I pried his fingers from the medallion, one by one, but his grip was surprisingly strong as he tried to pull the pretty, sparkling gold to his mouth.
“Noah!” His eyes sparkled with innocent delight as he quickly shoved the medallion into his mouth, fist and all, smothering the entire thing in drool. Which just made prying individual fingers free of the thing without hurting myself that much more difficult.
When I’d first arrived on Earth, I’d tried to remove the chain and the rings. I’d tried pliers and wire cutters. Everything I could think of, but nothing worked. Only surgery would remove them and I had no intention of going there. After a month or two, I’d grown used to them. Before Noah was born, it was my reminder of the short time I’d had with Roark. Then Noah replaced the chain and its medallions as a token of what we’d shared, for our love made him.
The chain remained my personal torment and pleasure, my one true connection to the man I’d loved and lost.
With infinite patience, and a strong desire not to have my nipples yanked on like that again, I finally got the wet, drool-covered medallion from his chubby little fingers.
“You are in trouble, mister.” I shoved the gold back under my shirt and quickly tucked in the front, so his wandering hands could not find it again. “Come on, love. Let’s go get something to eat.”
I lifted him into my arms and made my way down the stairs, my son nestled snuggly under my chin.
Chapter Ten
Roark, Outpost Nine, Northern Continent
After twelve hours in the ReGen pod, I was, per the scanners, ninety-two percent well. I had some bruising, some cuts that were pink, newly healed flesh. I wasn’t perfect, as I would be if I had remained in the pod the recommended time. But I didn’t have time to heal fully. I needed to know what happened to Natalie. If she really was dead, I needed to know. I couldn’t rest until I knew the truth. How could I relax when she might be on Trion somewhere, lost, hurt, alone. The Drovers could have her now, torturing her as they had me. Tormenting her. Causing her pain.
I had to find her. And if I found a body, I would not rest until the DNA test confirmed the remains belonged to my mate.
I’d given her my word, my promise to come for her, to protect her, and I would honor that vow to my dying breath.
“You must give up. Let go,” my mother said, coming into my tent. I sat behind my desk, staring at the search grids for Outpost Two, reading reports of the attack. Outpost Nine was bigger than Two, the small desert outpost where, even now, my mate’s body might be lying in the sand. There was no chance of an attack here. The tent community surrounding Outpost Nine had turned into a city within the desert. When High Councilor Tark was matched to his mate, she’d transported here.
I never imagined the danger Natalie would face simply transporting to the smaller, less-secure outpost. There had not been a direct Drover attack in years. Still, I should have known better, thought of all the consequences, the dangers. She was my mate and her safety should have been my highest priority. Not my convenience.
I never should have risked her. I should have waited until my return to Xalia, where a thousand men would have protected her night and day in the palace. I’d been impatient and eager. My lack of self-discipline had cost me everything.
And here my mother stood, with a frown on her face and a list of replacement females, insisting I now choose a mate from the capital. My mother was ready for me to move on. Ten days, and I was to forget the only woman I’d ever allowed into my heart.
I didn’t turn to face my mother as I responded, afraid she would see my rage. She was my mother and I would offer her nothing but respect. But I was not a boy to be led around by my ear. I was a Councilor. I would not be forced to do anything. When my mother refused to listen, I made the only argument I knew would sway her. “Would you give up Father so easily? Your one true match?”
“That’s different, son.”
“No. It’s not. You were his bride, Mother. Matched through the same system that gave my Natalie to me. She was my match. Perfect for me in so many ways. I claimed her. That very first night.”
“It was only one night, Roark. Surely, if you would spend one night with—”
“No.” Give up Natalie? Never. “There is no confirmation that she’s dead.”
“They found her dress.”
“It’s not enough. I can’t give up so easily.” I rose from my desk and came to stand before her. “I gave her my heart, Mother. Give me some time to heal.”
