Cornering Carmen

by Smith, S. E.

  Morian waited to see what Creon’s symbiot would do. If this girl was her son’s true mate, it would do everything in its power to help her. Morian bit her lip as the golden symbiot let out a low sound of anguish at the girl’s pain. Its colors shimmered in a rapidly moving mixture that reflected its distress.

  The girl gasped as the sound built until it echoed through the enormous room. The golden form surrounding her shifted again until it was in the shape of a large creature with long, drooping ears. It was an unusual shape for a symbiot, one Morian had never seen before but the girl must have recognized it. Morian watched as the slender figure fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around the shape, clinging to it, and whispering quietly.

  “I’m sorry,” Carmen’s faint voice echoed soothingly. “I’m so sorry. It’s okay. I shouldn’t have asked that of you. It’s just sometimes…,” her voice faded before she spoke again. “Sometimes the pain is too much for me to handle. Soon, though, soon everything will be alright. Once I return home, everything will be alright,” she add with a determined smile.

  Morian pulled away as she sensed another change in the atrium. She looked at the young girl soothing her son’s symbiot and a feeling of fear for the girl swept through her. Something told her it would not be a good thing for the girl to return to her world. Turning, Morian moved to stop her new visitor. She needed to warn him that all was not as it seemed.

  *.*.*

  Creon cursed under his breath again. He had been looking for the white-haired savage for the past couple of hours with no luck. He had found his brother, Mandra, instead… unconscious! The other she-demon had knocked him out with a planter and escaped out of one of the windows leading into the gardens. Once he was sure his brother would be alright, he had left him to deal with the other female while he hunted for her sibling.

  I cannot believe we thought they would need a healer! Creon thought disgruntledly. What we need is a cage for them. I will throw her ass in one of the old cells under the palace for a few days and see how she likes that! Or maybe I’ll just tie her up and deliver her to Trelon so he can take her back to her world.

  Creon frowned. Neither one of the ideas gave him the satisfaction he thought it might. In fact, the idea of anyone taking the female anywhere caused a fierce wave of rage to burst inside of him.

  “Maybe I’ll just tie her up to my bed,” Creon muttered under his breath

  Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes… his dragon answered hopefully. You tie, I bite. We both get mate.

  Shit! Creon thought as he felt his cock swell at the image of the white-haired she-savage tied up in his bed.

  The image continued to form in his mind until he had to stop and adjust the front of his pants so he could walk without it hurting. He had to admit, his body was saying a yes, yes, yes to the idea. That pissed him off even more. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to figure out what in the hell was going on and find out who was behind his brother’s kidnapping before it started another war.

  Creon was still grumbling under his breath when he suddenly felt a small hand grip his arm. He jerked back out of instinct and moved to draw the weapon he always kept at his side. He frowned heavily when he saw his mother standing in the shadows, looking at him with a worried expression on her face. He opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong but she shook her head quickly and pressed her fingers against his lips to silence him.

  Creon followed her glance when she looked toward a thick set of bushes but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He started again when she pulled on his arm and indicated that he was to follow her. His frown turned dark as his eyes continued to search for what had upset his mother. If there was a threat to her, he would kill whoever it was without mercy. He followed her down a path that opened up to the hidden staircase leading to her private office. They moved in silence. Creon continued to look around carefully trying to find the threat. He paused halfway up the stairway, searching the thick foliage for anything unusual. His eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of white hair near the center pool. He shifted slightly, letting his dragon come forward to increase his vision. Within seconds, the sharp details of the female who had attacked him in the transporter room came into focus. She was kneeling on the ground next to…

  “My symbiot,” Creon growled out softly.

  “Come, I need to speak with you,” Morian said pulling on Creon’s arm. “Please, it is about the girl.”

  Creon’s head swung around to glance up at his mother who was waiting impatiently for him. She was biting her lower lip and seemed very worried. Creon turned his head to stare at the slender figure again. Was something the matter with the girl? Was she injured? Had he unknowingly hurt her when he grabbed her or blocked some of her blows? He let his eyes move down over her figure really taking a good look at her.

