“It does. Did you encounter any problems?” the king asked.
“A few, but that’s a discussion we should have in person.” His intense eyes told his father how serious the problem was as he continued, “With the rest of the family.” Dazz needed to tell him about the traitor and suspected traitors, but not now. He didn’t want to take the chance of being overheard.
“I see,” his father said, understanding shining in his intelligent eyes. “Jakke arrived almost two standard weeks ago, and Zekke sent a message saying he was headed home.”
“Kollin?” Dazz asked.
“No one has heard from him.” His father let out a sigh and said, “Jakke has taken a mate.”
“I heard. He said it was someone from the Dreama Sector.” Dazz watched his father’s face carefully. Something was not right.
“Yes, she is.” Everything was silent, and then his father said, “I wasn’t happy about it.”
“And…” Dazz prodded.
“And I didn’t welcome her to Azziar. Now things are difficult between us and she’s carrying Jakke’s young.”
“Seriously, she’s with young?”
“Yes. Apparently, these Earthlings can get pregnant very easily.”
“Humans, father, they are called humans.” Dazz said distractedly, wondering if Chloe could be with young.
“How would you know this, son?” his father asked with suspicion.
“What? Oh, I’m mated to a human as well” Dazz said distractedly, still wondering if his mate could be with young.
His father took a sharp, deep breath and said, “I can’t say that I’m happy; I’d rather you had mated an Azziarin, but I will start out differently with your mate.”
“You’ll like her, Father. She has a warrior’s spirit,” Dazz said with a glint in his eye and a grin on his face.
His father grinned, “We’ll see, but I will give her a chance.”
“Thank you, Father. I’ll see you in one standard day.”
After signing off, Dazz headed down the corridor with one goal in mind---to find his mate.
He found her in the empty Dining Hall with the young girl. When he walked in, she smiled and it warmed his heart.
“Dazz, what are you doing here?” Chloe asked.
“Looking for you. What are you doing here?”
“Mara was hungry, so we came for a snack.” Dazz looked around and found her guard standing nearby, against the wall.
“I see. I need to talk to you.” He waved for her to follow him, away from listening ears.
On the other side of the room, Chloe turned concerned eyes to him. “What’s wrong?”
“Is it possible that you carry young? Do we need to visit Stavven?”
“No, why would you ask me that?” Disappointment crossed his face before he quickly masked it.
“My brother’s mate is with young. I thought you might be as well.”
“I have a device that prevents me from getting pregnant…I mean being with young.”
“Why would you have such a device?” He tried to keep the shock from his voice, but when her face changed, Dazz knew he hadn’t hid his reaction as well as he’d hoped.
“Maybe it’s because I don’t want to get pregnant!” He easily heard the anger in her voice.
Taking a deep breath and damping down his emotions, he asked, “I just don’t understand why. If you miss your chance, it’ll be two more years before we can try to have young.”
After staring at him for a moment, she asked, “You’re serious?” When he nodded, she burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, really, I’m sorry. I don’t know where you come up with this two years crap, unless you plan on remaining celibate. I don’t.”
“No, I have no such plans. I also don’t understand what you are trying to tell me,” he ground out between clenched teeth. Why was she making light of this? Didn’t she want to carry his young?
“I have a device in my arm that prevents pregnancy…carrying young. When I have it removed, I can get pregnant almost any time. Our cycle is every month.”
Dazz’s eyes lit up with surprise and wonder. “Really?”
“Yes, so don’t worry so much,” Chloe chuckled as she patted his arm.
“Do you want to have young?” he asked with a serious look on his face.
“Well, yeah, eventually. Why can’t we just enjoy being together right now? We have plenty of time to have kids…I mean young.”
“But you do want to have young?”
Chloe smiled sweetly while she looked into his beautiful eyes and stroked his cheek with her fingers. “I do, maybe in a year or so. Right now, I just want to enjoy being with you. I also want to get used to living on Azziar.”
“Alright, we can wait a little while.” He gave her a gentle kissed and then rested his forehead against hers.
Chapter Ten
Dazz
“Commander, we are in position. Your shuttlecraft is waiting for your departure.”
“Thank you, Banne. Kainn, Sakku, Chasse, I need to see you in my Ready Room.” Dazz turned and walked away, expecting them to follow.
With everyone present, and the door firmly closed, Dazz addressed the males in front of him. “You three are more like family to me than officers under my command, and I want to thank you for all of your hard work.” He looked at each one of them, “However, I feel the need to remind you that you are not to talk about the traitor or traitors with anyone. I’m not sure how far and deep this conspiracy reaches. Maybe it was limited to the Defender, but I find that highly unlikely.”
“Yes, Commander,” they all replied.
Dazz smiled at his most trusted friends, and said, “With that, I leave Sakku in charge. Dismissed.”
Dazz headed down the corridor to find his mate. This was it, time to take her home and show her Azziar. He didn’t deceive himself into believing this would be easy, but he was still happy all the same.
Walking into his quarters, he found Chloe pacing the floor with a not-so-happy look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, confused by her apprehension.
She rounded on him, and said, “What’s wrong? I can’t go down there. Let’s just live here, on your ship.”
