by K. D. Jones
They let the laughter die down as they stood side by side staring out at the ocean. How did people handle situations like this? She wasn’t sure it had ever happened before.
“I wanted to wait until you were retrieved before I had the mating ceremony with Lindsey. I am not sure if now is the right time for my people.”
“What better time? Your people need to look toward the future. What better way than to celebrate a mating? It will give them something to plan and there will be a hope present for what the future may hold. It would help the healing process.”
KadEN looked down at the young face that sounded so wise. “I hope that male of yours knows how blessed he is to have you.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “May I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“It’s something…personal and intimate. You may not feel comfortable speaking of it with me.”
“AriELa, you convinced Lindsey to come back to Kiljor and confront her feelings for me. We are together because you forced our hand. She is my heart and soul. There is little I would not do for you.”
She blushed. Was she really going to ask him this? She needed to know and it would be too uncomfortable asking her cousin. “When…when you unofficially claimed Lindsey, did you release within her right away?” She covered her red face with her hands. Oh Kitana! “Never mind…I…”
KadEN’s face looked a little pink too, but he still answered. “Not right away. I wanted to be an honorable male and wait until we talked with you. But, I could not hold out long. I needed to mark her as my own.”
She nodded as she looked away. “TarAK hasn’t…marked me. I don’t understand why. Is there something wrong with me?”
“Of course not.” He took her into his arms and held her like he would a child. “He is a fool if he does not see what a treasure you are.” He wanted to say more reassuring words to her, but his Comm Link went off.
“My apologies, but I must leave. Would you be willing to see Lindsey? She has been worried about you but did not want to intrude in case you were angry with her.”
“Yes, I will go to see her as soon as I check on TarAK.”
*****
“When can I be released?” TarAK asked the young medic as he used the medical scope to check his vitals.
“Within the hour. You need to remain calm for the nanos to do their job. If you move around too quickly, you could cause more damage.”
He looked around the Medic Wing finding it almost empty with only a couple of medics present. “Do you know where Prima AriELa is?”
“I believe she is with Prime Leader KadEN.” the medic answered before he left TarAK alone.
She was with the Kiljorn Prime Leader? What were they meeting about? Was he trying to convince her to remain here with him? TarAK growled. The male did not provide enough security to protect AriELa. There was no way he would allow her to stay on Kiljor.
But was that his place? They had shared sex but neither of them exchanged words or even marked one another. He wondered if perhaps he lost her. Maybe he should give her up. He had no power or title to offer her. What kind of life would he be able to give her?
As if his thoughts of her had drawn her there, AriELa appeared at his side. She had showered and changed her clothes. She wore a simple sleeveless one-piece pants and top. The light blue of the outfit made her dark blue eyes sparkle. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It almost hurt to look at her.
“Hi,” AriELa greeted him with a warm smile.
“Hi.” He felt himself stiffening up with her presence. All he could think about was how he had failed to protect her. Here he was putting down Prime Leader KadEN, but TarAK too had failed her. She and the female warrior had rescued him. It tore at male’s pride.
She leaned forward to kiss him, but he pulled away. She looked confused. “TarAK?”
“A lot has happened. I am not sure this is a good time,” he couldn’t believe he was saying this.
“I don’t understand.” She tried to touch him, but he evaded her hand.
“I think you need a little time to process what has happened. You have to deal with finding your father.”
“What are you saying? You don’t want to be with me?” She interrupted him when he began to speak. “You know what TarAK, you’re an ass!” She stormed out of the Medic Wing leaving TarAK there with an open mouth and in shock.
*****
“I am so happy for you, my friend,” AriELa told Lindsey as they shared Katieran Juice on the balcony of KadEN’s suite. AriELa drank a lot more than what she usually did. She wanted to deaden herself inside.
“Thank you. I was so worried you would be hurt when you found out about KadEN and me. Then I was terrified for you when you were taken.”
“I am fine. Nothing to worry about.” It sounded forced even to her own ears.
“Really?” Lindsey gave her a questioning look.
“I’m completely happy for you and KadEN. It’s the rest of it that may take some time to work out. I just found out that my father is alive. I am in shock. Not only that, but I have a brother that I never met. Then there’s…TarAK.”
“What about TarAK?”
AriELa blushed. “We…had talked about mating prior to the Morin attack but now he is pulling back from me. I do not know how to deal with all these things at one time. I feel I am being torn apart.”
“I know it’s a lot to take on. Just deal with one thing at a time. The fact that your father and brother are alive is a miracle. However, it’s going to take time and a lot of patience to work things out. As far as TarAK is concerned, he’s an idiot if he doesn’t see how wonderful you are.”
“Thanks, Lindsey.” Talking to her and KadEN had been a relief for her. It was too uncomfortable speaking with her cousins. They would just want to pound TarAK into his senses. TarAK was pulling away from her and she hated it. She wasn’t sure if it was something she had done or said or whether it was something that he had to work out for himself. It was killing her on the inside little by little.
