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With my fingers still warm from her heat, I can’t help but growl from all the pent-up desire I’ve been fighting since the mating urges began. I’m crossing boundaries, and I’m acting like an animal as I do it.
Every mention of this past relationship is bait for my mating beast. A jealous rage won’t help matters, not when I’ve learned that this male means nothing to her. But how can I resist the frustration when at the very least this human meant something to her once? I can’t even earn a smile from her. The future of our bond might hold nothing more than a dull throb of pain whenever I recall that I squandered the spirit’s gift.
She looked too good in the Kar’Kali gown she chose from among my mother’s things. The fabric pulled tight across her ample chest. Everywhere else it flowed over her curves. The accessories worn for warmth highlighted her long limbs. Only the color was wrong for her, too dull for her bright hair and the pink undertones of her cheeks. I imagine she would sparkle inkaliblue. That sacred teal would set off her amber eyes and flaming hair.
“Ehh… Don’t mean to be in your business but why are you on the deck?” Viro hails me from the bridge via comm.
“Something’s come up,” I say. “I’ll only be gone for the night.”
What else is there to do with this unresolved tension? I thirst for a good kill, something to feed the beast. If it can’t devour her, it’ll devour something.
“I’m guessing you know that His Majesty requested we report on you if you pull something like this?”
“Tell him whatever you like.”
“I’m not stopping the ship for you.”
“That’s fine. Landing on a moving vehicle is what my craft does best.”
“Kalla—”
I mute the line. He’s not going to keep me from launching my craft, and I can imagine any number of things he’ll say about not pissing off Mak.
I check the fuel on my small craft and make sure it’s not requiring any mechanical work.
Once I’ve fired it up, I turn to the Alliance bounties. Time to scroll for a mark. These board postings are meticulously tagged— a product of the hunter conglomerates that have lobbied to make the system suit their needs. War is always a money game for some, meanwhile people like the innocents that eke out a living onThe Heirsuffer. But for this purpose, I’m somewhat grateful. The work the bounty groups have done means I can select the ‘Azza affiliate’ tag to comb for a mark that will fill my hunger. Some of the run-of-the-mill criminal listings would bring more cash, but I only bother with those when I’ve got my eye on a new stinger or some other expensive goods. Next, I reduce the results by location, basing it on our immediate area. I shouldn't go so far that I won't be able to easily return using our projected flight path.
We’re zooming through an outer quadrant of Alliance territory, exiting a system composed mostly of terraformed planets with terraformed moons populated by various well-established colonies. There isn’t much game in such sectors. There are one or two military outposts in the vicinity, but I doubt they see much action aside from pirate raids.
There are only a few jobs listed under the specifications I inputted.
I flex my fingers over the controls on the dashboard.
Should I even bother? After all, no one needs me to do this. No one asked. This bounty work is far from important. I scan the options— a former Azza military leader hiding out in a desert compound, an informant on the run that they need brought in for questioning… These listings are far from important. The military man is past his prime, probably drowning himself in liquor and droning on about the glory days when he committed war crimes.
Then again, who else will accomplish it in a matter of intervals?
The price on the Azza agent in hiding is quite high. I snort at the realization that the price increase must be due to the inability of others to reach him. It’s not good for the Alliance’s image when they fail to capture criminals in their own territory; it happens more often than they’d like to admit. There’s no doubt that old jellybag deserves a painful death. A quick flip through his file shows years of loyal service to the Azza Empire. He only ended up out here because he got too confident with his reputation and made a power play against the wrong political rival. Faced with the possibility of assassination on either side of the border, I suppose he assumed that the Alliance was less likely to find him and successfully finish the job.
Well, they found him. And now they’d like a swift death before he causes trouble that makes the news cycle.
My eyes squeeze shut but I can’t stop the visions of his demise from playing out in my mind.
I know the male’s type— slime personified, not a care for any life but his own, wallowing in those mud baths that his species loves so much. He probably hates all Kar’Kali, would spit on our ashes. So wouldn’t it be satisfying to twist the knife in deep while he stares at a gray face and silver eyes? Besides, he enjoyed his most successful years during the time the Azza planned the attack that killed my parents. It’s plausible he was involved or at least signed off.
I punch the code to open the deck roof and prepare for the jarring high-speed launch that’s required when exiting a fast-moving ship.
My mate said no one deserves to die, but I’m not sure she considered males like this when she made that statement. She’s not naive, but sheismistaken. There is scum hiding in every crack of this universe, and I sleep well at night when I snuff it out. I don’t expect to sleep tonight otherwise, not when Kaye will not leave my mind. Her scent, her shape, the little quiver of her lips when she realized she wanted me… It rouses me to reckless thoughts that shouldn’t become reckless actions.
No, I think a mission will set my mind straight, perhaps push her to the background for a short time. Exercise and revenge are the perfect recipe to get me to sleep, and when I wake up, I’ll apologize for the way I crossed her boundaries.
I plot a course toward my chosen mark. The thrill of the hunt awaits.
* * *
When I return,I receive a mere grunt from Viro before he approves re-entry to the deck. Dust and grit clings to my every pore, so much so that I’ll need to stow these boots away and send them to be refurbished when we reach a more civilized place. It wasn’t the easiest kill; I’ll give the rutting jellybag that much credit. The compound was fairly easy to find and easy to infiltrate, but the place was swarming with third-rate gangsters and outlaws. I didn’t both exterminating anyone other than my mark’s closest guards, but it was a pain to navigate. The kill went well. I had him alone once I dropped his bodyguards. I revealed my face as I’d envisioned, and he was just as vitriolic toward me as I’d imagined. He was still spewing curses against our kind through his dying breath. Often with aged Azza, their external layer has dried up, making the way their head pops more explosive than ever.
I take a quick shower, my muscles feeling well-worked by the strain the job put on me. I was sweating profusely by the time I launched out of that rutting desert. When I feel clean enough, I throw on something more comfortable.
