Jakke shut his eyes, inwardly cursing himself. He had never expected to be facing the same dilemma as his father. There was a difference, though: Sydney was his true mate, and he loved her.
“I thought she’d get used to it,” he said quietly.
“Think again! She said she would rather live alone without you than ever live in a house where you ‘cheated’ on her. Her words, not mine. She told me that on her world, when a couple is married, that marriage ends as soon as one of them is unfaithful.”
Jakke blanched. Sydney had said as much to him, but he hadn’t listened, and now the thought of not having her anymore made everything all too real.
“Why is Rykker here?” Jakke asked in sudden suspicion. His brother didn’t answer. “Risshi?”
“I cannot say.”
Jakke’s eyes narrowed before he leapt to his feet and ran toward the house, Risshi and Kavvan on his heels. He stopped at the front door.
Peering inside, his eyes landed on Sydney, who was lying on the couch with her shirt pushed up, exposing her rounded belly. He drank in the beautiful site of his mate; he had missed her so much.
She was smiling as Rykker spoke, and the sight of it made Jakke’s heart swell with love. The instinct to protect her kicked in. He would never let anything happen to her. She was his.
Suddenly her eyes caught his, and the smile slipped from her face. She pulled her shirt down and tugged a soft blanket over her body, hiding herself.
“Sydney…” he breathed, walking into the room.
Sydney
Sydney was lying on the couch when Rykker rushed in. She almost laughed at the look of surprise on his face, which she imagined mirrored her own; she hadn’t expected that he would be the healer making a house call.
“Sydney, what are you doing here?” he asked, setting his bag on the floor.
“Rykker, it’s nice to see you again.”
“Everyone is searching for you. Jakke is going out of his mind trying to find you.”
“Please, don’t mention his name, and don’t tell him I’m here.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be the one to tell him,” he mumbled, pulling out a scanner. “Now what seems to be the problem? I don’t know much about Humans, but I’ll do my best.”
Sydney peeled back the blanket and exposed her rounded belly. “I think I’m pregnant.”
Rykker’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“No—yes—I don’t know! All I know is that I have been really sick. My belly is getting bigger, but it shouldn’t be. I can’t be that far along.”
“How long do Human pregnancies last?”
“Umm…nine months.”
Rykker blew out a slow breath. “Let’s have a look.” Holding the scanner over her stomach and taking time to examine things from every angle, he finally said, “You are definitely with young. Everything looks okay, but the young is small. I need to take you back to the castle so I can run additional, more in-depth scans.”
“No. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Sydney, think of the youngling.”
“Baby; it’s called a baby. And I am. I’m not going back to a place where my mate cheats and his father won’t even speak to me. Everyone stares—that stress is not good for the baby.”
You are one stubborn female,” he muttered, and she couldn’t help the smile that graced her face.
“Not nearly as stubborn as some women.”
“I hope I do not encounter them then.”
Sydney was still smiling when her eyes locked with stunning sky-blue cat eyes.
Jakke! Her heart stuttered before pounding in her chest. She had missed him so much, but as images of him and the other three came rushing back, the smile vanished, and she wrapped herself in the blanket.
“Are you okay?” Rykker asked, noticing her change in demeanor.
“Fine, thanks Rykker,” she replied, her tone subdued.
“Sydney…” Jakke said as he stepped into the room.
Her face dropped into an unreadable mask, devoid of all emotion as she ignored him.
Jakke closed the distance and dropped to his knees.
“Are you alright?” he asked with so much emotion, she almost let her mask slip away.
“I’m fine, thank you for asking.” She turned her attention to Rykker and said, “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry I caused so much trouble.”
“You have not caused any trouble,” he replied with an encouraging smile. She did not return it.
Jakke stood, facing Rykker. “Is something wrong with my mate?”
Sydney shook her head; Rykker caught it from the corner of his eye.
“Uh, I, uh…I will let her fill you in,” he stuttered, and left.
Jakke knelt again, taking Sydney’s hand. “Please tell me what is wrong. Why did Risshi call Rykker here?”
Biting her lip, Sydney decided she had no choice but to get it over with. Besides, he was the father, after all…
“I’m having a baby.”
“We are having a youngling?” Jakke asked in pure shock.
Oh, how she had missed him! Sydney wanted to melt into his arms and hope this huge rift inside her heart closed, filling up the empty pit inside her chest.
But she couldn’t.
She only knew one way to get her point across, giving him a taste of how badly he had hurt her. Was it wrong? Yes. But she still thought it was necessary.
“I’m not sure if it’s yours or one of my consorts,” she said coldly, shrugging.
Pain followed by rage crossed his face. “You do not have consorts! No male will ever touch you but me!”
Casually shrugging a second time, she pressed on. “On Earth, if a male has other females, then the female will find other males. You know, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander and all that. I’ll have consorts if I want to.” She paused. “Thank you for stopping by, but I need to rest now.”
Ignoring her own grief at the hurt she’d just caused him, she rolled over on the couch, presenting her back. Only then did she let the tears fall in silence.
