by Zara Zenia
He smirked as he took a step back from the window. "Viscount Terrex Mal, youngest son of the Duke, Behlinn Mal, at your service." He swept her a courtly bow in a mocking way.
Behlinn Mal. Bella drew in a sharp breath. Behlinn Mal was the name Emryn had give to the noble who had planned to buy her. "Bastard! So, you know nothing about slaves, but your own father was the one who was going to purchase me! Fuck you!" She spun on her heel and started to leave.
"Bella! Wait!" Terrex reached through the bars toward her, upset at the thought of her leaving.
She looked back at him, fury on her face. "What more could there possibly be to say?"
"I truly didn't know that Omegas were stolen from their homes, from Earth. I'm not even sure my father knows, but then we are not close, my father and I. He thinks me a reprobate, a useless clod."
Bella shook her head, tears stinging her eyes. The fact that he was here on this ship with her pissed her off. How could he not know? He had to be lying. Without a word she turned again and practically ran up the stairs and to her room. She really hated the fact that she couldn't slam her door as it snicked closed behind her. It just wasn't as satisfy as a slamming door was.
9
Terrex sat in his cell wondering if the beautiful human girl would ever come back down to see him. He'd been shocked to hear that his father had been planning to buy her. His mother of course was an Omega from Earth. And his father had a few other Omegas who had born his brothers, but he didn't really know them. It was just the way the Nobles were. The Nobleman's Frenzy was horrible and having more than one Omega was the norm. The wealthier the nobleman, the more Omegas he had. At last count, his father had four, with his mother being the newest his father had mated with, though she hadn't born him any more children yet.
Terrex had only just begun to experience the Frenzy. It was mild at the moment, but he knew it would get worse over time, it was the nobleman's curse and he was one, as much as he hated it. His mind drifted back to Elenix, the gorgeous Starsinian-Canian girl he'd fallen in love with. She was three years younger than him, but he'd fallen for her hard, at the age of twenty. Elenix was born the daughter of Marnix Braxnil, another nobleman, and their wealthy neighbor, but she'd been gifted to Terrex's eldest brother, and his father's favorite child, Frennex, as his thirtieth birthday present by their father.
His heart was still shattered by that three years later. He'd spent the last three years mourning the loss of her, resenting his father and Frennex for taking her away. He'd descending into drinking and gaming and rebelling at everything his father stood for. He figured he was going to enjoy himself as much as possible until the Frenzy hit and ruined his life by driving him mad with need. That was how he'd ended up with these pirates. He'd been drinking and gaming too much.
He shoved the thought away and an image of Bella drifted through his mind again. She was a beautiful girl, tall with an athletic build, like she kept herself fit, and dark wavy hair with deep chocolate brown eyes. Those eyes held depths he wanted to swim in. He was dying to see her hair down about her shoulders, dying to sink his fingers into the thickness of it.
Bella was the complete opposite of Elenix. Elenix had naturally dark pink hair that she kept chin-length, soft light-pink skin, with sharp, jewel-toned, blue eyes. She'd been tiny, under five feet tall. She was soft-spoken, delicate, and sweet. Bella was definitely not. She was gorgeous, yes, but she was far from delicate and sweet or soft-spoken. Bella was strong and capable. And fiery, he thought with a grin. She was bold and unafraid. She was not a meek little mouse, as most Omegas that he'd met were.
He sighed, wishing she'd come back and see him again. She'd broken up the boring day with her fire and now he was longing to be near her again. To experience the heat that she'd brought to his day. He had enjoyed flirting with her. He wanted to continue to do that. Hell, maybe she could help him get out of here, if he convinced her somehow. He fell asleep on his rough cot with thoughts of her in his head.
He woke up sometime later to find a tray with his dinner sitting on the table next to the cot. He hated that he'd slept through them opening the door and coming in. He'd missed another chance to escape. He hated being locked up. He wished they'd provide him with something other than water to drink, something with a bit more kick to it. But, he supposed, they probably wanted him to stay sober.
