Chapter 3
Chapter three
T’ukka
“Do you know what’s wrong with Mia?” Axel asked, frowning at our wife, who was asleep on the bed. “Could she be depressed from the break in the Bhesai Ker’el?”
“I know nothing about the Vul mate bond, but I believe her reaction is related to whatever that asshole did with his tail,” I said.
Axel sighed. “Prince An’On’nas said he was acting on instinct, seeking protection because he was afraid. He did not mean her harm.”
“Lots of harm comes from people who don’t intend it, Axel.
We can’t simply forgive every one of them.
” The human concept of compassion didn’t always make sense to me.
Most of the time it was super irritating, but I knew it was important to Axel, and I could feel that he wasn’t enjoying my argument with him.
He was just as worried about Mia as I was, and bickering wasn’t any help, and I felt that to my soul.
What I didn’t feel was Mia, and that wrecked me.
Axel sighed and held out his arms. I wasn’t accustomed to affection, but I was starting to really like hugs, so I went for it.
He looped his arms around my waist, tucked his forehead against my shoulder, and held on tight until my heart rate had calmed, at least a little.
He slipped his hand between my legs and did the thing that calmed me best, stroking his long fingers over my cock until I was rocking my hips against his touch, moaning softly in pleasure. How could I be having sexual thoughts at a time like this?
“It’s okay,” Axel murmured. “It’s just to give you a break from freaking out.” He dropped to his knees and pulled open my pants, as desperate for me as I felt for him. I glanced at Mia and found her watching us, smiling a little.
“Mmm, it’s nice that you two can still be sexy even when I feel like crap,” she murmured. “Give me a show?”
Axel chuckled and shifted me over closer to her, where she could watch as he sucked me deep into his mouth with a groan. I didn’t last long like that, not with his tongue swirling against the head of my cock, just the way I liked it.
While Axel was using his mouth to steady me, Mia dozed off to sleep.
There was something else going on with her, something physical, something that sapped her energy like a virus.
Axel thought she might be depressed, but I wasn’t convinced.
It had to have something to do with that damn Vul.
Our wife wouldn’t just have a personality shift overnight because she felt a little under the weather.
Our wife. I smiled a little, still liking the sound of that.
Despite all that had gone wrong, the wedding was still fresh in my mind.
The intensity of the emotion we’d felt for each other, the beauty of being bound by contract.
Mia had written a private contract as well, one that included sexual kink, control, and limits, but it was still incomplete.
Only our wedding contract had been finished before Cix had ruined everything.
“I think I’ll go talk to him,” I said, pulling away from Axel.
“Remember, he has intel we need. He’s one of the Red Guard’s only trusted spies.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Don’t beat the shit out of him,” Axel said sternly, shaking his head. He walked across our quarters and settled into bed with Mia, pulling her close. “Figure out how to make things better for Mia, but don’t hurt Cix.”
Sighing, I waved my hand over the door lock to our room and stepped out into the corridor. Ducking my head, I took a roundabout route through the ship to avoid interacting with anyone else on the ship on my way to Cix’s cell.
My quarters were as far from the ship’s brig as they could be, so I had a long walk.
By the time I got there, the calming effects of Axel’s physical affection had worn off, and I was once again irritated.
I pushed through the door to the cell and found the Vul soldier laying in the small bed that sat along one side of the narrow cell.
He looked weak, his eyes sunken in, his skin ashen.
I wondered what would happen to Mia if he died.
Would things go back to normal, or would she die with him?
“No, she won’t die,” he said. Had I asked that question out loud?
I didn’t think so, but there was no other explanation.
There was no way that I could’ve formed a bond with a Vul so quickly.
With Mia and Axel, I’d discovered that the Bhesai Ker’el bonds took time, and focused attention.
And they required me to have some affection for a person.
I did not like this person at all. He was staring at me, and I realized I hadn’t spoken for way too long. I cleared my throat.
“I need to know how to make Mia better. You can’t possibly want this for her. She’s not your enemy. And she’s in pain.”
“She’s still suffering?” He moved a little in his bed, sifting to face me. His skin tone looked off even for a Vul, pale and sickly. “I didn’t realize that.”
“She’s better off than you, but exhausted and sleeping all the time.
You look awful. Do we need to call the doctor?
” I stepped closer to the force field that was keeping him imprisoned and frowned down at him.
He flinched back, as if he thought I might hit him, but that wasn’t my intention anymore.
Axel was right — stupid, sensible, always right Axel.
“The doctor has been in. There’s nothing she can do. Even a Vul doctor wouldn’t have a solution.”
I tried to get him to meet my eyes, but he was too nervous in my presence, his eyes darting around wildly. He was so much smaller than me. I could snap him like a twig if I wanted. He was even smaller than Axel, or the other human males in our company. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m not sure I believe that.”
“What will happen to her if you die?”
“I don’t know. She’s human and I don’t have experience with humans.
” He sighed and tried to push up into a sitting position.
I didn’t stop him, even though it was obviously ill-advised.
He wobbled a little and rubbed his head.
“Well, I have experience with humans, but I’ve never done that before. It can only be done once, you know.”
“What will happen to you?”
“I will most likely die without her presence.” His voice was quiet and defeated, like he didn’t care all that much what happened anymore.
I stared at him for a moment longer. I had never seen one of his kind this close.
He wasn’t unattractive, really. With his golden eyes and spotted skin, he was beautiful in his own way.
Or he might have been if he wasn’t so sickly looking.
And, for an odd moment, I wondered if I could reconnect to Mia by fucking him.
I shook my head. These were the things Axel put in my head, with his constant thoughts about sex. And I could see Axel standing here next to me, teasing me about how cute the little Vul was.
“How do we keep you alive?” I asked. “An’On’nas said he needs more information from you to formulate a plan, but that you are too weak.
” I wasn’t sure if Axel’s compassion was wearing off on me, or if I was really starting to empathize, but I didn’t like it.
I shouldn’t feel sorry for the creature that ripped Mia from me.
“I need to see her,” he said. “If I spend time with her, it’ll make it better.”
“I’m not sure about that,” I said.
“Understandable.” He settled back down on the cot and turned his back towards me, shutting off further conversation with a move that was frankly pretty disrespectful.
I chewed on my bottom lip, staring at the Vul, knowing what Mia would say.
She wouldn’t want this man to die, not if she heard him speak.
But he was Vul, and I had to wonder if he was manipulating us.