“Three? But you mentioned the fourth brother also.”
“Yes, but Daen’s different.” Affection stole into her tone as she spoke about the youngest of her mates. Daen was a sensitive soul, so unlike the other Bylanthians she’d met. They tended to be a brash race, more used to seizing what they wanted than asking for it. Daen was still more aggressive in his demands than the average human, but there was a softness in him also. “He’s tender and caring, much more even-tempered than the other three. He’s the light to their dark and he keeps us all sane.”
Taryn’s brow furrowed as he digested her words.
“You don’t approve?” Lottie guessed. Many people didn’t, and she knew if she ever returned to New Cambridge, they’d probably burn her at the stake for flying in the face of their archaic ideals about marriage.
“It is not for me to approve. It is just...”
“That you expected me to take one look at your pal, Bryn, and fall head over heels in love?”
Taryn’s surprise when she mentioned his colleague was evident. Lottie knew all about her friend Caroline’s plot to marry her and several other women off to Taar-Breckian warriors. She had no doubt Caroline meant well, that she thought she was offering her friends a secure future, but Lottie had no need for someone else to take charge of her life. As it happened, when she’d met Bryn, she was already in a relationship with her men. He hadn’t seemed interested in her anyway.
“Yes, I know him,” Lottie said in reply to Taryn’s bemused expression. “He’s very nice to look at, I’ll give you that, but I was already involved with my boys when I met him and Bryn’s just not my type. God knows why Caro thought I’d be into a stuffed shirt like him.”
“He told you the commander’s wife had matched you with him?” Taryn asked.
“He did, not that he needed to.” Lottie had appreciated Bryn’s candor, even though she’d already worked out what was happening. “It was obvious my friends were being paired off with men who work for Caro’s husband—Kate and Aran, Melissa with Cole, Sarah-Jayne with that big guy with the blond hair and violet eyes.” She almost laughed at herself since she’d just described almost every male on Taar-Breck. “Vicky and Allik,” she continued. “Now Allik, I might have gone for. Those scars are hot, and I love that whole brooding asshole thing he’s got going on. And you and Lucy, of course. How is Lucy? I thought you were going to bring her.”
It would have been nice to see her again. Of all the women who’d gotten together to form the Hyde Ladies’ Circle, Lucy was the one Lottie had felt the most affection for. She liked most of the group, but Lucy had always seemed so young and innocent that Lottie wanted to protect her.
“We have parted,” Taryn said, his voice breaking under the weight of emotion.
Lottie placed her hand over his and squeezed. On seeing his eyes narrowing, she smiled. Such contact with a stranger would seem improper for a Taar-Breckian, so she removed her hand.
“It wasn’t your choice?” she guessed.
“She was unhappy. I do not know why,” Taryn sighed. “At first she seemed to suit being my pet, but after a while, she became sad, distant.”
“You made her your pet?” Lottie could not imagine Lucy being happy with an arrangement like that.
“She came to me and offered.” His tone was defensive. “If she did not want it, why did she ask me to take her?”
“Perhaps you and she have different ideas about what being a pet means.” Lottie shook her head in response to the blank stare her suggestion elicited from Taryn. Under her breath, she cursed the stupidity of men. Why could they not understand that women often had different needs? “I’ll bet you seized the chance to stick a tail in her butt and get her to crawl around after you.”
Taryn shrugged. “That is what she requested from me.”
Was the man a complete idiot? Lottie was beginning to wonder.
“I doubt it. What she requested was for you to take care of her. She probably realized sex would be involved but mainly what she was looking for was love and affection. Lucy needs someone to make sure she’s fed and watered and tucked up safe in bed at night.”
Damnit, she hadn’t intended to make Lucy sound so much like some helpless creature who needed someone else to take care of her basic requirements for survival. Her friend was stronger than that, but she would need love and affection.
“Then why did she not tell me this?”
Lottie raised her eyebrow and waited for the penny to drop.
