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Varik inclined his head in acknowledgment. It appeared that everything was in order. It would keep his blossom safe even if it foiled every half-formed fantasy of sneaking Stacey from the prince’s suite in the darkest hours of the night.
Foolishness.
His gaze shifted to the monitoring system that displayed the full view of the hall leading to the royal suite. The door to the lift slid open and three Kadesh males stepped out, their arms laden with containers. He leaned down to peer at the figures. Seemed harmless enough. Two carried large platters while the third held a large bowl filled with fruit as a hover cart followed in their wake.
Varik straightened. “It appears that the hotel sent up an order. I am going to the royal suite to personally inspect it. Alert me if there is any change.”
“Are you planning on staying to feed your female?” Jornesh asked, amusement heavily lacing his voice as he settled into the sturdy chair at the table.
“Keep speaking like that and you will be the one explaining my execution to my mother and father,” Varik replied flatly as he checked and strapped the few weapons that he was allowed on premise to his body. “I have told you before that I have no female.”
His friend’s easy smile slipped away, and the male regarded him seriously. “If anything is going to get you killed it is your denial. Find a way to meet with that female and find some release to ease the tension within you.”
Varik shot his friend a hard look and but his vibinum puffed up at the hums of agreement from the other males in the room.
“You suggest that I act so dishonorably that I rut a female mated to another?” he hissed.
He would not admit that his private fantasies were also heavily leaning in that direction but to have his inner, private thoughts spoken aloud by his own crew and security detail was a blow.
The corner of Jornesh’s mouth crept up in a sympathetic smile. “No, my friend. And in this case, I would not equate your situation to anything of the sort. Even if Calysii didn’t have strange mating practices, stealing a mate from Gaix would being doing her a favor—heroic perhaps—rather than a blemish against your character.” He snorted and pressed an audio bud to the scales just in front of his pointed ears. “I do not know why you would not just steal her and take refuge within the rebellion.”
Varik stiffened, his eyes flicking to the other occupants in the room warily. “You speak oftreason,” he hissed. “Thatisa death sentence.”
The male snorted in amusement. “Do not worry about them. Shelk and Gewell are my cousins and we have often shared our thoughts amongst ourselves freely. You may not realize it, but most of the crew speaks of defecting in hushed voices. All three of us who have come with you to Kaidava are of this mind—I do not know about the other three—but us you can count on. The only thing that keeps us serving Caysta is our loyalty to you. If you leave, it will not be alone.”
Varik blinked in surprise. How had he not been aware of this?
A male to the left of him, Shelk, chuckled as he continued to check supplies, his amber eyes flicking briefly toward him.
“I think the captain is surprised,” he commented conversationally to another male at his side, the other laughing quietly in agreement. “No offense meant, captain, but given who you are—who your family is—despite all that Jornesh has told us and his assurances, we could not be certain that it was safe to speak if you were aware of it.”
“Some of us are still not entirely convinced,” the other grunted as he frowned warily in Varik’s direction. Gewell had a reputation for caution, so Varik was not entirely surprised. “Preoccupation with a human and a willingness to throw your career away for one of the prince’s humans does not altogether mean that you are in sympathy with the cause. It only means that you are willing to take advantage of it’s offered safety for your own purposes.”
Varik’s vibinum rippled in offense but he forced them to lay still as he crushed his annoyance. As insulting as he found the male’s observation, he could not fault him for it when he had been so cautious so as to not betray his own thoughts.
“Do not presume that my perceived loyalty has anything to do with the matter… nor that a chance meeting seven years ago had not changed everything for me,” he growled softly, hissing each word between his teeth. “I could not abandon her.”
He shuddered and closed his eyes. He had meant to put them in their place… not say that. She was his weakness—the key to controlling him completely and he just revealed it to everyone in the room with him. Drawing in a deep breath, he opened his eyes and gave the males a hard stare—daring any one of them to question his integrity further.
“Ah,” Jornesh murmured, and he shared a look with the other males in the room. “You are not considering leaving the Calysii fleet for her, are you? She was never the reason.” he observed shrewdly. “You had already planned to defect but stayed… for a human female.”
Varik’s face hardened but he did not deny it.
“Poor bastard. Ready to throw your life away for unobtainable cunt,” Gewell huffed and Shelk grunted in agreement but then scrambled back out of the way as Varik charged forward, the force of his body throwing Gewell backwards to the floor.
Varik could feel Jornesh close around him, but his aid was not required. Varik never lost control of himself. Instead, he straightened to his full height, looming over the fallen male, and shrugged off his first officer as he directed a sneer at Gewell and then each of the males in turn.
“If you value your ability to speak, you will refrain from speaking that way of my female,” he growled. He blinked rapidly and shook his head as confusion rose in the male’s eyes and withdrew a step as he cloaked himself once more in his dignity. “Keep a civil tongue in your head when it comes to the human females. And that goes for all of you,” he added, cutting a sharp look among the males.
“We would not disrespect them,” Jornesh replied in an even voice. “Gewell’s observation was worded in a way that was unfortunate, but I am sure he does not view the females as such. Do you?” he barked, his head turning to peer over his shoulder as said male straightened and shook his head.
“My apologies, Captain Otorol. I did not mean it that way. But sir, I do not understand why you would stay when a male of your prestige could attract any willing female from the rebellion if you were feeling a desperate urge to mate.”
Varik sighed heavily and dragged his hand over his face. The male had a good point. “The decision was not an intentional one. Somehow, I began to bond with her without initiating anything.” His lips thinned as a thought occurred to him and he gave his officers a hard look. “It would be best if you did not go near any of the females if you do not have to. It should not be required but the less immediate interaction, the better. I do not know what set off the bonding but until we know more this is the wisest course.”
His officers nodded in agreement, though he was uneasy at the intrigue he spotted on a couple of faces—his own first officer included. His males were lonely and despite what they said, mating was a difficult affair for males who spent their lives in space when most Lorgor females did not wish to leave their home breeding grounds on Lorgoon. There would be females in the rebellion, but their numbers were likely to be few. Certainly not enough for every male who defected. He was certain that they were aware of it as much as he was.
With a flick of his fingers, he straightened the hem line and cuffs of his uniform and headed for the door.
