by Corin Cain
I sit down at the foot of the bed, then jump back up. My bottom still doesn’t liking sitting yet.
“That’s the other thing. I can feel them in my mind. It’s like they have a presence in there. I can feel all three of them. I’ve never felt such anger before.”
I look up at Sawoot.
“This species… it’s full of rage. Full of violence. How anyone bears their sons, I don’t know.”
I say it, but I do know. The universe is harsh and unforgiving. Strong sons will survive, especially with three powerful fathers to protect them.
“They’ll be in your past soon enough,” Sawoot promises me. “I bet when you get farther away, they won’t bother you so much in your mind.” Her eyes flash. “So, is everything the same? Nothing has changed with the plan, captain?”
She moves naturally from speaking to me as a friend to speaking to me as my first officer.
I shake my head. “No – nothing has changed. As long as Themes holds himself together, we’re good to go.”
Sawoot nods. She’s nervous, brimming with energy – all the relaxation from earlier now gone.
“He will,” she reassures me. “He just needed someone to believe in him, like you did. He’ll get to the control room, and we’ll get out of here safe and sound.”
“Just have Garrick and his triad in here at 20h00 exactly. You’ll have a short window to get out of this room and away from them.”
Sawoot giggles. “Don’t worry. I can handle a couple of men. In fact, if you want to take your time…”
I bite my lip. There’s an insane surge of jealousy I feel. I remember exactly how it felt to be ravaged by Aurelians. The memory of my first time with them will be etched into my memory for as long as I live.
Tonight, Sawoot will experience that same ecstasy – while Theme and I risk everything by sneaking into that control room.
“Come to my chambers.”
The commanding thought suddenly appears in my mind, and I start walking before I even process it as Aelon’s thought, not mine.
“Dammit! He’s in my mind!” I look at my best friend. “They can send telepathic messages. Did you know that?”
Sawoot shakes her head. “No, my friend never told me about that. I wonder what else there is with the Bond we don’t know about? Anyways, who was it? And what did he tell you?’
“It was Aelon.” I roll my eyes. “He ordered me to come to his chambers. No ‘please.’ No ‘thank you.’ Just ‘get my ass in gear.’” I shake my head. “It’s like he thinks he owns me.”
Sawoot hides her smile. “Dammit. I mean – I get it. He’s arrogant and everything… But it’s kind of hot. Fuck. I wish I was Bonded to Garrick. I know you say it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, but I want to feel that connection. He saved my life. You have no idea what Kit was going to do to me. His triad were like animals – hungry animals.”
Hungry animals.
That’s how I’d describe the passion of the Aurelians last night. I can still feel them inside me. It felt so right. But if they weren’t Bonded to me, and they’d taken me by force instead, it could have damaged me permanently.
There’s something about the Bond that makes such things possible. There was a line of aggression that Aelon, Vinicus and Iunia never crossed. They didn’t want to hurt me. I can feel in their auras even now that the last thing they want is for something to happen to me.
When I’m gone, they’ll worry constantly about my safety. They’ll just have to learn to live with it.
“Maybe you are Bonded to Garrick,” I tease Sawoot. “I guess you’ll find out tonight.” Then I remember Aelon’s telepathic command. “Ugh – I’d better get going. I don’t want to do everything he says, but there’s no reason to disobey Aelon today and make him suspicious. He just does whatever the fuck he wants anyway.”
“Don’t all men?”
I snort. “That’s why men need a leader.”
But leading Aelon and his triad would be a life’s work. Trying to quench the flames of their anger and pain would be a lifelong project. He thinks I’m his. He thinks I belong to him…
…but, in reality, it’s the other way around. I have all the keys.
Captain Aelon doesn’t realize it, and it’s going to blindside him – but he’s about to lose everything.
Aurelians only care about one thing – finding their Fated Mate. If Aelon was smart, he’d find a way to keep me. He’d find a way to quell my fears about him and his triad. Even now, I’m tempted to stay – I don’t even want to know how an Aurelian feels when he loses his Fated Mate, and I’ve no desire to bring pain to any of them…
But Aelon leaves me no choice.
