by KD Jones
RendEL sighed a relief. He wasn’t sure if the female would hate him and his people. “My people would still like to offer you an amendment.”
“What kind of amendment?” LarIS asked before Lola could.
“We would like to offer you any choice of residence here on Katiera. We have many fine suites but there are more secluded homes on the shores of the waters of Katiera. You can chose.”
LarIS growled aggressively at RendEL. “She is my mate and does not need your amendment.”
'Whoa! Wait a minute, LarIS. I get to make decisions about me.' Lola glared at him.
'You are my mate and you will remain with me on the Colonial Planet,' LarIS stated firmly.
'I get to decide that. Ask him if the other women who were attacked were offered the same amendment.'
They glared at each other for a moment before LarIS asked RendEL her question. “Lola would like to know if the other females who were attacked and taken prisoner were offered the same amendment.”
RendEL nodded his head. “Yes. We also set them up with therapy to help them deal with their abuse.”
Lola didn’t look at LarIS. She nodded her head and then shook it, signing with her hands.
LarIS interpreted for her. “She says that she appreciates the offer, but she must decline at this time.”
“If you chose to take the offer, just let me know. I will leave you to enjoy the rest of the evening.” RendEL bowed as he excused himself to return to the ballroom.
Neither of them spoke for a while. LarIS paced back and forth, he had closed his thoughts off to Lola. He had never done that before. She worried about them. Would this be the end? She wished he would throw something or yell at her. She hated the silence.
'What did you mean when you said you could not accept the amendment…at this time?'
Oh shit!
Chapter Sixteen
Lizzie frowned. “I don’t think so.”
“It is just a dance, Elizabeth,” TylOR said with a deep rumbling voice.
“Why do you keep calling me that? Everyone calls me Lizzie!”
“I am not like everyone else.”
“That’s a shocker,” she said sarcastically.
“Shocker?”
“Earth slang word—phrase—acronym shocker is always used sarcastically to refer to something that is unsurprising,” Lizzie repeated word for word what was in the dictionary.
TylOR stared at her mouth totally enraptured. “There seems to be a lot of useless Earth slang. I hear the females using things like that all the time. It seems a waste to come up with this slang rather than just saying what you truly mean.”
Lizzie narrowed her eyes at him. “Well here’s another useless Earth slang for ya. Go screw yourself!” Lizzie stormed off before he could ask the question that she knew was coming.
TylOR stared transfixed at the luscious round ass walking out of the ballroom. Damn female had him harder than the metal they make their ship’s hull out of. He was going to have to do something about that.
*****
Lola looked up at LarIS. He was practically fuming. She had never seen him that angry before. Well, except once a while back when he barged in and rescued her from the Morins. He looked that angry back then too. Except now his anger was directed toward her. She felt a shiver go down her spine.
“I do not see why what I said was so wrong,” she used sign language because he was blocking her from linking with him mind-to-mind. She preferred not to be while he was angry like this anyway.
This was the first time since she first met LarIS that she feared being around him. He was always in control, always calm. But right now, he was anything but. What exactly had she done to put him in this mood? She hugged her sides with her arms.
“Don’t. I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“Then what did I do wrong?” A tear escaped. She tried to hide it by brushing it away quickly.
“By saying that you wouldn’t take the Prime Leader up on his amendment at this time, implies there will be a later time that you plan to live here.”
She shrugged. “Anything can happen in a relationship. It’s good to have options.”
“There are no options, Lola! You are mine—my mate. Your place is with me on the Colony!”
Something inside her snapped. She had been pushed and shoved by too many people. “It’s my choice! I won’t have you or anyone else take that from me!” She stood and stormed away. What hurt the most was that he let her just walk away.
Kitana! LarIS had messed up but he didn’t know what to do to fix it. He saw the fear in Lola for him. That made him even more furious. Had he ever done anything to make her think he would harm her? But on top of all that, it tore his soul from him that she would even consider moving away from him to live on Katiera. His own mate would abandon him. He couldn’t handle living without her.
He wanted to go after her but he feared they would only argue again. Or he might try to make love to her until she couldn’t stand and then steal her away to the Colony. He would have to wait until later when they both had time to calm down.
*****
The next morning LarIS was requested to come to the control room. He was exhausted from not sleeping all night and frustrated that he couldn’t immediately seek out Lola and apologize to her. He thought about her actual complaints and realized that maybe he had been overbearing about the whole thing. She didn’t tell the Prime Leader that she wanted to move to Katiera. Things probably worked differently on Earth.
He walked into the control room. Commander TylOR, Prime Commander KydEL, Prime Leader KadEN, and Prime Leader RendEL were already there waiting for him. He didn’t sit. He wasn’t planning on staying long.
“We have caught another partial Morin transmission right before it was scrambled,” RendEL announced.
“Were you able to transcribe the transmission?” LarIS asked.
“Not much. But the most important part wasn’t what we got from it, but where it was coming from.”
“Where was it coming from?” Prime Leader KadEN asked.
“Orbiting the outer edge of the Katieran Solar System, not far from the wormholes.”
