Love Without Boundaries

by Michelle Howard

  “And an hour each day practicing with me and Leah on what to say and do with the women you decide you want to get to know better,” Pam added. Leah noticed that while Wyst had no trouble looking at her when she spoke, his eyes never once drifted to where Pam sat between Tyshar and Bronson.

  “What will they be doing on those other days?” Bronson said, his eyes moving over the calendar that had each warrior’s name denoted in a different color and listing his designated activity for each day.

  “Follow ups,” Leah replied succinctly. “I don’t think you boys understand that it’s not always lust at first sight. Some women are just naturally reserved when they first meet someone and it might take a while before they come out of their shell and dazzle you.”

  “A follow up is a successive date with a female you have already met,” Rykhan clarified.

  Laxon was still frowning in confusion and Pam called him on it. And before he answered, Leah watched his cheeks color. “It’s just that they tell me ‘no’ when I ask to see them again.”

  “That’s because you’re asking the wrong women, big guy.” Pam tried to take the sting out of her words with a quick wink. “Just because you like a girl and find her hot doesn’t mean those feelings are reciprocated.”

  “Which begs the question, how many of you are responding to the women who contact you first from the dating websites?” Leah looked around the table and only Arbrynt nodded. “No, no and no, fellas! I know you are a great warriors and are kind of on the alpha side but if a girl expresses an interest, you’ve got to at least take the opportunity to try and get to know her.”

  Bronsyn cleared his voice in disapproval. “It is not seemly that a female make the first contact.”

  “Bullshit!” Pam yelled, slapping her hand lightly on the table. “If you want to connect with a human woman, then be prepared for her to be self-confident enough to say ‘hi’ first!”

  At the different headshakes, Leah found herself getting pissed. “Okay, here’s how I see it. You can either act like a bunch of stubborn, arrogant assholes who are still stuck in the dark ages or you can get with the program, date as many women as possible and find the mate you’ve always wanted. In the first scenario, you’ll fail and will have to return to your council and explain why you are still single.” She took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. “Or, you could try doing it our way and find you have more girls interested in you than you know what to do with.”

  “Why is my name listed?” Bronsyn demanded into the quiet that had fallen over the table after Leah’s speech.

  “Why wouldn’t it be?” Pam shot back. “Seems to me that just because you’re a leader, you should also have a chance at snagging some happiness.”

  “B-but he’s already paired with someone…” Wyst heatedly interjected, finally looking at the small blonde directly.

  Rykhan’s voice cut across the other man’s. “Tela was not his one true mate.”

  “I am not sure that I…” Bronsyn began.

  Instead of the light slap she’d done earlier, Pam slammed a small hand down on the table, startling more than a few of the people in the room. “Whatever happened to leading by example? Or is that something else that isn’t done on your world?”

  “Even if you don’t find true love, Bronsyn, at least you’ll have the knowledge of how it’s done so you can relay it to the council back on Galaxia.” Leah realized there were more than a few holes in her argument, but neither she nor Pam thought the man was too old to consider finding a woman with which to build another family.

  No one offered another objection so Leah decided to enough was enough. She and Pam had been pretty plain in what they expected so it would be up to the men to decide if they were willing to follow the new format or not. “If no one has any more questions or concerns, then I think we’re done here. Thanks for listening.”

  Not much was said as the men moved away and even Rykhan was quiet as he told her he needed to get back to the maps he was uploading to their system on the Phoenix area. So much of the warrior’s free time was devoted to accumulating information that would save the groups that followed from making some of the same mistakes the first mission had stumbled through when they’d arrived.

  Standing and rubbing the small of her back, Leah decided a bathroom break was needed and walked towards the back of the house where a small half-bath was situated. But as she passed by the kitchen after completing her business, she noticed one of the warriors had left their communication device behind. Without thinking, she picked it up off the countertop and turned towards the front room.

