by Sierra York
Grys tensed as what could have been a sob seemed to break through the female’s voice. Ryn could see blood lust take over his brother’s body. His eyes darkened, and his muscles swelled. Ryn acted quickly, moving to hold his brother to the wall. He put a large hand flat against his brother’s chest, holding him in place. He waited until Grys looked at him. Once their eyes connected, Ryn shook his head and mouthed the word, “Wait.”
Grys didn’t want to wait. He wanted to storm the room, grab his female and rip the Earthling male into tiny pieces—but he knew his brother was right. They had to play this safely. They needed to be able to zap themselves back to the ship without being followed, and most of all, they had to at least make an attempt not to start an interplanetary war. Though not warring with other planets wasn’t exactly what the Htflds were known for.
Ryn held up three fingers and slowly began to tick them down with his other hand on the doorknob. When he got to three, Ryn turned the knob and pushed the door open. Grys stepped inside, filling the space as he took in his surroundings. He saw the table with all the males around it. He saw his soft, beautiful Carissa, sitting terrified with an Earthling male touching her face. Anger assaulted him and his stomach flipped as he watched the male. “I suggest you lower your hand.”
Chapter Four
Grys took a step further into the room, allowing Ryn to join him. The Htfld males were huge in comparison to the Earthlings, and their presence seemed to suck all air from the room. Ryn shut the door behind him as Grys spoke. He watched carefully as the Earthling male who was touching Carissa lowered his hand and turned to see what, or who, had interrupted him.
Grys wasn’t surprised when the sparkle left the male’s eyes. They’d interrupted his fun. He had the female cornered; she had nowhere to run, and he was in complete control. But not anymore. Now he had to deal with two pissed off Htfld males. As realization settled over the tiny man, he moved to stand in front of Carissa. Grys was almost impressed. He was attempting to protect her. Even though Grys knew it was only for his benefit, the idea that he thought he could protect her from them was proof of just how highly the man thought of himself.
Carissa was trembling. Grys could see and smell her fear permeating the room. He could taste it on his tongue. It made his heart ache. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and make sure she never had to feel that again. He would keep her safe, but it had to be her choice. It had to always be her choice from this point forward. He threw calming lulls to her through their mind connection, and sighed in relief as she responded. Hearing her voice in his head was better than hearing it in person.
He didn’t move, but spoke to his fated mate. “Carissa, love. Would you like me to take you home with me?” He made his voice as calm and steady as possible.
He heard her sharp intake of breath, but before she could answer the man in front of her stepped forward. “She isn’t going anywhere.”
Grys responded to his step with one of his own. “Wrong.”
The man took another step. “She belongs on Earth.”
“Wrong again.” Grys stared the man down, wishing he could shrink him with his gaze.
The Earth male took several more steps, closing the gap between them. “She was born here. She was trained here and she will remain here.” He looked up into Grys’ eyes, “I will not allow an alien brute to kidnap my betrothed.”
Grys couldn’t help himself. The B word set him off. As if she’d ever consent to marry that—thing. His hand seemed to lift without him commanding it to do so, and the next thing he knew the Earthling was flat on the floor and Grys’ hand was stinging.
“What the fuck? That was not part of the plan.” Ryn glared at his brother.
Grys shrugged. “He totally deserved that.” He didn’t bother trying to explain himself and rushed to Carissa’s side. He fell to his knees in front of her chair. Taking her hands in his, he lost himself in her eyes. Only when he felt the pressure of his brother’s massive hand on his shoulder did he feel himself return to his body fully.
“Time to go dude. He’s stirring.”
Grys turned to where he knew the Earthling would be lying—and sure enough, he was beginning to roll around. He was clutching the side of his face and mumbling. Grys remembered the other Earthlings in the room at that moment, none of which had moved or even breathed since the Htflds had entered the room. They were like statutes. Grys nodded at his brother and turned back to his female. “Do you want to leave with us or stay here on Earth? Know that if you leave, you will not be permitted to return.”
