by V. K. Ludwig
“I’m so sorry that your people have to go through this,” she said, voice turning thin. “If I could help, I swear I would.”
The Varac let his head slump into the furs and dug onyx claws into a braid already falling apart at the sides. “Drana, save me from myself.”
“What?”
“You are my prisoner. I kidnapped you.” He folded his arms behind his head and stared through the glass dome above. “How can you call Aura Station a home?”
That question sunk in.
Sunk in and landed heavy on her stomach, yet it had nothing on the weight of the answer. Aura Station felt less like a prison to her than Osacore Estate had in recent years. And the Varac might have kidnapped her, but he also got her out of her bubble.
None of the Aurani ever asked her to smile. Instead, they requested she dig her knees into the dirt, bend over until her back hurt, and harvest pods until her arms bled. In return, the very people Dad had turned into refugees provided her with answers he’d always refused.
Scratches, hunger, and hypothermia aside, in a way, Ada wouldn’t have minded staying here. If the food situation improved? Perhaps more water for bathing and —
She clenched her eyes shut.
Thoughts couldn’t get sillier than that. She was a hostage, worth as much as the size of her head paid in osanium. At least that was what he believed…
That next swallow went down like sand. “It feels like home because, here, I’m more than just a pretty face, or a smile on legs.”
“You are so much more than that regardless of where you are,” he murmured, rubbing his palms over his forehead as if his own words somehow caused him a headache. “I’ve never expected to find honesty in a human, let alone a care for anything that goes beyond their hunger for power and riches. It is… confusing. I can’t make sense of you at the best of times.”
“And that bothers you?”
“It bothers me greatly,” he ground out. “But not as much as the fact that I can’t even make sense of myself anymore.”
Ada turned onto her stomach, her muscles tense. Whatever it was, something had changed overnight. Something between them, invisible, yet strong enough it left his features pained. He seemed gentle, open to the point of being vulnerable.
“That scar,” Ada said, lifting herself onto her underarms. “How did you get it? The tissue is a pale gray, so I assume you’ve had it for a while.”
“Since I was sixteen,” he said on an exhale.
Silence ticked into long seconds, then at least half a minute, and Ada cocked her head. “Sooo? How did you get it? Or you don’t wanna talk about it?”
“I don’t mind talking about it, but I doubt you would enjoy listening.”
“Try me.”
He retrieved one hand from underneath his head, tapping a claw against his fangs a few times before he spoke. “Osacore invited us to a meeting under the pretense of discussing peace, as well as the relocation of our people to —”
“Axxiar Five.” Ada’s heart ached the moment he’d said pretense, but it cracked in half at his nod, confirming she would regret this question like none before.
“My father travelled back to Xaleon along with a handful of warriors and Thuran. I accompanied him. So did my older brother.”
Her voice came small and quiet. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“I was a spare heir. I was never supposed to become Varac.” He closed his eyes for a moment, almost as if reliving the memory, bringing the blood in Ada’s veins to a standstill. “I’d never seen humans before until that day. Not up close. And I found them beautiful with their veins showing through skin, their lack of a natural defense. I’d never doubted my father as I had at that moment. How could we possibly be at war with something that looked so… innocent?”
He paused and looked at her, his question unspoken between them. Did she want him to keep going? In a way, no, but she nodded anyway, tears already burning behind her eyes.
“They slaughtered my father, my brother, and most of the warriors. I only survived because Thuran dragged me out of there in time, but I ripped half my face open on… on…” A surreal chuckle wormed from his chest, followed by a groan. “Ah, I don’t even know what it was. A sharp edge on the hole Thuran had ripped into the metal wall perhaps. I was so in shock, the pain barely registered.”
No matter how many tears rolled down her cheeks, Ada’s eyes kept on burning, the room going blurry around her. Every single question she’d asked had been for the sole purpose of making herself CEO of a company she wanted less and less with each answer.
She wiped both hands over her face. “I’m so sorry.”
The Varac rolled onto his side once more, a dark gray imprint adding to the ridges on his stomach where her tunic must have bunched against him all night. “You didn’t cry when I took you. If I would have anticipated tears, I wouldn’t have told you.”
Ada sniffed and wiped at her nose. “Ever since you took me, I figured I could find out what I need to lead Osacore once I turn twenty-one. But you know what? I think I don’t want that damn company anymore. I should probably give you your planet back.”
For a small eternity, he said nothing, wiping the back of his hand over her cheeks to dry a few stray tears. Ada leaned into the touch, followed it. Even claws held comfort if they belonged to the only male who made her feel valuable beyond beauty. Who put a flutter in her belly that shouldn’t be there.
“That’s a shame,” he said, the way his eyes slipped to her lips making her gasp. “For once, I believe the company might gain a CEO worthy of our planet.”
“I hate when you make it sound as if I’m capable.” And yet her core warmed, because deep down, she loved when he did. Loved how she found strength and reassurance in him. “There’s still so much I don’t understand. The moment I take over, investors will jump ship, and shareholders will sell their stock. I’ll end up on the streets, broke and alone.”
