Lovers of the Galaxy: Book Three: Raiders of the Lost Heart (6 page)

“Your scientist wouldn’t have gotten much from
storms. Don’t worry, we have our technology that we are setting up”
Volund said.

She looked up at Jaxxon, who glanced up at the angry
sky.

“If this is an electrical storm rolling in,” she
continued, “I hope Badden and Acwel are in a safe place. Let’s get
back to the bank. We have some decisions to make about security for
this place before we even think of working on the inside of the
house.”

Volund tightened his grip on her. She sighed, knowing
she was once more going to have her DNA scrambled…like the babies
weren’t doing it enough already.

When Venus and her mates transported into the bank,
the scream of a Bone Eater filled the lower level. She would have
run to them, but Jaxxon held onto her as Volund went into battle
mode. With his Slicer in one hand, Volund pushed the sensor for his
armor, which instantly covered his body, and he carefully proceeded
to the lab.

A bright flash filled the room, and Ino and Badden
appeared. Immediately, Ino joined Tonto, who ran into the lab,
growling, ready to protect Volund.

“Don’t let them hurt her!” Venus screamed and pushed
at Jaxxon, trying to get free. “Let me go. I have to make sure they
don’t hurt her.” She snatched the dart gun from the table, but
Badden pulled it out of her hand.

“I will take care of this, so you better stay put.”
He loaded the gun with one of its tranquilizers.

“Excuse me?” She snarled at the naked warrior. He
ignored her and moved into the lab with Volund. She slid against
Jaxxon, receiving an instant reaction, and then glanced up at him.
“He had no right to snap at me like that! And why the hell is he
stark naked?” She turned to stare at Acwel, who also materialized
nude except for his tool belt with the other pet. He released Ka,
and the animal followed Badden into the laboratory.

Battle ready, Acwel removed his Slicer from his tool
belt and then stood next to Jaxxon. “What is the situation?”

“We just got here a moment before you did when we
heard one of the Bone Eaters scream. Volund has it secured now.” He
loosened his grip on Venus.

She watched as Acwel put his Slicer on the table next
to him. Her gaze slipped to the left, and her face grew warm. If
all men from space were built like him, the woman of Earth didn’t
stand a chance.

“Are you not feeling well?” Acwel asked, touching her
forehead, but she pushed his hand

away.

“I’m fine, but you two need to put on clothes, damn
it,” she mumbled.

Jaxxon and Acwel laughed as they made their way into
the lab. “You are partners with Badden aren’t you? We interrupted
you two, but that still does not give you reason to snap at us.”
Venus glowered at Acwel for a moment once she got his attention.
“If you and Badden had an argument, it’s no reason for him to take
it out on me—or us. I really don’t need it with the children here
and the others.”

“I’m sorry it’s hard ever since we lost our mate, the
two of us have drifted apart, but lately it feels as if we belong
again. We want to make this our home now and we’ll make sure you
all are safe.”

Venus nodded and patted Acwel’s arm. “I can see where
Miln gets his stubbornness from. I’m happy you are here. I have a
feeling we will all be close.” She turned her attention on the one
younger Bone Eater who was now secured after have a severe reaction
to the change. One had a slight burn on each of her spikes, and the
older woman lay still, watching every move Venus made in the
room.

She stopped and observed the older female. “Jaxxon,
would you put some of that cream you have on the other patient that
sustained the burn?” She walked closer to the first one.

Badden joined her. “Venus,” his breath came out in a
rush, “I am sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t take out my
frustrations on you...”

She frowned at him. “Go get some clothes on already,
will ya, both of you? And I hope you and Acwel work this out,
because this is getting to be a…” She stopped and held up her hand,
silencing everyone.

Quickly, she turned her attention back to the older
Bone Eater. Excitement and disbelief moved through her, but she
kept it hidden. She knew those eyes, but it couldn’t be. Her hand
automatically rested on her belly as gripped the gurney tightly
with her other. Trembles assailed her, and the room started to
spin. “Acwel, am I imagining this or are her eyes different?”

She kneeled in front of the creature. “Look, she’s
already losing her fangs.” Venus picked up one of the two long
incisors that lay on the gurney by the Bone Eater’s head. Blood and
part of the skin still remained on the fangs.

