Page 11 of Keeping His Mate

Though I wish I could spend all my waking hours in my garden, I have other responsibilities I must see to. I give the plants one last look as they rattle in the wind, and head back inside to clean up.

Following a quick wash, I change into my night attire, which is nothing, unless it is particularly cold outside. Tonight, it is warm enough for my skin to be bare. There are few things more infuriating than feeling constricted inside a layer of scratchy fabric as you try to rest.

I climb the stairs to the second floor and check my security system for the village. Scanning through the last day, it appears we are clear on all sides, aside from a small pack of tr’gorys that lurk through the forest near the falls and emerge past the tree line under the cover of darkness, nothing has crept inside our peaceful hamlet.

The tr’gorys, as much as I abhor them, do not bother us when they wander through the village at night. The clan is safe as long as they are inside their homes. The tr’gorys do not mess with the meal hall, or attempt to sneak inside our food storage shed, and they do not leave their droppings on our main path. What their interest is with the village, I do not know, but when the night comes, they do too.

Luckily, they seem to be our only trespassers at the moment.

It is a relief as we are still anticipating some kind of retaliation from Bzzsil Chi for stealing Elle-noor and killing his guards. We do not know when he will act, or how, or where, but if he chooses to show his face here, we must be ready.

I would love nothing more than to be the one that slices him from jaw to pelvis, ending his reign as scum king of the Nu’Piix Enbalo Post, but we are not sure how far his reach stretches across the galaxy and with whom he does his dubious deals. We know there are high-ranking officials, kings, queens, and officers that dabble in the slave trade, but what we do not know is how many of them have a tight connection with Bzzsil Chi.

The answer to that question, or lack thereof, is what has kept him alive. Because with Bzzsil Chi’s wrath comes the wrath of all he does business with, and we do not want to put our safety in jeopardy.

If I were smart, I would have considered this before I stole Elle-noor’s tube and killed his guards. But clearly, I was not thinking that day. I was letting my thirst for his blood guide my hand.

“Cousin.” My screen pad buzzes beside me. Varrek’s face fills the screen as I go to respond.

“I am here,” I reply. “Why are you awake?”

He rubs a hand down his face, looking run down. “Cloh-ee is not feeling well this eve. She is sleeping soundly now, but I must keep an eye on her.”

Varrek has made mention of Cloh-ee possibly being close to the end of her pregnancy. The clan is certainly excited, but it is earlier than Kaiva expected, and that has turned Varrek into a mess of nerves, worrying that something will go wrong.

I am envious of Varrek and what he has with Cloh-ee. That he has someone to lose sleep over is a gift. “And who is looking afteryou?”

His eyes roll, a human reaction he has no doubt picked up from his inara, and he sighs. “I shall be fine. How do our borders look? Any sign of him? Or anyone?”

“None,” I reply, checking through the perimeter scans once more. “The same pack of tr’gorys, but that is all.”

Varrek growls low in his throat. “Why do they feel entitled to roam our land? Just because they do it while we are slumbering does not make it acceptable.”

“I do not know, cousin,” I tell him. “Would you like for me to inquire?”

He chuckles at that. “Yes, please arrange a summit so I may speak to the pack leader about this series of indiscretions.”

“Certainly. I shall make it my top priority.”

He rubs his eyes for a long moment before letting out a yawn.

“Go to sleep. You cannot lead the clan if you suffer from severe sleep deprivation.”

“Very well, you petulant beast,” he says in a light-hearted tone. Then the screen turns black.

Suddenly, I am in a vexatious mood. “Contact the kidnapping draxilio,” I command my screen pad. Within moments, Nee-roh’s haughty glower fills the screen.

“What do you want?” he greets from his workroom in the caves. His hair is disheveled between his horns, but he does not look tired.

“Have I interrupted your slumber?” I ask innocently.

His lip quirks up in a proud grin. “Not at all. I was busy pleasing my female.”

And he just...stopped? What a fool. If I were Kay-teh, I would be furious. “Yet you chose to speak with me instead?”

“You need not worry about my mate’s satisfaction, I assure you. Now, what is it you want at this late hour?”

Right. There is more to this discussion than my petty mockery. “Have you discovered anything in your atmospheric scans? Or the local nav logs?”

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