Sarazen's Claim, Book One (24 page)

‘Not worried I’m gonna go ape shit and eat people?’

‘I don’t know what this, ape shit, is. But no, I am not worried that you will lose control. We are bound together, and in times of stress or rage, I can reach out to you and soothe your beast, as I did with your claws.’

‘
Huh. Can I help you, when you need it?’

‘With my control?’

‘Don’t laugh at me,’

‘I would never. I am amused, and yes, were I a freshly changed male in need of assistance with my control, and you were the far more experienced female, yes. You could help me.’

‘Right. Well. I’m going to shower and go to the observation deck. I’ll let you know if the urge to kill someone starts to become pressing.’

He did not tell her that he would sense her rage far sooner than she would be able to tell him of it. He simply smiled and glanced up at Brennaugh’s entrance, nodding to him to take a seat, ‘
I will come for you as soon as I have completed my duties.’
Brennaugh threw himself down into the chair across from him and pulled up his reports on his own tablet, “Is your mate well?” He inquired, his lips quirking slightly, and he inclined his head. “Very. Yours?” Brennaugh drew in a deep breath, staring at the table top a moment before answering, “Unafraid. I am blessed. Did your mate truly tell mine, that I was beautiful?”

“Much to my displeasure, yes. Tara was uncertain of her future as the mate of a Sarazen, so my one offered her impression of you.”

As much as he was able to, Brennaugh blushed and then gave a serious scowl and they moved on from sentimental talk of their females, to the business at hand. It took nearly the entire day, but they finally came to an agreement of who would succeed Brennaugh’s command. Two of the human crew, two males, would accompany the Fifth wing in the search for the humans and act as ambassadors. Clary was with them now, briefing them on how to proceed and within a few hours, the ships would part ways. One to Saraz, the other into deeper space. Tara had apparently agreed to spend some time on the planet with her mate, considering accepting his blood and a deeper bond as she gained the ability to change. And, to repair her womb so that she could bear young.

Transfers complete, he and Brennaugh moved to bridge, and as Falken was still…occupied, Brennaugh took place as his second and together they oversaw the movement of his warriors on the First, to the Fifth and then got the First underway to return to Saraz. “Falken has been indisposed for quite some time. Should we be concerned?” Brennaugh questioned, and he gave a rueful grin. “He and his mate came up for air yesterday for a brief visit to medical. Cassie is suffering an intense heat cycle, more so than the others it seems. She was not sterilized by her people, and it is Ga’rae’s estimation that because her body did not have to replenish its reproductive material, her beast is determined to bear young. Clary said something about forced ovulation and made comparison to a beast from their planet to explain why Cassie is experiencing such fierce need, but so long as it causes her no harm, Falken doesn’t seem to be complaining or care what the explanation is.”

“Neither would I.” Brennaugh muttered,

Twenty Four

He brought Clary to the bridge to see their final approach to Saraz. She stood calmly beside him, though he could see and smell her excitement, her hands clasped tightly in front of her as she looked down at the dark green and pink planet that was to be her new home. “It looks like Earth,” She murmured, and he was pleased to see how eager she seemed, but after so long looking for a new home, he would be eager too. “Can the others see this from the observation deck?” She asked, tearing her gaze away from the planet to look at him with her eyes sparkling, “They can. Ohlen has taken them all there. My warriors will disembark first, it will take a full day, my replacement should be here soon.”

She nodded, worrying at her lip with a dainty fang, blushing when she caught his mental purr of arousal to see it. “We’re um, approaching the planet rather quickly.” She commented, jittering just a bit while the pilots steered towards the landing platform waiting for their arrival. “To ensure our ship’s integrity and safety, instead of space stations, we dock under the ocean. Were our enemies to fire upon us, their plasma blasts dissipate in the water, giving us time to return fire and launch.” She looked reasonably impressed, but her worry didn’t fade, “Clearly you’ve done this many times, but this ship is…massive.” He folded his hands behind his back and moved to stand behind her, bending to murmur in her ear, “Have no fear, my one. Were I at all doubtful of my pilot’s capabilities, I would have flown you to the surface in a shuttle myself.”

