The Alien Pirates' Treasure (Star Pirates Book 1)

by Charity Wells

  “Mother! Don’t give them all away! You know those are my favorites!” Va’naar sits up and reaches for the plate in her hands.

  “You will just have to do without this time, greedy pup!” Mother Da’leah announces, shooing his hands away from the plate. She places it in front of me and turns to get me a drink. Va’naar snatches a cake from the plate and winks, then shoving it in his mouth before she turns around.

  Setting the cup down, she notices the gap on the plate and glances at me in surprise. I quickly fake chewing, but she eyes Va’naar suspiciously. He is trying too hard to look innocent with a mouthful of calva. It soon becomes a game. I distract his mom and he snitches one of the universe’s most horrible cakes from my plate.

  It horrifies me that he likes them so much. I don’t think we’re really fooling her, but she plays along. Soon the plate is empty, though she glares at him when he swallows the last one.

  “Are you done stealing food from your mate and pups now?” she asks testily. He gulps and throws me an apologetic look that sends me into a fit of giggles.

  “She was full, mother, but is much too polite to tell you no,” he whines, drooping his ears.

  “Full? She hardly has any weight on her. Have you even been feeding her?” She glares at him and then at the empty plate on the table. “Really Va’naar? You didn’t even save her one piece.”

  “I don’t think she actually liked them,” he whispers in a loud, conspiratory voice.

  Mother Da’leah throws her hands up in the air in exasperation, then storms out of the room.

  “Sorry,” he says apologetically with crumbs falling from his lips. He turns to me and gives me another hug, nipping my shoulder playfully. “So sorry I ate all those bars.”

  I snort quietly at his shenanigans and fiddle with one of the golden beads braided into his fur, admiring my handiwork. “Yes, I’m so terribly distressed I didn’t get to eat any more of those...err...lovely little cakes.” I shudder. “I think you upset her though.”

  “Well, we can’t actually have you distressed, now can we?”

  He moves to stand behind my stool instead of beside it, then pulls me back against his chest while his hands massage my shoulders. His big hands gently knead at the tense muscles. I close my eyes and focus on the sensation of my stress melting away.

  “I will apologize later, then you will let her feel the pups kicking. They will make her forget all about why she was upset and want to feed you many more things that are ‘good for the pups’, but likely not to your tastes,” he says teasingly.

  “Apologize to whom?” Ca’lek asks, leaning against the kitchen entryway.

  “Ca’lek! You’re back! How did it go?”

  He grins, rushes towards us, and wraps his arms around Va’naar and I, enclosing us both in his embrace. “It went better than we had hoped.”

  “They annulled the contract?”

  “They didn’t just annul it. They have also arrested Sa’rin’s sires and given us one third of the Bel’faun estate as reparations for the harm and distress they caused our family,” Ca’lek announces.

  “Oh my God,” I mutter, pulling in a quick exhilarated breath and fanning myself. “What does that mean for Sa’rin though?”

  “You are too sweet to worry about her,” Va’naar comments, then kisses my cheek.

  “She is to find a suitable mating contract, with the guidance of the council of course, but I don’t give a keerikik’s ass about that,” Ca’lek says gleefully. “We are free of her and have the Council’s blessings to officially claim you as our mate now.”

  “Ca’lek! That’s wonderful! You have returned with such good news. Your dam and sires just commed me, they will be here for dinner shortly. And my mates are on their way as well. Heavens, you must be starving though, sitting in that Council chamber all day. Here, have a snack while you wait,” Da’leah says cheerfully as she rounds the corner with a plate of food. “You should eat something too, Polly. I don’t like you giving all of your calva bars to Va’naar.”

  My eyes roll at the sight of another dish of the horrid purple cakes, but Va’naar leans down, whispering in my ear. “Don’t worry my mate, there’s only a few and I think I can squeeze in another one if Ca’lek doesn’t hoard the plate to himself.”

  Ca’lek’s ears perk up at the sight of the treats and he grins like a little boy. My fingers itch to stroke the fuzzy little things. I can’t help it, they’re so damn adorable. I love stroking his ears, but that always gets him in a randy mood and with his parents coming, we need to behave, so I refrain from reaching out to him.

