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The noises she made annoyed the beast within. Blood-starved, it huffed and skulked into the recesses of my mind. I was left alone to watch her draw in breaths and cough.
Her blood pulsed through her body, drawing me with its hypnotic song. I stepped back, resisting the urge to get closer to her. "Are you ill?"
She pushed the hair out of her face. My nerves tensed when she gawked at me with her dark wide-set eyes. "You held me too tight."
Her face. The indignation that set her lips into a pout. I felt a smile pull at the corners of my mouth, the first real one I had in years. "Sorry it was uncomfortable."
I apologized. What was this softer sentiment she brought out in me?
I cleared my throat and added. "Better to have a tight grip than for you to plunge to the ground."
She stood, reaching no higher than my shoulder. Her chest rose as she filled her lungs with air. "I need my mask."
"You dropped it while kicking me."
She didn’t show a shred of remorse. "I have to find it. This planet’s air is irritating."
I didn’t notice the air on the planet except for the yellow mist that crept along throughout the day and night. Maybe her kind was more sensitive. She didn’t look so tough above the ankles. The boots were another matter. "You’ll have to do without your mask until you leave."
"Where are we?" She leaned to look around my wing. "Take me back to the camp. My squad is still there."
My amusement left at the mention of the camp where I was imprisoned. "Let the Quareks burn to ash." My blood surged in anger. "I’m not going back."
"I can’t just leave my squad behind."
"What’s your name?"
She blinked twice. "My name is Harper. I mean, Sergeant Harper Jordan."
My mind jogged to commit the strange sounds of her name to memory. "That’s a long name," I tried to say it exactly the way she did.
"You can call me by my first name for short."
"Sergeant."
"Harper. Just Harper. Sergeant is my military rank."
Sounds of war rushed through my ears when she spoke about the military. The next moment all I heard were the sounds of birds and leaves moving in the wind. "Well, Harper, the only place I’m going to is home." I folded my wings against my back.
The woman kept her brown-eyed gaze on me. "I can help you get home. I’m with the Wanderstar Fleet. We came to rescue you."
The name Wanderstar. I heard of it, but where? I searched the corners of my mind to recall. Pain lanced through my head. I clutched the side of my head and stepped away from the woman. My foot landed in mud.
She came forward. "Hey, are you okay?"
Her eyes widened more at the corners as she looked to me to answer. I didn’t understand her strange way of speaking and what she asked. "What does ‘okay’ mean?"
"It means, how do you feel?" She stretched her left hand towards me. I sensed her body heat without her skin touching mine. I picked up on her pulse. My fangs lengthened in my mouth while I heard the fresh, healthy blood flow in her body.
Drink, the beast coaxed.She’s standing right there.
"Stay away." The words edged out from between my clenched teeth in a growl. I put my arm in front of my face to hide my fangs.
She froze in place, appearing frightened by me like the skittish hooved animals who raced through the canyons and gorges on my planet. Would it be enough for her to turn away and leave? I wanted to tell her to leave me, but the bond instinct clamped an invisible hand over my mouth. I battled the beast and my own Javorian nature that informed me Harper was mine. This war inside was madness.
"Easy, Varus. I’m just trying to help."
Her voice came out soft yet clear. Hearing it soothed my mind. She spoke my name with gentleness I didn't deserve. Guilt settled heavy over my shoulders and in my gut. My fangs retracted. I had to protect her from myself. "You shouldn’t get close to me." I moved to the side and walked past her.
