Kierce
Page 16
Aydarr and Timtur exchanged glances. “Why do you think the goddess summoned me to this spot tonight, if not to take Kierce into the pack? There is further help I can give him if he’s sworn the blood oath to me and we’re linked.” The Alpha indicated Kierce with an abrupt tilt of his head. “I foresee only problems if I allow an unsworn Badari male to roam the valley. We’ve evolved certain strengths and safeguards for our kind over the centuries we lived as experimental subjects in the Khagrish labs and, while I’m adapting the structure as necessary for our new life, certain facts remain unaltered. I can’t speak to what has been done in the lab where Kierce was created but here we’re a unified pack built on strength and a definite, unquestionable hierarchy.” His aggressive, regal stance made it clear Aydarr ruled the area where they stood and the lands beyond.
Power emanating from the Alpha ghosted across her skin, raising the fine hairs on end and Elianna heard the absolute conviction in his voice. Her value to their space craft project wouldn’t outweigh what Aydarr believed at such a deep level.
Chin high, unflinching under the Alpha’s demand, Kierce, who’d been silent, now spoke. “All Badari are one in the eyes of the Great Mother and united against the Khagrish. There is a man at my original lab to whom I look for leadership, but we swear no blood oaths.”
“I’d respect the bond if you had,” Aydarr said. “And we’d work out a treaty, you and I. If I could free your group of Badari tomorrow and settle terms with your titular leader, I’d wait. But, as you have not and for the foreseeable future you’ll be living in my territory, we need to seal the bond. I’ve sent for my first enforcer, Mateer and my second, Reede. They’ll be here in a few minutes, bringing you clothes for one thing, and then we’ll do the oath. Rest for now is my advice.”
He and Timtur withdrew a few steps and stood talking quietly.
Elianna hugged Kierce as he readjusted the borrowed jackets to cover himself. “I was going to have it out with him in the morning and try to get you more help. I had no idea the Badari goddess would take a hand in your case, but I’m so grateful. I was so worried about you.”
“I watched you at the gathering,” he said, eyes narrowed. “You were having a good time. You’d made or found friends.”
Something in his tone bothered her and there was an indefinable distance between them all of the sudden. “People I’m working with on a special project. Everyone’s pretty friendly here, at least so far.”
“And the man you danced with? Did he merely wish to be friends?” Kierce’s voice dripped with animosity.
Nearly at a loss for words at this unexpected reaction from him, Elianna had a flash of vertigo before stammering, “You mean Walt? Are you jealous?”
He hung his head. “I suppose I am. He could walk at your side, claim your attention and time and I can’t.” Kierce rubbed his chest as if he had a physical pain. “Watching the two of you was like acid dripping on my heart.”
“He’s a nice guy, reminds me of the Special Forces operators I used to work with years ago, but you’re the only man on my mind.” She kissed his cheek in an effort to reassure him and captured his restless hand in her own. “And you can walk with me now, into a party or anywhere else.”
Rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, he stared at the stones surrounding the circle. “I’m not so sure.”
His quiet statement set off alarm bells in her head. “What do you mean?”
“My safety was in becoming the tiger, which saved my sanity, but it was a double-edged sword. The longer I was the beast, the harder it was to hang onto being a man. Now, sitting here in my original form, I—I’m afraid of the next flashback and am constantly questioning myself and my reactions to see if this is the beginning of another episode.” He met her gaze and his eyes were a dull gold, his face set in worried lines. “I’m…It’s very tempting to revert to the tiger now and avoid the torture.”
“But the goddess said she’d taken the poison out of you.” Elianna ran a hand through her hair, dismayed. “It must be hard to shake off the experience you had, certainly when you’ve just now become the man again. Maybe you should talk to the healer? He seems nice and he has power of some kind. I couldn’t help but notice when he was checking you for injuries, a green glow in his hands.”
Kierce looked to where the Alpha and the healer waited for the enforcers to join them. “Perhaps I will, later. For now, the struggle is mine.”
