“Are you all right? You don’t have to tell me the rest right now if you don’t want to. You were badly hurt during the incursion of the Q’Dahd.” While I couldn’t remember much about this man, I knew enough about him to empathize with his position. It was hard for anyone to remember a terrible event in their lives no matter when it happened.
“No…I need to do this…I’ll be fine. Give me a moment.” We sat in silence for a few minutes before he continued. “We could see the plasma bursts from the air and sat down a little way from the firefight. We had never seen anything like it as we didn’t have the same caliber of weapons on hand. The Q’Dahd were everywhere. I never knew what they were looking for or why they had chosen that very spot, but it was horrible. The only thing I do know was it happened to be the ruins for an early man site. Regardless of what they were looking for, if it hadn’t been for Lukas, I would have died. The battle was much like the one fought here but on a much larger scale.”
He took another breath and shuddered. I immediately reached out and squeezed his hand. “Go on.”
He swallowed hard. “There were only ten of them and nearly fifty of us. Only a handful of us survived. Each of us owes Lukas a debt we can never repay.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes briefly, almost seeing what he and his unit had gone through. “You came home and decided to start this unit.”
He nodded. “We did. Lukas is just as much in charge as I am. He knows a lot of what I don’t. I know a lot about here he doesn’t. Together we’ve made a good team through the years.”
My stomach clenched a little when I realized I had fallen for a man possibly meant for my mother, not sure what that really meant. “Okay…I don’t think I want to talk any more about this…at least not right now. You said I had another sibling?”
“Yes…a sister we named Brianna…you’ll meet her and your stepmother again soon. We all work here.” He smiled and indicated the facility with a sweep of his hand. “I felt the compound would be much safer than being on the outside.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say. My world had just turned upside down in more ways than one. It would take a while to process everything I’d learned today as I decided what would be the next step in my life.
“I’ll leave you to think about everything. I know I’ve given you a lot to ponder.” He patted my hand when a young blonde woman came in to wheel him out.
“Hi, Bree,” I said without thinking and gasped. “You’re my sister…aren’t you?”
Smiling, I could tell her eyes filled with tears. “Hi, Aing.” Coming to my side, she threw her arms around me. “I am so glad to see you. I’ve missed you.”
Blinking back tears myself, I patted her shoulder, not having the strength to do much else. “Obviously, I missed you too. We’ll have to catch up real soon, okay?” She nodded and wheeled my new-found father out.
I lay there, wondering if I should have an ‘ew’ moment because of Lukas and my mother when he walked in. I sat there watching him, not knowing what to say.
“He told you, didn’t he?” He stood there for a moment with coffee in both hands before moving forward and setting a cup in front of me.
“That you were probably meant for my mother…uh…yeah.” I lifted my arm, not sure if I wanted him to touch me or not. “You just sit over there while I try to get through this information in my mind.”
“It’s not what you think.” His hot gaze slid down my face.
“You don’t have a clue what I’m thinking.” I lifted my chin. Anger wouldn’t solve anything but right now it was the only thing racing through my blood. Anger at him. Anger at my father. And anger at the Q’Dahd who had caused this battle that must have gone on for ages.
He chuckled. “It’s written all over your face. I should explain it to you.”
“I guess you better cause I’m about ready to lose my breakfast here in a minute, so to speak.” I crossed my arms and leaned back. This was going to be good.
“Understood.” He reached over, and I allowed him to take my hand to place my coffee there. “Your mother and I were friends only. We weren’t ever meant to be together at all. She had been originally paired with my brother when he got killed in a Q’Dahd raid on our home planet. I decided to take his place because I felt it was my duty to finish what he had started. Somehow when we arrived, we were separated with her being on one continent and me being on another.”
I felt relieved immediately as tears flooded my eyes and I blinked rapidly, taking a sip of the warm liquid in my cup. Emotions were a bitch when you didn’t want them around. “I’m sure the Q’Dahd had something to do with you two not arriving together. How did you find my father?”
“We have a special nanite mix which gets injected in us to make us sensitive to our complement no matter how far away they may be from one another. It doesn’t mean we have to fall in love with the person or anything, but it does mean we can find each other when we need to be together. In this case, we were supposed to be together one hundred percent of the time since we didn’t know any of the Q’Dahd plans other than total destruction of any sentient being who might fight them. And before you even ask, I was younger than your mother. But we do age differently than humans.”
I nodded. “How so?”
“We age more slowly. I could probably give you all the details if you want later of how we’re different from you. Suffice it to say, we’re close enough in biological factors to make our being here not cause any problems. Okay?” He looked at me for permission to continue. “I found your father right before he went to Iraq. I was already in the Special Forces by then and the moment I met him, I knew who he had been. We’ve been together ever since as friends fighting a common foe.”
