Page 29 of Balarr
But her heart also ached for herself.
Was Balarr tempted to accept Araxall’s offer?He’d initially seemed angry, but sometimes Luna had trouble reading his expressions and his moods.She was still getting to know him.
Would she ever get the chance to really know him?
She stepped closer to the bridge’s door, though not close enough to cause the door to automatically zip open.She continued eavesdropping, unable to force herself to leave.
“I’m serious,” the rebel Vaxxlian said.“Just kill the human female.”
“You’ve gone completely mad, Araxall.I don’t even know you anymore.You’ve become like a stranger to me.”
She didn’t believe Balarr would kill her—he wasn’t that cruel—but he’d obviously loved Keissa, and surely he’d cared about his children.What if his lingering grief led him to make a rash decision?
He could so easily leave her behind on Earth, and no one would ever know they’d exchanged mating vows and consummated their union.
He could leave her behind and pretend she didn’t exist—if he wanted to.
Maybe he preferred a flesh and blood copy of his late mate instead of a human he barely knew.
Tears burned in her eyes as the conversation continued.
“What if I told you I also had DNA samples from your children?”the rebel said with a dark chuckle.“I could give you your entire family back—at the exact ages they were when they left this life.”
The ensuing roar that resounded from Balarr caused Luna to shriek.Her stomach dropped to the floor, and her entire body started trembling.It was too much.She didn’t want to hear Balarr accept the rebel’s offer.
Of course he would accept.
She tried to put herself in his place, and she honestly thought that if she were him, she might accept Araxall’s offer.She knew the darkness of grief all too well—not a day passed that she didn’t miss her parents and wish they were still around.
But she couldn’t fathom what it must be like for a Vaxxlian male to lose a mate and two children, particularly when his people mated for life.Balarr’s pain in the aftermath of Planet Vaxxlia’s destruction must’ve been heart wrenching.
She hurried back to his quarters, then peered around the massive room, feeling alone and unwanted.
But she was alive, and she was safe.
Perhaps Balarr would return her to her hometown and drop her off at a friend’s house.Maybe she could start over.Somehow.
She braced herself to say goodbye to him, and she tried to promise herself she wouldn’t beg him to keep her.She sniffled and a few tears rolled down her face.Her throat clogged with emotion.
She hadn’t known him for long, but she couldn’t imagine parting ways with him.The very idea broke her heart.
As she remembered every word of the mating vows they’d exchanged, her legs started to give out, and she sank down on the floor in front of the bed.She tucked her knees to her chest and stared at the door, waiting for Balarr to come find her and feeling rather pathetic about it.
But it wasn’t as if she could just walk off his ship—last time she’d glanced out the main viewport, theCormmawas still hovering above the mountains.A smaller viewport rested next to the far wall, but she didn’t have the strength to walk over to it.
If Balarr accepted the rebel Vaxxlian’s offer, would he seriously help defeat Commander Harnn’s fleet?Would he kill his own people just for a chance to have his mate returned to him?
A shudder affected the ship, and she finally pushed off the floor and strode to the viewport.She couldn’t tell which vessels belonged to the rebels, and which belonged to Commander Harnn’s fleet, but the ships were flying in haphazard directions while firing at each other.
The battle went on for some time, and eventually, another shudder quaked through theCormma.
Luna suddenly wished she’d stayed in the corridor outside the bridge—just long enough to hear Balarr’s decision.
The scene out the viewport abruptly changed, and it took her a few seconds to realize theCormmawas moving—perhaps taking evasive action.But as the minutes passed, she saw no sign of the other ships.Had the battle ended?
Emotionally and physically drained, she faced the bed, intending to sit, then stopped mid-step.No.She couldn’t sit there.Not atop the rumpled sheets where she’d mated with Balarr.
With a heavy heart, she sank down in a nearby chair… only to gasp and peer toward the entrance as the familiar sound of the door zipping open caught her attention.
