by L M Lacee
Brenda said helpfully. ‘Hit the sheets.’
‘Danced the tango.’ Helen supplied with a laugh.
‘Got laid.’ Both Netta and Darby called out, causing everyone to laugh.
Peyton breathed deeply through her nose as she growled. ‘Females you walk a dangerous line.’
Kardan, seeing the slight blush on his mate’s cheeks, knew she wasn’t really embarrassed, more confused by what was happening. He drew her into his arms as he explained. ‘We are mated as I told you not so long ago. We have been since before time began.’
She looked up into his beautiful eyes and whispered. ‘My heart beats for you.’
Looking into her green eyes that held dancing flames, he whispered. ‘As mine beats for you.’
‘I am so confused.’ She murmured and buried her head in his chest.
‘I know my heart, let us go and we will make sense of this together.’
‘Kay.’
He picked her up and started to walk unerringly toward her suite, saying before he crossed the threshold. ‘We will convene at eve-meal.’ He looked over his shoulder at Hawk. ‘My brother recall all our people, no visitors and no more excursions until further notice.’
‘As you wish Amahka.’
Carrying Peyton, he walked from the room as the doors gently close behind them.
Jax said. Sound shields in effect.
Once the couple had disappeared, everyone turned to Hawk and Reeve. Questions were thrown at them from several people at once.
‘What was that?’
‘How can he issue orders?’
‘Why did you agree?’
‘What the hayda is an Amahka?’
Brenda and Helen demanded together. ‘Where is Esther?’
Hawk called. ‘Enough!’
Instantly there was quiet, he rubbed the back of his neck and blew out a breath. ‘As you know, Kardan and Wolf are the last of our brothers to be found. Kardan’s title is Amahka, bestowed on him by the Star Child.’
Hawk stared at them all and sighed before explaining. ‘Now as to why we agree or obey. It is simple, because he is the Amahka, second to the Star Daughter. My family and friends please try to understand, he is not her chosen or her beloved, nor is he her heart-brother or sister. This male, our brother, is her mate, he is destined to rule over this Universe with her.
Please understand from today, we are all walking into unfamiliar territory. No Star Daughter or Son has ever taken a mate or had a family. Peyton has changed everything, she has forced us to rewrite what we know of the Star Daughter. Hence the Star Child has given a title and position to Kardan as they have done for others like Trina and even myself as First Commander. I am sure they will do so for many more to come. And just like you, I will have to learn what this means for all of us and our lives in the future.’
A concerned Kenera asked. ‘So our lives will be ruled by a male we do not know.’
Wolf quickly stated. ‘No, your lives as always, are your own to rule.’
‘So what does he expect from us?’ Melody asked Hawk. ‘Will he like what we have changed with the Armee?’
Hawk shrugged. We will have to wait to see what he thinks of the new Armee.’
Wolf asked. ‘Are the changes for the betterment of the Warriors?’
Melody nodded and told him. ‘Definitely for the betterment of all the Warriors.’
‘Then what is there not to like.’
‘I see your point.’
Hawk quietly told them. ‘As for expectations, he will expect you to be yourselves, no more or less.’
Reeve looked at his brothers, then at the people in the room with a puzzled expression. ‘Why do you have doubts about my brother? He is the most honorable male ever created. I do not understand this mistrust you are showing. I am sure you have your reasons, but you did not have this with me or Dinas or any of the others, like my friend Coraan.’
Rage said. Or me and my Pride.
‘You are not her mate.’ Netta quietly told them.
‘Ahh, I see, so we do not carry the weight you feel he will, he must, as her mate.’ Reeve said as understanding dawned.
Wolf asked before Reeve or Hawk could speak. ‘Do you have such little faith in your sister, your Star Daughter?’
Melody looked over at him. ‘No, we are scared he will hurt her. She is very young. Much younger than most of us here and she carries a tremendous weight.’ She smiled sadly and admitted. ‘Sometimes we forget that she carries burdens we cannot imagine.’
