Chevon's Mate

  Evernight Publishing ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2016 April Zyon

  ISBN: 978-1-77233-878-2

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Jessica Ruth

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  CHEVON’S MATE

  Space Wars, 5

  April Zyon

  Copyright © 2016

  Chapter One

  Laura Troxell looked up from the document she had been translating and frowned, then drummed her fingers on the desk. “Why in the world…” she murmured. She had a feeling that the documents before her shouldn’t have hit her desk. Closing them up into the file folder, she stacked a couple more reports on them and rose to her feet. With the files clutched tightly to her bosom she walked toward her brother’s office. He was one of the highest ranking members of the Craegin Command Structure. Laurence had taken over their parents’ place within Craegin society faster than anyone should have. There had been no mourning time. Instead there was only him stepping into the role of adviser to the rulers of their world.

  She stopped, her back to the wall, and thought for a moment. Maybe Laurence wasn’t the best person to take the files to. Perhaps she should instead take them to Mikel, her fiancé. He would know what to do with them. He always knew what to do. She then nodded, a smile on her face and a plan in her mind, and headed off to the right, toward her fiancé’s office at the end of the hall.

  She paused at the door and made sure that her skirt was straight, her shirt was tucked in and, well, that she looked good enough for him. He was far older than she was but he had selected her to be his wife, her out of all the women on Craegin, and that had helped to pull her out of her darkness after her parents had perished. The fact that he and Laurence were the best of friends was only a side note.

  She knocked on the door and walked right in. Laura knew he didn’t have any meetings scheduled because if he did it would have been on her calendar for him. She stopped dead in her tracks. The files slipped through her hands and fell from her arms.

  “Mikel?” she whispered in complete shock. “Laurence?” There, right there on the desk of the man she was to marry, was her brother—naked, a noose around his neck—being rutted roughly by the man who had told her expressly that sex before marriage was a disgrace to the institute and to the relationship.

  “Laura.” Mikel didn’t move from behind Laurence but did undo the ball gag that was in Laurence’s mouth. “Stop, we can explain.”

  “Explain what?” she demanded. “There is nothing that you could possibly say to me right now that would make me forget this.” She motioned from man to man. “Go fuck yourself, you self-righteous prick.” Her voice rose with every word, but at this point she didn’t care who heard her. “Consider this my fucking resignation!” she screamed as she spun around and marched out, leaving the door wide open and not giving two fucks who saw the men in the position that they were in.

  Laura stopped at her desk and grabbed her things, tossing the framed photos of both Laurence and Mikel into the trash as she walked away. “Freaking asshole motherfuckers.” She stalked toward the lifts, trying to ignore the looks she was getting from the men and women in the office.

  She paused at the lifts, turned on her heels, walked back to Mikel’s office, and told both men, “I’m keeping the fucking cruise and all the presents and cash. I hate you both.” And she did. At that moment, she hated both men more than she could ever explain.

  She then stomped off back to the lifts, her head held high. A few people were giving her a thumbs-up or clapping, oddly enough. Laura ignored all of it, pushing everything but the immediate need to get the hell out of there to the back of her mind.

  ****

  Two months later…

  “She doesn’t forget anything,” Laurence told Mikel as they lay in bed. “She might have dropped those files but I’m telling you she will remember them and when she does, our asses will be in a sling, and not in a good way either.”

  “Then we’ll make sure she meets the same sort of accident that your parents did. Are you going to be okay with that, my little lubevimal?”

  The word roughly translated to my soul. Laurence smiled. “Yes. You are all I need in my life. We have power together. We have a shitload of money and we have prestige. I don’t need a fucking little bitch hanging around. She’s been hanging on my coattails all our lives. It’s time to cut her out.”

  “I’m glad you feel the same way,” Mikel said, stroking his hands through Laurence’s hair. “Because I’ve already arranged for an accident to happen to her. She won’t be coming back from that cruise. And you’ll have her portion of the estate. Life will be good.”

  “Life will be excellent,” Laurence said with a smile. “Just make sure that when we are notified, you have your face in place. That you can feign enough sadness to make it convincing.”

  Mikel looked affronted. “Of course. I’m a master at getting people to do what I want them to.”

  “You haven’t ever used that against me, have you?” Laurence asked.

  “No, of course not. You would see through it all the same.”

  Laurence nodded after a moment, then settled back against the silk sheets. “True. I do seem to be able to see through all of your pretenses, my darling.”

  Chapter Two

  The cruise around the system had been fantastic. Laura had loved every single planet that they’d stopped at and the luxury of the journey had been incredible. She’d met some amazing people, been treated to foods that she never would have had if she hadn’t been on the cruise, and she had also gotten to experience a thrill when the cruise turned to go so close to the neutral zone between Craegin and Imarian space. Laura had heard so many stories about the Imarians and what monsters they were, but she couldn’t see it. She should, she knew they were her enemies, but somehow she couldn’t see them as such. She could only see the fact that they were beings just as the Craegins were.