With gloves on, Volund snatched the tooth out of her
hand and gave her one of his you’ll-pay-for-this-later looks. “Are
you trying to kill yourself and our children? You do not even have
gloves on.” He handed the fangs to Acwel, who dropped them into a
specimen dish.

She sighed and patted Volund’s arm. “I’m sorry.
You’re right. However, I’m fine.” She glanced down at the Bone
Eater again.

“Venus…?” the creature whispered.

The room grew quiet. Disbelieving her ears, Venus
looked at everyone as they stopped what they were doing and moved
around the transforming female.

Although the one word had come out garbled, she was
certain she’d heard her name. Her heart began a furious rhythm, her
palms sweaty, and she could have sworn she heard everyone suck in
their breaths. “Yes, I am Venus.” She knelt in front of changing
creature again so they were eye to eye.

“And you are?” She pointed at it, hoping it could
comprehend. Or was the morphing person merely repeating what she’d
heard the others say in the lab?

“Gram,” the Bone Eater replied, voice rough.

Venus plopped backward on her ass. From the floor,
she gawked up at the half Bone Eater, half human woman. Gram held
her gaze and nodded before Volund and Jaxxon surrounded Venus, who
swatted at their hands as they checked every inch of her. Acwel
stepped in front of the Bone Eater, Slicer drawn, ready to kill
it.

“Stop! I’m not hurt.” She jumped up and pushed her
men out of the way and then grabbed Acwel’s arm. “I’m just stunned,
that’s all. Could you see if we have any of this one’s blood
samples left?” she asked him.

He nodded, but looked down at the woman. “She does
have nice eyes.” Moving to the fridge where their supplies and
samples were kept Acwel looked for the blood.

“Volund, really, I’m fine.” She rubbed his arms as
they encircled around her and smiled up at him. She knew this
pregnancy would be hardest on him. “Jaxxon, in the cabinet over
there, you’ll find my fathers and mothers personal files. Pull them
for me, please.” She turned to face him. “I know this is going to
sound crazy, but I need you to do this because I can’t. There
should be computerized blood samples for both my parents our
computers can run tests on. Those will show their DNA codes. I need
you to take her blood sample, break it down, and compare it to my
mom’s.”

“Why? Do you think she can be changed back?” Jaxxon
frowned and took the records from the cabinet along with the blood
sample Acwel handed him.

“I don’t know about that, but she is changing. It’s
just a question of whether or not she’ll be fully human again.
Volund, I’m going to need x-rays. I want to see what’s going on
inside of her and if she will be able to tolerate our food. If not,
we’ll still need to feed her intravenously.”

Venus walked over to the gurney and focused on the
Bone Eater.

The woman lay tense, and her fingers instead of claws
tapped on the gurney.

“When I was a child, my mother used to take me to
visit her mother and father.” Smiling, Venus waited as Badden
grabbed a chair for her and placed it by the gurney. “Thanks.” She
turned her attention back to the woman she believed was her
Gram.

“My Gram, or Belinda, would make these wonderful
cookies for me every time I visited. My mother and father are dead
now.” Venus held Gram’s gaze. “Randle killed them both. He was
their lab technician and he betrayed all of us.” She shifted in the
chair and inched it closer to the gurney.

Tears slipped down the changing woman’s face, another
sign of progress and that she’d understood her daughter was
dead.

“I was twenty one when they were murdered, and I’ve
been alone for so long it’s hard to adjust to having company.” She
glanced over at Jaxxon, who still worked on the blood samples. He
somehow sensed her gaze and looked up from his work to smile at
her.

“Do you need something?” he asked, preparing to get
up.

“I’m fine,” she replied. “Just talking to my new
friend here. Volund, do you have the x-ray machine yet?”

He kissed her from behind before he glided it in
front of her. He took the handheld scanner and moved it down the
patient’s body. He stopped at the creature’s stomach and frowned.
“Her organs are changing a little faster than we believed they
would, but it’s still slow.” He shrugged. “She should be able to
eat something now as long as it’s simple fare. It’s just as Dr.
Zeon described in the journal, but I believe her being older has
slowed the process. I don’t know how she is even awake with all the
pain she must be going through.”

