The Overlord's Heir (2 page)

Chapter 2

     Later that
night, Miki remembered Vaan wished to speak with her. After assuring her two
guards that she headed directly to Vaan’s office, Miki managed to leave Balal
and Kavan in the dining hall with the others. Several Warlords stopped her
along the way to inquire about her health. At her answer, each looked to Balal
or Kavan before accepting her response. Her glare went unnoticed. Or ignored.
She didn’t stay around to discover which.

Miki entered Vaan’s
study and slammed the door behind her. She couldn’t take any more. Vaan’s Warlords
treated her like a youngling. She couldn’t walk without stepping over one of
them. Making it worse, her servants and friends were picking up and mimicking
the overprotective behavior.

     Vaan wasn’t
alone. At her dramatic entrance, her mate’s head snapped up. Weariness added
shadows beneath his dark eyes. She allowed a trickle of remorse to slip in before
shutting down the feeling. She was supposed to be annoyed with him. He folded
the papers he’d held and placed them in a tidy stack on his desk.

Elson and Wessel
glanced at each other before rising to their feet. Wessel broke the tension
first by smiling and bowing toward Mikayla. “Good evening, Su-Su.”

Releasing a calm
breath, Miki curved her lips into a returning smile. “Is all well with the
hapfe?” Wessel knew how close she cared for the bi-pedal mounts in the stable.
The creatures were more than just working animals.

“All is well. I
gave the Overlord the report you completed on the breeding program.”

Surprise made Miki
face Vaan. His blank gaze revealed none of his thoughts.

“Oh? What did Vaan
have to say about it?” She asked the question of Wessel without taking her eyes
from her mate.

Vaan tipped his
head back. “I said it was as detailed as I expected from you. Never have I
doubted your ability to run your home, Mikayla.”

Deflated, her
shoulders drooped. She really had no reason for her unwarranted annoyance.
Elson chose to speak up. “The Overlord also complimented our storing and tracking
of food wares. He plans to share the technique with his former home in Kaban.”

“Really?” She couldn’t
stop the sarcastic edge to her question. All of the structures in place that
made her home run efficiently were practices she adapted as she got older.

“Really,” Vaan
drawled and pushed his chair back. “Thank you, Wessel and Elson.”

The two men didn’t
need more and raced toward the door barely closing it behind them. Miki had the
pleasure of watching her mate’s towering frame come to his feet. Concerned eyes
took in her appearance from head to toe.

     “Is all well,
Mikayla?” When Vaan reached her side, one large hand caressed her belly and the
other tipped her face up to receive a kiss on her lips. His mouth brushed
against her own once, twice and then again.

     Her anger
slid away like water down a drainer when he released her. Each time her mate kissed
her, Miki melted. The affectionate gesture wasn’t natural to him but he made
the effort for her and she loved him for it. “I’m well.”

     “How is our Warlord?”
Vaan walked back to his desk and propped his hip on the wooden edge. The pose
stretched the material of his black leathers unerringly drawing her eye to the
bulge displayed by the vee between his legs.

     “You do know
the Ba’asi can’t predict the sex before its birth?” Pulling her thoughts away
from her mate’s physical appeal, Miki folded her hands on her curved belly.
Vaan insisted she carried his son, the next Galip warrior.

     He dismissed
her question with a wave of his hand. “It is easy to discern with your size.”

     At his absent
minded insult, Miki snorted. “Thank you, mate.” Vaan swayed between concern and
pride at her expanding size. He refused to listen to her explanations regarding
his great Kabanian height as a cause for her rapid growth.

     Of course as
the time passed, Miki experienced doubt as to whether she could safely carry
the youngling much longer. Her back ached all hours of the day, her appetite
waned and sleep came fleetingly. As a result, she stayed tired constantly and
sniped at those around her. “You wished to see me?”

     Vaan stood
and pointed to a padded chair. “You will sit and rest.”

     Miki didn’t
bother protesting. Vaan never insisted his warriors and her people stand before
him when they crossed the threshold to his office but he went out of his way to
cater to Miki. The heavily padded chair appeared in his study the day after
Miki gasped and bent over, feeling their youngling kick for the first time.

