The Siren's Call (Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance) (FORCED TO SERVE) Read Online Free Page A

heading off the fight between Synar and Ania she could feel brewing over the demon.
    When they got like that, rational thinking eluded both of them. With her new intuition, Gwen also knew their irritation with each other had nothing to do with locating Malachi, but she refused to get involved with helping them figure out how to allow the demon to have a sex life.
    She leaned over to the com and smacked it down hard, irritated that she was so aware of the real source of their tension.
    “Locate Conor Synar,” Gwen commanded.
    “Conor Synar is in his quarters,” the computer answered immediately.
    “See? Problem solved,” Gwen said, glaring at both of them. “Have Chiang get one of his engineer-programming nerds to hack the system and cross-reference the name on the chip in the body to come up as Malachi. Or better yet let Medical replace the chip with one registered expressly to Malachi himself.”
    “No. He will not be registered. I’ll talk to Chiang. It’s only necessary to track Malachi on the Liberator. I don’t want the demon’s whereabouts to be a matter of open record within the alliance. We told the elders. They’re the only ones that need to know. They understand and agree with my reasoning.”
    Synar pushed the com, swallowing his resentment of how much he detested doing what he had to do. But instead of feeling guilty about where Conor really was, he was just angry that the computer was forcing him to a workaround that reminded him of his shame.
    “Connect me to Conor Synar,” he ordered.
    Several seconds passed before Malachi answered. “Yes. Who is this?”
    “The proper way to answer the com is to state your name and ask the reason for the contact,” Synar bit off.
    The chastisement and instruction were met with silence, then the com lit again.
    “Malachi here. What do you wish, oh master?”
    “Come to the conference room by the bridge,” Synar ordered.
    “In body or mist form,” Malachi asked, his tone snide.
    Synar breathed deeply and fought not to blast the demon with anger. “Always in body unless I stipulate otherwise.”
    “Okay. I’ll be there as fast as Conor’s sturdy legs can carry me,” Malachi answered.
    Ania looked off so Synar wouldn’t see the amusement lurking in her eyes. He was already angry over the pending discussion about Malachi’s intimate life in Conor’s body. She didn’t need to make him even more upset by siding with the demon humorously. Really, if he would just stop being mad and talk to Malachi, it would alleviate half his concerns.
    Gwen stood to pace while they waited for him to arrive. “I have to walk. Sitting still for more than a few minutes drives me crazy. I require sleep aids to rest. There is an anxiety in me that I can’t seem to control no matter what I do. How many more Earth hours until we get there?”
    “A little over thirty,” Synar said.
    Gwen nodded, biting her lip, glaring at the door when Malachi walked through it.
    “What did I do? I came as soon as I was summoned,” Malachi said, hating that both his tone and words revealed his defensiveness. He’d promised himself not to let anyone’s negative attitude affect him. Damn humans and their emotions. Now he was feeling guilty and getting riled up over nothing.
    “Generic glaring at fate. Not really meant for you,” Gwen said, dipping her head. “Sorry, Malachi.”
    “Just good to know it wasn’t something I did. I find myself oddly opposed to distressing females if I can avoid it,” Malachi said, still not used to people apologizing to him. “Sorry I over-reacted. Evidently, this physical body’s nerve centers are sensitive to strong emotions.”
    He was definitely going to have to work on handling the acute discomfort he experienced over every tiny facial expression anyone made. He supposed most beings just ignored their feelings, but he had never been a stoic creature like his reluctant master. Conor’s life force had been much more volatile than Liam’s, but the