by Poppy Rhys
Last night, he and his tribe brothers had found their camp. They’d covered their tracks upon the ground well, but couldn’t change the broken twigs of the brush they moved through, nor their chemical scent.
He’d taken to the trees, Roki and Nik following. From above, they stalked the intruders, looking for the right moment to attack.
Had Roki not stilled him, he would’ve unleashed his fury upon them already.
Finley was his.
Within moments, their tech blared, one of the males dispatching a dagger.
He’d shared a look with his brothers. The aliens had come prepared, and they didn’t know what other tech they possessed, or if there were others of their kind wherever they were planning to haul Finley.
So, instead, they waited.
Fortunately, for them, they hadn’t harmed his mate. They fed her, gave her water and a blanket. Obviously, they knew of her fragile human flesh and how cold she could get.
Who are they?
Why had they come for his Mi’ska?
Suddenly, his ears twitched, pulling him back to the present. Voices further ahead caught his attention. Faint, but detectable to him and his brothers.
They shared a look from their individual places upon the thick branches.
Soon, Finley was being led into a clearing teaming with humans and other races. Large guards clad in black suits matching the trio below watched the perimeter, heavy weapons ready to aim and fire.
They were surrounding a sizeable craft.
And then, shrieks of joy from his mate when her eyes beheld two males and a female near the craft. She broke into a run, slamming into the male with golden hair.
A bout of jealousy flared in his chest.
He shared a look with his brothers, his teeth bared as he felt a bone deep betrayal engulf him.
Had his human orchestrated this?
How else would these abductors know how to find her? Where to find her?
He felt his qin unsheathe the barbs within as his need to unleash rage upon his mate’s escorts turned his vision crimson.
****
Fin wiped at her happy tears as she squeezed the life out of her parents. She truly thought she would never see them again! Hunter had been right. She had been living in a delusion, because each day she spent upon Yari, the hope of seeing her family again felt more and more like a pipe dream.
“We knew you were alive!” Elex gushed, showering her face in kisses while her mother smoothed her hair adoringly.
She forgot how much she enjoyed that.
“Honey, where are your clothes?” Theo asked, shrugging off his robe.
Fin looked down, forgetting her nudity entirely. Her gaze panned the clearing, realizing the armed men regarded her strangely.
So that’s what her alien escorts were laughing about.
Theo draped the robe over her shoulders and she hugged it to her. It smelled like him.
Someone gasped behind Theo.
“Fin?!”
She’d know that voice anywhere.
“Dana?”
Her dad stood aside, her best friend coming into view. With barely a second to think, they slammed into one another, laughing, crying, and embracing.
“I thought I’d never see you again.” Dana cried, pulling back momentarily before squeezing her once more. “Oh Fin, I’m so sorry! I should’ve listened to you.”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” Fin choked, a spout of laughter shaking her shoulders.
Just then, a roar touched her ears.
She jumped, pulling back.
Fin knew who it was before she turned around, her eyes finding the source.
The guards went on high alert, shouting to each other, weapons coming alive with a menacing high pitched whine.
Hunter swung down from a tree near the edge of the clearing, his muscular body pulled taught with rage as he snatched a weapon from the closest guard and slammed the butt of it into his face.
Fin flinched.
The next guard fired, grazing his bicep, which only seemed to anger him further as he thundered, gripped him by the throat and slammed him down into the ground.
A chill spread over her skin when his eyes pinned her as he rose to his feet.
Multiple red dots centered in on his chest as guards converged, aiming and readying to fire.
“No!” Fin screamed, pushing past her parents. “Don’t shoot!”
Finley heard her mother’s surprised cry when she stepped into the guard’s line of sight.
“You’ll hit my daughter!” Theo bellowed at them.
They kept aim, but pulled back, and she exhaled a sigh of relief.
Hunter stormed toward her, his massive chest heaving with every intake of air, and his black barbs in full view. He looked wild, dangerous.
Before she could react, he grabbed her shoulders and gave her a firm shake.
“Why?” He shouted down at her. “Why have you betrayed me?”
“Hunter, I didn’t-”
“Cease your lies!”
Fin felt a sinking realization that nothing had changed.
No. Instead, he stormed in, accusing her of betrayal, assuming the worst. No comfort, no embrace, no checking to see if she was alright, and no fevered apologies for saying those awful things to her yesterday.
Just rage. Unfounded rage.
Her fingers curled in on themselves as she felt like a fool for actually missing him last night, and worrying about his safety.
“You never listen to me.” Finley seethed. “You really are a monster.”
She pushed at his chest in frustration.
“You’re incapable of acting like a decent person!”
Another shove against his immovable chest.
“I’ve been an idiot. To think I thought I was falling in love with someone so bitter,” she said wearily before screaming, “so cruel!”
He captured her wrists upon his chest in his large hands, shaking her again as he bared teeth, snapping them like a caged animal.
Feral.
“Insufferable human!”
