by Mary Auclair
The crowd was heavy with silence.
Rose closed her eyes to them, not wanting to allow anyone in to the center of sensation that was her physical connection to Karian.
His fangs slid down from her throat to her shoulder, grasping the fragile curve between his powerful jaws. The tickling of his fangs became more intense and she knew he was getting ready to bite. A flutter of fear arose at the idea, but it was quelled under the intensity of the pleasure brought by the venom. This was going to seal the mating and render public what was a lifelong commitment.
Karian’s fangs sank into her flesh, triggering a flood of Mating Venom to rush through her bloodstream. Instantly, Rose’s pleasure exploded, unruly and savage, making her scream, thrust her head back and arch her upper body. The sensation spiraled, multiplied, sending wave after wave of complete ecstasy through her, one after the other.
Rose was still panting when Karian pulled his fangs off her.
Slowly, her mind shed the fog of pleasure. It was like she had been in a tunnel, with only Karian at the other side. Nothing else had mattered. Nothing else had existed.
The first thing to come into focus was the sounds. Shouts and comments, hundreds of voices, talking all at once. Excitement and disbelief transpired through the sound of the crowd, but she didn’t dare look, not yet.
Disbelief and confusion jostled side by side in her mind.
When she opened her eyes again, it was to stare into the bottomless pit of a blue so intense, it burned her thoughts before they had a chance to form.
Something had happened between them, something she couldn’t define. She could see it in the way Karian held her tightly to his chest, facing the crowd over her shoulders. He was panting, too, and she could feel the muscles in his perfect chest moving under his sweaty skin, rippling with tension.
The crowd went silent, and a palpable wind of tension filled the air. Rose’s eyes caught on a pair of purple irises, shining in hatred and surprise, and something akin to hurt.
Behind her, Karian was panting. No, Rose realized, he wasn’t panting. He was filling his lungs in a succession of deep breaths like he was going to swim underwater for a long time. He stopped and his hands grabbed hers, then he extended her arms fully, presenting her to the crowd. His throat started to shake, the vibration coming from low in his chest, so strong her entire body vibrated in tandem with him.
Then a sound like no other filled the air.
It was somewhere in between a roar and a lullaby, possessive and masculine, yet strangely poetic. Rose didn’t need to ask what he was doing. Karian was stating his claim for all to hear.
The sound went on and on, impossibly long, inflating to a level so loud she tried to put her hands over her ears, but Karian’s grip on her wrists was of concrete.
The crowd was a landscape of silent statues, their faces a mesmerized blank. Rose’s gaze locked with Arlia’s, and the other female clutched the star-shaped pendant on her chest, her face a mix of violent emotions.
Then the mating song stopped.
Karian panted behind Rose. Slowly, strong fingers liberated her wrists.
As soon as she was free, Rose flipped around to face him. His eyes were shining, casting a blue glow around his face, and he seemed flustered, and a bit stunned, too. Their gazes locked, and it was like she was punched in the guts. There was something in those blue eyes, a depth of emotion she didn’t understand. Then it was gone.
Karian straightened, then faced the crowd.
“So be it known that I, Karian, son of Enlon of the Erynian Tribe, take this human female as my bloodmate, from this day until my last.”
Karian turned to Rose, locking their gazes together again. His jaw was tight and his lips pressed together in a cruel, hard line. Gone was the illusion of warmth and affection. His entire body radiated power and male strength. The intensity of his stare burned through her, slipping through her bones and settling in the pit of her stomach. Without a word, he turned and walked away, his back straight and his biceps bulging as he stalked out of the ceremony hall in a handful of long strides.
Rose was left blinking, alone on the stage, watching the closed door.
What just happened?
The crowd erupted. Everyone was talking at the same time, shouting, and causing such chaos that Rose didn’t even notice Arlen until he jumped on the stage and stalked up to her. His face was a mask of anger so violent, she was tempted to turn around and run away. Before she could give in to the impulse to flee, Arlen grabbed her upper arm in a steel grip, forcing her to face him.
