Telepathically, Izaac said, “You are not frightened and traumatized by the sight of Parvac soldiers as you once were.”
Lifting up on my toes to kiss his lips, I said, “You are not agonizing in the depths of unrequited love as you once were either.”
“I thought it would be best to learn from my older brothers.”
Cedrenus and Clark slowed to a walk and joined us. Clark came to my side, took my hand, and kissed my fingers. “I thought you had gone hunting with the others.”
Clark said, “We were delayed and will join another group. Rovek and Gordian lost interest in hunting wild game in favor of more challenging prey.”
“Who or what?” I asked while thoughts of cannibalistic aliens ran through my mind.
“The Empress has left the surface. A few of your husbands have gone off in search of their own prey, and they took Bosh with them. Rovek and Cormac are eager to learn why. Do you know?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
Cedrenus had been glaring at Izaac during my exchange with Clark. Now, he asked, “What was with the kiss?”
Izaac grinned. To me alone, he said, “Cedrenus is so jealous that he could rip that mountain over there to rubble with his bare hands.” Into each of our minds, he said, “Teagan has accepted me.”
Cedrenus said, “But, he’s our age, like Clark. So, it wasn’t only an instinctual hormonal attraction of yours for Clark. It isn’t only older, politically powerful males in whom you show interest.” No longer dissuaded by Izaac’s subtle telepathic push to avert his passionate proclivities to other pastures, he focused on me with redoubled interest.
Then, Izaac, Cedrenus, and Clark simply dropped, thudding to lie at my feet amidst the long grass and sporadic wildflowers. We had ventured close to the defensive shielding and fear they had touched it made me hesitate before bending to check them. Before I could call out to whomever of my Omnes Videntes remained, I saw him. The wind blew his brown hair back from his face. Brown eyes that were full of playful mischief and love filled my vision as he strode closer. My heart rose up in my throat, and my vision blurred. I ran to him.
“Luca! Luca!” I cried out.
Opening his palm, he activated a device and deactivated the shielding. Something sped through the grass behind me and leapt to the top of my head. Thunderdrop hissed at Luca with a ferocity that chilled my flesh and halted my feet.
“I’ve come back for my princess. It was all a trick so that I could go undercover to protect you. With you being so near to where I am stationed, I had to let you know that I still live.”
Memories of rain falling on us while I held him, and the light as it left his eyes slashed my heart into slivers. “Your chest was gone….” I choked out.
“Hurry. Come to me,” he pleaded.
Thunderdrop hissed and dug his claws into my back and shoulders. Venom dripping from his fangs splashed against the wildflowers like the first heavy drops of rain before a storm. The ground thundered beneath my feet, and I could feel it vibrating up my ankles.
“Luca,” I moaned, unable to move toward him.
Blurs of black streaked past me. Cormac, Rovek, and Kaoti converged on Luca.
“No!” I screamed.
“Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”
Gary came up behind me, lifted me into a bridal hold, with Thunderdrop still clinging to my shoulders and hissing furiously, and ran to the fortress.
“Luca!” I cried in anguish.
Gary said, “That’s not Luca, Princess. Luca died. We’re under attack.”
Walter and Jezzie were out cold on the ground. It looked like they had been running to us and had collapsed. Scattered amongst the grass, several soldiers had fallen. However, several of Cormac’s Inquisitors from his ship sped by us and to the bloody fight occurring behind us.
“Luca,” I moaned. From over Gary’s shoulder, I watched as he fought off concurrent knife attacks from Cormac and Rovek. They fought with a viciousness unlike anything I had seen. Kaoti held back as if waiting to go in for the kill. “No! No! Please! Don’t take him from me again! Luca!”
Gary refused to let me down, holding me more tightly as he ran.
“Hiss! Hiss!” Thunderdrop showed me an image of Luca, lying shrouded and still.
Gary ran up the stone steps. Pierce held open the door. There was none of the kind gentleness in his eyes that I was used to seeing there. Instead, they were full of rage.
