Mated to a Bear (Legends of Black Salmon Falls Book 3)

by Lauren Lively

  “Who are you?” she demanded.

  I gave her a small smile. “I am the man who is going to force Jendrish to watch me kill you right before I kill him.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  I turned and looked at the pilot. “Why are we doing this, Pykor?”

  “We are doing this to make Optorio great again,” he said. “For Optorions.”

  His expression was grim. Earnest. He was a true believer in our cause. I appreciated men like him. And honestly, wish I had more like him. Many more. Too many people were willing to embrace change. Diversity. Too many people had been poisoned with the idea that accepting aliens within our society was a good thing.

  But I was a student of history – not just on Optorio, but the history of many other planets in our system. I had seen all too well what embracing change and diversity did to a society. I had seen the effect aliens had on a society and their culture. Violence. Death. A complete whitewashing of the native culture in the name of acceptance and tolerance.

  I would not let that happen to Optorio. Not so long as I drew breath.

  I turned and looked at the woman. “Did you really think I would allow you to taint my world? That I would allow you to sully the Optorion throne?”

  She shook her head. “I have no idea who you are or what you want,” she said. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

  I shrugged. “It matters not,” I said. “All you really need to know is that you are providing me with a very powerful chip to use against Jendrish. That, and you are going to die. As will he.”

  She struggled against her bonds, but the sonic shackles held her fast. She wasn't going anywhere. Unlike Optorion women, this one was feisty. Fierce. I had no doubts that if she'd been able to, she would have attacked me. Optorion women were above that. They had an elegance and charm no human woman could ever hope to achieve.

  “We'll be touching down in a moment, sir,” Pykor said.

  I nodded. Good. Now that I had her, I was anxious to figure out what to do with her. The opportunity to snatch her had come suddenly and without warning. I knew that having her in my possession would prove incredibly beneficial and important, but I hadn't yet developed a thorough plan about how best to use her.

  But I would figure it out. I was good at seeing the bigger picture, figuring things out and putting together devastating strategies. That was my gift. It always had been.

  “Jendrish is going to find me,” she said. “And he's going to kill you.”

  I shrugged. “Perhaps,” I replied. “I cannot see the future and do not know how it will all play out. But one thing I do know is that he will never intentionally put you in harm's way, Riley. He will hesitate if your life is in danger – like say, if I am holding a blade to your throat. I will not hesitate, Riley. When he does, when he gives me an opening, I will seize the opportunity and kill him. I promise you that.”

  Chapter Three

  “Why did you not tell me?” Kalmor asked.

  We were walking down the corridor toward one of the underground rooms my father had built in secret. He'd used them to indulge his strange – and disturbingly twisted – fantasies and desires and keep them from the family. He never counted on my persistence or ingenuity when it came to gathering information.

  The more I learned about my father though – about who he really was – the more disgusted I became. That he could not only condone – but actively participate – in mating with aliens was something I could not understand. Something I did not want to understand. It was filthy. Disgusting. And not the way of a true Optorion man.

  But for now, the underground rooms served a purpose. They were actually quite helpful. I'd had Pykor take the human to one and lock her in. There she would stay until the rest of the details of my plan could be worked out.

  Kalmor was angry. I had no doubt that he felt slighted by being left out of the planning. It was as if he felt entitled to know everything I was planning or doing. Eventually, I was going to have to disabuse him of the notion that he was privy to all of my plans. But that time was not now.

  “This opportunity came up suddenly,” I said. “I had to act quickly.”

  “What opportunity do you see in this?” he asked. “Our goal is to take the usurper off the throne once and for all.”

  We entered the room I used for our strategy meetings. I'd had a table and chairs set up along with our computers, communication, and surveillance equipment. It was my war room. And I had no illusions – I felt that we were at war. We were fighting for our way of life. For the very soul of our world. There was no way I would let somebody like Jendrish come in and change everything that made Optorio exceptional.

  “And the human will help us accomplish our goals, Kalmor.”

  “I fail to see how.”

  We sat down across from each other at the table. He was not happy. Like my father, I feared that Kalmor thought too small. Didn't have the vision to think big and think unconventionally. Sometimes, you had to have the adaptability to do that. It was a quality I needed in my second in command and I was beginning to fear that Kalmor simply did not possess it.

  I sighed. “Because according to our agents in the palace, Jendrish is very fond of the human,” I couldn't keep the look of distaste from crossing my face. “They say he – loves her.”

  An inscrutable expression crossed Kalmor's face and he nodded. I thought he was finally starting to get it. To see the bigger picture. I loathed the fact that it took us a while to get there, however. I did not enjoy being questioned – especially by my subordinates.

  “So, you're thinking that you can use her to force him to abdicate the throne, yes?”

  I shook my head. Clearly, he wasn't seeing the bigger picture. “No, I am thinking that we can use her to force him to do exactly as we wish – including giving his life to save her. Given that our assassination attempt failed, I highly doubt we are going to get another chance to get so close to him. We must adjust and adapt. We must alter our tactics.”

