by Y. M. Roger
And that was completely understandable to Margreet – she was simply pleased to see the young Prince and had never felt the least bit threatened in his presence.
But this new Teyman Guyanni Faulcorn he had brought with him this time? Well, to say that Cheo was uneasy was an understatement. That unease probably stemmed from their unfamiliarity with the predator that the Crimson soldier housed – a genrathe, according to the extremely polite Teyman himself. At Prince Hondo’s introduction, he had carefully and cordially lowered himself to eye-level with Margreet and shown aegis with such a gentle voice that Margreet had to wonder why Cheo felt the way she did.
It is almost as if he can see me, Margreet, even though I know he cannot. I do not know how to describe it.
Margreet tried to mentally comfort her felnoturnian altre – promising to take the time to research the genrathes just as soon as they had taken care of their guests and turned in for the evening.
But still Cheo’s jitters persisted, and Margreet had to make herself focus on Prince Hondo as she worked and spoke.
“I believe you know where just about everything is, Prince Hondo,” Margreet bowed slightly before Hondo as he reached out a large hand and ran it gently over her sapphire hair, “Could I bring you and the Teyman anything of sustenance?”
Hondo’s soft yet truly masculine chuckle rained over her and made her smile as she once again looked up to him and in the eye as he spoke.
“Sustenance? Perhaps, gentle Margreet,” Hondo raised his gaze to find Guyanni standing in the doorway – his request/offer directed at the soldier as well as at Margreet, “And would my brother happen to have some fermenti in the cooler? It has been a very long day.”
“Aaah, a fermenti would be wonderful, oh gracious one,” Guy cheerfully chimed in.
But Margreet visibly jerked her entire body toward Hondo and away from Guy at the sound of Guy’s voice – the jerky motion nowhere near what Cheo had done at Guy’s speaking. In fact, Cheo had practically jumped out of her skin when the Teyman had spoken, and Margreet’s little body visibly trembled at trying to contain her altre’s residual chatterings and driving desire to take flight and get them away from the unknown predator.
Hondo immediately held up his hand to his advancing Teyman for him to halt as he lowered himself to one knee in front of the still slightly trembling Margreet. Hondo raised his hands to her shoulders – his head just slightly lower than the female’s in this position.
“You trust me, do you not, Margreet?”
Margreet nodded her head firmly in the affirmative as she gripped her own wrists and whispered inwardly in an attempt to physically calm her altre’s rantings.
“But it is Cheo, Prince Hondo,” Margreet whispered outwardly yet extremely low as she leaned toward him, her gaze constantly going between Hondo and Guy, “We do not recognize the strange aura from your Teyman Faulcorn.”
Hondo chuckled again and looked down and behind him in Guy’s direction as he spoke to Guy.
“I believe our tender felnoturnian, recognizes your talents, Teyman,” Hondo motioned him forward slowly, “Come here and show Margreet and her animal, Cheo, why they sense you and your beast in such a way.”
As Margreet watched him with noted anxiety, Guy walked forward and dropped to one knee beside Hondo. The Teyman then slowly and very methodically held out his hand, palm up, to Margreet.
“May I hold your hand, gentle female?”
Margreet’s eyes widened and shot directly to Hondo who slowly lowered one of his hands from her shoulder and nodded his okay. Margreet swallowed hard as Cheo screeched in her head.
Please Margreet! I want for us to see our mate again! Please do not touch him!
Margreet looked from Hondo to Guy and back again – there was no animosity emanating from either of the males, and Hondo had always been her protector when he was present. Hondo nodded and indicated that Margreet obey the Teyman’s request.
Oh, Makers! She, too, wanted to see her Dalis again!
Margreet gathered every ounce of courage within herself and, holding her breath and closing her eyes almost completely as she tried so very hard to ignore Cheo’s hollering, she forced her hand into Guy’s waiting palm.
The instant their skins touched, both Margreet and Cheo felt a warming calm rush through them – and Margreet could not have been more thankful. Cheo instantly calmed and began to purr with the protective energy she sensed flowing from the predator before them.
Margreet caught her breath as she smiled at the Teyman.
Guyanni smiled back at her – the large and unfamiliar predator evident but not threatening in his gaze.
“We will protect you both with our lives, Margreet and Cheo,” he lifted his other hand to cover hers, “Do you believe us now?”
A more than slight blush rose in Margreet’s cheeks as she gently withdrew her hand from between his much larger ones, her head nodding almost apologetically as her eyes fell away from them both to stare at the floor.
“Thank you, Beyfendis,” she spoke softly as she took a deep breath, “For everything.”
Guy and Hondo stood almost simultaneously.
“Those fermentis will be thanks enough, gentle Margreet,” Hondo chuckled as he once again stroked her hair and stepped aside, motioning for her to lead the way, “So, when do we expect my brother and that mate of yours?”
The three of them walked toward the food prep area, Margreet’s mood substantially raised from just moments before as she once again took the lead.
“Our Dalis says that the explosion should only delay …”
Hondo raised his voice, although such did not bother Margreet nor Cheo as they felt completely at ease now with both males.
