PrimalHunger (12 page)

“I’d appreciate it if she never knew. Let’s be on our way. I
need to get back.” He was jumpy, worried, and more secretive than normal.
Kendra’s stomach knotted further. That gut feeling she’d been fighting twisted
in real fear.

They climbed on board. Jackson gestured to the copilot’s
seat, and Kendra sat heavily against the padded cushions. Azros settled in the
chair behind her, just as tense as she was. “I can’t handle the suspense,
Jackson. Just tell me, already. Who is here?”

Jackson started the transport and slid his gaze toward her.
“Your aunt, the Sheon heir.”

Kendra was aware of Azros’ shock. The hair on the back of
her neck rose, but not in fear. In wariness.

“What does she want?” Her voice shook. Every waking dream
and bitter nightmare was coming true.

“That’s easy enough. She wants the Valorian.” His gaze
returned to the flight path. “And proof of your death.”

Chapter Six

“Oh, is that all? If she wanted my death, Skreeta should
have done it right the first time.” Kendra’s joke fell flat.

Azros couldn’t breathe.
Skreeta.
His chest tightened
and his beast roared deep in his soul. “Your aunt is the Sheon heir?
Skreeta?
”
Betrayal and cold, hard rage chilled his veins. Kendra had lied to him about
who she was.

She glanced at him before turning back to the viewscreen.
“If she’s succeeded in killing all other blood relatives in the line, yes, she
could be the heir. She was born outside the bounds of a consort agreement, so
the tie technically isn’t legal. Her line should wield no more power than any
other in servitude to the queen.” Kendra turned the chair and looked at him.

He wasn’t ready to face the sincerity, the sorrow in her
eyes. It was better to hang on to facts. Dark rage licked at the back of his
mind like a newborn flame, hungry to consume, ready to explode.

He scrambled to find a thread of conversation, anything to
focus on besides his fury. “What the hell is a consort agreement?” Years of
thinking on his feet had him absorbing the information, tucking it away until
later. He trusted his gut to move him in the right direction.

“Kind of like a marriage, only more open-ended.” She waved
her hand in dismissal. “That’s not important now.” She looked back at the
pilot. “How long has she been here?”

“Since the beginning of the wind storm. Her pilot requested
an emergency landing.”

“So she still thinks I’m dead?”

“It appears so, yes. She’s staying at the Palace under the
cover of crew downtime. She says her crew has need of rest before they can
return to the skies. It’s a paper-thin excuse, but Destiny’s hands are tied by
the port charter. The shuttles are moving day and night.” He grunted. “Destiny
says business is booming, but wants the snake gone yesterday.”

Azros leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his knees.
“Does Skreeta know I’m here?” It took a moment for things to click. Skreeta was
the relative who left Kendra for dead all those years ago. Skreeta had killed
Kendra’s family. His hatred for the woman became palpable. Kendra should have
told him.

Jackson shook his head. He maneuvered a tricky pass before
replying, “She thinks you crashed on the surface. Destiny has been running the
woman in circles, and hopefully has convinced her that no one could have
survived the landing.” He glanced at Kendra. “We’re not betting on it.”

Azros stomped the tendril of relief that threatened to grow.
She didn’t know he was alive. Yet. That, at least, worked in his favor. Despite
Kendra’s political views of bloodline, Skreeta acted with all the power and
authority of the Sheon heir, and that made her dangerous. A spark of an idea
blazed in his mind, tempering the anger threatening his self-control.

“So why are we returning at all?”

It was a good question. One he should have asked.

Jackson sighed. “Destiny has a plan.”

Kendra’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Destiny always has a
plan. That doesn’t mean she’s doing the right thing.”

Azros needed information. “Where is the Sheon command ship?”
The plan was solidifying in his mind.

They both looked at him. “Orbiting the planet.” The pilot’s
response was guarded. Jackson glanced back at Azros, mistrust heavy in his
gaze. “Why the interest in the command ship?”

“That ship holds my crew. I need them back.”

“Out of the question.”

“They have my ship trapped in the
Calypso
’s bay. I’ll
take it one way or the other. I will not leave without taking back what’s
mine.”

Kendra stared at him as if he’d grown another head. “With
what army? Skreeta is one of the queen’s guards. They’re trained assassins. If
you have a plan, she’s already prepared for it.”

