by S. E. Smith
Carmen grabbed the small statue she had been using as a weapon to intimidate the guards and strode to the door. Flinging it open, her scowl turned to one of surprise as she looked her visitor over quickly. She glared at the guards who were watching her warily. Reaching out, she grabbed her older sister’s arm and pulled her inside before slamming the door loudly.
“What did you do? Kill someone?” Ariel asked teasingly. “They have half a platoon guarding you.”
Carmen rolled her eyes at the exaggeration before turning back toward the living area. “Aren’t you stretching it a little bit? And no, I haven’t killed anyone… yet,” she added under her breath. “Where in the hell have you been? Do you know what is going on?”
Ariel moved toward the couch before replying. “Did you hear about Abby and Zoran?” She asked a question of her own as she sat down.
“Yeah, Morian told me. It seems shit happens even on alien worlds,” Carmen said, moving to a cart and pouring a drink. She walked over and handed it to Ariel. “I thought you had dropped off the face of the planet. No one would tell me where you were and I couldn’t find you.”
Ariel squirmed as Carmen looked at her intently. “I’ve been in the mountains,” Ariel muttered before taking a sip of her drink. “With Mandra,” she added quietly.
“Mandra, huh? Which one is he?” Carmen asked with a raised eyebrow.
Flushing, Ariel stared into her drink for a moment before raising troubled eyes to Carmen. “He was one of the guys in the transporter room, the one trying to catch me.”
“Looks like he did more than try,” Carmen replied drily eyeing the mark on her sister’s neck.
“Yes, he did,” Ariel responded biting her lip. “I like him, Carmen, a lot. I… I love him.”
Carmen stared at her big sister with sad eyes. There wasn’t much she could say. She had noticed the mark on Ariel’s neck when she pulled her through the door and recognized that glow in her eyes. She had that same glow a long time ago when Scott was alive. She was happy for Ariel. It would be easier leaving her knowing she would be taken care of and wouldn’t be alone. Everything would be alright. She knew in her heart now she could leave her big sister without feeling guilty.
“I’m happy for you, sis. If anyone deserves happiness, it’s you,” Carmen said quietly.
Ariel’s head jerked up. “You’re still going to try to get back home, aren’t you?” She asked in resignation.
“Yes,” Carmen responded.
“Then I’m going with you,” Ariel said, reaching down to set her drink on the small table. “It would be best to go while most of the guys are gone.”
Carmen shook her head sadly. “No, Ariel. You have a life here now. This isn’t your battle, it’s mine. There are some things that I have to do alone. This is one of them. I want… need to know you are safe and happy,” Carmen said, hoping Ariel would understand and agree. “Please, I need to know you are safe and happy.”
Carmen watched her big sister’s eyes fill with tears. “We promised we would always be there for each other, no matter what. I am going with you so just shut up and accept it,” she muttered.
Carmen let out the breath she had been holding. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way of escaping,” Carmen said. “Do you have any ideas?” She asked looking down at her sister.
“I’m not sure. I tried going out the window and almost killed myself,” Ariel said with a twisted grin. “Miss Grace, I am not. The ledge was too narrow for me to hold onto. I was going to work my way over to another room and sneak out through that room.”
Carmen thought for a minute before she grinned. “What about if instead of going along the ledge we went down the side? We could rappel down to the balcony below us.”
Ariel looked doubtful. “Do you have any rope?” She asked.
“No, but I have curtains. We can tie them together like we used to do when we were kids,” Carmen said suddenly excited.
“O… kay,” Ariel drew out. “What then?”
“I’ve been watching shuttles lifting off not far outside the city. We make our way there and steal one of them. You said you thought you could fly one, didn’t you? Then, we program it to take us home,” Carmen said coming to kneel in front of Ariel and grasping her hand tightly.
Ariel looked into Carmen’s eyes with worry. “What if we can’t find our way back?”
“You can,” Carmen said earnestly. “I know you can, Ariel. I have to get away before…”
Ariel squeezed Carmen’s hands. “Before what?”
