Fated Consort
She didn’t want to go to Usatho, but her brother needed support. Two years in, her bond was sold, and the Overseer was waiting to take her.
Two hellish years after the asteroid hit Earth, Mercy and Mender stagger to a pickup point and get taken to the education station. They get medical care, education, and languages. Mender goes through a few queries while Mercy is in medical, and when she is out, he comes to her with the offer. After discussion, they decide that he should take the offer, and he does, but she has to remain with him. It’s his addition to the contract. Then, they wait.
Two years later, her brother is on his way to fulfilling his contract, and his breeding partner decides that she is a drain on resources. He has her hauled to the bond auction with an eye to putting her up for auction before her nephew is born.
On a whim, the assessor decides to re-run her compatibility tests due to her physical condition when she arrived, and to his delight, she is now companion-class. The first step is to offer her to the overseer, and he announces that he’s on his way.
Mercy serves tea to Overseer Usatho. He looks her over and agrees to offer her a bond contract. She gets to stay on the planet that her twin brother calls home, which is really all that matters.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Fated Consort
Copyright © 2022 by Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-990635-09-0
©Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.
Published by Viola Grace
Look for me online at violagrace.com.
Fated Consort
Shattered Stars Book 9
By
Viola Grace
Chapter One
Horror curled in Mercy’s gut. “Warlord Kedantic, I don’t understand.”
“It is simple, Mercy. I no longer have need of you.”
“Mender is sick. He needs me.” She looked up toward the bedroom where her brother was in late-term misery.
“He needs the physicians that are working with him. He is near to term, and when he bears my heir, he will have another focus than his little sibling. Our child will take all of his attention, and he will start the next phase of his life. You are not going to be part of it. It is our way to send the young out to start over, but as you are an alien, I am going to resell you. Your elder will remain here, and you will be released into the universe.”
She felt herself turn grey. “No.”
He looked at her with his third eye squinting. “Did you just tell me no?”
He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air. “Mender cares for you, and that is the only reason I am not throwing you into that wall to listen to you snap.”
He whistled sharply, and two of his personal guard stepped into the room. “Take her to the capitol and put her in the auction. Get the best price you can for her. I need to afford a nice gift for the baby.”
A guard grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the floor, covering her mouth as she inhaled to scream the house down. She fought as hard as she could, but the green and red monsters she and her brother had landed with were huge and experienced hunters. When they caught prey, they kept it. Mercy guessed that she was the rarest of events. They were throwing her back.
She was sullen when the assessor came to take a look at her.
He was businesslike. “Species?”
“Terran. Human.”
“Compatibility class?”
“I was assessed three years ago at a three, but I was ill at the time.”
He nodded briskly and held out his hand. “I will verify you.”
She took his hand, and sudden and all-encompassing heat flared through her. She whined and folded in on herself, pressing her thighs together and covering her belly with her free arm. He let her hand go and pulled her against him. “Oh, you upgraded while you were out. Excellent. We have to offer you to the overseer, but if he doesn’t want you, there is a line for females with your classification.” He stroked her cheek. “You are very nearly priceless, dearling.”
She whimpered as the pulse continued between her thighs.
She glanced at the guards, who were staring at her like she had grown another head.
The assessor chuckled. “This call to the overseer will be interesting. Come in, sweet. We will get you out of this tunic and into something pretty for presentation.”
She sulked and was handled into the building. The cuffs were snapped around her ankles, and Mercy winced as an attendant came back to the changing area and whispered to the assessor. He raised his brows. “It seems the overseer wishes to see you. In that case, we are going to do a full makeover. You are in a sad state. Dry hair, patchy skin, the sun has blistered you everywhere. Those barbarians don’t know how to treat someone as precious as you.”
“Uh, they do, but they save it for their breeders.” She smiled weakly. “I don’t qualify.”
She fidgeted as he made arrangements on the tablet.
“Let’s get you into showroom condition. The overseer will be here in two hours.”
Mercy squeaked. “He’s coming here?”
The urbane man with silver gold skin and silver eyes smiled. “Of course. He’s delighted to see a possible companion on his own soil without having to travel through the stars. Is there anything you would like me to pass along before he leaves his home?”
She opened her mouth and closed it. “Nothing fit for polite company. Give Usatho my best.”
He paused. “You know the overseer?”
“We’ve met.”
Groomers came to collect her, and they looked at her hair. She was shoved into a regen unit and given keratin supplements to replace what she had chopped off. Her hair was grown down to her butt, her skin was scrubbed and polished, and her nails were filed and shaped. Her skin was oiled and massaged, and she was primped and dressed in silky, gauzy fabrics that wrapped around her and floated in the air as she moved. She wanted to get away, wanted to run, but on Usath, everyone was a hunter, and she was stuck as prey. The ankle cuffs didn’t help either.
