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Chapter 8
Khalla eventually joined us for dinner, but there was no sign of Alek. His mother didn’t mention his absence. Instead, she plunged into a topical conversation about her meetings throughout the day. Once she was done sharing, she asked my father about what he’d done in her absence.
I noted the way her tail curled around his leg, sweeping over the black fabric covering his calf, and the way her manicured claws delicately traced patterns on the back of his hand. The senator gave my dad her full attention when he spoke, and it wasn’t something I’d ever expected to see.
And I loved it. I was glad that my dad finally had someone to look at him the way he deserved. After Mom left us, I didn’t think he would.
During dessert, Khalla turned the focus on me. She asked questions about my life and my interests. It truly seemed like the senator cared about me—to know me.
It made a thin sheen of perspiration rise on my brow, and my heart palpitated each time her cool, shifting eyes swept over me. Khalla was an important person, and she was paying way too much attention to me.
“So, where’s Alek?” The words leapt off my tongue when I had a moment to sway the topic. Not only did I need to get the questions away from myself, but I had a private interest in his whereabouts.
We needed to talk.
Khalla dipped her head, swirling the pale violet wine in her glass. The golden rings on her horns swayed with the motion. “He shadowed me during my conference today, but I haven’t seen him since.” She vented a soft breath and set her glass down. “Honestly, I’m a bit worried about him.”
“What’s wrong?” Dad instantly locked his fingers with hers, leaning in as a physical guard against her worries.
She met his eyes, and a hint of her concern slipped through her poised mask. The colors of her eyes wavered through several shades as she looked about the dining hall, and whispered, “Alekkon’s mood was a bit sour. He seemed tired and slightly aggressive. It’s not the season for it, but Alek seems as if he’s in the early stages of a rut cycle.” Then she placed her hand over her lips. “I’m sorry, it’s not polite conversation at the dinner table.”
“Rut cycle?” My eyes flared open as the words tumbled off my tongue.
Khalla’s head tipped up as she peered across the table at me. “Unlike humans, Dragakens go through breeding seasons. Heat is the term for females and rut is the term for males. Males become increasingly aggressive as their hormones ramp up, and their scent will change as they woo their female.”
Dad cleared his throat nervously, and red stained his face. “It can be triggered by running into yourstellarum. Maybe he found someone on the ship,” he suggested.
Khalla shared a secret, seductive smile with my dad as if they were recalling memories with one another. I averted my gaze and a flush of embarrassed heat stung my cheeks.
“That could explain where he’s been and why he seemed so frustrated and frantic. He’s an adult, and it’s about time he found hisstellarum, so I’ll try not to worry about him.” Khalla angled her head to the side, turning her gaze back to me. A mischievous light glinted in her eyes, shifting from brown to amber with hints of green. “Nova, I know it’s a lot of me to ask, but since Alek is your brother now, would you mind helping me keep an eye on him? Ensure that he’s alright?”
That word—brother—it choked me. Khalla wanted me to help look after her son, my new family member. Suddenly, all my lecherous thoughts repulsed me, as if I was a sick, perverted individual for having them.
A tremulous, weak smile lifted the corner of my lips. “Of course, Senator.”
She reached across the table and caught my fingers in her larger, warm scaled hand. Shades of swirling blue and purple swept through her eyes, grateful yet excited. “Thank you, and please, you may refer to me as Khalla. I know I am not your mother, but we are a family in many ways.”
My hand twitched in her palm with the urge to pull away. She’d be disgusted if she knew what happened at the table or about the maybe-dream. Would the Intergalactic Senator punish me for my body’s reaction to Alek and our actions?
A human mother would. And my father wouldn’t react well if he learned of the indecent incidents. Perhaps it’d be best for me to keep a wary eye on Alek, while also maintaining distance.
But that thought agonized me. It filled me with a deep, gnawing ache in my belly that threaded through my blood and blackened my insides. I didn’t want to keep my distance from Alekkon. I wanted to explore the pleasure he seemed willing to offer.
After she released my hand, I finished the night with Khalla and Dad. Alek never joined us, and my thoughts ran rampant, wondering where he might be.
Avoiding me if he regretted his actions, maybe.
He wasn’t in the suite when I returned for the night. With free time, an empty room, and endless curiosity, I connected my wrist-com to the glass panel in the living room. A few moments later, I had an informational program on the Dragaken playing on the screen.
It was a brief video explaining the basic facts I already knew and didn’t go into all the details I wanted. I needed to know more about the golden eyes and the rut cycle.
An hour passed, and I disconnected my wrist-com from the living room screen. In the bathroom, I requested my wrist-com to search for the data I sought. An automated female voice chirped from my wrist as I washed my face, sharing similar information about what Dad and Khalla said.
Dragaken eyes turned gold for theirstellarum, their life-mate. Males would go into an early rut cycle if they met that person, same with Dragaken females and their heat. In males, the rut spurned aggressive, controlling, and possessive behavior over their new mate as they engaged in breeding activities for days, sometimes weeks.
My face burned despite the cold water I rinsed off my facial soap with. I enjoyed being controlled and completely possessed in bed. The idea of Alekkon dominating me, and breeding me, multiple times a day for several days, sent a salacious pulse through my quivering slit.
Regardless of my buzzed state when we first met, I’d recognized the color changing nature of Alek’s eyes. And by the time I’d dressed for bed, I remembered the golden glow when he first held me in his arms.
