CHAPTER 49
Andie
As promised, I went looking for Leo and his partners for lunch the next day after my piano practice.
One of the palace stewards guided me to a larger receiving room, where the Charonu delegation and the royal family were already seated.
I greeted the King first and then took the cushion next to Kashtinela, which was empty.
She was the only other female in the room, I noted.
“How’s it going?” I asked her.
“These Charonu have a lot to learn about females,” Kashtinela sniffed.
“Yeah, Leo warned me about that. Evidently, females on their planet are completely uneducated and live in a women’s harem their whole lives. They just pop out babies and basically live to service the males.”
“Preposterous!” she exclaimed.
“Yeah, it sounds ridiculous to me, too. Leo said not to take it personally if they don’t acknowledge us. They’ve never had a real conversation with a woman. I think they view us as little more than pets.”
“I am the Princess of my line, third in line to the Ptexari throne. They cannot be so ignorant as to not see how females on other planets are respected as equals to males. I do not know if I can ignore this insult, even for the sake of the trade talks,” she said.
“Speak to your father about it,” I advised. “He respects you. Have him include you in the talks. Maybe you could even lead them from the Ptexari side - force them to see you as an equal.”
“You are a sly creature, Andie of Earth,” Kashtinela smiled. “I will do this. Let them treat with a female. We shall see how long they last in negotiations with me. I will eat them alive.”
I didn’t doubt it. Kashtinela was formidable and had been trained for this her entire life. “Go get ‘em, girl,” I held up my mug of Oonag. She clicked her mug against mine companionably, and we continued our lunch.
Dakleth smiled at me as I passed him to go and greet Leo.
I nodded to him and smiled back. I was starting to thaw a little bit with him, I realized.
I was feeling especially grateful since yesterday’s rescue.
I didn’t think I wanted to jump headfirst into a romantic relationship, but I was willing to get to know him better.
That felt like a complete turnaround from a few weeks ago.
Look at me, growing as a person. I was proud of myself.
Smiling, I headed toward Leo and gave him a hug.
He smiled at me and introduced me to his partners, Aldrin and Gafand.
They were both a little over six feet tall.
They were more slender than the Ptexari, and although they did look a bit like Godzilla, as Leo had told me, the tilt of their heads and quick movements reminded me of birds.
Their skin was a burnished yellow, and they practically gleamed.
They seemed almost metallic. I had the urge to touch their skin and see what it felt like, but I refrained. Good for me, I thought.
“Nice to meet you both,” I said to both Aldrin and Gafand.
“Leo’s told me so much about you. I know he’s very happy to see you!
” They just stared at me. Aldrin slowly nodded.
Gafand looked at me dismissively and then turned back to Leo.
“She is a beautiful female. I can see why you are taken with her. Come, bring her back to our quarters, and we will fuck her together.”
“I don’t think so,” I said, backing away. Leo stepped in front of me, “It’s not like that here,” he told them. “I’ve told you the Ptexari treat females as equals…” before he could get another word out, a blur of gray had knocked Gafand onto his back.
We all stilled as Dakleth, looking like a god of fury, eyes red, wings extended, held a sputtering Gafand to the ground, hands around his throat. “You DARE speak of my mate this way?!” he roared. King Akapa and the Charonu Prime Minister (I presumed) rushed over, along with a number of guards.
“Dakleth, it’s a misunderstanding!” I yelled at him. “Let him go!”
Everyone was shouting, and I tried to pull the Prince off Leo’s partner, but he was solid as a rock.
It was like trying to move an angry statue.
The guards stepped in and pulled, but Dakleth was snarling and kicked and bit at anyone who tried to dislodge his hands from Gafand’s neck.
At this point, Gafand had passed out, and I was worried Dakleth was killing him.
It took four guards to pull Dakleth off and subdue him.
Meanwhile, Leo frantically checked Gafand to see if he was breathing.
Gafand took in a shallow, whistling breath, and I swear the whole room sighed in relief.
If Dakleth had killed him, it could have sparked an interplanetary war.
The Prime Minister was yelling at King Akapa, who stood perfectly still in the chaos.
He gazed at his son, then at me. He gave me a brief nod, but I wasn’t sure why.
