“You should have listened, Amelie.” He kicked her in the side and she fell to the floor, her knees cracking on the refurbished floors she’d taken such pride in.
“Maybe.”
Kick.
“This.”
Kick.
“Will teach you.”
Kick. Kick.
Roan kicked her in her side, her back and wherever he could reach. It was as if he’d slipped into a trance wholly focused on hurting her. Amelie curled into a ball, her arms about her stomach to protect her baby as much as possible.
The abuse seemed to last forever. Roan was breathing heavily when he finished the assault. He grabbed Amelie by the hair at the back of her head and jerked her head up. Amelie couldn’t help the tears flowing over her eyelids.
Sweat ran down the sides of Roan’s face, his features bright red. Between her legs something wet splashed on the floor. He noted it and looked oddly pleased. “You brought this on yourself.”
He shoved her head back down before his heavy steps strode away. Amelie lay on the floor panting. Cramps rolled from her back to her front and zinged down her legs. Then repeated the loop.
Roan slammed the door behind him and Amelie let the sob building in her chest burst free. Tears welled as she tried to crawl toward her communication unit. She had to call Scarlett.
Agony tore at her middle and she fell face forward as she clutched her middle and screamed.
***
Hurt. Can’t breathe. Gonna die.
Sulen woke in a panic. “Nooo!”
The roar startled him and he went from total sleep to total awareness in a blink. His heart pounded in his chest and his hands clenched uselessly on his lap. The sheets tangled about his waist as he lurched from the bed, searching for the threat.
Nothing. His room was as empty as it had been when he’d gone to sleep.
Waves of fear continued to pour through him. He pressed a hand to his chest and struggled to catch his breath. What was this? Had he been attacked while resting? Unknowingly ingested poison with his meal?
No. He was careful with his food and drink at all times. His training at the academy taught him that.
Pain radiated down his torso and across his mid-section, then arrowed toward his back. Sulen dropped to his bed on a muffled groan and continued to pant. Sweat broke out on his brow.
He closed his eyes to figure out what was wrong. Sharp, ripping sensations continued to tear at him but his focus was complete on searching out the source.
Hurt.
There. At the edge of his subconscious was the thin thread of connection that had exploded to life months ago. A thread he’d thrust to the back of his mind when he couldn’t decipher its inexplicable existence or find the one responsible.
Instead of the vibrant strand that had sprung to life back then, it was now a flickering link on the verge of fading. Death loomed like a vicious specter hungry to devour the dwindling cord.
Despair. Pain.
The emotions flooded his senses and threatened to drown him beneath the onslaught.
Die.
“No!” Sulen’s adamant response to the thought was visceral. “You don’t get to die.”
Hurt. Hurt. Hurt.
The agony was incessant. Sulen curled in on himself and pressed his hands to his temples, squeezing. “Stay. Stay with me.”
Resistance flared and the thinning connection between them twisted in a desperate effort to unwind and free him. Sulen didn’t want to be freed. As angry as he’d been over the creation of the bond he hadn’t initiated, he was just as angry at the idea of it dissolving. Maybe more so.
She didn’t get to escape without paying for what she’d done by connecting them. Sulen shoved his energy down the line, every bit of strength he could spare flowing like an unstoppable stream to the person on the other end. He didn’t know how long it lasted or how much of himself he expended trying to bolster his...mate.
The realization had been sitting there all along. This person in the midst of dying, this female through some means not his own, was his mate.
And she was dying.
He choked back a denial and rolled weakly onto his back. She couldn’t die. Not til he found her. Discovered who she was and punished her for putting him through this.
Willing to die for this unknown woman, he sent energy he couldn’t afford, pulsing continuously through the mate bond.
No.
More coherent than the other mental cries that were pure emotion. Sulen shifted at the shocking response. Despite the plea, his eyes slid closed as he increased the output. He’d give everything he had to see his bond mate survive. It was a duty he couldn’t deny even if he tried.
!!!
Safe. Safe. We.
We? Sulen let that detail go to probe the veracity of the emotion based reply, unwilling to believe blindly. The bond was rebounding. Shuddering as relief crashed over him, Sulen sighed out a ragged breath.
She was telling the truth. No longer in danger of dying. He cut the flow of his life source he’d been sending her.
“I’ll find you. Be ready,” he muttered right before weakness sent him spinning into a black void.
Chapter 5
Four years later
“Mommy, mommy look.”
Her tiny daughter balanced one foot on the thin rail laying across the ground from the fencing Amelie planned to use to break her garden into sections. With arms spread wide for balance, Fleur wobbled and Amelie’s nerves took its customary hit.
Keeping her voice calm, she said, “Why don’t you hop down?”
Though her daughter was only a few inches from the ground, Amelie had to work on controlling her desire to be overprotective. The traumatic birth experience had left Amelie with a feeling of constant fear that something would happen to her baby girl.
It didn’t help that Fleur was far different from how she’d been as a child. Fleur was full of adventure, mischief and had such joy in every action that Amelie hated telling her no.