“Luca! Oh, Luca!” Sobs tore from me.
Rozz and Zergio were out cold on the steps. I saw them as the heavy door thudded closed. Pierce put the heavy wooden beam in place across it and activated shielding. Gary jogged with me through the fortress and into the master bed chamber. Terre, Sparrow, and Violet were there with the children and looked at me with frightened eyes.
“Luca! They are going to kill Luca!” My voice shook. “He’s not gone! He’s alive! I saw him! He spoke to me. It was all a trick!”
Gary laid me on the bed, went to the door, and put a wood beam across it.
Terre took my shaking hands into hers. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked into mine. “Oh, Teagan. I’m so sorry. Teagan, Luca is gone. Whoever you saw was trying to lure you away from safety with a cruel trick.”
Gary said, “Whoever he really is, he’s a telepath and a strong one. He knocked everyone out who didn’t have a neural blocker out there with the exception of Teagan and Thunderdrop.” Gary tapped his head.
Sparrow said, “You had one placed in your skull?”
Gary nodded. “That’s why the Inquisitors weren’t immobilized during the telepathic assault.”
Flake and Milk whined. Violet picked them up and put them on the bed where they cuddled up against our sleeping children.
“Why wasn’t Thunderdrop affected?” I asked.
Gary said, “I don’t know. Maybe, he was only targeting humanoids.”
“He looks just like my Luca, sounds like him.” My hands trembled, and tears fell down my cheeks. Terre put her arms around me.
Sadness filled Gary’s eyes. He shook his head. “No, Teagan. He didn’t look anything at all like General Luca Braga. However, he did bear a striking resemblance to my son-in-law.”
Sparrow went to his side. “Explain.”
“The male looked like Xavier but older. He has the same mismatched eyes, one black and one white.”
Sparrow said, “Xavier told me he was the oldest of his brothers and the last survivor of Batch 009. He would never lie to me.”
“No, he wouldn’t, but Dr. Stanley Crispus would,” Gary said. He listened to his earpiece.
“What’s going on outside?” Violet asked.
“All clear. He’s been taken down alive. Now, it’s time to get some answers.”
Standing up and going to him, I took Gary’s hand, lifted up on my toes, and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for saving me. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have gone to him.”
Gary blushed at me. “You girls stay here while I confirm with my own two eyes that it’s safe. Sparrow, put the bar back across the door once I close it.”
I went to the chest where my things were stored and took out the new sonic blasters Sparrow had given me, fastening the belted holsters around my waist. No sooner had Gary stepped out into the hall than he crashed to the floor.
“Daddy!” Sparrow cried.
I turned to protect the children, but they had slept through the commotion as had Flake and Milk. Thunderdrop slept on a pillow with his legs curled underneath him. Everything was fine. Nothing was wrong. My ladies were serene and moved to sit on the bed with smiles on their lovely faces. Something in the hall needed my immediate attention. A hand appeared, offering to help me. Taking it, I was able to balance as I stepped over Gary, Phillip, Pierce, and Lorca. For some silly reason, they had all decided to nap in the hall. The hand left mine and slid along my back. Then, he carried me from the mountain fortress, down the steps, and toward an area where several males laid still.
Gazing up at Luca’s belo
ved face, I reached up and caressed his cheek. The sight of him did nothing to dispel the pain of loss which still churned within me. Looking into my heart, I found the broken remnants of the bond which had once connected us. It laid dead against my soul. The sorrow of truth cleared the way to reason.
I whispered, “Put me down.”
“I wouldn’t have you tire yourself by walking,” he said in Luca’s voice.
“Since when have you ever refused to give me what I want?” I added a compulsion of my own and pushed. He didn’t realize I had freed myself of his cruel mental and emotional manipulations, and I hid from him the rage he had ignited within me.
