“Sorry we’ve left your boyfriend unconscious and unable to talk right now.” The Khagrish’s tone was jeering. “You’ll both be begging to share information with us soon enough. My men and I are considered top notch at wringing information from unwilling sources. On my last tour of duty here, I worked closely with the scientists in the lab where the animals were created so I’m well versed in the best techniques for making them suffer. Personally I’m going to enjoy this.” He leaned over and rubbed the red mark on her right wrist. “I’ll bring a bracelet from the flyer for you and that’ll be the end of your disobedience, human.”
He walked away with a swagger, and Taura sat on the ground to be as comfortable as she could with her hands cuffed to the door frame. Aydarr better hurry up.
Jadrian had blocked the pain from transmitting to his packmates from the instant he was shot, and he kept his telepathic power locked down as the Khagrish beat and tortured him. The others had no need to share this. He’d been through similar situations before, and he retreated to the tiny corner of his mind he’d created as a boy, where the pain couldn’t touch him.
While he waited to die, he felt as if there was still an open link somewhere. Despite his best efforts his suffering was being broadcast. And whoever he was touching was trying to send him strength, much as Aydarr and Mateer had done when they were boys.
This touch had a different feel to it, just as fierce and angry at what he was enduring, but not Badari.
In his tiny space of safety, he thought of Taura with deep longing and regret.
Blacking out under the merciless onslaught, he regained consciousness slowly, aware the Khagrish were ignoring him all of the sudden. His head buzzed after the beatings, so he didn’t trust his own ears at first. But no, her voice was unmistakable.
Craning over his shoulder despite the waves of pain any movement brought, he caught a glimpse of the guards and the scientists…and Taura.
Furiously angry, he threw open his mental link and roared at Aydarr. What the fuck were you thinking, allowing her to give herself up? She should never have been risked in any attempt to rescue me. Adrenaline surged inside him and, if the alpha had been in front of him, he would have attacked savagely with fangs and talons. Terror for Taura broke the control he’d been maintaining. I trusted you not to endanger her. He tried to get a better view of what was going on with Taura, but he was bound too tightly, practically cutting off his circulation.
Peace, brother, your mate is one determined woman. Aydarr’s reply was mild as he sent a wave of strength through the pack bond. The pain rampaging through Jadrian’s body retreated to manageable levels under Aydarr’s mental influence. She defied my direct orders to remain at the valley and instead came to your aid. We’re taking up positions now, snipers are waiting for my signal, and we’ll launch our attack. Hold on.
A new wave of fresh agony spread from the bracelet on his right arm. Caught off guard, he had to battle to remain conscious while his muscles contorted again in response to the Khagrish device’s signal. He passed out for a few seconds. Without Aydarr’s recent infusion of energy, he’d have been unconscious for much longer.
Jadrian? Taura’s voice rippled in his head, faint and uncertain.
She sat at his feet, but the bastards had fastened her restraints in such a way that she and her lover couldn’t touch each other. He couldn’t hope to protect her, and the knowledge tore at him, a worse pain than any physical torment. He stared at her, assessing how badly she’d been hurt. I might have to kill Aydarr for allowing you to insert yourself into this situation, for risking your life on my account. He was curious to see if she’d be able to hear him. If, as he suspected, he and Taura now had a telepathic link of their own, courtesy of the Great Mother.
She tossed her head. I’m here on my own. I wasn’t going to let you die. But Aydarr better hurry up with the extraction.
He says snipers are selecting targets now.
Good.
She was working surreptitiously to pull an item from inside her torn jumpsuit. Idiot Khagrish didn’t bother to body search me once they took my pulse rifle. I have a laser knife, but the way I’m tied up here I can’t get a good angle to cut myself loose. Ever so carefully she reversed the blade and worked on severing her bonds. He was afraid she was going to injure herself and clenched his fists anew when he saw blood on her wrists but he held his tongue. This had to be done, she had to get free.