“The explosion? What in the realm of godsfall …?”
Margreet smiled as she switched on the news vidfeed about the shuttle in the eating area, pointed knowingly at the screen, and motioned for them both to seat themselves and listen as she proceeded to the cooler.
“Oh, do not worry, Prince Hondo,” Margreet removed the tops from the sises and handed them to the males as she began to pull out the ingredients for and put together some roll-ups for them – she would wake Eieshen later and let him know they had breakfast guests, “Dalis says that the two of them as well as Prince Rafal’s female ar …”
Hondo only just barely managed not to choke on his fermenti at the female’s words – both Guy and Margreet looked at him in deep concern – Guy even reached out and slapped him on the back to perhaps assuage his sputtering.
“Hondo? Are you …”
But Hondo wiped a sleeve across his bearded mouth that was now dribbled with fermenti and stared dumbfoundedly at Margreet, completely ignoring Guy’s unfinished question or action.
“Margreet, did you just say ‘Rafal’s female’?”
Margreet and Cheo both smiled mischievously – they had known that particular subject would grab Prince Hondo’s attention.
“The female is why they are on the public ICT shuttle instead of on the Prime Magistrate’s transport, Prince Hondo,” Margreet finished one roll-up and handed it to Hondo as she immediately began working on another, “I can tell you what we know from talking with our Dalis. Would you li …”
Hondo grunted loudly in satisfaction as he handed that roll-up to Guy.
“Every word please, Margreet,” Hondo ran his hand through his beard to distribute the fermenti that his sleeve had not quite gotten, “Because the maalchie did not mention a word to me about a female. Not even a hint.”
Ooooh! We love to tell a story, my Margreet!
Margreet smiled with her altre.
Yes, they certainly did.
Chapter 23
Rafal and his beast were quite pleased with their decision to have Jaylis and most of the Detail “assist” the hakim – it left no question, in the eyes of anyone, that t
he hakim was given every possible opportunity to fulfill the mandate given him by Rafal.
And it kept Jaylis out of their hair, so to speak.
Then Rafal had to chuckle when he? his beast? almost evilly added that such proximity to the hakim would allow Jaylis to monitor his Guard with the mysterious ailment … one that both he and his beast were now quite convinced Chiyoto had instigated.
Although they had no real proof of such.
He must have mouthed off to or threatened them. Bad idea apparently.
The amused rumble that emanated from them both simultaneously brought yet another small but not insignificant grin to Rafal’s usually hard face.
Our mate is deliciously dangerous.
Again with the synchronicity.
Remarkable.
Although this time it felt to Rafal as if his beast held something back – even though the Prime Magistrate could not explain such with any certainty or reason for the feeling at all.
But as they entered the Royal Suite, and their olfactory was filled with her peppermint and musk, the lack of skin sensations to accompany those wonderful scents initiated a bolt of dread through them both.
“Dalis!” Rafal’s voice boomed through the suite and he secured the hatchway and turned insistently, “Where is …?”
Dalis’ haggard face appeared at the entrance to the passageway leading to the sleeping areas.
“This way, Prime Magistrate,” Rafal could only infer that Sila must still be present with Dalis’ formal address of him as he roughly brushed by his elder steward at a rapid pace toward his illuminated chambers at the end of the passageway, Dalis’ words trailing after him, “Hanfendi Chiyoto is in need of …”
Dalis’ steps as well as his sentence were abruptly interrupted by Rafal’s adamant voice that fully contained the violence that was the beast within him.
“Sila! No!”
Sila froze in his actions, the Prime Magistrate’s tone and, yes, the very magnitude of Rafal’s presence at his back, completely over-whelming both him and his Hiroto. Sila’s hand that gripped the blade aimed at his own palm stilled even as a slight although barely noticeable grin breeched his lips.
He certainly acts as though she is his mate.
And they would not test how deep the possessiveness in that voice ran at the moment – especially not with the sound of the Prime Magistrate’s beast so close to the surface simply in his voice.
No sudden movements, my Sila.
The Black Guard certainly agreed.
Not moving from his squatting position beside the bed where Chiyoto lay nor turning toward Rafal as he spoke, Sila responded.
“But, my lord, your female needs …,”
Sila felt the almost crushing aura of Rafal move behind him just before the Crowned Prince shoved him aside – although both Sila and Hiroto realized some thought had gone into the contact as they were not bodily injured. A gruff snarl poured from Rafal’s lips as he sat beside Chiyoto on the bed and questioned Sila.
And the Black Guard felt the passion and concern flow from Rafal’s being as the over-sized male bent forward, his large hand lost in her hair, to inhale her scent and run his own lips across her face and lips.
“What happened?”
The concern and the anger flowed in his words, but there was nothing except tender in the Prime Magistrate’s physical handling of the female as a growling rumble rolled from within him.
Oh, Sila! It is true! It is all …
Sila shook his head to brush away the awe from Hiroto as he gently raised Chiyoto’s wrist to show the many cut marks there to Rafal.
