by Viola Grace
* * * *
Toryl looked at the cell and found the splinter of metal with Yadeel’s aromatic blood on it. He had heard about how intoxicating his mother had been to the hapless W’lyn males, but now, he understood and had a lot more sympathy for his father.
The scent of her went down the hall and down below. He knew the building’s position against the sea and headed out the way he had come. The rest of his team was interviewing the peacekeepers that had been arrested for their part in kidnapping a citizen. The ringleader was affirming that his cousin had assured him that the Terran was illegal. There was another team out searching for the headmaster.
Toryl got out of the building, and he took flight, swinging around to the cliff face where a dark figure was climbing down the rock and leaving a trail of blood behind her.
Toryl flew up behind her. “May I help you, Yadeel?”
She froze and clung to the stone. Her brown hair fluttered and flowed out across her shoulders and flagged her scent far and wide.
She carefully turned her head. “Guardian Toryl?”
He nodded and winced at the scrapes and gouges across her cheeks and nose. “It seems you have been having a bad day.”
She chuckled and repositioned her hands. Blood covered every inch of her fingers.
“I can catch you, Yadeel. You just have to let go.”
She shook her head. “No, there is too much blood. It isn’t good.”
“You are going to fall if you keep going. Your family wants you home in one piece.”
She swallowed and looked him in the eye, the brilliant green of her gaze seared through him. “You will catch me?”
“I will.”
She nodded. “Right. One... Two... Three... Go.”
She slowly toppled backward, and he caught her; the scent of her blood was overpowering. He had never flown with a raging hard-on before, but he managed to get her back to the shuttle. He set it for a return to the capitol and the med centre where she had initially gotten treatment for her syndrome, and then, he set about cleaning her up and sealing her wounds.
* * * *
Yadeel was mortified, but every time she tried to move her hands, he cleaned them and set them to the side while he used a skin sealer to close the holes she had made across her torso.
“So, it was a narrow crevice?”
“It was, but it got me out.”
“Your father was worried. He got your vid and the images. He called me right after he called your brother.”
She sighed. “And my brother thought I had just found trouble again, right? I am guessing it was Morgolis.”
“You have certainly grown up.”
She turned scarlet. “That isn’t... I mean... can you at least not say that when my dress is open?”
He grinned. “I will repeat it again. So, why were you on the dark continent?”
“The kids needed exposure to other species. I kept my identification with me at all times, but they wouldn’t let me get it. Then, I was cuffed and stunned, and woke up with them telling me that they had plans for my pheromones.”
“How long were you working there?”
She chuckled. “Six years. My contract was up for renewal, and then, this happened.”
He nodded and washed her face before working the skin sealant over her.
She waited until he was done with her face before she said, “So, how much medical treatment do you learn?”
“Mainly, we learn how to stop bleeding for obvious reasons.” He helped her to sit up but kept her from closing her dress. “I need to work on your hands.”
She scowled as he leaned forward, and the soft silk of his hair rubbed against her breasts. “Um, do you need to be that far over my lap?”
He was running a regenerator over her hands in turn. “There are some bonuses a hero just has to claim for himself.”
She inhaled in surprise, and he chuckled. Her breasts moved on either side of his head, and she winced at the unintentional caress.
He finished with her hands and looked up. “There, I think I have stopped all the leaks. How are you feeling?”
“Mortified.”
He smiled slyly. “Why?”
“This seems exceedingly odd. You are my brother’s playmate.”
“But not yours, though if you are offering...”
She sat with her eyes wide, and he laughed. “You should see your expression. Am I so hideous?”
“No, but I am not your type. I have seen your type. Everyone on W’lyn has seen your type.” She closed her dress.
He sighed. “They were an evening’s entertainment.”
She swallowed and looked at him soberly. “That isn’t a title that I seek.”
He leaned back and nodded. “Of course.”
“Would you like one of your friends having a fling with Sorryl?”
He got a shocked expression on his face. “I would strangle them with their own guts.”
She chuckled and nodded. “There. See?”
He smiled slowly. “But I am not my friends, I am not another guardian. I am me, the firstborn of Beryl the terrifying and Toyo the resilient. I am not afraid of your family.”
“It is your family that would beat the hell out of you, and you know it. If you keep looking at me that way, I am going to tell your mom.”
He paused and was wary. “You might have a point there.”
She sighed and moved to stand up. He eased her back down and said, “Now I hook you up to an IV. You are dehydrated, and you have lost a lot of blood.”
Yadeel grumbled, “You could have hooked me up sooner.”
He smiled. “No. I needed to put you back together before I could plug you in. Relax. We have an hour before we get you to proper medical care. I just stopped you from passing out, now take a nap.”
She was going to flip him off the way her father had taught her, but he slid up her sleeve, sterilized a spot, and slid a needle into her vein. He fastened it down and smiled. “There is a light sedative, so just relax and know that you are safe. I am not letting anything happen to you. My mother would never forgive me.”