  She was too thin, he thought with growing concern. She looked like she hadn’t been fed properly in a long time.

  There was something else about her. The way she was clinging to his symbiot confused him. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. There was something he was missing; he just couldn’t seem to think straight. It was in her body language, the way she was holding his symbiot, the fragile look of her.

  Creon shook his head. That didn’t make sense at all. He had felt her strength when she fought against him. She didn’t give up and she was fast, really fast. She used moves he had never seen before mixed with moves he had personally trained some of their warriors on. She was also very good at disappearing. It had taken him hours to narrow down where she had gone and even then he hadn’t been sure she was up here.

  A soft groan escaped him as another fact sunk in; she was clinging to his symbiot and it was wound around her. His eyes narrowed on the thick gold bands on her delicate wrists. His eyes shifted to her throat where more gold glittered. His symbiot had claimed her. His dragon wanted her, and he…

  Creon closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath trying to calm the raging need to go to her and gather her close. He wanted to protect her, possess her, and claim her for all to see. Opening his eyes, he turned to look up at his mother who was staring at him intently.

  “She is my true mate,” Creon said with quiet conviction.

  “Yes,” Morian responded softly. “But, there is more to her than meets the eye. Come with me. There is something you should know.”

  Creon felt his eyes move back toward the figure far below him. She was sitting on the ground now with the head of his symbiot in her lap. His symbiot was in the shape of some unusual creature that the girl seemed to find comforting. His dragon seemed to sense something in his mother’s voice because it wanted to go to the girl and wind itself around her.

  My mate. Something happen to my mate? His dragon asked fearfully pushing against his skin again to break free. Let me go to her. I protect.

  We will protect her, Creon said trying to calm his dragon. But first, we need to know what has happened. Mother would not be so worried if our mate was alright. If she is in danger, then we will do what we have to do in order to protect her. Even if that means locking her up until we know she is safe.

  He knew his dragon did not like the idea of locking their mate up but until he knew what danger she was in there might not be a choice. He climbed the steps after his mother. He had always been good at discovering others’ secrets. He was even better at protecting them.

  Chapter 4Carmen drew in deep calming breaths using the meditation techniques that she had learned after Colombia. Kevin Arbor, their boss with Security International, had demanded she receive counseling after Scott died. The therapist, Connie Wong, had taught them to her. Connie explained it would help her deal with the panic attacks and depression she was suffering from after such a traumatic experience. Carmen had learned them simply so she could remain focused on the one goal she had left in her life to complete… to kill Javier Cuello.

  “It will be alright,” Carmen repeated out loud. “You just need to figure out how to get off this world and bac
k home. You can do it. You can do whatever you set your mind to. Do not stop, do not give up,” Carmen said quietly to herself while she focused on breathing. “You have to have a plan, that’s all.”

  She continued to run her hand soothingly over the huge golden creature that was an almost exact replica of Harvey, her old, droopy eared Basset Hound that she had growing up. Granted, it was a much larger and shinier Harvey than the original. Still, the shape was comforting to her as she stroked the soft, shiny surface. She felt a small smile curve her lips as she looked down into the eyes of the creature.

  “Do you have a name?” She asked quietly. “If not, I’ll call you Harvey. He was a dopey, lovable dog I had when I was little. He was the only animal that liked me more than Ariel. He followed me everywhere,” she spoke in a hushed voice feeling suddenly calmer than she had since… since Scott had died.

  Carmen looked down startled as a wave of warmth flooded through her. Her eyes widened as images of her old Basset Hound floated in her mind. Her smile grew until she could feel tears burning her eyes. The gold creature’s tail thumped back and forth in response to her surprise and smile.

  “I don’t understand any of this,” she whispered with a shake of her head. “This world, you, the warriors I’ve met, and the man…” her voice faded as an image of the man from the transporter room formed in her mind.

