Born to Be Mine

by Lexa Luthor

  "I have the coin," Andren replied.

  Freema jumped and looked at Andren, who had materialized at Charlie's side. "You're Guard."

  "So I am," Andren stated as her eyes drilled into the Alpha in a challenge.

  For once, Charlie was almost sure she was getting overwhelmed by dueling pheromones, even though it wasn't something her nose could scent. "How much?" she asked the Omega, who was probably Freema's mate.

  "Thirty coin," the Omega replied.

  "Vuk!" Charlie hissed and peered over the Omega's shoulder at the balled-up animal. "Look at it. The thing is practically useless and probably starving."

  Freema chuffed louder and groused at Charlie. "And what do you plan to do with it?"

  Charlie glared back at Freema and replied, "What does it matter? And what good is the locke to you now, like that? No one else will buy it." She turned her attention to the Omega. "Ten coin, that's it." She read the Omega's hesitation to accept such a low offer. Hell I don't even know if Andren's got it.

  "Twelve and it's a deal." The Omega offered her hand.

  "Krisa," Freema said, a growl filling the name.

  "Hush." Krisa shot him a final warning before nudging her hand closer to Charlie, trying to finish the sale.

  Charlie peered over her shoulder at Andren, who gave a faint nod. She clasped Krisa's arm and sealed the deal.

  Krisa hastened to the cage, ripped off the sign, and took the fearful animal to its new owner. She placed it on the table next to Charlie. "We didn't feed it yet."

  Andren had retrieved the coin and handed it to Freema.

  Picking up the cage, Charlie realized it was heavy, but she didn't let it show. "Tah."

  Freema was biting each coin before pocketing it. "Not that it'll live much longer," he joked and grinned at Charlie's scowl.

  Charlie held her tongue and a barrage of colorful words for the merchants. She hurried out with Andren at her side. "I'll repay you." She made a mental note to talk to Kal about converting her stills to coin for her stay on the planet.

  "I know."

  Smiling, Charlie said, "Turen." She and Andren passed a few more stalls and arrived at Raine's. Charlie hurried between the tables and tucked the cage into a corner, praying Raine didn't notice it right away.

  "What in God's name is that?"

  Charlie was bent over, checking the terrified animal. She cringed, then faced her friend, who was standing with her hands on her hips. "It's a locke."

  "I know what it is. But why is it in my stall?"

  "I bought it." Charlie wasn't about to mention that Andren had bought it for her. She held up her hands when Raine was about to explode on her. "It's dying, Raine. I can't just let it die." She lowered her hands while Raine stayed quiet. "I'm going to just feed it and then release it."

  Raine shook her head and said, "Help us break stuff down."

  Seconding the order, Charlie assisted with loading the cart with the storage boxes of tech. They finished about half an hour before sunset, just enough time to make it to Starlight Farm. As they filed out of the booth, Charlie offered to take the wooden cart and rolled it behind herself. The walk out of the city was slow until they were past the traffic beyond the Great Gate.

  Charlie, Raine, and Chris chatted for awhile during the walk but then Charlie encouraged Raine and Chris to walk ahead of her. She slowed and waited until Andren walked beside her.

  "Need help?" Andren asked, indicating the cart.

  "I'm good." Charlie enjoyed the physical labor and decided it would finish wearing her out for the day. "Besides, you have that heavy-ass spear to carry."

  Andren laughed and argued, "It's lighter than it looks."

  "It seems ridiculous to carry it all over," Charlie teased.

  "Until I have to use it." Andren held pride in her weapon that only the elite guards among the Kander military earned. "You can't join the Guard unless you know how to use a spear well."

  Charlie smiled at Andren's dedication and loyalty to the Guard. "How long have you been a Guard?"

  "Almost six years now."

  "I can tell you love it." Charlie tilted her head, watching Andren's features in the setting sunlight. "I'm lucky to have you assigned to me."

  Andren held Charlie's gaze for a moment before she said, "You're not angry anymore."

  Charlie half shrugged, the cart's weight making it difficult. "I was angry at Kal and took it out on you."

