AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The three of us came before all this,” Raina says, sharp black brows drawn in seriousness. “And we can leave it all behind if we want. Mental group hug commences in three, two…”
She squeezes her eyes shut. Kaye closes hers too, and I follow suit.
“One,” Raina concludes.
When our private moment together is over, it’s a blur between leaving the ship and gathering at the edge of the forest. The palace staff help Lalo paint me in their traditional powders that are meant to mix with Mak’s when our bodies come together. Except that won’t happen. Our plan will be to meet back on the ship, mess up our paints, then return to the party looking as if we got passionate on the forest floor with none the wiser. There’s one speeder out there, deep enough that it won’t be heard by the partygoers, waiting for me to escape from Mak. While Mak suffers the mating fever in the trees, I’ll head safely to the ship. When Viro confirms my arrival, he’ll take the speeder back to pick up Mak.
“No one will think anything of my absence,” Viro joked when we dropped off the speeder early this morning. “I tend to disappear at such events…”
The three of us walked the area many times over to be sure that I could easily locate it among the thick greenery.
I mentally review the pathway as I approach the crowd of audibly excited Kar’Kali. There are so many people, over a thousand. They chose an area where a slight slope of hill makes a natural stage. I can make out Mak’s blue head of hair even from a distance. Kaye and Raina clear an aisle ahead of me like a pair of Moses bridesmaids. When those gathered see them, they turn to look toward me and cheer at my approach. It’s so strangely loud compared to the entrance of a traditional American wedding. They settle as I walk down the makeshift aisle, hushing each other in anticipation. I brace myself, as Raina told me that the guests had reached out to touch her when she made her approach to mate-bond with Niko. But only a few hands brush my sleeve. It seems word might’ve spread beyond Mak’s warriors about my discomfort with physical touch.
Whispered blessings reach my ears in snatches, but the translator can’t handle every sound. Sometimes, it sounds more like a soft roar than anything.
It takes forever to cut through a crowd that massive, and I gulp away my nerves, focused on Mak’s blurry floating head until it comes close enough to see clearly. When Kaye and Raina reach the front, they disperse into the crowd. The way is open, and he’s waiting there at the top of the slope, smiling at me.
This moment feels so human, I could almost forget that we’re on another planet and that I’ve nearly sold myself to him for the comfort of his army and the reach of his sworn captain’s ships. Right now, he’s a man staring at his wife, and I’m a woman carrying a bouquet with my heart slamming against my chest. It’s like any other girl’s wedding day, I assume. I wouldn’t know for sure, and I plan on making this my only one.
He looks at me with such laser focus that the thousand gathered people behind me who call him their king might as well not exist at all.
I chuck my flowers without looking before I make the final climb up the hill.
Laughter and screams erupt, and when I make it up to the peak, Mak is at the edge offering his hand with an eye on the scene behind me. He’s chuckling. I take one glance backward, as a warrior near the front holds up the bouquet triumphantly.
“Your people seem to like that tradition,” I whisper to him, taking his hand to allow him to pull me the last step up.
“We’re a competitive people,” he says, his hold on my fingers lingering. “Thank you, for handling that with such grace. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”
“What? The crowd?”
He nods. We’re talking quietly, perhaps giving the impression to the crowd that we’re exchanging romantic notions.
“It wasn’t so bad at all,” I assure him. “The more I practice, the better it will get. We’ll be in big crowds again, won’t we? Many times, as Ka’lakka and Ka’lakkori.”
“We don’t have to if you—”
I stop him there.
“I’ll do many things for you,” I promise him. “Even if I’m a little scared. I’d do them for you, because you’re important to me.”
“Are you trying to call the mating beast with words like that?”
“It’s the truth,” I say. “But also, yes, isn’t that part of the plan today?”
“Yes.” His eyes flex darker. “Shall we start the dance?”
The crowd is more hushed than ever as Mak starts to prowl around me in a circle. I watch him, turning the keep my eyes on him. I hop across from him at one point, hiking up my skirts to tease that I’m ready to run. The blacks of his eyes grow darker and darker as we then begin to circle each other. I hesitate after a moment, backing slowly toward the forest with my front facing the crowd. He follows with soft steps and a soft growl of premature aggression.
“Careful,” I warn him, grinning. I stop moving, happy to tease him.
“Careful of what?” He edges closer.
“Careful you don’t start running before I do,” I say.
“Maybe I should,” he replies, still approaching even though I haven’t moved. Now, he’s nearly on top of me, looking down on me with predatory alertness.
“Why?”
