Raff (The Vorge Crew Book 4)

by Laurann Dohner

  Chapter Ten

  Raff worried as he waited on the bridge for Lilly to be brought to him. She’d left their cabin with the other females an hour before to prepare for the ceremony. It was a human custom to not see the bride before the couple were married.

  “Stop fondling that knife you strapped to your thigh,” Cathian ordered. “You look like you’re ready to go kill something, despite only wearing one weapon instead of dozens. They will be here soon.”

  “What if she changes her mind?” Raff felt lucky that Lilly agreed in the first place to bond to him. He did tend to scare everyone, especially females.

  “She won’t.” Dovis drew his attention. “You saved her life and you’re different with her. Softer. Females appreciate that.”

  “She’s on her way here now,” Two stated.

  “She loves you,” One told him. “Very much.”

  Raff glanced at Three, waiting for him to weigh in.

  He did. “She’s fearful that you’ll change your mind.”

  “Never.” Raff’s gaze locked on the doors to the bridge.

  “This is unbelievable,” Marrow snarled.

  Everyone looked at her.

  She shrugged. “Raff gets a mate before I do? This is so fucked up.” She held his gaze. “No offense.”

  “None taken. I’m surprised too. I never saw this coming but I knew the moment I saw Lilly that she was mine.” Raff ran his hand down the front of his uniform that he rarely wore. “Pure instinct.”

  “It must be,” Midgel added. “I don’t know why anyone takes a mate otherwise.”

  The doors slid open and he watched as Mari walked in first, followed by Sara, and finally his Lilly was being escorted by Nara. That was another human tradition. A family member usually walked the bride to where the groom waited. He lost the ability to take a breath as he stared at his female.

  Lilly always looked beautiful to him but they’d done something different with her black hair. Some of it was piled in twists on top of her head, while curled long locks trailed down her shoulders. The white dress molded to her figure, accenting every curve. Her smile was radiant. Moisture flooded his eyes and he had to rapidly blink to clear his vision. He couldn’t believe she was really his. She was too good, too sweet for him. Not that he’d ever give her up.

  “Get over here so I can claim you,” he growled.

  She laughed and tugged out of Nara’s hold, rushing forward. He moved to meet her, gripping her hips. They stared into each other’s eyes. He just wanted to throw her over his shoulder and return them to their cabin to strip her bare.

  Cathian loudly cleared his throat. “Soon. I don’t need to be one of the Pods to know what you’re thinking. Face me. I’ll make this fast.”

  Raff took a deep breath and nodded, tearing his gaze from Lilly. He slid his arm around her though, refusing to stop touching her. The crew members had all put on their official uniforms for the wedding. Cathian even donned his ambassador sash.

  “It is an honor for me to bring this couple together today.” Cathian smiled at both of them. “Raff, do you take Lilly to be your mate, your wife, and bond to her in all ways until the end of time?”

  “I do.” He stared down at her as he gave her his vow. “I dare anyone to ever try to take her from me.”

  “We all know that. Death and destruction will reign on any bastard who tries.” Cathian chuckled. “Lilly, do you take Raff to be your mate, your husband, and to bond to him in all ways until the end of time?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I do.”

  “At this time, couples usually exchange wedding rings but that’s an Earth custom and you aren’t bonding to one.” Cathian paused and turned, then took a small package from York. He turned back. “Lilly, Raff has given you full body armor.”

  York laughed. “To make sure nothing ever happens to you.”

  Raff shot them dirty looks. “It’s romantic.”

  Lilly took the package. “It’s so light!” She grinned up at him. “You bought me body armor? I love it. Thank you.”

  He grinned and reached into his pocket, withdrawing a small gold band. He lowered to his knees in front of her. “That’s not all. Give me your left hand.”

  She held it out and clutched the package to her chest. He noticed she slightly trembled. He took her hand in his and slipped the ring onto her correct finger. He’d asked Nara for advice beforehand when he’d had it replicated. He stared up to her. “I want to give you everything.”

  Tears slipped down her cheeks. “You have. You do.”