Grys needed to hear her say it. He didn’t want her regretting anything. He knew she’d not been happy about being taken from Earth the first time. She’d been happy here, wanting the life she grew up knowing she’d have—but he needed to hear from her that had changed. He needed to know she wanted him, that she was choosing him.
Carissa closed her eyes and swallowed. She buried her face in her hands and whispered, “More than anything.” Dropping her hands, she looked to Grys. “Please take me with you.” She turned to his brother, asking them both.
Grys thought his heart was cracking when he saw his female looking to his brother for reassurance, but didn’t think on it long. Getting to his feet swiftly, Grys scooped Carissa out of her chair, cradling her to his chest. Her small body felt frail and too breakable in his arms. Now that he had her he was ready to leave. “Let’s go.”
Ryn nodded and motioned Grys toward the door. “After you. We’ll transport in the hallway.”
Grys wished his brother would just get the damn communicator out now. He didn’t want to take chances; they’d planned to just grab her and go. He shot Ryn a nasty look as he passed, but went for the door.
After stepping over the threshold, Grys let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He already felt safer with her out of that room. He looked down at the gentle creature in his arms. She had lost weight, too much weight. They’d have to stop at the space station and gather more supplies. Her cheeks were red and her skin looked overused. Her normal porcelain appearance had been taken over by the discomforts of captivity. She whimpered in his arms, and Grys snapped his head up.
Ryn was fiddling with the communicator. He wasn’t paying attention. The Earthling had woken completely and had grabbed hold of Ryn’s ankle. Ryn shook his leg in an attempt to free himself, but the little bastard held on. Ryn looked up at his brother, an apology or annoyance written all over his face. It was hard to tell with Ryn; he wasn’t exactly a talkative guy, so it was hard to know what he was thinking. Grys knew a second later it was apology, because Ryn took aim and kicked the Earthling. Bright red blood gushed from the male’s nose, spraying the carpet and Ryn’s shit-kickers. The male howled and released Ryn’s ankle to cover his nose with both his hands.
Grateful to be free of the parasite, Ryn hopped over him and the puddle his face was making on the floor, grabbed a hold of Grys’ shoulder as soon as he was close enough, pushed the last button in a sequence on the communicator—and the threesome disappeared.
Grys was still staring at the bleeding male on the floor as Ryn took hold of him. He hoped he was the only one who’d heard the words the Earthling had managed to mumble as blood flowed into his mouth. Grys decided to try not to think about it. He’d focus on getting his female back to health. He’d worry about the Earthlings when they got back to Htfld and could involve the counsel.
The counsel was just him, his brothers, and his father—but still. They’d all need to have a discussion after this. He’d known as soon as he’d laid eyes on Tylr and Maria it was coming. This just solidified and maybe sped up the action. Grys felt his feet hit metal and took one more breath before he opened his eyes. Before he exhaled, the Earthling’s words mixed with a beeping noise that meant they’d arrived safely back on the ship. The words that would haunt him until they had a plan:
“This means war.”
***
Carissa couldn’t believe it. She’d known she’d been d
oubting herself, but was just now realizing that just how much. She buried it beneath all the fear and confusion that the last few weeks had brought into her life. But he was here. She could see him, smell him—and she hoped eventually she could taste him. Just the sight of him made her feel stronger. She wanted to be strong for him.
He was a large male, and she knew from the things she’d heard Tylr tell Maria, Htfld wasn’t a forgiving planet. She wanted to be a suitable match for him. She had resolved as soon as she saw him enter the room from that moment forward she would be as strong as she’d ever been in her life. She’d do whatever it took to be his.
Carissa opened her eyes and breathed in the deepest breath she’d taken since Flynn had forcibly removed her from Grys’ ship. She couldn’t believe she was back. She felt a pang of regret for ever having said she’d wanted to go back to Earth from the beginning. She knew regret was useless though. It couldn’t change anything. All she could do was move forward.
