Page 9 of Cheating Fate

The way he beamed at me gave me all kinds of warm fuzzies.

“Perfect indeed,” he replied, the deep sound of his voice gliding over my skin like a gentle caress. “How much abuse should I expect from your fathers,” he added with a playfully fearful expression.

I dramatically rolled my eyes and loudly groaned, making him chuckle.

“That bad?” he asked, more amused than concerned.

“Possibly. Papa won’t be a problem. He’s very protective, but not overbearingly possessive. Dad, though, will likely be a pain in the neck. I wouldn’t put it past him to use his position as General of the Sentinels to make your life particularly difficult,” I said with a guilty expression.

He smiled. “I expected no less. After all, you are their only daughter.”

I rolled my eyes even more. “That’s not a justification. It’s actually insulting.”

“So I realized,” he replied in a sympathetic tone that piqued my curiosity.

“You realized it how?”

He gave me a quick rundown of the conversation he had with his younger sister before his departure from Venus Hive, eleven days ago.

I pursed my lips as I reflected on his words. “You know, I spent all this time worrying about how obnoxious my father might be with you. But I realize now that I should also worry about my brothers. Rhadames, won’t be a problem. He’s exactly like our Papa, his sire. Vahleryon and Tharek will probably be a completely different story. They truly are our Dad’s sons, as possessive and overly protective.”

“Don’t let that trouble you, Zhara. Whatever they want to throw my way, I can take it. Anyone who survived the barbaric training of a Braxian Warrior can handle anything else. I look forward to that challenge,” he said with a hint of cockiness that I found incredibly sexy.

“Careful what you wish for,” I warned.

“I’m staring at what I wished for. And I have no regrets,” he replied gently.

I melted some more as I feasted my eyes on his stunning face. For the next forty-five minutes, we continued chatting, making plans for all the things we would do and see together once he got here. With much reluctance, we finally ended the communication. I would have to get up early in the morning to prepare for another of those epic simulation missions we had started doing over the past year.

To my pleasant surprise, I didn’t toss and turn restlessly all night as I expected due to nerves and impatience. Instead, I easily slipped into a wondrous dream while holding two huge pillows between my arms picturing it was my Gavin.

Fuming, I clasped my bracer around my wrist under the half-amused, half sympathetic stare of my younger brother Tharek.

“I know you’re mad, but everything will be fine,” he said in a gentle voice devoid of his usual snark or taunting. “You’ll be back in a week.”

“I shouldn’t be leaving today, right before they know he’s scheduled to arrive,” I snapped back. “This is fucking bullshit!”

Far from appeasing me, the apologetic look he gave me only pissed me off further.

“You know how protective we are of you,” Tharek said in a reasonable tone.

“Fuck that!” I said, while slamming shut my suitcase, before lifting my head to angrily look at him. “That’s not protective, it’s controlling. I’m not his damn property!”

My brother frowned and gave me a disapproving look with his dark purple eyes, so identical to his sire’s.

“No one is saying or thinking that,” he countered.

“What you’re all saying is that me not having a cock means I’m too stupid to think for myself,” I replied angrily.

“That’s not true!” he exclaimed, offended.

“IT IS!” I shouted before closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to rein in the fury boiling within me. “They never would have done this to you, Rhad, or Vahl. So why in Gharah’s name is it okay to do it to me except for the fact that I’m a female? I’ve waited sixteen years to meet him because everyone has systematically prevented it from happening sooner. Today was finally our time. We’ve earned it. And then this?!”

He had the decency to look a little guilty, not that it did anything to appease my anger. Yes, it had always been planned that I would be going on an away mission for a few days. But I wasn’t due until the next rotation in ten days from now. This last-minute switcheroo had been deliberate and malicious. It angered me all the more that my father had kept me in blissful ignorance until this morning to keep the peace for as long as possible.

“Like you said, you’ve already waited sixteen years,” he replied in a soothing voice. “What’s one more week at this point?”

“It’s the principle!” I snapped, looking at him as if it was self-evident. “It shouldn’t be needed in the first place. And you and I both know that at the end of that mission, they will try to come up with something else to get in our way.”