Page 108 of Decadence

Ikriss’s eyes narrowed. They would do no such thing. He knew his mate well enough by now. Sienna would be beside herself if any harm came to this friend of hers, especially if she found out that she was indirectly responsible.

He did not want to see his mate upset. She’d suffered enough already.

“Fucking impertinence,” he growled, switching to guttural Aikun. Sienna raised her eyebrows questioningly as she placed her on his chest.

He inclined his head. I will explain to you later. Of course, she hadn’t understood a word he’d said, because he’d been speaking in Kordolian.

He captured her fingers in his own, gently stroking her palm with the pad of his thumb. I will not let you down, my amina.

Unbidden, an image of her flashed through his mind. He remembered the terrible state she’d been in the very first time he’d laid eyes on her.

And yet there had still been a hint of defiance in her eyes.

His anger bubbled to the surface. His protective instincts went into overdrive. Her clan was now his clan, and he make sure that he put the fear of the Death God himself—or better yet, the sharp end of his blade—into anyone that dared threaten them.

Across the comm, Zarken bristled. “Fools. They still do not understand their place in the Universe. We have been too restrained.”

“There were good reasons for our approach, Zarken,” Ikriss said cooly, knowing very well that Zarken was itching to subjugate the humans in typical Kordolian style. They could so easily have this cursed planet’s entire population existing in total fear; meek and perfectly compliant, but their reasons for not doing that were… complicated.

Still, things were getting out of hand. He’d already discussed this with Tarak.

Something had to be done.

Something would be done.

They could only allow chaos and dissent to fester for so long.

“Where is she being held?” His fingers snaked up the inside of Sienna’s arm, gently caressing her soft, delicate skin.

Like a dream, she snuggled up against him, all sweetness and light; the perfect counterpoint to his sudden thirst for violence.

Like an old, familiar suit of armor, his control slipped back into place. His thinking was clear again. The Mating Fever had subsided, but it wasn’t completely gone. Beneath all those layers of control and experience and training, there was a tendril of insanity, threatening to consume him if anyone or anything dared harm his mate.

Did all the mated Kordolians have to deal with this madness? He would have to ask Tarak.

“Sir.” Zarken’s matter-of-fact voice snapped him out of his sweet-dark thoughts. “Kainan’s contact is seeking that information as we speak. I will inform you as soon as we know.”

“Yes.” He ran his fingers through Sienna’s lustrous hair, entranced at how it caught the light and reflected different shades of gold and yellow and silver. Her exquisiteness was beyond compare. “In that case, we will immediately be making a trip to Earth.” He deliberately switched to Universal, for Sienna’s benefit. “I trust our newly claimed territory has returned to acceptable quietude,” he said dryly, allowing himself a hint of a smile as curiosity—and a trace of alarm—flickered in Sienna’s eyes.

I told you, I have a surprise for you.

“We have controlled the area,” Zarken replied. “A few nasty surprises on the way, but now the humans understand. The borders are clearly marked. Except for this Syndicate. Tch. They are like a many-headed turigen. Slippery as fuck. You cut off one head and another appears. There are still a few loose tails to sever.”

“That is about to change,” Ikriss said quietly, an idea forming in his mind. He would have to run it by the General, of course, but he was already certain Tarak would approve of his plan. “Is that all you have to report, Zarken?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Ikriss,” he corrected. “Do not stop until you have found the human. If an opportunity for safe retrieval presents itself, then you have my consent to go ahead. I trust your judgement.”

“Thank you, Sir. Er, I mean, Ikriss.”

“Better,” Ikriss said approvingly. “And make sure the area is prepared for our arrival. I want my mate’s premises to be restored to the condition in which you found them. That goes for her people, as well.”

“Her people? Tch. They are difficult to deal with,” Zarken growled. “They do not trust us.”

“And why should they? Do you forget who you are? Sort it out, Zarken. You don’t have to appease them, just make them understand that we are not like our old masters.”

“Hmph. For such a weak and technologically backward species, they are foolishly stubborn.”

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