Vareen & Mica (The Alliance Book 2) (17 page)

Vareen hurried along the path to the guest house. She was eager to check
on the cubs. Cali was coming to visit and she wanted to make sure Luna hadn’t
gone hunting with them before bringing Cali to see them. Dani had already been
around a few times, and Luna was very well behaved around her, so Vareen was
confident that Cali would be able to approach the cubs without setting off Luna’s
protective instincts.

As she got closer to the guest house the musk from the trees broke
through the sweet of the flowers and the smell reminded her of Mica. It had
been a week since they’d returned from the dance. In an attempt to keep busy,
she’d reworked the gardens, and added some herbs that would be useful in
cooking and flowers that just smelled nice. In the front of their home, along
the paths, inside and outside. Nowhere was safe from her ministrations.

Mica took everything in stride. He assured her that he loved the changes
and welcomed her feminine touch to their home.

Just as she was reaching the steps she felt something brush against her
leg. Looking down she smiled. “Smoky. I didn’t even see you coming.” This was
saying something since the cub was getting quite large and would be hard to
miss.

Kneeling down Vareen pet the cub
vigorously
behind the ears. A loud rumbling purr started coming from the feline and Vareen
gave him a few more scratches before standing up.

A loud ringing was coming from inside the
guest house. Vareen hurried to open the door and rushed to answer the call
before she missed it. Mica had gone to a council meeting and said he’d call if
there was news of Nellia.

“Hello?” Vareen opened the communication
link. “Mica. How is the council meeting going? Have you heard anything on
Nellia?”

“The delegation of clans has reached
Janari. Tae has been allowed to speak to Nicho. He found out that Nellia is in
the Janari compound and that she is being treated like an honored guest.” Mica
rubbed his chin and Vareen knew there was more coming. “It seems that Jarin has
tried to claim her. Since Nellia is an offworlder and was under the protection
of the Renari when Jarin grabbed her, tensions are running high at the moment.”

“Did Tae have a chance to talk with
Nellia? He could ask her if she was there of her own free will.”

“She isn’t being allowed to speak with
anyone besides Jarin. I’m sure it’s for her own protection. She can’t be
challenged if the females of Janari can’t speak to her.”

“Can’t we just use the transporter system
from one of the spacecraft and beam her away?”

“That would be highly dishonorable and
start a war we don’t want to fight,” Mica smiled slightly at her through the
monitor. “Not that the idea wasn’t argued around the council chamber. It was
decided to give diplomacy a chance to work.”

“I see.” Vareen knew that if it came to a
fight Nellia would be the one in the most danger. “Diplomatic means would be
Nellia’s best chance at getting away from the Janari. If she even wants to get
away. You didn’t see the way Nellia looked at Jarin. There is a chance she
could be enticed to stay with him.”

“The Janari are a bit rough around the
edges. It will take a lot of persuading to be allowed to speak with Nellia but
Tae will do whatever it takes to get the situation resolved.”

“I know he will. Are you still planning on
being home tonight?” Vareen reached down and absently stroked Smoky’s fur when
he brushed himself against her legs.

“Yes. We are almost finished here and I’ll
be returning home. Drake has asked to visit since Cali will be at our home. I
was thinking to invite everyone for dinner if you don’t mind.”

“No. Please do.” Vareen’s mind wandered to
what to prepare for their guests.

“I’ll have all the food delivered from
Denary. If you feel like cooking, add whatever you want to the table.” Mica
looked over his shoulder and laughed. “Okay, I’m coming.” Turning back to her
he sighed, “I have to go. I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you, Mica. See you after your
meeting.”

“I love you as well.”

The screen went blank and Vareen went
about her morning. She would make a nice salad to go with dinner.

Hours later when a large transport pulled
up in the driveway Vareen stood stunned as table after table and dish after
dish were taken into the backyard. Why hadn’t she thought to ask what Mica
meant when he said he wanted to invite “everyone” to dinner?

*****

Vareen yawned hugely and tucked herself
closer to Mica’s warmth. Her lids felt leaden and she felt herself drifting
sleepily.

“I should have told you the number of
people I was inviting. I wasn’t thinking. Are you sure you’re not angry?”
Mica’s whispered question brought her half-awake.

