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  Yet, despite Kres’ dire predictions, the Thresl licked a spot on his neck then leapt at Barley. With vicious precision, the creature lacerated Barley’s face with his claws, leaving bloody trails in their wake.

  Kres raced past the shouting men to reach the intercom. Pressing the button, he yelled into the receiver, “Emergency on the cargo deck! Emergency!”

  A high-pitched scream pierced the air as Barley fell beneath the Thresl’s wrath.

  “Shit! No. Don’t kill him,” Kres commanded.

  To his surprise, the creature froze. Leaning over Barley, he bared his fangs. Long and curved, they were razor sharp and dripping with saliva.

  Barley let out a whimper as his men cowered in the corner as far from the Thresl as they could get. The creature was blocking their escape route, and neither of them was in any condition to battle a Thresl.

  Before Kres could think of what to do, a squad of soldiers rushed onto the cargo deck. Weapons raised, they surrounded the Thresl.

  “Don’t shoot him!” Kres shouted. “He was protecting me.”

  Instinct had Kres stepping up to the creature. “Come on. See, I’m not hurt. You stopped the bad men in time.”

  The loud snarling dimmed to a low growl.

  Sergeant Wallace shoved his way through the sea of soldiers.

  “What happened here?” he demanded.

  “Barley showed up with his friends and decided to beat me up. The Thresl stopped them.”

  The ship’s captain arrived in time to hear the accusation. “That’s a serious charge, Lieutenant. Why would Lieutenant Barley want to attack you?” Captain Thomson asked.

  “I don’t know, probably because that’s what he does whenever he thinks he can get away with it,” Kres snapped.

  “Don’t listen to him!” Barley screamed. “He sicced that creature on us. I want justice.” He clutched at his face with one bloody hand.

  “You’ll have it,” the sergeant promised. Kres’ heart sank in his chest. He was finally going to get the prison sentence Barley planned for him. He’d eluded it until now, but Barley wouldn’t give up until Kres spent the rest of his life in a smaller cage than the Thresl.

  The Thresl moved away from Barley and went to sit beside Kres. The animal sat upright, curling his tail around his body, a low purr vibrating his chest.

  A group of four men wearing medic uniforms rushed over to the fallen men. They sprayed sealant on the open wounds and bound Barley’s face with gauze.

  “Take them to the medic ward,” the captain ordered. “We’ll deal with them later.”

  As the trio left the area, Wallace turned to the captain. “After we had a few thefts last year, I added a new camera system to the cargo hold. We can review the recording here.”

  Pulling a remote out of his pocket, the sergeant pressed a few buttons. Two wall panels pulled apart, revealing a large flat screen monitor.

  “Now see here, Sergeant. Don’t you think this should be shown in a more private location?” the captain protested.

  “No. I’ve looked at Lieutenant Barley’s record, and for some reason, all the evidence of whatever he’s accused of always mysteriously disappears. I want there to be witnesses,” Wallace replied.

  The monitor flickered on and, after the sergeant reversed the digital recording, everyone watched as Barley attacked Kres.

  Captain Thomson viewed the entire scene in silence. “After they leave the medic ward, Barley, Stanner and Philson will be confined to the brig until we reach port.”

  The Thresl licked his bloody claws.

  Captain Thomson started shouting orders, concluding with, “Everyone clear the area except Sergeant Wallace and Lieutenant Piers.”

  The captain waited until everyone was gone before turning to Kres. “It seems we have a problem here, Lieutenant Piers.”

  “I’m so sorry, Captain Thomson,” Kres said. “I really don’t know why Barley hates me.”

  Sergeant Wallace laughed. “Probably because you’re smarter, better looking, and people actually like you.”

  The captain smiled and slapped Sergeant Wallace on the back. “I’m so glad you recorded the incident, Wallace. I’ve been trying to pin something on that pompous ass since he walked onto my ship. I hate punk kids who ride on their parents’ glory.”

  “So I’m not in trouble?” Kres asked. He couldn’t believe he was getting out of this, and Barley was actually receiving the punishment he deserved. It was like a living dream.

