by S. E. Smith
Chapter 9
Trelon’s hand reached out to pull Cara closer to him. They had both fallen asleep after another round of love making that had exhausted his still tired body. When his hand encountered nothing but the cool cloth of his bedding he jerked awake, sitting straight up with his heart pounding. In the quietness of his sleeping quarter he could make out the faint sounds of an alarm. With a groan, Trelon fell back against the pillows.
“Computer, give me the time.” Trelon demanded. Another groan escaped him when he realized he had been back in his living quarters for no more than six hours. Three of those hours had been spent discovering every delectable inch of Cara’s body; the other three sleeping.
At least it appeared the communication’s system had been repaired. “Computer, find the location of the human female called Cara.” Trelon growled as he flung back the covers.
Trelon closed his eyes when he discovered his mate was in one of their holding cells. Jarak must have put her there. He wondered what had set off the alarms this time. Pulling on his clothes, he looked longingly at the cleansing room but knew he needed to find out what was going on first and why his mate was being held in a detention cell.
Cara was pissed! She hadn’t touched a damn thing, well, except for that one panel. She was just curious as to how the wiring was done. How was she supposed to know it was to one of their defense systems? She had tried asking some of the men working around in the area near engineering but they all just looked at her like she was crazy. When she had found the little room off to the side she figured she could just slip in and see what it was. As soon as she had taken the first panel off, all kinds of alarms started blaring; then, Jarak had shown up all scowling and mad looking. He had taken one look at her and the next thing she knew she had two huge men in black escorting her to the detention level. Jarak wouldn’t listen to a single thing she had to say.
Pulling loose the top part of a small, shiny metal tray she wiped it with her shirt to make sure there were no smears on it. Satisfied it was nice and clean, she gently slid it between the laser beams that acted as a barrier between the metal bars of the door. Using the reflected beam, she aimed it at the reflective glass of an interrogation room. She jumped when she saw a small amount of smoke begin to form on the wall across from it. Moving the tray a little to the left and up, she was able to get the reflection to bounce off another reflective surface. She moved it just a little bit further and the beam ricocheted around the corridor until it focused on the panel by the door to her cell. Within seconds, Cara heard the hiss as the panel melted and the click of the door being released. Immediately, the beam disappeared as the door was deactivated.
“Piece of cake.” Cara grinned, setting the tray to one side and getting up off her knees.
Pushing the door open, Cara hadn’t taken more than two steps out of the cell when she heard voices coming from around the corner. Panicking, she glanced around. The only place to go was the interrogation room. She didn’t want to be around when Jarak discovered she had escaped. Cara wished she had Symba with her but she hadn’t had a chance to meet up with her again since she had left Trelon. Cara pushed the door to the interrogation room open and stepped inside just as she heard Jarak speaking to someone.
“I had to lock her up!” Jarak said defensively. “She has caused enough trouble to last us a lifetime of voyages. She is a female and doesn’t know her place!”
Trelon tried to hold onto his patience as he responded to Jarak’s fury over his mate’s behavior. “She is different from our females and has much to learn. I will teach her how a female should behave. If necessary, I will confine her to my living quarters until we dock tomorrow.”
“That is exactly what needs to be done!” Jarak continued. “I have seen what she has done to your living quarters. She should be severely disciplined for destroying it.”
“I will take care of disciplining the female.” Trelon said through gritted teeth.
He was trying to hold back his anger at Jarak for suggesting he discipline Cara. Jarak had no idea how special his little mate was! Yes, she was unlike their females and had much to learn but she was also very special and needed to be appreciated for being different. Trelon knew he couldn’t tell Jarak that so he just agreed with him in the hopes of getting Cara and returning to their living quarters so he could hold her again.
Cara bit her lip as she listened to the conversation between Jarak and Trelon feeling deeply hurt by what was being said. Tears filled her eyes as old feelings of not fitting in consumed her. Cara knew the exact moment the men turned the corner to face the cell she had been in because of Jarak’s roar followed by a long list of expletives.
“SHE IS IMPOSSIBLE!” Jarak said staring in disbelief at the fried panel in the wall and the open door. “How in the hell did she get loose?”
Trelon fought the battle to laugh out loud and barely won as he studied the melted panel. Obviously they needed a better security system for their holding cells if the little human female could break out. He couldn’t wait until he had a chance to ask her how she did it. He could feel his dragon’s amusement and pride at their mate’s ingenuity. Yes, he thought to himself, life will never be dull around his little mate. Now all he needed to do was find her - again.
“Computer, locate the female called Cara.” Trelon asked the computer once again after finally calming Jarak down enough to get away.
“The female named Cara is located on level four, section thirty-two.” The computer responded.
