"You asked me what 'Ashaya' is." I take her hand in mine and entwine our fingers. "It means you are my fated one."
A question lingers behind her eyes, and I am silent as I wait for her to ask.
"Is that why you saved me? Why you love me?"
From her expression and her tone, it is clear something about my admission displeases her, so I do my best to explain.
"This bond is very rare among my people, and never has it been found outside of our race."
I pause, allowing the weight of my words to settle in the space between us. Cupping her chin, I tilt her face up to mine and marvel at her luminous gaze. "You are a creature of fire—as fiercely brave and intelligent as you are beautiful. I see the flame that burns deep inside you, just behind your eyes. You asked why I saved you. It is because my soul recognized the fire in yours, and I could not bear the thought of it being extinguished."
I press my forehead gently to hers. "It is also why I love you and how I know that I would love you even without the fated bond."
A dozen emotions flicker across her expression, and I wait with bated breath for her to speak. "I dreamed about you almost my entire life, Soran. Even this”—she reaches up and lightly touches the scar at the top of my brow—“was familiar to me.” She trails her delicate fingers along the jagged mark and then cups my cheek.
I place my hand over hers. "I don't understand."
Her sea-green eyes stare deep into mine. "I don't understand it either, my love. But I have seen you in my dreams since I was a child. And even though my parents tried to convince me you weren't real...deep down, I always knew that you were."
She shakes her head softly. "I don't know why I have this connection to you. I only know that I love you and this”—she places my hand over her heart—“feels right in a way that nothing else ever has." She lowers her gaze. "But you are a warrior of Mosaura. Your females are strong. And I am not. You think I am strong and brave, but deep down, I'm still scared. I worry that I'll be taken again, that I'll never find my people or my home world. And my biggest fear”—her voice quavers and breaks on the last word—“is that I'm not who I was before. I feel like I'm broken, Soran. You need someone who is whole, not damaged."
I take her hand in mine and guide it to the scar along my face. "I used to believe this was a curse." I search her eyes. "But now I know that if I did not have this mark, I would not be the warrior that stands before you now. We both have scars, Liana, because we are survivors. Some of them are visible, and others are buried deep inside us. But they have made us who we are."
A tear slips softly down her cheek.
Placing my hands on either side of her face, I force her gaze to mine so she may see the truth in my soul. "Who you are now is the only version of you I have ever known. And I love her. I love you...just as you are. You are fierce, intelligent, strong, and brave. Every quality that I could ever have hoped for in a mate. Do not push me away because I will not go. I will never leave you. The ways of your people are different than mine, and I will wait for however long it takes for you to choose me. You are my Ashaya. And I feel it here”—I place my hand on my chest—“because it is truth. And I will give up anything and everything just to remain by your side because you are my heart."
I wrap my wings tightly around her and press my forehead again to hers, running my fingers through her long, silken hair. "Choose me, Liana. I long to be yours."
She leans forward and presses a soft kiss to my scar. She trails her hand lightly down my shoulder until she finds mine, entwining our fingers. Lifting our joined hands to her chest, she stares deep into my eyes. "I will carry you, Soran of House Mosaura, to victory or to death, but I will not leave you behind. We are bound to one another, and if you are broken, so am I. We will be broken together...and together, we will heal."
Overwhelming emotions surge through me, and I capture her mouth with my own.
Mine.
"I want nothing more than to be yours, my Ashaya. To walk by your side until the end of our days. Tell me," I whisper against her lips, "do you choose me, Liana?"
Anxiety wars with anticipation as I wait for her to answer. Wrapping her arms tightly around me, she leans forward to give me a gentle kiss. "I do."
Intense joy rushes through me, brighter than a thousand stars, and I want to roar my happiness to the sky.
I crush my lips to hers but am confused as she pushes against me and moves from me to stand. I stand too, wondering what I've done to make her reject me. Perhaps I was too aggressive with my affections.
"Liana, what is wrong?"
