Mated (The Sandaki Book 1)

by Gwendolyn Cease

  Dev laughed, and Laira knew it had nothing to do with humor. He was pissed, and, obviously, so was Rakin. Laira had to admit she was, too. “Who the hell do these people think they are to believe women should be bought and sold like merchandise?” Laira burst out. “It’s fucking ridiculous. And, to top it off, the Silarin sneak into your territory and you catch them. Then everyone wants some kind of recompense? Well, hell no.”

  “First, mate, it is our territory,” Rakin said, as he leaned forward and captured her lips in a heated kiss. “You are the Taja. Second, we will very much show these worlds that they do not interfere with what belongs to us.”

  “I’m one of the slaves they want, aren’t I?”

  Rakin nodded. “Apparently, the Nahlan governor bid on you.”

  Dev bared his fangs. “We will show him what happens when he insults our mate and our people.”

  “Let us talk about the Sandaki,” Rakin said.

  “Can we do it someplace more comfortable?” Laira asked. “This chair kind of sucks and the two of you need to be able to sit, too.”

  “The only place is the bed,” Rakin said with a smile.

  “I think we can manage to sit on the bed without falling on each other.” Laira put as much confidence as she could into the words but wasn’t sure. Could she snuggle between these men without wanting to touch them? It would be a test, she decided. A way to test her willpower since eventually the three of them wouldn’t be together all the time. She couldn’t see them ruling an entire empire from the bedroom. How awkward would that be?

  Rakin led them to the bed, and all three sat. At first, it was weird since they hadn’t all slept together so they didn’t know where and how to sit. Finally, Laira scooted to the center and leaned against the headboard, patting the mattress on either side of her. The men complied and settled themselves, putting their arms around her so they enfolded her. Yeah, if she had to hear what she thought was going to be a really crappy story, this was the way to do it.

  Chapter Nine

  “There was a race that had great minds,” Rakin said. “They developed technology that could help worlds. Instead, they wanted to conquer. So they created the Sandaki. We were not their first creations, but we were the success. The ones before us were apparently either too wild to control or could not think so the creators destroyed them.”

  “We were grown in large vats”—Dev took up the story—“and the growth was accelerated to ensure we would be ready to fight. In the beginning, only males were created. They learned nothing but how to battle. Then they were released on the enemy and won, not the way the creators wanted though. So they went back and adjusted the process. The Sandaki became more animal-like, and this is where the beast was born. Each Sandaki carries this within, and it must be contained, monitored at all time. If we allow this beast to escape, there would be wholesale slaughter. We’ve seen in happen to warriors who were not strong enough.”

  “The creators wanted to see if it was possible to breed the Sandaki,” Rakin said, “so women were created. It took some time, but finally one got with child. Once this child was born, it was taken away and experimented on. They wanted to see how it was different from what they had created. This was the end for the people who created us. A child is sacred, and to take it and butcher it was something we could not continue to allow. So we rose up and destroyed those who’d done this. The Sandaki were free, but none knew what freedom was.”

  “There was fighting amongst us,” Dev said. “No matter what though, if the whole was threatened, we came together and defended ourselves.”

  “How long ago was this?” Laira asked, her head whirling with all the information.

  “Hundreds of liyat,” Rakin said. “This is why some of us do not know the stories. The Priestess just told me that in the beginning, many males mated the same female since there weren’t enough women.”

  “Is a mate chosen, then?” Laira asked, confused now. She was sure Rakin told her it was something a Sandaki couldn’t consciously choose.

  “Our beasts know our mate by scent. This is when the hunt begins. You did well, mate, by running.” Rakin smiled at her.

  Laira laughed. “I don’t know if I had a choice. It was like something in me kept screaming at me to run. So I ran.”

  “And we appreciate that, since running stirs the beast even more.” Dev leaned forward and pressed his lips tentatively to hers. The man was so big and aggressive, yet he was so hesitant in his affection. Laira cupped his face and deepened the kiss. He rewarded her efforts with a deep, rumbling growl, which caused her toes to curl.

  Laira pulled away so she could catch her breath and focus on the story. “So, this race, did the Sandaki kill them all?”

  “No, there was a small group who’d protested against the creation and subjugation of the Sandaki.” Rakin slid down so he could lay his head in Laira’s lap. “The ones in power ignored them, when others started joining in, the group became outlawed.”

  “When we rose up, the group joined us, doing what they could,” Dev put in. “So we protected them as they had us. Once it was over, we gave them a choice. Either they could continue to live with us, or we would offer them safe passage out of the territory. If they chose that, they could never return. We had made the decision to close down our space.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Laira said. “You needed to get things in order, and if you had people coming and going it just wouldn’t work. Besides, I’m sure there was mass confusion when the Sandaki took power.”

  “Very much so,” Rakin agreed. “Once we had won, many decisions needed to be made. Fighting broke out to decide who would lead.”

  “Civil war,” Laira said. “My country went through the same thing. Though, it was well after we had won our independence. Still we fought ourselves. No one wins a fight like that.”

