18. Sloane

eighteen

Sloane

" H ow long have you been working for the Intergalactic Alliance?" I ask as I trace small circles through Alik's chest hair. The swirling pattern stays as I move my fingers, and when I've made the spiral big enough to cover one of his pecs, I run my hand over it until it's smoothed out again and start over.

We've been lying here for the last hour, both of us trying to find some sleep when we're both on high alert. We spent yesterday fucking like crazy, but after we woke this morning, Jovi left the room to help the others prepare, and Alik and I were left in here to hang out with one another.

For the most part, I read one of my books, and he worked on scanning the smugglers' ship. He'd take breaks every couple of hours to pull me into his arms and hold me close to him. Most of the time, it ended with me coming on his fingers or his tongue or his cock.

"We've done runs for them probably a hundred times at this point. We pick up odd jobs from others here and there when we're bored."

He keeps me plastered to his side with both of his left arms wrapped tightly around me. His upper right arm is behind his head, and the lower one is tracing over my skin like I'm doing to him, but his efforts are more focused on making me erupt in goosebumps.

"Jovi and I joined a crew with Essa ten years ago. Jovi and I were barely twenty then, and Essa had just fled her home planet after her seventeenth birthday. We left that crew and started our own eight years ago, though. Phial joined us shortly after we went out on our own, and Holoth joined six years ago."

"Essa told me she's pretty much royalty on her planet," I say, more so to see if it's true. I'm never too sure if what Essa tells me is true or not, and her being royalty seems so unbelievable that maybe it's actually true.

Alik snorts a laugh and then nods. "She's something like that. Technically, she's betrothed to a male there, and that's why she left."

"What?" My eyes go wide at the new information I'm getting. Well, not exactly new since it came up during our game of never have I ever, but I'd forgotten about it. "She didn't tell me that part of it."

"I'm surprised." Alik pulls the blanket up tighter around me when he notices a shiver run through my body. His hands are tight around me, but he stops tracing my skin and rests the hand on my side. "It's one of her favorite stories to tell us because the male can't marry anyone else until she officially calls off the engagement."

"Why'd she agree to it if she didn't want to marry him?" I ask.

Knowing Essa, I could see her doing something like that for a laugh. I couldn't see her doing it just to ruin someone else's life, and it seems like that's what she's doing by keeping the male forever on the line like that.

Alik sighs at my question, his fingers digging into me tighter. I look up at him to see his three eyes staring down at me in admiration. It makes my cheeks flush, which has me wanting to lower mine in embarrassment, but Alik keeps my gaze.

"Some planet's customs can seem strange when compared to your own. I know I didn't understand Holoth's planet for a long time since the way we treat our females is much different." I open my mouth to ask how Holoth's planet treats females if it's seen as weird, but Alik continues before I can ask. "On Essa's planet, there's a social hierarchy based on the family you're born into. Things are expected of different families, and Essa is expected to wed and breed." I make a soft sound of disgust, but Alik keeps going. "In order for families to retain their control over their lands, they mix with the other families to have powerful offspring. Essa's betrothed to a strong male, a fighter, I believe. Her family made a deal with him that any male children they bore would be given to Essa's family to strengthen the next generation, and the females would be given to the male's family to do with what they want."

"They can't just do that," I say, outrage bubbling in my chest at what's happened to my friend and what could happen to her if she ever goes back home. I feel bile in my throat as I remember the comment she made about us going back to her home for me to try some of their food. I was excited about it, and now it fills me with distress.

"Shh." Alik strokes down my arms and cups my cheek with one of his hands. "Different cultures, Sloane, so many different cultures in the universe. Essa's safe now, though. I promise she's never going back as long as we have any say in it."

"Why's she even engaged to him?" I ask, wanting him to continue to tell me everything so I might understand. "If she's never going back, why doesn't he marry someone else? Why doesn't she call off the engagement?"