There was a long pause of silence in the room. Prime Commander KydEL finally broke the quiet. “We are sending as many transports with warships that we can spare. But we cannot leave Katiera undefended since they are nearing range to attack.”
“I can take my transport to assist in checking them out,” LarIS offered.
“I can take mine as well,” KadEN also offered.
“We have several transports guarding the wormholes but I planned to send another one. The biggest problem right now is that we have a transport from Earth that is due to arrive in a few hours.”
“Is it carrying more Earth females?” LarIS asked.
“Yes. It also has Medic JadEN onboard with two Earth fertility specialists. These medics are experts and we need them here badly.”
“Get a shuttle ready for us to leave within the hour. We cannot afford to waste any time,” LarIS ordered. All the other males nodded their heads.
*****
“Do you want to talk about it?” Lizzie asked Lola when they walked to the Meal room for the Morning Meal.
Lola shook her head. She cried most of the night and didn’t get much sleep at all. She felt so foolish. LarIS may have been a little out of line answering on her behalf, but he didn’t say anything that she wouldn't have said herself.
She didn’t want to live on Katiera. It was a beautiful planet, but it wasn’t home. Not like the Colonial Planet was. She ached for LarIS. Were they over? She wasn’t sure if she could go back to the Colony if they were done. It would be too hard to see him every day.
“Hey.” Lizzie pulled her to the side. “You guys must have had a fight. I have never seen you so reserved like this. It's okay if you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll respect your wishes. But I know two things. One is that that man is crazy for you. The second is that you are
crazy in love with him. I’m here for you if you need me.”
Lola nodded her head and signed, “Thanks.”
“Sure. Let’s go get something to eat.”
Lola paused. “I need a few minutes alone. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Lizzie nodded her head and left to go into the Meal room. Lola decided to step out onto the little balcony that overlooked the waters of Katiera. She walked out and breathed in the fresh air.
'You look beautiful this morning,' LarIS spoke into her mind.
Lola turned around. 'LarIS.' She stood there for a moment unsure what to say. Her impulse was to throw herself into his arms. So that was what she did. She threw herself into his waiting arms.
'I am so sorry, LarIS. I don’t know why I got so upset with you last night. Forgive me.'
'There is nothing to forgive, my love. I was the one who spoke on your behalf without your permission. I feel horrible about that. I ask your forgiveness.'
'I overreacted. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but with you on the Colony,' she told him.
Lola pressed her lips to his and gave him a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his rubbing and stroking. She groaned when he pulled her off him and set her back on the ground. She looked at him with confusion.
'LarIS?'
'I have to leave in less than thirty minutes.'
She felt sucker punched. 'Where are you going? Back to the Colony?'
He pulled her back to him tilting her head to look him in the eyes. 'No, I would never leave here without you. I am taking the transport to the outer edge of the Katieran Solar System. We believe the Morins are there. They are too close to the wormhole that leads to Earth.'
'Why can’t the Katierans send someone? Why does it have to be you?'
'They have a couple of Katieran transports there already guarding the wormholes. Prime Leader RendEL is worried about sending anymore and leaving the planet with less protection. Prime Leader KadEN is sending a Kiljorn transport and I will be going with my transport.'
'Why do you have to go? It’s too dangerous.’ Images of the Morins capturing LarIS played through her mind. Worse yet, what if they killed him outright? She couldn’t live with that.
He cupped her face in his big hands and placed gentle kisses on her lips. 'Shhh, sweetness. I will be safe. I have abilities that could aid this mission and prevent the loss of lives. I need to go.'
She knew he was right. He could prevent an attack. She couldn’t be selfish when there could be other women’s lives at stake. She would never wish for what happened to her happen to anyone else. She nodded her head.
'Promise me you will be careful.'
'I promise, Lola. I will return to you as soon as possible.' He bent down and kissed her one more time before walking away.
Lola did something she hadn’t done since she had been taken prisoner by the Morins. She sat down and prayed. “Please, God, look after him. Keep him safe. Bring him back to me in one piece.”
Chapter Seventeen
Commander TylOR was waiting for LarIS on the landing field. They greeted each other.
“I’ll be taking the next shuttle up to the Kiljorn transport. I had to argue with Prime Leader KadEN to remain behind. Are you sure I cannot convince you to stay here as well?”
“I appreciate it, Commander, but I have a skill that could help. I have to do what I can,” LarIS answered.
TylOR walked further down to the shuttle that would take him to the Kiljorn transport.
LarIS boarded the shuttle and sat in the co-pilot’s seat. It didn’t take long to reach his transport. His commander was waiting for him.
“Sir, welcome back.”
“Commander. Did you get the coordinates?” LarIS continued to walk with the other males trailing behind him toward the command center.
“Yes, sir. Just waiting to determine if we should go straight to the wormholes or if you wanted to head toward the coordinates for the Morin disturbance.”
“The Morin disturbance coordinates.”
“Very good, sir.” The commander hit his Comm link and ordered to proceed to the second set of coordinates.
“So what is your plan?” the Commander asked.
