Vareen & Mica (The Alliance Book 2) (9 page)

Vareen stretched and slowly opened her eyes. There was a faint light
coming through the window and she sat up. It felt like she’d just gone to bed
but the light told her it was much later. She’d missed dinner with Mica. Just
thinking about him brought back the strange dream she’d had. In the
dream,
he’d been holding her while she cried
about something. Then the dream had turned intimate. She’d kissed him and for
some
reason,
it had felt right.

Vareen shook herself out of bed. She needed to get a handle on her
runaway fantasies about Mica. He was her friend, nothing more.

Looking around it didn’t take a degree in astronomy to know the light was
bright enough to indicate it was daytime. Maybe she could make breakfast with Mica
if he was at home and wanted to eat.

Taking her time in the bathroom, Vareen played with the settings on the
shower. Getting soaking wet was something she’d learned to enjoy in the
hospital. Another thing she appreciated was the smells the soaps put off. Mica
had different types than she was used to. The ones in this shower were a mix of
floral, musk, and an earthy element she couldn’t quite place. Stepping out of
the water, she dried off with a huge towel that quickly absorbed the water
running off her body.

Upon returning to the bedroom she stopped short. Sprawled out on her bed
was a huge, black furred creature. Its long tail was rising and then thumping
down on the covers, and huge green eyes were watching her intently. Whiskers
twitched and a pink tongue came out to swipe at a clawed paw the size of a
salad plate.

“You must be Luna.” Vareen looked around, holding the towel more firmly
against her chest. She didn’t see or hear Mica and wondered how the feline had
gotten into her bedroom. At her
words,
the feline’s ears twitched forward.

Vareen moved cautiously toward her bed. The dress she’d been planning to
wear was under one front paw of the beast.

“You are pregnant aren’t you.” Vareen noticed the animals belly and
distended nipples. The poor thing was huge. “How many babies are you going to
have?”

Vareen was talking to herself to keep calm. The cat may have been
domesticated, but those claws didn’t look harmless. The only response she got
to her rambling was another twitch and thunk of the cat’s tail.

Taking her dress in one hand, Vareen pulled it from under Luna’s paw.
Happy with her success at facing the cat, she dropped the towel and hurried to
get dressed.

“There,” she presented herself to the cat. “All done.” Hearing a loud
noise coming from the beast, she leaned closer. Why was the cat making that
sound? Was it angry at her for grabbing the dress?

Maybe if she
pet
the creature it wouldn’t be angry any
longer
. Reaching out her hand, she put her fingers against the cat’s fur.
Its tail stopped twitching, the noise ceased and its eyes narrowed on her.

Okay, this was either a good sign and she should keep petting or it was a
bad sign and she was about to lose a hand. Deciding to trust that the cat would
just leave if it didn’t like the contact Vareen stroked its fur a bit harder.
It was extremely soft to the touch and she enjoyed the feel against her
fingers.

The rumbling began again and the feline flopped onto her side. The bulge
of her pregnancy was more prominent at this angle and Vareen again wondered at
how many babies this mother was carrying.

“Vareen?” Mica called from the front room and Vareen was forced to stop petting
the feline when it slinked away.

“I’ll be right out.”

The cat cleared the doorway before she did.

“Luna? How did you get in here?” there was
surprise
in Mica’s voice.

Vareen saw the feline rubbing along Mica’s legs and his fingers were
petting her fur. An image flashed through her mind. Mica’s fingers against her
skin, caressing. She only saw it for a split second and with it a flashing pain
pounding in her temples. Vareen forced the pain away and kept walking toward
the pair. She blinked rapidly to hide the slight watering of her eyes. Scolding
herself as she walked she repeated to herself. Mica was her friend and she
needed to stop projecting her thoughts into memories that didn’t exist. He
would be horrified to think she had just fantasized about him.

“Good morning.” Vareen stood uncertainly. She’d been prepared to ask Mica
if he’d like something to eat, but now she wasn’t so sure.

“How are you feeling today?” his gaze was inquisitive.

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

“How did you sleep?” he asked his eyes roaming over her in the black
dress.

“I’m a bit tired still. I know I must have slept all night, but it
doesn’t feel like it.”

“Do you remember waking up?”

“No. I remember going to bed and then this morning. I don’t even recall
any dreams.” She lied since she did recall one of them together in bed.

Vareen knew that Jaden had asked Mica to report anything unusual, but she
was very embarrassed about her wayward thoughts.