He gathered her into his strong arms and asked, “Why are you so nervous?”
“I just can’t go down there. I can’t. Please, let’s just stay here.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself as close to him as possible.
With his chin on top of her head, he smiled. His strong female, who wasn’t afraid to face the Tureis, was afraid of living on another planet. “Chloe, it will be okay. You’ll be with me. Mara will be with us, and don’t forget, Jakke’s mate is human.”
“I don’t want an entire planet staring at me. It was hard enough here, but a whole planet,” she shook her head, “I just don’t know if I can take it.”
Dazz took her hand and led her to the bed, pulling her down to sit with him. “Look on the bright side.”
“There’s a bright side?” she asked skeptically with raised eyebrows.
“Of course,” he smiled as he held her hand. “Jakke is next in line to lead Azziar, so everyone will stare at his mate more.”
Chloe stared at him with an odd expression before she burst out laughing. Dazz continued, “I think she’ll be happy to see you. She is currently the only human on Azziar.”
“Thank you. I don’t know why I’m overreacting, but I feel much better now.”
“That’s alright. I can’t imagine how you must feel, but I’ll be by your side the entire time.” She gave him a grateful hug before he continued, “Ready to go?”
She took a deep breath and said, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Good, let’s go get Mara.”
Chloe
After calling for Mara in her quarters, the three of them headed to a waiting shuttlecraft. Butterflies filled Chloe’s stomach and her heart pounded wildly in her chest. To say Chloe was nervous was a huge understatement.
If she was honest with herself, most of her nervousness came from meeting his family…his royal family. The only thought that gave her comfort was the other human already there. She hoped she’d have a least one friend.
She had Mara, but that wasn’t the same. Chloe felt the need to be strong for the young girl, be her rock. For Mara’s sake, she stoically entered the shuttlecraft, one hand holding onto Dazz’s, and the other holding Mara’s.
She was unprepared for the nearly vertical drop to the planet surface, which was terrifying. She held in her scream as she forcefully squeezed Dazz’s hand, but Mara let her scream bounce and echo off the shuttlecraft walls. When they finally landed, Chloe tried to slow her labored breathing and calm her frantic heart. Mara was clutching Chloe’s hand with both of hers.
“A little warning would have been nice!” Chloe finally gulped out.
“Sorry, are you two okay?” Chloe and Mara both nodded before Dazz led them out of the shuttlecraft.
When Chloe got her first look at his planet, she gasped in surprise. It was breathtakingly beautiful and so very different. Two suns hung high in the sky, making it look light in color. She closed her eyes and felt the warmth on her face, and when she took a deep breath, she noted how clean and refreshing the air tasted on her tongue. With her face still tilted toward the sky, she slowly opened her eyes as a smile spread across her face. As she lowered her head slightly, she could see the large…very large trees in the distance.
“Wow,” she said in amazement.
“Are you ready?” Dazz asked, getting her attention.
With a brave smile, she answered, “Yes.”
As they descended the exit ramp, she got her first look at the rows upon rows of Azziarin’s standing at attention. It reminded her of the military back on Earth.
Chloe straightened her spine and made her face impassive as they approached the king. And with his regal appearance, his authoritative stance, she had no doubt that he was indeed the king.
When her feet touched the ground, she stopped, looking down at the brownish-green mossy like stuff covering the expanse. “It’s springy,” she said as she bounced slightly, forgetting about the others around her. She jumped a little and then laughed.
With an amused grin on his face, Dazz said, “Come on, Chloe, you can play with the ground later.” She couldn’t help but laugh as they headed toward the king.
When they reached him, Dazz slightly bowed his head, so Chloe and Mara followed suit.
“King Mallik,” Dazz said, showing respect to the king.
“Commander Dazzan, it is well that you have brought your ship safely home,” King Mallik replied.
“Thank you.” He raised his head and grinned. “Father, this is my mate, Chloe, and the other female is Mara,” and turning to Chloe, he said, “This is my father, King Mallik.”
Chloe felt the king’s scrutiny, but she refused to cower under his intense gaze. With her head held high, she said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
With her staring him straight in the eyes, both refusing to look away, he finally said, “Welcome to Azziar, mate of my son.”
“Thank you,” she hesitated and then finished, “And my name is Chloe,” she said with false bravado.
One side of his mouth twitched before he nodded. “Let us adjourn inside. We have a feast prepared for your arrival. Jakke and his mate are also waiting for us.” He turned and walked away; Dazz hooked arms with Chloe and Mara and followed.
As they walked toward what looked like an ancient castle in immaculate shape, Chloe couldn’t help but whisper to Dazz. “You don’t happen to have dragons, do you?”
“He looked confused before saying, “The word dragons doesn’t translate.” She heard Mara snicker.
Looking at her newfound friend, she asked quietly, “How are you holding up, Mara?”
Mara whispered back, “It’s a little terrifying, and I’m trying to not run away.” Chloe smiled as they continued in silence.
As they entered the pristine castle, Chloe and Mara stared in awe. What appeared to be white marble walls twisted and turned in seamless directions. “How do you keep it so white?” Chloe whispered to Dazz, but he just shook his head and chuckled.