  But as her fingers connected to the case, the device began to scream on an ear-splitting squeal as an electrical charge sparked and then began to course and pulsate through her. Her fingers tensed as the current held them in a grip so strong, she couldn’t break its hold.

  Her mind told her she was being shocked but the voltage was much, much more than she’d ever experienced. And it wasn’t so much a jolt that shot through her but a horrific coating that covered her before sinking into her skin, seizing her muscles with a tension so strong she was terrified the underlying bones would be crushed.

  The current that had started on her hand spread up her arm and she opened her mouth to scream but by that time the current was already up into her jaw. It shot both out and down, only allowing her to take one tiny step before she was knocked off her feet. And as she hit the tiled floor, her body began to involuntary writhe as if to escape the agony of both the pressure and the heat that was building from the shocks that were coming in waves from the device that was still clenched in her grip.

  Leah was unable to see, unable to do little more than pant at the torture that had taken control of her body.

  And the moment she felt it move over her wahrom, felt the current come into contact with the metal, a shower of sparks erupted before Leah’s entire world went to black.

  ....*

  Rykhan was the first to respond to the tumultuous blare then the resounding thud that came from the eating area. As he rounded the edge of the wall, his eyes took in a scene that he knew he’d never be able to get out of his memory.

  There, in the middle of the floor lay his beautiful Leah, her back bowed as her heels beat against the tile. Her lips were pulled into a rictus of a smile even as white foam bubbled up from her lips.

  With his heart in overdrive, Rykhan skidded and dropped to his knees next to her, his eyes following the shadowy blue trails that pulsed on every viewable surface of her flesh. He detected the faint aroma of burning hair and had to fight the frenzied panic that flashed through him as he saw what she held her right fist.

  It was a Protectorate’s communication device!

  He was aware others had piled into the room and that one of his warrior brothers yelled a combination of letters and numbers in the old language that immediately disconnected the security system within the tiny unit.

  But he could barely focus on anything but Leah.

  Pushing his panic and dread aside, he made another visual inspection, taking in the burns of not only her hand, but of the skin around her wahrom. The very symbol of Tsiran’s intention that their lives were entwined.

  Rykhan bent over her still form, trying to detect her breathing before dropping his ear to her chest to listen for her heartbeat.

  “This will be more thorough,” Bronsyn growled, shoving the tech-med machine into Rykhan’s hands.

  “What is wrong with her?” Pam’s voice was a trembling demand.

  A warrior cleared his throat as another murmured, “She touched a tresl while it was in full lock-down.”

  “And that means?” Even as Rykhan studied the tech-med’s screen, he could hear the fearful emotion in the small blonde’s speech. It was too much for his overloaded brain to handle and he directed his full concentration to the information on the medical apparatus in his hands.

  There was a commotion from behind him and Rykhan was aware that Bronsyn was communicating with the S
earcher, describing the situation and arranging for med-transport to be immediately deployed to the TIPS room onboard the star-cruiser.

  Finally, three warriors came to where Leah lay still as death although the med unit said she was still on the living side of Tsiran’s ether. Bending down, Rykhan saw the men were setting the three key components of TIPS surface apparatus in a triangulated pattern around Leah’s body, just wide enough to include him as well.

  As Tyshar activated all three pads and the familiar green mist appeared, Rykhan raised stricken eyes to Bronsyn’s.

  “We will entreat Tsiran for her, my friend,” his leader was heard to say before the white noise of the teleportation device engaged.

  ....*

  There was a flurry of activity when Rykhan and his wahrom mate rematerialized in the teleportation room of the star-cruiser. He tried to intercede, tried to involve himself in getting her still unconscious form onto the med-bed but he was pushed aside again and again, regulated to a position a vigilant observer. But he kept pace as the team raced Leah to the med-bay only to be denied entrance when her bed was slid through the doors.

  “There isn’t enough room for you, Rykhan,” Med-leader Jyrl explained using a muscled arm to prevent Rykhan from following. “I will get her stabilized and then give you a report of her condition. But you must remain outside so I can do my best for your blay.”

