Alpha Trine Read online

  Dargon had watched as many of the civilian population were lost to the V'Saar venom. The stinger of the V'Saar held a compound that, when injected, converted the victim into another V'Saar.

  They were able to control their victim and used them to operate machinery and weapons not made for the V'Saar physiology. They were deadly. The Galactic troops had won using battle mechs and foot troops but lost a devastating sixty percent of the foot and twenty percent of the mechs. If the V'Saar were able to come through the barrier in greater forces, the galaxies would be quickly ravaged.

  Dargon pulled Zeus closer, wrapping himself around Zeus until they were fully entwined from head to toe.

  "We cannot just let him go."

  "When the Mar'Sani found me on an abandoned spaceship," Zeus said, "I was barely two moons old and blind. In my thirteenth summer, my parents contracted the Chtichlians to repair my eyesight. I overheard the Chtichlians speak of my heritage when they believed me to be unconscious." Zeus laced his fingers with Dargon's. "I never told anyone what happened that day. I wanted to forget everything, including what they said.

  "From their idle conversation, I learned I had not been born blind but made that way at birth. They called me the decoy and argued about correcting my sight."

  Dargon rose to an elbow and peered down a Zeus. "The Bespoken is born blind and only gains sight between the age of five and ten."

  Zeus nodded. "Correcting my sight was not the only procedure they did that day. I did not understand until I had matured what they had stolen from me."

  He fingered Dargon's copper braid, bringing the hair to his nose and inhaling. "They changed something about my body to make me resemble the Bespoken—but not. If I understand correctly, the men in my family line actually have both male and female reproductive systems. We are born to look and be fully and completely male, but from the age of about fifteen we start to develop the female reproductive system and are able to breed and reproduce viable offspring by the age of twenty-five. The Chtichlian took that away from me—for the most part. My body will release an egg every cycle, but I do not have a womb for the child."

  Zeus went silent. Dargon was unsure what to say. The injustice of what had been done to Zeus was horrifying.

  "I understand now that I was a decoy to protect this Prometheus. The only blessing is that the Mar'Sani found me first. I have always, and will always, think of myself as Mar'Sani. They are my family, my people. Shaneva reminded me that Poseidon accepted me as Mar'Sani, and I swim in his waters without harm. I may have been born to Fal'Amoric parents, but I am not one of them."

  Zeus lifted his gaze to peer into Dargon's eyes. "My question to you, Captain Dargon Kal-Turak, is once we hand the Fal'Amoric over to the imperial princes, will you help me to locate the Chtichlians? They are the ones who hid the Bespoken, and I intend to get him back."

  Dargon stared. "They know the location of the Bespoken?"

  "The ones who corrected my eyesight did. They spoke of him and debated his safety. If we can find them, they can tell us where he is. I refuse be a substitute Bespoken to the crown princes. I will not roll over and accept that as my fate."

  "We must be careful with this information," Alpha whispered. "We both suspect that someone in the prince's circle has betrayed them."

  Zeus frowned and stared at Alpha. Dargon wondered if he could hear Alpha or simply suspected that Alpha was speaking.

  "Is it possible the Chtichlians are working against the imperials?" Dargon asked. "Did they kidnap the prince, working in collusion with the humans?" He needed more information. Soon they would drop out of hyperspace at their first jump location. The ship's engines and the hull plating would require at least two hours to cycle through the cooling process before they could jump again. The fusion reactor and the shielding algorithm had to cycle and reset so they could hop back into hyperspace.

  "Their conversation was along the lines of protecting him, not using him."

  A sharp snarl rumbled deep in Dargon's throat, clawing its way out of him, startling him out of his ruminations. "No—they set you up to be a decoy, probably for the humans who were gathering all the Fal'Amoric clans together. If the Terrens' goal was to murder the Bespoken, and they had found you, they would have mistaken you for him."

  Zeus said nothing. Dargon lay wrapped around Zeus, listening to the silence, wondering what Zeus was thinking about. As close as they were, Zeus's scent wrapped tightly around him, and Dargon attempted to control his libido. Alpha had been quiet for a while as well, and Dargon was unsure what to make of the symbiote's silence.

