by K. D. Jones
Ava held back her laugh when TylOR growled at Lizzie’s comment. Lizzie just waved at him and kept moving. They took a seat in the back of the room, out of the way, and waited. TylOR stood at the front, cutting a very imposing figure. Everyone grew quiet as they waited.
“Commander AshOR encountered the Morin transport a little over an hour ago. There was a battle, with moderate casualties. The Morins went on the run again, but due to the damage to my—the Kiljorn transport, we will be taking this transport and the Katieran transport to the planet that was attacked.”
“Was he hurt?” Ava called out. When everyone looked at her she felt herself blush. Her heart was beating double-time. “I mean—was anyone hurt?”
“There were some casualties among the warriors, and the planet that was attacked had a few fatalities, but Commander AshOR arrived just in time. The fatalities could have been a lot worse.”
AshOR was safe. She felt like she could breathe again. Lizzie reached over to squeeze her hand. Ava had never felt so worried over anyone in her whole life. She was so overwhelmed with relief that she didn’t hear anything else that was said in the meeting.
When it was over, she stood up to leave with Lizzie. TylOR was waiting for them at the door, and his eyes went to his mate.
“Did you eat midday meal yet?”
Lizzie shook her head. “We were on our way when we saw everyone coming here.”
“Come, I’ll escort both of you there.” He held out his arm for Lizzie to take. The way TylOR took such gentle care of his mate was one of the sweetest things Ava had seen in a long time. She longed for that.
She wondered if she and AshOR would one day have the type of relationship that his brother and Lizzie shared. She wished for that: both a passionate love and a relationship with respect, a true partnership. How was she to have that with a man who would be hunting down the enemy for months at a time, maybe even years? It was an impossible thing to want. Maybe she should cut her losses, but the idea of leaving and never seeing AshOR again felt like it would rip her heart from her chest.
Chapter 13
AshOR rested for a couple of hours before he had to get up and head back to the command center. His sleep had been sporadic lately and exhaustion was starting to catch up to him, so the medics recommended he take a couple of hours to rest and relax periodically to keep up his energy. However, they warned him that if he didn’t get enough sleep his body would soon crash. He just didn’t have time for a full night’s sleep. There was too much to be done.
He entered the command center and nodded at the second-in-command, a Kiljorn named RadIK. “How are the repairs on the remaining thrusters going?”
“We will have them up and running in a few hours. However, without all of the thrusters working properly, the power to the shields will need to be diverted to the thrusters just to make it through the wormhole.”
“Kitana!” That would leave TylOR’s transport vulnerable to attack. The Katieran transport would be able to travel alongside, but it was full of females from Earth—just what the Morins were seeking. He could not allow either of the transports to travel without full protection. “What’s the ETA of the Katieran and Colonial transports?”
“An hour at the most. Sir…” The second-in-command looked uncomfortable.
“What is it, Second Commander?”
“Sir, some of the warriors would like to travel down to the planet. It has been a while since we left Kiljor and we are due some sunlight.”
“I’ll speak with the other commanders when they arrive. I am sure that there are others who will also need some sunlight.” He sat down and watched the large viewing screen, gazing at the green planet they orbited. It had been a while since he and his own crew had spent time under the sun, as well. It was a danger that all of them faced when out in deep space for long periods of time. They needed the sunlight from a star to give them energy. AshOR thought about what he needed to do next, and decided that it would be a good time to meet with the leader of the planet and see what damage had been done.
Ava would want to go to the planet to offer her help. He didn’t want her to put herself in danger, but he figured with three transports orbiting the planet there should be plenty of warriors to protect them. He didn’t plan to let her out of his sight, either; she was too important to him.
How in Kitana did that happen? He’d known her less than a month, spent one amazing night in her bed, and already he was thinking about the long term with her. He thought about all the mated couples he had seen over the last few years. They were all happy and full of love. Not one warrior regretted committing to his female. They knew their mating was a blessing from the Goddess.
He should be thrilled to have found someone that he connected with. AshOR could not find any fault with Ava. She was kind, sweet and sexy beyond belief. His problem was that he hadn’t expected to develop feelings for anyone so quickly. He wanted to claim her for his own for forever, but was it fair to her? He still had a mission to complete, and no idea of how long it would take. Another of his lieutenants interrupted his thoughts.
“Sir, the leader of the planet below wants to speak with you.”
“I want a private line to the commander’s ready room.” AshOR stood and left the command center. He wasn’t sure what the leader wanted to speak to him about, but he figured he should keep it private for now.
*****
Several hours later AshOR greeted his brother, who had traveled over on a shuttle. His brother brought with him the commander for the Katieran transport, LemAN. AshOR glanced again at the shuttle after the two of them exited.
“Is Lizzie with you?”
TylOR shook his head. “I wanted her to remain on your transport until we are ready to go back to the wormhole. What’s the status on the repairs?”
