One night, she was sitting at the dinner table with her parents. Her dad had just said the evening blessing. He grabbed the lasagna, took some, and then passed the dish around. When Mara’s mother handed it to her, the smell of garlic was powerful, overwhelming, and too much for her sensitive stomach. She dropped the dish onto the table and made a mad dash for the bathroom. Running for the bathroom was becoming a regular occurrence.
After puking once again, Mara splashed water on her face and rinsed her mouth out. When she came out of the bathroom, both parents were standing there waiting for her. Her mom looked concerned; her dad looked very angry.
“Mara, dear, I know you snuck out of the house a while back. Could you… did you…? Oh dear,” her mom said as she wrung her hands.
“Are you pregnant?” her dad demanded. Most parents would be more soft around the edges, but not her dad. He was unbending steel and demanded complete obedience in his house. “Mara, I asked you a question, and I demand an answer. ARE. YOU. PREGNANT?” he bellowed.
She lifted tear-filled eyes to his and barely nodded before she squeaked out, “I’m sorry.”
“I knew you had sex with that boy! All your life, we’ve tried to protect you, and what did you do? You made us the laughing stock of the community. How can I lead my church if I cannot lead my family? Get your stuff and get out!”
“Oh no, he didn’t!” Sydney yelled. “What kind of dad would do something like that?”
Her dad, but she didn’t repeat it again.
“And then what happened?” Kattlyn asked.
Mara shrugged. “That’s really it. Jenny came and picked me up. Her mom let me stay with them. A few days later, the Tureis attacked. I was at the health department, so I don’t know what happened to Jenny, my parents, Daniel, any of them. The Tureis kidnapped me, and I just gave up. One person can only take so much, you know?” She looked over at Chloe and smiled. “And then one day this human was thrown into my cell. She was bossy and ordered me to eat.” Chloe and Sydney chuckled. “The rest you know.”
“And Risshi?” Krista asked.
“He is everything to me. He was very patient. We spent many days sitting on his porch in silence, and then one day we opened up to each other. He quickly became my rock in the shifting sand. What can I say? I love him.”
“Ooh…I love happy endings,” Kattlyn grinned.
“I’m glad everything worked out for you. I can’t imagine how hard everything was from the prom forward. Don’t ever think you’re weak. It took a strong person to endure all that you’ve been through.” Chloe smiled as she delivered her words of encouragement.
Chapter Five
Mara
Mara was sitting with the others, talking and laughing when Jakke came barreling through the door. Everyone stopped and turned curious stares at him as his eyes scanned the room and then landed on her.
“Risshi has been injured.”
Her heart pounded with fear as she asked, “How badly?”
He shook his head and said, “I do not know. They are taking him to the healer now.”
“I’m going, too!” She jumped up, a feat for someone so pregnant, and followed Jakke from the room, the others right on her heels.
When she entered medical, she saw Risshi laying on the table, his clothes soaked in blood. “Risshi!” she cried as she tried to get to his side. Dazz caught her in his arms, keeping her away from her mate. “Let me go,” she screamed as she pounded on his chest with her fist. “Let me go!”
He tightened his grip and said, “Calm down, Mara. Let the healer look at him first.”
She continued for a few seconds longer and then stilled her motions before she started to cry. He had to be okay. He just had to be! When she peered around Dazz’s arm, she saw his other brothers there, all but Takkeo and Zekke, as the healer, Rykker, and two assistants worked feverishly on Risshi.
“I need everyone out,” Rykker ordered as he worked steadily on Risshi. Mara kept her eyes on him until Dazz halfway carried her out of medical, but she wasn’t leaving. The entire family waited just outside the closed door.
The silence surrounded them as everyone looked solemn, waiting on news from the healer about Risshi’s condition. A noise down the corridor had Mara looking up. Zekke came stomping down the hall to join the others.
“Is he secured?” King Mallik asked.
“Yes.” Zekke crossed his arms and leaned one shoulder against the wall.