That’s all she was to him. Insufferable. Someone he put up with.
His captive.
“I could never love you!” She screamed up at him, hot tears blurring her vision.
The lie tightened her chest until she wanted to cry out in pain, because the moment those words slipped her mouth, Fin realized she already had.
I’m a fool!
His warm breath hit her face, eyes blazing with wrath as he roared down at Fin and then roughly released her.
She stumbled, remaining upright as she watched him turn and stalk from the clearing.
He disappeared.
Left.
Left me.
Fin’s jittery legs collapsed beneath her, and for a time, it was hard to breathe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Finley woke, an unfamiliar ceiling above her. She sat up suddenly, her brain taking a moment to catch on as she realized where she was.
The ship.
She was hurling through space on her parents personal craft.
Every morning for the past three days, she’d woken the same way. Surprise, confusion, and then recognition.
She was no longer on Yari, but on her way back home. To Dranza.
Fin had fantasized about this moment every waking second since the raid on Carnal Bazaar.
Why did she feel so shitty, then?
Watching Hunter walk away from her had felt like a punch to the chest. Yet, isn’t that exactly what she wanted? To be rid of him, of Yari, and back to her real life?
For three days, she’d barely left the small bedroom designated for her, opting to rest, and get her thoughts together.
A permanent lump took up residence in her throat and an unexplainable feeling of loss made it nearly incapable of keeping any food down.
But that would end today.
Feet touching the floor, Fin stood and made her way to the adjoining cleansing room.
She examined herself in the mirror, realizing how tan her skin had gotten from being outside every day, working like a slave.
A sudden pang jolted her at the thought of Brinn.
She swallowed again, the lump there immovable.
Her hair had grown a few inches in her time on Yari. It would need a good trimming once she got back to Dranza.
She pressed a panel beside the shower, stepping under the streaming water. A moan couldn’t be helped.
It felt like eternity had gone by since she’d had a hot shower. Every day she had bathed since arriving on the ship, sometimes twice. It was something she’d never take for granted again.
She got dressed, the feeling of clothing against her skin still strange after weeks of only a ru’mi and slippers, then joined her family for first meal.
“Hey sweetheart.” Theo kissed her temple when she entered the dining room.
“Hey dad.”
He grinned, nodding toward Elex who settled a heaping platter of fresh, fluffy waffles drenched in berry compote upon the table. “Dad made your favorite.”
“Mmm.” Fin quickly made her way to the table, telling herself there was nothing that would stop her from eating at least two. She refused to hurt her dad’s feelings because she couldn’t get over the image of Hunter walking away.
They all settled around, digging in.
“So, how did you guys find me?”
“When we didn’t hear from you, we contacted the authorities who directed us to a privately-run agency.” Theo volunteered. “For interplanetary missing person’s cases.”
As she’d guessed all those weeks ago.
“Then we went to Vishik once the asteroid storm passed.” Elex reached over to squeeze her shoulder. “Dana told us everything.”
Fin looked to Dana whose face was crimson. She couldn’t help but laugh a little. “It’s okay Dana. We’re adults.”
The blond mumbled, “Still embarrassing.”
“I still think we should make good on our threat.” Cait grumbled, cutting into her waffles.
Fin’s brow puckered. “What threat?”
“Theo went all high-handed lawyer on the Vishik Guard chief of Trion.” Elex sighed dreamily, winking at Theo, who cleared his throat. “Threatened to expose his corruption to Vishik’s Prime Minister if he didn’t provide the vid of your abduction.”
She took a bite of her waffles, chewing slowly.
“All we wanted was the vid, Fin.” Theo rubbed her hand, his deep voice soothing. “I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the corruption. That’s a battle I don’t care to get involved with.”
A breath she hadn’t realized she was holding slipped past her lips. Which meant Xeno was a distant memory, and she would never have to hear his name again.
“The agency had a species specialist on hand and he identified your abductor as Yarian.”
“Which led us to the port.” Cait added.
“And once we were at the port,” Elex continued, “the agency worked to scan the footage. They shared what they found, and then we set out for Yari.”
Her mother piped in again. “The agency found the three trackers, and it was trial and error from there.”
“How did you know where I was on the planet, though?” Fin ate another bite of the waffles, her tongue darting out to lick up a dab of compote upon her lip.
“That’s the trial and error. The trackers surveilled at least five tribes before they found you.”
And no one had even noticed.
She finished her waffles while her family continued to chatter.
“What happened to Paola?” She directed at Dana.
Elex made a sound of obvious distaste at the mention of that name.
“Well, after we got out of that place, I told her we were done.”
Now that surprised Fin.
“And if she couldn’t accept it, or tried to mess with our business, I would happily tell her exploits to League One for the whole world to hear. Even if it did mean mutual destruction.”
“Dana!” Fin gasped, sitting up straighter. “What did she say?”
Her bestie shrugged. “That you and I deserve each other.”
