Crystal (Warmth series Book 3)

1: Hint

This was the worst part of the job. This was why he'd requested to  work with cadets in the first place. Cadets weren't sent out into the  field until they were old enough and had the experience needed to keep  themselves alive. Losing not one but two cadets in one night without any  explanation from the higher-ups was an outrage.

Then there was  that unscheduled 'training exercise' that took place just after that  meteor struck the ground not far from the Galaxy Garrison's west coast  facility. It made no sense and the tight-lipped higher-ups were  beginning to piss Commander Malcolm Iverson the fuck off. When he  demanded they tell him what happened to his two cadets who were his  responsibility to begin with, he'd been told not so politely that  sometimes accidents happen, to fuck off, and mind his own business.

They  hadn't even let him give the news to the distraught parents who  deserved to know what had happened to their babies. No parent deserved  to live in that terrible limbo of knowing something had happened to your  child but unable to find out what. Many chose to hold out hope that  their child lived, when more often than not this wasn't the case. Those  who chose to accept their child's death often suffered for years  afterwards. But that aside, no one deserved to live in oblivion going on  about their day when their child could be in danger.

When he'd  brought up that particular point to the higher-ups, they had given him  some bullshit 'classified, need-to-know only' excuse. They all knew  something important had happened last night and Iverson was ready to  swear up and down that it had something to do with that meteor. If it  really was a meteor in the first place.

The flying yellow lion  he'd seen the next day lent credence to his doubts and had certainly  caught the students' attention. Something as strange and obviously not  normal as that couldn't just be swept under the rug. Trying to just  threw even more shade on the events from the past week and a half.  Several students managed to get videos of the flying lion and uploaded  them to the Internet. Naturally the videos were soon removed. But  everyone knew that once something was uploaded to the Internet, it could  never really be removed.

Thankfully, Iverson had done his  damnedest to make a montage of the many videos, reports, and intercepted  communiques he could get his hands on. Now he was sitting in a study  room at a college with everything he had been able to gather loaded on a  flash drive, his laptop open on the table in front of him so his back  was to the wall, and waiting for the call that would most likely cost  him his livelihood. But this wasn't about him. It was about two cadets  who vanished and an attempt to cover up their disappearance. This wasn't  how he preferred to get the information out there, but it the only  choice he had left.

The video call rang, and he picked up.

~XxX~

He  woke up slowly, taking his time returning to consciousness. It was warm  and comfortable here. He was almost certain this wasn't his bed.  Suddenly he was fully awake and aware. His body tingled and his mind was  slightly foggy from the abrupt awakening, but he was clear headed  enough to know the sheets and blankets he was currently entangled in  were not his.

There was also another body in bed with him. Keithek  shifted minutely so he could look down. Messy brown hair and skin a  shade or so lighter met his eyes. The sight brought a smile to his face.  He couldn't resist the urge to lean down and press a kiss to his mate's  hair, loving the scent of Lance. The faintest hint of smoke was still  in Lance's hair, but Keith could also smell the prince's shampoo and  conditioner. Lance must have taken a shower sometime last night.

Keithek  couldn't remember much after pulling out of Lance. He must have fallen  asleep. He closed his eyes in shame. That was never what he had  intended. He had wanted to curl around his mate and ease him to sleep.  But apparently that didn't happen.