I turn to my best friend.
“Alright, Sawoot – next time I see you, we’ll be running for our fucking lives. Get ready – The Instigator is going to be in our rear view soon enough.”
Maybe I’m trying to convince myself. Part of me wants to stay. Part of me feels the pain deep down inside Aelon and wants to heal it. I feel the pain that surfaces as violence and rage. All three of them have it to varying degrees. I wonder what happened, that day with the Toads during their hundred years of service. Aelon told me a little – but I wonder if I’ll ever get the full story.
“Don’t be late, Tasha,” Sawoot warns, “or he might just spank you again.”
I lean in to push her, but she darts back, laughing.
Instead, I respond: “You know… I didn’t tell you at the time, but you know when he was punishing me? Right about halfway through, I couldn’t handle any more – so I asked Aelon to go easy on me. He did. All that yelling and screaming was just an act.”
Sawoot grins. Laughing about me getting spanked has relaxed her. I’ll take a bit of humiliation if it keeps my crew happy and ready.
Sawoot winks.
“Of course I knew. You think you can fool me? You wouldn’t have been crying like Theme unless it was an act.”
I scowl. “Don’t you start with him! He’s going to be the reason we get our asses out of here.”
“I know, I know, I’m awful. Alright – go see what your Aurelian wants. I think I know, though...”
“Shut up,” I say, leaving her behind.
I open the doors to the hallway and step out. Garrick averts his eyes from me.
“Would you escort me to the captain?” I ask. It’s weird not to be looking into Garrick’s eyes as I speak to him. Despite his exemplary behavior, I still expect even this Aurelian to stare at me considering what I’m wearing.
Garrick nods, wordless as usual. He walks behind me towards the captain’s quarters. He’s close to me, shadowing me tightly. It’s not because he wants me, though. He just wants to keep me safe.
As we walk, I study the layout. My mental map of The Instigator is getting more and more precise. I’m getting an idea of the innards of the ship. That mental map might save our lives later tonight.
The Instigator has seemingly countless twists and turns. It’s a convoluted old beast. The ship might not be the prettiest, but I’ve never been more thankful that it’s an older model with flaws we can exploit.
The closer I get to Aelon, the more his aura intensifies in my mind. I can feel the lust building in him. It excites me and scares me at the same time.
Garrick stops in front of Aelon’s quarters. “Thank you,” I say, and he steps back soundlessly. The big man can move silently – as deadly as a cat.
I raise my hand to knock on Aelon’s door – but before my knuckles make contact, the door opens. Aelon can clearly feel my presence when we’re this close.
If only I could be Bonded to a man like Garrick. I hope beyond hope that Sawoot is. If she is, I wonder if she’ll still want to escape the ship. The three Aurelians linked to me for eternity have their own demons to conquer – demons that surface in their lust for battle. They’ll never be content. All they want is to lose their minds in the life or death struggle of combat. The three of them were calm only once – when they were seed
ing me. At that moment, and that moment alone, they found their peace.
I step into the captain’s quarters.
Aelon isn’t wearing his usual combat-style uniform that can block blows. He’s dressed simply, in black shorts and a black t-shirt – colors that contrast sharply against his pure, ivory skin.
Every time I see him, he’s more handsome. Aelon’s jawline is chiseled, as if his features were carved by an artist. He had only one flaw before – his bland, slate-grey eyes. Now, they’re colored from our coupling. They’re now a symbol of our Bond – a reminder that only his death will remove him from my mind.
I might have to kill him if he won’t give me up. I get the feeling Aelon’s not the type to let his Fated Mate slip away. I’ll have Aurelian Law Enforcement chasing me down on one side, and an obsessed ship’s captain on the other. One thing’s for certain – I’m not going to be bored even after thousands of years of running.
Aelon is oblivious to my thoughts – because he can sense my feelings through the Bond, but not my individual thoughts.
