by May Sage
So, the breeding system was real. There had been a Treyan waiting for her on Ramerin, and he’d probably been a nice guy.
That realization made her shrink back into her shell and cry some more.
Then, there had been fury. How dare they! She wanted them to pay. All of them.
Now she was standing at the witness bench of an interstellar trial, and seeing one of her abductors on the bench of the accused, she was just confused.
She wanted them to pay, and them was him. He had done that to her – to them…
Yet, he hadn’t.
It hadn’t been him getting inside her room and forcing her. After it had happened, he’d decided to get her out, to get them all out.
Willow wasn’t ready to forgive and forget; not even close. But she knew her ire wasn’t directed towards him.
They asked what happened. She told them everything.
“So you were inappropriately touched by Lord Cedar,” a Klint interrupted when she got to his first visit. He looked triumphant.
“No.”
Her words hanged in the air for a long time, as every eyes focused on her; except the scientist’s. Cedar’s were closed.
“If I hadn’t wanted him to touch me, I would have said no. Had he carried on regardless, it would have been inappropriate. I did no such thing.”
She wasn’t sure why she was coming to his defense, and stretching the truth: that guy had been right, Cedar had been entirely inappropriate.
But she truly hadn’t minded. At the time, she hadn’t actually understood; it wasn’t until she was actually raped that she saw the difference.
She recounted the rest of her stay without anymore interruptions.
“A last question, if you would. Lord Cedar stands accused of the crime of abusing citizens of the empire, you included. What is your judgment?”
That startled her.
“I beg your pardon?”
“According to our laws, victims do get a say in any trials.”
She blinked, trying to think; when she opened her mouth, she wasn’t entirely certain what would come out of it.
“Not guilty.”
“Thank you,” the human redhead visibly in charge smiled at her, before telling her, “you may go.”
The man next to her also seemed relieved.
They were on Cedar’s corner. That made her hopeful, for some reason.
There was definitely something to say about the Stockholm syndrome, clearly.
Cedar
He couldn’t stand to look at her. He hadn’t been able to without feeling his heart break in two since he’d watched the recording of his so called friend violating her for fun.
Cedar hadn’t even stopped to think afterwards. He’d gone straight to Trice, and challenged him to a dual – to the death.
“Over a whore!” had been his last parting words.
Cedar only wished he could kill him again for it.
That whore was his mate. His.
And he’d done that to her.
Calden had been right all along; they were the monsters.
“Sir Cedar, your turn, if you would.”
Finally. He went to the trial stand, where everyone in the large circular room could see him, and waited for silence. There were whispers at first, but soon, they recalled who stood before them. He’d always been worth listening to.
“I have a number of things to say. The first would be that if you think you may have any reason to flee now, you should. I will give each and every one of your names.”
After that overture, he gave it all, while dozens of nobles and council folk left their tribunes in a hurry. Even he could see the humor in that.
When the room was skimmed of half of its occupants, he turned to Calden.
“You tried to talk to me once, when we were friends. I didn’t listen. No one knew better than me, right?” he laughed at his own stupidity.
“You have your reasons.”
Yes, he did; but he had known – he’d always known – that his indubitable proof, his mother, had been a whore addicted to various substances when she was taken for the trial; someone who wouldn’t have been missed on Earth. If it hadn’t been for his mummy issue, he would never have judged an entire race for the act of one selfish member.
“None seem valid now. I am guilty. See that I am punished. My only request is that the human who just spoke be gifted with my estate, once it is stripped from me.”
Then, he started to give each one of his accomplices on a silver platter.
Twenty-Seven
Compromises
Tania
It was funny how her little problems seemed quite plain in the light of what happened to some people. Tania had learnt her lesson: she was done with the pity party.
Every morning, she rushed to the part of the palace where the breeders were sheltered and aided the medical team there. Most of their physical ailments had been cured, but they needed to cheer up, and she had a kindle full of cool books to do that.
At first, she’d read out loud to two, three girls and more had gathered around her. When it became clear that the spots around her had become coveted, she went to Lena, to see a workaround.
“A microphone would work, I guess. Or we could set up rooms, with a reader in each one – you know, the title of the book of the day could be on each door.”
That had required a few volunteers, and strange at it seemed, a lot of Klints, male and female, had signed up.
They avoided alien abduction stories, but otherwise, everything seemed popular.
She was reading one of her favorites today, when she noticed him for the first time.
Jaycn was at the back, listening in with rapture. When she finished, he left with the women, confusing her.
He hadn’t spoken to her since Calden’s mind blowing revelation; in fact, he was actually gone from the palace more often than not. She told herself it was for the best.
Today, though, she knew she couldn’t avoid him: she needed to ask something quite important.
She’d enquired with Lena every time she could, but the Empress was frustratingly clueless.