  Having acquired a lead on the Bespoken eased his worries. Dargon would travel to the farthest reaches of the universe to retrieve the Bespoken in order to keep the imperial princes from Zeus. Even if he had nothing but friendship from Zeus, Dargon would still do everything in his power to protect Zeus.

  Dargon knew Zeus was uncomfortable being his Marked, and he would not have pursued Zeus if he was not positive the two of them fit together. Yes, in the beginning he was upset over his attraction to Zeus. Alpha convinced him to look deeper, though. When he had spoken to Zeus in the maintenance bay, he knew before walking away that, human or not, he wanted more.

  Between both his and Alpha's attraction, he had allowed himself to start the imprinting process. He could have stopped it; there was the possibility they would come across another who could be well-suited to them. But together, he and Alpha chose Zeus. He hoped Zeus would come to understand their attraction was separate from Dargon's imprinting. He intended to woo Zeus, and one by one, remove each of his reservations.

  For a time they dozed together until the hail from the door woke them. They both rose and dressed before answering. Otho waited on the other side, hopping from side to side in agitation.

  "What is it?" Dargon asked in alarm.

  "I have installed all the panels and the fusion engine will not initiate. I do not know what to do. We have to jump in less than an hour." Otho's violet eyes were wide, his body vibrating with worry and agitation. The long tail twitched above his head while his short black fur stood on end.

  Zeus coughed, his cheeks tinged pink. "Well, actually, that would be a very easy fix. Otho, if you would retrieve my utility belt, I will meet you in the engine room."

  Appearing relieved, Otho's black fur smoothed out, and he rushed away. Zeus hurried to finished dressing, avoiding Dargon's gaze.

  "You sabotaged my ship?" Dargon asked in disbelief.

  Zeus's shoulders sagged. "I thought you were pirates, and I did overhear the assassin graphically planning my demise. If I had to endure death by way of an airlock, I ensured your ship would be caught."

  Coming out of his momentary shock, Dargon laughed aloud and swooped Zeus up in a crushing embrace. "That was brilliant!"

  Zeus huffed in agitation. "That is just disturbing. What I did was fueled by fear. What if something had happened to me? The Fal'Amorics could have been in grave danger, and it would have been my fault."

  "For one," Dargon replied as he pulled on his vest, "nothing happened to you and no one was hurt. Two, if you had been right, then your actions would have brought justice, and rightly so."

  He handed Zeus a communicator. Zeus clipped the device to his collar as he eyed Dargon. "You are a strange male. I think I like it." Giving a saucy grin, Zeus left the cabin.

  On the bridge, Axis verified the next jump coordinates, and Gaex recited the preflight checklist. Abechan sat at communications, monitoring the information feeds for the galaxy. They had to be careful to keep out of local skirmishes and watch out for pirates. Gaex placed them in the orbit of the moon of a gas giant.

  "We have thirty minutes to our next jump," Axis reported. "Otho was worried. Will we be able to jump, or should I chart an alternate course?"

  "Zeus is resolving the issue as we speak." The bridge became unnaturally quiet. The crew normally spoke freely, bickering most of the time like young siblings intent on annoying each other. "You know he is not human?" Dar
gon understood his crew had acquired an extreme dislike for Terrens on this mission. After witnessing the atrocities they had while evacuating the prison planet, forming a negative opinion had been inevitable.

  "Mayra told us," Axis replied. "Madux also let it slip that you allowed yourself to imprint on him. Is that true?"

  Dargon narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "If it is?"

  Axis turned to face him, the red and gray feathers on his crown raised, dark eyes over the orange-yellow bone-plated nose pinned him with a disbelieving look. "If the crown princes do not find their Bespoken, they will have to force him into service. Where does that leave you, my friend? You have been a grouchy nob ever since you met him, releasing mating pheromones every time you are around him. We all have noticed it. Are you going to be content as his friend or bodyguard if that happens?"

  "If it does come down to that—yes—but neither he nor I intend to lie around and wait to see what happens," Dargon replied. He did not want to say anything about the Chtichlians just yet.