My mother was quiet long enough to think she would not respond. “No. I would not be able to give up your father. I am sorry. I did not realize what she meant to you. I only saw her for a brief moment and she was not even awake. It is easy to dismiss her very existence, although I see now how much you long for her.”
“I admit, I was skeptical, but the match…it was perfect. I want—”
My father ducked into the tent then, his eyes wide, his face full of… something I couldn’t determine.
“Commander Loris is here. There’s been a ping on your medallion. It’s been activated.” He was breathing hard, as if he had just run a great distance. I knew differently and it could only mean he was excited.
I straightened, renewed strength in my limbs, although I hadn’t even realized I’d been weighted down with frustration, longing and despair. “What?”
Crossing the room, I joined my father, my mind spinning with questions. Possibilities. Hope.
He angled his head out the doorway. “Come, son. He’s in the command center.”
“A ping? I thought you wore your medallion about your neck?” My mother questioned.
While I should have let them lead, as a courtesy, I could not wait. I almost pushed my father out of the way and ran out of the tent. The sand kicked up beneath my feet and I squinted at the bright double sunlight. In the entry of the command center stood the commander, the one I recognized from the day before.
“You have news.” I didn’t form it as a question.
Commander Loris gave a curt nod. “Central command in Xalia sent an urgent alert. Your medallion has been activated. I was sent immediately to ensure your safety. Although, seeing you, I will inform them that there must be a malfunction, as you are obviously alive and well.”
My heart rate accelerated, my fingers itched to grab something. Anything. “I don’t have the medallion. I gave it to Natalie.”
“Natalie? Your mate? You gave it to her?” The commander stood, wide eyed. “Why would you do such a thing? Do you have any idea the value of that medallion to this planet?”
I knew he wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, but I still couldn’t hesitate to speak in a sharp tone of voice. “Yes, quite aware. Do you have any idea the value Natalie holds for me? She is the mate of a councilor, commander. I’d advise you to watch your tone with me.”
He shifted to a formal ready stance, focused and fixed his gaze over my shoulder. “I apologize, Councilor.”
“At ease, Commander.” I stepped past him then and into Outpost Nine’s command center.
Within the large tent were three guards. They stood and bowed at my arrival. Based on their uniforms, the commander was the highest ranked man in the room.
If the medallion pinged, then that meant—
“She’s alive,” I said to myself, my heart pounding, eagerness making me ready to rip the tent flap open and go get her, wherever the hell she was. I knew everyone was watching me pace back and forth across the tent.
“Only your DNA can activate the medallion, councilor, not hers.” The commander paused.
“She had the medallion.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s alive,” the commander countered. “Only that someone in your family has the medallion now.”
My father stepped forward. “Other than you or I, your sister and her children are the only living members of the family who could unlock that medallion.” I hadn’t seen him enter the tent, but he spoke true. “Your sister is with her husband and High
Councilor Tark. There’s no chance Natalie ended up with them. Tark would have notified us.”
“How could she have gotten there? Or known who Sari was?” my mother added, referring to my sister, Sari. And it was true. I’d never mentioned either High Councilor Tark or my sister to Natalie. Everyone looked baffled. The three guards manning the communications units remained silent. It was clear they were messengers and could offer nothing additional.
“Your speculation is irrelevant. The ping didn’t come from Trion,” the commander added.
I spun and faced him. “No one leaves this tent until I have answers. Commander, what, exactly, are you talking about?”
He took a deep breath. “The transport monitors received the activation from your medallion a short time ago. But the signal didn’t come from Trion, sir. It came from Earth.”
I stilled. “Earth?” Natalie.
I looked to my parents who appeared doubtful. My mother scowled. My father kept his features carefully blank. “That’s impossible.”
“I don’t have an explanation, sir,” the commander continued. It was my fault to have interrupted him. “The monitor in Xalia City notified us once the transmission codes were confirmed. There does not appear to be a malfunction. They are confident your medallion is on Earth.”
