Pets in Space® 4

by S. E. Smith

  Several of the uniformed Entris Dominion soldiers, all of whom were volturians descended of different qalarin, stared at her curiously as she passed, but she shrugged off their stares and offered friendly smiles in return. The Dominion was massive, and many volturians had never seen a human with their own eyes despite more than two decades of friendship between the UTF and the Dominion.

  Finally, they entered a long hallway that was marked COMMAND in flowing Volturian letters at its entrance. Most of the soldiers’ uniforms here were a little different, a little more refined and elegant—just like Volcair’s. She assumed that meant most of them were officers.

  No one questioned her as she followed Cypher to an open door at the end of the corridor. She stepped into a large office with bay windows along one wall that overlooked a massive hangar. There were several chairs and a wide, sleek desk arranged within; Volcair was seated at the desk with a female volturian officer standing behind him, looking over his shoulder at a projected screen.

  Excitement and anxiousness swept through her as she looked upon Volcair. It was a strange but familiar feeling, one that she’d almost forgotten over the years. With his head bowed over his work, he reminded her of his younger self, bent over her tablet in concentration as he drew something special just for her. In that instant, her mind fully bridged the boy she’d known to the man he’d become.

  Cypher clicked, announcing their arrival.

  Volcair lifted his head. His eyes met Kiara’s, and his lips curled into a smile. Though his face had matured and hardened, his smile was the same as it had always been—and she still couldn’t help but feel like his smile, this smile, was only for her.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I can find your later if you’re busy.”

  “No, it is fine,” he said. “I had planned to wake you soon. Some of your crew seemed mystified that you were still asleep.”

  Kiara’s skin heated again, and she glanced at the female officer. “I don’t make a habit of sleeping in.”

  Volcair’s cheeks darkened slightly—so slightly that she couldn’t be entirely sure it had happened—before he turned his head to the female officer. “Lieutenant Beltheri, this is my mate, Kiara Moore. The owner of the Starlight.”

  Surprise flitted across the Lieutenant Beltheri’s face.

  Kiara was surprised herself—he hadn’t hesitated to introduce her as his mate. She could tell the woman had questions based on the way her eyes jumped between Kiara and Volcair, but Beltheri didn’t voice them.

  Instead, the lieutenant offered Kiara a smile and bowed her head. “It is an honor to meet you, Kiara Moore.”

  “And you, Lieutenant Beltheri,” Kiara said, returning the bow.

  “Lieutenant, if you would give us a few minutes?” Volcair asked. “Kiara and I have a few matters to discuss.”

  “Of course, Commander,” Beltheri said. She stepped away from the desk and approached the door, nodding to Kiara on her way out. She closed the door behind her.

  Once they were alone, Kiara faced Volcair and smiled. “And just what matters would you like to discuss with me?”

  He stood up, and with a few flicks of his fingers, expanded the display on the desk and spun it toward her. After walking around the desk, he opened two electronic documents on the holographic screen—the first written in Volturian and the other in English.

  “One’s a matter of formality, and the other… Well, it’s perhaps a bit presumptuous on my part,” he said in English.

  Kiara arched a brow and turned her attention to the documents, reading the one written in Volturian. When she was done, she furrowed her brow. “Volcair, are you serious? Resigning your post?”

  “I am serious, Kiara,” he replied as he sat on the edge of his desk. “I’m nearing the end of my voluntary service term. I have two months to declare my intent to the Dominion—further military service, or official discharge with all afforded honors. Even before yesterday, I wasn’t sure what choice I’d make. My father has been pressuring me to seek a governmental position, but…that was never my ambition.”

  She’d known even when they were children that he never wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. “What is your ambition?”

  “You.” His smile fell. “And I thought that was lost to me long ago.”

  Something fluttered in her belly.

  “It’s not lost anymore,” she said softly.

  “No. So my choice became suddenly quite easy.”

