The Alliance - 27. Epilogue

The fox raced through the palace, a pair of underwear clenched in his jaws. A wolf galloped at his heels, barking furiously.

Mateio was having the time of his life. It had been nearly a year since he had left the Alliance, and though he often had thoughts of the life he had left behind, every day he spent with his Bonded proved he had made the right choice.

Even when his Bonded was in the need of some entertainment.

Sprinting out of the palace, Mateio leapt up into the new fountain on the front lawn, water splashing him and his prize. An outraged bark followed as Aaron collided with the stone fountain. Bouncing out of the water, Mateio raced off down a hill, toward the woods where he had met his Bonded.

A giant figure loomed at him from behind a tree, Mateio letting out a squeak as he ducked under a werewolf’s swipe. The only one who had a form like that…

Teeth closed around his hind leg as Aaron caught him, the underwear dropping to the ground with a wet plop.

“Is this fox bothering you?”

The teeth released him, bones crunching as Aaron took his elven form.

“Itumak.”

Mateio looked between the two warily as he shifted, uncertain if they were going to fight. Itumak’s departure hadn’t exactly been the happiest day between them.

Aaron leapt forward, his arms wrapping around the werewolf. Itumak melted into his neko as his arms encircled Aaron.

“I missed you,” Aaron breathed.

“I missed you too. And I am sorry.”

“Don’t be. You did what you had to do, and it is behind us.”

Mateio let out a sigh of relief. His eyes caught the flash of a brown bangle with black stripes around Itumak’s arm, and the Faro smiled.

“You are a private already?” he said in thickly accented Rellanic.

“Yeah. I’m supposed to be on my way to Gaia, but Artemis said he’d bring me here first. I know you aren’t in the Alliance, and it was a pain trying to get clearance to land. But as it turns out, being the friend of the king has its perks,” the neko grinned.

“What are you doing here?” Aaron demanded. “Shouldn’t you be out spreading the word of joy to all the unwashed masses?”

“I wanted to see you again,” Itumak shrugged. “It turns out a lifelong friendship can be hard to leave. So what’s up with the underwear?”

Aaron scowled at Mateio, the Faro grinning sheepishly.

“It was just some fun…”

“Oh gods, did you carry those out here from the palace?!” Itumak laughed. “That’s awesome!”

Aaron smacked the neko.

“Shut up. My staff just saw the king of the planet chasing after his underwear.”

“Good. Show them you know a good time.”

“Anyways. I need to get back to the port. Artemis is a little impatient sometimes, and I don’t want him leaving with Lian.”

“Who is this Artemis?” Aaron asked.

“Oh, just an Egaro who helped me through cadet training. He’s… nice.”

Itumak embraced Aaron again.

“Have fun getting back to the palace,” the neko grinned, tossing Aaron’s underwear back at him.

“Oh no, Mateio gets to carry it back while I carry him back like the naughty kit he is,” Aaron said.

Mateio gulped, shifting back to his fox form to hide his growing erection. His plan had worked. Perhaps a little too well.

Itumak strode through the Astaran port, fingers playing with his last coin. Stopping in front of a fountain with the statue of a Faro decorating it, the neko closed his eyes.

This was it, possibly the last time he would be on Astaran soil ever. The Alliance had set up a station around a planet they called Aquilen, a gas giant near the edge of the system. All Alliance ships passed through the station, rarely reaching Astara itself.

Itumak kissed the copper in his hand and flipped it into the fountain. That was it, his last Astaran copper. He was free of the planet, aside for a tenuous emotional attachment that slipped further away each day.

And still he felt a sense of sorrow. The end of his story on Astara.

A hand touched his back and he turned, finding Lian standing before him. Wrapping his arms around the Daknar, Itumak let out a shuddering breath.

“Artemis sent me to find you,” Lian said.

“I’m ready to go. There’s just one more thing I have to do.”

Itumak removed a gold heart locket from his pocket. He used a small knife to remove a lock of hair from his head, setting it inside the necklace.

“My people give these necklaces to the ones they love, as a way to remember them. I would like you to wear mine,” he said quietly, looking at Lian.

The Daknar’s eyes misted up, his hand touching the necklace. Itumak reached up and unlocked Lian’s collar, replacing it with the necklace.

“This will let everyone know that you belong with me, that you are mine,” he whispered.

“I still belong to you?”

“Yes. Not as my slave, but as my love. This necklace is my promise to you that I will always care for you.”

Lian touched the golden heart, looking down at the jewelry.

“Thank you…” he whispered.

Itumak smiled, kissing the Daknar.

“Now, would you like to get rid of your collar?”

Taking the old symbol of his slavery, Lian stared at it for a moment. Walking toward a recycler, the Daknar dropped the collar inside, listening to the pop as it was turned to dust. Itumak remained at his side. Lian was free now, and for the first time, he felt at peace with that thought.