  Laura had enjoyed every moment spent with the people on the ship, but she knew that once their tour along the neutral zone was over they would start back toward the Craegin home world, and she would have to deal with the nightmare that was facing her there—finding a new position, a new life, really.

  She stopped near one of the emergency pod stations and took another sip of the potent drink in her hands, then giggled. “To think I could have been here with an uptight son of a bastard.” She snorted, then laughed again. As she stood there, however, something changed. It was the slightest of sounds, like the scrape of a boot heel on a deck plate. Before she could turn around, a vicious blow to the back of her head jolted her forward. Going down hard, she cried out as several kicks and punches rained down before darkness engulfed her.

  The shrill alarm sounded through the ship when the pod was released, but the alarm was just as quickly silenced by the man in the control room who had been paid off to ensure that no one ever knew there was a woman missing from the ship.

  ****

  Turning off the vid chat, Chevon reclined in his office chair. He enjoyed his talks with his cousin. They had fallen into a routine of talking every single week for at least two hours. He got to hear about her adventures living on his friend Petr’s cruiser, and there usually was some sappy stuff about her new husband.

  He adored Bryerly. She
was the only relative out of the many they had that Chevon could actually stand. The others all annoyed him to the point he had cut them out of his life entirely, including his parents.

  Bryerly was the only one he had stayed in touch with and watched out for. When he’d been able, Chevon had arranged for her to be transferred to a safer ship. Fortunately, his friend Fleet Admiral Petr van Jahnsen had needed a position filled in his medical bays. A position that fit Bryerly’s skill set perfectly.

  What Chevon had not planned for was his cousin finding her soul-bond mate in Petr’s first officer. Not that he wasn’t happy for his cousin, he was. But it also annoyed him to some degree, too. He had given Tarek a bit of trouble while he had been aboard for a visit and to perform the wedding ceremony that Petr’s mate, Samantha, had brought from her home world. Bryerly had fallen in love with the tradition and insisted it be used, the shorter version, thank the spirits.

  It had been a beautiful ceremony, and he would admit—at least in the privacy of his own suite—that his cousin had been radiant. So much in love with her soul-bond mate that it shone from within. Tarek was a lucky man, and Chevon would be there to remind him of that detail often. He had to make sure the man treated his cousin right, after all.

  He finished his cup of tea, then prepared to head to the command deck. He had a couple stops to make along the way to check on the new recruits. His was one of six training cruisers in the Imarian fleet. According to Petr and several others, his was the choice assignment. He didn’t know why exactly but he was pleased to hear that the crew enjoyed their time learning from his senior officers.

  A quick sonic shower later he got dressed in his uniform. Pausing before the mirror in the bathroom, he frowned. He needed to stop by the barber after his shift to get a trim. He was starting to look shaggy around the ears again, his blond hair getting too long for the uniform code. Smoothing a hand over his beard, he gave it a scratch, then stepped back to inspect his entire uniform.

  His walk around the cruiser did not take very long and all the reports were solid, with only a couple minor problems he would have to address. Notes on his data pad tucked under his arm, he headed for the command deck, pausing a few times to speak with some of the crew.

  Reaching the command deck, he nodded to his first and went over to check on the logs. Once he was assured everything was well in hand, he settled into his chair on the command deck to start on his reports—unlike many commanders, he had them coming out his ears.

  He not only had reports of general happenings on his ship but also for every recruit training on the cruiser. It felt like he did nothing else most days. He preferred the training over writing down everything, but the ruling body demanded the weekly updates. If they would let him spend that time training the recruits instead of doing paperwork they would likely come off his ship all the better for it. Not that he ever let a young officer off of the ship until he was satisfied, but still.

  “Sir, we have an intrusion on the border.”

  The interruption could not have come at a better time. “Explain,” Chevon demanded. Setting the reports aside, he moved over to the console.

  “The alert came through a moment ago. It appears to be an escape pod, but I cannot say what type. The sensors are not sensitive enough to get more than that.”

  “Plot a course to intercept,” he ordered. “Get us in front of it. We will need to get it into the landing bay without doing it or us any damage.”

  “Course laid in, sir.”

  “Sir, we are having problems keeping it on the radar.”

  “It will move in a straight line unless it hits something in its path. Plot the course from where the sensors at the border had it, and we’ll get out in front. Our sensors will pick it up when it is within range and we can adjust. Malek, prepare the bay with a net.” His first nodded and quickly left the command deck. Chevon stayed by the pilots to make sure they did not overadjust or make any corrections that might endanger the cruiser.

  An hour later they were in position with the pod on radar coming up behind them. They had matched speed and currently were starting to slow by small increments. The goal was to have the pod moving slightly faster than the cruiser, but not so fast that it blew through one of the internal bulkheads.

