Emma's Heart (Brides of Theron 3)

by Rebecca Pond

  Lars was grateful that the Drylon fighters didn’t take long to prepare for takeoff, but they were technologically inferior to a Theron fighter.

  “Alright commander, here goes nothing. Do you have the steering shaft?” He looked over to Zirlo to be sure. “Okay, take a firm hold of it and whatever you do, don’t let go. Do exactly as I tell you!”

  “Got it, let’s get the hell out of here!”

  “Pull back now!” As both pilots pulled on the shafts with all their might, the fighter began to rise up off the ground. The winds outside immediately tried to latch onto the fighter by pushing down on the wings of the craft. “Pull all the way back.” The fighter climbed higher and higher as the winds tried their best to bring the fighter back down. “Ok, ease back a bit.” The winds that were higher into the atmosphere of Drylon were beginning to calm as the fighter climbed increased altitude.

  Once free of the storm, the violent rocking and jolting of the fighter ceased and she leveled out to fly smoothly the rest of the way out of the atmosphere and into the vacuum of space.

  “We made it commander.” Lars smiled at the man sitting next to him.

  The older man laughed deep and hard, “I would have never thought in a million years, that this plan would actually work! Most of the time, I would talk of plans to escape, just to keep the moral of the men I was working with up. The Gods are smiling down on us today.”

  Lars didn’t reply to the commander’s comment. He just stared out the front of the fighter and plotted a course for Theron. He had managed to escape the grasp of death yet again. He had to admit to himself, he was one lucky son of a bitch. But, now he was faced with a new problem. There was no way he would be able to show his face on Theron without Zeb killing him or throwing him into a cell to await execution for treason. Somehow he had to get rid of the commander and get as far away from Theron as he could.

  Chapter 20

  The three women stood in stunned silence as Brylon came storming towards them. He was red in the face and obviously very angry. Avery backed away from him until she bumped her backside into the side of the vehicle and Gracie stood motionless on the driver’s side.

  “Hey Brylon, how you doing?” Gracie said. She was trying to diffuse the situation and call Brylon off his task.

  Brylon came to stand directly in front of Emma. She looked so small and fragile compared to him, Gracie thought, but she wasn’t going to let the big man talk to her new friend like that and get away with it.

  “You could at least say hello to the rest of us, before you rip Emma a new asshole. What the hell is wrong with you Brylon?” Gracie was getting rather pissed off.

  “Stay out of this Gracie. Emma knows exactly why I’m mad.” He glared down at his mate. “I told you I didn’t want you leaving the house without me.”

  “Get over it Brylon. I don’t know what your problem is all of a sudden, but I am not going to be held prisoner by you or anyone else. I told you this the other night.” Emma turned to her friends, “I will see you guys later. I had a lot of fun today.” She picked up her bags and packages and pushed past Brylon.

  Inside the house Emma went straight to the bedroom, placing her packages on the bed. Behind her she could the heavy footsteps coming from the stairwell as Brylon followed her into the room. She took a deep breath to prepare herself for the argument that was soon to follow.

  “Let’s get something straight right now, Emma.”

  She swung around to confront him before he could go any further. Pointing her finger into his chest, “No, you get something straight. I will not be confined to this house. You brought me here to be your wife…mate, or whatever, but I will not be your slave. And if you think that’s going to be the case, I will request to be put back on the auction block to find someone who doesn’t treat me like you are right now.” She was so angry now that she was seeing spots in front of her eyes.

  Brylon seemed to be taken aback by what she said. “You will never be put back on the auction block. You are mine and you will do what I say.”

  “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this? It’s like every time you get like this, someone has flipped a switch and asshole Brylon comes out to play. Living with you is like living with Jekyll and Hyde. I never know who I will be confronted by next.” There was no way she was going to back down and accept his orders. She had had enough of living like that when she was in foster care. “Answer me, damn it!” She was shaking she was so angry now.

  Brylon really wasn’t sure what to say at this point. He didn’t even realize himself what had come over him that made him act in such a harsh manner towards her. He wasn’t afraid that she would leave him or anything in like that, he just couldn’t figure out what it was. He stood there rooted to the spot, looking at how angry her he had made her. She had done nothing wrong. All she did was spend some time with her Earth friends.

  Rather than cause any more conflict between them, Brylon decided he would go back up to the mother ship and work on the engine some more. It would give them both some time to cool off. He needed to think and without answering her question he announced to her, “I will be on the mother ship if you need me,” right before he left the room.

  Emma still stood rooted to the spot where she confronted him. He had turned his back on her and left her standing there like some sort of a fool. This was bullshit and he knew it! She wasn’t exactly sure how long she stood there, glued to the floor of the bedroom, but when she came out of her trance like state, the anger hadn’t abated any. She glanced around the room and realized that everything in the house was his. The bed was his, the dresser and end tables were his, the whole damn house was his! Nothing in this house was hers besides the clothes and her pets. This wasn’t her home. It didn’t feel like her home. This wasn’t a place that she had come to live in through her own hard work and determination. Nothing on this God forsaken planet would ever truly be hers.