  “You are correct,” Dev said. “After the fighting ended, a group stepped forward to lead. At first, things were good. They made decisions based on what was needed and wanted, then things began to change. This group passed power down from isa to the first-born male offspring. They began to rule for themselves and forgot what it meant to be Sandaki.”

  “How did you two come to power?” Laira asked.

  Dev and Rakin stared at one another a long moment until Rakin spoke. “A small group of us did not like how we were being ruled. Those at the top had everything, and there was nothing left for anyone else. People were starving. There were arrests and disappearances. If anyone spoke out against what was happening, he or she was executed. This was not what the Sandaki had fought so hard to gain. We’d become slaves to ourselves.

  “They’d even developed a hierarchy. The closer the beast was to the surface the lower down you were. You weren’t allowed in certain places, couldn’t hold positions, couldn’t speak or be seen. We would not stand for this.”

  No, Laira thought, you wouldn’t since all of this would have hit so close to home. “So what did you do?”

  “We did what we had to, to protect our people,” Dev said. “We rebelled and forced out the ones in power. In the course of events, people looked to us, to our leadership and our strength. In the end, the people bent their knees to us. We are the Taj Katan by right of conquest, and we stay the Taj Katan because we show our people respect.”

  “Thank you for sharing the history of your people,” Laira said as she ran her fingers through Rakin’s hair.

  “Our people,” he said. “You are Sandaki, just as we are.”

  Laira shook her head and started to reply, but Dev cut her off. “You were taken against your will and changed. You told Rakin you look nothing like you did before. Is this not correct?”

  “Well yeah, the Silarin certainly didn’t want me the way I looked before. I wasn’t perfect.”

  “Never say that.” Rakin sat up to look at her. “You were born the way you were, so you were perfect.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, I didn’t look like this.”

  “And that’s what
makes you Sandaki,” Dev said. “We too were created to look the way we do, just as you were created to look the way you do.”

  “So what’s the plan now?” Laira asked.

  Rakin stretched and purred under her touch. “It depends. If you wish to know what we could do right this moment, I’m sure we could come up with some things.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Good try, I was questioning what our plans are for the Silarin and the other guys?”

  “I thought that might be the case,” Rakin said with a sigh. “The Silarin are a larger problem. The equipment they used on you resembles what was used to create the Sandaki. We need to find out where it came from and destroy it. The Silarin aren’t advanced enough to create it themselves, so they either found it or bought it.”

  “You’re afraid they’re one step away from creating an army?” she asked.

  “That too. I am more concerned with how many people they are using it on. How many people can no longer return home because of what the Silarin have done to them?” Rakin asked. “How many people have they made into what they were not meant to be, all for profit?”

  “Thank you,” she said as once again tears sprung up. “Thank you for caring about people others don’t care about. The Silarin look at us as a commodity and never think about what they’re stealing from us.” She used the sheet to wipe her eyes. “Hey, can we see about returning the girls to their homes? For some of them, it might be possible. I don’t know.”

  “Yes,” Dev said without hesitation.

  “Haldise will talk to them,” Rakin said, “to find out where they are from and if it’s possible. Then we will send them home. She also wants to speak to you about your abduction.”

  “Well there’s a cheery topic,” Laira said, rolling her eyes. “Who is Haldise? I think I saw her once, and you’ve mentioned her.”

  “She is our Visoka Preestrinna,” Dev said.

  She shook her head. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

  Dev paused for a long moment. “I think the translation would be High Priestess.”

  “So she’s a religious figure?”

  Rakin shook his head. “I do not know what religious is.”

  She was stumped. How to explain religion to someone? An amorphous thing people kill each other over? Yeah, she didn’t think that would go over too well. “When you worship something bigger than yourself…a higher power, and there’s a group of you that do it together then it’s called a religion. I don’t think I explained that very well.”

  “Perhaps that is where it originally came from. I do not know,” Dev said and looked to Rakin, who shrugged. “She can foresee events, among other talents.”

  “She asked to come with me when the Silarin crossed into our space. She never makes requests without there being a reason. I think she knew what she would find on the Silarin vessel.”

  Laira put her head on Dev’s shoulder as she continued to run her fingers through Rakin’s hair. This was the longest she’d been with them without sex happening, and it was fairly disconcerting. She couldn’t say she didn’t want them, because she did, but the need wasn’t overpowering and all-consuming. She almost thought of giving a fist pump for having control of her body, again, but she was too comfortable to move so just did it mentally. Go me!

  “Do the Sandaki have music?”

  “We have songs we sing before we go into battle,” Rakin said.

  “No one writes and performs songs just about regular stuff? You know boy meets girl or guy really sucks for breaking up with me?”

  Both men shook their heads and she sighed. “That’s too bad. I love music, so it’s a good thing you downloaded the stuff from my world. Maybe I’ll start a revolution, and people will start writing their own music. Do you want to hear a song from my planet?”

  “Yes,” Rakin said.

  “Okay, I’ll play you one that was way popular when I was taken. I want to hear “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.”

  The music started, and Laira began to bop along. She loved the song, and it made her smile just to hear it. When she looked at Dev and Rakin they had twin looks of shock and perhaps a bit of horror mixed in. She started giggling. She imagined the song was probably a bit too much for people who only heard battle songs.