     Once she sat,
Miki admitted to the relief on her back. Even her slipper covered feet seemed
to sigh in relief.

     Vaan began to
pace as he talked. “I have asked you here to explain that I leave for Kaban in
the morning.”

     “What?” She
must have misunderstood him.

     Vaan avoided
her gaze and walked back and forth in front of her chair as he continued. “I
only take three Warlords with me. Argan will be in charge until my return.”

     Anger warred
with fear. Fear that she would be alone and something would go wrong when her
time arrived. Anger that he had not discussed it with her first. Miki awkwardly
pushed to her feet. “Don’t,” she snapped coldly when he attempted to help. “When
did you plan this?”

     “Saran sent another
missive last week. It is urgent I return to speak to the people. Kaban needs
me.”

     “I need you.”
The youngling gave a fierce kick to agree with its mother. Miki rubbed the spot,
feeling the firm press of a foot or hand. “Why am I just hearing this news? Do
your Warlords know?”

     Vaan stopped
pacing to face her. His silence answered louder than words ever could.

     “Then I am
last to know.” For some reason this hurt most. She thought they were beyond
this. As Su-Su to her Raasa stronghold, Miki garnered respect from those around
her. Vaan acknowledged all she had done to run a successful household yet
continued to treat her as if she were not capable of sound decisions.

     “Mikayla.”

     When he said
her name in those husky tones, she wanted to curl up in his arms and absorb his
love but not now. “You should have respected me as Su-Su to my people and told
me. I can’t believe you would leave when our youngling is due.”

     He had the
grace to wince, dark eyes pleading. “I will return in time to see him draw his
first breath. It is but four days, she’ma.”

     She didn’t
want to be his precious flower. A flower that she’d discovered was a weed. Soft
endearments wouldn’t sway her. “I think I’ll go lie down.”

     Vaan returned
to her side instantly. The heat of his palm on her belly seared through her
tunic. “You spoke truth, yes? All is well?”

     Unconcerned
with his worry, she shrugged her shoulders.

     “Mikayla,” he
growled, sending a shiver down her spine.

     This time the
youngling did a full roll. Great. He intimidated their youngling who wasn’t
even born yet. His hands rubbed soothing circles on her back but Miki stepped
away, breaking the contact. Her feelings could not be so easily ignored. “I’m
tired, Vaan.”

      When he
dropped his hands to his sides, his brows lowered. “If there is something
amiss, you only need send a messenger and I will return to you at once.”

     She nodded but
her mind already disconnected from the hurt caused by his actions. With great
care, Mikayla closed the door to his study quietly. Sadness weighed her steps
as she ignored everyone in the noisy main hall to head for the upper level. Balal
came from out of nowhere and grasped her elbow before her foot touched the
first step. Miki sighed internally and let him help.

     “My lady?”
His voice sounded tentative.

     Miki
considered Balal one of her closest friends among Vaan’s Warlords. She glanced
up to see his face. “Did you know he leaves in the morn?”

     Balal flushed
and her heart ached. He didn’t need to answer. As soon as they reached her
bedroom door, she gently tugged her arm free of his hold.

     “My lady,
there is rumor of unrest. He must go to settle things.”

     She gave a
non-committal hum of agreement and shut the door in his face. Her emotions were
too close to the surface for her to accept his attempts to justify Vaan’s
behavior.

***

     When Balal
returned to the lower level, Vaan cornered him. “How is she?”

     His Warlord
hesitated and then answered, “Hurt.”

     Kavan came up
behind Vaan. “She is not pleased you kept this from her.”

     Vaan knew
that and accepted his actions. “Mikayla would have worried needlessly. I fear
carrying our youngling has made her more…sensitive.”

     Kavan folded
his arms over his bare chest. “You should confine her to her bed while you are
gone.”

     Vaan felt a
grin tug at his lips. Even though Kavan and Mikayla had come to a mutual
agreement between them that neither would discuss, Kavan often argued that
Mikayla should settle into her role as a proper mate. “You would have her
angrier at me before I leave, yes?”

     His Warlord
cracked a small smile. “It would make watching her easier for Balal and I.”

