Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron)

by Pond, Rebecca Lorino

  The intruder was still approaching as he said, “No, it isn’t your precious Commander, that thief!” The figure was now standing directly in front of them. Gracie did not recognize the sound of the voice. She could however tell by the way that Avery was shaking that this was Lars.

  Just as she figured this out, Avery shouted, “Leave me alone Lars! You have no right to be here!”

  Lars quickly shouted, “Don’t talk to me about right and wrong! I have every right to come claim what was stolen from me.” She felt Lars pull Avery away from her grasp with brute force.

  "I never belonged to you!" Avery shouted.

  “You are coming with me,” Lars said to Avery as he pulled her toward the door. There was no way in hell that this man was going to take Avery. She hesitated a moment as she tried to figure out what to do. The Brazilian Ju Jitsu classes she tried a while back probably would have helped had she decided to sign up. However, with her travel and writing schedule she would not be able to dedicate the time needed to follow up with it. She was immediately brought back to the situation at hand when she heard her friend call out desperately, “Gracie, help me!”

  Gracie tried to position herself between the two struggling bodies but it was of no use. Lars was so much bigger than both of them put together. “You son of a bitch, Let her go!” Gracie screamed at Lars while she clawed at his face, body, and anything within reach.

  Lars looked her in the eyes and said, “Touch me again bitch, and I will kill you!” Using his free hand, Lars shoved Gracie away from him with all his might. She fell to the floor with a thud. Lars was now starting to make his way towards the open door. Gracie scrambled to get to her feet before he could exit the room and enter the hall.

  She launched herself at Lars, pounding with every bit of strength she had on his back. But it was no use. She was like a fly irritating a horse. He tried again to shove her away while still keeping hold of Avery. Gracie wasn’t going to let this vengeful man take her friend without a fight. Each time he shoved her away she would move back with as much force as she could muster.

  She could tell that he was getting severely pissed off at her attacks and she knew he would retaliate, even hurt her. It didn’t matter though. The longer she could delay Lars, the better her chances of Zane or Zeb returning to check on them. She would do anything to make his attempt to take Avery as hard as possible. She did not expect him to hit Avery that hard and knock her to the floor. Grace being so distracted by her friend’s lack of movement on the floor didn’t hear him when he said, “You are a pest woman! I told you not to touch me again.”

  He closed his fist tight and swung with full force at Gracie, landing the punch directly to the side of her face. She saw stars and everything went white. He hit her with all his strength. It was as if she was traveling in slow motion as she fell backward from the force of impact and crashed into the wall. She was aware of the wall sliding down her back or was it the other way around? She couldn’t tell. She was losing consciousness but had to stay aware. She needed to see where he was taking her. She tried to call out, “Avery!” but couldn’t. She watched as Lars bent down to pick up a limp Avery and walk out of the door. After that, there was only darkness.

  Chapter 25

  Grace did not know how long she was out. Her thoughts were random and confusing. The feeling of a light tapping on her cheek and someone saying her name brought her out of her clouded thoughts. She distinctly felt a cold cloth against her skin. Becoming more and more aware as the seconds ticked by, she realized that her face was hurting immensely. Then she instantly remembered that Avery was gone, taken by the enemy.

  She slowly opened her eyes and the dim light in the room was enough to blind her. She was still seeing stars. She focused in on the face before her, realizing that Zeb was now calling her name and asking her about his mate. Then she looked over to the being that stood next to her. He had four eyes and pale green face smiling intently at her. “What the hell!” She shouted, “Zane, Zeb, who is this? What is this? I must have hit my head pretty damn hard because I am absolutely positive that I do not believe what I am seeing.”

  The strange being looked at her quizzically, obviously not insulted by her last comment. “Hello there Gracie, I am Kurtz.”

  “You’re not Zeb. I heard Zeb’s voice. Zane, where is Zane?” Her words came out slow and mumbled now. The throbbing in her head becoming more and more pronounced.

  Zane leaned over her so that she could see him, “I am right here my love. Don’t move your head. Zeb is here too.”

  Gracie tried to look in the direction Zane did when he mentioned Zeb’s name, but her head was being held firmly in place. “She’s gone. He took her.”

  Zeb moved into her line of sight and asked, “Where’s Avery?”

  It was hard to look him in the eyes. She was so disappointed in herself for letting Lars take Avery. She should have been able to delay him, just enough for Zeb to make it down to her. She did not know how long she had even been out. Was it just seconds, minutes? A sob erupted from her chest, “Avery, she’s gone. He took her.” Her body began to shake as the sobs grew harder and harder when she saw Zeb’s reaction. She should have done more. She continued to tell herself.

  Zeb was obviously upset. He was leaning over her and said, “Lars. Did Lars take her Gracie?”

  The tears were streaming down her face now but she whispered out one single word, “Yes.”

  Zane stopped what he was doing, “Go Zeb. You must find her. I’ll take care of Gracie.”

  The next thing she saw was Zeb quickly move for the door with Kurtz at his heels. “Gracie, are you alright?”