“You look as beautiful as I imagined you would,” Aelon purrs, standing up from the sofa. He drinks me in with his hungry eyes.
I feel even more ridiculous in this dress. It’s something that would be worn by a socialite – or a woman entering an Aurelian harem.
“I’d feel comfortable in something more sensible.”
He takes in my words, stepping closer. The big room suddenly seems smaller with Aelon in it. It’s so weird seeing his blank expression and yet being able to feel his emotions. He can’t hide them from me any longer.
“You don’t need sensible anymore, Tasha – unless you’re planning on pulling off another heist that I don’t know about.”
Fuck.
Panic surges, but I get control of it. I don’t want him to think I’m up to anything, and that’s going to be difficult since he can feel my emotions through the Bond.
There are layers to this interaction – subtleties that flow way beneath the surface. I don’t feel any suspicion coming from his aura – but he’s got hundreds of years of practice in hiding his own emotions through the Bond, so who’s to say I can trust what I sense.
“Sit down,” Aelon says, motioning towards the sofa. I sit down gingerly. He goes to the corner of his room. There’s a hiss as he opens a chilled compartment. After everything, I’m expecting him to come back with a weapon or some fiendish sex toy. Instead, he returns with two bottles of chilled, orange liquid. He tosses a bottle to me. With my heightened reflexes, I catch it effortlessly.
I wonder what it will be like to pilot with my new senses? I’m eager to get behind the controls of one of his Reavers as we make our escape tonight.
But that can wait. For now, I have to play it cool. I crack open the bottle. The aroma of sweetness fills my nostrils.
“Sweetfruit,” Aelon tells me. “It grows on only one desert planet in the backwaters of some distant solar system – but it’s worth the expense to have it shipped.”
The towering Aurelian sits beside me.
“You’re Bonded to me now, Tasha,” Aelon purrs. “Your life won’t be barely scraping a living anymore. You won’t be always looking over your shoulder. We’ll protect you, Tasha. We’ll worship you. You’ll experience things you never even knew you wanted.”
For once, Aelon isn’t making a snarky comment or a ribald joke. In fact, I can’t detect even a hint of arrogance in his words. I wasn’t expecting this. The cocky Captain suddenly sounds sincere.
But it’s too little, too late.
I can still feel his darkness lurking in his mind, ready to surface at any moment. This gentle side of him would disappear in an instant if the Toads entered this system.
I take a sip of the drink, and the sweet nectar explodes on my tastebuds. Aelon drinks it too, but he seems restless. He simply stares at me, as though he’s seeing me for the first time.
“What is it?” I demand.
A sincere smile graces that handsome face.
“It’s just… Well, I never thought I’d experience this. You hope you will – but you never really believe it will happen. I’ve never been drawn to a woman like I’m drawn towards you, Tasha. Women have always been pleasant distractions – but until now, they’ve only been distractions.”
Asshole.
“Distractions?” I snort. “From what? Making money and killing Toads?”
His anger flares through the Bond – but Aelon’s face stays exactly the same. It’s uncanny how he can hide his emotions so fluently.
“Do not reduce me to that.”
“What more is there to you?”
I’m on thin ice. I’ll be gone from his life soon enough, and this is his last chance to convince me that there’s something deeper to him than just violence and anger.
He draws in a deep, harsh breath. “You haven’t seen what I’ve seen.”
His darkness is oozing through the Bond, like oil coming to the surface of water.
“Okay, then tell me. Tell me what happened that day.”
Aelon’s lips draw back, showing his teeth. The three of these Aurelians are beasts to the core. I can see it clearly now – and I don’t need the enhanced senses of the Bond to know Aelon can’t change. He won’t change. This man can’t be the father of my children. How could I bring sons into the world of this bloodthirsty, vengeful man?
But then he slowly begins to speak.
