Slag: Book Four in the Galaxy Pirates Alien Abduction Romance Series (Shifter) by Alana Khan (i like reading books .TXT) 📗

up, set it on my lap, and pet its fur-feathers. They feel like spikey silk—soft, but with hard ribs that hold the feathers together. The defenseless animal is so scared it can’t settle down and is kneading its clawed feet in my lap.

“This!” Thantose says a little too loudly as he approaches, tapping the screen of his pad.

“Honey,” Brin says after rising. She puts her hand on the small of his back and says, “You’re scaring the little thing.”

“I thought A’Zul was in there. Can’t he hear me?”

“I’ve found it’s an interesting combination of humanoid and animal sentience. He’s in there, but he’s still working on control. He has only ever changed into animals on his planet or from Kallion—ones he’s familiar with. Changing into something he’s never seen before must be new to him. I think the animal’s fear has taken center stage right now.”

“Pet him,” Thantose all but orders. “As soon as he’s calm, we’ve got some work to do.”

The klempto game continues, but I carry the little ragamuffin to the couch and join Brin and Allura on their quest to find an interesting vid to watch.

I question the soundness of my decision to have the furbaby in my lap. If he shifts into a dragon or horse or even A’Zul, I’m going to regret it, but I know A’Zul can control when he shifts so I think he’s just enjoying the cuddles he’s getting as a sweet little bundle of fur and feathers.

An hour or so later, when the game is winding down, A’Zul rouses, stretches, and jumps from my lap to the floor. A moment later a very large, very naked green male is sprawled at my feet.

Thantose must have noticed the change the moment it happened, because he’s already turned off the vid player, pulled up a chair, and is leaned toward us, his elbows on his thighs.

“You’re part of our crew now, right?” He gets right to the point.

As his eyes flick back and forth between the two of us, I answer, “Yes,” as A’Zul nods his head, eyes wide. If we answer incorrectly will we be forced to do the outer space equivalent of walking the plank?

“You understand we’re thieves, right? We steal things from their rightful owners by trickery or outright taking.”

A’Zul and I nod. I wonder what he’s going to ask us to do, because that’s certainly what’s coming next.

“Can you turn into this?” He spears A’Zul with his piercing brown-eyed gaze as he picks up the tablet he’d been toying with and shows us a picture.

It’s an adorable catlike creature with huge almond-shaped eyes, enormous ears, and two tails. Thantose scrolls through pictures, ensuring we see the animal from all angles. It’s mostly white, with pastel rainbow-colored markings on the tips of its ears, paws, and tails. All in all, if it was a stuffed animal on Earth it would be the hit of the Christmas season.

“Can you?” Thantose prompts.

“I don’t see why not,” A’Zul says, his voice reluctant, as if he’s wondering what heinous crime he’s going to be asked to commit.

“Do it.”

I’ve never seen Thantose so gruff or forceful.

“Thantose, we told you he’s still working on the ‘shift at will’ thing. You might not like what he shifts into.”

“You said he could keep shifting until he got it right. Let’s do it.”

At first, A’Zul just sits there dumbfounded. I’m certain no one’s ever demanded anything like this of him before. Then he shimmers for just a second into his gorgeous, golden self. Now he turns into one of the little drams from Kallion.

“That’s cute, but it’s not what we need. Try again,” Thantose urges, trying to keep his irritation in check.

Another shift, this time into that horrible fanged predator from his planet. He must immediately sense this is wrong because he shifts again. Four shifts later and he’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.

Every woman in the room says, “Awww,” in unison. My hands itch to touch him. It’s like something out of a Disney movie. Even its eye blinks are adorable.

He climbs into my lap in a catlike motion and immediately curls against me and nuzzles my hand.

“If I wasn’t in love with this guy before, I certainly am now,” I say as I slide my hands through its velvety fur.

A crooked smile lights up Thantose’s face as he nods. “You can shift back to A’Zul whenever you’d like.”

A minute later we’re all gathered around the dining table. I feel like any moment Thantose is going to pull out a topo map and a pointer and start describing what we’re going to do like the generals in those old World War II movies.

Pictures of the animals are now scrolling on every screen in the room.

“This, males and females, is a brixnixx from the far caverns of planet Abachae. No one refers to them by their scientific name. Throughout the galaxy, they’re called dreambabies. They’re more rare than the blood gems of Aeon I. And more highly sought after. They’ve gained popularity over the last decade.”

“Dreambabies?” Sextus asks, now more interested. “I thought of getting you one for our anniversary, little Lexa.” When his cobalt eyes flash to his mate his rough exterior melts away exposing the lovesick male underneath. “I could steal my weight in gold and not have enough for one of those, though.”

“That expensive?” she asks, her eyes wide.

“Yes,” Thantose answers. “These are what everyone wants to get for their anniversary, engagement, or their daughter’s coming of age celebration. Cheapest I’ve seen was two million, and that was one who’d been clubbed over the head and couldn’t walk straight anymore.

“You,” he nods at my mate, “are going to shift into one of these for . . .” he scrolls through his computer pad, then lays it on