The World of Beasts: She's Got Their Hearts

Analise thought it was better to keep her distance from Vera. She figured she'd just message Vera later-say something urgent came up and she couldn't make it. Easy enough.

"Thank you, Ms. Chambers. You're truly too kind," Jay said, standing and thanking Analise enthusiastically, cutting off whatever it was Scott had been about to say.

Since Analise's pocket drive hadn't arrived yet, she stored her things in Scott's.

Finlay's pocket drive had been destroyed by the Vexoth on the day Analise first arrived. His replacement was still in production, too, so all his stuff went into Scott's pocket drive as well.

"Just leave me one bag of the Astral Ambers. Give two bags to the other females

in the alliance. Give the rest of it to the males," Analise said to Scott as he gathered the Astral Ambers.

Scott had planned to give all the Astral Ambers to her. As far as he was concerned, helping Karl Hansen reclaim power was worth the alliance alone. The resources were just a bonus.

"Astral Ambers are rare. You should keep more for yourself," he said with a smile.

"Rare or not, it's still a consumable. Males use a lot of mental energy protecting us. They need the Ambers, too," Analise replied seriously.

Scott sighed and handed two bags to the housekeeper with instructions to distribute them among Stormclaw's females based on their mental power levels. The rest would be given to the males as needed, either as rewards or for recovery.

Once they boarded the Interstellar Starship, Analise lit up like a curious kid. Everything on board fascinated her. That was until the starship launched.

Her mind went blank as it felt like she was sitting in a crashing elevator. Her whole body swayed, and she was barely able to stay upright in the starship. Her stomach lurched, and her chest felt tight, like she couldn't breathe.

Finlay and Scott began to panic when they saw how pale Analise's face was.

Scott moved first, catching her just before she collapsed. He figured the starship's acceleration must have been too much for her, even though he'd already set it to the lowest speed possible.

"Ana! Ana! Can you hear me?" Finlay called, watching her eyes lose focus.

Analise couldn't make out a word. Her ears were ringing. All she could see was Finlay's lips moving.

"System detected the host's physical and neurological state is not

currently adapted to interstellal ne

ons

gravitational flux. Initiating beginner protection protocol."

A crisp, robotic voice rang through her mind, and just like that, the nausea vanished. Analise took a deep breath.

"Ana? Are you okay?" Finlay somehow acquired a whole pile of oddly colored liquids. This might be the starship's version of energy or recovery supplements.

"You've got motion sickness from the starship, right? Do you want some clarity tonic?"

He held up a green vial. "This one's the strongest. Tastes awful, but it works the best."

"No... No, thanks," Analise said, instantly recalling the awful flavor of the nutrient packs she'd had back at the intake facility.noveldrama

"I'm alright. I'm just not used to the Interstellar Starship yet," she added with a weak smile, gently pushing the vial away.

"Okay," Finlay said, relieved to see her color returning. He tucked the clarity tonic back into the storage compartment.

"Ana, you should lie down in the

resting cabin. You're already uncomfortable because of your cycle, and now you've got motion sickness," Finlay said, looking at Analise heart-wrenchingly

"Yeah, good idea." Analise nodded. While she felt better, her body still felt tired due to her period.

She curled up in the bed inside the resting cabin, then muttered to Echo in her mind, "Why didn't you activate the beginner protection protocol earlier? I thought I was going to die out there."