She was glad they could fix her ship – that thing was like her second home.
As they made their way toward her ship, they were accompanied by those coming along for the ride: Andris, Aaden, and Hannan; Aaren had decided to stay home with Selly that day because she wasn’t feeling well.
They got into the ship and took their seats, strapping in and getting ready for lift off. Fortunately, Jarrod and Ty had agreed that she be allowed to fly her ship today, so she wasn’t going to complain about anything.
Ten other ships with around fifty warriors were coming along with them in case the Nezleans decided to show up and ruin it. Along for the ride were three scientists who had made it their life’s work to open black holes, and to stabilize them once they had been opened. They thought that they had been able to create a device to stabilize the wormholes’ unpredictability, allowing any ships coming through or going out to be safe.
They made their way through the atmosphere and were travelling toward where her ship’s log entries indicated she was when she was spit out into this galaxy, before Hannan spoke.
“So, you’ve spoken of this Kayla. Does she look like you? Is she shy? Outspoken? What does she do? Is she a warrior?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Hannan. Cool your jets. What’s with all the questions?” Natalie asked, turning to look at the man in question.
He was leaning toward her, his eyes earnest.
“I just thought that I should be ready to welcome her.” He put a hand to his chest, and dramatically said, “You hurt my heart, dear sister.”
Natalie snorted and raised her brow.
“You didn’t ask anything about Ben though. So that leads me to think you have more nefarious plans then you let on. You wanted to do something with her didn’t you?” When his face turned red, she laughed. “You want yourself a little alien. Personally, I don’t know if you and she would fit. You like your girls flirty and…delicate. Kayla is none of those things. She’s loud, coarse, and brash, and she loves making people uncomfortable; she says whatever is on her mind, and doesn’t care whether there are consequences. I don’t see you together, sorry, but I think you’ll get along great. She, too, enjoys flirting with anything with a pulse. Plus, if they do end up coming, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are at least ten people on board. So you may just get a choice of who you romance.”
“Ten aliens. Figures,” Andris muttered, earning a frown from Natalie and a slap from Taavi. “Hey! What was that for? I didn’t say anything wrong.”
“You insulted my mate and made yourself look like an ass. Don’t be like those purists, Andris. Snobbery doesn’t suit you, brother.”
Taavi locked his gaze with the other man until Andris looked away.
All were silent for the rest of the trip, until they came upon the wormhole.
“That’s it,” Natalie said quietly, remembering the fear of being sucked in.
Taavi grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb along the back of it.
It’s okay, my love. This time if we get sucked in, we’ll all go together.
Natalie smiled at him, giving his hand a squeeze before letting go.
“I was expecting something… more.” Aaden murmured.
“More? More what? Isn’t that enough? A giant gaping black hole of nothingness.” Hannan had a queasy expression on his face, like he was uncomfortable with his proximity to the mass.
“I don’t know. It just seems a little anticlimactic. That’s all. It’s still impressive, but it lacks any drama.”
Natalie turned to look at Aaden. “That’s because we’re here together and the Nezleans aren’t attacking. Trust me. No drama is good.”
Just then the comms went off.
“Natalie here.”
“Natalie, this is Trystan, captain of Team Two. We have the scientists on board and they have been telling me – in quite a lot of detail – that they think they have also managed to make a device to throw into the wormhole to make communication go further. They were wondering if you would try hailing your people before they sent out the satellite.”
“Sure. Give me ten to try and I’ll get back to you.”
“Will do.”
Natalie went and fiddle with the comms trying to get the right frequency for communication to be possible. Once she had gotten it corrected, she sat down and began the arduous task of repeating herself, over and over, trying to contact anyone she might know.
After ten minutes of failed attempts and constant static, she called Trystan back.
“Trystan, Natalie here. It didn’t work. Have the scientist’s ready to send out the satellite and then let me know when it’s in place.”
“Got it.”
The men were quiet, not speaking or interrupting, letting Natalie concentrate on getting a message home. When Trystan called back to let her know the new frequency, she input it and tried again.
“Ben, Kayla. Alpha Station, do you read me? Mayday, mayday. Natalie White of Alpha Station, calling for help. This is Natalie White, calling for help. Anyone. Is anyone there? Please, please someone be there.” Taavi moved behind Natalie, gripping her shoulders as her voice broke. “Please. Ben, Kayla. You have to be there. Someone please answer. I’m begging you.”
She gave a small gasping sob, desperation holding her lungs in a tight fist.
After another thirty minutes of failed contact and static, Taavi squeezed her shoulder again as Natalie cried.
“I think it’s time we went home, Natalie.”
Her world was gone. Her people were gone. Her family was gone. No one left from her home. She knew she was standing on the ledge of a total breakdown, but she pushed it back.
“One more time. We’ll try one more time, and then we’ll leave.”
She straightened as she repeated herself over and over again for another five minutes. None of the men could bear to disappoint her, or make her stop.
They could each her shallow breathing, the hitches in her voice when she spoke, and they hurt for her.
Taavi pulled Natalie out of her chair, rocking her back and forth as she cried; cried so hard the gasps of air she took made her choke.
