Page 18 of Becoming Brandy

He whirled on her, flashing his teeth. His eyes were red and pulsing, as if he were going to shift into one of those beasts. She sat up in alarm. Her hands were still bound.

“See what you made me do?” he growled, stalking to the wall.

“Tork, what is happening?” She scrambled against the knot at her wrists, trying to loosen it.

The wall opened, and he strode through naked. She tried to get her wrists free to be able to run after him, but he placed his hand on the outside wall and closed it to seal her in.

“Tork!”

There was no answer.

She freed herself from the silks eventually, ordered new clothes from the simulator, and got dressed. With nothing else to do, she passed the time requesting food she didn’t eat.

What had she done wrong to make him storm out? The sex had been hot—there was no denying that. But maybe she’d given in too quickly? Men were terrible that way, always wanting sex but liking the chase more. Women shouldn’t make them wait too long, or they’d accuse them of being teases. But if they gave it up too quickly, they were called whores. They couldn’t win for losing.

The questions swirling around her brain were killing her.

She picked at a steak, tearing it apart with her fingernails until it was a bloody mess. There was no time for sitting around pouting. She was supposed to learn how to please Drake before he recovered from his wounds, yet she was wasting time in an empty simulator room. Who the hell knew where Wrek and Tork were? Tork had locked her in. Left her. He didn’t care. She should’ve figured with the type of guy he was.

When the wall started to dissolve, she got up, expecting Tork, but it was Wrek on the other side.

She tried not to show her disappointment when he walked in. “Hey, Wrek. How’s it going?”

“Tork left you in here? I’m so sorry, Brandy. I could kill my brothers.”

Brandy shrugged, wiping her hand on a napkin. “Did Tork tell you?”

He shook his head, glowering. “I had to find out from a guard. Tork wouldn’t even face me, the coward. And he’s supposed to be the brave one. I could kill him for leaving you. What happened? Did he not think you were up to the task?”

Brandy blushed, realizing Wrek didn’t know what had transpired right over there on the floor. “He got mad at me, but I’m not really sure what I did. I thought I was doing what he wanted.”

Wrek ran a hand through his chin-length hair. “That’s Tork for you. Hot and cold. His mother is the same way.”

“Is she here?” Brandy asked, thinking of Han’s mother and Kahn’s. Both were as strange as they were terrible. She wondered if spending enough time with these alien men did that to a woman. They made women mad with their strange ways and fluctuating emotions.

“Tork’s mother is back on the home planet.”

“What about your mother?” she asked.

“She is dead.” Wrek swallowed, his eyes darting away.

“Oh, I’m really sorry.”

He dismissed her comment with a shake of his head and took her hand sweetly. “I have something I’d like to show you.”

She smiled, appreciating how much he doted on her. “What would I do without you?”

His cheeks flushed.

“This way.” He drew her to the open wall and led her through it.

They walked down the hall. Brandy searched for Tork or Drake or any of those alien guards, but the hallway was quiet. She wondered what the time was. She’d gotten into a bit of a rhythm on Rahan’s ship, sleeping and waking at the same time every day until it felt almost normal. The simulation rooms could project sunshine that felt real, and her circadian rhythms had leveled out. But here, she was all out of whack again, no semblance of normalcy. She could feel her mood slipping into something dark and brooding. Normally perky and upbeat, she couldn’t muster her usual enthusiasm. Plus, there was the fact she was a prisoner suffering at the whims of aliens who were not particularly nice. Would Han ever come for her? There’d been no sign so far that he was even attempting a rescue.

But Wrek’s hand was warm, and he kept glancing at her shyly when he didn’t think she’d notice. She trusted him. In fact, he was the only one on the ship she trusted. She really hoped this surprise of his would not let her down.

They stopped, and he opened the wall. As the space disintegrated, they were met with a wall of darkness. Wrek pulled her toward it, but she hesitated.

“It’s a good surprise,” Wrek said, smiling. “I really think you’ll like it. It seemed like you might need something to keep your spirits up.”

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