Page 47 of K'Vella

Helna shrugs. "I don't know. I'm not his keeper."

I suppress my laughter only because the front door swings open, and a tired older Rytharian comes in, followed by a beaming Holoth who doesn't look out of breath.

"You were always getting up to trouble," Holoth's mother says with a shake of her head. "I went and got out of shape, not having to run after you for six years."

She looks over at her daughter and then at me, her face brightening instantly. "Oh, you must be my new daughter. Come here, come here."

She holds her arms out until I'm stepping between them. I uncross my arms, letting all four dangle by my side.

"Oh, aren't you beautiful," she says. "Holoth always liked girls who could take care of themselves. I bet you're stronger than him, too, aren't you?"

I flush even more, and Holoth takes some of the attention off of me. At least I'm wearing one of my Varon dresses, so my flush is hidden from Helna, Holoth, and their mother.

"Let me at least introduce you before you inspect her like livestock," Holoth laughs as he stands next to me, taking one of my hands in his and squeezing it. "Mother, this is K'Vella. K'Vella, this is my mother, Jatha."

"It's nice to meet you."

I offer Jatha my hand, but she shoos it away and wraps her arms around me before pulling me into a tight hug. She keeps me plastered to her for what feels like at least a full minute before stepping back.

"I'm so happy you're here," she says, tears rimming her eyes. It does a strange thing to my heart, the way Jatha accepts me and seems to love me without fuss or needing something from me. She rubs my arm once more before stepping away. "I want to learn all about you, K'Vella. My son is gone for six years, but he's nothing now. I have a new daughter, and she's just wonderful. Come, please tell me everything."

Holoth follows close behind us as Jatha gets me situated on the couch and starts pulling furs and blankets on top of me. I smile and take them all, not wanting to offend her by rejecting them. Really, the only fur I want is the one currently slung across Holoth's shoulders, but I'm not about to ask for it in front of his mom and sister. It feels too intimate.

"She's not building her nest in the living room." Holoth intervenes in my burial and starts pulling some of the blankets and furs off me.

His mother scoffs but doesn't fight him about uncovering me. Instead, she walks back into the kitchen and grabs the tea Helna's making.

"How many do you actually want?" Holoth asks, low and intimate, just for me to hear. His eyes scan over my face as his palm caresses my cheek.

"Just one," I say. My eyes fall to the fur hanging over his shoulders. He presses his lips to my temple with a smile.

"Of course."

He tugs the fur off his shoulders and wraps it around me just in time for his mother and sister to arrive with the tea. Jatha beams at her son, still doting on me and being his sweet self. Helna chews on her lip, her eyes darting from her mother to my abdomen.

Holoth winks before standing to his full height and turning to face his much smaller mother and sister. "Tea?"

"Yes, yes, it's good for both of you," Jatha says as she sets a kettle on the small table in front of us and starts pouring.

When she finishes, she places a warm mug in my hands before taking her own seat. Holoth stays standing until his mother is comfortable and doesn't ask for any more furs or blankets before settling into the couch beside me and wrapping an arm over my shoulder.

"Tell us about yourself, K'Vella," Jatha says, taking a small sip of her tea. "We're both so curious about how our boy was able to mate a Varon. I hear your females are very particular."

"Oh, you've heard that?" Holoth raises one of his brows and gives his mother a short chuckle.

"We might've done some research on Varons when you first arrived," Helna says, leaning back in her chair and giving us both smug smiles. "What did you expect us to do? We wanted to know more about the female that kept you from us for all these years."

Holoth's pleasant mood drops in an instant, and his fingers tighten on my far shoulder. "K'Vella isn't the reason I didn't come back." His purr is the only thing keeping me from worrying because I'm pretty sure his mother and sister aren't happy to have brought it up at all.

"I met Holoth a few weeks ago," I tell them. "I was unwanted on my planet but wanted to start a family. It's always been what I've wanted, and I decided I was going to start one without the help of Varon males."

Holoth growls, tilting his eyes down to me when I mention any male besides him trying to get me pregnant. His reaction makes me laugh. Thankfully, the sound also helps to relax him, and his mother and sister look as eager to hear about it as they were when they thought Holoth and I were together for years.

"I have a friend who works for a pleasure crew company in recruiting. Do you two know what pleasure crews are?" I pause to wait for both women to answer, even if the question has Holoth groaning next to me.

I don't know why he's embarrassed now. All last night, he was perfectly content with me moaning out his name in front of everyone.

"K'Vella came onto the ship to help me through my rut in exchange for a babe," Holoth says, cutting off his mother or sister from confirming whether they know about the pleasurecrew. "Normally, I'd have a medic put me in a coma, but we're having to stay hidden right now because of Avery. So my plan was to try not to die to Alik and Jovi because I was definitely going to try to rut Sloane."