Chapter 47
Consequences.
I sat next to Monqilcolnen as we ate a very late breakfast. Well, as I ate.
He was far more interested in kissing my neck or muttering about changing our quarters to suit me, which was endearing.
He wanted me to be comfortable here. It would be nice to have all of my things in a safe place as well as being able to put my own touch on a space.
This was no longer just his quarters, but mine as well. My home. That word sent a shiver down my spine. I had a home, with Monqilcolnen.
Monqilcolnen bit my neck, a canine tooth catching on my scent gland.
The sharp sting made me moan, and Monqilcolnen pulled off, nuzzling my temple for the barest moment. “My apologies,” he whispered, licking the same spot.
“Harder,” I demanded.
He chuckled and bit down harder. I keened. His teeth found the spots around my scales and burrowed into my skin, making me yelp, but in the pain, I found pleasure. I panted, arousal gathering in my gut and spreading downward.
“You’re bleeding,” he whispered.
It was impossible for me to decipher his tone. It could be horror or wonder. I offered him my neck. “I like it.”
His tongue lapped up the light flow of green blood from my scales before sucking on the wound, then bathing the area. Monqilcolnen said against my scales, “You taste good.”
I ducked my head, my tail wrapping around my ankle for a single moment before seizing his. I would much rather hold Monqilcolnen than myself. In a rush, I remarked, “You need to eat.”
“I already did.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seed is not an adequate source of nutrients, as we have established.”
A laugh echoed around the eating area, and Monqilcolnen seized me, putting me on his lap. Neither of us had bothered to get dressed after fucking, so we were scale to scale, and I adored it. I rested the back of my head against his shoulder.
“Eat with me,” I said.
He took a piece of fruit, taking a bite, then offered it to me. I moaned, licking his fingers.
“Thank you,” Monqilcolnen whispered, his arm tightening around me.
“For?”
“Living with me.”
As a child, I never would’ve been able to imagine this future. Monqilcolnen was far too perfect for me to have been able to conjure. He kissed my neck again, and the bite stung in such a way that my cock twitched.
“Star,” I started, “where’s my blanket?”
“Is that what it is?”
“Yes.”
“It’s on the couch.”
“Mistress Kel’yeena gave it to me.”
He turned my chin toward him, catching my gaze as best as he could. “Truly? That’s a very lovely gift.”
“She said it was for my nest.”
Monqilcolnen blinked. “She knows? Did you tell her you were going to agree?”
“No, I didn’t say anything to her, but I believe everyone knows you and I are courting. She said we were meant for each other.”
He stroked my cheek. “She’s right.”
“I want to put it on our bed.”
A low moan came out of his lips, and Monqilcolnen forced me to the floor, lying on top of me. He captured my lips in a possessive kiss, claiming me. His tongue slicked over mine as he swirled around it, then fucked my mouth.
“I love that word on your lips. Our. Our bed. Our quarters,” he growled.
“Yes,” I replied. “Ours.”
Monqilcolnen growled again, and my cock twitched, wanting to rise to the challenge, but it couldn’t. We’d fucked twice already. My body was done for now.
A monotone voice sounded. "Lieutenant Wyn, you are needed in Captain Talvax’s office. You must report immediately.”
I titled my head back and caught sight of an upside down NAID on the screen. “Tell her I’m on my way.”
“Affirmative,” NAID replied before the plain silhouette vanished.
“No,” Monqilcolnen complained. “It’s our leisure day. I wish to spend it with you, Peace. No interruptions. None.”
My fingers buried into the silky strands of his starlight hair, massaging his scalp. “When I’m done, we can spend the day together. Perhaps we can play our experience.”
“Or we can move your items to our quarters?”
“Anxious?”
“Desperate.” He pressed a hard kiss to my lips.
I chuckled, heat invading me.
“I don’t know why Talvax wants to see you anyway.”
My brow furrowed as random memories skittered across my mind’s eye.
“What?” he asked, stroking my cheek.
“I…” I trailed off. “I did something last night.”
“You did many things last night, Peace,” he teased. “But you didn’t vomit on me.”
Frowning, I pushed him off me and stood. I flicked his face with my tail, but Monqilcolnen snatched it and pressed a kiss to the fluffy tip.
“I don’t remember exactly what I did yesterday,” I continued, heading toward the bedroom for a uniform. “But it was something.”