‘You imagine the Star Child gave her a mate that was not up to helping her carry that weight and to share in those burdens. A mate that would hurt her, her family, her friends or her people.’ Wolf smiled. ‘Throw away your fears and misconceptions, remember where you are and who you are now. Have faith in the providence of our Star Child, they have always known what is needed and wanted. Have they not shown that time and again?’
‘Okay, enough!’ Darby said. ‘It is not that, really. People think, we have only ever had her attentions and now it changes. You know we are all selfish. We wonder will she still want us, need us, as she has.’
‘Oh my heart, always.’ Reeve assured her and all those that had the same thoughts. ‘She has said so time and again. Every min of every day she shows us how much she values us. Our sister is unable to continue without us. Did we all not have an example of this not long ago? One male cannot do what we can and will do.’
‘Kardan has not replaced you, any of you.’ Hawk told them and smiled one of his more frequent smiles since mating with Karen and learning he was to be a father. ‘He will only add to our lives. Would what happened when Peyton became overwhelmed, happen with him here?’ He shook his head. ‘You know it would not, he will heed the warnings for her health, physically and mentally. He will keep her safe in spite of herself.’
Brenda stated firmly. ‘Okay, that’s enough. He and Wolf are family, we accept new family all the time, so this will be the end of it.’
Helen said. ‘No exceptions, we live, we love, it is what we do. Now someone had better tell us what has happened to Esther.’
THIRTY-ONE:
Thirty mins before eve-meal Kardan and Peyton walked into the restaurant filled with family. Just about everyone wore jeans, except for Heather and Trina and several of the older ladies who wore party dresses.
Hawk wore black jeans and a black shirt, looking handsome and happy, as he stepped forward and addressed Peyton and Kardan.
‘We are pleased to welcome the Amahka to the life of our Star Daughter.’
Melody dressed in jeans and her customary western shirt stepped next to Hawk and said. ‘Congratulations, Peyton and Kardan on your mating.’
Next, Esther wearing a light green dress made her way to stand with Hawk and Melody and gave one of her first blessings as the Omperea.
‘From our hearts to yours.’
Everyone chorused as they raised their glasses. ‘To the newly mated couple.’
Kardan placed his arm around Peyton as he said. ‘From our hearts to yours, we thank you.’
Smiling, Netta dressed in white jeans and a red shirt stepped beside Esther. ‘I like everyone else just wanted to say welcome home Kardan and Wolf. You have been missed.’
Wolf said from where he stood next to Dinas. ‘I like Kardan, want to thank you for your warm welcome.’ He looked first at Dinas, then Reeve and lastly at Hawk. ‘We are pleased to finally be home.’
Helen dabbed at her eyes then said. ‘We have time before the meal, let’s have a drink and get to know each other.’
Kardan kissed Peyton as she whispered. ‘Here comes that grilling thing I told you about.’
He smiled down at her. ‘Remember my heart, it is in the name of love.’
‘Oh sure, you say that now.’ She laughed at his bemused expression as she slipped from under his arm.
Reeve steered Kardan to a table where Wolf sat surrounded by males. Peyton was taken to a table surrounded by her sisters and frien
ds. Instead of her usual cup of coffee, there was a tall frosty glass of clear liquid placed in front of her. She eyed it like it was snake venom.
‘What is it?’
Netta moved her chair in closer to the table. And asked. ‘Did you smell it?’
Peyton raised the glass to her nose and sniffed, then again and looked at Netta. ‘It smells like beer.’
Netta nodded, a smile blossoming on her face as she told her. ‘It is the equivalent of beer. Jerthem told me about it, so I asked Frand to pick some up.’
Peyton tipped the glass to her lips and savored the taste on her tongue, then closed her eyes in appreciation. ‘Oh my stars, yes… yes… we are so getting this for the bars.’
Netta grinned, relieved she liked it, and before anyone realized what she was going to do Peyton downed the contents of the glass.
Melody spluttered and then laughed, when she had recovered herself, she asked Netta. ‘Did you tell her?’
‘I didn’t get time.’
Peyton growled as she slapped the glass down on the table. ‘Do not tell me you were fooling with me?’
Nina grinned. ‘No, you tasted it, it is beer, but five times more potent than anything they have on Earth or so Heather told us, after she tested it.’