  Rykhan’s mind told him that the physician, one of the best in their galaxy and hand-chosen for the mission, was right but Rykhan’s heart had trouble with the thought of being separated from her. Especially when she was injured, completely unaware of where she was and what had happened. But he had no choice and made himself take a step back away from the doors.

  It seemed like days had passed before he felt Jyrl’s hand on his shoulder and Rykhan looked up from his position on the floor. “It went well, my friend. I have her sedated so the healing tubes can work to repair the burns on her hands and around your warrior’s symbol.”

  Dropping his head in relief, Rykhan offered up a prayer of thankfulness to Tsiran for his mercy before he stood on shaking legs. “My Leah will be all right then? No residual effects?”

  Jyrl smiled. “More than all right which is surprising in light of what I discovered in my examination. Did you know humans only have one heart? Or that their bones are much lighter and more fragile than ours? Fascinating!”

  The large warrior couldn’t help frowning at the med-leader’s response which seemed out of place in the miasma of fear that was just then beginning to dissipate in Rykhan’s body.

  “And our scans show that the youngling she is carrying was not injured in the least. But I’m uncertain how the rest of her gestation will proceed given she only has one heart. Depending on which DNA is stronger, it may cause problems later when your youngling’s second heart engages.”

  Everything within Rykhan stilled and he couldn’t think. Not beyond the repetition of Jyrl’s words, ‘the youngling she is carrying’ which replayed, rang out again and again, in his head. So much so that he missed the rest of what the other man had said.

  “Say a-again?” Rykhan’s growl sounded strained even to his own ears.

  “I was simply reminding you that because of this incident and because your youngling will be the first of the Picari-Humans that will repopulate our worlds, your mate will need constant monitoring until she delivers.”

  “She’s breeding?” the huge warrior whispered hesitantly.

  “Isn’t that what I just told you?” Jyrl’s face frowned as he observed Rykhan’s reaction, at the swaying motion the male made before dropping again to the floor as if unable to support himself.

  And was even more confused when the stalwart, highly decorated, senior warrior of the Picari Protectorate, covered his face and began to sob.

  Chapter Ten

  Leah heard the two-toned chime and glanced at the clock, set on Earth time, in the corner of the holograph screen. She’d been so involved in updating the spreadsheets that she’d gotten lost and hadn’t been paying attention to what the clock read. Calling a soft, “come in’, she stood and made her eyes do a quick sweep of the room. Seeing nothing out of place, she turned to the door and smiled.

  “Tersa mandai, Dr. Jyrl,” she greeted just as she did every day when the physician came to perform her daily examination.

  “Tersa mandai, Rykhan’s female,” came the reply. “Your accent is getting better.”

  “I think it’s just because I’m getting more practice.” She went to the chaise which took up one corner of the large room. A space that used to be the observation deck onboard the Searcher but that had been refurbished as her and Rykhan’s living space. Lying back and closing her eyes, she relaxed into the chair and let both it and the handheld device Dr. Jyrl passed over her body to do their scans.

  Actions which, at first, had completely wigged her out but once both the physician and Rykhan had explained were to help both her and the baby, she’d seen the benefit of it.

  A baby!

  Every time she even thought about her pregnancy she got a little thrill and she had to fight the need to stroke her fingers over her stomach. Who knew that Rykhan’s swimmers had been strong enough to overpower her birth control pills after only sharing sex twice? Although she hadn’t been so thrilled when she’d been remanded to staying onboard the star-cruiser, not allowed to go back to Phoenix. And every argument she’d mounted against being confined on ‘a damn tin can with thrusters’ until they left to return to the Picari system, was lost as soon as anyone reminded her of her pregnancy. It was one thing to take chances on using the TIPS when it was just her by herself, but with the unknown effects it may have on her and Rykhan’s unborn child, she didn’t want to take the risk.