“Hanfendi Chiyoto was determined to save all of the Blood-borne injured so she gave them each …”
The Prime Magistrate seemed lost in thought somewhere as he caressed her face and moved his hands over her breasts – Sila made himself look away.
“No wonder the entire kilise had scented of her,” Rafal mumbled more than he spoke visibly lost in thought somewhere, “My beautiful shioliah …”
“Which is why, my lord, I was about to nour …,”
Rafal’s head machine-gunned toward the humble Sila, a fire in his eyes that made Sila’s blood run cold and Hiroto fall into full defense mode.
“No! No one but us!” the beast snarled as Rafal bared his somewhat elongated teeth at his Guard – the cognate may still be present, but the notorious and deadly beast filled the room with its strength, “Understood, Sila? She takes only from us because she belongs to us!”
Sila had already bared his neck with the forcefulness of Rafal’s first command – the Black Guard’s hands dropping the knife to the floor and extending his arms from his body as he nodded his understanding of his lord’s demanding question – his entire being a complete show of submission to his exercised Prime Magistrate by the time the third declaration was complete.
It was then, at that moment, when an almost eerie growl rolled ominously around the room. But Sila was not quite sure of the growl’s origins as he glanced from Rafal and then to Dalis who stood at the door, staring wide-eyed and almost dazed at the three of them.
But Hiroto must have known the origins because Sila felt his majestic midnight chestryl cower as he had never known it to do before now.
We must leave, my Sila. NOW!
And Sila made haste toward Dalis, grabbed the enthralled steward’s arm, and only slowed his hurried movements and breathed deeply when he had securely latched the hatchway to Rafal’s chambers.
Sila glanced at Dalis’ star-struck and questioning face – knowing that a question was about to roll off the loyal koruyucu’s tongue that he had no interest in addressing at the moment – did not know when, this evening, he would be up to addressing. The Black Guard smoothed the steward’s hair a few times in an attempt to comfort him, but then turned abruptly on his heel and strode off toward his quarters.
He and Hiroto needed to prepare for their homecoming tomorrow – their proper home along with their jedan awaited them.
“But, my lord, your female needs …,”
Rafal could not reach his bed fast enough, his beast pressing him forward even as he pushed Sila out of the way to reach her side. A concerned snarl rose up from his beast when they saw Chiyoto’s pale visage framed against her midnight – definitely not right, but presently black all the same – mane that crowned her beautiful face. Rafal fought against his beast’s desire to be present as he inhaled her intoxicating scent – his face near hers – his lips running back and forth over hers to reassure them both that she was, indeed, breathing.
She is very weak. Drained.
Rafal gritted his teeth. The impatience and anger of them both roiled through his insides, but he bit them back.
“What happened?”
Another snarl crawled up from within.
She needs us. Needs what only you can give her.
Rafal battled the old fears inside of him at the meaning implied in his beast’s words until he remembered the pleasure he had felt as she had but licked his injury the other night. He let his hand move over her breasts as his member vividly remembered the interaction.
Against the wall.
Yes. Like that.
Mmmmm.
“Hanfendi Chiyoto was determined to save all of the Blood-borne injured so she gave them each …”
Rafal only barely noticed the cuts where she had obviously nourished the wounded beings. He was aware of Sila holding her arm, but both his breathing and his thoughts were focused solely on her face and the scent of all that she was.
Her sensations that had finally begun to joyously crawl over his skin again – his Chiyoto was aware of his presence even in this weakened state. “No wonder the entire kilise had scented of her,” Rafal mumbled to his beast as much as to anyone – his thoughts continuing to wander, “My beautiful shioliah …”
And with this physical connection they shared, before he nourished her, before he claimed her, Rafal’s thoughts turned to Hondo’s situation – Shelvana was his beloved brother’s life, and Rafal knew Shelvana took her blood nourishment from him. And how many times had Hondo made it clear that the bond he shared with his mate was unbelievable. It was a bond of sight and of sound and of emotion that only deepened when …
His beast angrily chastised him for his continued hesitation as Sila answered respectfully.
No one else but her mate should nourish a female.
“Which is why, my lord, I was about to nour …,”
Would you want another male’s life essence running through her body? His lifeblood trying to create a bond with our mate’s very being instead of your own as you claim her?
Rafal’s temper spiked with the beast’s words – a feeling of possessiveness like none he had ever experienced burning his chest and throat – that burning mixing with the sensations on his skin and rendering him captive to his female that had not yet awakened. NO ONE else’s blood would ever be allowed to pass his shioliah’s lips. She was his and his alone to nourish and to claim for bonding.
He turned to Sila – the real threat of death from both him and his beast riding every syllable the Crowned Prince uttered.
No one.
“No! No one but us!” the beast snarled in full agreement with Rafal’s words as Rafal fought harder than he had in some time to contain the aggressive beast – even he could not understand the power with which the beast pushed at the moment – a power to which he almost relented because the possessiveness he felt for Chiyoto was that strong, that over-whelming, “Understood, Sila? She takes only from us because she belongs to us!”