“Kitten…” he breathed, falling to his knees, his blue eyes wide in shock.
“Fuck you.” She felt tears fall from her eyes, the knife shaking in her grip as she pointed it toward him. Her lips trembled as she watched him gasp and fall forward onto one of his hands before he slowly sank to the floor. Blood pooled beneath him, soaking into the carpet tiles as it spread quickly toward her feet.
Breakdown later, her brain told her, get to the cells. Get to your guys. Right. Samantha turned on her heels, bolting out of the open door and sprinting down the hall toward the emergency stairs. She made it down to the level where she remembered being told the cells were set up, sliding as she took the turn into the hallway and nearly collided with Curtis.
“Samantha? What’s the hurry?”
There wasn’t any time to answer him, and there was the small issue of her not knowing whether she could trust him or not. Had he known what Marsel was planning? Had he helped to detain her males? If the situation hadn’t been so dire she might have laughed at herself. She had been fighting her attraction, blocking out the little voice in her head that insisted these aliens were exactly what she needed, that this place was where she was always supposed to end up.
Her shoulder slammed painfully into the side of the wall as she dodged him. A hiss ripped from her, but she shoved away and pushed her body to its limit. BRIG was printed in large letters on the sign above one of the open doors. There! The sound of feet pounding the ground behind her made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She swung herself into the room, stumbling to a stop when her eyes landed on the familiar black and red bodies of her aliens.
“Fanahala!” Olan rushed to the front of the cell, his arms reaching out for her as she fell into the bars.
She gulped in lungfuls of air, running her hands over his face and then turning to Zuran to do the same. Her hands gripped the bars as she shook them with a frustrated growl. “Gods dammit!” Tears pricked her eyes.
There was a slight jangle of keys from behind her, she spun around to see Curtis standing in the doorway, his eyes trained on the cell beside her. “I didn’t know, Sam.” He frowned and turned to her. “I’m sorry. I-I just got on shift and…”
“It’s okay, Curtis. Help me get them out.”
“Right.” He nodded and flipped through the ring that held all the old Earth keys.
“Open the other cage first.” Zuran urged.
Samantha had been so focused on her aliens that she hadn’t even noticed there was someone else in the brig. She gasped, her hand slapping over her mouth when she saw the Seyton female huddled in the corner against the bars. She was covered in dirt and blood with bruises beginning to bloom across her arms and legs. Olan was crouched down beside her, speaking softly.
“It’s alright, Vasa. This is Samantha, our fanahala.” Their eyes met. Butterflies took flight in her stomach at the use of ‘our’ in reference to her.
Curtis jammed the key inside the lock, twisting it sharply until the door opened with a pop. Before Samantha could even move, Curtis was running to the female. Vasa snarled, clutching at Olan who growled threateningly. Currents of electricity snapped weakly along her arms and upper chest, but Curtis ignored the warning and scooped her up from the floor.
“Get away from her, human!” Olan warned.
“I’m trying to help you!”
“We have had enough help from human males.” Zuran snapped, gesturing around them at the cell he was still locked inside.
“Curtis wasn’t a part of that.” Samantha frowned at the younger man. “I’m trusting you, Curtis. I swear to the gods I’ll gut you if you’re not telling me the truth.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you.” He winced when the female lit up with another current.
Samantha pulled the keys from the cell door that had held Vasa and quickly opened the one holding her guys. Olan and Zuran practically jumped out, sandwiching her between them as they each fought to touch her and press kisses to her hair and face. “As happy as I am to see you two, we need to get off the ship before someone finds Marsel’s body and starts looking for us.”
“His body?” Curtis asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.
“I didn’t stop to check his pulse, but there was a lot of blood and…” her throat constricted; she felt nauseous, sweat beading along her brow. “Please, I just want to get the hell off this ship.”
Olan’s jaw clenched and he smoothed a hand down her hair before nodding. “Show us the way, human.”
Holding Vasa tightly against his chest, Curtis jerked his head toward the door. “Stay close and move fast.”
Zuran lifted Samantha into his arms, squeezing her tight for a moment before he followed after Curtis and Olan.
11
Zuran
Zuran and the rest of their small group shuffled wearily into the single female’s village, staunchly ignoring the whispers, gasps, and stares from the Seyton milling about the streets. The trek here had been hard on Vasa, who hadn’t let go of the young human male since they had left the ship. Samantha had clung to Zuran, reaching out a hand every so often to brush it against whatever part of Olan was close enough for her to reach. The two of them had decided that no matter what, if Samantha agreed to it, they would both be mated to her. Neither one of them wanted anything less.
The females of the village jumped out of Zuran’s way as if he was in the throes of madness, staring at the little alien in his arms. Samantha only cuddled closer, burrowing her face into his chest, her little nose nuzzling against his skin. She sighed as she twisted one of his longer braids around her finger, twisting and stroking the beads. The human male, Curtis, wasn’t far behind him.
“Vasa?” Zuran looked up to see the village healer watching them. The small sack she had been carrying dropped from her hands as she rushed forward.
