“At this time, we are assuming both,” Garen replied. “That is also the consensus of the council. The Royal Navy has been placed on Level Three alert, and all stations are on Condition Yellow as of about two hours ago. I have called the Bearens in as well. They are activating their replacements at the spaceport and expect to be here in the next couple of days for a meeting with us. After that they will report to the council, then take command of the Planetary Defense System.”
Garen paused again, and looked at Faron, waiting until his oldest friend met his gaze. “I am not sending you three out,” he said.
Faron’s eyes showed his surprise, though he managed to keep his expression neutral. With their world under threat, it was their duty to oversee all military actions, acting as second to the Princes. For one moment Faron wondered if they were being demoted or replaced. Something of his thoughts must of shown on his face, or in his eyes, as Garen immediately held up one hand.
“No,” he said. “It is nothing like that. Faron, the Lobos have found their Arima. This is not to be taken lightly. In no way can our people afford to lose any of you. You have become too important to our race as a whole.”
Faron opened his mouth to argue, but Garen shook his head. “No, Faron, we will not change our minds on this, nor will the council. Besides which, we need you here to help protect our Arimas.”
Faron bowed his head in acquiescence. He could not argue against the need to protect Saige, Lariah and the royal daughters soon to be born.
Chapter 27
By the time Faron, Dav and Ban finished their meeting and came back out onto the patio, Saige had made some decisions, discussed a few private matters with Lariah, and was more than ready to leave.
“Will you come to the river house with us tonight or would you prefer to stay here?” Faron asked, his face a mask.
Saige cocked her head at him, sensed that his stony face was a result of his concern that she would choose not to go home with them, and smiled. “I am ready to go home with you now,” she said. Faron allowed his face to relax and he returned her smile. “Suly is going to send someone up with the rest of my belongings this afternoon,” she added.
“We can take them now if you wish,” Ban said, his desire to have Saige permanently ensconced with them obvious.
“I would rather go now,” Saige said. “I would like to speak with all of you about a decision I’ve made.”
Faron lost his smile, his face taking on the guarded mask once more. Dav and Ban did a good job of mimicking him. Saige rolled her eyes at them.
She bent to hug Lariah, patted Tiny on the head, waved at Trey and headed for the back garden gate, her three men trailing behind her.
Before they reached the graveled path Faron caught up with Saige and tucked her beneath his shoulder, Ban and Dav taking up position behind them.
“So what is it you wish to discuss with us?” he asked.
“You don’t want to wait until we reach the house?” she asked teasingly.
“I don’t think we can wait till we reach the house,” he replied honestly.
Saige laughed. “Okay, if you insist.” She tugged at Faron until he turned around so that they were facing Ban and Dav. Suddenly, Saige felt nervous. “Before I say what I want to say, I want to be certain of something,” she began.
“Very well,” Faron replied.
“I believe that last night you attempted to make it clear to me that, since your mating fangs descended, I am your only choice now. There is no option for you to choose another, not even a human woman, to have children with. If I decide to leave and go back to Earth, you three will live out your lives alone. Am I correct or did I understand you wrong?”
“You are correct Saige,” Faron said solemnly. “It is you, or nobody for us. However, I want to add that we would choose you over any other woman even if you were not our Arima. You are beautiful, passionate, fiery, protective, straightforward and you darn near kicked our butts this morning. All very good reasons for us to want to keep you forever.”
“Thank you for that,” Saige said, blinking back sudden tears. It wasn’t so much the words that touched her, though they did. It was the deep emotion that all three of them felt when Faron said them. “It means very much to me to hear you say that.”
“I know that I am the one saying the words, but please know that it is meant from all of our hearts, amada,” he said. Dav and Ban nodded in agreement, and she could feel their hope that she would understand their feelings.
“I feel the same way about all of you, and I wish, more than anything, to stay here with the three of you,” she said, her voice steady though her heart was suddenly somewhere up near her throat.
“You will stay here, on Jasan, with us?” Faron asked, needing to be certain of her meaning.
“Yes,” Saige replied.
Ban whooped with joy, as did Dav. Faron lifted her into the air and tossed her lightly before catching her again. Dav grabbed hold of her as Faron released her and spun her around in circles so fast she began to get dizzy. The moment he stopped Ban picked her up, crushed her to his chest and kissed her deeply.
“Thank you Saige,” he said when he broke the kiss, leaving her breathless. “I cannot tell you what it means that you have chosen us. This is the happiest moment of my life.”
Saige felt tears burn her eyes at his sincerity. She hardly knew what to say, so instead of speaking, she kissed him back, long and deep.
“All right you two, lets get home,” Dav grumped good-naturedly as he pulled Saige out of his brother’s arms. He bent to give her his own kiss before handing her back into Faron’s keeping.
“So when can we do this?” Saige asked, suddenly feeling impatient. “Actually, what exactly is it that we do? I know you’ve hinted at some sort of ritual.”
“We will tell you all about the mating ritual when we get home,” Faron promised. “However, we cannot do it right away. Riata has said that she believes it would be best to wait until she heals your disease first. She expects to be able to do that in a day or two.”
