Varan shoved away from her. “There is no way I’m giving you my DNA so you can impregnate a royal without my consent. I will not have a child taken from me,” he snarled.
The blank look on Nadyah’s face told him his assumption had been wrong, and he reigned in that blinding anger. “If not for that, then what else could you possibly need it for?”
Nadyah looked away from him, picking at an invisible thread on her shirt as though contemplating whether she should tell him the truth or not. “What do you know of courtesans, Varan?”
The question made him wary. “The usual,” he replied. “Courtesans are bred for their sexuality; they are born outside the dominance spectrum so they can be fluid and flexible for the needs of others. Courtesans hold an equal rank to the nobility and are bred for their strength, empathy, and beauty.”
Those sapphire eyes he admired so much looked – haunted. Varan was suddenly nervous to find out why.
“Yes,” Nadyah agreed. “Though a few details are missing, we also scan each client’s DNA for diseases, compatibility, and—” she broke off and looked away.
Suddenly Lina was there and not even Varan had heard her move. He jerked when her hand touched his shoulder. “And for a possible match as mates,” Adelina finished.
The disguise dropped and so did Nadyah’s. The way his princess looked down at him, the way she studied him made him so incredibly nervous he wondered if he’d finally know what it felt like to have his eyes plucked from his body like he’d done to so many traitors, murderers, and rapists.
Then Lina—no Adelina now – her words sank in. “Mate?” he inquired, raising one eyebrow in speculation. Carefully he kept his mask of nonchalance in place while being circled by a pack of hungry wolves. Even Roxy stared down at him from across the room, arms crossed as she glared.
He needed more male friends in his life to save his hide before he opened his damn mouth.
“Courtesans can be genetically mated. We need to know if you might be a match for any courtesan,” Adelina said carefully…so carefully.
Varan looked to Nadyah in alarm. “You think I might be someone’s mate?” he asked in disbelief. There was only one possible option, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. “That’s ridiculous.”
On some level Varan knew his words could be considered hurtful, but inside he was panicking. Mate sounded so permanent, a label that took away the right for one to choose.
“A mate bond will only be activated if the two parties have intercourse,” Adelina explained, watching him with something like pity in her eyes.
Then pieces clicked into place and he frowned at Nadyah. Was that why she’d refused him? Had she worried they could activate a mate bond since he’d never been scanned by the House of Kismet? It explained a lot, and yet explained nothing. If he wasn’t her mate would their relationship mean anything at all to her, or would he be just another client she enjoyed spending time with?
“What makes you think I could be her mate?” he asked, standing so he wouldn’t have to look up at them. He walked to his desk and fiddled with some of the controls, knowing his knives and pistols were close if things suddenly got ugly.
“It’s genetic, Varan,” Nadyah said quietly. “You have as much chance of being my mate as Roxy.” She shrugged. “There is no other indication until it’s activated. If it makes you feel better, we would need to scan Roxy’s DNA as well if she decides to travel with us.”
For some reason the clarification only made Varan angrier. He felt lied to and betrayed, but even he didn’t know why. “Do you plan to have sex with everyone on the ship then?” he demanded.
Nadyah flinched.
The second the words left his mouth he instantly regretted them. Even Roxy looked at him in shock and disgust. He couldn’t take them back, even though he hadn’t meant them. Varan was so focused on Nadyah he made the grave mistake of letting his guard down.
Adelina’s hand wrapped around his throat, and with enough strength and brutality to make him shake inside, she slammed him against the wall behind his desk; pinning him like the filth he was. Her nails pricked into the skin at the back of his neck and Varan could smell blood. Adelina’s nostrils flared and she bared her teeth at him in a silent snarl. Those canines of hers were longer than they had been a moment ago.
“I understand males are rather stupid,” Adelina drawled. “But I didn’t realize quite how dumb they can be. Even if Nadyah had sex with every single person we bring along with us, all fifteen thousand of them, that is her right and her choice and that doesn’t make her less of a person because it pisses you off.”
She was right.
Varan lowered his gaze, and shame filled him.
“Nadyah is trying to spare me from your judgment as well, and I will no longer allow her to sacrifice her dignity because of your idiocy.” Adelina’s hand squeezed tighter and he could barely breathe, but still Varan didn’t struggle. He deserved this punishment.
“Princess,” Nadyah said softly, soothingly. “You don’t need to tell him anything.”
The courtesan flicked a glance at Roxy who stubbornly crossed her arms and glared. The red-head had no intention of leaving.
Adelina ignored her. “Nadyah asks for herself, and for me. With partial courtesan DNA, a mate bond would be rather confining for a royal don’t you think?” she growled. “Lucky for you Varan, it only applies to the courtesan. Your choice would not be taken from you, only ours.”
With that she released him and Varan slid to his knees in complete submission, bowing his head to expose the back of his neck. He made himself completely vulnerable to the princess in every way.
The hurt he’d caused lingered in the room.
The secret Adelina had just laid bare…it made him sick. No doubt she’d planned to keep it to herself given the ramifications of such information, and Roxy had heard as well. He dared a glance at the red-haired female.
Roxy had a thoughtful look on her face. “I’ve heard of that rumor about mates, but didn’t realize it was true.” She shrugged. “You can test my DNA if you want, but if I’m either of your mates don’t expect me to drop everything for you,” she said, pointing at both females with enough sass Varan could almost smile.
Adelina ignored the statement, staring down at Varan, her hands clenching and unclenching until he saw the nails look a bit more normal though his blood still covered the tips on one hand. “I could order you to give up a sample of your DNA, but I believe in the right to choose,” Adelina said. The boredom in her voice warned Varan to be ready, for what he wasn’t sure.
Varan was ashamed of himself. His mother and father had taught him better, and he’d let his temper get the best of him. His word was worth nothing if he spouted lies. “I apologize, Mistress Nadyah. Princess Adelina, I will gladly give a sample of my DNA. What can I do to repair the damage I’ve done?”