  “It all looks as it should,” Jyrl announced, closing the portable tech-med and holding out a hand to aid her in getting out of her chair. It seemed her center of gravity had shifted over the last few days and she noticed that simple moves were a bit more of a struggle to maneuver.

  “Do you have any idea how long until the baby comes?” she asked, just as she did after every daily exam. She extended a hand in invitation towards the tiny two person table and the teapot and cups she’d set out earlier. It hadn’t taken long for her to discover Dr. Jyrl had a weakness for chamomile tea with honey and always tried to have some waiting.

  “I have been studying the gestation cycles of a human fetus and comparing them to the old notes in the Picari archives. If I understand it correctly, it takes a human baby forty werts to develop whereas a normal gestation for my species is only twenty-two. Since we still haven’t taken a sample in order to read your younglings DNA, I’d hate to make an approximation. However, the scans indicate that your baby…did I say that correctly?” At Leah’s nod, Dr. Jyrl continued. “Your baby is developing faster than what the human models indicate.”

  “She’s still healthy, right?”

  “Oh, we don’t know the gender yet! But your youngling appears to be in very good health as it grows,” the doctor replied before pouring a measure of tea into both cups, handing her one after performing a quick stir of the hot liquid. “Rykhan’s mate? I know that you’ve said no in the past but I don’t think you realize…”

  Holding up a palm and frowning, Leah bit out, “Shut it, doc”, before bending her face to her cup and sipping. The damn man never let up even though she’d explained it again and again. “I said no and I meant it.”

  “But it would help by speeding up the process, allowing in the males in pairs back on Galaxia and Nutrol to complete their families, enjoy their own younglings. And the procedure is very simple, quite painless…”

  “What part didn’t you understand? They are my eggs, located in my body and I’m not about to let you nor anybody else to harvest them, all right?” Slightly shorter and much leaner than any of the warriors, the doc sighed and looked disappointed as always by her refusal while he sipped his tea. Leah softened her voice. “I really wish you wouldn’t ask m
e for them again.”

  “And I would prefer you stop asking as well,” Rykhan’s deep voice growled as he stepped into the room. “You only upset my Leah with your constant requests.”

  “You know her eggs would help. The need is so dire that I must do everything I can to convince her of our desperate circumstances, warrior.”

  He came to stand next to her and Leah felt the ire the doctor’s words drift away at the soft caress Rykhan slid over her back. Gazing into her eyes, Rykhan rumbled a soft, “she knows, Jyrl. Believe me, she knows.”

  Sighing heavily, Jyrl sat his teacup on the small table. “I must get back to the med station. I have been exchanging emails with an obb-gen on Earth who is helping me in my research.”

  It wasn’t until after the med-leader left that Leah understood what the man had meant. “Oh my god!” she giggled. “He meant an OB-GYN!”

  Rykhan, who had wandered over to the desk that sat underneath the large viewport, turned back at the sound of her mirth. “Is all still well, mica tisha?”

  “Yeah, baby.” She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Our youngling is great.”

  “Of that I have no doubt, tersa blay,” he countered, as he pulled her closer, pressing his forehead to hers. “I was just inquiring after his health.”

  “That ‘he’ just might turn out to be a ‘she’, you know.” It was a playful discussion that happened often and one neither of them seemed to mind engaging in it again and again.

  “I do not care whether our youngling will be a male or a female, only that you and it remain in good health.” And Leah could tell by Rykhan’s firm tone that their on-going discussion was over for the day. “Your property is now at the warrior house and the keeper of your apartment building is in receipt of the monies owed on the remaining portion of the lease.”

  “Thanks for taking care of that,” Leah murmured before disengaging herself and moving to the bed. To tell the truth, she was a little sad that she’d had to give up her apartment but it didn’t make sense to hang on to the rental when she wouldn’t be living there any longer. “I know we can’t bring the furniture but what about the rest of it?”