“We caught Cassia,” Dazz added. “She’s locked in the dungeon.”
“Good,” King Mallik said with satisfaction. Cassia, one of Jakke's former consorts, had been dismissed when Jakke returned to Azziar with Sydney. Feeling spurned, she joined forces with the equally vengeful uncle. Mallik was relieved that the two of them were in custody.
It pissed Mara off. She was happy they’d caught Cassia and the ‘uncle,’ but not if it meant that Risshi wouldn’t make it. Right now, she only cared about him. She eased down to the floor and rested with her back against the wall. With her head hung low, she let silent tears flood her eyes. Everything was just starting to feel normal. She had a husband—a mate—as they were called, a baby on the way and a family with brothers- and sisters-in-law. Why was this happening? Hadn’t she been through enough? Hadn’t she and Risshi gone through enough? He had lost his mother and carried enough guilt to last a lifetime.
A few more minutes of silence and wondering why before King Mallik broke in and asked, “So, Mara, tell me a little about this Christmas holiday. What is it like on your planet?”
She knew he was trying to distract her, and she appreciated the effort. Right now, she’d take any excuse to stop her downward spiral of thoughts. Sydney didn’t like him at first, but King Mallik had been nothing but nice to her. He was now her father-in-law, and she would take his olive branch, his distraction, anything to keep her from assuming the worst was happening behind the closed door.
“I’m from the north. Every year, we put up a tree, decorate it with ornaments and a few strings of lights. We even decorate the outside of the house with lights.”
“What is the purpose of the tree and lights?” he asked with curiosity.
She smiled just a little. The fact that he could make her smile at all at a time like this spoke volumes. “I don’t really know.”
A grin teased his lips. “Okay, what else?”
“We buy each other gifts, wrap them in Christmas paper and put them under the tree. Every Christmas morning, I would jump out of bed and run to the window. More times than not, snow would blanket the yard and mountains. When I ran downstairs, Mom would have a pot of coffee on, and Dad would have a fire roaring in the fireplace.”
He grinned at her dreamy expression. “What is this 'snow'?”
“Hmm…” she bit her lower lip as she thought about the best way to explain it. “I don’t know.” She chuckled a little. “I should know. When it’s cold,” she looked at him and raised her eyebrows, “and not this type of cold season,” the other girls chuckled, “the rain turns to white flakes as it falls from the sky. Instead of melting, it lies there and covers the earth.”
“Wait,” he puzzled, “it’s water that has frozen?”
“Yes, it’s flakes of crystalline ice.”
“That’s amazing. And it just falls from the sky?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head in wonderment before saying, “Okay, what else do you do for this Christmas?”
“The family gets together for a large meal, usually turkey and ham with all the fixings. After we eat, we open presents.”
“That sounds nice.” A few seconds later, he puzzled, “Now, why do you celebrate this Christmas?”
Sydney chimed in. “On our planet, there are many different religions—some people believe in different Gods, and some people don’t believe in anything. Christmas is a celebration of the God we follow.”
“I see. How do you know if it’s the right one?”
All the girls looked at each other b
efore Krista answered, “You don’t know for sure. You just have faith. Everyone normally wants to believe in something, even if it’s to believe in nothing.” She smiled as a thought entered her mind. “We didn’t believe that others existed in the universe.”
The males chuckled before Jakke added, “There are hundreds of different species, all with different Gods and Goddesses.”
“We are finding that out,” Mara said with a little smile. She was grateful they tried to take her mind off what was happening on the other side of the door.
“Well, I look forward to this Christmas meal,” King Mallik said.
“That reminds me,” Chloe looked at Dazz, “we found the perfect tree, and you need to help me cut it down and bring it here.”
“We will go…”
The door slid open, and a haggard looking Rykker stood there. He ran his hand through his roughed-up hair. Everyone stood, and Mara held her breath as her world froze.
This was it.
The moment in which her world could change forever.
