Page 11 of Claim
More to the point, had she really rejected him?
No,worsethan rejecting him, she hadn’t even responded, as if she wasn’t hearing him or couldn’t even entertain the notion.She hadn’t said no; she’d just said he wasn’t making sense.
He would’ve asked his brother or his crusher about it, considering they’d both locked down their Earther mates, or the other orcs who were dating the IDA brides—except there was no way he would ever mention this to anyone.
Over the next cycles, he poked at the problem like he was wielding a tusk cleansing laser against a rogue planetoid.
But as problems went, he had worse.
Primarily, keeping theDeepWanderafloat.
It doesn’t always have to be a burden, not if you share it.
Since at the moment he was by himself on the command dais in the gather-hall, he let himself release an aggrieved snort.Share it with whom?The unsustainable decline in the orc population had continued even after they left their homeworld, which meant everyone already had more work than they could do.Enforcing rest and sleep cycles was the best they had to stay strong and ready.Joining the Luster starting at the lowest provisional tier and signing some long-term contracts was as vital to the orcs’ survival as finding wife-mates.So sorry, June, that he hadn’t been as ardent with his courting as Teq and Sil had been, but he had Important Things To Do.
As important as dating June?
He’d never liked being questioned, even by himself.
The chirp of the comm unit on the dais interrupted his pointless—and, frankly, self-pitying—reflection, and though the ident on the comm made him growl, he was ready, even eager, for this fight.
“I still have one of your solar cycles left to repay the credits I borrowed,” he informed the caller, refusing to let them take the upper hand; tricky, since they had more limbs than he did.
On his screen, tentacles writhed indolently, stirring bubbles around a thick body core.“Wouldn’t it just be easier to give me the ship now?”
“You don’t even need theDeepWander.You just want a ship of mighty orcs under your command.”
The Ajellomenes loosed a long string of bubbles and a gurgling noise.“And in one more day, I will have you.Enjoy your last day as apex, Mag.”The Ajellomenes drawled out the consonant of his name until it was almost a moan as the pebbled textures on its body thickened, flushing puce.“You will be high and mighty no more.Iwill take your ship, and you will be mine.”
“But not until then,” Mag said.
On the comm, the Ajellomenes leaned forward, tentacles bracketing the screen as it lifted its datpad.A mouth part opened in the center, with a hundred blunt needle teeth surrounding the white pucker.The mouth filled the view, accompanied by a gelatinous sucking noise that went on much too long, before the message cut out.
Mag wrinkled his lip over one tusk.“Eesh.”
“What was… Was itkissingyou through the comm?”June’s horrified whisper seemed too loud in the empty hall.
“Or possibly planning to eat me.With Ajellomenes, it’s hard to be sure.”
He’d known she was there, of course.His antennae had caught the vibrations of her approach, but he hadn’t wanted the Ajellomenes to think he was frightened of the threats.
But now June had seen his weakness.
“You should not have heard that,” he said stiffly.
“How could I not?It was practically slurping on the speakers.”
“You should not have approached the dais until I gave permission,” he clarified.When she stiffened, he added, “I realize it’s too late to enforce my authority with you, but I am asking: please do not share what you saw with the others.They would only be distressed.”
“Of course they’d be upset.You’re saying that…that thing wants to eat you!”
“Or maybe just kiss me.”
She scowled at him, so much fury in her small body.“Don’t joke about this.”
What else could he do?“I am not joking.And I am handling this.It’s not your concern.”
Another stiff, angry step brought her even closer.“Do they know what you are risking?”
