Brida Pact

by Leora Gonzales

  “I agree. The only problem is that both of our doctors are currently on the other ship for meetings. We have no choice but to shuttle back.” The warrior paused. “I am not sure how much longer these women can hold on. I believe they may have been given Hefnon 12.”

  When Dathrow cursed under his breath, Poppy raised her eyebrows. “What the fuck is Hefnon 12?” Poppy watched his face go through a range of emotions while she waited for him to answer.

  “It is a drug that we were supposed to transport to the Pleasure Sector. It is made for a species stronger than humans.” Rubbing his hand along his jaw, he obviously wasn’t sure how much he should say. “The intended purpose is to terminate and prevent pregnancies. I am afraid that it could possibly kill these women. It is a very strong medication.”

  A panicked Poppy clutched at his tunic. “That is not acceptable. Get us to a doctor and do it now. I don’t care if we have to hijack a shuttle to do it.”

  Behind her, Melanie, Andrea, Brandy and Val all nodded in agreement. Knowing they had no choice if they wanted to save the brides, the warriors took a moment to speak quietly. After some murmuring amongst themselves, Dathrow nodded.

  Standing by the door, he turned and spoke quietly to the others. “I will go and secure a shuttle. Once I have one prepped, I will signal Drake’s band to lead the group to me. I can message Wheaton to make sure he has medical doctors ready and in the docking bay to receive the injured brides. Once I have a shuttle, you will need to—”

  Poppy stopped Dathrow right there in his tracks. If he thought she was going to be okay to sit there and wait for another rescue, then he was nuts.

  “Why can’t we all go to the shuttle now? I don’t think we should split up.” She had seen enough scary movies to know that when people split up, throats started getting slit.

  Obviously torn, Dathrow ran his hands through his shoulder-length hair and then pulled on the ends. “Because I don’t know who I might run into out there, Poppy. What if Demascus is waiting in those halls? He could have already figured out you have been released and be searching as we speak.”

  “Dath, we’re going to have to walk there eventually, right? It makes more sense for all of us to go now and stop wasting time standing here arguing or sending someone ahead.”

  Turning to the rest of the women for support, she was happy to see all of them were ready to run, if needed. “Plus, Demascus should be scared of us by this point. He tried to kill our babies and he might have succeeded with those brides.” Pointing over her shoulder at the women being carried, she was ready to kill. “If I get my hands on him, I won’t be responsible for what I do.”

  Brandy stepped forward and nodded to the men. “We’re ready to go if you are.” she continued, “Don’t forget, we are warrior brides—we can do this.”

  Dathrow shook his head at the women. “I can see that,” he replied. Readying himself to open the door, he glanced back. “Stick close and don’t talk. Squadron Two did not receive the protection notification so we should not be stopped by anyone.”

  The women all tensed as the door opened, and they waited for Dathrow to walk through before following closely behind him. They linked hands and the warriors carrying the three unconscious brides brought up the rear as they all hurried down the empty hall. As she held on to the back of Dathrow’s tunic to keep pace, Poppy felt his back stiffen slightly before he relaxed. Peeking around his shoulder showed her a tall warrior standing in their way.

  “Dathrow? What is going on? I saw you receive a message and then leave quickly.” The loud voice came from immediately in front of them, and Dathrow was shielding her as best he could.

  “Raz, Councilor Demascus transferred these women here against their will. That was the notification I received earlier when I left abruptly. We are getting these brides back to their husbands on Squadron One. Three of them need immediate medical attention.” Dathrow reached back to pat Poppy’s arm when she tightened her grip on his tunic even more.

  “It is okay, Poppy. This is Raz. He is a friend to Wheaton.”

  She peered around him to the big man in front who was blocking their path. If Poppy had had more time, she would have appreciated the hulking figure of the warrior but all she heard was that this was another man who could help them.

  “Wheaton has talked about his good fortune with his bridal match.” Raz bowed quickly to Poppy. Gazing past her, he blanched. “Those women do not look well.”

