by Regine Abel
An angry growl rose from my throat. Searing rage bubbled within, demanding I kill the threat to my mate. My fingers twitched, the tips aching with the need to unsheathe my claws. Drawn by the menacing sound, Xevius looked at me over his shoulder. I prowled towards him, teeth bared.
Jorluk’s loud laughter resonated in the room. His shiny black hair bounced on his shoulders as they shook with mirth. The four other guards closed in around me, although they didn’t try to stop me.
“Step away from her, Korlethean, if you know what’s good for you,” Jorluk said to Xevius. “She’s a nice piece, but you’ll have to settle for another. He’s got that true mate claim thing you’re all so fussy about. So step back. Commander Gruuk won’t tolerate any trouble coming to this girl.”
Xevius raised his hands in submission and slowly backed away from Sevina. His eyes never left me, going from shock, to compassion, and then grim determination. The warning was clear—he wouldn’t let this go. Of course, he couldn’t. We simply got a reprieve, for now. My aggression bled out and my heart filled with apprehension which I tried to keep off my face.
Sevina clasped her hands over her chest, her eyes flicking between the two of us. Xevius cast a swift glance at Sevina, then his back stiffened and his shoulders tensed.
What the fuck?
Xevius never lost control over his emotions. He only showed you what he wanted or felt comfortable with expressing in public. Although I doubted anyone else noticed, my years of friendship with him allowed me to recognize his shock. He stared at her bare hands, then at her face before casting a furtive glance at the other Veredian females’ hands. Turning back to Sevina, he looked at her hands, shaking his head in a barely noticeable movement, as if trying to come to terms with an impossibility.
One by one, our brothers lined up in front of their chosen female and Xevius settled for the remaining one. Jorluk gave Febus his Dalyria shot then moved towards Xevius who waved him off, claiming he wouldn’t need it after all this time.
Feeling observed, I glanced at the Veredian adults guarding the entrance to the dorms where they hid the children. Azyra’s eyes locked with mine, a frown marring her forehead. They flicked to Xevius before returning to me. She could sense something was amiss. If I didn’t manage to stay Xevius’ hand, she would no doubt figure out—or at least suspect—our involvement in my mate’s demise. Turning back to Sevina, I grabbed her hand and led her into our room, relieved for the illusionary safety of the door closing behind me.
“Well, that was awkward,” Sevina said with a nervous laugh.
She toyed with the hem of her short dress that hid nothing of her beautiful slender legs. The uncertain look in her eyes made my aching heart constrict further. Did she think my feelings would change in those four months?
“I missed you so much,” I whispered, my voice broken with emotion.
My heart filled to bursting, seeing her here, within arm’s reach, so beautiful and delicate. Mine. So many nights I dreamt of holding her again, of feeling her soft curls on my chest, of her golden skin against mine, and of her sweet laughter in my ears.
My body moved before I even realized it. Pulling her into my embrace with more force than intended, I crushed her lips with mine. She squealed in surprise before melting under me. Fear, anger, and sorrow all fueled my passion. With mindless fury, I all but tore our clothes off and threw her onto the bed before joining her. She welcomed me with open arms. The Quorum, Xevius, Titans, none of that mattered anymore. Her, just Sevina became the center of my universe. I lost myself in her, conquered her, claimed her, and branded her. She was mine and I was hers. Sharazh could take the rest of the world for all I cared.
I didn’t know how many times I took her. More than an hour had gone by as I recall vaguely hearing the intercom giving us the one hour warning. Skin slick with sweat, I lay on my back, Sevina’s head resting on my chest. Her delicate body, featherweight, sprawled over me. I ran a lazy hand up and down her back as our hearts and breaths settled down.
“I’m sorry, Sareema, for losing control. I didn’t mean to jump you like that.”
Her delicate frame shook with laughter and she gently kissed my chest before lifting her head to look at me. The light brown curtain of her hair cascaded down the gentle curve of Sevina’s shoulders and caressed my skin with each of her movements.
Goddess, she’s beautiful.
“Do I look like I minded?” she asked, kissing my chin.
Bright green eyes sparkling, her plush lips swollen from my kisses, Sevina looked happy, carefree. I silenced the sharp pain stabbing at my heart.
She tilted her head to the side, frowning.
“What’s wrong, Eryon? You seem… sad.”
I cussed myself out.
“I missed you so much and we have so little time together.”
She pursed her lips. “Right. But at least we have three weeks, and then in four months again—”
I shook my head, my throat constricting with pain and resentment for the cruelty of Fate.
“No,” I interrupted her. “I won’t see you in four months.”
Sevina stiffened in my arms, a look of worry crossing her delicate features.
“Why?” she asked. “Are you going away?”
“No, my love.”
I caressed her cheek, my hand trailing down her shoulder, along the markings on her arm before resting on her waist. My thumb gently rubbed the side of her flat stomach.
“You and I will conceive a child during this cycle, so there will be no need for you to return in four months.”
Her eyes, that had been watching the movement of my thumb, snapped up to mine, her lips parted in surprise.
“You’ve foreseen it?” she asked breathily.
“No. Seers cannot see their own future or that of their immediate family. One of the other recently captured Korletheans brought me the news.”