  She was still crying uncontrollably, “I tried to delay him. I did everything I could and I couldn’t stall him enough for you guys to come check on us. I knew you would come as soon as you could. I am so sorry.” As she cried her head hurt worse. She felt him reach under her body and lift her up into his arms. She laid her head on his shoulder as he brought her up to the clinic.

  Power was just about fully restored in the infirmary. As Zane walked in with Grace in his arms, his staff surrounded him asking him for orders. He directed Jeeka to implement a triage area in the ship’s food court area. She left at once with Laura accompanying her carrying a bag with necessary supplies. Decame got the examination table ready as Zane carefully put Gracie down and barked out orders for him to get what was necessary for the tests that he wanted to run. He explained to her what he was doing the entire time and did everything that he could to calm her down. She was still visibly upset with loosing Avery. She told him what occurred during the struggle to save Avery as he ran the necessary tests. When all the tests were completed, he moved her to a private room. “Grace, I know that you do not like to be sedated, but I think that it would be best for you to let me offer you something to help you rest. I do not want you to go into shock and I promise that I will return immediately if you need me. Would you be alright with this?”

  She reluctantly nodded her head. “My head hurts so bad that I think it would be a blessing to sleep for a bit. Promise you will wake me when there is news of Avery. Good or bad, I want to know.” She looked into her lovers eyes. “Will the sedative help with the pain?” She asked.

  “I have already administered something for pain and it should take effect shortly. I have repaired the cuts on your face and you should have no lingering marks or visible scaring. The bruising was extensive though so it may take some time for it to subside.” He kissed her forehead. “I promise that if I hear anything about Avery I will make sure that you know immediately. Zeb will get her back. He knows where she is and is on his way to retrieve her.” He squeezed her hand. “I have to go and survey the ship. I will wait with you until you are asleep.” He smiled at her and injected the medicine into the muscle of her arm. Minutes later she was resting comfortably.

  Zane could see the chaos aboard the ship. He checked on Jeeka in the triage area. She was ordering the able bodied warriors to move the tables and se
t up cots. Laura was doing a great job and obviously gifted with the ability to treat patients. The medications they were using were mostly unknown to her but she was learning rapidly and was a great help to Jeeka and the rest of his staff especially with the resetting of broken bones that had to be done manually. The Pernmock medics were also busy assessing the injuries and treating patients. He determined that Jeeka had this enterprise under control he ordered the staff that all dire cases be brought directly to him in the infirmary and returned to the clinic.

  He checked on Grace as soon as he returned. He gently moved the hair out of her face and looked upon the injury. The swelling was almost gone and the bruising was not as angry as it was just twenty minutes ago. He busied himself for several hours with the patients coming into the clinic. He sent all the less severe cases to the triage area only keeping the most severe in the clinic. Hours passed and he was beginning to worry about Zeb and Avery. He had heard news of a coded message being received before he sedated Grace and that Zeb was going to the planet UV-49. A few minutes later, he got a message from Ceran that Zeb and Kurtz were returning to the ship with an unconscious Avery and that he should be ready to meet them on the loading dock. He pulled 5 members of his staff and they reported immediately to wait for Avery’s arrival.

  He knew at once it was serious when he saw the worried look on Zeb’s face. Zeb was not going to let anyone touch his mate and Zane respected his friend. He gave Zeb the opportunity to retrieve his mate from the space craft and place her on the hover stretcher. The warriors stood quietly as Zeb and his mate made their way out of the loading dock. It was clear that if the Warriors ever got their hands on Lars, he would be a dead man.

  After all the scans were completed, Avery was transferred to the private room next to Grace. He went to wake Grace and let her know that Avery was back and would be just fine. He let Grace fall asleep after promising to wake her when Avery came to. He went back to check on Zeb. He didn’t mean to break his promise to Avery when he accidently told Zeb he would soon be a father. He spent several minutes talking to Zeb when he was interrupted by Jeeka letting him know he was needed in the clinic. He saw Brylon was carrying his mate in and excused himself leaving Zeb and Avery to rest as he busied himself with checking on Emma.

  Everything was starting to calm down on the ship. The last patient to enter the clinic was about 30 minutes ago. Avery had just woken up and Zane went in to see Grace who was sitting up in the bed, patiently awaiting him. “Hello my love. Are you feeling any better?” He asked her as he kissed her.

  “I am actually feeling much better. My head still hurts a bit. Is Avery up yet?” She asked.

  “I was just coming to get you and take you to her. She is in the room next door. She just woke up. Do you think you can walk?” He asked her.

  “I am willing to try.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and Zane held her arm to make sure that she would be steady on her feet. She stood taking his hand so he could lead her to Avery.

  When they entered Avery’s room Grace looked over to her friend, instantly swept up by her emotion of guilt. He brought Grace to a chair next to Avery’s bed. “I am going to leave you two girls to catch up. I am going to go check on Emma.”

  Grace looked at Avery with tears in her eyes, “You look like death warmed over.”

