An Azziarin Christmas (Scifi Alien Romance) (The Azziarin Series Book 4)

by Hannah Davenport

  He dropped her legs and fell down beside her, careful not to hurt the baby. “That was great,” she said, still breathing hard. Lying on his back with one arm behind his neck, he turned his head her direction and grinned. “Yes, it was.” Staring lovingly at her, he said, “I love you, Mara.”

  “I love you, too,” she said, still trying to catch her breath. “You can do that anytime.”

  He laughed and then reached over and tugged her into him. She threw her arm over his chest and laid her head between his neck and shoulder. How had she gotten so lucky?

  Risshi

  Holding Mara in his arms felt so wonderful, so right. He knew she had doubts about them being true mates, but Risshi did not. In the beginning, he feared that telling her would scare her away. She seemed so innocent, and the pure shock of finding out she carried young confused him on so many different levels.

  She finally agreed to go stay with him at his beach house. He knew the real reason she couldn’t resist, but he kept that little secret to himself. A grin teased his lips as he remembered the shock on her face when she saw the lavender-colored water. Sydney had told him that their water was blue.

  Day after day, they sat on the porch of his beach house talking about nothing in particular. Then one day, he told her about his mom and how he still hadn’t got past the pain of losing her, the guilt he harbored for not protecting her while the others were commanding war ships and fighting the Tureis from space.

  The next day, she told him about her parents and how she was treated. When Mara told him about her young, and how that came about, it took every ounce of willpower he possessed to keep his face impassive.

  But rage consumed him!

  He wanted to kill the human male!

  He wanted to replace the human young with his own.

  Drawing on all his training, he tamped the blinding rage down to a slow, angry simmer. When she leaned her head over on his shoulder and said, “Thank you for listening and being so understanding,” the slow simmer of anger fizzled out.

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and said, “You are welcome.”

  Now he was mated, and she was his. The young was his, and he’d kill anyone who ever said otherwise. With Mara in his arms, he drifted off to blissful sleep.

  The next morning, Risshi felt the first rays of the first sun shining through the window. It warmed his face, and he enjoyed the feel of the light warmth as well as his mate snuggled up next to him. As much as he wanted to stay, everyone would be waiting on him.

  He leaned over and gently kissed the top of Mara’s head before quietly sliding out of bed. Today he decided to wear the standard black military jumpsuit, a first for him. Risshi had never wanted to leave the planet or join the military, but as with all males, especially royals, he had to endure the vigorous training. It was necessary that he be able defend himself and others against perceived threats.

  As he walked down the corridor, heading for King Mallik’s office, he spotted Takkeo heading his way. Takkeo stopped in front of him and held out his arm. Risshi stared at it a mere standard second and then clasped his forearm.

  “You look good,” Risshi said with a smile. Takkeo let a smile tease his lips before schooling his face.

  Takkeo was now in the advanced phase of training. He no longer looked like a youngling. His body now sported more muscles, his body language was more controlled. He was growing into a fine male and would make a good soldier and one day a great commander.

  “I’m heading to the King’s office,” Risshi offered.

  “I’m heading out for training,” Takkeo nodded. “It’s nice to see you, brother.”

  “Same here. Come and see us when you can,” Risshi said. Just as Takkeo started to walk away, Risshi stopped him. “Oh, the females are organizing a holiday. It’s important to my mate, so I expect you to be there.”

  Takkeo grinned as he looked back over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  Risshi continued until he came to the King’s office. The door stood ajar, and Risshi could hear talking within. He entered and then closed the door behind him. It was no surprise that Jakke and Dazz were already there, along with Zekke, his other brother.

  “Glad you could make it,” Jakke said with a grin.

  “What did you do, sleep here? Let me guess, Sydney kicked you out?” Risshi said in a snarky voice with raised eyebrows. He and Jakke had never seen eye to eye, but they were making progress.

  “No, but sometimes I think it would be better.” His admission surprised Risshi. Jakke shrugged. “What? I can’t help it that Sydney gets so emotional.” Everyone laughed.

