Found

by Reagan Woods

  Her nose burnt as she fought back emotional tears. Voice thick, she replied, “We’d love to.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Lara braided her hair after her shower cycle as she impatiently waited for Vank to return to their cabin. She could feel him getting closer. Normally, that would make her horny. There was a reason she’d given in to his demand for a bonding contract, after all. He remained enthusiastically amorous, his creativity and athleticism often leaving her an exhausted puddle of sweaty happiness. This evening, though, she was simply anxious.

  Vank and Darvan worked late finalizing security plans with Darvan’s most trusted Warriors. Their efforts were supremely important to everyone’s safety, Lara wouldn’t deny that. However, it didn’t stop her fretting. What if the babies were fussy or asleep and Arianna changed her mind about letting her meet them? Just because she wasn’t into procreating herself didn’t mean she wasn’t excited to meet her nieces.

  “If you’re that worried, meet me at the lift,” Vank’s mental voice teased. “Although, I’m not sure how happy Darvan will be if he doesn’t get any alone time with his mate.”

  “Let’s not discuss that. Ever.” Lara chuckled as she sent a mental image of a red circle with a slash through it. “I know you were joking, but I’ll see you at the lift.”

  When she arrived, Vank wore a wolfish smile as he held the lift open and refused entrance to the waiting Warriors. “You’ll have to catch the next car,” he told them gruffly. “My mate doesn’t like to be crowded.”

  “Don’t blame this on me.” Lara kissed him hello as the door snicked closed, blotting out the perturbed faces.

  His coppery eyes were weary, and his muscled body radiated leashed violence. She knew just what kind of night it was going to be when they returned to the privacy of their cabin. Her male needed to work off a little frustration and she was happy to be the recipient of his efforts.

  Vank pulled her close with a wordless grunt and deepened the kiss. His broad palms smoothed down her shoulders, tracing her back and kneading the curve of her ass. He pressed closer and ground her against his hardening body.

  When they came up for air, the lift had stopped at the General’s floor. Lara sighed regretfully and began to tug him along the corridor. Vank resisted her pace, their linked hands stretching between them as they walked down the hall.

  “Just remember,” he advised as his eyes roamed her body hungrily. “If you change your mind about having a little half-Corian/half-modified Earther of our own, I can have the birth control implant removed.”

  A derisive snort accompanied her answer. “Don’t go running for the medic just yet.”

  Arianna

  The reflective energy field was not her friend. It insisted on showing her the truth when she was begging for a lie. The khaki pants and tunic on all her fluffy paleness was not flattering. She wasn’t anything like her long, lithe sister who could wear skin tight silver lamé – or the alien equivalent thereof.

  “What are you doing?” Darvan poked his head into the bedroom curiously.

  “Nothing.” She turned away from her reflection and found herself in the circle of his muscular arms.

  Dark hair spilled over the collar of his uniform and curled over his tan and brown streaked forehead. The fitted black uniform stretched taut over his thick shoulders and across his broad chest.

  She vaguely remembered thinking how different the aliens were when she first encountered them. These days, the difference in their size and skin color didn’t register. What ate at her was more elemental and embarrassingly shallow than that. He remained attractive and fit while everything about her life and body kept changing. It was hard to remember to be grateful instead of resentful.

  “How did it go with Lara today?” He asked, big hands rubbing circles on her low back.

  “She and Vank are going to come see the babies in a few minutes,” Arianna reminded, stealing a peek over the edge of the double bassinet where their twins slept. Her heart melted at the sight of their babies cuddled together, fuzzy little heads tilted close as though they fell asleep sharing whispered secrets.

  A gentle finger crooked beneath her chin and forced her head up. “That’s not what I asked.”

  “It went okay.” She shrugged.

  “I think you’ll be happier with her in your life,” he said, white teeth flashing against his dark skin in a smile of approval. “Give it time.”

