Stron tried for a second to listen, but they were talking too fast.
At least, until they both stopped, and looked at him.
Both women’s gazes ran over him.
“Huh,” Janae said.
“Let me say, he’s not who he pretends to be.”
Both girls started giggling and headed toward the other women.
“What was that?” Khalzin asked.
“We are in Courtship. I feel I have no idea what anything is anymore,” Stron said, shaking his head.
Khalzin grinned. “Congratulations. I would advise something, but I have none to give. My own experiences have been less than stellar with Courtship.” His gaze ran over his mate, and Stron did the same, glancing at Adryel.
“We should get this moving,” Stron said, “Get these females to safety.” He shook his head. Several Kantenan guards stood spread out on the platform. Some of the females avoided them, but they were only there as a perimeter of protection.
The intricacies of moving these humanoids to the refineries was by far more complex than any of them had wanted.
With this many, there were still quite a few who knew what was going on, no matter how quickly and quietly they tried to move them.
He still didn’t think this was the right choice.
They were going to be out in the open. Again.
Not the best track record so far for this entire process.
Stron shook his head. "I cannot believe you agreed to this," he said as they walked up the mining transport's ramp. The family crest–Dhomhes’s crest–had worn off the side, covered in a layer of dust and ore that would probably never really wash away.
He glanced around, but not because he was inspecting the scene.
Not exactly anyway.
No, he was watching for her. Adryel. His mate.
He still felt odd about the idea. As a concept.
She, however, made other feelings come to life in him. Ones he’d not known before. Protection. Desire.
The need to know where she was…
Which was…
There. Good. Adryel was moving with the other females toward the ramp, her red hair impossible to miss even in the crowd.
"What other option do we have? They have to be kept safe." Khalzin said, interrupting his thoughts.
"But the dark side of Kantenan? Where all the refineries are?" Stron replied. He hadn’t been back there in years, and he hated the atmosphere. "Already I can smell it, and it is disgusting. They will hate it there."
Dhomhes came over, looking clean and smelling fresh, not at all like the transport that he’d secured. "Safest place on Kantenan to be."
"How do you figure?" Stron asked.
"No one would dare put a bomb in a Kantenan refinery. It would blow up half the planet.” Dhomhes said, continuing like they both were idiots. “The unrefined citricite requires very special care because of its volatile nature before it's refined. No matter how desperate they are to get rid of the Galactic Alliance presence, they won't attack them there."
The smugness on Dhomhes’s face made Stron want to knock it off of him.
