Page 4 of Saved By the Alien Mercenary

“I guess I need to start thinking about a name for you, little one,” I murmured out loud. That made my mind flash to the male I was certain was the father. A Kertinal I’d picked up in a bar at the YengarStation in a moment of weakness. I hadn’t sought him out with the intention of getting pregnant;I had not thought that far ahead. The only reason I’d gone to the bar in the first place was because I’d been lonely. He’d seen through my disguise and hadn’t ratted me out. Out of everyone there, he’d been shockingly intelligent and educated—speaking thoughtfully, and handsome,with his amethyst eyes and the purple lines that crisscrossed his black skin. I’d even enjoyed the proud jut of his horns andhaddiscarded the warning signals on them: the notches carvedinto the sides that indicated kills. He’d had a dozen of them.

A one-night stand and a few weeks later, I was hanging over the edge of my toilet, puking out my guts. I knew what a huge risk I was taking by keeping a child whose father I didn’t even know beyond that single night. Worse, I’d picked him up from a bar on a spaceport known for its lawlessness and criminal activity. Yengar Spaceport wastheplace to be for slave auctions, and I’d taken a stupid risk going out there with a cloak as a disguise and little else. My baby’s father hadn’t turned me in, but there was no doubting the fact that he was a crook himself.

My stomach rumbled, and though I was well past my first trimester, a wave of nausea followed. From the start of the pregnancy, the nausea had only hit me at night. Morning sickness my ass, I felt right as rain most of the day. Until I laydown to sleep, and nothing so far had made that go away. I hoped it was a sideeffect of the baby having mixed parentage,but I couldn’t be sure. The doctor on theVarakartoomwas the first one I’d seen, and he had no answers for me. I was his first Kertinal/human pregnancy,so all he had to go on were my readings.

I suppose it was no surprisethata doctor from a mercenary outfit had no clue. He probably hadn’t assisted in a single birth—and had no desire to do so,either. There was a reason he worked for mercenaries. Yeah, there really was. The male had been half Grolarnx—amost fearful combination.Ihadn’t even knownthat the dangerous, feared species was capable ofproducing half-breeds like that. I had only trusted the doctor as much as I had because his other half was Aderian, and those were universally considered the best doctors in the Zeta Quadrant. Not only that, Aderians were gifted with empathy;they hated violence of any kind.

When the baby gave me another firm kick, the nauseating feeling in my stomach escalated. I was close to puking and hurriedly stumbled into my private lavatory. A luxury I didn’t have aboard my own freaking ship, where I had to share the head with my two crew members. Once I was done, I washed my face with cold water and rinsed my mouth thoroughly.

“Fine, I got the message. I’ll hunt down some food for us,” I said to the still-kicking baby inside my belly. He was as restless as I was, but was he always that way in the evening and I’d just never felt it before? My words seemed to quiet him down at last, or maybe he’d just exhausted himself with that little tap dance.

My quarters opened quietly and without a problem, proving that the crew’s welcoming committee hadn’t lied:I was free to move about on the ship. They had placed me in quarters right next to the mess hall,so I’d only have to turn the corner to find them. Good thing, because this ship was a maze,and every single hallway looked exactly the same. Everything was black and gloomy, and only the number of doorwaysvaried from hallway tohallway. I didn’t think I’d ever manage to find my way around here, and it was so freaking huge,too. TheFinixonly had two narrow hallways and the pathways above the hold to check on the cargo. There was no way you could get lost on my cargo ship, even if it was the same size as this Battle-Class Cruiser.

I turned the indicated corner, which Mandy had helpfully marked by tying a green sash around the nearest handhold. Then,I was staring at the large open doors leading to the mess hall. They had briefly shown it to me and pointed out the food replicator set in one corner. Supposedly, freshly cooked meals were served at set times, and I was free to partake of those. But Mandy, pregnant herself, had assured me that the replicator could make some basics to take care of my needs in between mealtimes.

The mess hall was lit only by some dim lights along the edges of the ceiling. The ship was in its night cycle, which matched the night cycle of theFinix. That was no coincidence; most ships and ports ran on Strewn’s cycle—the massive shipyard. There was nobody inside, which suited me just fine. I was still a little dazzled and tired from chatting with four women for hours on end. I was pretty sure they’d done a better job interrogating me than the Naga captain had. I was also certain that was no coincidence, but I had nothing to hide.

