by Fiona Jayde
He launches into the plan to reinstate his brother as chancellor, how me being mated to his brother will not only help him politically but make the alliance with Earth run more smoothly as humans are adopted into the mating program, and how Kyllell flatly refused to put me in this position since I would be a target as the mate of the new chancellor.
“Do you mean to tell me he wants to break the bond and send me home because he’s worried about my safety? This has nothing to do with him wanting to get rid of me so he can go find a new mate?”
Tarian’s impatient growl is amusing. “He loves you, Ada. He wants you safe, and he has no intention of taking another mate, even with the bond broken. He simply didn’t want you burdened with the role you’ll be placed in or the dangers it will afford.”
Glaoch looks at me with a smile. “I suppose the question is this: what do you want?”
“What do I want?”
I already know the answer to that question. I may not have asked for any of this—transported to a new planet, being rescued by Kyllell, falling in love with him—but I know I want Kyllell for the rest of my life if that’s what he’s still offering.
“Yes. Do you want to go home? We can arrange that. You can break your bond with Kyllell and go with Glaoch. He will get you back to Earth.”
“Back to Earth,” I repeat.
“Or you can stay here,” Glaoch offers. “To my understanding, the Elysium people are about to be very involved with your Earth people. You could be the human ambassador and a prime example of a mating between our two species working beautifully. You and Kyllell could turn the tide of all our alliances and ensure the peace and safety of our race.”
“That sounds…”
Tarian pipes in, “Ominous? Demanding? Overwhelming?”
“Yes,” I reply.
Glaoch chuckles. “Well, that may be fair. Perhaps it is too much duty and responsibility that we place upon your shoulders.”
“I’m not afraid of the responsibility or what my duties as the mate of the chancellor of the Elysium race will entail. None of that seems as daunting as simply asking Kyllell if he really wants me.”
Tarian lets out a loud laugh. “I assure you, little sister, he most definitely does. You simply need to be firm with him. He may try to convince you to leave for your own safety, but don’t allow him to dictate your choices even if it is done out of love.”
“I’ve never allowed him to dictate anything.”
Glaoch and Tarian both chuckle at this.
“Does that mean you wish to keep the bond and remain at Kyllell’s side?” Glaoch asks.
“What will it be, little sister?” Tarian gives me a hopeful smile. “The Universe is waiting for your choice.”
I close my eyes and picture all the different lives I could live, and with a sense of comforting certainty, I make my choice.
I sit in a small drinking establishment I used to frequent. I chose it due to its seedy reputation and also because I know the owner of the establishment. He is someone I can trust to keep my whereabouts a secret. The few patrons within barely acknowledge me, but I doubt they recognize me since my cloak is pulled over my head, helping me blend in with my surroundings.
I stare at the cracked, stained wood of the table I sit at and make my way through my third drink. This is truly the last thing I should be doing considering the level of danger I face if one of Derwag’s few loyal soldiers finds me. I need to lay low until the assembly, but I crave the sweet dulling of drink to wash away the growing ache in my chest. I feel my aura and Ada’s swirling inside me. I take another swig. I am just waiting. Waiting for her to sever our bond. I know intoxication will not make it better. I know this, but I cannot help it. I’ve led Derwag’s guards on a merry chase, but now that I’ve lost them, all I can see is Ada, her eyes flashing, betrayal morphing her features into one of hatred when she realizes I forced the bond.
And I can freely admit to myself that I am a coward. I should go back and find Tarian, explain things to Ada, and allow her to give me the verbal thrashing I deserve. I should be there when she breaks the bond and walks away from me, but I know if I do that, I won’t be able to let her go. I won’t be able to stand by and watch as she breaks the bond and then leaves me forever.
And I have to let her go…for her sake.
I must protect my mate.
I shake my head. There is no point in thinking about it. I cannot regret touching her spirit in the moment of our joined ecstasy. I cannot regret any moment I spent becoming closer to her. Still, it hurts to imagine she will soon break the bond between us and my heart along with it.