She heard heavy footsteps and then the slamming of the front door. Outside, the yelling made her cover her head with the blanket. She just wanted to rest and forget about the horrible thing she’d just done to Jakke. Of course, they both knew it was a lie—it was his baby, and he knew it as well as she. But her words were cruel, and her need to hurt him was childish.
The door opened again and she held still, trying to pretend to be asleep. She felt a hand on her shoulder and heard the soft sound of Risshi’s voice. “Sydney?”
Turning her wet face toward him, she sat up and threw her arms around his neck.
“You are such a good friend,” she sobbed. “Why couldn’t you have been my mate?”
He hugged her tighter. “Jakke is a good male. I think you need to talk to him. Perhaps the two of you can reach an understanding.”
“Why did he come here?”
“He was in the dining hall when Rykker was notified that I needed a healer. He thought something had happened to me.”
She leaned back to gauge his expression.
“You need to talk to him,” Risshi repeated.
“I don’t know what to say.” She swiped her eyes; the pregnancy was making her more emotional than she’d ever been.
“Just be honest, tell him how you feel.”
Sydney stared into his caring face before her eyes drifted to the door, catching Jakke’s eyes once again.
This time, she didn’t hide her tears, nor did she mask the hurt and devastation that he’d caused. She let him look into her eyes so he and know exactly what he’d done.
She watched him swallow hard as he took in the depth of her pain. As Risshi stood, he gave Jakke a warning look, then passed him on the way out. Jakke took that as his cue and stepped inside once again. “Sydney.”
Chapter 23
Jakke
When Sydney told him that his young could belong to a consort, he almost lost
“You slept with my mate?!” he yelled, shoving Risshi to the ground.
Risshi jumped to his feet. “No! What kind of brother do you think I am?” And then he shoved Jakke.
“She said she had consorts! The only other male here is you!”
They stood chest to chest. Risshi laughed, which only fueled Jakke’s rage. His teeth grew as he prepared to battle his own brother, but neither Rykker nor Kavvan interfered.
“She doesn’t have consorts. She’s been so sad this past week, it’s all I can do to get her to smile. And then there’s the sickness. Perhaps, brother, she just wanted you to feel a little of the grief you caused her,” Risshi sneered.
Jakke stumbled back a couple of steps. “What sickness?” He sat down hard on the rocks, dropping his face into the palms of his hands. “What have I done?”
Risshi sat down beside him.
You have hurt your mate deeply.” Risshi sighed. “Let me see if I can get her to talk to you.”
“Do you think you can?”
“I don’t know. Just stay outside for now.”
Jakke watched as Risshi walked toward the house. Deciding he wanted to be nearby in case she agreed, he followed, stopping outside on the front porch. Glancing through the window at her tear-stained face, his heart shattered at her devastated expression. He knew just how badly he had hurt her when he when heard Sydney ask why she couldn’t have mated a good male like his brother.
Then her eyes found his, Risshi gave him a warning look before heading outside, and Jakke walked into the house.
“Sydney,” he whispered, crossing the room to kneel in front of her. “I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Please forgive me!”
“You lied to me, and then you cheated on me. I don’t know if I can.”
“I did not cheat. This is my culture.”
“Well, it’s not mine. And if you believed it was alright, then why did you hide it from me? You had plenty of chances to tell me about life and relationships on Azziar, but you kept it all secret.”
He went to take her hand, but she pulled away.
“I don’t know what to say,” Jakke admitted. “I knew you would not like our culture, but I honestly thought you would eventually adjust.”
He could see the heat of anger rise in her face. “I’ll tell you what: let’s move three males in with us, and you can watch them touch me, even fuck me if you want to—what do you think?”
“NEVER!” he raged.
“Ah, come on, baby, you’ll get used to it,” she mocked. Glancing away, her voice sounded tired. “Just go home, Jakke. I’m sure Cassia is waiting for you.”
Turning her back to him again, Jakke shut his eyes and walked outside.
“I take it that did not go well,” Risshi said.
Hanging his head, Jakke sat on a rock.
“We need to get her back to the castle so I can examine her better,” Rykker said.
“Is she okay?” Jakke asked.
“I don’t know. The youngling is small, and I am not sure if her body can handle a rapid pregnancy. Her species carries young for nine months. She needs a lot of rest.”
“She has been sick after she eats at every meal for the past week. I worry about her nutrition,” Risshi interjected.
“I can give her some medicine. We can start with a small dose, see how her body handles it.”
“Are you staying all night?” Risshi asked Rykker.
“I’ll stay until we get her eating better. I’ll give her a dose, and hopefully she will be able to digest second meal. If she keeps that and third meal down, I will head back tonight,” Rykker replied. “Until then, let’s see if we can convince her to go back with us, as that would be for the best.”
All four of them headed inside the small house. Risshi prepared food as Rykker gave Sydney the medicine.
