The Breeding Experiment (Veslor Mates Book 3) Read online

  Darla replayed what he said a few times, attempting to make sense of it. Some of his words concerned her. “What criminal filings? Justice? What are you talking about?”

  He shifted his stance. “We will provide all evidence of your attack by the Veslor to your advocate. The fleet will of course compensate you for the trauma you’ve endured, your job is secure, and the perpetrator will pay for what he’s done.”

  She knew her mouth hung open. But Darla had become so mad, it was hard to form words. Until they burst out of her in a rush. “Gnaw didn’t attack me. There will be no criminal anything!”

  He frowned so hard, deep lines appeared around his mouth, eyes, and forehead. “There is no shame associated with sexual assault. None of this was your fault. The emotional trauma councilor will reinforce that for you, once you’ve talked to him or her. Please remain calm, Miss Mitt.”

  “Do you have dirt in your ears? Listen to me. There was no sexual assault. Gnaw didn’t make me do anything. You can just get it right out of your head that he’s any kind of criminal.”

  “Miss Mitt, please stop hissing at me. I apologize for broaching the subject. I’m not a trauma councilor. I thought my assurances would be comforting at this time. Obviously, you’re not ready to discuss what happened to you.”

  She lifted her legs, flinched over the pain caused by her injured thigh, and twisted enough to sit on the side of the mobile bed. “Shake out the dirt to clear your ears,” she ordered. “You still aren’t listening! Gnaw didn’t hurt me. There will be no talk of criminal charges. The only ones you should arrest are the Elth!”

  Her fellow shuttle abductee, the woman with black and blue hair and mismatched eye colors, rushed toward them from the back of the shuttle. Darla remembered Dr. Brick well. She was the one who’d told the Elth how Veslors couldn’t have babies unless it was with a mate.

  “Marcus,” she stated, grabbing him by his arm and turning him toward her. “Walk away.”

  “You’re a patient,” he spat. “Go sit back down, Jessa.”

  “Your job isn’t to upset her more. And that’s what you seem to be doing. Walk away. I’m making her my patient as of this second. You’re relieved of duty for her.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  “I’m the A.R.S. This involves a Veslor. I’m pulling rank.”

  “That’s bullshit!”

  “It’s fact. Walk away, damn it, or I’ll file a report.”

  He looked furious but stalked away, going to tend to another patient.

  Darla stared at Dr. Brick, once again amazed that her bright blue hair streaks were the identical color of one of her eyes. “What’s an A.R.S.?”

  Dr. Brick stepped closer and lowered her voice. “You’ve heard of specialists, right? Like cardiologists? Heart doctors? Well, in space, while dealing with foreign plants, animals and sentient lifeforms, shit can happen. I’m a fully licensed medical physician who specializes in alien matters. It’s my job to figure out how to treat a human if they catch some virus, disease, or have an allergic reaction to things that aren’t Earth based. A.R.S. stands for Alien Research Specialist. They aren’t kidding about the research part. I’m always having to learn new things every time we encounter something or someone that isn’t already in our medical database.”

  “That sounds like a hard job. Thank you for making him leave me alone. That doctor wasn’t listening to me.”

  Dr. Brick glanced around, before looking at her again. She kept her voice low. “Some people are always going to hold prejudices against aliens. I don’t. A lot of the women we were locked up with assumed you were taken away to be raped by the Veslor. It’s what they’ve reported to the tactical teams. Obviously, Marcus believes that as well, considering you’re only wearing a shirt.

  “Now, anything you say to me is confidential, as your doctor. I will not repeat anything without your permission. From what I overheard, I’m going to guess that the scan they took must have indicated you’d had sex. Am I right?”

  “Gnaw didn’t force me. The Elth were going to kill me if we didn’t do as they demanded. They’d have sent in the next woman, which they’d already determined would be my baby sister, and then killed her if he still refused. I had to practically plead with him to do what we did together. He took care of me, and he didn’t hurt me once. I swear. He hates what happened in that cell between us, but he did it to keep me alive. Don’t let them punish Gnaw, please!”