“Natalie must be alive.” My mother lifted her hand to cover her mouth, shock evident in the slight tremble of her fingers.
“But how would she activate the medallion?” my father asked the obvious question. I had no answers. Turning to Commander Loris, I demanded more information. “Did my mate somehow escape the Drovers’ ambush by transporting to Earth? Why was there no log of the transport when Outpost Two was searched.”
Commander Loris took a deep breath. “The transport station was locked, Councilor. It’s data erased. The only transport code on file was yours. The only reason we have the transport codes for Earth are because High Councilor Tark’s mate is also from the planet and your mates came from the same brides processing center.”
Natalie. Alive. “Why didn’t she return to me? Why didn’t the transport station on Earth contact me?” What the fark was going on?
I knew I was rambling a bunch of questions no one could answer. No one but Natalie. She was mine, and a legal citizen of Trion. She was a matched mate. She belonged to me. If she was alive, I would not stop until I had her back in my arms, and in my bed, where she belonged.
I stalked toward the door and yelled for the nearest guard to contact Seton. I would leave him in charge of the southern continent during my journey. He would offer to accompany me, without doubt. But with the Drover threat looming, I needed him here. He would have to leave at once and return to the south. High Councilor Tark and the Drover patrols would just have to wait until I could bring my mate home.
Confident my orders would be carried out, I returned to the transport room and walked onto the transport pad. “Contact the transport station on Earth. I’m going to get my mate.”
* * *
Natalie, Near Boston, MA, Earth
I answered the doorbell with Noah on my hip. I’d just changed his diaper and had yet to put his pants back on. Instead, he only wore a onesie and I loved looking at the rolls of fat on his chubby little thighs. He held a set of plastic keys in his tight fist and spent equal time shaking them and shoving them in his mouth.
When the door swung open, I sighed. I was so not in the mood for Curtis. Every time I saw the gaunt man I wondered what the hell I had been thinking. What had I ever seen in him? His hair was brown and thin, receding at an alarming rate and looked wet from a recent shower. He was pale and his cheeks were a bit swollen, as if he was retaining water. Medicine? Too much salt in his caviar? He wore a white golf shirt that had tiny pink lobsters embroidered on the sleeves. Khakis hung on his thin frame like a loose paper sack. He wore scuffed loafers without socks and a designer watch on his left arm that cost more than most people made in a month. There was nothing, not one thing, appealing about the man. No wonder I never had an orgasm with him. It would have been a miracle if that had occurred. Not to mention that he wore enough cologne to make me feel lightheaded and nauseous.
My tolerance for smell had not improved since Noah’s birth. I had a new superpower. Since the moment I’d become pregnant, I would swear I could smell a piece of red meat at twenty paces. I had really hoped my sensitivity to smells would go away once the baby was born, but no such luck. I tried not to gag on the scent of cedar and musk and opened the door wider, not to let my visitor in, but hoping for some fresh air.
“Curtis,” I said on a sigh. I’d hoped the doorbell meant the plumber had arrived, for one of the faucets had burst in the kitchen and shot water out like Old Faithful every time the cook tried to use the sink. “This is a surprise.”
Over the past year, Curtis had appeared on various occasions, unannounced and unwanted. He’d made his disinterest clear before I volunteered for the brides program. Upon learning of my return—no, upon my parents deeding me the large house—he’d resumed his interest in me.
“How’s Mandy?” I asked about his sister, because that was truly the only safe topic of conversation open to me. I didn’t want to know why he was here. I was not concerned about his life, his day, or his revived interest in me.
He didn’t look at me, but at Noah. The look most people gave the baby was a soft smile, a gentle sigh, because my son was so damn cute. Who didn’t like a baby? No one, but Curtis. It wasn’t just that Noah was a baby. It was that Noah was a space alien’s baby. At least that was how Curtis, and my parents, referred to Roark. A space alien. Not a respected leader of almost half a planet in the Interstellar Coalition. Not my mate. An alien.
