She shrugged. “I have always felt affection for you, and my beast considers you hers, but that will have to wait until I can remove the tether.”

  “Why did my father put it on? He would never tell me.”

  She chuckled. “You don’t remember, which is proper. I was young and following you everywhere.”

  “This was ten years ago?”

  “Yes.”

  He rubbed her arm through the robe. “What happened that night?”

  “Do you remember Lady Crosal?”

  He looked a little embarrassed. “I do.”

  “Well, she tried to kill you. I couldn’t get you out of the water with my hands. She kept hitting me. So, I had to use my beast to pull you loose. First, I used your arms, but you were heavy, and the shoreline stuck to you. Then, I grabbed your shoulders and got you out of the water. That is when your guard found me. You were half-drowned and bloody. The king had me tethered the moment I shifted. It wasn’t until Lady Crosal confessed to killing you that he realized I wasn’t the problem.”

  “I still don’t know what happened. What did she do?”

  “When she finished giving you oral sex, she hit you in the head with a rock. After that, she tipped you over the low cliff, and that was when I appeared. I got you near the shore, but you are so damned heavy, you kept sinking.” She wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t in her.

  “Wait. What did I do?” He looked at her with eyes that weren’t his.

  “As best I can remember, you called her by my name while she had her mouth on you.”

  He froze. “I can see how that would upset her.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Yes. I can see that. You are lucky she didn’t use her teeth. I would have.”

  “Why didn’t my father have your tether removed?”

  “He was very apologetic, but once the substance has bonded to the tissue, it is locked. It goes right to the nervous system. They can remove it here, though. So, I am working toward that goal.”

  He pulled her to him and held her. “What happens when you are free?”

  “I can laugh, I can smile, and I can hunt you down and haul you home.”

  He gave a strained chuckle. “I look forward to you trying.”

  “So do I.” She curled up against him and breathed deeply. She smiled. She had his scent now. She would be able to track him anywhere in the station.

  “Solari?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did it take you so long to come after me?”

  “Someone put a force net on the outside of the gate. It tore up the king’s shuttle pretty bad. I had to get creative on navigation.”

  “Does my grandmother know about this?”

  “Of course. She was the one who told me how I could pay off the debt for the medical bill. Which guards ran with you?” She changed the subject.

  “Arton and Brenar. Why?”

  “Are they performing in the arena as well?”

  “You mean fighting.”

  She waved that off. “Whatever.”

  He chuckled. “They are. We are saving up for a long-range shuttle.”

  “Ah. I will have to slow things down for you.” She nodded.

  “You think you can?”

  Solari sighed. “If I can get my beast back, I can do anything.”

  The chime sounded. “Little Wolf will now be returned to her quarters.”

  She got up and kissed him again. “If I get the tether off, I would like to try that again. It must be more fun if you can feel it.”

  He looked surprised at that. “So, I can leave off the disguise?”

  “Of course. It only fooled me from twelve feet away, in dim light.”

  He grinned and watched as she tied the sash on her robe. He frowned. “You were willing to have sex with a stranger for benefit?”

  She gave him a bland look. “I am doing what I can to be whole. I suggest you think about your mother’s selection for you. She is a woman of good taste with an understanding of her son. She will make sure that you have what you need. Thank you, though. I can now get rid of this ridiculous hair without worrying about breaking a rule.”

  He stared at her as she left the room and met her handler.

  * * * *

  Well, there went that idea. He was simply trying to figure out how the girl he wanted had changed so rapidly, and now, he knew. His father’s punishment had happened before there had been any investigation. She was Other, so she had to be guilty.

  He was heading to Nardo’s to deactivate the projection. He wanted her to be looking into his eyes the next time when he was inside her. There would be a next time and without her tether. He was going to turn all of his funds to her project.

  It was the gentlemanly thing to do. She had saved his life, after all.

  Chapter Six

  Solari slowly lowered her batons and bowed to the camera.

  “Match to Little Wolf.”

  She handed over her batons and walked out of the arena, and Grandma Nuan’s secretary was waiting for her. He growled. “Come with me.”

  He led her a different way than she had walked before. They were heading toward the outer ring of the station.

  “Where are we going?”

  “A bay has been set aside for your procedure. I have warned them about the issues with Others, and it was decided to sterilize an open space in case your release causes a side effect.”

  “Um. Okay. How did I suddenly earn enough for the procedure?”

  He grimaced. “Your patron paid for it. He stated he was tired of seeing you incomplete.”

  “So, it is really happening?”

  The secretary snorted. “Yes. The med team is waiting.”

  “You are not enthusiastic about this.”

  “Others are dangerous.”

  “I am only half Other. That half has been cut off from my family and friends since I was tethered. I can’t even interact with those I love. I can’t even remember that I love them. Do you know how much that hurts?”

  He paused. “What?”

  “The Others. Their energy houses their emotions. Block the energy, block everything that makes life worth living. That is why the tethered Others fade. They literally have nothing to live for.”