  Dr. Brick nodded. “I won’t. This is what you need to do—refuse treatment.”

  That advice stunned Darla.

  “These medical shuttles are slow, since they don’t want to injure the patients more by destabilizing the gravity already in place by flying them too fast. We’ve run out of time though, since we’re entering the docking bay of Defcon Red right now. Medical teams are going to rush inside soon. Can you stand?”

  Darla took a deep breath and scooted off the edge of the padded surface, standing slowly. Her injured thigh throbbed a little, but it held her weight. “Yes.”

  Dr. Brick helped her wrap the blanket around her body. “Stick with me. I’m going to walk you out of here and right to your cabin.”

  “I haven’t been assigned one yet. I’m a new-hire. I’ve never been on the ship before.”

  “Shit,” Dr. Brick muttered. “Okay. We’ll go with Plan B. That’s the two of us going to my lab. If another doctor tries to take over, demand outright that I’m the only one you want treating you. Don’t allow them to bully you. It’s your right to choose.”

  “Okay.” That sounded reasonable to Darla.

  “I can pull rank as the A.R.S. because a Veslor is involved, but it will help if you demand to stick with me.”

  “Thank you.” Darla forced a smile at her sister. Becky was staring at them from across the shuttle. “What about my sister?”

  “Let her go with another team for treatment.”

  Chapter Eight

  “You need food and uninterrupted rest,” Maith diagnosed. “I am glad you are in such good health, Gnaw. I feared the Elth would have done much worse to you.”

  Gnaw stood naked in the bathroom after his examination from their grouping’s medic. “May I shower now?”

  “Please do. You need one. Dead Elth isn’t pleasant to my senses.”

  He got into the shower. The hot water relaxed him a bit while he scrubbed his body and washed his hair. Maith closed the bathroom door as he left, giving him privacy. He welcomed the alone time, knowing full well it wouldn’t last long. His grouping would want to know everything that had happened to him. Those details would include Darla.

  The door opened minutes later. “Drak and Roth have gone to gather food for us,” Maith called loudly. “I’ve brought you fresh clothing. Roth isn’t certain how long it will be before Clark returns and the humans will demand to speak to you.”

  Gnaw shut off the water and began drying his body. “I will get some sleep first.”

  “Roth doesn’t believe they’ll allow that much time to pass. The humans were very agitated that one of their shuttles were stolen. To repeat Abby, ‘it’s a huge deal.’”

  He grumbled but stepped out of the shower, dressing in the pants and shirt placed on the counter. Maith watched his every move, obviously concerned.

  “I am well. The Elth allowed us short resting periods, and we had access to planet surface covering they deemed fit as food.”

  Maith hissed. “They only fed you vegetation?”

  “Yes.”

  “The Elth are fools. I’m glad we were able to kill so many of them while retrieving you.” He stepped closer to Gnaw. “Do you wish to speak about the female? You copulated with her. Her scent is gone now, but it was there before you washed it away. I remember how Roth wasn’t pleased when Drak felt attraction to Abby. We’re alone, if you feel like speaking without his possible disapproval. Did you grow an emotional attachment to her?”

  Gnaw sighed, feeling exhausted. He really didn’t want to speak about Darla but his
grouping needed to know everything. “My feelings are confused. Her name is Darla, and she’s a brave female. I refused to copulate with her when the Elth ordered me to. She calmed my rage enough to hear her logical reasoning. Her life was in jeopardy, and they would have sent in other females after she was killed if I kept rejecting her. Then she stripped off her clothing and ordered me to comply. The timid little female became very demanding.”

  Maith’s eyes widened and his mouth parted. It was obvious he was stunned.

  Gnaw gave a brief nod. “As angry as the Elth made me, I couldn’t let her die. I was extremely careful not to hurt her.” He reached up and ran his fingers through his thick mane, brushing the wet strands back. “I feel shame.”

  Maith stepped closer. “I would have done the same in your place. That female is alive because you set aside your pride by placating the enemy.”