She knew she was making a fool of herself but she couldn’t stop it. In the moment when Taavi grabbed her, she knew she would never be the same. She felt her heart break and shatter into a million pieces. The only thing that made it bearable was knowing Taavi could pick up those million pieces and put her back together.
I’m sorry, alaila. So sorry. Shhh Natalie. It’s going to be okay. Oh, alaila, my heart is breaking for you. You can fall apart; you’re safe in my arms. You can break apart, and I’ll put you back together. Always.
Taavi’s murmurings were the only thing helping her hang on to her sanity. She focused on him, on the feel of his arms around her, the pound of his heart against her, and his gentle caressing thoughts a soothing balm to her soul.
He led her to a seat and asked Andris to drive them back, pulled her into his lap and cradled her against his heart.
Andris called Trystan to let him know what was going on and that they were moving out.
They had been cruising for five minutes when the comm for Alpha Station started to go in and out with static. Natalie had forgotten to shut it off before Taavi had grabbed her.
“Aaden,” she whispered, “can you please shut that off. Thanks.”
Aaden got out of his seat and was about to flick off the comm when a barely discernible, “Nata-” sounded before Aaden flipped the switch and it cut off.
Natalie jumped out of her seat yelling, “Andris, stop the ship! Aaden, turn that back on.”
All the men jumped at her abrupt turn around and sudden yell, and then did as she asked.
She ran over to the comm and sat down.
“This is Natalie White from Alpha Station. Can you hear me? Is anyone out there?” She repeated herself, over and over again, through Andris contacting Trystan, through Taavi’s questions of what she heard, of everything and everyone.
She
blocked them all out; focusing on what she swore was Ben’s voice. After another few failed attempts, she wilted and turned to face the men who were all standing behind her.
She felt her eyes well with tears once more.
“I was sure I heard Ben’s voice just before Aaden turned off the comm. I swear I did.” She sniffled and got up, not caring what they thought of her and her craziness. She sat down and crossed her arms, prepared to sulk, before a very clear “Natalie?” filled the cockpit.
She was up and running to the comm before she even knew she was doing it, the men surrounding her. “Ben? Ben, are you there?”
It was static before a very male voice came on line. “Natalie? Oh, God, Natalie! Kayla, come quick, it’s Natalie.”
“Oh, Ben! Oh my God! I am so glad to hear your voice,” she cried.
“Natalie? Is that really you?” came a beautiful female voice.
“Kayla! It’s so good to hear your voice. I thought I’d lost you both,” Natalie cried into the comm, not even caring when she wiped away the snot from her nose.
She couldn’t stop, she just kept crying into the comm, murmuring to Kayla and Ben, who murmured back.
It sounded like Kayla was also crying when she asked, “How you doing, kiddo? Are you still in that nasty wormhole? We’re so close to getting you out, honey.”
Natalie sniffled, turned to smile at the guys, grabbed Taavi’s hand and turned back.
“Actually, there’s a lot I have to tell you. Starting with the amazing fact that I found a home for us.”
~ ~ ~ ~
After finalizing plans to be there in three weeks time, Natalie and her ship left.
When they arrived on Tarlon, Ty was there to greet them.
“So, I heard the mission was a success. I’m very happy for you, Natalie, and excited to meet your people.”
“Thanks, Ty. For a while there, I didn’t think we would be able to contact them. We agreed to come meet them in three weeks; that’s how long it should take them to get to, and through, the wormhole. So until then, I guess we’ll all have to find something to do in the meantime.”
“Well, I’m glad. Let me know when you go. I’d like to come this time.”
“Sure thing.” She watched Ty walk away, turned to Taavi and asked, “So, what are we supposed to do until then?”
He wiggled his eyebrows and tugged her against him. She landed against his chest with an oomph and laughed when he gave a playful growl.
“Oh, Natalie. I can think of a few things to keep you occupied.”
~ ~ ~ ~
How the heck had this been allowed, he thought, making his way to meet Alpha.
He had just found out that Taavi had taken his little alien whore to contact her people, and actually communicated with them. According to his source, they should be in the Epsilon Galaxy in about three weeks. That gave him plenty of time to get his plan, and all its parts, together and working. Until then, he would continue to allow Alpha to think he was in charge. It was almost his turn to prove himself. All he had to do was wait for the right moment.
He only hoped his… friends, would be willing to wait that long.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It had been a long and busy three weeks.
Pretty much everyone knew that Natalie’s people were coming, and they were either excited, indifferent or angry; the latter having been learned the hard way.
About a week after contacting Ben and Kayla, after a nice night out with Taavi and Tali, they were walking back to the car when a man and woman had stepped from the shadows to block their path. Taavi had taken a step in front of them and asked what they were doing and what they wanted.
The man spoke, and it was clear he was very angry by the tone of his voice and his aggressive stance that he didn’t want Natalie or any other alien race invading their planet, and that the purists should be in charge so Alpha could lead them back to Tavanni. After he had said that, the woman had hurled some sort of vegetable at Natalie, hitting her in the chest.
It wouldn’t have been so bad, if only it hadn’t been rotten.
