Page 36 of K'Vella

"I'm assuming everyone knew not to touch her," I say, giving my sister a look that I hope says that Jovi and Alik will not hesitate to kill anyone who tries to touch their mate.

"Alik beat the shit out of Yorenth," Helna laughs right as the food synthesizer dings. "Don't worry, everyone loved it, and he made it perfectly clear that the human was off limits. She smells sweet. Did you know that?"

"I've smelled her before." I grab the food from the synthesizer, a couple of forks, and a canister of water. "I didn't put the blocker in until Avery joined the crew. Never needed one until then."

"So you don't know what K'Vella smells like, then?" Helna asks, a genuine curiosity in her voice that has me recalling our conversation last night, during which K'Vella opened up about her fear of losing me.

"I don't, no," I say, frowning as my sister follows me out of the kitchen and down the hall.

"Do you want to know?" Helna asks, batting her lashes at me like she did when we were children, and she was trying to get away with something.

"No," I say, opening the door to the entertainment room. I hope it closes on my sister, and she takes the hint to get off the ship and leave me with K'Vella. Unfortunately, my sister is persistent.

"If you wake her, I will not forgive you," I whisper to Helna when she follows behind me.

K'Vella is still curled up on the carpet, sleeping soundly just as I left her. I didn't tear apart her clothes or strip her last night, so she's still wearing her dress. I covered her with a blanket and my fur when I left this morning. She has two of her arms wrapped around her abdomen, protecting the life that could appear there any day now.

"Why do you care for her so much if you've never smelled her?" Helna asks with a whisper.

I know she doesn't mean for her question to come across as rude, but it does. I want to snarl and snap my teeth at her and ask her how she couldn't see how I might fall in love with such a wonderful creature. Love. Yes, that's the perfect word for how I feel about K'Vella.

"I love her," I tell my sister, letting the words fill my soul and my body. I like how they sound and will like them even more when I say them to K'Vella. "She truly is a wonderful female, and I hope you'll give her a chance to get to know you."

"Of course I will." Helna frowns at me. "You care for her, so I care for her. How could you think I wouldn't?"

"You were just asking me to meet up with your friends," I remind her. "What was their plan? Remove my blocker and hope I scent matched one of them?"

Helna flushes at the thought. "Not exactly." I roll my eyes, and it makes her feel more like she needs to defend herself. "They just wanted to see if you liked how any of them smelled."

"I'm sure they all smell great," I deadpan. "But I have a female, as you can see."

"But do you really know she's yours?" Helna asks.

I know it is just her sisterly instinct to protect me and wish the best for me. She wants me to be with someone who makes my soul complete, who's the perfect genetic match for me. She won't believe it's K'Vella unless I scent match her. It's what we're all taught to believe. That our only true match will be our scent match. Then again, no one's ever tried to scent match another species, at least not that I've ever met.

"I'm not trying to upset you," Helna continues, even though it's clear she's upsetting me.

It's the way K'Vella's arms look tenser now, how the lines of her mouth seem harder, that makes me want to get my sister as far from her as possible. I don't have time to register that K'Vella's awake to stop my sister from saying what she does next.

"I just want you to be realistic. You might like her, but there's someone here who's perfect for you."

"Get out!" I snarl at my sister, my growl even louder than before. I can't stop the command in my voice.

Helna glares daggers at me before she lowers her gaze and takes small steps back toward the doors. She can hate me all she wants for using my commands on her. I couldn't care less right now when the female I care about most is listening to her nonsense and probably making more of it than she needs to in her mind.

"I didn't mean to—"

"Out!"

I don't look at my sister to know she followed my command. I can hear the door open and, seconds later, click shut. I standabove K'Vella, my heart beating fast and my chest rising and falling in harsh breaths. She continues to feign her sleep.

"K'Vella, I know you are awake."

"I'm not," she says. She's trying to add humor to her voice, but I can hear the telltale signs of her emotions starting to seep into her words. "I didn't hear any of it, and it didn't confirm my worst fears. Not at all."

"Fuck," I mutter under my breath.

There's no hesitation as I fall to my knees and kneel next to her. I set the food near her and the water canister as well, and then I haul her into my arms and wrap her in my hold.

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