Thane crouched next to me having overheard the Vepar’s news about my mother. “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” He drew me into his arms and held me tight, and I couldn’t hold it together anymore. I just broke down and ugly cried against his chest. The cries shredded through me like a storm, unleashing the years of grief I’d held onto.
He clasped a hand to the back of my head when I finally quieted down and kissed my brow. “I love you,” he whispered.
I finally drew back and wiped my tears. Derrial approached me while others neared as well. All these prisoners who were terrified and shocked at how close they had come to death.
Derrial drew me to my feet by my hand and embraced me, his strong arms like belts around me, holding me, reminding me I was no longer alone in this universe. I had my three husbands and Father.
The ache in my heart deepened, but I wiped my eyes and put on a brave face in front of everyone else. “I’m okay. Let’s find a way to get everyone out of here.”
“What we need is one of the Khonsu ships,” Thane explained.
The Vepar female with golden curls and short white horns cleared her throat, and we all turned to her. She wore a tattered dress that hung loosely around her thin frame. “I saw one of their cruisers. They keep it in the building right on the edge across the field.” She pointed toward the door in that direction.
Just as Derrial’s mouth parted with a response, a loud boom from outside stole his words.
I flinched and bumped back into Thane. He clasped my hips, drawing me closer, protectively. Everyone stared toward the door and silence fell over us.
“Quickly, get down in the corner and stay low,” Derrial ordered. With a flick of his hand to Thane, both of them darted across the enormous room, then shoved their backs to the wall on either side of the door, their laser guns drawn.
I ushered everyone to crouch together in a corner where the shadows were the darkest. Bending down, I waited shoulder to shoulder with the mother and her child.
My heart beat so fast. The silence strangled me, and sweat dripped down my back.
Voices streamed from outside, growing louder as if they stood just outside the door. I stiffened at realizing we didn’t lock the door, and they’d know someone was in here.
My pulse raced in my veins, and we were here in the open, making us an easy target. I choked down every breath, trying to calm myself.
When the door swung open, four Khonsu charged inside. Huge brutes as big as bears.
My blood turned cold at the sight.
Their gaze all swung in our direction as if they could see in the dark. Maybe they could. My body numbed and I felt completely paralyzed with fear. All I could think about was my last encounter with them and I wanted to run for my life.
A sharp, shrill sound reverberated against the walls just as one of the aliens fell face first, smoke wafting upward from his back.
They turned on Derrial and Thane, guns raised. The horrific sound of the shooting had me flinching. Everyone around me murmured, and the baby broke into a scared wail.
Derrial shot one man in the gut, then threw himself into a forward roll to miss a fired laser. Thane slammed the back of his gun into another man’s face, and in seconds, the two had disposed of the Khonsu.
My heart leapt at how swiftly they fought, how strong and fast they eliminated the enemy. I couldn’t possibly love them more if I tried as there was something exhilarating at seeing my protectors battle. They were my everything.
Thane stuck his head outside, while Derrial crossed the room in seconds. “We all need to go now.”
“Are you sure we’re safe?” a younger girl asked, her face so pale, I was worried she might pass out.
“We’ll all be safer trying to make a break than stay in here,” I said. “Take my hand, you can run with me, alright?”
She didn’t move at first, and I understood the feeling of panic being so heavy that even the thought of running became too daunting.
“Raemy, you know we can’t stay here,” the mother said, rocking her crying baby to a soothing gurgling sound. “You’ll end up as a breeder, or we’ll die if we stay. We need to leave.”
Raemy nodded and tears slid down her face.
I offered her my hand, and she took it, her touch trembling against mine. “Just run, no matter what. We are getting out.”
She wiped her tears and gave me a crooked smile. Raemy had the thinnest horns I’d seen on any Vepar. And the palest hazel eyes, reminding me of a deer.
“Let’s go,” Derrial instructed, and we rushed toward the door. Then we stepped outside where the wind was icy, and ran for our lives.
I felt anything but cold as adrenaline drove me. Hand in hand with Raemy, we cut across the field with everyone else. Thane in front, Derrial behind us, all making for the shed and praying to god the cruiser was there. Otherwise we’d need a plan B, and I couldn’t for the life of me think of a plan B right now.
