by Bethany Aan
After a few minutes of silence, Hunter looked up and glared at Arianna.
“Your world sucks.”
She stared at him, unable to hold back a little snort of surprise. She’d said such things to him before, but he’d never said it to her. At least he’d used it correctly.
“I agree,” Sean scowled angrily. “Do you know how many of those girls have been violated?”
Arianna said nothing, blocking the dark thought in her head quickly. But Sean’s eyes darted to her, narrowing. She kept her head down but met his gaze from beneath her lashes, mentally begging him to drop it. His mental touch was gentle but firm as he assured her that they would talk later. The ‘whether you like it or not’ was implied.
“That kind of thing happens all the time on my world.” Ri sat up, trying to ease the tension in her lower back. “But let’s not dwell on that. We need to figure out how to integrate these families. And I’m lost. There are very few religions back home that allow polygamy, and even among those, it is not really the norm.” She explained about the Mormon sect of Christianity and how even among Mormons, polygamy was only embraced by a small percentage, and decried by the rest.
“So yes, it’s not a completely foreign concept, but it is one that is looked on as contemptible to many of these girls. They’ve been brought up to believe that it is wrong and ugly.”
“Ironically, by the same fathers and uncles who molested them as young children,” Sean spat. He stood up and paced restlessly around the room. When he stopped and looked back at Ri, she felt his genuine confusion and frustration. “I don’t know how to approach this situation. In our world, these things do not happen to our children, not by their families. I do not know how to process it.”
“Sean, don’t try right now,” Ri said wearily. “I don’t know what to do, either, but we have to do something. Don’t we?”
Thankfully, as it turned out, they didn’t. The teams worked things out, but it took some time. The ‘other’ women were gracious and understanding, patient with the Earth girls as they learned to live together. It helped that Arianna and Bev collected as much information as they could on marriage and cohabitation laws and traditions, both secular and non-secular, from their world and presented it to the Thorsani women.
Not to be out-done, Bev then worked with Salaiya to do the same thing from the Thorsani perspective and presented it to the human girls. Knowing each other’s cultures and traditions helped smooth over most of the hurt feelings, since now each knew where the other was coming from. It also helped, a lot, that there was no ‘seniority’ or pecking order. The women were equal in the household, just as the men were, though ultimately, if a decision must be made, it did fall on the team leader. It was their way.
Once the Earthlings realized that they still had a place and a say in their family lives, they stopped fighting the situation, stopped thinking that their men would dump them for the previous mate, and life finally settled back down.
But then another pressing problem arose, one that would take every member of the colony to set straight. Food stores were going to run low. Quickly. Hunter met with the Colonial officers as well as the officers of the Adelphae, and Arianna and the girls she thought of as her ‘team’… Bev, Kim, and Chelsea, as representatives of the human group.
“I think that we will be fine, once we have a plan,” Hunter told them, once everyone was gathered and settled in the meeting room. “We have already begun plans for a greenhouse area. There is enough glass tubing from the slaver ship to quadruple our current plans, and judging by the amounts of food we’re going through now, a continuous supply will be welcome, and necessary.”
“We still have the chemicals and part of the hydroponics section on the Adelphae, though it needs repair,” Geoff said. “If we combine that with your current plans, I think we can easily solve this issue, other than meat.”
“Of which there is plenty in the forest. We may also be able to domesticate some of the non-sentient animals enough for ranching,” Hunter said thoughtfully. He sighed. “But we’re also going to need to figure out more living quarters, and bigger suites for the family merges we have now. I’ve already got my teams working on another building like the current one, only larger. And with the influx of workers, we should be able to complete it before winter locks us into the valley. There are also supplies for at least three more dorms, should we need them.”
As he explained the seasons and the way his battalion had dealt with them in the past, Arianna felt the sudden overwhelming need for fresh air. Excusing herself and turning the meeting over to Bev in her place, she slipped out of the room. She headed toward her favorite bench in the courtyard and sat beneath the tree, her back against it. She knew she should be in there, in the meeting, but she was so very tired right now. Her tummy was growing bigger each day, far beyond what she felt was healthy. And she’d been around enough pregnant women to know what ‘normal’ was for her people. This was not it.
As she sat there, her head began growing light, the all too familiar whomp-whomp starting up, and she was afraid that she’d pass out alone. Before she could contact Hunter for help, though, she felt a hand on her shoulder and energy shifted into her. She closed her eyes, accepting Sean’s touch and his gift. When she opened them, he was holding a large glass of juice for her.
“You felt a bit wobbly when you left,” he offered. “Mom got like that with all of her pregnancies.”
“Thank you,” Ri said softly. He smiled at her.
“Don’t thank me. I’m just taking care of my niece or nephew.” She saw the longing in his eyes as they drifted down to her stomach. He’d been doing that a lot, since his arrival on Ishira. Finally giving in, she sighed and moved her hands out of the way.
“Go ahead,” she said. He glanced up at her, startled. She nodded. He leaned closer, his hand moving to the rounded hardness of her belly, and rested his palm there gently. She watched as he closed his eyes and searched for the life inside of her, felt the warmth of his unconditional love enveloping her baby, and softened towards him. He kissed her belly reverently then sat back.
