Chapter 29
I’m delivered, dressed in the stinky old oversized workers’ clothes. From Luna to tiny ‘bug-sized’ human.
Vastian has escorted me straight to Skye, who is busy speaking to others. I stand with Vastian in the entrance to his office.
“Why is she here?” Skye snaps at Vastian, while faced with his council of wolves helping whatever he’s up to now.
“Disobedience.”
“Send her to Raygar,” Skye tries to palm me off.
“Raygar is busy,” Vastian snaps back.
“So am I, I need to organise an inventory for space –” Skye is stressed out to the max.
Well, at least I had an opening to help.
“Skye. The ship has all the supplies you need already in the Q dock, fully stocked – the only storage room left is for gold in the Z dock, ahem, by gold I mean Solividian, Alpha Skye?” I speak up.
The room is promptly silenced by the sheer attitude coming off the miniature human. Ha. The looks off the Genesis men are priceless as they take me in.
Skye only glances at me while he makes the call, “Hades. Check the Q and Z docks and report back to me,” Skye ends the call and snaps at everyone else, “Get out and stop staring at the prisoner.”
I watch as everyone stands and departs one by one, even Vastian slips out.
As if this couldn’t get any worse, I’m left alone with Skye.
Skye’s completely detached look my way says it all. Death. Of anything and everything we once were.
“Why didn’t you relay everything you know to Vastian, who released you to gain this vital information?” Skye death drawls the question, wanting to be done with me as quickly as possible.
“I just refuse to be spoken to… like that,” I admit, waving my hands around in the air to indicate him.
Skye slowly raises a very unamused brow, as he speaks calmly, “You are in no place to do so – you must obey the commands in my Dominion.”
“But I refuse too,” I explain with a roll of my eyes, holding out my arms in exasperation, “Free fucking will. I choose to disobey. Wowie!”
I have proclaimed this to the ceiling.
Now I dare glance down at the giant that could crush me, probably between his hands.
Alpha Skye is now just staring at me, with no expression.
And I don’t have the Luna’s intuition anymore to feel the ticking time bomb in the room.
“Why are you like this,” Skye drawls so quietly, I have to lean forward to pick up every disgusted word.
“I don’t know how many times I have to say it,” I murmur back, “Free. Fucking. Will. Freedom of choice. It doesn’t matter what position of power you have. It doesn’t matter if I sucked your cock and pretended to be your whore. I can still decide that I don’t want to help you now.”
I’m pretty positive I’ve never spoken these many words to Skye all at once.
“Pretend to be my what?” Skye picks that part, looking at me like I’m an actual alien on this awful planet, “Did you say whore?”
“Can I just go back to my cell now, Skye?” I don’t indulge him, “An apple a day is better than talking to your betraying ass.”
I give him no fancy ‘Alpha’ title.
And no answer to his question.
Skye pushes back from his seat and slowly stands up behind his desk.
“Did you just accuse me of… betrayal…? When you lied to me?” Skye tilts his head.
“I’m your Luna – who needs help, clearly, and you discarded me because I was left with this small pathetic body. The gravity on this planet itself hurts my bones. But I am not a stranger. I am. Ryder.”
“You are also a human, with human memories – who lied to me,” Skye can’t let it go.
“Because you are going to decimate my planet when you return.”
“It’s not my fault – that they made me like this,” Skye answers for the first time, in the exact way I feared he would. He sits back down, as if after contemplating physically approaching me, he decides to keep his distance on the other side of his desk.
“…you’re too predictable…” I murmur, looking him over.
“I thrive off being unpredictable,” Skye counters, “What are you talking about?
“Vastian didn’t like the truth. Humans are more complex. You’re all so… focused. On one thing at a time,” and yes, I’m insulting him.
“Vastian sent you here for being disobedient to Wolf Dominion,” Skye tries to get back on track.
“Well. Maybe. Just maybe, it’s because you put me in a cell, dick. After everything we’ve been through. You and I,” oh, and here I go. I start to go red in the face as I let out my raw emotions simmering beneath the surface of my ‘attitude’ problem. Skye locks onto this immediately, so I blurt out, adding in, “I thought we were – like – you know – like – friends. Like fuck buddy friends but overall loyal to each other. Like – yeah… friends.”
“How are you of use to me besides your knowledge of that ship?” Skye asks dismissively. I blush more because of the dismissal.