I sucked in each breath, terror clinging to my ribs.
Thane shot the lock to the door on the last building from a distance. Then he sprinted forward faster, his boots hitting the ground hard. He ripped open the door and his shoulders sagged.
No, no. Please, no!
The closer we got, the more the empty building came into view. My stomach sank right through me, and now panic came at me in waves. To run. To scream. To do something other than stand out here, vulnerable on enemy territory.
Thane’s face blanched when he turned toward us, but he didn’t show the panic, but held himself strong and in control. “Everyone inside, now!” He was always two steps ahead.
I released Raemy’s hand as she darted inside, and I stopped near my husband, sidling up to him, my arm grazing his. “What do we do now?”
He clutched my waist and held me close, and I felt the quiver in his touch. He was scared too. “I’m going to go find the ship, because they might have it in a different location. Derrial will stay here and guard you all.”
“Please be safe.”
When he met my gaze, a softness swept over his expression. “I’m sorry we brought you with us. We never should have put you in danger.” A hardness crept into those spectacular blue eyes, and the pain in his voice touched me. I saw the ache in his expression and how much this upset him.
“I wouldn’t have let you go without me. How would you know who my mother was?”
His frown deepened, and I saw the sorrow and pain in his eyes. “I love you so much. I’ll die before I let anything happen to you and our baby.” He kissed my face, then ushered me into the building and shut the door.
Our baby.
The words whirled in my mind. We still had no idea who the father was, yet these gorgeous Vepar in my life loved us just the same.
I moved quickly into the building with the other women. Derrial stayed at the door, and opened it an inch so he could spy outside.
The other women huddled together, and I pressed my spine against the wall, then we all waited.
So many emotions battled inside me. My whole body shook, muscles tensed. Derrial looked over to me with so much devotion in his eyes, it softened the worry gripping me.
We just had to get these people to safety, that was priority. Focus on the job, not my emotions. Not that my mother died in this camp. A tear escaped from the corners of my eyes, and I blinked to push them away. If I started crying again, I’d never stop. I couldn’t let myself picture Mom’s last days, the terror she felt, the helplessness.
Tears fell faster now, my chest splintering, and I abruptly pushed myself away from the wall.
Stop it, I scolded myself.
I walked over to Derrial, needing something other than being inside my own head. “Anything?” I asked.
“No one’s come out yet.”
“Maybe there’s no one else here. Just the four Khonsu you and Thane finished off,” I whispered hopefully.
“That would be ideal, but I doubt it. If Thane comes back with no news on a cruiser, and I hear nothing from Corran, we will need to get everyone away from this camp. We’re sitting targets right now.”
Fear slid down my spine at his words.
He reached over and cupped the side of my face, and something shifted. Gone was the warrior, and in its place, my husband appeared. He spoke with a heavy sigh. “I’m so sorry about your mother.”
I nodded, unsure what to say because the situation sucked so hard. I wished for anything that I didn’t come to this moon. Then I could still grasp onto the hope that Mom was still alive, rather than feeling like my insides were utterly broken like glass. My hand instinctively fell to my stomach. How was I meant to be a mother without having my mom to help me?
A great bang sounded at the back of the building we were in. I flinched around in response, along with everyone else. No one moved or dared to make a sound.
My heart pummeled in my chest as I imagined dozens of Khonsu coming for us.
The front door pushed open, and a shadow fell on us. I spun, a small cry escaping from my lips.
Thane pushed the door open wider, and I breathed a sigh of relief, wanting to scream at him for scaring the hell out of us.
“Out the back, fast!” he commanded, his voice terrified.
No one argued. Thane took the lead, and we all followed. It was only when Derrial and I reached the side corner that a terrifying war-cry came from behind us.
We both twisted around.
A handful of Khonsu poured out of a building all the way at the end of the field.
I rocked on my heels and terror slammed into me.
“Oh, shit!” I whimpered.
Derrial snatched my hand, and we ran around the corner for our lives.
Quickly catching up with everyone farther from the camp and in an open area surrounded by woods, I gasped at the sight.
An enormous black spaceship sat in the field. The surface glinted in the sun, oval in shape, it had arched windows around the vessel. It was easily the size of two of the warehouse buildings, so that was why it was parked here…no way it would fit indoors.