  “Chloe would never kick me out, she’d just kick my ass.”

  “Okay, that’s enough,” King Mallik interrupted. “We have work to do.” He stretched a map across his wooden desk. “The guards interrogated Wallace, and we now have a location in the Eastern Territory. Wallace said the elusive family member would be there, trying to recruit others for his cause.” King Mallik pointed to the map as the others joined him around the table. “If he’s not there, we’ll question all the surrounding neighbors and go from there.” He looked at each one of his sons as he ordered, “No one is to go alone. We do not know how far this threat has reached. Take your most trusted soldiers and spread out.”

  “Yes, King,” they all said with respect and then bowed slightly.

  King Mallik leveled his eyes on Risshi and then said, “Congratulations, son.”

  He grinned. “Thanks, Father.”

  Jakke smacked him on the back and said, “Your mate is also with young. It may be you sleeping elsewhere one day.”

  “Are you okay with that?” Dazz asked with concern.

  “What, an emotional mate?”

  “No, that she carries another male’s young.”

  Risshi knew there would be questions asked, and the thought of Mara carrying another’s young still made him angry. He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm down. They were just curious, not being sarcastic or condemning him or his mate. “It is my young, and I will be called Father. Anyone who says otherwise will have to contend with me.”

  “With us,” Dazz interjected. Jakke and Zekke nodded their agreement. Something changed in an instant. The burden Risshi carried on his shoulders lightened. He held himself responsible for his mother’s death and had always felt his brothers held him responsible, as well. Just knowing that they would support him and his mate and their young made him feel closer to them.

  He looked every one of his brothers in the eye, letting them see the sincerity on his face, hear the truth of his words. “Thank you.” He let his guard down slightly. “I don’t like that she carries another male's young, but I love my mate. She has agreed that I will be the young’s father and have a say in the upbringing.”

  Jakke grinned, “Congratulations on your mating. I cannot say that it is a surprise.”

  “I can. After the way we found her, I’m surprised she escaped unscathed emotionally.” Dazz and Chloe had been the ones who rescued Mara from the Tureis' vessel. It was Chloe who brought her out of her downward spiral to despair.

  “Enough chitchat. We have work to do. Assemble your teams and head out,” King Mallik ordered. All the humor drained away, and one by one they nodded to the King as they left.

  Chapter Three

  Mara

  “Why are they having so many meetings?” Mara asked as she strolled over to a bench and eased down, sighing in relief as she stretched her legs out. Sydney sat down beside her and rubbed her aching back.

  “Jakke said they had the royal guard visiting the surrounding villages where his mom grew up, hoping for information on this mysterious uncle. Maybe they’ve made progress.”

  “But our mates are here at the castle, right?”

  “I…” she puzzled, her eyebrows drawn close together in thought. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t put it past him to be out with the guard and not tell me. He’s been so overprotective lately, and it drives me crazy!
It would be just like him not to tell me so I wouldn’t worry.”

  The blooming flowers that surrounded the bench filled the air with fragrance. Mara lifted her face to the two suns that hung in the sky and closed her eyes. She could feel the warm rays blanket her exposed skin. Just the right temperature. “Do you think they have seasons here?”

  “Hmm…I think I remember Jakke telling me they have a warm season and a cold season.”

  “I wonder how cold it gets?” The temperature felt about seventy-eight if she was guessing. It felt like springtime back at home.

  “To be honest, I haven’t asked.”

  Mara caught Sydney alternating from fanning herself to rubbing her back. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, just uncomfortable. I don’t know how much longer I can carry this baby. I feel like I’m about to pop.”

  Mara laughed, the sound so pure it carried on the wind to the nearby training field. “You’ve only been pregnant four months.”

  Sydney grinned and shook her head. “Yeah, but this baby grows fast. I swear, I can never get enough to eat. I have a hard time sleeping, and I have to pee all the time.”

