However, it’s difficult not to feel elated. The three of us are staring down at the huge tracts of green land that we acquired the night before – tracts that cut through the barren deserts of Deemak like a green knife; following the thin waterways carved out of the soil from the wells deep beneath the sandy surface.
“There! You won’t be able to see it,” Harry seer points his finger into the distance, “but prospector reports suggest silver deposits beneath the surface of those hills. You’ll have to decide whether to continue growing crops there, or exploit it for mining.”
“We’ll keep growing,” Cyrus responds, and I see the hint of a smile on Harry’s face. That was the right answer, even though the deal is done and there’s nothing the Seer family can do to jeopardize it now. Our lawyers signed everything this morning. We’re piloting over our new domain, and the Seers are now the visitors on it.
But Harry and Paul are good people. They know how important the crops grown here are to the poorer people of Deemak, and if they’d thought we’d be willing to hurt their access to affordable food in the pursuit of precious metals, they might have doubted the wisdom of their deal.
Fortunately, we’re both on the same page. As Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, victory is best when neither side is the loser.
But now we’ve seen our incredible new acquisition, I can’t wait to return to our estate.
There are hundreds of miles of verdant land beneath us, and yet all I can think of is her.
Mia is in my mind, my soul, and it’s as if she’s imprinted down my very spine. I can feel her, deep inside my being.
She is my mate. I know this. I could smell it on her from the first time we met, and yet I didn’t let myself fully believe it until last night.
Last night, though, when I finally released my spurting cock into her sweetly sucking mouth, it was paradise. It confirmed it, even if only mating with her can confirm our Bond for real.
But it felt so good – not like with the other beauties of our harem, who always leave us empty but unsatisfied. With Mia, it felt right – and yet I know it’ll be nothing compared to how it will feel to finally claim her innocence and make her truly and utterly mine.
I ache to experience her aura blossoming in my mind.
I ache to find my Fated Mate.
My wristwatch suddenly beeps loudly, interrupting my blissful thought. The same beeping comes from the digital devices Varian and Cyrus also wear, and we look at each other, confused.
I check my watch.
“Fuck!” Cyrus’s loud cry makes the Seer brothers spin around to face him.
“Turn this ship around right now! We have a situation.” Without further questions, Paul yells at the captain to turn this touring vessel around.
“The shuttle says Mia ran away. She wasn’t kidnapped, or lost – she ran away!” Varian keeps our concerns silent by telepathing the message.
“Why would she run away?” Cyrus narrows his eyes. “Didn’t we treat her well?”
“I don’t know,” I respond, “but we’re going to find out… and we’re going to find her.”
I turn and speak out loud:
“Cyrus – you know the commander of the Royal Guard. Get him on holo-vid and call in whatever favors we have with them.” Then I turn to my other battle-brother. “Varian, you work on the surveillance network of the city. It’s primitive on Deemak, but there could be a lead there.”
My two battle-brothers turn and look at me.
“I’m going to interview Sarah – she was with her when Mia disappeared. I’ll find out if Mia was acting strangely.” My fist lands in my palm with a crack. “We need to figure out what her last movements were, and why she’s done this.”
Cyrus is clenching his fists angrily. I can see his carotid artery pulsing in anger. He presses on his watch, and within seconds the red-cloaked Captain of the Royal Guard appears – a miniature projection standing on his watch.
“Cyrus! An honor, sir. What can I do for you?”
“I need to call in a favor,” Cyrus says coolly. “One of the women of our harem just left, and I don’t know why. I’ll send you over a holo-vid shortly. I need you to put a team on this.
“A team? I can’t spare a team right…”
“A team, now!” Cyrus snaps, and his tone is not to be argued with. “You know how much we’ve contributed to the Royal Guard over the years. If you don’t do this, I’ll call in that favor with somebody else – and they’ll be looking for a new Captain by next week!”
I can see the Captain’s eyes widen even on the tiny holographic projection.
“No, sir, I’m sorry…” He flusters. “What I meant was that I couldn’t put just one team on this. We’ll have two full investigative units on it right away.”
We don’t show much emotion with humans, and this is the first time the Captain of the Guard has ever heard us speak in anything other than a measured tone. Cyrus nods curtly at the Captain, satisfied now with his response, and abruptly ends the transmission.
Then, he looks up, snarling: “I’ll get the video feed from the manor up. We need to see what she did this morning, before the marketplace.” He growls. “Why the fuck did she leave?”
Varian shakes his head. “I don’t know. Maybe we pushed her too hard last night. Maybe she’s running from us.”
I reach out, grabbing Varian’s wrist. I squeeze it, hard. “Then, she’ll come back. She has to.”
Our vessel finally touches down at our manor and we give curt goodbyes to the Seer brothers. Within seconds, we’re striding across the landing pad, and then I throw open the doors to the manor house.
In seconds, I find Sarah in her room. She’s weeping inconsolably.
“What happened?” I demand. “Why did Mia leave?”
Sarah looks