  “I enjoyed copulating with her, Maith. It felt…” He closed his eyes and lowered his now fisted hand. “But the situation enraged me, also.” He snapped open his eyes, his torment strong. “Am I like my father?”

  “No!” Maith vehemently shook his head. “Never say that again.”

  Gnaw lowered his gaze.

  Maith suddenly grabbed him by the sides of his head, forcing him to look into his eyes. “You are nothing like him. Nothing. Wipe that assumption from your mind. That’s an order. You helped that female to survive. There was no choice. You made the intelligent choice of protecting her and keeping you both alive until we could retrieve you.” He eased his hold and softened his voice. “The female demanded your compliance. She was also intelligent.”

  His tense body relaxed a little. Maith would always be honest with him. “Will Roth and Drak see it that way?”

  “They will.”

  The certainty in his tone helped Gnaw breathe easier. He reached up and clasped his grouping brother’s hands, giving them a squeeze.

  Maith released him. “You need to eat. It will help you feel more normal and stronger. I wish I could send you for rest but the humans won’t have patience.”

  “Is there any way for you to learn of Darla’s condition and mental state?”

  “I will ask Abby to find out.”

  He would have answers soon. Abby was a fierce human female, one of their grouping, now that she was with Drak, and no other humans would stop her from achieving a goal. “I also need to know who hired her to work on this ship. It’s a male. I want his name.”

  Maith cocked his head in silent question.

  “Darla was desperate to get her sister off their home world to protect her from bad males. Radison leaders are forcing some of their female population to work at brothels. They are given no choice, taken from their families forever. Someone on Defcon Red took advantage of Darla’s desperation to protect Becky. The male in charge of hiring workers wants use of Darla’s body as repayment.” A low rumble started in his chest. “I will not allow him to touch her.”

  Anger glinted in his grouping brother’s eyes. “It is best if you don’t threaten any humans until the investigation is over. Drak and I will find and speak to this male.”

  “Make certain he knows she’s protected.”

  “You have my vow.”

  That was good enough for Gnaw. None of his kind were tolerant of males taking advantage of vulnerable females in need of help.

  Maith backed out of the bathroom, and he followed him. The door to their home on Defcon Red opened, the other two males in his grouping returning with food. The smell of meat had him growling with hunger.

  They sat at the table where Abby had insisted they eat all their meals and Gnaw dug in. He felt Roth’s intense gaze on him but the male patiently waited for him to fill his belly first. Once the hunger pains faded, he took a sip of a nutrient drink, and began to tell his story from the moment he’d stepped onboard the shuttle.

  They listened, not interrupting him. Gnaw noticed no censure on their features. There were moments, though, where he glimpsed anger from them as he detailed his and Darla’s treatment by the Elth. He finally finished his story with the moment he’d been reunited with Roth, while the human team kept him trapped inside that room.

  Then he went quiet, waiting for his grouping leader to say something.

  “I am proud of you, Gnaw.”

  Roth’s words surprised him.

  “You did what you had to in order to keep the females safe. The Elth killed all the males.”

  “I copulated with Darla.”

  “She lives. Your instincts would have demanded you to fight to the death, getting her killed in retaliation from the enemy, and more of the females would have died as you continued fighting. It took strength and courage to set aside your rage to make the smart decisions you did. That female was in no danger from you, Gnaw. This Darla sounds as if she was very aware of that when she asked you to comply and stripped bare.”

  “She was desperate,” Gnaw rasped.

  Roth nodded. “She was also rational, and she knew the best way to survive was to stall for time by complying with your captor’s demands. The both of you did that together. You worked as a grouping would. It is why you both live. I am proud of you. Fighting has always come easy for you. Patience and plotting has not. You did well.”

  Gnaw felt choked up, and he dropped his gaze, staring at the rest of the food on his plate. He swallowed hard and gave a nod. “I owe that female. She was the one to calm me when I wanted to rage.”

  “We all owe that female,” Roth murmured. “You’re back with us safely. We couldn’t lose you.”

