Hunting Purity (The Hunting Series Book 2)

by Tracy Lauren

  “The conversation is over, old friend,” I say with finality.

  “It has yet to even begin!” he complains.

  I swing open the double doors to my suite. The usually cold and lonely interior is suddenly unfamiliar to me and it takes a moment to process what is going on.

  Sarran and I both stare open mouthed from the doorway. Before he has a chance to say a word, I break.

  “GET OUT!” I roar.

  The naked whores spread out on my bed flinch but remain frozen, too stupid to obey my command.

  “I SAID GET OUT!” I bellow again. Still, it isn’t until I start turning over tables and throwing furniture into the walls that they scream and run for the door.

  “THYLORN!” I call.

  “He’Rokvska Naa, please calm yourself,” Sarran asks of me.

  “THYLORN!” I shout again. This fool will pay for taking such liberties. How dare he allow these females into my bed without seeking my approval first?

  Across the hall I can see the servant, peeking out from around a corner. He startles when he sees me looking at him and I stride toward him angrily.

  “Thylorn, go,” Sarran waves him away.

  “Do not disobey a direct command from your master!” I shout.

  “Go.” Sarran waves him away again and this time Thylorn turns tail and runs. Before I have the chance to pursue him, Sarran holds out his arm, stopping me.

  “I want everyone out! I want every soul out of my house, NOW!” I rage.

  Without warning, Sarran throws me back. I lose my footing and trip on an overturned chair. I land on my back with a loud thud and for a moment I am shocked. But once I’m on the ground…I remain there. Sarran looks down at me and I take a deep breath, feeling so very tired.

  Long seconds pass as I breathe deeply, desperate for peace from my inner turmoil. “I cannot stand this place,” I admit to him, with my eyes clenched shut. “I cannot stand the luxury of this house and the stench of the city.”

  “And the females? Did they stink too?”

  I groan. “They are the worst of all…nothing more than distorted reflections of what a female should be.”

  “So this is about a female then?”

  I open my eyes and look up at Sarran. “This is about my mate.”

  Sarran picks up the chair I fell over and rights it, taking a seat.

  “I think about Eriona every day. Did you know that? I know what you must think of your mother, He’Rokvska Naa. You saw what most others did—a cold and brutal warrior.”

  “She was a true gladiator, down to her very soul. I always admired her for it.”

  “The only thing she ever was, He’Rokvska Naa, was a mother. Down to her very soul, as you say. I remember her in a different way than you do. When you were very young it broke her heart to always keep you at bay. She wanted to love you like a mother should love her child, but more than that she wanted you to survive. So she put up a wall when it came to you.”

  “My mother taught me everything I know about being a gladiator,” I counter. “There was no wall between us.”

  “She taught you how to survive, but she never dared teach you to love.”

  I scoff and push myself up off the floor.

  “Can you imagine what it was like for her, always living with the fear that either of you could die or be sold off at any moment?”

  “We had stability with you, Sarran.”

  “And how many years went by before I found you? Eriona did everything she could to harden you for this life. She wanted to make you strong, but it broke her to do it. Did you know that she volunteered to fight the dhiragoni? She stepped up and claimed that fight—I would have never chosen it for her. But she knew the master of the second house was going to offer it to you and she knew you’d be stupid enough to take it. So, she stepped in to fight for you.”

  “You disgrace me, Sarran. Had I known, I would have never allowed it.”

  “You are not getting the point. I can remember your first fight like it was yesterday, He’Rokvska Naa. I remember holding Eriona the entire time as she cried, terrified that she would lose you.”

  I remember my mother that night, stonily congratulating me on my win. The idea that there was another side to her, a vulnerable side that she never dared show me…it brings me great sadness. “I am still failing to see your point, Sarran.”

  “The point is, your mother would have sacrificed anything for you. There were a thousand times she did sacrifice everything for you.”

  “That I already knew,” I growl, hating that he brings up my mother’s struggles.

