Ral's Woman

by Laurann Dohner

  “Cheese grater?”

  “Never mind. I was talking to myself.”

  The platform slowed. Ral sniffed the air as he jerked her forward. They ran down halls until they came to another large door. It looked like the crush door she’d walked through when Yoz had taken her to the mines. The door swished open. Ariel was a little surprised to see that one of Ral’s men stood there.

  “We are ready. The rest follow.”

  Ral nodded and took off without warning. His hand on Ariel’s tightened as he yanked her behind him. She ran for all she was worth across the large room to another large door. Ral paused and looked back. Ariel glanced over her shoulder to see dozens of Zorn run into the large room with more on their heels. The room was filling with Zorn.

  The man who’d let them into the room finally shut the other door. There had to be well over a hundred Zorn in the room with a few other species she hadn’t seen before. The other non Zorn looked as confused as she felt. There were only a handful of them, all of them were females.

  “Let’s do this.” Ral nodded.

  The doors opened. Ariel spun to see what the room they were going into was. She gasped when she eyed the largest ship she’d ever seen parked in what appeared to be open space. She saw the glass dome then. It was barely noticeable with deep space as a background.

  More Zorn men were by the ship. They waved frantically at everyone. Like a stampede, the Zorn started to run. Ral gripped her hand as he jerked her closer to his body. They both ran for the large ship.

  It was a space ship. She understood that. She wondered about what was about to happen. Comprehension hit her as they neared the ship. They were trying to escape. Shock tore through her as they ran up a ramp and into the belly of the ship. It looked like a large cargo area. More of the Zorn waited inside. Ral kept moving, yanking Ariel with him, as they ran through the cargo area into a metal hallway.

  “This way, Argis Ral,” a man yelled. “We are getting ready for flight.”

  Ral wasn’t even out of breath as they ran. “Have you damaged the other ships?”

  “Yes,” the Zorn jogging beside them growled. “They won’t be able to follow us. Not for a long time.”

  Panting hard, a pain in her side, Ariel started to slow down. Ral growled. He halted and spun, shoving the blanket and clothes at the other man as he released Ariel’s hand. In an instant Ral grabbed Ariel by her middle. Her hips hit Ral’s shoulder hard. He spun around and started to run again as he held her tight against his body.

  They ended up in an elevator. Ral stood there with the other Zorn man as the elevator jetted upward. Ariel pushed hair out of her face to stare at the Zorn man standing a few feet from her and Ral.

  “The ship is full.” The Zorn touched his ear. Ariel saw a metal device clipped to the man’s ear. “They are securing the cargo doors. We’re ready. All are accounted for.”

  “Let’s get out of here,” Ral snarled. “Do not wait for me to reach the command center.”

  “Liftoff,” the Zorn ordered. “Argis Ral has ordered liftoff.”

  The engines of the ship weren’t loud but Ariel still heard them as they vibrated to life. The elevator door opened as it stopped. Ral moved fast into the room. He bent over to deposit Ariel on her feet gently. He gripped her arm and spun her around.

  Ariel stared wide eyed in astonishment at the large window. The room was some kind of control center. Five Zorn were at the controls. Ral moved to the large seat, tugging Ariel with him. He sat down, yanking her across his lap. He wrapped his arm around her waist securing her so she couldn’t move.

  “Report,” Ral ordered.

  “They triggered the alarm when the ship was started but we’ve overridden their systems.” The man behind them snarled. “The dome is retracting. Forty seconds to liftoff.”

  Ral growled. “Faster, damn it.”

  “We can only go so fast. The dome has started to open. They cannot reach the ship. The pressure seals were broken when the dome started to open. They would be sucked out of the dock even if they could bypass their safety measures.”

  Ral nodded. “What about their defenses?”

  “They are destroyed.” The man sitting in a chair to their right laughed. “We blew them at once when you gave the order to lift off. Those blue bastards are busy right now dealing with the fires we set. We will be clear. They cannot stop us.”