“Thank you,” he whispered. She smiled shyly up at him. “I just wanted to see for myself that they’re okay.”
“Yes, they’re…” Arianna paused, blinking at him. “They?”
“You didn’t know?” he asked, wincing.
She laid her hand on her belly in wonder.
“Twins?” she breathed. He shook his head, hesitantly. “Tell me!”
“I’m not sure I…”
“Sean, I swear I’ll knock your head off your shoulders!”
He chuckled at that and met her adorable glare with a grin.
“Not twins, but brother and sister… cousins.”
Trying to figure that out made Ri’s head hurt. She told him so.
“In Earth-speak?” she implored him. He laughed outright at that.
“One for each of my brothers,” he said proudly, rubbing her tummy again. She felt a tiny little bump against her belly, right under his hand. He shot his gaze to hers and her hand covered his, pressing it close as they shared the moment and the wonder of new life. When the kicking stopped, he sighed wistfully and moved back. “My brothers are very lucky men,” he told her huskily. She blushed and looked away, not quite comfortable with his flirting yet.
“I’m the lucky one,” she assured him. “Hunter and Jace have been wonderful to me.”
“Well, of course they have. Who do you think taught them to deal with women?” he grinned cockily at her.
“You?” she asked, eyebrow raised. He nodded and winked at her.
“I have a special gift,” he told her. She rolled her eyes.
“So I’ve heard.” She was about to say something else when a sudden thought popped into her head. “Sean, would you do me a tremendous favor?”
Several minutes later, they were standing outside the door to Rian’s quarters, where Amy was sequestered.
“Are you sure?” Ri said, feeli
ng a bit of trepidation. She knew what Amy was capable of, knew what Sean was up against. She had tried to prepare him, but he seemed to think he could help, at least a little.
“If I can’t help her,” Sean said quietly, “She is beyond hope. I have to try.”
Ri knocked on the door, then stood off to the side so that Amy wouldn’t see her when she answered the door.
Sean introduced himself as Hunter’s brother and told Amy that he was there to help assess her mental state. Now that there were so many other people around, they had to be sure that it was safe to have her near others. Amy, sensing a new target for her drama, was as sweet as she could be as she invited him into her quarters.
Less than five minutes later, Sean was hurrying from the suite, his stride purposeful and swift.
“Keep her confined!” Sean’s voice was clipped and furious as he shot the order at Lor.
She called out to him, but he moved past her, heading for the command center. Arianna couldn’t hope to keep up with his long legs. Sensing his fear and determination, Ri lifted her skirt and followed as quickly as she could.
“Commander,” Sean said peremptorily as he entered the meeting room. Everyone looked up, his entrance stopping the current topic abruptly. Hunter straightened, knowing that his brother would never disrespect him, so the matter must be urgent. When Arianna skidded to a breathless halt behind Sean, Hunter beckoned for them to enter and sit down. Sean paced instead, as Ri found her seat once more and collapsed into it, trying to catch her breath.
“Hunter, you have a deadly threat,” Sean finally said, scrubbing a hand over his face. Hunter leaned on the table, watching his brother and waiting. Sean looked around, wondering if he should talk to Hunter privately. But knowing that the people present were the ones who needed to make the decision, he went on. “I’ve just been to visit one of Ri’s ladies.”
Hunter shot Arianna a questioning glance. She nodded toward Sean, who continued.
“Arianna thought that it would be wise to employ my special Reading skills for one of the women who has caused a bit of… trouble.”
“Why would you all block your thoughts from me when he says ‘trouble’?” Aleah asked quietly. Hunter, Ri, and Sean all turned guilty looks on her. Jace, putting it all together, sighed and turned toward his mother.
“The woman who has caused the trouble almost got me killed,” Jace said bluntly.
“And Rom,” Trey offered. Since Aleah was his team’s aunt, it stood to reason she needed to know about both men. Her eyes turned stormy.
“And why are we discussing her? Why is she not already a non-issue?” Aleah asked coldly. Hunter sighed.
“Because when it happened, we had no idea how long we would be here, and every woman was required.”
“And I did not want to be the cause of another being’s death,” Jace said quietly. His mother’s eyes went soft and she finally nodded.
“The situation has changed,” Arianna put in quietly.
All heads turned toward her. She felt sick at what she knew she had to do. She exchanged a long look with her officers, who all nodded. Rising to her feet, she took a deep breath. “Amy is one of my people. She has grievously wronged two of yours. At this point, I will officially abdicate her fate to your discretion. You may punish her as your laws dictate, and I will not try to stop you, nor will I ask for clemency.”
“You are rather intimately involved in the situation,” Aleah pointed out. “Are you sure that you want to do this? Would you like for one of your seconds to make the call instead?”
“Her second in command is mated to Rom,” Bev pointed out quietly. “And I concur with my leader’s decision. We will abide by Commander Hunter’s choice.”