He was bored beyond disbelief. A person can only sleep so much, he thought the next day as he sat up. He took off his shirt and decided to do something to relieve the boredom. He started with jogging in place and then did some jumping jacks and then push-ups. He was on number fifty-eight when he heard someone on the stairs, but he didn't bother to stop. They were probably just heading to the engine room, like always. It was rare for anyone to visit him.
A throat cleared and he looked up to see Bella's chocolaty eyes watching him. There was something there, a bit of attraction maybe? He grinned.
"Beautiful Bella, come to watch the caged man lose his mind from boredom?" He stood up and dusted his hands off. He watched her purse her lips, like she didn't care for his description of himself.
"No. I just… I just came to talk. Everyone is busy on the ship, well except the other girls like me, but they're… well brainwashed is the word that comes to mind, there is no other way to explain it. It's like they are shells of the girls they probably were before Grell stole them."
Terrex lifted an eyebrow and ran his hand down his broad, muscular chest. He watched her eyes follow his hand and her little pink tongue dart out of her mouth to lick her lips. He smirked. "Ah so I am your last resort for entertainment, is that it, princess?"
Bella blinked and then narrowed her eyes, a frown marring her pretty pink lips. "No." She looked away and then as if magnetized to him, her eyes returned to meet his.
"I don't mind, you know. Being your last resort for entertainment," his grin grew, "I bet I can show you a real good tim—" He stopped as someone came down the stairs.
"Bella!" A woman appeared. He vaguely recalled her from the bar. "Come away from him. He's not to be trusted, at all."
Bella threw a glance at him and nodded. "I know." She backed up and met up with the woman and the two of them returned upstairs.
He should have known he wouldn't be able to manipulate her with flirting to get her to open the door. She was too smart for that. He'd have to come up with something else. Though flirting with her had been one of the most enjoyable things he could remember doing in a really long time.
"What were you doing down there talking to him? How did you even know he was there?" Melody asked her.
Bella shrugged. "He was in the medbay with me. He told me you were holding him captive. Why? Did he do something wrong?"
Melody shook her head. "No. But he's the son of one of the worst nobles on Cania. He's almost as bad. Way worse than his brothers. You can't trust him, Bella. He will manipulate you, just like his father manipulates everyone. He learned from a master manipulator."
"I know. His father was the one Grell was planning to sell me to. Emryn seemed really pleased that I would be going to him, which tells me that the man would not be good for my health."
"Exactly. So, don't let his son manipulate you into helping him in anyway, okay?"
Bella nodded. "I won't." But her mind couldn't help but question exactly what they were doing with Terrex onboard this ship. Something didn't add up.
10
“Why is he onboard? How did he end up in the brig?" Bella asked.
Melody laughed. "Well, we had stopped on the planet Axia for some supplies and we decided to have a meal at this bar Mabav suggested. Axia is mostly a planet of thieves, so you can imagine the kind of clientele, right?" She shook her head, a grin on her lips. "Terrex was there, drinking and gaming, the man is a complete waste. Anyway, someone accused him of cheating and a bar fight broke out, some of our guys got caught up in it and we all ran for the ship. Terrex ran with us. Of course, at the time of all this, we didn't realize who he was, we thought
he was just some poor idiot who had been taken advantage of, so we let him come with us."
"The others didn't recognize him?" Bella questioned.
Melody shook her head. "No, he was really wasted, stumbling around, and acting like a fool, none of our guys had ever come in contact with him. Well, none until we returned to the ship. It was Lezin who recognized him, but only after Terrex had puked all over the place and passed out." She rolled her eyes. "We tossed him in the brig, to sleep off the drink."
"So, you're going to let him go?"
Melody sighed. "Well, no. After we hit Grell's ship and we realized what kind of damage we'd taken before we'd boarded, we decided to keep him for a bit."
"Keep him? You mean use him, don't you?" Bella accused. "You're going to what? Ransom him to get the parts you need to fix the ship?" Her hands were on her hips as she glared at Melody. "That's almost as bad as trafficking in sex slaves! You can't do that!"