  Avery quickly replied, “Speak for yourself. You look just as bad.” They both started to giggle. Except the pain they felt in their faces, the laughing felt good. “Are you alright? I hope he did not hurt you badly.”

  “I will be fine. I am a bit bruised as you can see but Zane expects a full recovery. How are you?” Grace said.

  “I will be fine with time as well. I am just glad that the baby is fine. I don’t want you to blame yourself for what happened. Lars is a big man. I could not even manage to thwart his attempts to take me,” she said as she saw the tears begin to fall down Gracie’s cheek.

  “I was just trying like hell to delay him and keep him there until Zeb or Zane arrived. I couldn’t do it though. I feel responsible for…” she pointed to Avery’s face and said, “that.”

  “Lars was hell bent to get even with me for the injury I inflicted upon him. Believe me, there was nothing you could have done to change what happened. What is important is that we are safe and well and I still have a baby girl on the way.” Avery smiled at Grace and could see that her words were starting to have an effect on her friend.

  “So, tell me. How did Zeb take the news that he would be a father?” Grace smiled slyly at her friend. They talked for some time about nothing having to do with Lars. It was nice to see that Avery was happy and mostly unaffected by her experience. A little bit later, Zeb walked into the room, fresh and clean after having had a shower.

  “Hello ladies,” Zeb said.

  Gracie got up off of Avery’s bed and gave Zeb a big hug. Zeb asked her, “What was that for?”

  Gracie looked up at the big guy smiling, “If you hadn’t acted so quickly we probably would have lost Avery. I also need to thank you for finding me and calling for Zane.”

  “Gracie there is no need to thank me. I would do anything for any of the Earth females, especially with regard to mine.” Gracie had let him go and he moved over to Avery. Bending over her, he took her face in both of his large hands and kissed her full on the lips.

  “I have missed you, Nea hela.” He kissed her again, lingering a bit longer this time.

  Gracie felt that she was intruding on a private moment, coughed and said, “I think I will leave the two of you alone. See you later Avery. Go easy on her big boy,” she said to Zeb and gave Avery a wink as she exited the room.

  Zane checked Grace out of the clinic when an hour went by without any new patients. It looked as if everyone was treated and back on duty. The ship was through the worm holes and just about ready to dock to the planet’s large space station. Zane wanted to get home and off this ship as soon as it was possible. Gracie’s face was looking better every time he looked at it. She was well rested but he decided he did not want to go to sleep until he was officially home. They went back to their quarters and started to pack up. He pulled some strings and had them put on the first transport from the space station to the planet’s surface.

  Zane helped her into his hover craft, which could be described as a floating car and drove them home. She was amazed when she looked out the window to see the lights of the night sky. The planet had two moons in different phases which were quite remarkable. He told her that they were almost home when they entered a heavily forested area. He explained to her how they moved into the trees when their city was bombed.

  He parked his car in front of a huge tree and opened the door offering his hand to help her out. They gathered the luggage from the car and after several trips placed all of their bags within the foyer of the huge tree house. The energy could felt all around them, she could feel it as well. “How is this possible to have a house inside of a tree like this without killing it?” She asked him.

  “We were worried about killing them when we started to move into the forest. However, it was as if the Gods’ wanted us to live here. The trees started to adjust to our presence. We carved rooms and they healed immediately. It was amazing to tell the truth. It is from these trees that we obtain a medicine to heal our wounds immediately. How do you like it?” Zane asked.

  “It is beautiful. Your art is beautiful. I assuming you painted all these?” She said pointing to the art displayed on the walls.

  “I really enjoy painting. It is a great way for me to relieve stress. I would love to show you around but I am completely exhausted. I have not slept for two days. Do you think we might be able to postpone the tour until tomorrow? I am about pass out,” he said.

  She saw how tired he was and could wait to see the rest of the place. He brought her up to their room and showed her around. He took her to the bathroom and let her take a bath while he changed his clothes, brushed his teeth and washed his face to get ready for bed. He kissed he
r goodnight through the steam that was coming from the hot water in her bath leaving her to relax away the stress of the last day and a half.

  She joined him shortly after settling herself down in the crook of his arm as he kissed her below her ear and whispered “Good night, my love.”

  Chapter 26

  The next several days she spent in a dreamlike state. Zane cooked them delicious foods, as promised, in his beautiful kitchen and the next several days made love as much as possible just like a couple of newlyweds on their honeymoon. She met his parents Claya and Arden who came to join them for dinner the night after they returned. Zane was right. His parent’s loved Grace and welcomed her to the family.

  Zane got a call from Zeb just after they finished their breakfast that morning. He said the council would convene tomorrow to discuss the events of the Drylon attack. They were also going to allow Grace to address the council on behalf of all the earth females. With the meeting occurring tomorrow it did not give her much time to prepare. She needed to meet with all the women as soon as possible. She had Zane contact all the warriors that purchased a woman at the auction and arranged to have them meet her at the base just hours before the meeting.