  “There is the problem of the Thresl…” Captain Thomson said.

  “I didn’t let him free, Captain, I promise. His cage just came open.”

  “I saw,” the captain agreed. “But he’s still imprinted on you.”

  Kres stared at the creature in horror. “Imprinted? No. He can’t be. He’s meant for an ambassador or someone.” This was awful. A million-dollar Thresl imprinted on a lieutenant with little money and no pedigree. “We’ll put him back in the cage. He’ll be fine.”

  He looked down at the cat creature blinking up at him with gold eyes. “Go back into the cage, Thresl,” Kres said in a soothing tone. “Go on now.” He made a shooing motion with his hand. The Thresl rubbed his enormous head against Kres’ stomach, a low purr rolling up from his throat.

  “Yours,” a voice whispered inside Kres’ head.

  “Oh, no, no, no. Not mine.”

  “Did it talk?” the captain asked curiously. “I’d heard they can sometimes mentally communicate with their bonded humans. They are an interesting breed.”

  “I can’t have a Thresl. I can barely take care of myself,” Kres objected.

  “We’ll have to explain to the ambassador why his present is no longer going to work.” The captain gave him a smile. “I’ll put that on Barley’s shoulders also.”

  “What do I do with the Thresl?” Kres asked, bewildered.

  “You’ll have to be transferred to the Thresl training facility,” the captain said. “It’s located on the moon of their home planet of Nillre. That’s the only place that conducts proper Thresl orientation. Once your training is complete, you can come back to your position as a fighting team or you can join the troops on Nillre. Since we’re allies, either military group would take you. Unfortunately, you’ll be useless until you’ve finished imprinting with the beast.” The captain gave him a measuring look. “Consider yourself lucky. Not very many have the privilege of a Thresl bonding.”

  Kres realised it didn’t matter what he wanted. Now that he’d imprinted with the Thresl, he couldn’t abandon the creature that had saved his life. “Is there a shuttle I can catch?”

  “Yes,” Sergeant Wallace said. “I can have one ready for you in an hour if you want to get your stuff together and head for the dock.”

  Kres didn’t have much to pack. As a soldier he was only allowed a rucksack full of clothes and a few personal items.

  “Thank you, Sergeant, for all your help.” He hoped he was able to convey his gratitude to the man who’d essentially saved him from prison. After saluting both officers, he turned to leave.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Wallace asked.

  The Thresl bounded after him, his huge body as tall as Kres’ chest.

  Kres looked back at the cage. “Do I need a collar or something?”

  The Thresl gave a low growl.

  Captain Thomson shook his head. “He’s yours now. He won’t do anything unless you are in danger, and if that is the case, you don’t want to be on the other side of a leash.”

  The hair on Kres’ arms stood on end. He could see no way this was going to end well.

  Sighing, Kres headed to his room.

  * * * *

  The shuttle trip to the Thresl moon gave Kres plenty of time to think over the mess his life had become. Unfortunately, no amount of analysing uncovered a secret escape plan to his current situation. Still stunned over the new path his career had taken, Kres curled up in his shuttle seat beside his purring companion and let exhaustion take over.
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br />   Someone shook his shoulder, pulling him out of his slumber. A large man in a military uniform towered over him. “Are you Kreslan Piers?”

  Kres rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “Yeah.”

  “I’m Jones. Come with me.”

  Kres blinked at the Thresl as he rubbed against him, almost knocking him off his feet. “Take it easy,” he muttered as he stood up, hoping the beast didn’t push him over in his rush of affection.

  “Wow, that’s the biggest Thresl I’ve ever seen,” the soldier said, eyeing the beast nervously. “Where’s his cage?”

  Kres gave the cat beast a long look.

  It purred.

  “The captain said a bonded Thresl didn’t need one.”