  “Why didn’t – never mind, that’s them.” Arianna reluctantly pulled away and ran a self-conscious hand over her hair when she heard the door buzz.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  The sitting room off the entrance hall was a mess. The general clutter of baby things, most of it scavenged from Earth or brought in from Corian Space before the conflict, made navigating the space tricky. She didn’t have the energy to be embarrassed about her lack of housekeeping.

  Her sister didn’t seem to notice as she sat in one of the cushy tan scoop chairs, a baby in the crook of each arm. Arianna smiled to see Lara cuddling Rian and Sari with such intensity. It was clear Lara didn’t have much experience with children, but the care she took with them touched Arianna.

  Darvan had dragged Vank to his study and it was anyone’s guess how long they’d stay holed up in there. She was thankful the brothers had a chance to decompress. They worked together daily, but Darvan needed his brother back in his life in more ways than one. Guilt that she’d contributed to the distance between them washed over her.

  Lara’s head came up like a bloodhound catching a scent. She frowned. “Don’t do that, Ari.”

  Arianna jumped. “Do what?” She glanced around, baffled. “Sit here and mind my own business?”

  “Ha ha.” Lara rolled her eyes. “The self-flagellation has to stop. What’s done is done. As mama used to say, ‘buck up, buttercup.’”

  Snorting, Arianna shook her head. She rarely had cause to think of their mother, but that was a favorite line of hers before things went bad. “I thought you weren’t a mind reader?”

  “Did I say that?” Lara asked, tilting her head to the side. “If it’s any consolation, I generally can’t read minds, but yours is loud.”

  “I used to be organized and proactive,” Arianna blurted, unsure why she wanted her sister to know that. “Now, I’m a dumpy, whiny mess.”

  Lara laughed like that was the funniest thing ever. “Oh, good God, Ari. You’re not dumpy and whiny. You are a touch high-strung and a bit of a perfectionist. You always were, but that’s not a bad thing.”

  “I like knowing what’s going on,” Arianna defended. “I can’t get on top of things. Every time it seems like I’m getting the girls on a schedule or getting a handle on what’s happening with Corian politics – BAM! - something happens and I’m back at square one.”

  “I can’t relate to all of that.” Lara glanced pointedly at the babies. “But I can tell you no one expects more than you can give.”

  That was easy for her to say. She wasn’t Darvan D’Corian’s notorious bond-mate/down fall. In fact, the Warriors all seemed to respect Lara. And, God, if her in-laws were still alive as Lara claimed, well, she wasn’t sure what that would mean. Yet, she was positive it couldn’t be all good – for her personally. “How come you’re handling all these crises so well?” Arianna asked, feeling petulant.

  “Just like you, I’m a survivor,” Lara answered seriously. “Right now, I have Vank and a solid relationship with him. However, I’m very aware there is a price for opening myself to love. I have it easier than you do, though. No one has tried to make me a scape goat for an act of treason. The male who claims to love me didn’t hold me as a slave or use me as a pawn in a dangerous scheme without my knowledge.”

  “Oh! You mustn’t talk like that.” Arianna looked around furtively. She didn’t want her mate to hear that kind of negativity. He had enough guilt on his broad shoulders. “He does love me. I-it’s complicated though.”

  Lara’s foot began to bounce against the floor and she looked a
way. “I believe that’s true.” She finally turned back. “You transmitted a passel of worry to me in the hall outside the gym today. That’s what the buzz you felt was.”

  Frowning, Arianna thought back to the moment. She’d felt relief when they touched, that much she knew. “Okay?”

  “The images were a jumble, but I put some of it together. The High Council ordered Darvan to keep his armada here despite the fact Corian Space was under attack. You feel guilty about that, but you shouldn’t. If he suspected the Council had been infiltrated by rebels and stayed here anyway, he had good reason for it. It wasn’t necessarily because he didn’t want to risk taking you to Corian Space where they would put you on trial and likely convict you of treason.”