Cara sat in the dining hall with Symba sipping on a hot chocolate mixture she had programmed into the replicator. She had chosen a seat in the very back corner away from the few men who were eating. For once, her normally perky energy wasn’t noticeable. She wiped at her eyes again and smiled sadly as Symba nudged her leg trying to get her attention. Several little gold bands wrapped along her arm when she reached down to pet Symba’s large head and smaller bits of gold detached themselves from Symba, becoming little creatures resembling small dragons. These flittered around, chasing each other and coming to land on Cara’s knees which she had drawn up to her chest.
“So, what am I supposed to do now?” Cara murmured softly to the little gold dragons who were trying to rub against the finger she put out to them. One hopped onto her pointing finger and she brought it up to her mouth and gave it a gentle kiss on its snout.
“I thought he was different. I thought he could really understand me but he is just like all the rest.” She sniffed brushing away a stray tear that coursed down her cheek. The little dragons growled and snapped like they wanted to tear something up. “Yeah, I know just what you mean.”
Cara sniffed again and pulled her shoulders back. “You’re right! It’s not my fault if he is such a bone-head. I am who I am and if he can’t accept it; well, just too bad! I don’t answer to him or any other guy. For now on, it’s just you and me. We don’t need them telling us what to do, or locking us up, or d-d-disciplining us!” Cara hiccupped. Symba stood up and shook her massive frame sending little spikes of gold rippling all over her gold body.
Cara leaned down and wrapped her arms around the huge creature hugging it tightly before whispering a soft, “Thank you.”
Suddenly, Symba whipped around and stood in front of Cara, swiftly changing shapes. She became larger than Cara had ever seen her before. Different colors swirled through the gold and she seemed to shake as if warning a predator away. Long sharp claws extended from legs that were suddenly the size of a small tree trunk. Symba’s head narrowed and a long snout filled with teeth the size of steak knives appeared. A mane of lethal looking spikes appeared around her neck and a long tail with additional spikes on the end finished out the transformation. Cara had never seen anything like it before! It was both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. When Cara tried to move around her, the two small dragons immediately flew in front of her shaking their small heads. Cara could feel the warmth from the bands of gold on her arms and she knew that Symba had change
d to protect her. From what, she couldn’t see.
Trelon paused at the entrance of the room as a group of six warriors pushed past him in a hurry to leave the dining area. Several were swearing and looking behind them as they left. Looking into the dining area, Trelon knew immediately what had sent them running – his symbiosis was not happy. It wasn’t often that the gentle creatures that made up a symbiosis became agitated but when they did it could have devastating effects on anything in their path.
Trelon entered cautiously. He had seen a glimpse of Cara standing behind his symbiosis before it had moved to block his view. “Cara, little one, I need you to come to me slowly.”
Cara leaned to one side to look Trelon in the eye. “No.” Cara said before she stood back again where he couldn’t see her.
Trelon frowned. “No? What do you mean… no?”
Cara looked around Symba again and replied calmly. “I mean, N…O…no.” and quickly disappeared again.
Trelon’s temper was rising. How dare she tell him no! He was a leader among his people! He was a member of the ruling house! He was her mate! How dare she tell him no!
“Cara, get over here right now!” Trelon said with a growl. He could feel his dragon was getting riled, as well. It wanted her close and wasn’t happy about being unable to see her.
Cara leaned around Symba and put a finger to her lips as if in deep thought. When she looked at Trelon again, he knew something bad had happened. She didn’t look any happier than his symbiosis.
“No, I don’t think so.” She said before she disappeared again.
Enough was enough, Trelon thought with a growl. If she would not come to him, he would go to her and when he caught her he was going to spank her ornery, little behind until it was a nice pink color before he made love to her until she wouldn’t ever think of saying ‘No’ to him again.
Trelon growled in frustration and started walking towards his symbiosis. That turned out to be a big mistake! It was definitely pissed – at him.
Chapter 10
“So, how does this thing work? Are all my body parts going to be in the same place after you zap us? What does this button do?” Cara asked pointing to one of the buttons on the console. One of the warriors standing beside her covered the button quickly with his hand looking at her nervously. Undeterred, she moved to the other side of the console and pointed to another button. “Why is that one flashing? Man, I’d love to take this puppy apart and see what makes it tick.” Cara said to another one of the warriors standing behind the console in the transporter room.
Trelon watched as Cara moved around the restored transporter room, darting from one side of the console to the other. Every time he tried to catch her, she would turn and go the other way or his symbiosis would step in front of him blocking his path. Trelon and his dragon were at the end of their patience. He was so damn horny for her he felt like he was going to explode! After the incident in the dining area, Trelon had racked his brain trying to understand what had happened. He did not understand why Cara was so angry with him. When he had finally made it back to his living quarters, he found his door sealed. He had used an override code to force it open only to find himself again on the wrong end of his symbiosis. Cara would not even look at him, much less speak to him. He had spent the better part of an hour doing everything he could to get her to listen to him but she had just turned up her music. It wasn’t until his brother Kelan came along with several bottles of wine that he had left her alone in the hopes she would see reason by the time they reached the space port. Much to his distress, she still refused to acknowledge him. What was even worst was his dragon’s reaction. It refused to give him any peace! The clawing and pouting were driving him insane. His dragon insisted if he had breathed the dragon fire into her they would still be in bed and none of this would have happened, it pouted.
