by V. K. Ludwig
“He’s not far off.” Kerien swooped her up into his arms, her giggle bringing a smile to his mouth. “Savages through and through. But you seem to enjoy it just fine.”
“Love it!”
Kerien had never known such peace as he did at that moment. Ten years of hatred slipped off his chest. What was an ugly past compared to a future he could create with Ada? Nothing. The past was nothing.
“The moment Gral figures out that you intend to claim your position as CEO, he will try to undermine you.”
She sighed deeply, her forehead in frowns as she stared down at the cracked tiles. “It wouldn’t be nearly as bad if it wasn’t for the fact that I’ll be completely alone.” Green eyes sought him out from a lowered head. “I want to go straight to Xaleon and visit the headquarters. You can’t come with me, right? Too dangerous?”
Kerien’s face scrunched up, blood tingling inside his claws. “It might not be safe for me. All these years, I’ve been waiting for someone to show up here and finish me off.”
Ada stretched her toes for the ground as he lowered her back down. “But you have warriors.”
He walked to the neat pile of clothes and handed her a fresh tunic, along with pants. “I will think on it. It will be your planet. You decide who can step on it, and who can’t. Now dress quickly before my juketar arrives.”
She arched a playful brow. “Jealous?”
“You are so scented with my seed, no other male would dare look at you,” he said as she dressed. “I’m merely considering your sense of prudence.”
Outside the door, footsteps announced Thuran’s arrival. The moment he stepped into the room, his nostrils flared. His juketar knew they’d mated, the frowns on his face futile confirmation, but he bowed his head slightly toward Ada.
“You called for me, my Varac?”
Claws carefully removed the sphere from Ada’s neck. Kerien balanced it in his palm as he walked over to Thuran, his steps lighter than they had been in years.
“The heiress gifted us this family heirloom,” he said. “It contains an osanium core large enough to sustain Aura Station until her birthday, and weeks after that if we continue to limit ourselves.”
Thuran lifted a wary brow. “And she had this on her this entire time?” When Kerien narrowed his eyes at him, his juketar offered Ada a gesture of respect and gratitude, saying, “May the goddess keep you, and let you be one with the people.”
“While the engineers install this new core, you and I will make plans for the heiress’ birthday,” Kerien said, then took Ada’s hand and placed a kiss onto the back of it. “I will return for you later.”
They left her chamber, and Kerien made his way toward the powerplant. “How many warriors can we spare if I were to accompany her to Xaleon on her birthday?”
“Accompany her?” Thuran stilled and turned to look at him. “It’s madness. Exposing yourself to those who failed to assassinate you a decade ago.”
“She needs me,” Kerien informed him. “The heiress is trying to help us, but she requested me by her side when she returns to claim what’s rightfully hers. She is determined to stand her ground, yet she is still young and untried.”
“Rightfully hers?” Thuran asked, not hiding the shake of his head. “You mean yours.”
“Mine. Hers. It will be all the same.”
Thuran’s expression betrayed his skepticism. “I don’t understand.”
“How many warriors?” Kerien rasped.
His juketar bowed his head. “As many as seventy, my Varac.”
Kerien grunted. “Announce a gathering in three days from now. After the loss we sustained during the last shut down, I want our people to celebrate. It will also allow me to make my intentions clear in front of all Aurani.”
“Intentions?” There was a tick in Thuran’s left eye.
“That I want to take her as my Vekoshi.” Where Kerien expected a bow, or a ‘yes, my Varac’, he only found Thuran’s tense expression. “You once said you would approve.”
“As a mate,” Thuran said in a tone too harsh to be used with his Varac. “Many Varacs had more than one mate. None ever had a Vekoshi that wasn’t our people.”
Kerien shifted back, unease spreading across his core. “What an unexpected statement considering Vohri’s mother was human.”
“I am not Varac,” he said. “I chose a woman as my mate because Drana revealed her to me, and my bloodline means nothing.”