She felt a warmth running through her veins. “Why wouldn’t she forgive you?”
“I haven’t gotten permission from her to court you yet. She’s fussy about stuff like that.”
Yadeel was going to argue with him, but her world got warm, fuzzy, and grey. Her day had spiralled out of her control.
Chapter Three
The medical team worked to subdue her pheromones before they could allow the male members of the team to come in and join in the repair efforts.
The moment that they were finished with her and her body was sore but healing, she was in a private room. Her parents, sister, and three brothers were in the room in the first half-hour.
Morgolis apologized for his dismissal. “I didn’t think you were actually in danger, Yaddy.”
She chuckled. “It is fine. Morg. I will heal, and the guardians got there before my organs started to go missing. Apparently, my pheromones are on the most wanted list for some reason.”
Her mother was scowling. “We have filed a suit against the headmaster for assault and abuse of privilege.”
“You can add the kidnapping to that. His cousin is one of the peacekeepers, and it was his tipoff when he knew that I am a W’lyn that got me arrested as an illegal alien.” She flexed her hands. The regeneration was gradually going to push out the replacement skin that she had gotten on the shuttle.
Her father scowled. “They wanted you for your Terran genes?”
“Yeah, but I am guessing the blend of W’lyn in me now makes me more generally applicable. I wonder if they can make a perfume or something?”
Her mother made notes on a tablet. “I am checking to see if any of the other girls have Terran Syndrome.”
Yadeel smiled as her family went through legal options for punishing the peacekeepers of the dark continent. They were such vengeful cre
atures, and she was proud to call them family.
They were in full voice when a nurse came in and was followed by Toryl. The Sandersons came to a sudden silence.
“Sandersons, I am here to check on Yadeel.”
Yadeel pulled the sheet over her head. Her family was between her and one of the eight most desirable men on the planet, and she wanted to keep it that way.
The silence continued, and her sheet was tugged away. Toryl looked at her with a smile. “You think that will hide you?”
She shrugged. “It was worth a chance. Don’t you have filing or something to do?”
Her mother gasped, and her father stared at her and then at Toryl and back again. “Yadeel, is there something you want to mention?”
Her sister, Tameeth, snorted. “Of course, there isn’t. She isn’t his type.”
Yadeel looked at Toryl. “See? Told you. Bugger off.”
Morgolis stared at her. “Yadeel, mind your manners!”
Her father covered his mouth to hide his smile. Her mother was appalled. “Guardian, she is overwrought.”
Yadeel made a face. “Yeah, I am overwrought. Beat it.”
Toryl took her hand in his. “I see they corked your sex hormones.”
She wanted to punch him, but they had an audience. It was weird. She normally was the opposite of aggressive.
Yadeel nodded. “It was the first thing that they did so that the males could be allowed in the operating area. Don’t worry. I am back to my normal self.”
He sat next to her, ignoring her family. “The fire festival is in a few days. Will you be going?”
“I don’t know. I have to start looking for a new job.”
Her mother snorted. “You had dozens of offers when you left the capitol.”
“I know, Mom, but that was then, and this is now. Now, I have to start over with no references.” She shrugged. “I get to start over again.”
Toryl chuckled. “Give it a few days.”
She made a face at him. “Have you met the Sandersons? We don’t wait; we get things started.”
He paused and looked around at their attentive audience. “Perhaps we should save this chat for another time.”
She smiled brightly. “How is the fifth of never for you?”
He leaned in and whispered, “That doesn’t work for me. I will see you at the festival.”
She muttered, “I am not going to the festival.”
He kissed her hand and smiled. “You think that if it gives you comfort.”
She was going to smack him or grab his hair and pull him in for a kiss. Either way, she wanted him out of her range.
He nodded, gave his farewells to her family, and left the hospital room.
Six gazes settled on her, and her sister asked, “What the hell just happened?”
She winced. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No intimate contact, no sex, no blood, nothing.”
Her brothers started muttering and left the room. Her sister and parents remained. Tameeth frowned. “You are not his type.”
Yadeel sighed. “I told him the same thing. We have seen his type. Repeatedly.”
Her father smiled. “You told him that?”
“Yeah. My meds were gone, so he needed a short, sharp shock to get control over himself again.”
Her mother was still in shock.
Her father grinned. “That’s my girl.”
Yadeel and her father said together, “If you can’t dazzle them with dexterity, baffle them with bullshit.”
He laughed.
She sighed and leaned back in her bed.
Her mother came up to her and squeezed her hand, kissing her forehead. “Did you have to use your talent, Yaddy?”
“Yeah. It got me out of there. I mean, it scraped off a pound of skin, but it got me out.”
“Would you have survived if the guardians hadn’t shown up?”
