by KD Jones
“Not much. The only Isian I have known is Isis. Their planet is cold. They have tattoos that appear naturally.”
“Yes, their Life markings. They appear at each stage of a person’s life. Birth, Puberty, Adulthood, Mating, Breeding, and Death.”
“Mating?” Torch stiffened in his seat.
“Yes. It doesn’t usually happen but if an Isian finds their true mate, a Mating mark will appear above their heart,” Nigel told him.
“Does both mates have the markings?” Torch opened his shirt to check his chest.
“If they are both Isian, then yes. They would activate each other's marks. Why?” Nigel asked.
“Does the Council recognize the Mating mark?” Torch was feeling anxious.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait until we reach Isia to ask our Isian representative. Why do you ask?”
“Because, I think Isis has a Mating mark,” Torch said.
Nigel sat up straight. “She didn’t have one the last time I saw her. When did it appear?”
Torch growled. “You checked out her chest?”
“I’m a male, of course I checked out her chest. Often. The GCFA costumes leave little to the imagination. But get back to the question. When did she develop the mark?”
“I think it was right after the first time we had sex,” Torch told him.
“Was it over the heart? What did it look like?” Nigel began typing something on his phone.
“Yes, right over her heart. Two interconnecting circles.”
“Is this it?” Nigel showed an image on his phone. It had two interconnecting circles.
“Yes, that’s it. Does everyone on Isia get the same mark?” Torch touched the picture on Nigel’s phone.
“According to this. Every Isian mark has different colors based on their family lineage and some are larger or smaller. What color was Isis’s?”
“Silver and blue, I think. What does this mean for us?”
“Let me call the rep from Isia and tell him this news. It may help stall the union until we get there,” Nigel told him.
Torch looked out the window. He touched his own heart with his hand. He wished he was Isian, then he would probably have a matching Mating mark. Why didn’t Isis tell him about the mark? Did she not trust him? Was she embarrassed about not being mated to another Isian? They would definitely have a lot to work through when he finally caught up with her. A lot.
*****
Isis sat in the small holding cell on the ship. She was chained to the wall and she could barely lift her head. The collar sent pain shockwaves if she moved so she stayed still. They hadn't fed her anything either. They wanted her weak, so when they arrived she couldn’t fight or protest the union.
She wasn’t going to let them tear her down. They might be hurting her physically, but mentally, she was stronger than that. She would keep herself sane. Then she would tell the Council where they could shove their fucking union. Right up Ishop’s ass.
What kept her focused was Torch. Thinking about him, remembering back to the first moment she met him. He had told her, “Hey, baby, let’s go melt the sheets shall we?” His cocky swagger, the way he smiled and winked at the female fans to get them fanning themselves.
However, there was so much more to Torch than what he presented to the world. The way he was always so gentle and sweet to his niece, Angel. How he helped his friends out without seeming like he was doing it because he didn’t want them to thank him. A tear trailed down her cheek as she remembered how he would look at the picture on his table of his dead brother. It was clear he loved his brother and missed him. But even more than that, was the way he was with her.
It wasn’t just their physical relationship, which was hot. He looked at Isis and knew exactly who she was. He showed her that he knew her when they went on their first date. He touched her heart with his gentleness. Torch looked at her and saw right to her soul.
She replayed in her mind every moment they shared together. Like watching a movie. She could hear his voice calling her name. His laughter when someone told a bad joke. The taste of him, she could still taste him on her lips, feel his hands on her body. She could feel his lips as he nibbled her neck.
Isis could see how much he cared for her in everything he did. Why had she not seen it before? Why didn’t she tell him how much she loved him? Why didn’t she tell him about the Mate mark? She had made so many mistakes with Torch, she prayed she would have a chance to correct them. I love you, Torch and I am coming back to you as soon as I can.
*****
Torch and Nigel had loaded the space shuttle that would take them to the Isle of Isia. The ship didn’t look like much but Zen had sworn the ship and the pilot were the best. And that the pilot owed Zen a favor so he agreed to take Nigel and Torch for free.
“Well that was Tolis. He’s a younger councilman that serves occasionally on the Isian Council. I went to school with him. He says that if we can show Isis’s Mate mark to the Council, they have to release her from her arranged union to Ishop. Unless Ishop has a matching mark.”
“Have they arrived yet?” Torch asked.
“No. But Tolis will notify me as soon as they do. In the meantime, we need to go over some things. There are certain customs that we have to adhere to in order to be allowed to be presented to the Council.”
“I’m not jumping through hoops for these assholes. They made an arranged union with a child to this creep.” Torch crossed his arms over his chest. The thought of that repelled him.
“I understand your anger. It is an outdated way to look at things, but this is a custom for the Isian people. We aren’t going to get her back by going in there with guns blazing,” Nigel said.
“Fine. What are the customs?”
“First, we will be introduced to the Council. They won’t ask why we are there until our second day. On the second day, we'll be allowed to speak to the Council and present our case. Isis will not be allowed to speak until after Ishop is questioned.”
