Page 30 of Coveted

“I hope you two are hungry. I picked up breakfast from my favorite restaurant and there’s more than plenty. I had to wrestle my toddler to keep those muffins safe,” Suri announced as she walked through the door into the meeting room.

Vax waited for Alana to follow before entering the room. There was a sideboard against the wall at the end of the table loaded with a variety of options for their meal, but he found his attention swinging back to Alana. As sweet as the fruit and muffins smelled, her scent was sweeter, and she was what he wanted in his mouth.

He waited for the women to take what they wanted, paying attention to what Alana put on her plate. He’d send a message to Varner once he made it back to the ship to order what she liked so she could have it when they got to Farcon 1.

While Suri loaded her plate with pastry treats, Alana seemed to make a conscious effort to balance what she took. Fruit dominated her dish, though she also took a scoop of scrambled eggs with veggies stirred in, and a muffin.

Vax didn’t hold back. Suri was right that there was more than enough, especially with how little the women ate. He took some of everything, setting three plates in front of the seat he claimed.

Alana’s green gaze was wide as she glanced from his plate to his face, but Vax just grinned. He was an alpha, and it took a lot to fuel the mass he carried around. There was no reason for him to pretend otherwise.

She kept peeking at him between bites of her food. She was neat, going so far as to cut the muffin into bite-sized pieces before eating it, not a single crumb getting on her pretty dress.

Vax polished off an entire plate before Alana made it through half of hers, despite her having less food on it. Suri had done a bit better, almost clearing her plate, but Alana seemed to be spending more time watching him than eating.

“You said you wanted me to help you with etiquette, correct?”

The question caught him off-guard, his fork pausing halfway to his mouth. He had a feeling Alana was asking because he was doing something wrong, and a confused sense of embarrassment flooded him for a moment.

“Yes?”

Her throat worked and she fidgeted before she responded, her voice taking on a softer quality as the scent of burnt sugar reached him across the table.

“You should sit up straighter when you eat, and never place your elbows on the table.”

Vax assessed himself as her words registered. Alana and Suri both sat with their backs straight, chin parallel to the table, while he hunched over his plate, elbows planted on each side.

He debated arguing that he wasn’t in a formal situation, but he didn’t have much time to learn if he wanted it to make a difference at the Council meeting, and he knew the best way to be sure the lessons stuck was to do it right every time. The sooner he started, the better.

He also didn’t want to brush off Alana’s help when she was clearly worried about speaking up and giving it to begin with.

Sucking in a deep breath, he sat up straight, relaxing his shoulders and pulling his plate closer to him so he could rest his forearms on the table instead of his elbows. He didn’t see why it made a difference, but he knew better than to argue with‘because this is how it’s done.’

He smiled at Alana and she returned it, the acrid stench of her fear leaving the air when he listened to her advice. Nothing she’d said about her life gave the impression that she’d been abused,but some of her reactions made it feel like she was scared of him more for being an alpha than because he was a stranger. If that was true and she was afraid of alphas, it might explain why she was still unclaimed, though something had to have caused the fear.

Pushing those thoughts aside for a later time, he watched the two women as they ate, picking up other little things they both did. It would take a lot of conscious effort to change the way he’d done things his whole life, but if it meant the other Chancellors would start listening to him, he’d do it.

The three of them made polite small talk as they finished eating. While Vax felt the press of time, he didn’t want to rush Alana and risk having her decide she wasn’t ready to leave. He knew Suri was already unhappy with circumventing the usual protocol, but he really needed to get back to Farcon 1. They’d begun working on the new mine as well as the Camp where the miners would live, and he wanted to be there to keep an eye on things.

By the time he finished eating, Alana was only picking at what was left on her plate. She met his gaze when he stacked his empty dishes, her expression blank except a tiny furrow between her brows before she turned to Suri.

“Looks like it’s time to go. Thank you for all your help.”

The women stood, wrapping each other in a hug. Reaching across the table, he collected their waste and turned to take care of it and give them a moment. They lingered in the hug, Suri whispering something to Alana, before finally letting go. Green and orange eyes turned to him, and suddenly he felt like a naughty child waiting to be scolded for doing something he knew was wrong.

“Since she’s leaving early, I’d like her to check in daily for the rest of the week, and don’t forget someone will be coming to assess everything. I know you’ll have the Council to deal with,but your relationship is important as well, and you won’t be given extra time just because of it.”

Vax swallowed his protest, nodding at Suri before turning his attention to Alana. Where she’d appeared confident when she entered the room, there was a slight curl to her shoulders now that it was time to go.

“That’s no problem. She won’t be pushed aside and forgotten.”

He didn’t bother to add that there was no way for him to forget her now, even for him to get some rest. He’d find a way to make things work, one way or another. He couldn’t ignore the needs of his planet, but he wanted his little omega, and he wanted herhappy.

Those big green eyes blinked at him, a rush of color filling her cheeks before she dropped her head and looked away. He couldn’t wait to see if he could make her whole-body flush, but had to drag his focus back to the present before his persistent erection gave away his thoughts.

“The ship is waiting on the landing pad, and your things have already been taken up. I’ll lead the way,” Suri said to Alana, casting another glance at him before walking to the door.

Alana hesitated before following her, and once again Vax brought up the rear. He couldn’t stop himself from watching the sway of her hips in the pink dress, promising himself he’d buy her more just like it. She’d been beautiful in what she’d worn the day before, but the combination of the way the dress hugged her curves, and the business-like cut, gave him all kinds of naughty thoughts about spreading her on the desk in his office.

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