Liana
I dip my chin as I keep my eyes trained on his, trying my best to appear as fierce as a Mosauran female. "Shav-rhokan."
He stills, the pupils of his eyes dilating until just a sliver of silver remains around the edge. He drops his chin to stare across at me through heavy brows. His gaze is both predatory and filled with desire, every muscle is tense as if it is taking everything inside him to hold on to his control. "You are certain?" he rasps.
Circling him, I tilt my chin up and move closer. Close but not quite touching, the very air around us seems charged with electricity. A short puff of air escapes his nostrils, parting the hair on top of my head as he scents me. A low rumbling growl vibrates deep in his chest, sending small ripples of pleasure straight to my core.
Heat radiates from his form to mine as he positions himself behind me. My body hums in awareness of him as my heart beats wildly in my chest. I bite my lower lip in anticipation of what happens next. He told me about this. I won't fight. I'll struggle, but it will only be for show. I want to be conquered by him.
One arm snakes around my waist while the other bands across my chest as he pulls me back into a solid wall of muscle, every inch of his body pressed against the back of mine. The delicious vibrations of his growl move straight through me as he dips his head, lightly skimming the tip of his nose along my temple, down to my jaw. As he scents along the column of my neck, my heart races, and my every nerve ending is on fire at his touch.
His warm breath whispers across my skin as he opens his mouth just above the curve of my shoulder, and a ripple of pleasure goes through me. Something sharp touches my sensitive flesh, and I try to twist in his arms, putting up a mock form of the struggle he would expect if I were a female of his species.
He stills, and the sharp sting on my skin lifts away. I tilt my head back to look up at him. His reflective eyes are wide with fear. "Have I hurt you?" The words escape his lips in a hushed whisper as if he's afraid of the answer he'll receive.
I'm not afraid. I want him. "I'm fine. Don't stop."
His silver eyes dilate once more into obsidian orbs as his lips pull back to expose sharp fangs. He removes my tunic, and then slips his fingers beneath the waistband of my pants, pushing them down my hips.
His hands possessively trace back up my body before he bands his arms tightly around my waist and chest to pin back me against him.
He lowers his head, and with just enough pressure to not break the skin but still keep me in place, he clamps down on the curve of my neck and shoulder as his hands travel over my form.
I'm bare and pressed against him as one large palm cups my breast. A low moan escapes my parted lips as his thumb brushes over the peak until it stiffens into a sensitive bead. His touch is fire and I push back against him, wanting more.
I’m caged in his arms as his voice whispers in my mind, “You are mine, Liana Garza of Terra.”
Desire pools deep in my core. “I’m yours,” I agree in a breathless whisper.
Something hard presses against my hip, and a small shiver of anticipation runs through me. I want to see him, I want to kiss him. Reaching back, I take his length in my hand, and he groans. He's so large my fingers cannot wrap entirely around him.
His deep, velvet voice whispers against the shell of my ear. "Am I as you expected, my Ashaya?"
Breathless with anticipation, I turn in his arms. Heavy-lidded eyes
meet mine before I lower my gaze to stare down at his bare form. Much larger than a Terran male and covered with a line of thick ridges, his stav is hard and fully erect. A small drop of silver liquid beads from the slit at the top, and when I run my thumb over it the breath hisses from his throat.
He captures my hand and then moves my thumb to trace it across my abdomen, marking me with his scent.
He stares at me with a hungry gaze. Hard planes of muscle ripple just beneath the surface as his chest rises and falls with ragged breaths. I stare deep into his eyes. “You are more perfect than I could have ever imagined.”
Cupping his neck, I pull him to me. Pressing my lips to his, I swipe my tongue across the seam. He opens his mouth, and my tongue finds his, curling around it to deepen our kiss. He tastes of earth and spice. Slow at first, he finds a sensuous rhythm. The delicious ridges of his tongue move expertly against mine, and I'm lost in sensation.
His large palm gently cups the soft globe of one breast as I slowly caress up and down the hard ridges of his length.