  “Screw this crap!” She shouted into the air of the room, startling her three rewas that were sleeping on the bed. She slipped on a black and white sweater that had been lying on a chair in the corner of the room. She marched down the stairs, and then out the door that lead to the stream in the back of the house. Maybe a nice long walk would cool her down, and maybe it would help her to think things through more clearly. She wouldn’t venture too far because it was night. However, the two moons in the night sky offered enough light that she was too tempted to pass up the opportunity for some alone time. She wanted to separate herself from everyone and everything.

  She crossed the stream easily with the rocks and small boulders that stuck out of the water at regular intervals. She hadn’t noticed the path of rocks protruding from the water this morning when she had been down here, but she didn’t care or give them a second thought as she jumped carefully from one to the other, until she was on the other side of the stream. She didn’t even bother to look back as she walked into the forest lost in heaviness of her own thoughts.

  She walked and half way listened to the sounds of the forest that surrounded her. Underneath her tennis shoes, leaves and branches snapped and crunched under foot as she walked over their skeletal remains. Above her head, she could hear the sound of something keeping pace with her as she trudged further and further into the darkening forest. The light of the moons broke through the canopy in several places, allowing enough light to cast a dim glow on the path that she walked.

  A loud snorting sound came from very close to her from the left. She snapped her head in the direction of the sound, but couldn’t see anything there. She continued to move forward until she heard the snorting sound again, but this time she heard it coming from behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks, her heart racing at the thought of what she would find behind her as she slowly turned around.

  Standing near the tree that she had just passed, stood the largest pig looking thing she had ever seen in her entire life. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of the ugly beast that was sniffing the groun
d where she had walked. It must have stood at least four feet tall on its four hairy legs. The body was covered in long black hair that trailed down to reveal a short stumpy tail. Its head was massive, about the size of a tiger’s head, and it had long triangular ears that stood straight up on top of its head. Its snout was rooting through the underbrush as it searched for the path of its prey.

  “Oh shit,” she whispered to herself. She didn’t want to draw the animal’s attention to her as she tried, as quietly as possible to take a few steps back to get away from the hideous animal.

  The animal raised its head as if her scent was caught in the wind. Its eyes were blood red and its mouth was filled with teeth that looked as if they could chew right through a log if necessary. Drool dropped from one corner of its mouth, as it took a tentative step in her direction. A low deep guttural growl came from its open mouth as its eyes made contact with hers. She was in big trouble now.

  Emma took a couple more steps backwards before she turned and bolted as fast as she could away from the threatening beast. Her hearing sharpened instantly to the sound of hoof beats following close at her heels. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. One time during her sprint, she stumbled on a pile of branches, but managed to not fall flat on her face and regain her footing. The heavy breathing and sound of hooves hitting the ground continued as she darted around a tree in the hopes of losing the animal. She couldn’t run anymore. Edging her back as close to the tree as she could, she dared to stop for a moment to catch her breath. Her lungs felt as if they were on fire. Her chest heaved as it tried in earnest to drag in as much air as possible, but it was no use. She had to start moving again, the animal was still closing in on her.

  She peered around the tree just as the animal broke through a low lying shrub. She screamed on instinct and fled in the opposite direction. There was no way she was going to be able to keep up this pace. With no doubt in her mind, she knew that this pig was going to kill her if she didn’t find somewhere to hide. As she ran through the forest, low thin branches reached for her like a whips. She could feel the burning scratches and cuts as they appeared on her face and arms as she ran for her life. She would never be able to out run this animal that was probably dead set on having her for its next meal. This was probably the one time she wished she had listened to Brylon.

  Emma darted around another tree that must have been considered a sapling by Theron standards. It was only about a foot wide in diameter and offered little protection. She turned her head to see where the beast was, and was happy to see that it had stopped about a ten feet away from her. But, her happiness was short lived as she suddenly felt her body being snatched upwards as she went sailing through the air, and eventually tumbling down a steep incline. The wind had been knocked out of her when she landed with a thud on the damp underbrush that covered the forest floor, but she didn’t stop there. The momentum of her body was still carrying her forward, head over heels down the incline. She finally came to an abrupt halt when her back hit against a small shrub.

  She lay on her stomach gasping for air as her lungs continued to burn. She couldn’t hear the animal any longer as she laid there trying to calm herself down. Her body ached all over and she mentally felt for any broken bones. Satisfied that she hadn’t broken anything in her fall, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her arms were cut up pretty bad and the jeans she was wearing had a long rent in right leg revealing a deep cut. She pulled up the leg of her jeans carefully to inspect the cut to see how bad it really was. But, in the low light of the forest it was really hard to tell.