I was suddenly feeling pretty miserable. “What does it make me…second choice?” I tried hard to keep my voice from cracking without success.
“Ah – sweetheart –” he murmured and crawled up into the bed with me.
The tears were flowing fast and furious as I tried to push him away. “Just – just go away.”
“No can do, sweetheart.” He pulled me tighter to his side, stroking my hair.
“Why not? You’re a soldier, aren’t you? Don’t soldiers come and go without regard for special someone?” I used my arm to wipe my eyes.
He frowned. “What does that have to do with anything? So are you.”
I tried to blink my tears away. “What if something happens to you? Or to me?” Both his arms came around me, pulling me even closer to the full length of him. “I can’t lose you now. I’ve just found you again.”
“You’re not going to lose me, lady. Never. We were meant for each other and you know it.” His lips brushed the top of my head.
I sniffed. “I do know it. I knew there was something special about you when we fought four days ago. And then that night…” I couldn’t form the words as why our night together had been very special and memorable. Yet, I didn’t want it to be only because of the mission. I needed us, rather the human side, needed him to care for me in the age-old way men and women cared for each other.
“It was unforgettable, woman. And as soon as the Doc says you’re well enough to get out of here, I’m going to move my stuff into your room. You’ll never have to spend another night alone.” The heat of his body seeped into mine, all warm and cozy.
I pushed myself back to look into his face. “Really? You care about me? And it has nothing to do with my mother or where you came from or anything like the mission?”
He took my face into his hands. “Aingeal Cochran, I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you years ago.” He let out a long sigh. “You were just a teenager when I first met you. Even then the nanites were humming in your blood, calling me. I had to wait. You needed to grow up and figure out what you wanted. I wasn’t ever going to push you into something you didn’t feel.”
I did a double take of the man. “What?” I rubbed my head. I really wish the knock on my head hadn’t take my pas
t away from me. “You gave me time to grow up? To want you?” My voice was soft and disbelieving though I knew it was wrong to feel that way.
“Yes, the mission itself calls for a willingness to give your all to it and your partner. It nearly broke my heart when you left your father’s house. And no, this has nothing at all to do with your mother except you’re her daughter. She passed things to you, so we could fulfill this mission. Nothing more.”
“You love me?” I asked incredulous, amazed anyone could feel the same way about me. I mean, even I knew I was a brat and a pain in the ass but the very fact he was still here after all I had put him through should prove something to me.
“For a long, long time.” He leaned in and kissed me gently. “And I’ll do it for a lot longer if you’ll just let me.”
I nodded and threw my arms around him. Finally, I had found something truly worth having and someone to love forever. However long forever might be.
Epilogue
“Are you sure you want to get married in leather?” a soft voice whispered.
I glanced down at my sister, Bree, with a frown. “I’m sure. Now quit bugging me.”
Her frown deepened as she fidgeted next to me. “Most brides at least wear a dress.”
Sighing heavily, I looked at her again. “As we know, I’m not most brides. I’m sure the justice has seen weirder things in his chapel.”
“At least it’s nice leather.”
I snorted a laugh. “True but I really don’t think it matters what I get married in at all.”
Bree scratched her head. “You might think differently when you tell Mom and Dad.”
I frowned. Lukas and I decided on the spur of a moment to get hitched. We’d been on patrol in Vegas when I found Bree in a shopping mall with Jonathan Ingals. For some reason, Bree was looking at bridal gowns and the fact Jonathan was with her at all seemed odd and out of place. Apparently, someone within the mall, specifically the dress shop we found them in, had alerted our facility of strange happenings in the area. Since we were already out and didn’t answer our call, Bree had volunteered, and Darien wouldn’t let her out without a soldier escort.
Standing in the shop, I was so overwhelmed with the amount of white and frilly things that it almost caused my head to explode. Excusing myself to wait outside, it didn’t take long for Lukas to follow me.
“You sure got out of there in a hurry. One would think you didn’t want to marry me.”
“Wherever did that come from?”
He shrugged. “You have to admit, you practically ran from the bridal shop. I thought girls like the white dress thing.”
“Leather is more my style. You know that.” I shuddered. “There was just too much fluff in there for me.”
He gave a hoot of laughter, drawing the gaze of several bystanders who had been window shopping. “I get it…but have you ever thought about us…getting married, I mean.”
I blinked. What girl didn’t think about getting married to a wildly handsome man who was good in the sack? I’d be lying if I said no but I also didn’t want to push him into marrying me because we were shacking up either. “Of course, I have. Who wouldn’t?” My eyes roamed his body. “You are pretty good looking you know.”
Suddenly, he was on one knee. “That’s all I wanted to hear. Will you marry me, Aingeal Cochran?” He reached inside his pocket and brought out a sparkler, which made my heart drop.