Mica stood from his position over his pet. “My sister has come for lunch and
I’d like it if you could join us.”

“I missed breakfast?” Vareen had no idea she’d slept that long.

Laughter danced in Mica’s eyes. “Yes. I came by earlier, but you didn’t
answer my knocks and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“What if I’d slipped in the shower and couldn’t get to the door?” Vareen
teased and pain slashed in her head. She ignored it.

Tapping his head Mica teased back, “I’ve got special abilities,
remember.” She could tell he wanted to take the words back instantly. His smile
failed, “I’m sorry.”

Vareen held up her hand. “Please don’t apologize. If we’re friends like
you say, then you know me well enough to know I’m not that
thin-skinned
. Which way to lunch?” she smiled
encouragingly.

“At the main house.” Mica swept his hand out and motioned for her to go
ahead. “After you.”

Vareen went out the front door and down the steps. Mica took her arm and
led her toward his house. “I wasn’t sure what food sounded good, so I made some
finger snacks that are easy on the stomach.”

“That’s probably a good idea. I’ve been on hospital rations for so long,
real food might be too strong for me.” Vareen’s brow furrowed. “Some of it
wasn’t
bad,
though. Jaden would sit with
me and tell the funniest stories.”

Mica didn’t say anything, just kept propelling her forward. His fingers
slightly tighter on her arm than before. Was he upset about something?

They approached two wide double doors and Mica entered his home through
one of them. The great room they were standing in was a replica of hers, albeit
much larger. There was a dining table, a selection of couches, chairs, and
tables. The throw pillows strewn about were varied in color, size, and
material. There were some wall paintings and decorations in this space that
hers didn’t have.

Vareen had missed the woman standing in an archway until she heard a
clinking sound. Turning in that direction she saw a tall, athletically built
woman juggling dishes on her way to the dining table. Her hair was black like Mica’s
only really long and curly. The requisite black dress that Vareen was becoming
accustomed to seeing, looked different on her curves. Amazing, would be another
way to say it. Where on Vareen the dress hung there, on this woman it flowed.

“Vareen,” Mica got her attention. “This is my sister Andani Jataci. Dani,
this is Vareen.”

Andani looked up and her smile faltered. “The foods ready.”
  

The electric blue tint around the brown of the woman’s eyes told Vareen
that her emotions were heightened.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Vareen walked forward and offered her hand.

Andani took her hand and shook it quickly. “Yes, nice to meet you.”

Vareen was all too aware that the voice held no warmth. For whatever
reason, Andani wasn’t pleased to make her acquaintance.

They settled themselves around the table. Mica at her right, with Andani
across from them.

Vareen selected a few of the different foods that looked tasty. Taking
small bites, she worked her way through her selections to make sure she liked
what she’d picked.

“So, Mica tells me you were the science officer for
The Reliant
.” Andani paused in taking a bite of food to talk.

“Yes. With my current issues, I’m not sure how long it will be until I
can return to duty.” Vareen averted her eyes and ate another bite of her food.

“What will you do if you don’t recover?” Andani asked casually enough but
her gaze was
determined
.

Vareen chewed thoughtfully, swallowed her food, and then shrugged. “I’m
not sure. Space wasn’t the only area of study I was good at. Something will
come up.”

“What kind of things were you interested in?”

“I enjoyed horticulture and had an apartment full of plant life. Jaden
was nice enough to bring me books on the plant life of Titus while I was in the
hospital.” Vareen smiled at the memory of the pile of books he’d presented her
with. “I also enjoyed learning and implementing new self-defense techniques. I
practiced that daily—”

Andani’s eyes narrowed, “A lot of good that did you.”

Vareen stopped with a bite of food halfway to her mouth and set it back
on her plate. Fixing her eyes impassively on Andani, “Excuse me?”

“Andani,” Mica’s tone was hard with anger. “I asked that you be
respectful.”

“I’m just saying that all of her Cestori training didn’t help her avoid
getting caught for realignment. How good of a science officer can she be? How
good at any of her other ‘hobbies’ can she be? The future of our clan
leadership—”

“I said enough Dani,” Mica practically roared at his sister.

Vareen looked between the siblings in confusion. Maybe it would be better
to leave now. “Andani, lunch was very good. Thank you.”

Vareen stood from her place and pushed her chair in. When Mica went to
stand with her, she held her hands up to stop him. “No, you don’t need to walk
with me. I’ll see myself back to the guest house.” Before he could protest or
follow her, Vareen left his home and hurried across the manicured lawns.

