Queen of the Savages - Complete (13 page)

In Tracy's opinion, Endra deserved to be put in her place for how she treated Mikten, but she understood Mikten's reluctance to harm his brother.

Until now.

"You underestimate his bond with ME." she said coldly.

"Ja-Idin Du says the doctors declared your mating a failure."

"He lies."

Tev scoffed. "Ja-Idin Du can't lie. He's a Counselor."

"Are you really that dense? You were there with us when Du allowed the pirates to attack us."

"He had one ship against many. It was prudent he moved off."

"Has the water here done something to your head?"

He started pacing then walking back and forth in front of her, muttering to himself. Suddenly he whirled and faced her.

"No!" he spit. "You have. Since I've met you I've thought of nothing but you. I hated my brother because he had you, and I didn't."

"Tev?"

"Don't you see? That's not normal. No man should want his brother's mate. Not like this."

"That's not how it was with Endra, Mikten, and Phaben," said Tracy gently.

"It's a legend. A foolish legend, one that no longer fits our society. We've given up mating by the old ways for good reason. There are problems with such matings. You do not know the insanity that rules the male when he concentrates only on one female. I should not feel this way. This burning, the need to have you, is unbearable."

Tracy looked around, trying to find a way to flee. His crazy eyes burned with a feverish intensity.

"You are dangerous. Dangerous to my brother's sanity and mine. Your very presence threatens our relationship with the Aligned Worlds. It is better for you to go back from where you came. In time, we will forget about you. We will find suitable mates and lead our people with the proper females beside us."

So Tev was afraid of his intense feelings?

Tracy couldn't fight him on his own terms and hope to win, but here was a weakness she could exploit. She didn't like what she was about to do, but if she didn't get away from him soon she'd be on a ship bound for Earth.

Two weeks ago she'd be thrilled at the thought, but that was before she fell in love with Ar-Reven, before he mated her.

Slowly she approached Tev.

"Do you know why the doctors thought our mating failed? It's because humans can't be bound by a mating bite the way Kerdos women are."

"So you are dangerous," he growled.

She put her hands on his chest, and he trembled.

"Oh no," she said pitching her voice sensuously lower. "We just keep our options open, just like your people want to do."

Tev stared at her, and she licked her lips for effect. She swirled her hands on his chest. Pushing aside his loose tunic, she brushed his nipples with her hand.

"On my world, we take as many mates as we want."

"You do?" he said his voice breaking slightly.

"Oh yes, and I've been eyeing you too, Tev. You are very handsome. It's just that Rev won't let me out his sight. Now here you are, and here I am."

Tracy slipped her hand down Tev's torso south to his crotch. She found him hard beneath her hand. His breathing hitched when she touched him. She rubbed him lightly, and his hands clenched at his side.

He was fighting this, wrestling with feelings that were biologically driven.

The thought crossed Tracy's mind that she was performing biological warfare on Tev. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but Tev was trying to keep her from Rev. She'd go to any lengths to stop that, even if it meant breaking Tev with the only weapon she had in hand.

She pressed her body against him, and again he trembled.

"You shouldn't try so hard to resist me," she whispered in his ear. "Rev tried at first, but he gave in. I gave him pleasure he never experienced before. I can show you those pleasures, Tev."

"Dangerous," he hissed.

How long would it take Rev to realize she was missing? How long before he tracked down As-Sali and got the truth from her? How long would it take for a search party to find them. Could they do that before Ja-Idin Du showed up to spirit her off Kerdos?

She didn't know. All she knew was that she had to distract and stall Tev for as long as possible.

"In danger comes pleasure, Tev," she said seductively.

She slid her hand up and down his cock through his pants. "Oh my, you certainly are impressive."

"Leave me alone," he said through gritted teeth.

"Oh," she said stepping back and taking her hands off him. "You want me to leave you alone? Does it feel better now that I'm not touching you?"

In the faint moonlight, he stared at her like a hungry animal.

"Yes," he said with effort.

