Page 42 of Pursued By the Dragon Alien

Krask’s face went blank. “What?”

Razion crossed his arms. “You arranged the sale of my female to a known trafficker without telling me, and you expect me to keep you on the crew?” He bared his teeth. “I trusted you, Krask. We fought side by side countless times. But this is a betrayal I cannot forgive.”

“You can’t be serious.” Krask’s eyes flashed. “You would choose this-this slave over the loyal first officer who stood by your side formig-cycles? I was right.” He flung his arms wide. “You are enthralled by her. She has some power over you and you are too blind to see it.”

Razion was done with this. “If she has power over me, it’s because Iloveher. She is my mate and I would sooner jump out of an air lock than send her to some disgusting trafficker.” His volumn had risen, causing a few heads to turn and for Vedd to hear and hurry over.

“What’s happening?” Vedd asked urgently.

Razion didn’t shift his gaze from Krask’s. “Our former first officer has arranged to sell Lilas for me. Thoughtful, don’t you think?”

“No.” Vedd let out a guttural noise. “Krask. What were you thinking? Lilas is a member of our crew.”

Krask snarled, his tusks bared. “I was thinking ofthis crew. The one that I have stood by for cycles. The one that I have bled for! The one we builttogether, Razion.” His eyes burned with fury. “And now you’re throwing it all away for a female you barely know.”

Razion’s wings flexed. His entire body braced against the wave of anger churning beneath his skin. “For mymate,” he corrected, his voice like steel. “And I’m not throwing anything away. You did that the moment you went behind my back.”

Krask scoffed, shaking his head. “Look at you,” he sneered. “You can’t even see what she’s doing to you. You take her side over mine? Over the crew’s? You’ve listened more to her in the past few cycles than you ever have to me.”

Razion exhaled sharply. There it was.

“This isn’t about Lilas,” Razion said. “This is aboutyou—about your fragile pride and the fact that you can’t stand the idea that anyone else might have my ear.” His eyes narrowed. “The fact that I trust her as much as I trusted you.”

Krask’s expression twisted into something ugly. “You have no idea what you’re doing.”

“No,” Razion said coldly. “You have no idea whatI’mdoing. Allow me to clarify.” He turned to Vedd, his voice sharp as ablade. “Have someone remove Krask’s things from his quarters and put them in the cargo hold on the outpost.”

Vedd blinked but nodded. “Consider it done.” He turned away to speak to someone on the ship via his communicator.

Krask went rigid. “You wouldn’t.”

Razion didn’t blink. “I already have.”

“This ship was mine, too.” Krask’s breaths came heavy.

“Not anymore.” He wasn’t going to debate this point, but Razion had, uh,acquiredthe Darkslip in one of the early raids they’d been on together. They’d upgraded and enhanced it, but it had been Razion to take command of it. It didn’t matter how Krask saw it.

Krask’s fury boiled over. With a snarl, he shoved past them, knocking into Razion’s shoulder, but the captain didn’t move an inch. “You’ll regret this,” Krask spat.

Razion didn’t flinch. “I doubt it.”

His former first officer stormed away, heavy boots echoing against the metal floor as he disappeared into the docking bay’s shadows.

Razion exhaled slowly, unclenching his fists. The tense coil in his gut loosened, but not completely. This wasn’t just about Krask’s betrayal—this was about the crew, the stability of his ship. He had built his life on trust, on the loyalty of those around him, and now the foundation had cracked.

Vedd let out a low whistle. “Well, that was dramatic.” He tilted his head toward Razion. “You good?”

Razion rolled his shoulders, still tense. “No. But I’ll deal with the fallout later.”

Vedd gave him a long, assessing look. “Right.” He jerked a thumb toward the bay doors. “Should I have someone monitor him?”

Razion cocked his head. “Yes. Just make sure he stays away from Lilas. And the Darkslip.”

Vedd saluted lazily, then turned and spoke into his communicator again, this time to relay an order for a guard to watch Krask. Razion dragged a hand through his hair. His pulse still raced. He didn’t usually struggle to control his anger, but this time? This time had been close.

Lilas.Fek, Lilas.

She had to be told immediately. The last thing he wanted was for her to find out what had nearly happened from someone else—and worse, for her to think he had gone along with it.

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