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“Meeither.”Andifelt a wave of relief.Hopefullythe lack ofTheScentmeant that all theMagroagaricustrisporusspoors had been eliminated.Still, she wouldn’t feel completely at ease until they were off this awful purple planet!
“Achievinglift off,”Cadesaid, as though reading her mind. “Leavingthe surface ofZo’rathThree.”
“ThankGod,”Andibreathed, as they rose into the air and then into the blackness of space. “Ijust want to go home—back to theMotherShip.”
“Iimagine you do,”Cadesaid in a low voice.Hewasn’t looking at her as he spoke—he seemed to be focused solely on the controls.
Andiwasn’t sure what to say.Shouldshe admit everything right here and now?Shouldshe try to get ahead of this mess by confessing?Itseemed like maybe she should.Takinga deep breath, she turned more fully to face him.
“Cade,” she said in a low voice. “About…about what we did.Imean, back when we were lost onZo’rathThree…onOblivion…”
ThebigHybridstill didn’t look at her.
“Idon’t remember much—just bits and pieces,” he said in a low voice. “ButIknow…Iknow it was bad.”
Andibit her lip.Sohe was remembering the way she’d taken advantage of him and he was pissed at her.Thatwas fair—more than fair.Butshe felt the need to at leasttryto explain.
Cade,” she began. “Whileyou were a…aManimal, you were kind of…really difficult to control.Imean, because you’re so big and strong.Ireallytriedto keep you from, well…you know.ButI…Ididn’t always do a very good job.Andthen in the end,Ikind of just gave up and just, uh, let you have what you wanted,” she ended weakly.
Asapologies went, it wasn’t very good, but she wasn’t sure how else to put things.
“Gods…”Cadeput a hand to his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, like a man trying to drive back a headache. “Andrea,” he said at last. “Idon’t…don’t know ifIcan fucking talk about this right now.Iknow whatIdid—at least, it’s coming back to me in bits and pieces—butIstill can’t believe…Ijust…”Heshook his head. “I’mso sorry—Ifuckingcan’t.”
Andiclenched her hands together in her lap.Sohe was so upset with her he couldn’t eventalkabout it.Thatwas understsandable, she supposed.Butit still hurt like hell.Despitehis mindless state, she couldn’t help feeling that they had grown close in the past week.Andnow he was pushing her away.Shedidn’t blame him, but it still felt like a stab in her heart.
“Iunderstand,” she said in a low voice, looking down at her clenched hands.
“I’mgoing to call theMotherShipand ask them to fold space for us,”Cadesaid, still looking straight ahead.
“Oh, but—”Andistopped, not sure if she should say anything.
“Butwhat?”Cadeasked, frowning.
“Imean, you know how you always ask me before we fold space ifImight be…might be pregnant?”Andiasked in a low voice. “Imean, after what we, uh, just did—”
“Youdon’t have to worry about that, at least.”Cade’svoice was harsh. “Ididn’tBondyou to me, so there’s no way you can be pregnant.”
“Oh…okay.”Andiwondered why she felt such a strange mixture of relief and regret.Shedidn’twantto be pregnant with the bigHybrid’sbaby—did she?Ofcourse, she didn’t, she told herself firmly.Soshe just looked down at her hands asCadecontacted theMotherShip.Theperson on the other end immediately patched him through toCommanderSylvan—their boss.
“ThanktheGoddess!I’mso relieved to see the two of you!”CommanderSylvanraked a hand through his spiky blond hair, his pale blue eyes wide with relief. “We’vebeen scouring the surface ofZo’rathTwolooking for any trace of you this whole week!Wherehave you been?”
“OnZo’rathThree,”Caderumbled. “Wecrash-landed there after a meteor storm,Ithink.That’swhy you couldn’t find us.”
“What?Butit was my understanding that any male who lands onZo’rathThreeloses his higher thinking capacity and most of his mental functions!”CommanderSylvanprotested.
“Theydo!”Andisaid, speaking up at last. “Becauseof these genetically engineered spoors drifting in the air there.ButIwas able to getCadea dose of the antidote which brought him back to himself.”
“Thatsounds like a very interesting story,”CommanderSylvanremarked.
“Youhaveno fucking idea,”Cadegrowled. “Excuseme,Commander,” he added in a more formal tone. “It’sjust…this hasn’t been the best experience.Especiallynot forAndrea.”
“What?Butyou’rethe one who lost your mind and became aManimal,”Andipointed out.
“Yes, and thenI—”Cadestopped short, a grim look on his face.
“Youcan tell me all about it during the debriefing,”CommanderSylvansaid, frowning in apparent concern. “ThoughI’mafraid you’ll both need to undergo a period of decontamination first.Weneed to be certain none of the mind-altering spoors fromZo’rathThreeare still present anywhere in, on, or around you.Ifsuch a pathogen got loose aboard theMotherShip, it would cause chaos!”
“Wecompletely understand.”Cadenodded. “I’verun an air purification program, but it makes sense to be sure.”
