Born of Defiance

You could buy out your contract and live with Talyn without one.

If she were human, it would be easy. On Andaria, that would make her a whore. Lower than even a prostitute. No male would ever consider her fit for dating or pledging, and marriage would be out of the question. Forever.

All relationships on Andaria were done through legal contract negotiations, with a third party overseeing them. With all parties, and their families, signing off on it.

While the life of a companion wasn’t the most perfect way to exist, it was legally acceptable. Socially acceptable. But with it, she was forced to bend to agency rules.

What do I do?

She couldn’t decide right now. There was no way. And whatever decision she made, she wasn’t going to discuss it with him. Especially not while he was hurting like this.

Talyn kissed her hand. “It’s okay if you don’t love me, Felicia. I’m just glad I have you with me. And now that I’ve lost my rank, I fully expect you to leave when our contract expires. You’re too decent a female to stay with someone you know has no future of any kind. You should be with a male who can give you a lineage and children you can be proud of. Someone who can protect you.”

“Tay —”

“Shh,” he said, cutting her off. “There’s nothing more to say. Just because I get hit in the head a lot doesn’t mean I’m stupid or delusional. You’re planning to be a great doctor one day, and while your parents aren’t married, you have both lineages. Once you have your degree, you’ll have your choice of husbands. That’s how it should be.”

“And you should have your choice of females.”

Talyn sighed. She had no idea how right she was. His paternal grandfather had been pledged to Tizirah Cairistiona at one time. The Baturs had practically beaten down the door of his grandparents to pledge their daughter to his father. Had his parents married, he would have been Talyn of the Warring Blood Clan of Hauk – the only male of his entire generation who could legally use that prestigious name. To the Andarion race, that was even more impressive than Jullien of the Most Sovereign Blood Clan of eton Anatole.

But that was a title that would never be his.

Not as long as the royal family was in power, and not as long as the old traditions stood.

You could change that.

All he had to do was call her brother and help WAR overthrow their government.

Closing his eyes, Talyn wanted to play by the rules. He wanted to believe that hard work was rewarded. Yet the one thing he’d learned in the Ring was that sometimes you had to take that cheap shot. Even when it was repugnant. Even when you didn’t want to. Sometimes, just sometimes, you had no choice. No one could win a fair fight when your opponent didn’t respect the rules.

Fight fire with fire.

He’d spent his entire life doing what he was supposed to. And they’d figuratively gelded him for it. It was time to leave the gloves in the dressing room. Time to meet them on the terms they’d set when they bound his hands behind his back.

Degradation was a bitch and it was time he acquainted her with Jullien and the entire Anatole family.





Chapter 18





F

elicia sat outside her broker’s office with a sick lump in her stomach. For three days, she’d wrestled with what to do about leaving Talyn.

She still had no answer.

The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. That alone told her what she needed to do. But it was much easier said than done. Especially since he seemed to want her out of his life.

“Felicia? The director will see you now.”

Swallowing hard, she got up and went into the elegant office where her broker, the director of her agency, sat behind his ebony wood desk. He smiled as he saw her.

“Come in, Felicia.” He gestured to the padded chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”

Her limbs trembling, she obeyed.

“I’m assuming you want to talk about the new contract?”

“Yes. Very much so. I don’t understand how I ended up being offered to someone.”

“Actually, you weren’t. They called and asked for you by name. Apparently, the secretary who contacted us had been calling all the agencies, looking for you, but all they had was your first name and your patron’s name. The female I spoke to was elated to have finally located the right agency that held your contract.”

“Female?”

“Mmmm, yes.” He pulled up a file on his computer. “The terms are incredible. While your condo won’t be so grandiose or that close to your school, your new patron is willing to buy out the current contract, plus pay a staggering fee to the agency to convert you before your probation ends.”