“And mine.” She made her voice firm to be clear there was no way to wall himself off from her. “We’re in this thing together, don’t forget.” Overcome by the stress of the situation they’d lived through and now the new worries, she rested her head on his chest and sniffed. “I was so worried. I’m about to go off for a couple of weeks to work on the special assignment I told you about, and I hated to leave you alone, especially as the tiger. That’s why I was going to tell Aydarr the entire story later today, without your permission. I was going to refuse to go until I’d made sure you were properly taken care of. I had to see you as a man again and know you were doing okay. Nothing else is more important to me.”
He tightened his embrace. “The worst was when I couldn’t find your scent and I knew you were gone. You’re my anchor, my point of reference for sanity. And, honestly, I don’t feel as if I can stand to take my place among my peers. Not yet. Control of the shifting remains an issue and certainly a challenge to manage with you gone. Maybe I should take the tiger form and wait for your return. I’ll tell the Alpha I have no objection to living in the enclosure a little longer.” He smiled and she could detect the effort behind the gesture. “As long as he keeps feeding me prime haunch of faleker.”
Her heart ached at the suggestion he should go back to being the tiger under these circumstances. Instinctively, she rejected the idea of Kierce reverting to the animal form for several weeks, especially after what he’d said about how difficult it became for him to hang onto the man’s mind. Before she could say anything else, two large Badari soldiers appeared on the path, entering the glade with hasty steps. The second man carried a bulging duffle bag.
The duo paused in front of Aydarr, who turned and gestured for Kierce and Elianna to join him. Indicating the new arrivals, he said, “Mateer and Reede, my enforcers.”
“We’ve met,” Elianna nodded a hello.
“My pleasure.” Kierce shook hands with each man. Elianna suspected he was assessing them and the enforcers were definitely taking stock of him. The atmosphere was electric and she hoped a fight wasn’t about to break out.
“How in the seven hells did you manage to escape from the enclosure?” Mateer asked gruffly. “If my guards were negligent they’ll be hearing about it from me and doing remedial training for a long time.”
“You run a competent, professional outfit here. No negligence.” Kierce’s voice was firm as he gave his opinion. “You underestimated the tiger’s ability to climb trees and to jump across open spaces. I merely waited for the right time. I’ve already thanked the Alpha for your pack’s care for me, and for Elianna.”
“Reede’s brought you clothes,” Aydarr said. “I suggest you get dressed, let him brief you on the requirements, and we’ll conduct the blood oath ceremony. The sooner we can all return to our warm beds tonight, the better.”
“We want to stay together,” Elianna said as Kierce took the duffle bag from Reede.
The Badari exchanged glances. Aydarr appeared to be in the mood to be accommodating. “I’m sure we can arrange that.”
“Nicolle keeps several individual domicile caves stocked and ready in case any new mate bonds are created,” Mateer said with casual efficiency, removing an obstacle Elianna had been worrying about. She couldn’t take Kierce to her room in the women’s dorm cave. “Mates tend to want to be together from the first moment they suspect a bond forming. We can assign you one of those for tonight and then tomorrow after Elianna’s flown out on her assignment, you can move into the soldiers’ barracks.”
“We are not
With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, she wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that and, remembering what he’d said a few minutes earlier about not being ready to join the pack activities, she was concerned. Kierce walked away to the edge of the glade, accompanied by Reede, and began dressing in the utility pants and black T shirt he pulled from the bag while the enforcer talked in a low voice. Boots and thick socks tumbled to the ground as he yanked out the clothing, and he sat to don the foot coverings as well.
Aydarr took Elianna by the elbow and directed her toward the dais. “It will be best if you view the ceremony from this vantage point.”
“Unusual to have a non-mated witness,” Mateer said, his voice a deep rumble.
“But not completely unprecedented. Jill was present for an induction ceremony in her first few days with us, before we became mates.” Aydarr grinned. “And we must remember the Great Mother summoned Elianna to this place tonight. She’s meant to be here for whatever transpires.”