“Do you have any idea what he did?” Arlen’s eyes threw knives. “You’d better not betray him, Rose, or you’ll have me to answer to.”
Without giving her time to respond, Arlen stormed out after Karian.
She was left alone for the second time on the stage, with a few hundred pairs of eyes on her, ranging from curious to outwardly hostile. Most of them were stunned, and a few even had the wimpy, teary look of someone who had just witnessed the most romantic thing in their lives.
A movement attracted her attention back to the edge of the stage. Arlia and Enlon were standing there, a few paces away from her. They, too, had climbed on the stage after Arlen. Enlon’s face was unreadable, but Arlia wore her emotions as clear as daylight.
She was as angry as she was scared.
In a cutting fashion, Arlia motioned for Rose to come to her. Rose hesitated only an instant, then walked to the couple, wary of their new attitude toward her. Clearly, things hadn’t gone the way they were supposed to go. Both of them had been happy about the ceremony, Arlia especially. Now they looked like they wished she had never been born.
Rose passed in front of Enlon, who watched her with calm, calculating eyes before walking after his two sons. Arlia motioned for Rose to follow with a sharp jerk of her chin, then started to walk without talking.
“Wait!”
Rose caught up with Arlia as she reached the door at the back of the stage. Arlia grabbed her arm as she walked out, too fast for Rose’s shorter legs, so Rose was forced to jog behind her.
Anger flared inside her, muffling the confusion and fear to a hollow sound in the back of her head. Whatever their reason for being angry at her, they weren’t being fair.
“I said, wait!”
Rose stomped her feet solidly into the ground, forcing Arlia to either stop or drag her like a ragdoll. Arlia swirled, baring her fangs in a blood-curdling hiss. Rose took a step back but didn’t cower away. She was too angry, and too confused, to have the good sense to be scared.
“Why are you doing this?” Rose controlled her voice to a normal level, but she was dangerously close to losing her temper. “What the hell happened out there?”
“You don’t know.” It wasn’t a question. Arlia said this to herself, almost like she was reminding herself why she wasn’t ripping Rose’s throat out. “Of course you don’t know.”
A long shiver ran along Arlia’s body, as if she was shedding her desire to shred Rose to pieces. She blinked a few times, her beautiful golden eyes losing the dangerous glint coating them.
“Tell me,” Rose pushed her again, reassured they weren’t going to resort to violence. “Why do I feel like Karian did something he shouldn’t?”
Arlia stared at Rose, her golden eyes filling with a glow of tears that threatened to spill at any moment. Pressing her lips together, she took a deep breath, then nodded to herself.
“It’s not for me to tell. Wait there, Karian is going to come to you.”
When Arlia turned around and walked away, her steps weren’t as fast. Rose watched her leave, a growing unease in her chest.
CHAPTER 17
KARIAN
K arian stormed down the long hallway, ignoring Arlen’s shouts at his back. His blood was boiling with a lust so violent it was a miracle he wasn’t insane by now. The struggle to keep control of the emotions that filled him to the brim with an impulse to run after Rose was a losing battle.
; The cravings were only going to get more intense, and the only way to subdue them was to give in and join with her. The physical union would have to wait. He didn’t trust himself in Rose’s presence yet. Karian needed to calm the storm of primal urges that had taken hold of him the moment the mating bite was given. In his current state, he might hurt and scare her, and he would never allow that.
A bloodmating. How can it be?
He should have been more aware of his extreme reaction to Rose, he should have been more careful. But even then, how could he have predicted it? It didn’t matter. Prediction or not, there was nothing he could have done to avoid taking her as a mate. He knew that now. The attraction leading to a bloodmating was not meant to be ignored. He would have scourged the entire Ring to find her if she had gone away after they met.
He wouldn’t tell her, either. Not when she thought he’d taken her only because of duty.
A hand closed on his shoulder and Karian turned, fangs hissing with fury.