He reached for her arm, trailing a claw so carefully around where he’d injured her. “Says the woman who bargained with a prince even after he drove his claws into her flesh. You’re stronger than you think.”
Ada’s heart pounded against the back of her throat, intensified by the way he got that look again. Like the one at the pond. The one she’d labeled unreadable then, too enthralled by his horns she’d ignored the hunger in his stare, and the predatory shadows coming over a tense jawline.
Sweeping all objections aside, she trailed her fingers down his horn, pushing hair back into his braid where it rested around the base. “How come you don’t have a mate? You’re strong, hardworking, kind when you want to be, handsome.”
He lifted his head, not so much as to look at her, but rather, he chased the touch of her fingers pushing loose strands into his braid.
“You don’t find me appalling?” The tip of a claw glided over scarred, puckered flesh, jerking at the rubbery ridges and dipping down where the damaged skin stretched taught. “Other species admire us for our skills in fight, perhaps even our stamina. Never our appearance. Least of all mine.”
Ada stared at him, lowering her hand to the scar, cupping it, sensing the weight of his head pushing into her palm. “I think you’re very handsome.”
It was true!
Now that she lay so close to him, inches away from high cheek bones and intense golden eyes, that tingle between her legs was undeniable. He was a handsome male, but it was the concern for his people and his kind nature that made him gorgeous. A keeper.
“Do we need to bargain again?” she asked. “You never answered why you don’t have a mate.”
“I’m in no position to take a mate,” he murmured, scratching his hand over a perfectly sculpted chest. “What do I have to offer?”
Ada’s balance shifted toward him all on its own, drawn to the male who made her feel like no other before. “You’re a Varac.”
“A Varac with no kingdom,” he said, perhaps snarling again but most likely just giving her a lopsided g
rin. “No manners.”
“No manners,” she rasped, her other arm going so weak underneath her, her body swayed toward his. “No kingdom. You’re the worst kind of prince.”
“The laughingstock of all princes.” Claws dug into her hair and cupped the side of her head, his next whisper coming with an edge of desperation. “Ada.”
Whatever warmth the furs provided intensified at the sound of her name, her mind spinning. He’d never spoken it before. Why now? And why with such pleading eyes, continuing to slip to her lips that she dragged her tongue over them in response?
When he tugged on her head ever so softly, she gave in, lowering her forehead against his as she whispered, “Kerien.”
He let out a grunt. Not the usual kind speaking of displeasure, but one vibrating with such intensity, she grew slick at the sound. She wanted them to be lovers. At least until he found out that she was a worthless liar after all?
His fingers tightened in her hair, straining her scalp. In one swift move, he rolled himself on top of her, nestling his hips between her thighs.
“Your scent is fading and yet it’s driving me insane, and your soul even more so.” He ground against her with a guttural moan, hard shaft pressing against her pussy until she gasped. “Every truth in my life, you turn upside down.”
For a moment, Ada forgot to breathe, her entire body searing while her head spun. Everything trembled with hunger, and she rolled her hips against him to sate it.
“Ada, I’ve never mated with a human female before,” he groaned, fangs on full display, his chest heaving against her. “Aren’t you scared I might hurt you?”
Ada swallowed hard. “No.”
“You should be.” His tongue swiped over her lips, causing Ada to jerk at the sensation. “I want you so badly. Have for a while. I’m terrified I won’t be able to control myself.”
Concern fleeted across his eyes, but she ignored it and brushed her lips over his, hunger and need raging at her core. “Do Aurani kiss?”
“We do.”
“Then let’s start with that.”
He didn’t waste a second. Kerien kissed her like starved. His tongue tempted hers, twisting, stroking, but never letting hers wander past fangs. His hard cock pushed against her, insistent, the bulging head nudging against her entrance, leather against damp fabric.
“You will tell me if I am too rough,” he whispered, “Whatever Aurani do, we don’t do it gently.”
She lifted her hips in search of friction, agonizing pleasure running through her when he braced against it. “What makes you think I want you to be gentle?”
Burning lust streaked across his gaze. He pressed his lips to hers once more, groans of male arousal pouring into her mouth.
She answered it with a suckle on his lower lip. But the moment she followed it up with a swipe of her tongue, a fang cut her. Ada jerked back a little, iron seasoning the tip.
Kerien turned to stone, golden eyes ripped wide open. He didn’t move. He didn’t breathe. Only kept his jaw locked in place and slowly pulled his head back.
“It’s nothing,” Ada said, clasping his disappearing face between her hands. “Just a little tear or something. It doesn’t even hurt.”
“It doesn’t hurt yet,” he choked, and Ada got the distinct impression that he wasn’t talking about the kiss. “We should keep it that way.”
With his next inhale, his chest expanded wide against her. Then, all pressure disappeared. The mattress wobbled and furs rained down. Kerien rolled off the bed and stood, unmoving, back turned to her.
“I refuse to degrade you like this,” he said, glancing over his shoulder without looking at her. “Sending you home with my seed still dripping from your cunt? No. I won’t use you in such a way.”
His words touched her every cell. Ada scrambled off the bed, her body quivering with lust. She hated being used, yet never wanted it as much as at that very moment.
