by Sadie Carter
Dex’s mother was tall and slim with a largely unlined face and the long, straight hair most Zerconian women seemed to favor. She had a body a supermodel would envy and a personality that put the Grinch to shame.
“I thought you were busy with the council all morning,” she said to Dex, longing to touch him.
Dex reached out and pulled her towards him, hugging her tight. Zoey held still for a moment, shocked. It wasn’t at all normal for a warrior to show such affection in front of others.
She could hear his parents talking in Zerconian as he pulled back. Although she couldn’t understand them, their disapproval was unmistakable.
Dex spoke a few sharp words of Zerconian that had both of his parents quietening and staring at her. His father nodded, but his mother glared at her, lips pursed as though she’d been sucking on a lemon.
A rotten one.
Dex said something else and finally his mother nodded, turning her head away.
Damn, she really needed to learn Zerconian. Fast. Her lessons began tomorrow with a private tutor. Hopefully, this tutor was more competent than the last one. That had been a disaster. Madam Arana had overwhelmed her with useless information then complained to Dex that Zoey wasn’t trying. Zoey was not keen to go down that route again.
“We finished early,” Dex explained to her. “Mother has invited us to lunch. Afterwards, the two of you could discuss the mating ceremony.”
More like his mother had invited Dex to lunch and he’d insisted Zoey be invited as well.
Yep, if the look of disapproval she gave Zoey when Dex had turned away was any indication, then she was in for a fantastic time. There better be some alcohol available, because she was going to need that happy buzz.
“Come on, Giz. Let’s go have lunch.”
Zoey held her hand out to her furry companion. When they crash-landed on Lyona, Giz snuck on board their ship. By the time Dex discovered he was onboard it was too late to turn around.
She might have hidden Giz until they were well out of Lyonan airspace. Hey, she’d been lonely. Could you really blame her?
Boris walked over to her. Tall and muscular with dark, silky skin, Boris could almost have passed for human if not for his purple eyes and his long, black hair, which had hints of blue and purple.
His left side was covered in scars, which began beside his left eye and traveled all the way down to his foot. The worst of the scars were on his left arm which hung limply at his side.
She still had no clue who he was. According to Thor, who had examined him thoroughly, there was nothing wrong with his vocal cords. So it was possible he could talk, he just chose not to.
“They remain here,” Dex’s mother, Liula stated looking first at Giz then to Boris. She spoke Standard—the language spoken by a number of different races—perfectly. Perfect, just like the rest of her. Perfect hair, perfect body, perfect clothes, and perfectly awful personality.
“Boris is my bodyguard and Giz is my companion. They come with me.”
No way was she letting this cold woman push her around. Dex and his father had moved into the corridor outside.
His mother leaned in, her gaze growing red with anger. “You do not belong here. You are not worthy of Dexanon. Go back to where you came from.”
“I understand that you don’t like me. You probably had some perfectly vile version of yourself that you wanted Dex to mate with, but he is my mate and I’m not going anywhere.”
“I can make you disappear. You are weak. You are not the one for him.”
“Threaten me all you like, but at the end of the day Dex will always side with me because he loves me.”
She might be weaker physically, but there was no way this bitch was getting the best of her. Despite everything she and Dex had been through, despite their vast differences, there was one thing that she was sure of.
Their love.
The bitch reached out and grabbed her wrist, squeezing hard. “You do not—” she was interrupted as Boris grabbed her hand, pulling her away from Zoey. He then stepped in front of her, shielding her from the other woman who let out a screech filled with anger.
Zoey winced at the high-pitched sound. She glanced over at the windows, worried they might shatter.
Giz pressed himself against her side as Dex and his father raced back into the room.
“What happened? Are you all right, my own?” Dex asked.
Boris moved to her side, allowing Dex close. He clasped her shoulders, looking her over.
“That-that being touched me,” Liula accused, pointing at Boris. “I demand he be taken into custody.”
“Boris?” Dex turned to the large, silent man. “You touched my mother?”
