I’m sorry, Rhea. I have failed you.
“Did you think that was funny?” Kole says, and spits in my face. “Did you laugh with her about how you made a fool of me?”
I remember when Rhea spat at my face. How I thought she was trying to be lewd and how it felt so out of place. I can’t help but laugh at the realization. I throw my head back and let my laughter pour out.
His face contorts with anger and he prods me again and again. In my ribs, the wound in my thigh, and my neck. When my laughter doesn’t stop, he swings the prod and cracks me across the temple.
“If you think this is a laugh,” he slurs, “You’ll face much worse than this.”
“I think you are a joke,” I say. “A poor deluded fool who has lost but doesn’t know it yet. You’re just a pawn in the hands of the Void Seekers. When Rhea bombards your stronghold into rubble, they will never recover your body. Your people will forget that you ever existed. Except, maybe, to laugh at how you were made a fool of at Rhea’s trial.”
He snarls and jams the prod into my neck and my body is wracked with spasms, as electricity surges through my body. He only stops when his prod runs out of charge. I slump against my bonds and all I can manage is a low laugh. If I am going to die, I will use every moment I have left to mock him.
He turns away from me and yells out, “I am done with him. Do with him as you will.”
I look up and see a shadow disjoint from the far wall. It’s a tall figure in a robe, blacker than the darkest night. He must be the Void Seeker holding Kole’s leash. I focus on his features beneath his hood, but I can’t make them out. Instead, I feel a piercing pain in my temples. The more I focus on him, the sharper the pain grows.
Kole steps out of his way warily and lets the Void Seeker walk past him. He waves goodbye mockingly and turns to leave.
I look up into the black hood, ignoring the pain that comes with it. “It is as we thought. It is the Void Seekers that have been backing him all along,” I muse. “What do you want with Rhea?”
The Seeker remains silent and I feel a buzzing inside my head.
“You have not been inoculated,” he says. His voice is hoarse from lack of use.
He takes a metal injector out of his robe. It looks like one of the language inoculations I could never afford. Before I can say anything, he presses it into my arm and I feel the pressure of its payload entering my veins.
My head swims and I struggle to maintain my consciousness. To my horror, I now hear the whispering of the Void Seeker in my head.
Yes… now I can hear your thoughts.
No! I will not allow you into my head. I concentrate on Rhea. My fated mate. I lean my head back and scream out, “By Krio, give me a chance to return to my Rhea and I will never leave her side again. I swear it!”
You cannot resist us. The Void will consume all. There is no purpose in your continued struggle.
The Void Seeker spreads his arms out before him and purple lightning crackles from his fingertips. He brings his hands together and the temperature suddenly drops in the cell. The hair on my arms stand on end as he slowly spreads apart his hands, revealing a growing darkness between them.
To call it darkness is wrong. It is a lack of existence. A hole in the universe. A Void. A gateway to a place where all life has been extinguished.
The Seeker cackles in my mind as the Void expands before him. It slowly spreads, touching my belly, turning it ice cold before I lose all sensation in my gut. Before long, I’ve been completely consumed. I have no more senses. I am lost in the Void.
The only sensation left to me is the sound of the Void Seeker’s projected thoughts, mocking my struggle against the all-consuming Void.
As my mind begins to fade away, I see a lifeline to grab onto. A connection to something outside the Void. My fated mate. Rhea. I cling to her desperately, trying to maintain my hold on myself. I gave her my word. I would never leave her side and, by Krio, I’ll be damned if I let the Void stop me.
I feel another presence in the Void. An ancient one, full of strength, in the form of a Great Bear. It is an enemy of the Void, locked in an eternal struggle to prevent its spread across the multiverse. It saw me through my perseverance against the Void and comes to me to lend me its strength and draft me as an ally in its war.
What is this? What is this other presence within you? What are you hiding from me?
The Great Bear joins with me, mind and soul, and presses back the Void. I feel sensation in my limbs and a new reservoir of strength in my belly. I no longer feel the cold of the Void or the pain of my wounds.
