by Rachel Clark
“I know,” Seth said, his respect for this human quite obvious. “That’s why I need to get back onto the ship. Will you be okay to get out of this area?”
“We’ll manage,” Chris said confidently. “But you might be interested to know that a person named ‘Trip’ was given some unusual orders by one of the humans who was here earlier.”
“Trip?” Seth asked, perhaps not recognizing the name.
“I got the impression the association between Bik and the humans he was working with is about to be terminated.”
Seth shook his head. “Do you remember the exact words the man used?”
Chris looked thoughtful for a moment. “He said, ‘Our old friend is proving less knowledgeable than we anticipated. I want Trip to”—he hesitated, perhaps searching for a word not commonly used in that context—“ride him.”
“Tripdo-reidem?” Daku asked as all color drained from his face. Zed wasn’t feeling much better himself.
“Are you sure that’s what he said?” Seth asked Chris.
“I’m positive,” Chris said, turning his attention to Daku. “Did you hear it differently?”
Daku shook his head. “Most of my focus at the time was on the illusion I was projecting.” He glanced at Seth. “I didn’t really pay much attention to the man’s words.”
“I take it tripdo-reidem doesn’t mean what I expected.”
“It does, in a way. But it’s more than that. It’s an ancient Jernodrian torture used by yala-coldars against a dria-coldar. They basically project so many different and conflicting images that the dria-coldar is left disorientated and unable to defend himself.”
“Will it kill him?” Chris asked. It was clear that despite the threat Bik represented, that the human wasn’t happy Bik was liable to get what some would say he deserved. But it did bring to light a problem within Jernodrian society that Zed had naïvely assumed was no longer an issue.
“It will make him vulnerable,” Seth answered, “but it would take more than that to kill him.” The dria-coldar glanced at Zed before turning his attention back to Chris and Daku. “What concerns me most is this seems to confirm the involvement of traitorous yala-coldars with the humans as well, perhaps even a group with an entirely different agenda.” He looked very worried as he signaled to his men. “I need to get back to the ship, and you three need to gather the rest of your family and disappear.” He handed Zed a small plastic data card. “That’ll give you access to my private log files. You can monitor what’s going on through there but I suggest you keep your family out of harm’s way until we get a chance to sort this problem out.”
Zed took the card and nodded his understanding.
Seth turned to Chris and Daku. “Assume everything, even the gamers’ site, is compromised until you learn otherwise. Stay safe.”
“We will,” Chris said sincerely, holding his hand out to Seth in a gesture the Jernodrian seemed to understand. He reached over, took Chris’s hand briefly, shook it, and then let go. “Good luck, and don’t be afraid to take your own advice. Stay out of harm’s way.”
Seth nodded, his respect for the human very clear in every gesture. After a moment of silence, the second in charge of the warship, Audacious, signaled his men and the three of them quickly hurried back to where they’d hidden the transport.
“Do you think they’ll be all right?” Daku asked Zed. It was clear that the yala-coldar was aware of the historical accounts of Jernodrian conflicts and understood enough about his own abilities to realize tripdo-reidem was possible. Apparently Daku had taken the stories a lot more seriously than Zed ever had. Hell, Zed was learning an awful lot about himself these past few hours. He wasn’t only a bossy know-it-all, he also apparently had an unfounded arrogance in a dria-coldar’s superiority.
He closed his eyes, regretting so many things that he’d said and done in the past few years. He’d been so sure of himself, but how could he ever have thought that he’d be a strong leader of a family pod?
“Come on, Zed,” Chris said with a tilt of his head. “We’ll introduce you to the rest of the family.”
* * * *
Felicity could feel the tension between Daku and Zed, but it was the hostility coming from Chris that had her truly worried. Chris has always been an expert at hiding his emotions, but whatever had happened before they’d come to join them in the cellar had left them all on edge.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Everything’s fine, Flick,” Chris said as he reached for her and pulled her into his arms. Naith and Ben were watching Zed warily as if they sensed something Daku hadn’t yet told them.
“We need to leave,” Daku said. “It’s not safe here anymore.”
“Not without Chris and Flick,” Naith said glaring at Zed. The new man sighed and held both hands up as he stepped away. It was such a clear reaction of defeat that Felicity felt a little sorry for him. He was apparently outvoted as well as outnumbered. From what she understood of the dria-coldar’s role in a traditional Jernodrian family it wouldn’t be a familiar situation for Zed.
“It’s okay, Naith,” Daku said with a forced smile. “Zed is coming with us. He’s staying to help us move and get settled.”
Naith immediately dropped the hostile tone, mumbled a “thank-you” and turned to start packing a few things, but it was obvious by his stiff movements that he was still feeling the tension between Zed, Daku, and Chris.
“Chris?” Felicity asked in a whisper, but before she could finish the question he cut her off.
“It’s fine, Flick. Just leave it alone.”
She ground her teeth together at his highhanded tone. “No,” she said pushing out of his embrace. “I want to know what happened.” She raised her voice with every word—not that it was absolutely necessary in the confined space of the cellar, but it felt damn good to vent. “Damn it, Chris, explain it to me.”