"Look, we don't want to do it, but we need the money. The hyperdrive costs a lot of money. We can't take you all back to Earth without it. We are hoping to get Terrex to cooperate with us. Help us."
"Why not just ask him for the money?" Bella suggested.
Melody shook her head. "Already tried it. He's busted. Flat ass broke. That's why he was on Axia. He was making a living cheating at cards."
"So, what's the plan then? Ransom him back to his father with his help?"
"Yeah, that's what we're trying to get him to do."
"You realize how terrible of a plan that is, right?" Bella frowned. "With everything that I've learned about Behlinn Mal, I get the feeling he's not so easily manipulated. And Terrex said he and his father don't get along. His father seems like an incredibly selfish man, so even if he were to agree to pay this ransom, you gotta know that he'll have some other plan in mind to get that ransom back and with this hyperdrive of yours broken, how the fuck are we gonna get away? Hmmm?"
"I don't know, we haven't thought that far ahead. However, it's the only viable plan we've got right now, Bella. We are getting desperate here. We're running out of food with all these extra people onboard, we've discovered a leak in one of the compression hoses, this ship is falling apart. We have to do something. So, this is what we're doing. Like it or not, but stay away from Terrex Mal. I'm not asking. This is a command. Stay away from him or I will have you quarantined to your room. Understand?"
Bella felt her fury building, but she nodded her acceptance. She wasn't in charge of the ship; she wasn't even a member of the crew. She was merely a passenger who wanted to be returned to Earth. If she made waves, she might end up left behind on some planet like Axia and that wouldn't be acceptable. "Fine. I'm not happy about it, but it's your ship, your crew."
"Exactly. Now, I had best get back to the controls." She paused and then sighed. "Look, I know it's hard, being in the position you're in. I get it. You're used to being out there in the action helping to fight injustice. Jodie told me about your camera and the pictures you were taking of the riots. So, I do understand your need to expose the 'bad guys' but we aren't the bad guys here. I know we're a little unorthodox, but we really are the good guys."
Bella nodded. "I know that. You did rescue me from enslavement, so I completely get that. But, what you're doing with Terrex… it's still wrong. Even if your intentions aren't bad, it's still morally wrong." She shrugged. "I just don't have an alternate answer at the moment to your money problem."
Melody smiled. "If you happen to come up with one, I'd be happy to listen to it. For now, this is what we have to work with."
"Okay." Bella sighed and turned toward the galley as Melody returned to the command station.
She headed in to the galley and grabbed herself a Canian tree-nut spread sandwich with a berry preserve and a soda from the fridge. Apparently on their last trip to Earth, they'd stocked up on the fizzy drinks.
She sat down at the small round table and ate as her mind drifted over the problem of getting the money for the hyperdrive replacement. They were space pirates; couldn't they just steal one? I mean surely they could have stolen one off of Grell's ship before they blew it up, right? Maybe that is the key? Finding another ship to pirate? Another Slaver to attack? As she ate, she decided she would have to ask that question next time she spoke to Melody.
11
Three days later, Bella was frustrated with boredom. She felt useless on this ship of pirates. She knew nothing of spaceship maintenance, so she couldn't help in the engine room. The computers did all the cooking in the galley, as well as the cleaning of the dishes, so she couldn't even do those menial chores. She was finding herself at a loss of what to do with herself.
She wandered down the hall to the medbay, maybe she could talk to Sina, that would at least give her something to do for a little while. She opened the door and looked inside. Sina was standing at a counter, marking something on a clipboard.
"Hi, Sina."
Sina turned and stopped what she was doing. "Well, hello, Bella. How are you feeling?"
"Good, just bored out of my mind." She smiled.
Sina laughed, but it came out a bit like a hissing sound. "I wish I could say the same. Seems like there is always something to do in here."
"Oh yes? Anything I can help with?" Bella asked, eagerly.