‘That is so cool.’ Peyton grinned and passed her glass over to Netta. ‘Fill it up.’
There was a general laugh as Netta refilled her glass. Esther and several of the other ladies were sipping red liquid from long, slim rectangle shaped glasses.
Noticing where she was staring, Darby nudged her saying. ‘It reminds them of wine.’
Brenda sighed with delight as she lowered her glass. Heather asked Darby as her eyes lit up in anticipation. ‘Which one?’
‘It seems every type imaginable or more accurately what your palate enjoys and don’t ask me how it does that. All I know is Dinas made sure it would not be harmful for Terrans.’
‘Ooh! I definitely am going to have some of that.’ She declared as Helen arrived with bots carrying trays loaded with glasses and bottles.
Peyton looked over at Esther and asked. ‘Esther, are you well?’
‘I am, thank you, it was more the shock than anything.’
‘Good.’
‘I am tough, remember that.’
‘Oh I do, every day.’
‘Did I hear tone?’
‘No Ma’am, no tone.’
‘I feel for Carrick.’ Brenda sighed sadly, as Helen refilled her glass.
Peyton closed her eyes and hung her head. ‘I feel bad. I have not given him a thought until now.’
Laughing Esther said, ‘If you were, you were not doing it right.’
This made Peyton’s cheeks turn red and her yelp. ‘Esther!’
‘Seriously, can someone say embarrassed?’ Nina chortled in delight at the blushing Peyton.
Melody crowed. ‘So funny.’
Darby started to speak then just burst out laughing which in turn had Netta laughing eventually everyone joined in.
Peyton grumbled. ‘Hate-you-all. Really, I do.’
Sadly this only made them laugh harder, which made Peyton snort in disgust as she thought. It was like a friggin epidemic. ‘I can leave.
‘No you can’t, now sit and take it, newly mated female.’ Darby drawled as Melody and she high-fived each other.
‘H.A.T.E, you so much right now.’
This set them all off again. Finally Peyton giggled and before she knew it, she was laughing with them.
Kardan sat with the males and watched his mate and the other females. ‘What?’ He asked the males with him. ‘Do you think they are laughing about?’
Jarrod sipped his whiskay, then rocked back on his chair. ‘With them it could just be the alcohol.’
Reeve nodded, then seriously stated. ‘Or the cotton candiee.’
Jorge eyed the large male as he dropped his chair back on the floor and placed his glass down on the table. ‘Have you finally tasted it?’
‘Not yet, my Darby says if we cannot find any here, she will make me some.’
‘Why?’ Hawk wanted to know. ‘Would they find cotton candiee funny?’
Reeve took a sip of his drink, then shrugged. ‘Who knows, I do not, they are females, and are very different to us.’ He looked down, straight into Jade’s eyes, and used his sternest voice.
‘Kerol’s Jade, do not tell your Penny this. My ears are still recovering from the last time she was annoyed with me.’
‘Then do not tell Jade, Penny should not make cookies anymore because she is looking fat.’ Kerol growled at him. ‘It is alright for you, you only got one yelling. I had to suffer through hours. Jade do not repeat that.’
Yes my Kerol.
Kerol growled some more thinking of Reeve’s comments about Penny, and could not stop himself from complaining. ‘Hours of her trying on every article of clothing and then the tears because she will get fat and ugly. Her words not mine, I know she is beautiful.’
Feeling bad about Kerol’s justified annoyance with him. Reeve became defensive and growled back. ‘She is with child, she does look fat. I was being nice, when I blamed the cookies.’
They all groaned even Kardan and Wolf knew that was not something any male should say. This was confirmed when they heard Penny say.
‘He said what!’
Reeve looked at Jade, and she hung her head, Oops me leave now.
They watched her go and Reeve said. ‘We have no couch, I am good.’
The males all laughed at the smug expression on his face and then again when it faded. As he looked toward the females, who all stared at him with varying expressions of outrage.
Larson told him. ‘You are in so much trouble.’
Wolf stared at Reeve until he asked. ‘What my brother?’
‘Your mates are good for you?’