“Mama!” Vasa gasped, urging Curtis to set her on her feet. The healer ran her hands over every part of her daughter, crying when she brushed over the wing and drew a hiss from the younger female. “I-I’m fine.”
“How did this happen?” She narrowed her eyes on Curtis, bristling dangerously before Vasa took up the space between them. “He helped save me, Mama.” Her one good wing curled around him and she leaned weakly into his body. She smiled softly when he placed his arm gently on her back.
“Then we are in your debt.” A hunter stepped through the gathering crowd, his white gaze falling softly on Vasa as he grasped one of the healer’s hands.
“Papa…” the young female stumbled forward and threw herself into the hunter’s arms. “I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you.”
The dark male rumbled softly, wiping the tears from Vasa’s face as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You are safe now. Come and let your mama look you over before she falls to pieces.”
“I’ll stay with Vasa for now. Meet up with you later?” Curtis asked.
Zuran nodded, watching as the human male ran to catch up with the family. Theirs was a story he wished to hear, but it would have to wait until Vasa was taken care of, and he had resolved the issue of his breeding heat. The madness lurked at the edges of his mind even now, and with Samantha in his arms, it was getting harder and harder to push back. An all too familiar rage surged inside of him when he looked down at her. She smelled strongly of Marsel. He wanted to ask her if what the human had said was true, but there had been something in her eyes when she spoke of the male that told him now was not the time.
Olan stood close to his side, his tail wrapped tightly around Zuran’s. Zuran wasn’t completely sure which one of them Olan was trying to comfort, but he was thankful for the touch. A very familiar scent called to him and he spun, quickly searching the crowd for the source.
“Zuran.” Olan tugged on his tail gently. “We need to find Ama.”
His friend was right. He would set out later, once this was all settled, and confront his past. They found the chieftess in the central hut where she sat upon a large pillow; material was gath
ered around her and she held up a bride dress, inspecting the stitching closely. The dress would be worn by a newly mated female during the Festival of Light, and it was Ama’s job to make sure each one of the brides had something that was unique to their union.
As always, Ama seemed to sense their presence. “No.”
The trio came to a halt just inside the doorway, Zuran nearly running into Olan’s back. “No?” Zuran repeated.
“Correct.” She continued her assessment of the dress in her hand. “I will not bless the union, hunter.”
“These humans are dangerous,” Zuran growled. “You are going to need every hunter in the tribe to protect you. I for one will not fight for someone who would deny me my mate.”
Ama spared him a brief glance before lifting up the dress. “I’m sure we will manage to survive without you.”
“Perhaps you can,” he ground out between clenched teeth, “But how many other hunters do you think will follow you once they learn that the humans do not view them as lesser beings, that their females may be willing to accept them despite their status among the Seyton?”
“We may lose many to the temptation.” She conceded with a nod. “The humans will also gain many enemies once the hunters discover what has been done to Vasa.” Her eyes bore into his.
He was away from the village so often that he sometimes forgot about the eerie link the chieftess seemed to share with the members of her tribe. She knew how dire this situation with these aliens was, and she was still refusing to end the alienation of a large number of their people. Frustration and rage bubbled up inside of him. He handed Samantha over to Olan when he felt the electricity push against him, testing his control. A growl worked its way up his chest as he took a step closer to Ama, sparks lighting up the interior of the hut. He was losing the battle with the madness, slipping into the darkness again, and this time he wasn’t sure he would be able to claw his way back.
* * *
Olan looked on nervously as Zuran stepped toward their chieftess. For the first time, he was genuinely concerned that his friend might do something he couldn’t come back from. “Ama,” he addressed her, stepping in front of the other male, hoping to distract them both, “With respect, I cannot obey your wishes this time. If you will not bless this, we will proceed without your permission.” His stomach twisted violently. He had never done anything like this before. It was terrifying and exciting all at once. “We need to show the humans that we are unified, that we are linked with one another. This division within our own people is detrimental.”
“We will not be divided.” Ama handed the dress she held to a female at her side and picked up another one from the pile, running her hands over it.
Samantha patted his chest and wiggled until he set her down on her feet. He watched as she turned toward Ama, her little hands fisting on her hips. “Let me tell you something, lady. I don’t understand what the hell is up with this fucked up, backward ass way of thinking you guys have. Humanity may have its own downsides, but we can at least say we don’t deny people the freedom to choose who they want to spend their lives with. If I want to mate with both of them, then I sure as hell will. They’re mine, whether you like it or not.”
Ama’s gaze cut to Samantha and her voice was cold when she responded. “This is not your world, little one. You told me yourself that your people destroyed the world that created you, that humanity was so careless with what they were given that they were forced to leave and seek out a new home.” The chieftess narrowed her eyes. “It is partly due to these ‘fucked up, backward ass ways of thinking’ that our world still thrives.”
The walls of the hut felt as if they were pressing in on him and he drew in deep lungfuls of air as the anger over her words raced through him. He opened his mouth to argue, but a snarl reverberated through the hut. It wasn’t from him though. Spinning around, Olan’s eyes widened when they landed on Zuran. Electrical currents ran up the length of his curved horns, snapping furiously between them. “Impossible…” he whispered in awe. Only breeder males and females, as far as he knew, were capable of such a thing.