"Really? Because I would be quite happy for your help."
"Yes, definitely, put me to work."
Sina nodded. "Very well. Each of these cabinets need to be inventoried. I am making a list of things we need to pick up on our next trip to one of the more advanced planets. You would not believe how rudimentary some planets are with health care—" she stopped and smiled, "Or maybe you do, being from Earth. More advanced than some, but not nearly as advanced as Cania, or Starsinia."
"How many advanced planets are there?" Bella asked as she took a clipboard off the cabinet door.
"Oh, hundreds that I know of, but probably thousands. We are discovering new ones on a regular basis. Starsinia is about six hundred thousand miles away from Cania, quite a beautiful planet. The people there are very peaceful, and much more advanced than even I knew." Sina paused. "I am Selithi, we are a very peaceful race as a whole and we work for the greater good and advancement of our race. Money, which is readily available to all Selithi for whatever needs they may have, is not a goal. We do not strive to be better, wealthier than our neighbors. As I said we work together for the progression of all. We are small in numbers, compared to the Canians, but we are advancing while the Canians are regressing."
Bella frowned as she listened to her. "Then how is it you came to be here? On this ship I mean? How did you end up with a group of space pirates?"
Sina gave me that hissing laugh again. "That is a very good question. Devron and Melody came to the Selithi for help. We took responsibility for them, brought them into our lives and they became part of our society. Devron worked side by side with my Gaddis. We became friends. Family. When family are hurting or in trouble, Selithi band together. We help one another. Devron and Melody were in need of us, so we helped. They are still in need of us. I miss our home on Cania and hopefully one day Gaddis and I will return there. For now, it is best we stay and help Devron and Melody. In helping them we hope to enlighten the Canians and help them to become a better race of people. It will take time. But if we Selithi are to share the planet with the Canians, then it works to the advantage of the Selithi to show them the way to go on."
Bella smiled. "Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. I'm not so sure those Canian nobles want to change."
Sina hissed but nodded. "Yes, I fear you are correct."
Bella and Sina worked in companionable silence for quite a while, getting all of the cabinets organized and inventoried. "That's the last one." She handed the clipboard to Sina.
"Thank you so much for your help, Bella. This would have taken me all day." Sina grinned, which, if Bella hadn't known how friendly Sina was, would have been sort of frightening.
"It was my pleasur
e. I'm just sad we're finished. I have no idea what to do with myself now."
"Jodie mentioned that you take beautiful pictures. We are currently passing by a particularly lovely grouping of planets, perhaps you could amuse yourself by taking some pictures?"
Bella's jaw dropped. She hadn't even considered that. When else would she have a chance to take pictures of the amazing planets and stars from a spaceship? "That is a fantastic idea, Sina, thanks." She hugged the reptilian woman. It was a little awkward, but Sina hugged her back. "I'll see you later."
"Have fun," Sina replied.
Bella headed to her room and grabbed her camera bag. She was so very thankful that she had her camera bag on her when she was taken. It held several lenses as well as the camera. She slung the bag over her head, so the bag rested on her hip and took out the camera, adding a wide angle lens to it. She wanted to get as much as she could into the frame. She headed up a level to the wide hallway with the big bay of windows. The windows were some kind of special glass that wouldn't shatter unless they took a direct blast, according to Jodie. If that were to happen, then the section would have panels slide down and air lock, saving the rest of the ship from being ripped apart.
Beyond the glass was a magnificent scene of planets, stars, moons and a sun, not the same one that Earth revolved around, but a smaller dimmer star that had a pink aura surrounding it. The planets were gorgeous, an array of purples and pinks, with swirled in sections of blue and green.
She began snapping pictures that looked like they were painted on a canvas by some fantasy artist. She wished they would land on one of the planets so she could take pictures of the various lifeforms and vegetation. She was so enraptured with what she was doing, she didn't hear Jodie approach.
"Hey, chick, enjoying yourself?"
Bella smiled. "I am." She glanced back at the view. "Have you ever been there?"