Page 17 of The Thren's Fated

Her eyes whirled across the screen, soaking in the information as a pinch of panic began to form.

Apparently, Threns could secrete subtle pheromones when they touched someone with their sensory appendages. Screl’s weird tentacles, which had been all over her tonight.

And at Cosmic Pulse.

Bastard. That was the only reasonable explanation for why she was acting completely unhinged. Her stomach turned, tears dripping down her cheeks, though she tried to stop them, sniffling hard.

Lena shuffled to the bathroom, changed into her pajamas, and downed two sleeping pills, which would hopefully knock her out within a few minutes. She needed her mind to shut off, needed something to take away the edge of panic.

She hated the sense of helplessness, like she wasn’t in control of her own emotions. She’d felt the same before, that desperate need to jump headfirst into something without thinking things through, and it had always backfired.

Luckily, the meds worked swiftly, drowsiness tugging at Lena as she slid under the cover of her bed. She didn’t even have the energy to shut the window shades, eyes blinking shut as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Screl would be gone soon, and she’d never have to worry about him again.

INTERLUDE

Soft skin, silky hair. Another’s hands on her. A sharp pain in my chest, the bond alerting me in an instant, rage boiling my blood. An innocent touch, or so she says, but still I cannot bear to feel it, to know someone is touching what is mine. Mine. She is mine. A small thing, so fragile compared to a Thren. So beautiful. Much more than I deserve, but all mine. The Peace Accords were supposed to be my crowning achievement, but I can hardly concentrate when she is out there, knowing I can ease the ache that surely must be hurting her hearts as it does mine.

CHAPTER 7

Once again, the sleeping pills were a mistake.

It was a vicious cycle, one she never seemed quite able to break, no matter how hard she tried. The anxious thoughts made her restless and unable to sleep, but when she took the pills, she was groggy in the morning, as if she still hadn’t been able to rest properly.

She sometimes went weeks between doses, but the anxiety was always in the back of her mind when she was lying in her dark room, attempting to nod off. There didn’t even need to be any real stress in her life, in fact, it was often just that full body electrified sensation of restlessness that kept her up, not even coherent thoughts.

Lena was regretting her decision as she wiped down the bar top, dragging even after three traxaccino’s this morning, counting down the minutes until the end of her shift. It wasn’t too far off, but the evening crowd was a bit rowdy and she was certain it had something to do with the hubbub of the Peace Accords.

She’d purposefully kept her console off this morning, not wanting to see any news that would remind her of Screl, but her plan had backfired. Instead, she’d paced around her room, obsessing over how the diplomatic meetings were going and wondering if she’d see him again before he left the station.

At least work had taken her mind off things.

Michaela stepped up beside her, smiling sweetly.

She was one of the other bartenders, another human, and Lena thought that maybe they could bridge the gap from work friend to real friend one day, though she’d been too nervous to suggest hanging out outside of Ochin’s yet.

“I heard about you and the Thren commander,” Michaela said with a knowing smile, nudging Lena with a playful elbow.

Michaela was young, in her twenties, and had transferred from Adora Space Station a couple of months before Lena had arrived. She seemed so carefree, always with a genuine smile on her face, and Lena’s cheeks flushed as she tried to think of what to say.

“Oh, uh. Didn’t know that was anything worthy of talking about.”

Michaela scoffed.

“When an alien prince has a crush on one of my friends, I absolutely need to know the details!”

Did she say friend?

Lena bit her lip into a smile, but shook her head.

“There’s nothing to know. He seemed very serious about everything, but we just met. He asked me to go to his ship.”

Michaela squealed as if Lena had just said the most exciting thing in the galaxy, letting out a tittering laugh.

“And did you go?” she asked, wiggling her dark eyebrows. “There weren’t any Threns on Adora, but I can only imagine what those tentacles can do.”

If Lena was blushing before, now she was as red as a tomato, glancing around the bar to make sure no one was listening.