  Seeing the warrior’s face pale, she cast her own glance back to the brides. They seemed to be barely breathing now. “We need to go now!” she demanded as she tightened her grip on Dathrow once again.

  “Follow me,” Raz ordered.

  They started hurrying down the hallway again, this time with Raz leading the way.

  “I just docked my shuttle from a run to Squadron One. It should still be available,” Raz informed them.

  As they reached the docking bay, the men tried to shield the women as much as they could from curious glances. Poppy saw a large hangar with small shuttles that were either being fueled or stocked with cargo. She stopped in her tracks when she caught a glimpse of Demascus. Poppy’s first instinct was to attack on sight―her fingers itched to get hold of him again. Slipping from the grasp that Dathrow had on her arm, Poppy hurtled forward. Dathrow grabbed her shirt fast. Bringing her up short and pulling her back into place, he ignored her attempts to maneuver away from the group.

  The scuffle drew Demascus’s attention to them. When he spotted Poppy, he shifted to get behind his guards, relaxing only when Dathrow stopped Poppy’s advance. As they made eye contact, Demascus nodded mockingly to Poppy and then slipped aboard a shuttle, all the while surrounded by six warriors.

  As they reached their destination, Raz ran up the shuttle ramp and the others ushered the women quickly onto the ship.

  “Strap down fast. I will run through flight check quickly. Dathrow, secure the door.” Raz rushed out instructions as he moved to the cockpit.

  As Poppy was buckling her belt and making sure the others were ready to go, she caught Dathrow’s eye.

  “I saw Demascus in the bay,” she whispered.

  “Is that why you tried to break from the group?” Dathrow hurried to the glass on the side of the ship and peered through, quickly scanning the open space. “Was he getting on a shuttle?”

  Poppy nodded as she tried to calm her breathing. The fast walk from the closet to the docking bay had been so quick and nerve-racking and she didn’t think she’d taken a breath the entire time. “He was getting into one with six other warriors. And for your information, if you’d let me go, I would have kicked major ass.”

  “He cannot stop us from leaving now. The shuttle is locked. We are almost ready to take off.” Buckling his belt, he gave Poppy and the women a grim smile. “Knowing what I do, I can tell you that he would not have fought fair. If he knows what is good for him, then he will disappear. The husbands of those women are going to seek vengeance for what he has done.”

  Poppy leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. “I still would have kicked his ass.”

  “Poppy, are you all right?” Val had taken the seat next to her and appeared as frazzled as Poppy felt.

  “Yeah, I’m just overwhelmed and I think I might have a mini-breakdown,” Poppy let out on a cross between a laugh and a cry.

  “We’re going to be okay.” She clutched Poppy’s hand, squeezing hard.

  The women all sat in silence as if they were afraid to jinx themselves while the shuttle engines fired up. As they flew to Squadron One, Poppy tried to calm herself down. Raz had called ahead to the docking bay to request medical units prepared when Poppy’s ears pricked up. That was Wheaton’s voice coming through over the intercom. Tears immediately flooded her eyes. This whole ordeal was almost over.

  “Yes, I have them all. Three are in need of serious medical attention,” Raz repeated.

  The static from the speaker and the roar of the shuttle engines made it hard
for Poppy to hear what was being said from the other end. She could hear panic in Wheaton’s voice even though she was unable to make out the words. Raz was obviously unable to hear him very well either, since he kept repeating the same sentence over and over.

  “They need a doctor! Did you hear me? They need a doctor!” he shouted.

  Poppy glanced back at the women strapped into the seats behind her. She knew one was Staci but hadn’t been able to find out the others’ names. All three were somewhat conscious. The awareness they showed reminded Poppy of someone who’d been heavily sedated but was awake at the same time. They were unable to sit up on their own and the only thing keeping them in their seats were the five-point harness safety belts. Unable to watch the woman any longer without losing it, she had to stare straight ahead.

