Page 60 of Ava Stargazer

His stance reminded her too much of Vox crowding in on her in the same hallways. It brought back the intimacy of those moments and made her feel uncomfortable with Zeed approaching her in the same way.

Zeed halted his footsteps but continued speaking, “It is hard to get you alone, so I will be blunt. I have an interest in you, Ava. You have not yet mated Vox and taken a place at his side on the bavla fields officially. Is this because you are uncertain of him?”

Ava’s mouth went dry, confusion coursing through her as she began to realize that the way Zeed had been looking at her was more than just casual curiosity. “Uncertain?” she echoed hesitantly.

Zeed took another small step forward. “Yes. He hides you. Covets you for himself. Plans to eventually breed you. He does not give you a true choice or allow you to see that there are other options available to you.” He dipped his head lower, fixing his eyes on the ground and bringing his head down. He continued in a low voice that vibrated through the air, “Others like myself.”

“Vox?”Sai’s gentle thoughts came to him from far away, as if she was walking the ship, calling his name.

Vox was in the medical bay with Rhutg, scanning Rhutg’s arm in an attempt to see if the tremors caused by their mental use was leaving any lasting physical damage. The med bay felt empty after being mostly stripped of its supplies, but the basics were still intact in case of emergency. Rhutg had his arm in the scanner, and they were mid scan when he heard Sai’s call.

“Yes?”Both himself and Rhutg were able to connect with Sai, and they exchanged a glance at the worried undercurrent to her thoughts.

Her mental notes dripped in concern as she relayed,“It’s Ava. Zeed took her while we were painting and...”

Vox stumbled back.“Took?”

Sai’s mental thoughts were hesitant.“She was nervous, that’s why I am letting you know. I can’t reach her really well through the ship’s walls without getting closer.”

“Thank you for letting me know, Sai.”Vox sent a mental pulse of warmth through to Sai before turning his attention away.

Vox slammed his hands on the counter.What are his plans?He got up to leave. To confront.

“Stop, Vox.”

“Why?”

Rhutg connected with him, his reach farther than Vox’s. Rhutg shared now the link he could find, pressing it on Vox’s mind.“Zeed is in the hallway outside navigation. He is blocking everyone out, but I can still see his intent. He is propositioning her. She is nervous but not afraid.”

“What?”Vox’s hearts pounded faster as his insides boiled, and his eyes turned feral. He reached out mentally himself, but stopped after Rhutg pushed on his mind again.

“You cannot interrupt, Vox. It is not our way to keep a mate through brute force. Especially as you have not officially marked her yet.”

Rage, hot and heavy, coated Vox’s vision.“I didn’t want to force her. That’s why ... it was too much at once. I didn’t want to put more pressure on her mind by marking her.”

Rhutg flatly stared back at him, taking his arm off the scanner. The medical screen protested his movement with an error code as he shifted away.“You are as good as my brother, so I will be frank with you in this moment. In some ways you have used Ava’s fragility and ignorance as an excuse to make decisions for her. Shelter her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you have such little faith in Ava? That she would not choose you? I don’t. Come, scan my arm again. You can talk with her later after she refuses Zeed.”

Vox didn’t move, his entire body stiff.“You expect me to just sit here? Shit, Rhutg. Would you be able to ... ?”

Rhutg fixed him with another blank stare.“Yes. And others did approach Violie. And she turned them down. As one destined to be my mate should.”

Vox wanted to rip and tear. He breathed heavily, and the feeling eventually gave way to dejection.“But Ava does not know our ways. And how this all works.”

Rhutg’s mental voice was like a hiss.“You neglected to ever tell her she had a choice?”

Vox looked back over all their conversations and hung his head.“Not intentionally. She always indicated that she wanted to be with me, so I was pleased.”

Rhutg leaned to the side, silencing the error code on the medical screen before leaning forward.“Ava has been told what to do her whole life. She can not think beyond that sometimes and realize she can have options.”

“I know this. I let her know she can do what she wants.”

Rhutg pressed on.“Including picking a mate?”

Silence felt bitter on Vox’s tongue.

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