She gripped the railing in front of them when they began their descent into the atmosphere, the chatter of the ground tower accepting his access codes, giving instructions for landing and assuring him all was prepared for their arrival on their end. Clary sucked in a deep breath as the ocean loomed closer, holding it when she saw the platform that the warship would set down on, seemingly right in the middle of the greenish black waters. The horizon dipped as the ship leveled out, and though he could see the progress of the ship lowering onto the platform, when it touched down they didn’t feel so much as a shiver. “Docking bay clamps secured, Commander.” A warrior confirmed, “Hatches all secured?”

“Affirmative,”

“Continue with the docking procedure,”

‘You are so sexy, Commander
.’

He bent and nipped at her ear in reprimand, distracting him from the orders he was required to give. She shot her elbow back into his ribs, blowing out a breath when the ship began its descent into the water. Mist slid up the surface of the viewing window, then water as they sank lower. They had a ways to go, and reports stemmed from all around him, and soon they were situated in the docking bay and the airlock to the transport bays were in place, ready for his warriors to disembark. He was home, and this was the last time he would stand here on this deck and give his commands to the fleet. The moment sunk home when to a one, his warriors stood and pressed their fingertips to their hearts, inclining their heads to him, all twenty of them in unison. “It has been an honor to serve you, Commander.” The male closest to him said, “The honor was mine, there are none better than the warriors aboard this vessel.”

He gave his last orders, and soon he and Clary were alone on the bridge. Her small hand slipped into his and gave a squeeze, her gaze gentle but proud, “Will you miss it?” She asked him carefully, and he smiled, leaning down to taste the sweetness from her lips. “No, my one. I will not.” He gave his command chair one last stroke, knowing he would never spend another sleepless night on the uncomfortable cushions, working tirelessly for the betterment of his people, his responsibilities to the armada crushing down on him alone. Never again.

He walked the halls for the last time, holding the hand of his mate, walking with her towards their future. He had nothing of personal value that needed to be taken with him, and when he said as much after Clary asked, she seemed upset. “You have nothing you want to take with you? No books? No clothes or items from your travels?” He wanted to laugh at her ignorance of just how little time the commander of an entire armada had for things such as leisure time. He’d taken more in the few days he’d had with her aboard, than he had in his entire tenure as commander. “My one, the only thing of value I take off this ship, is you. All else is replaceable.” He keenly felt her sadness, and when he asked her why, she shook her head and wrapped her free hand around his bicep, resting her cheek there too. “I just understand now, what you meant when you said you were being relieved from loneliness and a lifetime of service.” He touched a kiss to her hair and stopped with her in the same hangar bay where he had first seen her, “My replacement will join us soon, and then we may disembark to join the others.”

They did not have to wait long, and he was not wholly surprised by the warrior who walked into the hangar, accompanied by a quartet of his elite guard. He had followed his military career, as he had done for all the other possible candidates to one day take command of any of his fleet.  He approved the transfer, and showed it in how he approached the other male and clasped his arm firmly. “Commander Cavil, welcome aboard.” Cavil was younger by over fifteen cycles, but he was keen and had commanded the twelfth sector and had protected it victoriously, prevailing each time the Na’ha had attempted to strike at their ore rich planet. He would serve and command the armada well. “My thanks, Commander Tarek. You are hereby relieved,” He took a deep breath and gave one last squeeze to Cavil’s arm. “I am relieved,” He said, realizing it was true in more ways than one.

