I cross my arms over my chest. I hope Kim is inside, hiding as I told her to. Not because she is in danger—I will destroy them both before I let them even breathe upon her fair skin—but because I do not want her to worry.
The bounty hunter pulls up a holo-vid and the image is all too familiar. It is her second suitor, the one I got rid of and even now lies buried in my fields. He shows me the display, watching my face, and I notice several things about him. One of his eyes is cybernetic, scanning and recording information. The arm he holds out is synthetic. The weapons strapped to his waist are not the usual guild issue, which means he is either an independent bounty hunter or not one at all. Doesn’t matter. He’s not getting a single answer out of me.
“Haven’t seen him,” I comment blandly.
“He’s a slave trader,” the bounty hunter says. “Look again.”
I bare my teeth at the male. “I said I haven’t seen him.”
“I’m told he specialized in trading humans,” the bounty hunter continues, ignoring my words. His expression is assessing. Cold. “Is your new mate a praxiian?”
My jaw clenches and I look over at Sivorrin, wondering how much he’s spilled with the promise of a few credits. “Does it matter?”
“Does she know any human females? If so, I’d like to speak to her.”
My ears flatten and I can feel my fur prickling. Does he think to involve Kim? Or to pin this on her? I take a menacing step forward. “Perhaps you did not hear me when I said that I was newly mated?”
Sivorrin takes a step back and grabs the bounty hunter by the collar. “Jamef, maybe—”
The mesakkah flicks his hand away with a dangerous look. “Touch me again and you will lose that hand.”
Sivorrin shrinks back.
Jamef glances over at me. He looks around my serene homestead, full of greenery and open fields, and my costly, imported trees. He glances at the windows of my house, and then finally back at me. “If you hear of anything, I’m paying for information. Nothing more. My bounty is simply to provide his whereabouts, be it dead or alive.”
“If he drops by and threatens my mate, he will be very dead,” I snarl. “Much like anyone else who comes to my porch with demands in regards to her.”
The bounty hunter gives me a crisp nod. “I will be in port for several weeks. Contact this one”—he flicks a dismissive gesture at the cowering Sivorrin—“if you have information.” He turns to leave, and Sivorrin shoots me an apologetic look before scampering after the bounty hunter.
Fists clenched, I watch as they depart, and it’s not until they’re gone, the air-sled vanished into the horizon, that I turn and head back inside.
Kim is immediately at the door, her face pale and worried. “Nassakth, what’s going on?”
I should sit her down. Calmly explain to her that there is nothing to fear. That I will let no one touch her or even speak to her if she does not wish it. That she is utterly safe with me. But things are still too new between us, too fresh.
And I worry Kim will slip away before I can even win her.
My emotions are at war as I gaze down at her. There is a charming little frown on her brow, but she looks up at me with trusting eyes. Eyes that have no idea I have already killed twice over outside the arena—once to protect myself, and once to protect her.
Because I am selfish, I grab her and pull her into my arms, tucking her against my chest. I stroke her head, petting her. “It is nothing. You are safe.”
Her voice is muffled against my chest fur, but she does not pull away. “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”
A very good question. Because I would rather die than return to a life of slavery. It would be death either way—an aging fighter with a reputation such as mine? I would not last long at all. I would be tossed in front of every gladiator looking to make a name for himself, and it would be a brutal, ugly, and possibly humiliating death. I have always known this, and I have sworn that if anyone came for me, I would go down fighting.
But then I met Kim.
Kim has changed everything. She is a complication I did not anticipate. Now, every move I make must have Kim’s safety in mind….and I am not entirely sure what to do. The bounty hunter will be back. He will be looking for “additional information.” It was in his veiled hint about how long he would remain in port. If he thought there was no information to be found, he would not bother to stay.