by Sierra York
Rescued
by the
Alien Barbarian
Book Four in Warriors of Warden
by
Sierra York
Recued by the Alien Barbarian
Book Four in Warriors of Warden
by Sierra York
Copyright 2015
Kindle Edition, License Notes
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Due to a brief, accidental foray onto an alien spacecraft, Carissa is being interrogated and quarantined by the religious rulers of Earth. The only thing that keeps her going are her brief daydreams about one of the aliens. She's offered the choice between living in shame or being sent to an unpopulated area, where she would have to quickly learn to defend herself to survive.
Grys can't get the beautiful Earth woman, Carissa, out of his mind. He tries to talk to her through a telepathic connection he knows can't really exist. But when he gets a distress call from her, he hightails it back to Earth, weapons at the ready.
Will he be in time to save her?
Or will she have made the worst choice imaginable?
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Chapter One
Carissa closed her eyes and tried to picture some of the beautiful places she’d seen in books over the years. She hopped from image to image—ocean to mountains, desert to rain forest—in a desperate attempt to escape her current reality. She’d known the Theocracy had closed the planet long before she’d been born, but their exaggerated attempts to keep Earth segregated from the rest of the universe had suddenly turned into a personal crisis for her.
An image that had nothing to do with scenery infiltrated her mind. Her friend Maria’s face appeared before her. Carissa’s gut clenched at the sight. If it hadn’t been for Maria and her poor decision making skills, she wouldn’t be in the mess she was in. She would be finishing up her exams, so she could stop studying and start her work teaching. Maybe she’d even be preparing for her wedding. Thanks to Maria, her future was completely hanging in the balance. She’d been trying for weeks to convince the powers that be that she was clean. She hadn’t touched the aliens, or allowed them to touch her. She knew they didn’t believe her, though.
Carissa opened her eyes and stared at the deep gray ceiling above her. The thought of her return to Earth made her heart speed, rendering her incapable of keeping her eyes shut. She remembered it like it had just happened: one minute she was involved in a scuffle on a space ship, and the next she was crumpled in a heap on the ground, tangled up with a male she’d never met.
As soon as they’d been able to separate from each other, the male had taken out his communication device and began rambling into it. Minutes later, before either of them could speak, a slew of men in khaki uniforms had shown up. They’d thrown a blanket around her shoulders and crooned to her while loading her in a vehicle and driving off. She’d not seen the man since. As she lay there staring at the ceiling, she wondered what had happened to him.
The quiet scraping of the doorknob turning made Carissa jump from her resting place. She quickly sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. It wasn’t much of a bed…more of a table with a few blankets. It was cold and hard, and she’d not stopped feeling frozen to her core since she’d arrived. With her feet now close to the floor Carissa watched the door, waiting for it to open. Her muscles were tight in anticipation even though she knew there was no way to escape. She’d tried many times throughout the last few weeks. It was useless. She gripped the edge of the bed until her knuckles were white. As pain began to make her fingers ache, movement from the corner of her eye distracted her from the door. She turned to look at the corner where she’d seen the flash of purple. A smile formed on her lips despite her surroundings. He was beautiful; tall, blond, and muscular. After a few moments of staring, reality hit her and fear clawed at her skin, setting it on fire. She shook her head frantically. “No. No. You have to go. Please. They’ll catch you. You need to stay safe. They’re looking for you. They’ll hurt you. Please go,” she whispered to him with tears running down her cheeks.
His eyes bored into hers, and he opened his mouth to respond…but then the door opened, and the breeze it pushed through the room caused him to blend with the wind. He’d vanished. Tears coated Carissa’s cheeks. They were bright red and chapped from repeated crying, but the sharp sting the fresh tears brought reminded her she hadn’t given up yet. She was still alive.
Carissa didn’t bother looking toward the door. She knew they’d come for her. Sure enough, a rough hand grabbed her upper arm a second later. “Up. Let’s go.”
She’d barely seen a male in her life, and now one was touching her. Hurting her, actually. His hand was very tight around her arm, and she squirmed, trying to loosen his grip.
“Knock it off, or I’ll squeeze tighter.”
Carissa’s head was down, flopping on her neck and bouncing like a rag doll’s. She couldn’t see the male, but she knew him by the gravel in his voice. It was the big guard. He had dark hair that he shaved really close to his scalp, and cold gray eyes. He was always smiling—but it wasn’t endearing or friendly in any way. It was a menacing smile that shook up souls rather than reaching his eyes. A shiver ran through her at his words.
Carissa hadn’t really been physically harmed. Handled roughly, yes. But not harmed. The creepy man pulling her down the hall now was the worst one, and even he let things go with an evil laugh and an extra hard squeeze to her arm or neck before pushing her back into her room. They’d called it a room, but it felt like a cell. It was a cell. It was cold and hard and lonely. Except in the moments that Grys visited her.
