Intense.
The air in the room changed.
Charged.
Turned volatile.
Kattlyn never let up. “After you release mine,” she growled.
Kavvan wasn’t one to give up. But someone had to. After an intense moment, Kavvan stepped back, allowing Alan to drop to his feet and gasp for air.
Kattlyn let go of me and took a quick step back. My hands flew to my neck.
“Are you all right, Amanda?”
I nodded, too scared to say anything. Kavvan’s eyes slid past me, looking at Kattlyn. “Don’t touch my mate again,” he warned.
Not wanting to be in the middle, I stepped to the side just in time to see Kattlyn take an aggressive step forward. She stood almost nose to nose with Kavvan when she delivered her own warning. “Then I suggest you leave mine alone.”
There was no doubt that she would defend Alan to the death. A warrior in her own right. A fighter, no matter what anyone else thought. I could see it.
Alan stepped forward. “Kattlyn. Don’t.” She broke the intense stare-down that she and Kavvan had going on, and she turned toward Alan. Her face softened, and I could see the love shining in her eyes as she looked at him. It was the same way Kavvan looked at me. Alan tugged on her hand and smiled, “I told you, I can take care of myself.”
“But Kavvan…”
“I just didn’t want to make the situation worse. But believe me, I can defend myself. And you.”
Kattlyn let out a deep breath. “All right.”
Kavvan stood, staring at the two. I reached out and tugged on his hand. When he looked down at me, I reminded him of where we were headed. “Let’s go check on Nikkul.”
He nodded, glanced at Alan and Kattlyn one last time before we calmly walked away. I knew he’d seen the same thing I had. Love, and they wouldn’t let it go without a fight.
We walked in silence down the corridor, its beauty now lost on me. I knew that Alan spoke the truth. A human male was not good enough for an Azziarin female. They must be held in higher regard than humans. My gut churned with a sickening feeling, and the farther we walked, the worse I felt. And then it got worse.
When we walked into medical, I stopped mid-step, unprepared for the scene in front of me. Nikkul was lying on a cot, a healer checking him over. An Azziarian female stood at his side, running her hands down his body and kissing his forehead. Nikkul smiled lovingly at her. Jane stood off to the side and had silent tears running down her face.
Kavvan didn’t seem surprised as he rubbed his forehead in frustration, an odd gesture for him. He looked at the Azziarin female and said, “Sonyya, why are you here?”
Her head shot up and anger-filled eyes pierced me before addressing Kavvan. “You know why I’m here. Why are they?”
“This is my mate, Amanda, and over there,” he nodded at Jane, “is Nikkul’s mate.”
“No, I’m not!” Jane said as she grabbed my hand. “Let’s go find the other women.”
My head was spinning, unable to process everything that had happened. I let Jane drag me away, and to my disappointment, so did Kavvan.
Kavvan
That standard day hit bottom. I’d just found Kattlyn with the human male, and there was no doubt that she would kill anyone who got between the two of them. Neither King Mallik nor his sons would ever approve of the match. Humans were weaker, and Alan could not defend the princess. The tense situation lasted long enough to plant doubt in Amanda’s mind. I smelled her worry, her hurt.
And then we found Nikkul lying in medical with Sonyya attending to him. With Amanda’s fragile heart, I hadn’t explained the Azziarin culture, nor the fact that I didn’t have a consort. But Nikkul did, and that was a huge problem.
“Nikkul, how is your head?” I ignored Sonyya standing next to him.
“Rykker says it will be fine.” When Sonyya reached down and stroked his cheek, Nikkul reached up and grabbed her arm. He trailed his fingertips down until he reached her hand, and then brought it to his mouth for a gentle kiss.
Anger boiled up inside me. He should never have mated a human female if he intended to keep Sonyya. Everyone knew that. The story of the incident between Jakke and Sydney had spread. I cleared my throat. When he glanced at me, I raised one eyebrow and asked, “What about Jane?”
He shook his head. “Who’s Jane?”