  A shiver went through her body as the image became clearer. The tall warrior had been more than a match for her. He had reacted with a grace and style that sent waves of heat through her. His lithe body had twisted around as if flowing in a graceful dance when she had tossed him over her shoulder. Carmen had reacted out of fear and the instinctive need to escape a predator. There was no doubt in her mind that was exactly what he was, a deadly predator. Every line of his body screamed he was lethal. His golden eyes had flared with a heat that reached out to something deep inside her that she thought had died three years ago when he had stared at her in fury. His long, black hair flowed around his dark muscular shoulders that were clearly displayed under the black leather vest he wore. His black pants had been stretched tightly across thick, muscular thighs. She had feared if she couldn’t get away from him immediately she might never escape.

  “Is he your other half?” She asked biting her lower lip in worry as she looked around.

  The new wave of warmth the creature sent through her confirmed what she had been dreading. If this creature was the man’s symbiot then she needed to escape from it as well. Unless… Carmen looked down into the droopy, sad eyes… unless it could help her.

  “I need to find my sister and get back home. Can you help me escape?” She asked in a slightly pleading voice. “Please, we have to return home immediately. It has already been longer than I expected. I have to find someone. It is important that I return to my world as soon as possible. Can you help me?”

  A part of her felt guilty about asking for the creature’s help but she knew how powerful they were. She had observed them when she was sneaking around the ship trying to learn everything she could about the species that had kidnapped her sister and friends. She knew Abby trusted them. She had fallen in love with the one called Zoran. She would not fault or deny anyone their chance at love. She had been given her chance. She would not leave without Ariel, Trisha, and Cara unless they wanted to stay. If that was what they wanted, then she would go alone. She felt sure that Trisha would want to return to Earth. She would never leave her dad behind.

  Paul Grove had been like a second father to her and Ariel their whole life, even before the death of her own parents. They had spent as much time at Trisha’s house as she had spent at theirs. Well, when they weren’t trying to hide her and keep her. Carmen had always loved the quiet little girl who was a little over a year older than her in age. She couldn’t count the times she had talked Trisha into hiding at their house so she could have two big sisters. Paul and her parents had finally given up and let the girls take turns staying at each other’s house on the weekends. Even as they grew, their special friendship had survived. It would have broken her heart when Ariel and Trisha went off to college early if Scott and Paul hadn’t been there. When her parents had been killed, Paul stepped in taking guardianship of her during her last year of high school. He had taken her with him during some of his training exercises showing her how to survive in the wilderness. He had also shown her how to let the peace of the mountains take away some of the pain she was feeling. She had worked with Samara, another girl who worked part-time for Paul and was the same age as her, with the horses that Paul kept on his ranch. Samara was barely bigger than Cara and almost as hyper. She had a firecracker temper, though. Probably from having to deal with four older brothers who liked to boss her around.

  Carmen was so lost in her memories that when Harvey suddenly stood up, she had to shake herself to bring everything back into focus. When she realized she wasn’t alone anymore, a dark scowl twisted her pale features into a hostile mask.

  “Not you again!” Carmen bit out sarcastically. “Wasn’t getting your ass whipped once enough?”

  She glared up fiercely at the image of the tall man who had sent her running in a panic. She would never let anyone know she was scared though. She also wouldn’t let him or anyone else stop her from her mission. He needed to learn that right off the bat. She wouldn’t let her body rule over her head. She rose to stand defiantly before him, her body taut with tension.

  “I need to return to my planet immediately,” she added with a determined tilt to her chin as she faced him. “As in yesterday.”

  *.*.*

  Creon had listened in disbelief to his mother’s fears for the slender female down in her garden. She had told him of the girl’s desire to end her life. That something was hurting her. Tears had formed in her eyes as she told him of the whispered words of fear the girl expressed and about the painful cry that had been torn from the girl when his symbiot held her. The pain had been so intense his symbiot had absorbed some of it and was in distress.

