Page 72 of Ren: Warlord Brides
“Yes.”
“That female is your mate,” Havik said.
“The obvious has been stated. Thank you.”
“That female has been your mate for several years.”
Ren growled with a warning because Havik did not have to appear so damn happy about it. “What of it?”
“I find it interesting.”
“I do not,” Zalis said. “I am working. Go have your dramatics elsewhere.” He placed a set of noise-dampening headphones over his ears and turned his back on them.
Havik gestured to the back of the shuttle, which housed the sleeping berths. He closed the partition and activated the sound dampening. “Does the warlord know, or do you intend to arrive on theJudgmentwith an abandoned mission and a heretofore unknown mate?”
Ren ground his teeth in irritation. “Yes, I informed the warlord of my situation when we joined the clan, and I did not abandon our mission.”
“We possess irrefutable evidence, yet we are chasing a phantom instead of taking a corrupt Council member into custody,” Havik said, speaking rapidly. “And you informed the warlord but never mentioned your mate to me.”
“I did.” Ren’s tail lashed behind him.
“No. Impossible. I would remember such a thing.” Havik folded his arms over his chest, stubborn and obstinate.
This fool.
“You would not have listened,” Ren snapped.
“You are my friend. I will always listen.”
Havik’s words sounded correct, but Ren knew them to be false.
“The night you returned from your sojourn,” Ren said. “I told you then.”
“You did not.”
The utter confidence in Havik’s voice infuriated Ren. “I told you how the clan believed you sent your mate away for her Terran frailty. Other males felt pressured to do the same.”
The clan had not treated Vanessa well. While not cruel, they failed to embrace her. She had grown ill. A difficult pregnancy threatened her life. The warlord told her she was being sent back to Earth, and she believed him. In the same breath, Kaos told his son that his Terran female had died. Havik never questioned his father.
Ren knew he was to blame. Not for the entire lie, but for the years’ worth of behavior that made Kaos’ lie so easy to believe. No one in the clan had been her friend. No one cared enough to visit her in the hospital.
Havik frowned. “When we met with the Terran agent, you asked about a female. Lorene Ball. That is not your mate.”
“Another female who was sent away. I told Geral that I would investigate. I had a list.”
“You did not tell me.”
“You did not ask.” Ren tossed his hands in the air. “This! This is why I am your only friend. You are a selfish and short-sighted male, Havik. You only care aboutyourpain andyourlosses. You do not ask, ‘What has happened to you, my friend, while I was away?’”
Havik pressed a hand to the roof of the shuttle, tall enough to block the light. His tail swayed behind him, moving in a slow, soothing manner. “What has happened to you, my friend, while I was away? Tell me now.” A moment passed. Almost as an afterthought, he said, “Please.”
The night Havik returned, Ren found his friend in a courtyard, drinking wine from a bottle. Havik was a changed male, utterly gutted, and that despair pushed Ren into a rage.
How dare Havik wallow in pity when he sent his mate away?
How dare Havik not see that his actions set off a cascade within the clan?
How dare Havik not see how his friend hurt?