  “Then tell me, what is it you plan to sacrifice for this mate of yours? How do you plan to fight for her?”

  “She rejected me, Sarran. There is nothing I can do.” I cut my hand at him, indicating it is over.

  “I knew Eriona better than most and I can tell you right now what her greatest regret in life was—not being able to shower her child in the love that you both deserved.”

  “This has nothing to do with my Purity!” I shout in my old master’s face.

  Rising from his seat, he squares himself to me. Though he has aged, he is still a powerhouse of a male. “This has everything to do with her,” he tells me, his voice like steel.

  I find the chair and drop myself into it heavily. “I will not force her to be here with me if she does not wish it. What do you expect me to do, cuff her wrists like a slave?”

  “I never suggested that.”

  “I offered to bring her here, but she refused. I even offered to make her my business partner and still, not even that was enough to keep her.”

  Sarran shakes his head at me. “There was a time when I was in love. But I made the wrong choices, fought for the wrong things. I lost her, but I learned a valuable lesson. Glory isn’t in the arena. Glory is in love and sacrifice. Glory wasn’t Eriona winning this battle or that. It was in the way she took care of her son, feeding him her last scraps of food, stepping in to fight the more difficult battles, trading her body to protect him. So I ask you again, He’Rokvska Naa, what sacrifices will you make for your mate?”

  I let out a long-suffering breath of air and speak my deepest truth. “I am no longer happy here, Sarran.”

  “You are a free man, He’Rokvska Naa. Nothing is chaining you to this world.”

  “My house…”

  “Is this truly your home, gladiator?” Sarran asks, holding out his arms.

  I look at the room around us. It is cold, hard, filled with the ghosts and the horrors of a thousand years of slaves and their masters. And it all replays, over and over again—endless battles, parties, gamblers, and whores. For the first time in my life I consider what home truly is, but deep in my soul, I already know my answer.

  Home is a simple cave with a few poorly made furs. It’s a fire, roasted meat, and water fresh from a stream. It’s pure and clean silence, untainted by the thunder of the crowds. I can hear it in my mind, the only sounds are the crackling of the fire, the soft laughter of my mate, and stories whispered in the furs.

  Despite myself, I laugh. “Is it truly such a sacrifice to leave this place?”

  The look Sarran gives me is sad but understanding and I get to my feet. “The sacrifice is in taking down your walls and humbling yourself to your mate. It is the willingness to be more than what you have always been.”

  “What if she won’t have me?”

  “I have never seen a gladiator beg, but it might be a good place to start.” And though my old master is smiling, I know that he is serious.

  “Thank you, Sarran.”

  “Nothing would make Eriona happier than knowing you made it off Braga Faro Sintra.”

  “And my men? Will you take charge of them for me?” I ask, knowing Sarran as the most honest and fair of all the masters. He nods to me and I give the room one last look. There is nothing here I care for enough to take with me.

  Chapter 36

  He’Rokvska Naa

  I walk over hills and
through meadows. The day is still early, but the trek is much farther than I imagined. At first, I was angry they had put her so far out, but the other human, Faith, assured me that my Purity had requested it. Now, I am pleased. For it is exactly what I would have chosen as well.

  It reminds me of the solitude of our cave. I can even hear the babbling of a stream running nearby the small house. It is newly built, with room for additions. Everything about the place is simple, but lovely.

  Already I think of all the work I must do to make this perfect for us. I will stack the wood pile higher, build a fence so that we may plant a garden, and make a smoker to preserve any meat we have in abundance. We’ll also need a work shed to house a ship and surface vehicles for getting back and forth to town.

  I hesitate at the door, staring hard at the roughly hewn wood. In the air I catch a hint of Purity’s scent, still fruity and sweet, but now mixed with something else. It makes my heart race in my chest and I rub my hand over the back of my neck before I force myself to knock.