She loved the feel of Grys’ arms around her. She felt safe for the first time since she’d last seen Lela. It was strange to think about the reaction on the compound to her disappearance. No one knew still where’d she gone off to but Carissa had had a lot of time to think during her quarantine. She thought Lela had left the compound. Maybe decided she didn’t want to be married after all and just wanted to take care of herself. Now that she’d seen and heard all that she had, it didn’t surprise her. She shuddered at the thought of what her fate could have been had Grys not shown up.
She made herself return to the present. She wanted to imprint the feel of him in her mind, to make sure that no matter what happened, she’d always be able to remember this moment so she could use it to help her be strong. She imagined his strength flowing through, her fortifying her. She felt Grys’ grip on her tighten. His strength would get her through whatever life threw at her—she just couldn’t let him know it.
Grys was releasing her. She tried to make her feet obey. She was silently commanding them to work. Feet hold me up. Don’t prickle when you touch the floor.
Grys laughed and put his arm back under the crook of her knees lifting her off the ground once more. She looked up at him. “What are you doing? Put me down.”
“No can do, mate,” Grys told her, his sparkling eyes staring down at her.
“Why not? You were just setting me down. I want to walk. Put me down.”
Grys shook his head as laugher lit his eyes. “You’re silly, mate. You also forget easily, don’t you?”
Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to hide her need for him after all. If he kept laughing at her, she may have to take her chance in the wilds. “Stop laughing at me. I am not forgetful.”
Grys stopped walking and pushed open a door with his foot. Carissa took in their surroundings and hoped she was remembering wrong. “There is nothing wrong with my memory. I do not forget. Speaking of—take me somewhere else. I won’t stay in this room.”
Grys walked into the room fully. “You do forget, or you would have remembered that I can hear what you’re thinking.” He placed her gently on his bed. “And of course you’re staying here. You think I’d let you share a room and a bed with Ryn? No. You’re my Mate. You will stay with me.”
Carissa felt foolish. How could she have forgotten? She tried to hide her face when she felt her cheeks warming. She felt badly for giving him a hard time which only made her feel worse for feeling bad. She quickly realized that her head wasn’t a safe place to be at the moment. She shook herself out of it and looked up to Grys.
He was just as beautiful as she remembered. Blond hair, currently rumpled and hanging just onto his forehead. He was so tall and broad. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen a male as big as him. Well, until she’d met his brother, Ryn. The major difference was that though Grys was big, Carissa felt safe around him. Ryn, on the other hand was intimidating. He was scary. He screamed, “Don’t mess with me” without having to actually say anything—or even move.
Before she could let her mind wander too far off course, she changed the subject. “Can we please get off this blasted planet? I never want to see Earth again as long as I live.”
Grys couldn’t doubt her sincerity. It laced every word. Maybe her being forced back had been the best thing that could have happened. He couldn’t imagine the Carissa he met before saying those words. “Yes. Ryn is on it now. Should only be a few more minutes and we’ll be gone. You rest. I’m going to check on things.” He tossed his handheld communicator onto the bed next to her. “See that big red button? I reprogramed it so that button is a distress signal now. If you need me just push it and I’ll find you.”
Carissa picked up the communicator, feeling its weight against her palm. A lump formed in her throat, and her eyes got blurry from tears that filled them, threating to fall and reveal her true nature. She swallowed hard against the lump and the tears. Her throat burned. She couldn’t speak. She wasn’t that good an actress. So she nodded in thanks and laid her head on his pillow.
***
Grys found Ryn in the control room. He was frantically but methodically flipping levers and pushing buttons. “Make sure you’re ready. As soon as I’m done we’re gone.” Ryn’s looked at Grys standing in the doorway. “Well if the female is settled, then get over here and fucking help. You slacker.” He shook his head as he pushed past his brother making his way to the cockpit. “She’s already got your head twisted and she hasn’t been here even five minutes. If Tylr is in even remotely close to being as love-sick as you, our entire planet might be doomed.”