“Only because she grabbed me,” Zoey said, defending her bodyguard. No one was locking Boris up.
Dex’s mother stared at her, a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. That disappeared when Dex turned to study her.
“Mother?”
“I merely took hold of her hand. I thought to hold it while we walked to our quarters when he grabbed me and shoved me away.”
“That’s not how it happened at all,” Zoey scoffed.
“Are you accusing me of lying?” Dex’s mother puffed up. Obviously, she wasn’t used to having someone argue with her.
“Dex, she grabbed my wrist. Hard. Boris was just defending me.” She could have told him everything his mother had said to her, but it was her word against Liula’s. And for all her faults, she was still his mother. Zoey didn’t actually want to come between them or force Dex to have to choose.
“I barely touched her.”
“Oh yeah?” Zoey held out her wrist, which was already red and swollen.
“Mother!” Dex took Zoey’s hand between his own, studying the angry looking skin. “Do you need medical attention, my own?”
“Perhaps I misjudged my own strength,” the other woman relented as Dex and his father stared at her. “How was I to know she was so delicate?”
“Is that an apology?” Zoey muttered.
“Mother?” Dex stared at his mother who took a deep breath.
“Fine. I apologize.”
“Apology accepted. What about Boris? He deserves an apology as well.” Hey, she could attack her all she liked, but she better learn not to mess with those Zoey cared about.
Having to apologize to someone she obviously considered beneath her was as good a punishment as Zoey could mete out.
“That is ridiculous,” his mother spluttered. “He is a bodyguard.”
“He is a friend,” Dex countered.
Zoey smiled at him. Damn, she had never loved him more.
“Fine. I apologize,” she said stiffly. There was nothing apologetic in her icy glare.
“Would you like to stay here and rest, Zoey?” Dex asked.
“No.” Zoey smiled up at him. “The sooner we make the arrangements for the mating ceremony, the sooner I will totally be yours.”
“You already are, my own.”
Chapter Four
Zoey walked into the large dining room. It was beautifully decorated, like the rest of the palace. It was also spotlessly clean. The Zerconians had an amazing work ethic. They were a very honorable people, who would never go back on their word and they were extremely loyal.
That loyalty, however, seemed to translate into a distrust of outsiders.
But then the vast population of Zerconia never left the planet, never interacted with others so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they were cautious around her.
She’d just have to convince them that different wasn’t bad. She had plenty of redeemable qualities. Maybe her mission here was to lighten these people up, broaden their horizons, and open them up to other cultures.
A lot of work for one woman. She could really use some help.
If she was treated with caution, then Boris was viewed with outright terror. She got it. He was a scary-looking guy. But there was no reason to treat him like the boogeyman. One woman had actually picked
up her child and ran in the other direction.
Drama queen.
The worst offender was Dex’s mother. Pompous, cold, and arrogant, she’d give the White Witch a chill.
Still, it had only been a few days. Zoey needed to give it more time. Surely, she would come around. She had to. Zoey was Dex’s mate—and she here to stay
No matter what old frosty knickers thought.
The spacious dining room had a large, rectangular table and a row of floor-to-ceiling windows along one side. The view out to the ocean was spectacular. Pristine and perfect.
It wasn’t the view of the ocean that caught Zoey’s attention, but the slim-built woman who stood at the far end of the room, smiling at Dex as though he was a canary and she was a big, fat cat.
Okay, so that was a bit mean. There was nothing fat about the woman. Honestly, were all Zerconian women built like freakin’ models? Her long, blonde hair fell down her back in a graceful wave. Zoey’s hands itched to touch the golden wave that looked like spun gold. She wondered if it felt as silken as it looked.
The woman spoke some words in Zerconian as she headed towards Dex, a soft smile on her face.
Zoey expected Dex to rebuff her. Instead, he smiled broadly and met the woman halfway across the room, clasping hold of her hands—which was practically an embrace by Zerconian standards.
