"What the hell happened to your neck?" Tempest asked before Mexyn could fully get into the house.

"Excuse me?" Mexyn tilted her head as if she were having a hard time translating what Tempest was saying.

She wasn’t. Tempest wasn’t about to let Mexyn get out of answering her.

"You heard me, Mexyn. What happened to your neck?"

"Nothing happened to my neck. Is that what you called me over here for?" The woman remained as stone-faced as ever. She didn’t even try to smile for Tempest’s benefit. That might have been for the best because if Tempest saw that Mexyn found anything about this situation funny, she might just lose her shit.

"No, it’s not what I called you over here for, but right now it’s more important. Now tell me what happened to your neck." Tempest sighed and realized that maybe straight anger might not be the way to go.

She gestured toward the couch, making sure not to touch Mexyn. "Please come sit with me so we can talk."

"Okay." Mexyn smiled stiffly, but her head dropped as if she were ashamed.

That wasn’t what Tempest wanted to do. The last thing she wanted was for Mexyn to feel embarrassed. Tempest just wanted Mexyn to be safe. She didn’t realize until that very moment just how much she cared for Mexyn.

Out of all the people on Ustea, Tempest felt that she could really grow close to Mexyn.

The last thing Tempest was going to allow was for her friend to be abused and for people to pretend like it wasn’t happening.

They sat on the couch, and Tempest took a deep breath. She didn’t want to come off as angry, though her blood was boiling beneath her skin.

"Mexyn, you can’t pretend that those marks on your neck aren’t visible."

She tilted her head. "I know they are visible. What I’m having a hard time understanding is why it’s causing you so much distress."

"Why is it causing me so much distress?" Tempest squeaked. How could that be the question coming out of Mexyn’s mouth? "Mexyn, I know we haven’t known each other that long, and there’s probably not much that I can do in my position, but you do know that you’re safe here with me, right?"

"I appreciate that, but what do you think you’re keeping me safe from?"

"Who did that to your neck?"

"Oh...I see." Mexyn looked away. She didn’t explain, but more importantly, she didn’t try to deny what Tempest had said.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"There’s really nothing to tell."

"I’m surprised you think that’s true. How about we just start from the beginning?" Tempest wanted to reach over and grab Mexyn’s hand, but she knew she couldn’t. Instead, she folded her hands tightly in her lap. "Who did that to you?"

"Lyman, my present alpha husband," Mexyn spoke as if it were simple.

"Lyman... so that’s the name of the bastard," Tempest sneered.

"He’s not a bastard. He has a mother and a father," Mexyn corrected.

Tempest couldn’t help but smile at that. "I don’t mean it literally. On Earth, we call people bastards when they do something bad to someone we care about."

"Bad? It wasn’t bad. It was to be expected."

"Expected? How is that supposed to be expected?" Tempest gestured toward Mexyn’s neck.

"He didn’t mark me out of hostility or rage. He was just in a rut. He’s a young alpha, and he doesn’t know how to control his instincts very well yet."

"Rut. So you’re telling me you got this from some sort of sexual thing?" Tempest tried to be understanding.

"Yes."

"And you enjoyed it?"

"No, not particularly, but I endure."

Tempest shook her head. "That’s what I’m talking about. You shouldn’t have to endure something you don’t like, especially at the hands of your husband." She sighed before continuing. "I thought you said that omegas were never hurt by alphas. Those marks on your neck prove otherwise."

"It’s different when an alpha is in their rut. Most alphas have a bit of self-control. Lyman doesn’t. I knew about it when I agreed to marry him. Besides that, he’s a really good candidate."

Tempest squeezed her eyes shut tightly for a second. "Mexyn, I don’t like this at all. What’s to say that the next time this happens, he won’t go overboard? He’s got to stop this, or you need to leave him."

"I can’t." Mexyn twiddled her thumbs.

"Why not?"

"Because...because I just can’t."

"I need more than that. Are you in love with this man?"

"Love?" Mexyn scoffed. "No, there is no emotional attachment. I’m only with him to fulfill my duty."