Something Andani said got her thinking. Not the insults on her ability as
a science officer, or the one about her being bad at horticulture or even the
dig about her being incapable of self-defense. It was when Andani hinted that
the future of the clan leadership hinged on her abilities. What was Andani
getting at? What did any of that have to do with her?

The only person who could impact the leadership of a clan was an heir. Mica
was one, along with Dak, Tae, Arik, and Drake. Jaden had told her about them in
one of their sessions.

Another thing that would impact the leadership of a clan would be an
heir’s chosen mate. She wondered who Mica would mate with, and then she felt a
rage of jealousy at the idea of Mica mating with anyone but her.

With the jealousy came splitting pain. Her head felt like it had an ax
embedded in it. She’d just reached the stairs to the guest house and the pain
was so blinding she couldn’t see the steps. Taking a deep breath, it only
worked to make the pain worse. It was too consuming and Vareen screamed in
agony and lost consciousness.

“Andani,” Mica was in unfamiliar territory with these feelings of anger
toward his sister and it was discomfiting. They were normally very close. “What
has gotten into you?”

“I don’t see what you find attractive as a mate in that woman.” Andani
held her ground, her chin going up in defiance. “She’s weak, unskilled at
anything useful, and quite frankly unworthy of you.”

Mica
sighed
, “I want you to see
what I see in her. She isn’t any of those things Dani.”

His sister opened her mouth to argue when a piercing scream rent the air.

“Var,” Mica instantly charged through the doors and ran as fast as he
could to the guest house. He saw Vareen on the ground just before the steps.
His sister appeared on the grass beside him and out from the tree line, Luna
ran into view.

“What’s wrong?” His sister was pale, but Vareen was much paler.

“She has episodes of extreme pain when trying to remember certain things.”
Mica took the pain relief depressor out of his pocket and administered a dose
to Vareen’s still form on the ground. “I’m going to put her to bed. I want you
to go to the main house and watch the
holo-video
Var1 on my communicator. I’ll be in to talk with you about your behavior after
I get her tucked in.”

“Mica really—”

“Not one more word Dani,” Mica clenched his teeth to keep from saying
something he’d regret. “If you keep pushing to make me renounce my claim on
Var, it won’t be her that loses me. It will be you, father and the clan that
I’ll walk away from. I will choose her.”

Mica stalked away before his sister could say anything further. He knew
deep down she wanted the best for him and the clan. He didn’t know if he could
hold out long enough for Dani to see that Vareen was the right choice.

Taking small steps to avoid stepping on Luna, he placed Vareen into bed
and carefully tucked her in. To his
astonishment,
the feline curled herself around Vareen and refused to move. Shrugging at the pet’s
odd behavior he used the black-out feature on the blinds and made sure the room
was dark so Vareen could rest. The medicine should keep her out long enough for
him to deal with his
acerbic-tongued
sister.

*****

Taking a seat in his living room, staring idly at the fireplace, Mica
waited for his sister to join him. The flames weren’t putting off any heat, he
had that feature turned off, but he could imagine the comforting warmth despite
the lack of real fire.

He knew it was a risk that instead of seeing Vareen as a strong fighter,
his sister might take the other route and see her as pitiable. That would be
the worst case scenario. The video was hard to watch, but Mica forced himself
to view it when he felt his patience wavering.
At
first,
Vareen had tried to avoid answering any questions. As the pain
got worse, at every question asked by those foul
doctors,
Vareen would use him as a shield. She only stopped saying
his name toward the end.

“I was wrong to say she was weak, unskilled and unworthy.” His sister
joined him in the living room. “Do you want me to apologize?”

Mica breathed a sigh of relief. “No. She never remembers what happened in
the moments before she has an episode. She won’t know that you were so unkind.
You have a second chance at a first impression.”

“What she went through…” his sister couldn’t continue, “It’s still not
going to be easy sailing for you Mica. The rest of the clan will resist the
idea of her as your chosen. Not only for the fact that she’s an
offworlder but because of the damage to her psyche.
”

“I know.” Mica looked at his beloved sister’s face and her grim
expression mirrored his. “I can handle the others. I only need the support of
you and father.”

“I can’t speak for father,” Dani drew closer and grabbed his hand, “but
you have mine. I’ll do whatever I can to make Vareen Nas welcome.”