  ∞∞∞

  Va’naar

  “Ooh, I love calva,” Ca’lek says, grabbing one and stuffing it in his mouth. Polly picks one up under the stern eye of my dam and nibbles at the corner, taking liberal swallows of water. As soon as Mother turns away, she hands the rest of it to me and I eat it quickly. Ca’lek picks up on the idea and pulls the snacks closer.

  “You guys are the best mates a girl could ask for,” Polly says quietly while we finish off the remains for her.

  “And you are the best mate a male could ever hope for,” I respond and nuzzle her cheek while Ca’lek strokes her other cheek with his fingers, savoring the last bite of Calva.

  My dam bustles in and out of the kitchen, preparing food and carrying dishes to the dining table. Soon she stops returning to the kitchen and I hear her shuffling about as she readies the table for dinner. I should be a good son and go help her, but I am reluctant to leave my mate.

  As the front door opens without warning, we growl protectively, startled by the unexpected intrusion. Jolting to our feet, we stand between our mate and the entry to the kitchen. Ca’lek’s dam comes flying through the house squealing in excitement as her quiet mates calmly follow behind her.

  I breathe a brief sigh of relief.

  “Where is she?” she demands, rounding the corner into the kitchen. “Where is the female who rescued my son from that vile Bel’faun female and her parents?”

  Spotting Polly seated by the counter behind us, she pushes between us and immediately throws her arms around my mate, laughing happily, leaving Polly squawking her discomfort at the vigorous embrace. It never fails to surprise me how intense Mother Jan’nir can be. Despite being shorter than all of her children, she’s a force to be reckoned with.

  “Careful, Mother Ja’nir,” I say, trying not to chide the female who has been a second dam to me since Ca’lek and I bonded. “I know you are excited, but you must be gentle with our mate.”

  Mother Ja’nir pauses, looks at me, looks at Polly, then steps back and looks down at her belly. “Pups? Already?” she asks in comical disbelief.

  “Well, I…” Polly starts to explain uncomfortably.

  “Mother,” Ca’lek interrupts, touching Polly’s shoulder to stop her. “This is my mate, Polly. And yes, we are having pups soon. We will explain everything at dinner when Va’naar’s sires have returned.”

  Ca’lek’s dam just stares at Polly for a moment, then bursts into tears, covering her face in her hands. Unfortunately, that makes Polly frown with concern.

  “Why do you cry Ja’nir?” Father Rea’lin asks and pulls his mate into his arms.

  “I’m just so ha-ha-happy!” Ca’lek’s dam wails loudly.

  Everyone bursts into relieved laughter at her words. I know the three of us had been momentarily worried that Mother Ja’nir wouldn’t approve of Polly for not being Mephidaean. She’s very proud of her family lineage and often reminds us to breed into a strong line. It’s nice to see that has little bearing on our actual mating.

  “Don’t cry Mother,” Ca’lek urges, petting her back. “I just wanted to surprise you.”

  “You wonderful, wonderful pup,” Ja’nir cries. She turns to wrap him into a wet embrace. “I should have known my only male would be the first to give me grandpups!”

  “Calm yourself, silly female,” Ca’lek’s primary father, Lo’tan, chides. “You are upsetting our son’s m
ate.”

  “Oh!” Ja’nir exclaims, rounding on Polly and looking contrite. “I did not intend to be so emotional! I was just so happy that my son found a mate he loves and then to see you bearing young, it was all too much. I hope you don’t think I’m not absolutely thrilled to meet you. Though...I will have to reorder your navizili. It is obviously much too small for you.”

  Anyone who is looking could easily see the reels turning in her mind as she continues to eye Polly’s body while she speaks.

  “That is the second time someone has mentioned a navizili,” Polly replies. “What is that?”

  I wince, realizing we forgot to tell Polly about the navizili, and exchange an uneasy glance with Ca’lek. We should have sat down with her cycles ago to discuss the mating ceremony and all it entailed. That definitely needs to be done soon.