  "Then you worked it out with Kal," Andren concluded.

  "Ja." Charlie chewed on her lip, then said, "I was angry that her order to you outweighed my own." She had a slight frown at the memory of waking up on the Four Mag and learning her chance to kill Victor was taken from her. "You were on my team and following my orders."

  Andren dipped her head and took a deep breath. "You do realize I will continue to protect you, even if it means ignoring your orders again or letting someone else die if it means saving you."

  Charlie swallowed and whispered, "You wouldn't be a very good guard otherwise." She gazed ahead and watched Chris and Raine walk together. "I'm sorry for being a bitch about it."

  "I underst—"

  "Just take the apology and run with it," Charlie said, grinning.

  Andren laughed and nodded. "Very well." They went quiet for awhile until Andren asked, "What are you going to do with it?" She peered back at the huddled locke in the cage that rested on top of the wooden crates.

  "Feed it, then release it."

  Andren shook her head and said, "That merchant will get another and another and—"

  "I get it." Charlie shot a dark glance at Andren. "I know I can't stop him. But at least I saved one." She hated that Andren had a good point. It was true that putting coin into the merchant's pocket only encouraged him to do it more. There had to be a better way to stop merchants from trapping and selling the beautiful animals. "I don't understand why they fight the lockes."

  "It is an old tradition," Andren said. "But not a pretty one."

  Charlie huffed, then tucked away her annoyance about the lockes. "Have you heard that you, Raine, and I are going on another space mission?"

  "Joh. When?"

  "In a few days. We'll talk about it tonight with Raine."

  * * *

  "Has it eaten anything?" Raine asked, kneeling beside Charlie.

  "Joh." Charlie remained seated on the cold ground next to the cage, willing the locke to eat the leftover food from their dinner. "Earlier I thought maybe it was because I was sitting here. But it hasn't eaten anything over the past hour."

  Raine peered through the cage at the curled-up, gray animal. "Has it drunk water?"

  "A little bit."

  "That's a good sign at least." Raine brushed several thick strands of hair from her face. "It doesn't look healthy at all."

  Charlie was frowning and unsure what to do to help the locke. "I think it's cold." She pointed at its body. "It should have a thicker coat coming in by now with winter almost here."

  Shaking her head, Raine looked at Charlie and said, "Maybe you should just release it tomorrow and let nature do its thing."

  Charlie stared at the locke and felt her heart pitch at the idea. The animal was too weak to hunt and survive in the wild, at least right now. Already it appeared that the locke had been in a previous fight, losing a piece of its ear. She hoped enough food would give it a chance, but in reality, she was only going to be on Kander a few more days before she had to leave. Yet she wasn't ready to accept the truth. "Do you mind if I bring it inside the cabin for warmth?"

  Raine sighed and gave her friend a pointed look. "I'll get a damn towel to put under it." She stood and limped to the cabin's door.

  "Maybe two, so it can snuggle into one for warmth." Charlie gave a charming smile to her friend, who rolled her eyes and slammed the cabin door behind her. After a sigh, she looked at the locke and folded her arms to ward off the cold. "Come on." She climbed to her feet, picked up the cage,
and went into the cabin. She decided to place the locke close to the lit fireplace, hoping it could warm up.

  Raine came down with two towels and handed one to her friend. She folded up the second one and placed it on the floor near the cage. "Need help?"

  Charlie was leery of opening the cage but didn't have a choice. She slid the latch, then opened the gate with a careful touch. She kept her eyes trained on the locke and prayed it didn't attempt to escape.

  "I think it's too scared and weak to do anything." Raine remained hovering over Charlie's shoulder. "Just go slow."

  Heeding Raine's advice, Charlie placed the towel into the cage but didn't push it against the animal. She placed it in the middle as an inviting ball and moved the bowls closer to the gate. "There you go." She closed the gate, then Raine helped her put the other towel under the locke's cage.

  "Andren should be back from her walk soon," Raine said.

  Charlie remained seated next to the cage but peered up at her friend. Andren had left to patrol the area to make sure everything was copacetic around the property. "We can talk then. Maybe up in the loft."