Running his hands through his hair, Trelon bit back a roar. When the men in charge of the transporter motioned for him, Cara, his symbiosis, Ariel, and Carmen to stand on the platform to transport down to the planet he had never been so thankful to be home. Maybe now he could get her away from his symbiosis, capture her long enough to complete the mating, and have peace among the three parts of himself again.
Cara acted like Trelon wasn’t there, but she knew every breath he took, every move he made, every ripple of muscle and expression that crossed his face. She was so in tune with him, she felt like she was a part of him. She had tried to sleep a few hours in Trelon’s living quarters but it had been useless as all she could think about was what they had done in the bed. Instead, she spent the rest of the time until they had docked with the space port in orbit around Valdier working on all the things she had taken apart. Trelon’s living quarters was now back to its original neatness, with a few modifications here and there. Cara had thought long and hard during the long hours while she worked. She wanted Trelon. She wanted him very badly. But, she needed him to accept her for who she was. She knew first-hand what it was like to try to change into something she wasn’t. Hadn’t she tried that with Darryl and her dad and her Uncle Wilfred and at the boarding school? She had been absolutely miserable until she accepted she was who she was. That decided, she was determined to fight for Trelon but that didn’t mean she going to make it easy on him either. If he wasn’t willing to fight for her too, then maybe they weren’t meant to be. Trelon had tried to come in a few times and she had made sure his symbiosis wouldn’t let him as she needed the time to get her thoughts in order. He had banged on the outer door yelling, threatening, pleading, and finally begging but Cara had been determined to ignore him. She was surprised he had dared try to approach her after what his symbiosis had done to him in the dining area.
Cara still blushed as she remembered Trelon’s face when his symbiosis attacked him. It didn’t hurt him. She had known that right away as it sent her images of what it was going to do but she couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him. He definitely didn’t expect to find himself hanging upside down from the ceiling wearing little more than his tattered pants to cover him. Cara had escaped as a swarm of little dragons erupted from Symba in a furious storm, snapping and shredding his clothing. Symba’s images had assured Cara that she wouldn’t harm him, just make him understand that hurting Cara was not an option. Small little bits of gold had nipped at anyone who tried to get him down for a good twenty minutes. It wasn’t until his brother Zoran had come in and roared that the little dragons had scattered to re-emerge with Symba’s body. By then, Cara was safely locked in up Trelon’s living quarters.
Cara started when Ariel came over and touched her shoulder. “You okay?” She asked softly, looking worriedly at Cara.
“What? Oh, yeah… just miles away is all.” Cara responded with a forced smile.
“Don’t worry.” Ariel said as she walked with Cara towards the platform. “We’ll figure out a way to get home.” Carmen came up silently on the other side of Cara and nodded shooting glares at all the males in the room.
Cara just nodded sliding a glance at Trelon who was staring at her grimly. “Okay.”
Trelon’s eyes flashed with fire at Cara’s response. He had heard the other female’s comment about finding a way back to their planet. He would never let Cara go. She was his! His dragon growled low. Theirs, it reminded him fiercely. Theirs, Trelon corrected. She was theirs and they would never let her go. Trelon turned and nodded to the men behind the transporter console to begin transport. Soon, he promised his dragon, soon.
Trelon moved quickly once they were planet side. Before Cara even had a chance to take a step, he moved over to her sweeping her off her feet and over his shoulder. Ignoring the angry yells behind him, Trelon moved quickly down the platform and headed for the door.
“What do you think you are doing?” Cara squealed.
“Hey, let her go!” Ariel yelled.
“Son-of-a-bitch!” Carmen cursed.
Both women moved down the platform to follow Trelon but Trelon had already growled out a warnin
g to his other two brothers who had come to meet Zoran and his mate. Mandra and Creon moved to intercept the two females. Trelon heard a loud growl followed by a crash but didn’t turn around.
“What are you doing? Put me down, you…you…bully!” Cara yelled, thumping Trelon on the back. “Symba! Help!” Cara screamed as Trelon moved with dizzying speed through one corridor after another.
“My symbiosis will not help you now.” Trelon growled out deeply. “I had it transported outside of the palace. It will not be able to hide you from me.”
Cara was furious. This wasn’t what she was planning at all. Of course, she hadn’t really had much of a plan at the moment but she just knew one would come to her. She had been shocked and excited when Trelon had grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder. Yeah, it was a little Neanderthal, but damn if it wasn’t a turn on!
Trelon took a deep breath and groaned as he scented Cara’s arousal. She might be mad at him but she still wanted him, too. He moved through the palace ignoring all the stares he was receiving. His only focus was to get Cara to his living quarters and in his bed as soon as possible. He was so hard, his pants were chaffing his cock and his dragon was pushing against his skin in excitement. He would finish the mating. He had no choice.