My body begins to transform, fur sprouting from my skin, my limbs lengthening and growing stronger.
Noooooo! The Void Seeker reels. This can’t be happen, not now when we are so close to our goal!
The Void Seeker steps back from me. I tear my shackles from the walls and rip my chains from the floor. I drop to all fours, the Great Bear and I roar my defiance. The Void Seeker turns to run, but I pounce on him, digging my massive golden claws into his back.
I fall upon him, crushing him against the ground. I bite into his shoulder and tear out a chunk of flesh and cloth, feeling his hot blood on my tongue.
The Void Seeker finds his hoarse voice again and screams aloud. I claw at him, rolling him over so I can see his face. He is a human, gray-skinned and gaunt-faced.
I press down on his chest with a massive claw, digging them into his flesh. I bite down on his neck and tear out his throat. His blood gurgles out of his neck and his eyes roll back into his head.
I hear a faint voice calling out to me. “Help me.”
I turn my head and see the woman chained to the cell next to mine. She smells like Gemini. I remember the promise I made to save her sister. I rear up on my hind legs and smash down the bars that separate our cells. I tear the chains pinning her to the walls with my teeth, and she slumps weakly to the floor.
I lean down and allow her to climb on top of me, and I charge out of the prison to find my way back to my fated mate.
15
Rhea
Captain Mikael flies the Sojourn 1 low to the ground. The ship crests a massive dune and Kole’s stronghold comes into view. I’m strapped into my chair, watching my soldiers go to work. Trying to hold out hope that Orion is still alive.
I see Kole’s ship, its nose peeking out from under a shelter dug into the mountainside. If his ship is here, then so is my fated mate. One way or another, I will find him.
Michael takes one pass at the entrance, and the weapons officer locks onto the vehicles parked outside the gates and opens fire with a salvo of energy weapons, melting them into slag. As we make a wide turn around the mountain to make a second pass, we see a massive airship approaching from the distance.
“That’s a Void Seeker ship,” I say.
The ship fires a salvo of missiles and our ship banks and burns its thrusters to get behind the mountain while firing its point-defense lasers. A missile slams into the mountain, sending rubble tumbling down its side, and the remainder are brought down by our defensive fire.
I release my held breath, thankful that the ship is being piloted by Captain Mikael. He got me off this planet once before and I’m confident he’ll be able to do it again.
As we come around the entrance again, I see a strange sight. I see Kole running out of the partially opened gate for his ship. A few soldiers run up behind him, firing their weapons wildly into the stronghold.
Suddenly, a massive blue bear with a mane of black fur bursts through the doors, sending them crashing off their hinges. There’s a small woman clinging to his back. The bear is bleeding from many wounds, but it pounces on two of the guards, splitting one down the middle and crushing the other under its massive paw. He roars savagely at the last of Kole’s guards, causing him to drop his weapon and flee in terror.
I don’t know how, but my heart tells me that bear is Orion.
I try to leap up, but I’m strapped tightly to my seat. “Captain! G
et the ship down and open its cargo bay! That bear is Orion!”
“Yes, your Royal Highness,” he responds without blinking an eye.
I watch as Orion turns to follow Kole as he disappears into the cave sheltering his ship. The Sojourn 1 stops in midair, pivots to face its open cargo bay in Orion’s direction, and lowers to the ground.
Please don’t chase after Kole! Come back to me! Revenge isn’t worth it. I watch on the rear camera display, holding my breath, waiting for Orion to make his choice.
Captain Mikael says, “Your Royal Highness, the enemy ship is coming around. I cannot ensure your safety if we stay much longer.”
“Wait!” I order. The Void Seeker ship fires on our ship with a plasma cannon, scorching its thick armor. Alarms go off and the weapons officer announces, “Half our point-defense systems are down. We may not be able to defend ourselves from the next salvo.”
As he speaks, another set of alarms go off as the enemy ship fires another round of missiles.
“Your Royal Highness, I have to get us to safety,” Captain Mikael yells over the blaring alarms.