The joy in Kerien’s veins cooled. Bloodlines, heirs, titles. Nothing meant anything without Ada by his side.
“You just asked the goddess to let her be one with our people. No Varac or Vekosh had more than one mate for at least five generations. By Drana, she will be my only mate, and my Vekoshi.”
“My Varac —”
“I want no other!” Kerien barked. “If she accepts me, our children will be ureshi. Of both bloods.”
Thuran scratched his jaw, his eyes squeezed into thin slits. “For political reasons?”
A throb formed at Kerien’s temples. “No.”
His juketar’s mouth went slack. “Are you saying your heart beats for her?”
“More and more each day,” Kerien said. “Did yours not beat for Lisa?”
“I loved Lisa more than anything,” Thuran choked out, the loss of his human mate still so great his voice turned weak almost a decade later.
“I need your support with this, Thuran,” Kerien said.
“Has she agreed to become your Vekoshi?”
Kerien smacked his tongue. “I haven’t asked her yet.”
“Our people like her, but not enough to send seventy warriors to protect a woman that hasn’t pledged herself to you, to us. If you insist on taking her as your Vekoshi, which I beg you to reconsider, you must do it before you travel to Xaleon.” Thuran lifted his hands to his hips, letting a long exhale expand between them. “And you are certain you trust her?”
“Do you not?”
“She had a core around her neck this entire time,” his juketar mumbled, the biting qualities of his tone not lost to Kerien. “What a convenient thing to have hours from her departure.”
Kerien snorted. “Skepticism doesn’t suit you, juketar. If I can put it aside, certainly so can you.”
“It was what allowed me to save your life once,” he said so quietly Kerien could barely make out the words.
“Cheer up, my friend,” Kerien said with a pat against his juketar’s shoulder. “She will become my Vekoshi and carry my child with her next heat.”
Thirteen
Ada stood beside her bed, soft fabric feathering around her ankles. She trailed her fingertip over the engraved charm, her mind dizzy with this maddening need to curl up against Kerien although he’d left only an hour ago.
She’d never felt like this before. Thoughts trailing to him all day. Heart thrashing whenever they did. Not much longer to her birthday. If he agreed to accompany her, what could go wrong? That alone would make her feel near invincible.
Vohri shortened the hem of Ada’s dress skirt by slicing her claw through the silken fabric. “What is it?”
“A gift,” she said and smiled down at the girl. “From your Varac. From Kerien.”
From her mate.
Each time he called her that, Ada liked the sound of it a bit better. Could see them turn this entire mess around. Together. Between the political tension and the immense task of taking over Osacore ahead of her, it would hardly be easy, but they would make it work. They had to.
Vohri tilted her head from one side to the other, mustering her handiwork before she approved with a nod. “Everyone is waiting for us at the agridome.”
“Let me get my shoes,” Ada said and stepped into her slippers, then turned and let the green silk fan out around her. “How do I look?”
Vohri clapped, so excited for the gathering some pink shone through her light-gray cheeks. “Very pretty.”
“Let’s hurry up.”
When they reached the agridome, Ada’s st
eps first slowed then faltered to a stop. Chants hummed through the chamber, deep and rich, coming from the Aurani sitting on the ground arranged in one large circle.
Ada took everything in with wide eyes, staring over a gathering area lit by hundreds of small torches staked into the ground. The fire burned purple, dipping everyone in a warm sheen that underlined the traces of grilled meat and roasted vegetables clinging to the air.
Vohri took her hand and guided her along the Aurani, who were eating, drinking, and laughing. Many of them greeted her with smiles, and some even called her by name. Not heiress. Ada.
Her heart swelled with a deep sense of contentment and belonging. She’d never seen them this happy before. Had never considered the agridome as a place that could hold smiles and happiness instead of scratches and hardship.
“Ada!” Mariad waved them over, gesturing them to sit with her.
Ada sat down beside the old Aurani, soft silk draping across her legs. “Their voices are lovely. What are they singing?”