KadEN surprised them both by rushing out onto the balcony. He had a strange look on his face. AriELa’s heart started to pound erratically in her chest. What now?
“Second Lieutenant Daniels, your father, and your younger brother have been found!”
Chapter Sixteen
Leaving her friend behind on Kiljor was hard, but it helped knowing that Lindsey would be well taken care of. Her father and brother could not be brought down to Kiljor. She didn’t understand why, but they were taken to the waiting Katieran Transport. She was going there on the shuttle with her cousin, KydEL, Jaxon, and TarAK. She couldn’t wait and at the same time, she was afraid. What if she disappointed her father? What if her brother hated her on sight?
She sat in between Jaxon and KydEL. TarAK sat behind them sulking. Jaxon leaned over to her, “They’re going to love you. Don’t worry.”
“How do you know?”
Jaxon smiled at her. “I’m a difficult person to get close to,” she began to say and Kyd snorted some rude comment. Jaxon ignored him as she continued. “Like I was saying, I’m a difficult person to get close to, though I’m definitely worth the effort,” she added the last bit for Kyd’s sake. “But you, my sweet friend, you slipped right into my heart as my sister within moments of meeting you. You have that effect on everyone you meet.”
Kyd patted AriELa’s knee. “For once, Jaxon is right.”
“Hey, I’m right all the time.”
He gave her a raised brow.
“Okay, I’m right a lot of times.”
AriELa laughed. She hadn’t had a lot to laugh about in quite a while. It felt good. She had to fight her impulse to look back at TarAK to see if he was laughing, too. She thought she could feel him smiling though. She shook her head. No time to think about TarAK right now, she had to prepare herself to meet her father and brother. Please Goddess, my family.
*****
Once they reached the Katieran Transport, TarAK went to
report in to the head of security. He wanted to start training to build up his strength. He only nodded at her when they parted.
She felt like they had moved ten steps forward only to have fallen back seven steps. As much as she wanted to confront TarAK about where their relationship stood, she had other things she needed to deal with.
AriELa was shown to her sleeping quarters. She didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to see her father and brother.
She opened her door to find two Lieutenants standing guard. They turned to look at her with warm smiles. She knew them.
“AtOM, LanER!” She gave them both a hug that surprised them.
“It is good to see you again, Prima. We were all worried,” AtOM told her as he blushed.
“Truth be told, I was worried, too. But it all worked out. How have the two of you been?” she asked them.
“I have been seeing an Earth female, Shanna. I am thinking of asking her to mate with me officially,” LanER told her.
“Congratulations.” She gave him another hug. Part of her was envious. Not because she wanted LanER for herself, but because he was a male who was not afraid to go after a female that he wanted. He wasn’t going to let anything get in his way. “If you have a mating ceremony, I would love to come.”
“Oh, absolutely. Shanna and I would be honored to have you there.”
“Was there something that you needed, Prima?” AtOM asked.
“Yes, could you take me to where my father and brother are? I want to see them.”
The two males exchanged looks. “Let me ask Prime Commander KydEL first.” LanER went to hit his Comm Link. He walked down the corridor a little ways so she couldn’t hear what was being said.
She turned on AtOM. “What is going on?”
AtOM looked between her and LanER. “Please, Prima, wait until we have Prime Commander’s approval.”
“What does he need to give approval for? I want to know where my father and brother are!”
“Please, Prima.” AtOM walked over to LanER to see what was going on.
LanER ended communications. “The Commander wants us to keep her here until they have the situation under control in the holding room.”
“Holding room? Who’s being held there?” AriELa had come up behind AtOM.
Both males looked at her warily. She asked them again. “Who’s in the holding room?”
“Prime Commander KydEL requests that you remain here until the situation is contained.”
“What situation?” When neither males said anything, AriELa had had enough. She turned on her heels and headed down the corridor. She was going to find out for herself. The two males rushed to follow behind her. There was nothing else they could do short of physically picking her up and taking her back. She knew they were not going to do that.
More Lieutenants stood outside of the holding room. It was a place rarely used in the last few years. The Katierans would keep their captured enemies there for questioning. She had a bad feeling that she knew who would be behind that closed door.
“Let me in,” AriELa demanded.
The males shook their heads. “We cannot do that, Prima. Please go back to your quarters.” The males cringed when something crashed into the door behind them.
“What’s going on?” Jaxon walked up to AriELa. “I went to see you in your quarters, but no one was there.”
AriELa looked at Jaxon with pleading eyes. “I need to get in that room, but they won’t let me.”
Jaxon turned to the Lieutenants. “Open the door.”
“Captain Jaxon, I do not think Prime Commander KydEL would approve.”
Jaxon did something AriELa never thought she would do. She gave each of them a glaring look as she told them, “I’m Prima and I said to open that damn door!” Jaxon had never used her new title or status until now. It worked though because the Lieutenants were falling over one another trying to get the door open.
