Angela Verdenius by Angela Verdenius

of it.”
    “I hardly think-”
    “Captain, your alien gene is a very possessive one.  It only emerges when the one you choose for your mate – however unconsciously – appears.  You have become possessive of her, and the way you mated with her is a prime example of both your alien and human genes merging, and yet also being different.”
    “You’re making my head ache.”
    “To put it even more bluntly, Captain, Molly is yours.”
    “Ridiculous.”  Mine.  All mine .  He didn’t even blink as the words echoed from somewhere deep and primal inside him.
    “So you’d let another man touch her?”
    Alsandair’s jaw clenched.
    “Kiss her?”
    A muscle started to tic and he felt his nostrils flare, his fingers curling and digging into the armrests.
    “Lay with her?”  Dr Surnace watched him closely.
    A red haze drifted across his vision.  “No…freaking…way!”
    “You’ve picked up some of Molly’s sayings.  Now there’s something both very human and very alien in your words and reaction, Captain.”
    Furious, Alsandair leaped up from the chair, his fists clenched.  “Have you seen something?  Someone?  Has someone tried to touch Molly?”  He didn’t give her a chance to answer before he snarled in rage, “I’ll kill whoever has touched her!  I’ll kill him! ”
    “I rest my case.” She sat back in the chair.  “Calm down, Captain.  Molly is safe somewhere on this station, no one has approached her with anything other than the regard shown to guests.”
    Wheeling around on one booted heel, Alsandair faced the space shield and drew in several deep breaths, willing his fury to subside.  It was as if just the knowledge that Molly was his alone was enough to calm him down.  Damn it.  He didn’t know what to think.
    Hearing the door slide open, he glanced back to see Dr Surnace leave the room, the door sliding shut behind her, leaving him alone to gather his thoughts.  The doctor was very perceptive.
    Crossing to the shield, Alsandair gazed out into space and pondered her words.  Was she correct?  Had his alien side come to the fore along with his human genes?  And really, which alien gene would that be?  His family tree was full of several different alien genes, not forgetting the human genes.
    Lifting his gaze to the planet overhead, he frowned.  He’d never avoided the truth before, he wasn’t going to start now.  He did feel something for Molly and it surpassed just the possessive streak that had reared its head inside him.  He felt something else…protective.  Wanting.  Okay, possessive, too, but definitely something warmer.  Love?  He honestly didn’t know. What he did know was that he couldn’t bear the thought of anyone touching her, caressing her, sharing hot, intimate moments with her.  He wanted her secret smiles, her heat, her body, to himself.
    He did know he’d never felt that way about another person in his whole life.
    The door behind him slid open and he turned as a voice snapped behind him, “Sir!  Molly is missing!”
    “Missing?”  He frowned at the soldier.  “What do you mean missing?”
    “She isn’t in her room or anywhere else on the ship.”  The soldier didn’t flinch while he said it, but his eyes flickered, betraying his nervousness at being the one to relay the news.
    “How the hell could she go missing?”  Alsandair stalked towards the door, his ire rising.  “Who was looking after her?”
    “No one, Sir.  Well, no one except…you, Sir.”
    “Me?”  Halting, Alsandair glared at him. 
    “Sir, you sent Pollett away when you visited Molly in her room.  You didn’t call anyone back.”  The soldier stood as stiff as a board.  “It was presumed you were still with her.”
    Alsandair cursed inwardly.  He’d left Molly’s room and come straight to Dr Surnace’s offices.  He’d actually forgotten to reset a guard on Molly.
    The soldier looked like he was waiting to be shot, a slight sheen of sweat on his