Page 67 of Chieftain
“Duke Ako cannot know of this,” Charick muttered.
“Why not?” Emmy asked, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Charick’s eyes cut to me. This was a story I needed to relay. Hopefully, it didn’t upset her.
"Duke Ako's mate, Nanaria, was killed in a Kerzak attack."
Emmy’s face scrunched into a frown, her lower lip pouting, and it was all I could do to keep from bending over and catching the plump pink flesh between my teeth.
“If the Kerzak killed Nansar’s mother—how can he help them?” Deep green eyes flashed angrily.
“Nanaria was not his mother.” I took a deep breath and met her inquisitive gaze. “Nansar is the child of Duke Ako and his first human concubine, Helene.”
Emmy’s face flashed with shock for only a second before her lips pressed tightly together, brows furrowing. “I knew he had human features.” She hissed. “What an asshole. How can he do that to Willa when his own mother was human?”
“The Alliance needs to know of this.” Charick moved from his station to peer over Bartuk’s shoulder. “Whatever the reason, Nansar allying with the Kerzak cannot end well.”
“Agreed.” I gave my Sage a curt nod before glancing at my mate. Her eyes danced as she returned my gaze, whatever ire she felt over Nansar melting. My chest swelled, as did my cock. I felt her heart beat faster. Mine matched the beat, thudding against my chest. I ran a knuckle over her cheek. “I also need to inform the elders of our mating.”
"Why?" Emmy stiffened, and her gaze flashed to Charick as though she suspected him to be somehow to blame. "You don't have to get their permission for us to be together, do you?"
“No.” A chuckle escaped my lips. “I need to inform them of the strength and resilience of human women.”
“Our species has always suffered a small female population and low birth rates.” Charick braced his hip on Bartuk’s console, crossing his arms over his chest. "Cross-species breeding has never been rejected by Vaktaire elders, and they should be pleased to know that we can mate with human women," Charick said as he braced his hip on Bartuk's console and crossed his arms over his chest.
“They better.” The way my mate eyed Charick with fierce determination was the very reason the elders would be pleased.
"Is the Valakana satisfied?" My Sage's voice was skeptical, but I recognized the flash of hope in his eyes.
I pressed one palm over my heart and the other over Emmy’s—the rhythm of our hearts was in complete sync. “It is.”
Charick pursed his lips, studying my mate with something akin to appreciation. "She survived. A species that frail, and she survived."
Emmy issued a loud snort and shook a small finger at my Sage. “I keep telling you, humans aren’t as frail as you think.”
My Sage rolled his eyes, unconvinced. Charick didn't realize that a human female's strength wasn't on the outside. Their courage, resourcefulness, and resiliency existed on the inside, a strength of spirit as great as any strength of the body.
“Chieftain,” Bartuk’s excited yelp made Emmy jump. “I found the Aljani skiff.”
Emmy slipped from my side and was leaning curiously over Bartuk’s console before I managed a step in that direction.
“Where is he?” Charick demanded, his voice edged.
"Trajectory has him heading for the Ajaxian system." Bartuk punched a few buttons, bringing up a map of the known star systems. Nansar's ship appeared as a small red blinking dot in the vastness.
“Of course, he’d head for the Duke’s citadel.” Charick barked, scrubbing a hand through his hair. I hadn’t seen my Sage… my friend this on edge since the Romvesian skirmish.
“He knows we escaped his plans for us on the Korfu moon,” the reason for his trajectory settled into my mind. “Nansar needs to get to the Duke and do damage control before we get to the Alliance.”
“He won’t hurt Willa, will he?” Emmy’s voice wavered, her green eyes shimmering with worry.
"No." I pulled her against my side, loving how I felt her heartbeat slow as she relaxed against me. "Whatever Nansarplans, he won’t stand against the Duke alone. My guess; he’ll use Willa to distract the Duke, but he won’t hurt her.”
"We're going after her, right?" The worry in my mate's eyes shifted to determination. However, there was a faint tremble to her lip as though she expected a negative answer. As if I could ever say no to her.
“Nansar’s skiff is much smaller and faster than the Bardaga,” Bartuk gave a purely technical answer, his fingers flying over his console with practiced ease. “He would long arrive at the Duke’s citadel before we caught up to him.”
"What about a smaller ship? Like Daikon and Jutuk used to go after my other friends?" Emmy's face reflected beautiful resolve. The ache to kiss her was a physical pain, but I denied myself—for now.