A door slid open and stairs slid out.
“Everyone on now!” Derrial hollered, dragging me and pushing me onboard. We scrambled together, my skin crawling as I kept looking over my shoulder.
Black walls and nothing else in this room of the space cruiser.
Thane sprinted to my right and lasered the wall where a door slid open to reveal a huge flight deck.
A shot hit the side of the doorway.
One of the women screamed, and I scrambled deeper into the cruiser just as the river of Khonsu rushed toward us. Derrial dove inside. I threw myself to the panel near the door and hit the button, just like on Corran’s vessel.
Stairs withdrew into the side of the ship as our ship began ascending. A Khonsu hurled himself upward, his hands on the entrance ledge, snarling.
Derrial stomped down on his fingers, and the alien screeched before releasing his grip. The door zipped shut.
My heart beat so fast, that was all I could hear. I turned to find all the women huddled against the back wall, terrified.
And as the realization finally hit that we had actually escaped, they all cheered and threw their fists into the air.
Derrial embraced me and kissed the side of my head. “Go join Thane, I’ll find everyone somewhere more comfortable to stay for the flight. I’m guessing this cruiser is used to transport a lot of prisoners.
“That was so close, I still can’t believe we got away,” I said as the woman with the baby approached. Without a word, she simply gave me a side hug as she still held onto her bundle.
“Thank you for everything,” she whispered, and then smiled as she went to join the others, who walked through an open door that led to a wide corridor.
My chest clenched with her words. I took a deep breath and made my way to Thane, who sat in the huge flight deck, taking us off this damn moon.
I couldn't help but watch out the back window of the bedroom I'd eventually hid away in, scared that the Khonsu were suddenly going to send out a fleet after us. But as the moon faded from sight and we flew to the other side of Veon, and we appeared to still be alone in space, I gradually relaxed.
But with that relaxation came sorrow, sharp and intense. The chaos of our rescue mission had distracted me from the full brunt of finding out that my mother was dead. Now, safe on the ship, there was nothing to block me from experiencing the full range of emotions that the news of her passing had brought. I had mourned my mother for years, but that mourning was always laced with the possibility that I would somehow see her again.
My mourning had almost been frozen in place at the time that I had lost her as a younger girl. And now, even though I was a grown woman about to have a child of my own, I felt like a young girl again that had just been abandoned by her mother.
I let out a hiccupped sob as I stared out into space, feeling so alone, even though I knew that wasn't the case.
I idly rubbed my belly, the movement already becoming a habit, even though there wasn't much to rub.
I felt guilty at what I was feeling. I wasn't the one who had died in a Khonsu camp. Although my experience with the Khonsu camp wasn't something I would forget any time soon, because of my breeding capabilities, I'd been relatively protected compared to what other prisoners would have experienced. But my mother...she must have felt so alone in the end, trapped in a small cage, the cries of the other prisoners around her. My mother had always been a gentle soul. She hadn't been able to watch the news because most of the stories made her too sad. She would stop by every beggar on the street and give them whatever she had in her wallet, even though my dad always told her they were just going to buy booze with it. She spent hours in her garden, lost in her own pretty world, and her whole life's goal was to make my father’s and my life the best it could be. What it must have felt like for a soul like that to be trapped in such a brutal, ugly place.
Had she been terrified in the end? Or did she welcome death as a chance to escape the hell she'd found herself in?
My thoughts haunted me. I could still picture her face as clear as day, the loving way she would look at me, the sweet words that she would speak to me. I understood heartbreak now. I'd thought I'd experienced it before when I first lost them, and after I thought that my men had betrayed me...but this was something else. This was my heart actually aching inside of me. This was my heart beating so out of control that it felt like my chest was going to explode.
This was the heartache that they sang about in country songs, the kind of pain that artists spent their whole lives trying to put into words and into pictures.
Having to say goodbye unwillingly was a monster like none other. Especially when that goodbye was permanent.
And I wept. I wept like never before. It was a full-body kind of cry, the kind where your whole body shakes and you can't breathe because you're crying so hard.
I'd lost myself in my sorrow, and it was only the feel of Thane's arms around me that brought me back.
