Page 23 of The Royal’s Bumblebee (Operation Colonise #2)
Shutdown
Billie.
Izule is wrong.
It’s not okay.
I want to say yes, I claim you, but so many Ucfeni are now coming and going up the ramp to the upper platform, I’m too nervous so to speak.
Their shiny jewellery glints in the light and they are talking loudly.
Bright colours tug at my vision, when all I want to do is focus on Izule.
This is important.
Izule is asking me to be his girlfriend, I think, but it’s too much.
I feel on the spot and unable to focus right now, even though I want to say yes.
Do I have to say it? I thought I made myself clear when I told his father I thought of Izule as being mine. I want to go back to the nest. I look at the exit behind us and Izule frowns down at me. “Soon, Bumblebee.”
I look up at his mouth.
How soon is soon?
“I hate that word.”
He tenses.
“It’s unquantifiable.
People say ‘soon’ to be reassuring, but what’s reassuring about an unknown amount of time? Do you mean 5 minutes? 10? 30? 100? What’s the point of saying soon? It’s not reassuring.
It’s unsettling.”
“Billie I’m sorry I was trying to—”
“I want to go now.”
It’s too noisy in here, even with my ear defenders on.
There are so many Ucfeni on the upper platform now.
An Eryan with dark brown scales and a Naltik with vivid yellow and black markings are waiting on the other side of the platform.
“Billie we can’t.”
I released his hand and he released a broken breath like I’d struck him.
“Please.
I am here.
Would you like to hide in my coil? Billie?”
I back up from him.
I want to go home.
I turn my head from side to side and feel like the world is getting too big and too small all at once.
My heart is racing and try to focus on counting as I tap my middle fingers.
I already feel cold, missing the heat of his hands.
They are reaching for me and he’s turned his back on the festival hall.
On the rest of the Ucfeni on the stage.
“What do you need?”
He speaks softly to me.
So softly.
He lowers down on his tail and flattens his hood.
“I am your Mountain.
I am here.”
I swallow thickly and I nod.
I know he’s here.
I want to be here with him, but I want to go as well.
I don’t want to let him down by fleeing, but I want to go back to our home.
Not on my own, though.
I want Izule to come with me.
“What’s wrong with your little human?”
The heavily pregnant Ucfeni moved too close to me.
She was behind me and blocking off my exit.
“Nothing is wrong with her.”
Izule defended me and his tail coiled around me to bring me closer. “Billie.”
I turn and look at his chest, seeing him right there, and with no other escape, I throw myself at him.
He lifts me up in his arms, ready to carry me away, and I wish he would.
“Thank you.”
He whispers to me, resting his chin on my head and…I relaxed.
Not completely, but this was helping.
Curled up in his arms with my eyes shut, my arms around his neck under his hood, and my trust in my Mountain.
I shut down.
I put all of my trust in Izule and braced myself.
“We will leave the first moment we can.
I promise you that we will not remain a second more.”
I believe him.
“I am moving us back from the ledge.
The Rapali are approaching.”
I focused on the sound of his deep voice like an anchor.
The sensation of it vibrating through his chest and leather collar against my cheek.
The musky smell of him.
“Is this helping?”
I manage to nod, so he continued to give me a commentary.
“We are near the back wall now.
The Rapali party have joined us on the upper platform.”
I try to imagine it.
The Rapali have strange hoods and bright colours, so I’m glad my eyes are shut.
“Move on.”
He dropped his voice and I realised he wasn’t talking to me.
“Why should I?”
A woman with a husky voice sang and I didn’t like the sound of her.
Or how close she sounded.
“I have come to scent any worthy Royal males Orna has to offer.”
I realise that this must be Zassa.
The Rapali princess with a purple hood and underbelly.
“You’re big.”
I bristled.
I didn’t like the way she said that.
Izule is big, but she’s not allowed to notice.
Not like that.
I sit up in his arms and turn my head towards this woman.
