Glacian
I was utterly stunned as the female turned her back on me again and returned to her group. No one had ever stood their ground against me before. Everyone just did what they were told, whether they agreed with what I wanted or not. I really did not know whether to punish her for the insubordination, turn her over my knee, or kiss her senseless. I was leaning more toward the latter. When she stood up to me it got my adrenaline pumping. I was almost enjoying it. And the flush her anger added to her cheeks? Gorgeous.
"Mate sassy," Arc said, grinning in my head.
"You know, Sire, the last time I saw a female stand up to a king, it was your mother standing up to your father. I believe your mother won that argument if memory serves me right." Rokk nudged me with his shoulder.
"I believe you are right, Rokk. But this is an argument she will not win. She is mine, whether she wants to admit it or not. They will all come to realize that soon enough." I clapped Rokk on the back with a grin. "Now, we need to figure out where to put them. I want them close so I can have access to my mate and make sure they are safe until our people get accustomed to them."
Thinking for a moment, Rokk turned more fully toward me. "We can put them in the family quarters on the fifth floor. They will be right down the hall from you. Your brothers are not visiting for a while. It will give you the access you need, and she will still be with her family or crew." Rokk stuttered over the word just as I had. It seemed an odd term to both of us. He paused as something else seemed to occur to him. "There is the matter of Kittra to consider, Sire."
I could not help but grimace again. Kittra had been my lover on and off for about two years. More off than on now that I think about it. I did not care for her at all. It was convenience. I had needs. She was there. It was nothing more than that. She had convinced herself she would be queen just because she occasionally shared my bed. I had assured her more than once that she would never be queen. Not only was I not interested in being stuck with her for the rest of my extremely long life, none of my people that lived in the castle or anyone who encountered her liked her. There had been several times I had needed to step in and fix an escalating situation that she had caused because she had tried using power that was not hers to use. She was spiteful enough to cause a lot of problems for my mate. Simply because my mate did not know anything about our way of life.
"Send her to Balkan. Call ahead and immediately move her. I do not want her in the castle. Have the maids pack her things and send them to her. Kittra can make do with what Balkan has on hand until it arrives," I said decisively. My brother, King of Venia, would have more than she would need.
"She will not go quietly," Rokk warned. The female was notorious for causing a scene if she did not get what she wanted when she wanted it.
"I do not care how she does it. Just that she does. I will call Balkan myself and give him notice that I am sending him a present." As Rokk stepped away to fulfill my wishes, I lifted my wrist and entered my brother's code into the band.
"What?" came the gruff greeting.
"Well, hello to you too," I shot back.
"Busy. What do you want?" Balkan shot back. There was a rustling in the background and, I was not sure, but I thought I heard mumbling.
I could not contain the laugh at my horny brother's expense. "You can stop chasing whatever female you are after for two clicks."
"Oh, I am not chasing. I have caught her. You are interrupting." The smug satisfaction in his voice said it all. There was a distinct sound of a slap and then more muffled sounds that could have been a bound female moaning in pleasure.
"Fine. I will get to the point. I am sending Kittra to you." I had no time for Balkan's sexual games at the moment. My eyes strayed back to my mate. She and her crew were huddled talking too quietly for me to overhear. Not that it mattered. I was sure they were speaking in their native language again so that I would not be able to understand. It only made sense as they had not attached the translation device yet. It did not stop Arc from snickering at my irritation.
There was a short pause. "Why? I do not want the little troublemaker." Word had spread of the female's penchant for causing a raucous. All of the brothers had heard about it. And not from me, so I was sure that my brothers still had their sources inside my castle. I could not help a snort at the thought. Nosy bastards.
"I did not say you had to fuck her. Just take her off my hands. I have found my mate and I do not want Kittra anywhere near her." I glanced over at the group again and watched as they one by one attached the translator. Amazingly, they all bore the pain just as well as my mate had. Maybe there was more to this group than I had originally thought. Could they be stronger than they looked? The females were so fragile looking. It was not something I wanted to put to the test. "Kittra will be there within the next few sects." Balkan's castle was a four sect flight away.
"Congratulations, brother. When do I get to meet my new sister?" Balkan sounded distracted.