Cavil’s eyes slid to his left, and when he released his grip, he held his hand back to Clary and introduced her to the new Commander of the Sarazen armada. “My one, this is Commander Cavil. Commander, my mate, Clary of the Starsong.” Cavil gave the customary greeting of his fingertips pressed to his chest, and Clary inclined her head while the younger male openly stared. “I do not mean to stare, but you are not what I expected,
asha’na
.” He gritted his teeth, prepared to give Cavil the thrashing of his life, but Clary just smiled and tilted her head curiously. “What were you expecting, Commander?”

“Someone smaller. You have already sired a cub on her outside the festival?”

He blinked in shock, growling when Cavil’s eyes dropped obviously to Clary’s lush bosom. To his utter surprise, Clary laughed. He was not sure why she found Cavil’s total lack of manners amusing, but she knew little yet of protocol, and Cavil was rudely disregarding them all. Despite his control over the armada now, Cavil was still his subordinate and seemed to have forgotten this. “Humans have breasts all the time, not just when we are carrying. Don’t growl, you thought the same thing.” She chided him, and he glared at Cavil, who seemed to realize the misstep he had made and had the grace to flush. “The difference, my one, is that I thought it. Not stated it aloud to several witnesses in a manner quite blatantly disrespectful to you.” Cavil immediately apologized, “I have no excuse, Commander. Forgive me. I was read in by the council on the matter of the changes that occurred to your mate and the three other human females. I confess that I had trouble believing it. I am truly glad for you, there are few who deserve such beauty more. Please forgive my rudeness,”

Once he handed over the data tablet with the codes required to transfer Cavil’s command to the First ship, he took the final step off the ship that had been his home for longer than he cared to remember, and led Clary into the waiting shuttle. They stepped into the tube and with a small tug at his belly, they were off, shooting for the surface where the others awaited them. “Tarek, it’s alright you know. I wasn’t offended by his curiosity.” She told him, petting his arm soothingly, “I was. It is customary to ask permission to address one’s mate upon first meeting them.”

“I see. You’ll have to teach me these customs of yours, so I don’t embarrass you.”

He glared down at her hotly, offended more by the ridiculous idea that she would embarrass him. But she ignored his look and smiled, looking around at the water that rushed past them, “He called me,
asha’na
. My translator didn’t provide me with a meaning, though I think it was a very respectful title. And why are you being called to the royal apartments?” He grunted, eager to be free of this damn tube so he could smell the free air of his homeworld again. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed it until right that moment. “You have royalty in your culture, yes?”

“Mm hm, a long time ago. Kings and queens are the primary monarchs, their offspring princes and princesses, the titles go on.”

“My sire was
Asho
, primary ruler until my dam, his
Asho’na
was killed. He stepped down when my brother called his mate, so in turn my brother became,
Asho
. I am secondary,
Asha,
which makes you my
Asha’na
. We, are being called to the royal apartments, because until we choose a home of our own outside the palace, that is where we reside.”

“Um, you literally mentioned…none of this before now. Your younger brother is the
king
, of your people, you’re next in line which makes you a prince, and me…”

“Princess, by your language. Yes.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“What?”

“It’s a rude way of saying, you’re kidding,”

“I see, and no, I am not shitting you. This displeases you, to be among the ruling pride?”

“I just got used to the idea of being in command of my own crew, and suddenly I’m promoted to the ruling pride. I’m…off balance. Again. Was there a reason we haven’t discussed this before now?”

He looked pensive, and she could feel him thinking about it seriously. He gave a shake of his head, and squeezed her hand reassuringly. “No. My breeding is so widely known on my world that I did not think of it, or think to explain. I made mention of it in passing, but I see where in our conversations I should have explained. I apologize,” His sincerity and the fact that she could feel it, was probably the only reason why she didn’t fly off the handle. Until she thought back on their conversations and realized that as the first born, it had been him who should have taken over his father’s rule when he stepped down. But because he had no mate at the time, the position was given to his younger brother, and likely to avoid any conflict, Tarek had been demoted and sent off to defend their solar system. “Do not be nervous, my one. All will be well.”