Page 24 of Chieftain (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #1)
Khaion
"Chieftain, there appears to be another ship leaving space station orbit."
Bartuk’s words invaded my brain, but it took me a second to make sense of them. My mind centered on one thing, and everything else was static.
Emmy.
The turn of my head brought strands of just-washed hair against my neck. A vision flashed through my mind of Emmy, naked and up to her chin in frothy bubbles as she bathed away the stench of Lernax Centauri as I had. I pushed away the vision and focused on my crewman. "Kerzak?"
“It appears to be a Trogvyk vessel.” The command deck screen blinked as the ship’s camera morphed, focusing on another section of space. The Trogvyk vessel was easily discernable against the stars, much smaller than the slave ship we destroyed.
A strange mix of emotions rose within me.
Outrage at the species who considered it their right to kidnap humans with soul-deep gratitude wove through it, not toward the heinous Trogvyk but to whatever fate put Emmy in my path.
It filled me with a kind of happiness I had never known, combined with a depth of desire I had never experienced before meeting her.
“Are they copying our trajectory?” Charick looked up from his monitor, frowning.
“Perhaps.” Bartuk squinted at the navigational system. “I can’t be certain until we approach hyper-drive.”
Charick's features twisted into a frown as he turned to me. “They may believe we have human women on board.” His frown morphed into disdain. “Especially since the human accompanied you to the station.”
I shot my Sage a look to tell him what I thought he could do with his opinion, drawing an aggravated snort. “Prepare for hyper-drive to the Korfu system. If the Trogvyk ship appears to follow, adjust trajectory to the Gilese system.”
“Gilese?” Bartuk blinked at me.
"The Gilese mining moons are small but more than large enough to camouflage the Bardaga.
If the Trogvyk follow us, we can hide behind one of the moons and ambush their approach.
" I wasn't concerned about the Bardaga prevailing in the fight against the Trogvyk.
Slaver ships were notoriously lacking in weaponry—stealth, and speed gave them an edge.
What I didn't want was a battle near a populated planet.
Remnants of destroyed ships caught in a planet's orbit often caused disastrous effects on its citizens.
Although it occurred to me that the Gilese moons might be more populated than expected.
“Have we received a report from Daicon?”
“Yes,” Charick answered. “He has surveyed four of the six Gilese moons so far, with no signs of life.”
Relief was fleeting. If we must engage the Trogvyk, the Gilese moons were a good spot, although telling Emmy we did not find her friend caused a lump in my stomach.
I recalled the tears she shed while we were in the pod, and the lump grew hot and itchy.
I wished never to see her beautiful face marred with sadness again—especially if those tears were because of my disappointing her.
“Contact Daicon and tell him I want a thorough ground search of those moons before he returns. There will be no fly-by scouting. It’s not good enough.” I snapped, causing Bartuk’s eyes to widen.
"Yes, Chieftain!"
“Chieftain, may we speak in private?” Charick’s voice held none of the respectful obedience of Bartuk’s reply. “We need to discuss the strategy for landing on Duke Ako’s compound.”
I knew Charick longer than anyone else on this ship.
We went through training together and had been comrades far longer than mere shipmates.
I knew damn well he didn’t walk to talk to me about strategy.
We were Vaktaire, imbued by the Planetary Alliance with the power to rescue any abducted human, no matter the circumstances.
This wouldn’t be the first time we would take a human female from Duke Ako’s clutches.
We left the command deck following my Sage and turned right to a meeting room where I meted out disciplinary action.
The size of the space was small, and the furnishings were not elaborate, rather quite simple, including a table made of dark wood cut and polished centuries ago during my grandsire’s time.
Using this room meant I wanted no distractions from what I said. Charick obviously had the same idea.
“No disrespect, Chieftain, but what the hell is wrong with you?” My Sage waited for the door to close behind us.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I issued my best scowl. “What do you mean?”
“Please!” Charick rolled his eyes, popping his hip against the carved table.
