Chapter Three #2
The councilor rested a hand on her shoulder as she continued speaking of the “combat dogs.” Her tone carried accusation, shock, and Taryn’s jaw tightened as the other woman spoke, blue eyes hard. Not with irritation, but as if she were protective of the subject being discussed.
My focus narrowed. The conversation lulled, and I stepped forward, unable to resist any longer. The Humans across from her noticed first, their eyes widening. One cleared his throat as if he was going to speak but I didn’t give him the chance.
I stood at her side once more, close enough to see the faint strain around her eyes. Near enough to scent the crisp fruit and rain-soaked-dirt beneath the lingering burn of the liquor.
She turned, gaze traveling up my chest and over my face to my ridges, before dropping to my eyes. She didn’t flinch away from my scars or offer a fake smile of welcome.
“Did you follow me?”
Her Common was passable. Better than my English at least. My lips twitched despite myself, and I dipped my chin.
“I did.”
One pale brow arched as the others remained silent, awkwardness building around us that couldn’t find purchase on me. The others didn’t matter.
“Why?”
She was blunt. I respected that. It was better than the alternative.
“You ran.”
Blue eyes narrowed and a crease formed in the center of her forehead.
“I was done with my drink.”
Arching my own brow, I let her see her excuse was poor.
“You fled.”
Her lips tipped down. She was as focused on me as I was her, not distracted the way Humans usually were.
I grinned, exposing my teeth. It was an expression that usually made Humans uncomfortable, but her gaze remained steady, the challenge in it firm.
“You drank poison. I wanted to see how you managed it.”
The crease between her brows deepened but her expression shifted from irritation to something closer to confusion.
“It’s called whiskey.”
I scoffed. The name of the vile drink was irrelevant.
“It tastes like tree sap set on fire.”
Her lips spread, the hint of a smile threatening before she smoothed it. It was a tiny fracture in her control, but it made my kethra flare.
“I’ll pass your review on to the distiller.”
I had no idea what she meant, but it didn’t matter. Speaking with her confirmed she was the right choice. If I was to be saddled with a Human mate, she was tolerable. Even slightly amusing.
The others were still silent, watching. Taryn glanced at them briefly before returning her attention to me.
“You should probably speak with the other candidates. I’m sure I’ve taken enough of your time.”
Her words felt like a dismissal and I straightened. I was Torashkar Rhydek Kaorr. Few would challenge me, and none would dare to dismiss me.
“You assume I haven’t.”
That pale brow arched again, her chin lifting, that cool expression making me want to do something to crack it again.
“The gala only just began. You were with me at the bar, and then you followed me here. You haven’t had time to speak with them all.”
I stepped closer. I could see the pulse in her throat flutter faster, and her chest hitched as her breath caught.
“Who says I need to speak to them all? I only need to choose one of the females on offer, and you are wearing colored drevarn. That means you agreed to be chosen.”
I leaned closer, dropping my voice.
“Or did someone break the agreement already?”
Her lips pinched as she exhaled, the sound almost lost beneath the din of noise surrounding us. I straightened again, crossing my arms over my chest as I waited for her to respond.
“I agreed.”
If she’d been Morraki the words would have been a snarl, and her tone made a lie of them, but I chose to accept what came from her lips.
“Then why attempt to escape my attention?”
Her gaze sharpened and her brows pinched. The muscles along her jaw flexed, her shoulders rigid as she glared at me so hard I half expected a strike.
“I didn’t realize I was required to stand still for inspection.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my throat. She was a feisty one. Far more so than Serenya.
“But you are here to be chosen.”
“And you’re here to choose a suitable bride.”
Her words were sharp, dripping disdain.
“That doesn’t require me to perform.”
My tail coiled around my leg as if it was going to reach for her, but I forced it still.
“We are not here for brides, Human. The female I choose will become an omega. My omega.”
Murmurs stirred around us as Taryn copied my posture, crossing her arms over her chest. It pressed her breasts upward, making them bulge over the edge of her top in a way that begged my eyes to linger.
Humans were different in several ways, but many things were similar, and I couldn’t help wondering if they would spill over my fingers the same way when I gripped them.
“How unfortunate for them.”
She said the words clearly. There was no doubt as to her meaning, and my lips pulled back again, but the expression couldn’t be mistaken for a smile.
Crowding closer, part of me was impressed by the way she stood her ground, refusing to step back as I leaned down to speak directly into her ear.
“It will be unfortunate for them. They will leave everything they’ve ever known, bartered away as payment for the protection of people she’s never met.
Unlike your species’ false promises, she will be stuck with me for life, and no matter how much she comes to hate me, she will beg for my knot every time she goes into heat. ”
I didn’t miss the way bumps rose along her exposed flesh and she shivered as if a cold breeze blew down her spine.
I also didn’t miss the way a new scent rose, musky and alluring.
Pulling away, I tried to clear the pheromones from my head, irritated at the way they affected me. Taryn still stood in the same position, still glaring, but there was something else in her eyes as she responded.
“They knew what they were getting into when they submitted their DNA.”
Her tone was cold. Detached. As if she didn’t care about the threat of what she stood to lose.
“Maybe so. Likely not.”
Her gaze finally broke from mine, her chin turning until she looked past my shoulder.
“I’m sure you’ll find someone suitable to your purposes.”
She moved to step around me, dismissing me again. I caught her wrist, the move instinctive.