She thought about him as the orderly ushered her into a room with an examination table in it. He let her go once they were inside. “Get undressed and sit on the table,” he told her, as he rifled through drawers in a cupboard that stood in the farthest corner of the room. He tossed something at her. “Put this on and nothing else.” He glared at her as she looked at the small scrap of fabric in her hand with bewildered eyes, and then he left.
Carissa couldn’t help it. She let the floodgates open. Tears poured down her face and soaked her dress. Then she remembered she was supposed to take it off. She’d not been naked anywhere other than the shower in her own dorm since she was three years old. She never even left the bathroom before she got fully dressed. Nevertheless, she stood and removed her dress. She thought she'd best leave her foundation garment on, since there was no way any one could expect her to be naked under the thin fabric robe the orderly had given her. It wasn’t their way. She’d been taught to uphold the highest levels of modesty. She’d keep those standards. She had to.
Carissa settled herself back onto the exam table after wrapping the robe around her foundation garments. Her bare feet and legs to her knees were hanging off the edge of the table, leaving her feeling exposed. There was a brisk knock on the door and someone asked through it, “Are you ready?”
Carissa squeaked. “Yes.”
The door opened and a small female came into the room with a much older male. The male had white hair and a kind face, while
the female had her inky black hair pulled in a bun so tight it made her eyes slant. “Lay back,” the woman said, as she came over and lifted Carissa’s feet so that she could pull an extension from the end of the table. She set Carissa’s feet on it after she’d laid her head down. The tiny woman came to Carissa’s head and looked her in the eye. “This will be a bit uncomfortable, but it won’t last long.” She went for the belt holding Carissa’s robe shut.
Carissa immediately grabbed at her hands, frantically trying to stop the woman from exposing her foundation garments to the white-haired man. “You can’t be examined with clothing on. You must be nude.”
Carissa sat up. “I will not.”
The white haired man got up from his chair to stand in front of her. His kind, soft blue eyes looked at hers. “I know that this is uncomfortable for you, but I assure you that I won’t harm you. I’m a physician and I’m here simply to be sure you’re healthy.”
Carissa couldn’t believe what she was hearing. They were really going through with it. They’d told her when they’d first brought her here that they would. She‘d been through so many tests already; psychological mostly, plus the many interrogations. She thought they’d believed her, that they would let it go. She’d been wrong.
She shook her head. “No. No, no thank you, sir.” She gulped. “I assure you I’m perfectly healthy.”
The male’s features softened even more. He put a comforting gentle hand on her shoulder. “Carissa. I’m sorry dear, but The Powers That Be have ordered me to assess you for sexual contact. If I don’t perform the exam that I’m sure will prove that your virginity is intact, I’m not sure what all will happen to you. But I do know that you’ll be removed from the computer. You’ll never be married. You’ll never work.”
She saw desperation in his eyes. He was afraid for her. He was pleading with her. He wanted to help. Anger rolled through her. She wasn’t contaminated. She hadn’t been touched. This was all so unnecessary. She let out a sigh. It was also all Maria’s fault, even though Carissa hadn’t said a word to her interrogators about where she was. As angry as she was at her friend, she knew Maria was happy. She’d found her true fated mate and was living happily on another planet. Carissa was more than willing to suffer a little for the sake of her friend’s happiness. She could do this. She would do this.
She lay back on the table and closed her eyes. She would get through this so she could get on with her life. She’d teach the young ones, and she’d marry her computer-matched husband. She’d be happy. She wondered what her husband would look like…and after a brief moment of being glad that creepy orderly had a wedding ring on, Grys’ face impeded her vision. She felt the soft hands of the scary tiny nurse moving over her body, and decided not to question why she was envisioning Grys. She melted into his eyes, thinking about how if he came to her, she wouldn’t have to endure any of this anymore. Without even realizing it, she uttered a soft “Please,” as she pictured him picking her up and running through the compound with her before teleporting back to his ship.
*****
Grys paced in his quarters. Damned Earthlings ruined everything for him, and yet he couldn’t get them off his mind. He’d had the best Marshal partner in Tylr. Now that was over because ever since Maria had come into Tylr’s life, he’d turned into a complete wuss. The man wanted nothing other than to get home. He cared nothing about the infraction the Mcys had committed when they’d sent him to Earth. All he could see was the outcome, not the intent—and he was happier than Grys had ever seen him, which meant that to Tylr the intent no longer mattered.
He’d been content in his life before he had gone to Earth to rescue Tylr. He loved his job and his freedom. He’d never worried about things like fated mates and child bearing. He’d also had no issue going to Mcy and taking vengeance on their ill-timed slight against his brother. But their trip to Earth had changed everything.
He was angry about it. Angry at Tylr, at Maria, but mostly himself. Because he knew that had he forced himself, he could have gone to Mcy and taken his pound of flesh. He could have been content to be wifeless and childless his entire life, but he could no longer choose those things. He made a fist and thrust it into the wall closest to him. As his knuckles made contact with the rough stone, he thought of her and the terror he’d seen in her eyes when they’d burst into the room.
