Page 32 of Becoming Brandy

“Every woman?”

He was getting excited now. “Yes. And not just human women. Any species that was compatible with us. We could broaden our search.”

“You mean leave here,” Brandy said, suddenly realizing what this meant. “You mean to go away from Earth.”

He set his hands on the table, regarding her with sympathy. “I am sure Han wouldn’t leave.”

“But he’s king. He could go back. If his crew could reproduce, they could go back to your planet.” And take Charis with them. What would Brandy do then?

“It isn’t working yet. There are things I still need to test.” His eyes flicked up to hers and then to his work. With a sweep of his hand, he seemed to try to divert her attention away from a topic that was clearly upsetting her. “But now, it’s time for our date.”

“Our date?” She’d nearly forgotten. “One hour, right?”

“Tork told you?” Wrek asked, straightening his shirt and ushering her toward the door.

“He did. Brothers learning to share their toys.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” she murmured. She didn’t know why, but what Wrek had said upset her. Han could leave. They could all leave. And then she’d go back to Earth and be just an ordinary girl. Unless… unless she could take the serum and bear one of them a child.

Now that was a thought she’d need to piece over. How did she feel about being a mother? Her own had never been what she’d would call nurturing, choosing her own selfish desires over Brandy’s. Their relationship had gotten so bad Brandy left before graduating high school. How did Brandy think she could be any better with the role model she had? She had her own selfish tendencies, after all. Plus, it would be a child of a different species. How would she feel when the child didn’t look or act like her?

No, none of it was ideal.

Her mind snapped back to attention as Wrek led her into one of the simulation rooms. She was expecting either something bold like Trek or something traditional like Drake, but she got neither. Ahead was a simple grassy park. There was nothing particularly interesting about it—trees, grass, concrete sidewalks, and a fence that could be seen in any park around America. Maybe something interesting was going to happen when they got inside.

Wrek led her over to a wrought-iron bench. He sat down heavily and gestured for her to do the same. But the minute she sat, it was clear nothing else was going to happen. It was also clear Wrek’s mind was lost in his work.

Brandy sat, staring out at the grass in an attempt to focus her attention. The silence lingered, this simulation not even equipped with sound or wind. Wrek probably hadn’t thought about it. And silence was something Brandy did not do well with.

“Do you like parks?” she asked.

“Hmm? Oh, yes.” His eyes lingered on the grassy knoll off in the distance, but she could tell he wasn’t really seeing it.

“We used to have a park by my house as a child. You know, that house you had replicated for me?”

“Right.”

“Also, I’ve grown an extra set of limbs. They’re great. Do you want to see?”

“Sure.” He didn’t even notice her ridiculous comment.

“Wrek,” she said, putting her hand on his thigh. “If you want to go back to your work and take a rain check on our date, I’ll understand.”

His eyes finally settled on her. “That would be great, Brandy.” He smiled, but suddenly his eyes widened at something behind her.

“Get down!”

She felt the bench lift. Tilting forward, she fell into Wrek’s arms as they spilled onto the ground. Was it an earthquake? Another attack? She peeked over her shoulder.

An alien stood over them, seething. She recognized it from the fight with Drake, the one who’d attacked and nearly killed him. Large greenish scales, a huge lion-like mane, red slitted eyes, and dripping fangs that pushed a growl in her direction. Claws cut into the wood of the bench, splintering it.

It was angry.

Wrek scrambled up, putting himself between the beast and Brandy.

“Run!” Wrek yelled as the beast punched him in the chest.

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