Beelining for the food replicator, I scanned the buttons to perusetheselections on offer. It was a much fanciermachine than the one I had on theFinix. I couldn’t afford a chef orspare thespace for more than a tiny galley. Our food options were nutritious but very limited. I expected much more from the machine when I started looking,and was sorely disappointed almost immediately. There were snacks and drinks, but most of them weren’t gearedtowarda human. I did not fancy the Sivian Bloodworms thattoppedthe list—a clearly popular choice. They were considered a delicacy on any Rummicaron world, but I wasn’t about to try them.

Humming to myself, I began eliminating the choices that definitely wouldn’t agree with me. That left two different types of energy bar, porridge, or Haras sticks. What I really wanted was a bite of the chocolate I had stashed beneath my bunk on theFinix. It was hard to come by, and I had been rationing out each expensive bite, but a day like today deserved some chocolate. At least I wasn’t dead. Now I just had to convince the scary snake captain to give me back my ship and let me be on my way. Every delay was going to cost me at the end of the line, and we were already late with this shipment.

A sound jerked my attention from the machine and made my skin break out in goosebumps.It had soundedas thoughthere wereanother person here, but the mess hall looked empty. My eyes lockedonthe metal rolling hatch thatseparatedthe galley from the room. It appeared closed, but now that I was looking at it, I realized it was crackedslightlyat the bottom. Was someone on the other side?

“Hello? Anyone there?” I called out. If the chef was in, would he be able to fix me a sandwich? I’d much prefer that over any of the options I did have. Abandoning the food replicator, I made my way to the hatch to get a better look. Oddly enough, I wasn’t scared. Honestly, if any of these supposed pirates wanted to harm me, they would have done so already. Instead,they had fed me, given me a room and fresh clothes, and followed that upwitha medical check-up of my baby and access to more food. This was not a bad situation, save for my lack of choices right now, but I was going to work on that tomorrow, when I wasn’t hungry.

When I got to the hatch, it became obvious it was completely dark on the other side, but I was convinced someone was there. I wasn’t sure how I knew, sixth sense, a scent I’d caught maybe, but someone was there. “Hey, are you the chef of this ship?” I asked. Leaning closer, I pressed my hands onto the empty,pristine counter so I could duck my head and peer under the edge. Instantly, I caught an eyeful of fur on the other side. There wasn’t a whole lot of light coming from the mess hall, but it was just enough to know that it was blue. There weren’t a lot of blue, hairy aliens to pick from in the Zeta Quadrant, so I was pretty sure I knew what species this guy was: Hoxiam.

If I weresmart, I’d turn on my heels right this instant and bolt. Hoxiam were known people-eaters. They had huge maws that could open wide enough to swallow my head whole, and the appetite to back up that kind of desire. The Hoxiam were banned from pretty much every sane place, or at the very least,requiredto weara slave collar to control them before they could set foot anywhere. The sane thing to do would definitely be to get out of here as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, my stomach was the one in charge right now. It rumbled very loudly and obnoxiously,and I found myself awkwardly laughing as I patted it, feeling hollow inside, a fresh wave of nausea coming on. I had no clue where the nearest bathroom was,so I fought to hold it in. “Sorry to bother you, sir. Could you help me get something to eat?” In another idiotic move, I patted my stomach and drew attention to its round curve and my obvious pregnancy. Way to go, show the always-hungry flesh-eater that I was an extra tasty snack right now. “I’m eating for two, and nothing on the machine appeals…”

There was nothing but silence for two drawn-out seconds, and then I heard a whispering noise followed by a low growl. The voice that spoke to me through that hatch was deliciously low and hoarse, and it made my clit tingle. It was awildlyinappropriate response to a guy’s voice, and I’d neverexperienced it before.Some wiresmust have gotten crossed after all of today’s chaos, combined with the silly pregnancy hormones. “What are you craving, gravid one?”