“Lukas…get up,” I tried to pull him up to stand next to me, very aware people were now staring at us. Normally, we didn’t want to bring undue attention to ourselves but in this moment, I knew Lukas didn’t care.
He had a wicked gleam in his eye. “Not until you say yes.”
There he was, on one knee, ring in hand and I was stumped. The feeling in my heart made me want to leap for joy at his request. Though we’d talked about marriage several times, neither of us had committed to it fully. I tried to think of what my mother would say and suddenly, it was crystal clear. “Yes, I do believe I will marry you.”
With a whoop for joy, he swept me into his arms and gave me a heart pounding kiss. His proposal had happened over five hours ago. We’d elicited the help of Bree and Jonathan to come with us as witnesses. We stood in line for a couple of hours at the county courthouse to find ourselves in an off-strip chapel waiting for our justice to arrive to give the vows.
Hearing voices in the hall, I turned to see my stepmother, Jessica, and brother Matt come in, followed by my father, Lukas and Jonathan.
“Did you call them?”
She nodded. “Nope. It would have been Lukas or Jonathan. I know better.”
My family gathered behind me without a word as Lukas came to stand next to me with Jonathan next to him.
I leaned over. “Did you call them?”
“Nope.”
I scolded at him. “Then how did they get here?”
A throat cleared behind me. I turned to look at my father. “Before you get angry at Lukas, I had trackers installed on all your gear. We don’t want any of it to fall into the wrong hands. When Bree and Jonathan didn’t come back as expected, I traced their tracker and was surprised to find you all together.”
“You track us?” I questioned.
“No…just the weaponry…you two can take care of yourselves. The other two are human and would have needed help in a dire situation. They both know to call me if something is amiss.”
“So, basically you found us here.” I let out a long sigh.
Darien shook his head. “And I knew there would be only one reason for you all to be at a wedding chapel.”
I took a deep breath and thought about my life for a moment. Sure, I couldn’t remember many things which had happened before, but my actions now determined my future. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Jessica gave me a quick hug, followed by Matt. My father held me a few moments more than I felt necessary, but we came apart when a door opened.
“Is everyone present?” The justice came forward to stand before myself and Lukas. “Then let us begin. Dearly beloved…”
While our true origins may remain a mystery, our need for companionship isn’t. We need each other to continue fighting, to complement our weaknesses, to provide that which we cannot provide ourselves.
And still we watch and wait but with each other, protecting those innocent worlds from an evil they cannot conceive. An evil only we can combat, together.
About the Author
Award-winning author Lynn Crain loves writing full-time, weaving contemporary, fantasy, futuristic and paranormal tales, tame to erotic. Her home is in the desert southwest of New Mexico. She spent five years living in Vienna, Austria where her husband worked, adding historical snippets to her stories. She loves hearing from her readers at [email protected] or find Lynn at one of her favorite internet sites.
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Her Fate, His Mate
Wolves of Windsor Woods
Krista Ames
Piper Halliday only wanted to get away from her every day, run of the mill, swamped life for a little vacation. What better way than staying in a cabin hidden away from the world, until she no longer feels safe.
Paxson Rivers led a quiet existence in the Windsor Woods. However, his days were numbered. He knew the moment she arrived and he couldn’t help but want her, he just didn’t know why. Linking to a human was against everything he’d ever known or understood.
When Paxson is forced to move in and protect Piper, will she accept her place in the pack or die fighting what she doesn’t understand?
To my daughter and all the wonderful things to look forward to in your new life adventures…
I couldn’t be prouder of the person you are now and will become.
Love you to the moon and back bug!!
Chapter One
“This should be illegal.” She admired her surroundings. “I’d much rather live out the remainder of my days here.”
Piper Halliday needed some time away from her crazy hectic life in the city. Work was wearing down on her but it would pressure anyone that worked seventy hours a week. She would be the first one to admit, she was the job. She loved what she did but it consumed her. Exactly the reason she needed to get away. Her irritability was at an all-time high. She noticed lately that even her secretary was trying to be extra nice and Piper always got along with her on a regular basis so she knew it was best for everyone that she got away for a while.
As luck would have it, her dad knew a guy that had a cabin out in the woods that he rented out so he’d arranged for her to go there and promised complete solitude, that she would be uninterrupted. He’d even arranged for her to have a stocked kitchen so she didn’t have to get out and travel through the woods for the things she needed. There was also a plentiful stock of wood for fire in case it was cool in the cabin at night.
“I can’t take it anymore, I know there’s something out there and I swear who or whatever it is, has been watching me since I got here.”
Piper stood in the opened doorway of her mountain hideaway, not able to see a thing through the darkness of night and trees but she knew for certain something was there. During the day, the trees masked most of the area, not letting much of the sunlight in but at night it was downright eerie.
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