She wondered how long it would take Usatho to complete her humiliation?
The assessor summoned her to a tearoom where more worthy clients were seated. Usatho sat with his wings draped on the ground behind him.
“Serve the tea, please.” The deep rumble of the overseer sounded in the room.
Mercy sighed and moved to the centre of the room, she knelt in front of Usatho’s low table, and she served the tea as she had been taught on the education station.
“Hm. Such a graceful little thing. Delicate. Too delicate, do you think?”
The assessor went into his sales pitch. “She is within the specifications you have set out. If she was to become your companion, her proximity to you would increase the match percentage. I did the sensuality assessment on her myself, and she nearly scorched my synapses.”
“That thing? Huh. Who would have thought it?”
Mercy seethed and politely served him his tea on her palm with her head down. He didn’t take the tea. He reached past her outstretched arms and threaded her hair through his fingers. “Silver. Interesting. Who would have thought a thing like you would have such hair?”
She was looking down as the teacup started to burn her hand. Something pale near his waist caught her attention. The cup wobbled, and the tea splashed, burning her. She yelped and tried to catch the cu
p as it fell slowly toward the table.
Usatho caught the cup and set it down, and she went straight into an apology bow. “I am sorry, Overseer Usatho. A clumsy thing like me should never be considered.”
He touched her hand, and she fought the flinch, but the whimper escaped. He turned her hand back and forth. “You are still not acclimated to Usath, Mercy.”
“No, Overseer.”
The assessor blinked. “You know her?”
“Of course. There are two Terrans on this world. The other is the bonded breeder to Warlord Kedantic. He is her brother.” Usatho still had her hand in his, and she started shivering. “He refused to travel without her, so I bought them both for Kedantic. It seems he has tired of her in his keep. What did you do, Mercy?”
She swallowed the burn in her fingers and the shame of her position. “The fruit tarts. Mender would order them, the cook would make them, and he would give them all to me. Kedantic said I was stealing from his breeder, and he wanted me gone.”
“Oh. Dear. What is he going to tell Mender?”
“That it is tradition for the youngest child to be kicked out of the eldest’s house to find their way in the world.”
“Ah, they do have that tradition, but I believe that I know the problem with that logic.” He was chuckling. “You are the eldest.”
She jerked her head sharply. “By three minutes.”
She felt something warm and wet on her fingers. She clenched her thighs together and whimpered as his tongue slid over the burn. The pain faded instantly, but heat rushed into its place. He took the pain and heat from her palm, took two of her fingers into his mouth, and sucked slowly as his tongue moved around them. The rhythm of his suction broke her breathing into ragged gasps, and the pulse in her clit started a roaring in her ears. As his tongue continued to slide around, she jerked as the tense throbbing inside her snapped. She shuddered with two fingers in his mouth, he pulled her toward him with a snap, and he let her hand go and kissed her softly. She was surprised by the gentleness of the kiss. She was pinned against his massive chest, but his lips moved across hers with a slow nibble. She whimpered softly, and she felt his smile before he lifted his head. “I believe you once said that there was no way you were a match for me.”
“Um...” Mercy tried to push her upper body away from his. “That does sound like something I would say.”
He narrowed his silver eyes. “You knew.”
“Um...” She tried not to look at him, but she was at close range.
“You knew and hid it from me for two years.”
“I wanted to stay near Mender. He had a problem adjusting when he got here.” She sighed.
“Ah, I recall it. Visits there were tense.”
She nodded, and the assessor was sitting with the astonished expression and disappointment of someone who realized they were losing a sale.
Mercy looked at Usatho. His silver eyes, charcoal skin, and black hair made him striking; the tattoos that looked carved into his skin were fascinating. She wanted to trace them with her fingers and see how far they went. The huge wings trailing behind him made the most amazing sound when he took off or brought down prey.
“So, what was Kedantic looking to make out of you?”
The assessor named a number.
“Done. It is still a bargain, but we need a contract.” He looked at the assessor. “Can I get a contract drafted?”
“Of course, Overseer. Standard companion contract?”
“With a consort clause.”
The assessor nodded and got to his feet. “Right away, sir.”
Usatho made a deep noise in his throat and said, “Now, where were we?”
She snapped her hand up and covered his mouth. She needed some answers, and now there were no witnesses.
Chapter Two
“Usatho, why is my braid hanging from your belt?”
He chuckled and raised his brows. She pulled her hand from his mouth.
“You said that if I liked your hair so much, I could keep it, so I kept it.” He smiled. “It is very slippery and silky smooth. I enjoy caressing it when I am thinking.”