“Wait!” I scream, and my heart lifts with relief as I see Orion turn away from Kole and jump onto the cargo bay ramp with the woman still clinging to his back. “Go, now!”
The ship blasts its thrusters as the ship is rocked by multiple missile impacts. Alarms blare as the crew scrambles to contain the damage. I take a moment to breathe in a sigh of relief as I see Kole’s stronghold shrink with distance.
I unbuckle my straps, wishing Maya was here to help me. I run into the back of the ship and Gemini follows behind me.
I find Orion collapsed on the deck, no longer a bear and completely naked, covered with wounds. I gasp and fall to my knees next to him and take his head in my hands. “Orion, please be alive!” I cry.
He blinks, opens his eyes and a smile slowly spreads across his face. A trickle of dark blood spills from the corner of his lips. He lifts one hand to my face, and cups my cheek and brushes away a tear. “I’m sorry I left you,” he says.
I burst into tears, kiss his hand and then rain kisses on his forehead. “It’s okay,” I say. “Just never do that again. I was so worried for you.”
I hear footsteps running up behind me and see the medic rushing into the cargo bay and stop short. She is noticeably trying to keep her eyes off Orion’s alien nakedness. I can’t help but laugh through my tears as I notice her blushing.
“Please take care of my future husband,” I say to the medic. She nods and kneels by him as she starts attending to his wounds.
I turn to the other joyful reunion. Gemini is hugging her twin sister, whispering comforting words in her ear. They should look identical, but her sister is gaunt with a hollow face and deep bruising and cuts at her wrists and ankles.
Her wounds will heal. As will Orion’s. They’ll both be fully attended to on the Astrid. I’m grateful I had my medical personnel trained in Tulani anatomy to prepare them for such an eventuality.
My comms activate with Captain Mikael’s voice, “Your Royal Highness, our fighter group has a targeting solution on the Void Seeker ship. The Astrid is requesting permission for orbital bombardment. We also have two pursuit fighters following a vessel escaping from the combat zone.”
“Tell the Astrid she has permission to level the whole mountain,” I say. “And tell the pursuit fighters I want whoever is in that ship alive if possible, dead otherwise.”
“Yes, your Royal Highness,” he responds.
I turn back to Orion, who’s watching me through his tired eyes with a proud look on his face.
“I am happy to have you as my fated mate,” he says. “By Krio, I have been blessed like no other.”
I’m sitting down in a chair by Orion’s bed in a private room in the medical wing of the Astrid, reading the battle report from the orbital bombardment. The site has been utterly devastated. The Void Seeker ship was destroyed and Kole’s stronghold collapsed under Mount Kroll.
The only bad news is that our pursuit fighters weren’t able to catch Kole. That rat has a knack for survival. I have to give him that. I try to put him out of mind. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to appreciate what I have and not worry about what I don’t.
I stand up from my chair as Orion stirs awake. He opens his eyes and turns his head towards me. He smiles and blinks slowly, reaching out for my hand.
I take his hand in mine, squeezing it, and bend down to kiss him lightly on the lips.
“I feel I must have died and awoken in paradise,” he says.
I laugh at his joke. “I didn’t know the Tulani had bad pick-up lines, too,” I say. I remember what Astrid told me about how it seems all species of men enjoy seeing a woman be impressed by the size of their cock. “Maybe it’s another one of those universal traits.”
He laughs at my jest, even though there’s no way he gets why it’s funny. I’m lucky to have a future husband who’ll laugh at even my dumb jokes.
“How do you feel?” I ask.
“Tired and hungry,” he says. “But a lot better than I have any right to feel.”
“Our doctors commented on that,” she says. “I think their exact words were, ‘we should open him up and find out what makes him tick.’” I can’t help but laugh. The majority of doctors I hired were research doctors, after all. I shouldn’t expect any less from them. “I put a stop to that idea really quick.”
“Thank you for not allowing your doctors to dissect me,” he says with a wry grin.
“Do you remember what happened?” I ask. “When you were a… bear?”
