Flashes of a future with him ran before her eyes as she blinked fast trying not to let tears of joy flow. He changed her life and she changed his. For better or worse she whispered to herself as Aran turned her over to her mate and soon to be husband.
She looked up into Sergey’s eyes as the minister started the ceremony. Listening with half and ear she focused on Sergey. He switched from the stance of attention to at ease as she stood beside him. A sign only for her letting her know he had nothing to hide when around her.
The minister led them through the traditional vows to love, honor and obey. Then he announced they would add on their own vows.
“Sergey,” Lorali’s love filled voice rang loud. “I vow to love each side of you and to never shy away from you. I will always have you in my heart and will follow you wherever you choose to go both on land and in space. Sergey your acceptance of me has humbled me. Your love has become my rock. I promise my heart to you for all eternity; I am proud to become Mrs. Sergey Dare.
“Lorali,” Sergey’s strong voice reverberated through the field. “I vow to love and protect you. I will always be there for you. I will protect the children we conceive and provide for them as I provide for you. Lorali, you taught my heart what it meant to love. Without you I would still be lost. You brought both joy and peace into my life, I am proud to say I am the husband of Lorali Dare.
Forget the makeup, a big fat tear rolled down her face.
“Lorali,” the minister’s voice rang out. “Do you take this male to be your husband?”
“I do.”
“Sergey, do you take this female to be your wife?”
“I do.”
“The rings.”
Ash reached besides him and picked up a delicate pillow that held two rings. He handed Sergey Lorali’s ring.
Reaching out, Sergey took Lorali’s hand slipping on the gold band onto her finger.
Ash reached over and handed Lorali the other ring.
She took Sergey’s hand letting her fingers caress his before slipping the gold ring on his finger. Anyone who glanced at his hand would know he was taken, just the way he wanted it.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Sergey slowly reached down to gasp the edge of her veil. He allowed his fingers to caress the lacey material. She watched feeling nervousness spread through her body. She’d kissed him thousands of times, but this time would be special. The start of the rest of their lives. Her tongue came out to lick at her dry lips as she slowly lifted the veil revealing her as Mrs. Dare for the first time.
After agonizing minutes she was finally free from the veil. He lowered his head and took her lips in a breathless kiss that sealed their future together. Reluctantly they broke apart and turned to the crowd.
“May I introduce to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Dare.” The minster’s voice rang loud with happiness. The guests cheered.
They walked down the aisle to well wishes and hopes for many children as well as a long life together. Lorali smiled knowing she would have all of that and more.
“Pictures,” a voice called. Lorali took Sergey’s hand and led him towards the fountain. “Every wedding needs pictures,” she told him.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Yaksim dropped the force field and a dark shadow covered the stadium. He had watched as the vows were said. Crude, but it got the job done. He had patiently hid as they laughed, danced and had fun. It reminded him of the things he once enjoyed on his planet. The more he watched the more his hands started to shake. In his mind, he could see Brie – the female who should have been his - looking up at him with pride gleaming in her big eyes. Then they came.
She always believed in him, backing him up in any issue. Until that child was born. She was captivated from the very beginning by that one. How she could bring herself to touch it and to let it touch her was beyond his advanced logic. Not that it mattered, once he killed this one and his family he would go after Brie. There would be no one left for her but him.
Bitter laughter left his lips as he watched the humans panic. He would kill them also, just because he could. There would be a massacre today, a warning to the planet that life was about to change.
He shook his head in disgust when Dante and his brothers began to gather the humans. It didn’t matter, he was going to kill them all. He jumped over the balcony and landed on the field directly across from Aran. He would kill him first, maybe he would kill him several times just for fun.
“Aran.”
“Scientist.”
“The name’s Yaksim. Are you afraid to say it? Do you still fear me? Does my programming still affect your tiny brain?”
“Humility was never your strong suit…Yaksim.”
The stadium was filled with deep growls as Aran met the challenge head on and defied the scientist.
“Kneel before me, Aran.” Yaksim voice was confident.
His name would trigger latent programs that not even Nicolas or Dante could find. His confidence grew as he saw Aran struggling not to move. Maybe he would have Aran kill his mate and child before he killed him. The crack in his mind the one he tried to fight at times, was growing bigger. He liked the feel of it.
“I said kneel, Aran.” His voice echoed in the silence of the stadium.
Dante and his brothers took the humans to safety even though they could only go so far due to the force field.
Aran’s eyes had been glued to his mate and their son. Now he turned his eyes to Yaksim and slowly walked to stand before him. The force field around him would only allow Aran to get so close.
He lifted his head and looked him squarely in the eyes. “No. If you want me to bow then you will have to be strong enough to make it happen. Your latent programs were broken by my beautiful mate and my small son.”
Aran stood tall before him waiting for his next move. Yaksim directed his force field at him. It met Aran’s energy field, the one that he had years to perfect. He went flying backwards as Aran stood tall.
