Valan's Bondmate (Zarronian Warriors Book 1)

by Mardi Maxwell

  The lesson went on, but Lia didn't really hear it. Her mind was still on the subject of bonding. She'd been raised to accept a warrior could own as many women as he could afford. With Gorm, she would have welcomed another woman who drew his attention from her, but she couldn’t bear the thought of Valan in bed with another woman. Just the thought made her sick.

  Educator Fergusson said Zarronians bonded with only one female and Valan once called her his bondmate. Did it mean he'd share sex with only her from now on? Before she could ask him the class was dismissed. She thought about asking Valan but was afraid his answer would hurt her.

  The next few cycles flew by. In the evenings, after dinner Valan held her on his lap and asked what she'd learned. She'd tell him and then he'd answer the questions she'd been afraid to ask in class or hadn't thought of at the time. Their conversations always ended the same—with them naked and on the bed when being so near to each other made the fever flare.

  During the last session of class, Doctor Veeson arrived and announced he was there to give them a lecture on Zarronian biology. The women giggled and told him they already knew all there was to know about the Zarronian male’s body.

  Smiling, he assured them there were a few things they didn't know. "If I may have your attention, we will get through this lesson as quickly as possible. Zarronian males go through a manhood celebration at the age of fifteen. This is the time at which a metamorphosis occurs. During this annual, the young male becomes a warrior. He becomes taller, stronger, and acquires a sensual virility and begins sex sharing with females. Around the age of twenty the mating fever begins. It gradually grows stronger and a warrior usually begins looking for a female to bond with."

  Ciryl ad-Pry raised her hand to get his attention. "What is the difference?"

  "I was told you didn't understand the difference between sex sharing and bonding. Let me see if I can explain it to you. What you call pleasure giving we call sex sharing. You understand that right?"

  The women nodded their heads.

  "Well, then, in a way bonding is what you would call child giving. Do you understand?"

  They all smiled, but shook their heads indicating they didn’t understand.

  Ciryl ad-Pry spoke up. "On Zhang any woman can give a warrior a child if he chooses to make her a child-giver rather than a pleasure giver. Educator Fergusson said a warrior bonds with only one female and only she can gave him children. How can that be?"

  "Zarronian warriors can share sex with many females but we bond with only one female who can carry our children. That's why we needed you. You're biologically compatible with us. When the bonding occurs, two things happen. First, the male's fever is shared with the female. This cools its intensity in the male, and prevents his death. Some of you may have noticed an unusual need for your warrior. This is normal, and is caused by the fever. In time, you will learn to control it to a certain extent. The second result of the bondmating is conception. I can safely say that most of you are either pregnant at this time or soon will be."

  Feminine gasps filled the room, eyes widened, and slender hands covered still-flat bellies.

  Doctor Veeson waited until the room quieted again. "Zarronians always produce twins, one male and one female." He looked around and smiled. "Are there any other questions?"

  Lia held her hand up. "What you are saying is the warriors didn't really want us. They had to accept us because otherwise the fever would kill them? Is that right?" The room grew quiet as Doctor Veeson hesitated to answer her. "Please answer me. Is that right?"

  "Yes, Lia. That's right."

  "And, that's also why we can't leave the warriors because now we have the fever too and we need them as much as they need us. Is that right?"

  "Yes." Before she could ask anything more, Doctor Veeson grabbed Educator Fergusson and pulled him out of the room.

  Pain gripped Lia's heart and tears filled her eyes. She wished Doctor Veeson had never explained this to them. She'd been right when she thought she wouldn't like the answers. She'd begun to believe Valan wanted her but now she knew he only needed her to take the fever from him. The thought of how he'd used her caused the pain to fade and was replaced with resentment and anger.

  Next to her, Minda sobbed into her hands. Lia hugged her and tried to comfort her even though she needed comforting herself. Minda's arms went around her and Lia broke into sobs too.

