Page 25 of My Alien Pirate

"I'm sorry to take up so much of your time," I said, my voice unexpectedly shy. "And I wanted to thank you. For everything. For being so welcoming, despite..." I gestured helplessly.

Zharrox inclined his head, his eyes warm. "You're welcome, Nova. It's quite all right. I think we can learn a lot from each other."

His eyes bored into mine, and I felt my breath quicken. "In fact, you've been a very pleasant…surprise"

I felt my lips part at his words, as one of his tentacles inched closer. The air between us crackled with an energy I didn't fully understand.

"Zharrox..." I breathed, unable to think of anything else to say.

His eyes dipped to my lips, and his own parted slightly, revealing his sharp, white teeth. Then, slowly, he wrapped a tentacle around the nape of my neck. A warm, calming sensation flowed through me and my eyelids dropped closed involuntarily.

Another of his tentacles brushed my waist, sending a shiver up my spine. I found myself leaning toward his surprising warmth. But then he pulled back slightly, and I opened my eyes to see his ridges flashing a brilliant magenta. "Nova..." he rumbled, his voice thick with emotion I couldn't decipher.

I smiled, my heart pounding in my chest. "Yes... Zharrox?"

The moment was interrupted by a soft chirp from the console behind him. Zharrox groaned, his scales flashing annoyance, but he reached over and tapped the glowing symbols. "What is it, Grixxa?"

His first officer's voice echoed through the room. "Captain, we need you on the bridge. There's a—situation."

"On my way," Zharrox answered. One of his rough fingers traced across my cheekbone. "Goodnight, Nova."

I couldn't answer so I simply nodded before watching the captain striding out of my room. I collapsed back on the cocoon bed, and blew out a long breath. What in the universe was I doing?

18

Life Signs

Istormed down the corridor after leaving Nova in her quarters, my scales rippling with a turbulent mix of purple and red. The organic walls of the Nebula Stryker pulsed in response to my agitation, their bioluminescence flickering erratically. My tentacles lashed at my sides, barely contained within their pouches.

What in the seven hells of Krax was I going to do about this mate bond? I'd led countless missions, faced down the most fearsome creatures in the galaxy, and never once lost my cool. But this... this soft, pale alien with her mesmerizing blue eyes and intoxicating scent had me completely off-kilter. All I wanted to do was sink into her body and taste every bit of her pale, soft skin but I couldn't. How was I going to tell her about the bond?

I growled low in my throat, the sound reverberating through the empty corridor. I needed to get a grip. I would tell her in time. She had a lot to process. I wouldn't add to her confusionwith a foreign prophecy before she even had her space legs under her.

And yet...

The memory of her warm skin under my fingers, the way her cheeks had flushed that captivating shade of pink, the spark of intelligence in her eyes as she examined the artifacts in the procurement room – it all haunted me, refusing to be dismissed.

I shook my head violently, my crest rising in frustration. Zalira had said Nova would bring us riches, but how would I convince my crew that some nebulous bond between their captain and an alien captive would fulfill an ancient prophecy likely none of them had ever heard of. That we couldn't sell the little alien because she belonged to me. And I still hadn't told Nova about the bond. What if she rejected me?

As I made my way to the bridge, my mind raced. What had Jorixx found? Could it be something that would shed light on Nova's mysterious origins? And why did that thought fill me with such a mix of excitement and dread?

I stepped onto the bridge, the organic consoles pulsing with data streams as my crew went about their duties. Jorixx stood at his station, his three eyes blinking in sequence as he manipulated a series of glowing symbols.

"Report," I commanded, pushing thoughts of Nova aside. Or trying to, at least.

Jorixx's lower arms continued their work while his upper arms gestured towards the main viewscreen. "We've detected a spread of the same anomaly near the fourth moon of this system, Captain. Well, it's almost the same, but...different somehow."

The viewscreen flickered to life, displaying a swirling vortex of energy hovering above the cratered surface of a dark red moon. My ridges pulsed with excitement and a hint of fear. "Different how?"

"It's more stable," Jorixx explained, his gravelly voice tinged with awe. "And there's more. We've detected a debris field on the moon's surface, similar to the one where we found Nova. But that's not all." He paused, his three eyes blinking rapidly. "We're picking up two life signs among the debris."

My hearts skipped a beat. "Life signs? Are you certain?"

Jorixx nodded, his thick hide rippling. "Positive, Captain. They're faint, but they're there. And..." he hesitated, "they match Nova's biosignature."

The bridge fell silent as the implications of this discovery sank in. More of Nova's people? Here? My mind raced with possibilities - and potential problems.

"How far are we from the moon?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.