  He looked up, nodding at his grouping brothers. They were a family. “I am glad to be here.”

  * * * * * *

  “Man, that was a pain in the ass. Doctor Kane is going to chew my ass big time later. Don’t worry about it, though. She might be the chief of medicine but she can’t fire me. Not a lot of people stay in my specialty field. They crack under the pressure within four years, from what I’ve noticed.” Dr. Brick sighed.

  Darla openly took in the large room as she listened to Dr. Brick talk. It looked mostly like a lab with tons of computers, medical equipment, and two desks. There was also one med bed. It was behind a long counter filled with different kinds of strange microscopes that came from the ceiling.

  Dr. Brick turned to face her, after putting on a white coat. “It’s okay to speak freely in here. I disabled the cameras when I was given this space. We’re in the clear.” She reached up and tapped the temple near her bright blue eye. “This baby isn’t just to help my vision. I can detect frequencies with my implant. I’d know it if they had snuck in here without my knowledge to add devices. I hate being watched or monitored.”

  “The fleet does that?”

  “They’ll go on about how it’s for my own safety to monitor everything I do, but I’ve disabled listening and viewing devices from the beginning. I tell them the frequencies they give off interfere with my implant. It’s total bullshit, though. I just like my privacy, and they’ve given up on reestablishing their electronic spies. I tinkered with my eye sensors, as well, so I know when they screw with my privacy.”

  Darla knew she was gaping but she was too surprised to speak.

  “I’ve been with the fleet for a very long time.”

  “You don’t look that old.”

  “I feel it. Long story short, my parents were killed when I was eight. Can you please jump up here and let me look at your thigh? They did a patchwork job on you while we were being shuttled in. Aliens can carry some nasty viruses and diseases. I just want to take some swabs, scan them, and make sure you’re in the clear.”

  Darla climbed onto the wide, padded bed, sitting upright. She glanced down as Dr. Brick removed a few bandages, exposing her torn skin. It had been sprayed with some type of clear substance. There were at least four small injuries with bruising forming around each one.

  “Not bad. Tentacle hooks can do a lot of damage. There’s this species of an Earth octopus alien cousin on Nerner planet that ja
bs their hooks into skin, and spikes open like barbs, to keep hold of the flesh. They’re hell to remove. These are just cuts.”

  “Please don’t tell me that kind of stuff.” It made Darla sick just thinking about it.

  “Right.” Dr. Brick flashed a smile. “Sorry. My bedside manner is awful. I rarely deal with patients, and the ones I do get usually aren’t conscious by the time they reach me. Regular doctors think they can handle an alien infection or whatnot, try their best, and then turn to me when their patient is critical.” She walked away, opened a drawer, and got some swabs. Then she returned, taking samples. “I don’t see any sign of infection or allergic reaction so far. That’s good.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “Me too. I’m currently checking the history on the Elth about any humans who’ve suffered cuts from their hooks.”

  Darla frowned, glancing at the computers.

  “I have implants,” Dr. Brick reminded her. “I linked to the computer and I’m searching the medical database.” The doctor walked the samples to a machine across the room and kept her back to Darla. “I’m sure you’re going to be fine. Did the Elth give you any drugs? Do any procedures on you? I should run a full body scan.”

  “They didn’t. Once I was taken from the same room you were in, I was led to the one next door, where Gnaw was being kept. They did make us eat what looked like grass in water.”

  “Did you have any reactions to it? Vomiting? Fever? Hives? Anything along those lines?”

  “No. It was just disgusting.”

  Dr. Brick chuckled. “That’s good. I mean, not that it was bad tasting but that it didn’t make you sick in any way.”

  “What I’d really like is a shower, some real food, and a good night’s sleep. The Elth kept waking Gnaw and I up every few hours.”

  “They did that to us, too. I’m exhausted.” Dr. Brick was silent for a few minutes. “The scans of the swabs are completed. I’m not seeing any alien residue. They cleaned your wounds well and doused it with a super-antibiotic that kills about everything we’ve come across, before sealing them.” The doctor turned. “Now for that full body scan.”