“Yes,” she said sheepishly. “We talked about it after I accepted a date from another man.” Alex knew she ripped the metaphysical Band-Aid off the topic. Tarsea growled yesterday, she was half expecting him to howl tonight.
“You what?” Tarsea released his grip on her and sat up. He took a dominant position over her and glared.
“Raine Narmouth came over this afternoon to ask me about yesterday and the experience on the mountain. He took a spill as well and could not remember. The guy stopped by to see if I was there and could shed some light on what happened.” Alex wanted to sound as a matter of fact as she could. She did not want to project the same anger that Tarsea was emitting.
“That son of a bitch! You actually accepted a date with that bastard?”
Tarsea got up and started pacing. He appeared to have a lot of aggression he needed to walk off. Alex decided she needed to keep playing defense, he was really upset. She could not figure out if it was the fact she had a date or who she had the date with.
“Tarsea,” Alex began, “you need to calm down and look at the big picture. The world cannot know we are soul mates. I am new in town and a nice looking guy asks me out on a date. Under normal circumstances, one would expect me to accept. After you and I have dated a while, we can become exclusive and I will stop dating other men.”
“You are not going out on a date with that man, Alexandra! That is the end of this discussion. It is too dangerous.” He was now almost standing over her, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Yes, I am, Tarsea, and that is the true end of this discussion.” Accepting a date with Raine was probably not the smartest thing she could have done. However, Alex had it with Tarsea’s dictatorial manner. She was furious he was telling her who she could and could not date.
Tarsea gave her a lethal look and stormed out of the bedroom.
Well crap, that did not go well, Alex thought as she punched the pillow that Tarsea had used earlier. How was she going to fix this and still maintain as equal a position in this relationship as possible? On top of everything else, she was now committed to going on a date, she really did not want to go on.
Chapter 11
There are morning people who can get up immediately and dive right into their day. They do not have the morning haze of grogginess that clouds their minds. Tarsea had always been a morning person. He never saw the appeal of lounging in bed. That was true, until this morning, when he woke up with Alexandra in his arms.
When he had sex with a woman he would leave after they were done, and headed back to his apartment. He never brought a woman to his own bed. There was something too intimate about bringing his latest girlfriend to his home. His dating served a purpose, he never felt any of them were real relationships. That all changed with Alexandra. He could never imagine ever going to bed again without his little pixie right next to him. His world changed forever this morning, with her entangled within his embrace.
He regretted the argument they had last night. She actually made sense once he cooled down. He had come back in the room after she had fallen asleep. She should be seen with other men. However, he could not stomach the idea of her spending time with that worm, Raine Narmouth. The man was untrustworthy and he did not want Alex near him. If she needed to be seen with other men, she could start with Starc or Koel. These were men he could trust.
He stared at the woman he held in his arms. Although she was so small, she fit perfectly against his body. Her face was as delicate as the rest of her. He gently held that small chin of hers that she lifted in defiance when she thought she was being tough, just like last night during the argument. Turning her head ever so slightly, he brought her small mouth with full kissable lips closer to his own. He further lowered his head, giving her a welcoming kiss to her day, as she started to wake up. His soul mate was not a morning person that much was clear to him.
Alexandra moved restlessly next to him and moaned in denial that morning had arrived. He knew she was going to wake slowly and he was going to orchestrate it. Tarsea decided to continue his exploration of her face. He made his way up to her nose and gave it a short loving kiss, then kissed both her closed eyes. Her ears and neck were calling to him to provide the same morning discovery, he found himself engrossed in. Tarsea then attacked her ears and Alexandra’s breathing increased. She stretched out her neck to give him better access and let out a different kind of moan. As Tarsea started to kiss and lick her neck, Alexandra began to rub his back with her hands.
“Good morning,” she pushed through their channel. “You came back to bed! Don’t stop what you are doing on my account.” Tarsea smiled and continued to explore Alex’s body with his lips. He savored her taste with every flick of his tongue. His hands at this point had been content with just holding his soul mate.
He continued his journey down her neck and started to pay attention once again to her perky little breasts. “I was so absorbed in loving your breasts last night, I did not have a chance to tell you how perfect they are.”
Tarsea had caught telepathically a little concern from her the previous evening that he would find these perfect mounds lacking. It had not been a true communication, but he had picked up a fragment of a thought. He needed to assure her that he loved every part of her body, especially these beauties.
Taking one nipple into his mouth, he sucked and his tongue played with the taut nipple. One of his hands was playing with the other nipple, gently squeezing and massaging the skin around it. “Tarsea, you are driving me insane. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” He smiled as he worked to build up her insanity and continued to make her putty in his hands.
He was just about to start working on her other breast when he started to hear unexpected chatter in the communal link. It stopped him cold and he sat up. Multiple channels had communication coming through that provided sketchy information that something was happening at the Aster Province Palace.
