Page 79 of Right Next Door
Tsok held his head high. “I would have to lose control. Despite all the care and effort I put into not scenting my female, my efforts would have to be for naught. I would have to go into rut, chase her down, and mate her without her consent. And that will never happen. I have determined that I will not scent my mate,and, though I have been living with her for quite some time now, it has not happened. And it will not happen.”
Misty gave him a look. Frowning. Because that made it sound like he wasnevergoing to scent her at all, and that’s not what she signed up for.
“How about you, Senior Boktare? What would it take for you to change your mind?”
The senior held his head high. “The honorable char seems to think he is infallible, and he is not. It is only a matter of time before-”
“Senior, please. Answer the question.”
He huffed. “If there was a way to be sure, without a single doubt, that the mating was welcome.”
“Me saying ‘yes’ isn’t enough?” Jeanie interjected again.
“No. Excuse me for saying so, female, but I believe your mating was not your choice either, was it?”
“I consented!”
“Perhaps, but you did not choose where, when, or how you mated. You ran a risk when it happened. You gambled with your body. Vigo could have seriously harmed you.”
“But he didn't!”
“But he could! I know you are human, and humans crave the debased pleasures that can be found in such moments, but my planet is not populated by humans!”
“Seriously?” Misty was the one interjecting this time. Too annoyed to keep her mouth shut any longer. “You think we enjoy being raped or something?”
“The way she responded to Vigo’s unwelcomed rut certainly seems to suggest so,” he retorted coolly.
“I will rip those whiskers off your face!” Misty snapped, slamming her hand onto the table. “How dare you even suggest such a despicable thing! What we enjoy withconsentfrom our mates and lovers doesnotmean we would welcome it from anyone!”
“Exactly!” Jeanie nodded her head quickly. “Kink doesn’t automatically equal consent.”
“Excuse me,” the Imperium interjected smoothly. “I don’t believe the senior was trying to suggest you would enjoy being forced to mate someone.”
“Certainly not,” Boktare reared back, as though offended of even the accusation. “I celebrated your mating, if you will recall. I congratulated Char Tsok as well. I tell you again, it is not the act of mating I am against. If you enjoy and welcome the rut, that is perfectly fine. I am merely arguing that the only way for me to change my mind would be absolute, undeniable proof that both the maleand the femalehalves ofourpairingsagreedto this before they took off their masks. That they understand what’s happening. That they are prepared for it. It has to be undeniable.”
Misty frowned, but before she could argue further, the Imperium continued, changing the projector image again. This time to the True Match building here in Stutgora.
“It is my intention to remain here until this argument has reached a peaceful resolution. Now, let’s start with True Match and what it can do for your people. I will hear both sides.”
Chapter 28
Tsok
Misty was quiet.
The meeting hadn’t taken as long as he anticipated, but still longer than Misty was clearly comfortable with. She had begun getting restless by about the second mark, and the last half a mark had been very difficult for her judging by the way she kept fidgeting.
But still, she stayed the entire time and listened.
For now, the High Imperium wanted to hear both sides of the argument for and against mating. They said that they wanted to mediate this discussion, and the other seniors weren’t at all opposed to them doing so.
The Imperium was a member of another species, but they were also incredibly famous for their absolute neutrality. They would place their votes in matters the Coalition brought to them, but they never announced their opinion one way or another until everyone else had already made their own choices. They were highly aware of how much power their positioncouldhold. It seemed they made deliberate attempts to keep it from being powerful at all.
Because of that neutrality, they were a perfect mediator for Tsok and Boktare to argue at. Today, they just listened to all their arguments. There would be time later, they promised, to work towards a solution that made everyone happy. For now, they just wanted to hear everyone’s concerns.
It was all very calm and fair. Tsok had even left the room hopeful. With the High Imperium themselves overseeing this discussion, surely it would come to a quick resolution.
There was a bit of confusion on his part about why the Imperium even judged this matter to be worth their time. They claimed it was a matter of a large cultural shift, but the Coalition was a group thousands of years old. There had been many cultural shifts in the past, and none – or a very rare few – that demanded the attention of the High Imperium.
