Fated Mate Conquered - Luna Voss Page 0,67

kisses on her cheeks, her chin. “You did hold it. You saved all of us.”

“What’s going to happen now?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” I tell her honestly. “The war isn’t over, that’s for sure.”

That night, I sit at the table in the captain’s cabin with Kora, Metturion, Milana, Rojan, Geddion, and a couple of other made members. All of our faces are serious. We’re deciding the Butarza Family’s next move. Metturion is running the meeting, and I can’t help but notice that he seems perfectly capable of making decisions, despite the fact that he supposedly hasn’t had communication with the Family’s boss since before we arrived on Ruk V. I would never breathe a word of this to anyone, but I’m beginning to develop a suspicion that Metturion might actually be the Butarza boss himself. No one else seems to think anything of it. They’re all used to him being the one giving the orders.

“From now on, we go on the offensive,” Metturion snarls. He looks absolutely furious at the way we were betrayed during the sitdown. There have been ambushes at Vostra sitdowns before, but for decades now, such meetings have been treated as sacred. It’s clear that the Gordulla Family has no issue Vostra violating norms.

“I thought we were on the offensive before,” says Milana.

“So did I,” says Metturion. “But clearly, not offensive enough. We need to show them that no one treats Butarza this way. Today, a new campaign begins. We’ll kill their captains. We’ll hit their shipments. We’ll bust their casinos, their brothels, their betting parlors. We’ll murder their fucking allies. Anyone who does business with Gordulla. This doesn’t end until their whole fucking Family is destroyed.”

His words hang in the air. The thought of an all-out war is grim, but we all know there isn’t another choice. Dazan Gordulla has forced our hand.

The rest of the meeting is spent making more detailed plans, assigning different people to go to different systems, hit specific Gordulla businesses. Metturion starts organizing the available soldiers into teams.

“Milana, Rojan, you two worked well together on Ruk V. I’m sending both of you to infiltrate the Gordulla Family capital world. You’ll work together as a team. Milana, show Rojan the ropes now that he’s made.”

Milana raises her eyebrows. “The Gordulla Family capital world? Do we even know where that is?”

“No,” says Metturion. “You’re going to do whatever is necessary to find it, then go in undercover. And then you’re going to contact us, and we’re going to figure out how to do some real damage. Hit them right where it hurts.”

“Undercover?” Rojan repeats.

“That’s right,” confirms the underboss. “It’s going to be a very traditional Vostra planet similar to Turvada. Your best way not to attract attention will be to pose as a mated couple. You’ll have fake names, fake backstories, everything. Milana will wear a fake mark on her neck.”

It’s subtle, but I could swear I see Milana’s cheeks tinge red at this, although she hides it well. I glance at Kora, and she gives me an amused look back, telling me she noticed the same thing. I stifle a laugh. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Milana blush in my life. Rojan’s poker face is better, but not by much. It’s the tiny green flash from his beacon that gives him away. He steals a furtive glance at Milana, as though to check whether or not she noticed, but her expression doesn’t reveal anything. She nods at the underboss. “Understood.” Then she grins at Rojan, a twinkle in her eye. “You think you can handle this?”

He looks back at her evenly, the faintest tinge of color invading his own cheeks. “I think you’d be surprised what I can handle.”

When it comes time for Metturion to give me a mission, he actually does the opposite: much to my surprise, he orders me to take a vacation with Kora.

“I’m ready to fight,” I protest.

“Me too,” says Kora softly. “I want to help.”

“You’ve both been through a hell of a lot,” the underboss tells us firmly. “Turan, have you even taken a break since you were captured and almost executed by the UPE? I need my best captains sharp, not running themselves into the ground. My decision is final. Go take some time. And then I’ll be glad to have you back. On the front lines, if you choose.”

I nod, knowing better than to argue. Besides, a vacation with Kora sounds like heaven. I make eye contact with her, and she smiles. I