  The soldier gave him a shy smile. “Sorry, my information was faulty. I thought you were escorting it here. I didn’t know you were the bonded one. In general, they are saved for ambassadors, kings, high-ranking officers and the occasional diplomat. I’ve never seen one bonded with a lieutenant. How did you get it to bond with you?” The soldier watched Kres as if he were going to confess a deep dark secret.

  “Just lucky I guess.” Kres glared at the creature. The Thresl jumped up, placed his paws on Kres’ shoulders and licked his cheek.

  “Lucky.”

  The word whispered through Kres’ mind with a tone of smug satisfaction that made him laugh. He gently pushed the overly affectionate creature away.

  “I’ll escort you to the training facility. Admiral Holland is waiting to meet you. Now I know why. It’s rare that a regular soldier has the acceptance of a Thresl. Everyone’s going to be jealous. I suspect there will be bets going around that you’ll not get it fully bonded. I’ll put my money on you, so don’t let me down.”

  “I’ll try not to,” Kres said. He was making no promises. If things went horribly wrong, maybe he could ditch the growly beast.

  The Thresl snorted beside him. Not for the first time Kres wondered about the beast’s IQ. He’d heard they were an intelligent race, but he had no idea how intelligent. He knew little about them since they weren’t something he ran into every day. Rumours flew about how they changed into humans, but in the short span of time between bonding with the Thresl to being sent on the shuttle Kres had learnt nothing new.

  It was a short walk from the dock to central command. Admiral Holland met them just outside his office. Jones quickly made the introductions before stepping back and trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. The admiral was a big man with cropped blond hair and an expression on his face that said he didn’t accept excuses from anyone. His eyes were like chips of ice as he looked Kres over.

  The Thresl didn’t approve. Placing himself between Kres and Holland, the beast opened his mouth, flashed his razor sharp teeth and gave a low growl.

  “Control your beast.”

  “You’re going to get my ass kicked,” Kres projected towards the Thresl.

  A soft chuffing noise came from the beast. He moved back to stand at Kres’ side.

  “Impressive.” The admiral’s cold eyes held grudging approval.

  Kres didn’t bother telling the man he had little control over the Thresl. It was probably better at this point to let the man have his illusions. The more command others thought he had over the Thresl, the better the chance he could keep the cat free and find a good home for him in the future.

  The Thresl growled at Kres.

  “Hush,” Kres murmured at him. He didn’t want to fight with the big cat, especially not in front of the admiral.

  “I am assigning you to basic training. It’s to help you work as a partner with your Thresl and decide its final form.”

  “Is it true they turn into humans?”

  “Sometimes,” the admiral said. “It depends. They generally choose some sort of humanoid form, but I’ve seen them turn into wolfmen, three-armed bears, and even once, an octopus for a sea-dwelling bondmate. I would say over ninety per cent of the time they are some sort of human. Unfortunately, you don’t get to pick its form. It will pick the shape it thinks will suit you best.”

  “How will training help the Thresl decide on a form?”

  The admiral shrugged. “I’m not sure how it works, but something about the Thresl psyche helps it determine what would be the best fit for its master. You will learn more details in your class. For now, take your bag and drop it off in your room. You can head directly to the classroom in the south wing after that. Jones can show you where you need to go.”

  Kres saluted the admiral before taking his leave. Great. A large cat followed him around, and he was going back into military training.

  He was never going to have sex again.

  Chapter Two

  The training area was an empty white room with three other human and Thresl pairs.

  “You must be Kres.” A large man with a nice collection of scars stood at the front of the room with a beautiful black-haired woman. When she turned to look at him, Kres could see from the Thresl gold eyes she wasn’t human.

  “I’m Commander Tiller, and this is my Thresl, Muir.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Kres saluted the commander and gave the Thresl a polite bow.

  “Why did you do that?” the commander asked.

  “Do what?” Kres looked at the man in confusion.

  “Bow to my Thresl.”

  “It’s rude to not acknowledge another being.” His mother had taught him good manners.

  The commander looked him over as if inspecting a new life form. “I’ve introduced Muir to thousands of people over the years, and you are the first to acknowledge her as an individual being.”

