by Leeda Vada
“You will not be a prisoner.”
Sebastian looked up as Foster Adia stuck her head in to tell them Meda was awake and fretful.
“We’ll discuss this later,” Sebastian said. “Meda needs you now.
#
As Sebastian began rolling her bed toward the door to take her to the nursery, Calli looked toward Emperor Osei. “This conversation is not over.”
“Go honor your pledge, Calli Lakota,” he responded, implacable black orbs holding her gaze.
Calli felt helpless. She couldn’t think straight. Her Canid and Scythian training was the only thing helping to maintain her sanity. Whatever they were giving her was not sitting well with her wolf. It warned Calli not to trust Prince Sebastian or Emperor Osei.
But how to escape? She couldn’t formulate a plan until she could think clearly, which meant finding a way to stop the infusion of narcotics.
“I need to see the Emperor,” Calli told an entering foster.
“I’ll send word to him as soon as I give you your medication,” she responded.
“No,” Calli protested, placing her hand over the injection site on the line suspended above her arm. “I need to talk to him first.”
Seeing the stubborn look on Calli’s face, the foster yielded.
When the Emperor entered the room a few minutes later, he was clearly displeased. “What is it?”
“I don’t want any more drugs.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“No more drugs. I have a right to refuse medication.”
“You have no rights in Genesee, Ms. Lakota.”
“I saved your granddaughter’s life. That alone should give me some rights.”
“You have no idea the pain you will be in without the analgesics we’re giving you.”
“I am. I can handle it.”
“Can you now?” the Emperor challenged. “We’ll just see.” He plucked the syringe from Foster Adia’s hand and dropped it into the trash receptacle. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”
Stopping with his hand on the door, he turned. “I’m no fool, Ms. Lakota. We both know you are more than Were, much more.”
A smile lit his face as he continued through the door having gotten the information he wanted without having to listen to Sebastian’s rantings about conscience. The young woman was not a threat to his granddaughter.
Chapter Twenty-Three
As the drugs slowly cleared her body, all Calli knew was pain. Her body started convulsing, trying to shake off the agony suffusing every inch of its being.
She struggled not to yell out, but as knives began slicing through her flesh, her soul called his name. It wanted Canaan, it desperately needed him.
Even after Calli was lost in the oblivion of unconsciousness, his name penetrated the darkness, searching and reaching for its mate, somehow sensing her distress.
#
Re-gaining consciousness several days later, she was dimly aware of faces leaning over her and of voices trying to entice her to resume the medication. But she would not.
For the first time in her life, Calli was thankful for her wolf. She called forth her other half and leaned into its strength.
She pulled Canaan’s image to her and locked onto it. She escaped into her childhood memories: Canaan holding her when she was afraid, sitting quietly with her on her parents’ cabin roof studying the constellations, his smile of pride as she vanquished her competitors, and his lifting her into his arms as she stepped down from the awards stage.
She lost track of time. Only the pain existed.
“You can’t continue to let her suffer like this,” Sebastian insisted to his father.
“I’m only honoring her wishes.”
“Are you sure about that?” Sebastian countered. “Are you sure there isn’t a little payback in all of this?”
“What is your insult about now, Sebastian?”
“She saved Meda when we couldn’t, father. I don’t like it either, but all resentment aside, we are in her debt, whether we like it or not. We cannot keep her a prisoner here.”
“The child needs her,” Osei insisted.
“I know, but Meda is an infant. True, she has a bond with Ms. Lakota, but she has already begun to form a bond with us. There are plenty of people here at Genesee who already love her.”
Sebastian paused, captured his father’s gaze. “What is the real reason you don’t want to let Ms. Lakota go?”
“The blending of the bloods. That is an unknown factor. How will it affect Meda, and equally as important to our species, how will Numee’s blood affect Ms. Lakota?”
“You can’t mean to hold her captive here like a lab rat?”
Osei did not answer.
“Father, that is unacceptable. She doesn't deserve that. We owe her,” Sebastian asserted.
“I’m not a monster, Sebastian. I sympathize with the young woman, but we can’t ignore the situation.”
“We won’t. I’ll find a way to allow Ms. Lakota her freedom and monitor her health as well.”
“And how will you do that?”
“I don’t know yet, but I will find a way. I want your word that you will leave it to me?”
Osei did not respond.
“Father, I want your word.”
“Okay, we will try it your way. But if you don’t succeed, I will take over.”
The Emperor felt another familiar presence as Sebastian closed the door. “My brother is still afflicted with a bleeding heart, Your Highness.”
“Don’t disparage your brother, Celik. Honor is not a weakness.”
“It is when it puts the welfare of our race at risk,” Celik insisted.
“Sebastian will not endanger our people.”
“He will not intentionally endanger them,” Celik qualified.
“The young girl risked her life to aid Numee. She saved your niece, my granddaughter,” the Emperor declared. “Sebastian is right. We owe her.”
“You go ahead and trust big brother to handle the situation, father. But I am responsible for the defense of our people, and I will do my job.”