“I never took you for a coward.” He dared her with a level
gaze.

She matched him glare for glare. “I’m no coward, Azros, but
I’m also not a fool. She took you and your crew, remember?”

Azros’ cheeks burned with a mix of fury and humiliation.
“Her ship conveyed a distress signal from our mining colony. Until the
slaughter of my people, the Sheon were our
allies
.”

Kendra nodded. “She’ll use every dirty trick in the book.
You would need serious intel in order to launch that kind of mission, ships to
get you there, and men willing to die for some reason other than patriotism.
I’m not so sure you noticed, but we run a little high on the mercenary side out
here in backreach territory.”

She thought with all the cunning of his enemy. He leaned
back in the chair and gave Kendra a slow smile. “Exactly.” Kendra could be so
much more than just a mate. She could very well change the course of their
future. She just didn’t know it yet.

Kendra didn’t crack a smile. Tension blazed between them
like a powder keg, one spark and they’d both be consumed. “You are
certifiable.”

“Tell me something, if you’re the heir, why didn’t you step
forward and let your queen know you were alive?”

She winced. “The order to murder my family would have been
straight from the queen. Skreeta does nothing without the queen’s blessing.
Trust me, she’s not the only assassin I’ve dealt with over the years. The
mission here became more important than some idiotic blood feud. My parents’
legacy will live on, as will their vision of a peaceful and
defendable
Sheon home world.”

He had no doubt they would be defending against people of
Skreeta’s sect, if not the Sheon nation. Kendra sat there, calm and collected
as if she were talking about the weather and not assassinations and political
exile. This woman had been fighting, on her own, since the age of seven, and
the Sheon slavers had dared call his people animals. The Sheon way was
barbaric. “And this Destiny is going to help you?”

Kendra visibly bristled. “Without Destiny I would have died
long ago, and the project would have died with me. I owe her everything.”

He leaned forward, taking her hand in his. Her fingers were
chilled. He detected the slightest tremor. “Why didn’t you tell me who you
were?”

“What was I supposed to say? Hi, my great aunt murdered my
parents and left me for dead so we wouldn’t be able to take the throne. By the
way, it might be the same woman who murdered or enslaved your crew. Let’s
fuck.” She put her other hand over his. Her expression softened. “Less than
twenty-four hours ago, I didn’t even know you existed. No one knew I was alive.
I was a memory, a ghost, and the Sheon were on the other side of the asteroid
field. I’ve been keeping track of their movements for years. Planning for this
day, and you wouldn’t even tell me your full name.” She tried to pull away, but
he held firm. “You expect me to trust you?”

“I didn’t hide my name from you.” Her words made sense, but
they still hurt. “I thought we were on the same team.”

“Okay.” She arched an eyebrow. “Then tell me this,
mate
.”
She spat the word at him like a curse. “Tell me why my most hated enemy has
returned after so long. Who, but you, could have brought them here?”

“You, who are Sheon. You think I set this up?” Shock had him
release her hand. He was insulted, and she matched him spark for spark, daring
him with her glare. A gaze that changed before his eyes. He saw a flash of the
wild. Almost feral. His anger rose. “I spent six months learning the value of
Sheon betrayal. Every day your aunt mocked my naiveté as she tore punishment
out of my hide. I was forced to watch my men die, my women slaughtered.
Drugged. Abused. Left for dead.” Danger was an icy finger sliding down his
spine. “I will not betray my people.”

Kendra stared at him calmly, with no expression, no emotion.
He wondered if his beast had made a mistake in choosing this one.

“I trust no one, Azros, but I am not my aunt. I follow my
mother’s ways of peace and defense.” She placed her hand over her heart.
Sadness weighed heavy in her gaze. “There is nothing I can say that will take
away the pain of your people, but I wasn’t the one who did it.”

Azros leaned forward so that they were within a hairsbreadth
of one another. “Tell me this, then. Could you have stopped Skreeta’s
betrayal?”

Kendra crossed her arms. “What do you want me to say? That I
knew she was moving to take down ships? Yes. I knew. Did I know your people, or
what she’d done? No. I couldn’t have imagined she would fall this far into
insanity and enslave allies.”

“You owe me.” Azros stared at her through narrowed slits.