"Really," she said, continuing her seductive tones. She unclasped the front of her dress. It fluttered around her ankles like a light breeze. The top slipped halfway down her arms, displaying her bra and panties. Tracy put her hand on the top of the band covering her breasts and slipped it down to display the top of her mounds. He breathed in sharply.

"What are you doing?" he said, sucking in a breath.

"Showing you what you are missing.

"Stop," he gritted.

Tracy shook her head and slowly continued to shimmy the band to the top of her areolas. The sight of the darkened flesh had an immediate effect on Tev. He rushed forward and swept her in his arms, moving his lips toward hers.

At first she took his kiss, but when he started grinding his erection against her she got alarmed. Just how far was she willing to take this? How far could she go before Tev took matters into his own hands?

Not that far, she decided.

Tracy clasped her hands around Tev's neck, holding him to her mouth, and jerked her knee to his crotch as she released her grip. He staggered back, howling in pain.

He screamed something at her that the translator couldn't put into words. She whirled away from him and started running toward the palace. She looked over her shoulder and saw him straighten. He began to make limping moves toward her.

"Come back here!" he shouted.

Tracy ran faster and harder than she ever had before. The heightened gravity on this planet wore through her efforts quickly, and soon she was gasping and holding her sides. Her footing slid on the uneven and gravelly path. Tev was still shouting at her from behind.

The sounds of his voice were getting closer.

Tracy tried harder, and gravel slid under her sandaled feet. Her heart beat wildly in her chest.

Rev! Where are you?

Fear clutched at her heart. Did Rev get injured during the "conference?" Was he detained?

Or was he searching for her as frantically as she was trying to get to him?

Behind her, she heard heavy footfalls coming rapidly toward her. Tracy looked around frantically for any place to hide, but then she remembered the fantastic sense of smell Rev's people had.

The only place she could hide was a place filled with water that would conceal her scent, and she didn't see any place like that nearby.

Ahead was the first thickets of the woods area they passed earlier. Briefly she weighed the pros and cons of entering the thicket. She didn't know how thick the underbrush was or if there were plants that could hurt her.

On the other hand, Tev was gaining quickly.

Before she made a decision, a dark shape covered the moons and descended toward her.

Her brief hope that the ship contained Rev was dashed as Tev reached her. Grabbing her, he hefted her over his shoulder.

"Your ride is here."

Rev was bleeding.

He stood in the middle of the Kerdos throne room. Always magnificent, it had been transformed for the night to something spectacular in order to host the formal state dinner. Around him, on the floor, groaned various male members of Kerdos royalty.

He wiped the blood from his mouth and breathed heavily.

The dinner had devolved into angry arguments and then into what was euphemistically called a "conference". An outsider would describe a Kerdos conference as an affair of thrown fists and kicks until the last man stood.

Those were his people.

He was still standing.

As it turned out, there was one other living creature that wasn't laid out on the floor. He hadn't participated in the fighting. Rev was rapidly losing respect for him.

Ja-Idin Du, part of a race of pacifists, stood before him unharmed.

Of course he wouldn't have a scratch on him. He wouldn't participate in the conference, even if had instigated it with his accusations against Rev's mate, Tracy.

The Du's comments had been incendiary. He had been an invited guest to the table, but he used his position to form a platform to deport Tracy back to Earth. He spoke calmly, but threatened to halt all trade with Kerdos.

This immediately revealed a schism in the royal court. Some of the lords wanted Rev to return Tracy. Others thought the Du's demand was excessive and amounted to a restriction of Kerdos rights to self-governance.

Shouts devolved into insults and then into blows. The fray grew increasingly violent until the women left the room, and the men took their disagreements out on each other.

Rev glanced around for his brother Tev, but he was nowhere to be found. He hoped Tev didn't get badly injured and pulled from the floor. He'd go look for him soon, but first, he had to take care of Ja-Idin.