“I’ve asked, Tania, but Jaycn isn’t… very forthcoming right now. Or talkative.”
She had to try, or she’d never manage to sleep at night.
“Jaycn.”
He was already almost out of the room and she hadn’t exactly raised her voice but he froze like she’d yelled.
His expression was hesitant, like he expected a blow.
“I heard you’re in charge of locating Xian. I wanted to know if there was any news.”
He paused for a long moment, his gaze never leaving her eyes.
“Not as such. She’s made it out of the Vergon, that much is sure. She’s left clues indicating that she’s alive, for anyone who cares to look. But she’s underground. Spying is her specialty; we won’t find her until she wants to be found.”
That was more than she’d heard in over a month; Tania let a long, deep sigh of relief out.
“You like Xian?” the Klint asked, tilting his head.
She shrugged noncommittally.
“I wished you’d speak to me.”
His voice expressed a lot of things; longing and regret, as well as fatigue. He was getting tired of the sight of her. That was good news. That meant he wouldn’t pester her.
“You’ve shown me who you are, Jaycn. Excuse me if I’m not fond of the idea of signing up for more verbal abuse.”
He flinched at her word, and she told herself she liked that, although it made her want to do the same.
“I deserve that.”
She shrugged.
“You didn’t let it get to you, though. Not until I spoke of…”
“That would be because you were correct. I told the others to go separate ways. I ran. Call me a whore, I’ll shrug it off, because I know I’m not. Call me a coward…”
“Don’t.”
His tone was so harsh she took a step back and started t
o walk away. Why the heck had she started talking to him?
His hand wrapped around her wrist, keeping her there.
“Tania, I’m sorry. But don’t let anyone call you a coward. You were smart. Thanks to you, we’ve got dozens of ships out right now, trying to find all those missing girls.”
Shrugging was turning into a habit now, but she couldn’t help it; Cedar’s return would have moved this into motion eventually.
“Staying where you are and fighting things beyond your skills is a common flaw: arrogance. Stubbornness, too. Recognizing when to flee is a strength, Tania. It’s admitting that you’re in deeper than what you can chew. It’s natural and smart, too.”
She nodded, not sure she believed it, but at least he was trying to be nice.
He hadn’t let go of her hand yet; she could feel his thumb brushing against her skin.
“Do you still hate me?”
Good question.
“No, not really,” she had to admit. “You’re protective of those you care about and I was in the way, as far as you were concerned. I can respect that, to an extent. I still don’t like it.”
She wasn’t sure where that had come from, but it was true. Glancing up, she saw his expression lightened by exactly what had been missing a moment before: hope.
“I wasn’t being protective of Lena, although I told myself I was, to make me feel better. I was jealous. I wanted to be Calden.”
There was no denying the way her heart lightened up at that, and Jaycn looked so vulnerable right now; his eyes were flickering everywhere but on her.
That’s when she knew she’d been lying to Lena – and to herself, too. Whatever that mate mumbo jumbo entailed, it was important. It couldn’t be ignored. His smiles, his approval, his attention was important to her; which was why having the opposite had hurt so much.
It didn’t change one fact: she needed to try, or she’d always wonder what might have been with the man the universe had chosen to link her to.
Come on, Tania. You can do it. Just…
“I have a question for you.”
He nodded, serious, visibly concentrating.
“What’s your feeling on cats?”
“They are evil.”
“Dogs?”
“Adorable.”
“Babies?”
“I want two. No, three… damn. A few.”
He took one step forward, entering her space, and she got a good whiff of his enticing scent, making her feel dizzy.
“Define a few?”
“As many as you’ll give me,” he said against her ears. “But not yet. I want to practice the entire process, to ensure we do it right, first.”
Shit. She was reduced to a puddle, just like that.
“Tell me to back off, Tania Webber of Essa. Tell me to wait. If you don’t, I’m going to revert to the beast I am, and fuck you on the first available surface until you can’t walk.”
What’s a girl to say?
She walked away, heading back inside the empty reading room. Just as she crossed the door, she turned her head behind her shoulder and waggled an eyebrow.
The first available surface was a wall. They didn’t even remove either of their clothes, his pants on his hips, her panties pushed aside. The second time was slower; laying her down on the cushions where her listeners sat, he kissed every bit of her flesh, lingering on certain spots.
“Jaycn?”
“Mh?”
“I want a cat.”
“You can have two.”
“How about three?”
“Ok.”
That’s when she knew she was keeping him.
Cedar
He was pissed off. Big time.
“I’m supposed to be a freaking prisoner, Calden.”
The Emperor shrugged, as if to say suit yourself.
The court hadn’t had a choice but to judge him guilty after his own admission, but Calden had pardoned him right away.
“I refuse,” he’d said.
