Page 75 of Salvation for the Alien Mercenary
Keep what from her?
"Is this protection or deception?" Jex's synthesized voice carried clearly. "Secrets nearly got us killed when Rann hid his M'Suun connections."
"This is different. I'm not hiding a connection to people trying to kill us. I'm just..." Silence stretched between words.
"Just what?" Jex pressed.
"I don't want her to worry. Not when we don't even know what all this means yet."
Her pulse thundered in her throat. She pressed against the wall, guilt twisting through her stomach… eavesdropping yet unable to move away.
"She cares for you," Jex said, his mechanical tone softening. "That won't change because of your DNA."
Her breath caught. DNA. The transformation that began with the M'Suun weapon. But why hide it? She'd already accepted his Latharian heritage without a problem.
"You don't know that," Davis snapped.
"Very well. I'll keep this between us for now." Metal shifted as Jex moved. "But secrets have consequences, Davis. Remember that."
"Thanks. Keep working with K’ell. The faster we understand what's happening, the sooner we can control it."
"And if we can't control it?" Jex asked.
The silence stretched. Her fingers tightened on the tray's edge.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Davis finally said, hollow and distant.
Footsteps approached the door. She tensed, ready to flee, but they stopped as Jex spoke again.
"If the transformation mirrors Ophiuchian puberty as I suspect, there will be more changes. Physical, yes, but psychological too. Instinctual drives may intensify. Territorial behaviors. Protective urges."
Ophiuchian. The word punched the air from her lungs. Not just Latharian genes… something from another universe entirely. Something from Jex's reality. Davis wasn't just experiencing activation of dormant genes. There was something more alien changing him from the core.
And he'd decided she shouldn't know.
"I'm still me," Davis insisted.
"For now," Jex said. "But monitoring the psychological changes will be as important as the physical ones. Especially around Mira."
The corridor tilted beneath her feet. She steadied herself against cold metal, blood rushing in her ears.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Davis's voice sharpened.
"You know what it means. I've seen how you react when she's near, how you put yourself between her and anything you consider a threat. The possessiveness when others approach her."
"I care about her. I want to protect her." Defensiveness edged each word.
"There's protection, and then there's possession. Be careful which path you follow."
Her stomach twisted into knots, making her feel sick. She'd noticed the changes... the way he inserted himself between her and others, how he watched anyone who approached her, his hands lingering on her skin like marking territory. It had excited her at first, made her feel wanted after years of Rettnor's indifference, but Jex's words cast things in a different light.
Footsteps approached the door again, and this time they didn't stop.
Ducking around the corner, she pressed herself against the bulkhead. Davis's footsteps grew louder, then paused. Had he sensed her somehow? With whatever new abilities were developing in him?
After an agonizing moment, his footsteps resumed, fading toward their quarters. Toward where he expected her to be waiting.
She stared at the cooled mugs, the silly snacks… The small gesture had been rendered meaningless in seconds. Her appetite had vanished, replaced by hollowness no food could fill. After everything they'd shared, the nights tangled together, the vulnerability she'd shown him... he still didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth.