“Ah, Commander Kavvan,” Rykker said as he rounded the corner, catching the last of the conversation. “Nikkul hasn’t completely healed. He’s lost part of his short-term memories.”
“Can you get them back?”
Rykker glanced at Nikkul and Sonyya and grimaced. “Physically, there is nothing more I can do. His memories will return on their own.”
“How long?”
“I’m not sure. It could be a standard hour, a standard day, or a standard week.”
I crossed my arms and watched with disgust as Sonyya rubbed all over his body. Sish! What a faulk’n mess.
“Nikkul, listen to me!” Good, I had his attention. “You have a human mate. One who just flew out of here in tears. Let Sonyya go until you recover your memories.”
My words made him think, or so I thought. His loud, boisterous voice filled the room. “Commander, it is not nice to play tricks on me.”
“Think, Nikkul.”
He shook his head. “I do not remember a human mate. I don’t remember any humans except…” he concentrated, “the one we rescued at the black-market. The foul-mouthed one, and she was not my mate.” How can he remember Susan and not his own mate?
“Much more happened after that. Think. You were captured by a group of others and taken to a cave. There you met Var, Jane, Clara, and my mate, Amanda. Remember them?”
He shook his head. “But I remember her.” He smiled up at Sonyya before pulling her down on the cot with him.
I shook my head and pursed my lips. This was not my second in command. His mind had been altered, and until it returned, there was no reasoning with him.
Sonyya giggled as Nikkul ran his hands up her backside. No honorable Azziarin would act such a way in public. I feared he would do something that Jane could never forgive him for.
“Don’t worry, Commander,” Rykker said as he stepped up beside me. “I’ll give him something to sedate him. He will not be doing anything until his mind has recovered.”
“Thank you, Rykker.” I needed to find Jane and Amanda.
Jane
No! No! No! This could not be happening. Someone, something, had ripped the rug out from underneath me, and I was in a death-spiraling free-fall. For the second time in my life, I’d found love. True happiness, and now someone had ripped it from me. Not someone, this Azziarin female standing over Nikkul. She stood at least six feet tall, with beautiful white hair that curled over her shoulder. The white hair made her skin look tan, and her eyes were a piercing blue. She wore a red dress that hugged her curves, not that she had many. It didn’t matter. She was stunning and I couldn’t compete with her beauty.
Trying to believe that what we shared was real, I approached the cot. “Nikkul?”
The female’s head shot up, and with piercing eyes, she hissed, “Leave.”
When Nikkul reached up and stroked her cheek, my heart sank. The last bit of hope I had fled with his next words. “Sonyya, you came.” He tenderly stroked her face. “I have missed you.” I could see the love she had for him when she smiled at Nikkul. Reality set in. Oh, God!
Kavvan and Amanda walked through the door, and I knew that Amanda would understand. I grabbed her hand, needing to escape the room. Amanda didn’t resist. No words were exchanged when we left medical.
We almost ran down the halls of the castle, and when the door loomed in front of us, a laughing Sydney walked in, followed by the other females.
Sydney narrowed her eyes. “What happened?”
“I… I…” I stammered, “I need to get away from here. Please,” I begged. “Please, help me.”
“Dammit!” She placed
her hands on her hips, her belly sticking out. “Chloe, what do you think?”
“Yep. Let’s go.” About that time, Alan rounded the corner. “Hey, Alan, we’re leaving. Want to come?”
“Hell, yes!”
I didn’t know where we were going, but they were all human. And if Amanda, Susan, and Clara were going, then so was I.
There were eight of us in something referred to as a hovercar. Sydney kept messing with the control panel.
“What are you doing?” Susan asked with amusement.
“I need to disable the damn tracking device. They are a recent thing so he can,” she made quotation marks with her fingers, “keep up with me.”
“Let me see.” Susan sidled over beside Sydney, looking at the new device.
“I don’t know much about their technology, but…” Susan grabbed the newly added device that Sydney pointed out, and with a yank, she ripped it off. There were no wires or cords, just a small device the size of a deck of cards.
“Shit! Throw it out and let’s go!”
