Page 78 of Stealing Mercury
“I’ve known him for years,” Samantha supplied instantly.
Felzaf stepped out from behind Samantha’s protection and this time Mercury couldn’t hold in his growl.
Felzaf kept his hands open and carefully out to the side in plain view. “Samantha told me about your situation. I’m not like the other humans you’ve known. My ancestors were some of the first to leave Old Earth and settle the new worlds. We tried to live in harmony with the indigenous people we found, but that meant we weren’t well fortified generations later when the Earthers came out to settle the galaxy in the name of the allied corporations. They drove us out just like they drove out the other races.”
“Please,” urged Samantha. “Give him a chance.”
Mercury fought his impulses, but what would happen when she finally did see his instincts get the best of him?
She stepped closer and rested a hand over his heart. It thudded hard beneath her palm.
“Please,” she said again. “Trust me.”
Mercury calmed, backing away, and the others followed his example. “Forgive us. We haven’t had the best experiences with human medics.”
“I understand.” Felzaf crossed the room to a cot at one side. “I’ve worked with other refugees that went through some bad things. We humans like to pretend we’re civilized and above petty cruelty, but the truth is, we can be some of the biggest bastards in the universe.” He stood less than a meter from Mercury. “All I can say is I’m willing to help. Whether you want my assistance or not is up to you. You let me know what you decide.”
Mercury looked to Lo and Carn then turned back to the medic. “We would be grateful for your help.”
“Good.” Felzaf smiled broadly and patted the cot. “I’ll need one of you up here.”
As leader it was his choice who would go first, but there were no good options. Carn was weak and mated. Lo, despite his outward calming, was terrified.
Mercury climbed up on to the cot and sat quiet as the man pulled a scanning device out of his pocket.
***
Felzaf had no trouble identifying the trackers Roma had used on the three men. Unfortunately, it was in their blood stream and the only way to neutralize the signal was a dangerous chemical cocktail.
Samantha hadn’t been surprised when Mercury had insisted on going first to make sure it was safe for the others. The cocktail had done its job but left him weak. He and Carn were both sleeping off the effects. Lo had insisted on going last.
He lay on a medical cot with an intravenous line in his arm feeding him a simple nutrient rich, immune boosting fluid. Felzaf had insisted on treating their malnutrition before giving them the chemical that would scrub the tracers from their blood. Samantha had given Lo her hand and he still gripped it in a death grip.
“I’m sorry I didn’t think to explain about Felzaf before we came here.”
Lo huffed. “The human arena medics couldn’t be trusted. They would drug us often. Aggression drugs to make us fight more viciously. The crowds had to be entertained.” He snarled the last sentence.
“This bothers you more than Mercury or Carn.”
He looked away. “From the first year I began to fight in the arena, I was often selected to service the human females who paid for the privilege of fucking one of our kind—the females who wanted a dangerous Dog from the arena instead of one of the submissive males available in the pleasure suites. They gave me drugs that made my body react as they wished and clouded my mind so I couldn’t think clearly enough to fight them. The drugs didn’t work as well on Mercury and Carn. They weren’t drugged as often.”
Samantha stroked the length of his arm, her heart breaking over the awful things he’d been through. “I’m sorry, Lo. They should all be punished for what they did to you.”
He released her hand to reach for the multicolored strands of her hair. He gave a little tug. “I see now where you get this. Moira is even more colorful.”
She understood that he wanted to change the subject. “Her mother, my grandmother, was full blooded Cerrillian.”
“She changes color,” said Lo.
“Yes. It changes with emotion.” She tried to smile for him, but all she could think of was the past. Moira had always been at her most golden when her father was around. “Lo, why did Mercury act so... deferential toward her?”
He slipped his hand back to hers. “We never had true mothers. He considers her special. And she’s important to you.” He hesitated. “You should’ve told her Mercury is your mate. It hurt him that you didn’t claim him when you introduced us.”
Samantha’s heart thudded heavily. That sluggish organ already belonged to Mercury, but that didn’t make them mates. There were too many obstacles standing between them. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. It’s just that... none of us know what the future holds. I’m not sure I can be what he needs and when you have Hera back...” And she wasn’t sure he’d want her once it sunk in that he could find a more suitable mate on any block in Haverlee. Her throat squeezed shut as if a slither-constrictor had coiled around her neck, making it difficult to breathe. Confronting what she might or might not mean to Mercury invariably left her heartsick. “I don’t know how to explain things to my mom.”
Lo squeezed her hand, stopping the flow of words. “Because of me?”
“That’s part of it. It hurt her so much that my father had other lovers. But that isn’t all of it.”