“Thank you, Dani. That means a lot to me.” Mica squeezed her hand.

“What did I miss?” a rough male voice called from the doorway. “You
didn’t have it locked. I hope I’m not intruding.”

Mica looked at Dani’s pale face and widened eyes and knew she feared he
would tell their father of her behavior. With a reassuring smile at his
sister,
he called out. “You didn’t miss anything
father. Come in.”

“I was hoping to meet your chosen.” His father looked around the room, “I
see I missed her.”

“She’s resting right now.” Mica looked sideways at his sister. “She’ll be
sorry to have missed you. Perhaps tomorrow for breakfast?”

“I’d like that.” His father settled on the couch across from him. “We
need to talk about the Challenge of Succession.”

Mica was alerted to something wrong
at
his father’s tone. “Has someone come forward?”

“The clans Metari, Takari, and Denary each
have
one challenger. With the heirs gone and just returning, the clan
members are emboldened. There isn’t anyone for Renari or Jataci yet, but I
expect there will be soon.”

“The challenge is in one week. All challengers have to declare themselves
before the opening ceremonies. They are running out of time.” Dani was shaking
her head.

“I think Temloc will challenge for Jataci. He’s been training for the
last ten months, and his confidence has grown.”

“I don’t see Temloc doing that,” Mica defended his cousin. “He’s got too
much respect for you.”

“We’ll see,” his father’s dark brown eyes were troubled. “Metari is
hosting this year. I want to leave in three days’ time. That will give us four
days to set up our camp, and get a feel for the staging arena.”

Mica felt a tug of dread in his stomach. If his father was correct and
Temloc challenged it could open a rift in their clan. Not to mention that would
only give him three days to prepare Vareen before leaving for Metari. How would
she handle being around Cali and Vathral? Both of which he was sure would be
there for the Renari. Drake and Nevir wouldn’t let their father face a
challenge without cheering him on. Not only would Vareen have her two friends
to face, she would be of interest to all of his clan members as well. How would
she hold up under the pressure? Nothing like trial by fire. There was nothing
else he could do. He wasn’t leaving Vareen here.

“I know that the timing isn’t the best,” his father broke into his
musings. “If you’d prefer I can ask Jaden Takari to come watch your chosen. He
seems
to have
developed
an affinity with Vareen.

“No,” he shouted and barely heard his sister protest at the same time.

“Vareen will come with us.”

“She has to come.”

He looked at his sister and she bowed her head to let him go first.

“Vareen isn’t going to regain her memories by hiding away from life. I
need her by my side to get her to remember or at the very least, re-learn why
we have a connection.”

“I agree with Mica,” his sister was back to looking grim. “We need to
show a united front at the challenge ceremonies. If we are divided, or Mica was
to show without his chosen, it could cause
dissension
.”

“I’m not worried about the clan,” his father waved away his
sister's
concerns. “I’m strong and can win the
challenge with my hands tied behind my back.” A booming laugh from his father
broke the tensions in the room. “Wouldn’t that be funny if there was a trial
that the combatant’s hands were tied behind their backs?”

Andani retorted, “Be
serious
father. Your seat on the council is at stake.”

“If I don’t win the challenge, I don’t deserve to sit on the council. The
worthiest opponent will win.” His father’s intent gaze fell on him. “I’m more
worried about the welfare of Mica’s chosen mate. If she can’t handle the pressure
at this point in her healing, she should be left behind for her own good.”

“I won’t be separated from Vareen again, not even for one day. I know her
capabilities and I’m sure that she can handle being at the challenge,” Mica
insisted.

“It’s settled then.” His father stood to leave. “I’ll be back for
breakfast in the morning. Andani, I have some things I need you to arrange
before we leave for the challenge. Can you ride back with me?”

“Yes. Mica could use some time alone with his chosen.”

His sister stood and joined his father to walk to the door. Mica showed
them out and then rubbing his head thoughtfully over what his father had
warned. Was his cousin going to challenge for leadership? Would it be better
for Vareen if his cousin won? As his father’s
heir,
he would never turn his back on his clan.
If
his cousin took over the burden of leadership, he would be free to take care of
Vareen.
His honor rose in outrage, bellowing at him for even thinking those
thoughts. He was a warrior of the clan Jataci. Born and bred to lead his people
when his father
willingly
turned over
his seat. Martac Jataci being defeated in the
challenge
was never going to happen.

Mica went to check on Vareen. There were a dozen things he needed to see
to for their trip.