“I don’t care about any of that. Darla is carrying my cubs!” Gnaw snarled. “I need to see her. She will be my mate.”
Dr. Brick clasped her hands together and the sphere in her hand disappeared. She began to remove the gloves. “This is why I decided it was best if I told you, Gnaw. I had a feeling you’d go all crazy. There’s a lot I don’t know about Veslors, but I’ve seen how damn possessive Drak over there is toward Abby Thomas. Guys even glance at her when he’s around, and he’s ready to murder them in a very bloody and painful way.” She placed her gloves on the med bed and approached them, but stayed far enough back that she must have felt safe.
“It’s not just about you and those cubs. Do you know what the fleet is going to do if they figure out we all lied? They will fire Darla and send her back to that fucking planet that treats women like shit. She told me they’d consider her a criminal because she’s pregnant and not married. Then mentioned something about being sent to some mines.”
“I won’t allow it!” he snarled. No one would take Darla and his cubs from him. He began to struggle again, but Roth and Drak still refused to let him go.
Dr. Brick stepped closer, glaring at Gnaw “You’re on a fleet vessel. You work for them. Do you think they’re just going to allow you and her to stay on this boat if they learn you lied, Gnaw? The answer is no.”
She glanced at Roth. “I grew up with the fleet. I’ve been with them since I was eight years old. Gnaw and Darla will get tossed off this ship faster than you can say ‘fuck this.’ You’re considered civilian workers, just like she is. They’ll shove her on a transport straight back to Radison, and Gnaw will be put on another transport right back to your king. I’m guessing you and the two others in your grouping might try to stop that from happening, but you can’t. That would be considered an act of war. You do realize that, don’t you? You can’t attack fleet security.”
Gnaw stopped fighting, her words finally penetrating.
Dr. Brick sucked in a deep breath and held up her hands. “So, this is what we’re going to do. Gnaw is going to pretend to date Darla. They are going to be seen flirting by the crew. He’ll take her back to your cabin or hers, just make sure lots of people see them, and then they’re going to stay together all night.” She shot a glare at Maith. “They should probably also pretend they’re mated, since that was the information your people gave ours. Only mated couples can have babies.”
“It’s true,” Maith snarled.
“Are they mated?” Dr. Brick put her hands on her hips. “Because Darla doesn’t know it, if they are. You’d think one of your kind would mention that to a woman.”
“She will become my mate,” Gnaw swore.
Dr. Brick tore her angry stare from Maith, and her expression softened. “Good. You take damn good care of Darla. You hurt her feelings when you didn’t contact her, but you didn’t hear that from me. Now make it up to her.”
“We did try to contact her. Abby sent her messages to ask her to see me,” Gnaw admitted. “She never responded.”
“Shit.” Dr. Brick sighed, letting her hands drop to her sides. “I thought you might have. She’s from a planet that has old technology. I had to explain a mobile com device to her when I asked why she didn’t respond to my message. She hasn’t figured out how to use the stationary one in her cabin.
“But she wants to see you, Gnaw. Again, I didn’t tell you that. It seems you’re both worried that the other doesn’t want to be reminded of what you went through while locked up together in that cell. Not true. She’s also happy about the babies. Scared shitless, too, because of the threat of being sent back to Radison, and the idea that you might not want anything to do with her.”
“I want her!” Gnaw tried to pull away from the males holding him yet again. “I won’t allow her to be returned to that planet.”
Roth jerked his head up, indicating they should stand. They refused to release him still, but all three of them got on their feet. Roth shifted his body to stand in front of Gnaw.
“Doctor Brick is rude, but correct,” his grouping leader said in their Veslor language. “We can’t attack the humans on this ship. It would start a war. The female came up with a good plan. Did you hear anything that she said? You can mate your female, protect your cubs, but it will require patience. It will be difficult, but we will help you. I can see how much you wish to rush to the female and claim her. Restrain your urges. Can you do that?”
Gnaw closed his eyes, trying to calm his turbulent emotions and instincts. He got a handle on them, mostly, and started thinking rationally. He’d scare Darla if he stormed her cabin and claimed her as his mate.
But Dr. Brick had said his female wanted to see him. She was also happy about the cubs. He was too.
His heart swelled in his chest with longing and love for the female carrying his cubs. So much so, it choked him up.
“Gnaw,” Roth rasped.
He opened his eyes. “I am calm.”
