Drekkan

DREKKAN

I f I could eat my sweet treat forever, it wouldn’t be long enough. The way she felt under my tongue, under my hands, the noises she made, they send me feral. I might not have been actively looking for her, but now I have her.

“.” She whispers my name and it’s like starlight from her lips.

I rise, lifting her from where she is perched on the counter. She is soft, pliable, and drowsy from pleasure. Her scent surrounds me, and I feel calm for the first time in a very long time. There’s no desire to do anything other than be in the moment with Jade, to curl around her, protect both her and the life which grows within her. I carry my precious bundle through to the tiny sleeping area, which will not do at all.

Even though I can’t shift, I’m still far too big for the bed. I cannot understand why the mayor would put her in such a minuscule dwelling. My mate deserves a palace and a bed built on a hoard. She deserves everything fine and beautiful. Jade deserves the best.

I place her on the bed, kissing her on the forehead as her eyelids flutter.

“Where are you going?” she murmurs.

“I’m not leaving you, little snack. But I have something I need to do. I won’t be long. Rest now.”

I cover her with one of the thin blankets as my rut roars in my veins, the mating gland moving into overdrive. With her taste still in my mouth, I leave the small dwelling and head out into the street, checking over my shoulder as I stomp towards the marketplace.

The collar whines at me, and I can hear growling. I need a fight, and collar or not, I’m going to get one.

The stall holders and customers scatter as I make my way though, not caring what gets damaged or turned over. I have a place to be, and as the mayor decided he was going to take away my ability to shift, then they can go to him for any compensation. In my Sarkarnii form, I’d have caused significantly less damage from the sky.

Smoke issues from my mouth and nose, but I hold back on my flame.

“?” Qrow slides out of the scattering crowd. “Where are you going?”

“See the mayor,” I growl, ignoring the buzzing at my neck.

“Not a great idea,” Qrow says, scurrying to keep pace with me. “He won’t take the collar off until after the celebrations.”

I snarl, and a furry Lepke stallholder screams, leaping away from me.

The collar activates. The flash of pain is blinding, dropping me to my knees as I scrabble at it. Touching the thing makes the pain worse. I can hear my heart beating, the blood rushing in my veins as seeing becomes difficult.

“Now you’ve done it.” I hear Qrow from a long way away as my body gives up and I slump forward.

But then there are hands. They’re everywhere, lifting me. Voices talk in low tones meaning I can’t quite catch the words. Finally, the pain subsides, and my muscles relax.

“Why do this to yourself, ?” The mayor’s bulbous face peers down at me. “Qrow warned you what would happen if you tried to disrupt things.”

“Not. Disrupting,” I grind out, finding my jaw still partially locked.

“So, what do you call the scene at the market?” He turns away from me to his bank of screens, most of which are showing my progress through the square on a loop.

It doesn’t look good.

“I wanted to speak. To you.” I struggle on. “The female.”

He turns back to me, and I swear to the ancestors I see a flicker of emotion across his pale face.

“The one you were eating with earlier? The human? What have you done to her?” He’s across to me in two strides, thick fingers press on the collar, and the pain spikes again, my body arching involuntarily.

“Not hurt her!” I grit my teeth against the pain.

It subsides, and the mayor is giving me a curious look. “Then what about the human female? She is our guest here on Kitchik, and she has to be treated well,” he says with a menacing tone.

“Then why is she in the smallest dwelling you have?” I reply, my tongue finally working again, my mouth slippery with metallic tasting blood where I’ve bitten the inside of my cheek. “Hardly a way to treat a guest as fine as Jade.”

The mayor turns away. “You did all this”—he gestures to the screens—“to tell me I’m mistreating my guest?”

“Why else? You’ve made it clear I don’t get what I want unless I comply.” My arms are rippling with tiny needles as I lift one to explore the collar around my neck. It vibrates with warning. I let my hand drop away. “Unless I leave your nevving celebrations alone.”

“You’ve hardly kept your end of the bargain.” The mayor stares at the screens.

“And you’re not treating your guest with the respect she deserves. She is with young, and if she chose your pathetic rock to birth her young, you should not only feel privileged, but you should be ensuring she is her most comfortable.”

I let the silence sit as I attempt to get the feeling back in the rest of my body. My leg with the pulsar injury hurts like it’s been chewed by a mosum, and I realize just how much I’ve taken being able to shift for granted. Sitting up, I take in the large number of guards ringing the mayor’s chamber.

I might be collared, but they’re not taking any chances.

“So, what do you suggest?” the mayor asks suddenly. “About the human female.”

“She should be given a larger dwelling, provided with the necessary comforts as close to your own as possible.”

“Anything else?”

“Jade requires a personal chef, making food she likes to ensure she gets all the nutrition she needs,” I say, thinking of the tiny and near useless food preparation area in the apartment. “She also needs a decent wardrobe, not the rags she’s dressed in…And an aquium. She needs one of those.”

“An aquium?” the mayor queries. “Like a Sarkarnii aquium?”

“Human females like to bathe. She needs an aquium,” I lie smoothly, and the collar does not berate me.

The mayor rubs his broad chin, eyes narrowed but not leaving me for a seccari. I’m planning my exit from the chamber when he releases a sigh.

“If I do this, what will you do for me?”

I tap the collar, and it chimes with a warning. “You already have me under control until after the celebrations. What more could you want from me?”

“You’ve proved you’re more than capable of being disruptive and destructive regardless of any control,” the mayor says.

He’s frozen the screens at the moment I’m clearly being shocked by the collar and brought to my knees. The scattered stalls and horrified faces of the Kitchik inhabitants are in stark relief.

“So, if I do this for the female, will you behave? Not cause any further problems?”

I grin, even if my entire head hurts. “Provided she is moved in the next turn, you have my word I will not disrupt the celebrations.”

I’m going to ensure they’re unable to take place at all.