Page 24

Chapter Ten

D mitri was filled with an odd excitement after the encounter with the two Badari and he looked forward to the evening with anticipation.

He made Benet do the full complement of exercises in the weight room since the other competitors wouldn’t take it easy on him when the time came to run the metal maze, the obstacle course and triumph on the battlefield.

When they finished, Benet went to his apartment to shower and change and Dmitri returned to his suite in the imperial palace.

He made a quick pass through the refresher, dressed with care more formally than he would on a normal evening and hastened to the kitchen to begin cooking.

The meal he had in mind was simple but filling, since there would be three predators at the table and a predator-in-the-making with Benet.

His friend would find he needed to eat more as his metabolism became more completely Badari.

While he marinated the meat slabs and got his cheese-and-potatoes dish cooking, Dmitri pondered his state of mind.

He was of course delighted for Benet that a way had been found to get him home to the Five Systems, provided he survived the games.

Ekatereen could be devious but in this case he believed her to be trustworthy.

She’d used Kyden’s request to bring Nichevsky to heel and she wouldn’t renege.

The empress and most of the grand dukes were at each other’s throats quite a bit of the time.

For himself, he planned to enjoy the company of his true brothers while it lasted.

Depending on what his opinion was of this Kyden by the end of dinner he might even make his request for the one thing he craved even more than freedom to leave Outlier.

Only the empress could grant him release from captivity and she never would but this Alpha could give him the other.

He heard Benet letting himself in at the front door. “You’re early,” he said, stirring a sauce.

“Too keyed up to kill time at the apartment,” Benet said. “What can I do to help?”

“Get the bread in the oven and then set the table,” Dmitri said, happy to have another pair of hands.

Benet made himself useful. After he’d set the table and checked the bread, he planted himself on one of the kitchen stools, nibbled on a crispy root vegetable stick from the appetizer tray and asked, “Why didn’t you want to tell Kyden your real name earlier today?”

Dmitri considered the question and decided to answer.

Revealing anything about his past was hard but he trusted Benet.

“The Khagrish give us numbers when we’re created,” he said.

“It’s one of their techniques for denying us our place as sentient beings.

Easier to mistreat and torture that way.

I remember my number—I’ll never forget it—but I won’t stain my lips by uttering it.

We Badari give ourselves names and Hendon was the name my Alpha and the pack healer gave me.

When I was brought to Outlier I decided the one thing I could do for my own sanity was to hold my real name close, to keep it a secret only I knew.

So the real me was safe deep inside, guarded by myself and my inner beast. The empress at the time hated the numerical designation and decided I was a Dmitri.

” He lifted his shoulders in a resigned shrug.

“After all this time it’s hard to open up those dusty compartments in my mind. ”

“I get it,” Benet said. “There are things I keep locked away too, believe me.”

The door chimed and next minute Marushka rushed into the kitchen. Benet enfolded her in a big hug and Dmitri politely kept his attention on the dinner until she was ready to greet him. “I didn’t think you were free tonight, devochka,” he said as he bent so she could kiss his cheek.

“I have a party at the palace later, all girls, so I won’t need a bodyguard,” she said with a grimace. “I can’t stay long but I’m dying to meet your friends, Benet, and thank them for figuring out a way to rescue you.”

“They should be here right about now,” Benet said as the door chimed. “Shall I go let them in?”

“Please,” Dmitri replied.

Benet and Marushka went hand in hand to the living room and Dmitri heard the cheerful sounds of welcome and introductions.

He took a deep breath, set aside his sauce spoon, set the pot to simmer and joined the group.

Kyden and Talinn had abandoned the arena uniforms tonight and were dressed in sensible utility pants and black tee shirts.

Dmitri had to blink hard to remind himself this was real.

He did actually have two Badari in his space after all these years.

Benet and Kyden did a joyous, back pounding hug and then the gladiator and Talinn clasped arms and bumped shoulders. Benet drew Marushka forward and introduced her.

“Nichevsky?” Kyden said, repeating her last name with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, the culprit who kidnapped Benet is my father,” she said with a blush. “And he’s in a drunken rage right now, let me tell you. Everyone is afraid to be near him tonight since his plan backfired so badly and the empress took him to task.”