Jealousy swamped her and she fought hard to suppress it, not wanting Dex to feel it through the bond. She had been working with Dex on how to keep all of her emotions and feelings from flooding him, but she still struggled a bit.
Giz cuddled in against her. There were times she swore he could sense her emotions.
Dex stepped back and the other female glanced over at Zoey with a smile. She might have intended it be friendly, but the look in her eyes was too cold to pull it off. She said something in Zerconian and Dex looked back at Zoey.
Dex reached out and took hold of Zoey’s hand, bringing her forward.
“This is my mate, Zoey. We need to remember to speak Standard so she understands.”
“Zoey? What a delightful name.”
Ugh, that voice. She was certain a lot of people—men—found it pleasant but it sent a shiver up Zoey’s spine.
The emphasis she’d placed on delightful indicated that she thought it was anything but. Zoey narrowed her gaze. Oh, they were so not going to get on.
“Thanks. It’s the only one I’ve got,” she said lightly. “And you are?”
“Oh, I am certain Dex must have spoken of me. I am Fedora.”
And she thought Zoey had an odd name?
“Sorry.” Zoey made certain she smiled extra sweetly. “Dex hasn’t mentioned you at all.”
Not very mature of her, but she couldn’t help herself.
“Fedora is the ward of my parents,” Dex explained. “Her mother was a cousin of my mother. When her mother died, Fedora came to live with us. She is like a sister to me.”
Ooh, Fedora didn’t like hearing that. But it explained why Dex was so friendly with her. Dex saw her as a little sister, but Zoey was willing to bet that Fedora had been hoping for much, much more.
Fedora smiled coldly. “I wish I had been here when you arrived to greet you, but I was visiting friends. Come sit down, Zoey. You must tell me how the two of you met. It must be quite the story.”
Zoey sent Dex a pleading look, but he just smiled and nodded. Clueless man.
Lunch was torture. Dex and his father kept their heads together—talking about God only knew what—leaving Zoey to the tender mercies of his mother and ‘sister’. The two of them chatted together, obviously very comfortable with each other. Zoey couldn’t help but feel left out. Particularly as they kept slipping into Zerconian.
She supposed she couldn’t blame them. They had nothing in common with her. Still, it made for an awkward and boring lunch that went on and on. And included most of the dishes that Zoey hated. Zerconians loved spicy food.
Her stomach did not.
“Zoey, are you not eating? Are you trying to slim down?” Fedora asked with false concern.
Actually, Zoey had lost quite a lot of weight after Targos attacked her and she hadn’t regained all of it back.
“No. Just not hungry.”
“Here. Try this.” Fedora picked up a dish with some dodgy looking red balls on it.
“No, that’s all right. Really, I’m full.”
“This is a Zerconian specialty,” Fedora insisted. “You must try it.”
Zoey stared at Fedora, who didn’t even flinch. She just smiled and nodded at the balls. “You would not turn down one of our special foods, would you?”
Zoey smiled widely. “Of course not.” She picked up a ball and popped it into her mouth. How bad could it be?
Fire erupted in her mouth and she swallowed quickly, hoping that would help. But the fire just travelled down her throat. Opening her mouth, Zoey panted, gasping as her eyes watered and her stomach surged in protest. Grabbing up a glass of water, she gulped it down.
Shit! That only made things worse. Gasping for breath, sweat broke out on her skin as she searched for something, anything, to ease the fiery pain. It was like swallowing hot coals that had been doused in hot sauce and chilies.
“Zoey? What happened?”
Through her blurred vision, she saw Dex crouching before her, his concern clear.
He barked out something in Zerconian then a glass was pressed against her lips. She moved her head away. No way was she letting anything else near her poor mouth.
“Zoey, drink it,” Dex urged. “It will help.”
Suspicious, she drunk a small sip of the cool liquid. Instantly, it soothed the burning in her mouth. She gulped down the rest and sat back with relief as the fire was doused. Shaking, she wiped her arm across her sweaty face. Urgh, gross. She blinked, bringing Dex back into focus as he stared at her in concern.