"It's complicated, but the gist of it is that she has a younger sister, and if she ends the engagement formally, her sister will be the one to wed him." Alik rolls onto his side, pulling me close to his chest and nuzzling the top of my head. "She's agreed to a perpetual engagement, so that way, her sister isn't forced into the same arrangement. She tried to get her sister to join us, but every time she's offered, her sister tells her she doesn't want to leave their planet."

"Why would she want to stay?"

"I don't know," Alik answers with a shrug. "I've never thought to ask Essa that. I don't know if even Essa knows. I just know every time we get close enough to make a pickup, Essa sends a comm message, and every time her sister tells her no."

"She told me that when we visit Haven III, she wants to show me all kinds of food," I tell him. I don't really know why because now that I know what waits for Essa if she ever goes back, I definitely don't want to go. "I guess I'll have to tell her I can't ever try the skin of quash now."

"You're not missing out." His lips pull back in a snarl before he shakes his head and lets the look fall from his face. "Absolutely disgusting. You can feel their legs clinging to your throat as they try not to be eaten."

I frown, and a retching sound leaves my throat and my body jerks. Alik leans his head down against mine, chuckling softly as he holds me tight.

"Sorry," he says with a smile on his lips. I almost tell him my disgust is worth it if I get to see him looking so happy. He really is a handsome male and is made even more so when he allows himself to be joyful. "I shouldn't have said that. I thought it would make you less sad to know you weren't missing out on something delicious."

I'm about to tell him it's fine so long as he keeps smiling at me. When he smiles, a full smile, he has dimples, and they might be the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. I don't get the chance to soak it all in before his comm pings a loud sound in the quiet room.

The sound is more of an alarm than his other notifications, and I don't miss how his entire body stiffens before he throws himself out of the bed and grabs the comm tablet. He silences the ping and then types something out on the comm tablet before tossing it on the bed.

"Time to get ready, little mate," Alik says, cupping my face and giving me a quick, hard kiss before stalking over to the small drawers of clothing.

My heart races as I move to sit up. Alik pulls one of the few long-sleeved shirts he and Jovi have over his head, making sure it covers his bond marks. He twists his arms around, stretches them out, and then moves the high neckline around to make sure it covers it well enough so there won't be questions.

He told me yesterday that the smugglers probably won't know what they are, but even if they do, it's not uncommon for mated males to get them tattooed when a female allows him the honor of claiming her. If everything goes according to plan, the smugglers will never see me, so they won't know the one who put those bond marks on my Varons was me.

Phial, Holoth, and Essa will know what they are and that they aren't tattoos as soon as they see them, though. And that's an even scarier thought, because we don't know how the crew will react to finding out about the mating. I'm almost positive everyone will be happy, but Jovi and Alik don't trust Essa not to stab them a few times since they broke so many rules to claim me.

"Alik?" My voice feels so small as it leaves me.

I know this was always part of what I signed up for, but now that it's time, I'm starting to panic. Alik's eyes flash over to me, and then he's on his knees in front of me in an instant, pulling me close to him and cradling me.

The bedroom door opens, and Jovi peeks his head in. He sees us on the ground and joins us, one hand on my back, the other brushing through my hair in a soothing manner. He moves the sleeves of his shirt up, showing off his bond marks and reminding me of their presence.

"Nothing's going to happen to you, Sloane," Alik says with so much conviction that I can't help but trust him.

He helps me slide on a shirt he grabs off the floor. I don't have anything with a high neck to hide my bandaged bite marks, so I'm dressed in one of Alik's shirts and have the bottom arms wrapped around my abdomen and tied in the front.

"Alik scanned the ship already. They have one ship with three crew members, not including the single human they have on their ship. They're here to pick up a single human from us. They think we aren't major smugglers, just opportunists, which means they don't expect us to be prepared to take them down." Jovi repeats everything they told me yesterday when Alik finished his scan of their ship. "There are no other ships out there watching us, and they don't have a communication dead switch. Chances are these are small fish in the chain of this whole operation, and we just need their files to see who hired them."