Tense and strained, Taura’s voice rang in his head. Almost done. Can you see if they’re paying attention?
No one’s watching us. The captain and the scientists are conferring. The guards are carrying boxes to the flyer. They’ll be turning their focus to us soon enough.
Keep an eye on them. Moving with determined speed, Taura broke through her bonds and surged upward to slice the restraint on his right wrist. As soon as she’d done that he extended his talons and ripped the other binder open with his now free hand, falling to the ground.
Simultaneously the whine of a pulse rifle sounded and a guard dropped the box he was carrying. In slow motion, the Khagrish folded bonelessly to the ground, a surprised look on his face, followed by several more of his companions standing in the immediate area as more shots targeted the alien force. With a scream as he was struck by several blasts, Dr. Ingglimmer put his hands to his now charred chest and toppled onto a pile of instruments.
Acting on instinct, Jadrian placed himself between Taura and what had become a field of battle as his roaring packmates charged. He grabbed her, ignoring her protest, and took two steps toward what shelter the broken portal provided, when the agony emanating from the bracelet hit again with killing intensity.
Collapsing to his knees, he tried to shove Taura to safety.
The guard captain sprinted toward them, aiming his neurocontroller at Jadrian with one hand and shooting wildly at the oncoming Badari with the small weapon he clutched in the other.
Taura charged the Khagrish, slashing at his face with her force knife. “I’m not going to let you kill him.”
The fury of her assault forced the captain to drop the neurocontroller to defend himself, but he recovered, attempting to disarm while grabbing at her. “You’ll be the key to my escape, bitch.”
Screaming curses, she stabbed at the vulnerable points in his body armor but it was a one-sided fight.
Jadrian got to his feet shakily, extended his deadly talons and launched himself at the captain, slashing the man’s legs out from under him. The enemy fell, dragging Taura with him. Before the Khagrish could make another move, Jadrian summoned every ounce of strength left in his body and ripped across the guard’s belly. Jadrian’s claws sliced right through the body armor and pierced vital organs. As his erstwhile enemy contorted, screaming, Jadrian rose to his feet with Taura’s help, grabbed the guard’s hand weapon and together they retreated to the scant cover provided by the ruined building. He placed her behind him despite her demand to take cover where she could fight, and took up a defensive position, ready to give his life if necessary to save her.
The volleys of shots were sporadic now.
Chasing a few stragglers trying to make it to the flyer. Jadrian heard the report from Mateer and relayed it to Taura.
“All clear,” Aydarr said verbally and mentally from an unseen position in the main field of combat.
Cautiously, Jadrian checked the area and saw his packmates were indeed in command, with no Khagrish left standing. Suddenly drained of the adrenaline-fueled strength that had sustained him for the last few minutes, he sagged against the broken wall. Careful of his injuries, Taura embraced him, head on his chest. Heart full of emotion, Jadrian drew in her scent and raised one hand to stroke her hair.
“When the Khagrish forces ambushed us and I was captured, I thought I’d never see you again,” he said. “So many things I wished to tell you, but most important is how much I love you, how grateful I am to have had you in my life, like a gift from the Great Mother.”
She raised her f
She went on her tiptoes to kiss him, and he pulled her close for the passionate embrace he needed, to hell with the pain wracking his body.
At the sound of someone clearing his throat, he broke off the kiss.
“Seems you’ve both forgotten all about situational awareness,” Aydarr’s voice was amused as he chided them. “Lucky for you my troops are in control of the area now. Let’s get you two out of here and on your way home.” The Alpha gestured, and a pair of the pack soldiers moved in to support Jadrian, while four more took positions to protect Taura. “I’m glad to see you more or less in one piece, old friend.” He made quick work of removing the neurocontroller bracelet from Jadrian’s wrist.
Suppressing a groan as his comrades took the brunt of his weight and moved away from the building, Jadrian voiced his next most pressing concern after Taura’s safety. “The cadets?”
