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

by Lauren Lively

  His mouth compressed into a tight line and he clenched his jaw. He knew I was right and I could tell he was anxious to get back onto his feet. He took the fact that the rebels had attempted an assassination during the coronation ceremony personally. Very personally.

  “It is not your fault, Vink,” I said. “Do not put this on your shoulders.”

  “Security was my charge,” he said. “I faile – ”

  “No,” I interrupted him. “You did not fail. We have a problem with moles within the palace. Spies. The first thing we are going to do is root them out. From there, we are going to hunt the rest of them down. We will need to be ruthless.”

  “We will be what we need to be,” he said. “What Optorio needs us to be.”

  I nodded. “Indeed. I expect quite the fight,” I said. “Now, do you understand why I sent Riley away?”

  He gave me a small, sad grin. “I think you are more concerned with her seeing the ruthless, warrior side of your personality than you are with her safety.”

  I ran a hand through my hair. “Perhaps. When I'm at war, I feel like a different person. I feel like a savage,” I said.

  “The important question you have to ask yourself is – do you love her?”

  I answered without hesitating. “I do. I want to spend my life with her. Raise a family together.”

  “Then what are you afraid of?” he asked. “Because to me, it looks like you're simply scared. Scared of what, I have no idea.”

  I thought for a moment and then lowered my eyes. “Maybe you are right. Perhaps I didn't want her to see that. I want her to see the real me. The man beneath that savage.”

  “It's all part of who you are, Jendrish,” he replied. “You may be able to accentuate the side you want others to see, but that does not mean you can cut out the other side. It's always there, underneath the surface.”

  I sighed again. “This is true,” I replied. “But we can create the conditions for that other side of me to not be necessary. Right now, it's necessary.”

  “It is. It is very necessary,” he said. “We must be as ruthless as our enemies. But when all of this is over, and we have created the right, peaceful conditions, you are going to go find that woman. She is good for you, Jendrish. She makes you a better man.”

  I nodded. “She does that indeed,” I put my hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Rest easy, my friend. I will be back later. And maybe I'll even bring your dinner with me.”

  Chapter Six

  Vink was right. Riley did make me a better man. I knew that she did. And it wasn't because I didn't love her that I sent her away. I was, as Vink said, afraid that she would see me, see that other side of my personality, and be repulsed. I wanted vengeance. I wanted blood. There was a rage, deep and abiding, burning in my belly and I was going to do some very bad things.

  I had to. Had to make an example of these rebels and snuff out their movement once and for all. That was going to require plenty of bloodshed, I already knew. And I didn't want to expose Riley to that. I wanted her to see me as the man she'd gotten to know. I didn't want her to see that other side of me.

  I looked up and found myself standing at the transport hangars. It hadn't been my intended destination – but then, I was simply wandering, lost in thought and hadn't had a real destination in mind. As I watched the hustle and bustle on the flight deck and watched one of the transports lift gracefully off the ground before zooming off into the sky, I realized why I was there.

  Clearing my throat, I crossed the flight deck and made my way over to the officer in charge. When I stepped into his office, he looked up – and did a double take. He almost knocked over his drink and fell out of his chair in his scramble to get to his feet.

  When he finally managed to get himself on even footing, he snapped a quick salute. “Your Majesty,” he said. “Forgive me, I – ”

  I gave him a soft, gentle laugh. “Relax Blyn,” I said. “You don't need to be so formal. It's just me.”

  He gave me a grin. “Yeah, and you're the king.”

  I shook my head and leaned against the doorway. Blyn was an old friend from my days with the Guard. He'd refused to serve in one of the Regents' militias, believing they were corrupt and not serving the interests of Optorio. He'd scratched out a living doing odd jobs, but hadn't been in great shape when I found him. He was a good man and a good friend. So, as we restructured our government, I'd put him to work, finding a job that utilized his talents. He was efficient, organized, and was a natural leader of men.

  I shrugged. “I'm just Jendrish.”

  “Then you won't mind if I take a seat,” he grinned.

  I motioned to his chair. “I wouldn't have minded it if you hadn't stood up to begin with,” I said. “You could have killed yourself. And I'm going to need men like you when we go after the rebels.”

  He smiled and I saw the light in his eyes. Like Vink, Blyn enjoyed a good fight. He said he liked what he was doing well enough, but I knew that being out on the hunt – rather than scheduling and directing all of the traffic on the flight deck – was what he yearned to do. He was a Guardsman to the very core of him. Just like Vink.

  He seated himself behind his desk again and looked up at me. “So, what can I do for you?”

  I cleared my throat. “I actually wanted to see if that transport the other day made it to its destination?”

  He gave me a look that said I was an idiot. “You're going to need to be more specific than that,” he said. “You see how many shuttles we have running in and out of here?”

  I gave him a rueful grin. “It was the shuttle with the special cargo I asked you to keep confidential,” I said and looked around to be sure we were alone. “The shuttle transporting Riley back to Earth.”

  He nodded and looked at me apologetically. “Right. Of course. I should have known.”

  “If it's no trouble, that is,” I said. “I know you're busy.”