  “There you are,” Kavvan said as he and Chloe rounded a tree, Krista following behind them.

  “Here we are,” Sydney smiled. Kavvan was Jakke’s best friend and his second in command when they were on a mission together. “Were you looking for us? Is something wrong?” Kavvan held up his hand when Sydney tried to stand. “No, everything is fine. Chloe and I were training, and when she heard female laughter, she wanted to see what was up.”

  Mara lazily opened one eye as she basked in the sunlight. Chloe had sweat dripping from her nose, but Kavvan looked unfazed.

  “Oh, okay. Good then.”

  He looked around the area and noticed someone missing. “Where is your guard?” Kavvan asked in a no-nonsense voice as he stood with his arms crossed.

  “I’m sure he’s somewhere,” Sydney shrugged.

  “That is not acceptable. You should not be here without a guard. What if something happened to you or the young?”

  “Gees, lighten up a little.” Chloe lightly slapped Kavvan’s shoulder as she walked past and plopped down onto the ground. She leaned back on her hands, stretched her legs out, and crossed her ankles.

  Krista followed, sitting cross-legged next to Chloe.

  “Hey, Kavvan, how cold does it get during the cold season?” Mara asked, still enjoying the sunshine.

  He absently said, “This is the cold season.”

  “Get out!” Sydney exclaimed.

  “I will not leave you without a guard!” When everyone laughed, he pinched his lips tightly together.

  “Sorry, I mean, really? This is the cold season?”

  “Yes.”

  “Makes sense,” Mara mumbled, her head still upturned toward the suns. “Think about it. They have two of them. Of course it’s hotter here.”

  Everyone around Mara mumbled that it did make sense.

  “Okay, Mara. How about you finishing your story since you so rudely left us hanging last night.”

  Mara looked at Chloe, who had just spoken, and shook her head with a smile. Chloe and Dazz had rescued her from the Tureis and helped her recover. Even though she was friends with everyone here, Chloe felt like real family.

  “Kattlyn’s not here,” Mara smirked and turned her face back to the sun.

  “Kavvan, get on your comm unit and find Kattlyn. We need to know what Mara’s parents did when they found out,” Sydney ordered with a smile.

  He gave her a condescending look but still complied as he pulled out his portable comm unit.

  A short time later, Kattlyn hurried over and sat down. “What did I miss?”

  “Nothing yet.” All eyes turned expectantly to Mara.

  Mara sighed, “Fine. Let’s get this over with. Where were we?”

  “You’d just had sex with the asshole,” Sydney said as she rubbed her protruding belly.

  “Oh, yeah,” Mara grimaced as though that thought alone left a bad taste in her mouth. “After Daniel and I left Peterson’s Point, he drove me back to Jenny’s house. We spent entire drive in awkward silence. I knew something wasn’t right. He wouldn’t even talk to me.”

  “If sex only lasted a couple of minutes, he probably felt embarrassed,” Krista interjected. Everyone chuckled and murmured their agreement.

  “I hadn’t thought of that.” Mara threw her a grin before she continued. “When we got there, he actually said thanks.”

  Mara righted her clothes in silence and then fastened her seatbelt. Daniel never said anything as he zipped his pants and then started the car. The drive to Jenny’s was long.

  Torturous.

  Painful.

  What had she done? She felt dirty inside. The way he was treating her made her feel dirty.

  When they arrived at Jenny’s house, she couldn’t wait to dart inside. Just as she started to open the door, Daniel said, “Thanks. I’ll see you around.” Mara couldn’t do anything but stare incredulously at him. That’s it? That’s all he could say?

  Without speaking, Mara climbed out of the car and slammed the door shut before heading to the house. The perfect dress she’d picked out for this special night meant nothing to her anymore. Before she could knock, Jenny threw the door open. As Mara stood in front of her, tears filled her eyes and flowed freely down her face, leaving black stains in their wake.

  Jenny wrapped her arms around Mara and ushered her to the bedroom. “What happened?” Jenny asked, as they both sat on the bed.

