The World of Beasts: She's Got Their Hearts

Analise slipped into her clothes and took a step, only to falter. There wasn't any strength left in her feet. They were drained after the extended period of passion she shared with Finlay.

"Ana, you're awake." He had just left the galley when he saw her coming out of his private cabin.

"Yeah." Analise nodded. She caught him gazing at her neck, and her eyes darkened a little. "Do you want to take a break? I can keep an eye on the starship."

Some dark circles could be seen underneath his eyes, though they weren't too

severe.

"Not until after you have breakfast." Finlay turned around and brought trays of food from the galley. Placing them on the small table at the fore cabin, he took a seat and ate with her.

"I noticed you were asleep. You also handled the motion sickness much better earlier in the day. So, I cranked the speed up and drove the starship at full throttle.

"That way, we'll be able to arrive at Shadowhawk Alliance before nightfall, meaning we'll be there a night earlier," Finlay said as he put some of the dishes on her plate.

"Okay. Show me how to handle the controls and take a nap. I'll keep watch this time," Analise responded after she swallowed her food.

"Sure."

She proved to be a fast-learning student. He just had to give her a brief rundown of the controls, and she immediately had a grasp of them.

That said, he played it safe and napped on the chair in the fore cabin. With her holding his hand, the sleep was rather restful. It was past 3:00 pm when he woke up.

"You're awake." Analise lowered her head and pecked him on the corner of his lips. "Our starship has sailed into Shadowhawk Alliance's sector, and the starship ahead of us is leading us now.

"He said we didn't have to dock at the starship station. Instead, we can just go straight to Gideon's lab."

"Hmm?" Finlay still felt a little groggy. Rising to his feet, he took a look at the monitors on the control panel.

"Did you give Gideon a call and confirm it with him? Did the starship make a call to you?" Finlay ruffled his hair and looked for the records on the control panel.

"I did. The starship ahead of us requested a voice call the moment

we sailed into their sector. To be on the safe side, I also gave Gideon a call and confirmed that he sent the starship to guide us."

Analise placed her hands on her hips and stretched a little. After the

intensnoveldrama

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tantalizing workout from the

day before, sitting or standing for

too long left her waist aching.

"Okay. Let's go straight to his lab, then." Finlay worked for the control panel before

he held her waist and brushed her neck with his cheeks.

"Ana, exactly what research is it? Why does he need you to be there?" A slight unease stirred up in his heart.

"Why, it's potions, of course." Analise rubbed his therian ears.

Not getting a straight answer from her left a sense of restlessness lingering in his heart, but he couldn't get anything out of her, either.

An hour later, their starship landed on an empty rooftop. Finlay picked a small spacecraft for this trip, and it fitted snugly on there.

"Hi, Ana."

The hatch had just opened when Analise saw Gideon, who was already waiting for them. The dark circles underneath his eyes were still prominent, but he didn't look as

haggard as he did a few days ago. Sleeping must've helped.

"Ana." He immediately embraced her the moment her feet touched the rooftop.

"What's the matter? You're acting like a kid who has been wronged." Analise hugged him back and patted his back fondly.

"I've missed you," Gideon responded, his voice muffled by a stuffy nose.

"Did you catch a cold?" She frowned and pulled away from him gently.

Shaking his head, he said, "No. It's probably an infection from the scratch I got earlier today."

"Did you do it on purpose? Did you use yourself as a test subject?" Analise's expression immediately turned solemn.

"There are already a lot of afflicted males around. You could've picked any one of them. Why did you put yourself at risk?"