“Honestly Mica, I told you it was okay and
I meant it. I’m not angry. I could just as easily asked you how many to expect.
I wasn’t thinking either.” Vareen answered, her voice soft. “It was nice to see
the other heirs and the Council members in a relaxed setting. I’m shocked at
how approachable the leaders of your world are.”

Mica just held tighter against him and
Vareen floated toward sleep again.

“Did I say how much I love you?” Mica’s
words pulled her awake again.

“Only this morning, when we talked on the
communicator, when you got home, during dinner, after dinner, before you made
love to me, after you made love to me—”

Mica’s laughter made her head bounce on
his chest. “Okay. I didn’t want to fall asleep without telling you how much you
mean to me.”

Vareen stifled another yawn. “You don’t
have to say the words all the time Mica. It’s how you show me that you love me
that matters the most to me. You listen to my opinions and give me
encouragement to live my life here on Titus the way I want to live it. Your
actions every day prove how much you value me. I just hope that you know I feel
the same toward you.”

“I have no doubts about our connection. I
never did. The first moment I saw you on
The
Reliant
I knew.” Mica’s voice was losing volume and she knew he was
drifting to sleep as well.

As strange as it was for her to grasp
logically, Mica was right. They had forged a connection on
The Reliant
that defied reason. In the years to come, they would make
a home together. She would return to explore space on
The Destiny
, that was the name she’d given the ship the council had
gifted her with. She would bring the happy chaos of a life well lived to this
little corner of Titus. She would fill Mica’s days with laughter and love.
Together they would have children and grand-children. Mica would sit on the
council in his father's place when the time was right, and thankfully she
wouldn’t have to face another challenge.

Vareen let out a sleepy chuckle and felt
the grip of sleep pulling her down. The universe sure did have a way of testing
a person. She was just glad that she and Mica had found their way to each other
in the end.

Terraneu Series

Kniam:
A Terraneu Novel (Book One
)

Knollig:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Two
)

Knaleg:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Three
)

Kneus:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Four)

Marcael:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Five)

Knadyn:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Six)

Knacayn:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Seven)

Aquadomina Series

Raife
: An Aquadomina Novel (Book One)

The Reborn Series

Alea
Reborn
(Previously
self-published as Maliuth)

Emily
Reborn
(Previously self-published as Galan)

The Alliance Series

Cali & Drake

About the
Author

Hello. If this is the first book of mine you’ve read…Welcome. If you have
been here before on the “About the Author” page of one of my books you’ve heard
my story. Here it is again, just in case. I have two daughters, one is 23 and
the other is 21. They are both in college working toward various degrees. I am
married to my wonderful husband and we are going on our 24
^th
year
together. Rounding out our household
is
four dogs, one beta
fish,
and one bird.
The four Shih Tzu’s are still terrorizing the house and I continue my struggle
to write around the canine fur ball(s) in my lap. That pretty much summarizes
my life here in the Wild West!

As always, my thanks go out to everyone whose support and kindness
give
me the push to make
everyday
matter
and to write,
edit
and publish my
stories. I know there is a growing list of reading choices out there and when
you read one of my stories I take that as a great compliment. If you have time,
please review my books on Amazon or Goodreads.

I wish everyone the best in 2016 and can’t believe how fast this year is
going by! At the time of publication for Vareen &
Mica,
the year will be half gone.

I am excited to say that
Maliuth
and Galan are at
Ellora’s Cave
for
publishing. They are under the titles
Alea
Reborn
and
Emily Reborn
. There
has been some confusion about these two being new books and I’ve tried to be
open that they are not new books. They are just edited with added content versions
being published by a new company. I have warnings on my website, the book
synopsis, my author page and in the forums to try to avoid any issues. I’m
truly sorry if you purchased them twice.

If you haven’t read
Maliuth
or
Galan
, I recommend the new and improved
Alea Reborn
and
Emily Reborn. *W
arning! Where I tried to keep
Cali & Drake
and
Vareen
& Mica
as a more romantic, clean read…Ellora’s Cave books (and my other
books) are more on the racy side.

There is a link on my
website
at
http://www.stormymcknight.com/
if you
want to sign up to be on the mailing list for release updates and events.
Also,
new covers, story ideas, book trailers
and the latest news are posted on my website first.

Stormy