Alex sat up next to him drawing his attention. “There is so much static in the communal links all of a sudden. It’s too much to manage.” She was holding her head in her hands.
Tarsea rubbed her back with one hand, trying to soothe her. With his other hand, he lifted her face from her hands and looked into her eyes. “You are doing the right thing. Keep concentrating on the soul mate link and communicate with me. We should get dressed. My mother will have some of the herbal beverage for you to help with the activity that is hitting the channel.”
Tarsea gave her a quick kiss and left their bed. He grabbed his tunic from the floor, pulled it over his head and made his way to the common room.
His parents were already up, talking to Alexandra’s aunt Norri. There was concern written on everyone’s face.
“Does anyone know what is happening at The Palace?” Tarsea asked. “There is a lot of chatter occurring on a number of the communal links.”
Tarsea spoke aloud so Norri could be brought into the conversation. At this point the only link she had access to was through Alexandra.
“One of the opposing factions took some kind of action this morning,” his father shared with him. “It is unclear who is involved or what exactly happened.”
Tarsea and his father looked up, as his brother and Koel came through the front door.
Alex almost immediately missed Tarsea’s presence in their bed. She found it funny that she was already considering the bed they slept in last night as their bed.
The static in her head was getting louder. She decided to take his advice and leveraged the soul mate link. “Were you able to find out any more about what is happening?”
“Tolfer and Koel just arrived. There is still no definite news about who was involved or where things stand. Darden and Starc are still outside The Palace trying to find out what has occurred.” Concentrating on what Tarsea was communicating did help to defuse the chatter coming through the com
munal channels. It was still a strange sensation, hearing voices in her head.
Alexandra stretched and decided she should join everyone in the common room. She tumbled out of bed and did her typical morning routine in their bathroom. Rather than having a toothbrush, the Troyk used a liquid they swished in their mouths and then spit out. It somehow was the equivalent of brushing. She did not know if it was as effective as brushing and flossing, but her mouth felt refreshed every time she used it.
She put on a beautiful lavender and gray tunic, along with black leggings. This morning she decided to put her hair up. Last night she had asked Leenea for hair pins and was rewarded with all sorts of cool accessories. She had confessed to Alex that she always wanted a daughter, and before they met up with her aunt, she had stopped by a store and purchased a number of items that could be used with her light auburn hair.
She could once again feel liquid coming out of her nose. “Shit!”
Alex grabbed a couple of tissues. These nose bleeds were still plaguing her and she was getting frustrated that she could not properly control the channels! Fortunately, none of the blood dripped onto the tunic. She conversed with Tarsea about nonsense through their private channel, which helped reduce the chatter assaulting her brain. Once the bleeding stopped, she made her way to the common room. She had snagged a couple of tissues on the way out, just in case. She stuffed them in her tunic’s sleeve.
As usual, she was greeted by Leenea carrying a steaming mug of the herbal remedy. Alex graciously took it from the lovely woman who she grew to love more each day. She sat next to Tarsea and started to sip the miracle brew.
Tarsea had a baked good in front of him and she began to snack on the remainder of what was on the plate. It was made of a berry she had never eaten before and it was delicious.
“Anything new?” she inquired from Tarsea through their link. She, at the same time, greeted her aunt by projecting through the familial link, “It’s wonderful to see you this morning, Norri.” In addition, she greeted the others in the room who she did not share a closed pathway with, “Good morning.” Alex was quite proud of herself, she had managed two parallel transmissions and verbal communication all at the same time and no new nose bleed. After popping another piece of the berry muffin into her mouth, she sat back and was ready to receive telepathic and oral responses.
Tarsea smiled and gave her a chaste morning kiss in front of their respective families. “You are a fast learner. Remind me of that tonight when we are in bed.”
The mischievous smile he had on his face disappeared and the scowl that she knew so well from the mountain returned.
“We know a faction tried to assassinate Jeryl Jarlyn this morning. He was on his way to address the Prime Council when the attempt was made. At this point, that is all we know.” Tarsea was back to being all business.
“That is correct,” Koel continued the update. “We know two of the palace guards were killed in the attempt. Jarlyn was not hurt, but he is out for blood.”
Koel rubbed his left temple and got up to get a drink. Alex was relieved that she was not the only one having problems dealing with all the activity occurring in the communal channels.
Tolfer came in from the kitchen carrying a tray of food and placed it on the table near Alex. “Starc and Darden are still outside The Palace and are keeping us updated through our special link.”
Alex reached for more food, took a couple of bites and then turned to Tarsea. “You have a special link with your friends?” She once again spoke aloud, since her aunt could be as clueless as she was.
“A couple of years ago,” Tarsea shared with the group, “a closed link developed between Darden and myself. We had no idea why the two of us could share thoughts that were protected from other channels. Over time Koel, Starc, and finally Tolfer were able to link in.”
“That is rather odd,” Norri said. “I never heard of a closed communal link connecting five friends.”