He nods. “It was a strange feeling,” he says. “Like my thoughts had merged with the thoughts of another being. But our goals were the same: to defeat the Void Seekers. The stories do not give justice to what it truly feels like.”
“I can’t imagine,” I say. “I’ve talked to Astrid about what it was like when she first shifted. She couldn’t even put it into words. Well, she did. But they were mostly curse words.”
He laughs. “Are we aboard your ship?” he asks. “It’s very cold here.”
“Yes,” I say. “You are aboard the Astrid. My battlecruiser. House Tarkon’s flagship.”
I open my arms, gesturing at the room around us. “What do you think?”
“It’s very bright and clean,” he says. He rubs a finger on the stand beside his bed. “Not a speck of dust on any surface. And it’s as cold as a food box.”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “It’s definitely a lot less dusty than Kartak.” The door buzzer beeps and I buzz them in. “Speaking of food.”
A Petty Officer comes in carrying a tray of plates covered with silver-domed lids. He puts it on Orion’s bedside table and uncovers each tray in a display of theatrical motions: grilled steak, baked vegetables, chicken soup and a slice of chocolate cake. He pops the lid on a can of beer and proceeds to pour it into a glass cup with just the right amount of head.
Orion licks his lips and sits up in his bed. “This smells amazing,” he says. “A man could get used to this.”
I smile widely and thank the Petty Officer, allowing him to take his leave. “This is just one of the benefits of being a Merchant Princess’s fated mate,” I say. “Dig in.”
I watch as he samples each of the foods. His reaction is the opposite of mine when I ate the food he offered. Judging by how he eats the entire slice of cake before anything else, I’d say that it was his favorite.
“That was incredible,” he says after finishing. “What other wonders do you have to show me about this magical ship?”
I grin wickedly and say, “I was hoping you’d ask me that.”
I take Orion’s hand and pull him out of bed. He slides off the mattress and on to his feet. His sheet slips to the floor, leaving him standing there naked with a proud grin on his face, his chiseled muscles highlighted by the artificial sunlight.
“That’s perfect,” I say, and slip one strap of my dress off my shoulder, teasing him with a better vie
w of my cleavage.
His grin widens into a full smile and he reaches for me, trying to pull me into his arms.
I slap his hand away lightly and smirk back at him. “Not so fast you big bear,” I say. “You’re a recovering patient. You have to take it slow.”
I turn around and slide the other strap off my opposite shoulder and slowly unzip the back of my dress. I lower the dress to my hips, showing him my bare back, finally healed from the last of my sunburns. I look back over my shoulder and bat my eyes at him, then wiggle my hips letting the dress fall to the floor around my feet.
I watch him lustfully drinking in the sight of my body, his cock quickly growing erect. He licks his lips slowly, his golden eyes hungry, looking like a blue panther ready to pounce on an unwary doe.
I turn around and let my ruby slippers slide off my feet before hooking my thumbs into my panties and sliding them slowly down my legs. I rise up slowly until I’m resting on my knees slowly, lingering with my lips near the head of his cock, breathing warmly on his tip before I stand up fully before him and take his hand.
“Come,” I say. “I have something to show you.”
“I don’t know how it could get any better than this,” he says, and I giggle softly at his compliment.
I lead him into the bathroom, the tiles cool on my bare feet, and I slide the glass door open and step into the shower. I tug his hand and he steps in gingerly behind me, looking curiously at the gleaming ceramic surfaces and stainless steel fixtures.
“The algae you use on Kartak to clean yourself is a marvel,” I say. “It cleans, reinvigorates the healthy bacteria on the skin, and protects the body from a surprisingly large spectrum of harmful radiation. My chief biologist thinks it has many potential commercial applications. But it leaves a lot to be desired.”
I lean into him, letting his jutting cock press against my belly, and reach behind him to turn the knob on the wall. A shower of purified water rains down from the ceiling and jets of water pours from a series of shower heads built into the walls.
Renegade Orion: A Scifi Alien Shifter Romance (Shifter Kings of Kartak Book 2) Page 10