  Ral nodded. Ariel’s eyes flew to his. He didn’t glance at her. He looked grim as he gazed at the large window. “Until we are free and clear I will not feel too confident, Avi. Viz, have you accessed their charts? Do we know where we are and how to get home?”

  “Yes, Argis Ral. We are three weeks from home at full capacity.”

  Ral shut his eyes and smiled. “Home.” His eyes snapped open. “Time?”

  “Ten seconds. We are ready. I will alert our people to hold on.”

  Ral tucked Ariel tighter to his body. “Hold on, Ariel. This ship has strong engines and we are not easing out. We want to cause damage when we leave here. It will burn up their docking bay.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck to cling tighter to him. The engines of the ship vibrated harder as the ship shot forward into space. Her body was slammed into Ral’s. He held her tighter. She turned her head to look at the view as the ship flew into space.

  “They have one weapon that didn’t blow,” a man snarled. “Evasive maneuvers.”

  Ral growled. “Can we avoid being hit?”

  The man laughed. “Not a problem. We are out of range in three, two, one, now. We’re free.”

  Ral laughed. He held Ariel in his arms as he stood up. He grinned at her. “We are free, my Ariel.”

  Shock hit Ariel. She stared at Ral. He winked at her. “Open full ship communications.” He gently sat Ariel in the seat he’d vacated.

  Emotionally Ariel was reeling from the shock. They’d escaped the Anzons. She hadn’t known they were even trying to escape. Ral hadn’t told her. That was what that meeting had been about last night. The Zorn hadn’t been excited about new prisoners. They had been excited about a large ship being prepared so they could use it to escape. Hurt washed over Ariel. Why hadn’t Ral told her? Hadn’t he trusted her?

  “This is Argis Ral,” Ral snarled. “We are free. In three weeks we will be returning to our home. We will see Zorn again.”

  The men threw back their heads in the room and howled loudly. Ariel started. Ral smiled widely at her. He ran his hand over his throat. The man to the left nodded.

  “Communications are off, Argis Ral.”

  Ral glanced at one of his men. “Any pursuit?”

  “No, Argis Ral. We damaged them too well.”

  Ral nodded. “Keep a sharp eye on it. I don’t want any surprises.”

  “Yes, Argis Ral.”

  Ral turned to stare at the large window facing space. He crossed his muscled arms over his chest. Satisfaction was the clear emotion displayed on his face.

  Ariel swallowed. “Ral?”

  He grinned at her as his arms dropped to his sides. “Yes?”

  “Are you taking me home?”

  He nodded. He moved toward her and crouched down in front of her. His hands gripped her face gently. “We are bound. You will be very welcome on my planet.”

  “I meant Earth,” she whispered.

  Ral’s smile died. “We are bound, Ariel. I don’t know where your world is or where to even look. I am sorry. My home is now your home.”

  She nodded feeling a little numb. What else could she do? Ral smiled at her and released her as he stood up. He headed for one of the stations and spoke softly to his men.

  Ariel sat in the chair he’d placed her in and just watched Ral. He was taking her to his planet. She wasn’t going to ever get back to Earth. Pain and anger filled her as she realized that his men had access to the Anzons Charts to find his world but he wasn’t even going to look for her planet. She shut her eyes and fought tears that burned behind her eyelids.

  She finall
y opened her eyes and stared out into space when she had her emotions under control. She turned her head sometimes to watch Ral. He looked excited as he moved around the room from station to station. He finally walked toward her and held out his hand. Hours had passed.

  “We are not being pursued. They don’t have anything faster than our ship and we have been watching for them. We made a perfect escape. I have memorized the floor plan of the ship. We are going to the leader’s sleeping quarters.”

  “All right.” She let him pull her up to her feet.

  Ral retrieved his blanket-wrapped clothing by the door. They left the command center and walked down a hallway. Ral stopped by a door and opened it. It wasn’t locked. Ral stepped in first and dropped his clothes. The lights automatically came on. Ariel eyed the large room.

  “Nice.” The room was huge and looked fitted with every comfort the Anzons had to offer.

  “They put us in rock rooms with thick mats.” Ral looked pissed off. “Yet they lived in luxury.”