  She shook her head rapidly. “I disagree. He feels guilty about letting Jorkan hurt me. Because he didn’t want to go back and risk the girls and I in a trial, his parents were deposed, billions of people have died, and a millennia old Alliance has crumbled. He was charged with defending all of that. Now, he has to deal with the consequences. Plus, all his Warriors hate me,” she ended with a rush.

  Eyes wide, Lara sucked in a breath. “Wow. So, you’re telling me that the perpetrators of the rebellion hold zero culpability? Be real, Ari. If the threat of putting you on trial didn’t keep him here, they would have found another way to make sure he stayed.”

  “You think I was worried over nothing?” Fear was her constant companion. It was hard to entertain the idea that this threat was empty.

  “Oh, the Council would’ve convicted you if Darvan allowed them near you, make no mistake. They simply gave him incentive to stay here. Whoever wants him here still needs him to stay put hence the nuisance issues at the camps and the listening devices.”

  Darvan

  Relief was the word of the night. General Darvan D’Corian, terror of the known galaxies, knew it spoke volumes that his private life had distracted him so badly these past months.

  His family had owned and governed the Corian System for millennia. The mantle of rulership passed from father to son, and Darvan himself had been next in line to rule. The Corian Queen played a crucial role in governing, and he wasn’t interested in taking a bond-mate yet. Instead, he preferred to continue his military career until he found someone worthy that he could also love.

  His parents, still youthful and able to perform the duties of co-rulers, could continue to govern indefinitely. The elder D’Corians were fair and just and worked closely with the High Council and the Doranos Governors to promote the good of all within the CORANOS Galactic Alliance. And then they had disappeared, along with everyone else in his family. Within a very brief period, Darvan had found himself both alone and immediate rightful ruler of the CORANOS Alliance.

  Then there was Arianna. When he took a Tribute Captive as his bond-mate, he expected backlash. She was an alien of low birth; not a queen. It was a calculated risk designed to save the life of the female he loved after he had endangered her.

  Birthright bedamned, he’d been prepared to take his heavily pregnant female and flee rather than transport her to Corian Space for what would certainly have been a rigged trial. Many Councilors had already publicly denounced her for the Horizon debacle, and none of them had seemed interested in tracking down the true culprits, despite the evidence. The Council’s order to stay put in the Milky Way Galaxy and defend against the VENTIX, by contrast, had seemed a miraculous reprieve.

  With Vank assumed dead and everyone else missing, Arianna and the babies she carried were the only bit of light remaining in the universe. Things had only started looking better in the last weeks, as he’d reunited with his brother, Arianna’s sister and a few scattered cousins. The story they carried with them of deceit, intrigue and betrayal boggled the mind. He still wasn’t certain what to believe, but Arianna had rejected the newcomers outright. Perhaps it was a defensive mechanism, or maybe she was simply at emotional capacity. Surely, she’d come around soon.

  Shortly thereafter, she’d made him a father. The happiest event of his life; of their life together, but something had happened. Darvan didn’t know how to reach her now. She’d retreated too far inside herself. He couldn’t fault her dedication to their little family, but she no longer confided in him. Tonight, in the company of her sister, she’d seemed more relaxed and open, more her old self.

  “That was nice,” he commented to Arianna after seeing Vank and Lara to the door. He had no idea what caused Arianna to accept Lara today as opposed to yesterday or six weeks ago, but he was grateful it happened.

  His lovely mate sat in an armchair and stroked Sari’s little cheek as she nursed. “Yes,” she agreed without looking up. “It was nice to introduce Lara to the babies. She seemed happy to meet them, and they liked her.”

  Darvan picked his way across the messy floor to perch on the side of her chair. He wished she would let him bring in more help for her, but she was manic about who was around the babies. Arianna took their little princesses’ security to a whole new level. He decided it was a discussion for another time.

  “Why the sudden change of heart?” He queried.

  Arianna didn’t pretend to misunderstand his question as another female might. “It was time to put the baggage aside and see what kind of relationship we could salvage.”

  He eased a knuckle beneath her chin and turned her face to his. “I want to believe that, but your reaction to her wasn’t emotional from the first. What do you know that you aren’t saying, Arianna?”