It turned out, no one could refuse to be pardoned. So Cedar had had to hire his own guards and get them to keep him locked up and alone.
The issue was that no one was actually capable of keeping the Emperor away.
“Come on. I just need you to analyze this. Please?”
Begrudgingly, he asked for his computer and got to work.
The microchip the Emperor had presented him with was just fascinating, and most of his anger disappeared as he became engrossed.
“Its development is captivating. Originally, this was one of my prototypes, right?”
Calden shrugged.
“Yes. Your prototypes work about ten thousand times better than anything we come up with within the following decades, so I gave one of them to Lena. Mine and Jaycn are yours, too.”
Cedar dismissed the compliment with a shrug; he didn’t see anything exceptional in his achievements. He played with products to see the results, not to get praise.
“This one was designed specifically to understand its owner; analyze his reaction and anticipate his needs. It should have stayed a series of simple interactions based on reactions to the owner’s prompts, but the chip developed beyond that: part of the owner’s needs, apparently, was friendship. It morphed to be able to provide a facsimile of personal interaction. I’m not certain how or when, but it has become sentient along the line. Its entire focus is completing Lena. It considers Chip its name.”
“Is it dangerous?”
Good question.
They weren’t unable to create artificially intelligent things, but they had stopped to after a few incidents – sentient machines could do a lot of damage, as a couple of ruined planets could have witnessed.
“To your mate? No. To anyone who would threaten her? Yes. You included, if necessary.”
“Perfect. We’re on the same side, Chip,” Calden announced out loud.
Cedar watched with rapture as the microchip, currently connected to his computer, displayed a screen.
Good for your ass.
“I’d like to copy your data and analyze your development. You’re an unexpected advancement in modern tech, Chip.”
Flattery will get you everywhere. Data copied.
“You don’t mind, do you?” he clarified.
Calden shrugged.
“It’s your creation, really.” He seemed elsewhere, preoccupied. “So, you’ll go back to work?”
Cedar was torn. His research was valuable, but the problem was that he liked analyzing things. He didn’t feel like he should be allowed any fun.
“You have to forgive yourself, eventually. You saw that what you did was wrong. You turned the world around and it was entirely your choice.”
“My mate was raped.”
Calden didn’t have anything to say; he left shortly after, but his visit stayed with Cedar a long time.
The thing was, he hadn’t wanted any distraction to entertain himself, but he realized just how selfish he was by keeping his latest discovery hidden.
He wasn’t referring to Chip; cool as that little self-built piece of AI was, some things were far more important to his kind.
Coming to a decision, Cedar went to his computer and started typing.
From Klint to Beast, a study.
Calden
Guilt was a powerful thing. It could cripple a man, hold him back, even when everything he could want was in the palm of his hand.
Calden had felt guilty for months – since the start of their fragile relationship. He’d believed his previous behavior was the reason why it was fragile, unstable, and obviously breakable.
Now, he understood that the main culprit was his guilt.
When Cedar had explained that Lena had felt so lonely she’d turned an inanimate object into a friend, he’d felt it again, in spades, telling himself that he should have been there.
Now he saw what he’d done, every single time he’d told himself that: feeling like he should be punished, for the past, he’d withdrawn from her. He�
��d withheld his affection to punish himself, like the stupid ass he was.
When he found her, Lena was in her own room, rather than theirs; she was soaking in her bathing pool – one luxury she didn’t have the time to allow herself very often now. Before he could talk himself out of it, Calden removed his clothes and jumped in with her, smiling at her expression – shock, mixed with something else.
That’s the something he chose to focus on, immediately pushing his frame against hers, making her feel just how hard he was for her.
“What are you…”
His lips swallowed what she’d been about to say, silencing any protest she might find until the only thing coming out of her mouth were moans.
Goddess. That hadn’t been the plan, but before he knew what he was doing, he was balls deep inside her and pounding as though his life depended on it.
Calden wondered how long it had been since they’d made love. Days. Weeks, actually.
And since they’d made love like that? It hadn’t happened after the very first night.
When she was panting, still confused but fully sated, he plunged two feet in, hoping to the goddess that orgasms made her generous.
“Lena Smith, I am sorry for ever making you doubt you are less than everything to me. You’ll have questions, and I’ll answer every one, but the bottom line is, I felt I’d screwed up too much nine years ago to deserve a chance. I probably did, but I’m begging for one anyway. I want to be bound to you in every way we can to form an unbreakable union. I’d do anything to prove I’m worthy of it.”
The answer took so long he was a wreck. Then, to make things worse, she walked out of the pool. Hell. He’d really fucked it all up so much…
Lena appeared in front of him, just on the edge of the basin, still entirely naked and wet everywhere. Her long, lean legs spread before his eyes and she pointed a finger towards her pussy.
“Well, get to work then.”
Epilogue