  ***

  Educator Fergusson entered the room, took one look at the crying women and retreated. Out in the corridor, he saw Commander Eirikson approaching with the other warriors behind him. He led them into the room. Cam pulled Minda away from Lia and the other warriors claimed their mates until only she and Valan were left in the room.

  "Let's go, Lia. We’ll talk in our quarters."

  Silently, she stood and allowed him to escort her to their quarters, and to their usual place behind the desk. He waited for her crying to stop and wondered if she hated the thought of sharing his fever and carrying his children? The idea she might hate the babies he would give her made him sad and then furious. Who was she to reject him when he'd saved her from being owned by a male who would have mistreated her?

  "You said you have a kourtisan but Doctor Veeson said you'll only share sex with me from now on."

  "What or who I have is not your concern."

  "I am your bondmate. Surly that gives me the right."

  "You are a Wrothian and have only the rights I give you."

  She pushed away from him. "What rights are those?"

  Valan glared at her. "The right to obey me, or suffer discipline. The right to call me bondmate. The right to share my fever. The right to carry my children."

  "Those aren't rights, they're curses. You took me from my home and gave me a disease. I hate your touch, and I…"

  Standing, he stalked to the bed, dropped her onto it, and leaned over her. "So, you hate me, and you hate my touch?" The hard hand he placed between her breasts pinned her to the bed. "Let's find out how long you can go without it." He glared at her for a moment longer, then stomped to the door. "When you can't stand the burning any longer, let me know. Maybe, I'll put out the fire."

  "Never," she whispered to the empty room. Curling onto her side, she hugged her arms around herself, and tried to calm her mind. He must love his kourtisan because claiming the rights of his bondmate infuriated him.

  Thinking about Doctor Veeson reminded her of the other things he'd said. Could she already be pregnant? She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling while she stroked her belly. Did she carry his baby? Babies, she corrected herself. Did he hate the knowledge she, and not the woman he loved, would be the mother of his children? As much as he seemed to hate her would he even care about her children?

  The ceiling above her blurred as tears gathered in her eyes and ran down her temples into her hair. Unreasonably, she wanted him to come back and hold her in his arms. She wanted him to tell her she wasn't a burden, and he cared for her and wanted the children she would give him. All her life she'd dreamed of being loved by a male who would love only her and give her his children. Her mother warned her it was a foolish dream. Perhaps she'd been right.

  ***

  Valan left her alone until late the following evening. Deliberately, he'd waited for her to summon him. When the first night passed without the expected summons, his fury at her increased. She was stubbornly making them both suffer. As the next cycle passed, and her summons didn't come, his fury increased along with his fever. Pacing the deck of the control bridge, he'd silently cursed her until he'd realized she didn't know how to operate the intercom. Worried about her, he'd hurried to his quarters only to find her peacefully sleeping.

  Irritated she could sleep when he was burning for her, he started to wake her and demand she submit to him. Recalling the words she'd screamed at him, and the threat he'd given her, he resisted the temptation. Soon, she'd beg for his touch. He could wait.

  Stripping, he slid beneath the blanket and turned his back to
her. A cruel smile curved his lips when he felt the heat flowing from her. Her scent drifted to him and he rolled farther away from her determined to teach her a lesson. He focused his thoughts on controlling the burning in his body and eventually won the battle and fell into a restless sleep.

  Lia was pale and feverish the next morning when he woke her. He ordered her over to his desk then showed her how to use the intercom. She stood next to him, her hair a beautiful and tempting contrast against the white fur she'd wrapped around herself. He made her repeat the instructions until he was satisfied she understood them and conscious of her condition, he was tempted to relent. He forced himself to ignore her suffering. His pride had taken a severe blow when she'd rejected him and he intended, even demanded she learn this lesson well.