Monqilcolnen was a step behind me, getting dressed. “I doubt you did anything wrong.”
I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t remember doing anything, but… something was nagging at me. I glanced at Monqilcolnen and commented, “You don’t need to get dressed. When I come back, we can snuggle or something before we leave.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Star,” I said, drawing out the endearment. “You can’t use your station to help me or keep me from having extra duties.”
He frowned.
I hooked my arms around his waist. “You need to let me do this on my own.”
“I wish to protect you.”
I cocked an eyebrow.
“I’m aware you don’t need it, but I want to.”
“Star.”
“Fine. I shall come to spend time with you.”
Cupping the back of his neck, I tugged him down to press a kiss to his lips. Monqilcolnen returned the gentle pressure. Neither of us deepened it, knowing we didn’t have time, but it was so nice. Never would I have thought I could enjoy this outside of sex. The intimacy of touch.
We finished getting dressed and headed to Talvax’s office. The sooner we got this done, the sooner we could spend our leisure time together or have me move in, as Monqilcolnen wanted.
I dragged my tail down the length of his before signaling I was outside of Talvax’s office. She called out, “Enter.”
When I came inside, leaving Monqilcolnen in the corridor, she wasn’t alone.
Urgg, Seth, and Bartholomew stood in front of her desk.
The latter two were a greenish-white and swayed precariously.
If I had to guess, they were still under the influence of alcohol poisoning.
Urgg appeared exactly the same, but barbarus had a strong constitution and a fast recovery rate.
To be truthful, I didn’t know if they could get alcohol poisoning.
Why had all four of us been summoned? Once again, that niggling sensation returned, this time with more force. We’d done something last night, hadn’t we?
I swallowed when my gut curled, and my stomach rose, burning my throat.
I wiggled, and my tail flicked, then curled around my ankle before ripping away.
Not once had I gotten in trouble since I joined the navy.
I’d put all of that behind me when I was a kit.
I was no longer a troublemaker. I did my absolute best at all times.
I followed all the regulations as best I could. I was an excellent officer.
Talvax stood, her tail whipping and her shoulders impossibly straight. “Do you know why I ordered you to come?”
“No, love of my life, more beautiful than the red sands, more—” Urgg broke off when Talvax growled.
Seth went even paler. I wrapped my tail around his wrist to lend him comfort, even if I had none to spare.
If Kalvoxrencol learned Talvax had scared Seth, even their close friendship wouldn’t stop him from protecting his mate.
But it would hurt Kalvoxrencol, which in turn would hurt Seth.
I would protect my friend as best I could.
“I do not recall,” I said, forcing myself to speak.
She whipped toward me and prowled closer. My spine straightened and my pulse picked up. The urge to flee built in my muscles, and I had to fight against the instinct.
“Interesting,” Talvax said. “Lieutenant, please enter in your code.” She handed me a screen.
I did, and a message popped up. Talvax is the loveliest creature in the world, and Monqilcolnen is subpar, though not ugly.
By the light of the Crystal, I remembered now. Urgg and I had made a bet, and I’d lost. My tail fell from Seth’s wrist and coiled around my ankle. “I recall.”
“Do you?” she asked.
Urgg spoke up, “It was a bet. My fault, my love. I won and forced Wyn.”
She crossed her arms and leveled Urgg with a glare. “Do you know how embarrassing this is? Every single time someone accesses their system on the ship, this message pops up.”
“You are lovely,” Urgg offered.
Talvax growled. She faced me again. “Can you remove it?”
“Of course.” One of the other engineers should’ve purged the trivial code from the system by now if NAID had been unable.
“Do so. Now,” she ordered. “It’s repopulating and replicating faster than it should. It should not be growing, but it is.”
All of the blood rushed out of my head as a buzzing flooded my ears, and the room swayed, making me crash into Seth. He caught my weight with a grunt, holding me tight.
“Wyn,” he called, shaking me.
Bartholomew and Urgg appeared before me. Bartholomew said in a calm voice, meeting my gaze, “Breathe, Wyn. In and out. In and out. That’s it. Keep breathing.”
“What is it?” Urgg asked, gripping my arm.
“No. No. No,” I whispered, darting through the code. It wasn’t possible.
“What?” Talvax demanded.
I ignored her. Please. No. I couldn’t have been that drunk or that stupid.
