She glanced at the time again and settled in to watch the men a few more minutes. It was easier than thinking about the responsibility to her crew to reach their command. It was her duty. And the right thing to do.
But she didn’t want to contact CPU. They’d not exactly been supportive of the crew of the Defiance. She’d rather face the hostile Obosian politicians. And, of course, their leader, the cunning, mercurial Brhex.
The door behind her eventually crashed open and she smiled inwardly, stretching her social muscles in preparation for the moments to come.
“Female!” Brhex boomed. “I asked you to be prepared on my arrival.”
Chapter Two, BRHEX
The human female, Keri, looked at Brhex with surprise. “Oh, my. Is it noon already?”
Brhex turned and glared at his younger brother, Zhadra, who was to accompany them to the Conclave session. “This is your fault.”
Z did not look the least apologetic.
Zhadra had been the one to find the humans and rescue them from the Vermian lizard slavers. Z was now mated to one of the human women, Grace. They were expecting a young.
Brhex extinguished what could not possibly be a pang of jealousy. “You should have left them with the Vermians.”
Zhadra had the nerve to laugh.
Though he had purposely avoided a long look at Keri Hampton, Brhex finally studied the female as she draped a towel around her neck and headed his way.
Her very short, very unfeminine hair, was red. A ridiculous color. It was plastered to her head. She was drenched in sweat. Totally unproper for an Obosian woman.
And, gods. He wished he could avoid breathing the air, but the aroma hitting his senses was inevitable. It was difficult not to drool.
Keri strolled close and paused. “Hey, Zhadra.” Her green eyes turned to Brhex. “You said a quarter after noon. You’re early.”
There was no way he could take this female to the Conclave session in her current state. She exuded pheromones. He’d be facing glowing yellow eyes of arousal in the Concave counselors and he’d have to kill them.
“Female. You cannot —”
She cut him off. “Meet me at my quarters in ten minutes. I’ll be ready to go.”
He and his brother turned and watched her meander without a care toward the wing of the ‘embassy’ that held the human living quarters.
Brhex felt like grasping his horns and growling in frustration. “Does the female understand that I control this entire nation? That I hold power over the humans’ fate?”
Zhadra twisted his mouth. “I have been in negotiations with the female. Do not underestimate her.”
Brhex ground his teeth together. “I have the religious zealots creating an uproar. I have Ridax and his faction in the Conclave breathing down my neck. And do not forget the recent attack on your friend, Khaid. That smacks of trouble in the outer planets.” He skewered his brother with his gaze. “I do not need this human problem, Zhadra.”
Zhadra cast his eyes down at Brhex. It had always amused his younger brother that Zhadra had two inches in height on Brhex, the older brother, and Precep of Agra Obos.
“You love every moment of intrigue, Brhex. Always have. Do not try to tell me otherwise.”
Perhaps, but even he had his limits. And he was not certain his brother appreciated the current danger to their family.
The two men turned and watched Jhergh and the human male as they circled each other.
Scott, as he was called, used his feet in a lightning fast move that stunned Jhergh and knocked him totally off the sparring mat. A point for the human.
Brhex glared at Zhadra. All his brothers had been fighting with the human. “I thought he was being beaten on a regular basis.”
Zhadra frowned. “He was. No wonder Grace laughed when I told her I thought we should ease up on her cousin. She used words like sucker and hustle. I did not know their meaning.”
“Then we will find some other way to keep him from Lhiranna.”
Zhadra shook his head. “You need to leave Lhiranna alone. She can make her own decisions.”
Brhex glared at his brother. “Not when it comes to mating. The Savo family has responsibilities to Agra-Obos.”
He did not add that Zhadra had been a lucky bastard. As a younger brother, he could act on his enhanced mating response with his human.
Brhex did not have that luxury. And neither did their only sister, Lhiranna. Freedom was a grand illusion when faced with the responsibilities of family.
Another crash on the mat caught both of their attention and they winced to see their brother, Jhergh, shaking his head in confusion as he struggled up from the mat.
Brhex could not watch anymore. Nothing with these humans was proceeding as planned.
He and Zhadra headed toward Keri’s quarters.
Zhadra was frowning. “You obviously have a mating response to the woman. That means you could have children.”
Zhadra was alluding to the fertility problem that had plagued their warriors recently in some of the arranged matings. Brhex did not want to get into that discussion.
But Zhadra persisted. “Why is mating her out of the question?”
“The Conclave and the Thysesian priests would never stand for mating with an off-worlder.”
“Those fools can do nothing to stop you.”
“There are laws about heirs and pureness of Obosian blood.” And he had to decide soon. He was already thirty-eight.
“Then give up the cruuking Precep position and do something else.”
Brhex halted and glared at his brother. “Do you really think it is that easy, brother? If we handed over power to them, those fools, as you call them, would never be content to let the Savo family live. Any one of us would be a constant threat to their position.”
“Oh.”
Yes. Oh. Zhadra was a brilliant fighter and tactician. He was a natural leader of their armed forces. But he knew little about politics or the constant barrage Brhex faced from every direction.
They stopped outside the female’s quarters and prepared to wait.
The door swished open.
A stunning female stood in the entry. It was Keri. She appeared powerful, sophisticated, yet feminine.
Her red hair looked soft and spiky at the same time. It was arranged loosely around what even he could see was an aristocratic face, despite what she called freckles. She wore a quilted black dress with no covering of her toned arms. The dress ended at her knees and loosely conformed to her shape.
Her legs were enclosed in sheer black that accentuated their shape and her footwear was elevated at the heel. She’d done something to her eyes that made their green color luminescent and captivating.
There was a symbol of her union on the upper shoulder of the dress and small silver embroidery of her rank on the epaulets. She also wore a cuff with the emblem of her planetary union, and he knew damned well it concealed a blade.
He opened his mouth to object to the weapon, but merely grunted. After all, he had a contingent of bodyguards. She did not. He turned and stomped toward his transport.
“All-righty, then,” Keri said to no one in particular. “Let’s get this over with so I can get back and do my nails.”
Brhex was fuming. He’d sent her twenty-five files to study on the Conclave’s representatives. He’d had his brother, Qrurk, brief her with intelligence on the emergence and power of the Thysesian cult. And he did not have a clue if she had even listened or understood the seriousness of the prejudice the humans faced.
He heard her laughing and chatting with Zhadra behind him and wondered if she was prepared. And worse than his worry about the meeting; worse that the emerging threats toward his family, was a wildly inappropriate and reckless thought.
Brhex had an overwhelming urge at this moment to skewer his brother with his horns for the unpardonable sin of making Keri laugh.
To be continued . . ..
BRHEX will be available for purchase in September 2019
on Amazon.com.
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Author Biography
Sabine Ferucci’s work experience has been diverse, colorful, and interesting. She’s worked everywhere from restaurants to bars, from chemistry research to healthcare, from military service to journalism, from freelance writer to grant writing. A life-long fan of fiction, she published her first novel in 2008. When not reading or writing, she enjoys her family, live music, and the occasional DIY home project.
Sabine can be reached at [email protected].
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