He pulls back, and his nostrils flare as his eyes meet mine. One arm wraps around my back as the other drifts down from my breast to cup my mound and the soft folds of my center. Retracting his claws, I gasp as one finger parts the soft lips.
His thumb brushes over the small bundle of nerves at the top, and I inhale sharply as electricity arcs through me.
He pulls me closer and leans down to close his mouth over my breast, growling low in his throat as the peak hardens beneath his delicious ridged tongue. He moves to the other, giving it the same attention before kissing a heated trail down to my stomach as he drops to his knees.
He looks up at me through a half-lidded gaze. "May I kiss you here?" He places his hand over my mound.
Breathless and panting, I barely manage to whisper, "Yes."
His eyes burn with desire as he pulls me gently, guiding me down onto the blanket spread out on the cave floor. His warm hands trail along my inner thighs, gently pushing them apart until I'm open to his gaze. He studies me with a heated look, and then lowers his head to place a soft kiss to my mound.
“You are perfect,” he whispers.
I gasp as his ridged tongue slicks through my folds as he explores my flesh. When he circles the sensitive nub at the top, my every nerve lights up with pleasure. I reach down and run my fingers through his hair, reveling in the sensation of his mouth on my body.
A soft moan escapes me as he continues to tease the sensitive bundle of nerves. When he dips one finger inside the entrance of my core, I cry out and arch up against him.
He growls low in arousal. “Soran please.” My words escape in a breathless whisper as I writhe beneath his tongue. I’m not even sure what I’m asking for, but I don’t want him to stop. Banding one arm across my hips, he holds me in place as he continues to lap at my sensitive flesh.
A tight coil of need builds deep in my core. Desire pulses through my veins so intense I can barely catch my breath. My entire body goes taut as his mouth closes over the sensitive nub. When he swirls his tongue across it, blinding heat sweeps through me. I cry out his name as he continues to lick through my folds, prolonging my pleasure as wave after wave washes through me; until I’m breathless and panting beneath him.
He lifts his head to look at me and I reach down, placing my hands on either side of his face. I pull his lips back up to mine, opening my thighs to cradle his hips between them. He stares down at me intensely. "You are my heart, Liana Garza of Terra. I vow to always and only be yours."
I smile up at him. "I love you, Soran of House Mosaura. I vow to always and only be yours." Repeating the sacred bonding words, I watch as a handsome smile lights his face.
He leans down to capture my mouth in a hungry kiss. I wrap my arms and legs around him, holding him close as he positions his stav at the entrance of my core.
A loud boom shakes the ground, and he stills above me. Sitting back on his knees, he pulls me with him, cradling my body against his chest as he looks out the mouth of the cave.
The forest falls eerily silent, and my skin prickles with fear.
"What was that?" I whisper.
He pulls on the blanket and wraps it tightly around me. "Dress quickly," he says, his gaze trained on the woods outside. "I think it's a ship entering atmosphere."
Hurriedly pulling on my clothes, I notice he doesn't bother covering himself. He moves to the cave entrance and then turns worried eyes to mine. "Wait here. I will make sure it's safe."
"What are you—” I start to ask, but he shifts, and before I can say another word his powerful wings are already lifting away, swirling snow and debris beneath him as he takes off into the sky.
How could he leave like that? He doesn't know that it's safe. I thought we agreed to stay together? Anger rushes through me, and I vow that the minute he returns we're going to have that discussion about trust that he's wanted to have ever since I shot him on the glider.
Pacing back and forth in the cave, I palm my blaster at my side as if to reassure myself that everything's going to be okay.
A deafening roar echoes through the forest, and my heart stutters and stops as the hairs rise on the back of my neck. I recognize that sound. It's Soran.
Grabbing the blaster in one hand and a torch in the other, I race through the woods toward the clearing. If a ship landed nearby, it has to be there.