She held her breath and grabbed Chloe’s arm as she waited…
“He lost a lot of blood, and we almost lost him. But I was able to stop the bleeding and place him in the medi-chamber. It will take time, but he will heal.”
Mara cried tears of relief. A weight of grief lifted from her shoulders as she let out the breath she held.
“How long?” Jakke asked.
“He’ll be in there at least two standard days.”
“Thank you, Rykker,” King Mallik said.
“Can I see him?” Mara asked with happy, watery eyes as her hand covered her belly.
“Yes, but he will not know you are there.”
“I don’t care.” She pushed past the healer, needing to see Risshi. She rushed over to the medi-chamber and placed both hands on the glass covering and shoved her nose up next to it, peering inside.
Risshi looked ashen as he slept. She stared at his face a few seconds before letting her gaze travel down his naked torso. She gasped when she spotted the wound that traveled from his shoulder down to his abdomen. Seeing the ragged gash made her heart ache. Tears filled her eyes, and her lower lip quivered. She laid her cheek against the glass and moaned, “Oh, Risshi.”
She stood with her body laid across the glass until someone touched her shoulder. “He will be fine. Come on, you need to rest.” She felt a tug on her arm, and she reluctantly agreed, pushing herself up from the glass cover. King Mallik stood right behind her, urging her back to her and Risshi’s rooms. “The danger is over, and he will be fine in two standard days,” he tried to reassure her. She knew that the medi-chamber could do more than the best doctors on Earth, so she chose to believe Risshi would be fine, even though Earth logic told her differently.
Chloe and Dazz stood just outside the door, waiting to escort her back. It would be a long two days, she thought as they walked down the corridor.
The days passed slowly, but she made good use of her time. She met with the bladesmith and described exactly what she wanted him to make. Chloe and Dazz had cut down the tree and placed it in the main gathering room. Sydney had arranged the Christmas meal with the cook, and all the females, including Kattlyn, made decorations for the tree. It was different than home, but still beautiful.
Now she sat in medical, waiting on Rykker to open the medi-chamber. Risshi’s wound had not only healed but was completely gone. His color was back to normal, and he looked healthy.
Risshi
As Risshi regained awareness, several thoughts hit him at once. He wasn’t dead, as he had feared, and the blinding pain and weakness were gone. He let out a sigh of relief. His last thoughts before he lost consciousness were of Mara and the young. Slowly, he opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision. He turned his head slightly to the right and spotted Mara, smiling as tears filled her eyes.
She rose from her chair, walked over and leaned down. Rykker must have released the glass covering.
“You’re awake,” she said as she brought her face down, her nose almost touching his.
“Yes.” His voice came out of his dry throat in a whisper. Mara grinned and then touched her lips to his. After the kiss, she moved away, giving him room to sit up. He swung one leg and then the other out of the medi-chamber.
“How do you feel?”
His gaze shot to Rykker.
“I feel good,” he said after patting his chest, checking for soreness.
“Oh, Risshi!” Mara said in an anguished voice. He opened his arms and she threw herself into them, wrapping hers around his waist. “I was so worried about you!” As she cried into his chest, he just held her tighter.
“Please don’t cry. I promise, I am healed.” He leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
She didn’t let go, and neither did he. He held her until her tears had dried. When they finally broke apart, she smiled a little and said, “I have food for us in our rooms. If you’re hungry.”
He wasn’t hungry. The medi-chamber supplied all the needed nutrients while it healed his wounded body, but he wouldn’t tell her that. “Thank you.” Hand-in-hand, they walked to their rooms, and sure enough, Mara had trays upon trays waiting for them.
After they had both eaten a few bites of food, Mara sat on the small couch, snuggled up to his side. He had his arm around her, holding her tight. He had almost lost this, almost lost his family.
“I was so worried when Jakke told me that you were hurt,” Mara said in a low voice.
“I am sorry that you had to go through that, love.” He leaned down and kissed her hair.