  Inside I hear Purity, she calls out, thinking it is Faith who visits her. “Coming, Faith!” The door swings open and whatever other words she had planned for her friend die on her lips. She gasps, covering her mouth.

  I take in the sight of her. She is just as beautiful as the first time I saw her. Her hair is piled up on top of her head, leaving the milky skin of her neck exposed. The clothes she wears are new and not as formfitting as the costume she wore when we first met. Still, I can plainly see the curves of her body…particularly the subtle curve of her belly. I stare at it long and hard before I bring myself to meet her shocked gaze. She looks upon me with tear-filled eyes and I drop to my knees before her. Throwing my arms around her waist, I hold her as if my life depended on it and press my cheek to her swollen belly.

  It is a long time before I am able to speak, but when I do, any grand speech I had planned melts away. I let my heart do the talking.

  “I couldn’t live on that world anymore. You were right to stay away, Purity. That place is a poison. If it weren’t for you, I’d have never realized that it was killing me. You lifted the veil from my eyes.” I choke back a sob.

  “I tried to go home without you, but the whole time I knew… I knew the only home I have ever had was with you. Please, say that you will have me. I do not want to be He’Rokvska Naa the gladiator any longer. I want to be your Hero, I want this.” I place my hand over her belly and look up at her with pleading eyes.

  She sobs so hard her body trembles and she nods feverishly at me. “I was so scared you wouldn’t come!” she cries, falling into my arms. I rise to my feet, lifting her up and pressing kisses to her face.

  “I will never leave your side again,” I vow.

  And when she kisses me, I understand what Sarran was talking about. There is no glory in this life greater than love. There is no other battle worth winning, and sacrificing what I thought I once wanted is a small price to pay for what I truly need… My Purity.

  Epilogue

  Thirty years later

  With full bellies we make our way to the hearth, where the little ones have already convened. They sit cross legged, playing quietly with small aircrafts and dolls. From the kitchen comes the sound of running water and dishes clanking in the sink.

  I ease into a wooden rocker, trying my best not to wake baby Jame.

  “Let me get that for you, Ma,” I hear Emily, our third eldest, telling her mother. “I know you’d rather be playing with the grandbabies.”

  I smile from my seat by the fire, little Jame sleeping contentedly against my shoulder. Emily is a thoughtful one, she always has been.

  “Thank you, honey,” I hear Purity say, leaping at the opportunity to spend time with the little ones while our children are visiting.

  “I’ll help in the kitchen, baby girl,” Faith offers to Emily.

  “No way! You’re a guest, Aunt Faith!” Emily insists.

  “Like hell I am!” I hear Faith telling her. I stifle a laugh. Faith is no guest. She is family. There is a difference.

  “Fine, but I wash and you dry,” Emily bargains.

  Purity walks into my view, her pale skin made golden by the light of the fire. My wife’s eyes shine as she looks down at our grandchildren. She is as beautiful today as the first moment I saw her…perhaps even more so…

  “Who wants to hear a story?” Purity asks Eri’s girls.

  Eri…our eldest, we named after my mother, Eriona. But the name is all the two hold in common. There is no fighter inside our gentle Eri, a fact which I blame myself for entirely. The girl was raised on nothing but love, spoiled and sheltered by it in the best of ways.

  “I do! I do!” the girls call out in unison.

  Twins. Oh how shocked we were when we found out our first grandchildren would come in a set of two. That was four years ago. Now, I cannot imagine life without them. It is funny, that even after all these years, my family is still growing.

  That has been especially true lately. For it seems each of our five adult children wants to gift us with a new grandchild all at once. We already have seven! And I suspect when our son arrives tomorrow, he and his mate will have news for us as well.

  I smile into the fire, thinking about all the wonderful ways life can change a person. My poor Purity used to worry over our boy to no end. She feared he would never settle down, but I always had faith in him. He knew long ago what he was searching for in a mate. And, like his father, he would settle for nothing less than true love. Now that he has it, he will never let it go. I know I never did.