  He waved me off. “Thesa,” he said, talking to his own biosystem. “I need information.”

  He routed his biosystem feed into the communication speaker on his desk. “Of course,” his biosystem replied. “What information do you require?”

  “Status of transport number three twelve omicron eight,” he said. “Please display flight tracking visually.”

  “Coming right up,” the computer voice said.

  I watched as an image sprang from the unit on his desk. It showed me a three dimensional view of Optorio in light blue. A line of red began where we were and appeared to be heading toward the atmosphere. Riley's shuttle. A moment later though, the red line of ascent just – stopped.

  I cocked my head. “What happened?”

  Blyn looked at it curiously. “I don't know,” he said. “Thesa, I need you to display full flight tracking. I need to see the entire route.”

  “That is the entire route. At least, what we have access to,” the voice said.

  “What we have access to?” Blyn asked. “What does that mean?”

  I could see something akin to concern crossing his features as he looked at the visual display.

  “It appears that the flight tracking beacon was tampered with,” the biosystem replied. “It was deactivated. Likely destroyed.”

  I felt a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. “What do you mean deactivated?” I asked. “Did the shuttle go down?”

  “Unlikely,” the biosystem said. “It is more likely that somebody was attempting to disguise their flight path to prevent it from being tracked.”

  “Why would they do that?” Blyn asked.

  The knot in my stomach twisted painfully. “Because they have Riley,” I said. “They took her.”

  “Who did?”

  “The rebels,” I said, my rage deepening and growing in intensity. “They took her to get to me. They couldn't kill me, so they're striking out elsewhere.”

  Blyn looked at me, a stricken expression on his face. “I – I'm sorry, Jendrish. I didn't know.”

  I sho
ok my head. “You could not have known. It is not your fault,” I said. “Who was the pilot on the shuttle.”

  “Pykor,” he said. “I assigned Pykor to it because I thought he could be trusted.”

  “Like a lot of things lately, we were wrong,” I said.

  I turned and walked out of the office, my rage threatening to consume me – and anybody who got in my way. I would rip this world apart looking for Riley. I was going to find her – and punish those who had taken her. I would punish them severely.

  Chapter Seven

  Riley

  I heard a faint chime that was followed by the sound of the locks on the door disengaging. A moment later, it slid to the side and revealed the man who had abducted me. He stepped inside and pressed a button on the small control panel I'd discovered. A bench slid out from the wall and he took a seat.

  He was a tall man – taller than most of the Optorions I'd met. He was thin and severe looking – all angles and points. His long dark hair was shot through with silver and his eyes were a violet color – a shade that would have been pretty had they not been in such a harsh looking face.

  I sat up on the bed and pressed my back against the wall, pulling the blanket up around my shoulders and stared at him, trying to convey my level of contempt with just my gaze. He gave me a small, condescending smile and remained silent – just stared at me.

  “Do you try to be this creepy?” I asked. “Or does it come naturally to you.”

  “I do not know what the word creepy means, but judging by your tone, I would say that you are attempting to insult me,” he replied.

  “Wow. Creepy and smart too,” I said. “Color me impressed.”

  He let out a small, dry laugh that set my nerves on edge like the sound of nails on a chalkboard. “You have fire. Spirit,” he said. “I like that. And I can see why Jendrish is so fond of you.”

  “Who are you?”

  He cleared his throat and looked at me. “Yes, well, forgive my lack of manners,” he said. “My name is Veshna.”

  “That's great,” I snapped. “But who in the hell are you? What do you want with me?”

  “That is a little more complicated to answer,” he replied. “Suffice it to say, you are a valuable piece of leverage.”

  “I'm not a piece of leverage,” I hissed. “And when Jendrish finds you, he's going to kill you for what you've done.”

  He spread his hands out wide. “And what have I done?” he asked. “Have you been mistreated?”

  “You kidnapped me.”

  “Only to ensure that Jendrish does not kill me or mine,” he replied evenly. “I am holding you in the interest of having an open and honest discourse with him.”

  I looked at the man and he seemed sincere enough. But then, I wasn't familiar enough with Optorions to know when they were lying. Humans always had tells. Nervous twitches, a glance away – there was always some visual cue when they were lying. But Optorions – whom I found notorious for their lack of expression and emotion – were something else entirely. He could have been lying – and probably was – and I would be none the wiser.

  But it was true enough that I had not been harmed nor mistreated. Other than being stuck in a cell with no way out, anyway.

  “And what is it you want to have an open and honest dialogue about exactly?” I asked.

  “About him abdicating the throne,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “And leaving the rule of Optorio to those who truly care about its future.”

  “And you don't think Jendrish cares about Optorio's future?”

  A small, predatory smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “If he did, he wouldn't allow aliens to influence his decision making.”

  I scoffed at him. It was still difficult to think of myself as an – alien. But here on Optorio, that's exactly what I was.

  “I'm not influencing anything,” I replied. “And if – ”

  “Optorio is for Optorions,” he snapped. “Humans or other life forms have no place here.”

