Page 13 of Saved By the Servali

“I meant, how long before we dock?”

“Oh, about two standard weeks. The Felix Orbus System uses thirty-day lunar cycles, too. As soon as you’re feeling up to it, youcan roam all you like. Is the room suitable? I know it’s a little sterile.”

“It’s beautiful,” Nessa hushed her hostess. TheComet Stalker’s interior was all red, black, and chrome, rich, ornate colors with hard, clean lines. The room felt impersonal—kind of like her tiny apartment. (Ha! If you could call it that. It was nothing like the apartments her father and mother talked about growing up in). Her three-room unit in MWIP staff housing at least had some personal touches around the bedroom-sitting room, familiar scents of home in the kitchenette, and comfortable privacy in her own bathroom. “It’s so big here,” she murmured.

“Built to accommodate Felids, who hit somewhere between six to seven feet in height and have double the shoulder width of most humans,” Layla gestured to the enormous bed. “If you need help reaching anything, Kamau is right next door—and he’s the sweetest guy.”

“Yes! I can tell,” Nessa seized the chance to dig a little deeper for curiosity's sake. “Does everyone on this ship have their family with them? Or do some people have their spouses tucked away planet-side?”

“As far as I know, what you see here is what you get. Kamau’s father and uncles are alive back on Servali-One, I think it is. Marcus lost his wife and their unborn cubs during Queen Fever. Rupex, Talos, and Ardol all have human Queens. Jaxson... He was married to Ru’s sister.”

“Oh,” Nessa whispered, wishing she hadn’t pushed. “That fever?”

“That fever. Hit hard. Took so much. I have to say, it makes the Felids I’ve met super appreciative and grateful to have women in their lives. I can’t rewind history and see what they were like before Queen Fever, but I know that women are respected in this society in a way I never encountered on Sapien-Three. And the credit exchange!” Layla slapped her hand on her leg. “Sorry, I’m making it sound like you got whisked away on some vacation, not kidnapped by default.”

“I’m happy your misadventures worked out,” Nessa struggled to contain a yawn, putting her hand up to her mouth—and noticing how smooth and soft her hand felt. “Someone made sure I had lotion.” She ran a hand through her curls, squeezing them and sighing in relief when they bounced back strong and soft. “And took care of my hair.”

“Kamau. He learned from Wendy and our friends in the Lynxian System.”

“But he’s a chef, not a nurse.”

“But he’s Kamau,” Layla rose with a smile. “If there’s something he can do to make someone feel welcome—he’ll do it. He’s the one who found you. In a way, you could even say he saved your life, since he made Ardol order all those things from Sapien-Three.”

“I guess I could,” Nessa mused.

“You look like you need another day of sleep! Tomorrow will be busy. Why don’t you rest in your quarters, and I’ll ask Kamau to bring your evening meal in here?”

Time alone with her new “hero”?

No. You need to show that you’re Nessa Kinney, the woman no one messes with, the toughest inspector the MWIP has ever seen, the woman who survived a shuttle hyperjump and nearly died—and maybe the woman worthy of being called Queen by one of these giant beings with their fierce, fangy smiles.

She pushed herself from the chair she was sitting in, voice loud and strong. “No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll—”

Layla rushed forward as Nessa’s knees gave out. “How about if I insist and say it’s an old Leonid custom?”

Nessa laughed and accepted the excuse. “Oh, well. I don’t want to mess with tradition.”

“YOU COULD TAKE IT TOher, Elio,” Kamau whispered, carefully arranging the last nest of millet noodles in an elegant swirl. “You are a human. She’d probably rather converse with you,” Kamau stammered, pushing the heavily laden tray towards the human who was assisting him in dishing out the various dishes he’d prepared.

“You’re the one who wants to know what humans from different cultures like to eat. Go investigate!” Elio shoved the tray back. “Wendy, Dax, and I were raised in poverty, then in Metro Labs, where we ate the blandest, yet nutritionally balanced, slop.” Elio dropped his hands. “I told Layla I’d feed Chance.”

Kamau’s lips thinned. His sudden shyness would never outweigh letting a nursing Queen rest or a Knight feed a cub. “I’ll be right back.”

“You should stay and make sure she can eat that without choking,” Dax said, suddenly behind him.

Kamau turned, frowning. “Why are you in my kitchen?”

“Huh? Oh, I was just going to tell you that you should stay with Nessa while she eats. She might be weak and need help—or her system might not be ready for that soup yet. The only way to know is to watch over her.”

“But... but shouldn’t you or Marcus do that? Or Skyla?” Kamau pleaded, ignoring the rush of satisfied heat working through his body.I get to see the Queen in her quarters. It’s necessary, not self-indulgent or lustful.

Bastet’s left ankle, it isn’t.

“Marcus and Skyla are with the other two women, trying to help them. They’re not coming out of hypersleep like the docthought they would, so we ran another blood panel, and both of them tested positive for neurosuppressants. Skyla and Jaxson are going to go down to the shuttle they arrived in and see if those drugs were pumped in with the fluids in the hypersleep chamber, and I’ll be on duty in the med bay. So, you see?” Dax flashed him a brilliant smile. “It has to be you who takes care of Nessa.”

Kamau’s heart smacked against his ribs so hard that he had to clench his paw against his side to prevent himself from rubbing his chest.To have a Queen of my own to love and take care of... Humans don’t know how lucky they are, thousands of Queens in every city, so many they can “throw some away” like rubbish.

His blood boiled, with anger, not lust. Someone had almost killed Nessa. The tragedy of a universe that existed without her proud bearing or her bright smile was too much to bear.

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