  He cocked his head. “Why were you tethered?”

  “Saving a friend, but it was misconstrued as an attack because I drew blood. He was larger, and my beast was the only way I could get him to safety. My beast doesn’t have hands. By the time the truth was out, I was locked, and there was no way of letting me out again.”

  “Until now.”

  “Correct.”

  He nodded and huffed. “I see. Well, your first shift will determine your danger level.”

  She nodded. “Yes. It will.”

  Their path took them to the shuttle area, and a medical space had been curtained off. The physician who had been there at her arrival grinned and came to get her. “First, we will disinfect you, and then, we will do the removal. I would recommend removing your fight gear and putting on a medical gown.”

  He spoke as he walked her over to the space. “We will have to sedate you because we don’t want you to risk waking in this space, and your Other getting loose.”

  “Of course.” She nodded. “I was sedated when it went on as well.”

  She went to the changing area and took the scouring shower that worked to clear her skin of sweat and debris from the fight. She put on the medical gown and walked into the tent, through each lock, getting hit with sterilizing gas as she proceeded. The puffy foot guards she had on kept her feet from the cold metal of the floor, and the physician helped her get into position. Padded blocks were wedged into either side of her, and a medic inserted a line for sedation.

  “Okay. So, if this works well, when you wake up, the tether should be gone.” The physician smiled.

  “Just loosen it up, doctor. She will do the rest.” Solari smiled and slowly nodded off. She heard them talking to her, tapping her skin, and then nothing.

  She smelled blood. A lot of blood. Her blood. Solari opened her eyes and looked around. It looked like a crimson fountain had exploded in the med tent. The medic and physician were talking quietly, but she could hear that they were unsure if she would wake up again.

  “I am awake. Don’t worry. A little food and something to drink, and I am fine. She was just clearing our body out. That tether is pernicious.”

  She pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked down at her thigh. There was a lot of pressure bandage, but her skin felt like skin again. She smiled. They were back together.

  “Can I go for a run?”

  The physician looked at her vital signs on the display, and then, he stared again. “Um, yes, just let us unhook you.”

  The medic approached her carefully, but they released the monitors and the tube in her hand.

  They removed the blocks that had held her for the procedure. And she sat all the way up, moving her damaged leg to dangle it off the edge of the surgical bed. She kicked her feet, and a giggle welled up in her. There was a warm feeling inside her. She was whole, but she needed to let herself out, all the way.

  She hopped off the bed and made her way through the layers of curtains until she was out in the open. She was thankful to the secretary for insisting on the large space. It helped her have enough room for the change.

  A glow started in the center of her chest, and then, it turned into a flash that left her standing on all fours, and a lot taller than she had been at fourteen. She tapped her paws on the ground and hopped, listening to the clicking of her nails. She crouched and then bolted around and around in long loops, jumping, twisting in the air, and pinging off the walls.

  She wasn’t strong enough to do it for long, but when she stopped in the middle of the space, she sat and lay down, shifting back to human and smiling. “Right. So, where is my bondage gear? I need to get back into the arena.”

  The physician blinked. “You will need a day to recover.”

  “I really won’t. A good meal and a few liters of water to replace what I have lost, and I will be fine.”

  He frowned. “I don’t think...”

  She wrapped herself in her Other aura, and she smiled at him. “I think it is a very good idea.”

  He stepped back. “Right. A good idea.”

  She chuckled and returned to her black gear, pulling it on and strapping in all the buckles as she went. It had a lot of buckles.

  She stretched and wiggled her fingers, giggling at the feel of her emotions. She had missed them. Being sullen and depressed was only interesting for so long. It had gotten stale nine years ago.

  The physician looked at her thigh, visibly startled. “You healed.”

  “Yeah, that happens when you tear yourself down at the molecular level and then pull yourself back together again.” She wrinkled her nose. “I really want to punch something so want to get back into the arena sooner rather than later.”

  “I see. I will order you suspended until tomorrow. Feel free to issue challenges to whomever you need to.”

  She blinked. “I can issue challenges?”

  “Certainly. You have enough funds to issue a challenge now. They don’t need to accept it, but you can offer either funds or your person as the challenge reward.”

  She looked down. “So, how easy do you think it will be to use my body as bait? I am not a good judge of who will line up?”

  She put her hands on her hips and grinned.

  He looked her over and exhaled slowly. “I would definitely take that bait.”

  She grinned. “Excellent. I hate parting with money.”

  He blinked. “Ah. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  She tilted her head, felt the heavy weight of her braid, and she nodded. “Yes. Do you have a scalpel?”

  “Um, yes. Why?”

  She smiled. “I have a plan.”

  The secretary walked over to her. “Miss, Madam has requested that you sever the braid during a battle, for effect.”

  She paused. “It will get me more views?”

  “It will get reruns. Folk love that sort of gesture. They watch it over and over.”

  “Huh. And I get paid over and over?”

  “A percentage is placed in your account.”

