Arobi's Queen: A Mate Index Romance (The Mate Index Book 11)

by S. J. Sanders

  Normally, she could get lost in a book for hours and would have enjoyed the blessed silence… but it just felt off. She felt unusually fidgety, unable to sit still for more than half an hour before she was looking out the window again. She couldn’t be missing them that much! She wasn’t even entirely convinced that she was going to stick around. It was absurd to feel so… Fuck, she might as well admit it: she was fucking lonely without their constant milling about.

  She groaned and tried to get back into the budding romance between the ghost of some fallen warrior and the woman who captured his heart, but after putting it down yet again to check for the Arobi’s return, she finally gave up. With a sigh, she pushed herself up to hunt down the absent male only to find him hard at work in a room dominated by a large comm system. Although the males often went in and out of the room while they worked, she had never been in there herself. Stepping inside, she looked around curiously. Bilax was leaning forward with such focus as he worked that he reminded her of a gamer ex-boyfriend when he was “in the zone,” and she resisted the urge to laugh as she made her way in.

  Not that she got far before he noticed her.

  He looked up, his brows rising in surprise, but rather than being annoyed with her intrusion as her ex would have been, the male smiled at her and gestured for her to join him. She plopped into the chair beside him with a smile and watched him work. She admired the way that his strong hands splayed over the controls, his claws clicking on the panel with practiced ease. It was fascinating to watch, not only because she was taken in by the corded muscle that ran through his forearms or the strong lines of his hands, but also because the comm system itself was impressive.

  She had heard of them before, but few people could afford the expense compared to the smaller comm units. The system almost reminded her of a desktop computer in function, but instead of a tower, it had a long panel with various controls displayed on it that sat in front of a holoscreen that filled much of one wall. She watched in fascination as the larger screen broke up into smaller screens contained in the corner that were shuffled, enlarged, shrunk, and then closed out as Bilax worked.

  “This is awesome,” she muttered to herself. The Arobi looked over at her again and grinned.

  “Never seen a comm system?” he asked casually as he flicked over more screens so fast that they seemed to expand, shift with unfamiliar Intergalactic Common script racing over the screen, and then disappear quicker than she could keep track of them. She shook her head.

  “Stuff like this is way too expensive for most people on Earth,” she admitted. “Even comm units are a bit of a luxury item, but with phones getting phased out there are cheap models that most can afford. But something like this… I don’t personally know anyone who can afford a comm system. We can access them from a library or government building, but they’re usually pretty basic, not nice like this. The public ones don’t work well either, from what I’ve heard.”

  Bilax nodded and grimaced. “I understand that some of the tech arriving on Earth are older generation models.”

  “Ah. Guess that makes sense.” She chuckled. “It’s not like some countries don’t do that to others on my planet, so why not on an intergalactic level?”

  “The situation is similar on distant colony planets, but the unit we worked with assisted us in acquiring this.”

  “Ah, Frankie?” She tried to keep her voice light, but the Arobi must have picked up something in her tone because the corners of his mouth quirked.

  “Actually, no. It was Rodreegez. For a human, he has remarkable skill at establishing connections for various goods. He likes to check in with us from time to time to see if we are bored with retirement yet. Last I heard, he was working for a private organization as a hired guard after he finished his stint in the Fleet.”

  “And you don’t want to do that? Sounds like a pretty cushy job.”

  Bilax snorted. “We are not good with tasks that require us to ‘play nice,’ as Rodreegez says. We tend to be direct and are not terribly social outside of our own pack. This does not work well with a position that requires close work with a client. No, what we do here is far more suited to our temperament, and we need the wide spaces to roam. We get too restless on starships.”

  Hayley thought about how tense and wired they had seemed on the merchant ship after just a couple of days and tried to imagine them doing that long-term. From the way they tended to stay in their rooms, she had an idea that they were accustomed to such arrangements when they were in the Fleet rather than mingling.

  Scooting closer with interest, she peered at the holoscreen. “What exactly is it that you do in here? You’ve been in this room for most of the day.”

  He clicked on a screen, bringing up a vid feed. She could see a wooded area along a mountain, trees rushing by in a blur, reminding her just how fast Arobi could run. Every now and then, she caught sight of an Arobi moving through the shot.

  “This is part of what I am doing. Since I am here, I am monitoring the pack so that they are not getting interrupted in the field from the corporation check-ins for coordinates. Exeri wears a cam so if I need to check in with them I can see where they are at any given moment. It also has a tracker so that I can zero in on their location. Our comm unit is linked to the system so that if one of the males comms me I receive it instantly no matter where I am—which reminds me that we need to get one for you next time one of us goes to port. Aside from that, there are cameras around our property that I check, and there is always some kind of correspondence piling up.” He grinned and winked in her direction. “We will need to get you literate in Intergalactic Common so that you can help out with that.”

  “Sure, leave the mountain of paperwork no one wants to do to me,” she scoffed. Inside, she was happy that he considered her useful to their pack. “Is there a program I can use to learn it?”

