“Didn’t you mention that there are few animals on Earth now?” Trey asked.
“Very few. Earth’s ecology was devastated by the Pardu bombardment in the Bolkin Wars, though many species were transplanted to other planets, like here on Jasan.”
“It stands to reason that your ability to communicate with animals would go unnoticed on a planet where there are few animals,” Trey pointed out.
“That’s true,” Lariah agreed. “But what about those other feelings I had?”
“You mean being afraid before something bad happened?” Val asked.
“That, and the feeling about coming here to the ranch with you guys.”
“I was going to suggest that you might have the ability to sense when you are in danger, but the feelings you had about coming here don’t fit that theory,” Garen said.
“What is it like when you communicate with Tiny?” Val asked.
“I haven’t done it much yet, but so far I get emotions and images from him, and strong feelings, like pain.” All three of the brothers noticed that Lariah shivered when she said that, though she didn’t seem to notice it herself. “I hear a sort of buzzing in my head, and if I pay attention to it, I get a sense of what he feels or needs, like if he needs to go out, or if he’s hungry.”
Tiny picked that moment to snore so loudly that he woke himself up. Lariah laughed at him as he opened one eye, rolled it toward her, sighed contentedly and immediately went back to sleep.
Faron loped across the rolling hills, keeping to the far edges of pastures containing grazing cattle, his brothers flanking him. The livestock were used to the occasional dracon flying overhead, or loboenca roaming the land, but there was no need to risk distressing them when it was easy enough to skirt them. The cattle on Jasan were descendents of Earth cattle, and still carried a vestige of their natural fear of wolves. Though the loboenca were easily twice the size of the largest bull, their shape and scent were enough like old Earth wolves that there was always a risk of spooking the cattle and starting a stampede.
As they drew nearer to the main ranch house, Faron increased the pace a bit, the thought of one of Suly’s hot meals causing his belly to rumble. He hurried down the last hill and was approaching the front of the house when he caught the unmistakable scent of a woman, followed by the sound of low feminine laughter. He slid to a stop in surprise, his brothers nearly bumping into him.
Faron and his brothers had spent several days traveling slowly from their own home at the far edge of the Dracons’ ranch, doing a wide zigzagging security sweep of the property as they went. Since the sweep was done in their loboenca form, they had been out of touch. The possibility that something important had occurred during their absence bothered Faron greatly. He and his brothers had spent their entire lives alongside the Dracon brothers as both their companions and assigned body-guards. Even though Jasan was at peace, the Lobo’s responsibilities were not lessened. Faron felt an uncomfortable sense of guilt.
He brushed it away. His first duty was to the Dracons. He would have plenty of time to wallow in his own feelings later.
Faron scented the female again, mixed with the familiar scents of Garen, Val and Trey. He knew, as did all of their people, of the prophecy concerning the Dracon Princes and their Arima. He also knew that Garen was determined to wait for the promised Arima, while Val and Trey had begun to lose hope. He himself believed that Garen was correct in waiting. The promise of an Arima, no matter how vague, was a hope that could not be wasted. He knew also that his own brothers were aching for a female, and had begun letting him know their feelings on the matter. They wanted to mate with a human woman, and in truth, Faron was very tempted. But he could not let go of the hope that, if they waited, and the Dracons’ Arima became fact rather than dream, then perhaps they also had the chance for a true Arima of their own.
Faron weighed the possible explanations for the female’s presence in a matter of seconds. The most probable conclusion was that the female was the Dracons’ Arima. Garen would never settle for less. His heart skipped a beat at the thought, though he reined his excitement in. There was always a chance he was wrong. Also, the scent of the female was unmistakably human, so even if she was their Arima, it was not going to be a simple problem to solve.
Faron transformed from his loboenca form into his human male form, his brothers doing the same the moment they realized what he was doing. Like all Jasani males, the Lobo brothers were nearly identical triplets. They were not quite as large as the Dracon brothers, with fairer skin and less angular features. Their eyes were all the same color, a blue so pale it was almost white. Their hair was the distinguishing characteristic between them with Faron’s being a deep, dark blue, while the middle brother, Davon’s hair was a medium blue, and the youngest, Banon, had hair a shade of blue so light it was nearly silver.
Rather than approach the front door, Faron led his brothers around the side of the house toward the garden in back, leaping easily over the low wall and into the garden. The moment they stepped around the last bend on the garden path and into full view of the patio, a large canine leapt to its feet, placing its body between them and the small figure of a female in such a way that it completely blocked their view of her. Faron noticed at once that the animal was extremely thin and shaking with weakness, though its bared fangs and deep growl warned of its determination to guard the woman with its life.
Faron reached out with his magic to soothe the animal, assuring it that they had no intentions of harming anyone and praising it for its instincts to guard the woman of his Princes. The dog stopped growling, but did not relax its stance, which surprised Faron. Then he felt the female touch the dog’s mind, soothing him with calming words as she caressed its fur. The dog relaxed immediately at her touch and resumed his position on the patio at her feet.
Faron barely noticed as he stood for long seconds, stunned by his brush with the female’s mind. He had never imagined a human female could be so generous, loving, compassionate and brave all at the same time. He did not get any actual thoughts from her, but that brief touch told him that she was all of those things and more.