“My knowledge of Earth,” I suggest, deciding to roll with the change in subject. Skye nods, raising a brow, wanting to know what else, “I can probably teach you how humans will enslave you when you arrive to Earth. Their techniques. They’ll break you. And they will separate you all and buy you separately. Warrior Slaves for their wars. Slaves to the elite. They can do it, they have tech better than any that you ever invented here. They made you, they’ll consider themselves your gods. And your reason for existing.”
“I was a slave to Tyra – never again – I will kill them all,” Skye dismisses me, “How else are you useful to Wolf Dominion?”
“Why are you falling for Seye’s charm?” I question him now, unable to deny the constant rejection in his tone and choice of words. I had to ask Skye about her to get it off my mind, and I didn’t want to talk about mass murder right now.
“She offers silent sex,” Skye responds, too quickly, “After Tyra – I prefer silence.”
“After Tyra…” I whisper, feeling my heart thump hard in my chest.
“What is it now?”
I’m staring at my toes when Skye bites me with that cutting snarl of his.
“What about me… why do I count as nothing?” I ask my toes too, fearing my reaction to his answer.
“You are nothing to me,” Skye is dead serious. I don’t have to question that.
“Skye – you’re a straight psychopath,” I suck in a breath when I hear Hades’ drawl. I spin and turn to see him, standing in the doorway, dropping by with a big grin on his face, “I got my ship up and running, Ryder.”
“Hey. Thanks for visiting me in prison,” I tease him, “But good work – I haven’t seen it yet out of the ground.”
“Would you like to?” Hades asks, “You can show me around and help me learn every area of that ship. With Skye’s permission of course,” Hades looks to Skye, and I also turn to Skye, “By the way, Alpha, Q is sealed and Z is empty.”
I stare at Skye’s face which is now changing with every second.
Finally. I’m seeing a difference.
Skye has also stood once more but this time he rounds the desk, and he approaches us both.
“You interrupted Ryder’s interrogation and discipline,” Skye starts.
“You know who she is,” Hades sticks up for me, languid and relaxed, “Brother… open your eyes. Before you kill the woman we love.”
I gawk, my heart blooming for once.
Did I just hear kindness on Genesis?
Skye is caught off guard too, but he fails to keep in a sharp and cruel smirk, “The Luna I loved is dead. A worm remains.”
I’m too in shock to feel the proper response to that comment.
“If you don’t want her – I’ll take her,” Hades suggests, “I like the worm.”
Alpha Skye cups the back of my head, and shoves me into Hades’ front, “Then have her.”
Hades hugs me to him dramatically, encasing me in a protective vice like hold as he laughs at Skye, “When you change your mind and you want Ryder back – it’ll be too late, she’ll never forgive you for this.”
“Ahem,” I cough into Hades’ outfit, voice muffled in his clothes, “I can speak for myself?”
“Speak,” Hades looks down at me adoringly, while he moves my forehead back with one long finger, “Speak you tiny little lunatic.”
“Skye,” I look over my shoulder, “One last thing. Go fuck yourself.”
“Get out of my residence,” Alpha Skye smiles at Hades, “And take your tiny little lunatic with you. She’ll be the only human left alive,” Skye looks at me direct, “Worm – when we arrive back to Earth, we’re killing them all… and I don’t care if they surrender. You’ll be the last to live.”
“I think you’re being a tad dramatic,” Hades whispers to Skye, mocking him.
“Actually. It’s predictable and violent,” I answer calmly and as still as possible, piercing Skye’s neon blue eyes with my dull brown, “Exactly as they designed you to be.”
Hades takes me from the room, while Skye’s stare turns from playful to instantly lethal.
I dare say if Hades didn’t drag me any swifter, the Alpha would have gladly snapped my neck.
I mean, no pressure.
But the fate of a species was in my hands.
And maybe Hades would help me too.
Vastian’s unidentical twin.
Somehow, Hades was my ally and still a Shade. Hades was independent. And reckless. At all the right times.
As for Skye… he was lost to me. Seye was right – he was full of hate. He was the villain. Part of me wished he was dead.
Whatever the Eld-Rs had designed him to be, Skye was their favourite success. Probably because he was suited to war and nothing else. Why did he love the Luna and not me? Because Luna Ryder was useful in war. I had been an obedient, efficient and loyal killer. For Wolf Dominion.
It was too bad she was dead.
And with her – so was Skye’s black heart.