  She couldn’t even answer at first, but Jenny knew. Jenny always knew what she was thinking. Mara cried so hard, and Jenny held her until she finally said, “I did it and it was awful.”

  “Oh, Mara,” Jenny said as she hugged Mara again, offering what little comfort she could in this terrible situation.

  An hour later, when her tears had finally stopped, she silently changed clothes, and Jenny drove her home. Jenny kept trying to reassure her that everything would be okay, but Mara knew that it wouldn’t. She could feel the weight of her actions pressing down on her. Climbing up the tree was a lot harder than climbing down.

  “And that’s what happened,” Mara finished.

  “The males on your planet are not worthy. Give me his name, and I’ll kill him myself if the Tureis have not already.” All eyes turned to a fierce Kavvan as he stood with angry eyes, his hands balled up in fist. Mara flushed with embarrassment. She had forgotten he was still there.

  Sydney ignored Kavvan. “That’s not all. What happened after that?”

  Mara turned her attention back to Sydney and sighed. Sydney would keep on her until she got the entire story. She was persistent like that. “The next morning, Mom woke me up for church. I tried to convince them to let me stay home, but in our family, there was no missing church.”

  Mara replayed the memories in her mind as she told them what happened.

  “Mara, time for church!” her mother yelled up the stairs.

  Mara’s eyes were still puffy from the night before, and there was no hiding the fact that she’d been crying. She dressed in a simple flowered dress and paired it with white sandals. She didn’t have the energy to fool with her hair, so she pulled it back into a ponytail. She splashed cool water on her face and brushed her teeth. Looking into the mirror over her sink, she knew she looked awful, but there was nothing she could do about it. When she finally came down the stairs, her mother startled. “What’s wrong, dear?”

  “Nothing, Mom.”

  “Oh, honey. You look like you’ve been crying all night. Is this about that silly dance?”

  Mara just shook her head. How many times had she wished for a mother she could talk to. Someone who understood. Instead, she got a mother who never questioned or went against anything her dad said or did. Mara couldn’t remember a time her mother had ever stood up to her husband.

  Mara could hear the other kids snicker as she walked into church. Some were her age, some
younger, but they hung around with the sports crowd. Had they heard? Did they know her secret? She walked halfway up the aisle, then took her seat in the usual spot next to the wall.

  The entire service was uncomfortable. The air was so thick it almost choked her. When it was over, she spotted Mr. Carter heading to the front to talk to her dad. After a few words, they both glanced at her. She felt the heat rise, starting in her feet and racing to her face. Her heart pounded, and as everyone slowly walked outside, shaking hands as they went, Mara stayed glued to her seat.

  Mr. Carter left first, and as he passed by, he gave her a condescending look. The look said it all.

  Tried.

  Convicted.

  And here came judgement down the aisle, heading her way.

  “Mara. Let’s go!” Her dad’s voice was stern, and she had no choice but to follow.

  When they arrived home, he went straight to the woodshed, and she knew what was about to happen. “Come with me,” he ordered. She shuffled her feet and reluctantly followed.

  “Mr. Carter told me how he overheard the other kids snickering. They said you went to the prom and later went parking with some boy. Is that true?”

  When Mara stood there with her head low, he boomed, “I asked you a question, girl! Is that true?”

  “Yes, Father,” she squeaked out in shame.

  He pulled off his belt, and after giving her three lashes, he sent her to her room for the rest of the day without food. The only time she saw anyone that day was when her father came in, and without a word, he nailed her window shut.

  “Oh my God!” Sydney yelled, bringing Mara back to the here and now.

  Had she said all that aloud? Looking around at the others answered that question.

  Kattlyn looked horrified, while Krista and Sydney had tears in their eyes. Kavvan and Chloe looked ready to fight someone…anyone.

  “Okay.” Mara let out a deep cleansing breath. “Let’s talk about something else.”

  “Is that the end of the story?” Kattlyn asked.