Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (13 page)

Raven’s greeting iced over as she

met the woman in teal’s scowling

face.

Yeah, that’s right, bitch. Kadan is

mine.

Raven dismissed the unfriendly

woman and noticed that the men at

the table were all gawking at her.

Savitar had warned her that the

warriors might react that way to her

unusual clothing, but she didn’t care.

She was comfortable with what she

was wearing, far more so than one of

those stripper dresses that the

Arcadian females seemed to prefer.

“You look…”

Raven turned to Kadan, practically

daring him to finish what he was

thinking. She knew that the others at

the table would follow his lead and if

he publically ridiculed her or

showed his displeasure the others

would follow suit. It didn’t worry her

though. Instead, the glazed look of

lust on his face had her holding back

a grin. “I look…what?” She couldn’t

help but taunt.

“You look absolutely…delicious,”

Kadan growled. “I never thought

warrior’s clothing could look so

good.”

“Thank

you,

Kadan,”

Raven

replied, pleased with his reaction.

Kadan cleared his throat then

glared at the other men as he noticed

them staring at his mate. For a

moment he had lost his ability to

think when he saw Raven walk into

the room with his brother. She was

glorious. Where some females would

have looked foolish dressing as a

warrior, Raven looked natural and

completely at ease. That didn’t help

his cock from surging to life at the

provocative display of flesh showing

from the low-cut V in the front of the

vest.

On Arcadia, females usually wore

dresses made of a very fine material

that enabled others to see the

perfection of their form. Kadan never

realized that by hiding some of the

more interesting bits, it could be even

more

tantalizing

than

putting

everything on display. His first

reaction had been to order Raven

back to their quarters so she could

change

into

something

more

appropriate, but by the defiant look

on her face she was expecting that.

Instead, he had simply said exactly

what he was thinking.

And the gift of her smile was

reward enough for him.

“Raven, this is Kell and Damos,

our

chiefs

of

security

and

commanders of our elite guards, and

their mate Nyla. Nyla is our cousin,”

Kadan explained as he reached out to

brush a hand over his mate’s curly

locks. He couldn’t help himself. He

was fascinated with the spiraling

curls and could spend hours playing

with them if she let him. He forced

himself to stop as he nodded to the

others at the table. “And these three

are Damos and Kell’s younger

siblings, Brynt, Koreth, and Selina.”

“Honor to your mating,” the entire

table said at once, all of them

smiling.

“Ah…thanks,” Raven said, not

knowing what the proper response

was.

“She is a beauty with unusual

eyes,” Brynt said. Somehow his gaze

made Raven feel like she was under

a microscope. She didn’t like it. She

noticed that Koreth and Brynt were

still leering and Selina hadn’t

stopped glaring at her.

Whatever. She wouldn’t let them

bother her.

Nyla smiled shyly at Raven from

where she was perched on Kell’s

lap. “It is an honor to meet you,

Queen Raven.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” Raven had

to hold back a shudder at the title she

had tried to forget about.

Her stomach grumbled again and

she focused on the platters of food

laid out on the table. Savitar had

moved a large loaf of bread in front

of them that acted like a plate and

placed several items on it. He picked

up a piece of weird looking blue

cheese and offered it to her. She shot

him a questioning glance before

shrugging and biting into it. It was

good, creamy, and smooth. She tore

off a piece of the bread and took a bit

of it, too. She was so hungry she felt

like she could eat everything on the

table and proceeded to do so.

With her hunger mostly sated, she

looked up to find the entire table

watching

her.

Extremely

uncomfortable with their attention,

Raven curled into Savitar’s side. His

arm immediately came up around her.

“Did I do something wrong?” she

asked Savitar through their bond.

“Nay, mate. They are but curious

about you. And perhaps a little

surprised that one such as small as

you can eat so much.”

He let out a grunt as her elbow

jabbed into his side as she pulled

away from him. She heard him

chuckle as she turned to find Kadan

watching her with a small smile on

his perfect lips. “Sorry. I was

hungry.”

“We could see that,” Selina all but

sneered, causing both Kadan and

Savitar to growl at her. Kell and

Damos glared at their sister as well,

adding to the tension in the room.

Selina’s head quickly lowered.

“Forgive me, my Kings, it was but a

jest.”

“Our sister meant no insult to your

mate,” Koreth replied with an

arrogant grin. “It is just a wonder that

you have not trained your mate

properly yet.”

Trained? What the hell was he

talking about?

“Where she is from females sit on

their own and feed themselves,”

Savitar growled back, the anger clear

in his tone.

Koreth held up his hands in a

placating gesture. “Calm, my friend.

You know how proper my sister is.

There is no need for such anger.”

Raven cringed inside. Seriously?

Women were supposed to sit on the

laps of their mates and let them feed

them like trained pets? Oh, hell no.

