“Oh...” she gasped, surprised, as the bracelet changed shape and adjusted to her size. The strange runes traveled down her wrist like a shadow and imprinted on the inner skin of her wrist. She wondered what that was all about. A strange gift, she thought.
Kara was still gazing at her bracelet when, without any warning, Arazor pulled her into his strong arms and claimed her mouth in a forceful and demanding kiss.
Startled, she pushed him back with a great deal of effort. “What are you doing? That was incredibly inappropriate!” she said, her voice hoarse as she struggled to catch her breath.
Arazor looked calmly at the woman before him. The way her body had responded to him when he had kissed her told him she wanted him... So why was she resisting? There was something strange about this woman.
“Inappropriate? How?” he asked mildly.
“Commander Arazor, you kissed me - which was highly unnecessary. I don’t understand your customs, but we consider this behavior inappropriate,” Kara said indignantly as she pulled back her hood so he could see her full face.
“I have sealed the contract by claiming you as my bride,” Arazor returned.
“What...? No... This is a misunderstanding,” Kara began. He saw fear and shock in her eyes.
“The bracelet you wear now is a symbol of our marriage. It is a custom in my world that when a man gives it to a woman, she becomes his mate for life,” he said, showing her a similar gold bracelet he wore around his wrist. She could see runes on his wrist as well. “Your father made this deal. The alliance would be formed after I married you.”
“No, no, no!” Kara cried. Tears started to rapidly fill her eyes. She struggled to remove the band, but it wouldn’t come off. “I’m not Nariya Dyadjin! This is a horrible mistake!”
“Excuse me?” Arazor said. She saw his eyes suddenly grow cold as ice. “Who are you? Where is Nariya?”
She shuddered at his tone. He would surely kill her. And if he didn’t, Erzhun would. “I... I am Kara. Kara Frost.”
“What are you doing here, Kara Frost?” he asked her and she winced once more.
“I work for the Ambassador. Nariya couldn’t come today, so she sent me instead to finalize the deal. I–I’m sorry... I didn’t know...” Kara stumbled as she fidgeted with the bracelet. “Why won’t this thing come off?”
“Because you’ve been bonded with me for life. You can’t take it off,” Arazor said. He was clenching his teeth and his breaths were becoming shallow. “Not unless I want you to. And even then, nothing changes. You will still be my mate.”
He clenched his fists and gave her a death stare. She could see fury surging, cold and stark, in his gray eyes. “Erzhun has betrayed me. You are not even an Argarian. He sends a human instead of his own daughter. This is a disgrace to my people.”
“Look, it’s not his fault. He doesn’t know his daughter has eloped with another. Nariya persuaded me that I go and attend to whatever the deal was about,” Kara said quietly. “It’s all a misunderstanding...”
“You call this a misunderstanding?!” he roared as he grabbed her by the shoulders and glared straight into her eyes. “I wish I could kill you, but I can’t.” She gazed back at him defiantly, her fear now replaced by rage.
“Get your hands off of me,” she said in a calm voice. “If I had known, I would never have married you. In fact, I would take divorce right away. Take this thing off and it will be over!”
“Divorce?” he laughed and let her go. “Sweetheart, it doesn’t work that way. At least not in my world... Computer, I want another drink,” he said as he raked a hand through his hair and strode toward the sofa.
“Don’t call me ‘sweetheart,’” Kara said, but he didn’t seem to hear her.
“I was supposed to bond with an Argarian woman, not some human. Now I’m stuck with you,” he said, seething.
“There must be another way to end this,” she said quietly. This entire situation was too ridiculous to be true. She was sure there was a solution.
“Our law states that under very rare conditions, the marriage can be annulled. But since I have been bonded with you, we must wait three months. Nothing can be done before that.”
Kara stood there, speechless. The seriousness of the situation was starting to sink in. She was married to this arrogant man who clearly hated humans. Suddenly overcome with tiredness, she sat down on the sofa, making sure there was a considerable distance between them.