“I came to see if you would attend the Winter Ball with me at the country club.”
He didn’t wait to be invited him in, just barged past me into the foyer. It was two-stories tall with a circular staircase and I knew it held more interest to him than I did. But I let it go and closed the door behind him, not because I welcomed him into my home, but because Noah’s chubby little legs were bare, and it was cold outside.
“No, thank you, Curtis.” I stepped around him and transferred Noah to my opposite hip. He was a big baby, and my biceps felt the strain. He definitely took after his father in size. “If that’s all, I need to put Noah down for a nap.” I needed him to know he was not staying long. Shouting might startle Noah and, at the moment, my son was content with his keys.
“I want you to wear the pink gown you bought for our engagement party.”
Now, I did roll my eyes. That god-awful mass of lace, tulle and sequins? No. No way. Not in a million fucking years. I hated the thing the day my mother brought it home, and I hated it still. “I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again, I’m not interested. Ask Ashley, or Bambi. Whatever the name of your latest conquest is.”
He turned his gaze from the chandelier that dangled from the ceiling, one thing Noah couldn’t grab hold of and hurt himself with—and then looked at me. “They meant nothing, not when we were together. Not now.”
“Oh?” Sounds like he still had women on the side, the bastard. “I’d think you’d want the woman you’re fucking to mean something,” I countered.
This conversation was getting old.
“What kind of mother are you, spewing foul language in front of a child?”
“Now you are concerned about Noah?” I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Hoisting Noah up, I snuggled him in closer on my hip, kissed his downy head. “He’s four months old. I don’t think he’ll be cursing for few months yet.” I walked to the door, purposely placed my free palm on the door handle. “You need to leave, Curtis.”
“Come with me to the ball. Leave the baby with a babysitter, a maid, whatever. It’s time you got out from under this whole baby obsession, went to parties again. You can’t hide in this house forever.”
“I’m not hiding, you asshole. I’m not interested.” I turned the handle and pulled the door open. “G
et out. And please don’t come back this time.”
Curtis’s whining had worn down my last nerve. How had I spent so much time with this man?
He walked toward me slowly, looking at Noah with a gleam in his eyes that frightened me. “If it weren’t for that alien brat, you wouldn’t be acting like such a bitch, Natalie.”
Now I was pissed. “Get the fuck out of my house. Now.”
“I don’t think so. Everything was fine until you came home pregnant. Get rid of him and we’ll go back to the way things were.”
Get rid of him? “Have you lost your mind? You’re talking about killing an innocent child.”
“An alien.” Curtis stepped closer and I swung the door even wider, stepping out into the cold in my bare feet, into view of the surveillance camera outside my front door. I tucked Noah’s legs under my arms the best I could, shielding him from the cold.
“We’re on camera, Curtis. Get off my property. If I ever see you again, I’m calling the cops.”
Curtis looked like he would argue further, but his eyes darted past me, a look of near panic taking over his features.
“Get away from my mate before I kill you.”
I knew that voice. Heard that voice in my dreams. I gasped, felt every hair on my body stand on end. Slowly, I turned.
Roark. I couldn’t speak, not even to whisper his name. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was here.
He was here.
He was alive!
“Who the hell are you?” Curtis asked, hands on his hips, as if this were his house.
Roark moved in front of me, blocking Curtis’s view of my body. “I’m Councilor Roark of Trion, Natalie’s mate. And if you don’t get the fuck away from her, right now, I will kill you.”
“You can’t. You’ll go to prison. I’m Natalie’s friend. She invited me here.”
“You’re a liar, Curtis. Just go,” I snapped. I wasn’t even looking at him, but at Roark.
Roark shifted, pushing me toward the entrance, back to the warmth and safety of the house. “I believe my mate ordered you to leave and never come back.”
Her Mate's Secret Baby (Interstellar Brides Book 9) Page 9