  The gash itself was full of dirt and debris from her tumble. Blood ran down her leg, soaking the top of her sock. She removed as much of the dirt and debris as she could with the hem of her shirt, then pressed her hand over the gash to get it to stop bleeding. She didn’t have anything with her that she could use as a bandage to cover the wound.

  “This is just freaking wonderful,” she talked out loud to herself. “What the hell am I going to do now?” She looked around the area she was sitting in as she continued to apply pressure to the cut. She had absolutely no idea where she was or how far she had run. She was lost and in a lot of trouble now.

  ****

  Brylon had his head inside engine number two trying to repair a blown fuse when someone tapped on the bottom of his boot.

  “Whoever it is, leave me alone,” he shouted as he continued to fight to remove the stuck fuse. The tapping on his boot continued, and he continued to try and ignore it. “I said leave me alone.”

  “You had better get you head out of there, before yank your ass out!”

  Brylon lowered his head, Shit. It was Zeb. He wiggled his body out of the tight opening then stood up when his head was clear from under the small space. Standing before him with his arms crossed across his chest stood his commander, looking extremely pissed off.

  “What the fuck is the matter with you Brylon?” Zeb spoke between clenched teeth.

  “I have no idea what you are talking about,” he replied with a bored look. He knew exactly what Zeb was talking about. There was no doubt in his mind that Avery told him about what happened with Emma today.

  Zeb took a step closer. “Oh, so you mean to tell me that your display of pigheadedness in front of my wife and Gracie was a prank? A simple joke, maybe? What the hell Brylon?”

  “It was nothing.”

  “Nothing?” Zeb was getting more pissed off by the second. “Then tell me why the hell you went charging out of your house and attacked Emma the way that you did, and don’t lie to me or I will have your ass thrown into the fucking brig so fast that it will make your empty head spin. Something is going on, and I want to know what it is.”

  This was the second time in his life that Brylon had ever seen Zeb so mad. Zeb looked like he was ready to hurt someone, and that someone just happened to be standing right in front of him.

  Brylon took a deep breath and looked away from the commander. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  Zeb unfolded his arms, and began to ball his hands into fists. “What do you mean ‘you don’t know’? My wife and Gracie came home scared shitless and worried about Emma because of your action towards one of their own. You had better come up with a good reason and fast.”

  Brylon walked around the commander and went to sit on a nearby stool. He rubbed his hands over his face and tried to clear his thoughts before talking to Zeb. He knew that of everyone he knew Zeb and Zane could immediately see through his bullshit.

  “I have this intense need to keep my mate locked up and away from everyone and everything,” Brylon said with reluctance.

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  Brylon shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t customary for a warrior to be acting in this manner and it confused him even more so. They were mated, and he shouldn’t have anything to be worried about.

  “I took Emma to the market the day after we got back. It was such a joy to see her smiling and having a great time exploring the market. I bought her everything she wanted. I even got her two more of those damn rewas.” He stopped and looked at Zeb then continued, “We were eating in the food area when she asked me if she could tell me something.”

  “What did she say?” Zeb wanted to know.

  Taking a deep breath before continuing he said, “She told me of her life on Earth, of how she was raised with no one to love her or take care of her. My heart bled for her as she spoke.”

  “All of the women we scouted and took had some kind of sad background. This shouldn’t be the reason why you’re behaving so strangely.”

  “No, of course it’s not. It was what she told me next that has me wanting to go back to Earth and kill someone.” Brylon’s hand balled into a fist and slammed on to the desk.

  Zeb sat quiet and didn’t press his friend any further. He would tell, without a doubt now, what had been troubling him.

  “When Emma was in one of the last homes for unwanted children, the man
who was supposed to be a father to her, tried to rape her. She fought back until his wife walked in on them. Unfortunately, Emma did not escape uninjured. The Earth bastard broke her arm.” He looked at his friend who had been in his life for as long as he could remember. There was not a time in his life when he did not have someone watching his back or vice versa. He couldn’t imagine having to go through life without Zeb and Zane who had always been there for him. She had nobody.

  “I see,” was the only thing that Zeb said.

  “After we got home, the protective feeling I already had for Emma increased tenfold. I don’t want to lose her Zeb, but it sure seems like I am trying real hard to do just that.”

  “Brylon, we have been friends, actually more like brothers, for a very long time now. I have always told you truth about what I am feeling and the reasons I do what I do. If you do not stop this crazy behavior you are going to surely lose Emma. Protecting her is one thing Brylon, but trying to keep her prisoner is another thing altogether. You can’t keep doing this to her. I almost lost Avery, and I refuse to keep her prisoner in my home, even though there may be a possibility that something will happen to her again.” Zeb pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and began to pace back and forth. “You have no choice at the moment, but to ease up or you will lose her.”

  Brylon jumped up off the stool, “I think I already have. She threatened me this evening to be put back on the auction block. She asked me for a reason on why I was acting like this, and I couldn’t give her a straight answer.” He ran his hand over short hair on top of his head. “I don’t know what I am going to do, Zeb.”