Saige nodded. “Of course, how could I have forgotten about that? I suppose, in my excitement, I didn’t think of it.”
“Saige, we have something else we wish to tell you,” Faron said. “When we get home of course.”
“Not fair,” Saige said. “You insisted I tell you mine, now its only fair you guys tell me yours.”
Ban laughed. “I think she has a point Faron,” he said. Faron smiled and looked around them before leading the way to a large tree. When they were all settled comfortably on the shady grass beneath it Faron tried to decide how to begin.
“We are most pleased that you have agreed to remain here and mate with us,” he began. “I want you to understand that what I am about to tell you is not something we would have used as a tool to get you to stay with us, it is simply fact.”
Saige cocked her head and looked at him intently. “Faron, I can sense that you are worried I will misunderstand your true intentions,” she said. “I don’t think that’s even possible any more. I feel your emotions too strongly now.”
Faron smiled and relaxed. “That is a relief,” he said.
“Good, now what is it you want to tell me?” she asked impatiently.
Faron grinned at her. He decided that he loved her impatience. However, her eyes were beginning to narrow so he thought it would be best to get back to the subject.
“The only human female to have undergone the true mating ritual is Lariah,” he said. “And it was done only in a last effort to save her life. However, having gone through it, Lariah is now fully Jasani, and fully dracon, and I don’t mean her last name is the same as her Rami.”
Saige stared blankly at Faron for a long moment. When understanding finally hit her, she gasped. “Are you telling me that Lariah can shift into a dracon?”
“Yes,” Faron replied.
“Does that mean that I would be able to shift into something too?” she asked, her eyes bright with excitement
.
“Once you go through the mating ritual with us, and the soul-link triad, then yes, you will be fully Jasani, and fully loboenca,” Faron said.
“Wow, that would so amazing!” Saige said. “Would I be really big like you guys get?”
Faron smiled at her enthusiasm. “As a female you would be smaller than us,” he told her, “though not by much. I cannot be specific as we have had no female loboenca in living memory.”
Saige sobered at once. “That is so sad,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“Do not be sad,” Dav said. “You will be the first, and that is a cause for happiness and celebration. It is the beginning of an end to sadness for our people.”
Saige smiled. “Thank you,” she said as she leaned over to kiss Dav for his thoughtful words.
“There is more,” Faron said. “I want you to understand the bad, as well as the good.”
“Okay, what’s the bad?” Saige asked.
“The mating ritual is done in three stages. We begin by simultaneously injecting you with serum from our mating fangs.”
Saige did not grimace or show any other sign of reluctance, so Faron continued. “After that, your genetic code will begin to change. The first thing that will happen is your body’s ability to regenerate will be enhanced greatly.”
“That’s the part that keeps women from aging?” Saige asked.
“Yes. In human women, using a potion altered serum, that is the only thing that occurs in the first stage. For you, that is the first part only. After that, your genetic code will continue to be altered until it is the same as a Jasani.”
“Okay, then what?”
“Then we inject you again,” Faron said. “In human women, the second injection causes a change to their reproductive organs which allows them to bear children with their Jasani male-set. That is the end of the process for them. For you, the second injection will cause your entire body to change. It must become Jasani to match your new genetic code.”
“Okay,” Saige said again. “Then what?”
“This is the part that is the most difficult,” Faron said. “From what we were told, it is extremely painful. When Lariah went through it, the Dracons were able to use their magic to hold her in a deep sleep so that she was unaware of the pain her body underwent. They have offered to do the same for you.”
“Is that necessary?” Saige asked, suddenly feeling as though she didn’t want anyone else to use magic on her except for her men.
“If they cannot do that, we cannot go through with it, Saige,” Faron said. “We could not knowingly subject you to that kind of pain unless there is a way to prevent you from being aware of it. Riata said that without the Dracons’ help, she did not know what she would have done for Lariah. As it is, Lariah does not remember it at all, and that is what we want for you.”
Saige felt their fear that she would refuse to allow the Dracon’s to help. “Okay then, we will do what is needed,” she said easily. Ban, Dav and Faron all breathed slow sighs of relief.
“So what happens after that?”
“Saige, before we move on to that, I wish to explain to you what it means that your body will be remade into a Jasani female,” Faron said.
Saige started to nod, then her eyes widened. “Remade,” she repeated softly. “Does that mean that all of the scar tissue I now have will go away?”
Faron smiled. “Yes, that is what it means.” Before he finished the sentence Saige was on him, her arms and legs wrapped around him as she hugged him tightly, her face pressed close against the side of his neck. He started to laugh, then felt her hot tears against his skin. He held her close and stroked her soothingly while she fought to control herself. Ban and Dav moved closer, stroking her gently as well.
“I’m sorry,” Saige said when she raised her head at last. “I was just a little overwhelmed I guess.”
“There is no reason to be sorry, amada,” Faron assured her. “We sense your feelings as you sense ours. We know how much this means to you, and why.”
“We could have children,” Saige whispered. Faron nodded.
