Chapter 28
Havali
It was the first time Scarlet had been to the nearby city alone since they had been here.
She wasn’t truly alone, of course. She had Peony as a companion, as well as a whole retinue of guards, a hover driver, and two domini males that served at the embassy that Atem had ordered to carry anything they purchased for them back to the hover.
So that they would be safe, their needs met, and Peony didn’t need to hold anything.
They were staying on the route Havali recommended, visiting stores he had suggested. They were doing everything exactly right.
And still, he worried like a mother over her pup’s first steps out of the nest.
The Coalition meeting droned on around him and, though it was not without effort, he forced himself to tend to his tasks.
He was never so grateful for Alanna working alongside them.
She was a fast learner and, if he fumbled a bit today, she was more than capable and experienced enough now to pick up his slack.
He was a despicable male.
He couldn’t stop worrying. And because he couldn’t stop worrying, he couldn’t stop himself from tracking Scarlet as she and Peony went about their shopping trip.
He had his holodisplay set so that none but those looking directly at it could see what he did.
He was hiding his actions from Atem. Because he knew they were despicable, and he knew Scarlet would hate it if she knew he was doing exactly the same as that reprehensible human male before him.
He was stalking her.
But he wasn’t doing it to hurt or control her, he tried to reassure himself, choking back on the guilt as he alternated between taking notes, looking up laws and precedents, and checking the hacked security streams upon which he was watching the females.
It was a hollow sort of platitude, but it was all he had. He couldn’t stop.
She had just been attacked, after all. It wasn’t wrong for him to be extra cautious in light of her almost being carried out of her own room.
The nearby city was completely safe. Her guards were well trained and trustworthy. She was fine. But he just couldn’t trust that without seeing it for his own eyes.
And, strangely, it made him happy. Not so much watching her from afar – which he knew she would not appreciate – but watching her be happy.
He couldn’t hear her. The vid feeds often weren’t inclusive of sound unless specifically switched on – and switching that on would announce his presence in the systems so he dared not.
Instead, he just watched as she smiled and laughed with Peony.
They went to an art store first. Scarlet bought a vase and Peony bought a tapestry.
Then, they went to a linen store where Peony spent the longest time, buying multiple things.
As he suspected she might when he added it to their itinerary.
Scarlet only came away from there with a single blanket, and he couldn’t help but think of how nice it would look in his den.
After that, they went to a store that sold youngling supplies and bought many things.
Peony and Holly were gestating, so it made sense, but to see Scarlet picking up swaddling blankets or looking over the various styles of teething toys – made differently for grinding teeth, cutting teeth, and puncturing teeth – sent his heart into a frantic beat.
The human females might be choosier about who became the sire of their offspring and when that happened, but his people certainly weren’t.
The sight of Scarlet turning that fang sharpening teething toy over in her hands, as if she might be considering it for their own newborn, very nearly made him audibly groan with longing.
After torturing him at the youngling store, they went to buy clothes for themselves. He was treated to a beautiful parade of clothing and styles as they tried things on for each other. He thought Scarlet looked marvelous in everything and wished she would model them for him.
Occasionally, while they shopped, people would stop and stare.
Humans were the most interesting thing out there right now, so he wasn’t surprised.
That particular district was full of the wealthy and well connected, so none of them were likely to do more than a double take, but if anyone looked too long, security would move and let their camouflage shift, reminding the gawkers that the females were being carefully guarded and they would carry on.
In the baby store, the news combots had caught up to them and he got an alert shortly after on his own device that the news was now running a story wondering if Scarlet was pregnant and if that meant the two of them were finally mated.
He grinned at that.
At this point, he was helping to feed the news cycles.
The more he made the people fall in love with humans and their story, the more likely their leaders were to look upon them favorably.
It also helped protect Scarlet as, if there was always a combot following her, the likelihood of being attacked again dropped significantly.
He would be lying if he said he hadn’t added that youngling store to their trip today specifically for that reason.
He wanted the entire universe to know his Scarlet, respect and love her as he did, and help him keep her safe through that.
It also helped stake his claim so that no other male would dare look upon her and think they had any hope of capturing Havali’s female.
Being separated from her for this long through the discussions was agony, but they were almost done.
The domini issue was the biggest one being brought up this year. For everyone else, it was all the same tedious but vital issues that had to be debated and voted on. There were a few species that had no problems to bring up at all, and he was grateful for them.
The sooner this was all done, the sooner he could focus fully on wooing his female.
And exploring the desires they shared.
There was still part of him that couldn’t believe she would let him bite her. Let him bind her. The delay in taking her up on that offer was killing him slowly.
“How are they doing?” Atem asked suddenly, surprising him from his thoughts.
“Who?” He asked, focusing back on the proceedings. But nothing was happening. They were transitioning from one species to the next and so no one was talking yet.
“The females,” Atem gave him a look that was suspicion overlaid with gratitude. A strange combination and one he couldn’t help.
Being a guardian was exhausting work. As Havali well knew, since it was the role he tended to fill in his clan more than any other.
The strongest member of the family had to protect the family.
One of those roles, the one Atem was playing right now specifically, was to stand guard over those who were being courted by another.
Normally, Atem and Havali had a friendly relationship. Havali was perhaps the person he trusted most outside of Tuvo. Which, for his suspicious Dominani, was saying quite a lot. Especially as he had become more trusting since his adassi had soothed the disquiet in his heart.
But once Havali began looking at Scarlet, that affection had to suddenly do battle with his angered instincts.
He still trusted Havali at his task, but like a bur in his tail, looking at Havali now irritated and annoyed him until he felt angry enough to fight.
Combining that with the fact that Havali had confessed to biting Scarlet meant that Atem was relying upon him but also despised him.
Since Havali had gone through that with a few of his own clan members and had fought prospective mates in their defense many times already, he understood. It just felt strange to be on the other end of that aggression for once.
“I know you are looking after them,” Atem said, eyes narrowed. “I know you too well to think you wouldn’t. How are they doing? Have they left yet?”
Havali supposed he could have played dumb and pretended he had no idea what his Dominani was talking about, but it would have been rather pointless.
“They’re fine,” he said, even before checking the video feed that was constantly playing. He had ordered his program to track Scarlet through the various security monitors of the city. “The two of them are buying undergarments.”
“Underwear?” Alanna suddenly leaned forward to look at him closer. The slight curve of the table they shared meant she didn’t have to look around Atem to see him. And he didn’t need to lean over to spot the frown on her face. “Please tell me you’re not watching them buy underwear.”
Havali’s face pinched in confusion. The phrasing was odd. Did she not want him to tell her the truth or was she expressing disbelief?
His silence was damning enough, it seemed. “Havali, you can’t watch women try on underwear! That’s serious creep behavior!”
His gut clenched. Creepy is how Scarlet had described the male she feared. He already knew he was doing as that male had done, but hearing it confirmed from Alanna, who did not know about this male, only made his guilt worse.
And yet still, he had no urge to turn off the monitor.
“Why is this bad?” Atem, thankfully, asked for him, voicing the confusion he also must have felt.
“Seriously?!” Her gaze darted between them. “You cannot be asking me why it’s creepy for a guy to spy on a girl buying or trying on underwear.”
“I cannot see them doing that,” Havali assured her quickly. “The security feed is only throughout the store. There are none where the females might be nude.”
“Not the point,” Alanna said, gesturing for her combot. She had the display up and was typing away before either of them could ask what she was doing.
She didn’t have her display set to private mode. He could read the words through the back as she opened her messenger and typed out a quick warning to Scarlet and Peony.
“You are telling them?” Atem asked, more bewildered than alarmed. “They know they are being watched. They have security with them.”