“Because she did not feel she could,” Taryn said.
“Bingo!”
“But she enjoys submitting to me.”
“I’m sure she does, but what you need to understand is that our little Lucy is a hopeless romantic. She might crave dominance, but she needs to be loved.”
Lottie couldn’t believe she was having to spell these things out to him. Taar-Breckian men, it seemed, were as blind to emotion as her own Bylanthian mates were most of the time.
“I do love her.”
Lottie wondered if he’d only just recognized the fact. He had sounded surprised as he spoke the words.
“And you told her this?” she demanded. “Showered her with affection? Made her feel special every minute of every goddamned day and let her know her happiness comes first? You let her into your life?”
“I have not communicated with her properly,” Taryn admitted.
Lottie rolled her eyes and shook her head. She knew she should drop the subject for the sake of diplomacy but his blindness when it came to Lucy’s emotional wellbeing infuriated her. He needed to show her he loved her, to let his guard down a little if he wanted to win the sensitive young woman over.
“Do they dip Taar-Breckian men in starch every morning?”
Confusion showed on Taryn’s face.
“You’re all so fucking rigid!” Lottie explained. “Go back to Lucy and tell her how you feel. You do have feelings, don’t you?” She waited for his nod of confirmation. “Go back and tell her how you feel. Ask her to be your partner in life.” She held up her hand to silence him as he appeared to be about to protest. “Submissive, perhaps, but a partner all the same. Ask her what she wants and tell her what you want. Knowing Lucy, she’ll swoon at your fucking feet.”
“How do you know that will work?”
Lottie took a deep breath. Their conversation had gotten a bit loud and they were now attracting attention from those around them. She lowered her voice as she responded to Taryn’s question.
“I’m good at reading people and Lucy’s not difficult. When we used to get together at Caro’s house, things got pretty raucous sometimes.” That was an understatement. When the Hyde Ladies’ Circle got around to discussing sex, things got wild. “Lucy was always a bit quieter than the rest of us. She used to blush something fierce when we talked about our fantasies, but there was also a spark in her eye. You said she came and asked to be your pet, so she must have had some idea in her head. Like I said, she’s a romantic.”
“How did you come to be friends with Lucy and the others?”
It seemed like he was trying to turn the conversation in a different direction and Lottie was happy to go along with it. She shouldn’t be lecturing Taryn about his love life. Not when she was supposed to be buttering him up to help the Bylanthian cause.
“My father’s one of the leaders of the rebels and he brought me in when I turned eighteen. We heard about Caro’s group and I befriended them to see what our common goals were, how they might help our cause.”
“They had no idea you were with the rebels?” Taryn gave her an accusing stare and she shook her head, blushing with sudden shame. “You were using them?”
“At first, but I came to genuinely regard them as friends. I’d never had much of a female influence around me and they welcomed me like a sister.”
Lottie blinked back tears. Forming friendships with those women had been one of the greatest experiences of her life. No matter how her involvement with them had started out, s
he had ended up loving each one of them, even Victoria who had irritated the crap out of her.
“And Elizabeth Chatterton? What do you know about her?”
“Lizzie was more rebellious than the others. She wanted to do more than just talk and send out pamphlets. I introduced her to my father and she got involved with William Barron—you know him, right?”
Taryn nodded, and Lottie realized he would, of course, know Earth’s new ambassador to Taar-Breck. She wondered whether he was also aware that William was a secret rebel spy who used his work on the High Council as a cover for his illegal activities. It was best not to bring that up, just in case.
“They were meant to leave New Cambridge together,” Lottie continued, “but William set off for Taar-Breck alone.”
“You have no idea what happened to Elizabeth? Do you think Barron might have hurt her?”
She couldn’t help but laugh at the suggestion. William Barron would sooner saw off his own right hand than raise it to Lizzie.
“Then where is she?” Taryn asked.
“Last I heard of her, she was with William.”
“Have you any idea where she might go?”