Picking his way through the rubble, Aydarr sounded pleased, “The cadets have had their first combat blooding. You taught them well. Lt. Evgan kept his head and did everything by the book. His squad took their lead from him. You can get a debrief later. I want to clear this area.” Aydarr glanced at Taura as he helped her over an obstacle and shook an admonitory talon at her. “You need to get it through your head no one disobeys my orders.” Retracting his claws, Aydarr changed the gesture to an open handed invitation as he flashed a broad grin. “But today isn’t the day. Today I’m grateful for the risks you took in saving my packmate.”
Taura shook hands with the alpha. “He came to rescue me from this place when I needed help. I wasn’t about to do less for him.”
A worthy mate indeed, Aydarr said to Jadrian.
Confused, he organized his thoughts as best he could. We haven’t acknowledged the bond. We’re not officially mates yet.
You should have heard her, standing tall in my cave, telling us all not to ever say again the two of you weren’t mates. Aydarr’s voice was full of amusement.
It’s rude to hold a conversation about me and not include me, Taura said in his head. What are you and Aydarr saying now?
You can’t hear him?
She shook her head. Only you. Which is enough. You’re the only person I want in my mind.
Timtur was there, trying to work on Jadrian as the group was on the move. Angrily, he pushed the medic away and shook his head. “Check her first—the Khagrish treated her roughly.”
“I’m fine,” Taura said. “You, on the other hand, are a mess and you need Timtur’s help. Don’t be stubborn.”
“If we don’t die from the injuries immediately, we heal fast,” he said. “The Khagrish designed us to feel maximum pain from their fucking devices, and to recover quickly, so we could undergo more abuse.”
Taura glanced at the stack of crates and equipment she was moving past. The younger female Khagrish scientist lay sprawled on the ground behind them, her chest blown open, a weapon lying close to her body, proof she’d died in the firefight. “And they can never pay enough for all their crimes but we exacted a bit of retribution today.”
“Permission to salvage?” Darik asked, pausing by the stash.
“Ten minutes,” Aydarr said as two flyers hove into view above the forest and angled in for a landing next to the ruins, one at a time. “We have to move.”
“The Khagrish said they have a new wide range scanner to locate Badari,” Taura said, looking at the gear and gadgets of the now decimated enemy group. “No other information. Didn’t sound as if they had it with them today, however.”
“Too bad because I’d love to get my hands on a sample scanner, but we’ll ask MARL to scour the intercepts for more intel. Thanks for the tip.”
She hesitated, staring at the ruins of the lab. Jadrian understood her unspoken desire. Go, see what’s left of the place you escaped from. I think viewing the cell as it is now will help you. Aydarr will wait.
The place you found me.
I wish I could go with you. His mental voice was full of frustration.
You can barely walk.
“Jadrian says you want to see what’s left of your cell.” Aydarr had his hand on her elbow. “May I escort you in his stead? I need him to get to the flyer and let Timtur work on him. Time is tight here.”
“Thank you.” She blew a kiss to Jadrian and allowed the alpha to lead her toward the cell block area, which was mostly collapsed and blackened.
“Jadrian says your cell was the last one on the right.” Aydarr ducked under a beam and helped her through the opening. “I’m not convinced about the stability of the structure, but we can risk it for a minute or two.”
Taura took a deep breath, staring at the two standing walls remaining of the enclosure where she’d been held for who knows how long, in between sessions of mental and physical torture. The roof had fallen into the cell and, all in all, the scene bore little resemblance to the stark memories she had. She closed her eyes, remembering her first glimpse of Jadrian moving through the smoke, bending over to help her. That was the moment my new life began.
Our life, he said in her head.
“Ready?” Aydarr reached for her hand. “The first flyer is leaving now, and we shouldn’t linger.”