“He still gets to have Benet in the damn Games though,” Kyden said. “I’d have preferred to be on my way home to the Five Systems tonight. Being in Outlier makes me twitchy.”

Benet and Marushka exchanged pained glances and the atmosphere got a bit tense.

“She has the scent of a mate,” Talinn said to Kyden in rapid Badari. “Not yet claimed. But how can this be? Benet isn’t one of us.”

“A mystery I’m hoping to solve tonight,” Kyden replied. To Dmitri he said, in Basic, “I’m Generation Five and Talinn here is Gen Six. You must be from quite an earlier time?”

“Dmitri’s Generation One,” Benet said with a touch of awe.

The other two Badari stared.

“Come, let us sit at the table and talk, if we intend to be so serious so early in the evening,” Dmitri said. “Dinner is ready.”

Benet and Marushka helped him carry the various plates into the dining area, refusing offers to help from Kyden and Benet.

“I hate to arrive empty handed,” Kyden said, sitting on one of the reinforced chairs.

“But I wasn’t sure what you might need or like.

” He gestured at Talinn and then himself.

“We don’t drink feelgoods and I didn’t know if you did imbibe.

My mate would chastise me for the oversight if she were here. ”

“You brought Benet the gift of his freedom,” Dmitri said, passing the potatoes. “Nothing more is necessary.”

There was silence as his guests served themselves and took their first bites. Marushka refused a plate of her own but nibbled tidbits from Benet’s.

Dmitri turned to Talinn. “I recognize you as a Badari brother but I’ve never seen one such as you. Was this a new strain created by the cursed scientists?”

“He’s Tzibir,” Kyden said. “There have always been the feline, the canid and the reptilian packs, or at least as far as we were aware. Not in your time?”

Shaking his head, Dmitri pulled out more of his own history.

“As I explained to Benet, Generation One is a misnomer. The Khagrish spent quite a long time trying to arrive at a baseline for what they wanted. Many false starts, incorrect mutations, men who were more their alien predator than humanoid. There were a few warriors from time to time who I can vaguely recall had a more reptilian appearance, nothing as pronounced as your scales and neck frill. Those cubs were taken away promptly and never seen again. We assumed they were terminated.” Marushka had a look of horror on her face so Dmitri reached over to squeeze her hand in reassurance.

“Our story is a dark one, devochka, but we keep our honor through it all.”

“Strength through the pack and the Great Mother,” Kyden said in agreement.

“But to complete my thought, I’m Generation One in the sense I was created in the early phases. I assume what the scientists called Generation Two was the first larger scale, stable population of men.”

Kyden and Talinn exchanged glances. “So our kind has been in captivity longer than the time frame we were taught,” the Alpha said. “Sobering news.”

“Nothing we can do about it.” Talinn was philosophical.

“So tell me how it is that Benet has become Badari in some fashion?” Kyden said matter of factly. “I sensed both of you when we arrived at the planet and I was certainly surprised.”

“I was astonished when you spoke to me telepathically,” Benet said, rubbing his forehead. “Neat trick. We could have used the ability in the arena more than a few times.”

“I had to push,” Kyden admitted. He focused on Dmitri. “And I had to force it on you as well. Was your Generation not telepathic?”

“Not to my knowledge.” Dmitri rubbed his forehead. “Gave me quite a headache.”

“We were told by our healers it was a side effect of an experiment the scientists carried out and they had no idea we gained the ability. It’s a closely held pack secret in my time.” Kyden turned his head to make the point to Marushka.

“And mine,” Talinn agreed, serving himself more of the beef.

“I won’t tell anyone,” she said, not sounding offended in the least by Kyden’s obvious warning. “I have all kinds of secrets of my own and I’m well practiced at keeping them.”

Benet leaned over and kissed her. Dmitri’s heart ached for the two of them because he couldn’t see how their love story could have any kind of a positive ending.

He saw Kyden watching the pair closely and was tempted to issue a warning about the impossibility of taking Marushka from her home but bit his tongue.

That discussion was between Benet and Kyden.

“You asked how Benet gained Badari attributes? We have to thank Marushka.”

“She saved my life,” Benet said, kissing her hand. “And of course Dmitri was the primary factor.” He recounted the story of the gang who’d attacked him.