Blue solace complete ser.., p.1
Blue Solace: Complete Series Boxset, page 1
Blue Solace
Complete Series Boxset
C.W. Gray
Contents
I. The Mercenary’s Mate
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
II. The General’s Mate
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
III. The Soldier’s Mate
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
IV. The Lieutenant’s Mate
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
V. The Engineer’s Mate
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
VI. The Captain’s Mate
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
VII. The Rebel’s Mate
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Author’s Note
Also by C.W. Gray
© 2022 C.W. Gray
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:
c.w.grayauthor@gmail.com
Cover by KSL Designs
Edited by Ann Attwood Editing and Proofreading Services
www.facebook.com/AnnieA2017
Created with Vellum
Part I
The Mercenary’s Mate
Book One
Chapter 1
Silverlight System, Planet Vextonar
“Next up is a real gem, gentle folks!” The auctioneer leered toward the large crowd at the bottom of the stage. He was a Betonize-human hybrid, sharp teeth a glaring white. “This little girl’s part Prime and part Lower. Don’t see that on Vextonar too often.”
The crowd’s boisterous laughter and cheering filled the room. Eight people had already been auctioned off, and the day was still young. Leti Ando gritted his teeth and awkwardly shuffled his feet. The bulky cast on his lower leg made him slower than normal, and there were too many strangers here, too much movement. He wanted to be in his rooms, reading the new Old-Earth journal he’d gotten his hands on.
Draif shot him a sympathetic look. Leti’s best friend was no less uncomfortable in the auction house but had insisted on coming with him. “You knew it’d be like this, Master,” Draif whispered.
Leti glared at his friend, his black eye and busted lip protesting the expression. “I hate it when you call me that.”
Draif gave him a small smile, dark eyes on the stage. “I know. Why do you think I do it?” His smile faded. “It’s her, Leti.”
Leti startled, stumbling and knocking into some of the men around him. He did his best to ignore the grumbles, his heart beating fast in his chest. Monty slipped from his head to his shoulder, and Draif grabbed his arm to steady him. For such a small, slender man, Draif had a strong and sure grip that came in handy when Leti’s clumsiness attacked.
Leti ignored the grumbles around him, eyes locked on the stage. A modestly dressed woman stood tall. She held a whimpering, blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms.
“This little lady is up for sale,” the Auctioneer said. “She comes from a Prime daddy and his mistress, a Lower woman. Unnamed infant, but good potential. Mommy’s dead and Daddy don’t want a Lower brat, so there won’t be no contest of ownership once she’s bought. We’ll start bidding at 250? Can I get 250?”
Leti sighed and closed his eyes. “I can’t believe Father is selling his own child. I hate that he deals in slavery at all, but his own daughter?”
“Yeah, well, he didn’t seem to like your opinion too much last night when you brought it up.” Draif grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Not that he needs much excuse to beat the shit out of you. It was the threat to sell you too that worries me the most.”
It wasn’t appropriate for a bed-slave to hold his master’s hand, but the two of them had never been appropriate. Nothing was normal about a Prime citizen who didn’t have sex with his bed-slave, little less treat him like a slave, and nothing was normal about a bed-slave who was demisexual and had a scarred face and damn good fighting skills.
Draif had been Leti’s best friend since they were both fifteen. Leti’s father gave him to his son and told him to dominate the “broken” slave and prove himself a man. The arrogant Prime often told his son that he was so fat and awkward that no one would ever want him, especially with his attention always on his studies and research.
Leti might be a breeder male, able to have children, but his father assured him no one would ever offer for him like they would a daughter. And love? According to his father, no one could ever love him, not even some mixed breed alien. Being a breeder male showed his blood was too diluted to be human enough. There was too much Wello blood in his ancestry. Father always blamed Leti’s mother for it, but never to her face. He was an arrogant bully, not stupid.
In his father’s mind, a bed-slave would guarantee that Leti would at least be a man in the bedroom. Leti tried not to complain too much, though. Draif had proven to be the best thing that ever happened to him. He was his loyal confidant and best friend from the start and soon became his assistant, body guard, and overall jack-of-all-trades.
Where Leti struggled in anything outside of his books and pets, Draif could seemingly master any skill if he set his mind to it. More importantly, though, Leti loved Draif more than anything in all the galaxies. He was his brother in all but blood. His family.
“620 to the Drall in the corner. Can I get 630, anyone? 630?”
“Is your lawyer bidding?” Draif whispered.
Leti looked at his communicator. “Yes. He’ll keep topping whatever’s offered. She’ll be ours in a few minutes.”
“You father won’t like tha
t, Leti. What are we going to do? We can’t hide her in your rooms until she’s eighteen. I guess we could put her in Wobble’s stable, but who wants to live with an Old-Earth Llama?” Draif paused and eyed his friend. “Well, except for you.”
Leti grinned. “When I get her, you are going to take her to the spaceport. Talk with Dottie. She’s going to sneak all of us on a random ship going out of the system. Father would be alerted if we used our passports, so we have to sneak, at least at first. Once we’re out of the Silverlight system, I can tear up your contract as well as hers. You’ll both be free.”