“Calm down, brother.” Arlen removed his hand and took a step back.
“I’m calm,” Karian growled, low in his throat. “I’m going to the meeting room, that’s all.”
Arlen didn’t answer, but by the way he raised his brows, it was clear he wasn’t fooled by his brother’s attempt at denying the truth. With a loud sigh, Karian shook his shoulders, unknotting his muscles.
Without talking, he walked again, but at a more measured pace. Arlen followed, his silence a comment in itself. Karian was already deep in his own thoughts, sharpening his focus with all the discipline of a lifetime of rigorous training.
Karian and Arlen entered the meeting room, where Enlon and Khal were already waiting for them. Also present were his uncles, Argen and Wyrl. Together, they represented the higher council of the Erynian tribe. Their faces were serious and the large screen that panned the back of the room showed a sleek ship adorned with the Ring’s emblem on its hull.
The Ring’s diplomatic ship was a bad omen, one that gave clues that Rose’s presence on Eokim was already known.
“What news of the Ring’s ship?” Karian’s voice had his usual steel-cutting edge, and it satisfied him to know that even if his mind was a swamping madness, his exterior didn’t betray him. “They didn’t have authorization before entering our airspace.”
Arlen’s face was set in stone, no emotion visible on his once carefree features. His younger brother was at his side, and for once Khal kept silent. His father’s face was serious, but Enlon stared at his newly mated son with unusually soft eyes. Of all of them, he was the only one who understood what having a bloodmate meant.
“Obviously, they were warned of your mating,” Arlen said. “People are going to start asking questions, and we’d better have answers—and soon. This isn’t just any other female. She’s human, Karian. Human.”
“I know she’s human, but she’s also my mate.” Karian’s voice was a low growl. “Bloodmate.”
“The entire Ring thinks humans are extinct except for the few that are kept in the breeding facilities for genetic preservation purposes. Only a few specimens are approved by the Genetic Preservation Board to be sold, and we all know the prices they sell for.” Arlen spoke calmly, his hands flat on the dark stone of the table. “She’s a novelty. She’s the biggest scandal since the wiping out of the last Algoic specimen two centuries ago. We can’t pretend as though she’s just like any other.”
“Her status is protected, no matter what.” Karian set his eyes on Arlen. His brother’s was the finest strategic mind of the tribe, and Karian often wished he understood all the gearing and workings of his brain. However, he didn’t need to, as he trusted Arlen as much as he trusted himself. Eok loyalty ran deep, even more so between brothers. “Whoever is on that ship knows they can’t take her away.”
“Perhaps,” Arlen conceded. “How did you came by this human? She had to have a buyer, somewhere. The Cattelans don’t meddle with fruitless trade.”
“Rose was born free. She was never a slave.” Karian talked softly, but there was no mistaking the deadly edge in his voice. “Her parents were from a group of humans who escaped the breeding facility twenty-three years ago. They have been living free on their homeland for over two decades.”
A stunned silence followed Karian’s explosive declaration. Enlon’s eyes widened and he brought one hand over his mouth. They all understood the implications of this.
“I will put a motion to the Ring for Rose and her village to be recognized as free humans,” Karian said in a decisive tone.
“If you succeed, the humans will fall under the homeland law, and they will gain a protected status inside the Ring,” Arlen said with a dead tone. “Their trade will become illegal.”
“Someone will lose a fortune,” Enlon said. “We need to know who we’re going up against.”
“Who is aboard the ship?” Karian turned to his uncle Wyrl, the commanding officer of the tribe’s communications.
“Trade Minister Knut made a formal request for an audience with Enlon an hour ago.” Wyrl patted the long scar traveling down his face, his eyes lost in thought. “He’s the director of the Genetic Preservation Board, and his family is the one controlling the natural resources extraction on Earth.”
“Of course. It all makes sense now.” Enlon nodded. “The Knut is the most powerful Avonie clan after the royal family. If the humans gain a status in the Ring, they’ll lose everything.”