“Celik, I will not referee between you and your brother,” Osei warned his second born.
“You insult my skills, father. You taught me more about subterfuge than that.”
#
When Calli wanted to know how long she had been at Genesee, Foster Adia told her it had been ten days. Calli could only take the woman’s word for it. The days had all run together.
The bright moments were her visits with Meda. When Calli touched Meda or when the baby clasped Calli’s fingers, the pain retreated. Her touch calmed the nerve endings that had been so severely damaged by the metal claws that had scored her back.
Calli had no doubt that she and the little girl were linked, and she worried about the impact her leaving would have on the baby.
“From your vital signs, and the clarity of your vision, you seem to be on the road to recovery—still a long road ahead—but you’re making steady progress. It was unfortunate that you were too stubborn to accept our help,” reprimanded Sebastian, who had stopped by to check on her progress.
“I did not trust your help, Your Highness.”
“We all got that,” he returned, a touch of sarcasm in his voice. “If you are ready, I’ll have the foster bring Meda in.”
“Yes, please!” Calli lifted her body to rest her back against the headboard.
“After your visit today, my father and I need to talk to you.”
“May I inquire the subject?”
“Your future,” he informed her.
“A discussion implies an exchange of ideas, which usually necessitates a give and
take between more than one party,” Calli said, the disdain clear in her tone.
“A discussion, Ms. Lakota,” Sebastian replied in kind.
#
Calli’s eyes widened in surprise when not two, but four men entered her hospital room. She became more amazed realizing that three of them
were clearly brothers, identical brothers, in fact.
“Let me introduce you to all of Numee’s siblings, Ms. Lakota,” Emperor Osei announced. “You know Sebastian, of course. Now, meet his brothers, Celik and Tyr.”
Calli took her time and examined each of the men. Three Lucifers with six feet, two inches of smooth olive-toned skin supported by tight muscular limbs. Visages sculpted into sharp patrician angles. Yet, the most seductive part of these fallen angels were the pitch-black orbs of their eyes that would beguile any red-blooded female into that bottomless pit with them.
Despite the sameness of their magnetism, what those orbs reflected was decidedly different. Sebastian sent out waves of kindness and compassion, Tyr, serenity and integrity. But Celik, Celik was the one that alarmed Calli.
She had seen those eyes before. When she had been in bed, writhing in agony, those eyes had been in her room, watching her, trying to probe her mind.
“Oh, I have met at least one of the two before, Your Highness,” she said, eying Celik with distrust. “And it was not a pleasant experience. Do you encourage your offspring to take advantage of an individual’s suffering?”
“What do you mean?” Osei asked her, his eyes on Celik’s face.
“I was curious to see the ‘heroine’ who had single-handedly vanquished five trained warriors,” Celik said, sarcasm rife in his voice. “Maybe our female operatives can take lessons from so skilled a champion.”
“I did not give you permission to visit Ms. Lakota,” the Emperor said, clearly displeased.
Celik turned to his sire. “I wasn’t aware that I needed it, father.”
“How did my brother take advantage of you?” Sebastian asked, bringing the group’s attention back to Calli.
“Your brother seemed to think my thoughts were for public consumption.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ask him,” she replied, eyeing Celik.
“She means I attempted to communicate with her telepathically, that’s all.”
“That’s all!” Calli shouted, rising on her elbows. “You violated the inalienable right of all sentient beings, the right to protect our own thoughts.”
“You were ill. We didn’t know if you would live or die or if you meant harm to our people. The protection of my family is my responsibility, and I take it seriously. If you think I will apologize for doing something I felt necessary to fulfill that responsibility, you are sadly mistaken.”
“Enough!” Osei bellowed. “Desist! Both of you. This is getting us nowhere. Ms. Lakota, you have my apology for my son’s actions, but his intent is and was honorable.”
“Honorable?”
“Can you tell me that you would not have done the same thing to protect those you love?”
Calli did not answer.
“Ms. Lakota, you want to return to your world,” the Emperor continued, “and in clear conscience, I cannot sanction keeping you here against your will.”
Calli watched him warily. “But before your release, you must agree to certain conditions.”
“I’m listening.”
“My granddaughter has bonded with you. It would cause her distress if you disappeared from her life,” Osei said.
“I agree.”
“We want a commitment from you to stay in Genesee until she forms a strong bond with family members here. Though we have daily interactions with her, we are not convinced that it is strong enough yet to compensate for your absence from her life.”
“Who will decide when the bond is strong enough?”
“Since you seem to trust Sebastian most of the four of us, what if you two make that determination?”
“What if Sebastian and I disagree? Who has the final say?”
“My family has several thriving business ventures on several continents in your world. We are suggesting that you complete your recuperation at our chateau in Switzerland where you can continue to interact with Meda.”
“I had a life before you met me, Your Highness. I can’t just disappear for months from that life.”
“I have contacted the Scythian Amazon, Sheba, and told her of your request for a leave of absence,” Sebastian interjected.