"Baby," he whispered in a voice as soft as a sigh. I turned so that I was facing him and melted against him, wanting him to somehow take this pain away from me. I couldn't stop crying and my tears soaked his uniform. He didn't say a word about it though. He just stroked my hair softly as my pain continued to flow out of me.
“Tell me it gets better," I begged him in a hiccupped voice. Although Thane's mother was still alive, who she had really been...his actual mother had died a long time ago. I know Thane understood grief and had somehow managed to live with it. I needed his strength right now more than ever.
I suddenly couldn't deal with what I was feeling. I was certain that if it continued, I was going to die right then and there. It might have sounded dramatic, but anyone who has experienced true pain would know what I was talking about.
I pulled on his uniform frantically. "I need you to make me forget. Just for a little while. I can't breathe," I explained to him as Thane looked at me concerned.
I tried to kiss him and he let me, but he prevented it from going any deeper than a light brush of lips.
"Please," I begged him.
"Pet. I don't think you're in an okay state of mind right now. I don't think that will help," he tried to tell me, gently trying to keep some distance between us. But I wasn't having any of that.
"Make me forget. Do it," I ordered, and Thane stared at me, torn.
"Promise you won't hate me later," he whispered in a throaty voice. I just pulled him towards me without answering. I locked eyes with him. Thane's sapphire eyes sweltered as they gazed deeply into mine, and I could see a longing in them. Despite what he said, Thane wanted this.
Desperate to feel better, I leaned in and placed my lips on his. There was nothing cordial about this kiss as I crushed against him with hopeless need. I almost expected him to pull away from me again, but he didn’t. His arms rested on my hips, drawing me close. As my lips pressed against his, he began to kiss me back, gentle at first, but then more intensely. Thane's tongue parted my mouth open, and the tip slid inside, making me sigh softly. His hands moved from my waist to my back and then lower, squeezing my ass to pull me even nearer to him.
I could feel his need pressing through his uniform. It sent a wave of desire coursing through me. Thane lifted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, gripping him like a vice as he pinned me against the wall. Thane carried me to the king bed, laying me gently on the silk cover, his lips never leaving mine. I felt his weight as he hovered above me. Though he was a large, muscular man, his heaviness wasn’t uncomfortable, it never would be. Having him on top of me felt like the most natural thing in the world. It was the comfort I needed right now, to feel like I wasn't alone.
His hand slipped past the waistline of my pants, moving downward inch by inch, sending tantalizing chills down my spine. After what felt like an eternity, he finally cupped my sex in his hand. I groaned, my body swollen and sensitive with need. He inserted two fingers inside of me, air hissing through his teeth when he felt how wet I perversely was, despite the situation.
I closed my eyes and basked in pleasure as his fingers continued moving in and out, almost to the tune of my heart as it thumped against my chest. Soon my back arched off of the bed, and my toes began to curl. I was getting close, so close, when suddenly, he stopped.
I looked up to see the uncertainty still in his eyes.
I narrowed my gaze, annoyed that he wasn't giving me what I needed, even as I knew in the back of my mind that everything about this situation was wrong.
My agitation quelled when Thane quickly began to take off his clothes.
I stared at his naked body, appreciating the curve of every muscle, knowing that I would never get used to such perfection. His abs rippled as he moved, making him look more like a god than man. My eyes moved down slowly, taking in his tantalizing body and letting it distract me from everything else. My eyes flicked to his again, and this time I saw a burning plea within their depths.
Unable to wait any longer, I grabbed Thane's bicep and pulled him toward me. I let out a sigh of relief as he eased inside of me, the pleasant pressure filling me to the brim. I ran my hands over his flexed muscles, a coating of sweat making them gleam in the starlight that streamed in through the windows. Thane's hips moved against mine as we synced our tempos, the two of us getting lost in a familiar dance that got better every time.
I forgot everything else and focused on the pleasure building up inside of me. Thane's breathing accelerated as he picked up speed.
"Are you close?" Thane asked, a tinge of desperation in his voice that I knew meant he was doing everything he could to stop himself from coming before I did.
Belatedly, I realized that although the sex felt phenomenal as usual, I wasn't even close to coming. My sorrow was making sure of that. "I'm about to come," I assured him, wanting him to finish even if I couldn't. Thane let out a moan of frustration, and then he let out a loud groan as he finally came. Staying inside of me, he rolled us gently so that he was beside me instead of on top of me.
