Epilogue

Harper

"Look, everyone! Look!" I crowed as I charged into the mess hall aboard the Varakartoom. It was lunch hour, and the tables were filled to bursting with the crew. Mandy and I had been sharing tea and comparing notes in her quarters when my tablet started vibrating with dozens of notifications. (Okay, I knew it was a datapad, but old habits died hard). She wasn't far behind me and just in time to see the crowd of eating mercenaries go silent and stare at me in utter confusion.

Nick rose from where he'd been sitting next to the twins, Aramon and Solear. "Show me, Novi. What's the news?" he asked while wearing a shit-eating grin that told me he already knew. I had the sudden suspicion that my datapad had lit up with those messages because of him. It was right up his alley. Didn't matter if he knew or not, he was leaving the floor to me, proud to let me be the one to share the news.

"The Kertinillian army found Batok's ship," I declared, and with deft fingers I swiped the news feed images onto one of the large mess hall screens. In several places, they announced my name in bold letters as the article writer or journalist, but that wasn't even the good part. It was extremely satisfying to see the leaked footage of Batok dragged in chains from his ship and onto Kertinal soil.

I recognized him, because I would never forget his evil, awful face, but he had become half the person he'd been. Literally. His blue fur hung from his bones in flaps, his frame seemed half the size it used to be, and there was no sign of that pronounced gut from before. He'd been starving for week s until they found him, and it was the least he deserved after eating so many poor people and being such an evil alien.

I knew it wasn't nearly as important to the rest of the crew as it was to me and Nick, but they cheered and clapped. Aramon hooted with laughter as he pointed and imitated the weak little shuffle of the diminished crimelord, and several of the other males surrounded Nick and me to congratulate us. They clapped Nick roughly on the shoulder, but they didn't touch me. My mate still got a little too possessive to allow that, but apparently nobody minded and I was starting to get used to it.

"Well done, Harper," Dravion said warmly when he got his turn in front of me. He stuck out a tentacle, the only one besides Mandy who dared to risk touching me. I took it and shook it firmly, which made Aramon hoot with laughter as if that was the funniest thing in the world. Then Dravion winked at my bristling mate and slipped away once more.

"Okay, enough celebrating with my mate," Nick said, and he snatched me in his arms and cradled me against his big, armor-clad chest. "Rounds are on me tonight. Break out your finest Aderian wine, and your worst Rummicaron ale, Brace." That was apparently a tradition on the ship, and the words were met with laughter and cheers.

I peered at the metal hatch that separated the mess hall from the galley, trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive Brace. He was already pushing bottles through the crack beneath the hatch, but like always, he was very good at not giving anything away. It ate at my curiosity, but I was certain I'd find out who he was one day.

And then it happened. One bottle started to roll and in reflex, he snatched it back up with a hand before it could crash to the ground. That moment was enough for me to see the fine blue pelt that covered his fingers, and the longer fur trailing up his forearm. A Hoxiam, one just like Batok.

Nick carried me out of the mess hall, unaware that my mood had been dampened by the first hint of unease. The rowdy noise echoing down the hallway behind us was spirited and cheerful. These mercenaries didn't need much to start a party, and this was plenty. I focused on how happy I was about seeing Batok's demise, and how big a part I'd managed to play in it. This Brace was not Batok, he was more scared of me than I was of him. He was the one hiding.

"Sorry to interrupt the festive mood," a dark voice drawled over the ship-wide intercom. I recognized that voice immediately, the Sineater. I still hadn't gotten used to the idea that I shared a ship with him, even though Nick had sworn that Sin would never eat my feelings again or even so much as approach me. In the three weeks since we'd gotten back, that had certainly been true.

"He's not sorry," Nick said, still smiling as he turned his walk into a jog. His destination was obvious: our room. "He's enjoying this immensely. I can promise you that. Just like I'm going to be enjoying you immensely in a moment." He waggled his eyebrows and the feathered mohawk on his head flicked forward, displaying all of its vibrant colors.

"We have just been assigned a new mission. The party will have to wait until we have cleared Rakesh airspace." Then he started listing specific crew members that had to report to the ready room just off the bridge for a briefing. I knew Nick wouldn't be on that team, because he'd seen the communications when Asmoded bartered with the ship's new employer. But I knew Aramon was going to be extremely disappointed, and I couldn't wait to see how he'd deal with this mission.

"That sounds exciting," I said. "Do you know where we're going?" That was the part that hadn't been clear yet, from the little Nick had shared, and I was dying to find out. Now that I was free, I wanted to see everything, and I wanted to write all about it.

Nick nodded, but he didn't explain because by then we'd reached our quarters. The door swished open on his silent command. He strode past the newly painted and repaired walls and ducked around the fancy room divider I had picked. I sailed through the air and bounced on our soft mattress and silky sheets with a startled squeak.

"Yes, and it will take a while," he said, his tigerite eyes shimmering in their odd, striated bands. "I'm so proud of you, little Novi. Batok is never going to forget your name as he rots in a Kertinal prison." That was all it took to forget about other Hoxiam and made me feel instantly safe again, back in that festive mood that had brought us here.

"I love you, Nick," I said, and I shimmied out of my shirt. "I love you very much. I'm so lucky you were the one that found me. You can steal me anytime." My pants were a little harder to take off, and I was wriggling them down my hips in what surely had to be an awkward manner, but Nick's eyes seemed on fire for me.

"And I love you, Harper. And it is me who's the lucky one." Then he proceeded to prove himself wrong by making love to me so thoroughly that I lost count of how often I came. It started with his tongue, and it definitely ended, twice, with both his cocks buried deep inside of me.

THE END