She swallowed. “Oh. It wasn’t bound in silver like that when I cut it off.”
“I know. I felt it deserved more respect than you gave it. I am delighted to see that they used regen treatments on your hair.” He threaded his fingers through her hair, balling it up in a fist before bringing her head to his lips.
He kissed her forehead, cheeks, the tip of her nose, her chin, and finally, his lips traced hers. She held still as he moved his wide mouth over hers.
He pulled away. “This could be better if you participated.”
“I am petrified.”
He leaned back in surprise with a smile. “You are fearless.”
“No. Not always. After Earth exploded, I didn’t have much time for socialization, if you understand my meaning.”
He blinked. “No. I don’t understand.”
She blushed. “Well, you know how you take casual lovers from the hunters at the keep?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t.”
“Of course not. They prefer males.”
“Ever. With anyone. Ever.” She looked him up and down. “You are outside what is considered standard parameters for my species.”
He chuckled. “And with care, you will take me in. With time, you might carry my child.”
She turned bright red. She remembered her brother’s embarrassment when he gave in to Kedantic, and affection had started between them. He had always been bisexual, but to be the dainty member of the relationship had come as a bit of a surprise to his six-foot-two linebacker self.
Kedantic treated him like a princess. Literally. The massive three-eyed dude brought Mender pretty things, soft things, cuddly things, and to his mortification, sexy things. Mercy had kept him calm and made sure that he focused on his growing affection for the warlord and their new world.
“Right. That.” She looked at the gleam in Usatho’s eyes and wondered who the hell was going to keep her calm right before his kiss blanked out all thought.
She kept her hands in fists against his chest as his lips moved over her mouth, parted her lips, and his tongue caressed her mouth gently before sliding along her tongue and coaxing her into participation. When she stroked his tongue with hers, she moaned and he chuckled. He tasted like... she delved in deeper to make up her mind. His teeth were sharp, and his canines were long. He didn’t lisp like she thought someone would with those teeth, but they were at the front and sides of his mouth and felt like they were over an inch long. He held her mouth, and he began to control the kiss.
She let her lids flutter closed as he kissed her, and the contact got more and more intense. His hold on her back eased up, and she felt his long fingers moving down her back, the light gauze of the gown no impediment to his touch. When his long fingers slid between her thighs from back to front, her eyes opened in surprise, and she squeaked. He went past the soaked fabric and to her clit. Her surprise was turned into lust as his fingers flexed against her sex, and she tried to rock against his hand.
His palm behind her kept her from backing up, so she was stuck pushing her pelvis forward in slow and then more urgent thrusts.
Her hands plucked at his clothing, and she gave in to his kiss a moment before her world exploded in wet heat once again. She sobbed, and her hips slowed and then stilled. He continued to flex his fingertips, and she whimpered. His tongue slowed and eased her into a slow, lip-licking kiss. She shivered, and tears tracked down her cheeks.
Usatho frowned. “Why are you crying, Mercy?”
“Too much, no control.” She hiccupped. “Scary.”
He cuddled her against him. “I am going to break your control over and over until experience lets you make new parameters for what is too much. Do you have any requests?”
She swallowed. “Oh. Can I see Mender?”
“First, yo
u must settle into life as my consort, and then, we can visit your brother.”
Mercy mumbled against his chest, “How will I know if I have settled?”
“You will come for me because I need you and because you want to. I will be first and your brother and his child second. Are we clear?”
She opened and closed her mouth in surprise. “Oh. Um. Okay.”
The assessor knocked on the door and brought in the short contract podium. He set it next to them, bowed, and backed to the corner. Usatho looked at the draft and made notes on it until he was satisfied. He looked at her, smiled, and caressed her cheek before adding one note. “There. Now, look it over.”
She swallowed and nodded. Negotiating her own contract had been a class at the station.
Mercy looked at the standard boiler plate of the companion contract that had been altered to include the word consort with the duties toward Usatho listed as doing her utmost to provide him with an heir by making herself available to him whenever required, hinted at, or invited. She bit her lip, and he murmured, “Keep reading.”
His hand was on her waist, and she read about accompanying him whenever he travelled on this world or others, and the final addendum was that she made every effort to present herself as a lady and would be compensated for the effort. Her uniform would be provided at Usatho’s expense and would be exclusively dresses and skirts.
She got down to the heir portion. If she managed to provide Usatho with a child, her contract would free her with the three million credits that were being held in trust for her. She looked at him and added that if the child survived and she did not, the funds would go to her brother’s children.
He leaned in and took the stylus, adding an allowance to be provided to her family line and stroking out her death bequest. “The warlord is likely to try and collect on that.”
She paled. “Oh. Right. Dresses every day?”