"Fuck," he muttered. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself."
"I love you," I told him, not caring in the least bit that I hadn't orgasmed. I knew what we'd just done was a very unhealthy way to cope, but connected to him like this, I felt a little less broken.
As long as Thane, Derrial, and Corran were around...I would never be alone.
We stayed entwined for a long time, and the pain eased enough in my heart so that breathing was a little less painful.
Thane's comm on his wrist vibrated suddenly, and Derrial's voice came through the speaker barking at Thane to get his ass to the deck and help him.
"I can tell him to fuck off," Thane whispered, stroking my hair softly as we continued to stare at one another.
"No, this was selfish of me. You need to go help. I need to go help," I told him, pulling away from him reluctantly.
I got off the bed and began putting my clothes back on, missing his comforting touch already.
"It won't ever stop hurting," he told me as he laid there still watching me. "But one day, you'll wake up and realize that you can think more about the good times with her instead of thinking about the fact that she's gone."
I pursed my lips, trying to prevent myself from crying again. Who was I to have the luxury of grieving, when the twelve women out there had been to hell and back in a way that couldn't be fixed?
Thane got out of bed and hurriedly put on his clothes as well. "Can you help the women and see if there's anything I need while I find out what Derrial needs?" he asked hesitantly.
I tried to look tougher than I was, giving him a resolute nod, determined to pull my weight and help these women. At least in that way, I could honor my mother's memory.
Thane gave me a long kiss, and then he was gone.
I took a deep breath and followed him out into the hallway, going the opposite way to where I knew the women had set up shop. Although there were several bedrooms on the ship, much nicer than I would have assumed the Khonsu capable of possessing, the women had chosen to stay together. I think after so many years of being locked up in cages side by side, they needed the comfort that only their close proximity to each other would bring.
As I walked, I felt a strange twinge in my stomach, almost as if little butterflies had taken up flight. Stopping in the hallway, I rubbed my stomach, wondering if I'd eaten something strange. It was disconcerting. I knew you didn't really feel anything with your first baby until around eighteen weeks, and I was far off from that. I'd have to ask Thane and Derrial if they had anything for stomach issues that was safe to take when pregnant.
I walked into the large common room where pillows and blankets had been laid out on the floor. The sofa-like seats in the room had been dismantled and the cushions laid out as makeshift beds. While some of the women were sleeping, most of the others were talking softly, their eyes flitting around the room like they still couldn't believe where they were.
I found the Vepar and her child, and automatically gravitated closer to her. I was intrigued by the baby's horns and tail, really realizing for the first time what having a baby with alien DNA inside of me could actually entail.
She gave me a smile as I sank to the floor next to her, and continued to softly sing to her baby that was struggling to keep her eyes open. My stomach did the strange twitching again, and I rubbed it absentmindedly as I stared avidly at the baby.
"How far along are you?" she asked me as the little darling finally succumbed to sleep.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"I overheard your men at the prison camp," she softly explained. "And it's a pregnancy thing, the constant rubbing of your belly. I did it too."
"Not far along," I answered, smiling at her as I caught myself rubbing my stomach once again. "Just a month or so."
She pursed her lips, like she was trying to hold back a smile. "Oh dear," she said.
"What?" I asked, alarmed.
"Your baby is part Vepar, is it not?" she asked.
"Yes," I answered, leaving out the fact that I didn't know what part Vepar the baby actually was.
"At a month along, you're already a quarter of the way done," she explained matter-of-factly as if she was trying to deliver the news quickly like you would tear off a band-aid.
My mouth dropped open, panic rising up and overcoming the steady drum of sorry that was constantly pulsing through me.
"You're just joking, right?" I whispered, the small bulge under my fingertips taking on new meaning.
"No," she said slowly now, her face a little wary in reaction to the panic that flooded my features at the news that I was going to be a mother in under three months.
"Oh," I responded lamely, my eyes widening as I absorbed the news. A rush of irritation passed over me that none of the guys had bothered to tell me that. But they'd probably been waiting for an ideal time...like not during a wedding. I didn't have the best track record of handling major surprises well.