“Okay,” she said, eyeing me intently. “It… it doesn’t please you that we will have a child?”
“Oh, Sevina…”
I cupped her face with both hands and gave her a long and deep kiss, pouring every ounce of my feelings for her into it.
“Nothing would give me greater joy than knowing you and I have created life. I’m sad because once we part this cycle, I won’t see you again for another eighteen months.”
She started. “Eighteen months? Why so long? Veredian pregnancies only last six months.”
“Yes, but then the mother is given a one-year reprieve for nursing.”
She bit her lips, eyes cast down, shoulders slouching.
If you only knew what truly saddens me…
I needed to find a way to save my mate. Until then, I wouldn’t worry her by letting on about the looming threat.
“Still, I’m elated to know we’ll have a beautiful daughter together,” I said, trying to cheer her up.
“But you’ll never meet her,” she whispered, staring at her fingers crumpling the bedsheets.
That hurt, another jab in the heart. Few Korletheans got a chance to meet their daughters, even when the child lived in the same fortress where the Korlethean came to breed in. To spare the children from the disturbing spectacle when one of the mating pairs resisted, they locked them up in the dorms. The Sisters also did it to avoid unfortunate situations where the father rejected the child as some of my brethren considered Veredians the cause of our captivity. In spite of that, a few curious brats occasionally managed to hide outside the dorms to sneak a peek, but that was the extent of it.
“I’ll be free in twenty-six years, Sareema. Guess what will be the very first thing I do?”
“Look for your daughter?” she asked timidly.
“No silly. Look for my soulmate AND my daughter.”
The intercom beeped, startling both of us.
“You have thirty minutes remaining to submit your blood samples. Please proceed immediately.”
Sharazh’s cock!
“I’m going to ram a wart-covered Guldan’s c
ock up that piece of shit if it doesn’t shut the fuck up!”
Sevina’s peal of laughter was a balm to my irritation. She covered her ears, playfully shaking her head as if in terrible pain.
“My ears! My ears!” she giggled.
My mate… My beloved mate. No one will take you from me.
* * *
The Guldans escorted us back to our cell. The clank of the door closing thundered in the deafening silence, followed by the beep of the locking mechanism activating. The tension in the room, thick enough to slash with a blade, rose another notch. Our brothers took their seats along the side wall benches, their wary eyes flicking between Xevius and me. We stood facing off in the center of the room, like two fighters in an arena.
“I can’t let you harm her, Xevius,” I said as soon as the locking mechanism of the door activated. “She’s my true mate. I will fight you by whatever means necessary.”
A flash of sorrow flickered in his eyes.
“For this, I’m truly sorry,” Xevius said. “You know I wish neither of you any harm. But the mission…”
“Fuck the mission! You know I also wish you no harm, but I will kill you before I let you hurt my soulmate and our unborn child.”
“You can’t win a fight against me, Eryon. You’d die.”
“You don’t get to kill me today or any time soon, Xevius. The Fates have seen me live to walk free. Maybe I’m the one who kills you.”
Xevius ran a frustrated hand through his hair and began pacing.
“Don’t you see what’s at stake, Eryon? Don’t you understand what your bloodline will bring about?”
“I understand that the Quorum once again tries to play god!” I shouted. “They condoned the experiments that created the Titans to begin with because they wanted us to be the ultimate race. Now, if those sick fucks had their way, they would wipe out the entire Veredian race!”
Xevius flinched.
“Yes, brother, I know,” I said. “I’m a Seer, remember? I’m part of the Fates, and I know damn well the Quorum tried to use some of my visions to justify committing the final genocide on a species we’ve already hurt beyond reason.”
Shocked mutterings from our brethren bounced around the room.
“What do you mean?” Febus asked.
“Eryon…” Kilian said in a warning tone.
“No, Kilian,” I interrupted. “The lies and secrecy need to stop. I received the very first vision on record of the Guldans’ breeding program with the Veredians. With every birth, amazing new powers are appearing. Powers no Korlethean possesses.”
I looked around the room, making eye contact with each of my brothers.
“Once they combine their powers, the Veredians will become the most powerful force in the known galaxy. Gruuk understands that and is already experimenting with it. It terrifies the Quorum. So their lazy ass solution to this? Wipe out the Veredians.”
“Their concerns are valid,” Xevius argued. “In the hand of the Guldans, especially if they can birth Titans, Veredians can end us all.”
“Then you destroy the hand that wields the sword, not the sword.”
A few of the brothers nodded their assent. Xevius eyed me, a troubled look on his face.
“Fair enough,” Sagan said, seated by the door where Xevius had paused in his pacing. “However, while the Quorum will never get the population to agree to this genocide—at least not in the short term—the issue of the Titans remains. Allowing your mate to live brings them back. Does that not trouble you?”
I sucked air in, struggling to rein in my frustration. Korletheans believed in rational discussions even when the outcome was predetermined by Fate. I crossed my arms over my chest, grounding myself.
“It does. Deeply. But if they return, it is the Goddess’ will.”
“But what they can do—” Sagan argued.
