"So soon?" A look of panic crosses Bee's face and she clutches at my arm. "Oh, but…"
Herrix glances over at me. My misery must be obvious. He falters momentarily, watching me and then reluctantly tearing his gaze away. "Uh, actually, I have some errands to run. I can come back and get Victor later? At the end of the day?"
"That'd be lovely," Bee says in her too-bright, too-charming voice. "Victor can help me set up my office."
Akris nods. "That'd work. You need to go to the medic first, though. Lord va'Rin's orders."
I shrug. It doesn't matter. Not much does. I no longer feel like a champion—Bee's champion. I feel rejected. Unwanted. Above all, melancholy and heartsick. My mate, I say silently. Even if she does not want me, Bee is my mate. Now and forever.
Neither myself nor Bee are very talkative as Akris escorts us across town. He brings me to the Port medic's office, then heads off with Bee, promising to return soon enough as I'm sent through a barrage of medical tests and my blood is taken. Once upon a time, I might have fought the tired-looking mesakkah male that pricks my finger and makes records in his data pad, but after being with Bee, I know he's just doing his job. He's not trying to anger me.
"You're extremely healthy," the medic says.
I snort. "Of course I am. I am bred to be a champion."
The medic smiles. "Truth. Well, I have the information Lord va'Rin requested. Did you have anything specifically that you wanted done?"
That makes me pause, because I don't understand what he's asking. "Want done?" I echo. "What do you mean?"
He gestures at his data-pad. "Lord va'Rin is offering to pay for any sort of cosmetic procedures you wish to have done. It's not easy having the same face as a notorious gladiator, so if you want to change anything, I'm letting you know that it's taken care of. Removing claws and tusks, of course. Not adding anything for battle." The medic frowns to himself at the thought. "Perhaps I should have specified."
Have my tusks and claws removed? My claws are already filed down. And I like my tusks because Bee likes my tusks. Do they make my mouth a little odd? Sure. But I love the sound she makes when I drag them over the inside of one soft thigh. "I like looking fearsome," I say, thinking of Bee. "In case…someone…needs protecting."
"Mate?" The medic pauses, smiling.
I shrug. It seems foolish to assume that someone with my face would ever get a mate.
He grunts at my silence. "Thought I'd ask. The other Crulden clone did."
That gets my attention. "He what?"
"Had his tusks removed. Wanted to kiss his female properly."
"His…female?"
The medic nods, flicking through his data pad without looking up at me. "Yes. Tiny little scrap of a human. Small body, big attitude. He seems quite happy with her though."
The other clone of Crulden has a mate? And this is accepted? No one is afraid for the female? I lean in. "Did he…does he have barbs on his cock?"
"Nope. You do?" At my expression, he nods, continuing. "That's the praxiian part of the genetics for you. We can have those removed if you like. Most praxiians have them removed at birth. It's a simple enough procedure. Your skin would be sensitive for a few days afterwards, but it's easy enough to do."
I can have the barbs on my cock removed…now that Bee is abandoning me. The irony of the situation is not lost. "I am surprised the other Crulden has a mate."
"He's quite taken with her. They've been together for months now, or so I've been told." The medic smiles. "Lord va'Rin went off-world to go buy her for Mycrul—that's the other clone—because he was miserable without her. Now that she's here on Risda, you never see the two of them apart. Heard they work together, eat together, everything." He chuckles, shaking his head. "Can't say I'd be thrilled with having my female around all the time, but then again, I've never mated. Maybe it's different for some."
I want to shove a hand in his face to get him to stop talking. I have to think, and I can't think while he talks on and on. This makes no sense. A mate. The other clone of Crulden—Mycrul—has a mate. He gets to stay with her. He had his tusks removed so he could kiss her. Lord va'Rin even went off-world to purchase her to make Mycrul happy. They are together all day and everyone knows it, even this medic who runs his mouth and shares the secrets of others.
So…why am I being separated from Bee?
I straighten to my full height, squaring my shoulders. "Medic. I wish to speak to Lord va'Rin."
"And I wish for an assistant to do all this busy-work for me," he says with an amused chuckle, gesturing at his data pad. "You—"
"I wish to speak to Lord va'Rin," I state again. "I do not want to leave this place until I have spoken to him."
"That's not how this works, my friend—"
I raise a hand, silencing him. "If he has a marked interest in this Mycrul's happiness, he will have interest in mine. It is urgent that I speak with him." I nod at the comm station at the back of the small office. "Get on your machine and tell his people that Victor is here, and he has questions."
The medic stares at me for a long moment. Then, he sighs heavily and moves to the comm station. He taps the request onto the panel, then drums his fingers as it is sent. I know he feels he is wasting his time, and I am not surprised when, a moment later, he says, "He's not going to answer. He's an extremely busy man. He—"
The comm chirps with acceptance and a moment later, Lord va'Rin's face shimmers onto the screen.
The medic blinks in surprise.
I get to my feet, nodding at him. "Lord va'Rin. I have questions."
The mesakkah lord inclines his head. "Ask. I will try to answer."
I stalk toward the panel, wishing that this medic was not here to listen in, but I do not have time to chase this male away. There are other concerns at stake. "This Mycrul…he has a human mate?"
Lord va'Rin nods.
Hope surges in my chest. "What if I wished to stay with Bee? What if I did not want to go to the coast? Am I allowed to stay here in Port if she will have me?"
va'Rin looks surprised at my request. "Of course you may stay. I was under the impression that you wished to be far away from Port. That you preferred solitude." He leans in, studying my face. "In fact, one of the guardsmen said that you confessed to him that all you wanted was to get away from others. That you craved peace."
"I crave Bee," I say, shaking my head. "I do not care where I am, as long as I am with her. She is my mate."
The mesakkah lord narrows his eyes. "And does the female feel the same?"
"I would hope so. We have shared a bed for the last several weeks." The medic coughs in surprise, and I rush on. "But I will only stay if Bee haves me. If she does not want me, there is no need for me to remain here."
Lord va'Rin strokes his chin thoughtfully. He is silent for a long, long moment. "I was assured she had no feelings for you."
Who would tell him such a thing? We have carefully concealed our relationship from Herrix and Akris, but that was because Bee did not want our intimacy to reflect poorly on my training. "Did Novis say such a thing?"