“It’s her. I feel… her,” Zaen said, his face open in amazement.
“So much stronger than ever before. It’s like she’s in my mind. In my heart,” Juliran said.
As Lucie sang, all Kyel could do was bask in her music and feel the powerful connective surge roll through them all.
Lucie finished singing. There was a second before the crowd exploded in cheers, whistles, and clapping. Lucie grinned, her smile lighting every inch of her face. She was enjoying herself. Having fun. She had never smiled back at the Homeland. Not once.
Luke came onto the stage and spoke into the microphone. “Now let’s get on with the show. Who wants a little rock and roll?”
The crowd cheered and hollered around them. People called out names of songs. It seemed they had come here to hear Lucie sing. They had come for her.
“What about an oldie but a goodie? Rock around the clock. Grab your partners and get ready to dance,” Lucie said.
People poured onto the cleared area in front of the stage. The band began to play and Lucie sang an upbeat song about dancing around a timepiece. The music was a different in their Homeland, but people enjoyed themselves just the same way. Singing, music, and dancing seemed to be universal things. Lucie’s voice contained a joy all of its own.
“I had no idea. She’s an angel.” Juliran looked at them, his eyes blazing. “We should have known this about her.”
Yes, they should have known she had this ability. A voice like hers came along once in a lifetime. They were so lucky to have her and yet she had not shown them this side of herself.
“Why would she had kept this from us? This is a huge part of her. Were we so ignorant, or…” Zaen trailed off, his gaze roaming over Lucie as she continued her song.
“What is on your mind, Zaen?’ Kyel prompted.
“I’m just thinking that every time we started to get close to her, she shut down. Found something else to do. Ran off somewhere. I mean, she’s obviously influenced by our mating attraction, but she’s fought it off. She never told us anything about herself, really. Don’t you think that’s a bit strange? She is so different here than she was ever with us. It can’t be coincidental. It’s almost as though she was afraid,” Zaen said.
“Of us!” Juliran cast a horrified look between himself and Zaen.
Zaen shook his head. “I don’t think so, but there is a big reason for it. Now that I see the true Lucie, like this, with such talent and confidence, I know the side she showed us was not right. As though she was being held back.”
The muscles at Kyel’s jaw clenched as he mentally listed off time and time again where their Lucie had done just that. Run away. Shut down. She hadn’t revealed a thing about herself. In fact, the more he thought about her actions, the more he realized they weren’t avoidance, they were more because she was scared.
As much as the suggestion was abhorrent, it just might be true.
“The entity,” he said. “It could have been influencing her all along.”
“It may have stopped the mate-sync connection if it has,” Juliran said.
That was true. Although they’d kissed her, it was only on a superficial level. They’d kissed her to make her feel cherished and loved. It had been nowhere what they needed to do to complete the mate bond so they could mate-sync. They’d waited for Lucie’s consent, but it was now obvious that something bigger was holding her back. Holding them all back. The purpose of which he had no idea, but it was doing its best to separate their true bond.
“We missed it. We missed everything about it.” Zaen’s mouth thinned into a furious line. His biceps bulged as he clenched his fists.
His brother’s fury only matched Kyel’s own. This was going to be finished. They were going to fight this thing face to face.
“This will change right now. We are taking her away from this and claiming her. I cannot stand for her to spend another moment in this environment. It is time we really started to honor her,” Kyel said.
“And how do we intend to do that?’ Juliran said, sidling up on his other side.
“Look at her, brothers. This is the true Lucie that has been hidden from us and while she is here, she will never be free. We have to get her out of here,” Kyel said, not withholding the sneer on his face at the crowd of people intent on working their Lucie to death, draining everything she had to give.
Lucie finished her song and smiled at the audience at her feet. Her gaze came their way and snagged onto them. Her eyes lit with recognition, and more than that—heat, longing, desire. Their connection pulsed like a live wire.
There would be no more waiting.
The entity would divide them no longer.
“She recognizes us,” Kyel said, determination driving each step.
People parted before them. He shoved others out of the way when they didn’t move. Nothing was going to stand between them again. “We will take her away from this place. It is time to fight the hold the entity has on her and fully claim our mate.”
Chapter Eleven
Lucie
“You’re here.”
Lucie smiled up at the three brothers as she pushed her way through the dancing crowd. Anticipation made Lucie’s heart pound. The brothers were here. Her mates. The idea as well as the words so foreign, yet so right. All three brothers. Virile. Strong. Handsome as hell, but more than that—she knew them.
Not just as in how she might know a friend. There was a depth to the connection, an innate knowing of the type of men they were. Loyal. Tenacious. Honest.
Hers.
They looked so different than she was used to. Their skin wasn’t the right color. It should be blue. But how would she know that?
A superimposed image ran across her mind as they strode towards her. Kyel with his short hair, shirtless, chiseled to perfection, firm hands with callouses born from intense fighting training. She could see him, chest heaving, shining with sweat as he wielded a sword half as long as her.
Zaen with swirling tattoos that were as living as his body. They would mirror his moods, turning and rippling with color over his body in agitation and desire. In her mind, she could see her finger tracing a moving line filled with bright blues and greens trying to catch it, but before she could, he caught her wrist and held her to his chest so firmly she’d felt his heart beating.
