Page 40 of Fate of Draga

Varan might have laughed had he not heard the fervor in that oath.

This Neprijat wasn’t as violent or volatile as the warriors they’d captured so far. Varan wondered if it was a difference in their positions, or perhaps something else.

“Explain to me why your people are obsessed with obtaining a queen.” Varan considered how many times the Neprijat king had tried to take Adelina. No doubt there would be more. He would have to stay on his guard and ensure Kaiden and Nash were just as vigilant.

Sozav rolled his neck and looked up at the ceiling, for all the world looking like he was contemplating the question. “A few centuries ago the males were not pleased with the matriarchal traditions. They wanted more power. So they took it.”

Varan flipped the knife in his hand as he listened. For a brief moment he wondered if he was the first to hear about the Neprijat’s history since they left the factions millennia ago.

“Then kings instead of queens ruled. Females were kept out of warrior training. No longer able to hunt and fight they became weak and vulnerable. Then kings decreed their only worth was their ability to reproduce. A decree from on high came that every female must have young whether they wanted to or not.”

Varan shrugged like he didn’t care, but his heart went out to those females. “Many cultures treat females the same. Or so I’ve heard.”

Sozav shrugged again. “Truth, but how we altered our genetics was our downfall. We are naturally predisposed to be vicious killing machines.” He leaned forward, straining against the bonds with that terrifying smile. “Your people chose the noble wolves to splice with your DNA. Do you know what ours chose?”

The hair on his body stood straight up underneath his armor and Varan went completely still.

“An ancient sea creature called a shark.” Sozav smiled like he was proud of this.

What in the bloody hells was a shark? Varan frowned as he tried to remember what he knew about the animals on Earth before the Ancients had destroyed it all.

“Look it up,” Sozav suggested. “You’ll see the similarities immediately. Specifically, the great white shark.”

Varan pulled out his simulcast and did as the Neprijat suggested. The image came up and he froze. He may not know what the creature was, but the database did. And it was terrifying. This thing swam in oceans, the ultimate predator.

Tucking the simulcast back into his pocket he looked back at the male who was his enemy – even if it didn’t quite feel like it at the moment.

Sozav was indeed correct. The black eyes were the same. The teeth were smaller but still razor sharp, and that white skin. Not simply pale, but a greyish white. The muscle build was that of the Drakesthai or the Corinthians, as was the height. Other than the cosmetic features they were still obviously from the same people.

“What changes did that bring your people other than the physical?” Varan finally asked.

Sozav smiled, but it wasn’t pleasant. It was full of…disgust?

Their enemy was finally becoming more real.

This information was vital to their survival and yet, Varan didn’t feel his hatred grow. Rather he felt…what was it? Pity?

He feltsorryfor them.

But ‘know your enemy’ was something he’d learned from the last Neprijat they’d captured.

This was him learning, getting to know them. But Varan hadn’t quite figured out how this was going to help them yet. He just had a feeling—pushing him to ask more questions and find out what Sozav knew.

“Our people became the ultimate predator,” Sozav said quietly. “The only thing that tempered our vicious appetites was the females. Female warriors were stronger than us. Their temperament calmer. They were patient and kind and reminded us how to be such. As they became less and less what we are, they began to look more and more like prey.”

Bile rose to Varan’s throat as he finally understood what this male was saying.

“Once our females became prey to us, those predatory instincts took over. Every time a strong female is found, some of us protect her. We hide her away from those who would see her as a threat to our current way of life.” Sozav brought his gaze down and looked straight into Varan’s eyes. “But most of us don’t want to be this way. We want balance. We want our strong females back. But right now any strong female would do.”

It explained why every Neprijat that saw Adelina strained toward her like she was their salvation.

“Then why does your king want her?”

Sozav tilted his head in surprise. “You don’t remember how she was when the king first saw her?”

Varan frowned as he tried to remember and then he froze. “That council meeting where Raena offered her up for peace. Adelina was on her knees.” Trembling. It was what had set off Varan’s rage – put him on the path he was on now.

In that moment she had been a true submissive.

---