     Vaan grunted.
Nothing involving his mate was easy. “Mikayla is not a Kabanian woman. Best we
all accept and remember this then move forward.” He faced Balal, Mikayla’s
favorite among his Warlords. “You will not allow her to endanger herself.”

     “As you
command, Overlord.”

     Balal’s
agreement came instantly but Vaan had witnessed Mikayla work around the younger
Warlord in the past. “Have Assa help you if necessary.” Assa and Mikayla grew
up together. His mate maintained a close relationship with all of her people due
to her parents joining the afterlife in the Hills while she was a youngling but
she was closest to Assa, Sera and Vesa. The house servants would be sure to
keep an eye on Mikayla.

     Balal ran a
hand through his dark shoulder-length hair and shifted his weight. “Assa no
longer gives me her confidence.”

     At this news,
Vaan raised a brow but Kavan burst into laughter drawing stares their way.
Balal’s cheeks stained red.

     “What
happened, Warlord?” The Raasa female seemed enamored of Balal and often spent
time in his company.

     Kavan’s
laughter died to chuckles and he answered for Balal. “She is not pleased with his
bed play.”

     Jaw rigid
with anger, Balal punched Kavan in the chest and stormed from the hall. Vaan
sighed. This he knew something about. Perhaps, he’d offer Balal a hint about
Raasa mating practices to ease his way.

Humor still
glinting in his dark eyes, Kavan faced Vaan. “Argan awaits you for final
instructions.”

Vann thought of
Mikayla and the anger when she parted ways with him. After a moment of
contemplation, he made his decision. “I will see him in the morn. I must attend
my mate.”

He took the stairs
two at a time, haste lending speed to his pace. As he approached the room, a
frown pulled at his lips. She’d left the door cracked open despite his concerns
for her safety. Never would the Kabanian warrior in him be calm at the Raasa’s lax
attitude toward safety. Vaan eased the door closed behind him and turned the
lock. Mikayla had to hear him enter but kept her back to him. She stood at the
window he always planned to seal for defensive reasons yet never made time to
complete.

Their room had
become a haven to him. In here, he did not have to be Overlord. Mikayla freely
argued with him behind their closed door. She also teased him with affection. No
other had ever dared.

Every inch of the room
showed signs of their shared space. The battered dresser contained her clothing
folded alongside his. A cluttered matching side table was pushed along the wall
to the side of their large bed.

What had started
as a safe place to rest his weapon soon became a collection spot for his mate.
Hair pins, jewels and a bowl of Zanni berries for her to snack on graced every
available inch of the surface. What he couldn’t find there were the leather
bindings he used for his hair. Vaan had yet to discover where she hid his hair
ties. Each night she pulled the length loose and forced him to borrow from his
warrior brethren.

  His gaze drifted
back to Mikayla. The blue nightdress was new. Until she began to show with
their young, Vaan had enjoyed the pleasure of sleeping with her nude body
pressed along his. He missed those nights. Mikayla taught him that bed play was
to be enjoyed and not endured by a female.  That a warrior could find pleasure with
his partner during bed play was unheard of among his people.

Raasa females
demanded equal enjoyment from their males and the resulting harmony in such
couples could not be denied. The Raasa were a sensual race, giving Vaan an
additional reason to thank the Blessed One for granting him such a beautiful
mate to spend his life with.

“Mikayla.” Walking
toward her, Vaan could not miss the way her shoulders tightened. He placed his
hands on the tense muscles and leaned down to inhale her sweet scent. “Be at
ease, she’ma. I will return soon.”

She turned in his
arms and lifted her face up to his. Tears glistened on her eyelids and his
breath stalled in his chest. This was true upset and knowing he’d hurt her
caused Vaan remorse. His fingers kneaded her shoulders as he ran his lips over
the soft skin down the column of her throat.

“Your anger
saddens me. This decision was not made without thought, Mikayla.”

“Don’t keep
secrets from me,” her husky voice warned.

“I will try not to.
In this, my concern for you and our youngling comes before any feelings of
pride either of us may have.” He was the Overlord but Vaan worked to balance
that with being a mate first.