Someone sits down beside me, startling me into the present. There are many empty chairs in the bar, so I look up with trepidation. It is Bwyell, the third seated member of the council. An important male to say the least. My muscles tense as I prepare for more warriors to trickle in, but he merely signals to the bartender, who nods, before turning to me.
“Hello, Kyllell.”
“Bwyell. What an unexpected encounter. I had hoped to avoid every single one of you council members until the assembly. Do you plan to turn me in to Derwag?”
The owner walks over and sets a drink down before the council member. “Just hear him out, Kyllell. You have more allies than you realize.”
Ah, then the owner contacted Bwyell. I can’t find it in me to be upset with him since he seems to think Bwyell is trustworthy.
“I’ll give you a chance to speak, but if I don’t like what you have to say, I will end your life before you can leave this table.”
Bwyell looks down at his glass and nods. “I suppose I deserve that.” He sips at his drink before mustering the courage to speak. “I came here to apologize to you.”
“Did you?”
“Yes. I should never have followed along with Derwag’s plan. He felt that you were too young for the chancellor role. He thought that with the war and the loss of our females, we needed to be able to guide the chancellor more carefully. He blamed the loss of our females on your father, and by association, you.”
“That had nothing to do with his motivations. He wanted power and position.”
“Well, yes. That’s what it turned into, but I didn’t know that at first. Derwag convinced council members that the loss of our females was a direct result of your father not falling in line and listening to us.”
“You knew better,” I say barely keeping the snarl from my tone. “My father was ready to take out the Chassak emperor. He had his spy in place, the means to end this war, and you all assumed he was being too rash. If any of you had backed up his plans for an assassination on their emperor, they never would have had a chance to assassinate my own father or the means to drop their biological warfare on our planet. Our females would still be alive.”
He swallows hard, acknowledging the truthfulness of that statement. “I know that now, after so much time to reflect, and then witnessing the way Derwag’s leadership has slowly destroyed our people and our military, well…it is clear that the council was wrong. We failed your father, and we failed you. It is also clear that Derwag does not have our people’s best interests at heart.”
“How so?”
“He has fought the forming of these alliances right from the beginning. He believes the mingling of our races with others is an abomination. Time and again, we’ve helped him see reason, but it seems as if he takes strides in repopulating our planet and forming plans to take out the Chassak threat, only to do other things to completely undermine what we have accomplished. He seems divided in his agenda, and our politics and people suffer for it.”
“I’m here to unify our people, Bwyell. Tarian says the council has been debating the pros and cons of electing me chancellor.”
Bwyell nods, taking a swig of his mead before speaking again. “The majority vote is that you will be chancellor. We will announce it at the assembly. We will also announce Derwag as a traitor and encourage all residents to turn him in the moment he is spotted.”
>
“So he disappeared, did he? I am not surprised.”
“Derwag may be in the wind, but you must be careful, Kyllell.”
“I know. Tarian has mentioned possible traitors among the council. If you truly wish to show me that you have our people’s best interests at heart, you must prove you are not a traitor.”
“Anything I can do, Kyllell, I will make this up to you, your brother, and your late father.”
“Thank you.” I clasp hands with him, and feel a bit more at ease. “Can you tell me more about the state of this war?”
Bwyell and I talk for several more minutes. I did not realize how much I had missed being involved in the political side of Elysius. The war with the Chassaks is going well, but intelligence indicates that they are starting to invade planets with compatible females. They are taking on the identities of world leaders, and creating alliances against our people, which will make mating and repopulation more difficult.
This is concerning. Apparently, we are compatible with a few more species within our galaxy, but all of them have weaker militaries; if they side with the Chassaks in the war, we will have much more limited contact with their females, and the Chassaks will gain more numbers, which means more alliances on our side must be formed.
