Chapter Fifteen
Violet woke up with a start. She sat bolt upright in bed and automatically reached out to Treffon’s side, but all she felt was the still-warm blanket.
Her head was fuzzy from lack of sleep, and she tried to figure out what had jerked her awake. Then she heard the sound of angry voices and shouting coming from the hallway.
She scrambled out of bed and looked around, still bleary. A silky robe hung across a chair, and she quickly pulled it on and headed towards the shouting. She made her way across the huge room, her feet sinking into the thick carpet, then out into the hallway.
Treffon was standing there, face flushed with rage, shouting at Madok. Madok was glaring at Treffon.
“You are an incompetent fool! Now we’ll never be able to question him!” Treffon bellowed.
“What happened?” Violet asked, stifling a yawn.
“He killed the chef who poisoned your food.” It came out in a growl.
“The chef attacked me when I attempted to question him,” Madok muttered defensively. “He attacked me without honor – he had a knife coated in keer-ne-ja.” He glanced at Violet. “One of the few poisons effective against Vulfans,” he added.
“And you are such a weakling that you could not disarm him?” Treffon snarled at him.
“Treffon, I don’t expect Madok to die on my account,” Violet said gently. “It’s all right.” But her heart sank. Another dead end. Would she find out who was trying to kill her before it was too late?
If she thought that running away again would keep everyone around her safe, she would do it. But it seemed as if the person who wanted to kill her was able to follow her literally anywhere. And if she left again, where would she even go? And if she were able to successfully vanish, how did she know that her would-be assassin wouldn’t take it out on Dorcas, or maybe Allison or the Eeplings?
“Is there any hint as to why the chef would have done such a thing?” she asked Madok.
He shook his head, grim-faced. “It is clear that he is working for someone else. There was recently an enormous deposit in his bank account from the Many Worlds bank, and we are still trying to trace the source. However, it cannot be a coincidence that the Many Worlds bank is also used by the Wor-Lans. Their pack is one of the bank’s largest customers.”
Treffon snorted. “The Wor-Lans have no reason to attack her. Their Reginar is as committed to making this truce work as we are. He saved our lives during the cyborg attack.”
“He only did that because his true mate was on your property at the time. He was saving her, not us. And not all Wor-Lans agree with the truce,” Madok pointed out. “With Voljaki and his men on our property, they would have had ample opportunity to attack Violet. It seems the most likely explanation.”
“It doesn’t explain the attempts on my life while I was on Earth,” Violet pointed out. “Or why they would focus specifically on me. They could try to kill Treffon, or Zura, or anybody in the pack.”
Treffon frowned. “Continue your inquiries,” he said to Madok. “Work with Tristao. All of Violet’s food will be scanned by Veri-Scan before she eats it; nobody can bribe a computer. She will remain by my side at all times. As for the Wor-Lans, I am assigning them to guard the far eastern side of the pack property, away from Violet, and Zura will accompany them. We will say that it is part of our exchange program, but she will be observing and investigating them.”
“I do not wish my daughter to be placed in any danger,” Madok protested.
“Since when?” Treffon scoffed. “You sent her right into the heart of the last cyborg invasion. No, you simply do not want your daughter near any Wor-Lans because of your intense dislike of them. Zura is excellent at her job, and she will shadow Voljaki.”
Madok let out a low growl. Treffon swung towards him, and the bones in his face shifted. His fangs shot down, and an answering growl rumbled up from his throat.
The two of them stood there, glowering at each other.
“Excuse me,” Violet said quickly, desperate to stave off a fight. The hostility in the air was so thick she was choking on it. “I would like to return to the resettlement center today to make sure that they’re all doing well. And maybe it’s safer for me there than here, for right now.” She’d been planning on asking Treffon to do that anyway; now was as good a time as any.
Madok shook his head. “Absolutely not! It is too dangerous,” he said, his tone haughty and dismissive. “You will not travel anywhere. You will stay here.”
Treffon let out a howl of fury, and Violet felt the waves of anger radiating from his body and pricking her skin. In mere seconds, he shifted. Muscles rippled in his massive shoulders and broad back, and he fell to all fours. His handsome face pushed out into a snout and a gunmetal-gray pelt rolled over his body. Thick, curved fangs descended, and he threw his head back and howled his anger as his body expanded, his spine tearing through the fabric of his tunic. Bones cracked and reformed, his hands becoming huge paws. He lunged at Madok.
Madok shifted too, more slowly, and ended up on his back with Treffon’s massive jaws snapping mere inches from his exposed neck. Madok whimpered and waved his paws in surrender, and after a moment that seemed to stretch out forever, Treffon stepped back. Madok scrambled to his feet, head hanging in surrender.
They both shifted back into human form.
“I speak for her,” Treffon bellowed in Madok’s face. “Only me! Do not ever address her in such a fashion again, or I will end you!”
Treffon maintained a furious silence as he and Violet quickly went back to their room, showered, and changed their clothes. Violet sent a message to Dorcas and Allison letting her know she’d be gone for the day and possibly overnight.
She waited until they were on the hovercraft heading for the resettlement center before she spoke up. She knew better than to chastise him in front of Madok, but she couldn’t let this go.
“By the way, Lord High Grouch-Face, I speak for myself,” she said indignantly. “You have made it more than clear that I’m not your true mate, but even if I was, I would only have agreed to it if it was a partnership. You are always the leader of your people, but I make the final decisions for myself, thank you very much.”
“Fine! I am sorry!” Treffon shouted in in such an angry tone that it took her several seconds to realize that he’d apologized.
“Well, thank you!” she yelled back. “And by the way, even your apologies are rude!”
“Why are you yelling?” he bellowed.
