AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Just so you know, Clan Leader, almost every elder clan is beholden to us in one form or another.”
He nodded, and a glimmer of pride shone in his eyes. I reveled in this too rare display of approval.
“You have done very well for yourself and for our clan, Anton.” Despite his casual tone, my father was paying me a great compliment. “Elder Pattel spoke highly of your performance taming that human female. I recall she was a great beauty on Jeruna.”
Cold dread spread down my spine. While the offense had been against me, it affected my entire clan. It fell to me to cleanse our honor, which I had done. But technically, the clan could wish to exercise its own revenge.
“I have already punished her for her offense against the clan and me.”
“Yes, I am aware. That matter is closed.” I swallowed my sigh of relief. “What are your intentions?”
I shifted in my seat. There was no good answer to this. “I own her for the next five months.
My father waved a dismissive hand. “That wasn’t my question.”
My face heated at being called out on my attempt to dodge. “I will release her, as per our contract.”
Like hell I will.
“Why? Why not use this time to bind her to you?” my father asked. “She’s beautiful and obedient. Why not keep her as your mate?”
My heart stopped for a moment, and I blinked. Why would he ask me that? He knows I can’t.
“She’s human. Braxians are forbidden to mate outside our species.”
“You’re not Braxian.” His face was void of emotion. “And you’re not on Braxia.”
I flinched. I’d heard this many times before, but coming from him…
“Right,” I said, proud that the hurt didn’t show in my voice. “But the clan would never accept it.”
My father stared at me, his expression unreadable. I shifted once again under his scrutiny. For some reason, it felt as if I had failed him.
“You are correct. The clan will never approve,” my father said at last. “Goodnight, Anton.”
“Goodnight, Clan Leader.”
My father extended a hand to end the com but paused at the last minute.
“Ikeptyou,” he said, then terminated the com.
I stared numbly at the dark screen. Yes, to my eternal gratitude, he kept me, despite the clan’s outrage. However, in spite of our clan’s lesser status at the time, my father was well-respected and a formidable warrior. Hence his detractors couldn’t remove him from power when he refused to kill me. Did he just give me his blessing to do what my heart desired? The clan though… I didn’t have his strength. They would hunt her down and any offspring we had.
Frustrated and confused, I got up with a sigh and made my way to our bedroom… to Grace.
Why couldn’t I have been born human?
Things could have been so much simpler. After checking that my alarm was set for Grace’s next injection, I discarded my clothes and crawled into bed next to her. She shifted and mumbled my name when I pulled her into my arms.
“I’m here, Grace,” I whispered in her ear. “Everything is fine. You are safe. Sleep.”
She snuggled against me without waking. It felt right. She belonged in my arms, in my bed. I wasted one month on my wretched revenge. That stupid pet cushion would be gone in the morning. Whatever lay ahead for us, I was done squandering the time I had left with Grace.
For the second time, the alarm’s soft buzzing woke me, this time to give Grace her third shot. Reluctant, I untangled myself from her embrace and loaded the hypospray with a fresh dose. I brushed her hair aside and leaned over to inject her neck. Her eyes snapped open and locked with mine before drifting to the hypospray in my hand. While still a little sluggish, she no longer acted dazed and confused. She frowned and gave me a suspicious look.
I paused. “You’ve been very sick. The doctor came by last night to treat you. This is an antibiotic to help you fight the infection. You have to take it every six hours, which is now.”
Her eyes took on a faraway look, probably trying to remember feeling ill. She touched her cheek as if to check her temperature.