There were numerous possibilities. Lottie thought through various routes Elizabeth might have taken to get to safety, assuming she’d got out of New Cambridge unimpeded. She was about to voice her concern that Elizabeth had been captured when she caught a peculiar scent on the air—something chemical. She sniffed harder. Suddenly that strange man’s presence seemed even more sinister. There was an explosive device in the room. Panicked, she leapt to her feet.
“Everybody out!” she yelled.
There was a blinding flash of light and a deafening bang. The whole room shook, and she was flung backwards with considerable force. Pain exploded through her head and she cried out for Jax. It was the last thing she remembered before her world turned black.
Chapter Two
“Why do you persist in doing that?” Jax demanded.
Every day when he came to the hospital room to spend time with Lottie, one of her friends was already with her, brushing her long red hair or talking about what was going on in their lives. The pretty little blonde one who was mate to Taryn Duff sang children’s lullabies to her. The women had decorated the room with bright colored blankets, flowers, and ornaments. They’d made it feel like home, but it all seemed futile. His mate was lying there unconscious and for twelve weeks now, she’d shown no signs of improvement. In fact, she’d given no hint at all that she was aware people were visiting with her. In all likelihood, she would die soon, but these women continued with their cruel charade that life was going on as normal. Didn’t they realize that being unable to reach Lottie was tearing his heart to pieces? Did they not understand that his brothers were so distraught they could no longer face coming here to see their mate so helpless?
Today it was Victoria who was perched at the side of the bed, stroking the back of his beloved Lottie’s hand and telling her about her latest achievements in her quest to become a fully trained medic. Victoria was the one Jax liked the least, no doubt because she reminded him so much of Lottie. Neither of them knew when to keep their mouths shut, even under the threat of a spanking. Both of them had a spark of life in them that was hard to resist. Well, Lottie had possessed an irresistible zest for living before the damned bomb went off. Now there was nothing left of that fire in her. The body lying on the bed was just the pale, empty shell of the woman he loved. It killed him to see her so lifeless while Victoria went on with her life as normal.
“I persist,” the little human said, rising to her feet and placing her hands on her hips, ready to do battle, “because it’s better than sitting here with a face like a melted Wellington boot and giving off death vibes.”
He had no idea what that was—a Wellington boot—but he knew an insult when he heard one.
“I do not do that,” he protested.
“Yes, you do. You sit there like the grim reaper with nothing to say for yourself, but even that’s better than hiding away like your cowardly brothers and pretending the woman you claim to love doesn’t exist.”
Jax clenched his jaw. How dare this human female challenge him like this?
“We do love her,” Jax snarled. He got up close to Victoria, invading her personal space, but she didn’t even flinch at the barely leashed aggression emanating from him. “And my brothers are not cowards.”
“Yes, they are,” Victoria challenged. “They’re afraid to confront their own feelings about what’s happening to Lottie. They can’t bear to be close to her because it upsets them. But this isn’t about them, it’s about her. She needs you pathetic idiots and you’re too dumb to see it.”
Nothing she said was wrong but still Jax could not believe she would speak to him like that. If she was his to discipline, she would be over his lap and receiving the thrashing of her life by now. But she was not his to punish, so he tried to stare her down instead. With her blood up, however, her resolve seemed to match his and the atmosphere in the room became tense. Suddenly the machine by Lottie’s bed bleeped. Victoria broke eye contact to turn and look at the monitor.
“All this tension is upsetting Lottie, so I’ll go.” She placed a gentle kiss on her friend’s forehead and then stormed up to prod him on the shoulder. “But we will be continuing this conversation later.”
Jax narrowed his eyes and she seemed to get the hint that his hold on his temper was growing shakier because she left without another word. He had no doubt she would track him and his brothers down later and lay into them once more about their considerable failings as mates. It wouldn’t be hard for her to find them. Since arriving on this planet to get Lottie the best medical care available, they’d spent most nights in the same depressing drinking den. They overindulged in a potent Taar-Breckian ale as they tried to come to terms with losing their mate. Even after three months, they weren’t finding it any easier to cope with Lottie’s condition.