“You started it!” she shouted even louder.
There was complete silence for a few moments, and then there was a strange, unusual, wonderful sound. Treffon was laughing. He was laughing so hard tears came to his eyes.
Violet joined him, laughing even harder, slapping her knees with merriment.
They stopped laughing when they got to the resettlement center, however.
* * * * *
Trash was strewn everywhere again, and groups of aliens were arguing and fighting, or sitting miserably with nothing to do.
As soon as they saw Treffon, the aliens scrambled to their feet and looked at him to see what his reaction would be.
“Organize your trash details again! Now!” he bellowed at them, and for once Violet was happy for Treffon’s ability to terrorize with the mere sound of his voice. The aliens scrambled to obey as Treffon stormed over to the main building.
The Chief Peacemaker, who was pacing around out front ignoring the chaos, did not appear particularly happy to see Treffon.
“Attempting to resettle them was a mistake,” he growled. “We’re having to build a second detention center. We should just stick them on a prison planet and be done with it.”
“No way! Absolutely not!” Violet gasped in outrage.
The Peacemaker looked at her with scorn. “I thought that the Reginar was the leader of the pack. Now your female speaks for y—aaawwwwk!” Treffon’s hand shot out and wrapped around the Peacemaker’s neck, and he lifted him several inches off the ground.
“You wish to criticize this woman?” This woman. Not “my woman”, but “this woman”. Violet blinked hard and tried not to feel hurt.
“No,” the Peacemaker wheezed.
Treffon dropped him, and he staggered back several paces.
“Why did you have to build a second detention hut?”
“The Karvangii are thieves and keep stealing food from the others. They are also growing increasingly violent and attacking people without provocation.”
Treffon frowned. “On their world, they are peaceful and gentle. Their behavior makes no sense. Are they being fed enough?”
“More than enough. All they want,” the guard said sullenly.
“Perhaps they are suffering from some type of nutritional deficiency. Did you check to make sure they are getting the appropriate nutrients for their species?”
The Peacemaker spluttered. “Well, I… I mean… They are getting Galactic Standard Rations, the types we serve all our troops. The Karvangii are humanoids… Well, they’re mostly humanoid…”
“So in other words, no.” Treffon placed a call on his comm bracelet, sending in a request to find out what kind of nutrition they required.
The reply came back to him shortly, and he glared at the Peacemaker, who wilted under his gaze.
“The Galactic Standard Rations are severely lacking in several minerals they need,” Treffon snapped. “Without them, they are consumed by hunger and will slowly go mad. Those minerals are freely available at markets in Donnelle, and you could easily have discovered that. I have ordered the minerals to be delivered here immediately. Your incompetence is putting the lives of all of these creatures in danger!”
The Peacemaker straightened up and scowled at Treffon, but took several steps back. His hand dropped to the photon pistol at his waist. “I do not have to put up with this abuse from you!”
“So you wish a challenge, then?” Treffon looked amused. “And you believe that you can reach that pistol before I can reach you? Go on – take another twenty steps back and then go for your weapon. It’ll give you more of a fighting chance.”
The Peacemaker went pale. “I did not ask for a challenge.”
He turned around and stalked into the building. Treffon and Violet began walking around the camp, supervising the trash pickup.
A short time later, the Peacemaker came back. There was an ugly smirk on his face. “I have contacted headquarters to report your insubordination. We are leaving immediately. We only came here as a courtesy to you because Ilyria is a trade partner, but apparently you do not appreciate our assistance. We can take all of them with us now and drop them off at a detention center, or they become your problem permanently.”
And he left Treffon and Violet, strolling off rapidly with a stiff, angry gait.
“You’re letting them stay?” Violet said hopefully. This was a new side of Treffon, who had just recently said that he would protect only his pack members.
Treffon avoided her gaze. “It would make you unhappy if I sent them away. Come with me while I make arrangements, and do not leave my side.” He was back to barking orders at her again, but Violet didn’t mind. His primary concern was her safety, and that touched her deeply.
After the camp had been cleaned up, Treffon gathered all of the remaining species in the common area. He informed them that the Peacemakers were leaving, and that the Vulfans would now be in charge.
He explained to them why the Karvangii had behaved as they had. He promised them that the needed dietary supplements would be arriving soon, and the Karvangiis’ behavior would return to normal.
Violet had to admire the way he’d handled it. He was acting as a diplomat, as a negotiator. He didn’t try to use brute force on the exhausted and traumatized aliens. He was not his father’s son. He was his own man – a much, much better man.
Soon there were food deliveries arriving, along with forty new guards from the Wor-Lan and Thorolf packs.
Violet organized a cookout, and that evening they ate dinner together under the sprinkling of stars in the sky. The mood in the camp was hopeful. The new guards mingled with the aliens, and they all took turns singing songs from their native worlds.
That night, Treffon and Violet slept together in a sleep pod, in a room with hundreds of other aliens. There was no privacy there, so there was no chance of love-making, and Violet burned with desire as she lay wrapped in Treffon’s arms.
“Tomorrow,” Treffon mumbled into Violet’s ear, his fingers lightly skimming her arm.
“Tomorrow what?”
“Tomorrow we will return to our room and I will pleasure you beyond your wildest dreams.”
Violet struggled to stifle a moan of desire. “I will consider your offer and let you know my response in the morning.”
Treffon kissed the top of her head. “You are already responding to my offer…my sense of smell is excellent. I can smell the delicious sweetness of your arousal. You wish to be with me immediately. You do not wish to wait.”
Violet rolled away from him and tried to be indignant. “It’s a good thing you’re not my true mate. You are rude and crude. Hmph.”
She drifted off to sleep to the sound of Treffon chuckling quietly to himself.