  Abechan gave an exasperated sigh. "What Axis is trying to say is that whatever you plan to do, we will back you up. If you want to retire as the Bespoken's companion, decide to run and hide, or if you have another plan, count us in."

  Dargon was more than a little surprised. The Shia'Marr did not condone committed relationships. This vote of loyalty from Abechan was as close as he would ever come to it. "We appreciate your support."

  Abechan sniffed and turned his back to the bridge. Axis smirked as he studied the navigation charts. Dargon had not bargained on the help from his crew. They had been handpicked and assembled for this mission as complete strangers. The last two years had forged a bond he had failed to see until now. They were his friends and family. He would have done anything for them, and apparently, the sentiment was returned.

  After climbing up to the panel and replacing the chip he had stolen earlier, Zeus and Otho worked in tandem to get the fusion engine online. The warming cycle would take another ten minutes until the reactor was up to capacity and ready to be fired, sending the ship into hyperspace.

  "Bridge to Engine Room," the com-link squawked. Zeus did not recognize the voice. "Engine Room, we have incoming hostiles. How much longer before we can engage the drive?"

  "Eight minutes and counting down. I will see what I can do to speed it up," Zeus responded, already climbing up to the ignition panel.

  If he could bypass the safety protocols, they would be able to jump without waiting the extra time on the clock. Normally he would not attempt it, but he knew the engine was secure. The shorted panels were replaced and the core stable. If he had thought it was unsafe he would have told them to run and hide.

  The alarm sounded over the ship's internal com. "All hands on deck. All hands on deck. Prepare for enemy fire. Al'haska, man the turret. Brace for evasive maneuvers."

  Zeus scowled when the lights dimmed as power was diverted to their shielding. He would have to work on that. The switchover should not be noticeable. Taking a firm handhold in front of the ignition panel, he freed his right hand to open the housing.

  The ship shifted, and Zeus found himself hanging by his left hand. Otho gave a shriek. Below him, all of the unsecured tools were tossed about.

  Zeus growled. There was something wrong with the inertial compensation. If it was working properly, the passengers would feel nothing. If they entered hyperspace with the compensators down, everyone would turn to sludge. The way it was now, they were going to be battered to a pulp by every sudden move the pilot made.

  He opened a com-link to the bridge. "Engine Room to Bridge, your evasive maneuvers are going to kill us. Is there any way you can cool it until I fix the dampeners? We cannot engage the drive until I repair it."

  Dargon's voice sounded over the link. "Zeus, we cannot go easy because the psi-tracker has found us. If they catch us, the Fal'Amoric will be lost. I do not think they would be trying this hard if we did not have someone they wanted."

  Zeus immediately thought of the woman, Athena. The ship rumbled, and Zeus lost his tenuous hold and fell. The floor, which had been the ceiling, looked awfully far away. Cobalt-blue tentacles wrapped around Zeus, bringing his descent to an abrupt halt. His stomach lurched as he was unexpectedly jerked to a stop. One of the Orion was suctioned above him and at the moment, Zeus could not think of a better view.

  "Many thanks," he croaked.

  Dargon was screaming for him over the link. "Keep your pants on," Zeus gasped. "One of the Orion—" he looked up again when a name was pushed at him, "—Rhee, just gave me a hand. We will fix the dampener. Those who are not already buckled in should do so now. I have to turn off the gravity."

  "Hurry, Zeus, we do not have much time. Bridge out."

  Zeus pointed to an orange panel. "Rhee, can you take me there?" A couple of tentacles wrapped around his legs, giving him more support and removing pressure from his ribcage. His left hand and shoulder throbbed from the strain of being jerked around. Tomorrow he would be sore.

  Rhee took him from section to section as he worked hurriedly to fix the inertial compensators. He sent a warning over the com before he engaged them. Rhee carried him over to the board that housed the manual switches for bypassing the safety protocols. Zeus worked swiftly to put a bypass in place when Dargon called for him over the com-link again. Since he was elbow deep in conduits and wires, Rhee activated the link for him.

  "I am really busy right now, Dargon. I almost have the fusion drive up."

  "Explain yourself."

  Zeus paused, his heart lifting at the sound of the raspy and familiar voice. "Mestor, tell me you blasted that skink psi-tracking ship into deep space."

