Chapter Five
Kael
Something wasn’t right.
Human pheromones were much weaker than Morraki, but I still picked up the acrid tinge of distress when Serenya passed me to walk into the smaller room where she would receive the serum. There was something going on between her and her father. I just couldn’t figure out what.
Had she not known about the injection?
I could have sworn I’d seen panic on her face, I had even prepared to chase her from the room when it had looked like she was going to leave, but it didn’t make sense. She’d come to the Selection Gala and the appointment, so she had to have known what was happening.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I remained by the door as her father followed her into the room. My nostrils flared, testing his scent, and while the general’s face remained the stoic mask he usually wore, I picked up notes of aggression.
Towards me?
Or Serenya?
I kept tight control of my tail and my kethra, not wanting either to convey my irritation. It seemed more like this was an elaborate hoax, staged to make Serenya seem less suspicious, but it wouldn’t work. No one connected to General Hale could be trusted. He was too ambitious.
I watched as Serenya settled into the chair the others had sat in to receive their injection.
As the female I had chosen, she should have been the first in line, not making me wait as the other two did what was required to accept a Morraki bond.
For someone who should have been eager for the honor bestowed on her, she certainly made it seem as if she were reluctant.
A stuttered inhale caught my attention and my focus narrowed on the female who would soon be mine.
I could see her pulse fluttering in her neck and her pupils were dilated, narrowing the band of pale blue around them.
It was an unusual color, and I found myself wondering how it would change under Vorrashan’s red light.
Her fingers curled around the end of the armrest, knuckles blanching as Nyrel’s mate spoke to her. My Common was flawless, but Mara was using one of the Earth languages, and my grasp of it wasn’t good enough to keep up with the flow of words.
Serenya’s gaze turned to her father when the doctor used an antiseptic wipe to clean a circle on her upper arm.
The look seemed pleading, light sparkling from the moisture beading along her lower eyelids.
He had his back to me, pose mirroring mine, so I couldn’t see his expression.
Whatever she saw there, it didn’t seem to be comfort, because her eyes flicked to mine.
The urge to purr rose in my chest, and I held my breath to keep the traitorous noise locked away.
As hard as we tried to control our instincts, some were too ingrained.
Alphas were the warriors, the dominant dynamic, but when it came to a weaker member showing signs of distress, we were hardwired to offer comfort.
But I wouldn’t.
Not here, not now, not for her.
I clenched my jaw as the injector was pressed to her arm, bracing myself. The whimper of pain Serenya released was almost enough to rip a growl from me instead, my kethra flashing and my tail whipping around to point at the threat to my female.
A single, sparkling tear dripped from her eye and rolled down her cheek before she turned her head away, hiding.
Once we were bonded she wouldn’t be able to hide from me any longer, and I couldn’t trust her until then.
Until I knew for sure if she was nothing but a spy for her father, or if she could accept me as her mate.
As soon as Mara swiped a healing gel over the injection site, Serenya’s father took her arm, dragging her out of the seat so fast she stumbled.
I did growl then, my throat vibrating with the sound before I cut it off.
I might have decided she was mine, but there was no reason for me to feel so protective over her already, before she could even produce the pheromones an omega released to stir a response in an alpha.
Both sets of blue eyes focused on me. The general seemed to realize I didn’t approve of the way he was handling my future mate as he made a show of asking her if she was okay.
Her dusky cheeks had flushed darker, and she had an unfocused look to her eyes that I didn’t think could be faked well enough to fool me, but I still wasn’t going to let down my guard.
“If you experience any of the side effects, you can take over-the-counter medications to control them. If they get too severe, please give me a call.”
Mara held a card out to Serenya, pressing it into her palm with a squeeze to her hand.
“You did good. It’ll be worth it.”
Nyrel was in the room beside us, having decided not to overwhelm the women with another Morraki hovering over them, but with the scent rolling off Mara he might as well be in the same room as far as my senses were concerned.
It was good to know the unsanctioned pair were doing well, and while I had planned to stay and talk with him, the general’s treatment of Serenya made me step forward to offer my arm the way I’d seen other Human males do.
“Let me walk you out.”
Her surprise was written across her face, and her father did a poor job of hiding his irritation at me coming between them, but he moved aside so Serenya could thread her arm through mine. I didn’t miss the way her breath hitched and her heart rate picked up as her limb pressed against mine.