A thick dread settled over the assembly. The Avonie civilization wasn’t a warrior one, but their connection by commerce made them powerful. They had numerous allies, both inside the Council of the Ring and around many other nations. They were officially allied with the Eok nations, but merchants didn’t share the warriors’ sense of honor.
“But what do they expect to gain by coming here?” Khal spoke for the first time. “The mating has already taken place. There’s nothing they can do about it.”
“They didn’t plan on Karian making a public mating so soon, and certainly not on him taking a bloodmate.” Arlen took a deep breath. “They were probably going to claim the human escaped, or was stolen from the facility. If she’s a slave, then it changes her status. There are precedents for this. You would have to pay her price or give her back.”
“She is bloodmate to the Commander in Chief, my son.” Enlon spoke with an even voice, but Karian sensed the undertone of steel. “They know we’ll never give her back. It would mean war.”
“War, yes.” Arlen nodded, his face as still as stone. “Or simply a debt the nation could never repay.”
Silence fell over the males sitting at the table. Karian felt a surge of anger roiling inside his mind, filling him with a cold, calculated hatred.
“Khal.” Karian turned to his youngest brother. “I am tasking you to go to Earth with a detachment of warriors to find and protect Rose’s family. I trust you will take care of them as if they were your own.”
“Of course.” Khal’s face glowed with fierce joy. “Thank you, brother, for giving me a chance to prove myself.”
“Kamal is already on his way,” Arlen said, as low as a whisper, but it was enough to cast a deafening silence around the table. “I have received word he will be arriving on Earth in two weeks at the most.”
Karian paused, not wanting to ask more about his older brother. Finally, he nodded to Arlen. “I’ll meet with Minister Knut.” Karian flattened his palm on the table. “He doesn’t get to talk to the Erynian tribe Chief without the proper diplomatic dispensation. The Eok nation isn’t a weakling under the Ring’s thumb.”
After a few more minutes, Enlon left with Argen and Wyrl.
As soon as the door closed and his father had left, Karian felt the wave of feelings overcome him in a way that was completely contrary to all his training. He got up and walked back to the sitting room where Rose was sure to be waiting. He shouldn’t have left her alone, especially if their enemy was as powerful as the Trade Minister.
There’s nowhere safe now. She�
��s in constant danger.
Arlen walked beside Karian in the long hallway.
“You know he will do everything in his power to stop you from even putting that motion in front of the Ring Council?” Arlen spoke first. “Minister Knut is a wealthy, cunning male. He’s not going to let you rob him of the trade that made his family rich beyond all others so easily.”
“He hasn’t won yet,” Karian reminded his brother. “He’s not the only cunning male in the Ring.”
Arlen gave Karian a rueful smile. “You know I’m with you. Always.”
“I know.”
They finally arrived in front of the door. The brothers faced each other, their gazes expressing what words couldn’t. How Karian had missed his family: their constant support and the trust he could not give anywhere else. So much had happened since he left, so much time he would never get back. Karian would have to make amends to his brother somehow, but it would have to wait until Rose was out of danger. She was the absolute priority.
“Are we going to talk about it, or are you going to pretend it didn’t happen?” Arlen leaned on the door, blocking Karian’s way.
“You’re talking about the bloodmating.” Not a question.
“Obviously.” Arlen scowled. “Does Rose know what it means?”
“No, she doesn’t.” Karian glared hard at his brother. “And she won’t until I tell her.”
Arlen answered Karian’s warning glare, his lips pinched in a tight, angry line. He disapproved, that much was clear. “She needs to know,” Arlen insisted, not willing to let go that easily. “She can’t think this is a normal mating. Karian, there hasn’t been a bloodmating in the Erynian tribe since Mother and Father.”
Karian nodded. He knew. Bloodmating was a once in a generation occurrence, something that happened only when an Eok warrior found a female so perfect for him that he made her a part of himself. It wasn’t something an Eok planned, it was something that just happened.