  "The cowards retreated once we arrived. I take it that you are well, brother?"

  He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned his forehead again the cool metal of the panel box. "Yes, I am. It is so—good—to hear your voice."

  "Prince Mestor Vondorian," Dargon cut in. "The open com channels are not safe at this time. You are invited to come aboard the Oethra 7."

  Zeus started refitting the connections while they waited for Mestor's response.

  "Zeus?" Mestor asked.

  "Come have late meal with us," Zeus said. "There is much to talk about, brother."

  There was another pause before Mestor said, "I will require a satisfactory explanation to stay my hand."

  Zeus laughed when the com-link went silent. His brothers were in for a surprise.

  Finally on his feet, Zeus started to thank Rhee and had a thought. "The one I injured, is he recovering?" He knew Orion were able to regenerate severed tentacles, but that did not mean he had survived.

  "We are honored by your concern, Prince Zeus. Lothar is recovering well." Zeus sensed Rhee's excitement.

  "What is it, Rhee?" They walked together to the airlock. Rhee was as tall as Zeus. The tentacles were tucked and curled against the underside, only the three appendages used for locomotion active and visible. The armor plating was a camouflage of blue and yellow around the mantle.

  "We have never come across another who can speak to us telepathically. It is a novelty. My apologies if I have given offense." Rhee's row of dark eyes darted around.

  Zeus laughed. "None given. A friend of mine, a Conti'Quan by the name of Cleito, helped me hone my telepathic speech."

  The airlock cycled and pressurized. The lift at the end of the corridor opened and Dargon, the Chi-Lin psionic Madux, one of the Ursids, and the Shia'Marr Abechan stepped off.

  When the airlock doors slid open, Mestor was not the person standing there to greet him. Before Zeus could demand an identity of the Dire D'Noss, a Quell hound stepped out from behind him, and Rhee reacted before Zeus did.

  Four tentacles lashed out, diamond-shaped pads covered in triangular claws dealing deadly damage to the four occupants of the pass-thru. Zeus was pushed to the floor where Rhee curled over him with the armor plating facing the enemy.

  His name was called, the sound muffled by the screa
ming and snarling coming from the airlock. Mere moments felt like hours before Rhee rolled off of him. Dargon's strong arms wrapped around him, lifting him from the floor, and ushered Zeus farther down the corridor.

  "Are you injured?" Dargon demanded, pawing at him.

  Zeus did not get the chance to answer before Dargon descended, engulfing his mouth in a hard, hot kiss that had his heart thumping for an altogether different reason. When Dargon pulled away, his vibrant green gaze roved over Zeus's face, the elliptical pupils longer and wider than normal.

  "Do not ever scare me like that again. I do not think I can handle you injured."

  Zeus mastered his ragged breathing, stroking Dargon's golden cheek. One hand reached up to trace the line of the metallic, copper-braided mohawk while the other stroked the edge of Alpha. "I will not make a promise I cannot keep, but I will try … for you."

  "Captain, situation yellow," Madux called from the other end of the corridor. "We have a few minutes before these intruders will be expected to give an update. They must have either thought to catch us unaware, or they had limited personnel."

  "I have to see about my brothers." Zeus knew something serious kept Mestor from meeting him at the airlock. Even if his ship was under siege, Mestor would have contacted him. Mestor's first thought would be to see to Zeus's safety.

  "I have to safeguard the Fal'Amoric." Dargon cursed long and loud before crushing Zeus to him.

  Zeus nodded his head in understanding. "Give me two people: Rhee and that assassin who kicked my ass, Amlyn."

  "No." Dargon's voice was firm.

  Zeus ignored him. "Hide in the shadow of a moon or take cover in a debris field."

  "No!"

  "Give me an hour. If I do not contact you before the time is up, then you go on, take the Fal'Amoric to Valespia where they will be safe."

  "Zeus, you cannot ask that of me." Dargon's tone was hushed, pleading.

  Zeus reminded himself that Dargon was a soldier; he knew what must be done. He ignored the plea and pushed ahead. "The fusion engine is working, and the inertial compensators have been repaired. You will be able to make it to Valespia without any problems."