  She stumbled back to the bed and fell onto it with a moan. Valan watched her for a moment and then left. He spent the cycle pacing the bridge while he waited for her summons. When it finally came he ordered Cam to take command then hurried from the room, leaving behind a grinning crew. The desperation he'd heard in her voice quickened his pace. Less than a micro-unit later he slammed his hand onto the door to his quarters and it slid open. Before he could step through it a soft, naked body flew into his arms.

  "Valan, I need you! Now, now." Lia wrapped her legs around his waist and slid her hands over his chest beneath his vest.

  He shrugged it from his shoulders as he slammed his mouth onto hers forgetting they were standing in the open doorway in view of anyone who happened to pass by. Masculine laughter echoed behind them and a hard hand landed on his back and gave him a hard shove. He stumbled forward and the door closed behind them. Lia tightened her legs around him and her moist heat scorched his belly. He grasped her waist and slid her down until she pressed against his cock. He rocked against her and she bit his lower lip. He growled his approval as he unlaced his pants, then placed the head of his cock against her slick folds and rubbed it back and forth.

  "Please, please, Valan, I need you."

  He braced his legs then forced her down onto him. A shudder of pleasure shook her. Again and again, he lifted her and brought her back down. Each stroke was harder, faster, until she tightened around him and screamed his name in pleasure.

  Dropping to his knees, he lowered her to the floor but kept her legs wrapped tightly around him as he thrust into her. He felt her climax around him again and withdrew, then plunged back into her. He set a pounding rhythm until the flames blazed hotter inside him and streaked through his belly. Throwing his head back, he held her hard against him as his seed exploded from his cock and filled her. Even then he kept pumping into her and another orgasm slammed into him as she pulsed around him and came again.

  Breathing harshly, he lowered his head to her breasts and nuzzled them. Her hands roved over his back then into his hair as their breathing slowed. He held still for a moment then pulled away and rose to his feet. He stood between her legs as he re-laced his pants. When she moved her legs, he deliberately stepped forward, placing his feet against the inside of her thighs, forcing her legs to remain wide open. Her eyes flew up to his face.

  "Now, say you hate my touch."

  Enraged, her pride on the line, Lia glared at him. "The fever makes me need your touch, Valan, but I'll never want you. I’ll never call you bondmate."

  "Then, you will call me Master."

  His words sent a shiver racing through her. Sticking her chin in the air, she silently dared him to make her.

  ***

  Three cycles later, they arrived at the docking station above Zarronia. Lia spent the cycles alone. Only when the fever became unbearable had Valan answered her summons. Immediately afterwards, he'd risen from the bed. As he'd walked away from her, she'd tried to tell him how sorry she was for hurting him. Half-way through her stuttered apology, he'd informed her she'd beg for his forgiveness before he was finished with her.

  Memories of how he'd made love to her in the past, then caressed and nuzzled her afterwards, haunted her. Frightened and alone, she'd tried to convince herself he would relent and pardon her. Slowly, as the cycles passed, and he hadn't returned, her hope died.

  Now, alone in their quarters she gazed at the aqua colored planet in the distance and worried about his plans for her. In the classes on Zarronian law they'd been told the judicial system used for bondmates and daughters had only one law—females were under the jurisdiction of their fathers and later their bondmates. Their behavior could be judged and disciplined by him alone. On Zhang, her behavior would have earned her a death sentence and she wondered if he was taking her to her death on Zarronia. Tears filled her eyes, and her apprehension grew as she waited for him to come to her.

  ***

  "Commander Eirikson, all of the warriors and their bondmates have been transferred to the surface."

  Nodding, Valan acknowledged the warrior's words and undaunted by the anxious eyes following his restless movements he resumed pacing. The cycles hadn't cooled his rage. He'd spent many micro-units in the gymnasium trying to work off his anger. It had helped momentarily, but each time he thought of her and the words she'd screamed at him, his anger returned. Pausing, he settled into a warrior’s stance and stared at Zarronia on the viewing screen.