She’s come to scent Izule.
No.
No she can’t do that.
He’s my boyfriend. I think. Kind of. “Why don’t you put that little human down so I can—”
“H-he’s mine.”
I open my eyes and flinch at the vivid appearance of Zassa.
I blink a few times as I struggle to look in one place.
Her hood tendrils keep moving and distracting me.
“Izule is mine.”
“I am.”
Izule puffs his chest out against me and I purse my lips together.
I know I’m probably not that impressive or intimidating to this powerful Rapali Ucfeni, but she can’t have him.
“You have allowed this female to claim you?”
She sneers at me and her damn tendrils keep moving.
“This small little thing?”
“Yes he has.”
I snap.
I really want her snakey hair to stay still.
She snickers in her throat and I glare through my glasses at her smirking mouth.
“If Hannah was here, she would call you a bitch.”
She would.
She may even call her the C word, and we both don’t like that word.
That’s how much I wanted this woman to go away.
Izule is my boy-snake-friend.
“What’s one of those?”
Oh.
The Ucfeni must not use that word, or have a word for a female dog.
Perhaps there are no dogs on Thelia?
“Y-you are one.”
I caught movement to one side, and caught Szelor staring at her.
“Like him.”
I point quickly and hurry my hand back to the safety of Izule’s neck.
“Like who?”
Zassa turned to look across and spotted Szelor.
His hood flattened and his eyes widened as she locked him in her sights.
“Who is that?”
“My brother Szelor.”
Izule smirked.
What was funny? “Billie is right.
He’s a bitch as well.
Why not scent him? He is unclaimed?”
“Perhaps I will.”
She slithered off towards Szelor and my vision became way too bright and filled with way too much movement.
I turned my head back towards his hood, and smiled when I stared at the plain brown circle on the right side of his hood.
“Ah?”
He chuckled and his chin affectionately nudged at my head, tousling my brown bob.
He starts chuckling and I hear a lot of laughter and movement around us, but I don’t look away from his hood.
“What’s happening?”
“Oh? Zassa is chasing Szelor down.”
More laughter and Izule chuckled deep in his chest.
“He might not forgive us for that.”
“For what?”
“Zassa just claimed him.”
“Good.”
Surely two mean people deserve each other? “Can we go yet?”
I whisper and look up at his mouth.
“I want to go home.”
He opened his mouth to answer me.
“Say ‘soon’ and I will scream.”
He shuts his mouth and shrugs with me in his arms.
“Ah, and now my sister’s turn with the Rapali Hunter…no.
Not a scent match.
He looks more pleased than she does.”
Izule whispered to me and I smiled.
Does this mean this will be over soon? I really hope so.
“You’re not wrong.”
An Ucfeni I haven’t heard yet speaks and he sounds like I do when I’m struggling.
“I did not come to be scented any another.
I have come to ask for your assistance, because I have scented the woman I wish to claim me, and suffer the madness.”
“Truly?”
Izule seems surprised.
I almost look over out of curiosity.
Instead, I look at his face and see his expression is shocked.
“Yes.”
The Ucfeni continues.
“I have scented her and I can think of nothing else.
She is within one of the alien compounds and will not come out.
I have engaged her in conversation and tried to convince her not to keep a fence between us, but she will not come into the Jungle.
She will not come to me, and I need her.”
“As you can see my son has the madness.
He is consumed by it.”
The Rapali Chieftain sighed.
“And why do you think I can help?”
Xulei countered.
“Because you are allied with the aliens.
Your youngest is cradling one to his chest like a youngling.
They will listen to you.”
“I’m not a youngling.”
I mumble and Izule’s tongue flicks at my cheek.
“And what is it you expect me to say to the humans?”
“To give her to me.”
The Ucfeni insisted.
“I want her.
Lucy.
She’s a botanist.
It means she grows plants.
I smell her even when she’s not there.
I am consumed with her scent.