  “It is a traditional garment, presented to the female by the mothers of the males, and worn at the mating ceremony as a symbol of the families uniting. They blend the different colors of the families into one pattern, and are made to be woven together then worn over the female’s ceremonial garb.”

  “I don’t have ceremonial clothes,” my mate comments, frowning.

  “What do human females traditionally wear at their mating ceremonies?” Rea’lin questions, clearly wanting to know more about his new daughter in law and her culture.

  “Uhh,” Polly begins to say, stopping in a thoughtful pause. It’s clear she’s been caught off guard by the question. “Well, traditionally I guess most human females wear a wedding dress, but it’s not really required anymore. I could wear just about anything I suppose.”

  “We will order you a wedding dress then!” Mother Ja’nir announces, smiling brightly. “You must tell me exactly what you would like it to look like. We will incorporate the navizili into the design and it will be ready by next quarter cycle.”

  “Mother, that’s only four cycles from now,” Ca’lek protests, a deep frown showing on his face. “How do you expect it to be ready by then?”

  “You forget how quickly well-trained females can work, my son. How many times have you come to me with a hole in your pants and I sewn it back together before you could bat your eyes at me and ask for a snack? Many times.

  “The seamstress has assistants and will prioritize our order with the right incentive of course. Your ceremony is in seven cycles. That is plenty of time, I promise you. Besides, why should we change the day when everything has already been planned?

  “The Hall is already reserved and will be decorated two cycles prior to the ceremony. The food that can be made early is already being prepared by the caterers as we speak. The flowers arrive the day before. I sent the cancellations to Sa’rin’s family as soon as we received word that the contract was nullified.

  “Our family will fill the Hall with love and laughter. It will be a glorious celebration of victory over a stuffy old tradition!” Mother Ja’nir says, her voice rising with each passionate word, which leaves the rest of us in stunned silence, for once.

  “Ja’nir, why are you always so dramatic?” my own dam teases, who enters the room and greets Ca’lek’s family with hugs. “Come, my mates have arrived and our meal is waiting. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to have you all here tonight. We don’t do this often enough.”

  “Food sounds great, and after inhaling the aromas from the kitchen all afternoon, I’m hungry. What are we having?” I ask, turning to my dam. She’s holding one last bowl of food and I reach for it, licking my lips.

  She laughs and taps my hand with the serving spoon. “Go wash your hands, naughty pup! You and Ca’lek already ate all the calva!” She looks and points at Ca’lek.“You as well! Shoo!”

  We help Polly up, then go do as we were told.

  It doesn’t take long before we are all seated in the dining room. The table groans under dishes piled high with delicious food. Bottles filled with a variety of juices and wines cluster at one end of the large wooden table. Ca’lek and I work together, scooping heaps of food onto Polly’s plate, before serving ourselves. As we do, I catch everyone watching quietly, pride filling their eyes as we tend to our mate first.

  “So,” my primary sire begins as he’s reaching for his favorite bottle of grellian wine. “How did you pups happen to meet Polly?”

  “Ohh yes! I do love a good story,” Mother Ja’nir says gleefully, her face lighting up in a blitz of excitement.

  I ponder how to start, wishing I could leave out the most disturbing parts, but they are important with how we met. Maybe we should lie? As I try to decide on what to say, our parents lean in, quieting themselves as they wait for the upcoming story.

  “They rescued me from a Viktoid ship.”

  Polly shatters the ice with the abrupt, unexpected revelation. Shock ripples over the faces of our parents. Ca’lek chokes on his mouthful and I have to reach over and whack his back, dislodging the food so he can breathe. It sputters out of his mouth, landing beside his plate. He apologizes quietly and cleans it up with a napkin, pretending it didn’t happen.

  “We hadn’t intended to drop that information quite so bluntly, my love,” I say quietly as I lean towards her.

  “It’s true though. If it weren’t for you two, I’d probably be dead by now. Me and the babies,” Polly replies bluntly, her hand smoothing over her belly in a familiar gesture.

  “The babies?” my primary says, cocking his head in confusion. My parents have all left their meals barely touched as they look from Polly to us with concern.