  Kalmor leaned back in his seat and nodded. “Do you believe he would?” he asked. “Do you believe the reports that he loves the human?”

  “I have no reason not to,” I replied. “But either way, whether he does or does not, we have lost nothing by taking her. If he does not choose to comply, we dispose of her. If he does, then we have him right where we want him.”

  “And so, what are you thinking then?” Kalmor asked. “What are your plans?”

  I shook my head. “I have not worked that out yet,” I said. “As I said before, this opportunity came up suddenly and I had to act.”

  Kalmor cocked his head, an expression crossing his face like a thought had just occurred to him. “Why was she on an interstellar transport? Where was he sending her?”

  “From what I've been told, he was sending her home,” I replied. “Back to Earth.”

  “If he loves her, why would he do that?”

  I shook my head. “I am not certain of that,” I admitted. “If I were forced to guess, I would say it was to protect her.”

  “From what?” he asked. “Given the failed attempt on his life, he will double the guards around himself. And if he feels for her the way your agents suggest he does, he will triple them. Sending her away does not make sense to me.”

  It was something I had given some thought to since I first learned that he was sending her away. It did not make much sense to me at first either. But the more thought I gave it, the more I came to one inescapable conclusion.

  “Because he is going to war,” I said. “He has terrible things planned. I believe he is going to make it his mission to hunt those of us who had a hand in the attempt on his life down and destroy us. He wants to keep her away from all of that. Keep her safe.”

  A dark look crossed Kalmor's face. It was as if he hadn't considered the backlash of what we'd done before. Surely, he had to know we would face Jendrish's retribution for what we'd done. If he hadn't, he lacked even more vision than I had prev
iously thought. Which was disturbing.

  “Taking the human gives us a cushion,” I said. “It protects us from the worst of his wrath. He is not going to want to declare all out war with her caught in the middle.”

  Kalmor nodded. “That makes sense.”

  “It will also give us the leverage we need to lure him out,” I said. “Away from his guards.”

  “Surely, they will not allow him to leave, unprotected,” he replied. “He will know it is a trap.”

  “I'm sure he will. Which is why I need a little time to think this through. I must determine the best use of this chip we are now holding.”

  I leaned back in my seat and sighed. I was tired and was not thinking clearly. I needed to get some food and some rest. And to immerse myself in the sea. Once I was functioning normally, I would be able to decide what to do with what I believed, was our good fortune.

  The human was a valuable asset. And she was going to help us bring down the usurper – whether she wanted to or not.

  Chapter Four

  Riley

  The man shoved me roughly into the cell and slammed the door. I rushed over and reached for the handle when I heard a beeping noise followed by what sounded like locks slamming into place. I was surprised they had such low-tech locks when everything else on this planet was so technologically advanced.

  The room was stark white and had walls that seemed to glow with a dim light within. It chased away most of the shadows, but the room was still murky. A blanket and a couple of pillows had been tossed into one corner – presumably so I could make myself at home. Which meant that I was likely going to be there a while.

  I sat down in the corner and pulled the blanket up and over me, covering myself with it like a cloak so that only my face stuck out. It was a childish gesture, but I wasn't feeling much like an adult at the moment. I felt weak. Powerless. I had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to get out of this.

  Hell, I had no idea who the guy was who'd grabbed me. Or what he wanted. My first thought was that he was another trafficker. He had snatched me to force me into the alien sex trade. It was how I'd come to Optorio in the first place – which immediately brought to mind how I'd met Jendrish.

  He'd been so brave. So gallant. He'd saved my life. He'd saved the lives of a lot of women that day, actually. Everything that had happened since then went by in a blur. Most days, I still couldn't believe that I was living on an alien world – or that I'd fallen in love with one of them. But it had happened. It was all real.

  A tear rolled down my cheek and I scrubbed it away, irritated with myself.

  “Crying isn't going to solve anything,” I said. “Pull yourself together.”

  I needed to think. I needed to figure out what was happening – and figure out how I was going to get out of this. But all I wanted to do was sleep. I felt weary. Exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to lay down, close my eyes, and sleep until this nightmare I was living went away.

  Except that it wasn't a nightmare. It was all too real. And I had a feeling that I had to do something because my life was hanging in the balance. I stood up, letting the blanket fall to the ground at my feet. The room was windowless and had just the one door, but I wanted to be thorough. Maybe I was missing something. Some secret way of getting out of the room.

  I walked around the room, staring at the stark white walls, but saw nothing at first. Then I noticed that there was a small, square outline in the wall next to the door. A keypad that controlled the lock, perhaps? Though, I didn't get my hopes up. If somebody was going to go to all the trouble of kidnapping me, I had my doubts that they would throw me in a cell with a lock on the inside that I could use to escape.

  “Probably too easy,” I muttered.

  Still, I was going to be thorough. Logical. Calm. It was the only way I was going to survive this. I ran my fingertips along the outline of what looked like a panel of some sort. Not finding a way to open it, I placed my palm in the middle, ready to push it. But just as I laid my hand on it, it glowed a bright white and the panel slid down, revealing a gray pad that had several buttons on it.