Her skin was cool against mine, soft and smooth. Not littered with scars and rough from a world of windborne sand.
She didn’t gasp or recoil from my touch. Her gaze dropped to where my hand encircled her wrist, then rose to meet mine again.
“If you’re trying to intimidate me, you’re wasting your time.”
I didn’t release her as a grin exposed my teeth once more.
“Humans are fragile.”
She made a low noise in her throat as if she didn’t believe me.
“I’m not.”
There was certainty in her tone. A history of pain she’d survived.
It was something we had in common.
Her pulse thudded against my palm, strong and steady. It raced, exposing her lie, but I wasn’t going to call her on it.
I released her and straightened. She wasn’t the type to ask, and she certainly wouldn’t beg.
“You did drink poison without flinching.”
There was a soft huff, the corner of her mouth tipping.
“I cringed.”
It was my turn to raise a brow.
“I didn’t see it.”
Her smile finally broke through, and for a moment it transformed her face. Gone were the signs of stress and exhaustion, amusement sparkling in blue depths.
“You were busy coughing.”
My eye narrowed, suspicion sparking as I replayed what had happened.
“You set a trap.”
Her head tipped and the smile faded as she shook her head in denial.
“No, I drank because I wanted to. You copied me. That was your choice.”
The blunt truth irritated me more than a lie would have. I couldn’t argue with it.
“You intended to escape before I could speak to you.”
She sucked in a breath as if to deny that accusation as well before her chin dipped in a sharp nod.
“I did.”
Honesty again. It was refreshing, even if her answers were irritating.
“Why?”
She held my gaze, studying me for a long breath before she spoke again.
“Because you looked at me like I was already owned.”
The words made me pull back, my tail going stiff as my kethra flared.
Had I?
I couldn’t be sure, so I responded with the only thing I could come up with.
“You are available for selection.”
She gave me a look that made me feel like I was being dense.
“That doesn’t make me yours.”
The air between us thickened with the challenge. Tension coiled through my muscles, my kethra glowing bright enough to reflect from the surfaces around us as I tried to maintain control of the urge to prove her wrong.
“I never said you were.”
“Then move on.”
Her answer was immediate, as if she would prefer rejection. As if she would prefer anything over being selected.
Was it me, or was something more going on? Serenya hadn’t been given a choice, and even though it had worked out when Kael selected her, she was right about it not being fair.
A low growl built in my chest before I forced it down.
“You would deny the alliance?”
Swallowing, Taryn’s eyes darted around as she shook her head.
“No. I’m saying choose someone who wants chosen.”
The words weren’t cruel. They were another truth her eyes pleaded with me to accept. She might not have been forced to attend the gala, but she wasn’t there to become a Morraki mate. She had her own agenda and believed she had nothing to lose by coming.
That recognition settled heavy in my gut. That type of believe was brought by pain. A kind I was familiar with.
“I do not want someone who wants chosen. There will be no happy ending after this night.”
She stared at me with a look that said she understood. That she, too, had lost things she cared for.
The distractions of the gala faded. All of my senses were focused on her.
The scent of sweet fruit over wet earth.
The sound of the inhale expanding her chest.
The sight of her pulse fluttering beneath the pale flesh of her throat.
She was strength beneath softness, not meant to be prey.
A fellow warrior.
“You should speak with the other women.”
My tail lashed behind me, and I tightened my grip on my arms, my claws pricking flesh through my uniform. I would need to file them, so I didn’t damage her delicate skin.
“There’s no need.”
Her expression didn’t change as I held her gaze and continued.
“You will do.”
Her eyes flashed, lips tightening with fury and something more. For a moment I thought I saw fear, but it disappeared too fast for me to be certain.
“I’m glad to hear you think of me so highly.”
Sarcasm was thick in her tone. Biting. I leaned closer, lowering my voice so only she could hear.
“You misunderstand. I do not choose for politics.”
Her breath hitched and she trembled, but I couldn’t tell the emotion that caused it. Tipping her face just enough to meet my gaze from the corner of her eye, she waited for me to continue.
“I choose for endurance.”
A flicker of shock crossed her face, and then her shoulders slumped and her scent turned bitter.
“I have endured enough.”
The was a bond-deep weariness in the words that I could feel.
“I’m sure you have, but you’re strong enough to withstand more.”
Silence stretched between us as she searched my face once I straightened. The decision had already settled in my bones, and there was no changing it.
She could pretend indifference, but she hadn’t flinched. Not from my size, or differences, or scars. Not from my tone or the future I implied.
She was damaged like me, but too stubborn to stop fighting. It meant she could withstand what being with me would bring.
“I will inform the council and they will schedule your appointment.”
Her jaw tightened, her shoulders straightening again as she found her spark.
“You don’t even know me. They say your bonds are eternal, but you’re willing to tie yourself to a stranger?”
Lifting one shoulder, I let it drop. If I couldn’t have the omega I wanted, I could deal with one smart enough to know life took anything you cared for, and strong enough to handle it
“I know enough.”
Her lips parted as if to argue, then twisted into a snarl worthy of a Morraki.
“Then I hope you’re wrong.”
A slow satisfaction coiled through me as I huffed. I felt something dangerously close to interest and snuffed it out by fanning her anger. I didn’t want either of us to get the wrong idea.
“Perhaps you won’t run from a predator next time.”
She met my stare with a sneer.
“I’m not the type to run from a problem.”
I laughed as I turned and left her to make arrangements.