Flanked by pack soldiers, she and the Alpha ran to the larger of the two craft. The small one she’d arrived in was already speeding off to the west, heading for home. The ramp on Aydarr’s flyer closed practically on the heels of the last Badari to board and was lifting off in a steep vector immediately. Aydarr steadied her, assisting her down the aisle to the bow of the flyer, where Timtur worked over Jadrian, who was lying on his stomach on a litter.
Taura hastened to reach her lover’s side, grabbing his hand and staring in disbelief at his back. The wounds had closed and were fading to silvery white scars as she watched, crisscrossing the others he bore from earlier Khagrish punishments.
“Did you see what you needed to in the prison block?” he asked, turning his head with visible effort and pressing a kiss to her palm.
“It was nothing like I remembered in the flashbacks, because of course your pack pretty much destroyed the place.” She sat in the nearest seat, retaining her hold on his hand. “It was good closure. Next time I start to descend into an anxiety episode, I can replace the old pictures in my head with the current state.”
“Facts to replace the nightmares,” he said, harkening back to something she’d said a few days ago.
“Exactly.”
“It’s a fact I love you.” He sat up as Timtur moved away from them with a murmured comment about retrieving another medical necessity.
“Will we have to go to the hospital for you when we get to the valley?” she asked, eyeing his battered torso before she moved into the inviting curve of his extended arm and snuggling close. The strong beating of his heart was reassuring, as it had been on so many panic-filled nights when she’d had her worst episodes. “You look much improved.”
“I owe it to Timtur’s care and an assist from the Alpha, lending me strength to recover faster. Dr. Garrison doesn’t treat Badari except in unusual cases. I had a fairly routine time at the hands of the Khagrish today, and the wound from the pulse rifle is already healing. So no, we shouldn’t have to make a stop there.”
“Routine.” She blew a derisive breath. “The bastards were going to kill you when I interrupted them.”
“Which is nothing new about how the Khagrish treat a Badari who displeases or disobeys them. Or tries to kill them.” He grinned. “To address your question, Aydarr will want to do a full after action debrief. He wants you and Walt there as well.” Jadrian gave her a twisted smile. “Let me guess who your pilot was on this ad hoc mission.”
“I understand about debriefs,” she said. “I’m just impatient to get you alone in our cave. Walt was my only way to get here, by the way. I do have all my memories back, thanks to your goddess and I want—no I need—to tell you who and what I was.” Heart hammering, she took a deep breath and gave him a bare bones sketch of her life as a Sectors operative. When she finished, she hardly dared to look at him, but he gave a reassuring squeeze of her hand.
His eyes glowed golden, radiating warmth and acceptance of her. Radiating love. “Taura, if you’re at peace with what the goddess showed you of your past, then I’m satisfied.”
She picked at a loose thread on the edge of the seat. “I was a spy. I did very dark and—and ugly things for the Sectors. I’m not proud of some of the actions I took, although I was directly fighting against the Mawreg’s efforts to destroy my civilization. And I had good reasons for why I became the person I was.” She studied her hands, so deceptively soft and petite, and sighed. “I’ve killed more than once.”
“As have I,” he said gently.
“The old life is gone.” Straightening her spine, she made the declaration with a new clarity in her mind. “Even if I could step into my old life tomorrow, I wouldn’t. I did all I could, emptied out my soul for the Sectors, and now I’m done. I’ll never leave you—I couldn’t. You’ve become my life.” She put her next thought onto their private mental channel. I want to be your mate, if the offer is still open. Stop sharing that posh cave under false pretenses.
Heedless of the fact they were surrounded by his Badari packmates, Jadrian pulled her closer for a long and involved kiss. There’s nothing I want more than to claim you as my mate.
When they drew apart, Taura asked, “How does it work exactly? Is there a ceremony or…? Your goddess told me there had to be a ‘mutual claiming’, whatever that means. I hope you know.”
Jadrian glanced at the flyer full of Badari. Claiming is the most intimate and private of acts between the mates.
“Oh,” she said out loud, feeling herself blush. “I was thinking in terms of what we humans call weddings, where everyone gathers to celebrate.”
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