  He nodded and held out his hand for the datapad. She gave it to him and watched him key in several sequences as he searched for the desired programming. The upload bar that flashed on the screen was a familiar sight, and she tried not to laugh at just how much some things remained the same no matter how far the distance in the cosmos. A green symbol flashed on the screen when it was done, and he handed it back to her with a smile.

  “This is the icon that will take you to the program,” he said. “It will sync with your translator so that you will be able to learn Intergalactic Common at the same time as you learn to read it.”

  “Did it take you long to learn?” she asked.

  “Arobi are trained in Intergalactic Common and Agraaksi from the time we are pups. We weren’t given translators because it wasn’t considered important for us to know more than how to follow directions and make ourselves understood in the most basic ways. It took us little time to learn the written system. Of course, going into the Fleet, we had translators implanted. I believe you will pick it up fast. It was designed to not be a difficult language so that it could be shared easily among the intergalactic community.”

  That was a relief. Tucking her feet under the chair, Hayley initiated the programming, grateful to have something to keep her mind busy. She didn’t even realize how much time had passed until Bilax tapped her gently. Pausing the program, she looked over at him.

  “Come. It is time for the evening meal. I will make something simple and we can watch a vid.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” she agreed as she closed out the program. “I think I need a break from language lessons anyway. Some of that last lesson was starting to get confusing. Dinner and a movie sound like the perfect thing to unwind.”

  Peeling herself out of the chair, she walked with him toward the kitchen. Every now and then the side of his tail flicked against the back of her legs in a gesture that she assumed was affectionate. It was startling the first time he did it, but the second time she noted the way his tail seemed to linger on her skin before dropping away. Every touch sent a flame of desire through her. It also satisfied a sort of tactile nee
d for the male. After a few minutes, she began to anticipate the small touches, tongues of pleasure curling through her with each brush of his tail that seemed to work its way higher as they made their way into the kitchen. She bit back a disappointed snarl when he stepped away.

  Damn it!

  Leaning against the counter, she watched as he stepped away and began to make a quick meal of some sort of noodle tossed in a spicy sauce that reminded her of peanut sauce with a kick. He added some vegetables and meat cooked together in a separate pan before filling two bowls and handing one to her. She took a huge bite and groaned at the delicious spice. Bilax grinned at her reaction before leading her back out of the kitchen into the main room. At his command, a holoscreen popped up on the wall.

  “What would you like to watch?” he asked.

  “I don’t know… Why don’t you start your favorite vid? Maybe something with action and a bit of romance if that’s possible?”

  He nodded. “Entherenal and the Eternal Flower,” he commanded.

  His bowl in one hand, he drew her down onto one of the three giant alien couches in the common room and flopped comfortably next to her, his warm body snuggling in close. The snuggling just seemed to happen naturally since the couch molded around, drawing them close together without sitting on top of each other. In some ways, the comfortable support reminded her of a bean bag chair—if a bean bag chair was a luxuriously soft cushion. She cuddled against him, resisting the urge to outright grope him. Other than a few flirtatious touches, he hadn’t really demonstrated that he was interested in being fondled. And he, like the other guys over the last few days, kept backing off, which was giving her a hell of a lot of mixed signals.

  Maybe they didn’t mean for their touches to be so sexually stimulating. It wasn’t their fault that every little thing got her engine revving.

  “What’s this movie about?” she whispered, trying to ignore the slick of arousal between her thighs as the screen lit up with a beautiful sunrise. He leaned his cheek against hers as he whispered back.

  “It is a based off a Moshavalee legend that a Calystii producer fell in love with and decided to make into a vid after his travels to their planet. It tells the story of a warrior monk who fell in love with the spirit of the moon and turned away from all of his vows, leading him on an adventure over his planet in a quest to prove his adoration.”

  “Does it have a happy ending? Don’t tell me that it has a sad ending. I can’t stand sad endings!”

  He chuckled. “I think you will enjoy it.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “That didn’t answer my question.”

  “I do not want to spoil it for you. Now enjoy the vid.”

  Grumbling, she snuggled back in against him. It didn’t take much for her to swept up in the story until a crash of lightning had her bolting upright, the vid forgotten.

  “Don’t you think we should check up on the pack? I know you said not to, but with the weather changing and all, maybe it would be a good idea?” she asked as another crack of lightning lit up the storm-dark sky.

  Bilax shook his head. “It is dangerous to distract them while they are on a hunt, especially in conditions like this. My pack will be fine,” he assured her with a confident smile. “We have hunted through terrible conditions on several different worlds. They will grumble and complain afterward, but it is not so bad. In any case, the storm systems on this planet are small… It will pass soon.”

  She bit her lip and tried to enjoy the rest of the movie, but her ability to focus on it was gone. Bilax stroked his hand against her arm in a soothing motion even as his tail curled around her leg. She leaned into him, taking comfort in his presence and touch, but still she worried.

  That worry did not ease until the flyer touched down in front of the house, and three Arobi stumbled out toward the door. As they entered, they seemed too exhausted to even walk in a straight line, their bodies covered with mud from their shoulders to the tips of their tails. Despite their rough condition, each male perked up upon seeing her. She was met with three smiles as they sprung forward, their weariness momentarily forgotten as they rushed in and attempted to nuzzle her while keeping their bodies a safe distance away.