Grys ignored his brother’s flippant comments about his brain being mangled and went to work checking gauges and pressure sensors. When he was satisfied that everything was how it should be, he left the tiny room and descended on the cockpit to inform his brother they could leave. Normally he’d just use his communicator, but he’d left his with Carissa. He could just picture her, soft and warm lying in the middle of his bed. She was so vulnerable and scared. He had to make sure she felt safe even if it meant denying himself. He knew she didn’t trust him completely—if she had she wouldn’t have looked to Ryn for an answer about whether she wanted to leave.
He pushed the door open to the small cockpit, and his resolved hardened. He would do anything and everything to make sure that Carissa trusted him completely before they made it back to Htfld.
Ryn was seated in the pilot’s chair, double-checking all his screens. His brother looked strange in that spot. He was the brawn, not the brains; he wielded swords and guns, not computers. It made Grys laugh. “All set. Captain.”
Ryn swiveled in the chair and put his foot on the door. “Thanks, fuckface. Now beat feet, and go to your female.” And then he kicked the door shut.
Grys hated it when Ryn told him what to do. Just because he was older and bigger, didn’t mean he ran the world or controlled everyone’s lives—but in this instance he wasn’t going to argue. He wanted nothing more than to go back to Carissa and lay beside her.
Chapter Five
Carissa couldn’t have been more grateful when she felt the ship hum to life and her ears begin to pop as they ascended from Earth. Every release of pressure lifted a weight off her shoulders. The further away from Earth they got, the better off she’d be. She knew she wouldn’t be truly safe until they were on Htlfd. At that point, they’d be able to hide her well enough.
She didn’t think that Flynn would come looking for her, but one never could tell. The manic look that resided deep in his eyes called attention to the fact that the man was one hundred percent unpredictable. It terrified her.
She rolled over and buried her face in Grys’ pillow. It smelled like him: sweet but dark, with a hint of cocoa. She wasn’t sure where any of that came from, but it was the most wonderful scent she’d ever inhaled. She closed her eyes, letting his aroma wash over her.
She thought about what it would be like to be married to Flynn and a chill ran down her spine. The thought of living with that evil made her stomach lurch.
Then Grys’ face swam before her. She remembered him busting into the room and scooping her up. She could feel herself cradled in his arms. She waited, not even daring to breathe, as his mouth came down on hers. Her lips met his softly…they blended together perfectly. Opposites in every way; his lips, firmer and unyielding, hers soft and welcoming. Like they were meant to complement each other. Carissa felt her body warming. She could tell her cheeks were red, and her belly began to stir. She clamped her eyelids together tighter and continued her fantasy.
***
Grys had to stop halfway into the hallway. He was furious with himself. He’d promised himself to take things slowly. He wanted to give Carissa the time she needed. He wanted her to be sure—but at the moment, all he could think of was want. As he’d left the cockpit and started to think about Carissa and their future, images of her body in his bed that he hadn’t concocted started to play out in his mind. He couldn’t stop himself.
He was staring at her. She was absolutely gorgeous. He loved that she wasn’t traditionally beautiful. All Htflds were blond and had this idyllic universal view that light was beautiful. Grys knew better now.
Grys leaned against the harsh metal of the ships walls, picturing himself leaning over her tiny form, letting her long, silky, copper hair spin through his fingers, each strand falling delicately back to his pillow. He stared into her eyes, watching the light change their color from gray to green. She was the most fascinating creature he’d ever seen.
He watched as she lifted her hand and used it to pull at the hem of his shirt, his breath catching as her meaning dawned on him. He pushed himself off the bed, and still watching her carefully, he pulled the shirt over his head. Quickly untangling himself and dropping the fabric to the floor, he was in awe as Carissa sat up, got on her knees before him, and began to trace her delicate hands over the planes of his chest.