  He rose to his feet and narrowed his gaze on Cathian. “Now.”

  His cousin nodded. “With all my authority, I bond the two of you in marriage and decree you are life-locked. You may claim your female.”

  Raff scooped her up and spun, striding out of the room with her cradled in his arms. “Thank you!”

  Lilly wrapped her arms around his neck and he felt the package in her hand against his back. “Where are we going?”

  “You heard him. I’m going to claim you. That will be in our cabin. No one will dare interrupt us until tomorrow.”

  “No kiss, huh?” She had a teasing tone.

  “There will be lots of kissing but not in front of everyone else. That would mean we’d have to stop once we start. Not happening.”

  She laughed. “I totally agree.”

  He increased his pace, wanting to get her to their cabin faster. The plans he had included a waiting special meal for them to share and a few more gifts. Lilly needed a lot more clothes and he’d asked the other females to replicate a few dozen outfits. They were waiting for Lilly to unwrap. Females loved presents. He was going to make certain Lilly never regretted choosing him.

  * * * * *

  Marrow entered the shuttle and sealed the doors. It was her place to escape from the crew and had its own long-range comms system. It would be embarrassing if were caught talking to prospective mates in Cathian’s office or on the bridge.

  “Raff found a mate. Raff.” She still couldn’t believe it. He was the least friendly male she’d ever met. She’d never even considered climbing into his bed. His personality gave her nightmares. Until she’d seen him soften for the human, she was pretty sure he only got aroused by killing or touching his precious weapons. “Raff.” She shook her head.

  She reached up and finger combed her hair, turning on comms. Messages waited and she began to read the profile of the first prospective mate who thought they’d be a good match. Her lips curled back in disgust at the alien who’d applied. He was a parasite. Literally. His needs stated that he’d latch onto a female’s body to ride their backs through life.

  “Not a chance.”

  She went to the next message and read it. This one sounded interesting until she got to his image. She winced. He had two heads, eight eyes, and stood three feet tall. She deleted that one.

  Depression hit. Most of the males who were looking for females were sad creatures. It would have been funny if she wasn’t serious about finding a mate. She had standards though. Attraction was at the top of her list, along with someone who was at least her size or larger. The race didn’t matter.

  The next message killed her interest fast. He was looking for multiple females to bond and breed children with. She guessed he hadn’t read her profile before sending his. It happened often too.

  “Stupid male. I won’t share.” She deleted him.

  The next one had her lean forward. He was a Tryleskian. She smiled. They were larger than her, into only one female, and she didn’t mind a little surgery to life-lock to one. His career was listed as a supplier of trade goods and that he traveled often. He was looking for a female who didn’t mind living on a ship. That was her! Excitement built. She clicked on his image and gasped. It was face she knew.

  Anger came next. The information she’d read was a lie. Jorgan Reek had stolen that image and must be trying to run a scam. He wasn’t her captain’s littermate brother. She tapped on the contact information, ready
to threaten him with death. The screen in front of her came on and she placed the connect. It wasn’t immediately answered but then a face came on.

  Her mouth fell open. “Cavas? It’s really you?”

  He smiled. “It’s about time. Don’t you check your matches, Marrow? How are you going to find a mate if you ignore males who reach out to you?”

  “Jorgan Reek?”

  His expression grew somber and he leaned in, lowering his voice. “It’s a false identity I’m using right now. Cathian mentioned you were hunting for a mate. I logged onto the system in hopes of finding you.”

  She was stunned. Her and Cavas didn’t get along. He was in the military and had a very controlling personality. She’d left her home world to avoid males like him. “You want to mate me?” She curled her lip to show her displeasure at that idea.

  He chuckled. “No. We’d be a terrible match.”

  “I know. That’s why you’re confusing me right now.”

  He glanced to the side for a second, then met her gaze. “I’m going to intercept The Vorge in about six hours if you don’t change course. I left this message for you yesterday. You really should check them more often. I’ve been worried you wouldn’t respond in time.”

  “You’re making no sense, Cavas.”

  He reached up and ran his fingers through his short hair. “I’m going to dock with The Vorge but I need you to shut down some of the systems to prevent any record of it.”