  It was sweet that they wanted to spare her the mudbath. She even tolerated it with some amusement at first when Exeri leaned forward at a precarious angle to sniff her hair as he ran his muzzle against the top of her head. The entire time, she worked to hold back her laughter. Their careful hands-off treatment, like she couldn’t be muddied, was just too much. She grew up hunting and camping. A little bit of mud wasn’t going to hurt her.

  When Exeri attempted to back up to make space for one of the other males, Hayley used it to her advantage. Lunging forward, she wrapped her arms around the male, grateful that they were home. His body went rigid with surprise, but his low, warm chuckle surrounded her like a comfortable blanket as he settled his arms around her. The rest of the males crowded in, their muddy arms going around her as they nuzzled her.

  “You are getting her filthy,” Bilax commented from the couch.

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, hush, I’ll wash. I happen to be enjoying this.” Hayley grinned up her males. “So, did you get it?”

  Tanji groaned at her left. “No. This creature is slippery. Unlike most of them that we have hunted, it doesn’t return to a primary nest. It seems to be moving through the mountains.”

  Bilax’s head shot up in surprise. “Do you think it will head here?”

  “We will get it long before that happens,” Exeri growled, his frustration showing as his body almost vibrated with anger beneath her arms despite his gentle touch. Despite his anger, he was always gentle with her.

  “We found a few of its discarded nests and have caught on to its scent trail, as it seems to deteriorate fast when not concentrated in a nest. It is impossible to follow, but we will know when we are near it,” Simah said as he cracked his neck.

  “No rest for the hunter,” Tanji snickered. His nostrils flared and he gave them a curious look. “Meanwhile, what have you two been… Oh! Entherenal and the Eternal Flower! This is my favorite vid!”

  Bilax sighed from his place on the couch. “Hurry up and use the cleansing unit. I will restart.”

  Tanji nodded eagerly, scooping Hayley up into his arms. “You heard the male… We will get you clean.”

  Hayley laughed in his arms and tapped the end of his muzzle. “Nice try.”

  “It was worth the attempt,” Tanji said with a grin as he lowered her back to her feet. She felt a pang of regret when he let her go, but with him, she never knew just how much was play and how much was in earnest. He nuzzled her again. “Hurry up and get clean. I mark my place for primary cuddling!” he shouted out as he raced away.

  Hayley watched him shoot out with amusement. Cuddling dibs, of all the things.

  “Then you had better take the other side!” Bilax shot back after him. “Because I have already claimed my spot.”

  Still laughing, Hayley hurried back to her room. The mud was cold on her, and she was eager to wash it off and snuggle between the males. Despite the worrisome news of the creature on the loose, the males didn’t appear concerned, and she was looking forward to the rest of the night. Even with the storm raging outside loud enough to send tremors of anxiety through her, her mood continued to remain high as she cleaned up and rejoined them. If anything, her discomfort with the storm decreased as she was wedged comfortably between the two males while Exeri and Simah sprawled on another couch near to her.

  Hayley easily got lost once more in the movie, enjoying every thrill and tearing up with happiness when the warrior went into the heavens to join the spirit of the moon. The males were enthusiastic, sometimes shouting out their displeasure or snarling, and she even noticed a tear in Tanji’s eye at one point.

  When it finally ended, she was almost disappointed. Everything was so cozy that she didn’t want to move.

  To her pleasure, the pack was of a similar mind. One of
them started a new vid and, even though the males traded places so that she was cuddled between Exeri and Simah, she didn’t have to move. Every vid, they traded spots. She didn’t know when she fell asleep curled up between the Arobi; she only knew that when she woke the next morning it was with a smile on her face.

  Chapter 20

  Simah frowned as he looked at the schematic of the mountain around the Astinah Mine. He had been going over the same schematic for days, and every day their pack went out short one member to hunt through a new spot in an attempt to locate their prey. Every day was a failure, and every day he had to face the worry in their queen’s eyes when they left. Worse still, their employer was becoming impatient.

  Despite Exeri’s confidence, it troubled him that the creature was acting unpredictably. Most of the predators that lived in high elevations behaved in a predictable manner. When they moved into lower elevations, they either attacked quickly and returned to the mountains, leaving carnage in their wake, or made themselves comfortable in the forest, in a secure nest which they would only leave to hunt. This creature, though…

  It did not make sense.

  “Anything?” Exeri rumbled from behind him.

  “No. There is no pattern I can discern to its attacks, either. It seems to appear at random,” Simah muttered as he enlarged an area. Where was it even disappearing to?

  The alpha snarled and threw himself into the chair in frustration. The chair groaned, and Simah waited to see if this would be the time that the chair would buckle under the large male. His luck held another day and the chair remained intact beneath him. Exeri ran his hand through his mane.

  Simah noticed that, once again, the male made an effort with his mane. It was still a bit wild, but the braids were neat, and the loose lengths of his mane were brushed smooth, gathered up and bound at the nape of his neck. Ever since that first night they cuddled up together watching vids, there was a change in Exeri.