  Kiara clenched her hands at her sides to keep from reaching for him, forcing her attention to the English document. She smirked as she perused it. “Is this really what I think it is?”

  Volcair dipped his chin in a small nod. “A proposed contract of employment.”

  “You realize that, as owner of the company, it is typically up to me to offer employment, don’t you?”

  He shrugged, and his smile returned. “I figured it was worth a shot. I’m going to be out of work in a few months’ time.”

  “And what position are you seeking?”

  “Hmm…how does Head of Security sound?”

  Kiara stepped in front of him and slipped her arms around his neck. He settled his hands on her hips. She searched his face, her gaze tracing his qal, his lips, his cheekbones, until finally stopping on his eyes. Her heart quickened at the heat burning within their white-blue depths.

  “I also have a no sleeping with coworkers clause in employment contracts,” she said. “It wouldn’t look good for me to break my own rule.”

  “I suppose I could found my own company and work for you as a consultant so you don’t have to break your rule.”

  Her smile softened. “Are we moving too fast, Volcair?”

  “I think we can move at whatever speed feels right,” he replied. “Besides, I have to stay here for a few more months to complete my obligations, and you have a business to keep in operation. We can’t move particularly fast, given that.”

  The reminder that she would have to leave soon while he remained here was like a blade plunging into her heart. They’d only just found one another again; did their time together really have to end so soon? What if something happened before they were reunited? What if she lost him again?

  Volcair lifted one of his hands and settled his palm over her cheek, brushing the pad of his thumb across her cheekbone. “I will not allow anything to keep us apart again, Kiara. Not even me.”

  Kiara covered his hand with her own and closed her eyes. “We’ve been apart for almost twenty years, yet two more months feels unbearable.”

  “I can’t keep you in the officers’ quarters for months, Kiara. My superiors would deem it inappropriate, an abuse of my command…but there are civilian lodgings on the station. You can stay there during my remaining service, if you wish to.”

  Kiara opened her eyes and looked at Volcair. As much as she wanted to say yes, she couldn’t. After what her crew had gone through, she needed to be there for them, needed to know they were safe. “I can’t.”

  He frowned and nodded, and his voice was soft when he said, “I understand.”

  Kiara reached out and cupped his face. “I want to stay, Volcair, I want to stay so badly, but I—

  “You have a duty to fulfill to your crew. I do understand, Kiara. And I love you even more for it.”

  Tears blurred her vision. “You really want me to be your mate?”

  “You always were.”

  She laughed. “I mean, officially, before my people and yours.”

  “Yes. I want to be your”—he averted his gaze and pressed his lips together for a moment—“your husband. That’s the word, isn’t it?”

  Kiara nodded, twining her fingers in his hair. “And I want to be your wife.”

  Volcair grinned and slid his hands down and to cup her ass, pulling her against him. “We have many years to make up for.”

  Kiara brushed her lips over his. “Many, many years.”

  Cypher clicked loudly, startling them. Kiara looked at the inux, who appeared to
be a bit put off that they’d forgotten he was in the room.

  “Sorry, Cypher,” she said, laughing softly.

  He made a whirring sound and thumped his tail on the floor.

  “You have had her to yourself all this time,” Volcair said. “Now you have to share.”

  Cypher snorted, turned away from them, and strutted to the door. He rose on his hind legs and raised one of his front paws. His scales rippled as he extended his leg to press the button on the wall. The door slid open. Once his paw reverted to its previous shape, he dropped down on all fours, gave Kiara and Volcair one last parting look with snout upturned, and stepped out.

  “I guess he doesn’t want to share,” Volcair said with a chuckle, turning his attention back to Kiara. “We have at least a few more days together here. There’s a small military convoy that’ll be stopping at the station in a few days, and their commander has agreed to allow any civilian vessels that intend to continue into Dominion space to accompany his ships for protection. I ask that you wait for them, so I know you’re protected until you’re in safer territory. I can’t lose you again.”