Juliran. Caring. Quick with a smile. Hard body like a God. He always made sure she found satisfaction before he did. Always? She’d only kissed him once, hadn’t she?
And horns. They should have horns.
There was something unfinished between them. Something they’d yet to do. Something really important. She didn’t know what. Or why. But it was wholly compelling.
It was like being caught between two realities. Two dream worlds. One right in front of her eyes, and the other on another level. One overlapped the other and she was stuck in the middle, pulled in separate directions.
The brothers approached, stopping at the base of the stage. Coming for her. Waiting for her. A shiver worked through her veins. Her clothing was too heavy. Too constricting. The only thing she wanted to wear was them.
For once, she wasn’t dogged by the strange tiredness that followed her every waking hour. Or the white fog that clouded her mind. There was no threatening voice.
For once, it was gone. Her mates were safe. The cloying confusion fell away as they approached. Her strength returned, little by little. For once—she could just think.
And she knew. She remembered everything.
The voice was gone. Her mates were safe. She could be where she wanted to be. Where her heart called for her to be. Where her soul knew she should be. Because that was right, wasn’t it? They were all quarters of the same soul, woven together before they were born. Woven by fate.
They had explained it, but she’d never fully understood. Now that the fog and the darkness and the voice were gone, she could finally feel their connection. She could finally act on it.
She reached out and took Kye
l’s hand without hesitation. She stepped down from the stage and threaded her fingers through his hair. Zaen and Juliran surrounded her. She was safe in the circle of her mates. Safe. Finally. The voice couldn’t find her here. Her mind became quiet, replaced with a growing sense of what she had to do. The stress of her heart eased as desire blossomed.
She looked up into Kyel’s face. He steadied her with a firm gaze and she fell into the protection he offered. His eyes glinted deep blue. As blue as the sky on a cloudless summer morning.
She smiled. “Kyel. There you are.”
A hand firmed on her back, and another at her nape.
“You recognize us,” Zaen said.
She placed her hand on Zaen’s forearm, looked to Juliran. “Yes. I recognize you. But how are you even here? Why? It’s where I used to work… but different.” She took his hand in hers. “I don’t know exactly, but this isn’t right. It’s not real. We must leave. There’s… so much I have to tell you.”
Now that she remembered—she remembered it all. Guilt pressed on her heart. She’d never told them about the voice in her head, guiding her and directing her to do what it wanted. It was only a miracle that it was silenced, but for how long? She needed to tell them. Everything.
“We’re here for you, our mate,” Zaen said.
She let a sad smile cross her mouth. They’d followed her to… wherever the hell they were. “I should have known that before. I’m so sorry. It’s just that… it’s all been so confusing. So exhausting.”
Kyel tucked a finger beneath her chin and tipped her head to look at him. “You have nothing to be sorry about. It is us who have done you a disservice. You were in need and we should have helped you more.”
Her heart trembled. Why hadn’t she seen their thoughtfulness before? Their caring, their kindness, their love. Why had she not felt that? It was so intense it was like plunging into a vat of electricity—all charged and heated and intense. Why hadn’t she done anything about it? Why had she let the voice overrule her common sense? The ‘whys’ thumped around in her head and a sick lump formed in her stomach. There would be time enough to heal those things, but now wasn’t it.
She didn’t know why the voice was silent, but one thing she did know—it would be back. She had to get away from here and tell her mates everything while she had her mind while she had the chance.
She took Juliran and Zaen’s hands and looked up at Kyel. She needed to touch them and anchor herself. Without them, she was lost. “We have to get out of here.”
She headed towards the front of the diner, pushing through the crowds that used to come and see her sing, while she slaved away waiting tables for them. She hadn’t realized what or why she’d been here, and now looking around at it, knew it wasn’t the same.
The colors were slightly off. The diner was larger than she remembered. And there was no way she could be back on Earth and in her old life. Having her mates here was the only logical thing she could make sense of.
She needed to go somewhere safe. Somewhere she could think. A place where she could have some peace of mind. Where the voice wouldn’t come back and torture her and keep her away from her mates.
A safe place.
She thrust out her hand, pushed the front door of the diner open, strode right into her bedroom, and stumbled on top of her bed. She turned to sit and leaned back on her hands. “What happened?”
Her mates clambered through the doorway after her, and the door clicked shut behind them. Kyel’s sharp gaze scanned the room, while Zaen’s muscles tensed, ready for an attack. Juliran re-opened the bedroom door to reveal the living area beyond. The diner had vanished. The bed felt real beneath her, the mattress as lumpy as she remembered, and bore the same faded cover and curtains.
“We’re in my apartment!”
“This is where you lived?” Juliran put his hands on his hips and looked about.
Every worn and torn surface seemed even more pronounced compared to the luxury of the palace. The palace! Why wasn’t she in the palace? Why was she even in the diner? How had she gotten here?
She hung her head in her hands and closed her eyes. “I’m so confused. I don’t know what’s happening.”
