Page 15 of The Omega's Unexpected Bounty
My heart beat once, stopped, and then quickened when he strolled down the ramp. With every step, I heard the clank of his boots against metal. His blond-brown hair was swept over to his right, and the dark stubble was at least one full planetary rotation old. I raised my eyebrows at his defined abdominals and biceps. It wasn’t unheard of for Femeni or Omegas to have muscles, but not this sinewy or hard. He was Dara sized and someone who could be a soldier. The physique certainly implied it as did his torn blue pants. I wondered if they were ripped from the mining planet battle and if he were sending a message as I did with my metal leggings.
His gaze went from side to side as if looking for something. Although he raised his eyes at the surrounding transparent wall. He marched halfway toward me and then stopped. I sensed it wasn’t to ask permission but instead to makemewalk the rest of the way. Royalty are used to havingotherscome to them and yet there’s a saying: Soturi would do anything for their mate.Is that what I’m doing?There were better things than to fight every battle, and I needed him as he needed me.
I walked half-way there and stared down into his blue eyes but not overwhelmingly so. I only had a slight height advantage. Words filtered into my mind. I searched for words that would let him know his expected place. I already granted more indulgences than most would. Even with the limited mates, I was the Soturi and he the Omega. Treasured, but there was a natural order.
No words came as I inhaled his scent and blooming foliage within a thick wet forest visualized in my mind. Omegas and Femeni smell different from one person to another, and it wasn’t unpleasant. My gaze went over his cut chest muscles and flexed biceps while I thought. The Gloom war was disastrous for our empire, but there were some advantages. Femeni were treated better, and that mentality carried over to the Omegas. The lottery ensured anybody picked found their perfect mate. They were matched against billions of Volardi. Thanks to scent analysis, psychological profiles and other criteria, mates had their ideal match.
That wasn’t us. Caan was merely available and a loophole. I suspected this was like the Days of Old when mating was helpful, politically practical, and ‘sufficient enough.’ Not unpleasant, but not perfect.
He coughed once and spoke with a New Texas accent more drawn out than our own, but not unpleasant. “So, you’re the prince.” His hand went out to the empty landing pad. “Quite the turnout. Figured you’d have a big event or something.”
“Is that what you wanted?”
He chuckled. “What Iwant, doesn’t seem to be your concern. Iwantedto get away from that planet and never see another Volardi for the rest of my life.”
“If it weren’t for the Volardi, you wouldn’t exist.” I pointed to his silver ship. “Old tech, but still our design. Your simulacrum is our technology although smaller. Our race is in your blood, you fly our crafts, and your existence is from us. For someone who doesn’t care for my people, you surround yourself with our creations.
“Wheny’allare everywhere, there’s not much choice.”
The edges of my lips curled into a smile, and I whispered. “It would appear we are perfect for each other. Neither is looking to mate with the other.”
“Might be because I ain’t a fan of the company.”
“Do you refer to me or those still on your ship?”
“Listen,” he said. “You might be royalty, but from where I come from… well, I’d rather not repeat the word.”
“And we arenotthere. You’re on a planet where youwillspend the agreed upon time.”
“I haven’t said ‘yes’ yet.”
“Oh, I think you already have. The trip wasn’t long, but there’s nothing to do except escape or entertain my offer,” I said. “You didn’t flee, so you’ll stay.” My hands went to my hips, and I leaned forward. A heartbeat later he did the same. “Let’s stop posturing and be open with each other. If there were others I could choose, they would be here. If the Volardi security didn’t capture your ship, you would be elsewhere.”
He said nothing, so I continued. “I’ve looked you up. Bounty hunters come in three groups. Those who have no other choice and are desperate, those looking to die, and the final ones, those as rare as Femeni or Omegas. Those who love the thrill of life.” I circled around him and questioned if it was to intimidate or see more of the man. As expected his back muscles were taut, and I saw faint, raised white scars between his shoulder blades that were years old. I frowned, and my eyebrows rose in question. New Texas was a Human-Volardi world, and there were options to fix his injuries both on and off his planet, yet he did not.
“You were saying something Prince?”
Heat flashed over my face, and I continued. “You aren’t afraid to die, but you’re afraid of not living.”
“Sounds the same.”
“The meaning is clear,” I said flatly. “You wasteourtime when you pretend otherwise. You love what the universe gives you. Adventure, a pounding heart after you what? How do you say? ‘Take in a perp?’”
“Desperado, in my part,” he said with a slight smile.
“Ah yes, you love your existence and don’t want it to end. My empire would not terminate a child bearer, but youwouldlose your autonomy. My government would add you to the lottery somehow. To a man such as yourself that would be worse than death. Watched, treated well enough, but no freedom.”
He didn’t look at me, but I know he kept me in his vision. “Sounds like what this is.”
“You are the solution to a problem, and I can appreciateyou. Others would try to change your behavior.” If he were in the system, the matching process would give him someone perfect. As soon as I thought it, my neck and shoulder muscles tightened.
“One Augo year,” I said. “Consider it a vacation. Years from now, remember your short stay on a water planet and perhaps think of us fondly. One solar rotation now will allow you more freedom than you can imagine.”
“You said be open with each other.” I nodded that I did. “So, where’s your family? Entourage? Posse?”
“I’ve told nobody you were here.”
“And you’ll introduce me as…” He licked his lips then laughed, “your mate? Just like that?”
