He woke slowly.

At first, he couldn't remember where he was.

And then it all came back to him.

Turles. The cell. The aphrodisiac.

Raditz groaned and glanced over at the sleeping beta curled up next to him. Turles's breathing was even and his tail was draped over Raditz's thigh. He didn't want to move, didn't want to leave his mate.

Wait.

Mate?

Eyes widening, one hand reached up to brush against his neck and he hissed in pain. He pulled his fingers away, and they were stained scarlet with his own blood. There was no denying it now.

He and Turles were mates.

How the hell was he going to explain this to Vegeta? It had been hard enough keeping it from Nappa—who apparently had known all along anyway—but the Prince? Vegeta would have his head for this stunt, even if it was all according to the King's plan. The three of them, connected as they were to Frieza, were already vulnerable. It wouldn't do to have one of the Prince's direct underlings tied up with a liability. It could put the whole mission in jeopardy. If Frieza found out about Raditz's mate, then he could use Turles to get to Raditz, and then in turn get to Vegeta. This whole thing was more of a mess than he had ever imagined getting himself into.

Not to mention that Turles had made it expressly clear that he didn't want Raditz as a mate in the first place. He had fucked it up with the beta the first time, and this second time was no different—even if the aphrodisiac had played a major part in his fucking up. He was sure that when the beta woke he would be attacked and rejected again, even though it was Turles that did the biting this time around. He knew that it had been the combination of the heat and the aphrodisiac that had made Turles return the mating bite. Turles didn't want him.

This wasn't how he wanted their second meeting to go.

Not at all.

He had wanted to properly court the beta, even though it was far too late for that, and he wasn't sure how he would keep in contact with him. It wasn't like he could give a criminal the access code to his scouter's personal channel, and there was no way to make sure physical messages even reached their targets anymore. But he had wanted to try, to make up for his mistake, to get the beta to like him, maybe even fall for him, and one day for the beta to return the mating bite of his own volition.

But that didn't happen.

And now it was worse.

Worse because Nappa knew, worse because Vegeta would find out, worse because Frieza might find out, worse because Turles had been forced into biting him, worse because Turles might now be carrying his cubs.

Oh gods.

His cubs.

Raditz's heart plummeted and settled in the pit of his stomach. It would be one thing for Frieza to find out that one of Vegeta's guards had a mate—Turles was a grown Saiyan and could take care of himself, not to mention that his being a pirate probably made him more than capable of sneaking around, it would be an entirely different thing if Frieza found out that one of Vegeta's guards had newborn cubs. Cubs that couldn't fend for themselves, entirely helpless, entirely dependent, entirely manipulatable. Saiyan parents would do anything to protect their cubs. Anything. Suddenly everything was a lot more dangerous.

Vegeta was going to kill him.

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

He could fix this.

He had to.

Somehow, some way, he had to fix this.

He didn't know how he would fix it, but he would. For his safety, for his mate's safety, for his cubs' safety, for his Prince's safety, his planet's safety.

Raditz open his eyes and gently lifted Turles's tail off him, leaning away from the sleeping beta and getting to his feet. He pulled on his clothes and armor, tail curling around his waist. He hated to leave Turles in the cell, but he had no choice. Vegeta was already going to be furious when he found out, and Raditz didn't want to risk that happening while his mate was around—Vegeta would have no qualms about taking out his rage on the beta, even if Nappa tried to stop him. He pushed open the door and closed it behind him, wincing at the click as the lock turned into place. With one last glance behind him at his new mate, he ascended the stairs and made his way out of the dungeon.

He found Nappa waiting for him in the room where they had been earlier, and he tensed. He had looked up to the older alpha, respected him, trusted him. But now…Raditz bared his fangs in a weak snarl, hand clamping down protectively on his mating bite.

"So, the little bitch couldn't resist. Good. All according to plan." Nappa smirked at him.

"Shut the fuck up." he growled lowly, pushing past the bigger man, keen on getting to his quarters and washing himself thoroughly before the Prince returned. "This never should have happened." Nappa let him go, but Raditz could feel eyes on his back the entire walk to his room.

Once inside, he immediately stepped into the shower, armor on, not caring that it was getting soaked. He needed to wash it just as much as he needed to wash himself—everything smelled like Turles. He pulled the armor off and scrubbed it until it held no scent but the soap's and set it outside. He then did the same to his own body and took an especially long time washing out his hair. His instincts screamed at him to stop, to keep his mate's scent with on his skin, but he gritted his teeth and ignored them. He couldn't afford to be so obvious.

He stepped out of the shower, then reluctantly pulled on one of the high-collared undershirts that the Saiyans usually saved for cold temperatures. It would hide the mating bite on his neck, for a time at least. Now all he would have to worry about was his scent. He couldn't tell if his and Turles' scents had intermingled yet, but hopefully they hadn't. And hopefully they wouldn't, if they were kept apart. He had no plans to see the beta for some time.