My eyes flicked to the baby, and I got the awful realization that she most likely didn't know who the father of it was either.
She saw my look, and pulled the baby closer to her protectively. "It's from their experiments, but she's not a monster," she exclaimed vehemently.
"I would never think that," I responded honestly. I had always believed that monsters weren't born...they were made. It was the only way that I could deal with the fact that my baby was half stranger.
"She's some species that I'm not sure of. The Khonsu transfers all failed, killing the female host immediately. I was lucky that they had switched to other transfers when it was my turn," she explained in a hollow voice. "I never thought I would get the chance to have a child. It's been so long since any Vepar woman has succeeded. I'll never regret what I've been through," she whispered.
"My baby is from an experiment too," I told her haltingly, my voice choked up from witnessing this woman's strength. "I'm the first Vepar/human transfer they've done."
Her eyes swam with tears as she reached out and softly touched my hand. "Then you know that loving them was the only option you ever had."
I nodded, cradling my tiny bump protectively as the butterfly type feeling started up again.
"You said that I'm a quarter of the way through...Would I be able to feel the baby already?" I asked.
She smiled. "Yes. I felt her within two weeks. It's incredible isn't it?"
I nodded, unable to form words. I was awestruck that I was actually feeling my baby. The woman yawned just then, and I realized that I needed to stop bugging her so that she could get some sleep. They had all been through so much.
Just then, it hit me that I hadn't gotten her name yet. "What's your name?" I asked, feeling stupid that I hadn't asked her for it yet.
"Hasso," she responded with a smile, and I nodded as I stood up.
"Please let me know if you need anything. I'm going to go check on the guys on the flight deck, but I'll be back."
"Thank you, Ella," she said sweetly as she laid the baby down next to her and curled up on the cushion that she'd laid out.
I was smiling as I left the room, something that I hadn't thought possible under the circumstances. But every slight twinge in my stomach signaling that my baby was in there brought another me another spark of joy.
Thane and Derrial were pouring over a map when I reached the flight deck. The Khonsu technology on the ship was more primitive than the Vepar, but still far exceeded that of Earth's.
They both looked at me concerned when I came in, but I waved them on to keep doing whatever they were doing. I huddled in a chair in the corner and stroked my stomach softly, lost in thought about everything that had happened over the last fourty-eight hours. I wouldn't ever be able to say that my life was boring. After all of this was over, that's what I wanted. Boring. Everyday. Forever.
Just then, the comm came to life on Derrial and Thane's wrist. The one on their wrist held the ability to see the person you were talking to, so they had started using it instead of the earpiece one.
Corran's voice came through the comm, and then a second later a holographic image of him appeared. He was frantic looking, hurrying through some kind of hallway it looked like at a rapid run.
"I'm on my way. Your message just came through," he said frantically. "Where's Ella? Is she okay? Our comms have never failed before. The council must have had some kind of block in this lab that prevented messages from getting in or out. I only got your message when I snuck back out."
He ran a hand through his hair and then pulled at it, looking like he was going to have a nervous breakdown.
I got off my chair and darted over to the table so he could see me. I hated how panicked Corran's voice was.
"I'm right here," I said reassuringly. "And we're fine. We got out of there. You don't need to come."
He held up a hand, almost as if he was tracing the image of my face. "What aren't you telling me?" he asked, his voice a little calmer. "How much danger were you in?"
I cast a guilty look at the guys, not wanting to give Corran the full picture of how bad it got when he was on his own important mission. I went for diversion.
"We were able to rescue twelve female prisoners," I told him, my voice not as happy as it should have been when delivering the news, because it made me think of my mother again.
Derrial saw how much I was struggling and pulled me towards him. "Ella found out her mother had passed," he said somberly, and Corran's face dropped at the news.
"Shit," he said as he put a hand across his eyes as his face wrinkled with pain. "I'm so sorry, baby."
"It's not okay. But eventually, it will be," I told him. "But we shouldn't even be talking about this right now. Are you safe? Did you find anything?"
Corran frowned. "This wasn't the site the mutated virus originated from," he said annoyed. "But I did find a document that had the location of some of the other labs. I just can't believe that the council had all of these operating right under my nose."
"We were a little distracted when we went to Earth," Thane said jestingly.