There was a dip next to her and Juliran slung his arm about her shoulders. “What’s the last thing that made sense to you?”
She slumped into his body, letting his warmth and hardness calm her. His thumb made distracting circles on her shoulder, but she didn’t want to stop him. Kyel knelt in front of her while Zaen stood behind him as though guarding them all. Forever protectors.
“Singing in the diner,” she said. “Luke always lets me sing when the band comes in.” It was the only time she felt truly alive. The only time she was able to reclaim her true identity and forget about the rubble of her life.
Kyel put his hands on her knees, his large palms searing her skin. “I didn’t know you could sing, Lucie. It was… angelic.”
Heat flooded her cheeks. Kyel was no nonsense and wasn’t prone to giving compliments away, so this coming from him was huge. Pride made her heart swell. “I like singing.”
“You’re not just good, Lucie. You’re talented. Really talented. I could have listened to you all night,” Juliran said.
“As could I,” Zaen said, his eyes glinting.
“We will talk about talent and singing later, after we have helped Lucie escape,” Kyel said.
A trickle of fear slid down her spine. “How can we escape this?”
“Lucie, can you remember anything about the Erion crystal?” Kyel said.
Of course, she remembered the damn crystal. Right from the very start it had been the center of her troubles. “The reptile made me touch it and it started to glow. They were excited and then… you…”
Every time she remembered how they’d rescued her, she welled up.
Juliran let her slump more into his embrace, offering her the security she was searching for. “We know. It’s hard. Just take your time. This is important, Lucie. We need to know how much you remember. Can you tell us? Please?”
She wiped away tears she hadn’t realized had fallen, “They—the reptiles—took the crystal. Together, we chased them, shot their spaceship, and got the crystal back. Then you took me back to your planet.”
The more she remembered, the clearer her mind became. The brothers as well as herself had been welcomed with fanfares. They’d been met by their three fathers and mother, the kings and queen, and their sister where they’d landed. The guys’ family had treated her like a princess. They’d been kind to her. So kind.
It had helped with the distress and confusion of coming face to face with her new life. The weeks of torture had gotten her over the first shock of realizing she wasn’t on Earth and that there were in fact aliens. And they weren’t nice. At least, none she had met until she was rescued by her mates. But knowing she would never get home was an ache that didn’t go away, although they had done everything they could to ease her distress.
She was welcomed as a mate, the first for their homeland in decades. She’d felt like some kind of celebrity, but something dark had come back with her. Something insidious that lived inside of her and had grown stronger each and every day. There hadn’t been a thing she could do about it to make it go away.
She clutched Juliran’s shirt, peeking around the room. The voice never went far away. Just when she thought she might have a moment’s peace, it would always return.
“Lucie.” Kyel’s strict voice brought her back and helped control her terror.
“Yes?” She licked dry lips.
“Tell me why you went to the tower. It’s important.” His gaze never left hers.
She nodded. “I had to get the crystal. It… was imperative that I went there. I got to the tower and I took it and then…”
“What do you remember after that, Lucie?”
She frowned, shaking her head. She had been at the tower. Kyel told her not to take the crystal, but the voice was insistent. She knew she shoul
dn’t have touched the crystal, knew it was wrong, but she’d done it anyway.
“I just wanted the voice to stop,” she said. “That’s all. It… it never let me be. It was always there, telling me what to do. What to say. It… it controlled me.”
The weather outside turned dark with a burgeoning storm. Daylight dimmed as black clouds rolled in from the distance. The warm air grew chilled as thunder boomed right outside the window. She jumped, and Juliran wrapped both arms about her. She soaked up the protection he offered, trying to stop trembling, but not quite managing it.
“Where did that storm come from?” Zaen said.
“I don’t think it’s a storm,” Kyel said. “What did you want stopped, Lucie? You can tell us. We’re your mates. We’re here to help you.”
“You… won’t be mad?” She’d be mad if someone had done what she had to them. The crystal was sacred to their people. It meant a return to fertility. People could find their own mates and have children. There had been no children born in years. Yet, she’d still touched it.
Zaen sat next to Lucie on her other side and threaded his fingers through hers. “We are your mates.”
His touch was like a balm, and she firmed her grip.
Kyel placed his palm over her cheek. She tilted her face into his touch. Outside the rain eased off and the thunder became a distant rumble.
“I will never be mad with you, Lucie,” he said.
She tested to see if the voice was there yelling in her mind and causing migraine after migraine to keep her silent. There’d been so many times she’d gone to tell them, and then it had started threatening them and her head had pounded. She had to keep them safe. They didn’t deserve anything bad happening to them.
“If I tell you, it will hurt you.” She put her hands over her mouth, scared that it might have heard her.
In the distance, thunder grumbled.
And yet, she wasn’t on their planet. She wasn’t subjected to the same rules as before. Possibly, if she didn’t tell them now, she would never get the chance again. She might never return from the trap of her mind. Her mates might be taken away from her forever and she would never see them again. For what it was worth, they had a right to know why she acted like she did. She owed them that, at least.
The Erion Triad: A Negari Sci-Fi Alien Abduction Reverse Harem Romance Page 9