Page 13 of The Omega's Unexpected Bounty
“The Volardi are the last people I would help.”
“Then assist yourself and use this to soothe your mind. I need a mate.”
My teeth grit. “I willnotlet you fuck me.”
He stood in silence for several seconds before he spoke. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m royalty, and a backwater Omega isn’t my preference.”
I chuckled. “Don’t go acting all high and mighty. If you had your choice of Omegas, Femeni or whatever in the fuck you want to call us, then you would have done it already.”
He bit his lip. “Very astute. Even after twenty solar rotations, we still have a need. There is the newer generation.”
“Me.”
“Yes, and yet you aren’t in the system. The lottery will never pick you.”
“Sounds lucky for me.” I leaned in and looked up into his purple eyes. “Don’t you folks have something you like to crow about? ‘Serendipity,’ right? Lucky events that end up well for someone.” He nodded. “Seems like I got it. Instead of being born from a Volardi Alpha, I’m in a loophole and free. So why should I go to your people’s planet?”
“I need a mate, but not to mate with.”
“Volardi don’t resist that.”
“They do when the situation is dire.” He paced while he recapped the history with his brother. “As the oldest, the kingdom would be mine if I take you as mine.”
“Doesn’t that mean bedding him?” asked Nate.
I raised an eyebrow. The quiet formerly crying man was speaking up. Didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
“After thirty days, a mate can leave, and the agreement would be nullified. This doesn’t allow me to keep my kingship. However, if you were to stay for a longer period, it would be like your situation – in limbo. It wouldn’t look well, but it would adhere to the Sacred Scrolls and I would have time to find a true mate – we both would.”
“One day, thirty days, or longer,” I said. “I got no desire to be your mate.”
“It would be in name only,” he said and stood still as if expecting me to say yes.Typical.Volardi were the de facto rulers of the galaxy, and his sex were at the top. Someone that was royalty was extra arrogant. “Your vocation is a bounty hunter. Thanks to the Ryba we have biotechnology that would serve you well.”
“I’m okay with what I got.”
“Son,” said Nate. “Don’t do this.”
“Don’t call me that,” I said louder than I intended. He turned away with a shaky unreadable expression.Just as well, I don’t want to know what’s in that mind.
Graden’s gaze said he sensed the hostility in the room, but said nothing about it. “‘Persona Non-Exista.’ All crimes wiped, foreveryonehere.”
“I’m a bounty hunter. Do you know how long it would take me to commit another one?”
“We’ll give you leniency. The occasional overreach, we can overlook. It’s not advantageous for us to violate our word or go against thespiritof our agreement. If you do not abuse the position, you’ll be unmolested. You’ll find if you leave us alone, we can reciprocate.” His hands went out. “Discuss the issue, but do not take long for it will expire soon.” With that, he morphed back into the white dough humanoid shape. My finger snapped in front of him, and it didn’t move. I figured he might be able to hear us, but something told me he didn’t. Whatever insults you could say about them, and there was a lot, they kept their word. Didn’t think it was out of honor, just practicality.
Nate pulled his feet up and wrapped his hands around his ankles. Physically he was the man in the hologram, but mentally I didn’t see the same person. “I…,” his voice trailed off.
“I don’t want to hear it,” I said.
“Well, you will.” Nate stood up as did I. For over a minute we stared at each other. Only the sounds of our breathing and the spaceship hum broke the silence. His hand went over his face slowly. “I thought about this moment so many times, there’s no way I could keep count.” As he said it, his head shook back and forth. “At first, I hated the mistake because it’s what got me in this position. If I didn’t give you up, I’d still be out there in the galaxy somewhere living the good life.” He swallowed hard, and his Adam’s apple bobbed out. “After a while, that changed into something else.” He blinked, and a tear dripped from his right eye. He quickly wiped it away as if it bothered him. “I could have had something.”
“Freedom to travel with no responsibilities?” I asked without hiding bile in my voice.
“No. I could have done what’s right.” He pointed to the empty air where earlier the replay of the attack happened. “I’m a piece of shit or was,” he said. “I attacked Peter for no good reason. Just had to dominate him because... God damn, the reasons are so petty now. Wish I could go back in time and strangle my younger self. That fool-me figured Peter was close enough to a female for me to…” He sighed. “Reasons don’t matter.”
“Why did you give me up?”
His gaze left me, and I imagined he remembered that time. “It was a double con, but it only worked because I was selfish. If I kept you, it wouldn’t have happened, those t-twenty years...” His eyes closed tight while he breathed rapidly. After several calming breaths he opened them and spoke. “I could have killed myself. I didn’t have the full body nanites for repair. J-Just around certain parts if they hurt me bad. Figured I could survive one more day and find a way back. But they watched me too close. Even when I didn’t try to escape, they still punished me. They wanted me so scared I wouldn’t try, and I guess it worked.” He wrung his hands, and his stare went out. “After a while, you get used to it. In the back of my mind, I thought one day I would see a chance and make things right although to be honest, nothing will.”