Relenting, he placed me on my feet. Standing before him, I reached up and cupped the face of the man who I had loved and poured all of the pleasure that I could draw forth into him, again and again. Sliding my right hand down to my side, I pulled my weapon while I had him distracted. It charged as my palm closed around the grip. Lowering my left hand from his face, I stepped back, raised my weapon, and fired. The male flew back with the force of my blast. He shook his head as if to clear it. Taking aim, I fired again as I ran, tripping over uneven clumps of grass to where Kaoti and the others had crumpled. I shook Kaoti. He didn’t wake.
I ran to Izaac, Clark, and Cedrenus. I fired at the male who had risen to his feet and had started running to me. I fired at him, but he dodged my shot. I took aim again and hit him, but stumbled to my knees, dropping my weapon. Scrambling for it, I saw the device he had used to take down our shields. Drawing my other weapon, I fired at it.
It might not have been the smartest thing for me to do. Blue and white energy arched up just as our defensive shielding surged back into power around our property. The two forces battled against each other. The blue and white lights coursed over the shielding, showing it to have a dome-like shape. Sparks of power flew as the two power sources fought for supremacy. Our protective shielding started to shrink. I gasped as it passed over me and felt the nanites, tasked with protecting my artificial heart, as they kept it beating. On my knees and clutching at my chest, I watched as power surged from our shielding and into the device. I hid beside Clark’s prone form and fired my weapon at the smaller device as it exploded. My sonic blaster forced the surge away from us and redirected it at our attacker.
“Clark! Clark!” I screamed as I shook him.
The blast had knocked our attacker unconscious. From what I could see of him, Gary was right. He wasn’t Luca. Izaac, Clark, and Cedrenus began to stir. I cried out to Zared, Yukihyo, Dario, Fitz, and Nico, but their minds were as if they were shrouded in sleep. Something was very wrong. Izaac sat up and looked around in confusion before seeing what all had happened through my eyes. Clark sat up and looked to the other side of the shield. Kaoti and the others were unconscious. The male had been strong enough to break through the neural blockers. Being on the other side of the shield, they remained trapped in sleep.
Clark said, “There is no way for us to get back inside of the shield until they awaken.”
Izaac stood and jogged over to retrieve the weapon I had dropped. Returning it to me, he spoke into our minds. “We have bigger problems. He’s gone.”
I looked over to where the male had fallen. Fear brought chill bumps up on my arms. Where had he gone? He could be hiding anywhere.
“Worse than that, Teagan. Zared and the others are trapped in a mental construct. It will leave them helpless to animal attacks. We must track and find them before it is too late.”
The blood drained from my face. “Yukihyo, Nico….”
“Yes, Teagan. I don’t like it, but you must come with us to save them. I can’t break through the control being wielded over their minds without touching them and waiting for it to wear off on its own could take longer than they have. The ice bears hunt the hunters.”
“What about Quaid, Xavier, and Jazon?” I asked.
I called out to Quaid, begging him to hear me. No response came back to me. Izaac had a distant look in his eyes, his actions mirroring my own. Then, I swayed on my feet as he sank deeper within my mind and emotions, as though I was a power source for his telepathic will.
“Nothing,” he said in our minds.
Clark said, “They could be under attack as we are.”
Worried, I said, “But, that would mean that there is more than just one of them.”
“We need to move. It’s not safe here,” Cedrenus said.
“Which way should we go?” Clark asked.
“Izaac, Zared showed me an image of where through the forest they walked.” I felt him searching my mind. Then, seizing upon the image, he shared it with Clark and Cedrenus.
Clark said, “Scout.”
Izaac shook his head and moved through the grass and toward the tree line. Into our thoughts, he said, “I know where it is. We have been in these woods before.”
Cedrenus asked, “What weapons do we possess? Can we fend off bears and wolves with what we have?”
“I have sonic blasters. I think they will be effective against wolves and smaller threats.”
Clark said, “We have military grade blasters.”
“Then, we need to find General Cassian and the others as quickly as possible. They are armed for bear,” Cedrenus stated.
With everyone else safely inside of the shielding, we moved as quickly as we could across the terrain and into the cover of the trees. The hunting party which my husbands had formed was very near impossible to track. We had walked for an hour when a twinge in my abdomen forced me to stop. Bracing my hand against a boulder, I tried to breathe through the discomfort. I looked between the three of them.
