Warmth (Klance Warmth series Book 1 of +4)

7: Lukewarm Decision

When he heard the quiet chuckle through the door, he was glad he  didn't leave right away like he should have. The prisoner was not like  any other prisoner Keithek had ever seen. Most were terrified,  submissive, and begged for their lives. Even the infamous Champion had  begged in the beginning, or so Keithek had been told. The only  interactions Keithek had ever had with the Champion were a handful of  times they crossed each other in the hallways on transport cruisers  ferrying the Champion from arena to arena.

From what Keithek could  remember, the Champion had been cold, distant, and serious. His  determination to live and his survival instincts were something even the  Galra had grudgingly come to respect.

Keithek felt the faintest  sense of jealousy wash over him. The Champion was just a prisoner, but  he had the Galra's respect. He had earned it through hard work and  constantly defeating anything and everything the Empire threw at him in  the arena. Then he escaped.

It was infuriating. The Champion was  not even part Galra, but he had garnered more respect and acceptance  from the Galra than Keithek had ever managed. The Galra valued purity in  their race. Keithek's status as a halfbreed all but guaranteed he would  never amount to anything more than a low level foot soldier. Especially  since Sendak was his current commander.

Keithek was not  originally supposed to be on this particular ship. He was assigned to go  to the mines on one of the Balmera in the nearest quadrant. But the  cruiser he would have taken had two Druids on board. It had taken some  effort to convince the officer in charge to allow Keithek to be  transferred to this battlecruiser since it was the first one to come  along that did not have an active duty Druid on board.

Then the  Yellow Lion had appeared on that planet that had only recently been  charted, then vanished just as quickly. Sendak had become obsessed with  chasing down that Lion based on some children's tale. Keithek had  thought Sendak was losing his mind.

Until the Altean appeared.

Alteans  were a long dead species, obliterated by the great Emperor Zarkon  nearly 10,000 standard decaphoebs ago. Even their mythical home planet  had been lost when the star swelled and absorbed the planet into its  fiery inferno. Or so the legend goes.

Keithek glanced back at the Altean prisoner's cell. He knew the Altean was in there. He'd seen him, spoken to  him. Hell, Keithek had been the one to capture him with his fighter.  That was the only reason why Keithek had been assigned to periodically  check on the Altean. Apparently Zarkon wanted him alive and healthy.

Lance.

Keithek  felt his stomach flutter uneasily as he remembered the Altean's name.  It was strange to be named after a weapon, and the Altean was certainly a  weapon in his own right. He had caught Keithek completely off guard in  there. If he'd wanted to, Lance could have disabled him and escaped  easily.

But he didn't.

Why?

Lance hadn't seemed to be  worried about his well-being. In fact, he was almost carefree. He'd also  recognized Keithek without opening his eyes- er, eye. Although why  Lance insisted on calling him 'Keith' instead of his full name was  beyond him.

Lance had even gone so far as to flirt and bare his throat  to him. The act of blatant submission had caught Keithek off guard, but  he wouldn't deny that it pleased him. For once, someone had submitted  to him because they wanted to, not because they felt they had to.

Keithek  had expressed as an alpha at puberty but no one had given him a second  look. Sendak was also an alpha as were most commanders. Keithek had the  same base instincts and tendencies, but because he was a halfbreed, he  wasn't pure. No self-respecting Galra omega or beta had ever considered  him as a plausible mate. Many didn't even bother acknowledging his alpha  status. He'd had to fight to be acknowledged for everything in life.