Tempest threw her hands up in frustration. "Then I don’t understand why you can’t leave."

"Because of the rumors, people believe that I’m romantically involved with a Skoqen. It would destroy my reputation. It’s not allowed. I shouldn’t..."

Tempest cut her off. "Are you involved with a Skoqen?"

"No..." Mexyn answered slowly, and even with the frozen, stoic expression on her face, Tempest spied the deceit.

"You are! Tell me about him!" Tempest jumped slightly with excitement.

"There’s nothing to tell. I can’t be with him because it’s not accepted in Thraqen society." Mexyn flipped her hand as if she were trying to erase the statement from the air.

"I don’t care about Thraqen society. I want to know about this mystery man you seem to be smitten with."

"Smitten?" Mexyn questioned, tilting her head to the side before a soft smile broke across her face.

"Tempest, I really shouldn’t be talking about this."

"Mexyn, if there’s anyone on this planet who isn’t going to judge or condemn you for who you like, it’s me. Now, if you’re only for Lyman because of appearances, I want to know who you would be with if you could."

Mexyn sighed and looked around the room, as if she were waiting for someone to come around the corner.

"It’s just you and me here. Dron is off chopping wood or doing whatever it is that he does out there." Tempest chuckled and gestured toward the window.

"Okay, I’ll tell you about him, but you have to give me your word that you’ll never speak of this to anyone else." Mexyn lifted an eyebrow and stared at Tempest.

"I promise," Tempest replied right away. It was starting to feel like she was a haven for secrets. Tempest was more than okay with that. As long as Mexyn trusted her, she could do the same with her.

"Fine." Mexyn looked around once again and leaned a little closer. "His name is Crillum."

"Crillum?" Tempest questioned. His name sounded different from the names she’d heard here in Thraqe. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Yes, he’s native to Skoq, a guard."

"Like in the military?"

"Yes, well, it’s not as put together as the Thraqen military, but the Skoq people do have soldiers. Crillum doesn’t fight, though. He was wounded in battle years ago. They don’t have access to life nectar like we do. I met him when I went on an outreach mission. I went over to Skoq to do some good, and I ran into him."

"Oh... wow. I swear I’ve seen this same story on the Hallmark Channel." Tempest smiled.

"I’m not sure what the Hallmark Channel is, but you’re right to think that it’s very dramatic." Mexyn smiled again.

His arm was severed at the elbow, and I helped bandage him up and did my best to keep the infection away. He didn’t trust me at first. He was very..."

"Grumpy," Tempest finished the statement for her.

"Yes, you can say grumpy, but while I was there, we developed a strong friendship."

"Just a friendship?" Tempest asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"That’s all we can be. If the royal council found out that I was consorting with the enemy, they would punish me. I need to stay with Lyman."

"That’s absolutely ridiculous. You should be able to be with who you want to be with. What if you told them how Lyman acts when he’s in rut? Would they allow you to leave the marriage?"

"Yes, but it’s just not something that is done here. Until this marriage is over, I’m stuck." Mexyn shrugged.

Tempest didn’t know what else she could do. It seemed like Mexyn was stuck between a rock and a hard place. "Well, in the meantime, any time you need to get away from him, you are more than welcome to come here. If there’s nothing else I can do, I can at least offer you somewhere safe to be."

"What will your husband think of that arrangement?" Mexyn asked.

"Dron will be fine with it, and if he does have a problem, he can take it up with me." Tempest nodded once.

It was amazing how far and how different things had become in Tempest’s life. Had this been the same situation with Sam, she would’ve had to have a long conversation with him and nearly plead with him to let her friend come. Somehow, Sam would have made Tempest believe that it was a bad idea, and she would have had to come up with a different plan for whoever she was trying to help.

With Dron, she knew without a doubt that he would be okay with it, and even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t deny Tempest the chance to help her friend.

That was the difference between Sam and Dron.

Sam was nothing more than a selfish adolescent boy, while Dron was all man.