Arazor took a long swig from his glass. Kara stared at him and heaved a deep breath. She had really screwed up this time. If the Ambassador wouldn’t murder her when he found out what happened, he would definitely fire her and deport her back to Earth.
“Computer... One dark wine, please,” Kara said, her voice trembling as the tears were starting to stream down her face.
The red wine appeared. She held the glass in her shaking hands and took a sip. The silence stretched between them, stifling them. Finally, she cleared her throat and stood up.
“So... What now?” she asked hesitatingly.
Arazor turned and looked at her as if she had asked a stupid question. “You will take me to Erzhun immediately,” he said in a cold voice.
“He’s busy at the moment. You will have to wait–” she began.
“You dare defy me, woman?” he said coldly, cutting her off. “Tell him it’s urgent. We’ll go see him right away.”
“Don’t talk to me like that, Arazor Galather Vafiel,” she returned. His arrogance was starting to annoy her. It wasn’t like she had wanted to be in this situation either. He saw the fire that lit up her brown eyes. “I am not your slave!”
“No. But you are my mate. And you will do as you are told,” he said haughtily.
“No. You can’t make me. I will do what my superior says,” she said, anger starting to boil inside of her. “And if I had been given the choice, I would never have bonded with you. Men like you don’t deserve a decent woman.”
He gazed at her quietly for a long time. She couldn’t see anything behind those cold gray eyes. Not an inkling of emotion. And then just for a fraction of a second, something dark flitted across their gray depths. Was he amused by her? His silence unnerved her, and, tearing her gaze away from his, she made to leave.
“I’ll let you know what the Ambassador says,” she said.
“You stay right here and contact him. I don’t trust you or your Ambassador,” Arazor said in a tone that made her halt.
Kara turned and stared at him. This man was impossible. “Fine. I’ll stay here.”
He tilted his head and gave her a slight nod. Kara took a deep breath, punched in instructions on her communicator, and sent a message to Erzhun Dyadjin. She might have been mistaken, but again she thought she caught a hint of amusement in those cold gray eyes.
Chapter Three
Commander Arazor drained his glass and put it down. Things had taken a turn. He needed the Argarian Armada to strengthen his forces, yet now he was stuck with this human. They would laugh at him back home for having taken a human woman as a mate. To the Vllar, humans were not only weak–they were considered useless on the battleground. Taking a human mate would be foolish as they would produce weak warriors. The Argarians might consider humans to be their equals, but the Vllar would never accept this.
Yet, there was something about this little woman that unnerved him. She had blatantly defied him. That was a first for him. Women in his world did not defy men. What did she mean by ‘men like him’? Strange as she was, he couldn’t deny the fact that she was truly beautiful. Those expressive, dark eyes with fire in them; those soft lips he could still taste upon his own; her ivory skin, long dark hair, and delicate features… So distracting...
His chest constricted as he thought of her. Focus Arazor. Your planet is at stake and here you are brooding over this weak woman. You don’t have time for this, the voice in his head snapped. It must be the wine... he thought, frowning. No woman had ever affected him in such a way.
***<
br />
“This is hopeless!” Erzhun Dyadjin fumed. “I gave you one task and you couldn’t do it right!” He clenched his fists as he glared at Kara.
They were seated in the conference room at the Argarian Embassy. Arazor sat on a chair beside Kara and Erzhun Dyadjin was seated in a tall chair before them. Arazor observed that Kara looked pale in the white light of the room. The poor woman looked as if Erzhun would soon sentence her to death.
“I–I tried to persuade her,” Kara stammered.
“Persuade her? You should have dragged her here if necessary!” Erzhun bellowed. He knew all too well that Nariya could be stubborn and no one could persuade her to do something she didn’t want to do.
“Sir, I didn’t know the details of the meeting. I would have taken different measures had I known this alliance involved a marriage contract.”
“And you, Arazor, how come you didn’t see she wasn’t an Argarian?” Erzhun asked.
