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How frustrating to be a virgin and find out his Queen had all the sexual knowledge. If he hadn’t grown up during this time of “plague,” Ardol was sure he would have had a few wild nights to boast about.
But don’t worry. All Queens need is size and stamina. Felids will always outlast and overshadow human males.
The sexual hunger he had always tried to push down started to rise without his consent as he thought about the red-haired human beauty he’d spoken to.
An expert. The things she must know, the skills she must have! Oooh. I wonder if she’ll be permanently “in heat” or as much heat as these humans ever have. As long as I’m stuck with a human Queen, I might as well enjoy the perks. Sounds like I’ve lucked out.
Of course, some elder Leopardines might look at her contract history and see her past—
Ardol swallowed the noodles in his mouth without chewing, a burning lump sliding down his chest. It won’t matter. Father won’t care as long as I have an heir or two.
“ARDOL? I HAVE A QUESTION.” Layla caught up to him as he was walking to his quarters.
Bastet, spare me. Forcing a smile, he said, “Yes?”
“It’s not really a question. It’s more like a... It’s information. I’ve gotten to be good friends with Cherie, one of the human Queens on Lynx-Nineteen. She was trafficked there, too, but she wasn’t one of the women who worked in the Pleasure Park. She was a nurse who took care of the workers there.”
“Mhm.” Why do I need to know this?
“I know Jade probably told you, but the women who ended up on Lynx-Nineteen sold their contracts to find new jobs. New futures, far from their old line of work. They weren’t happy.” Her eyes bored into him.
Ardol frowned at the short, pretty blonde who was trying to speak with her eyes. Silly creature. Use your mouth. “Are you worried I will fail to make my wife happy?”
Layla took a step back, blinking. “No! No, I’m sorry. I just meant... Sometimes people have ideas in their heads about what humans or Felids will be like, or what people in certain professions will be like. Rupex had heard that Lynxians were so primitive they were hunting humans as prey. And Dane, that’s Cherie’s husband, had heard the same thing about Leonids! It’s become like an urban legend that Felids wanted to eat humans.”
“Ew.” Ardol’s face twisted in disgust. “What small-minded idiot started that rumor?”
“I don’t know. The point is, if you have any questions about how human women like to be treated, ask Jade first, but if you need more help, ask Wendy or me. We’re family.”
The little human Queen leaned forward and hugged him! Hugged him!
They weren’t family. Well, some of them were, but he was most assuredly not. He was leaving this ship and the people on it very soon and heading back to his proper way of life, where he wouldn’t ever need to mingle with anyone beyond his carefully curated set of peers and business associates.
“Thank you.” He awkwardly patted her back and nodded. “I’ll bear that in mind.”
“Of course!”
As Ardol resumed his journey alone, a strange prickle ran up the back of his neck. Family.
Family means a lot to people, but they all use the word in a different way.
Like Cala and her birdman. Cala’s parents protecting their daughter, wanting her to be happy and loved instead of merely used to fulfill an agreement. Talos helping to heal Wendy, choosing that scrawny little thing instead of a Tigerite Queen. Rupex and Layla putting their lives on the line to have those little cubs...
When he thought of the word family, he only thought of power. Bloodlines. Connections. Expectations.
Love? No. He didn’t think of that word. Or home. Or safety. He couldn’t even picture anything but his father’s face and their estate. Fields of ornamental lilygrass and a fleet of shuttles.
Quickly closing the door to his quarters, Ardol felt himself breathing hard, as if he’d been running.
Aren’t you running? From memories?
His mother’s face. Her paw on his cheek. His sisters, the ones born with him but whom he rarely saw, as they were raised and educated with the Queens and females of his father’s Pride...
Mya and Emi. His mother, Emi, and Mya.
The room spun. He didn’t want to think about them. It hurt too much—and it wasn’t the sort of pain he was accustomed to, the burning of a cut or the throbbing of a sprain. This was like a stomachache from fasting—the pain was centered around what wasn’t there, what was missing, what was empty.
Usually fastidious (fine, vain) about his appearance, Ardol ignored his evening routine and fell onto his bed.