“What? Who gave you the right to interfere in my life like that?” Call asked, enraged.
“My niece’s welfare gave us the right,” Celik said, exasperated.
“Your niece’s welfare? You are asking me to trust you to do what’s best for her? The very family Numee was fleeing? What made your sister take that fatal step to seek refuge on an unknown world? Trust? In the beings that are holding me captive?”
“Let’s stop this, Sebastian. We don’t need to placate her. Just tell her what she is going to do.”
“No, Celik,” said Tyr, the third brother. “We owe this young lady our respect. Did Numee’s death teach us nothing? I will not be a party to our imposing our will on another female.”
Tyr held his brother’s irate gaze, until Celik’s eyes broke away. “All right, but I will not be responsible when this blows up in your faces.”
Celik left the room, slamming the door on his way out.
“Forgive my brother,” Tyr said, coming to stand at the head of Calli’s bed. “He is still grieving our sister’s loss, as are we all.”
Calli pressed her fingers to her forehead. “I understand grief at the loss of a sibling,
Mr. Varul.”
Looking at Sebastian, she asked, “What are the other conditions?”
“Because of the uniqueness of this situation and questions about the effects of the blood exchanges for not only my niece, but you too, we wish to follow-up with intermittent tests to monitor your health,” Sebastian answered.
“I understand.”
“So, do you agree to our terms?” the Emperor asked.
“Yes,” Calli acquiesced, “but only if you agree to mine.”
“Which are?” Sebastian interrupted.
“That you do nothing to my body without my permission.”
“Permission?” Osei replied, insulted.
“Consent, then,” she amended, after noting the glances between the Emperor and his two remaining sons.
“Agreed,” Osei replied, nodding his assent.
“What about your other son? Will he honor the agreement?”
“Celik will do as he is told,” Osei grunted.
“Then I may hold you responsible if he doesn’t?”
“On my word, Calli Lakota,” the Emperor said, resentment heavy in his tone. “You lack many of the ladylike graces attributed to your sex, young lady.”
“I’m sure you had ordered enough research on the Canid species that you knew that before you came into my hospital room on my first day here, Your Highness,” Calli responded with equal disdain.
#
A tremendous crash reverberated through the hallway, bringing Sebastian’s focus back to the present. When he re-entered the room, Canaan was standing, facing the wall.
Sebastian noticed the shudder that ran through Canaan’s body as he struggled to resume the stance of the future Alpha of the Cumberland Nation.
Sebastian’s laptop lay upside down in a corner. The table in the center of the room was overturned and bent into grotesque angles.
When he turned to face Saxe, Canaan had his mask in place, his body, erect and controlled. The only evidence of distress were his knuckles and droplets of blood on the front of his jeans.
“Who was the woman, Sebastian?”
“My sister, Numee.”
“So, the child is?”
“My niece, Meda.”
“How would revealing the entire tape harm her?” asked Canaan.
“Numee was not being pursued by the Hounds of God, but by more powerful forces seeking her and the unborn child. She teleported to your world, hoping to hide amongst the human population. It was a trick of fate that landed her in the path of the Hounds’ troopers. They recognized her as a Varul and realized her value on the open market. Calli realizes that making
the tape public will risk it falling into the hands of Numee’s pursuers. If they realize that the child survived the attack, they will not rest until they claim her.”
“Revealing this tape would mean that someday Meda may see it. Any children Calli and I may have will see it,” Canaan lamented as he prowled back and forth across the back of the room. There will be no way to stop its distribution once it is posted.”
“We may be able to limit it legally, but will never be able to stop it altogether. The attack will be seen all over the world.”
He sank to the floor, his back against the wall. “I can’t ask you to risk the child’s exposure, Sebastian.”
“There isn’t any other way to ensure her acquittal,” Sebastian responded.
“Has Calli seen it?”
“No. She didn’t want to see it. She said living it was enough. She also said she knew Saxe could not show it without her permission,” Sebastian added.
Canaan remained silent for several minutes, his brow furrowed in concentration as he
stared off into space. “But where did the tape come from?”
“From one of our undercover operatives.”
“How would he have access to something like this? And why would you have a spy in Bland’s organization?”
“Sometimes your Canid arrogance astounds me, Canaan,” Sebastian scoffed. “Do you think your race is the only one Morrison Bland and his cohorts seek to annihilate? Anyone who does not fit Morrison Bland’s definition of normal is subject to persecution. My people are known for our gift of clairvoyance, and the unlimited wealth we are said to have accumulated as a result. Think how valuable that skill would be to anyone obsessed with power, even someone as ‘holy’ as Morrison Bland claims to be. Your mate was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She happened upon a team of Troopers in the process of securing a Varul female and her child to sell to the highest bidder. By the time our agent alerted our security forces about the attack, it was too late for us to arrive in time to save either my sister or your mate from assault. Calli’s heroism prevented the loss of my niece, Meda. For that she will have the eternal loyalty of my family and all our people.”
“Why do I have a feeling you are not telling me everything?” Canaan asked, warily.