“If we are close enough, I can pick up their thoughts. I did it before when we rescued Prime ConEL and Lola.”
“We outnumber their ships from what our Intel says, but with a transport from Earth expected to arrive any time now, it will be a tough situation. Let’s hope that we can take them by surprise,” the Commander said.
“We may want to pray to the Goddess KatieRI as well,” LarIS added.
*****
Lola was having a hard time paying attention to what was going on around her. She was worried about LarIS. She had been invited to come to Prima SandELa’s suite for a welcoming brunch. She wasn’t sure why she was invited because everyone there was a Prima or related to the Prime family. She was a nobody really. At least she was told she could bring her friend with her.
“Are you okay?” Lizzie asked, signing.
“Just worried.”
“I am sure that Leader LarIS will be fine. My cousin, Prime Commander KydEL, is also taking a transport,” Prima AriELa said, looking to Lizzie to translate with the sign language.
Everyone was very kind to her and they made sure to look directly at her so she could read their lips.
“I don’t see why I have to stay here,” Jaxon grumbled on the floor. She was playing with the twin girls. They giggled when Jaxon tickled them.
Prima Cassie glared at her friend. “You are pregnant and need to stay safe.”
Jaxon rubbed her stomach. She had a concerned look on her face. Cassie sat down on the floor and nudged her friend. “It will be okay. JadEN is coming with the specialists. They’ll figure this thing out.”
Lola had been told by Cassie earlier that Jaxon was having problems with her pregnancy. She almost lost the baby twice. It put a new kind of fear inside of Lola. Would she and LarIS be able to have children? Did he even want children? She didn’t know those answers. She only knew she would love to have his children.
They all turned at the sound of a door opening. Dr. Kat Morris walked into the suite. She was mated to Prime Medic SydEL. She was also pregnant and due anytime now. Kat was greeted by her mother-in-law, Prima SandELa, who was pregnant with Prima Lindsey’s father’s baby. Lola couldn’t help but wonder whether something was in the water. Everywhere she turned she found a pregnant woman from Earth.
“How are you, dear?” SandELa asked.
“Pissed off. Your son is an idiot!” Kat complained, sitting herself down on a sofa.
SandELa smiled gently and handed her a glass of water. “What did he do this time?”
“I suggested that we have JadEN be the primary Medic for when I give birth to Junior here. He blew a gasket.”
“Can’t blame him can you? You used to do the dirty with the handsome, yummy Medic.”
Kat blushed. “That was long before I met Syd. JadEN and I are only friends now.”
“It is difficult for a Katieran male to accept that another male has a place in your heart.”
“But I don’t love JadEN. Not like that. I keep telling Syd that. But he says that JadEN stills wants me back. I just don’t know what to do.” Kat sighed.
“You know what might help?” Jaxon asked.
There was a pause. Lola watched as the other women hesitated to ask Jaxon. It made her laugh on the inside seeing how they interact with each other.
Kat finally asked, “Okay, Jaxon. What would help?”
“Hook JadEN up with someone else.”
“That’s not a bad idea. If we can find a new woman for JadEN, it would help him get over his feelings for you, and it will ease the tension some with Syd,” Cassie added.
“I can’t set him up with just anyone. She has to be someone great,” Kat commented. All the women turned to look Lola’s and Lizzie’s way.
�
��Don’t look at me, I am seeing LarIS,” Lola signed. Lizzie interpreted for her.
The women then turned their attention to Lizzie who was shaking her head. “Oh no. I am sort of seeing someone else.” It wasn’t a complete lie. She saw other men all the time, she just didn’t date any of them.
“Well, we’ll start looking for someone for him tomorrow. There’s bound to be at least one woman on this planet that will tickle his fancy,” Cassie said as she stretched out on the other sofa to take a nap.
*****
“Leader LarIS, we are within range of the last disturbance that was picked up. We are not detecting anything with our scanners.”
“Hold position.” The room became quiet as LarIS closed his eyes and sent his mind out past the ship’s hull. Out and out seeking others. There were whispers of them but that usually meant they had left not long ago. He was pull back to his body when he encountered a presence he was not expecting.
'Commander AshOR. What in Kitana are you doing out here?' his voice held anger as he projected it in the other male’s mind. He smiled to himself when he felt AshOR jump at his intrusion.
'Leader LarIS?' AshOR asked uncertainly.
'Who else would it be? Why are you here?'
'We picked up another transmission as your transport left our solar system. I went to investigate and we encountered a couple of Morin warships. We captured them and brought them in for questioning. They had confessed that their Leader was searching for the wormholes. We trailed more disturbances all the way to here.'
'Well, it looks like they are on their way to the wormholes. Since you are already here, set the coordinates.'
'Yes, Leader.'
LarIS let himself go back to himself. It was like being stretched out really tight and then suddenly let loose to be yanked back into his body. He swayed a little. That was the furthest he had ever reached before. He opened his eyes and looked at his Commander. “They are on their way to the wormholes. Warn the others and set the coordinates. Connect me to the Kiljorn transport.”