Page 29 of The Thren's Fated

A horrified flush burned through Lena, starting at her cheeks and spreading through her body. She walked in a daze as Dronzal led them through the labyrinthine corridors, her mind a jumbled mess.

What the hell had just happened? That faint seed of pleasure still throbbed in her core, and it made her sick to her stomach. Commander Screl had assaulted—potentially killed—a man after paying to get him out of the station brig, all for her.

And what had she done?

She’d let him kiss her, had fallen into his embrace like he was the hero of some cheesy romance holonovel. Like he’d slain a dragon to save her, not some two-bit privateer asshole who was no worse than all the jerks back on Earth.

This is all your fault. You should have just gone to his ship when he asked, should have let him fuck you like he wanted to. Now a man is grievously harmed because of you.

Fuck, she should be crying, screaming, but she just felt numb. This was all her fault. She’d inadvertently given Screl the impression that she wanted him to do this, wanted him to take her, wanted him to cut off a man’s fucking hands for her.

Had she not made it clear that she wasn’t interested? Of course not, not with the way she melted in his arms, the way she’d let him pleasure her on the dancefloor at Cosmic Pulse. She’d fucked everything up, her fresh start, her new life, every last bit of it fucked up beyond repair.

A sense of impending doom hovered over her like a rain cloud, her chest clenching with pain as she tried to follow Dronzal through the hall.

Was she having a heart attack? Is this what a heart attack felt like?

You’re an evil person. A part of you was glad that Screl did it, that he abducted you, hurt that man for you. You’re too scared to admit that you’re desperate for him to fuck you, would do anything to get on your knees for him. A desperate little whore.

Lena stumbled, pressing her palm to the cool metal wall and trying to stabilize herself.

Dronzal turned, finally noticing her distress, and stepped up to her.

“Are you alright?”

“No, I’m not alright!” Lena yelled, breathing heavily. “He just cut off a guy’s hands like it was nothing!”

“That male harmed you, did he not?” Dronzal asked, cocking her head.

Was every Thren certifiably insane?

“The punishment did not fit the crime! He did no worse to me than Screl himself.”

And that was the dreadful truth that weighed her down the most. She liked the way Screl could control her so easily, and yet the same actions had doomed another man. Had she always been this messed up? Or was she just so desperate for someone to feel something for her that a possessive asshole made her swoon?

“We should return to the room. You must rest,” Dronzal said, gently taking her arm.

The Thren winced as she pulled Lena down the hall, as if the physical contact was painful, but before long they were back in the room. Lena went straight for the bed and cowered under the covers like a child hiding from an imaginary monster, unable to come to terms with all that had happened.

Lena must have nodded off because she woke up woozy and bleary-eyed, Dronzal sitting in the same chair from earlier.

“What are you still doing here?” she asked, and Dronzal’s mouth curled into a frown.

“I am supposed to watch you.”

“Watch me sleep?”

Dronzal nodded, and Lena groaned, getting up from the bed and pacing the room. She was restless and groggy at the same time, her mind unable to grasp onto anything despite the thoughts whizzing by.

This is what you wanted, isn’t it? You were so scared of being alone, of being abandoned, that now you’re stuck here with some psychopath who’s not afraid to torture people. You made him think he wanted you to do this. You’re the reason a man’s life has been ruined, and all because you were upset that he slapped your ass. Whiny bitch.

Lena swallowed, trying to ignore the voice, though it nagged at her just like her mother had done her entire childhood.

“How long do you think Screl will keep me here?” she asked, trying to ignore her guilt as she stepped up to Dronzal.

If she could just get back to Henios, then maybe this nightmare would end.

“I do not know.”