Fin snorted, and then laughed wholeheartedly.
Suddenly, she was so proud of her best friend. The fragile girl she knew mere months ago had change into a beautiful, strong woman.
They shared a smile.
****
At the end of two weeks, Fin was standing on the gray stoned driveway in front of the Morann residence, her family home. Its red bricked façade felt larger in person than in her mind. Cream paned windows dotted its front, and along its sides.
The property had been in Theo’s family for centuries, since the initial settling of the territory.
She breathed a lungful of the salty summer breeze, the boom of waves crashing against the cliffs behind her home a sound she thought she’d never hear again.
Fin expected it to take longer to reach Dor Nye, but then she remembered how outdated the Yarian cargo ship was. Slow too, apparently, since it took six weeks from Vishik to get to Yari, and it was closer to Hunter’s planet than Dor Nye.
“Welcome home.” Cait wrapped her arms around Fin’s shoulders, squeezing, and leading her up the landscaped path to the navy-blue front door.
Fin smiled half-heartedly. It was home.
So why did she feel so out of place?
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Why have you not gone after your Mi’ska?”
Hunter slid his gaze to the Tishani. He’d been summoned to the old mans lodge.
Normally, he would enjoy spending time with the wise Yarian, but not today. He knew exactly why he was there, and it only agitated him further.
“She chose to leave.”
“Did she tell you this?”
“She didn’t need to.” Hunter growled, biting into the jerky that had been offered to him. It was tasteless, as everything had been, since Finley betrayed him. “She left, did she not?”
The old man grunted, sipping his hot tea.
Everyone had been asking about his mate, and when she was coming back. His mother and Brinn especially. It surprised him that many of the village women had come to care for her.
It vexed him.
No one seemed to think Fin was lacking, or inferior. In fact, the village mourned her loss. The women loved her, Brinn adored her. Even Roki and Nik amended their initial words about her frailness after seeing how hard she worked to gather food for feevnu.
He angrily chewed.
It seemed he was the only one that had a problem with her species.
He had observed the other Shu’Lee’s of his generation and their mates as the days had passed. All seemed happy, even if the one named Ky had a mate that seemed to complain about everything.
Finley never complained.
“Were you not happy with your choice for a mate?”
The Tishani knew too much.
Hunter scowled.
“I marked her by mistake.” He said honestly, as that’s what he truly believed. “I was not meant to be saddled with such an inferior mate.”
Despite how Finley’s presence soothed away his haunting memories, and made him mourn the loss of her voice, her laughter. Even her anger.
The old man seemed to contemplate his words.
“Hunter, The True One doesn’t make mistakes.” Sipped his tea. “There is a purpose for everything, whether we understand it or not, that matters little.”
Words.
“Why do you think your mate inferior?”
He nearly snorted. Was the old man blind? Could he not see Finley’s weak body? Her dulled senses?
“You’ve seen my mate.” He looked at the Tishani suspiciously. “She has weak flesh, bad hearing and sight, and an addled mind.”
His withered face pinched, as if he didn’t believe Hunter, which ratcheted his nerves. It was plain to see. He didn’t lie.
“I have seen your mate,” he nodded, “and s
he is strong, in her own way. She has learned our ways quickly, and strives to build your stores for feevnu, yes?”
He spoke truth about her quick learning and gathering. The storage in his lodge was well stocked. It had surprised him how meticulous Finley was about that room.
Begrudgingly, he gave a curt nod.
“Are you not strong of flesh? Keen of senses?”
“I am.”
The Tishani nodded, and after a time said, “We all have our strengths and weaknesses, Hunter. Cherish the differences in your mate. You are two halves of one whole, as is the way of a Shu’Lee and his Mi’ska.”
He sat silently, contemplating the mans words.
“It’s what the Shuluh is all about.”
Later in the day, Hunter walked leisurely through the village grounds. The smell of cooking food and younglings playing touching the back of his mind as he thought about the Tishani’s words.
It was a tough piece to swallow to think what he deemed as Leeshi’s punishment for his past transgressions was, indeed, the opposite.
Uncertainty made him frown as he swept a twig off the ground, idly snapping pieces from it while he reflected.
The Tishani had a point. Finley did learn the ways of his people quickly, and she was tough of mind. She had a stubborn streak as strong as his own.
That made his lips twitch.
She had betrayed him though. How could he see past that?
I don’t know that for sure.
The last time he saw her, he realized then, he’d simply assumed. He didn’t ask her what was happening, or how her parents found her.
Once he’d left her in that field, his memory recognized their voices from when Finley called them on Vishik.
‘I could never love you!’
Her screams tortured him at night, along with Harava and his captivity. He slept, but didn’t gain rest. His mind wouldn’t allow it. And each time he stirred, he reached for her, only to grasp at empty space.
She’d screamed that she hated him before she was taken from that field.
He scowled.
When she was locked in a cell and forced to share her body for years, then she would know hate. She would know torment.
