WIP Wednesday – First Mataras: Michaela

As they walked down the corridor towards one of the huge house’s exits, Korkla kept an eye on his small charge.  Little by little, she lost the dreamy-eyed look.  She snuck quick glances at them, and the Dramok could feel her nervousness returning.  Worry creased her brow, and a small frown touched her full lips.  
She suddenly said, “I, um, I wanted to see how Jessica was doing.  I guess I forgot to keep track of the time.  I’m sorry you had to look for me.”
Korkla exchanged a look with his clanmates.  Raxstad, as a law enforcement officer, was trained to detect subterfuge.  Govi also knew a lie when he heard it.  Perhaps Michaela was sorry to have avoided them, but she hadn’t done so as a mistake.
Govi smiled as if he accepted her excuse.  “No harm done, little one.  Did Jessica enjoy meeting with her clan last night?”
Korkla knew the question for what it was:  a ploy to distract Michaela from her fears of them.  It worked like a charm.  Her dark, almost black eyes flashed.  In an instant, the nervousness disappeared from her demeanor.
She snapped, “Oh, Jessica said last night was just fine and dandy.  It was this morning when Korkla’s boss showed the kind of man he really is that sucked.”
Michaela leveled that angry gaze at Korkla, as if he held the blame for his employer’s actions.  The Dramok sighed.  “Clajak doesn’t always handle himself as well as he could.”
“He made my friend cry, Korkla.  He treated her like a piece of meat and tossed her aside.  He’s an asshole.”
She’d come to a stop in the middle of the hallway to confront him in an aggressive stance with her legs wide and fists parked on her hips.  Michaela didn’t seem to notice Korkla stood head and shoulders above her.  She didn’t care that he probably outweighed her by over a hundred pounds of muscle.  She was pissed off on Jessica’s behalf, demanding someone make it right.
Her anger was amazing, her lack of fear astounding.  Moreover, she was absolutely stunning with her eyes snapping sparks and her coloring deepening with ire.  Damn if she wasn’t giving him a hard-on.  Korkla could have put her on her back in the middle of the floor right there and then and fucked her.
Instead, he put the brakes on his libido, knowing it was not welcome ... yet.  He told the spitfire, “I wish I could apologize for Prince Clajak, Michaela.  It is unconscionable that he upset Jessica to that extent.”
Govi added, “He has issues that often lead him to acting like a spoiled child, when in fact it is fear and dread that drive him.”
It was more information than Korkla felt prudent to give someone not yet privy to Kalquor’s eventual ruler.  However, the admission calmed Michaela down.
She cocked her head inquisitively.  “But Clajak is a prince.  What does a prince have to worry about?  And what gives him the right to take it out on Jessica?”
Korkla’s tone was stern.  “He has no right to do any such thing.”  He softened again when he had to speak a little in Clajak’s defense, since Michaela obviously thought he deserved none.  “As to what he would have to worry about, that would be the eventual rule of an entire Empire.”
She sucked on her lower lip in an adorable expression of realization.  “Oh.  Well.  I suppose that is a hell of a burden.”
Raxstad growled, “He’s still an asshole for making your friend cry.”
Despite the rough voice, Raxstad’s expression was only a parody of fierceness.  He winked at Michaela, and she grinned in delighted response.
Her smile made something in Korkla’s chest tighten.  Damn it, this boy-woman was absolutely stunning.  Whether lively with anger or childlike with nervousness, she had enraptured him.  If only he could find some way to make her see herself as he did.
Release date not set.