“Why? He could try to get out of it?” Torch didn’t understand all these stupid procedures. He just wanted to get there, grab Isis, and leave.
“Ishop is a prince and is treated as if he is above that kind of nonsense. The Isians will inject us with a type of truth serum to force us to be truthful. Ishop will be given the same serum before he is questioned. After Ishop is questioned, then Isis will be brought before the Council to answer their questions. It may be day four before that happens. It is then that she can reveal her Mate mark.”
“Then she will be released right?” Torch looked at Nigel to gage his honesty.
Nigel looked away. “The Council has to make that decision. The decision day is usually done on the fifth day.”
“That is just bullshit!” Torch wanted to hit something.
“It is their customs, Torch, we have to follow them or they won’t allow us to be presented to the Council,” Nigel warned him.
“Fine, I’ll follow the stupid customs,” he grumbled.
“Good. I need to go make a call.” Nigel stood and walked away.
Torch leaned his head back and closed his eyes. No matter how fast the ship was, it was still going to take them almost twenty-four hours to arrive on the Isle of Isia. Isis would get there before him.
An image of Isis laying naked on his bed smiling up at him came to his mind. God, she was beautiful. Her silvery blonde hair in braids or cornrows falling all around. Those blue eyes so clear and intelligent. He wondered what she ever saw in him. He wasn’t royal like Ishop, a gentleman like Nigel, suave like Zen, or smart. Torch knew he was crude and uncivilized most of the time and he made smart aleck remarks. Isis was the complete opposite of him.
He thought about her voice, sexy and sweet. He longed to hear her say again, “Fuck me harder!” For someone so quiet to hear, her cussing was a real turn on for him. Knowing he reduced her to that was even more a turn on.
He hated how they had fought right before her match. He should have let her explain. He could have take
n her back to his bed and not let her out until she agreed to mate him officially.
He remembered the softness of her kisses. Her shivers when he removed her clothes. The feel of her cool body against his hot one, bringing them into a wet rapture neither could deny.
He missed everything about her. Torch was determined to get her back. And when he did, he would make sure she had no reason to ever leave him. He would be the male that she deserved. Soon, baby, I’ll have you back soon.
*****
“Sir, you wished to be notified once we reached the solar system for the Isle of Isia,” the pilot said over the intercom.
Ishop responded, “Thank you.”
He walked over to look out the window. Soon he would be back on his home world. He could not wait. He would present Isis before the Council for the union ceremony. Then he would finally lay claim to that tight little body of hers. He knew that she was no longer innocent. That disappointed him. He had hoped to claim that from her. But alas, the damn halfsie got to her first. Despite all that, her value wasn’t in her innocence, it was in her ability to breed him an heir.
He would take great pleasure in forcing the little female to do his bidding. Maybe after he broke her in, he may keep her a little while longer. Her skin pinkened to a lovely shade when he hit her. Ishop usually hung in groups that were used to that type of rough sex. But he would like to have someone new to that world that he could break in. He looked forward to more of that with her.
First, he had to present her before the Council for the union ceremony. Then he would take his time breaking her in. Once he bred her thoroughly, he would send her away to a guarded level until she was ready to have his heir. Then he would bring the heir before the Council. He would be pronounced King of Isia as he was born to.
He came from a royal family with bloodlines tracing back to the fifth king of Isia. Ishop would finally take his rightful place. Then he would ban all outsiders from contact with Isia. If it had not been for the GCFA ship landing about a year ago and taking Isis away, he would be mated already and already halfway to the throne.
“Soon, I shall reign over it all.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Damn, GCFA scum!” Ishop was furious. He walked into his suite at the Isian Palace. His ship landed just six hours ago and he went before the Council to request an immediate union ceremony. Only to be told the ceremony would need to wait until the Council has heard the plea from the GCFA representatives on their way to Isia.”
Clovis knew all this since she serviced some of the Council members, but she looked at Ishop sympathetically. “Do not worry, my king, it is merely a formality. They have to hear the GCFA request. We know they have no grounds and will be denied in two days' time.”
“Is this what you have heard from your contacts on the Council?” he questioned her.
“Yes. They have to receive the visitors when they arrive in an hour. But their claims won’t be heard until tomorrow. There is every possibility that it will get thrown out by tomorrow and the visitors ordered to leave.” She worked on removing his shirt from him. Best to distract him from his temper otherwise she would pay heavily for it. He liked to hit when he was angry.
“You make it sound easy.” He moved her hands off him. Clovis didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation. Any delay there was in the union was a delay in him becoming king.
“It will work out, we will see to it together,” Clovis told him before she removed her own clothing. His eyes lit on her and he was properly distracted for the time being.
*****
Torch walked off the ship’s ramp at the spaceport dock on the Isle of Isia. He looked around the planet and noticed how starkly beautiful it was and deadly cold. The surface of the planet was not a good environment for most species to live and prosper. He was told by Nigel that many have to live beneath the surface of the planet.
They went through security and customs. On the other side, a tall blonde male with a suit stood watching them. He must be their Isian representative.
Nigel stepped forward and shook hands with the stranger. “Tolis, nice to meet you again.”