AshOR motioned for them to follow him. “Your crew has been working hard on the damage to the thrusters, but the ones that are completely destroyed they could do nothing with. We’ve lost five thrusters in all. Power from the shields will have to be diverted to the thrusters to compensate when you are ready to go through the wormhole.”
“That’s going to leave my ship without full protection,” TylOR growled.
“I know.” He entered the ready room and waited for TylOR and the Katieran commander to take a seat before closing the door. “They took us by surprise. We reduced the shields to allow our warships out, and they came up behind us. We didn’t detect them until they had already fired on us. Whatever the Morins used to camouflage their transport they can also use to shield their warships and shuttles. I should have known better.”
TylOR sighed. “It would have happened to any commander in your place. Your focus was on the planet that was under attack, as it should have been. You saved them. If you had not come when you did, the planet and its people would not have survived. We will make it through the wormhole, we will just have to have our warships escort us. Between them and the Katieran transport, we should have enough protection.”
“You won’t have to worry about that. I’ll be escorting you back as well.”
TylOR looked at him in surprise. “You’re giving up on your mission?”
“No, just passing it on to the next commander. I requested that Leader LarIS send another transport to take over for me.”
He could tell his brother wanted to say something but was holding back. The Katieran commander spoke up. “What is the status of the planet that was attacked? Do they need medical attention?”
“I spoke with Leader Toro of Balar. They would appreciate any medical assistance, and some of their food supplies have been destroyed. They import some of their goods and have a transport coming in a few weeks, so they just need enough to last them until then.”
Commander LemAN nodded. “We have more than enough medical supplies and food we can give them. I would like to go to the planet and meet the leader myself. I will bring medics and volunteers.”
“I plan to offer the same from my ship when I get
back. I can have the shuttle readied for all three of us to go to the planet in less than an hour.”
“I would like to send a transmission to Katiera. Prime Leader RendEL will want to know why our arrival will be delayed.”
“Of course. You can use this room. I’ll have communications arranged for you.” AshOR stood up with TylOR and followed him out of the ready room.
TylOR pulled him to the side. “Are you sure you want to give up your mission? It has meant everything to you. We will be fine to get through the wormhole on our own.”
AshOR sighed. “Your transport problems aren’t the only reason I made the decision to return.”
TylOR squinted at him. “The female?”
AshOR nodded. “I think Ava is my true bond mate. I can’t send her off without first finding out if what I feel for her is the real thing. We’ve had so little time together.”
“You shared sex with her. Did you give her your seed?”
AshOR felt awkward talking about this with another male, especially his brother. He had no one else he could discuss it with, though. “We shared sex one night, but no, I did not claim her with my seed.”
TylOR looked shocked. “If she is your true bond mate, how did you hold back? I couldn’t with Lizzie, she made me lose control.”
“I do not want to hear about your sex life with my new sister.” AshOR paused before finally confessing, “I nearly lost control several times. I want to keep my honor and make sure that Ava choses me. Plus I needed to fulfill my duties. Having a mate complicates everything.”
“I felt the same way about Lizzie. I had been consumed with being commander. My people needed me, but having a mate makes things better if you let it. She will be there for you and your people. I didn’t realize how much I was missing until Lizzie came into my life.”
“Don’t you worry about her being in danger?”
“All the time. There is not one moment I don’t think about her safety. Having her travel with me on my missions has been a blessing and at the same time nerve-wracking.”
“How do you do it, then? I have this need in me to take Ava somewhere safe and keep her there.”
TylOR chuckled as he clasped a hand to AshOR’s shoulder. “Brother, I’ve tried to do that and found out the hard way that my mate does not want to be kept safe if it means she has to be away from me. She threatened to cut me off sexually if I left her behind.”
AshOR smiled at that. He could just hear his little sister-in-law say that. “Did she cave because of the young?” They started walking down the corridor.
“We both did. It would be difficult to raise a child if I am always on a transport battling our enemies. I grew up without a father, and when my mother died I was all alone. I want to be there for my son or daughter, and I want to be there for Elizabeth.”
Images of Ava holding their young in her arms flashed through his mind. “Before meeting Ava, I didn’t think I was ready to settle down and have a family.”
“What do you think now that you have met her?”
“I think I want it all: a mate, a family, a home.”
“AshOR, you need to be sure. Don’t lead her on if you aren’t ready to commit to her.”
“I won’t.” That would not only hurt Ava, it would be like tearing out his own heart.
Chapter 14
Ava was anxious to get to the planet. She had been in the medic wing when the call came for volunteers to go down and bring medical care and supplies, and she immediately offered her assistance. Since she’d helped with the last planet, no one argued with her. She wanted to help these people, but she also wanted to go because she’d been told by one of the lieutenants that AshOR was on the planet with his brother. She wanted to check on him and make sure he really was okay. She had heard nothing from him and she just didn’t want to wait any longer.
She overheard some of the lieutenants discussing the damages done to the Kiljorn transport. It sounded like everyone was okay, but she’d feel better once she saw him with her own eyes. So she was now in a shuttle, landing on another foreign planet. She was becoming quite the explorer.