Roan was nothing like that either from what she recalled. She hadn’t known him as a child but he’d shared stories of how he’d hovered on the outskirts of activities, never joining in unless forcibly cajoled or pressured. Maybe her daughter was pioneering her own version of self.
“Okay, Mommy.” Fleur twirled in place before jumping to the ground and throwing her arms in the air like a seasoned performer seeking applause. “Was I good?”
Amelie blinked back tears of pride. How had she managed to create this wonderful ball of energy? “The very best.”
Fleur giggled and bounced over because, why walk? She hit Amelie’s legs with all the force in her little toddler’s body and hugged Amelie’s leg while grinning up at her.
Dark hair hung in her eyes and down her back. Amelie swept the black strands back from her brow and returned the vibrant grin. Her heart shifted in her chest with the love she felt for this little person. Fleur’s zest for life spurred her on and Amelie thrived at her job at the garden center.
It was funny that she didn’t want to stay on her home world and farm yet ended up having a knack for greenery. Maybe it wasn’t the farm life at all she was escaping but her parents’ overbearing nature.
The owners had decided they were too old to keep the business running and offered it to Amelie. They claimed she possessed the same joy and passion for plant life that they did. It wasn’t fully hers. Yet. Amelie didn’t have the money outright to buy it but they were allowing her to pay in installments each month. The arrangement worked out and allowed her to run things as if the business belonged to her already.
The deal was more than she’d ever expected and she was good at the job. As Scarlett liked to joke Amelie had experience growing things. The thought made her laugh as she said to Fleur, “What do you say we take a break and eat? I have to go to work soon and you need to go to the learning academy.”
Fleur released Amelie and added a bounce and hop to her steps. “My friends are there.”
Mealtime was a hurried affair, then Amelie got dressed while Fleur decided to pick her own clothes out. It wasn’t worth the argument though Amelie knew Fleur could come out in a hodgepodge mix of clothing.
Her guess was proven correct as they headed to the door and Fleur danced along in synthetic knee-high boots in pale blue, black leggings and a netted pink skirt about her waist. At least her shirt was plain white with super nova scrawled in pink across the chest.
The outfit could have and had been worse. Amelie gathered a go bag and their things then locked the door behind her. She had enough time to wave to Fleur at the doors of the learning academy before racing to work.
The afternoon at the garden center went by fast. Because of Amelie’s added touches and knack for greenery, there was a steady stream of customers, new and old, through the automated doors.
When the traffic finally slowed, she considered taking a quick break. It would have been a perfect day if not for the call from Fleur’s school. The main comm at the front desk buzzed twice before Amelie managed to answer.
“A man came to the academy and talked to Fleur through the gate.” The headmistress’ frantic voice struck Amelie hard in the chest. “When we rushed all the children inside, Fleur said he asked who her mother was and if she wanted to go with him.”
Blinding fear threatened to send her spiraling. Fleur was smart but she was only a little girl. Amelie pressed her hand to her throat and swallowed past the thickness. “W-who was it? Did she say?”
“She didn’t know him and she alerted the nearest teacher right away that a stranger was asking her questions.” A note of pride settled into the headmistress’s voice now. “We cover what to do in situations like this and she followed them exactly.”
Breathing in spurts, Amelie gathered the keys to lock the garden center, grateful there were no customers inside. “I’m on my way.”
A pause, then a sigh. “I feel like that would be best. While she seemed okay and is having her daily snack with her playgroup, this was clearly a scary disruption to the day.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Nothing would have kept her away. Amelie ended the call and was out the door in less than five minutes. The learning academy wasn’t far, making it a convenient choice for Fleur to attend. Even though she wanted to run, Amelie briskly walked to the building so as not to draw attention to herself.
By the time Amelie arrived and rushed up the walkway, sweat had stuck the back of her shirt to her skin.
She burst through the front door, gaze frantic. Thankfully the headmistress was already waiting in the toy shrouded lobby and came directly toward her. Seeing the older woman with her gray hair smoothed back in its customary bun, her crisp white shirt and gray pants, took some of Amelie’s fear away. Tessa had sounded jittery on the phone but appeared calm now.
“Where is she?” Amelie asked.
Tessa gestured to her private office on the left. “I brought her in here when she finished eating.”
The office was more like a corner of space with walls and a door. Fleur sat on the floor with a data pad in her hand, head bopping to childish music bumping through the tinny speakers. She looked up at their entrance and her eyes widened.
“Mommy.”
She dropped the data pad and was on her feet, racing toward Amelie. Bending over, Amelie scooped her daughter in her arms and held her tightly, twisting side to side. Her relief was immeasurable. The scent of fruit, grass and toddler sweat soothed her senses.
“Why don’t you have a seat, Amelie?”
Amelie fell into the nearest chair still holding Fleur. Her daughter kept her arms around Amelie’s neck and wrapped her legs about her waist. “How are you, sweetie?”
“The bad man wanted to take me.”
Chills peppered Amelie’s spine. That was pretty specific. “What did the bad man say?”
Fleur looped a finger through a loose green thread hanging off the apron Amelie had forgotten to remove. “He asked my name, but I said secret. His face got scrunched up and he asked if my mommy was here to talk to him.”