  “We’ll wait for them. I can’t imagine Vrykhan will be happy once he discovers his unique merchandise escaped.”

  Volcair’s fingers flexed, and he pulled her even closer. “As much as it pains me to empathize with scum like that…I understand the sense of loss.”

  Kiara drew back one of her hands and traced her fingers along the markings on the side of his face. They glowed beneath her touch. “When your service is over, I’ll be waiting for you, and we’ll make it official. Then you’ll never be rid of me.”

  He turned his face to kiss her palm. “It’s you who’ll never be rid of me, Kiara. You’ve had me wrapped around your finger since we were children, and I’m wound far too tight to ever go anywhere.”

  Epilogue

  London, Earth

  Terran Year 2101

  Kiara could hardly contain her excitement as she stood in the dressing room with her mother, who was applying the finishing touches to Kiara’s hair. The normally unruly curls were pulled back, twisted, and pinned in place, adorned with little white flowers.

  “Stop fidgeting,” Jada scolded around the decorative pin in her mouth. She plucked the pin out and inserted it into Kiara’s hair.

  “I can’t! He’s here, Mum. It’s been months since I last saw him.”

  Jada moved to stand in front of Kiara and smiled. Though the woman was in her sixties, she was as beautiful as ever. She pressed her palm to her daughter’s cheek, her eyes watery with tears. “You make a gorgeous bride, Kiara. Look.”

  Smiling widely, Kiara turned toward the large wall-mounted mirror. Her gown was a mix of human and volturian fashions—a flowing skirt with slits along the sides to reveal her legs and a sleeveless, corseted top that left her arms and shoulders bare. Rather than the traditional white, the fabric was the same color as Volcair’s qal—the same markings that were now permanently inked on Kiara’s skin.

  It was her gift to Volcair.

  The practice was custom among the volturians, and she wanted to give him that part of his culture. She wanted everyone to look upon her and know, without a doubt, whose mate she was.

  The surprise was the reason she hadn’t let Volcair see her since he’d returned to Earth a few days earlier. Though it had driven her crazy to stay away from him, she knew it’d be worth the look in his eyes when he finally saw her.

  The door slid open, and Kiara turned to see her father enter the room. She beamed at him.

  “Ah, my little girl,” Isaiah said, opening his arms to her.

  Kiara embraced him, and he squeezed her tight. “Hi, Daddy.”

  “It feels as though you were sitting on my knee only yesterday. Where have all the years gone?” He drew back, taking gentle hold of her arms. “Let me look at you.”

  She smiled up at her father.

  His eyes were alight with pride. “You are beautiful, Kiara.”

  “Thanks, Daddy.”

  “Oh! Volcair asked me to give you something.” Isaiah dipped his hand into his pocket and withdrew a small, square silver box. He handed it to her.

  Without hesitation, Kiara opened it. Her heart overflowed with love for Volcair as she removed her balus stone pendant from the box. The chain, which had been broken by the tretin pirate, had been repaired. “My necklace!”

  She’d been distraught when she left Janus Six, convinced she’d lost the necklace. She’d torn the room apart, desperate to find it, but it had seemingly vanished. Volcair had vowed to find it. Had he had the necklace in his possession all along?

  Whether or not he did, he fixed it.

  “Help me put it on, Mum?”

  “Of course,” Jada said.

  Kiara looked at her father as Jada slipped the necklace around Kiara’s neck and clasped the chain. Once it was in place, the balus stone hung just below her collarbones.

  Isaiah reached out and took Kiara’s hand in both of his. The joy in his eyes dimmed slightly. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am for all the years you lost because of my silence.”

  “Don’t.” Kiara leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her father’s cheek. “I know why you did it, Daddy, and I don’t blame you.”

  She’d asked her father about Volcair’s visit after she returned to Earth, had asked why he’d never told her. His remorse had been immediately apparent. After seeing her hope fade little by little over years of waiting, Isaiah hadn’t wanted to ruin Kiara’s relationship with Daniel when she finally tried to move on. He wanted her to be happy—and she’d been so good at pretending that he’d never known how unfulfilled she was with Daniel.