Gravid one? Seriously? That was the worst thing I’d ever been called.“Gravid”was a little too close to“gravity”if you asked me, although intellectually,I knew all he meant was that I was with child. So, score one for the sexy voice, minus one for the weird name-calling. I was so flabbergasted that Iblurted out what I really wanted, even though I knew there was no way they’d have that—or give that to me. There was only so much“charity”they’d give a random pregnant human. Chocolate, expensive as it was, wouldn’t be part of that deal. But that’s what Iasked for.

The husky chuckle made my clit pulse andmynipples perk. “Chocolate? One moment.” I heard more rustling as he began moving around in the dark behind thehatch. It was very tempting to lean back down so I could peek, but I was certain I did not want to offend the possible chocolate-giver/Hoxiam who could eat me if he felt like it.

When something that sounded suspiciously like a plate sliding over the counter reached my ears, my stomach did a happy dance. Or maybe that was Junior attempting another round of exercise. “I made cakes. Will that do?” A plate slid from under the edge of the hatch, and I caught sight of a very large hand covered in a fine blue pelt. He withdrew his fingers immediately, but the image of that large paw and thick digits had engraved itself on my brain. If the rest of him was in proportion to his hand, he was huge.

Then I saw the cake and discovered that,though small,it was a rich chocolate, even better than a hard piece of 70% that would’ve been awaiting me on theFinix. I dug in without shame, moaning in delight as I bit into the soft, gooey center. All I could focus on werethe amazing flavors and how this was exactly what I’d been craving. When I discovered that my strange Hoxiam companion had slid a cup of fragrant tea over too, I nearly burst into tears from pleasure. It smelled like ginger, and wouldn’t that be exactly what my mom would suggest I drink for the nausea? How had he known?

Chapter 4

Brace

I paced my chambers, feeling like a caged beast, my skin crawling, fur bristling. Anxious energy coursed through me,and no amount of cooking, inventory, or cleaning had helped. My chambers had been swept, and all trashhadbeen disposed of, leaving it a very barren, empty space.

After last night’s surprise visitor, I had spenthours scrubbing the galley until every surface gleamed, my head whirring as I cataloged what foods I could make that might please her. Then I’d begun baking and cooking in a frenzy that had left me with seared fingertips, Haras flour all over my fur, and far more food than even the entire crew on the ship could possibly eat in one day. I’d gone nuts, and not in the usual way.

Giving my reflection in the bathroom mirror a bemused smile, I rolled my shoulders and began dusting my fur clean with my favorite brush. What had gotten into me now? I recalled the way the captain had made it a point to mention the pregnant female yesterday—how confused that had made me, and how anxious I’d felt thinking of her. Now I knew her—actually knew her—and it was… different. She was different.

She hadn’t beenpale and shaken, fearful of Jalima,who controlled her like a puppet master. She’d been lively and vibrant, smiling even though she thought I couldn’t see her through the metal mesh of the hatch. Her hair had been dark as night, her skinabeautiful,soft brown, like Ekra syrup. Her eyes—they’d sparkled with her smile, bright like suns and dark at the same time. Gazing into them had felt like she’d lit up my soul, and that was blazing mushy. Elyssa would tell me… stars, what would my always-romantic friend say? That I’d found my mate.

I growled. Impossible! I was not worthy of a female, I was broken, damaged, and dangerous. There was no way a smiling, soft, and very gravid female couldbe mine. Even if she was—if my instincts thought she was—I had no right to act on those impulses. She would never know how much I craved to see her again, feed her again,and hear those delightful, sexy moans.

Thinking of her moans made my cock twitch and flush with blood, rising beneath my loincloth just like it had last night when I’d eavesdropped on how she ate the cake. Chocolate was a human favorite, and I had full permission from the captain to stock theVarakartoomwith every human delicacy possible—anything to keep his precious, pregnant mate happy. I wondered what he’d think if he discovered I’d given another human his mate’s treats. Huffing, I decided that he’d never find out anyway. I’d made so much food last night that Mandy could have her pick,afterI’d servedmyhuman.

My human. Stars, it had to be true. I was already thinking of her in possessive ways, fantasizing about her curvy body and heavy breasts as if I had every right. I clenched my fists and heard my brush creak and groan as the handle began to splinter under the force. Releasing it immediately, I placed it back on the counter and turned to return to the kitchen. It was almost time for the breakfast rush, and I was not going to miss her.

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