“Wait here until we have the clearance to go ahead and unload,” the lieutenant in charge of the team ordered. She was told that it was safe, and the Morins were gone. She just hoped they didn’t leave behind as much death and destruction as they had on Norad.
“Okay, move out. Remember to stay with your team.”
Ava followed the medics off of the shuttle, helping them carry some of their medical supplies. She knew other shuttles were bringing down food. She sighed in relief at seeing only a few buildings burned to the ground, but she wasn’t totally reassured; there might have been people inside those buildings.
“Excuse me, Medic…”
“I’m Medic DavON.”
“Medic DavON, do we have a count of the injured and those who were lost?” She made sure to word her question carefully in case any locals were nearby. She didn’t want to offend anyone.
“Balar’s total population is a little over a hundred thousand. They are spread out, and about a third of the planet is uninhabitable because of the mountainous regions. The main city seems to have been hit the hardest during the Morin attack, and so far we have received word that they have a hundred injured and less than twenty fatalities.”
“They were lucky. After what I saw the Morins could do to the Norads, I was expecting it to be a lot worse,” she commented, following him to the nearest hover-carts. All the supplies were stacked on the carts so that they could move them to different locations more easily. “Why do you think less damage was done?”
“The Balars are more advanced than the Norads; they have their own weapons and warships. The Norads were primitive and lived in huts. Their weapons were bows, arrows, and spears. They rely on hand-to-hand combat. The Morins are a weak and cowardly people. They would not resort to hand-to-hand unless it was absolutely necessary.”
Ava helped the medics set up a triage and do minor treatment of people caught outside during the attack. With the medic tents set up they were moving the injured there first before taking them inside the main building.
The first thing they did was inject a translator in each patient so that they could understand them and better assess their injuries. She bandaged cuts on arms and legs, applied ointments to wounds, and talked to each person, letting them know it would all be okay. They were curious about her as well. One little boy, whose arm she was putting a salve on, kept barraging her with questions.
“How far away is your planet? Are all the females on your plant so pretty? Do you have a mate?”
She smiled and answered him patiently. “It took three weeks just to get from my planet to yours. So that’s pretty far in my mind. The women of my planet come in all different shapes and sizes and skin colors. I do not have a mate.” A growl from behind her made her turn around quickly.
“AshOR.” She felt her heart skip a beat, and immediately wanted to leap into his arms and kiss him. She scanned his body and didn’t see any injuries. “I mean, Commander AshOR, I see that you are doing well.”
“I am. Are you okay?”
“Is this your mate?” the little boy demanded, getting their attention.
“No.”
“Yes.”
They both answered at the same time. Ava was now feeling her initial anger over him leaving her without a word coming back and replacing her worry. “The last time I checked, you were in too much of a hurry to leave me to make any kind of claim.”
“Ava, there was no time. It was critical that I leave immediately, in order to get here in time to stop the Morins.”
Ava helped the little boy down and directed him back to his mother, who was waiting outside the tent. She looked back around to glare at AshOR. She didn’t say a word, just turned and walked away. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to hug him or yell at him. Her feelings were hurt, but she felt such relief that he was okay. He really confused her.
She could feel Ash
OR following her. Maybe she was overreacting, but if there was a chance for them to work on a relationship, he would have to take her feelings into account and not make decisions that affected her without talking to her first.
“Wait up, Ava!” He reached out and grabbed her arm to make her stop walking.
“Why? If you get to walk away I have every right to do the same.” She yanked her arm free.
“I wasn’t walking away from you, I was doing my duty to my people. I was trying to save another planet from being destroyed by the Morins.”
Damn it! She couldn’t fault him for that. She stopped walking and turned around to look at him as he approached her. “I would never keep you from doing your duty.” A tear escaped and ran down her face.
He cupped her cheek, brushing away the tear. “I should have told you I was leaving. I was afraid.”
She looked at him in disbelief. “Afraid of what?”
“Of you, of how you make me feel. If you had looked at me with those beautiful eyes of yours and asked me not to go, I would not be able to refuse you.”
“I told you before, I would never interfere with you doing your job. I respect what you do and understand all the responsibility on your shoulders as a commander. I want to be there to give you support. I wanted you to give me the courtesy of letting me know you were leaving. I have been worrying about you non-stop.”
He pulled her to him, taking her into his arms. It felt so good, so safe, having him hold her. She didn’t want to leave him—ever. This was where she belonged.
AshOR leaned down and took her lips in a searing kiss. There was urgency in it, like he was desperate to get a response from her. She felt pretty desperate too.
“AshOR,” she moaned in between when he let her breathe. He lifted her up, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him. He was alive and well and in her arms once more. She never wanted to take this for granted, and she never wanted their embrace to end. He growled and started walking toward an outcropping of trees. They entered into the shady area, away from prying eyes, and when he finally stopped she felt something hard and rough against her back.