  “Yeah. I was already pregnant when they found me,” my mate admits, not looking at my parents. I think she is afraid they would be angry that the pups weren’t ours biologically.

  “I thought…” her words stumble as my dam looks back and forth between the three of us.

  “Perhaps you should start from the beginning,” Father Lo’tan interrupts, looking concerned while he puts down his cup.

  Sighing, Ca’lek begins to tell our story. “It was intended to be our last mission before we returned home. It was too irresistible to say no. Less than half a lunar ago, we spotted a Viktoid ship not far from the shipping lanes. Rissa V recently put out a request for Vindi serum. They’ve had an outbreak of corshu virus and needed the serum to make more of the vaccine, so we engaged the vessel and boarded. While we were searching for the store of serum, we found rooms that were intentionally shielded from our scanners. We found Polly locked inside one of them.”

  Ca’lek pauses, squeezing our mate’s hand beneath the table.

  “Oh my, you poor dear thing,” Mother Ja’nir says sympathetically.

  The room falls quiet. Everyone knows what kind of monsters the Viktoids are. My family is not oblivious to the implications of this story. It’s easy to piece together what happened. She was abducted for sustenance.

  “I didn’t want to believe it at first. Everything was a nightmare. Then these two showed up, told me they were pirates, and got me the hell out of there. They saved my life,” Polly adds. “I went to bed in my own station and woke up on that awful ship with about four extra inches of hair...and this.” Her hands span her stomach and both of our dams gasp in outrage, realizing what she’s not saying. That she had been stolen was bad enough, but to have been bred without her knowledge was even more horrendous.

  “We didn’t intend to mate Polly,” I add, trying to get past the worst of the tale. “But we were so drawn to her that by the time we reached Rissa V, we were driving each other and our crewmates crazy. Our mating heats came and we couldn’t fight it anymore. One thing led to another and we found ourselves bonded to the sweetest, most beautiful female in the universe, with two pups on the way.”

  Polly smiles warmly and leans into me, letting me wrap my arm around her. Ca’lek’s hand rubs soothing circles against her back.

  “I think I got the better part of the deal though,” my mate adds. “I’ve wanted a family for so long, but it just never happened for me. It was never the right time or the right guy. And
for a while there, I was beginning to think it never would. I can’t say that everything leading up to now is how I would have wanted it...but given how it’s turned out, I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

  “And we wouldn’t change it either,” Ca’lek states, nuzzling her cheek.

  “That is so beautiful,” Mother Ja’nir sniffs, wiping her eyes with a napkin.

  As serious as Ca’lek can be, it’s rather funny that his dam is so emotional. My own dam dabs at her eyes as well.

  “We’re proud of you,” Father Rea’lin says, nodding in approval. Lo’tan and my own sires add their agreement as well.

  “We are. You not only provided a desperate colony with a hard to acquire commodity, but you found your mate when even you admitted the room was hidden. It was clearly fate that you found each other. And you are claiming the responsibility of her pups too. Not every male would be willing to do that, you know,” my primary says, standing and coming around the table to pat Ca’lek and myself on the shoulders. “We are very proud to call you our sons.”

  “Now,” my dam begins once my sire returns to his seat and everyone starts eating again. “Tell us about the pups then. Are they human as well?”

  “Actually, we won’t know what the female pup is until after the birth, but Ha’dir is moderately certain that the male is an Eshkaliran pup,” Ca’lek answers lightly.

  I almost laugh at how casual he is. We all know the news is unexpected, but Ca’lek’s sires both work for a small branch of the Galactic Alliance’s genetic preservation and research laboratories. Predictably, they both drop their utensils and stare at Polly in slack jawed shock.

  “Are you serious?” his primary demands.

  “As serious as I can be,” Ca’lek replies. “We don’t know if the Viktoids are cloning Eshkalirs or using preserved samples, but the male appears to be at least partially Eshkaliran.”

  “If he is, he could be the only living member of the species. After the pups are born and you have settled in, would you be willing to come to the lab so we may evaluate them? I understand if you say no, but the council will have some questions. I...well...I have questions as well, but I promise you have nothing to worry about. It would be a simple visit—”