After they entered the dining hall, Chloe was equally in awe of the black dining room table that stretched the entire length of the large room. As her eyes scanned the room, in the sea of white hair, one person stood out. Standing near the head of the table was a female, a human female with long, black wavy hair.
“This way,” Dazz said as he led them to the head of the table. “Prince Jakke, this is my mate, Chloe. Chloe, this is my eldest brother, Prince Jakke.”
“Dazz, I’m glad you made it home safely.” His eyes darted to Chloe, and he smiled and nodded before turning to the human at his side. “This is my mate, Sydney,” Jakke said, smiling at his mate as he introduced her.
Chloe glanced and Jakke and quickly said, “It’s nice to meet you both,” before turning her eyes back to the human.
“Chloe, you don’t know how happy I am to see you,” Sydney said. Chloe smiled and Sydney returned it.
“I’ll admit, it made me feel better knowing you were here.” Looking at Mara, Chloe said, “This is Mara. We rescued her from a Tureis ship.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mara.” Sydney said, but Mara just nodded. She had retreated inside herself with the presence of so many new Azziarins.
King Mallik took a seat at the head of the table, with Jakke and Sydney on his right, and Dazz, Chloe, and then Mara on his left.
Chloe could feel all eyes taking her in, probably giving Sydney a break for once.
“Prince Dazzan, now who have you brought home?”
“Madam Sunnuri, how are you?” Dazz said with a smile, not answering her question. She was a noblewoman and loved to gossip.
“I’m fine, Prince Dazzan. Thank you for asking.”
The tension in the dining hall was palpable, and Chloe was trying to figure out the cause. Looking at Sydney, she said very quietly, “Do you speak Spanish?”
“I do,” she replied.
“Do they?”
“Hmm, I don’t know if the translator was updated to Spanish.”
In Spanish, Chloe quietly asked, “What is going on here? The tension is almost off the charts.”
Sydney replied in the same tongue, “It’s a long story, but the gist of it is that Jakke’s father didn’t like his son mated to a human, and he didn’t hide it at all. Recently, he has tried to be nice, but only because I’m pregnant with his grandchild. I’m sure the males will have a meeting after dinner is finished and I can fill you in.”
“That would be great. Thank you.” Chloe answered in Spanish, and when she finished speaking, she noticed that the three males stared at her in surprise.
“What was that?” Dazz whispered.
“Sorry, I just wanted to ask her about the tension in the room,” she whispered back.
“I mean the language. What was that?”
“We would like to know as well,” Chloe looked at Jakke and King Mallik, not really sure who had said it.
“One of the many languages of my planet.”
“One of many…” Jakke said slowly.
“Yes,” Sydney replied. “You didn’t think English was the only spoken language, did you?
“We need to update the translators,” Jakke said to his brother, while Chloe and Sydney both hid their smiles.
After an odd but extremely wonderful meal, Dazz escorted her and Mara to some rooms which had been made ready for them.
Dazz
Sitting at the table in the dining hall, Dazz could feel the tension in the air. It was uncomfortable at best. When Chloe started talking to the other human in an unknown language, he stared in fascination. However, he didn’t like not being able to understand his mate…again.
After the celebration meal ended, he escorted her and Mara to his rooms.
“I need to speak with Father abou
t the traitor. Stay here; I’ll return soon.” He kissed her passionately, before resting his forehead against hers. “Very soon,” he said with a mischievous grin.
“I’ll be waiting. To be honest, I’m glad to get away from the Dining Hall. Did you feel that?”
“I did. You and Mara stay here, and when I return, we can head home.” He kissed her one last time before heading to his father’s office.
When he came to the heavy wooden door, he knocked and waited for his father to allow him entrance. His father was already waiting, along with his brother, each drinking a mug of Fire’s Breath.
Their eyes turned toward him before his father asked, “Want one?”
“That’d be great,” he replied before Jakke handed him his own mug. After taking a sip, he looked at his eldest brother and smiled. “A human, huh?”
Jakke chuckled before saying, “I could say the same to you.”
“Dazz, what trouble did you have that you had to tell me in person?” The king asked, bringing their attention to him.
Dazz took another sip before telling them about the traitor. “He couldn’t have been acting alone, he didn’t have the knowledge.”
“And you think they wish to overthrow us as rulers of the planet?” Jakke asked in a serious tone.
“I do. Trevvin kept saying that the king had become lazy and allowed many of the females to be killed during the Tureis attack.”
“We lost our mother!” Jakke exclaimed.
“I know. I fear this is the beginning of an uprising, and the enemy looks like friends.”
King Mallik hadn’t said anything, just listened. After draining his mug, he looked at each of his sons and said, “I need to gather the family. I’ll send a message to Risshi and Kattlyn, have them come home. I’ll also send a sub-space message, warning Kollin and Zekke to be careful. Takkeo is visiting a friend, but he’s too young and I don’t want him involved. I’ll send a different, more generalized message to the other Commander’s.”
After they talked for a while, Dazz stood up and said, “It’s good to see you both, but my mate is waiting on me.” Looking directly at his father, he said, “With your permission, I’ll take my leave.”
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