“They give thanks to Drana and honor to our ancestors.”
“I’ll sit with father,” Vohri said and ran off.
She hurried toward the pile of furs arranged to the far left, decorated with orange na’di blossoms. Thuran, who sat cross-legged beside the furs, gave Vohri a full smile and took her into a hug.
The furs themselves were apparently reserved for Kerien, who was dressed in his usual leather trousers, but his chest glimmered with adornments painted silver on gray skin.
The moment he spotted Vohri, his eyes trailed over the group. They found hers and, pressing a palm to his sternum, he dipped his head. A simple gesture of affection among Aurani, and yet she recognized more in his eyes. A hopeless romantic would have said they were falling in love with each other. It didn’t scare her one bit.
“What are those markings on the Varac’s chest?”
“Symbols of respect and words for protection,” Mariad said. “And tallies of his good deeds to the people.”
Imiel, the young Aurani female with no horns, walked up to them, lowering a tray which held small wooden cups.
“Katu’ni wine,” Mariad explained, took two mugs, and offered one to Ada. “Too sweet for most males, but females enjoy it very much.”
Ada dipped her head and took a sip, her gums clenching. “Yeah, this is very sweet. Good though. Reminds me of a mix of cherry and orange.”
Imiel pointed at the skewers holding browned and seasoned slices of root vegetables. “Do you wish to eat something, Ada?”
Mariad helped herself to one.
“Oh,” Ada said in a disappointed tone. “No stew?”
“No stew thanks to you,” Mariad said and brushed a strand of Ada’s hair back. “The Varac gave permission to slaughter some of the hessa and retrieve fermented roots as well as dried herbs from the stockade.”
Ada grabbed one of the skewers and took a bite, the seasoned and grilled hessa meat salty on her tongue, with traces of rosemary and lemon. “Oh, my god. I’m not sure if I’ve ever tasted anything this good. Not in a few weeks, at least.”
A giggle pushed forth, and Imiel walked away, offering food and drink to all the others who had gathered.
Mariad bumped her knee against Ada’s thigh. “Our Varac wishes for you to join him on his furs.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he hasn’t looked at anybody but you ever since you arrived.” Dull fangs poked out from underneath a sly smile. “And even with my nose cut off, there is no denying his scent on you.”
Ada’s cheeks tingled. “Seems impossible to hide anything from Aurani.”
“There is no reason to hide the way of nature.” Mariad pulled a grilled dagar root from the skewer, ate it, and suckled the grease from her fingers. “It’s a great honor. Our Varac has never asked anybody to sit with him before.”
“I’ll stay with you a while longer.” She’d spent the last three days hiding in her chamber with Kerien, constantly mating until her bleeding days arrived. How was she supposed to act around him, now that entire Aura Station was gawking?
Mariad held her skewer between two sets of claws, nibbling on her meat as she jerked her head in Kerien’s direction. “The other females are already fighting for his attention.”
Ada’s heart gave a whomp. “What females?”
She stared over to Kerien once more, her stomach going sour. How could she have missed them?
Young Aurani females sat in a group close to his furs, exchanging whispers and glancing back at him with giggles. What the hell. Absolutely not.
“You know what,” Ada said and rose, brushing the dirt from her dress. “I think I changed my mind. If it’s such an honor, then I probably shouldn’t turn it down.”
Mariad chuckled low, but luckily said nothing else.
The moment Kerien spotted her walking up to him, he rose from his pile of furs and stepped off them. “You look wonder —” His nostrils flared, followed by narrowed eyes. “Why do I scent your distress?”
She leaned into him, whispering, “What you’re smelling is jealousy, because you’re surrounded by beautiful, young, probably unmated females.”
Kerien shifted his weight onto one leg and glanced behind her, as if he just now noticed the females ogling him.
“They might be unmated, but I am not.” Eyes flaring, he coiled an arm around her middle and pulled her against him. “My mate is right here in my arms, and I enjoy how she claims me as hers. Because I am.”