“Acwel, could you come here? There has to be some
mistake in this reading.” Jaxxon frowned, picked up the computer
files, and then glanced back at a paper spat out by the
printer.

She would have laughed at his comical expression and
confusion, but the enormity of who they had on the table hit her as
did a movement in her belly. Slowly, she stood, running her hands
over her belly and walked over to the gurney. Tears welled, and her
hand trembled as she placed it on her grandmother’s cheek.

“Gram,” she whispered before the room began to darken
and she heard Volund yell her name.

The high hum of the ship had Venus turning toward her
chamber window with a sigh. Badden and Acwel were going to take
pictures of the entire city and the outer limits of it. She smiled
and watched the ship take off. When Acwel admitted that he and
Badden were also sexual partners she’d laughed.

According to Badden the same Tapio who threw Miln in
prison gave them trouble as well, but stopped the harassment when
they also joined with a female. “This Tapio might not have a mouth,
but he has an ass and I can kick it if he ever shows up around here
causing trouble,” she mumbled.

Oh, Jaxxon and Volund made sure she knew who sent
them and why, the Melting Pot they called their excursion. Well one
thing was for sure, she was not about to be a guinea pig, and Venus
protected those she consider family. Badden and Acwel might have
just arrived a few days ago, but already she’d formed a bond with
the two of them.

She smiled thinking of Badden and how protective of
her he was. His skills in the lab were limited on her systems, but
still he continued to surprise her with his wit and wanting to
learn everything. Of course she couldn’t help but love Acwel and
the way he teased and annoyed Volund. Venus had seen the twinkle in
his eye as he badgered Volund over the last few days. Just
yesterday she’d pulled Acwel aside and asked why he bothered Volund
so much.

“When Volund’s wife and baby died he came to stay
with us. Miln was worried. All of us were worried about him. He
withdrew from himself and everyone around him and nothing was
working.”

“So I did the opposite. I challenged everything he
did. If I couldn’t get him to talk I could get him to use his mind.
Get him fighting mad releasing that pent up anger and slowly Volund
came back to us. Not all the way, but most of the way. When I see
him with you, it’s like the old Volund is back and I won’t let him
sink back to what he had been becoming.”

Turning over Venus looked up at the ceiling. Badden
had set up the computers in one of the rooms in use for the
children on the fourth floor. Four computers split between twelve
children would bring many squabbles, but already Charlotte had that
well in hand.

The things she could hear, thanks to the added
benefits of changing her body, still amazed her.

“What do you mean that Bone Eater is related to
Venus? How is that possible?” Volund asked Jaxxon.

“She’s my grandmother, Belinda, my mom’s mom.” Venus
rolled over and tried to reach the scanner they’d left by the bed,
but Jaxxon was there first, handing it to her.

“What’s wrong?” He sat on the mattress, a frown
marring his handsome face.

Volund positioned himself on the other side of the
bed, stuffed two large pillows behind her, and scooted her back as
she tried to do it herself. “Now explain.”

Her men waited. She just shook her head.

“I had an idea the elder Bone Eater was my Gram, but
I wasn’t sure until the blood work confirmed it. With that news
and...” Venus glanced down at her belly which seemed to be a tad
swollen. She frowned. “I felt something move inside me, but it’s
not possible. It’s too soon.”

Jaxxon glanced at Volund. “Azutuan's gestational
period is shorter than that of humans, but not this fast.” He
retrieved the scanner from the nightstand and turned on the
machine. Small beeps indicating it was on sounded loud in the
suddenly quiet room. Jaxxon ran it over the lower portion of her
body.

“Well, everything appears to be normal. All three are
snuggled safely in your womb and their heart rates are perfect for
their time frame. Take a look.”

He handed her the scanner, and she gazed at the
picture before her. Nothing appeared to be out of place and
everything was fine. Once again the same small flutter floated
through her stomach. Three worm-like things moved around her
babies.

“What the hell?” Her voice cracked, and her hand
shook as she shoved the scanner into Jaxxon’s chest. “There are
worms in my body, and they’re attacking our babies! You call that
normal!” She tried to move, but both men held her down, laughing at
her.