Page 61 of Ava Greasemonkey

Ava relaxed into his words, feeling the determination behind them. Suddenly, she remembered. “What about your contract? With the Vorbax female?”

“Another will fulfill it. I will take you as mine. We will see what compatibility truly means for our species.” Vox stroked her hair again, grabbing the silken strands between his fingers.

Ava nodded, unsure about the compatibility part but not wanting to be anywhere other than here. She snuggled up next to him, secure in his arms, and let herself rest. No sedative would be needed this cycle, not with her exhausted from their activities and him soothing her.

“While you sleep, may I see your dreams?” Vox questioned, stroking her hair.

“Lirell told you about that, didn’t he?”

“He shouldn’t know more about you than I do.”

Ava chuckled into his chest over his possessive tone, listening to his twin heartbeats drum under her cheek. Her legs entwined with his. “Yes you can. I hope they are as amusing to you as they were to him.”

“He found it more fascinating than amusing.”

Ava fell asleep that way, in Vox’s arms with him gently tugging on her hair, still sore between her legs. She felt truly seen and wanted for the first time. It was hard not to dream that, after they finished their mission, this could be what her life would be like going forward.

Chapter 22

“You are doing what?” Ebel started, antennas flying. The shock on his convex eyes was apparent. His fangs started to sweat, beads of moisture running down them.

Ava stood in the long hallway, addressing both Ebel and Nuor, informing them of the plans she made with the Vorbax. She leaned against the wall, bracing herself, sore from her activities with Vox earlier, while explaining her plan.

Vox was at her side but had moved to a more respectful distance down the hall to give them a semblance of privacy. They were standing outside of the cargo bay, where the other Phor were still being held captive, to talk without an audience. She didn’t want to cause problems for Ebel later by them seeing his cooperation if Ebel agreed to assist her.

“I need your help, Ebel.” Ava reached for his fuzzy hand, eyes wide. “I am going to do this, but it would be safer and easier if you helped.”

Nuor stood silent, looking between Ava and Vox. She finally spoke. “Ava, are you sure? That one over there told me you could come with me and live with the Vali or be taken to their home planet. You don’t have to do this.”

Still holding Ebel’s hand, Ava addressed Nuor, nodding, “Yes. I worked out a deal with them. I will miss you, but I need to do this, I need to help. Despite knowing I would have fun living with you.” She smiled at her friend, a small feeling of regret in her chest.

Nuor’s eyes narrowed. “Why? What do you owe them?”

“They promised to help me, Nuor. Me and the rest of my family, and maybe even Humans as a whole. I believe them.”

“You smell like him,” Nuor said, wrinkling her nose, motioning to Vox. “I hope you know what you are doing.”

Vox let out a low growl in the background.

Ava laughed, blushing to herself as to why she smelled like him, her core clenching. “I’m sort of winging it. But it feels right. I am trusting my gut.”

“Ava . . .” Ebel softly spoke. Ava turned her head back to him and squeezed his hand. “For you, I will help. Not for them. But if you are doing this . . . I’ll do what I can. I can’t let you get hurt if anything I can offer would prevent it.”

“I would help too, but I don’t know about Torga at all. Sorry.” Nuor shook her head, feathers flying.

Ebel spoke a second later, haltingly. “I do. Let me look at the pictures they have, and I can tell if the vents would be feasible. We have a few tools in the engine hall that can be repurposed for helping cut through the ductwork if need be.” The despondent air around Ebel disappeared now that he was focused on Ava.

“Thank you,” Ava said, relief evident on her face. Her nervousness eased and the knot in her stomach loosened. “We need to move fast. We’re running out of cycles to get prepared.Rhutg doesn’t want to slow us down much after we had a delay earlier already.”

Ava let go of Ebel’s hand and started to tick her fingers, counting. “I need the tracker for the Vorbax to be able to home in on me exactly to help them locate the females faster, and for Vox to try to find me if anything goes wrong. As well as some weapons to give to the females so they can have some defense when things start happening.”

“You also need some tools to navigate the vents,” Ebel said, looking more in command of himself than Ava had seen him since the ship takeover. He looked back toward Vox and Lirell, who had joined during the conversation, motioning them forward. “If you could get me a tablet, I will investigate what the situation is like.” Vox grunted to Lirell, who left a second later to fetch it.

It was on the tip of Ava’s tongue to mention her arrangement with Rhutg regarding the biologics, but she pushed that thought back down. It was probably best to not mention that deal to Ebel, even if he was helping her. As much as she loved and trusted him, she didn’t know how he would react to her taking some. The biologics were the Phor’s most prized possession.

She looked at him, scratching her face guiltily, while he continued rambling on about what she needed. She felt like she was betraying him.

Ava was still trying to shake that feeling when Lirell returned with the screen, already loaded to the pictures she’d been looking at in navigation with Rhutg, and handed it over to Ebel.

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