“It was nothing. Just a misunderstanding,” Daku said in a placating tone.
She might have followed her heart and joined these men in their bed, but she refused to be kept in the dark like a child because of it. Fuck, even aliens apparently thought once they had sex with a woman she no longer had the ability to take care of herself. She frowned and turned a stubborn expression Chris’s way. He shook his head tiredly, apparently giving up on his attempt to “protect” her from reality, but it was Zed who finally explained.
“It was my fault, Felicity. I made a few suggestions without really understanding all the factors affecting Daku’s decisions.”
“What he means,” Chris said in a tone more hostile than any she’d ever heard from him before, “is he ordered Daku, Naith, and Ben to go home, and had every intention of leaving you on Earth to fend for yourself.”
Zed didn’t bother to defend the accusation, but it was clear he regretted whatever had brought them to this point. “I’m sure Zed had the best of intentions,” she said, trying to see the situation from all points of view. She and Chris were strangers to him. Of course the man would give priority to protecting his brother’s Jernodrian podmates. He’d already lost his brother. He sure as hell wouldn’t want to lose the men his brother had loved, too.
“Perhaps,” Chris said in a more reasonable tone, “but this family doesn’t need decisions made for us. We’re capable of looking after each other. We’re not children.”
“So that part where you tried to keep this all from me…that was you treating me like an adult?”
Chris froze for a moment, then shook his head and laughed softly as he rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Trust you to point out that Zed and I have a lot in common.”
He smiled, shook his head again, and then extended his arm to Zed. The dria-coldar seemed to hesitate for a moment, perhaps not familiar with the way humans often shook hands, but then he smiled and reached for Zed’s hand.
“Let’s start over,” Chris said with a friendly smile. “We’ll both promise not to act like buttheads and Felicity won’t need to call us on it.”
&nbs
p; “Deal,” Zed said with a grateful smile in her direction.
Chapter Eleven
Felicity stood at the window and watched Zed as he mowed the lawn. They’d driven across three different states before deciding to settle in this small country town, but it had proven to be a good choice. Nearly twelve months after moving into this rented home and still there had been no sign of them having been followed.
Chris, Daku, and Zed had even grown confident enough in the family’s safety here to make friends with many of the townsfolk. Naith had grown even more enthusiastic about cooking and was currently attending evening classes to improve his skills. And Felicity and Ben had joined the local art scene.
The quality of art was nothing like the gallery Felicity had run before, but the people involved were all very passionate about their hobby, and that made being a part of it even more worthwhile. Ben had surprised them all by showing quite a talent for sculpture. So far he’d refused to try and sell them, but Felicity knew enough about the medium to believe he would be quite successful. She also felt quite confident that they could safely find a way to show Ben’s talent without revealing who he actually was. Ben had refused so far on the grounds of keeping his family hidden, but she could sense his curiosity about whether or not it would sell.
Over the past twelve months they’d found a way to make it all work, and each of them had carved out a nice little niche in this tiny town. The people were pleasant, not overly nosey, and always willing to lend a hand and smile and wave in greeting. All in all, it was quite a pleasant place to live.
For everyone, that was, except Zed. Over the past year he’d given himself an ever-growing list of chores that meant he began early, finished late, mostly worked alone—even when the others offered him a hand—and spent only a minimal amount of time with them before going to bed. They were good friends. Felicity had made sure of that, but it hurt to see him so isolated.
She smiled when Naith slid his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“Morning,” he mumbled sleepily. “Is he starting early or am I just really late getting out of bed?”
“A bit of both, I think.” She tilted her head for a good morning kiss. Naith didn’t disappoint, but when he let her back up for air her attention was again drawn to the huge man in their front yard pushing the mower. “Do you think he regrets staying with us?”
Naith shook his head, his hair tickling the side of her neck as he moved. “I don’t think he regrets it, but it hasn’t been easy for him.”
“Yeah, he still often seems bewildered by the way our family works.”
Naith laughed. “No kidding. It’s far from being a typical Jernodrian family pod, but it works for us. I suppose it’s probably harder to understand that from the outside looking in.”
That thought made her sad. “Is he more like his brother than he used to be?”
“Most definitely,” Daku said as he also joined them at the window. “He’s still different enough though to be himself. In some ways I think he’s become the dria-coldar he always wanted to be and just didn’t know how. Reyne was always the golden child, the one held up as an example of whose footsteps to follow. I think Zed’s choices of yala-coldar were a rebellion against that.”
“Jernodrian sibling rivalry?” Felicity asked out loud. “Who knew?”
Daku leaned around Naith and pressed a kiss to her lips. “See, we’re not all that different from humans after all.”
“It certainly seems that way.” She turned back to watch Zed going about just one of the many chores he’d set for himself each day. “Maybe it’s time we suggested he head home. We’ve had nearly a full year of peace. We’re safe here. Surely it’s time he got on with his own life.”
“Actually,” Daku said very seriously, “that’s something I wanted to talk to you all about.”
* * * *
Zed lifted the sweat-soaked T-shirt away from his skin and thought longingly of the baths back home on Jernodria. They’d rented a home with a thing humans called a swimming pool, but it was outside and while refreshing to dive into after a hard day of manual labor, it didn’t really lend itself to the type of activities he’d often enjoyed in the water.