I see her when I close my eyes.
I can’t stand this madness.”
“Son.”
The Chieftain spoke softly.
“No, no I need her.
The humans listen to you.
Tell them to give me Lucy.”
He hissed.
Whoever this Lucy woman is I don’t envy her to have this Rapali snapping after her.
“Calm yourself.
We can’t just order the humans to give one of their females over to you.
They don’t scent their mates like we do.”
“Izule, can we go now?”
I whisper up at his mouth and he smiled at me.
The raging storm of hissing made me squeal.
I clamped down in Izule’s arms and duck my head down.
“W-what’s going on?!”
◆◆◆
Billie
“I need you to stay down.”
Izule ululated deep and dark, his whole body tensing around me.
“Why what’s happening?”
I clamp my eyes shut at the sound of people snarling and shouting all around me.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
Xulei snarled.
“How dare you brandish a weapon in my presence.”
Are the Rapali attacking? “Guards!”
“If you think we’re going to be passed over again you have another thing coming.
You let your son be claimed by a Rapali, but you let your daughter turn her nose up at all of us?”
Not the Rapali then.
“Where are the guards?!”
Vrujac snarled.
“Get the females back!”
“Into a defensive formation now!”
The King orders.
“The Rapali stand with the Orna Royals! Now!”
“I-Izule?!”
I don’t like all the snarling and shouting.
I really don’t like it when he tries to put me down.
“No.
No, I want to leave.”
I still have my eyes shut and try to keep my arms locked around his neck.
“Izule-take me home-don’t-no don’t.”
“I will protect you. I swear.”
Izule kisses me on the mouth, and I am too busy having a meltdown and a panic attack to do anything back.
I didn’t like it.
It felt like a final kiss, not a first one.
“Stay down.
Stay here.”
I cry when he forces my arms away from him and I’m left empty.
I slide down to the floor and shut down, hugging my legs.
I’ve never been so scared in my life.
I can hear being shouting, screaming, hitting the ground, and the wet sound of blood hitting the floor around me.
I flinch every time there’s a thud close to me, and I’m sobbing.
I want Izule.
I want our bed of pillows.
I want locked doors between us and all this violence.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
I hear Izule howl with agony.
Is he hurt? Did someone hurt Izule? No no no no no.
I grip my legs so tightly my knuckles are white.
Every crash.
Every thump.
Every scream.
Every howl.
Every single whine.
It hit me and pushed me deeper into my shutdown.
Part of me screamed that it wasn’t safe to shut down here, but I couldn’t move anymore.
“I’m sorry Billie but I need you to move.
I am not losing you to this bullshit.”
I don’t know when Hannah arrived beside me, but she grabbed me and I screamed.
I’m not ready to move yet.
It’s too loud and I’m scared.
She drags me and hurts my arms as she forces me away from the floor.
“I’m sorry.”
Hannah cries.
“I love you bumblebee.”
I sob and try to lower back down to the floor but she won’t let me.
My heart clenches and drops into my stomach when Hannah shoves me forward.
I tumble and roll, curling up and wheezing as my back hits a wall.
“Billie.”
Izule hisses and scoops me up.
“I’m here.”
I thrash and cry, my eyes stinging with tears and aching from how hard I’m clenching them shut.
“I’m getting you out of here.”
Good.
I’ve been wanting to go home since before someone attacked us.
I wish I could ask about Hannah, but I can’t speak.
I’m shaking and sobbing, curling up as much as I can in his arms as he leans forward.
We’re moving at speed and I want to focus on the fact we’re going away from danger…but my fingertips are wet.
Every other thought I had in my head slipped away.
I opened my eyes and looked at the blood on my hands.
I stared at his throat scales and shredded leather collar.
It, and the com-gem, were barely hanging around his neck.
His chest and neck were bleeding from several slices from a blade.
He’s hurt.
“Y…you need medical attention.”
“Not as much as I need you to be safe first.”