Kierce laced the boots and watched Elianna take a spot on the platform as the Alpha wished. He knew he’d hurt her with his blunt denial of their status, and he rebuked himself. Being a man again and speaking his thoughts was a bit tricky, after living as the tiger for the past few days. He’d have to be extremely careful in his dealings with the Badari and others, especially under the added pressure of her absence. And was the man Walt going to go with her? His presence on a remote mission bothered Kierce. He could only see the human as a rival—it had been apparent to him, if not to Elianna—the other male had an interest in her.
You’re not formally bonded mates but you could be. The Alpha’s voice in his head was clear and bracing. The goddess wouldn’t have summoned a human tonight if there wasn’t good cause. Does Elianna not know you wish to be mated?
With irritation, Kierce perceived he wasn’t going to much like being a pack member if his fealty to Aydarr allowed the Alpha to pry into personal matters. Making sure he was sending his reply in a tight band to the Alpha only, he offered a minimum of explanation. We’ve never discussed becoming mates. And, frankly, I’m not sure I can offer a bond with her while my heart and mind are unsettled over the divide between man and beast. It wouldn’t be fair to her.
Human women are stubborn. This one in particular. Aydarr’s voice was amused and he made no further remark.
Kierce realized Reede was waiting with barely concealed impatience. “Are you and the Alpha done talking?” the enforcer asked. “I need to brief you on the rest of the details about how the oath ceremony goes.”
“You have my attention.” Kierce could probably take the man in combat, if there was ever a challenge between them, but victory wouldn’t come easily. Reede would be a deadly opponent, a seasoned and dangerous fighter. There was no slightest possibility he could defeat Mateer, who was bigger and obviously a deadly fighter from the way he carried himself. And no one but another Alpha as powerful as Aydarr himself could hope to unseat the man from leadership. The pack was well led. As a Badari soldier, he needed to have utmost confidence in those above him in the command chain.
As he walked toward the center of the space after the enforcer’s quick tutorial, Kierce examined his reluctance to submit to the ritual. True, his group of Badari swore no oaths to each other, but he felt disloyal to his own, turning to this Alpha and his pack, accepting a place in their ranks and becoming subject to the man’s orders. Could he in good conscience obey anything Aydarr commanded him to do, even if someday such orders set him against his brothers in the other lab?
I will never set Badari against Badari, unless they choose the Khagrish side of this war.
Startled and angry, Kierce blasted a response. You read the private thoughts of your pack members, Alpha?
You broadcast your doubts to me and my enforcers quite clearly. Even your human non-mate might have heard them, you were so loud!
Shaken to grasp his telepathic control wasn’t as good as he’d believed it to be, he made his next comment verbally. “My apologies then.”
The Alpha inclined his head in agreement and vocalized his response as well. “You wouldn’t be a man worth having in my pack if you didn’t think through all aspects of the situation and make a reasoned choice. Clearly, the Great Mother intended you to become one of my soldiers or she wouldn’t have summoned me tonight. I’m satisfied.”
“As am I.” Kierce knelt in the center of the ceremonial space. Mateer and Reede flanked him and Aydarr walked to stand in front of him. With his peripheral vision he saw Elianna leave her chair and move closer, hovering at the edge of the grassy expanse. Her lovely scent came to him on the breeze, overlaid by the perfume of the goddess’s flowers. He tugged his shirt loose and bared his neck as he’d been instructed to do.
Timtur the healer took a deep breath and launched into a chant, singing in an archaic version of their language, praising the goddess and her gifts. Kierce realized he had gooseflesh on his arms as the song continued. He was oddly moved by the situation he found himself in and postulated his own Badari had sacrificed much by hiding their loyalties to their leaders and minimizing their observances of ritual. There was comfort in these moments.
The song ended on a ringing note, and Aydarr stepped forward. “Has Reede explained the duties of a pack member to you?”
“He has.” Kierce kept his reply as clipped as possible. Obeying the Alpha’s orders and being willing to die for his pack were the two points he remembered and neither gave him pause. Reede had mentioned the fact Aydarr expected honest discussion and opposing opinions before a decision was reached, and he could live with that.