When the vegetable hit Natalie and burst open, Taavi had sprinted toward the couple, giving chase as they ran away. He only managed to catch the woman, watching as the man ran away. The woman wouldn’t speak at all – just glared defiantly – so Taavi called the authorities, called Ty, and got her jailed for harassment and assault. It would only get her ninety days, but it was something. They decided to try and get information out of her, but she was less than inclined to talk. Thankfully, the man who was with her that night was also her husband, so they were able to arrest him, too. But he also wasn’t speaking.
Taavi and Ty were angry, going back once a day to try and get them to talk, but it was a fruitless endeavor. They were loyal to the bone, truly believing that being pure and only allowing pure Tarlons on the planet would make Tavanni bless them.
Taavi had tried to reason with them, using the soile-miena bond to explain that Tavanni had blessed them with Natalie and her people, but they had just spat at him and remained silent.
He wasn’t in a good mood for a while after that.
The next two weeks were swarmed with Tali and Ginny planning the ceremony for two days after Ben and Kayla’s arrival.
All the people Natalie cared about would be there and she was so excited.
She helped Tali in the infirmary for a few days and trained with Team One and Team Two for a few days, where Hannan had bragged that he could take any of the women, so Nash volunteered to accept his challenge.
Hannan had been doing a good job of overpowering her with his sheer force, but once they had gotten to the floor and she got him in a choke, he was done for. After their fight, the men had actually asked the women to teach them the chokes, and they had a few good days of training together.
Other than that, Natalie spent her time wandering around the castle, with Ty’s permission of course.
One of the days she wandered into a large pristine kitchen. A man with grey hair and blue eyes was standing in front of a stove, humming, and Lity was seated at a small breakfast table in the corner.
Natalie cleared her throat and Lity jumped.
“Hey, Natalie. I haven’t seen you in forever.” Lity bounded toward Natalie and gave her a hug. She pulled back and dragged her to her father. “Papa, this is Natalie, Taavi’s mate. Natalie, this is my papa, Juaran.”
Natalie smiled at Lity and then Juaran.
“Nice to meet you, sir. I have to tell you, Lity wasn’t exaggerating about how amazing this place smells when you are cooking.”
Juaran laughed, his eyes twinkling.
“Well, it’s nice to meet a friend of Lity’s. And thank you, I am quite fond of the smells myself. Would you like to learn?”
Natalie took a step back, hands in front of her.
“Oh, I couldn’t. You’re almost done, and I don’t want to be a bother.”
Lity and Juaran laughed, and he spoke. “My dear, you won’t be a bother. I always have Lity underfoot, what’s one more?” He chuckled again when Lity elbowed him. “It would be my pleasure to teach you.”
Natalie hesitantly approached the stove, excited and nervous to learn.
Juaran grabbed her and brought her in front of the stove, taking her hand and putting it onto the handle of a spoon.
“Okay, now this is what you’re going to do.”
To say Natalie had had a good time cooking was an understatement. There was something peaceful about creating delicious and beautiful food. It might sound stupid, but it helped Natalie clear her mind and focus on the task before her, not allowing her mind to run.
Plus, Juaran and Lity were excellent teachers and fun companions.
There had only been one other Nezlean attack, and since then, everything had been good. The Nezleans had been absent for a week now, probably on their planet recuperating, and all had been calm. Meaning when they went out today to get her people’s ship, they wouldn’t have to navigate a war zo
ne.
Along for the ride was Team One again, Natalie, and this time Ty came along.
They were all quiet as they made their way to the meeting point. Natalie was hoping that by the time they got there, their ship would be through.
When they got to the wormhole, she sent out a message.
Again, there was nothing but static.
Natalie narrowed her eyes, unsure why it wasn’t working. Taavi came up behind her.
“Natalie, you have got to be patient. They’ll be through in no time.”
She kept on calling and all she got was static. After nearly an hour of no response, even Taavi was worried.
“Do you think we got the dates wrong? Maybe we’re a day early or more?”
“No! I calculated it! It took me two months, one week, and three days to get here. Three weeks was all that was left for them to get to the wormhole and through it. And since those scientists put those weird stabilizer thingy’s inside it, it wouldn’t have closed before they got there.”
Ty cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to say this, but I actually have to get back if they aren’t here yet. I have some important business to attend to.”
“I’m not going back. You can’t make me.”
Ty sighed. “Natalie, come on. They aren’t here yet, and they aren’t answering. We’ll leave a couple of ships here for when they come through, but I really have to get back. I’m sorry, but we need to go.”
Natalie, he is the King. What he says, goes. I won’t force you to do anything, and I will defend you against him, damn the consequences.
Natalie looked over at Taavi, her eyes damp.
I’m not going to get you into trouble with the King, let alone your friend. We can go. But I want to come back tomorrow.
Taavi grinned.
I would have expected nothing less.
Natalie sighed. “Fine. But I’m coming back here tomorrow, with your blessing, Your Royal Highness,” she smirked, waiting for his answer.
He frowned a little at her taunting tone, but then grinned.
Destiny Found (Epsilon Chronicles Book 1) Page 21