  "Sounds good. I'm going to get changed." Raine rubbed Charlie's back for a moment, then left and went upstairs, her limp more noticeable after a long day.

  Charlie looked at the locke and grumbled when it hadn't moved a tiny bit. The animal remained balled up with its pure white eyes peeking out between bits of matted fur. She had been certain that the cooked meat would entice the locke, but it was left untouched in the bowl. Charlie went to the kitchen and searched for something else that might be better, but she had no idea until she turned and studied the hatch in the floor.

  Grabbing the handle, Charlie lifted the hatch and descended into the chilly cellar. She used her techbit's light while she searched for something else. To the left were several hanging meats that had been salted or smoked for later consumption. But the shelving nearby had wrapped salted meats, which she took for the locke.

  After sealing up the cellar, Charlie cleaned and soaked the meat for a few minutes. She returned to the locke and smiled at it curled up on the towel. "Here." She poked a piece of raw meat through an opening. "You might like this better, I hope."

  The locke stared at the offering and didn't seem any more interested in it than the cooked meat in the bowl.

  Charlie sighed and whispered, "Krafka." She nudged it closer but not in the locke's face, just near its nose. After a long minute, she started to withdraw it, but the locke moved its head closer to the raw meat. She held her breath as the locke sniffed it, then finally touched it with its tongue and front teeth. Holding down a cheer, Charlie waited for the locke to try the food.

  The locke continued to nibble, then stretched its neck farther and pulled at the meat strip with the front of its teeth. It took a few attempts, but it accepted the food from Charlie and ate pieces of the strip.

  Smiling, Charlie waited until the locke had finished the first strip before offering another one. She was grateful that the animal was eating something and could regain its strength. As they sat there looking at each other, Charlie wondered about the locke's future, knowing she'd have to release it in the next day or two. Digging around in her pockets, she pulled out the techbit, opened a playlist, and selected Something Just Like This from The Chainsmokers and Coldplay.

  Charlie sang the lyrics in a soft voice, not wanting to disturb Chris, who had gone to bed early. The techbit rested on her knee as she stayed seated by the cage and watched the locke eat the food. Somehow it was comforting to see the animal eat, as if it wasn't quite broken or lost.

  The locke finished the last bite, then settled into the blanket again. It stared at Charlie with its snow-white eyes that seemed ghostly at first, but Charlie deduced they were part of the locke's natural camouflage for the long winter.

  "That's a good start," she told the animal, smiling at it. Charlie looked up when Andren returned from patrol, and she shut off the music.

  Andren shut and bolted the door, then came over to Charlie. "All clear." For once, she didn't carry her spear, which was propped up against the exposed chimney.

  "It's pretty quiet out here."

  "Ja. But you can never be sure if someone is tracking you." Andren took a seat on the fireplace's hearth as she shivered a few times. She wore a heavier, black jacket, but every night was below freezing now. "It didn't eat?"

  Charlie switched off the music, then replied, "It did. It ate some salted uncooked meat Raine had stored in the cellar."

  Andren brightened at the news. "That's good." She folded her arms over her lap and leaned forward, bringing her closer to Charlie. "Did Raine go to bed?"

  "She's waiting upstairs for us to talk about the mission." Charlie sighed and knew they should go upstairs, but she wasn't quite ready. There was one thing lingering in her mind that she hadn't been ready to ask Andren. She was unsure if she was prepared to hear the answer. Lowering her head, she listened to Andren get up and load more wood into the fire.

  "Will you release the locke tomorrow morning?" Andren asked while grabbing another log.

  "I don't know." Charlie watched the sleeping animal and realized it was worn out from lack of rest. "I wonder if it's an Omega or Alpha." She wasn't about to turn the locke over to figure it out, but she was curious.

  "Omega." Andren sat down again on the hearth but closer to Charlie and the locke. She grinned when Charlie looked up at her. "One way to find out is to piss it off."

  Charlie shook her head, and the silent question showed on her face

  Andren pointed at the animal and said, "If it's an Omega, its eyes turn red when it's threatened or angry. If it's an Alpha, its eyes turn yellow."