Chapter 33
Soran
A deafening roar escapes my throat as intense heat rips through my side from the blast. My wings falter, and I crash to the earth, writhing in unbearable pain. Unable to maintain my draken form, I shift. Twisting onto my side, I band my arm across my torso, holding pressure over my wound as I struggle to catch my breath.
Gritting my teeth, it takes all my strength to stand as someone emerges from the ship.
It's a Mosauran transport. I do not understand. Why would they attack one of their own? I call out. "I am Soran of House Mosaura! Why do you fire on me?"
A moment later, Talel steps off the platform, a sinister grin on his face as he stalks toward me with his blaster in hand. His sharp gaze scans me from head to toe before sweeping out toward the forest. His expression becomes enraged. "Where is the female?"
Behind him, the ship's image shimmers and distorts as the guise of the Mosauran transport falls away to reveal an A'kai glider. I curse myself. I should have been more careful. I had no idea his people possessed this type of technology.
"Your ship exploded with the glider. You should be dead," I grind out. "How did you survive?"
Instead of answering, he raises his blaster. Without warning, bright light erupts from the barrel and races toward me. I lunge to the side but not fast enough. Warmth explodes through my chest, forcing the air from my lungs as I fly backward, slamming again to the ground.
Dazed, my eyelids flutter open and closed as I stare up at the overcast sky. In the part of my mind that's still functioning, I realize the blaster was not set to kill, or else I would already be dead. It must be on one of the lower settings. I'm able to move, but just barely. I groan as I twist onto my side, struggling to sit up, but it's no use. The world tilts and spins around me, and I collapse against the earth.
The crunch of his bootsteps through the snow as he approaches fills me with dread. My muscles quake in protest as I desperately try to push myself back up. I have to kill him. If I don't, he will find Liana.
He kneels beside me, baring his fangs, "Where is the female?"
With the last of my strength, I jerk my arm up and catch him by the neck.
His eyes go wide with fear as my fingers tighten around his throat.
Something sharp stabs my neck. Searing pain blooms from the site, causing me to relinquish my grip.
Reaching up, I pull a large dart from my flesh. Crushing the vial in my hand, shards of glass fall beside me, and the bittersweet scent of the breaking dart toxin fills the air.
I release a bellowing roar, cursing Talel to the Creator. From the siz
e of the vial, and the way it's already starting to affect me, he must have given me at least three times the usual dose. The edges of my vision begin to darken, and my limbs feel heavy and numb as the poison spreads through my body. I tilt my chin up defiantly and meet his gaze. "She died in the crash."
He narrows his eyes and leans forward, flaring his nostrils. "You lie.” He tips his head to the side. “I thought Mosaurans didn't believe in mixed-species pairings and yet...I can smell her delicious scent all over you."
Rage fills me. "You will not touch her again."
A wicked grin spreads across his face. "Yes, I will, and you will watch as I do."
Anger burns through my veins as my vision goes dark.
Completely blind, my ears twitch as the sound of crunching snow alerts me of movement off to the side. My nostrils flare as I scent two more A'kai.
Strong hands roughly grab at me, binding my arms and wings. A sharp sting on my side is quickly followed by Talel's dark voice.
"Try to shift, and the chip I placed inside you will explode."
Enraged, I snarl. "I will kill you if you harm her."
"You forget," he says. "I watched you fight in the arena. I know all of your tells and can anticipate your every move. Don't worry. We'll find your female, and you'll be reunited with her soon."
Gritting my teeth, I bare my fangs. "I will rip you apart until there's nothing left for your brother to mourn if you dare touch her. I swear it to the Creator."
Talel's men drag me through the snow and up onto the glider. The floor is cold as ice against my skin. The scent of blood, sweat, and death is thick in the air, telling me that many have met their end on this vessel.
A loud groan of metal echoes through the ship as a door swings open. Talel's men relinquish their grip a moment before forcefully pushing me forward. Unable to catch myself, I slam into a wall. The sharp clank of the cell sealing shut is a familiar one, stirring dark memories of my captivity.
I lift my head as an unexpected scent touches my nostrils, and a voice calls out.
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