  Ariel looked at the room again. It had a living room area with comfortable chairs and then there was a bedroom area with a large bed. One wall was a window of space. It was beautiful. When they lay down in the bed they would face the view of space, staring out at it, she knew it would be an experience. Ral reached for her, pulling her into his arms.

  “You will love Zorn.”

  She locked eyes with Ral. “You could find Earth if you wanted to.”

  “I can’t let you return to Earth.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  He held her tighter. “I could find your planet, but I can’t let go of you now, Ariel. I am in love with you. You are everything to me. We are bound.”

  “What does that mean? Bound?”

  “It means I have taken you as mine until death. It means we are together until death. I have committed my life to yours.”

  “You mean we’re married?”

  “Married?”

  “That means committed to each other until death.”

  “Yes. Then that is what it means. You are bound to me, Ariel. I will never give you up.”

  “What is Argis?”

  “My actual title.”

  “And Ral?”

  “My name.”

  “Should I call you Argis Ral now like everyone else is?”

  He grinned. “You are bound to me. You need not call me a title. Ever. When we were captured and taken I ordered my people to drop the title to protect my identity. I was just one Zorn of many.”

  “If the Anzons captured you once will they come back to your planet to get you again?”

  “No. We were not taken from our home planet. We were taken from another we were visiting. It was our hunting planet. The Anzons made many mistakes with us. They thought we were not smart enough to deal with technology and they thought we were not worthy to even watch closely. We allowed them to think it. It worked well with us to have good access to escape.”

  “What is a hunt planet?”

  “My kind vacation on our hunt planet. It is primitive planet without civilization. The ship that takes us there leaves us for a week. The Anzons thought we were a very basic species with no technology because we don’t allow it on our hunting grounds. That would ruin the vacation if technology were allowed to poison the planet and the beasts we hunt for sport. The Anzons are seriously learning how they underestimated us now.” He chuckled.

  “So they can’t come after us on Zorn?”

  Amusement lit Ral’s incredible blue eyes. “No. We have ships far better than this and a defense system that would never allow them to even get close to our planet. They only got us because we were on our hunt planet. When I return home I will have measures taken to defend that planet from now on so this never happens again.”

  Chapter Six

  Ariel was nervous. She sat between Ral’s thighs staring at the planet they were approaching. Zorn wasn’t a blue and white planet. Zorn was shades of red and had three large moons closely surrounding it.

  Ral nodded at one of his men. “Open communications.”

  “Yes, Argis Ral.”

  “This is Argis Ral,” he growled. “We have returned home. Alert Hyvin Berrr.”

  A male growled in response. “Argis Ral? Confirm your identity.”

  Ral issued some growling. The translator didn’t give Ariel a translation. It was just harsh sounds.

  “Welcome home, Argis Ral.” The man sounded happy. “Your father will be very pleased. We have searched for you and our people without success.”

  “We have escaped our captors.” Ral hugged Ariel. “We will need transports.”

  “Immediately, Argis Ral,” the man said.

  They put the ship in orbit over the planet and Ariel couldn’t stop staring at Zorn. It looked so different from Earth—not that she’d ever really seen Earth from space, only movies and pictures of it from space. Zorn was definitely different. The planet looked bigger too than any pictures of Earth. She swallowed.

  “Are you all right, Ariel?” Ral softly growled in her ear.

  “Yes. I’m just nervous. What is it like?”

  He chuckled as he held her tight. “You will like it. It is beautiful.”

  That’s all he ever told her about his planet. For the last three weeks while they’d traveled to Zorn Ral had been busy. He’d left her mostly alone in the leader’s quarters, but he’d come to her at night to sleep and make love. He’d avoided all her questions and it was starting to concern her. To just say a planet was beautiful left a whole lot open.

  Ral lifted both of them to their feet. He led her to the bowels of the ship with her hand in his. She saw most of his people gathered there. They looked unusually happy and excited, standing in groups. Ral smiled as he nodded at them as he pulled her closer.

  “We are home. It has been too long since they have seen their families and friends.”