“I… I was on that Toad ship, back in my last year of service in the Aurelian Army. I was only supposed to be in diplomatic talks – but I slipped away from my Toad escort for a moment… and I saw something on board that ship I wasn’t supposed to see.”
His aura is growing cold and dark. I can feel his pain building inside of him, spilling over into my own mind. “What did you see, Aelon?”
“The Toad Captain,” he breathes. “He something so vile… so utterly evil…”
Aelon turns to me, and his face is different to how I’ve ever seen it before. The arrogance is gone. There’s just pain, instead.
“I know slavery is legal in the Toad system. I knew there were human women on board, and that there was nothing we could do about it… But this is different.”
Aelon leans closer.
“As disgusting as it is, I might have been able to stomach a Toad keeping concubines – human slaves those disgusting creatures treat like their whores. Their ships are like floating swamps, and those poor women have to live knee-deep in filth and fetid wetness… But this was different.”
He looks up at me.
“The Toad Captain had human women bound on tables and he was… he was… he was hurting them.”
He can’t bear to describe exactly what the Toad was doing. I don’t think I could bear to hear it. I shudder, feeling his disgust flowing through the Bond.
“I was alone on his ship,” Aelon shivers. “There was nothing I could do on my own – but I should have tried.” He shakes his head. “I thought… I thought my General would believe me – but he’s one of the bastards who look down on humans as weaker than us. When I got back to our ship, I reported what I’d seen higher up the chain of command, and I told them we needed to strike, and fast. We were in Toad territory, but that didn’t matter – we needed to help those women...”
Aelon’s arm is twitching from the tension.
“What happened then?”
The bottle shatters in his hand as Aelon crushes it. Blood and juice mixes, dripping to the floor. He snarls: “The General told me we weren’t going to start a war with the Toads for the sake of a few whores. His exact fucking words. So, I went in alone. I piloted my Reaver in, and my General turned the tractor beam on me and stopped me before I could attack – right up until the Toads left the sector. One other triad came with me. The triad I executed.”
Aelon laughs bitterly.
“When they were gone, he summoned me to his ship. The General looked me in the eye and told me I was lucky he didn’t use missiles to blow my Reaver o
ut of space – or execute me for disobeying a direct order.”
Aelon is panting now. He stands and paces the room, his handsome face twisted in a mask of fury and vengeance.
“I… I told those women I’d save them. I told them I’d be back. Sixteen women, Tasha. Sixteen…”
His arms bulge as his muscles tense. The violence is building in him, threatening to explode.
“When my hundred years were done, I tracked that Toad ship down. I did to each of that captain’s crew what he’d done to those women.”
He smiles now, a smile that’s more disturbing than his anger. He’s remembering torturing and killing those Toads.
I suddenly feel like I’m going to throw up.
“Toads die poorly,” Aelon snorts. “Now, the thing that gives me the most pleasure is baiting Toads into trying me. I like to use their greed and hubris against them.”
Aelon turns to me and growls: “You thought I didn’t know that those Toad ships were going to come back for me? You think I can’t read those slimy bastards like a Gods damned book?”
Then, he looks at me differently.
“Why did you want to know about this, Tasha?” His eyes refocus. “Is that what you wanted? To pull up the past in me?”
I had no idea what lurked in his past. Now I’ve seen his pain, and it frightens me. He’s a broken man.
“I… I just wanted to understand you.”
I wish I could fix him. I know that’s a stupid thing we tell ourselves – that we can change a man.
Aelon snorts bitterly.
“So, now you know me, Tasha. You know me better than anyone else other than my own triad.” His smile turns menacing. “But now, I’m far more powerful than ever before.” He lifts one arm, stretching his bicep to show how much bigger and more pronounced its become even overnight – presumably as an effect of the Bond. “You feel it as well, don’t you, Tasha?” He isn’t asking. He knows I’ve changed through the Bond.
I nod. “My body is stronger. I have better balance. Everything feels more real.”
Seeing Aelon through my new eyes only makes him more attractive – but now I can see beyond his gorgeous face and into his soul.
