Page 25 of Pooch Planet

Chapter Ten

Antoine glanced over the sentry reports from the night before. Nothing suspicious had been observed by the guards, and no bat demon sightings by the villagers. The reports from Isis on the other side of the planet weren’t very enlightening either. It was likely the bat demon knew the Federation had arrived and would either be craftier about its kills or, if the Federation was very lucky, decide it wasn’t worth it and go back to the Hades Galaxy where it belonged. While preventing bat demons from capturing ships that strayed too close to their territory then taking the passengers back to one of their planets to feed on wasn’t always possible—a bat demon traveling to a G-Force protected planet was unheard of.

Antoine looked up as Lieutenant Moreau entered the command center tent. He held up the reports. “This is it?”

The lieutenant sighed. “I’m afraid so. All the main cities and towns were quiet. No messages for help from the outlying farms or smaller packs, either.”

Antoine tossed the disc with the reports onto the table in disgust. “We were barely on the planet five minutes and it tried to attack my—uh, a villager, and now it’s gone into hiding.” He averted his gaze in the hopes that Moreau hadn’t noticed his fumble. “We might need to change our strategy. Search for the foul thing while it sleeps in the day.”

Moreau sighed. “I was wondering if it might come to that. But we’d have to bring in reinforcements. With all the wooded terrain to cover, it could take years to flush this thing out. Should I notify the Notre Dame?”

Antoine pressed his lips together, his mind distracted by his concern over Benji’s safety. “Yes. We’ll organize the troops into squads then do a methodical search of the forests. And I think it’s time we use a cold sensor device to narrow our investigation down to areas with outcroppings of rocks, or hidden caves and caverns in the mountainous regions.” He pounded his fist on the table in frustration. “But we’ll still keep vigil at night. That demon will have to feed eventually.”

“Ooh, that sounds so frightening.”

Antoine and Moreau both whirled around and were treated to the sight of Pierre lurking at the entrance of the tent, his hands over his heart as if in terrible fear.

Give me a break.

“Pierre. I thought I made it clear that I can’t be interrupted while I’m working.”

Pierre advanced into the tent uninvited, slinking his way closer. “But you’re always working, my love.”

He rubbed up against Antoine and Antoine didn’t miss the smirk on Moreau’s face. At this rate, he’d never have a chance to be alone with Benji and things could get ugly. He had to come up with a way to get Pierre off-planet while he sorted everything out with his new mate.

An idea struck him.

Antoine placed an arm around a startled Pierre. “I know, I know. Which is why I think you should wait for me back on the Bastille, or even better, Old Earth. I’m so busy here and won’t have time to protect you from this vicious predator. It would be a tragedy if something were to happen to you, my love.”

He’d barely been able to grit out the last part.

“Love? What am I, chopped liver?”

Antoine groaned then yanked his arm away from Pierre, but it was too late. He turned to face an enraged Benji. Shep stood next to him with his fists on his hips, scowling at Antoine as if he wanted to bite his head off. A large basket lay on the ground with a bunch of brown muffins scattered around it.

“You don’t understand, Benji.” Antoine held up his palms in a placating gesture. “This is not what you think.”

“What I think? Oh, I’ll tell you what I think.” He jabbed a finger at Antoine. “I’m good enough to hump, but not as important as ‘your love’ when it comes to keeping me safe! Maybe you’re hoping I get eaten by that bat, so you won’t have to be responsible for our pups!”

Once again, Pierre gasped. He glared at Antoine. “Have you been rutting with this, this…this mangy cur!”

Benji held up a fist. “Oh, I’ll show you mangy, you simpering pile of gargoyle turds!”

Pierre’s wings fanned out, his tail swishing as his robe was shredded. “I’ll claw your eyes out! Antoine’s mine!”

Antoine growled and he grasped Pierre’s arm, yanking him back. “That’s enough, Pierre!” He turned to a scarlet faced Benji but didn’t miss the glimmer in his eyes. “Benji, let’s speak privately and I’ll explain everything.”

“Not interested. Go fuck your precious gargoyle and when you’re done? Go fuck yourself!”

Benji sprinted from the tent while Antoine battled a struggling Pierre, who kept hurling invectives after the retreating Chiweenie. Shep crouched and started gathering the muffins back into the basket.

“That was a big fail, Commander Dubois. Just sayin’.” Shep slowly shook his head as if he was disgusted. He rose and held out the basket. “But, no sense in letting a good muffin go to waste. Just brush them off, they’ll be fine.”

Pierre had finally squirmed free of Antoine’s grip. “I’m calling my father! You’ll never get away with this, he’ll have your command taken from you!”

“Fine, call your father. I don’t give a shit anymore.” He clenched his teeth as he stared down Pierre. “I’m sick of this whole charade. I was trying to handle things quietly to leave you with your dignity, but it’s clear you have none. Go be with Claude and stay out of my fucking life!”

Pierre appeared as if Antoine had struck him. “But Claude’s a lowly sergeant. He comes from a poor family. Why would I want to marry him?”