And she didn’t think a proper female

would eye-fuck someone else’s mate

either, Raven thought as she stared

down Selina until the other woman

looked away. “I can feed myself.”

“Perhaps it is better she does or

neither of you would get a chance to

get much sustenance for yourselves.

She does pack away a lot for such a

small…thing,” Brynt said with a

laugh.

“Brynt!” Kell snapped.

“She is not a thing!” Kadan

growled.

“But she isn’t Arcadian,” Koreth

replied belligerently.

“She is your queen!” Kadan

snarled, only this time with more

menace, making Nyla bury her head

in her mate’s neck and Selina cower

against one of her brothers in fear.

All of the men at the table lowered

their heads in submission.

“Control yourself, Koreth,” Damos

growled. “Or I will remove you from

her presence myself!”

Apparently family members were a

pain in the ass on Arcadia, too,

Raven thought with a sigh. So far

Kell and Damos seemed okay, but

she watched Koreth and Brynt with a

discerning eye and decided she

didn’t like them. She didn’t like them

one bit. Before the conversation

could continue, Raven laughed, trying

to counter the strain. Kadan turned to

her with wide eyes and she shrugged.

“Yeah, I know I can eat a lot. But

that’s what happens when you burn a

lot of calories.” Raven opened the

pathway in her mind to both Kadan

and Savitar. “I don’t like them.”

“Neither do we,” Kadan responded

back.

She smiled back at him.

“What are calories?” Nyla asked,

her voice shaking with fear. At the

first growl she had curled into Kell’s

lap,

shying

away

from

the

confrontation. Kell rubbed her back

soothing her as she was obviously

shaken up by the aggressive display.

Raven smiled at the other woman

trying to put her at ease. “Calories

are things that you get from food that

help give you energy. I tend to stay

pretty active in my job so I usually

have to eat a lot.”

“What did your mate do on her

home world, King Savitar?” Damos

asked.

What the hell? Why was he asking

Savitar when she was sitting right

there? Raven frowned at him and

answered before Savitar could say

anything. “I’m a cop back home.”

“Your home is here now ,” Savitar

reminded her quietly.

Raven struggled for patience. “I

know that. I’m just irritated he

didn’t ask me directly. Why is he

acting like I’m not here?”

“What is a cop?” Damos asked

Kadan, making Raven grit her teeth

together in irritation.

“Have I suddenly become invisible

or something? If you want to know

something ask me,” Raven snapped.

The others at the table gasped,

increasing Raven’s irritation. Clearly

she had screwed up again, but she

didn’t know how.

“They mean you no disrespect, my

love. It is customary that males do

not speak directly to a mated female.

It is a show of respect,” Savitar

explained as he squeezed her hand.

Not for the female it wasn’t, Raven

thought bitterly. This was just another

fucked up difference that was simply

ridiculous. Like the damn stripper

dresses and being fed like a pet. She

held back a curse as Savitar and

Kadan both stiffened at her sides.

Damn, she’d forgotten the connection

between them was open.

“It is our way,” Kadan said. Raven

could hear the hurt in his tone that he

tried to hide, but before she could say

anything he turned to his friend. “Ask

her directly, Damos,” he ordered

softly. Damos’ eyes went wide as he

turned to Raven and gulped.

She sighed. Okay, so now Kadan

was hurt and Damos was too freaked

out to speak directly to her. But she

was hurt, too. Why were there all

these rules that made it seem like

women were treated like they had no

brain? It was time to clear a few

things up. “Listen, I understand you

guys might do things differently here,

but where I’m from it is rude not to

speak directly to the person you are

asking a question about if they are

right in front of you. Male or female.”

“Perhaps you need to be reminded

you are no longer on your home

world,” Selina said with a sweet

smile.

Oh boy, did Raven want to punch

that woman in the face. It was a

struggle to hold back, but somehow

she managed. “I don’t think I can

forget that. The thing is I can speak

for myself, just like you seem to be

able to. The only difference is I’m

capable no matter who is talking to

me, male or female.” Raven was

satisfied when she saw the blush

staining Selina’s cheeks at the veiled

reprimand.

Good. Maybe that would shut the

bitch up.

“I meant no disrespect, my queen,”

Damos said quickly.

Raven smiled at him. “No problem.

You didn’t know.”

She could feel Savitar and Kadan’s

irritation over her smiling at Damos

and quirked a brow at them both in

turn. “For the love of…seriously?

You guys have that stupid rule

because you’re jealous? I don’t

even know this guy and certainly

don’t want him. He’s mated to your

cousin!”

“We know that,” Savitar replied

with a sigh. “But we still don’t like

him speaking to you.”

“Deal with it.” This whole meal

had been uncomfortable and it was

very clear she wasn’t what the

people at the table expected from

their queen. She made sure both

Savitar and Kadan could hear her

when she spoke again through their

bond. “Clearly I should have just

eaten in our room or something