  “No way,” I said to myself, feeling a surge of hope.

  I pressed the first button and heard a whirring noise behind me. I spun around, my heart thundering in my chest, to find a panel in the wall sliding aside as what looked like a bed slid out of the opening. I pressed the rest of the buttons, my hope fading each time some other amenity – a toilet or a sink – emerged from the walls.

  It was a prison cell, nothing more and nothing less.

  I growled in frustration and slammed my hand against the wall. Walking back over, I grabbed up the pillows and blanket, tossing them on the bed before sitting down, pressing my back against the wall, and swaddling myself in the blanket once more. I wasn't going anywhere.

  If I was going to get out of this, I was going to have to fight my way out. Or at least, be clever enough to slip out and way somehow.

  I leaned my head back against the wall, wishing and praying that Jendrish would find me. Rescue me like he had before. But I wasn't sure that he even knew I was missing. He hadn't come to see me off. He'd stuck me on a ship and had apparently washed his hands of me. I had no idea why he'd done it. Why he'd decided to send me back to Earth.

  I thought he loved me. As the tears rolled down my cheeks I realized how stupid I'd been. So naïve. I'd sworn that I was done chasing after men until I could do it on my own terms. But then Jendrish had come into my life and everything changed. He'd turned my entire world – and my heart – upside down.

  And then he'd cast me aside like I was nothing to him.

  What had happened? What had changed? Why had he suddenly decided that I was no longer what he wanted. That I was no longer who he wanted to spend his life with? We had just been talking about marriage and children. Everything had seemed so positive and so – wonderful. It had been like a fairy tale.

  “Maybe that's the problem, stupid,” I said to myself. “Fairy tales aren't real.”

  No, real life didn't always come with happy endings. In fact, in my experience, life never had happy endings. It was one long string of misery that, if you were lucky – really lucky – had a few moments of happiness mixed in with all of the pain.

  And clearly, I was not one of the really lucky ones.

  Wrapped up tightly in my blanket, I laid down on my side and let the tears flow. There was no point in stopping them anymore. I was alone. I was probably going to die. Who would care if I cried my eyes out?

  I sobbed and sobbed until the darkness of sleep overtook me.

  Chapter Five

  Jendrish

  “How are you feeling?” I asked.

  I looked down at Vink and smiled. His color was coming back and he was able to sit up in bed, which were good signs. The doctors had assured me that he was going to make a full recovery from his wounds. But they'd been extensive and it was going to take a little time.

  I had been concerned about his safety as he recovered, so I had moved him into the palace. He didn't like it, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't another attack while he was unprotected. The last thing I wanted was for him to come under fire again when he was not yet fully healed.

  His eyes fluttered open and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Watching your back is not the most fun I have ever had in my life.”

  I gave him a rueful smile. “No, I imagine it is not,” I said. “I am sorry, my friend.”

  He looked at me, his expression serious. “You understand that this is not your fault,” he said. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

  I shrugged. “If it hadn't been for – ”

  “Nonsense,” he cut me off. “You act as if you shot me yourself. You did not. So let us not waste any more time dwelling on it. Instead, let us figure out how to proceed.”

  “We are not proceeding anywhere just yet,” I said. “Your one job right now is to heal. To get healthy again. I will need you.”

 
“I am fine, Jendrish,” he said. “The only thing that will help me heal is to get out of this bed.”

  “The doctors say you aren't ready for that yet.”

  He snorted and shook his head. “They are too cautious. I know my body better than they do. I know when I am healed.”

  He started to rise, so I put my hand on his chest and gently pushed him back against the pillows. “I know you do, old friend,” I said. “Then do this for me. Take another day. Maybe two. Get some more rest and treatment. I will feel better about it.”

  He looked at me for a long moment before nodding grudgingly. “If it will make you feel better, so be it.”

  I nodded, thankful I was not forced to call the doctor to sedate him. Vink believed himself to be indestructible. There were times I believed he was. But he had limits, as did we all. He was not particularly good at knowing what his limits were. Either that, or he just chose to ignore them. Knowing Vink as I did, I suspected it was the latter. He took his job very seriously – which was one reason I was so glad to have him as my right hand.

  “Where is Riley?” he asked. “I have not seen her.”

  I shuffled my feet and looked away. I knew that he was tremendously fond of Riley – and she of him. I wasn't sure how to tell him what I'd done.

  “Jendrish?”

  I finally looked at him and saw the curiosity in his eyes – but I also saw something else in them. I was relatively certain he already knew the answer to the question.

  “Why?” he asked.

  I sighed. “I feared for her safety.”

  He shook his head. “That's ridiculous, Jendrish. We could have protected her well enough here. You know that.”

  “Perhaps,” I said. “But with what we have to do, I could not be sure of it. I did not want to put her in harm's way.”

  “What we have to do?”

  I nodded. “We're going to war, Vink,” I said. “We allowed ourselves to be lulled into complacency. A false sense of security. We thought we'd beaten the rebels and had taken the fight out of them. We were wrong. Very wrong. And as a result, twelve Optorion citizens are now dead. And you were nearly killed.”