Chapter One
“An incident has occurred,” Kirov, Ambassador of Luxiria, told his Prime Leader the moment he entered the command center.
Vaxa’an regarded him with eyes of stone, his jaw stiffening, as he strode to the war room, Kirov following next to him.
His Prime Leader had just returned from Lopixa, Vikan’s outpost. And judging from the fact that Vaxa’an returned alone, without the human female that Vikan had stolen away, Kirov knew what it meant.
Another human female had awakened a Luxirian’s Instinct. His warrior brother, his fellow Ambassador, his friend Vikan had just been gifted aluxiva, a mate, from the Fates.
Kirov didn’t know how to feel about this knowledge, so he kept his mind focused on the task at hand: informing their Prime Leader of the incident that had happened in his absence. An incident that Vaxa’an would be furious over.
“I wish to see my female, Kirov. Make it quick,” Vaxa’an replied. Vaxa’an had a human female of his own, apregnantone. And as with any mated Luxirian who had been away from hisluxiva, who had not mated her in a couple spans, it was best to keep a wide berth, for they were easy to enrage.
His usually level-headed friend seemed on the brink and Kirov questioned whether he should tell Vaxa’an right then or perhaps wait until he had a mating session with his female first, to calm and center him after his journey to Lopixa.
Nix, he knew. The news needed to be shared.
The doors to the war room opened and Kirov nodded at Cruxan, another of Vaxa’an’s Ambassadors. The other male was waiting, his arms braced across his wide chest, his expression grim. They were two of five of Vaxa’an’s Ambassadors.
The remaining two, Kirov couldn’t help but think, searing envy arrowing through his body. The other three, Lihvan, Rixavox, and now Vikan, had found their fated mates in the human females.
“Tell me,” Vaxa’an ordered once the three males were alone, sequestered in the war room, away from the ears of the warriors stationed at the command center.
Kirov always preferred directness, so he said, “The crystal is missing.”
“What?” Vaxa’an hissed, his pupils flaring even in the low light.
That Luxirian crystal was the only crystal large enough to power a vessel to the Fourth Quadrant, where the remaining human females were from. In order to return them to their home planet called Earth…they needed that crystal.
The females had been scheduled to depart from Luxiria the moment Vaxa’an had returned to the Golden City.
Now, that precious and rare fuel was missing.
Cruxan spoke, “There were seven warriors on duty last night, all of which denied any knowledge concerning its theft.”
“We need to find that crystal,” Vaxa’an growled, his eyes hardening. “Without it…”
The Prime Leader shook his head, a rough sound of frustration tearing from his throat.
Vaxa’an took a long breath, staring past the both of them for a moment before saying, “I fear that I have handled this situation poorly with the human females.”
Kirov shared a look with Cruxan.
Cruxan said, “We all agreed, the elder council too, that it would be best for the females to remain sequestered and out of sight during their time here.”
Vaxa’an didn’t respond for a moment, but seemed to be battling a decision in his mind. Kirov didn’t envy Vaxa’an his position, the pressure of being Prime Leader to a warrior race. And while Kirov had his own duties, had his own outpost in the east to oversee and run, it paled in comparison to what Vaxa’an dealt with every single span.
Finally, Vaxa’an said, “Vikan has won his human female over. Her name is Taylor. She chooses to stay with him, here on Luxiria. She will not be returning to Earth with the others.”
Kirov’s lips tightened. Just as he’d suspected. That ugly feeling in his chest threatened to rear its head, so he kept it tamped down. Tightly.
“While I was in Lopixa, she told me my treatment of the remaining females has been poor. Myluxivahas also said she disagrees with the way we have kept them sequestered. Taylor said the females are frightened, restless.”
Kirov’s muscles tightened. Luxirian males loathed the idea of harming females and he could hear the pain in Vaxa’an’s own voice, as sharply as he felt it in the discomfort of his chest.
Again, he locked eyes with Cruxan. Out of all the Ambassadors, only Kirov and Cruxan had not been exposed to any of the human females. Vaxa’an had put them in the command center the moment they landed and only the males who had been on the rescue mission to save them from the Krevorags, whose Instincts had not awakened for them, were allowed to serve them and protect them.
Kirov would be lying if he said he wasn’t…curious. Insanely, maddeningly curious. He’d been curious since the moment he’d been born into this world and his single-mindedness made it especially hard not to assuage that curiosity.
