Uncharted Read online

  “Oh, that would be really nice!” Elaina exclaimed. “Um…” She looked up at Terex uncertainly. “Only, uh…”

  “It’s all right,” he growled. “You can go with the other females if you like. Just be back at the Mother Ship and meet me at the Docking Bay after First Meal tomorrow morning.”

  “Okay, sure.” Elaina’s face echoed the relief Terex felt. Though he knew he shouldn’t disobey a direct order from a priestess, he couldn’t help himself—he needed to get away from Elaina and her maddening scent. The longer he could put off being cooped up in a small, intimate space with her the better.

  “Come on.” Olivia looped her arm through Elaina’s “We’ll take you to Earth, drop you where you need to be, and give you a ride back up too, if you want.”

  “That’s so sweet of you.” Elaina smiled at them gratefully. “All right, if you’re sure you really don’t mind—”

  “Not at all,” Olivia smiled. “Come on.”

  Terex was relieved when the group of females began to move away but then one—the tiny one with red hair who had been standing quietly through the entire exchange—spoke up.

  “Wait!” There was a quiet authority in her voice that caused them all to stop in their tracks.

  “What is it, Kate?” Frankie looked at her questioningly. “Are the babies kicking you?”

  Terex had heard through the usual channels of gossip aboard the Mother Ship that the human female was thrice expectant by her Wulven Kindred mate. Although how she’d managed to mate with his Beast without being injured or killed was beyond him. She really was tiny.

  “The babies aren’t kicking but my conscience is.” Kate strode up to Terex. “I have to do this,” she said and stuck out her hand.

  Terex wasn’t sure what to think but he knew by all human conventions that refusing to take the slim, outstretched hand would be considered unspeakably rude.

  He wanted to refuse it anyway. Something told him that he wouldn’t want to hear whatever it was that Kate had to say. Rumor was that she had a sixth sense she called “The Knowing” which gave her some of the same precognitive abilities as the priestesses in the Sacred Grove.

  Finally, he took her tiny hand in his and waited as Kate look up at him, her big eyes green almost luminescent in darkness.

  “Ah…” Kate’s eyelids fluttered and she frowned. “Okay, I see the problem—you think Elaina’s going to slow you down. But she won’t, big guy—honestly, don’t worry about it.”

  “Thank you,” Terex said stiffly, withdrawing his hand. “That’s very comforting. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have much to do to get ready for this trip.”

  “Sure. Um, see you later,” Elaina said.

  But Terex had already turned and was striding away from her. He knew it was rude but he couldn’t bear to be near the Earth female any longer. As he walked away, he took a deep breath of fresh air, glad to be away from her sweet scent. Gods, how would he manage this mission with her along?

  He had no fucking idea.

  * * * * *

  “What was that all about?” Liv raised an eyebrow at Elaina.

  “I know—you could have cut the tension with a knife!” Sophia exclaimed. “Why was he so upset?”

  “Were the two of you fighting right before we walked up and interrupted you?” Frankie asked shrewdly.

  “I don’t know what it’s about or why he’s so mad at me.” Elaina shrugged her shoulders helplessly. “I thought he was just upset that I was butting in on his mission when he wanted to go alone. But then, just before you guys came up, he, uh, grabbed me. And I thought for a minute he was going to…going to…”

  “Going to bite you?” Kate finished for her, quietly.

  “Yes, exactly!” Elaina exclaimed. “I mean, I know he’s a Blood Kindred but I thought they only bit their mates.”

  “That’s true,” Sophia said, frowning. “It’s weird that he would act that way—Commander Terex has never been anything but perfectly polite before.”

  “Except when the demon was inhabiting him,” Olivia pointed out.

  “Yes, he was pretty rude and awful then but that wasn’t him,” Sophia acknowledged.

  “Wait a minute—wait a minute.” Elaina held up her hand to stop them. “What are you guys talking about? What demon?”

  “Commander Terex was sort of…possessed for a little while,” Liv said reluctantly. “By a demon named Ur from the Black Planet. But he’s all better now.”

  “He doesn’t seem all better,” Elaina said. “In fact, he seems completely different from the last time I saw him up here. I mean, he’s even changed his hair and grown a beard.”

  “I wondered about that—the new color really suits him—makes him look all dark and brooding. But you don’t have to worry about being with him—the demon Ur was killed or banished or whatever you call it,” Sophia said earnestly. “And as for Commander Terex changing, well, he has been through a lot. I mean, after what Two did to him—”

  “What did he do? I thought he was the one Commander Terex was going to hunt,” Elaina interrupted.

  “He’s actually hunting Two’s scion—his clone, for want of a better word,” Liv said.

  “See, the other Two was killed—but not before he grew a clone of himself in the flesh vats on the Scourge Father Ship—which means it’s going to be huge and mean and nasty,” Sophie said. “Oh, dear, maybe I shouldn’t have told you that.”

  “What? That the man I’m going to be traveling into dangerous, uncharted territory with used to be possessed by a demon or that the thing he’s hunting is a giant psychopathic clone?” Elaina asked faintly. “Oh, God…” She put a hand to her head. “I don’t know if I can do this. But I have to—it’s the only chance I have to save my sister.”

  “Is she that sick?” Frankie asked softly.

  Elaina nodded and felt tears sting her eyes.

  “She…she’s dying. It’s a rare form of cancer the Kindred don’t have a cure for. But the priestess told me I might be able to find something to help her if I went with Commander Terex into this scary Blind place where apparently nobody who goes in ever comes out. But he doesn’t want me to go with him and now I’m wondering if it’s even safe to be around him—”

  “It’s safe.” Kate stepped forward and took her hands. “Listen to me, Elaina—I have a gift—kind of a sixth sense called The Knowing—which basically just means I know things about people when I touch them. And I promise you, though Commander Terex will inflict physical pain on you, he will not hurt you.”

  “What?” Feeling shocked, Elaina drew her hands way from the other woman’s. “What are you talking about? How can he not hurt me if he’s going to inflict pain on me?”

  Kate frowned, her brow wrinkling. “I’m so sorry—that came out…strangely. Since I’ve been pregnant my sixth sense has gone kind of haywire.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure why I said…what I said. But I’m sure you aren’t in danger from him. The reason he’s so angry that you’re going along is that he’s not sure he can control his sexual urges around you.”

  “What?” Elaina said again. “Look, I know you’re trying to reassure me but this really isn’t helping any. What makes you think he’s having sexual urges for me?”

  “Well, the fact that he almost bit you could be a big clue,” Sophia said thoughtfully. “In my experience, Blood Kindred don’t want to bite a woman unless they find them sexually desirable.”

  “That’s what I saw when I took his hand,” Kate said. “That he thinks you’ll be a distraction to him on his mission because he’s incredibly attracted to you.”

  “Attracted to me?” Elaina gave an incredulous laugh. “When there are so many pretty young things running around here dying for a Kindred husband?”

  “Why not?” Frankie asked. “You’re very pretty—I thought so the first time I saw you.”

  “I’m not as young as I once was,” Elaina protested.

  “Who is?” Liv shrugged. “We’re all getting older every day