Susan tossed the device out and the hovercar sped away. I sat in numb silence and watched the replay of everything I’d just witnessed between Sonyya and Nikkul.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Susan asked as she sat back.
“I was trying to disable it because ripping it out sent a silent alarm to security.”
“Shit!”
~~~~~
We were sitting on a beautiful beach, and Susan passed me a mug of alcohol. It was amazing to look at the lavender water crashing into cliffs on either side of us. We sat in a small break in the cliffs where black sand led to the water’s edge. You couldn’t have painted a more beautiful place.
“Where are we?” Krista asked.
Sydney smiled. “When I found this place, I had a beach house built as a getaway for Jakke and me.” She rubbed her belly. “I know the kids will love playing here.”
“Where is your son?”
“He’s with the nanny. And when Jakke gets back to our rooms, he can take care of him.”
It sounded cold to me. If I could have my little girl back, I’d never leave her. My mind kept alternating from the family I had and everything that led me to where I was now.
“What does he look like?” Amanda asked Sydney as she took a drink of the alcohol. The light was disappearing as we sat around in a circle on the beach.
Sydney smiled, “He has my dark hair, his dad’s tan skin. His eyes are shaped like the Azziarins’, but he has my eye color. He does have fangs. Try breastfeeding with those little suckers,” she laughed. “He also has four fingers instead of five, so I’d say he’s a good mix between the two of us.”
“He grows fast for a baby,” Chloe added.
Everyone sat in silence, drinking Fire’s Breath. Sydney finally said, “Okay, let’s make sure everyone knows who everyone is. Starting on the left,” she pointed to Amanda. “This is Amanda, Susan, Jane, Clara, Alan, Krista, Chloe, and I’m Sydney. Now,” she smiled, “what the hell happened?”
How embarrassing. I kept my mouth shut and sat in silence, sipping my drink.
Amanda answered for everyone. “Kavvan and I found Alan kissing Kattlyn. Kavvan threatened him, Kattlyn threatened me, and Nikkul had an Azziarin female all over him, and he didn’t object. And after all that, I have no idea what the hell is going on.”
Sydney and Chloe gave each other a slight nod. “Alan, if you are not good enough for Kattlyn, then we are not good enough for them. Right, Krista?”
“Damn straight!”
Alan smiled, but it never reached his eyes.
“And Jane, I’m sorry. Jakke pulled some shit like that with me when I first arrived, and it’s painful. I told him and everyone else that humans don’t share!”
“Wait. What?” Amanda asked.
“Didn’t Kavvan tell you?”
Amanda shook her head.
“It’s their way. They will take a mate, but then they have consorts on the side. Jakke’s parents were mated, but his father had at least three consorts, maybe more, that he took to his bed. When I got here, Jakke had three of his own. I had to watch them maul him, and even worse, he enjoyed it!” Sydney jumped to her feet.
“Here we go,” Chloe murmured and took a sip of her drink.
Oh, God! Everything made sense now. Sonyya was Nikkul’s consort. Consort. Just thinking the word made me dizzy. Tears sprang to my eyes once again, but I stared at the water, not wanting anyone to see. Consort. Was he fucking her right now?
“I’m going for a walk.” I jumped to my feet, quickly refilled my mug, and set out at a slow pace. I needed to think.
“Want some company?” Amanda called out.
“No, but thanks.” I waved, not looking in her direction.
13
____________________
Broken-Hearted
Nikkul
Lying in a twilight state, I hugged Jane closer to my body. She felt so warm, so familiar. Who knew that having a true mate would be so satisfying? I ran my fingers through her silky hair. Her head was on my shoulder, tucked under my chin. My hands traveled down, cupping the curve of her backside as my hips started moving in a rhythm of their own. We had too many clothes on.
“Good morning,” I whispered, my eyes still closed.
“Good morning,” she answered back.
My eyes popped open as dread pooled inside me. I moved my body out from under Sonyya, getting to my feet. “What are you doing here?”
She narrowed her eyes, “What are you talking about?”