  “Oh Dad, Jame is drooling all down your shoulder,” Eri whispers as she peeks at her son.

  “You think I do not know this?” I ask, my smile broadening. I can feel the warm trickle of spit traveling down my shoulder, but I do not mind. My sweet grandson rests in my arms. What more could I ask for in this life? I sigh deeply and Jame mimics my breath in his sleep.

  “How about Beauty and the Beast?” I hear Purity asking the girls. My grown children, Eri and Olivia, scoot closer to their mother. Though they have their own babies now, they still love to hear the tales their mother weaves…even the ones they have heard a hundred times over.

  Our youngest, Lily—still just a teen—hangs back, pretending she is not listening. In her mind, she is too old for fairy stories, but in her heart she loves them still. Her eyes catch mine and I nod toward the small circle around her mother. Lily huffs loudly and joins them, pretending I forced her into it. But we all know it is impossible to force Lily into doing anything she doesn’t already want to do.

  “Story?” Olivia’s son asks his mother. She pulls him into her lap, but the boy wriggles free, reaching for his grandmother.

  Plopping heavily into Purity’s arms, he smiles up at her. The boy loves his grandmother, but he also loves the candies she keeps tucked into her apron and she slips him one with a wink when she thinks Olivia is not looking. I try not to laugh when Olivia rolls her eyes at her mother. Beside me, a rocking chair creaks.

  “Give me one of those,” Sarran rasps. Purity looks over her shoulder and smiles at the old man.

  “These are supposed to be a secret,” she tells him.

  “All this time, I thought they were our secret,” he teases. “And here you are, passing them out freely.” She reaches into her pocket and tosses Sarran a treat. Old as he is, the way he catches it makes me think he still has a trick or two up his sleeve.

  “Once upon a time,” my mate begins. All eyes are on her. All except Sarran’s, of course. He likes to close his eyes while he listens to Purity’s stories.

  She tells them every night, even now that our five oldest have moved out to build their own lives on the colonies. Tonight her story will be a special one though, because Eriona, Emily, and Olivia have joined us with their mates and young children. Tomorrow the rest of the family will arrive and she will tell another of her favorites. I try to guess what it might be… The Princess Bride or The Wizard of Oz, perhaps. Or maybe even my f
avorite, Toy Story.

  My daughters’ husbands are still out with Rylan on the lake, fishing with his boys. Rylan and Faith ended up with as many sons as I have daughters, though they never had a girl of their own. Sometimes I think my Lily has a crush on their youngest, River. There is only five years between the pair, but I think he has grown too old for my baby girl. The boy’s been running transports on his own cargo ship since he came of age. It is a good job, but a dangerous one too, and it has its way of making a male more rough around the edges.

  The night wears on and my girls work on putting their babies to bed. Purity grabs a heavy blanket, which tells me I will find her reading out on the balcony again tonight.

  “It was a good party,” Sarran tells me as I walk him outside.

  After the uprising on Braga Faro Sintra he came here to live with us. All the old masters were overthrown and murdered. All except for Sarran. The mob ushered him to safety.

  As rich as he was, and still is, he could have gone anywhere in the galaxy. He could have bought his own planet, like Kosi had. Instead, he came here and built a small cottage a stone’s throw away from my front door.

  I was nervous at first that Purity would be uncomfortable, seeing him as a vestige of my slave days. But, as always, she was so happy to see our family grow. And so it has been like this for years. Sarran was here to watch me raise all of my children. He had always been like a father to me and now my children call him Grandpa.

  “A party...” I chuckle. “It wasn’t much like the ones you used to throw on Braga Faro Sintra,” I say.

  “No,” he agrees. “It was much better. Much, much better.”

  “Shall I walk you to your door, old one?” I ask.

  “Old?” he scoffs. “When’s the last time you looked in the mirror, Hero?” Still, he leans heavily on my arm as we walk the moon lit path.

  “Good night, Grandpa!” Purity calls from the balcony.