“Before he claims me,” Carmen said, a look of pleading in her eyes for her sister’s understanding. “If he bites me it will kill him for sure when I leave. I don’t want to hurt him. I need to leave before he does.”
Ariel bit her lip in uncertainty. “Would it be such a bad thing, Carmen? You have a chance to let the past go, to start over. Can’t you give it a chance? Scott…” her voice faded as Carmen pulled away in anger.
“Forget it,” Carmen said, standing up and turning away from Ariel. “I think it would be best if you left now.”
Ariel stood up and gripped her little sister’s arm, turning her so she was forced to look at her. “No, I won’t forget it. I will help you but you have to listen to me first!” She said forcefully. “Scott would have never wanted you to do this. He would have wanted you to move on! He would not expect for you to take on some suicide mission to avenge him. Why can’t you let go? Why can’t you move on with your life?” Ariel demanded.
Carmen’s face was frozen in an unemotional mask. “Because the bastard who murdered Scott also murdered our baby. I lost more than you can imagine that night. I won’t ask you to give up the man you love, Ariel. I know what it feels like to be loved and to love someone else with every fiber of your being. What do you expect me to do? Forget about them? Act like they never existed? I don’t want to ever fall in love again. I won’t take a chance of opening myself up like that again.”
Ariel’s face softened as she saw the fear in Carmen’s eyes. “You care about Creon, don’t you?”
Carmen tried to pull away from Ariel’s knowing look but her sister refused to let her go. “He makes me feel confused,” Carmen finally whispered. “When I look at him I feel things I never thought I would again. I try to annoy him but he just looks at me like he can see inside me.” Carmen looked at Ariel with a confused expression. “I’m scared, Ariel. I knew what to do back on Earth. I don’t know what to do here.”
“Do you think running away will solve the feelings you are having,” Ariel asked with an understanding smile.
“No,” Carmen replied with a small smile of her own. “But, it can’t hurt to at least try.”
“You know we are probably going to get caught, don’t you?” Ariel responded lightly. “And, when the guys find out, they are going to be more than a little bit pissed at us.”
A slight flush rose on Carmen’s face as she remembered Creon’s threat to spank her ass. “Yes, but think of the fun we’ll have before they do.”
Ariel laughed in a low husky voice. “Carmen, you are grabbing a dragon by his tail and pulling it.”
“At least it isn’t his teeth,” Carmen said softly, turning toward Creon’s bedroom where long curtains hung around the massive bed.
Ariel watched her little sister as she walked toward the bedroom. “I wouldn’t count on that,” Ariel muttered with a flare of hope.
A huge grin lit up her face. Her sister was making one last ditch effort to escape in order to absolve the guilt she felt at not being able to fulfill the promise she made to herself. But deep down, Ariel could see the hope in her sister’s eyes that she would fail.
Chapter 9Creon rolled his shoulders to ease the tension in them. He had spent the last two days with his brothers, Ha’ven and a small group of warriors in the mountainous regions north of the city. They had discovered where the Curizan traitor, Ben’qumain, had taken Abby only to find she had escaped him by transforming. Zoran had gone in search of her.
Ha’ven had given him the final confirmation he needed that his father’s older brother, Raffvin, was still alive and responsible for his father’s murder. Ha’ven also related that his brother, Adalard, had almost been killed in an assassination attempt and Vox had been kidnapped.
“I’m ready to kill the bastard for almost killing my brother but I have to appreciate that he was able to kidnap Vox,” Ha’ven said with a grin. “It takes a lot to sneak up and capture that big kitty.”
Creon fought back a laugh. “You know he is going to kick your ass if you keep calling him that,” he responded as they moved back to the shuttles waiting to return him to the palace and Ha’ven to his warship.
“Like that big pussy would even have a chance,” Ha’ven said. “You know we are going to have to go rescue his sorry ass. I am so looking forward to rubbing that in his face. I heard they sold him to a mining operation run by the Antrox. I hate dealing with those emotionless insects,” he grumbled.