“I will kill you all.”
He bounded to his feet taking off at a run.
“Ash. Chase him down and bring him to me.”
Ash took off at a run after the tainted Created. There was a struggle. Aran watched as they fought over a weapon of mass destruction. One wrong move by either of them would kill everyone in the stadium.
Aran walked over to his mate and son gathering them in his arms. He ignored the look of his brothers each of whom wanted to be the one fighting with the tainted one. They would not understand why he chose Ash over them, not that it mattered. It was his call.
The tainted Created caught Ash unaware knocking him to his back; he used the weapon to press down on Ash’s windpipe. Ash’s energy shield was still protecting him, keeping Yaksim from doing any real damage. Wrapping his legs around Yaksim, he used his heavier body to flip their positions. He sprang up and retreated before Yaksim could grab him.
Ash would have to find a way to infiltrate Yaksims force field. He looked around for something that would indicate it was producing the energy. The Scientist was not generating an internal field that he was pushing outwards to protect himself. The energy had been cold when he touched it.
Aran watched and ignored his brothers who were demanding the opportunity to go in and kill Yaksim.
They circled each other as Ash looked for his weak spot. He had to have one. The kick Yaksim used knocked him in his knee causing him to fall to the ground. Ash hit the ground with a hard thud that rocked his energy field, leaving him without protection.
Ash gave up as the scientist covered his body with his arm cutting off his air supply. Yaksim roared his victory, turning he gave Aran a gloating look. Ash brought his arm up and around Yaksim’s back grabbing the small generator that was nestled in the small of it. He had almost missed it. He allowed Yaksim’s foot to connect after he caught a glimpse of it.
The force field disappeared causing Yaksim to roar out in fury. Ash quickly t
urned the tables, flipping him over while changing forms and wrapping his deadly claws around Yaksim’s throat.
Ash’s beast kept the scientist under control as he lifted him and marched him back to face Aran.
“I will just come back for you when you’re not paying attention. You will never be free of me.”
“Freedom is easy to achieve. All I need to do is kill you,” Aran replied.
“You wouldn’t dare. It’s against your code.”
“We have learned through centuries of warfare that the only way to stop your enemy is to destroy him. We learned that from you, thank you.”
“Who did he kill?” Amber looked up at him.
Aran saw her when she walked in. Dante let her pass so he hadn’t worried about her. She asked to hold Alexei and still had his son in her arms, with a very watchful Rena hovering over her one side, and her mother on her other side.
“He has killed no one, but he has tried several times to kill my brothers and our mates.”
“I understand. You were stronger than him. Why did you send your brother Ash after him?”
He looked down at her again. She had too much knowledge in her eyes for one so young. He could feel the gazes of his brothers burning holes through him.
“We are only as strong as our weakest link. Today I needed everyone to understand we do not have any weak links. Soon a battle will be on our doorstep and we will have to protect the family and the earth. No matter what order you were born, each and every one of you is strong and wise. Ash handled his battle in a way I would not have, but it worked for him. Sergey choose to draw out the enemy he faced. No matter the method it is the one right for you.”
The males relaxed. Dante softly spoke to his brothers after Aran was finished speaking. Aran looked down.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Her small voice reached inside of him. “Will you kill him now?”
He heard that same tone used on him more than once, usually when Rena was trying to patiently show him the error of his ways.
“Does anyone have any other suggestions?” he asked of those gathered around him.
“You’re weak, Aran. You were never meant to lead. Your tw…” Blood gushed from his mouth and he hit the ground.
Aran looked around. No one touched Yaksim.
“My what?” Aran questioned, getting no answer.
“I can offer you a different path,” Dante said quietly. “You can give him to me. He will never be back to harass you again or you can kill him.” He shrugged his shoulders and waited.
Aran looked down at Amber who was still held Alexei. Rena and Amber’s mother were around her showing her again how to hold him. He met Rena’s eyes and saw her belief in him, no matter what he choose.
He raised his head and nodded at Dante. “I would like nothing better than to meet out the justice I believe he deserves. A death sentence. Instead I will give him over to your tender mercies.”
Today was for celebrating. He would not kill unless he had to in order to keep his family and his extended family safe.
Dante dragged Yaksim off.
“You haven’t seen the end of me,” he called out. “I will be leading the army that will invade the earth.”
A collective sigh went up as he disappeared.
“What are you waiting for, it’s a party.” Sergey turned to look at Lorali. “It is a party, right?”
She threw her arms around him and kissed him. Every male with a mate thought it was a splendid idea and did the same.
Ash sighed and went to release the humans who would never remember this brief delay.
There was laughter late into the night. It ended with the best fireworks display the city had ever seen.
Epilogue – Twelve years into the future
“I’m going to capture you.” Alexei’s laughter rang through the yard while he chased his two younger cousins and Amber who was helping them get away.