A hint of a smile appeared on Corran's face as his gaze flicked over to me once again. "That we were."
There was a loud noise in the background of Corran's comm, and he looked behind him and cursed. "I've got to go. I'll send the coordinates of the labs to you just in case you need one. I'll just be going down the list."
There was another loud boom, and he started running, throwing glances behind him every couple of seconds like someone was chasing him. My heart raced, and a scream was caught in my throat as I watched him. This was the definition of true helplessness.
"I'll send a message when I'm back on the ship, but I've got to go," he said, before his image disappeared.
I grabbed Derrial's wrist and began to press on the comm. "Get him back on," I begged before Thane gently grabbed me and pulled me away.
"Corran knows how to handle himself, but he needs to be able to concentrate," he told me, but I could see the fear that lingered in his eyes.
I don't think I would survive if something happened to him.
I had already lost so much.
We waited tensely for Corran to alert us that he had made it back on the ship. I paced the room, every sound that I heard made me look hopefully at Derrial and Thane that it was Corran trying to send us an update.
But so far, it never was.
I had just made what seemed like my hundredth circle of the room when all of a sudden, sharp pains started to shoot through my stomach. I sunk to my knees and held it protectively.
"Ella," Derrial and Thane both cried, dropping what they were doing and running to my side. "What's going on?"
"It hurts," I gasped. "I think something is wrong with the baby."
I let out a hiss when another sharp pain darted through me. The guys looked at me in panic, obviously having no idea what to do. This was Corran's territory, and he wasn't reachable at the moment.
"Maybe some of the females have medical training," Derrial exclaimed, hoisting me up into his arms and racing out the door of the flight deck and down the hallway to the room I had visited earlier.
"Do any of you have medical training with pregnancy?" Derrial shouted as we made it into the room. He startled the females, and several of them lunged for cover, obviously thinking we were under attack. I'm sure our panic wasn't great for their already fractured nerves.
Hasso was at my side in a flash, another Vepar holding her baby. She knelt by my side. "I have a little bit of training. When I was in school, I thought I would learn what I could just in case I ever did get pregnant," she explained as she softly started pressing on my stomach.
The pains continued. The only thing that comforted me at all was the fact that I could still feel the little butterflies every couple of minutes, signaling that the baby was moving.
"Do you have anything I could use to listen?" Hasso asked.
"I'll go check what Corran left with us," Thane answered as he jumped up and sprinted out of the room.
"Lay her down," Hasso ordered Derrial, and he quickly obeyed. Thane returned a few minutes later with something that resembled a human stethoscope. Hasso grabbed it and pressed it against my stomach as she listened from the other end.
"The baby's heartbeat sounds strong, but obviously without imaging capabilities, it's hard to know for sure," she said somberly.
Everyone was silent for a minute as they watched me grit my teeth as pain ripped through me.
Hasso suddenly jumped up, startling all of us. "Wait. Has she done the Arcathian ritual yet?" she exclaimed.
Thane and Derrial looked confused. "What are you talking about?"
Hasso rolled her eyes, looking decidedly less like she thought I was in mortal danger, and more like she was angry with the guys.
"Every pregnant Vepar must bathe in the Arcathian waters at the start of her pregnancy. The flowers in the water give off some kind of compound that is necessary to the vitality of the baby. Ella might be human, but that baby is part Vepar, and she must complete the ritual in order for this pregnancy to make it."
"How did your baby...?" Thane began, closing his mouth when he realized how sensitive his question was.
"My baby does not have Vepar blood, so there was no need to complete the ritual," she explained fiercely, protectiveness over her baby springing forward again. Hasso was the exemplification of a mother, her love for her child practically bled out of her.
"How do we get to these waters? I've never heard of them." Derrial asked a bit suspiciously like he didn't believe that it actually existed.
"It's something that's passed down from mother to daughter. It's why you haven't been told of it," Hasso responded as she sent a sympathetic glance my way. Not that my mother would have known about these waters either. She would have been able to help me decorate the nursery though, I randomly thought as another streak of pain hit me.
She fired off a set of strange words that evidently were the coordinates in Veon. Derrial looked like he had a million questions, but he hustled out of the room to steer us to our new destination.
Evidently, I was about to take a swim.