Tia looked apprehensive and feared answering. I didn’t blame her, for it was common knowledge that Atlan mates, male and female, were quite possessive. I gave Tiffani’s hand a squeeze to somehow tell her not to kill my distant cousin if she was envious.
“Yes,” Tia admitted finally. “And I guess you’ve probably heard that Commander Deek and I were betrothed when we were five.”
Tiffani looked to me in surprise, but I simply wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, under my arm, as Tia continued.
“I want you to know, I do love Deek. He’s like a brother to me. We grew up together. But neither of us ever truly wanted to be mated, Tiffani. His beast didn’t want me either. We both knew it early on. I want you to know that. When I visited him, offering myself, it was because I couldn’t let him die without trying to save him. I just couldn’t.”
Tiffani, so stiff in my arms, relaxed, stepping forward to embrace Tia. “Thank you for trying. I understand. And I’m grateful. It’s good to know that Deek has family that loves him so much.”
Tiffani stepped back when Engel cleared his throat. “Yes, Deek. I am greatly relieved to know that you are well and truly mated. We were all so worried for you.”
“Thank you, cousin.” I’d never thought of Tia’s offer as a sacrifice, as an act of love for a brother. But now, thanks to Tiffani, I understood, and the last of my anger with her faded. Her father, however, was another matter entirely. What lay between us would not be polite conversation at this party.
I looked at the woman who’d been willing to sacrifice her own chance for a true mating, her happiness, to save my life. “Thank you, Tia. I am honored.”
Tia looked up at her father, nudging him with her elbow.
“Quite right,” he said. “It would have been a shame to have a commander such as yourself succumb to the mating fever. It would have been a tragic waste.”
Tia and Tiffani continued to chat about exploring the market, going shopping, and female things as I stared at Engel. Yes, he would think it a waste. A waste should I have succumbed to fever instead of maintaining my position as commander in the Coalition Fleet, I thought dryly. Tiffani frowned slightly, taking my hand as if she sensed my anger. I liked it very much and so did my beast. Such a simple gesture, and yet her touch soothed my irritation as nothing else could.
Engel might be my mother’s cousin, but he was also an Atlan council member who had been in power for far too long. I’d been asked for favors in the past, used for my position in the Fleet by others seeking to gain, but never offered a bribe by my own family. Until Engel.
Trading Coalition weapons with primitive planets was illegal. Engel knew this. Every first-year recruit at every level of Fleet operations knew that we didn’t give ion blasters to savages. And yet Engel had wanted to do just that. I’d caught him on the Battleship Brekk during his visit with two crates full of blasters being loaded onto a freighter that was scheduled to deliver medical aid to a war-torn region of Xerima.
The Xerimian people were barbarians. Nearly our size, their warriors constantly battled for females and territory. The strongest took the spoils. Their planet was protected by the Coalition Fleet, but they had not been granted the rights or privileges of being a member planet. Not yet.
I’d taken the weapons and turned him in to command. But Engel had friends in very high places, and he’d been released and on his way within hours of his arrest.
The council chose to believe his lies about a mistake, an incorrect cargo manifest.
I, however, did not. And his repeated attempts to force me to mate with his daughter reeked of further manipulation. How many people would he have been able to intimidate or bribe if I had become Tia’s mate? With a powerful commander as his new son?
“You were very brave, Tiffani,” Tia said. “The news feeds have talked of little else since your arrival.” Tia exhaled a deep breath and her words drew me from my reverie.
“News feeds? What news feeds?” Tiffani looked up at me for an explanation, which I very much did not want to give.
Chapter Nine
Deek
When I took a moment too long to answer, Tia grinned at my mate. “Didn’t they tell you? You’re famous.”
Tiffani paled, swaying, and I frowned at Tia’s antics. “Tia, stop scaring her.”
“Why didn’t you tell her? How many interview requests have you turned down already?”
Tiffani looked up at me with a fierce scowl, clearly growing irritated. “Well?”
With a sigh, I relented. Dax and I had discussed this problem at length in my office just hours ago. Eventually, I was going to be forced to concede. My people wanted to know Tiffani, loved her for saving my life. I was a selfish bastard, keeping her all to myself. The world would understand that my mating fever would take some time to soothe. But I was running out of ways to keep the media away. Before long, the curious would be knocking on our door. “Twenty-two.”