  “I have never seen anything pull a cry like that from a symbiot before,” Morian had said desperately. “The sound of it resonated with such pain and grief it tore at my own heart. Your mate is hurting. I do not know if she is ill or what but you must help her.”

  Creon had looked doubtfully at his mother until the image of the slight figure clinging to his symbiot surfaced in his mind. Fear swept through him at the thought of his mate in pain. He needed to link with his symbiot so he could see what was wrong with her. If he needed to chance putting her through the transformation where the added healing qualities of his dragon would help her, he would. It would be dangerous but if there was a risk of her dying anyway he would have no choice. Creon knew that if there was something wrong with her and she did not make it, he would not live. Even without fully claiming her, their lives were intertwined together whether they wanted it to be or not.

  “Are you sure,” he had asked his mother quietly.

  “Yes,” Morian replied looking carefully at her youngest son.

  He had suffered so much during the Great Wars. He was also the reason the wars had ended peacefully. Out of all her sons, she had worried the most about him. He had always been the quietest one of the five boys she had been blessed with. He had also been one of the most lethal in his protection of Valdier and their people. Not that her other sons would not have done what was necessary but Creon had sacrificed a part of who he was to ensure the successful end to the wars.

  “She is a she-demon,” he had responded with a slight curve to his lips as he touched first his ear, then his eye, before his lip. “It is hard to believe anything could be wrong with her but I will make sure she is well,” he had added as he turned to walk back down the stairs.

  “Creon,” his mother called out softly.

  Creon paused at the door and looked back at his mother. “Yes.”

  “Look beneath the mask she wears as protection and you will see the true girl underneath,” Morian advised quietly. “And be
prepared for a fight unlike anything you have ever had to deal with before. She will not give in easily.”

  Creon’s lips pulled up into a smile even as a hard glint came into his eyes. “I am well versed in the art of war, Dola. And, I never lose,” he replied in a steely voice.

  Morian watched as her son descended the steps and moved toward where the human girl sat. Her eyes followed the fierce figure until he stood over the smaller one sitting next to his symbiot. As the girl rose, she saw the defiant stiffening of her body and the stubborn tilt of her chin.

  Morian shook her head in concern. “I hope you are right, my son. For this is a battle that could take your heart as well as your life if you lose it.”

  *.*.*

  Creon rolled his shoulders to ease some of the tension in them and grimaced as he felt a new bruise. The meeting in the garden with the white-haired savage had gone about as well as the one in the transporter room. He finally had to tie her up and haul her ass out of the atrium kicking, screaming curses, and vowing to do more than emasculate him when she got free. His symbiot had been very protective of the female but at the same time worked to help him capture her.

  She had looked at his symbiot with such a look of betrayal it had taken off almost immediately after he locked her in his suite of rooms. The sounds of glass breaking against the door as he pulled it closed showed her temper had not calmed down during the time he had carried her over his shoulder to his living quarters.

  The one thing he discovered was she was not hurt physically. At least, that is what he hoped from the information his symbiot was able to tell him during the brief contact it had with her. It tried to send the wrist bands and necklace that it formed on her over her body to make sure but she had removed them, tossing them out the window before it could make sure.

  Right now, he needed to get down to the conference room. He was supposed to meet with his brothers to go over the information he had learned so far. The newest information from Ha’ven was too disturbing to share yet. At least, until he could verify it. He was supposed to meet up with Ha’ven in a couple of days. Until then, it was best to keep what he suspected to himself. He wanted to tell his brothers about what he had learned from his trip to the Sarafin star system. He had met up with Vox, the leader of the cat-shifting race. Vox said that several of his most trusted warriors had approached him about a member of the Royal family of Valdier requesting a meeting with him. Vox had put off the meeting as he was about to disembark on a quick trip to one of Valdier’s Spaceports to broker a deal for more crystals and sniff out some troubling information about one of his councilmen who had disappeared suddenly while at the spaceport. Vox was concerned as the man was one of his most trusted friends.