“Honestly? No. They would have found me. I was in no shape to run or fight. I might have hidden for a while, but with my scent hitting the wind, I would not have hidden for long. They would have found me in a few hours at most unless I stole a vehicle; even then, I would have passed out.”
Her mother nodded. “Right, so it put you where he could find you. Good.”
Her father asked, “So, do you need us to stay?”
“No. I am just in for observation overnight. I will be fine.” She smiled brightly.
The doctor came in looking down at his tablet and said, “You are responding well to the increased dosage, but it will begin to degrade your system in a matter of weeks.”
Yadeel was hissing at him, but by the time he looked up, her family was on him. He was interrogated in rapid-fire questions and slowly backed out of the room.
When they had driven him off, Tameeth rounded on her. “What was he talking about?”
“You heard him. My restriction dosage was tampered with, which allowed my body to create a defense against it. I now require nearly toxic levels to hold my pheromones in check.”
Her mother looked at her. “When were you going to tell us?”
“Um, when you caught me with my injector two days in a row?”
“Yadeel, if you weren’t ill, I would yell at you until you turned grey.”
She smiled. “I love you, too, Mom. Now, go and get dinner. Tameeth, you head home to your little ones and that charming husband of yours. I am fine. I am under observation and having a lovely dinner in a few minutes.”
They hugged her carefully and left her alone. The dinner trolley passed her by, and she grimaced. She could make it overnight on water, but she was going to be hangry in the morning.
She didn’t have her identification, her pay tabs, or anything. She was stuck, so she tried to sleep.
The attendant woke her to check on her in the night.
“Oh, fuck off.”
“I am sorry; I have to check your vitals.”
Yadeel sighed. “Sorry. I am just hungry.”
“Didn’t you get enough at dinner?”
“They didn’t give me dinner. I arrived too late for evening registration. I was only put into my room an hour before dinner.”
“Oh, damn. I will see if I can get you something.”
She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t want to get anyone into trouble. I will just get some water.”
“I will get it for you.”
The attendant was flashing with red, and Yadeel sat up. “Don’t bother. I need to use the restroom. Please continue your rounds.”
“It is no bother.”
Yadeel got out of bed and paused. “I know that you mean me harm. If I knocked you out and searched you, would there be sedatives on you?”
“I am in medical care. There are always sedatives on me.”
“Please leave. You have taken my vitals, and I will not go quietly. I will trigger every alarm in the building if you take one more step toward me.”
There were footsteps in the hall, and the attendant bolted out and ran away.
The medic that came in had a more serious expression on her face, and she asked quietly, “Who was that?”
Yadeel looked her over, and she was fine. “It was someone planning to haul me out of here sedated. It seems like that is some kind of trend.”
“Shall I call security?”
“Please. I am just going to use the facilities, and I will be right out.”
She did what she had to do and then washed her hands and returned to her room where the lights were bright, and the security guard was staring.
“Miss, I have notified the guardians.”
She groaned. “Why did you do that?”
“Guardian Toryl was most insistent that any unusual activity in your room was to be reported immediately. I have reported it.”
There was a change in the energy of the building, and she winced. “He’s here.”
Guardian Toryl walked up to her. “Are you
injured?”
“No. I am fine. I threatened them, and they ran. The guard can give you the footage.”
The security guard smiled. “I have already forwarded all footage regarding the suspect to the guardians.”
She looked at Toryl. “Don’t look so smug.”
“I have your physician’s authorization to remove you from the premises if you are in danger.” He looked at the two personnel in the room. “I will be taking custody of her now.”
Yadeel yelped as he picked her up and carried her out of her room, down the hall, and into the lift.
She whispered, “What the hell are you doing?”
“I will bring you back in the morning, but you are not going to get any rest there, and you need rest to heal.”
He stepped out and walked her past the check-in desk. The receptionist stared with her mouth open, and he left the med centre, taking flight the moment they were free of the stone and glass.
She clutched at him and hid her face. She didn’t want to look.
He chuckled. “If this is all it took for you to curl against me, I would have taken you for a flight earlier?”
She snorted against his chest. “When? When I was covered in blood?”
“Right. It would have been inappropriate when you were a teen, and you were such a serious child; it would have been strange for both of us. I guess this is the right time for things.” He nuzzled her hair. “When will your scent come back?”
She huffed against his neck. “None of your business. Where are we going?”
“My parents’ home. They have agreed to host you until we identify the threat to you.”
She leaned back in his arms and stared at him in horror. “You are dropping me with Beryl and Toyo?”
“It is the safest place for you. They can both fly, they are terrifying to the majority of the population, and they know you, so they are not strangers. Also, my father is firmly mated, and if your pheromones slip, he won’t be affected.”
Yadeel grimaced. He was right; they were a good choice on most fronts. “Fine, but this doesn’t indicate anything.”
He smiled at her as he slowed for their landing. “If you say so.”
Chapter Four