  Solari grinned. “Fine. I will do what is necessary. I even have a few challenges in mind.”

  She bowed formally to the physician. “Thank you, and thank your medic. I am sure I will be charged accordingly.”

  He inclined his head. “I am sure you will.”

  She sighed and looked at the secretary. “Shall we return me to my cage?”

  He blinked and nodded slowly. “Please come this way, miss.”

  She nodded.

  The path back was now clear to her. She could track her own scent through the station. She breathed in and took in the scents of dozens of races and hundreds of bodies that had passed through space in the last few hours.

  So, the crimson guards were here, huh? Now that her beast was free, she was going to take the opportunity to get revenge and money at the same time.

  It was best to combine one’s passions in a single event, if possible. She had some plans.

  Chapter Seven

  Having to take a day off wasn’t a hardship. Solari checked into her balances and smiled. With a cheeky grin, she looked through the challenges that were being levied her way.

  She was going to have to make the fights entertaining and long. That was fine. She would have to act, that was difficult. She was a very straightforward person.

  A chime rang. “Fighter Little Wolf, please prepare to visit with your patron.”

  Solari raised her brows, and then, she headed to the shower. A lot of undone buckles and a sonic shower, and she was ready to slide on her robe to wait for her patron’s courier.

  She sat at her terminal and gathered information on Hazwell’s location, knowing that once she was close enough, it would be easy to find him. The only thing that would stop her was heavy security, and even that would not hold her for long.

  She giggled. She had her beast back. Her beast was making happy circles in her mind.

  The knock at the door got her attention, and she got to her feet, closing the terminal down. She was sure that Grandma Nuan was watching what she was looking at, but that wasn’t a secret. She had been direct with her reason for being there. She just needed to pay off the station, and she would be on her way, with her prize.

  The queen would dismiss her. That much was certain. She was no longer a maiden, which took her out of qualification for the queen’s guard.

  She opened her door to the station guard, and she followed him back to the patron quarters. She saw a fighter leaving the patron quarters, his head hanging in shame.

  She passed by him, ignoring him and entering the pathway to the door that glowed for her.

  She entered the room, and Hazwell emerged, looking at her in concern. “Grandmother said you had the tether removed.”

  She nodded and pulled the robe aside to show him her thigh. “I did.”

  He crouched, and she smiled that he hadn’t bothered with the concealment this time. His body and his scent were his. He ran his fingers over the site that had housed her tether.

  “It is unmarked.”

  “Well, it is now.” She smiled. “My beast is back.”

  He looked up, and he seemed stunned. “You are smiling.”

  She giggled. “I am. The feelings are back. I remember things now, remembered how they feel, how joy feels. It’s fun. Everything is bubbling inside me, trying to remind me all at once.”

  He stood and held her face, kissing her softly. He whispered, “Didn’t it hurt?”

  “It was agony, but even that had to end, and it did.” Solari smiled and nipped his lip. “Now, it is time to learn something else.”

  He grinned. “What? No coaxing, no foreplay?”

  She kissed him and wrapped her right leg around his left. “Is that enough for you?”

  He gripped her butt and lifted her against him. “It will do.”

  She laughed against his mouth.

  He walked with her to the bed and untied her sash, opening her robe and sliding it off her shoulders.

  She gave a hard tug and pulled him to the bed, flipping her leg over him to straddle him. She locked her lips with his, and then, she chuckled. “You are wearing too many clothes.”

  He grinned. “You will have to take care of that for me. I appear to be pinned.”

  Solari sighed. “I suppose I will.”

  She bit gently at his neck and licked at the hollow at the base of his throat. She moved down his body inch by inch until she was at the waistband of his trousers. The closure opened remarkably easily, but there was tension from inside. When she parted the fabric, his erection emerged, and she licked the hot skin, tasting and taking in the different texture. His cock jerked as she dragged her tongue along the head, absorbing the salt in his precum.

  “Oh, hells. You are killing me.”

  She chuckled and yelped as he pulled her away, flipped her, and drew her up and on her knees. He slid two fingers into her, and Solari twisted her hips against his hand. He shuddered. “Oh, thank the gods.”

  He pressed the blunt head of his cock into her and slid in with only a little bit of back and forth. Once he was inside her, he rested on her back for a minute before his hips began a slow advance and retreat.

  She closed her eyes and focused on the feel of him moving inside her, only slightly distracted by the fingers that circled her clit. Her senses wanted to remember every moment, but her body had other ideas.

  He rocked into her, and she pushed back as they slammed together. When she struck the edge of control, his fingers eased her over and into a rockslide of sensation.

  She wanted to roar, but it came out as a whimper while her inner muscles tried to trap him inside.

  He shuddered and pressed deep, holding his body tight to hers.

  His hands struck the bedding next to hers, and he shook again. “Damn.”

  Solari bore his weight as he collapsed on her.

  Sweat coated them, and the fabric of his trousers pressed against her backside.

 

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