The Kerdos prince stared at the Du. The man's true black skin shimmered under the candle light of the room, revealing tiny patterns in his scales. The patterns in the Du skin were difficult to notice until you were right in front of them; they were finely etched into the skin.

The Du were reptiles. Rev never had any bad experiences with the reptile races until now.

Ja-Idin's eyes glittered coldly.

"Arrest him," ordered Rev to the guards standing at the door.

"You can't do that," said Du. "I'm the Aligned Worlds representative. I have diplomatic immunity."

"You are in my house." Rev gave an unusual command to the guards in the room. "Gag his mouth. You don't want him spitting his venom on you."

"You can't!" Du protested once again. One guard grabbed his arms, and another guard took the opportunity to stuff a gag in his mouth.

"Secure him in his rooms." said Rev. "No one in or out without my permission, understand?"

"Yes, your Highness."

The word had spread that the conference was over. Women and attendants entered the hall again in a mob, seeking the men to look after their wounds.

Strangely, Tracy wasn't among them. As-Sali should have brought her back just as she led her away.

Now Rev had two people to worry about. He was still worried about his brother, who he now believed to have suffered a serious injury. He asked some of the dinner's guests (the ones who were conscious) if they saw Tev, but no one had.

He located Te-Brag, his brother's attendant. The elderly gentleman hadn't seen Tev since before the banquet.

Rev went to his brother's apartments and found them empty. Was he at Tracy's apartments, protecting her? That made a lot of sense to Rev.

When he found Tracy's rooms empty, his heart ran cold with fear.

He ran through the palace back to the throne room and found the new captain of the guard, who was recently promoted in the wake of the tragedies. The guard captain helped to sort through injuries and grievances of the Kerdos lords.

"Captain," ordered Rev. "Raise an alarm. Tev and Tracy are missing. Start a search immediately."

Rev would have been surprised to learn that instead of protecting Tracy, Tev was trying to get rid of her.

"You black-hearted sonofabitch! Take me to Rev, right now!" Tracy shouted. She was Tev's prisoner.

The transport that they were currently in was piloted by Commander Te-Crevon, the fighter wing leader from Ombrit Air Station.

"Where's Du?" demanded Tev.

"The Du lord was detained at the palace. We are going with the backup plan."

Tev nodded grimly and tossed Tracy into the transport seat. They glared at each other as they rose through the air and moved forward. The transport sped through the blue skies of Kerdos, away from Rev and toward an uncertain future with a man who hated her.

Hate wasn't exactly the right word to describe his feelings. Tev admitted that he had an attraction to her. He couldn't deny it from his emotional reactions, and the erection he sported after he collected her from As-Sali revealed a strong physical interest.

Tracy burned with rage. She was angry at two people that should be loyal to Rev, and who had proven to be loyal only to themselves.

Tev called her dangerous, as if she was responsible for his sexual feelings. That was typical of people who didn't own their actions. They always blamed someone else.

These aliens were just like Earthers.

Rev was different. When he met Tracy, even as he was swept away by the biological urges of his mating drive, he took responsibility.

He may have denied his feelings at first. He may have kept a few things from her conveniently, like the fact that his mating bite bound him to her permanently. In the end, after they talked everything out, he didn't shy from the implications of his actions or the consequences of them.

He could have accepted his court martial and taken treatment to break the hold of his mating drive. He could have forsaken Tracy and have her sent back to Earth, but he refused to do that.

He wasn't human and claimed not to be able to love her, but in all the ways that counted he was a real man. Unlike the sullen piece of shit that sat before her with his arms crossed.

"I don't understand you, Tev," said Tracy. "Your brother put his career on the line to look for you and this is how you repay his loyalty?"

"This goes beyond my loyalty to my brother. I have a duty to my people. That includes taking care of a threat to the whole of Kerdos."

"Me," she snorted.

"Yes."

"Because you believe Ja-Idin Du."

"I have no reason not to believe him. He is a member of the Council of Nine."

"The what?"

"The ruling council of the Aligned World's government. The Congress proposes the laws. The Council approves or rejects them."