Marlo sighed. ‘They are, they save us from the crippling loneliness that we all lived with.’
Kerol stated. ‘Every time one of us finds our mate. We all move another step away from what we were created for and closer to what we are destined to be.’
Kardan asked. ‘What is that?’
Hawk answered. ‘Honorable males, who are worthy of love. Males that know how to love in return and keep our families safe.’
Wolf confided. ‘I do not think I will find a mate.’
‘I think you will.’ Reeve proclaimed. ‘There is a female that understands you out there somewhere. Look at me, I knew I would never find my heart and there she sits, glaring at me. I know she loves me and would defend me against the Universe if she had to.’
‘So why does the couch play a big role in your life?’ Jorge remarked with a gleam of mischief in his eyes.
Reeve’s answer made them all laugh. ‘She has no understanding of my position in our family.’
Brenda shook her head. ‘That mate of yours, Darby, he really is a delight.’
‘I know if he was trying to hurt with his observations we could have words, but he honestly doesn’t see it as we do. I have to say I do love that about him.’
Melody asked. ‘Have you found cotton candy for him yet?’
‘He sure does have a thing for it.’ Amelia remarked. She had been with him when he had questioned the Embassy staff on where he could purchase some. Only to be disappointed, as they had no idea what he was talking about.
Darby moaned. ‘No, not yet, I am sure he is dreaming about it. I think he was licking his pillow last night.’
This caused another explosion of laughter, as glasses were refilled and talk turned to what they had discovered on their shopping expeditions.
Esther looked at the quiet Peyton and softly said. ‘Sweet girl, stop brooding, it is not every day a fine specimen of a male arrives at your door.’
Peyton nodded. ‘I know.’
Helen reassured her. ‘Timing as always was not ideal, but neither Esther nor Carrick think less of you for enjoying the day you met your mate.’
Esther urged her. ‘We kno
w you love us and tomorrow is early enough to worry about what happened today. Let it all go for tonight. Allow yourself to feel happy like we are.’
Peyton eyed the rosy glow on most of the female’s faces and commented. ‘You all are happy because you got into the booze early.’ At their innocent expressions, she said. ‘Say it’s not so?’
They all chorused. ‘It’s not so.’
When Brenda and Esther almost slipped off their chairs because they were laughing so hard. This startled everyone into another boisterous round of laughter even Peyton joined in.
Helen put the meal back an hour. The evening she said was going so well, it seemed a shame to disrupt it with food. Someone voiced the opinion that her logic was illogical. She thought perhaps her thinking may have been lubricated with too much alcohol. But as no one really complained, she felt okay with her decision. Especially when Peneria, Ipeara and Willian arrived with still more people.
THIRTY-TWO:
Ninety mins later, Helen decided it was time for their meal and called out as the ladies started pushing tables together. ‘Come on everyone, the food will be served in a min.’
Wolf asked Reeve. ‘I assume that means us.’
Reeve clapped his brother on the shoulder as he passed him. ‘You are family, it always means you.’
‘Son of…’ The rest of what he was going to say was drowned out by a shout of laughter from Reeve as Jorge said something to him. Which had the effect of halting his annoyance with his brother’s slap to his back. He marveled as he watched Reeve’s interaction with the males and females. Sadly, it had never been like that before, people seldom got pass Reeve’s size or blunt attitude to see the warm, caring male beneath the exterior. And Wolf knew Reeve, for all his bluster had always been hurt by it. But as he watched him interact with these people, he saw a new carefree Reeve; one he should have always been. He no longer carried the anger and pain like a barrier around his soft heart. These people admired his brother and laughed with him, not at him.
Wolf hungered for that slice of normalcy. To be accepted as easily as Reeve, woke something inside of him he had not realized lay buried within his heart.
Kardan smiled at his huge brother. When he had been released from stasis and found Reeve was not with him, his heart had broken. To have lost him after losing Hawk and Dinas was more than he thought he could survive. It had taken him a long time to find the strength of will he needed to endure the loss. But he had found it for Wolf and the other Warriors that followed him, and now thankfully he was rewarded. His family was here together at long last and against all odds, happy and larger than he had ever hoped for.