  "Really?" Charlie turned her awed features back to the locke. "I always thought all lockes' eyes turned red."

  Andren leaned forward again and said, "Joh. Only the Omegas have red eyes."

  Charlie filed the information away for later. But the conversation about Alphas and Omegas recharged her earlier question for Andren. She took a deep breath and stilled her fears about bringing something so secretive and dangerous to the light. Swallowing and fisting her hand, she turned her head sidelong and watched Andren's profile. "Back on the Four Mag, you said Kal wanted to protect me herself but couldn't."

  "Ja." Andren narrowed her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

  Charlie played with the techbit in her lap, turning it through her hands. "Do you ever wonder why she wants to protect me?" She tried to be direct, but she feared how Andren might react, even though she suspected Andren knew about the ongoing affair.

  Andren leaned forward, so close to Charlie's cheek. "Why does any Alpha get protective?"

  Hearing an opening, Charlie turned her body around and saw the certainty in Andren's eyes. She warred between relief and worry, then whispered, "You know."

  "I know." Andren smirked and mischief shined in her eyes. "Why do you think she chose me of all the guards?"

  "You're cute," Charlie joked.

  Andren snorted and shook her head. "As a child, I have always had great faith in Kalatas and what our god has planned for all our spirits. The day I gave my oath to serve, I also pledged my life to Kal. By both my faith and my oath I will never question what decisions or actions Kal makes, because I know they are sound ones."

  Charlie stopped fidgeting with the techbit and held Andren's serious gaze, feeling the loyalty humming from Andren. "So you're okay with it?"

  Smiling, Andren reached forward and clasped Charlie's shoulder. "I accept it." She squeezed hard, and that undid Charlie.

  For a beat, Charlie hung her head and allowed another ounce of pressure to drop off her. She had been certain that Andren knew about the affair, but that didn't mean Andren was okay with it or wouldn't turn on them. A sharp sting started in her eyes, and Charlie couldn't fight off a few tears. "So few will accept it or even understand it."

  "I must forgive you for being an Earthling," Andren said, a playfulness in
her tone. "Your people haven't truly learned the following that Kalatas has on this planet."

  Charlie huffed and whispered, "Not even Kalatas could stop a civil war when we showed up."

  "But it was a civil war, not a slaughter. There was a divide, and Kal was able to cut out the deeper hatred among our people." Andren squeezed one last time, then drew her arm back to her lap. "Have some faith in Kalatas's will."

  Wiping her eyes, Charlie nodded and said, "Maybe it's just all the Alphas that hate us."

  "How certain are you it's all of the Alphas?"

  Charlie sharpened at the honest question about the Alphas, especially considering that her lover was one of them. Kal was a different kind of Alpha on many levels. Somehow Andren's question challenged what Charlie thought she already understood about Kalmar. She then noticed Andren looked smug, almost too smug.

  "Besides," Andren whispered, "How else could all those Kalman hybrids have been born?"

  Chapter 7

  Charlie slowed down and lowered the cart. "Think this is far enough?"

  Raine scanned the area and nodded.

  "Far enough from the farm," Chris agreed, his hands on his hips.

  Andren caught up to the three Earthlings and stood at the side of the cart. "It's pretty wooded here too."

  Charlie sighed and decided it was the best place, so she went to the rear of the cart. She stood beside the cage and watched the animal continue to pace. This morning, she had checked on the locke; it had eaten the cooked meat in the bowl after refusing to last night. She fed it a larger meal this morning and decided its constant pacing was a positive sign. "Come on," she whispered and picked up the cage.

  "Do you need help?" Raine asked.

  Shaking her head, Charlie carried the cage and disappeared into the woods alone. She went a short distance, then lowered the cage to the ground and kneeled down. "Time for you to go." She encouraged the animal with a tender smile.

  The locke looked at Charlie for the first time, its head tilted to one side.

  "Be more careful out there too." Charlie reached for the gate's latch, worked it free, and opened the door. But the animal sat there, staring out of the opening. "Go on," she told it.