He almost laughed as he imagined the horrified expression old Mrs. Lansdowne would wear if she happened to spy them doing something like that in full view of the neighbors, but then reality came crashing down and he was left again with that familiar ache in all four of his hearts.
When he’d offered to stay on Earth he hadn’t truly considered how hard it would be to fill the role of dria-coldar to a family he wasn’t really a part of. Night after night he’d slept in his own room at the far end of the house trying not to listen to happy antics of five people who truly loved each other. It didn’t matter that their relationship was nothing like a traditional Jernodrian family pod, he wanted in. He wanted to be a part of that happiness. Hell, he’d been half in love with Daku long before Reyne had died.
Zed’s time on Earth had been a lengthy, painful road to self-discovery, but maybe it was time he headed home. He, Daku, and Chris had made certain that no one would be able to trace them via a paper trail—human or Jernodrian—so he felt fairly confident that the family would be safe, even if Felicity started selling the art work Ben was producing.
Realizing that Ben and Naith had passions outside of their coden-vola roles had been yet another reason for Zed to rethink his entire life.
Maybe it truly was time he headed home to Jernodria. It was clear that the family didn’t really need his protection or his leadership.
But just the thought of leaving behind five people who’d become very dear to him was like a knife to the gut. He might not share their bed, but in many ways they were the podmates he’d always wanted. He couldn’t imagine not being here with them. He couldn’t even imagine trying to find a family pod of his own.
Fuck, he should just be happy that they included him in their day-to-day lives. Yet, selfish, self-centered asshole that he’d always been, he wanted more.
Much, much more.
* * * *
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Daku asked his family as they all gave him happy smiles. “I don’t want anyone having any doubts. I–I can wait until everyone is ready.”
A part of him couldn’t believe he was asking this of the people he loved. He missed Reyne every day and would likely miss the man for the rest of his life, but lately he’d realized that he’d developed feelings for Zed as well. It was a different kind of love, but love nonetheless. Despite the happiness he’d found with Naith, Ben, Chris, and Felicity, Zed had somehow become necessary to his happiness as well.
“Dak,” Ben said as he moved to wrap his arms around him and rest his head on Daku’s chest, “we’re very happy you finally mentioned it. We’ve been wondering for a few months now what was going through your mind.” Chris and Felicity nodded, apparently agreeing with Ben’s assessment.
“I would never have acted on my f—”
“We know,” Naith said as he stepped closer. “Dak, we love you, and we love Zed, too. We’re happy for you to invite him into our pod.”
“But Chris—”
“Is quite aware that he could end up a baby-momma if things turn out the way you hope,” the human said with a wide grin. “I’ve had a bit of time to get used to the idea, Dak. If it’s what you want, then you have our love and support.”
“Flick?”
The woman laughed softly and grinned when Chris pulled her into his arms. “Dak, we’re with you on this. I only suggested sending him home because it hurts to see him so isolated. Choosing to keep him instead is a much better idea.”
“I love you,” Dak said as his eyesight blurred just a little. “I’m an incredibly lucky man to have so many amazing podmates.”
“Go,” Ben said releasing his grip as he took a step back. “Go talk to him. Seduce him if you have to.”
Daku laughed softly. “I’m not sure I know how to
do that.
“Yes, you do, Dak,” Felicity said with a wide smile and a cheeky wink. “Just be honest and everything will fall into place.”
* * * *
Zed wanted to go inside and grab a cola from the fridge, but a quick glimpse of the family hug just inside the sliding glass door was enough to change his mind. Hell, water from the lawn tap was a much better idea. At least it negated the chance of him accidentally revealing how wretched he felt living on the outside of such pure love.
Their relationship wasn’t perfect, of course. He’d heard enough arguments over the past twelve months to know that, but invariably they worked them out and came through it more in love than ever. It certainly highlighted the lack of emotional involvement he’d had in his own relationships.
“Zed,” Daku called as he stepped onto the porch. “Have you got a few minutes to talk?”
For a moment Zed considered pretending he didn’t hear the man, but he couldn’t even force himself to be so rude to the yala-coldar he loved. “Sure,” he said trying to sound casual. “Just let me get cleaned up.”
Zed quickly stripped down to his underwear and dived into the pool. Usually he hosed the grass off first, but a part of him needed the instant dose of cold water right now. He’d worry about cleaning the pool later. It was on his list for today anyway.
He swam two lengths of the pool underwater and went to climb out, but a casual look at the heated expression on Daku’s face had his cock suddenly growing hard. Very, very hard. He quickly moved to the edge of the pool, careful to hide his hard-on against the concrete side. He almost groaned when the quick movement grazed the head of his cock against the rough wall. He forced himself to concentrate as he casually lifted his gaze to Daku’s face.
“What’s up?”
“I…um…was just wondering…” Daku’s words faded as he blushed and looked away. Zed could have sworn he heard the guy mumble, “We should have sent Chris,” but then he smiled and tried again. “I was just wondering if you’ve thought about going home.”
