Maybe it’ll be in thousands of years from now, or maybe when the consequences of our crime catch up to us. One way or another, though, Allie might be left to battle through this universe alone. Aurelians don’t always last too long out in this dangerous universe.
We stand from the mess-hall table, and Allie follows me into the medical bay. I remember the first time we were in here. I’d nearly snapped. Seeing her naked, bound to the examination chair, triggered deep, lustful urges inside of me. I expended every ounce of self-control to keep my honor…
…albeit only for a short hour, before I abandoned everything to claim her.
But, in abandoning everything, I gained so much more.
“Are you going to make me strip again?”
Allie’s tone is light and flirting. She raises one perfect eyebrow. My cock surges in response to her question.
As I stand there, I breathe in her scent – and beneath all her anger and stress, the intoxicating scent of her arousal is unmistakable. She doesn’t have to fake wanting us to seduce us. She craves us just as much as my triad crave her.
It’s torture, though. Every moment spent in which my cock isn’t buried inside of her is pure torture. I’ve never put much faith in the Gods – but Allie must be living proof that they exist. Who else could have created such perfection, other than a divine being? She’s a powerful angel – a woman who could never be tamed or owned, only experienced.
If she strips right now, I know I’m not going to be able to hold back, but the last thing I need right now is for Allie to think I’m nothing but an uncontrollable beast – that I desire only to fuck her and breed her. She’ll never care for me if I lose control of myself. I must put her needs before my own.
"No,” I reluctantly instruct her. “That’s not necessary – not this time. Just roll up your sleeves."
"You're no fun today," Allie pouts – yet, although she says it in a flirty tone, she can't hide her pain. Bringing up the subject of her missing sister opened up an old wound. Through the Bond, I’ve come to realize that she’ll never feel truly whole again – not until she finds her sister, or at least learns what happened to her.
I won’t lie to her.
I told Allie the truth. If her sister is alive, we will find her. If not? We’ll find the man – or men –responsible for her death…
…and make them beg for their own.
Women don’t last long in the sex trade – not out here in the cruel, cold universe. They last even less when they’re recruited as forced labor, in the asteroid mines on the edges of the settled universe. Whatever fate Allie’s sister faced, I fear it didn’t end well for her.
One thing is certain, though. I may no longer be an Aurelian Law Enforcement agent – but I will get to the bottom of it.
This is now the most important investigation I’ve ever been assigned to.
Back in the moment, I watch Allie roll up the sleeves of the cheap prison uniform I’d handed her. Even in that shapeless, poorly-tailored outfit, she still looks ravishing. I've come close to death so many times that I know how breathing is a privilege, not a right…
…but breathing in the air filled with her scent?
That’s paradise.
As Allie stands there, I prepare the procedure. As I work at the controls, I ask her:
"If you want us to be able to find your sister, I need more information. Where was she taken?"
Allie doesn't answer me at first. Then, without being told to, she hops into the medical chair.
"She was taken three years ago. We were doing work for a mining outfit. Their AI was malfunctioning – so, in the meantime, it was cheaper to hire a couple of orphans than get it repaired. We were in the middle of a haul when we were intercepted by space-pirates.”
Even on the outskirts of Aurelian-controlled territory, space-pirates were a growing threat. I felt my hands ball into fists at the mention of those vultures.
Allie stammers: “I... I made a mistake. I should have stayed with her, on the ship. Instead... I’d wanted to make some extra coin – so, I’d gone with the mining crew to the asteroid side, so I could join their mission.”
Tears welled in Allie’s eyes.
“Gods! She’d begged me to stay – almost as if she knew something was going to go wrong. She... "
Allie's voice cracks with grief. I look away. Witnessing a show of emotions is highly shameful in Aurelian culture. I won't add to her discomfort.
But my mind races.
Space-pirates. The plague of the open universe. They operate wherever Aurelian rule doesn’t fully reach.
Why can't humanity understand that they‘re safer under Aurelian rule? Why do more and more planets choose independence, rather than accept our protection?
"Did you see the men who took her? The pirates?"
Allie shakes her head.
"No. They hit the ship, and they hit it hard. It was venting oxygen. Half the crew was killed, and the other half taken. The pirates apparently didn't think it was worth their while to follow the rest of the crew onto the asteroid, where we were mining – not after an asteroid storm had just stopped.” She sniffs. “I almost wish they had. Then I’d have been captured too, just like Lilac. Then, I’d have at least shared her fate.”
Allie takes a ragged breath.
“Instead, the space-pirates left the mining crew on that asteroid. They left us to die."
"But you didn’t die,” I breath slowly. “What happened next?"
Allie looks away. "We got saved. It was just luck. Another mining mission stumbled across us and picked us up. They took our entire haul, too – as the cost of saving us.”
Vultures.
I didn’t telepath that thought, but Allie nods as if she could read my thoughts.
“They took our entire haul – but at least they