“Mr. Nigel, it is a pleasure to see you again. It has been too long.” He turned his eyes to stare at Torch and frowned. “A Voltan halfsie?”
“I’m Torch.” He didn’t reach out to shake hands and the Isian didn’t offer his own hand either.
Tolis nodded and then directed them to follow him. “Come with me. I will show you to your suite where you will await the Council to call you forth for a formal introduction.”
They followed him through the clear tube walkway toward the palace. It was what a castle on Earth would look like except that much of the exterior was carved out of pure ice. The next three layers were made of steel.
This was where Isis had grown up, in a palace. Torch couldn’t offer her this. He had been with the GCFA long so his pay wasn’t anywhere near the other veteran fighters. Would she even want to return with him? What if Ishop somehow won her over?
There were guards stationed all along the hallway and outside of the suite that Tolis took them to. Torch looked around at the accommodations. This was nicer than his suite on the GCFA ship. What must Isis’s suite look like?
“I will come back in about two hours and take you before the Council,” Tolis started to leave.
“Wait. I want to see Isis,” Torch told him.
Tolis frowned. “I will have to petition the Council to allow you to see her. She has been staying in the suite with Prince Ishop. No one has seen her since they arrived.”
She was staying with Ishop. Did that mean they were together? “I want to see her as soon as possible,” he started to question his decision to come for her. If she chooses Ishop, then he came all this way just to have his heart ripped out. Well, if she was going to break his heart, she should at least do it in person.
“Again, I will have to request it of the Council,” Tolis said, looking firmly at Torch.
“We understand and we will abide by your customs. Thank you for your help, Tolis,” Nigel said, smoothing out the ruffled feathers.
Tolis nodded and left them alone. Nigel turned to Torch. “You said you would follow their customs.”
“Why hasn’t anyone seen her since she arrived? They arrived hours before us. We are being seen by the Council within two hours of our arrival. Shouldn’t they have seen her as well?” Torch questioned him.
Nigel nodded his head. “I agree something is off.”
“I need to find her, Nigel.” He had this feeling that she needed him. His instincts were never wrong.
“Alright. I will distract the guards outside while you attempt to find her. I visited here only once before. The royal suites are at the opposite end of the hallway that we are on. I suspect Prince Ishop will have the suite with the most guards. You have two hours before you need to be back here. We cannot miss the Council summons,” Nigel told him.
“I understand. Thanks,” Torch said.
“Again, I am doing this for Isis.” Nigel went to his bedroom. There was a loud bang. Then he came back out rubbing his knuckles. “Ready?”
Torch went to stand behind the door. Nigel opened the door and motioned for the guards outside to come in.
One of the guards looked at Nigel curiously. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“There is a hole in the wall in my room. Could you check it to make sure it is safe?”
“Yes, where is the other male that came with you?”
“He’s using the bathroom.” Nigel had the guards follow him into his bedroom.
Torch snuck out and made his way down the hallway. He ducked into an open doorway when he noticed a guard that was headed in his direction. The guard had on a uniform with a helmet thing. Torch grabbed the guard as he passed and used a sleeper hold to make the male pass out. Then Torch put on the guard’s uniform over his clothes. He tied the guard's arms and legs and stuffed something in his mouth to keep him quiet. He locked the door to
the empty room behind him as he left.
Torch walked down the long hallway. He knew he was getting closer as he saw more and more guards guarding suites. He passed one that had twice as many guards than all the others. This had to be Prince Ishop’s suite.
He went further down until he was just out of sight of the guards. He took a glove off his hand and pressed it against the electrical outlet. He sent a surge of heat through his hand. A spark lit right up that went right back to the outlet. Torch waited until he knew his fire was taking. Then he headed back in the direction where the guards were at.
As he passed them one of the guards yelled out, “Fire!” The fire alarm was set off and people rushed out of the suites. He watched as Ishop and his courtesan stumbled out. They were barely wearing clothes; clearly they had been in bed together. Some of the guards ushered the royals down the hall to safety while the other guards went to put out the fire.
Torch entered Ishop’s suite closing the door behind him. He found nothing in the front room. He went to the master bedroom, which must be Ishop’s room. Clothes were strode all over the floor and the bed sheets were rumpled. He was about leave when he heard a whimpering coming from the closet.
*****
Isis hated the dark. If she had energy, she could have been kicking at the door in an attempt to get help. She heard the fire drill and knew there was no one around to hear her cries.
She was so tired. She must be in bad shape because she was hearing things now. It sounded like Torch calling her name. The door to the closet was locked from the outside. When it opened, she was temporarily blinded.
“Isis?”
She couldn’t say his name. There was something covering her mouth. When her eyes began to focus, she moaned at the wonderful sight of him. Was this real? Could he really be here?
“Oh God no!” Torch knelt down next to her. Her arms were tied and hung up on the clothing rack. Her legs were tied back behind at a painful angle. He removed the thing in her mouth.
“Torch?” Isis croaked.
“Hey, baby. I’m going to get you out of here.” He gently touched her cheek with his fingers.