Drawing a chair up next to her bed, he thought about the first time he saw her. It was her hair that had made her stand out. A vivid red, it tumbled down her back in a fiery cascade of curls. He’d never seen anything like it since Bylanthian women tended to have straight black hair. Lottie had been practicing her hand-to-hand combat skills, taking down a large human male with ease. Graceful but deadly, her movements were precise, her instincts honed to perfection. She had seemed to be able to predict her opponent’s every move and that gave her a power her diminutive stature would not otherwise have afforded her. Thinking about how energetic she’d been made it more difficult for him to see her like this. He wondered why she still held on. Her heart was beating on its own, yet she remained unresponsive. What was the point? This was no way for a young woman who’d been so vivacious to live.
He leaned forward and grasped her hand. It seemed so small and delicate now, wrapped up in his meaty fist. Speaking to her felt strange but for weeks now her human friends had been insisting it was the right thing to do, so he put aside his self-consciousness.
“We miss you, Charlotte Calder,” he told her, “but we will soon have to move on. There is a great deal of work to be done to secure our people’s future and we have been neglecting our duties.”
He reached up and brushed a hair back from her face, then used his fingertip to trace the line of the scar she’d been left with as a result of the blast. She didn’t move, not that he expected her to, and he found it odd that she was still so warm to the touch. Her chest rose and fell in a gentle rhythm and it would be easy enough to make believe she was just sleeping. He would be shattered if she died but perhaps it would be a mercy for them all. She would have peace and he and his brothers would eventually find a way to go on without her. What was it that made her cling to life? Was it him coming here day after day? He wondered if she was waiting for permission to leave. Despite her quick temper and stubborn independence, she was a submissive at heart. Maybe it was within his power to release her from this state of limbo.
&nbs
p; “If you wish to leave us, Charlotte, you may go.” He got up and walked to the door, turning to look at her one last time. “Goodbye, my love, I will not come again.”
Feeling as though his guts had been ripped out, he turned and left the room.
* * *
For what seemed like an eternity, Lottie had been trying to find her way out of the darkness and now, just as she was beginning to give up hope, she saw a light up ahead. Faint to begin with, it grew brighter the closer she got. She picked up her pace and stumbled onward toward the first hopeful sign she’d seen in a long time. It was so quiet down here, so desolate. Every so often, as she’d battled to leave this place, she’d heard distant voices, but she’d never found their source. Now, though, she heard singing and for the first time, she could make out some of the words—hush, little baby. She recognized the voice, too. It was her friend, Lucy Bainbridge. Knowing someone she trusted was close by made her feel safe.
When at last she came out into the light, she found two doors ahead of her. The singing was louder now, and she knew she was almost out of this awful place. She just had to follow the right path. Her hand hovered over the handle of the door on the right and a chill ran through her veins. Not that way, then. She opened the other door and stepped out into blinding brightness. She blinked a few times and saw a golden-haired angel hovering nearby. Pain shot through her as she tried to lift her head.
“Lucy?” Her voice was weak, croaky, but the other woman heard. She leaped to her feet and grabbed Lottie’s hand.
“You’re back?”
Back? So, she had been away. She looked around the room and realized she was in a hospital. Actually, she might have known that all along since it didn’t come as a surprise. She tried to sit up but didn’t have the strength. She collapsed back against the pillows. Straight away, Lucy came to her, concern etched in the deep lines on her forehead.
“Let me get you some water,” Lucy offered.
Lottie nodded. Water sounded good. She watched her friend pouring a glass and allowed her to hold it to her lips so she could drink. Even the insignificant action of swallowing the water was a struggle. When she’d taken enough to quench her raging thirst, Lucy put the glass down on the nightstand by her bed.
Tamed by Her Mates Page 2