Norri looked at Alex and walked a small box to her. “This is for you. It was your mother’s.” She handed the gift to her.
Alex took the treasure and held it in her hands. She took a deep breath as she lifted the top from the box. Inside was a copper bracelet, like the bracelets worn by everyone else in the room. “Each family has their own set of designs on their clan bracelets that celebrate the history of their ancestors. Your mother left the bracelet in my care when she left this world with your father.” Norri helped Alex with the clasp.
She stared at the piece of jewelry on her left wrist, a bracelet that her mother had worn. Tears she could not control started falling down her cheeks. Tarsea pulled her into his arms and kissed her head. Emotions caught up with her. “I don’t know why I’m crying, I’m such a girl!”
“Thank the Supreme Being you are a girl, you are my girl. The bracelet is part of your history, a history you knew nothing about. You are truly home now, my little pixie.”
As the morning continued, there was no new information coming forward regarding the attempt on Jeryl Jarlyn’s life. The communal channel was full of speculation, but little fact. Tarsea continued to hold Alexandra, participate in meaningless conversations and tried not to have his anxiety spill over to his soul mate.
Tolfer continued to work with Alexandra on managing the communal pathways. She appeared to become more and more confident going in and out of the channels. The chatter in the pathways reduced somewhat, since no updated news was available. He had also noticed she required less and less of the herbal mixture his mother kept preparing for her. He had never been prouder of his brother. This is the first time he was able to witness his brother’s skills in teaching.
It was approaching midday when Darden and Starc entered the house. All attention was directed to the two men and the information they would share.
Darden was the first to speak. “Prime Hosp and several unidentified men tried to break into the Jarlyn’s quarters through the servant’s entrance this morning. Whatever intelligence they had was either bad or someone in their group turned informant. The guards were waiting for them as they entered the living quarters. Unfortunately, two of the guards were killed before it was all over.”
Tarsea could not believe Prime Hosp had been involved in the plot. The man seemed to embrace a peaceful transition away from mind control telepathic rule. Obviously, he had been involved in other plots that Tarsea had no knowledge of. Like Tarsea, he must have gotten frustrated with how slow change was occurring. Unlike Tarsea, Hosp took steps for a radical change that involved violence. Ill planned and executed, change would not come from this attempt. It would also retard the progress that peaceful groups were trying to bring about.
“The first two men who entered the quarters were greeted with kill shots to their brains.” Starc continued where Darden left off. “Prime Hosp and what was possibly two other men were trapped in the stairwell. One of the men must have gotten away, but before he did, he bashed Prime Hosp’s skull in.”
“Why would he do that?” Alexandra asked. “I thought the man supported the Prime and his cause.”
Tarsea could only speculate. “He must have felt his chance of succeeding was next to impossible at one point and needed to eliminate the one person who could tie him to the attempt.”
Darden nodded, “Prime Hosp is still alive. But even if he survives, he will not be sharing information anytime soon. Another man was found dead at the stairwell entrance to the kitchen. Doubtful if he was the man who attacked Prime Hosp. He had no blood on him or a weapon that could have been used against the Prime. The person who quieted Hosp did a real number on him, he would be covered in blood.”
“They have shut down The Palace and everyone who tries to leave is being interrogated before they are allowed to go. A fellow gatherer was nice enough to fill us in after he was cleared to leave The Palace.” Darden gave Tarsea a knowing look. “Jarlyn will
be meeting with his staff in a couple of hours, after an initial examination of the bodies and other evidence is completed. Odds are they will be collecting names of Hosp’s associates and start further investigations after that meeting.”
His father got up. “Tarsea, I want to talk to you alone in my study, now!”
He did not bother to argue with his father, but followed him. “I will be back shortly,” he shared with Alexandra.
As soon as he closed the door to the study, his father lost no time in starting the conversation that brought both men there.
“It is just a matter of time before you are called to The Palace. Take that girl into your room and have sex with her, if you have not already.”
Tarsea was momentarily stunned by what his father just said. “Do not look so shocked! She is your soul mate. Once you have sex with her, you will be able to counteract any mind control technique used against you at The Palace.”
“That girl is my soul mate, I am not going to rape her!”
His father got a sour look on his face. “Who said anything about rape? You two were all over each other yesterday and cannot be in the same room together without touching. Your mother and I are going to take Norri out to dinner. We decided to give poor Tolfer the night off. The house will be all yours this evening.”
“There is no question she is ready physically for us to be together, but her mind is not ready. I felt it last night. I am not going to rush things and have our first time together be for ulterior motives.” Tarsea could not believe he was having this conversation with his father.
“You are an idiot!” his father pounded his fist on the desk. “Do you think for one minute you are the only one who will be brought in for questioning? Alexandra was paraded through the streets for all to see, two days before the attempt on Jarlyn’s life. There is no question she is going to be questioned about her presence here. That time table was just moved up, due to the assassination attempt.”
The Chameleon Soul Mate Page 7