  Ariel missed her home and family too but she smiled at him. Ral was her world now. To go home meant she’d have to leave him. After the almost month they’d spent together she couldn’t imagine life without him.

  “They have sent transport ships to fly us to the planet. This ship is too large for our planet docking stations.”

  She eyed the ship around them. “What will happen to it?”

  He smiled. “We’ll keep it. They took us. We took their ship.”

  A loud sound startled Ariel. Ral chuckled. “A transport is docking.” He motioned his head toward the far corner. “We will go first. My father and brothers will be very anxious to see me.”

  She gripped his hand tighter, staring up at his face. “How will they feel about me?”

  “We are bound. They will have to accept it.”

  “Can’t your father unbind us? You said he was leader of this world.”

  Ral frowned. “He won’t.”

  Dread hit Ariel. Ral didn’t say the man couldn’t unbind them. He’d used the word won’t, which implied it was possible. What if his father wanted Ariel out of Ral’s life? What would become of her then?

  The doors by them slid open and large Zorn men dressed in black uniforms stepped out. Ral smiled. He walked forward, pulling Ariel along behind him as he closed the space between himself and the newcomers.

  “Argernon.” Ral chuckled. “You came all this way to see me.” Ral released Ariel to yank the man into a bear hug.

  Ariel saw the resemblance between both men then. Argernon kept his smile in place as he released Ral. “You look good, Brother. We feared you were dead.”

  Ral laughed. “I am too mean to die.” Ral turned, reaching for Ariel. He pulled her forward.

  Ariel stared up at the large Zorn. She saw his eyes widen as he stared back at her. His mouth opened but immediately slammed shut. His eyes flew to Ral.

  “She smells strongly of you.”

  “This is Ariel. I am bound to her.”

  Horror hit Argernon’s features. “You bound to an enemy?”

  Ral growled. “She is no e
nemy.”

  “She is one of your captors.”

  “No. She was taken from her world as well as we were.”

  Argernon still looked angry. “She is other world. You cannot be bound to one from another world. Father will not allow it.”

  Ral growled viciously. “It is done. She is mine. We are bound.”

  Argernon took a step back. He put up his hands. “I will let you take it up with Father.” His eyes lowered to Ariel. “She is too small and pale.”

  “She is mine.” Ral snarled at his brother. “No one will take her from me.”

  Argernon looked concerned and a bit angry. “Is she breeding compatible? Can she carry your offspring?”

  Ral hesitated. “I do not know nor do I care. She is mine.”

  Argernon sighed deeply. “Let us go. Father is in a strong desire to see you quickly.” His eyes turned to Ariel. “Can she even understand us?”

  “Yes.” Ral focused his attention on Ariel. “Speak to my brother to see if Zorn translators work with your language.”

  Ariel swallowed. “Hello, Argernon. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Argernon frowned. His eyes slid to Ral. He shook his head. “I cannot understand her. She speaks softly. She does not speak like us.”

  Irritation made Ral frown. “We will have to have someone work on this. The translators they fit on us work. We’ll have to modify our Zorn translators for her language.”

  “This is not acceptable,” Argernon growled. “You brought a woman home who can’t even speak or understand us.”

  Ariel glanced at Ral. “I can understand him.”

  Ral nodded at her. “Good.”

  “What did she say?” Argernon looked grim.

  “She can understand you perfectly. Let’s go. Contact someone and have them work on this immediately. I want my bound woman able to speak so all can understand her and not just the Zorn on this ship.”

  Argernon looked furious. His glowing blue eyes narrowed on Ariel for a second and he could sense his direct gaze made her feel uneasy. He jerked his eyes to his brother. His head snapped an affirmative response before the man spun around to stomp for the door he’d come through.

  The transport was about the size of an Earth bus. Ral pulled Ariel onto his lap as Zorn filled the seats. The doors closed and then they were flying toward the planet. Ral held her tightly and belted them in. When they hit the atmosphere the transporter shook—it was a rough ride. Ral chuckled at her fear and he held her tighter, nuzzling her cheek with his, he whispered into the wrong ear. He softly growled at her.