Dakleth wasn’t in his right mind. He was shouting incoherent nonsense while fighting the guards, snarling and threatening to tear anyone apart who so much as looked at his mate wrong.
“He’s gone into a berserker mode,” Andokar said to me.
“It happens when a Ptexari male believes his mate is being threatened. He won’t calm until he smells you and believes you’re safe.
I promise you he won’t harm you, Andie. You’re the only one he won’t harm right now.
I need you to try to calm him down, or we’ll have to medically sedate him and throw him in a cell. ”
I approached cautiously. The guards hauled him to his feet and pulled his arms back. He kicked and tried to scratch at them, and nearly got away by biting a guard’s ear. “Dakleth,” I said calmly, like I was trying to soothe a spooked horse. “Dakleth, I’m safe.” I reached out to touch his arm.
“He needs to smell you, Lumanela,” one of the guards said. I swallowed and stepped forward slowly, cautiously stepping into the Prince’s space.
“Dakleth,” I said again. His head suddenly snapped forward, and he stilled as he watched me, eyes still glowing red. “Dakleth?” I questioned softly as I placed a hand on his chest.
He closed his eyes and lowered his head, inhaling deeply as he smelled my hair. “Maaaaaaate,” he said, slightly slurred. I looked up, and it looked like his canines had extended.
Whoa, vampire. “You’re not supposed to call me that, you big oaf,” I said slowly, smiling at him. “Maaate,” he insisted, huffing. He slowly calmed, seeming to shrink into himself a bit. He relaxed his wings, and his eyes faded to their normal inky black.
He looked at the guards and nodded. They released him and took a step back. “Andie,” he said, looking at me. He stepped forward and hauled me to his chest, wings curling around me.
“MINE,” he declared loudly to the room.
“Yes, yes, my prince, she is yours,” Andokar said, chuckling. “Believe me, we know.”
“I object,” I said, laughing against Dakleth’s muscled chest.
“Overruled,” Andokar called back.
“MINE,” Dakleth said again. I forced myself to relax. Clearly, he needed a minute. He buried his nose in my hair. “My Andie. My mate,” he said quietly.
“Your Andie needs to breathe,” I said.
He snapped his wings back. “Breathe, mate.”
“Thanks,” I said, looking around the room. The room had largely cleared out. Leo and his mates were gone. I struggled a bit, but Dakleth wouldn’t let me out of his hold. I sighed and relaxed again.
“Is Gafand ok?” I asked Andokar with my face pressed against the Prince’s chest.
“He has been taken to the medic’s wing,” Andokar replied. “I do not believe the damage is permanent.” I sighed in relief.
“Good,” I said.
“Enemy,” Dakleth snarled.
“Don’t get worked up,” I said. “I’m fine. I’m safe. He said something rude. That’s not an excuse to kill him.”
“Kill himmm,” Daketh slurred. The teeth were coming back.
“Perhaps we should not talk about him at this time,” Andokar said. The guards stiffened, ready to subdue the prince if needed.
“Hey! Look at me. I’m fine. Everything is ok. Calm down. I’m safe.”
“Mate safe,” he said, closing his eyes and inhaling my hair. “MINE,” he declared again, eyes glowing blue. I felt something hard swelling and pressing against my belly.
“Oh no, we’re not doing that,” I tried to back up. He bent down, inhaled behind my ear, and nibbled my earlobe. It felt so delicious my knees gave out.
“Mate!” he seemed alarmed as I nearly slid out of his arms. He scooped me up the way he had when he rescued me.
“Nope, nope! Put me down, Dakleth!” I said. I didn’t like where this was going.
“Mate safe,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me.
“Mate needs to be put down,” I said. Jeez, it was like talking to fucking Tarzan. “Down, Dakleth,” I said firmly.
He seemed to wilt and slowly lowered me to the ground. “I’m going to sit on that cushion,” I said. “I will be safe there. Come sit with me.”
“Yes, mate,” he said. He followed me and watched me sit. He turned and looked at the guards who were watching us and drew himself up, stepping in front of me. “MINE,” he roared at them.
“Ok, ok, they get it. Andokar, go to the other side of the room so he can calm down. It’s probably best that you all leave us alone for a minute.”
“You are wise, Andie,” Andokar said. “We shall withdraw. Call to us if you need anything.”
“I will,” I said.