“I want you, Kerien,” she said. “You make me feel smart, and strong, and —”
“You are all those things just fine without me.”
“But —”
He silenced her with nothing but the way he raised his hand. “Do you remember when you told me what you want never matters? I want you in ways I hadn’t planned for, but it doesn’t matter either. Not for a Varac, and certainly not in my position.” His head sunk so deep it almost disappeared behind his broad back. “I need that core, Ada.”
“Kerien —”
“Stay in here and rest,” he ordered. “If you feel the need to disobey, at least dress warm and wrap yourself in furs. I will check on the agridome. Then I will contact Gral.”
Ada’s ribcage shrunk around her lungs, squeezing the air from it, making saying another word impossible. She was so fucked. Not literally, though, because Kerien would never touch her again once he found out there would be no core.
Ten
“We have to contact Gral,” Kerien said.
He needed that core, but not nearly as much as he needed to rid himself of Ada. Not because he didn’t want her. He did. He wanted her in the most primal way. In his bed. Every night. As his mate. Waking in his arms each morning after he’d planted his seed deep in her belly.
Chest stuffed so full of longing for her, his ribs ached underneath the threat of cracking. It could never happen. Ada was his hostage, her return inevitable. If Gral agreed to giving him a core, he had to return her. If he refused, Kerien had to return her just the same.
One way or another, all he could do was fuck her, and then send her on her way. That was what one did with a whore, but not a woman like Ada, her inner beauty so magnificent everything on the outside paled in comparison.
“The core is still sitting right above two percent,” Thuran said, clearing his throat before he continued. “There’s talk among the people. Mariad said you held the woman all night. Remained in her chamber until the late morning.”
Kerien sent a snarl across his shoulder. “She was hypothermic.”
“For fourteen hours?” A small whistle pushed through his juketar’s fangs. “You must have found her frozen solid then.”
Restless legs paced along the wall of windows overlooking the nebulae, Kerien’s lungs surrounded with so much affection for Ada, breathing cost him true effort. “And you disapprove?”
Thuran threw his head back with a scoff. “My Varac, you know full well I would be the last one to disapprove of the mating between a woman and an Aurani. Especially if said woman holds the key to our salvation.”
“I already told you the core will not last to her birthday.”
“What about the asylum the Talos offered us just an hour ago?”
“It’s on the shadow side of their planet.” Kerien lifted a claw in warning. “Don’t you dare suggest I turn her into a refugee on a strange planet that consists of nothing but frozen ground and blood-sucking parasites. As thankful as I am for their kindness, their climate is harsh even for Aurani, and certainly deadly for humans. I won’t do that to her.”
And who said she would follow him there? Who was he to Ada other than the Aurani who’d kidnapped her? Injured her? The male who had pulled away from her when her scent had dripped with lust for him? She’d writhed underneath him with the need to be seeded, as was the way of nature.
His body turned heated all over again, and he leaned his forehead against the cold glass. While it didn’t cool his need for her, it calmed his thoughts. Ada was nothing but a means of way to save his people. As a Varac, that was his first duty.
“Set up communication,” Kerien ordered, before he did something stupid. Like ask Ada to follow him to Ka’toon where he could watch her perish, frail as she was. “I’m willing to settle for a smaller core, if only we can bring an end to this insanity.” His insanity.
He turned toward one of the guards. “Bring the heiress. Make sure you handle her with care for she is still shaken.”
The guard returned less than ten minutes later with Ada by his side, her steps hesitan
t, a large fur wrapped around her shoulders.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, placing his palm against her forehead, relieved when he detected no fever.
“I’m okay,” she said, fidgeting with the fabric on her tunic. “What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing. I just want you to be in the room so I can offer proof that we haven’t harmed you.”
Kerien sat down at the table where the hub once more struggled to form a hologram. He shoved loose strands back into his braid, his eyes heavy from lack of sleep since he’d watched over Ada all night.
In front of him, light beams formed the three-dimensional bust of the Klaxian. Brows arched into a display of arrogance, pushing scales upward until they glistened.
“Kerien,” Gral said in a voice too cheerful to be anything but insulting, his lack of proper address only adding to his taunt.
Kerien sat up straight, shoulders broad, faking confidence where doubt crept underneath his skin. While he’d never cared for scales, it was safe to assume women considered Gral attractive. He had it all going for him, didn’t he? Power over Osacore. Rule over Xaleon. A future with Ada…
“What is your answer to what I requested in exchange for the safe return of the heiress?” Kerien asked, the words scraping his gums near bloody. “My patience has run its course, Gral, so we better come to an agreement, or…”
Ada sat quietly on the chair beside him, enough distance between them the hub didn’t record her, and silence shadowed the room. It turned brittle with each drum of Gral’s finger against the surface of his desk and crumbled the moment he spoke.
“Or what?”
Kerien suppressed a flinch.
Had he no care for his female?
“Or she will suffer your lack of action.” Kerien loathed how he waved Ada to him, as if she was nothing but a token, handed around and exchanged. “As you can see, she is unharmed. For now. Supply us with the core as requested, and she will remain that way.”