“How would I know when I was expecting to see Nariya? She was wearing a hood,” Arazor said curtly in the Argarian tongue.
“Kara, where is Nariya now?” the Ambassador asked.
“She–she has eloped, sir. With Rezurn... They had been seeing each other for a while,” Kara said, trying to sound reasonable as she fidgeted with her hands.
“What?! The Klai leader?” Erzhun gasped. “And you didn’t care to tell me?”
“Sir, she is my friend. She made me promise,” Kara said. He was definitely going to fire her now. She wished this nightmare would be over.
Erzhun was shaking his head, his hand covering his face.
“Ambassador, I came here for your help. The alliance was to strengthen my forces with the help of the Argarian Armada. And now I have been forced into this situation because of a foolish mistake on your part. What do you plan to do about it?” Arazor demanded. He sounded calm, but there was cold rage in his voice.
“Commander, I apologize. I will definitely form this alliance with your people. Tell me the number and I will send in the fleet,” Erzhun said. This situation was going to cost him dearly. His carefully built reputation as a trustworthy ally would be damaged significantly. He needed to take measures right away. “Kara Frost... Bring Nariya back to me. You will leave right away. Track her down, find her, wherever she is. Bring her home safely, even if you have to abduct her. Even if it means giving up your life.”
“Yes, sir,” Kara winced and nodded. She hurried out of the room, relieved to leave Erzhun and Arazor alone. Her breaths became shallow and labored, and she adjusted her breathing clip. This was all her fault. She shouldn’t have listened to Nariya. She walked down the hallway, lost in the turmoil of her own thoughts when a strong hand grabbed her arm from behind, halting her progress. It was Arazor.
“Let go of me,” she said.
“Listen to me, Kara,” Arazor said. “I will go with you.”
“I don’t need you. I can handle this on my own,” she said.
“Yeah, right. Just as you did before,” Arazor said dryly.
“Look, I don’t need a chaperone.”
“Shut up and listen to me,” he said in a cold, firm voice. “No matter how much I detest this whole situation, technically, you are my mate and I am bound to protect you.”
He let her go and Kara glared at him, unable to respond. Somehow, the idea of him protecting her brought a tiny fraction of warmth to the core of her body. What was wrong with her? Why was she letting this man get to her? Furious, she fought back the tears that now stung her eyes. No, no, no. She would not let him see her cry. Not again...
***
Kara went to her office and checked her messages. A message from Nariya was waiting for her.
“Hello, Kara! I am with Rezurn and on my way to this wonderful resort on Lunizia. It’s going to be great! See you later...”
Lunizia? Kara tapped in instructions on her system and searched for the planet. It was a moon on the outer boundaries of the Delta Quadrant, and it would take them a few weeks to get there.
She quickly tapped in more instructions and alerted the security on the Space Station and on Terrgius. The intel she received back said that Nariya had left Terrgius soon after Kara herself had left for Andromeda 13. She mapped the course that Nariya and Rezurn’s ship had taken. Her eyes grew wide and she frowned. The tracker showed a different location. Nariya was nowhere near Lunizia. Kara’s stomach knotted as she thought about Nariya’s message. Something didn’t feel right. Rezurn was not to be trusted. The Klai were known for plundering planets and even abducting women.
Her thoughts racing, Kara went to her chambers to pack for the trip. As she walked down the hallway toward the docking station, she heard heavy footsteps behind her. She turned and saw Arazor striding toward her.
“We’re taking my ship,” he said. He held up a hand as she opened her mouth to protest. “No arguing.”
Astounded, Kara didn’t know what to do other than simply following him up the ramp into his ship. This was her mission, but he wasn’t even letting her take her own ship. She had never met a man so arrogant and controlling, yet at the same time intriguing.
She settled into a seat in the cockpit as Arazor strapped her in. She checked the coordinates and tapped in instructions on the comm-pad she carried, tracking Nariya’s lead. Arazor sat in the seat next to her and entered commands in the console. The screen came to life and he continued the process. Kara couldn’t understand a thing as it was in his own language.