He hadn’t paid her much attention since she and Maria had shown up on the ship. He’d been too focused on revenge and forming the plan that would allow him to get it…but then that Earthling male had crashed into their ship and tried to take Tylr’s mate. Thankfully Maria was saved and was able to return to Htfld with her husband. Carissa hadn’t been so lucky, which had meant that Grys wasn’t either. Everywhere he went he saw her eyes. He checked on his handheld far too often, watching her move through the Earth compound with the other women, all of whom didn’t have faces because her face was the only one that mattered. She was all he could see. He’d had to force himself to stop because he was driving himself crazy. It made his heart ache and his cock twitch every time he thought of her.
He pulled his now bloodied knuckles from the rough stonewall and allowed himself to submit to the pain in his hand. He thought it would distract him from his growing need for her. He was imagining her body, soft and warm. He imagined himself running his hand lightly over the mounds of her breasts and down her stomach where his touch would make her flutter. He imagined moving his hand further down and cupping the apex of her thighs as he leaned to her ear, whispering, “You’re sure?”
His heart was racing as his imagination went wild. She looked into his eyes, pushed into his hand and breathed. “Yes.”
Grys was shocked out of his trance at her word. In all his imaginings of her over the last several weeks, she’d never spoken a word…he’d never heard her voice. His heart was beating so fast he thought it would break free of his chest. He didn’t understand. None of it made sense. Then he heard her again. “Just hold on, Carissa. You can do it. He’ll come for you.”
Pain much stronger than the throbbing in his bleeding knuckles wracked his body as reality dawned on him. Carissa was in pain. She needed him. She was pleading for him to come. She begged herself to hold on until he got there. He snapped into motion, scurrying to grab a few things before pushing the small button on his communicator that would bring him to his ship.
Grys was rabid. Even teleporting wasn’t fast enough for him. He wished Htfld and Earth were closer together so he could just zap her to him now. Damn him for listening to Tylr and returning home. Just as he thought his brother’s name, he appeared. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
Grys answered by pushing Tylr from the doorway of the ship. Tylr followed him up the stairs. “What the fuck gives, Grys? What has you all riled up? I told you not to worry about the Mcys. We’ll find a way to get them back for what they did.”
Grys turned to his brother. Anger seeped from every pore of his skin. “I’m going to get her. Now get out of my way,” he said, pushing his brother out the open door. He watched as Tylr hit the ground on his ass.
He looked up at Grys with anger in his eyes. “Going to get who?”
Grys looked at his brother. “My fated mate.” Then he shut the door.
Chapter Two
Grys wasn’t sure how he was going to accomplish what he needed to do, but he was determined. The echo of Carissa’s pleas reverberated in his mind. He tried to talk back to her. Let her know he’d heard her, and that he was coming…but he had no way of knowing if she’d heard him. The thought of her alone and scared made him move faster than he normally would have. He checked over the instrument panel, making sure that everything was in order. He wasn’t sure there was enough food on board, but he could deal. They’d stop at the space station on the way back to Htfld. He knew they hadn’t gotten enough Earth food for two females, so they’d have to get more. He settled into his seat in the cockpit in less time than he would have thought possible. In less than an hour he wa
s taking off, headed toward Earth.
Grys kept up a continual conversation with Carissa in his head while he flew. A few hours into his flight he put the ship on auto, and went to attempt to locate Carissa on the main communicator. He knew he needed a plan…and locating her was the first step. He took a last glance at the control panel to make sure everything was set the way it should be before he got up from his chair and left the cockpit. Grys went through the door into the hall before making a quick turn to the right to head into the secondary control room. He knew this ship like the back of his hand and could navigate it in complete darkness if necessary, and right now it wasn’t completely pitch black…so when he ran straight into something solid, he froze. He took one small step back.
“Didn’t search the ship before you left.”
He’d know that voice anywhere. It couldn’t be. Grys stumbled, trying to find the panel to turn up the lights. He had to see him to believe it. His fingers finally made contact with the required buttons, and Grys was able to illuminate the tiny space enough to fully see that miracles apparently do happen. Because his second eldest brother, Ryn, was standing in front of him. He stepped forward and embraced his brother. “How is this possible?”
“Well you’re in such a damn hurry, for whatever reason that you didn’t fully inspect your ship before you left. Slacker!” Ryn had a huge smile on his face, as he pushed his younger brother away from him. He tossed a soft punch into Grys’ shoulder.
Grys laughed. “No. I mean, how are you here? I thought you were still on assignment for the next two years.”
Ryn nodded. “I was but my orders got cut short. You see, unlike you, I’m not a slacker. Not only did I complete my mission, but I completed it early. So here I am, with time off for being a badass.”
