Page 93 of Galaxy Circus Act One

BONUS SCENE

ATTENTION

If this is your first time reading the Galaxy Circus, I would suggest skipping this scene until you have read it in its entirety because it may contain spoilers for future books. If you have already experienced this wild ride, then please continue. Hopefully these new scenes add another layer of enjoyment to the experience.

Caspian

I wipe my sweaty hands on the pants of my circus uniform as I wait for the transport to come to a full stop inside the hangar bay. I decided to go with my human glamour to greet the new arrivals, even though neither of them would have blinked at my half form.

Silac was thrilled to be asked to join the circus, desperate to get away from his family and his arranged marriage that he wants no part of. I’m excited to see my friend and formersometimes lover. I can’t wait to introduce him to Lila. I’m pretty sure seeing a naga shifter is going to blow her mind.

She’s off on her date with Link tonight. She was nervous and unsure before she left. The concept of being polyamorous is still such a new concept to her, and with her Earth monogamy ideals, it’s kind of hard for her to grasp. She was concerned about my feelings, which I appreciate, but I knew going into this that she was Skarrian and had the potential to be attracted to more than just me. Hell, she already had Link’s and Xavier’s marks on her shoulder before we mated. If they are the last two, I will be surprised. There is something about Lila that makes her attractive. It isn’t just her stunning good looks, her whole soul practically glows, and you can’t help but get drawn into her orbit. I hope it doesn’t take her too long to come around to her new circumstances, but it must be a struggle to be at war with what you think you know and your reality.

The bay door opens, and I stand a little straighter as I plaster on a look of welcome. I need to focus on our act right now and not stress about my pregnant mate. She is in good hands, and I’m sure our sexy doctor will take care of her.

Silac appears in the doorway. Like me, he is also in his humanoid glamour. There is no sign of his shifted form except for the scale patterns across his exposed skin at the neck of his shirt and bare arms. I allow my gaze to drift over him, assessing if he has changed in the time since I last saw him. He’s wearing a pair of slim-legged black pants that hug his lower body nicely, and on top, he’s wearing a dark, long-sleeved cotton shirt with the sleeves pushed back. His sculpted arms, covered in the pattern of his scales, flex nicely as he lifts his hand and waves with a grin. Using the same hand, he pushes his tousled green hair back as he walks down the ramp, his arms open to greet me.

I step into his embrace and slap him on the back, squeezing him tightly. “Hello, old friend. Thank you for coming andhelping us out. I really appreciate it.” We break apart, and he smiles.

“You know I’d do anything for you. The timing just happened to be perfect. I needed to get off Fluxx before my father forced me to do something I really don’t want to.”

“He’s still insisting you marry Kinga?” I ask, and he wrinkles his nose.

“Yes, but I managed to get him to delay it for a year. He knows being seen in a favorable light with the Galaxy Circus is only going to benefit Snakebite Logistics in the long run.”

I scoff, rolling my eyes. “Of course it’s all about what’s good for the company, not his actual son.”

Silac frowns. “Not all of us are blessed with parents like Murphy and Mira, Cas.”

I sigh. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.” I look over his shoulder, searching for the other shifter who should have joined him on the flight. “So who did the king send to replace Dylan?”

Silac grimaces, and I feel a sudden sense of dread. “The dragon faction is in an uproar. Half is furious that Dylan attacked Lila, and the other half is furious that he was punished for it. Dylan wasn’t quiet about the fact that she stole his mate.”

I shake my head furiously. “I was never his mate. I never implied I would mate with him either, that was all in his head. I’ve always been perfectly clear with him that my beast would never accept him as our mate. Same as I was with you.”

Silac flinches at that, but I don’t have time for hurt feelings.

“And it isn’t like he was faithful to me, if that were the case. Dylan was a huge man whore and stuck his dick in anything that would give him the time of day. He certainly worked his way through the crew.”

“Is that what you tell yourself to feel better about breaking my cousin’s heart?” a growly voice rumbles, and I jerk my eyes from Silac back to the transport. Standing in the door is noneother than Crown Prince Tirrian, the son of the king of dragons and Dylan’s cousin.

Fuck my life. It had to be him. I haven’t had a lot to do with him, but rumors abound on Fluxx that say he and his dragon are just as unstable as Dylan was. Apparently, he roasted a couple of females presented to him as possible mates. Why the king thought it was a good idea to send him as a replacement is beyond comprehension. We’re just replacing one problem with a bigger one.

I take a deep breath and plaster on a smile. The Adams brothers trusted me to greet our new arrivals, passing on a responsibility that would have been theirs or Lila’s, and I want to prove to them that I can be an asset to the family.

“Prince Tirrian, welcome.” I bow at the waist before straightening.

Smoke drifts out of his nose as he narrows his eyes on me and sneers, “Let’s get one thing straight. I am here under sufferance. My father only trusted me to get to the bottom of this, and mark my words, I will. If it is found that Dylan was not in the wrong, then the Galaxy Circus will feel the wrath of dragon kind.”

There’s a strained silence as I struggle to come up with a response, but Silac quickly breaks it. “Tirrian, you are being ridiculous. I heard what your father said, and he ordered you to make things right with the circus. He has no doubt about the accusations and ordered you to go along with anything they require, which means you will be in the act if that is what is needed,” Silac chastises, and the dragon rumbles his displeasure.

“It is beneath my station to be a performing monkey, but I gave my father my word, so I will comply. I will, however, be watching the mate stealing whore carefully.”

I hold my tongue despite wanting to defend both myself and Lila. I know creatures like Tirrian. His mind is made up. Hiscousin must have been quite convincing, but what he thinks doesn’t matter. Lila and I are mated, and nothing is going to change that short of one of our deaths, and I refuse to allow it to come to that.

“Well, let me make one thing clear. Lila is my mate and under my protection. Not only that, but she has two more potentials who will take exception to any harm coming to her. You do not want to upset the warlock or the heir to Pleasure Bot Industries, two very powerful men who could make life difficult for you,” I warn him, and his eyebrows jump in surprise before he scowls again.

“So Dylan is right, she is a whore.”