  One eye on the sensor data of the pod and the other on the cruiser’s control, Chevon let the officers do their jobs with minimal input from him. He didn’t want to make them nervous by second-guessing, but he wasn’t about to let them put the ship or crew in any danger.

  They were doing remarkably well, and he had only needed to make two small corrections. He was impressed by how well they were handling the stressful situation. Making a mental note, Chevon turned his attention to the next steps.

  “Once the pod is under the cruiser closing on the bay, you will need to speed up slowly. We want it to be going only slightly faster than we are when it runs into our gravity. This is a safety measure for the ship and for the pod and its passengers.”

  “Yes, sir,” they both said, their focus absolute.

  Chevon remained quiet as they proceeded to do exactly as he’d instructed. The moment the pod was in the cruiser’s shadow they began to speed up. If he hadn’t known this was their first time attempting the dangerous maneuver, he would never have guessed. It was textbook smooth.

  “Pod is aboard and secure in the net.”

  “Thank you, Malek, I am on my way down.” Chevon clapped both of the young officers on the shoulder. “Well done. That was superb, all of you. Excellent support and great flying. That was a textbook perfect maneuver.”

  Leaving them all to relax for a few moments, he headed down to the landing bay. He needed to know where the pod was from and, more importantly, who might be aboard.

  “Malek, what do we have?” he asked, walking in. The Craegin markings jolted him. “Not good.”

  “No, sir, this is worse,” his first said.

  Striding around the pod to the opening where Malek stood, Chevon froze. Inside was a woman, Craegin by her light coloring, and there was blood. “Medics?”

  “On their way down. We are going to have trouble keeping this quiet, Chevon. If the ruling body hears of this—”

  “I know,” he interrupted. The ruling body would have a fit and probably claim that spies were now finding ways over the border by pretending distress. They would likely demand her very public death. Not an option in Chevon’s world. “I will remain with her and limit those who have access. You need to deal with the pod, any recordings we have, and any crew member who has seen the pod. This remains internal. If the ruling body hears anything about this, I will make sure the one who passed them information scrubs toilets on a backwater moon for the rest of their natural life.”

  “Understood, sir.” Malek saluted, then headed for the landing bay’s control room.

  Chevon stepped aside when the doctor and chief nurse rushed in. At their shocked looks, he leveled his hardest gaze their way. “This remains quiet.” Only when they nodded did he let them near the woman, whoever she was.

  Chapter Three

  She couldn’t believe how much her head hurt. She whimpered just a bit and tried to lift her hand to touch the back of her head. For some odd reason, her hand wouldn’t cooperate. She couldn’t get it to lift. She turned, shifting her legs and feeling the soft material of the dress she was wearing move on her legs. “What in the ever-loving name of the stars happened?” Tears rolled down her cheeks. Son of a mukelessi toad, she hurt like crazy.

  She heard people, knew that there was light around her, but she refused to open her eyes. “What happened?” She whispered the question and caught the hand of whoever it was that had reached out to touch her.

  “Easy, you’re safe. Your escape pod crossed into our space, and we intercepted it. The doctor is completing his scans and then will release the ties. Until then you should remain still or he will insist on starting over.” The man’s accent was somewhat unusual. She didn’t immediately recognize it. She coul
d tell that he was speaking through a translator, though.

  She was frowning but winced at the pain that caused her. “What? What space? I don’t understand.” She was so confused. “You sound odd. Are you from the outer colonies?” She turned her head slightly toward the too-sexy voice and cracked her eyes just a bit. What she saw had her screaming, then crying in pain. She took in the space around them and knew that it was not a Craegin ship she was on. The colors were all wrong. Everything was all wrong, especially the people around her.

  When she finally calmed down just a small bit, she looked at the man in front of her. “You—you’re Imarian.” His skin coloring was just one of the many things to signal that. “Please, don’t kill me.” She bit her lower lip. “Where in the world is passing out when you want it?”

  “You are not going to be killed,” he told her. She was sure he even rolled his eyes, but it was hard to say with the pain in her head making it difficult to focus. “You’re perfectly safe here. What is your name? Do you remember what happened to send you over the border?”

  “Laura, Laura Troxell. I don’t know. One moment I’m on one of the pleasure cruises that go to the far reaches of Craegin space and the next I feel a horrible pain in the back of my head and then I woke up here.” She closed her eyes again and sighed. It was so odd but she wanted to move to curl up against him and soak in the heat of the man.

  “I doubt this was the way you may have wished to come to visit Imarian space, but welcome. I am Fleet Admiral Chevon von Janus. Call me Chevon.” He squeezed her hand gently, and she felt his thumb rub over her knuckles. “From what the doctor has found so far, you have a large bump on the back of your head, probably from a blunt object. The other bumps, bruises, and scratches likely came from the fact you were not strapped into the pod. Hopefully, your memory will clear more to give us an idea of how you came to be in the pod.”