“It wasn’t your fault.” She snuggled a little closer. “I hope you don’t mind, but I asked your family to give us some time alone. We decided to have Christmas early, so they said to tell you they would see you in the morning.”
“Good.” He sat there, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. All his life he’d dreamed of one person to love, a trait he’d picked up from his mother. Kattlyn was the same. She’d rather remain single than have to share. They’d seen the hurt shining in their mother’s eyes one too many times, although she never voiced it aloud.
“They caught not only your uncle, but either Jakke or Dazz, I don’t know which, caught Cassia.”
That was great news! Now they could all rest a little easier knowing that their mates would be a little safer. There would still be others who followed his uncle, but the biggest threats had been caught.
Mara turned her beautiful brown eyes on him as her bottom lip quivered. “I don’t know what I would do without you. I’m not sure I would survive.”
“I am fine. Don’t worry, nothing will happen to me.” He smiled, trying to reassure her. He would never voice aloud that he'd thought he was dead and would never see her beautiful face again. The fact that he was still here with her was a miracle.
“I know that now.” She paused, seeming to gather her thoughts. “But at the time, I realized that the thought of losing you was far worse than not knowing about my friend or parents. Don’t get me wrong,” she rushed to say, “I still worry and miss them, but with you, it was entirely different. I can’t lose you.”
He knew exactly how she felt; he felt it, too. She was the only thing he thought of before he lost consciousness. Not his brothers nor his father, but his mate. He needed to be inside her, be as close as possible, feel connected to her again.
He leaned back, letting her see the love in his eyes before taking her lips in a soft kiss. His hands roamed her delicate body before he ripped her shirt and freed her breasts from the undergarment that bound them. His shaft roared to life as his mate’s hands lightly skimmed his body.
He pulled back to stare into her eyes and then stood and shucked off his britches. Her eyes were fixed on his erect shaft.
“Can I try something?” Her voice did not hold confidence, and he knew it was from lack of experience.
“Anything, love.”
He joined her on the couch once again, and when she ro
se to her feet he was curious as to what she wanted to try. Standing in front of him, Mara lowered herself down to her knees and placed a hand on each of his thighs. “I haven’t done this before, so if you don’t like it, please tell me.”
What was she going to do? When she grabbed the base of his shaft, he hissed in pleasure. It was the first time she had touched him like that. He watched with wide eyes as she opened wide and took the head of his shaft inside her moist mouth before closing her lips around it.
Pleasure, different than any he had felt before, burst inside him, consumed him. He gasped with pleasure as her mouth moved up and down his shaft. He watched the erotic scene with panting breath. He wanted to grab her head and pump his hips, but somehow, he held still. He felt the familiar tingle and knew he was about to explode. Without thinking, he twisted his hands in her hair and arched his hips while throwing his head back and closing his eyes. He grunted with each pulse as he released his seed into her mouth.
When he finished, he watched his mate lick her lips. She smiled and murmured, “You taste like cookies.” He didn’t hear what she said; he was too consumed with watching her lick his seed from her lips. He stood, scooped her up and carried her with purpose to the bed.
After getting rid of her pants, he placed her on her hands and knees. The sight of her waiting, ready for his shaft, sent him over his controlled edge. He inserted a finger, making sure she was wet, ready for him.
“Oh, Risshi,” she moaned. He thrust his shaft deep inside her moist channel, needing to lay claim once again. She was his. Her young was his. When he felt her tighten around his shaft, he exploded his own release. Holding his shaft deep inside her, he felt every pulse of his shaft as he bent over and sank his fangs into the soft tissue between her neck and shoulder, claiming her once again as his. Lying on their sides, him spooning her, he heard the smile in her voice when she said, “I love you, Risshi. Don’t scare me like that again.”
“I love you too, Mara,” he grinned, “and that was never my intent.” He wasn’t tired, but he happily held her while she slept.
An Azziarin Christmas (Scifi Alien Romance) (The Azziarin Series Book 4) Page 5
