Page 33 of Rebel Fates

“Calm yourself,” Serrat warns and then confesses. “I can’t blame Zeek because I can’t keep my paws off her, either.”

Okay, good. I’m not the only one who calls them paws!

I reprimand myself for not focusing.

Whatiswrong with me? That’s it. I’ve lost my damned mind.

“We need to figure something out quickly,” Rok states, and the other two grunt in agreement. “Things are going to get dangerous for her soon. If she’s still here…”

“Maybe we should warn her?” Zeek asks. “Maybe if we explain our condition. And maybe Leva’s right—she could help us.”

“No. The human can’t get involved,” Serrat says. “I’ve been reading a bit about them. They don’t go through anything like this. She won’t comprehend it.”

“But we might be able to keep her out of harm’s way if she knows what’s at stake,” Zeek argues.

“If what she’s done so far is any indication, that’s false,” Rok says with displeasure. “She is walking chaos.”

What the hell are they going on about? They should just tell me!

“We need to do something, but what?” Serrat sounds defeated. “It might just get worse. I can’t believe what almost happened in the showers.”

“Andin the corridor,” Zeek says with a hint of humor. “Andin your bed. I thought you were going to—”

“Shut up!” Serrat growls.

That growl does things to my core and I can feel myself becoming wet from the sound alone. That’s all I need, to get all worked up over a growl. I want to smack myself in the face.

“We need to feed her before she dies,” Zeek reminds them. “Leva was probably worried about her well-being when she let her out, hoping the human would find the galley.”

“Levaneedsto be worried about more than what the cursed female needs!” Rok storms out of the cockpit, so preoccupied he doesn’t notice me tucking into the next room over when he leaves. He shouts over his shoulder, “We could kill her and not even mean to.”

“What ishisproblem?” Zeek asks Serrat.

“He’ll be better once it’s over.”

Zeek says with irritation, “I don’t think so, not this time.”

When what’s over?

I hear them both head out of the cockpit, and I panic. I see what looks like a possible escape pod against the far wall. Before they discover that I have left my impromptu cell, I jump into the confined pod.

The door snaps closed.

Too late, I realize thisisn’tan escape pod.

15

DISAPPEARING ACT

SERRAT

I’m haunted by the feel of Gemma’s silky skin pressed against my chest.

Oh,frex. I shouldn’t have touched her when she was breaking into Leva’s food supply.

And then what do I do?

I keep holding onto her! Then, in the shower? In the corridor?

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