"I'm safe?" I ask, looking between the two, whose faces have hardened.

"Nothing and no one will ever hurt you," Alik says, his words coming out as more of a snarl.

The bedroom door opens again. This time, Essa is the one sticking her head in. "Five minutes."

"We'll be right out," Jovi says, waving Essa away.

She gives me a concerned look as her jaw ticks back and forth. She doesn't leave like Jovi and Alik both want her to. No, she takes a step inside and pulls out one of her blasters from its holster. Alik and Jovi move to stand in front of me, unsure of what Essa's doing. She shakes her head, shooing them out of her way, and then offers the blaster to me.

"No blasters for the pleasure crew, but you are not pleasure crew right now." Essa gives me a soft smile, and I wrap my hand around the weapon.

She moves to my side and begins to explain how it works to me. I need to flick the safety off, point, and pull the trigger. It's easy enough to remember, but it doesn't stop the shaking in my bones when I'm holding it. Okay, so maybe I now regret ever wanting one of these things.

"You won't need to use it, but it's nice to feel like you can protect yourself, yes?" Essa stands back up to her full height, her tail tightening around my ankle. She looks at my two mates as we stand there in silence for a moment while I get used to holding the blaster.

I know exactly when she notices the black markings on Jovi's uncovered wrists. Her entire body goes rigid, and her face fills with rage. I can't even imagine having it pinned on me and not wilting.

My instincts are screaming for me to run, to hide. Jovi and Alik flinch as Essa's pupils constrict into thin lines, and her fangs sink lower. I have to look away, unable to look at Essa when she's like this without having fear stiffen my body. Jovi slaps a hand over his eyes, but Alik stares at her even as his fingers start shaking and his nose crinkles back in a snarl.

"We'll talk about this when lives are not at stake, yes?" Essa's voice is gentle and sweet as she turns away from all of us to face the doorway. It lessens the iciness of the fear coating my spine and limbs.

I really need to ask Essa how she does that. Preferably when I'm one hundred percent sure I'm not going to pee my pants.

"That was the plan," Alik says dryly. His hands fight to hide their shake, but I see the relief in his stature. "The only reason we're not showing them off was to keep you all focused on the mission."

"Let's go then," Essa says, her tail tightening on my ankle. She turns back around to show us that she's calmed down significantly.

"After you," Alik says, refusing to leave this room until it's just him and me.

He and Essa get into a staring contest for a moment until she relents and releases her tail from around my ankle. I can see her hands flexing as she walks out, and I'm almost positive I see her grab one of her daggers from the holster on her thigh.

I run to the door, grabbing Essa's hand with my free one and making her turn around to face me. "Please don't hurt them." She narrows her golden eyes at me, her anger palpable in the air. "I really, really like them, and I don't want you to hurt them."

Essa's jaw ticks once, twice, and then she sighs. "I won't hurt your mates," she says as she re-holsters the dagger. She looks behind me with a scowl. "Yet. I make no promises once we are done with this mission."

"Awe, Essa," Jovi taunts her as he throws an arm over my shoulder, "You called me her mate. That's so sweet of you."

Jovi's so deliberate and sneaky about getting me back in the room that I don't notice he's maneuvering me behind him until Alik grabs me from under his arm and guides me into the bathroom. Jovi keeps Essa occupied in the doorway as Alik gets me situated in the bathroom.

"You lock this door when I leave. You have your blaster. We have the knock. Is there anything you need?" Alik looks around frantically like he's forgotten something important and won't remember it until he's indisposed with the mission. He pats my shoulders and down my arms and finally gives himself a last nod. "We'll be back soon."

"Be safe," I add, right before he leaves. "And tell Jovi to be safe, too."

Alik turns around, a full smile on display, his dimples making an appearance and making him seem more playful. "We have a mate now. We're going to be so safe."