  “You are confusing me more.”

  He closed his eyes, sighed, and then opened them. “I’m trusting you. My father gave me orders I refused to follow. Then Crath went missing in retaliation. I do what our father has demanded or I have a feeling we might never see my youngest brother again.”

  Marrow gasped, stunned. “But Crath is his son. You, Cathian, and Crath are from the same first litter your mother birthed for him. That makes the three of you special and important in your family.”

  “Never think Beltsen Vellar won’t sacrifice family. Ask Raff.”

  Dread pit in her gut. “What was the order?”

  Cavas hesitated.

  “You said you trust me. Tell me what your father ordered you to do.”

  His golden eyes flashed rage. “Kill Raff after I obtain some documentation he has against our family.”

  Marrow tensed. “I’m not letting you kill Raff. He has proof that your father hired assassins to come after him and his mother when he was a boy.”

  The rage on his face increased and he snarled. “One more betrayal.”

  “I won’t allow you to harm Raff. He’s family.”

  “I would never do that. That’s why Father did something to our youngest littermate. I refused! I need Cathian’s help to find Crath or we may never get him back.”

  “We all will help.” Marrow gave a sharp nod.

  Cavas’s features relaxed. “Don’t tell my brother about this. I need to talk to him in person or he’ll confront Father. Cathian has no idea how dangerous he’s become. I do. We need to find Crath first. I’m in a shielded shuttle but I can’t dock with The Vorge without your assistance. I am certain my father is monitoring your ship’s main computer. I need you to take some systems offline to prevent it from registering my arrival and that I’m onboard.”

  She bit her lip. “I can do that.”

  “That’s the easy part. I need another favor from you.”

  “What’s that?”

  He hesitated. “I left my personal shuttle docked at Rave Station. It will be monitored by our father too.”

  She frowned, confused again.

  “When I dock, I want you to take the shuttle I’m in, fly to Rave Station to pick it up, and then use it to go traveling far from The Vorge. They’ll think it’s me. Pack your bags, Marrow. You’re about to get a vacation.”

  Her mouth fell open but she recovered. “I can’t do that. I’m needed here. Some of the crew can fly a shuttle but not as well as I can.”

  “You forget that I was trained as a shuttle pilot and am probably better than you are. Look at it this way, Marrow. I’m taking your job for a while until we find Crath and instead of looking at profiles, you can actually meet males. You’re not going to find a mate on comms. Look at the kind of shaft heads who contact you.” He grinned, pointing at his own chest. Then laughed.

  She growled. “Fine. I’ll pack.”

  “Don’t forget to shut down those systems I need you to and prepare for me to dock with you in six hours.”

  “Captain is going to be angry,” she predicted. “I better have a job and a shuttle to come back to.”

  “As if my brother would ever lose one of his crew for good. Your job is secure. He’s just getting a bonus one once this is over.”

  She frowned again.

  “Me, Marrow. I resigned from the military when my father asked me to kill my own cousin.” Anger flashed in his golden eyes again. “There’s going to be one more Tryleskian added to your crew.” He winked. “See you soon.”

  She stared at the dark screen when he cut comms and sighed. She wasn’t sure anyone on The Vorge would be happy when they learned Cavas was about to join them. She stood, shutting down comms and left the shuttle. She had systems to turn off and a bag to pack.

  Up next…Cavas

  About the Author

  NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

  I'm a full-time wife, mother, and author. I've been lucky enough to have spent over two decades with the love of my life and look forward to many, many more years with Mr. Laurann. I'm addicted to iced coffee, the occasional candy bar (or two), and trying to get at least five hours of sleep at night.

  I love to write all kinds of stories. I think the best part about writing is the fact that real life is always uncertain, always tossing things at us that we have no control over, but when writing you can make sure there's always a happy ending. I love that about being an author. My favorite part is when I sit down at my computer desk, put on my headphones to listen to loud music to block out everything around me, so I can create worlds in front of me.

  For the most up to date information, please visit my website. www.LaurannDohner.com