“What they can do isn’t necessarily what they will do.” I gestured towards Xevius. “Xevius can kill all of us without breaking a sweat. He’s not doing it.”
“He would gain nothing from it,” Sagan countered.
“True,” I conceded. “The Xelixians are desperate for females. They have the military power to raid most of their neighboring planets, take the females they need and defend against any potential retaliation. They’re not doing it.”
“All right, but Titans are a different beast,” Xevius said.
“How so?” I asked. “They are people.”
“With predatory instincts,” Xevius said.
“But people nonetheless,” I said. “From the start, our Titans were raised to believe themselves superior beings. We fed their egos and ambitions, living vicariously through them until it blew up in our faces. But what would a Titan be like if raised right? If raised by a Veredian? You’ve all seen how protective and devoted these females are to each other. To them, the welfare of the community comes before their own. A child isn’t born a killer. Society makes him into one. We can’t punish them for a crime they haven’t committed yet and may never even commit.”
Xevius leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as well.
“That’s a lot of ifs, brother.”
“The bigger question,” Sagan said, “is why you are indulging in this conversation, Xevius. You’re an assassin. You have a mandate. The topic shouldn’t even be open for discussion, and yet, you waver.”
My stomach dropped. I had hoped no one would bring it to his attention. As long as Xevius engaged in the discussion, there was hope. I braced for his response.
Xevius heaved a sigh. “An Oracle prophesied about the ungloved Veredian.”
Great Goddess!
My heart leapt in my chest. An Oracle opened possibilities and choices. Not fatality. I remembered his shock when he noticed her hands.
Kilian leaned forward, an eager expression on his face. “What was her reading?”
“She said I would have to make a decision,” Xevius said, his eyes taking a faraway expression. “My choice would yield one of three results. The left path would bring about the oblivion of all life in the entire quadrant. The middle path would lead to the enslavement of our entire race and two-thirds of the Western Quadrant. The right path will set us all free and amend for the wrongs we have done.”
“So you see!” I said. “Letting her live might be the cause of our redemption.”
“Or our ultimate downfall,” Febus objected. “How can inaction bring about salvation?”
“Inaction relative to what? To a situation that doesn’t yet exist?” I argued. “All our problems stem from us thinking ourselves gods. Every other species simply deals with problems as they arise. We try to control the wheel of Fate and where does that leave us? Without that vision, you wouldn’t even consider hurting my mate. So why are we?”
“It is our way,” Febus said, “and the Quorum’s will. Xevius has his orders. She dies.”
“She dies,” Sagan said, a grim look on his face.
Eight other voices repeated the sentence. With each one, despair and anger welled within me.
Kilian chuckled. I stared at him in disbelief.
“Well that was entertaining,” he said.
Seriously?
I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, but he didn’t give me the chance.
“Relax, Eryon,” Kilian said. “Your mate lives. Xevius made the decision years ago when he received the Oracle’s prophecy.”
“I didn’t know Titans were involved,” Xevius argued.
“Indeed. But the arguments you gave yourself then still hold now. You’re merely coming to terms with it,” Kilian said mockingly.
Xevius’s shoulders sagged, as if letting go of a heavy weight.
“You’ve seen the fate of my mate?” I asked Kilian, not daring to hope.
He nodded. “An hour ago, at the worst possible time, too. It was rather awkward explaining to Zenaya why I froze for five minutes, balls deep inside her.”
Chuckles erupted around the room. Even I couldn’t refrain
a smirk, but I sobered quickly.
“What did you see?” I asked.
He gave me an unreadable look. “Your soulmate giving birth to your second child.”
CHAPTER 5
Sevina
I hated this particle shower. I hated this room. I hated this ship. How Mama had kept her sanity after almost forty years on board baffled me. There was nothing to do here, no one to talk to. Of course, I had Mama and now, praise the Goddess, my adorable daughter, Amalia. However, my visits to the breeding fortress drove it home that I needed a thriving social environment. I missed Eryon with all my heart, but I also greatly missed the companionship of the Sisters, and especially of so many females my age. I didn’t belong on this bucket.
The Revenant held plenty of other females—all slaves. I didn’t interact with the captives. In fact, I hardly ever saw them aside from the occasional glimpse if I crossed them in the hall as the crew hauled them aboard before locking them up in the hold. I’d never set foot there and made it a point to avoid that general area. Twice during the rare times I ran some errand in the vicinity, the tortured screams of the females held within made me flee.
Confrontations made me squeamish. Master Gruuk didn’t want us near the captives either – or the crew for that matter. I happily complied with that order. Obedience made life easy, no matter how unpleasant the task. Throwing a tantrum and being difficult would only result in punishment and I’d still have to do it in the end. So why make a fuss?
Master Gruuk kept us safe from the crew and those horrible males resented us for it. Mama warned me they would seize the first opportunity to harm me if I gave them even the flimsiest of excuses. I believed it. Even before I’d reached puberty, the crew’s behavior towards me began to change, from leering stares to disgusting innuendoes and lecherous gestures. Thankfully, I could hide from them in my room, enjoying my favorite pastimes; reading, watching vids, and drawing. However, years of being cooped up in the same four metal-plated walls were taking a toll.
