Chapter Six

He was completely in love with her. Remy had known before that special night two weeks ago when she had surrendered to him so beautifully after stopping her suppressant. Over the last two weeks, he’d continued to fall deeper in love with her, and he hoped he was seeing signs of her growing love for him as well. At nights, they slept on her ship or his, always spending the nights together.

Most of their days were spent together as well, working side-by-side as they salvaged from the ships around them. There were so many shipwrecks that they would soon be ready to return to civilization with full hulls, and perhaps plans to come this way again. For now, they would be set for years, and he was pleased with their efforts, though as the hulls on each ship became more and more filled, his slight dread grew into anxiety.

When their job here ended, would their partnership dissolve, or would she stay with him? Could he accept her as his Omega without claiming her with his bite? It would be dangerous for her to reenter civilization without the suppressant if she refused to accept his mating claim. If she let him bite her, his scent would imprint on hers, and it would protect her from other Alphas.

If she were resistant to the idea, she would continue to use the suppressant, and he was certain that would change things between them. He would desire her no less, but a natural side effect of the suppressant was inhibiting her libido. She would probably still sleep with him out of pity, but she wouldn’t lose herself with abandon like she did now. She would be doing it to please him with little pleasure in return. How could it become anything but a chore for her then?

It was a horrible situation in which to find himself, but he wanted to be supportive and allow her to make the choice. He wasn’t so shallow that he was only with her because of sex. Even if she never wanted to make love again, he would still be beside her if she allowed it, but he dreaded how it would change the bond between them if it came to that.

It also set his protective urges on edge, imagining how vulnerable she would be if she were masking herself with a substance that might fail as it had unexpectedly with him. Any Alpha around could be driven to rutting and take her even if he was normally a decent guy. As much as she hated to hear the truth, the mating truly was a biological imperative, as the protective urge was meant to be, though not all Alphas cared enough about Omegas.

Some Alphas were selfish like that Thane, but all were wired to claim and possess an Omega, especially the right Omega who was a perfect match. He was certain he’d found her, but she had to be willing to accept his bite. If not, she would be at risk any time they were around people, and he’d never be able to relax. Not that he could be completely relaxed when he had an Omega to tend to, but he wouldn’t have as much worry for her safety if she were securely marked as his mate.

Today, they were working beside each other to strip the outer shell of a hull when the CAP’s eyes flashed red for a moment, and she looked at Maya. “There is a ship approaching. The Talon.”

The name didn’t mean anything to Remy and didn’t seem to mean anything to Maya either.

“I suppose we should open communication,” said Maya regretfully.

“There’s plenty to share,” said Remy, though he resented the intrusion of someone else. He and Maya were just a couple of days away from finishing here, and he hated to have someone else infringing on his time with her. With luck, they would keep to themselves.

Her wrist comm beeped, and a face appeared a moment later. The visage sent dread spiraling through Remy as he recognized Aurelius Stahl’s countenance projected from her wrist comm. He didn’t move out of view in time, and Aurelius scowled. “Is that you, Cruz?”

Remy refused to cower behind his Omega and hadn’t been planning to. He’d wanted to avoid a confrontation, but now that it was thrust upon him, he lifted her wrist comm to point the camera directly at him. “It is. I’m surprised to see you here in such a small freighter.”

“You shouldn’t be.” The man had dark skin and white hair, and he wore a blistering scowl. “You were no doubt instrumental in enforcers discovering us smuggling just days after your departure from the ship. Or do you claim that’s a coincidence?”

“It’s a coincidence. I hope it’s a coincidence that you’re here at the same time as we are?” To his knowledge, Aurelius had no reason to track him, though the man seemed to believe he had betrayed him to the Coalition enforcers.

“We came to cash in on all the bounty around us. Who knew we would find a far greater prize? Revenge.” Aurelius leaned closer to his camera, and his face loomed on the wrist comm. “I’m coming for you, Cruz, and I’m going to tear you apart with my bare hands.”

Communication ended, and Remy quickly urged Maya onto to the skid. They’d taken to sharing one since they spent their nights together and departed from the same ship in the mornings, and her ship was the closest. “Hang on.” He engaged full throttle on the skid, and though they were moving faster than was safe with the load they had, it was still painfully slow, especially compared to the small freighter Aurelius piloted.

The Talon was bearing down on them, and he tried to get more speed. He was about to dump the cargo itself, hoping it would give them the last boost they needed to get into Eve’s Sacrifice and close the cargo doors, but the Talon collided with the skid a second later, sending them both flying.

He was unable to grasp anything to hold onto, and he was completely dislodged from the skid. Maya stumbled and fell, going over the side, but her hand clung to one of the runners of the skid as she reached out for him with her other. He was too far away though, and he continued to fly, propelled by the momentum of the crash. If he couldn’t grasp something soon or orient himself to bring the thrusters in his E-suit online, he could spend the rest of his life drifting through space.

He scrambled to grab something, finally managing to grasp a big piece of detritus in time to see the bay door for the Talon open, and a pincer arm come out to grasp Maya before jerking her inside. He was chilled at the sight, and he half-expected the Talon to turn and engage its ionodrive to connect with the only boost gate in the system, but it slowed to hover.

He knew Aurelius and at least a few other crewmembers were Alphas, and the idea of his Omega being at their mercy, currently without her suppressant or his scent mark, spurred him to get to his feet. Once his orientation had leveled enough for the sensors to engage, he was able to turn on the thrusters in his E-suit to navigate toward the ship.

He approached slowly and cautiously, looking for place he could cling to on the hull while searching for a safe entry point that would allow him to slip inside without them noticing. If they’d observed him, surely they would have dealt with him by now, so they must not be watching. A chill ran through him as he wondered what they were doing that prevented them from surveilling the area around the ship.