I am not sure what will happen, but I know that I want to be part of our species’ future.
“You have always been a leader who cares about our people,” he says. “We all know this.”
“I am not going anywhere,” I say. “Just be watchful at the assembly. We will need your support.”
I clasp hands with him and leave the bar. As I depart, I look over my shoulder and see Bwyell down two more drinks in quick succession. I wonder if he will even remember that we spoke. Shaking my head, I leave the bar behind.
As soon as I step out into the night, I regret it. Talking politics with Bwyell helped me forget my panic about Ada, at least for a little while. Now, walking through the dark, quiet streets, I am forced to consider what I will do once we are no longer bonded and she is gone from this planet forever. I will have to throw myself into my work, drown my sorrows in the running of my people. I won’t take a breeding partner no matter what Tarian says. For me, that sacrifice will be too much to bear, and I have already sacrificed enough for my people tonight.
I think of my mate and the softness of her body as I make my way to the hideout Tarian indicated I should stay. She has not severed our bond yet. I still feel her out there, swirling around me. I want to see her. I want to hold her, but all I can do is wait for her to sever our bond and leave me for good. It takes me quite some time to slip between streets and alleyways, hoping to avoid anyone loyal to Derwag before I am able to make it to the safe house.
When I trudge through the door, I find Ada and my brother standing before me.
My jaw drops in astonishment. I fight the impulse to go to her and wrap her in my arms, though the glare she levels at me is an effective deterrent.
“What is she still doing here?”
She snorts at me, and my brother smiles. “Hello there, Kyllell. It seems Ada has come to a very important decision.”
※※※※
Ada
Kyllell looks at me, seeming to fight some force that holds him bound, but suddenly he is moving, capturing me in his arms and fiercely kissing me. I give in for a moment, loving the feel of his arms around me, but then I think about his behavior over the last twenty-four hours, and anger prevails. I move my head away and slap at him.
“Don’t touch me right now,” I hiss, backing away to put more distance between us.
Tarian raises a brow ridge. “I think you two need to talk,” he says. “I’ll be right outside this door…wait…I seriously doubt you care where I go.”
He slips out of the room, and I look at Kyllell with my hands on my hips. “How dare you send me back to Earth with zero explanation?”
“How dare I?” Kyllell glares. “How dare I try to protect you? How dare I take care of you? How dare I rescue you from a political kidnapping? How dare I give you a chance to live a safe and secure life?”
“Yes! How dare you? How dare you do all those things as if you are responsible for me?”
Kyllell comes to me in two strides. He grabs my shoulders, his hands holding me tight. “Let me explain something to you. You are mine. We are bonded. You are my mate, and I will always protect you.”
“You sent me away so Glaoch could break the bond. What exactly gives you the right to claim ownership? You abandoned me, you asshole. You walked away.” I try to gentle my voice. I won’t be able to communicate if I let my anger get the best of me. “Do you think me so weak? Do you truly believe I can’t protect myself? Am I simply not enough for you?”
“Goddess, Ada, of course you’re enough. I don’t truly wish the bond broken. Do you understand?”
“Then stop…” I shake my head. I am horrified to feel tears streaming down my cheeks. I clear my throat. “Stop trying to get rid of me. Stop playing the martyr here. This isn’t your choice, it’s ours.”
Kyllell looks at me in alarm. “You do this often, and I don’t understand what is happening? What is this?” He touches my temple, caressing me near my eyes. “There is something coming out…”
I sniffle. “Tears,” I say. “Do you not have tears?”
He shakes his head. “What are they? Do they hurt?”
“Tears are…they are something we make when we are sad or hurt. The tears don’t hurt, they just come out when we are hurt.”
Kyllell shudders as if in anguish and clutches me against him. “Do not make tears, my love, my treasured one.”
“It’s called crying,” I tell him, sniffling into his chest. “Crying.”
“Do not make crying, then.”