  Kres found that hard to believe, but he wasn’t going to call the commander a liar. However, his expression must’ve given him away.

  “You don’t believe me.” The commander laughed. He turned to the other humans in the room. “Did any of you acknowledge Muir?” The other three men shook their heads, and all of them gave Kres measuring looks as if wondering how he’d fit into the group.

  Great—more buddies.

  Kres’ Thresl stepped in front of him and let out a low growl.

  The other three Thresls hid behind their humans.

  “I guess we’ve discovered who’s alpha in this pack,” the commander said with satisfaction.

  “What do you mean?” one of the other men asked.

  “Kres, these are your training partners Davis, Zander and Brice. Together you will learn how to work with and fight alongside your Thresls. Eventually, they will transform into the perfect partner for you.” He motioned to his own Thresl. “Muir is a specialist in diplomacy and small weapons, both things that have gotten me out of more than one tight spot. The shape your Thresl takes will determine where you go next in your training. When Thresls are first trained, they need an alpha—a pack leader if you will. Since Kres’ Thresl is the biggest and most aggressive of the four, he will become the alpha of this group.” He turned to examine Kres closely. “Has he grown since he was freed from his cage?”

  Kres looked his Thresl over. “Not really. He was pretty damn big to begin with.”

  “Hmm. Interesting. His aggression is surprising in a Thresl not yet fully bonded.”

  Muir stepped forward.

  “Yes, Muir?”

  “I think we should start them out with the loyalty test.” Her voice was silky smooth, the voice of someone who used charm to get her way. Next to the rough commander, Kres could see how they meshed together. They were a good fit. Kres didn’t want to be a perfect partner with a Thresl. He wanted to be a spaceship captain, and he didn’t see that happening while he had a Thresl to watch over.

  “Good thinking,” Commander Tiller said. “Davis, come forward.”

  Davis walked to the front of the room until he stood before the commander. He wore his dark hair cropped short, and the Thresl beside him had light brown fur. Davis looked quite a bit older than Kres and had an air of command.

  Without warning, the Commander picked up a firearm and shot a
t Davis’ feet. The Thresl took the back of Davis’ shirt in his teeth and tugged him away from the danger.

  “Good instincts,” Commander Tiller said. “You may step back.”

  The pair went back into line.

  “Brice, your turn.”

  Brice was a blond with long hair and an earring in one ear. Kres bet his parents had purchased his Thresl, a shiny black-furred creature more pretty than powerful.

  “You’re not gonna shoot me, are you, Commander?” he asked in a slow drawl.

  “I might if you don’t stop sleeping with my staff,” the commander growled.

  The commander pointed his gun at Brice, and the Thresl hid behind the human.

  “Failed,” Commander Tiller said.

  “What do you mean failed?” Brice demanded, stomping his foot.

  “I mean your parents can buy you a Thresl, but they can’t make it bond with you. You’ve had yours for three months, and it won’t lift a paw to save you when someone is holding a gun on you. No devotion. Your Thresl will be collected and given to another owner.”

  “No!” Brice screamed.

  “This is a military base. I don’t care who your father is. I’m not going to force a Thresl who isn’t interested in bonding. You can try to get another or head back home.”

  “But I don’t want it for military use!” Brice glared at the commander.

  The commander didn’t look impressed and Kres watched as the commander subtly pushed a button on the communicator strapped to his wrist. “A Thresl’s first instinct is to protect its bonded. Your father acquired yours to be a personal bodyguard. If it doesn’t want to guard you then it isn’t going to be what you need. If it wanted to be your pet, it would still want to protect you. Basically, by hiding behind you, the Thresl said it would rather you were killed than it. So you failed.” The commander spoke slowly as if talking to a child.

  Brice glared at the Commander. “This isn’t over.” He turned to go. He stopped when his Thresl didn’t follow. “Come!”

  The cat flattened its ears and ignored the command.

  Brice flushed red. He opened his mouth but before he could argue further, two soldiers in medic uniforms rushed in and herded the Thresl out of the room.