  Wide green eyes locked with his in the low light of the room. Not for the first time, he was struck by the way the light refracted in those exotic irises. The glittering effect was both disconcerting and beautiful. “Speaking of things known but unsaid, why didn’t you tell me there were listening devices aboard this ship?” His sweet little mate at last showed a hint of the female he fell in love with as she went on the offensive.

  He couldn’t stop the smile that creased his face. It felt good to sit here with her and their young daughters, to know all his females were safe. “I didn’t want to worry you. Too much negativity isn’t good for a nursing mother.”

  “Bullshit,” she replied, eyes firing in the light once more. His body stirred at her quiet but spirited reply. She was sexy when she got sassy. He couldn’t wait until their post-baby celibacy was at an end. Maybe that was his real problem, he needed to reconnect with his mate. “But, if we’re doing it that way, then I’ll just say I think you have enough on your plate. You don’t need to worry about my familial hang-ups.”

  With effort, Darvan managed not to tear out his hair, pinch the bridge of his nose or rub his temples. She made him crazy sometimes. “I know you’re dealing with a lot,” he tried again. “Please let me help if I can.”

  The effort to appear patient paid off. Her smile soft and genuine, she said, “I’ll let you know if it becomes something that requires your attention, General. Until then, why don’t you burp this lovely and I’ll get her sister fed.”

  “I can live with that kind of compromise,” he smiled back, reaching for his daughter with reverent hands. He moved to another chair and propped little Sari on his chest.

  A familiar, wicked look crossed Arianna’s face as she bared the other breast and helped Rian latch. One eyebrow cocked, she bit down on her lower lip. The erotic fantasy that small gesture sparked had him breathing rapidly. Soon, he promised her silently, letting his eyes speak words he couldn’t bring himself to utter in front of their children.

  She grinned wickedly at his look of hunger, saying, “It’s better for the baby if you take your shirt off, you know.”

  “Oh really?” Darvan rolled his lips between his teeth to keep from smiling at her teasing comment.

  She nodded, all wide-eyed and earnest now. “Yes. There are studies. She’ll be much happier if I get to see your mus – er – if she gets some skin-to-skin time with daddy.”

  Chuckling, he gamely stripped out of his uniform shirt.

  “Yes,” Arianna nodded sole
mnly, not quite able to smother her delighted giggle. “That’s much better.”

  Her playfulness warmed parts of his heart that he hadn’t realized had gone cold. It had been far too long since they’d been lighthearted and easy with each other. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep his three females happy and healthy, he realized with a fierce pang of love. Nothing.

  Vank

  It was late when he and Lara returned to their tiny cabin near the engine room. She hadn’t said much on the way back from Darvan’s. They’d crawled onto the sleep surface and made soft, slow love before passing out.

  Now, the warm weight of her body curled against his side beneath the cover was a comfort, but he wondered what she was thinking. The longer they’d been aboard the Victory, the more control she’d developed over their telepathy. She could invite him in to and shut him out of her thoughts at will.

  “What’s wrong?” Her husky voice asked groggily. “Are you thinking about your parents?”

  “I wasn’t, but I am now.” He smiled into the darkness. No matter what else happened, she kept his wellbeing top of mind. It was humbling. “I’m not pushing you for answers, Lara. It takes a lot of focus and energy to throw yourself onto that plane, I know that.”

  “Actually, I was dreaming of two older Corians. I think it was them.” She paused to clear her throat. “In my dream, they were on the way here.”

  That was both comforting and alarming. It would be a relief to know his mother and father lived, to see them and talk to them. However, there should be far safer places than a warship for the elder D’Corians to wait out a revolt.

  “Did your dream feel prophetic? Have you had visions like that before?”

  She gave a jaw-cracking yawn. “No, but, then, I haven’t ever tried to sleep with someone else’s aura tethered to mine either. You know, if someone has bugged our room, they probably think we have a very active fantasy life.”