“I’m slowing you down. How much farther can they be?”
Cedrenus asked, “Are you in pain?”
“A little. I have to stop.”
“Carry her. We need to move,” Cedrenus said.
“No. You’ll get tired fast. One of you stays with me. The other two go and find them. If someone tries to take me against my will, he’ll be slow and heavy on his feet, because he will have to carry me. It will make us easier to track.”
Knowing I was right, Izaac and Cedrenus took off at a run. Blaster fire blew bark from a tree in front of them, sending them rushing back to us. Two hybrids, who looked eerily like Xavier, stepped out from behind the trees. They had us blocked in. A third hybrid was behind us, and he had a blaster rifle aimed at my head.
“Did you really think it would be so easy, boys?”
When Izaac and Cedrenus turned and saw the danger I was in, they raised their hands in surrender. The hybrids shot them in their backs.
“No!” I screamed.
The third hybrid had used the diversion to sneak up behind us. He struck Clark in the back of his head with the butt of his blaster rifle. Mismatched eyes full of madness stared into mine. “It’s true. He told us he made you for us, but I didn’t believe him.”
My stomach cramped, and I clutched at my abdomen rather than reaching for my weapons.
“Is she hurt?” one of them asked.
“I don’t know. Get her to the ship.”
The three of them had eyes like Xavier’s, but these males were older. Their minds felt volatile and slippery. Of one thing I was certain, I wasn’t going with them. Placing my arms around the neck of the one who had picked me up, I spiraled pleasure through him, making his endorphins sing. His body shook with it, as though breaking apart.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” one of the males asked as the one holding me crumpled to his knees.
My butt landed on his gut when he fell and knocked the wind out of him. Converging on us, his brothers soon discovered his fate due to their tightly shared mental and emotional bonds. They paused and became distant as intense feelings of pleasure caused their cocks to harden in their pants. When their eyes squeezed shut, I drew my weapons and fired just as they ejaculated. Standing, I shot the one who had carried me. Then, I took their weapons, dragging the heavy rifles back to Izaac, Cedrenus, and Clark, who we
re beginning to rouse.
“Get up! Take these and be sure they are….”
I was no longer deep within the woods. Snow was all around, and I was cold and alone. A snow bunny flicked its long ears at me as it nibbled at a small patch of green grass from which delicate long-stemmed white flowers bloomed. A path appeared in the snow. Cold, I followed it. Not far away, smoke rose up into the clear sky from the chimney of a quaint little cottage. Inside, it would be warm and safe. All I needed to do was to walk a short distance. Then, I would be happy and content.
An animalistic scream broke through the false vision in which I had been trapped. Yukihyo leapt through the air, landing in front of me. Feral rage had taken him, and from within it, he warred against the hybrid with the mad eyes who he had ripped away from me. Yukihyo’s hands and feet blurred with movement as he attacked with long, wicked knives. They curved upwards, and their serrated blades ripped savagely at the hybrid, who jumped away from each deadly slash.
Clark, Izaac, and Cedrenus surrounded me. Their backs were turned to me, blocking from my sight the maddened rage into which Yukihyo, Zared, Dario, and Fitz had entered. Then, Nico lifted me into his arms, and I could see the raging battle. Two of the hybrids fled, but neither of them was the male who had pretended to be Luca. He was the one who had held me in his arms moments ago, and he was behind us.
“Watch out!” I screamed.
Nico put me on my feet and prepared to defend me, but the hybrid was too fast. An electrified grappler shot out and ensnared Nico and Izaac. They gritted their teeth in pain and fell to the ground. Veins bulged in their necks. Zared fired a shot at the hybrid’s hand deactivating the weapon. Nico struggled to free himself from it and to move his weight off of Izaac who had been trapped beneath him.
Clark picked me up and started jogging. Cedrenus held his weapon ready and followed. I held tightly to his neck.
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