Page 49 of Coveted

His hand brushed her back as he buckled his harness into place before pulling her more firmly against his chest. She’d wanted his arms around her on the last flight, but his steady, low grumble had her on edge, instincts clamoring.

“What happened?”

Regis asked the same question she had, but he must have already known about the men that had been trapped, and Vax’s answer shed light on why he was so agitated.

“The tunnel that collapsed wasn’t on the plans. It’s below the original seam that had been worked from the shafts above, and it collapsed because they dug right beneath another tunnel and didn’t leave enough space or use enough supports. There was a pocket of gas amidst the crystals they were working that sparked, bringing down the rock left between the two tunnels.Even if the new tunnel had been approved, there never should have been workers in both at the same time.”

Vax’s growl was full volume again by the time he finished, and Alana trembled on his lap. She was trying to listen and think, but she was uncomfortably wet, her body doing the only thing it knew to calm an angry alpha, and she couldn’t help the confusion swirling through her veins.

Vax dropped his head, nose buried in her hair as he drew in a noisy breath. His growl deepened, sending a shiver down her spine and making her nipples tighten as she felt him thicken against her thigh, their clothing nothing more than a thin barrier. She could scent her own arousal and heat burned her cheeks when she realized Regis probably could too.

It was inappropriate, and terrible timing, but she couldn’t control it. Especially when she was pressed against Vax’s solid frame, the movements of the hopper rubbing them against each other with each dip and sway as they dodged cliffs and mountain peaks.

Vax continued to breath against her, but his growl slowly quieted until he finally cut it off. His hold on her eased, and he lifted his head just as lights shone on the horizon.

“How could the director have let them drill a new tunnel without approved plans? There’s no way the miners could have used the equipment without him knowing.”

Regis’ question shook Alana out of the haze encroaching on her thoughts.

As the hopper leveled out in their approach to the city, she shifted away from the erection pressing against her. Vax resisted at first, but finally loosened his arms enough for her to put a little space between them so she could try to get her body under control. His growl had ended, but its effects lingered, and she still felt flushed and uncomfortable.

“He’s not the only one who has to be involved in this. Something’s going on, and I’m going to figure it out.”

Vax’s tone help wash the lingering heat from her veins, sobering her in an instant. It was one thing to have an accident when all precautions had been taken to prevent it, but quite another when someone had knowingly done something dangerous. Especially if they were hiding their actions. Even she knew what it pointed to.

“The Council will be here in a few days,” she whispered.

Twisting in his grip, she turned to meet Vax’s dark gaze.

“Exactly. And they aren’t going to like the repercussions of their actions.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Vax

It was a struggle to pull his thoughts away from the woman in his arms. The scent of her slick called to the alpha in him, begging him to take his frustration out on her body, but he had to focus.

He’d been betrayed.

The only question was who was involved, and who was merely caught in the web. If one of the miners was ordered to work, they couldn’t exactly refuse, and he didn’t expect them to know if the orders they were following were approved or not. That was for the ones above them to know, and they’d put their trust in those people expecting to be kept as safe as possible.

Furious was too tame for what he was. They’d lost seven good miners already, with more than another thirty injured, and a few of those had looked like they were on the line between. He wouldn’t be surprised if the number of deaths from this accident rose.

There was only one explanation. The Council had been pushing too hard for him to produce more for them not to be to blame. The only thing he wasn’t sure of was if there was a single Chancellor behind it, or if the whole Council was in on it.

The hopper landed with a smooth glide, settling to the ground between one breath and the next. As loath as he was to let her go, Vax lifted Alana from his lap, setting her on her feet as he rose. This wasn’t the introduction to Farcon 1 that he’d wanted for her, but accidents were a fact of life when the planet’s primary industry was something dangerous, and so far she had seemed to take things in stride.

“Grab a couple members of the Guard and give the Camp Director a visit. I want to see him in my office in an hour,” he said to Regis as he strode from the cockpit.

Alana followed as he made his way down the short hall, but he was stopped as people entered to collect the injured miners. He pointed to the suite door, and they went in to collect their patients. The Medical Wing was going to be swamped with so many injured, but they had protocols in place for this type of thing. Leir should already be on his way, the ship’s medic prepared to help with the more severe injuries.

Vax waited as they loaded the two he’d helped bring out of the mine, worry gnawing at him when he noticed the boy didn’t stir as they moved him. He could simply be exhausted, but his ragged breathing made Vax’s chest tighten with fear that they’d been too slow for him too.

By the time they’d cleared enough rock to climb through and get them out, it had already been too late for the one who’d been deeper in the shaft, blood pooling around the miner’s trapped legs. Others had stayed behind to finish digging him out so he could be returned to his family, but Vax had lied and told the boy he’d be coming on another ship. The kid had done what he could to stop the bleeding, but it had been too little, too late, and Vax didn’t want him feeling guilty over something that wasn’t his fault.

Vax followed them into the Administration Building, Alana close on his heels. He wanted to follow them all the way to theMedical Wing, but he knew there was no room for bystanders, and he had no medical training.

He turned to the silent omega behind him, noticing the dark circles showing beneath her vibrant eyes. They’d been meant to land before lunch but had been stuck at the Camp until after the sun set, and while he was used to long days, the strain of the past few hours was showing in her tight expression.

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