Fleur lifted her head. “I said he better go away because my daddy would get him. Was that okay?”
Amelie squeezed Fleur’s face to her chest and let out a shaky breath. “It was fine.”
They didn’t talk about Fleur’s dad. For safety reasons, Amelie stuck with the false story that enabled them to stay and live on Corvard. She hated lying to her daughter but didn’t dare tell Fleur anything about Roan for fear he’d try to finish his first attempt to destroy the little girl’s life.
Tessa watched them closely before saying, “Maybe it would be a good idea to go home and let things calm down a bit. We have the security company reviewing the vids and hopefully, they’ll have more information for us tomorrow.”
Amelie nodded and rose with Fleur in her arms. “Thank you so much. I think I’ll take her to work with me tomorrow until I hear back from you.”
Tessa’s gaze gentled. “Perhaps it was a family member. Someone who knows you and was hoping to track you down through Fleur.”
There was a slight inquiry in the headmistress’s tone as she made the suggestion. Amelie cleared her throat already moving toward the door. “I don’t think so. My family wouldn’t come here without letting me know.”
The rest of the evening, Amelie watched over her daughter for any signs she was bothered by the stranger approaching her at school. Once they were home, she seemed to resort to her lively self and didn’t cling at all.
Making sure Fleur wasn’t listening, Amelie called Scarlett, who answered right away. “What’s up, favorite and best friend? How’s my awesome niece?”
A tremulous smile broke Amelie’s face and she leaned back on her bed, bare feet up on the covers. “I think someone tried to snatch Fleur today.”
“What?! Was she hurt? Do I need to come by?” The questions flew out in rapid succession.
Scarlett’s instinctive reaction mirrored her own, which assured Amelie she wasn’t overreacting. “No! It’s okay. At least I think it’s okay. She says some man asked her questions during outdoor play time across the fencing.”
“Is she alright?” Scarlett blew out a breath. “I don’t like this. Who would bother a child? Do they have any idea who it was?”
Amelie tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling. It would be hard to forget the terror of those moments rushing to get to her baby. “She’s fine. I’d tell you if she wasn’t. No idea who it could be, Scar. No one has bothered us the entire time we’ve lived here.”
“Except Roan.”
Leave it to Scarlett to zero in on the one individual who would wish Amelie and her child harm. “That was years ago. He hasn’t been back since. As far as he’s concerned, the baby probably died and me along with it.”
Amelie would never forget the smile on Roan’s face as he spotted the blood between her legs before leaving. His intentions had been very clear. He had meant for her to die or lose the baby.
“I still think you should have reported him for what he did when you were pregnant.”
Amelie swallowed back the fear that rose from Scarlett’s statement. “No one was around. It would have been my word against his. With his upcoming marriage, I’m sure he has people who would no doubt spout about how awesome a person Roan is.”
She’d been one of those people in the past.
“Still sounds like something he’d do,” Scarlett mumbled.
Her friend was not a fan of Roan’s to begin with and even more so after the birth in which Amelie had almost lost her life. Just remembering that fragile time made her worry and terror soared back with virulent force until she gasped and had to work to calm her breathing.
It also brought back the memory of the strange voice that had reached out to Amelie. A man’s voice,
her mind insisted. Once she’d managed to contact Scarlett, the medics with her friend in the lead had kicked her door in. A frantic trip to the medical facility followed, where she’d coded twice and begged them to save her baby whenever she was aware enough to speak.
She’d heard Scarlett yell, it’s a girl to someone just before she felt herself drifting. The male voice had been adamant she stay with him.
Weak and suffering from blood loss, death seemed to loom overhead only to be blocked. A rush of energy had filled her to the point Amelie would have stood up and walked if not for Scarlett’s stark white features as she pushed Amelie back down on the bed.
The man on the other end of what seemed like limitless energy had weakened, though. When Amelie could concentrate clearly, she’d sensed him draining himself to save her and that wouldn’t do. Amelie was certain he would have given his life to save hers and she had no idea who he was. Didn’t know anyone who would willingly make that type of sacrifice for a stranger.
“What should we do? Hire a bodyguard?” Scarlett’s questions broke into her thoughts.
“Bodyguard?” Amelie released a tickled laugh. “I don’t think we need a bodyguard. If something else happens, I’ll look into it.”
“Gerelins are very protective of bond mates and children. Don’t be surprised when you return to school if it’s suddenly daddy pick up and drop off day for a while.”
Scarlett was right. Amelie had noticed the protective stance the men took here. It was fascinating and everything Scarlett had said when she’d convinced Amelie to pretend to be bonded to one of them.
“Mommy, I’m scared. Can I stay in here with you?”
Amelie looked to the door where Fleur stood with one foot on top of the other, chewing a strand of hair.
“Of course, you can.” To Scarlett, she said, “We’ll talk later.”
She moved over in the bed and patted the covers for Fleur to join her. Taking the invitation to heart, Fleur dropped her hair and skipped to the bed. She braced her hands on the mattress and strained to hike her bottom half up and over. Amelie clenched her hands to fight the urge to help.
Claiming His Unexpected Baby Page 3