He gave himself a mental shake, turned toward Garen and bowed his head. “I greet you, High Prince,” he said formally.
“I greet you, Lord Protector,” Garen replied as he stepped off the porch and extended his hands, forearms crossed. Faron crossed his own forearms and clasped hands with his prince, as Val and Trey did the same with Dav and Ban. It was the special greeting of warriors, signifying that their lives were all entwined, and that they must always watch each other’s backs.
Garen turned and moved to stand beside the female, his hand extended to her. She stood up, placing her hand in Garen’s and smiling shyly at the newcomers.
“Lariah, this is Faron Lobo, and his brothers Davon, and Banon,” Garen said, each of the men nodding in turn as their name was spoken. “They are our Prime Guardians, and our life long friends.”
“My friends, this is Lariah,” Garen said, pride and happiness like nothing Faron had ever seen in his old friend’s eyes. “Our Arima.”
Faron heard the soft gasps from his brothers behind him and nearly rolled his eyes. Obviously they had not suspected, as he had. They all bowed deeply, Faron placing his right palm over his heart.
“It is both a pleasure and an honor to meet you, Lariah,” he said, meaning it with all of his heart. As he straightened, he allowed himself to get a good look at the first Arima since the Dark Time. She was small, delicate and unlike many human females he had seen, utterly feminine. Her eyes were large, and a startling shade of deep green, the dusting of red-gold freckles across her nose and cheeks giving her a slightly mischievous appearance. Her hair was quite long, the red-gold color seeming to catch the sunlight, even in the shade. Faron thought that she was quite pretty, until she smiled. Even the shy smile she bestowed on them during their introduction transformed her from pretty to radiantly beautiful. He found himself wishing for a bigger smile just so he
could see how that would change her. But for all of her soft delicacy and shyness, there was something in those green eyes that spoke of temper, will and intelligence. He smiled to himself. He had no doubt she could lead the Dracon brothers a merry chase should she wish to.
“I am glad to meet you, as well,” Lariah replied, her voice soft and husky. She frowned and began chewing on her lip. Garen smiled at her.
“What do you want to know?” he asked her. Faron watched as she released her lip and gazed up at Garen for a long moment. She shrugged and turned to look back at Faron.
“I hope it’s not rude to ask, but are you dracons too?”
“No, it is not rude, and no, we are not dracons,” Faron replied with a smile. “We are loboencas.”
Lariah frowned. “What is a lobenca?” she asked.
“Loboenca,” Garen corrected her gently.
“Oops, sorry,” she said. “Loboenca,” she repeated slowly, determined to say the word correctly.
“Would you like to see?” Faron asked.
“Yes please,” she replied excitedly. “If you would not mind, of course,” she added, her face turning pink.
Faron pretended not to notice her blush as he turned to Dav. “Would you mind?” he asked.
“Of course not,” he said. Dav stepped off the patio and walked deeper into the garden, still in full view of the party on the patio but far enough away that he would not harm anyone when he shifted. He smiled at Lariah, then closed his eyes and called his loboenca.
“Oh my,” Lariah breathed softly. Tiny jumped to his feet and placed his body between the ten foot tall loboenca and Lariah. Lariah automatically placed one hand on Tiny’s neck and soothed him, even as she studied the enormous animal before her.
“Amazing,” she said softly. “He looks like a gigantic wolf, only with stripes like a zebra.”
“Yes,” Faron said. “The wolves of Earth are known to us. Our loboencas are much like them. However, I do not know what a zebra is.”
Lariah smiled. “A zebra is like a horse, with black and white stripes just like those on Dav,” she explained.
At that moment Suly stepped out onto the patio with a large tray of food, her face breaking into a wide smile when she saw Faron and his brothers.
“I am certain there is enough food for all if you are staying for dinner,” she said as she set the loaded tray on the big patio table.
Faron looked to Garen, who smiled and nodded. “Yes Suly,” he said, “they will be staying. Thank you.”
Suly hurried back inside as the hungry group took their seats around the table. She came back shortly with another tray, then hurried away again. Val and Trey followed after her to help carry out the rest of the food and dishes.
Several minutes later, when they had filled their plates and begun eating, Lariah looked directly at Faron, her delicate red-gold brows pulled down in an earnest frown. “I’m sorry that Tiny growled at you,” she said. “He’s not quite...settled yet.”
“That animal’s name is Tiny?” he asked, grinning widely.
Lariah shrugged, but there was laughter in her eyes. “He likes it, and so do I.” she replied.
“There is no need to apologize, my Lady,” he told her. “I have a small talent with animals, and I praised him for his reaction to us. Though he is quite weak,” he added, looking at Garen, his brow raised inquiringly.
As Garen related the day’s incidents concerning the dog and Lariah’s rescue of him, Faron felt his temper ignite. He also felt a sense of growing pride in the petite woman sitting across the table from him. Already he believed that she was a fit Arima for their Princes, worthy of the men, and the position.
“If you have no objection, we will gladly take on the task of ensuring your decree of banishment is carried out,” Faron offered.