“Where’s Jane?”
She grinned, “Ah, that human who was here last night? She left.”
“Last—? I need to go.”
“Nikkul?”
I swallowed hard and went back to face Sonyya. I needed to find Jane, and I didn’t have time to waste, but Sonyya deserved answers.
“Sonyya, I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time, but…”
“Don’t say it!”
I let out a defeated breath and then pressed on. “I didn’t go looking for a mate, but it happened.”
“Please, Nikkul. Don’t,” she pleaded, and it broke my heart. Sonyya had been with me for a long time, and as much as it pained me to let her go, I had to.
“I’m sorry, Sonyya. I wish things could be different. I wish I could have the both of you, but humans don’t share.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck. My heart shattered for the love of two females. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. If you find your true mate, she is all you need, or want. Jane was all I needed, but a part of me held on to Sonyya and our history together.
“Sonyya, I have to go.” I grabbed her hands from behind my neck.
“Please don’t leave me,” she cried out.
“Let me talk to Jane, make sure she’s all right, and I’ll come back and talk to you.”
She swallowed hard. “Promise?”
Smiling sadly, I said, “Promise.” The expression on her face broke my heart, and I hated to leave her. But Jane was my true mate. The one made for me. I don’t know what happened, what she witnessed, and my gut churned with worry. I would never intentionally hurt Jane.
I headed out of medical and found Kavvan waiting in a chair. He looked haggard. “What’s wrong?”
His head shot up. “The humans are missing.”
Everything inside me went on alert. “What do you mean?”
“I mean they are missing.” He stood. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or just tired.
“Who?” I crossed my arms.
“Amanda, Susan, Jane, Clara, Sydney, Chloe, Krista, and Alan.”
“Do you think something happened to them?”
He leveled his gaze on me and scoffed. “Yes, I do. I think Jane couldn’t handle watching you and Sonyya, so Sydney and Chloe took them all somewhere. The problem is, We. Can’t. Find. Them.”
“What about the tracking device?”
“It was ripped out before they took off.”
<
br /> “Sish!”
Kavvan scoffed. “That’s an understatement.”
“How bad was it? What did Jane witness?” Dread pooled inside me. With her missing, I felt helpless.
“Bad.” Kavvan glanced at me. “More than what you did, it was easy to see that you love Sonyya and she loves you.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. “I hate that she witnessed that.”
Jane
I’d sat on the beach all night, thinking about my situation. With Nikkul’s betrayal, I felt so alone. Unloved. The only people who ever loved me unconditionally were my family. All my little girl wanted to do was be in my arms. “Mama,” she’d say and then reach for me… I didn’t have to be perfect; she and my husband loved me anyway. I was all they needed.
My mind flashed back to the beautiful female, Sonyya. Nikkul didn’t need me, he had her. Sydney said they had several consorts at one time. What a messed-up planet to treat women like that. If I stayed here, he would have to choose between me and Sonyya, because I knew she loved him. It was obvious that she worried over him. And as much as I hated to admit it, he loved her.
Tired, I was so tired. After sitting all night wrestling with my feelings, I’d finally come to a conclusion. I loved Nikkul, and I would not make him choose between me and Sonyya. I would not be the cause of her pain. This was her planet, and she didn’t need some alien to come in and make her miserable. I wouldn’t do that to anyone. Not after living through my own hell.
My mind flashed back to my little girl. I believed in heaven, and I prayed God would forgive me for what I was about to do. I wanted to hold my little girl. Hug my husband. Life was not the same without them, and I didn’t want to do it anymore. With one last thought of Nikkul, I left him a note in the sand and hoped it would be enough.
I held a sharp rock in my hand. One I had found earlier when I wrestled with what to do. With my decision made, a calm descended over me. Something I hadn’t felt in a really long time. I took the rock and placed the sharp edge on my wrist. I knew not to slit across it, but lengthwise, down the artery. With as much pressure as I could exert, I cut down my wrists. Bright red blood gushed forth.
Kavvan (The Azziarin Series Book 7) Page 12