For a moment, Kara forgot what she was doing. His brooding presence dominated the closed space of the spacecraft. Still mad at him for treating her as though she were an errant child, she told herself to focus and keep her eyes on the comm-pad.
“Did you find out where Nariya is?” Arazor asked her, jolting her out of her thoughts. He gazed at her slender body. She wore a white figure-hugging Argarian crew suit.
“Yeah... I, uh, got a message from her,” she said, looking up at him. Again her eyes wandered over his handsome features: the perfect arch of his dark brows, the straight nose, strong jawline, the markings on his neck, and the depth of his gray eyes... “But I–I have been tracking the course her ship has taken,” she continued as she tore her gaze away from his intense one.
There is definitely something wrong with me, she thought as she felt his gaze pierce her. Why was her mind such a mess? She had never been like this at work. She quickly opened the map that showed where Nariya was last seen.
“The message said she would be heading for Lunizia,” Kara said, “but the map shows something completely different.”
Arazor took the comm-pad from her hands and tapped in more commands. “Yes. She was last seen in Alpha Quadrant. From there, her ship took a course in the opposite direction,” he said quickly, scanning the map on the screen. “That means she will likely be heading for Dragua, a desert planet the Klai are known to visit often.” He handed the device back to her.
“Yes, likely. But we need to be sure,” Kara added. Her stomach lurched again. She had a very bad feeling about this.
“The tracker will confirm it soon. Keep checking,” Arazor said curtly as the ship’s engines hummed to life and he set course for Dragua.
The ship silently moved out of the docking station and into deep space. Arazor glanced at the woman seated next to him. She looked pale and kept blinking at the screen. She was nervous no doubt. He wondered what was on her mind.
“When was the last time you’ve eaten?” he asked her suddenly.
“Um...I ...uh...,” she stuttered.
“I thought so,” he said, and ordered the computer to bring them food. “Kara, you need to eat. Now.”
“Stop treating me like a child! I’m a grown woman,” she said, her voice weak as tears stung her eyes.
He got up, unbuckled her from her seat and pulled her to her feet. “I can see that...” he said in his deep voice as he audaciously gazed at her small breasts and slim curves. “You are going to eat now. No more talking,” he said, ignoring her
protests.
Kara felt her legs go weak. Fatigue overtook her. She followed him out of the control room and down the aisle into a small chamber. The interior of the ship was dark gray, the ambiance reflecting her very mood. The sight of food on the table made her stomach grumble. She was suddenly famished.
“Help yourself,” Arazor said. She sat down at the table and he took the chair opposite from her, pouring himself a drink. There was a cold chicken sandwich, salad, and white wine. He had ordered her custom-made food for humans. She took a bite and it tasted fairly good. Then, she dug in, forgetting all manners for a moment.
“You aren’t eating?” she asked, when she had eaten her fill. He was gazing at her, calmly sipping his wine.
“I will,” he said pointing toward a platter she hadn’t noticed before. It had some sort of exotic meat on it, something similar to fish, and it smelled good.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It’s called Snakeberry. Back on Agrion, it’s a delicacy. It lives in water. It’s half animal and half plant,” he said, taking a bite. “I would have you try it, but your stomach is not trained to digest it. And I don’t want you getting sick on this trip.”
Kara sat back in her chair and started sipping her wine when her pager beeped. There was an urgent message waiting for her. She tapped the small panel on her wrist and the holographic video message opened. It was the Ambassador.
“Kara, listen to me carefully. Rezurn has made contact. He is holding Nariya hostage and will kill her if we don’t give him a share of our weaponry. Kara, please bring Nariya home safely. And Arazor? Please, I beg you. Help us.”
The message ended with a beep and Kara stared at her wrist, stunned.
Chapter Four
Their journey was uneventful during the weeks that followed. Kara kept track of Nariya’s ship and they landed on Dragua almost a week after the Ambassador’s message.
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