Page 8 of A Monster’s Future

He glared at me but said nothing. Instead, he went straight to the pilot’s seat and started the checklist for liftoff. I took several deliberate breaths, trying to calm myself. Before long, we were speeding through Vokira’s stratosphere toward the vacuum of space.

It had been years since I felt that moment when the planet’s gravity released me from its hold. It was only a few seconds before the ship’s gravity core engaged. I scanned the screen in front of me, making sure every number and measurement was correct. Then I double-checked the coordinates and added my approval for the autopilot to our destination. One of us would still need to be on the bridge at any time, but if anything dangerous came up, all three would be alerted.

By the time I was stepping out of the bridge, the humans were already out of their launch frames. Julie’s scent lingered in the air, and I instinctively followed after it. My estimate that I had a few days left with the nullvein in my system must’ve been wrong; that was the only explanation I had for why I was compelled to follow her scent. My feet moved on their own, bringing me closer to my destiny.

It was Ashtrr who stopped me, standing in my way with his arms crossed.

“I don’t know what you have against that sweet little female. But if you stop her from doing her job, you are going to have a problem with me.”

I shook with rage that this male was trying to defend my mate from me. Anger rose hot in my chest, and I found myself standing face-to-face with our pilot, ready to brawl.

“Who the fuck is she to you?”

“Is this because she reminds you of your sister? She isn’t Zhrya, you know. There’s no need to get protective over her.”

Zhrya. The only family I’d left behind on Kadri, and the reason why I wanted to get back there so badly. She wasn’t a secret. Many of the warriors in our battalion knew about her and how protective I was of her. I had to be. With our parents gone, I was her only protector.

And while I was overprotective of Julie as well, I harbored no brotherly feelings for her. None at all.

“This isn’t about Zhrya.”

Ashtrr’s look turned wily. “So you won’t be upset if I invite her to my quarters later?”

I couldn’t stop the venomous accusation that spilled from my lips. “You fucked her during the rut.”

“I did. What about it?”

“She wasn’t cleared for participation,” I gritted.

“Ah, so that’s it, isn’t it? This isn’t some misplaced responsibility. She rejected your advances? And now you’re upset.”

“No. She was and still is physically unfit for—”

Ashtrr laughed. “Unfit! No wonder the female dislikes you so much. Everyone on board has been thoroughly screened. I saw Julie’s name but hadn’t realized who she was. No wonder Dana was so adamant that we do the screening with any medic except for you. She was most definitely fit enough for the rut.”

I lunged at him before I could stop myself, but the cocky pilot just danced out of the way with a laugh as Trsak held me back.

“Shit, Ashtrr, stop baiting him,” Trsak admonished as Ashtrr disappeared down the corridor, leaving me alone with Trsak. “What is wrong with you, Grtirr? This is not the logical medic I know. You’re acting like she’s your mate. But I know she’s not.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line to stop myself from correcting the male and laying claim to her right here.

“Don’t make us regret bringing you along,” Trsak said with a sigh. “I’ll call you when it’s your turn on the bridge.”

Chapter 5: Julie

I paced the ship’s cramped quarters, trying to forget those few seconds when Grtirr and I had touched before liftoff. It was like the floor had dropped right out from under me, leaving me stunned and breathless. I’d almost expected him to drop to his knees, right then and there, and proclaim me his mate even though I already knew that I wasn’t.

And he hadn’t been affected at all. Just like all the other times he’d touched me, this stupid feeling was one-sided. Instead of a proclamation of love, he’d complained that I was too small to fit into the seats, as if it was any better for the other humans on board.

It was infuriating.

Why did my body have to react to the one Kadrixan male who hated my guts?

I was never enough in his eyes. I was too weak. Too small. Too frail. And despite knowing that he was doing it in some fucked-up display of caring for his patients, all I heard was that I was not good enough.

I shouldn’t care. It wasn’t like I needed to impress him or anything. And it was clear that everyone else thought I was enough. Dana, Chris, and Krxare all thought I was a great candidate. And the other medic, Lxare, thought I was good enough to go too.

After agreeing to the trip, Lxare had called me in for a face-to-face visit. It hadn’t been about the trip, though; he was curious why there was a note forbidding me from joining the rut. I’d told him the truth, that I had no idea why it was there, but that I’d received it every year since I arrived and had ignored it because it was my body and if I wanted to have sex then I bloody well would, rut or not, forbidden or not. Lxare had done a scan, agreed that I was most definitely healthy enough to participate, then removed the note from my profile.