“It seems as though your body is slow to metabolize medicine, so you will not need a very high dose,” Rykker commented, scanning Sydney once again.
“How far along am I?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. Your pregnancy may last longer than Azziarin females since you are Human. And since this is the first Human-Azziarin mating, we will just have to wait and see.”
Sydney
As everyone worked diligently in the kitchen, Sydney pushed up from the couch and walked outside, taking her seat on the bench.
A moment later, the door creaked open and someone sat down beside her. Sydney didn’t even look to see who it was.
“It is beautiful here.” Sydney recognized Kavvan’s voice.
“Yes. It is. The ocean is wild and free, and I find that sitting here watching the waves is calming to my soul.” Just then, a large wave crashed into a boulder. “I meant to ask, is the ocean salty on Azziar?”
“No, of course not.”
“Oh.” For some reason, that disappointed her a little.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Kavvan said gently, “I know you do not want to hear this, but I will say it anyway. This past week, Jakke has searched for you unceasingly. He also ordered his soldiers to search. He hasn’t slept, he hasn’t eaten. No one could stand to be around him, except me.”
When she never replied, Kavvan stood. “I just thought you should know.”
Sydney watched the door close behind him. Her heart dared to hope that Jakke had felt the same heartache, the same hole in his heart.
Kavvan hadn’t mentioned the consorts, though. Maybe Jakke had missed her, but they were there trying to console him. Her mind wouldn’t stop throwing out the negative. Why was it always easier to believe something bad?
Risshi stuck his head outside. “Second meal is ready.”
“Coming.” Pushing up from the bench, Sydney headed inside. Sliding into her seat, she picked at the food and listened to them talk.
“How is everyone?” Risshi asked.
“Takkeo has not been seen and now I understand why,” Jakke replied, looking at Sydney. “Kattlyn is in and out, avoiding everyone. Kollin and Zekke are heading home.”
“And Dazz?”
Jakke shrugged. “I am not sure, but he will not be here for a while.”
Sydney finished eating in silence, then went out for a long walk on the beach.
The day passed by, and Sydney was able to keep down both the mid and third meals.
“I think the medicine is working well. How do you feel?” Rykker asked.
“Good. Much better actually.”
“Excellent. I will head back now, but please consider traveling back to the castle with me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. Not tonight.”
Kavvan turned, facing her. “I will head back with Rykker. Please remember what I have said.”
Sydney nodded once, unable to speak. Jakke stood next to Risshi. “I will not leave my mate. If she stays, I stay.”
Sydney swallowed hard. Had she really expected Jakke to leave her? His decision made her both happy and sad, and a little nervous. If he had left, her heart probably would have split a little wider. But with him here, it would be hard to keep her feelings in check.
She waved goodbye to Kavvan and Rykker, but instead of heading inside with the other two, Sydney walked down to the ocean. There was a small patch of white sand nestled between jagged rocks.
Simply breathtaking!
The wind blew against her face, sweeping her hair behind her shoulders. Sydney felt the exact moment Jakke silently trotted up behind her.
Reaching her side, he slowed to a steady walk, matching her steps.
“You like it here?” he asked.
“Yes. I do.”
“Does Earth have anything like this?”
“Yes.” She stared out at the ocean. “The sand is more of a tan color and the ocean is blue in the Caribbean. But it looks more greenish on the east coast.”
“Did you live by your ocean?”
A smile ghosted her lips. “No. But I always dreamed of moving there. I did, however, visit as often as possible.”
Jakke looked out over the water. “Risshi has always found the ocean appealing. I have the same fascination with space.”
“For me, it’s the wildness of it. The wind whips the waves and they protest violently.” Just then, a wave broke against a boulder, the spray shooting about twenty feet into the air. “They refuse to be controlled.”
Like me.
They walked silently until the sun dropped and the moons rose to take its place.
“Are you ready to head back?” Jakke asked.
Sydney nodded as the two of them ambled back toward the house.
Risshi was sitting on the porch when Sydney took the steps one at a time. Their eyes locked, but neither said anything. Risshi had to know how uncomfortable the entire situation was for her.
Heading toward the bathroom, Sydney splashed water on her face and dressed for bed in a simple pair of gray jogging pants and a white short sleeved V-neck tee.
Staring at herself in the mirror, Sydney knew it would be difficult to keep Jakke at arm’s length. Everything inside her screamed to fall into his arms. The pull had grown stronger with each passing hour. Perhaps the pregnancy had strengthened the bond.
She still wasn’t ready.
Opening the bathroom door, she paused in the doorway when she heard Risshi say, “Just give her time.”
“She has had a week here without me. How much more time does she need?”
“That has always been your problem, Jakke. You have neither patience nor empathy.”
“That is not true!”
“Over the past week, Sydney has become important to me. Not only family, but as a friend. Did you really think you could just throw her into all this without a word of explanation first?”
Sydney didn’t want to hear anymore. Stepping loudly down the hall, they both her heard coming. Jakke and Risshi stood.
“It’s been a long day. I’m going to bed.”
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