AriELa wasn’t prepared for what she saw next. As she walked through the door, something crashed into the wall next to her. AriELa looked down to see pieces of a chair on the floor. The yelling she had heard previously outside the door was now replaced with a deafening silence. Everyone was looking at her, but her eyes focused immediately on the two people causing the problems.
Her father stood with his hands up in the air trying to approach a furious little boy. The boy was about seven years old and had a shaved head. When he looked up at her, she was shocked to be looking into her mother’s eyes. Oh Goddess. The little boy was looking at her in a little bit of awe.
“Mother?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. I’m AriELa, your sister. Some say I look like our mother. However, I have our father’s blue eyes.” She nodded toward her father, who was looking at her with the same awe as the little boy.
She slowly approached the boy. There was a growl from the doorway. She turned her head to see that TarAK was there. He did not look happy that she was in the room. She turned back to the boy. He was her priority right now.
“Sister?” The little boy tilted his head to watch her approach. He had another chair in his grasp ready to be thrown.
“I never thought I would have the chance to see you.” A tear ran down her cheek.
The little boy let go of the chair and approached her slowly. “Do not cry, beautiful one.”
He thinks I’m beautiful. Her heart swelled with love for this little boy, for her brother. She knelt on the floor bringing them at eye level. She didn’t reach for him but let him make his way to her on his own terms.
“You sound like her, too. She used to sing me to sleep until she died.”
Another tear slipped past trailing down her face. “What did she sing to you?”
“Something about loving the Goddess with all your heart.”
AriELa nodded. Her mother sang that to her when she was young as well. She started to sing the words to the little boy. “Love the Goddess KatieRI with all your heart and your heart shall be filled with Joy. Do not fear the dark and grey for the Goddess will bring you the light of day.”
The little boy sang with her a few of the lyrics as he got closer to her. He reached up with his small hand and wiped her tears from her cheek. “She spoke of you. She said that I had a beautiful sister who would love me as much as she did.”
AriELa nodded her head and opened her arms wide. He hesitated then threw himself into her waiting arms. They both cried. She could hear male sniffles behind her as well. She looked up and caught the eyes of her father. He was so thin and frail. His color was white and sickly looking. He had been such a strong, proud male. Oh Goddess, what had they done to him? He backed away from them, unable to continue to hold her gaze. He left the room.
She wanted to go after him. To run into his arms but he wasn’t the one that needed her the most at that moment. She kept her focus on her brother. What was his name?
“Do you have a name?”
“I only have the name that Leader Krosis gave me, Silis.”
“Did our mother call you by another name?”
He shook his head. “She only called me ‘son.’”
“It doesn’t matter right now. How about you take your time and pick your own name?”
“I get to pick it for myself?” He looked surprised.
“Yes. I think you earned the right to choose it for yourself.” AriELa stood and reached out her hand to him. He hesitated but then put his small hand inside hers. She felt a piece of herself that had been missing, now refitting itself back.
She led him out of the room peacefully to the amazement of everyone there. TarAK tried to reach out to her, but she brushed past him quickly.
“Are you hungry?”
He nodded. “I didn’t eat today.”
“Well, let’s go get us some food then. I’m starving.”
“Do they not feed you?” The little boy looked around at the tall males angrily. How dare they abuse his sister. Already he was feeling protective over her.
�
��It’s okay. I just mean that I have worked up an appetite.”
He still didn’t look at ease with the large males around. “The male who is supposed to be our father, what is his name?”
“He is our father. His name is ConEL.”
“Who is the female behind us?”
“The male is our cousin, Prime Commander KydEL. The female is his bond mate, Prima Jaxon. She is a female warrior.”
“A female warrior? Truly?” The boy looked back at Jaxon in awe. “She is smaller than the dark female warrior, Lucy. Can she fight?”
“Better than most males,” she told him. “Perhaps she can show you. She’s been helping me learn some defensive moves.”
The little boy’s eyes turned back to her with concern. “You cannot fight. You must be protected at all costs.”
Wow, for a young who spent his whole life with the enemy, he sure did pick up the Katieran male mentality in a heartbeat. She was curious. “What do you know about Katierans?”
They reached the Meal Room. All eyes turned to watch them as they got their food. It took fifteen minutes. Her brother didn’t know what to pick. He had started loading everything on his tray. She had to pull stuff off in worry that he would make himself sick if he ate too much.
They sat down and she waited until he slowed down with eating the food. She asked him her question again, “What do you know about Katierans?”
“Mother taught me the laws. First Law is to protect all females and young. Second Law is to protect the Prime families. Third Law is to serve the people of Katiera. Fourth Law is to honor the mated pair of Gods. Fifth Law is to protect all natural resources.”
“Very good.”
He puffed his chest out at her praise of him. Then he grew sad. “I failed the first law.”
“What do you mean?” she asked him with confusion.
“I failed to protect mother. Krosis was…he hurt her. I couldn’t stop him. I tried, but he threatened to kill her if I didn’t behave. Then he would send me to the holding room with the other male…ConEL. ConEL talked to me sometimes. But each time I was sent there, he knew that mother was…being hurt. He stopped talking after a while.”