  I smirked at him. “So, that's what this is really all about,” I said. “You're a racist. Or rather, a species-ist, I suppose.”

  “If that's how you need to think of me, then yes,” he said. “I suppose I am. But I would ask you this – how would you feel if I began to influence how your world was run? What would you think if I began encouraging your leader to create special rules and laws for me?”

  “And is that what you think I'm doing?” I asked. “Tell me then, what special rules has he implemented? What special laws has he enacted on my behalf?”

  “It's only a matter of time,” the man replied. “Once you get to feeling more – comfortable.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “So you're not just a species-ist, you're a paranoid conspiracy theorist too. Charming.”

  A dark look crossed his face. I was getting under his skin. Though, I did not know if that was a good or a bad thing at this point. I didn't know this man. Didn't know what he was capable of. But then, I figured that I was as good as dead anyway. Something in my gut told me that he was going to kill me – whether he and Jendrish had a conversation or not.

  “You were behind the assassination attempt at the coronation, weren't you?”

  He shrugged. “It was poorly executed,” he said. “We did the best we could with what we had. Which, to be honest, wasn't much. It wasn't my men. If it had been, your precious Jendrish would have been lying in a pool of his own blood.”

  I looked at him and there was a cold, cruel glint in his eye. It was at that moment I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that his intent was to use me to lure Jendrish into a trap. He wasn't interested in a conversation about governance of this world. He was going to kill Jendrish and then he was going to kill me. That was exactly how this was all going to play out.

  And there was no way in hell I was going to help him do it. Even if it pissed him off and he killed me, I was not going to help him kill Jendrish.

  “Tell me why he was sending you back to Earth,” the man said.

  “What makes you think he was sending me?” I asked. “What makes you think I wasn't feeling a little homesick and just wanted to go visit some friends and family?”

  He gave me a toothy grin. The kind of grin that said he was privy to information he shouldn't have been.

  “I have it on good authority that Jendrish was sending you back to Earth,” he said. “I want to know why.”

  “And I want to know why people are obsessed with the Kardashians,” I said. “I suppose we're both just going to have to live with not knowing the answer to something, huh?”

  The man sighed and slipped a long knife with a wicked looking curved blade from his boot. He didn't point it at me or laugh maniacally as he waved it in my face. He simply sat there, not looking at me and spun the blade around in his hand – which made it all the more creepy and threatening.

  “Let me ask you again,” he said, his voice soft. “Why were you going back to Earth?”

  I didn't think he would actually kill me. I got the impression that he needed me too much for that. But I also had no doubt that he could cause me an inordinate amount of pain. I hadn't been mistreated to that point, but I was getting the idea that status could change in a heartbeat – and would if I didn't cooperate.

  But there was no way in hell I was going to cooperate. Which left me with one option – lie. Make it appear as if I am cooperating. If nothing else, it might spare me a little bit of pain. But then an idea started to form in my head. I thought that perhaps I could spare myself some pain – and take away the man's leverage at the same time.

  I sighed and did my best to look upset. “Because Jendrish is sending me away,” I said. “He's done with me.”

  He finally raised his eyes to meet mine. “Done with you?”

  I did my best to hold is gaze and appear convincing. “He said that he didn't want to be with me anymore.”

  “Why?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
<
br />   He looked at me evenly – probably trying to decide if I was telling the truth or not. If he determined that I was telling the truth, he knew that it would damage his leverage. If Jendrish truly was done with me, he might not be as willing to make a deal with this creep. And he knew it.

  “I've been told that the two of you were very much in love,” he said.

  “Were. Past tense.”

  “What changed?”

  I shrugged. “Ask him.”

  He nodded slowly. “I plan on it.”

  Without another word, he stood up and left the room, the door sliding shut and locking behind him. I suddenly felt a stab of fear in my heart for Jendrish. There was something deeply unsettling about that man – Veshna. And I got the distinct impression that he saw it as his mission – maybe his sacred duty – to kill Jendrish and take the throne of Optorio for himself.

  I was still really upset with him, but I didn't want to see any harm to Jendrish. My heart broke just thinking of something happening to him. I loved him still, and was going to help save him. Just as he'd saved me before. I wasn't sure how or what I could do at that moment, but I was going to figure something out.

  I wasn't going to let that man hurt him.

  Chapter Eight

  Jendrish

  “Ozul,” I said, calling up my AI biosystem. “Give me the names of every employee in the palace with connections to one of the Regents. I'm going to need you to dig as deep as you can on this one.”

  “Accessing information,” Ozul said through the comm speaker. I needed to hear the voice rather than have the voice in my head. I was already having enough trouble keeping my thoughts in order.

  I sat in my war room inside the palace trying to get some answers. I was feeling sick to my stomach. And I was feeling a dark rage the likes of which I'd never felt before. They had Riley. I was having a hard time focusing and keeping my head straight knowing that she was in enemy hands. I loved her and would never forgive myself if something happened to her.

  “You know that they aren't going to hurt her, don't you?”

  I looked up to find Vink standing in the doorway, a lopsided grin on his face.

  “What are you doing out of bed?” I asked.