“I’m sure Vox is having the time of his life right now,” Creon responded quietly, his mind already back to trying to figure out how to deal with his mate.
I tell you how to deal with her, his dragon growled out stubbornly. I tell you over and over but you no listen to me. Let me bite her. I take care of it. You too scared of her. I not scared. I teach her who in charge.
I am not scared! Creon bit back in frustration. I am trying to give her time to accept us!
No, you scared, his dragon replied drily. She not Aria. I never like Aria. Harvey never like Aria. We like Carmen. She is good mate. She is stubborn mate. She more stubborn than you. She make good perfect mate.
I know she is not Aria! I just… Creon blew out a frustrated breath. “Dragon’s balls!” He growled out under his breath.
Ha’ven looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “What has you so twisted? I could tell you and your dragon were arguing about something,” he said with a motion of his hand to Creon’s arms which were covered with black scales. “You don’t often let anything upset you enough to lose control. What is it? Zoran and his mate will be fine and you know Vox can handle anything the Antrox throws at him.”
“I have a true mate,” Creon said reluctantly. “She is from a species we have never encountered before.”
Ha’ven stopped walking and looked intently at his friend. This was big news. Ha’ven knew Creon had refused to let another female close to him after Aria’s betrayal. He also knew it was almost impossible for a Valdier to find his true mate. The fact that Creon had found his with an unknown species was, well, incredible.
“So, what is the problem? I thought a Valdier warrior was supposed to embrace finding his true mate and everything. You look more like you would prefer to change places with Vox in the mines. Is she ugly?” Ha’ven asked curiously.
Creon shot his best friend a disgusted look. “No, she is not ugly. In fact, she is very, very beautiful. It is just…,” Creon grimaced before he muttered out the rest of his sentence. “It is just she won’t have anything to do with me.”
Ha’ven’s bark of laughter echoed around them. “She doesn’t…,” Ha’ven laughed even harder. “She doesn’t want anything to do with you,” he hooted out trying to catch his breath. “You find your true mate and she is the only female in ten star systems to not want anything to do with you! I have got to meet this species.”
Creon punched Ha’ven in the jaw knocking the huge Cruizan prince on his ass. “It’s not that funny!” He growled out.
Ha’ven sat up rubbing his chin. “Maybe not for you but for the rest of us it is!” He chuckled, rolling to his feet just in time to miss being kicked by Creon. “Come on! How many females have you stolen when we stopped at the bars at the Spaceports? The females get a whiff of a Valdier Dragon Prince and the rest of us fade to the background.”
“You are exaggerating. It happened one time and the females had no idea you and Vox were Princes as well because you were acting like you were my servants. I won the toss. Vox had been the Prince the time before and they were all over him,” Creon retorted. “And don’t you dare say anything to my mate about that. I am having a hard enough time with her without you telling her tall tales.”
“Maybe she would want you if she thought other females were vying for your attention,” Ha’ven asked as he brushed the leaves and dirt off his ass. “It couldn’t hurt, surely?”
“By the Gods I mean it, Ha’ven. I’ve been reading up on the information Kelan and Trelon downloaded about the women of Earth. They don’t like it if their mates look at other women. I read one report that a woman actually cut a man’s staff off for doing it. I would not put anything past my mate. She is a fierce fighter. She wouldn’t stop at just cutting that off,” Creon warned.
Ha’ven flinched and cupped himself protectively. “Maybe I don’t want to meet this species after all,” he muttered.
“Come on,” Creon said tiredly. “I’ve left her alone too long as it is. She has tried to escape at least a dozen times this past week. I’ve had to triple the guards. She keeps attacking them and I am afraid she will get hurt.”
“Good luck my friend. I will take care of the necessary arrangements to go after Vox and meet up with you tomorrow unless you want to let him sit for a little while longer. Tell Mandra he is to meet up with Adalard. He is already expecting him. Once we have rescued the pussy cat we’ll meet up with him and Adalard. By then we should know where your uncle is hiding,” Ha’ven said with a sympathetic slap on Creon’s shoulder.