Everyone looked at Chelsea, who simply shrugged. “I thought the Commander should have dealt with her that first day, when she tried to take his head off back at the crash site. I side with Commander Ri.”
That left Kim, who, as the only other person in the room not related to either Jace or Rom, by blood or marriage, knew that her word could cost one of her companions her life. For a long moment, Kim thought about the responsibility and didn’t want it. But then she seemed to stiffen her spine and nodded.
“As the only person without a personal attachment to those injured, I will agree with my leaders.” Sensing that they wanted more, Kim leaned forward and spoke haltingly. “But I’d like to temper that with the fact that I’ve known Amy since we were kids.” Bev and Ri gaped at her. She chuckled sadly and shook her head. “She’s actually my second cousin. I’ve known her all my life. She has valid reasons for being as harsh and calculating as she is. I won’t deny that. Our family life was… horrible.”
Sean stiffened, Reading Kim’s open mind, his face suffusing with color. His rage was palpable to the other Readers in the room. Kim, oblivious, continued.
“But there are ways to deal with things that have happened to you, and there aren’t. I’ve had to sit back and watch her hurt far too many people. She has literally destroyed lives with her machinations and schemes, all for her own amusement. I saw Amy break up a marriage between my sister and her husband, just to prove she could. My family has never been the same, and it didn’t need to happen.
“Her mom and step-dad tried everything, but finally just sent her away so they wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that when I chose my college. We ended up in the same class together one semester, and my life has been hell ever since.” She sighed sadly and looked at Sean. “What did you sense when you spoke with her?”
“She is damaged beyond repair or rehabilitation,” he said starkly. Kim nodded, as though she had expected nothing less.
“As her only family member present, I will go on record as saying that not only do I concur with my leaders to turn her over to your people for judgment, but it is my experience and suggestion that she not be allowed to remain with the general public until such time as a sentence is decided. As we have no jails and our resources really should go toward other things… and because she did nearly kill two of our highest ranking warriors… I … think that she should not remain a burden or a danger to the community.”
Sean nodded slowly, then rose and faced the gathering.
“And it is my professional assessment, as a Counselor, that this woman will not only cause more trouble, but that allowing her to live will only open the opportunity for her to create escalating events with more injuries, perhaps death. She is very skilled at manipulation, very smart, and criminally insane and deluded. She believes that she will gain an exorbitant amount of power if she can get Hunter and Jace away from Arianna. I have no idea why she feels this way, but when she found out that I was their brother…” he shuddered. “I felt her set her sights on me, as well. I fear for Arianna’s life, and that of her children, as well as my brothers and myself, should she be allowed to live.”
“So we’re in agreement then… Did you say ‘children’?” Hunter shot a look at Arianna, then at Sean. Sean chuckled wearily.
“It’s not exactly the time, but yes… your mate is having two children, not one. And you’re both the fathers.”
For a moment, everyone was quiet as they tried to figure out how that could have happened, then turned, almost as one, to look at Arianna. She turned beet red and groaned as she laid her forehead on the table, covering her head with her arms, as the logistics were figured out and everyone knew that she’d had them both, either one right after the other, or at the same time. Beneath the table, Bev rubbed her leg in an attempt at comfort. But it wasn’t Bev’s mother-, father-, and brother-in-law chuckling over her embarrassment at the moment.
She sat back as Hunter changed the topic back to Amy’s sentencing and sent one of his men to bring Amy and the Protocol team to the meeting room. Arianna got to her feet, moving to Hunter’s side. He and Sean stopped and looked at her.
“Hunter, I can’t be here for this.” He nodded, understanding. “Do you need me to lend support to the decis
ion?”
“I don’t think anyone is going to champion her,” Hunter shrugged. “And I will make it very clear that this is how our law works, to take any of the onus from you.”
“Thank you,” she said gratefully, leaning against him for a moment, then stepping back and smiling at Sean. “And thank you. That had to be difficult. I think I am going to go take a bath and rest for awhile.”
Hunter nodded absently, but Sean watched, troubled, as she walked away. “Brother,” he said quietly, once she was out of earshot. “I do not feel easy letting her go alone. This is not about my intent to challenge for her. There is something… wrong. With your leave, I will follow her and see that she gets home safely.”
For a long moment, Hunter was torn between his duty and his woman. He searched his brother’s mind, found Sean’s concern. He didn’t want to leave Ri’s safety to anyone else, but the best course of action was to take care of her biggest threat. With a sigh, Hunter chose to let his brother see to Arianna. His mother and Geoff were busy trying to help figure out the food and housing situations, now that everything else had been dealt with. And Hunter didn’t sense the same thing that Sean did. He wondered if his brother was growing a bit too sensitive, and seeing plots where there were none. But no, Sean was nothing if not reliable. If he sensed a threat, then there was one. But Sean was also the only other person Hunter would trust with Ri’s life, other than himself and Jace. He had watched his older brother with his mate, had seen the way Sean’s entire body seemed to follow Arianna’s every move, as though he was constantly on alert to see to her needs. As if he was already her mate, as well. No, Ri would be in good hands, if Sean was with her.