Janis was watching. Soon her child would be born. So far Nicolas had been right, each child born was male. Every one took turns keeping track of the active children.
“Alright, someone else has child duty. I need a bathroom break.” Janis stood and waddled across the room; she would deliver soon. She would glare at her sisters when she got back for giving her sly smiles.
Tori wrapped her arms around Hale. “I don’t know whether to be happy or sad that we have years to wait until our first child will be conceived.”
Nicolas had proved his theory. The males went into some kind of heat period. That’s when they made viable sperm. It seemed to be every eighteen years and their cycle was offset by three years. Each brother had a cycle of eighteen years and each cycle was three years apart. Three years after Aran’s ended, Sergey’s began.
They fell like dominoes. First Rena, Lorali, Dee, and now Janis.
Tori sat in Hale’s lap. Life was good.
Ash sat in the corner of the large yard. He had the look of someone who survived a traumatic loss despite himself.
He had gone to Water Works that Monday after Lorali’s and Sergey’s wedding. He waited all day there, but Brooklyn never showed up. He went every day for three months, but she never came.
He looked for her everywhere. Hale broke into every data base he could find, but there was no mention or sign of her anywhere. As the years went on he finally gave up. How long could she have lived with that disease raging in her body? He knew they could have found a cure, given the chance.
He watched Amber run. He had become her official guardian in their world. She had a second home in his house along with her parents. They stopped fighting the fact that she was different years ago.
He watched as Dante came to sit by him. The Created saw thousands of moves ahead of any of them including his own brothers. That’s why Ash kept an eye on a budding teen.
“Ash.”
“Dante.”
“How are you today?”
“The same as yesterday and the day before. Have you come over here to give me false hope?”
“I never give false hope, Ash. You should know that by now.”
Ash ignored him and continued to look at nothing.
“A war is coming and your guardianship will be needed.” Ash ignored him. “Amber cannot be hurt, remember that.”
He stood up to walk away. “Ash, Brooklyn is out there. You will meet her again long after you have given up hope.”
He walked away having done all he could do today.
Back Matter
I hope you are enjoying the Love Me Harder series. Writing Hale and Tori’s story brought many smiles to my face. I loved the predicaments they found themselves in as well as how the brothers responded to them.
Please leave a review at the site you purchased this e-book letting others know what you thought of it.
How to find me
You can find me at my website
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Christmas on the run
Coming Soon
Chapter one
What she needed was plenty of snow. She tugged on her overstuffed coat and fidgeted in her Greyhound bus seat wishing the bus would go faster. The warm sunshine of a few days ago was now laden with dark skies and impending bad weather. The further she got away from sunny California, the better she felt, soon she hoped she’d be able to breath and stop looking over her shoulder.
Her lips turned down there was no way she would stop looking over her shoulder. Monsters existed and she had proof. Even now she didn’t know what possessed her to walk down that alleyway, her normal sense of self-preservation usually didn’t let her do anything that stupid.
It had been such a beautiful November night, crisp and clear. All she wanted was to get home, snuggle up in her bed and escape the fact that the next day was Thanksgiving. When you had no one to spend the holidays with they just weren’t
as joyful.
Everything was fine until she heard a noise. It was more like a squeal of pain that was quickly cut off, that’s when her self-preservation kicked in and she quickly hid behind several big dumpsters. There’s nothing like the smell of trash at the end of a long day. Her stomach had immediately revolted causing her to gag. What are they throwing away in this ally dead things was the immediate cynical thought that went through her head. She really wished she never thought that.
Not hearing anymore sounds after finally getting her stomach to calm down she took measured steps from behind the dumpsters. Peeking her head out she saw the ally was filled with men. Big men the kind that made you hot in a club but filled you with dread in a dark ally. She was being filled with horror as a poor man stood in the middle of them begging for his life.
“Where is she?” One of the males asked in a loud voice causing her to shake.
Without consciousness thought she reached for her cell phone. It was natural for her to take a picture of what was unfolding, just part of her everyday routine. Take a picture upload it and share it with the world.
“Go to hell,” the man between them shot back. “I’ll never tell you where she is, but don’t worry after morning they’ll be no need to look for her. We’ll get rid of your kind one at a time.”
The man spit at one of the men hitting him in the face. She flinched when she saw the huge man raise a hand to wipe the spittle away. Here it comes they are going to beat that man to a pulp.
“I will ask you one more time. If you value your life you will tell me where she is.”
“You’re going to kill me anyway so why would I tell you. Besides I like the thought of her screaming for mercy as they take her apart inch by inch. Don’t worry though no will touch her any other way,” he gave a crude suggestive laugh. “Who knows what diseases you filthy creatures carry?”
Hale: Love Me Harder - Alien Paranormal Romance Page 18