My fingers froze on the screen, and my soul pounded loudly in my ears.
All I could see was a string of code that wouldn’t mean much to anyone else, but it did to me.
It meant so very much to me. I closed my eyes, leaning against Seth.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to stand up straight and meet Talvax’s gaze. “I implemented a trial program I’ve been working on.”
“You did what?” she demanded. “What program?”
“I’d planned on testing it, but in an isolated system and not so soon. Not nearly this soon.”
“What does this program do?” Talvax growled.
“It is meant to destroy artificial intelligence. We’re not the only ones with systems like NAID and they can be great adversaries.
My program slowly grows, corrupting as it goes and bugging the AI until it can’t process any further.
The code duplicates faster than AI or anyone can remove it, spreading like a plague through the entire system.
Spreading from ship to ship and server to server. ”
Talvax growled, “You released that on my ship?”
“I didn’t mean to, but in my drunken state…” She didn’t care about excuses. Straightening my shoulders, I replied, “Yes. I did.”
“Stop it now,” she snarled, slamming a fist against her desk, the thud radiating through the still room.
“I don’t know how. I haven’t made the decoding sequence yet, as I wasn’t intending to test it any time soon.”
She moved to stand right in front of me, looming in a way that had me flinching away.
“You mean to tell me you released a virus that will destroy the Admiral Ven, compromising this entire mission, and maybe even destroy the whole of the NAID system, injuring the Drakcol Empire beyond repair, because you could not hold your alcohol and lost a bet?”
“Yes,” I whispered, my tail hugging my ankle.
“He didn’t mean to,” Seth interjected. “It was an accident.”
“You do not speak right now,” Talvax snapped.
“Then you will not speak to him like that,” Seth replied, his voice growing in volume, though I could feel his frame trembling.
I rested a hand on his forearm to silence him.
Talvax said, “Prince Consort Seth and Prince Consort Bartholomew, you are both confined to quarters until I deem it safe to have you free on my ship. Urgg, you are also confined to quarters, any besides mine.”
Urgg said, “Mate, don’t do this.”
“I need a moment to calm,” she said in a low voice, then she looked at me, her upper lip curling, "Lieutenant Wyn, you are confined to your berth or where you are working on the ship. You will clear each and every movement with Qinlin. You are not to speak to or engage in conversation with your fellow officers until you fix this. I would throw you in the brig, but I cannot spare you at the moment. You are probably the only one who can fix this. And you will, or you will suffer the consequences.”
“Monqil—”
She cut me off with a wave and a sharp growl. “No. You will fix this. Now. Work fast, or it will be a very lonely trip back to Tamkolvanloknol where I will ask for you to be tried for destroying my ship, endangering humans, and putting the entire empire at risk!”
“I understand.” It could be worse. She could’ve stripped me of my rank right here and now, but she hadn’t. Talvax was giving me a chance to fix this mistake and save my career. And I had to fix it. I couldn’t let anyone suffer for my mistakes, let alone all of Earth and Tamkolvanloknol.
I stood outside Talvax’s office, waiting for my mate as I silently planned the rest of our day.
I was practically bouncing. Wyn was moving in with me.
The second he left, we would retrieve his items, then get him settled into our quarters.
Our quarters. I smiled. The thought was enough to send heat racing through my limbs.
We belonged together always, and now, we would be.
I wasn’t alone in the corridor. Kalvoxrencol and Serlotminden were with me.
Apparently, their mates had also been summoned.
Neither of them knew what it was about, but they all had clearly done something wrong during their drunken escapade.
It was probably nothing too horrible. I imagined it was more about the ruckus they’d caused in the canteen.
After a lecture, Talvax would probably release them, and Wyn and I could get on with our day.
The door slid open, and Wyn burst out first, tears in his eyes and tail coiled around his ankle. A snarl swelled in my chest as I chased after him. I caught his arm and hauled him against my chest. He came willingly, arms going around my waist and his tail finding mine.
“Peace?” I whispered, wiping the tears from his eyes. “What’s going on?”
“I made a mistake. A horrid mistake.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“It is,” Wyn whispered, tears sliding down his cheeks. “It’s worse than should be possible.”
I frowned. What could he have done? “Wyn?”
“I might have doomed the Drakcol Empire.”
My eyes widened. “What?”