“Samantha. Is. Mine.” Zuran hissed angrily.
Ama’s eyes lit with excitement, a smile overtook her features as she watched the spectacle unfolding before her. The last bright rays from the twin suns peeked through the windows of the hut, but they seemed dull in comparison to the currents Zuran was pushing through his horns. “That she is.”
“She is?” Olan frowned in confusion. This entire meeting had been one strange turn after the other.
“Correct.” She nodded softly. “There are old texts that speak of the hunters. I haven’t been able to translate them all. But one, in particular, speaks of unions among them. Soul unions.”
“Soul unions?”
Ama’s head titled curiously. “Did you know you have an interesting habit of repeating me?”
Samantha’s brows furrowed and her mouth twisted to the side. “You have an interesting habit of saying things that don’t exactly make sense.”
Head thrown back, Ama laughed loudly. “I like you very much, little one. I have something for you.” She looked to the female at her side who rushed to retrieve a folded bundle. “Come, take it.”
Samantha took a hesitant step forward, lifting the material from the female’s hands and held it up in front of her. It was a black bride dress, similar to the one Olan had given her at the pools the day they had met, but this was accented with red and aqua swirls running up the sides. It was beautiful.
“Our colors,” Olan breathed. “You knew?”
The chieftess smiled softly, “The All Mother spoke to me. It wasn’t my place to bless the union because Samantha had to decide for herself whether she wanted both of you or not.”
“So, that’s it?”
“Your unions have been blessed. You are Olan’s bride and Zuran’s soul bride.”
Olan stood in shock. He had a bride and a bondmate. Excitement welled up inside of him and he turned to look at Zuran who seemed to be completely focused on Samantha. He saw the shiver that worked through her body when she looked back at the other male, the aroma of her arousal permeating the air of the enclosed space.
“I expect a full report on what happened with the humans after your unions have been sealed,” Ama was saying. “You should go now before Zuran falls much farther into his madness.”
“Thank you, Ama.” He bowed his head to the chieftess and scooped his fanahala up into his arms. “Zuran.” His hand brushed against the other male’s face and he saw some clarity return to Zuran’s eyes. Zuran blinked, glancing down at Samantha before plucking her from Olan’s arms and disappearing through the door of the hut.
Ama snickered softly when he turned to grin at her. “You had best catch up with them. And Olan?” She called as he moved to leave.
“Yes, Ama?”
“Take one of the blankets with you.”
He laughed and plucked up one of the brightly colored throws from the table before he stepped out into the fading light of the evening suns. Olan inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he let his mind process what had happened. A ripple of anticipation thrummed through him and he smiled. He didn’t need to look far for his mates. Olan and Zuran had grown up in this village, and he knew exactly where his bondmate had taken Samantha. The cliffs. Although it was the scene of one of the most terrifying moments of his life, the two of them had so many fond memories of the windswept bluffs that he couldn’t find it in his heart to stay away. With a smile playing over his lips, Olan set off after them.
12
Samantha
Samantha curled up against Zuran’s side, her body wedged beneath his arm as she gazed out over the swirling pink-hued waters of one of Seytonna’s oceans. She had thought the water had been beautiful from the observation deck of the S.S. Constellation, but seeing it in person took her breath away. The twin suns were sinking slowly on the horizon, casting red and orange light across the undulating surface. She was already plan
ning on talking the guys into taking her down to the shore so that she could dip her toes in.
A noise and movement to her left caught her attention; she turned her head to see Olan walking up the hill toward them. There was a colorful blanket thrown over one of his shoulders, a small grin tugging at his lips when his eyes fell on her. Beside her, Zuran shifted, reaching out to catch one of the corners of the material as Olan laid it out next to them. Samantha crawled into the middle of it, running her hands over the soft, intricately stitched details. The males took up positions on either side of her, their hands caressing her skin softly. Zuran’s teeth nipped at her shoulder and she shuddered, gasping quietly as her stomach clenched.
A little voice in her head whispered that this was too fast, demanded for her to stop, but she didn’t want to wait. Samantha had been waiting for them her entire life, and going another night without them honestly wasn’t something she was willing to do at this point. Olan’s lips ran over her other shoulder and up the side of her neck, his tongue snaking out to lick at the lobe of her ear. Gods, she was going to combust. And they had barely touched her!
Her hand came up to Olan’s cheek and she turned her head to brush her lips over his, pressing a soft kiss to them before turning to her other side and trailing kisses across Zuran’s jaw until she reached his mouth. He didn’t settle for the light brush; instead, he pressed into her, taking her bottom lip gently between his sharp teeth. The prickle of pain excited her, drawing a ragged moan from her throat.
“Samantha.” Olan breathed against her neck.
She could barely keep her thoughts straight. “Hmm?”
“Did you mean what you said to Ama?”
Why in the world was he asking her questions that required her to remember how to speak? “I meant every damn word I said to her.”
Blooming Desire Page 20