She shook her head. “I don’t owe you shit.” She shrugged a
shoulder. “Why they’re here changes nothing. It was bound to happen, eventually.
You can’t change the rules now, Azros.”

He wanted her. Even now. She was fascinating with all the
fire and passion tempering the pain in her soul. “
Your
deceit has
switched up the game, sweetheart.” The beast inside roared in triumph at that
fact, while the man knew this was going to get bad. She was his, body and
soul…she just didn’t know it yet.

“This changes nothing.”

“Oh no?” He launched at her, trapping her in the chair. The
sound of a click told him that the pilot had drawn and aimed a weapon. But he
couldn’t stop himself from leaning closer, watching the way her eyes dilated in
lust. The sweet scent of her pussy teasing him. He snarled, and she jerked in a
breath. “You being Sheon changes
everything
, princess.”

She visibly paled. “Don’t call me that.” She raised her
chin, and fire leapt deep inside. He could see it shining from her eyes like a
beacon. “I do not claim the Sheon bloodline as my own. I am in exile. My home
is here. Nothing.” She stressed the word. “Has changed. Do you understand me?”
She lowered her eyelashes in a contrite expression that he wasn’t buying for an
instant. “I will get you off this planet. My aunt will never again get her
hands on you.”

His laugh was rough, unrecognizable. The edge of madness
beckoned. “Such sweet words. Maybe I could take a slave?” He curled loose
tendrils of her fiery hair on his finger. Her eyes were wide. He could see the
struggle within to maintain her façade. Fear wrestled with anger, and a good
measure of lust boiled them together. “My own little Sheon princess. You’d
better get used to the title.”

She opened her mouth and Azros kissed her, hard. Possessive.
He reveled in it even when he was ashamed. Her lips softened under his, and the
fists that had shoved at his chest were now opened and caressing his skin.
Azros released her hair. He gentled the kiss, easing away from the chair,
turning away before she regained her composure. “What a pair we make. Is St.
Thomas even your real last name?”

He glanced back. She averted her gaze. “I didn’t think so.
Be careful whom you accuse of trickery, princess. It looks like you and I were
both keeping our cards close to our chests.” Her cheeks burned, in anger or
embarrassment he didn’t know.

Focus on the facts at hand.
Skreeta was at the
Palace. He looked at Jackson, pointedly ignoring the barrel of a very powerful
pulse pistol aimed at his chest. “I will never allow myself to be captured. You
should know this before we arrive. If I catch even a whiff of betrayal, I’ll
tear the Palace down around you.”

Jackson laughed and holstered his weapon. “You Valorians
really are touchy when you’re in a mating cycle, aren’t you?”

Azros clenched his fist and stopped when Kendra touched his
arm. “Azros. Please. Jackson likes to whittle away at people. It’s a hobby of
his.” She glared at Jackson. “It seems he has a death wish today, though.”

The other man shrugged a shoulder. “Destiny is arranging
your transportation off-planet. Kendra’s encrypted message mentioned this
little mating problem and your request for asylum.”

Azros sent a sharp glance at Kendra.
Little mating
problem?
She stared out the window with the slightest blush of
embarrassment. He promised a
little
sexy revenge later. If Skreeta
didn’t gut him first.

“Why bring us out in the open? You could have left us in the
lab.” Kendra cleared her throat. He could see her heart racing at the pulse in
her neck. The look she gave him wasn’t filled with disgust, like he feared.
Instead, it was molten silver. She wanted him. His aggressive side was rising,
that meant another round was coming. If it followed the natural cycle of his
people, she would lead the dance. If not, he’d be happy to guide her. His cock
twitched in anticipation. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the insanity of
mating. Was the last time this aggressive?

“We couldn’t afford to. She knows the lab location. It’s
only a matter of time before they send their people out there.”

Kendra jerked as though she’d been slapped. “It’s my lab.
The place belongs to Destiny’s Palace.”

Jackson laughed. “The Sheon, as Skreeta has proven in
triplicate, still own rights to the lab until the terraforming project is
complete. There’s nothing we can do about it. Since you’re considered dead,
she’s the closest blood relative on the planetary seal. She made it quite clear
that the only reason we’re even allowed to stay here is by the grace of her
goodwill.” Jackson glanced over at them. “Destiny is expecting the woman to try
extortion next.”