Tymber Dalton - Out of Bight, Out of Mind

Maybe it was the drugs, because that statement confused the hell out of her. “What?”

“You are Father’s only daughter. Our ruling houses are controlled by the lines of the women. Adopted or not.”

“But I’m not Beyant.”

“It does not matter. Even if I could produce an heir…” He blushed, his face turning an even darker shade of orange, before falling silent.

“What are you saying? Why couldn’t you produce an heir?”

“Unless the Goddess of All creates a miracle, it is doubtful Pabo or myself will ever become female.”

If she didn’t hurt so much, she would have sat upright in bed. “What?” Caph stirred a little. Emi lowered her voice, rapid-fire Beyant spilling out in her agitation. “What are you talking about, Yanna? You and Pabo? What do you mean?”

“Did you not know?”

“Know what ?”

He softly laughed. “Pabo isn’t just my guard. He is my p’agdtein .” When she obviously didn’t understand the word, he clarified. “My mate.” He pointed to Caph. “My spouse. Like you and him and the other two.”

It took her a moment to absorb that info. Sure, Pabo shadowed Yanna when he wasn’t assigned to watch her, and he slept in Yanna’s cabin, but she assumed that was because he was Yanna’s personal bodyguard.

Yanna must have recognized the shocked confusion on her face. “ A’tein , all of our crew are p’agdtein …mated. Well, except for Father, of course. Mother died years ago and he’s never remated. We knew this would be a very long mission and only chose male mated p’agdtein pairs so they would not get lonely. We did not want to risk sending women on this mission. You did not know that?”

She laughed. “Um, no. You must have missed telling me that somewhere along the line.” She tried to think of any signs and remembered none. “There were no signs. You guys are really deep in the closet.” No wonder the Beyants hadn’t seemed shocked about Aaron and Caph also being married to her and Ford.

He didn’t understand the English idiom translated into Beyant. When she explained, he smiled. “We strictly adhere to protocols when on duty. We do not like to publicly display our romantic affection. It does not matter if it is a female and male or two males or two females. We all know things go on in private. We simply do not wish to see how others do them.” He sat back. Sadness shadowed his face and soul. “When my sister was killed, besides our grief, Father sensed the inevitable end of our family line. She had not yet found a p’agdtein or had children. Women in our culture are highly cherished. It is rare one is ever available for adoption outside of her own family. Until you came along,” he added.

Caph stirred and lifted his head. He briefly glared at Yanna before his eyes settled on Emi. “Hey, you okay?” he asked.

She smiled and answered him. It was only when he looked totally confused that she realized she’d spoken Beyant. She tried again in standard. “I’m okay. How did you sleep?” She stroked his hair.

He nodded and laid his head back onto the bed. He found her other hand under the sheet and laced his fingers through hers as he stared at her, like a lost puppy reunited with his mistress.

Yanna spoke Beyant. “He loves you very much. He did not move all night.”

She switched back to Beyant. “He was drugged to the gills.” At Yanna’s confusion, she realized she had to explain that idiom, too.

“He needed it. He is very devoted to all three of you, but especially to you, it seems.”

Caph lay there and watched them talk without interrupting or asking for a translation. She felt his relief. He was content to simply be there with her. Gods help the person who tried to keep him away from her at that point.

Gwan and another Beyant guard entered the room with a cart and food trays. They’d brought one of Beyant food for Yanna, and two of Earth food for Emi and Caph.

Caph sat up and stared at Emi. She felt he was still woozy from the sedative. “Go ahead and eat,” she assured him.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m okay.” Caph and Yanna helped her sit up in bed, but she ate unassisted. By the time they finished, Graymard, Ford, and Aaron had all arrived. Ford was dressed in a fresh Tamora Bight crew uniform. Aaron carried a duffel bag with a change of clothes and toiletries for Emi, and for Caph, so he could take a shower there in the room. The Beyant guards quickly brought two more trays of Earth food for Ford and Aaron.

“We need to discuss this situation,” Dr. Graymard started. “You four are under contract to the DSMC, but with the circumstances, we would release you if you asked it. But then we also have Ambassador Raoulx’s offer to consider. It would be a huge boon to our knowledge base to have personnel placed with the Beyant, if you were open to them joining yours. Not to mention it would help strengthen the Beyant relationship with the Interstellar Treaty Coalition.”

“Would the DSMC allow Yanna and Pabo to join our crew?” Emi asked.

Graymard nodded. “Because they are now a treaty race, you could even add them to your bonded crew status.”

“Whoa.” Aaron held up a hand. “Can we please back up a few steps?”

Emi filled him in. Ford nodded. “I’m for it.”

Caph looked puzzled. He was still woozy from the sedatives. “I’m not sharing her with them. And I’m damn sure not doing them!” He pointed at Yanna.

Emi laughed. “Calm down, big guy. That’s not what he meant.” She translated what Caph said to Yanna, who hadn’t understood the phrase.

“Do not worry, Caph,” Yanna assured him with a smile. “You are not my type. Also, I have no desire to sleep with my sister or my sister’s husbands.”

“Bonded crew status would make the paperwork easier,” Graymard assured Caph. “Bypass diplomatic red tape. It’s not just for romantically involved couples, but families, too.”

“Oh. Okay. I didn’t think about it like that. Yeah, sure. If you guys are okay with it. But that means a retrofit to add a new cabin for them and stuff.”

“That wouldn’t take long,” Aaron said.

“First, she needs to recover,” Graymard said. “We need to treat her, see if we can recover her memory. The four of you need time together to emotionally heal. We may need to bring her back to Earth to the base there for intensive treatment in the sim unit.”

Ultimately, as captain, Aaron had the final say. “I don’t mind. If Emi wants Yanna and Pabo with us, then they’re welcome.”

“Then that’s settled,” Graymard said. “I will coordinate with Ambassador Raoulx and get the paperwork started to make it official.”

Caph really needed a shower and shave, but he didn’t want to leave Emi’s side. With her surgical wounds bonded and safe to expose to a shower, she reached for Caph’s hand and sat up. “Help me up, big guy. You can take a shower with me.”

More than a shower, he needed time alone with her. Aaron would need that time, too, but in this way, she sensed Aaron was stronger and could wait.

Caph needed her attention immediately. She needed to reassure him she was healing despite her pain. The surgeon had removed several fibroid tumors from her uterus and abdomen during the surgery. Apparently they’d formed due to what she’d been drugged with. They’d administered some of the antidote and noticed immediate changes in her reproductive system as it responded to the medication. The general consensus had been to close her up and monitor her progress with abdominal scans to see if her healing continued.

Caph looked down at her, his green eyes full of sadness. “I missed you so much, baby. I never thought I’d see you again.”