Page 21 of 20% Stud 80% Muffin
I stood and inventoried his dwelling. A patchwork of tin and steel intermixed with some type of adobe-like building material. The ground was bare and uneven, and a dip was tucked away in the far corner, filled with graneth grass. It poked out from under the pile of white pelts from our trip to the wastelands. That must be his nest. I gulped as the scent overwhelmed me. I rubbed the tight skin over my bicep as I sucked in a deep breath, held in my gut and calmed myself.
His tail unwound from around my leg and swooshed as he backed away, leaving a hollowed out feeling in my chest. “I’m doing the best I can.” His voice wavered as he pulled up the top half of his beat-up jumpsuit, zipping it over all his luxurious blue skin.
Fuck, I didn’t mean to be critical.I kicked the ground in frustration. Damn it, he’d gone from one asshole straight into the arms of another. As archbuilder, Icould provide Makir with a secure dwelling. I didn’t give a rat’s ass if he was next on the list or not. His house was going up one way or the other.
“We’re starting your dwelling tomorrow.”
Makir jumped at the force of my voice. “What?” His tail tapped agitatedly on the ground.
“You heard me. Tomorrow at seven suns.” My voice echoed off the tin walls like thunder.
Makir straightened his shoulders, and his silver eyes flashed at me. “I need my hovery completed first.” His voice was firm but threaded with a delicious purr that weakened my knees.
“You will have a secure home, and that is final.”
On that order, I abruptly turned and left his home. The tug immediately resumed, and with it, the overwhelming need to act as a sentinel and stand outside his door all night. Against my better judgment, I forced myself to return to the sono. The cooler night air did nothing to soothe my hot skin.
I stomped home in the dark and promised to be kind to Makir tomorrow.
8
My tail stood stiffand proud by my shoulder as I walked toward my shower for the second time. “Domineering, self-righteous, arrogant do-gooder,” I grumbled. With Geo far enough away, coherent thought had restored itself.
How dare he insult my dwelling? So what if it wasn’t much to look at? I’d pieced together a somewhathabitable space. Even if it was far from perfect, it belonged to me, and only I could insult it.
I stripped off my jumpsuit, dusted in Tern’s pervasive pink soil, and hung it over the chair that doubled as my towel rack. A shower would help me reset.
The patch of skin Raz had trailed his talon over earlier burned under the lukewarm water, and I scrubbed the offended area raw. I should’ve known better than to run outside half-dressed, but the wall panel had shifted where I’d built my shower, and a cold breeze had been blowing in. When I’d gone outside to fix it, Raz had found me.
Alphas were meant to protect and cherish their omegas. On Lorne, that was the way it worked—in theory. Raz descended from planet Hotner. I didn’t know which clan of Lizzard he belonged to, but my brother had recently led a mission aiding their planet. While there, he’d witnessed many alphas of the third clan misusing their power over weaker omegas. That behavior would be criminal on Lorne…unless you were best friends with the regent.
My tense muscles loosened as I shook out my fur and toweled dry. Would a hot shower have felt a hundred times better? Bless the goddess Sola, yes, but I could live simply if it meant not moving into Raz’s guest room. I’d heeded my brother’s warning about Lizzard alphas and avoided Raz whenever possible. His sway over me was weak. I wasn’t drawn to Raz in any capacity, but I always faltered when he caught me by surprise.
Thick furs lined my nest, lustrous and pearl white. Warm and sumptuous, they called my name. Even my parents would have been proud to have furs like these blanketing their nest.
Wrung out from the previous rotation’s hard labor, followed by a sleepless night nursing Geo and another hijacking from Raz, rest was long overdue. Sleep, however, proved hard to come by. My mind cycled between what I would do about my bully neighbor and what I would do about my partial tether to Geo. Add in the fact that anybody could walk in on me since my dwelling was so poorly secured, and it was no wonder I couldn’t sleep.
I checked the time on my wristport. Ten moons. Bonic might still be awake. Maybe he could help me sort out my head?
“Makee!” One warm greeting from my brother and I relaxed into my nest. No matter if his voice was garbled and broke up through the audio on my wristport.
“How are things on Lorne?”
Usually the epitome of self-control, Bonic’s voice wavered. “Jast is pregnant! Can you believe I’ll be a father?”
My eyes welled with tears, and I choked on my words. “Congratulations.” Why had this happened so soon after my departure? I wanted to be there for Jast for her pregnancy. I yearned for Lorne for the first time since I’d arrived on Tern. “I can picture you and your youngling with traps full of bush-tailed monties already.”
Bonic’s laugh rang through the speaker. “Now I know you didn’t call to ask about Lorne. What is it?”
I bit my lip. “It’s happened again. I feel the tether.” My voice quieted and nearly disappeared.
“There are Lornians on Tern?”
My mental picture of him was clear. Bonic’s eyes would turn inward in confusion, an expression as familiar as the scar near my thumb. He sat behind his glossy black desk, the portrait of our prestigious family line proudly hanging behind him. In the image, we stood shoulder to shoulder.
No, there were no Lornians on Tern, but Raz would have fit perfectly in my parents’ grand living quarters. All show and no substance. My brother’s alpha voice commanded my attention, but with a temporary bond in place, it held much less power over me than usual. “It’s not with the Lizzard, is it? I thought I told you to keep away from him. They’re strong, but easily intimidated. Just shout at him or something.”
Thank the goddess Sola, no, a tether to Raz would be a nightmare. And Bonic was just as aware as me that omegas didn’t shout at people. “Er…it’s with a human.”