I laugh into his chest. Kyllell speaks so perfectly all the time, it’s funny to hear him make any mistakes. I try to stop crying, I really do, but everything has caught up with me, and I find I can’t stop.
“I know you’re worried about the danger. You’re afraid you won’t be able to protect me, but I can handle myself, and this is my choice. So if the danger is the only reason you want me gone then you better tell me now.”
“What other reason could there possibly be?” he asks, pulling back to look at me with confusion written all over his face.
“What if you get sick of me? There will be all these other females around, and what if you just fall in love with someone else? What if you stop wanting me?”
I start sobbing again, and Kyllell watches me, clearly upset. I don’t want to make him sad, I really don’t, but I have to voice my fears.
Kyllell holds me against him. His arms massage my shoulders, moving up and down in a soothing motion. “Ada,” he says carefully. “There is one way you can know how I feel, one way for me to prove my love for you. You can see it yourself, and it will bolster your faith in me.”
I sniffle. “How?”
He leans in and kisses me passionately. I gasp, not expecting it, and he takes advantage of my parted lips, slipping his tongue inside. His forked tongue moves in my mouth—caressing me, caring for me, comforting me. My tears run down my cheeks, wetting his face along with mine.
“Let me show you with my body,” he whispers. “Let me bond with you again. You will see how I feel through my aura.”
Desperate to believe him, desperate for his love and comfort, I nod. He groans and pulls me close, loving me with his mouth. I respond, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him back with abandon. I want to feel his passion. I want to know that our bond is real. His hands slide down to grab my ass. I push my hips against his, feeling his hard length through his leggings. Moaning, I lower my hand to his cock, and run my fingers up and down along it, feeling heat seep through the material.
“Ada,” he grinds out between clenched teeth, his voice tight with arousal. I pull at his clothes, silently telling him to take them off. He obeys, removing his clothes as quickly as he can and then peeling mine
off as well. He pulls me against him, and I gasp at the feeling of my nipples brushing the rough scales along his chest.
I keep one hand on his cock and move the other hand up his chest to his ears and then to his horns. I have to stand on my tip-toes to do it. I move my hands on his cock and his horns, circling around the sensitive tips. His breath catches, and he groans, momentarily frozen with pleasure. Then he slips his fingers down beneath the hood of my sex, finding me more than ready.
“You are so wet for me,” he whispers. I tongue the defined lines of his pecks as he finds my clit and moves his thumb against it.
We have been standing in the middle of the almost-empty room, touching each other. Now, Kyllell picks me up, wrapping my legs around his waist, and carrying me effortlessly to an adjoining room with a bed barely big enough for the two of us. I don’t care. He shuts the door behind us, drops me on the sheets, and immediately slides downward, taking my nipple in his mouth.
“Kyllell,” I groan.
“You are mine,” he says. “Feel it. Reach out and examine my aura, let it help you feel what I am feeling.”
As he lowers his head again, moving his tongue to my clit, I cry out, and feel his essence surround me. It is warm, caring, and fierce; almost jarringly so. The bond he feels with me is intense and timeless. It is without end. I want to explore it, but Kyllell’s tongue is lapping at me, creating friction on either side of my clit.
“Your cunt tastes so good,” he groans, moving up to my mouth again. “Taste.” He kisses me, delving his tongue deep into my mouth. My salt is on his lips and his tongue, and I cannot believe how amazing it feels to taste myself on his skin.
I push against his shoulder, and he backs up a little, looking at me with questions in his eyes. I sit up and pull him to the bed, pushing him down on his back, straddling him.
With my legs spread across him, my cunt sits directly on his stomach, my wetness kissing his navel. I can feel his arousal, pressing between my ass cheeks. I sit back against it, letting it push inside slightly. I ride him for a moment, drawing out the feeling of his ferocious love. Then I lean forward and kiss his nipple. I draw it between my teeth and bite. He cries out, his deep voice grumbling in his chest.