?

“Hand him over,” Kat said. “We’ll get him fed.”

I looked over at Trsak and his pinched expression before handing the entire pouch, kukee and all, to Kat. I avoided looking over at Julie and her date as I crossed the room and followed Trsak to the bridge.

The air was thick with tension and hostility, and I didn’t need to look twice to see the weapons strapped to both our pilot and the comms officer. Ashtrr’s hand rested on his blaster, his golden eyes locked onto me.

“What is the meaning of this?” I asked, my whole body on high alert.

Trsak didn’t waste time. He pulled up an image of the nullvein plants from the stronghold’s lab.

Fuck.

Trsak held a hand up to stop me from speaking. “Lxare already reported it to Vostak and Krxare. He told us exactly what it does. You made it clear from the start that you were against mating with humans. I vouched for you when some of our warriors attacked the human settlement. Is my trust in you misplaced?”

I gritted my teeth. I’d known that being so outspoken about not mating with the humans in the beginning might eventually get me in trouble. Did they believe I was sabotaging the stronghold?

“If I were trying to hide the nullvein, I wouldn’t have planted them in the main lab.”

“That was my initial thought, but why are you planting it in the first place? How do we know you’re not planning on slipping it into our water and preventing more mate bonds from forming?”

The warriors who had attacked Ellaston had contaminated their water supply, so it made sense that they’d think such a thing. There was nothing else for me to do except to tell them the truth, unless I wanted to be treated like a traitor, which I was not.

“I am no longer against other warriors mating with humans. Only myself. I hope to return to Kadri one day for my sister, and I don’t think a human would be happy there. Especially the one fate has decided is my mate.”