  Had he understood the truth, he never would’ve kept the secret from her. She wasn’t angry with him; she knew he’d acted out of love and concern.

  “It’s in the past,” she said softly, drawing back to smile at her father. “We won’t look back. Only forward.”

  Isaiah smiled in return, his eyes misting. “My wise, beautiful girl.” He looped his arm around hers. “Are you ready to join your mate?”

  Kiara’s heart quickened. “I’ve been ready my whole life.”

  Volcair glanced toward the entryway at the end of the long aisle for what must’ve been the thousandth time. The months had gone by with surprising speed, but this waiting—waiting for his bride, who he had not seen since her time on Janus Six—felt eternal. His heart pounded, not due to nervousness, but anticipation. Cypher sat on the floor beside him, tail swishing seemingly in time with Volcair’s heartbeat, restless and eager.

  Kiara and Volcair had spoken through voice communication for hours and hours since his arrival on Earth several days before, but she hadn’t allowed him so much as a glimpse of her. Though he’d heard the longing in her voice, she’d refused to meet him, refused to invite him to her apartment.

  She’d said the extra wait would make it more special when they finally joined.

  His eyes shifted from the empty entryway to the people seated on either side of the aisle—terrans on the same side as Volcair was standing, volturians on the side Kiara would stand. It was an old Volturian tradition for such ceremonies, made more meaningful when the mates’ qalarin—or in this case, species—were different, a sign that the families supported the union.

  Despite the years Vantricar had put into forging friendly relations with the terrans, he’d voiced concern when Volcair told him of the impending joining. Many in the Dominion’s leadership still believed in keeping their species as pure as possible; they were more than willing to befriend humans and conduct business with them, but mating with an alien people was widely looked down upon. The staunchest traditionalists still considered it a form of treason—they pointed to the tretin invasion thousands of years ago, and how the qalarin who hadn’t resisted were bred by the tretins to create a monstrous new hybrid species known as the sedhi.

  Volcair didn’t care. He never had. He knew what he wanted, knew what he needed, and had chosen his o
wn path. His service to the Dominion was over; he’d more than earned the right to live without facing their contempt for following his heart.

  That Vantricar—along with several other high-ranking Dominion officials and ambassadors—had come to the ceremony was a heartening sign, and it meant the union would be recognized both in the United Terran Federation and the Dominion, but Volcair would’ve gone through with it whether they’d come or not.

  Kiara was all that mattered to him.

  A sudden swell of music hushed the crowd’s quiet conversations and drew Volcair out of his thoughts. When he looked to the entryway again, it was no longer empty.

  Isaiah and Jada stood in the opening, positioned to either side of their daughter. Volcair’s eyes fell on Kiara, and his breath caught in his throat.

  She was radiant, more beautiful than ever before, and her smile—a smile just for him—filled the room with light and joy. The white-blue of her dress contrasted her dark skin while perfectly complementing the markings on her face, neck, and shoulders—markings that matched his qal exactly.

  Volcair’s chest swelled with pride, and that old, familiar warmth—the warmth he’d first felt when he met a little terran girl so many years ago—spread outward from his heart. He hadn’t fully understood as a child why his parents had taken on one another’s qal, but he did now. He’d not expected Kiara to take his and would never have asked it of her, but that she’d done so was a sign of devotion and love he feared he could never match.

  He clasped his hands together at his front and squeezed them; it was all he could do to keep himself from going to Kiara as her parents slowly escorted her down the aisle. He couldn’t take his eyes off her; she was more than he deserved, more than he could ever earn, but she was still his.

  When the trio reached the bottom of the low steps leading to the dais upon which Volcair stood, Jada and Isaiah each kissed Kiara on the cheek and stepped away.

  Kiara tilted her head back to face him, locking her eyes with his as she climbed the dais. Her smile widened with each step.