I found myself wondering again if all of her was as smooth and soft as she looked, and I was tempted to touch her and find out, but I pulled my thoughts from that path before my tail could betray the direction they’d taken and follow through.
The walk through the halls of the North American Alliance building was silent, and I didn’t realize that I probably should have said something until we were approaching the outer doors.
“I—”
Courting an omega had never been in my plans, and when I searched for something to say, words failed me. Serenya staring up at me with those wide blue eyes didn’t help.
“I’m glad you came.”
Delicate brows rose like she was surprised, the lines around her mouth softening. Her lips parting drew my attention to them, the plush pink so different from a Morraki.
Were they soft too?
“Thank you?”
It sounded as if she wasn’t sure what to say either, and part of me was relieved I wasn’t the only one.
But awkwardness was expected between strangers thrust into the situation we were in, and I’d never been one to linger in indecisiveness.
If I was going to protect Morrakan by going through with this, she was going to be my mate, and the bond was eternal.
A rolling black vehicle pulled up beyond the doors, primitive and creating a stench that made me want to gag when the doors slid open for us to pass through.
I stopped as far from it as I could get without stepping back inside the building.
While the Morrak could survive in Earth’s atmosphere, the moisture in the air outside the building was uncomfortable, and even without the reek of the exhaust, my skin itched after only the space of a breath.
I no longer doubted there was something going on between Serenya and her father, and her open expression showed me the fear still lurking. I didn’t think she could be a good enough actress to fool me, but I hardened myself against the urge to comfort her again.
“I’ll see you tomorrow for the confirmation.”
She looked as if she were searching my face for something before her chin dipped in a nod of acceptance. General Hale was already waiting by the car and beckoned her to hurry.
“Let’s get you home so you can rest, Serenya. You’ll have plenty of time with Commander Draevahn later.”
I couldn’t help the way my tail lashed to the side as she released me, jumping to do her father’s bidding.
Her gaze was aimed at the ground, her shoulders slumped as she crossed the few steps to the vehicle.
She didn’t spare me another glance as she climbed obediently through the open door, and my claws dug into my palms as my fists clenched.
Instincts insisted she was mine and shouldn’t be obeying another male, even her father. An Earth year was shorter than one on Morrakan, so numerical age wasn’t as important as maturity, but she was well past the point when she would have been considered an adult.
So why did it seem as if she was still under his control?
I watched the vehicle pull away before stepping back into the building with a shake of my head.
It didn’t matter if she was a willing accomplice or if she was being coerced, she was still a threat.
If anything, the possibility of her being blackmailed made her more dangerous, because people did foolish things when they thought they had no other options. It made them less predictable.
Sighing, I shoved my concerns aside and made my way back to where my Kethral worked alongside his Human mate. Rhydek and Jorath still lingered in the outer room, awaiting permission to return to the ship, but I didn’t plan to be long.
The clinic Serenya had been in moments ago still held traces of her scent, but was otherwise empty, so I strode to the next door, tapping on the datapad on the wall to announce my presence. It was barely a breath before the door slid open and amber eyes peered out at me.
Nyrel’s head dipped but I waved away the formalities and jumped to why I was still on the wet, chilly planet instead of on the way back to my ship.
“Did it work?”
I knew the females had to come back for Mara to draw their blood again to be certain, but surely there had to be some sign.
The crease that formed on Nyrel’s forehead told me I was too hopeful, and I sighed again before he even had the chance to answer.
“It’s too soon to know.”
I looked away to calm myself before I lost control of my kethra. I had never been known for patience, and it had been tested too often since the alliance negotiations began.
“You knew within a shyrn with Mara.”
It hadn’t been an Earth hour since the first injection, but I wanted answers. Nyrel grimaced and cast a glance at his mate, his silver kethra flashing blue before the glow faded as he returned his gaze to me.
“That serum worked faster, but it was too harsh. We had to alter it to be gentler on the Human system, so the risk of infertility was reduced. The test tomorrow will confirm if their DNA is changing.”
I already knew what he was telling me, we’d had lengthy discussions about the new version of the serum and the probabilities of the possible outcomes, but Nyrel would never say that. I was his Torvakai, even if he was permanently stationed on Earth to be with his mate.
“I will endure.”
Turning on my heel, I gestured to Rhydek and Jorath, the warriors falling into step behind me. We would return to the Zeydrassk to wait until we could find out if we were to have omegas.
Or not.