Creon nodded as they broke through the clearing. “Be safe, my friend. Until we meet later.”
Creon stepped toward the shuttle that would take him back to the palace while Ha’ven climbed into the one that would take him back to the warship they would use to go after Vox. Perhaps, it was time to take Carmen somewhere she wouldn’t be able to escape from. Once she was on the warship there wasn’t anywhere she could go that he couldn’t find her.
*.*.*
An hour later, Creon shook with a deep rage. Carmen had escaped again. This time with her sister. He listened in cold silence as the guards told him that both women had disappeared the day before. The guards did not realize anything was amiss until they became concerned when there was no answer to the servant bringing evening refreshments. They had not been found yet.
“Nothing! Where in the hell are they?” Mandra bit out savagely.
“We do not know, my lords. We have searched the palace extensively and have expanded the search further out. It does not appear they were taken but left on their own,” the guard said hesitantly.
“How did they get past you?” Creon snarled with a cold intensity that had the guard swallowing nervously.
The guard stood frozen as he saw Creon’s eyes darken. He had heard the tales of the young lord, some that would chill the blood of any warrior. His eyes flickered to the long curved knife the youngest royal held clenched in his fist.
“They climbed over the balcony and scaled the wall down to a lower balcony using the curtains around the bed as a rope,” the guard replied.
Creon snarled again and threw the knife in rage. Black scales rippled over his arms and up his neck. His face began to elongate as he let the change take over him. He would kill every single guard if anything happened to his mate. He had given them strict instructions to protect his mate and not let her escape. The group of guards froze as the knife quivered where it stuck in the wall. Creon pulled his dragon back under control ignoring its displeasure when he felt Mandra’s hand on his shoulder.
“We will find them,” Mandra said in a deadly voice. “They cannot have gotten off the planet.”
A knock at the door caused all the men to look around. A guard wearing the standard uniform of black leather pants, black vest, and black knee-high boots stood at the door. He waited until he was acknowledged before speaking.
“My lords, we have them,” the man said nervously looking at Creon.
“Where?” Mandra growled out menacingly.
>
“At the launch base, my lord,” the man replied hurriedly. “They stole one of the shuttles but we were able to override the controls.”
Creon turned and headed for the door the moment he knew where his mate was. He would no longer give her time to accept their mating. He would claim her as soon as he had her alone and then he would take her away from here until she understood he would never let her leave. He pushed out of the door, transforming into his dragon as soon as he was clear of it. He moved with a rapid burst of speed toward the launch base.
And, he promised silently, I will give her the ass whipping I threatened to give her before.
Finally, his dragon muttered in agreement. You finally grow some dragon’s balls.
Fuck you, Creon growled as he circled to land near the hanger holding his mate.
Not fuck me, fuck our mate, his dragon growled back in triumph. We finally claim our mate.
*.*.*
Carmen held her arm gingerly against her chest. It was swollen and hurt bad enough it made her nauseated. She knew her wrist was broken. She felt the bones snap when the guard grabbed her. Her face stung, too. She knew it was swelling from the heat radiating out from her cheek. She wanted to touch it but she was afraid to let go of her wrist long enough to feel it. She kept her chin tucked into her chest instead. She had used every move she had learned from Scott and from the warriors on board the V’ager but the guards had been too strong. In reality, she hadn’t planned to fight any of them. She had finally accepted she would never be able to return to Earth unless Creon took her. Her eyes flickered to the largest guard. He was almost four times her and Ariel’s size. He had grabbed Ariel roughly when she stumbled. He must have thought she was going to try to escape because when he grabbed her, he almost jerked her almost off her feet. When her sister cried out in pain, Carmen went after him. No one hurt her big sister. Everything went to hell after that. When one of the guys backhanded Carmen knocking her to the ground, Ariel jumped on his ass. It wasn’t until Carmen screamed out in pain when her wrist broke that everyone froze. She had crumbled to the floor in agony while Ariel shielded her from the guards, refusing to let any of them touch her little sister.