“Yes, that is what we believe. There are no promises of course, and you must remember that this has only been done once before.”
“It’s okay,” Saige said. “I understand there’s a chance it will work, and a chance it won’t. But I am more than willing to take that chance. I want it so much I can’t tell you.”
“You don’t have to tell us, sweetness,” Ban said. “We feel it too.”
“Faron, if there is some reason that the Dracons cannot keep me asleep, please understand that I wish to go through it anyway,” Saige said firmly.
“It would be very painful for you, amada,” Faron said.
“I don’t care,” Saige said at once. “No matter how painful it is, if it means that the damage caused by the disease will be gone, I just don’t care. No more seizures, and I will be able to have children. Pain for a few hours or even days is a small price to pay for so much miracle, and I am more than willing to pay it.”
“I don’t know if we could agree to that,” Faron said.
Saige started to argue, but paused. They did not want her to suffer. It was nothing more complicated than that, and she knew it.
“Okay, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” she said finally. “And do not look so worried. None of you would ever allow anything bad to happen to me. If you do not know that, I do.”
Saige rose to her feet and stretched. “So we cannot do this until after Riata heals my disease, is that right?”
“Riata believes it is best to heal the disease first,” Faron said. “I do not think it wise to go against her advice.”
“I have no wish to be the first diseased Jasani, so I have no objection to doing whatever Riata says,” Saige replied. Ban, Faron and Dav rose and stretched before taking up their positions, Faron close beside her, Ban and Dav just behind them.
“I am very glad that I told you I wanted to stay and be with you guys before you told me about the changes the ritual would make in my body,” Saige said as they moved back down to the gravel path and turned toward the river house. “I wouldn’t want you to think it was my only reason for wanting to stay.”
“We would not think that of you,” Faron said. “And besides, must I remind you again that we sense your feelings as you do ours?”
“Okay, so what am I feeling now?” Saige asked playfully.
Faron focused on her for just a moment before his eyes heated.
“I hope you don’t mind waiting until we reach home for that wish to be granted, amada,” he said, his voice that soft, deep growl that she felt brushing her skin.
“I don’t mind,” Saige replied. “So long as it only takes you another minute to reach the house, that is.”
Faron laughed, and decided to take Saige up on her challenge. He lifted her into his arms as though she weighed nothing, cradled her carefully against his chest, and took off running, using his air magic to increase his speed. Less than half a minute later he reached the house and lowered Saige to her feet with a smug expression on his face.
Saige was smiling up at him, her eyes bright, her smile so wide her dimples showed, when she suddenly froze. She lowered herself to the ground where she stood, focused steadily on her lap and began her breathing exercises. Faron could have bitten himself for allowing her to get so excited. He had thought only of giving her pleasure. He had not even thought about her seizures.
Ban and Dav reached them seconds later and realized immediately what was happening. Dav hurried into the house for her meds, and Ban knelt down behind her and began rubbing her shoulders in a light, soothing motion. Faron sat down in front of Saige and, moving very slowly, reached out and took her hands into his own. He began humming softly, an age old song which had no real words, but which for the Lobo Clan, was filled with soothing meaning, a tune used to rock young ones to sleep, or to ease a heart filled with pain.
As Faron continued to sing, Ban chimed in, match
ing his soothing gestures to the gentle rhythm. Dav hurried out of the house, took in the scene on the grass below the porch and slowed his steps. By the time he reached them and lowered himself to the ground beside Saige, he too had joined his brothers in their soothing song.
Saige raised her eyes to Faron’s and realized that she no longer had to focus on her breathing. Their gentle song was so soothing that it relaxed her completely and chased the red tinge away from her vision. But as she listened, the song began to change.
It became deeper, stronger and somehow more passionate. Saige felt her body respond to the heat of their song, her blood racing through her veins with sudden need. Then the song changed again, grew softer, more tender, bringing tears to her eyes just before it rose again with a different kind of heat. Now it was strong, protective, warning off any who would threaten what was theirs to hold and to love.
The song rose and fell, a song of no words but with such deep and heartfelt meaning that it was impossible not to know of what they sang. Joy, fear, hope, wonder, desire, passion and most of all, love. The sheer beauty of it was almost too much to grasp, her heart swelling with so much love and happiness that it ached within her chest.
She had no idea how long they sat there on the cool blue grass, beneath the lavender sky of Jasan, but she thought she might have been content to stay there, listening to them as she stared into the depths of Faron’s pale blue eyes, forever. When their voices rose into a final, harmonic crescendo, she could only smile through the tears that streaked her cheeks.
They sat silently for a long moment as the last notes faded into the air, enjoying the silence and each other’s presence as they had enjoyed the song. Only then did Saige begin to notice that they were not alone.
All around them, for as far as she could see, were misty figures of tall broad shouldered males, many of whom reminded her faintly of Faron, Dav and Ban. As Saige watched, frozen by the sight of thousands of figures filling the fields around them, they all knelt on the ground at the same time, their eyes trained on the small group.
The Lobos' Heart Song: Book 2 of the Soul-Linked Saga Page 22