Draif squeezed his hand tight. His eyes left the stage, widened in disbelief. “We’re leaving the system?”
Leti snorted. “I’ve given you several chances to leave over the last ten years, but you wouldn’t go.”
“I couldn’t possibly leave you behind. I love you,” he said with no hesitancy. “What about your menagerie?” Draif looked at the vexal newt happily perched on Leti’s shoulder. “Monty here wouldn’t be a problem, but you can’t possibly expect to sneak all of them onboard a ship and I know you won’t leave them.” Draif shook his head, dumbfounded. “What about money? How will you survive? I can easily get work, but you’re a trained historian. They aren’t exactly rolling in credits.” He paused, already forming a plan. “I could work and you could stay home and take care of the baby. You’d be good at that. You love. It’s your thing, and in the end, that’s all it really takes. We can figure out how to feed her and change a diaper.”
“1050! Can I get 1100? Anyone? 1100?”
“Dottie assures me it will be fine. She’s picked out a Drellian cargo vessel and my pets are heading there as we speak, even Wobble.” Leti checked his comm, then continued, “As for money, I’ve been saving for a long time. Do you really think I spend all the credits Father gives me monthly?”
“He’s always complaining that you drain his pocket, but I thought he was just being cheap. All you buy are books on your tablet, presents for me, and things for the pets. I think the most expensive thing you bought was the tablet. It came from the Anchor’s Rest System, right? Our system is seriously behind on tech.”
Leti nodded. “I don’t usually use more than a quarter of the allowance. I’ve been saving my pay from my publications too. It’s certainly not much, but I didn’t become a historian to make money. I never thought I’d have to.” Leti laughed ruefully. “I’m a privileged Prime, right?”
Draif let go of his hand and smacked his arm. “No self-deprecation allowed! We are who we are, there’s no changing that. Especially on this world. It’s not like you can change castes and become a Worker. Anyways, the gods know that no one deserves to be related to your father or psycho mother.” He smiled sadly and nodded toward Leti’s broken ankle. “Their love hurts.”
Draif looked worried. “Are you going to pack and bring my things too?”
“Of course! Melinda has already started packing for us.”
“Will she alert your father?”
Leti checked his comm again. Things were on track. “No. She’s the one who urged me to start saving credits when I was twelve. Once we leave, she’s going to go to Rothwell and work with her daughter.”
“Good.” Draif’s couldn’t seem to stop smiling. “We’re really doing this?”
“1520 to the gentleman at the front! 1600 anyone? 1600? Going once. Going twice. Sold to the gentleman in the blue coat!”
Despite his worry, Leti grinned. “Yes. We’re really doing this.”
Leti curled further into himself as he heard steps approach the crate he had managed to force Biscuit, Gravy, Princess Buttercup and himself into, along with most of his belongings. Monty perched on Leti’s head. It was a bit crowded, though he really hadn’t packed much.
Leti was short, but, as his father and mother both loved to point out, he had some extra padding. Gravy, his largest dog, also had some extra padding. The Old-Earth Newfoundland and Vexal dog mix took up a lot of space behind him, but he made a nice, gentle prop.
Biscuit wiggled, protesting Leti’s movement. The small dog whined from Leti's arms and managed to lick his nose, doggy breath making the limited air that much more uncomfortable. He tried to adjust his leg to straighten out his throbbing ankle. His bags bumped Princess Buttercup’s carrier, and a puff of smoke followed his hiss. Definitely crowded.
"Why can't we stay planet side just a little longer," a female voice rose over the noise of the busy spaceport. It was far too close to his crate for comfort. "I'm sick of seeing the same twelve damn people every second of my life. I need to at least watch the dancers at New Hope Casino."
Her steps came to a stop to Leti's right. "I hear they're bendy. I need bendy, Alois."
A deep male laugh sounded to his left. "You should have went last night then." Leti could hear the smug satisfaction in the man's voice. "They were bendy. Very bendy."
The crate lifted and Leti hugged Biscuit closer, burrowing his face in the long, silky brown hair. If they were caught... he stroked Biscuit's back and leaned into Gravy’s side. He hoped Draif and the others were alright in their crates. They needed to leave the planet, but damn. This was scarier than he thought it would be.
"I hate you so much," the woman said. "Unlike some irresponsible jerk offs, I had guard duty last night."
"Come on, Cordy, don't be mad. I did my best to have enough fun for the both of us." The man laughed again and the crate shifted to the right, unbalanced. Gravy gave a soft woof and Princess Buttercup hissed again. Leti cringed and silently thanked the spaceport for being so noisy.
"Hate, Alois. I hate you so much."
"Shit, this crate is so much heavier than the last ones."
Leti sniffed. His extra padding wasn't that bad.
"The bendy dancers must have sapped all your strength," the woman said. "Man up, tough guy."
"Cordelia. Alois. Hurry it up already." A new, female voice came from a distance in front of the crate. "The Captain wants to be off this overcrowded rock within the next hour."
