I might be the First Warlord of Sueva, used to command, but I have no experience with her situation.
This is not a normal problem I have had with my warriors. I have ordered them to do things they were uncomfortable with in the name of conditioning, or things that were unpleasant that had to be done, but I never once ordered them to an alien planet to marry in exchange for weapons.
Anger wells for her, eclipsing my own need, as full as the heavy moon in the Suevan night sky.
“I am sure they would have found someone willing,” she says, her voice trembling with rage.
Sadness washes away some of the anger, and I turn back to Niki. Her wide gaze fixes on the asteroid belt just visible through the jungle canopy.
She is not only angry that she was tricked by her command, the sneaky Earth Federation. Vile behavior.
But no. She also finds me displeasing.
A low growl rasps against my throat, and I flick my tail, immeasurably upset.
I turn away from her, facing the jono flower as it demolishes another insect, rather than see the hurt writ across her face.
True, we are very different from the soft hided males of their planet. It’s clear from the snarled way she said someone, as though mating a Suevan is a disgusting proposition. A new problem to overcome.
It has been a long, long time since I had a female, and perhaps my scar mars my face, but I have never had any complaints, not on Sueva, nor on any of our settlements, with the few Suevan females left, and a few other species, as well.
“Do you not find my form pleasing, w—woman?” I almost say wife, but I do not want to set her off again, and change words at the last minute as I face her.
Stepping into the firelight, I hold myself still for her perusal. Well, perhaps I flex a little, but why shouldn’t I? My muscles are proof of my status, my age, my reputation.
I can keep you safe, they say. I am a fierce predator, and a fiercer protector.
Her defiant gaze holds mine for a moment, and then slips down my scales, from my oversize shoulders, big even by Suevan warlord standards, to my abdomen. Lower still. I clear my throat. Maybe that is the problem. Maybe she thinks I will not fit.
“Do you worry that I will be too big for you?” I say, making my voice softer now.
A choked noise erupts from her. “What? Oh my Jesus.” She buries her face in her hands.
“My name is Draz, not Jesus,” I say. There’s no translation that makes sense for that word, and it offers up a name and an image of a human with long facial hair. “I cannot grow much hair on my chin. It only grows on the top of my head. Is that the problem?”
Her eyes are huge in her face now, and a musical laugh trickles out of her. My eyes close at the noise. What a wondrous sound.
“No,” she manages. “No, you are fine. You are nice looking. Very muscled.” She shakes her head, as though she can’t quite believe she’s said that. “Draz, I need to know something right now.”
“Anything.” My name is like nectar from her lips. I want her to say it again.
“Will the other Suevans… the other warlords—” She bites her lip, clearly unwilling or too uncomfortable to continue speaking. I want to tug it from her little teeth. Blunt though they are, her pink lip turns white under the sustained pressure. “Will they force them?”
“What?”
“My crew. Will the other warlords—” She releases her lips, pinning me with an angry stare. “Will they force them to have sex?”
I recoil physically, her implication bringing shame to me and my people. “That is not done. That is a death sentence. Females are treasured. Valued.” Horror spreads through me, bile rising in my throat. “What you suggest is the gravest of offenses.”
She sags, relief turning her limbs loose.
My female truly believes Suevans would force her crew… Force her. No Suevan woman would ever even consider this, which means—
“This is done on Earth? Your males hurt your women?”
“It isn’t sanctioned. It’s illegal there, too,” she spits out, crossing her arms. Defensively, I realize. She still thinks to defend the males of her species, even if they act abominably?
What a strange, proud creature. I blink slowly, my third eyelid closing and opening, as I ponder her.
As I ponder what to say, a steady patter of rain begins. Sueva herself is angry at my mate’s people, and lightning streaks, turning the world brilliant for one second, followed immediately by a deafening roar of thunder.
The rain intensifies, cold and sluicing in great sheets across the jungle.
I turn my face to the sky, savoring the sensation of water on my hide. The rains will make it harder for us to track. A blessing from the spirits on our marriage; a sign that perhaps I can change my mate’s mind.
When I turn my attention back to my mate, her knees are drawn up to her chest. Small shakes spread through her body, her tiny teeth clicking together.
“You are cold.”
“N-n-n-no.”
“You are lying?”
She glares at me, shuddering, as the icy rain continues to pour. “Yes.”
“Come, my mate.” I ignore her look of distress. “I will find us shelter and we will warm your fragile human skin.”
I should not be as excited as I am at the prospect.
CHAPTER SEVEN
NIKI
It’s pouring rain. Because of fucking course it is. Just the shit cherry on top of this fucked up fudge sundae.
I’m so angry, I can’t tell if I’m shaking from it or the cold. Except, my teeth are clacking together like a possessed skeleton on Halloween, and that usually doesn’t happen unless hypothermia is imminent.
Perfect!
I stand slowly. The ground turns slippery under my boots, the lime-green moss that seems to cover everything proving ridiculously hard to get a foothold on.
My thoughts are a whirlwind, as dark as the midnight sky. Lightning flashes again, so near that the resulting thunder nearly deafens me. I scrub a hand down my face, but it does absolutely nothing to clear my vision. At least if I cry again, he won’t be any the wiser.
I remember the last time I was this angry. The day I got news that my parents’ unit had been take out during the Roth attack. I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t, even with the proof right in front of my face.
I let the rain slick across my skin, like it will wash the painful memory away.
The Federation betrayed us. All of us. I gave my entire life to their cause of protecting Earth, and they couldn’t even give us the option to say no, tossing us into space like fertile chattel. My stomach churns, and I press a palm against my mouth.
No wonder they kept the binary comms from the Suevans classified so highly that all we got were tiny unredacted snippets.
No wonder they made us swear and sign an oath that we would do what it took to secure the tech for Earth’s safety and future.
Motherfuckers.
“I can’t see,” I shout above the rain, and take a step forward, towards the Suevan shape in front of me, and promptly lose my footing, slipping hard onto my ass.
“Little mate,” that harsh voice sounds right at my ear, and before I can wrap my head around the idea, he’s hauling me off my feet, cradling me against his chest.