  From the large windshield in front of her, she soon spotted Squadron One as they approached it at a high speed. Quickly maneuvering through a tunnel that opened on the side of the ship, they coasted into what Poppy assumed was the docking bay. Her hands were shaking. They were almost home. They were safe.

  Landing was quick and as soon as Raz unbelted himself, she did the same. The other warriors had unbuckled themselves and were assisting the sick brides. Before she knew it, they were carrying the limp women out of the opening and down the ramp of the shuttle. From her place at the top of the ramp, she could see the booted feet of warriors running toward the craft.

  Scurrying down the ramp after the others, Poppy couldn’t make out the voices of those shouting. Time seemed to slow. The noise from the docking bay and the angry shouts of warriors were covered by the sound of her blood rushing through her ears. As she stumbled the rest of the way clear of the ramp, she could see Wheaton running toward the ship in front of Tamin and Rodin. She tried to run to meet him but felt her legs grow weak. The last thing she remembered was seeing black spots and hearing Wheaton’s voice yelling at her through a closing tunnel.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  As Poppy came to, she was first aware of voices whispering and a bright light shining behind her eyelids. Feeling as though she was waking from a deep nap, she wiggled her fingers and toes. Tingles raced through her extremities, as if they were still asleep. The voices around her got closer as she opened her eyes.

  “Poppy?” Recognizing Tamin’s voice, she blinked a couple times to clear her vision. Why were the lights in the exam room so fucking bright?

  “Where’s Wheaton?” Her voice came out husky with sleep.

  Feeling a hand grip her own, she turned to the other side of the bed and her breath caught in her throat. Smiling through her tears, she reached up to touch the strong jaw of the man who was leaning over her. Poppy had to admit she’d never witnessed a more beautiful sight than her big, strong warrior gazing at her with love in his eyes. Cupping his cheek, she pulled him down for a kiss. Wheaton’s lips touched hers so softly that the kiss could have been her imagination. Not being one to settle for half efforts, she took her other hand and cupped his neck to pull him tighter into her embrace.

  Poppy let the tears she had been trying to hold back drift down her cheeks. “Wheaton, you have no idea how happy I am to see you.” Licking her lips to preserve his taste, she smiled against his neck. Poppy breathed in his unique scent.

  “Poppy…do not ever do that again,” he whispered as he peppered kisses across her forehead.

  They were both silent for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tamin moving around the exam room.

  “Tamin? Are the other brides okay?” she asked as Wheaton helped her to carefully sit up. She tried to read the doctor’s face for clues of their condition.

  Walking back to the bed where she was now sitting, he patted her shoulder with a grim look on his handsome face.

  “The brides are fine, Poppy. You did a great job getting them here safely.”

  Wheaton had shifted his position to sit on the bed beside Poppy and folded his arm across her shoulders to pull her into a hug. Knowing he needed her touch as much as she needed his, she leaned into his embrace.

  “What about…” Unable to finish the question, she hoped that he understood what she was asking.

  “Their babies did not make it.” The news was delivered with such sadness, she knew Tamin was struggling with the fact that he’d been unable to save them.

  Allowing more tears to fall, she turned into the safety of Wheaton’s hold. Having already assumed the worst didn’t make it any easier for Poppy to swallow. She thanked whatever good juju that was out in the universe for the fact she and Val had not taken the pills.

  “I do have a question though,” Tamin continued. “How did you and Valerie not suffer from the same problem?”

  “When they gave us the pills, we weren’t sure if they were good for the babies or not. We put them in Val’s bag to ask you or Rodin when we saw you next.” At her words, Wheaton cursed under his breath and squeezed her hard.

  “I almost lost you.” Rubbing his hand over her stomach, he whispered, “Both of you.”

  Tamin gave her a sad smile and squeezed her free shoulder. “You amaze me, Poppy.” Moving to leave the room, Tamin said, “I need to check the other brides. The regen beds should be finished soon and their husbands are anxious to see if we repaired the damage done.”

  “Damage?” Poppy asked. Stopping at the door, Tamin turned to her.