  Once the song ended, they sat in silence for a long moment until Rakin finally spoke. “That was interesting.”

  Laira couldn’t help herself and laughed. “I don’t think he wrote the song for that kind of nonreaction.”

  “Why did he write the song?” Dev asked cautiously.

  “So people would get up and dance and be happy.”

  He nodded and made a noncommittal sound, which sent Laira into laughter again. Before anyone could say anything, a beeping interrupted them. To Laira it sounded like the text message alert on a phone; however, she doubted very much that any of these people needed a cell to contact one another.

  “What is it?” Rakin spoke aloud.

  A male voice came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. “I am sorry to interrupt you, Taj. The slaves are demanding to see the Taja.”

  “Could you not refer to them as slaves,” Laira said, remembering her promise. “We weren’t when we were with the Silarin and we’re not now.”

  “My apologies, Taja. I did not think.”

  “Why don’t we refer to them as our guests?” Laira suggested. “And let Isha know I am heading to see her.”

  “Of course,” the man said hesitantly.

  “Is that all?” Rakin demanded.

  “Yes, Taj.”

  “Well, that was bossy of me,” Laira declared. “I interrupted you. I’m sorry.”

  Rakin shook his head. “The call was for you. You were correct. They should not be referred to as slaves.”

  “Thanks.” She leaned down and kissed him. “I have another question. So, when you want to communicate with each other, like just happened, how do you know where to call? Does the computer or whatever it is know where you are?”

  Dev answered. “Each Sandaki is equipped with a tracker so the ship knows where we are. When Rakin and I are in our quarters, the COM knows to call our cabin. We do not want anyone to contact us directly. If we decide we don’t wish to talk we can disregard it if we wish.”

  “That’s cool, kind of like hitting ignore on a cell phone. So what if you’re not in your cabin? How does someone get ahold of you?”

  “We have internal COM systems too,” Dev said. “It is like communicating with our minds.”

  “Okay, that is way fucking cool,” she said and kissed Dev. Damn, this whole idea of having two men was insane. Hot. But insane. Before she allowed her mind to spin off into porn territory, she eased from the bed. “I’d better go see the girls. I’m sure they’re worried about me after the whole running away deal. I never even thought about them. I’m a horrible friend.”

  “You will dress.” Dev watched her attempt to adjust her sheet.

  “I don’t have any clothes. Okay, I take that back, I had clothes, but they’re destroyed.”

  “Wear my sash as you did before.” Rakin rolled over onto his stomach so he too could watch her.

  “Knock it off,” she told them. “You’re looking at me and talking, and I won’t be able to leave if you keep it up.”

  Rakin laughed. “We aren’t doing anything, mate.”

  “Whatever,” she said, flapping a hand at him. “You’re tricky and trying to…trick me. I won’t fall for it.” She whipped one end of the sheet over her shoulder and put her hands on her hips. “Hey, wait a minute. The girls loaned me a bodysuit deal. Can I have another?”

  Dev climbed off the bed. “You did not get clothing for our mate?”

  Rakin shrugged. “We didn’t get to that part. Since she’s been here, our talla hasn’t needed clothing.”

  Laira rolled her eyes. “So that’s your justification for letting me run around half-naked? I didn’t need clothes, so I didn’t get any?”

  Rakin smiled
. “You have mostly been naked in our bed, so I didn’t think about clothing you.”

  “Yes, however I need something other than a sheet and the shitty stuff the Silarin put me in.”

  Rakin nodded. “You are right. As Taja you must be clothed as a Sandaki. Once you are back in our rooms, I prefer you in the sheet.”

  “Whatevs, dude, I just need something to wear that will cover my bits. Snip, snap let’s go.”

  Dev took her hand and led her to the main room. He placed his palm in the middle of a black patch on the wall. A moment later, a large panel slid out. “You will need to take the sheet off.”

  Laira immediately dumped the sheet, more than ready to get into anything comfortable. She looked up to find Dev watching her, and she shivered. The man was seriously hot, but she couldn’t let him distract her. She had to visit her friends. They were worried. “Dev, I need clothes.”

  He gave her one last long look then turned back to the panel. He tapped at it, and a box on the wall lit up. He slid a door aside and pulled a pile of black items out. Dev separated them to show boots, like he and Rakin wore, and a black bodysuit. Laira could have squealed and clapped she was so excited to see something other than the tissue from the Silarins or something she’d had to borrow.

  She pulled it on and sighed at the softness of the fabric. It was so comfortable, and she finally wore something that belonged to her. She didn’t even care that she looked like a cat burglar from the movies; it felt good.

  “So the palm thing is really cool. Can I do that?” She came over to inspect what had to be a sophisticated computer.

  “Unfortunately, no,” Dev said, as he leaned down and nuzzled at her neck. “As children we are injected with a solution that builds a neural connection to all the equipment we use.”

  “I wonder if it would work on Laira?” Rakin leaned in the doorway and watched them. “The equipment used on her is similar to what was used to create us.”

  “Yeah, no thanks. If it’s going to hurt, then never mind.”