  For several moon phases, he'd refused to agree to take a Wrothian as a bondmate. The arguments with his father had been fierce, but his father had been relentless. Finally, the Council ordered him to comply or face the consequences…the loss of his command and exile. The previous evening his father contacted him but their conversation was brief and tense and he refused to discuss Lia.

  Cursing, he rubbed the back of his neck and decided it was time to go to her and carry out the task he'd set for himself. He delegated control of the bridge and exited, unaware of the relieved sighs he left behind.

  ***

  When the doors opened Lia turned away from the window and watched him as he settled at his desk.

  "Come here."

  She ran to him, but he pushed her away when she would have lowered herself onto his lap.

  "No. Stand in front of the desk."

  She lowered her eyes and moved around to the front of the desk.

  "Look at me." He waited until she obeyed him. "The bonding is done. You share my fever, and will carry my children. You've refused to accept me, as I have been forced to accept you. Being lenient with you has been a mistake. If you displease me again, I will use the bands on you. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, Valan," she said, then added, "I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sor…”

  "Be quiet." He reached into a drawer of the desk and brought out a long, woven leather leash with a loop at one end.

  Lia saw what he held in his hand and backed away. "Don't, Valan. Please, don't do this to me. Pl…"

  "A prisoner does not speak unless commanded to do so." Approaching her, he placed the loop around her neck then roughly grasped her hair and pulled it out from beneath the leather.

  When the leather tightened around her neck she tried to pull away but Valan caught her hand and pushed it down to her side. Her eyes flew to his, pleading with him.

  "Lower your eyes. A prisoner does not make eye contact unless commanded to do so." He wrapped the end of the leash around his hand and led her from the chamber.

  Dag Bjornson was on duty in the transfer-room when they entered. Valan led her to the transfer pad then pointed to the spot he wanted her to stand and a few seconds later they arrived on Zarronia.

  The transfer station was crowded to overflowing with warriors and Valan knew they were there to take a look at the daughter of Selik ad-San. They opened a path for him as he led her through them.

  Lia glanced at the warriors who closed in behind her. Hard, callused fingers touched her while threatening words were hissed into her ears. Shivering, terrified, she fought to close the growing gap between her and Valan. The loop around her neck tightened with each step he took.

  Valan turned and scowled at the warriors until they moved back. He le
d her from the building where Cam and an older man greeted him then fell into step on either side of him. Lia had to run to keep up with them.

  "Father," Valan said. "I didn't expect you to meet me."

  "Valan, it's good to see you returned safely. How was your journey? Any trouble?"

  "More trouble than you can imagine."

  "Did you have to do this to her, Valan?"

  "She must learn her place."

  "She is your bondmate!"

  "She refused to accept me."

  "The bonding?"

  "Has taken place. She refuses to obey me."

  "Valan, the Council has been informed of her identity. Already there are demands for her judgment. A few are even demanding her death! When word of your treatment of her reaches the Council the demands will increase."

  "She is my bondmate. Only I have the right to discipline her."

  "Normally, the Council would not interfere with a warrior's bondmate, but think who she is, Valan. If the Council believes you have no feelings for her, they might give into the demands and order her judgment. Perhaps even her death."

  "I will kill any warrior who tries to take her from me."

  Lia tried to keep up with Valan but continuously fell behind. She bit her trembling lip and blinked to clear the tears from her eyes. The leather around her neck bit deeper into her skin each time she stumbled, choking her. She clawed at it but couldn't get her fingers beneath it.

  Valan's father saw her struggling to loosen the loop around her neck. "She can't keep up this pace much longer, Valan."

  Valan ignored him.

  "The leather is choking her, Son."

  Valan slowed his steps and let the rope in his hand slacken.

  "I moved Morna into my house after you left. She claimed you'd told her she could stay with you when you returned," Eirik said.

  "She misunderstood. In any case, I might still have need of her."

  "You can't intend to keep your bondmate and Morna in the same house, Valan. No Zarronian warrior has a kourtisan after bonding."