  “The Hefnon 12 came very close to killing them. We were unable to save the fetuses and are unsure if the regen beds were able to repair the damage left behind.” Shaking his head in anger, he gritted his teeth. “All of this…those women…the pain…I never realized how heartless someone could be.”

  As the door closed behind Tamin, Poppy gazed up at her silent warrior. Once she turned her head to him, he leaned his forehead against hers and breathed out roughly.

  “I almost lost you.” He repeated his earlier words in a broken voice.

  “But you didn’t.” Kissing him softly at first, and then with more ferocity, she trailed her mouth to his ear as she hugged him hard.

  “Wheaton?” When she heard his chest rumble, indicating he was listening to her, she smiled against his skin. “I love you.”

  The rumble between them got louder as he hugged her tighter. “I love you too.”

  She looked up at him with a question in her eyes. “Where’s Dath at?”

  “‘Dath’, is it?” Wheaton did not seem pleased at her familiarity with the other warrior, but as he smoothed the hair out of her face he seemed to decide now was not a time to be mad.

  “He received some trouble for abandoning his post on Squadron Two, but we smoothed that over with their commander. When they found out what he had done, they were pleased with his actions. He may actually receive a commendation for his bravery today. Many a warrior would not have questioned such a senior Council member as Demascus.”

  “But where is he? I feel awful that he had to leave his home here because of me. I actually wanted to talk to you about that…” Unsure how she needed to broach the subject, she stalled.

  “Poppy, he will eventually come back, but right now he has missions that he will need to complete on Squadron Two before that happens. He left shortly after we received medical reports on all of the brides. He wanted to make sure that you were okay before he went back to his post.” Giving her an understanding smile, he tapped her chin. “You cannot help but be lovable, can you?”

  “I’m sorry, Wheaton. The last thing I ever wanted to do was come between you and a friend.”

  “It is not your fault. If our situations were reversed, I can safely say that I would have done everything in my power to make you mine. He is a good friend and came to me with his concerns before making any inappropriate advances and for that he has my respect and friendship.” He cupped her face and leaned down for a kiss that soon turned too hot to stop. Pulling back reluctantly, Wheaton said, “Now, we just need to figure out a way to get him a bride so he will leave mine alone.”

  They were lost i
n a string of kisses when they heard the noise of a throat clearing at the door. Raz stood in the opening, waiting for them to acknowledge his presence. Once they turned to him, he stepped farther into the room.

  “Council Member Wheaton, he was able to successfully launch from Squadron Two.”

  Feeling Wheaton’s whole body tense, Poppy knew immediately who “he” was.

  “So Demascus got away?” This question wasn’t really directed at anyone. Poppy was voicing what she already seemed to know.

  “Unfortunately, yes. From our intel reports we learned the shuttle he stole has docked on a Verge Battalion ship.” Nodding to Wheaton, he continued, “Council has been informed of his location. We have been advised that no action will be taken until we complete an investigation and determine the condition of the damaged brides.”

  That sentence raised the hairs on Poppy’s arms. “Damaged brides?” Turning angrily to Wheaton, she couldn’t control what was spewing out. “Those women are not damaged! They’ve been brutalized by Demascus, and he needs to pay for what he’s done!”

  “I know, Poppy, and I agree,” Wheaton said in a calming voice. He informed Raz, “You can let the Council know that I agree with the need for caution but he must be held accountable for his crimes and I expect a formal Council meeting to discuss his charges as soon as all members can attend.”

  Raz bowed stiffly to the couple as he left the room. Poppy let out a tired sigh. She knew that she’d just woken up but felt as if she could sleep for a couple days at least. Give her a warm bed with Wheaton in it and she would have to be bribed out of it with either chocolate or pizza.

  “I’m so tired, Wheaton.”

  “I can take you back to our apartments now but first someone wants to see you.” He walked to the door and stuck his head out. “She is awake now and you may talk to her for a short amount of time. Then we will head to our apartment, where I expect no interruptions.”