“I have no objection,” Garen replied. “In truth, we have been so busy that I have not yet sent Ric to handle the matter anyway.”
“Good,” Faron said. “We will attend to it as soon as we leave here.” Faron hesitated a moment, then said, “It will likely take us two days to complete our task. When we return, we will occupy the river house during our stay, if you do not mind.”
Garen smiled at him. Usually Faron, Ban and Dav stayed in the main house when they came to this end of the ranch. “Of course not,” he said at once. “I will ask Suly to see to it that the house is prepared for you.”
“That is gracious of you, my Prince,” Faron replied. He reached for the platter of thick steaks and began refilling his plate, trying to tamp down his inner excitement. The Dracons had found their Arima, and she was everything one could hope her to be. Except that she was human. He did not know how the situation would be resolved, but he believed, absolutely, that it would be. It had to be. His people had waited, and suffered, long enough.
Chapter 9
After dinner Faron, Ban and Dav left to attend to Tiny’s former owner, and Lariah discovered she was stained and grimy from her various activities that day. After receiving Val’s promise that he would keep an eye on the sleeping dog, she went to bathe.
Suly was just leaving her room after putting all of her new clothes away. Lariah was delighted that they had been delivered so quickly, but she was embarrassed to learn that the older woman had been putting her things away while she sat relaxing on the patio.
“Suly, you should have called me to help you with this,” Lariah said guiltily.
“And pull you away from your handsome men?” she asked, her eyes twinkling. “I think that is more than my job is worth!”
“I am not so sure about that,” she said.
Suly placed the palm of her hand lightly against Lariah’s cheek. “I am,” she said softly.
“Thank you Suly,” she replied, not entirely sure if she meant her thanks for Suly’s hard work, or her kind words.
“You are most welcome,” Suly said. “Now, go play with your new wardrobe,” she said, waving Lariah toward the closet with a grin. “You must now choose what to wear to bed and if you don’t hurry, you will not have much time left to sleep!”
Lariah laughed, as Suly intended, and hurried toward the closet as the older woman left the room. She had never owned so many clothes at one time in her whole life. Nor had she ever owned clothing so pretty, and of such high quality. Now she had so much she barely knew where to start. She spent a long time examining her new clothing, finding several things she had not even noticed in the store. Garen, Trey and Val had obviously made a few selections of their own. She was only mildly surprised to realize that she knew exactly which items had been selected for her by each man. She was getting used to things like that.
As she fingered the soft fabric of a long skirt with a high slit that she knew Garen had chosen, a thought occurred to her. She pulled the items that she felt Garen, Val or Trey had personally chosen for her and inspected them. While none of the items were overtly revealing or tight, each of them was sexier than anything she herself had chosen. One had cut outs that revealed her shoulders, another a series of short slits in the long sleeves that would reveal flashes of her arms as she moved, or high slits in the skirts that would reveal her leg as she walked, though not so high that it would be embarrassing for her to wear in public. One gown that Trey had chosen seemed rather plain at first glance. The skirt was narrow, and long enough to reach her ankles, with long sleeves and a neck so high that it would actually wrap around her throat and fasten in back. Curious as to how it would fasten, she turned the gown around and was surprised to see that the gown had no back. It would bare her entire back from neck to just above her rump. She hung the gown back in the closet, wondering.
Was it usual for men to purchase such sexy and elegant clothing for a woman if they felt nothing for her? She had no idea. She really knew nothing about men. Still, they were always touching her, carrying her, kissing her. Could all of that attention be simply concern over a female guest? She knew that Jasani were known to treat women with great consideration, but did that expla
in it? She didn’t think so.
It was so confusing. They treated her as though she was special to them, but not as though they wanted her in a sexual way. Not since the incident in the bathroom. In fact, she could almost feel their withdrawal. Then they had selected clothing for her that was both elegant and subtly sexy.
She shook her head and sighed as she selected a peach satin nighty from her new wardrobe and headed to the bathroom. Men were just so darn complicated!
Later that night, Garen opened the door to Lariah’s room, using a minor bit of magic to be certain there was no noise or light to awaken her. Tiny lay sleeping on the floor near the door and raised his head to stare at Garen for a moment before lowering his head and going back to sleep. Garen stepped close to the bed and looked down at her, both his heart and his body aching with desire at the sight of her. He sent his magic into her. After a moment, assured that she was deeply asleep, he turned and left the room as silently as he had entered. He crossed the house, joining his brothers in the study.
“She is sleeping quietly,” he said, leaving the study door open behind him in case Lariah called for them. Her voice was improving, though still not strong. With their exceptional hearing it didn’t really matter. They would hear her if she needed them.
Garen took his chair behind the desk and met his brothers’ hopeful gazes with a satisfied smile.
“Military Intelligence has responded to our request for information on this Director person Lariah told us about. He is, in fact, the Director of the Special Operations Directorate of the Intersystem Agency for Law Enforcement and Counterintelligence. Apparently everyone just calls him “Director.” His real name is unknown and deeply classified. He oversees teams generally made up of two field operatives, a weapons and communications specialist, and a psychic.
The Dracons' Woman: Book 1 of the Soul-Linked Saga Page 14