The thought hit him like a punch to the gut. Would he ever see the beta again? Would they be able to keep the distance between them, for safety reasons? He didn't want Frieza finding out about Turles or any cubs they might have. How would this work?

Raditz keened, low in his throat, wrapping his tail tightly around his waist. He couldn't worry about any of this, not now. He was due to meet Vegeta and Nappa, and they were leaving the planet, headed to the next mission. His eyes widened—he would need a way to contact Turles. He hurried out of the room, making his way back into the dungeon, hoping that he wasn't too late, that Vegeta wouldn't be too angry at him later.

He froze at the door to the dungeon. It was ajar, and the scent of angry alpha and defensive beta hung in the air. "No no no no no no no…" he muttered, pushing the door open.

Vegeta whipped his head around to stare at him as he entered. "Oh good. You're here. You can tell me what's wrong with the bastard."

Raditz's eyes narrowed. "Wrong? What do you mean, my Prince?" He looked toward Turles, but the beta was sitting in the furthest corner of the cell, knees pulled up to his chest. He looked up as Raditz spoke, but did nothing but glare and hiss as he turned his head away.

"It appears he's not in heat any longer. At least, he's not in anyway like the state he was yesterday. What could have happened to him?" Vegeta took a menacing step towards his guard. "Do you know anything about this, Raditz?" he snarled.

Instinctively, the taller alpha bared his teeth and growled, but stopped, noticing that Turles had flinched and whimpered at the sound. "I-How am I supposed to know anything about that—I am unmated myself and—"

"Bullshit." Raditz's eyes widened and his tail flicked uncertainly. "Nappa does not believe I have ears nor patience. And you do not believe I am capable of reading body language." The Prince rolled his eyes. "Both of you are wrong."

"So…you know." Raditz let his gaze fall to the floor.

"Of course I know." Vegeta growled. "So. What does the traitor's heat being over mean? What next?"

"It means Raditz has strong seed." The long-haired alpha flushed red and turned to see Nappa. "The bitch is already pregnant."

Raditz's eyes widened and he looked over at his mate. Turles whined, arms curling around himself, and shielding his stomach from the alphas.

Vegeta hissed. "Damn it. That's what I suspected." He looked at Raditz and curled his hand into a fist. "You have put the whole mission in jeopardy," the Prince snarled. "Furthermore," Vegeta seethed, "You mated a traitor. Do you know what the implications of this act are?" Raditz gasped and dropped to his knees, the fist suddenly connecting with his abdomen taking him by surprise. "You must deal with this, Raditz." The third-class made a choked sound in his throat and the Prince leaned in.

"Let me stay with him." He begged. "Let me protect him or let him come with us. Please, I-I need to be there for him." This might be his only chance at repairing things with Turles. Surely the Prince could understand that.

Vegeta's eyes softened at the desperate expression on the other's face, but he shook his head. "No. Unacceptable. I need you, Raditz, you know that." He bowed his head, hands curling into fists. He couldn't—but, how then, was he supposed to care for his mate? His cubs?

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, traitor." Vegeta turned to speak to the beta. Raditz looked up, watching as his mate pressed his back against the wall, hardly even looking up at them. "I hate everything about this situation, but I understand the necessity of raising a new generation. Raditz is vital to my plans to overthrow Frieza, so he cannot go with you, but you will be safe."

"What? Safe?" Turles croaked, voice cracking.

"So, you do speak." Vegeta huffed, tail flicking from side to side behind him. "I am sending you to one of my mansions. You can raise your cub there. This is not because I like you, not because of Raditz, not because of my father or Nappa. My actions are for the good of the Saiyan race, and that includes your cub." Raditz gaped up at the Prince in astonishment, and Turles did the same.

The beta swallowed uneasily, glancing at Raditz before nodding, slowly. "I understand." Raditz watched his mate, disbelieving. Turles shouldn't agree to this, it wasn't like anything that Raditz had seen from him so far, but his stomach twisted painfully at the thought of his beta and cubs getting hurt. Maybe it was for the best…Turles looked at him slowly, and Raditz winced at the lack of life in his eyes. He seemed like he had given up.

Vegeta wrinkled his nose and turned away. "I'm leaving. Nappa, you will make the arrangements for the traitor. Raditz, you are to meet us and be ready to go in 15." The Prince stalked out of the room, Nappa following close behind him. Raditz refrained from sighing in relief before turning his gaze towards the beta, still in the cell.

"Turles..." Raditz started, getting to his feet. "I-I'm sorry." The alpha leaned against the cell bars, pressing his face against the cool metal. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I really—"

"I don't want to hear it," Turles murmured, nails scraping against the floor. "I don't want to hear anything." The beta turned his head slightly, eyes void of emotion. "This is what you wanted, right, alpha?"

Raditz couldn't hear anything over the sound of his own heart breaking.