“Who sponsors this man?” Clearly, the Alpha was going through an entire prescribed litany, but Kierce was surprised when Timtur spoke.
“I do, in the name of the Great Mother.”
“And I do,” Elianna said, causing all of them to swivel and stare at her. The moonlight shone extra brightly on her as if she stood in a celestial spotlight. “His heart is good, his intentions well-meant, and he’s an honorable man. You need him in your pack.”
Aydarr raised his eyebrows and turned to Kierce. “So be it. I accept the word of Elianna the human, as a witness summoned by the Great Mother to speak.” He let his claws and fangs extend and said, “I will have your oath of fealty.”
“I swear to accept you as my Alpha from now until death, obeying your orders in all things, fighting at your side, protecting the pack from enemies, keeping the Badari secrets.” Kierce hoped he’d remembered the hastily given oath closely enough.
Now Aydarr made his reciprocal vow, to be given without reservation to all who gave allegiance to him. “I give you my promise to put the welfare of the pack above all else and to rule as a just and fair leader, preserving the Badari tradition. Accept my mark and pledge your fealty to me.”
The enforcers gripped his shoulders to hold him in place, and Kierce had to repress a fierce wave of self-defensive instinct. He never knelt to others, much less allowed himself to be at such a disadvantage, with his neck exposed. But that was the way of this pack, and he’d chosen to align with them.
Aydarr blooded him in a move so rapid as to be practically invisible. A bit dazed, Kierce thought to himself a genuine Alpha was a fearsome thing. No wonder the Khagrish at his lab had tried to weed them out. How in the name of the goddess had the Khagrish at the other lab been stupid enough to let Aydarr live?
“It is done,” the Alpha said, extending his hand. “Welcome to the pack.”
As Kierce shook hands with his new leader and rose to his feet, the other three Badari raised a cheer that echoed from the trees and stone plinths. Elianna rushed forward, ruthlessly pushing Mateer aside, which the soldier allowed with no protest, to take what she obviously claimed as her rightful place and give Kierce a hug.
The massive enforcer smothered a grin and glanced at Kierce. You’re sure she’s not your mate?
Kierce decided the remark didn’t require an answer. Of course he wanted to claim Elianna as his mate, if she felt the same connection, but bonding was impossible for him right now, with the divided nature of his mind still to be settled. Despite the goddess’s kind intervention, he had the dismal suspicion his ultimate fate was yet to be decided by actions or decisions he had to make going forward.
“Normally, we celebrate the rest of the night when inducting new pack members,” Aydarr said, “But I think we’re all tired and dawn is not too far off. With no insult to you intended, we’ll delay the party till a later date, when we can assemble the entire pack.”
“Delay would be my preference,” Kierce said.
From her position at his side, arm around his waist, Elianna said, “I want Kierce to go with me to the island tomorrow.”
Aydarr drew breath to respond, and she held up her hand. “Hear me out, please. We all heard him say he’s got lingering issues to resolve about being a man and a tiger. I don’t think he’s ready to move into the barracks and tamely assume the duties of a soldier with the rest of your pack, none of whom he knows.”
“Isn’t the strategy going forward as far as his Khagrish-induced mutation the healer’s place to address?” Aydarr asked, frowning, the slightest hint of an angry glow in his eyes. “And mine to decide how I assign my pack soldiers. I’ve given you great latitude, human, but I advise you not to press your luck.”
Kierce was ready to step in, his instincts flaring at confrontation between Aydarr and Elianna but the woman he loved was undaunted. Pride warmed his heart as she said, “You don’t want to isolate him in a cage here when he’s the tiger, so let him roam the island to his heart’s content. The men stationed there told me the place is full of game so he won’t starve if he does choose the tiger’s form. I’d be right there with him, as the goddess must have intended, and we can talk through any issues. He can be assigned as an extra guard for the ship. I can assure you my mind won’t be fully on my job despite my best intentions if I’m worrying about how he’s doing here without me.”
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