Ada’s heart thrummed against her throat, quickening with each second he stared down at her, his golden eyes consuming her. “Yes, you’re mine.”
With a chuckle, he lowered his mouth onto hers, tongue stroking over her lips, asking them to part for him. “Let me help put your jealousy to rest.”
He kissed her so hard she dangled from his arms, legs long gone numb. A flutter breezed through her belly. She hadn’t expected him to touch her like this, to kiss her with such ferocity. Not in front of everyone.
Kerien took her hand, placing a small palm against a hard chest, covering it with his own. “Will you join me on my furs?”
With a nod, she let him guide her onto the hessa furs and sat down. “Mariad said it’s an honor.”
Right on beat, the air around her turned still. Chants died into silence and she looked up, her breaths turning small.
Everyone stared at them, many faces carrying surprise or confusion. Mariad grinned. The Aurani females in front of them lowered their heads and mostly frowned.
“You shouldn’t have kissed me,” she whispered. “Now everyone is staring.”
“You know full well Aurani are very open with their bodies and affection,” he rasped, his voice deep and rich. “I could mate you right here and nobody would bat an eye.”
“Then why is everyone staring?” she grated out through the corner of her lips.
Sure hands gripped her waist and pulled Ada onto his lap, where he immediately cupped her cheek and brought her eyes to meet his. “They’re staring because I just asked you to be my Vekoshi. No female sits with the Varac unless she is the one he wants as his queen.”
Her heart beat so heavily, the silk covering her breasts vibrated at the bottom of her vision. But Kerien seemed determined. He fucking meant it.
“You could have warned me.”
“It’s entertaining to see you dazed for once,” he joked softly. “I told you I acknowledge you as my mate. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that it will consequently make you my queen, if you accept my courting you.”
A laugh burst from her chest and she smiled so wide her muscles ached. “You are going to court me?”
Kerien waved his hand into the air, and the gathering continued with chants even more cheerful than the ones before.
“Among my people, now would be the time where I convince you of the strength of my horns, the sharpness of my claws, and the bite of my fangs,” he said, a devious grin coming over scarred lips as he brushed them against her
ear. “But you’ve done a great deal of clinging to those horns of mine these last few days and know they’re solid.”
Ada ran her fingers down the bone-like material. “Not to mention ridged.”
“Oh, yes,” he moaned. “My human female does love ridges, especially when they grind along her cunt. She cries the most pleasing compliments when they do. Calls me handsome. Asks me to push deeper. Might have called me an animal once or twice.”
That earned him a swat against his shoulder. “Shhh. I never called you that.”
The way he gleamed at her sent a tingle into her stomach, which intensified when his face turned earnest again. “I will accompany you to Xaleon on your birthday, Vekoshi.”
“Kerien…” she whispered and pressed herself against his chest, sensing the wide expansion of his lungs and the hard planes of his muscles she loved so much. And yet, her eyes continued to flick to the females. “At the pond, you asked me if I want children. Don’t you want any?”
Kerien stared down at her with a pensive expression at first, which slowly formed into an almost boyish grin. “You’re so clueless it’s adorable.”
Before Ada managed to protest, he cupped her chin, his voice dark with need. “I will seed you with as many children as you let me.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What?”
“They taught you Auran, but you don’t have a translation for ureshi, do you? Because it’s a coined word, not even two decades old.”
“I thought it meant girl.” Now her cheeks turned hot at what he was implying with how he shook his head and flat out laughed at her. “It doesn’t mean girl?”
His hand grabbed her slipper, angled her knee, and skillfully maneuvered her to straddle him. One tug on her hips, and he pulled her right on top of where his cock rested, not the least bit interested in how others reacted. Or probably didn’t react, because nobody even looked their way.
“Aurani and humans conceive just fine with each other. When I plucked you off the tree, you were in estrus, and it took all that I am not to plant my seed deep in your belly on the day at the pond. If it wasn’t for how I fought for control, you would be carrying our child already.”