"It will be a while. I want her to get used to the mating and me." I paused, not really wanting to admit the next part. "She is fighting the mating." My reluctance to tell him was obvious. My brothers would never let me live it down. I had been the loudest about how my mate would just fall in line when I found her.
A boisterous laugh echoed through the band. "I like her already. What is her name? Which kingdom is she from?"
There was a long pause. I was really embarrassed to admit that I did not know it. She had pointed out that fact to me just clicks ago, and I still had not taken the opportunity to learn it. Why had I not asked her? What was wrong with me? It would make Balkan even more interested if he found out that my mate was a new survivor that had just landed. Or crashed as it were.
Another laugh burst from the band. "You do not even know her name?" Uncontrollable laughter followed. "This is going to be spectacular. Sure. Sure. Send Kittra to me. I will keep her busy. It will be worth it once I meet your new mate. Kittra can join my maid staff. She needs to be brought down a peg or two. But I am coming soon to visit." Chuckling, he ended the call without waiting for a reply.
Inside my head, Arc was laughing just as hard but there was a faint hint of irritation as well. My inner beast seemed to think I was handling this mate situation all wrong. But he seemed to be having a good time watching me struggle. I was sure that if push came to shove, he would jump in and try to help if it meant securing his mate. But he is getting too much amusement out of this right now.
Cursing under my breath, I turned back to the small group. I noticed my female was standing in front, obviously the leader. The three males were surrounding the two females, covering their backs. It was a stance they had taken many times before judging by how comfortable they were with it. They actually seemed comfortable with each other in a way that only a close-knit group could be.
Walking back toward them, I looked to Rokk, who nodded his head. Everything had been set in motion. My gaze returned to the group.
"Can everyone understand me now?" At their short nods I continued. "I am Glacian, King of East Balaur. This area that you crashed in is part of my kingdom. The Drakian next to me is my advisor and next in command, Rokk. If I am unavailable, you can get what you need from him. Now if we can get to know you a little better. What are your names? Where have you come from?"
My mate smirked knowingly. She knew this was my way of trying to fix my earlier blunder of not knowing her name. Or even asking her. She gestured to the small female next to her. "This is Bao." She pointed at each in turn. "Fabrizio, Mikhail, Greg. For now, where we come from makes no difference. It has no relevance."
I waited but she was not forthcoming. My little mate was not going to make this easy for me. Why could she not simply give me her name? Attempting to contain my ire, I bit down on my tongue before demanding tightly. "And yours?"
"Commander," she said seriously.
I looked to her team behind her to see if she was just messing with me. That could not possibly be her name. Her crew were as straight faced and serious as she was.
"Your name is Commander? That is not a name, it is a military rank." That could not be it. She had to be messing with me.
"That is what everyone calls me who isn't family." She stood there calmly and confidently. She was making it known to all present that she did not consider me to be family. She did not trust me or Rokk. In a way, I could understand that. But she was my mate. I refused to let her put any further distance between us.
"And for those who are family?" I was a tenacious bastard.
She made me wait, which had me gnashing my teeth, but I kind of admired her for it. She looked to be growing tired of the game though. "Kiera."
"Kiera," I repeated. I smiled. It was an odd name but I liked the sound of it. They all had strange names, but I suppose they more than likely thought mine and Rokk's names were strange.
She opened her mouth to speak but then the tiny female next to her spoke up. I believe they said her name was Bowzi? She spoke something in what I assumed was their native language but it sounded different from the way they has spoken before. It was choppier sounding than the fluidity she had spoken with before. I watched in fascination as Kiera smiled at her fondly and said something back to her in the same language. I did not understand a bit of it but the little female looked shocked. It was a little distracting seeing my mate smile like that though.
"I am sorry. Is there a problem?" I asked. My smile slipped as my gaze switched between the two females.
"Your fangs just surprised her," Kiera explained.
I growled slightly. "She could not have said it in Drakian? Then I could have explained."
"We tend to fall back on our native languages. Habit." She shrugged, unconcerned. "It is what we are used to. You can't expect us to just forget where we come from just because we are on a different planet."
"Languages? As in multiple? How many languages do you speak?" Rokk asked curiously. These survivors fascinated him as much as they did me. We had never had anyone quit like them. His question was also one that I would like answered.
"Five," she responded. That in itself was astonishing but something about the way two of the males in the back looked at each other made me think they were not being quite truthful.