"You haven't been yourself since we brought that human on board. You're distracted, ill-tempered, and completely ignoring the Alliance convention regarding dealing with humans. If I didn’t know better…” Charick’s lips twisted as his ochre eyes leveled on me.
“I’d say you are acting like a mating male. ”
I growled low in my throat. "Be careful, Sage," I warned, but his accusation brought a surge of feeling.
How much I desired Emmy to be mine. I wanted the pleasure of burying myself in her soft, warm body and discovering if that delicious scent emanating from between her thighs tasted as sweet as it smelled.
The memory of kissing her, how she felt writhing against me, her soft moans as she rubbed herself against my cock.
Quickly, I turned my back to Charick before he noticed the swelling between my legs.
“You be careful, my friend.” Charick’s hand landed on my shoulder—a light touch—the touch of a friend. “I’ve known you a long time. I remember the moon we lost our virtue to the Ntiavian triplets on Hartouk Lenaii.”
An amused snort escaped my lips as I remembered the night Charick and I borrowed his father's shuttle—without permission, I might add—to visit the Hedonism ship.
Ntiavians might be bred for pleasure, but no one ever made me feel like Emmy did with her kiss.
Her every touch was like fire, creating heat that pulsed through my body, pooled in my abdomen, and left me wanting more.
“You are attracted to her.” Charick pressed me. This was not my Sage, reminding me of my duties as Chieftain. This was my friend asking about my well-being. The only response to him was clear.
"Yes, since the moment I woke up in the pod holding her in my arms." The moment I came to consciousness with her small, soft body cradled in my arms, something deep inside recognized she was different…
special. My DNA programmed me to protect the weak, but my feelings for Emmy surpassed the instinct of my species.
This was something deeper, living in my soul, that I could neither refuse nor deny.
“We have returned hundreds of humans to Earth.” Charick settled again, leaning against the table. "We have resettled even more on Tau Ceti, and you have always complied with Alliance regulations—even when the rest of us wish you hadn’t.”
“I know this.” I kept my gaze downward. Charick wanted answers I could not give—I didn’t understand it myself.
“You also know she can never be your true mate.”
The sharpness of his words pierced my heart like a blade. Not only because the suggestion made me realize that having Emmy as my mate was exactly what I wanted.
It was exactly what I could never have.
Humans could mate with other species and, thanks to the Garoot Healer, produce offspring like Dixa and Siemba. I knew of other hybrid couples in the Alliance. I'd even heard of a lone peaceful Kerzak mating with a human.
Vaktaire were different. Where Kerzak completed a blood marking with their mates, and Stranac used scent to mark their females, the mating mark of the Vaktaire was more intense.
The Valakana.
The moment our goddess Valana blesses the union between a Vaktaire male and female.
The moment a Vaktaire’s heart ceases to beat to unify with and then evermore pulsing in harmony with his true mate.
The moment is fraught and not without pain, but the joy of finding one's true mate is worth any discomfort.
Only a Vaktaire could withstand the Valakana. My people told tales of the tragedy of other species attempting to form a true mate connection with the Vaktaire, only to meet tragedy.
In my experience, attempting to form a true mate bond with another species proved heartbreaking.
During the Romvesian-Vaktaire skirmish, my comrade Taviik met and favored a Romvesian female warrior.
The female was strong and battle-honed. Even our elders thought she might survive the Valakana.
I will never forget watching the hope fade from Taviik's eyes as he realized his female's heart was not strong enough.
She survived the initial ceremony, lingering unconscious for days afterward, which made her death harder for Taviik. He left our home world soon after.
I could choose Emmy, like in the human custom of mating.
I could care for and protect her, even father children with her, but she would never become my true mate.
I could never claim her in the eyes of my people.
I could never utter a prayer to Valana asking the goddess to bless my choice, as was the way of my people.
To utter such words would end with her death.
"Take pleasure if you must," Charick said, his tone sad. "You will not be the first of us to fall to a human's charms. Just know that is all you can ever have with her."
I couldn't muster an answer for my friend, instead stamping away from him and into the hallway as I struggled with my decision. The metallic floor echoed my footsteps, like the hollow and lonely echoes of my heart.