Page 54 of Nova Academy

I resolved to dig deeper into those thoughts and emotions another time. Right now, I needed to focus on Arty and his needs, and how I could help him. But first, I needed to talk to the captain, because I had a feeling he was the only one who might be able to help.

After this morning, however, I just hoped he was willing to listen…

CHAPTER 24

Alexander

Iwanted to kill him. I wanted to wring that scrawny fucker’s neck ‘til his head popped off. Let’s see him shout at my woman againthen.

I had followed Addy to her workshop to ensure she got there safely, the overwhelmingly masculine urge to keep her safe from harm riding me hard. She kept trying to placate me and take responsibility for the young cadet’s actions, but I wasn’t having it. She hadn’t done a thing to deserve it. She was just trying to be a good friend, and I was struggling to see what she saw in him.

‘He makes me feel the same way you did when we first met,’ she had informed me, and did that fucking twist the dagger in my gut. Not only was I worried about how he treated her, but I apparently needed to worry about her falling down the same rabbit hole she had with me. Would she fall in love with him, too? Would I be forced to share the woman I loved with a ticking bomb?

No. I couldn’t allow that to happen. I wouldn’t let her put herself in such a dangerous and vulnerable position.

When I’d dropped her off, she had changed from placating to berating me. Her anger was misplaced, I knew that, so I didn’t take it to heart. Instead, I snuck a kiss to the top of her head, bid her farewell, and made my way to the bridge.

Except as soon as I entered the familiar hustle and bustle of my crew piloting the ship, I received an S.O.S. from the princeling of all people. I quickly checked in with the crew on the bridge to ensure everything was running smoothly, and only when I was satisfied did I make my way down to the training deck.

I didn’t even make it inside before I discovered the problem. I should have known.

I bumped into Arthur Mercer as he stormed from the room. He almost bowled me over in his single-minded focus to get as far from the training room as possible. I heard Corporal Stanson calling for everyone to get back to their training and decided that they had it handled in there enough for me to confront Mercer.

I took a few deep breaths in an attempt to ground myself before I caught up with him, knowing that not only could I face disciplinary action for assaulting a cadet, but Addy would never forgive me if I hurt him. No, I’d just have to let him dig his hole deep enough for others to finally see what I saw: he was a threat and a menace, and I needed to find a way to get him off my ship before I lost the woman I loved to him.

Later, I would be able to understand that my jealousy was a driving factor in my current state, but in that moment I was unable to see past my own emotions to act appropriately.

‘Mercer!’ my voice whipped through the corridor. He physically stiffened as the sound reached him, as if it had actually managed to land a physical blow.

‘Go away, captain. Not now,’ he ground out without turning to face me.

I took the option away from him by stepping around his statuesque form and taking up his view.

‘No,now, cadet. Start talking,’ I demanded.

‘Corporal Stanson told me to cool off, and that’s what I’mtryingto do,’ he bit out through clenched teeth. His whole body was tense and coiled, ready to strike. His fists were clenched into white-knuckled fists, and he exudeddon’t fuck with mevibes that I blatantly ignored.

‘What did you do now?’

His face turned a rather alarming shade of purple. ‘I broke a punching bag.’

‘You did what?’ I was momentarily taken aback. Those things were damn expensive because they were virtually indestructible,made from a material that was almost impossible to tear. If he had managed it, that meant he was either the strongest man alive or I’d been duped by the seller.

I was going to have to make some calls…

‘So not only did you verbally assault a superior officer but you destroyed this ship’s property and got thrown out of class for your behaviour. You’re coming with me,’ I said, reaching out to grab him so I could drag him to a holding room. I didn’t want to think about how I’d already done so once with another member of his team, or how the only holding room I had available thanks to the influx of passengers was the one down the hall. Or that it was currently occupied by the very people who had dragged us all into stars-damned mess.

This was a very bad idea.

The thought struck me so harshly it halted me in my tracks. Addy’s words and protests rose up, and for the first time they penetrated through the cracks in my narrow-sightedness and Iheardher.

Adara may have been… less than adept when it came to social situations, but she had always been an incredible judge of character. If she said there was something worthwhile in Mercer then the only logical action would be to believe and trust in her. That’s what she’d been asking of me all this time. She didn’t need me to protect her against a threat, she needed me to help her neutralise Mercer’s outburst to bring him back to us. Whatever was going on that had triggered this behaviour in him, he needed some time alone to process it and, as Corporal Stanson so eloquently put it,cool off.

What he didn’t need was all of us crowding him and turning him into the bad guy when he’s told us multiple times, through both actions and words, that he needed space.

When we reached the deck containing our rooms, instead of taking him back to the suite I’d turned into the ship’s swanky newholding cell, I geared him towards my quarters instead.

He followed, rigidly tense, and I knew then that Addy had been correct in her assessment of the situation. I had been letting my emotions get the better of me and instead of helping a man in need, I was ready to condemn him.

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