“Is that better?” he asked.
“Yes,” she croaked, trembling slightly.
“Why would you try a Zota ball?” he asked with a hint of temper. “They are extremely hot. You could have harmed yourself.”
She wasn’t entirely certain that she hadn’t hurt herself. Could her insides be lit on fire without inflicting damage?
Zoey glared over at Fedora, who held a hand up to her mouth. “It is my fault, Dex. I did not realize she would have such a reaction.”
Dex glared at the other woman. “You gave her a Zota ball?”
“Yes, I was trying to help. She was not eating. I thought she would enjoy one. I am so sorry. Please forgive me.”
A few tears ran down her cheeks. Zoey watched her suspiciously. Surely, Dex wouldn’t buy this bullshit. But his shoulders relaxed and he smiled up at Fedora. “Do not worry yourself, sister. You could not know that Zoey cannot handle hot food.”
“I will never offer her food again.”
Everyone tried to soothe Fedora, totally ignoring Zoey. It wasn’t like she wanted sympathy or anything—okay, maybe a bit wouldn’t go astray—but she was the injured party here.
Zoey scowled over at the sniveling woman. Couldn’t they see they were crocodile tears? Fedora wasn’t even that good of an actress. Suddenly, the door opened with a bang and Thor raced inside, quickly followed by Koran.
“Zoey!” Thor rushed over, silver case held tight in his hand. “What happened?” He knelt in front of her.
“Where are you injured?” Koran asked, running his gaze over her. Things between her and Koran still weren’t back to normal.
“I’m fine. Who called you guys?”
“I did.” Dex stared down at her firmly. “The Zota ball could have damaged your throat and stomach.”
“You ate a Zota ball?” Koran gaped at her like she’d grown another head. “Why would you do that?”
“Obviously I didn’t realize they were little balls of hellfire, did I?” she snapped back as Thor ran his wand over her body. “I’m all right, Thor.”
“Thor will determine that.” Dex stood behind T
hor, Fedora was pressed against him.
“It is my fault.” Fedora sniffled. “I insisted she try one.”
“You did?” Koran scowled at her. “Were you trying to harm her?”
Yay, someone was on her side.
Fedora turned her face against Dex’s chest, her shoulders rocking up and down.
“Do not blame Fedora, she did not know,” Dex replied, patting her back awkwardly.
Koran growled. “She should have known better.”
“Fedora knows nothing about humans,” Liula said, defending her. “How could she know? Zoey should have known better than to eat something without consulting Dex.”
So now it was her fault? Oh, she was good. Really good. Right now, she had all the sympathy while Zoey was the bad guy.
“Everyone quiet,” Thor ordered. “Zoey, open your mouth.” Thor peered down her throat, using a bright light. “Any pain?”
“No. I’m fine after drinking that stuff. What was that?”
“Cassata,” Dex explained. “It counteracts the heat of the Zota balls.”
“Maybe I should start carrying a bottle of that stuff around with me,” Zoey joked.
“Good idea.” Koran nodded, completely serious.
She sighed. Bad enough she had one protective male in her life, she didn’t need two. Koran needed to chill out.
“Look, I’m all right. It was just some hot food. Can everyone just back off.”
Dex’s mother sniffed and said something in Zerconian. Dex snapped back at her while Thor and Koran looked uncomfortable.
Dex reached down and helped her stand. “Come, Zoey. I will take you back to our quarters so you can rest.”
She didn’t need to rest, she felt fine. But if it got her away from Dex’s family then she wasn’t about to argue.
“What did your mother say?” Zoey asked as she followed Dex down the passage. Thor, Koran, and Boris followed them while Giz stuck close to her side. She patted his head.
“When?” Dex asked, sounding distracted.
“Just then, before you suggested we go. What did she say?”
She knew it had to be something bad from the way the three of them had closed up.
“It matters not.”
“Ahh, I think it does. Look, I guess it was nothing flattering, it’s easy to see that she doesn’t like me.”