by LW Browning
"I am yours," she whispered.
"I have mated with you. Now I claim you before witnesses. It is our custom. I can wait no longer to do this."
He got to his feet and re-tied his pants at his waist. Shock went through her when he broke contact with her. The last emotion she read from him was regret. "Come." He took her wrist and pulled her to her feet.
Claire tried to stop when she realized he was going outside. "Wait! No!" Her legs gave out. She was naked! He caught her before she fell, picked her up in his arms and continued out to the middle of the circle of tents under the pavilion. To her horror, she saw the warlords waited there.
She struggled to no avail as he carried her. When he stopped in the middle of the circle, he set her down, put his hand in her hair, and pushed her to her knees.
Claire was confused. All the warlords were gathered under the pavilion to watch them. Watch what? Was he about to execute her? She covered her breasts with her hands and her hair as she knelt there, afraid to move. She could feel their stares on her, but she dared not look up.
Koda removed something from his belt. He leaned down to put it around her neck. It was cold, metal. He snapped it into place and then went down on one knee in front of her.
"I have mated you, now I claim you before all. You will obey me and serve me. You are mine and wear my binding. Now all will know you belong to me. I will provide for your needs and will honor you as my claimed and mated female. You are my mate as I am yours."
Claire's confusion and fear kept her silent. The tears had not yet dried on her face from their mating. Her skin was still flushed from their shared orgasm.
He looked down at her. She could not meet his eyes. Of course, he could not do this to her. The idea was – insane. In her panic, she tried to run, but Koda held her hair in his fist. She was going nowhere until he let her. What had he done to her? She felt strange, unable to get a full breath.
He lifted her chin with his hand so that she looked up into his face. "It is customary for the one who is now claimed to pledge to the one who has claimed her so that she acknowledges him as her true and rightful mate."
She stared up at him in complete disbelief. Finally she was able to whisper, "I cannot."
He spoke again, "It is customary for you to pledge yourself as mine, pita. It is not necessary, I have bound and claimed you, but it is customary. Will you say the words?"
She looked up at him, her mouth opened, but no words came out.
"The girl is moved beyond words," Reaf said as he stepped forward.
"That is doubtless the case. My sister is overwhelmed." Lodi was solemn.
Reaf handed a blanket to Koda. He wrapped the blanket around Claire.
Everyone turned to look at the fire in the center of the pavilion. Var, wearing heavy gloves, pulled a long metal stick out of the fire. There was something flat on the end of the stick. It was so hot it glowed red. Var came to Koda's side. Koda stood and kept his hands on either side of Claire's face while Var pressed the red-hot brand onto his left arm. Dren read some words in a language Claire did not know. She felt the burn on her own arm. The smell of Koda's burning flesh assailed her nostrils; she heard the sizzle of his skin. Koda looked into her eyes. After a small eternity, Var pulled the brand away from Koda’s arm.
Dren handed Koda a dagger. Koda cut his forearm. Reaf held a silver chalice to collect his blood. Koda put his fist in Claire's hair and held the chalice to her lips. "Drink."
She swallowed without thinking when he tilted her head back. His blood tasted sweet. His blood. She drank it?!
Claire's world slowly became silent. For the first time in her memory, she could feel no emotions other than her own. She looked around in a panic. Nothing. There was nothing beyond her shields. Her empath world was quiet. Even the faint buzzing of the minds of the small creatures nearby was lost to her.
Dren finished reading, put away his vid reader and stepped back. Reaf stepped forward and announced. "It is done. Warlord Leader Koda has mated and claimed Claire."
Koda pulled Claire up to stand. He knelt down on one knee in front of her and placed a gentle kiss on her bare hand before nuzzling her stomach. She felt nothing from Koda. Quiet echoed in her head, the silence deafening. When Koda stood again, the warlords brought their right fists to their hearts with great force. She startled at the sound then sank back down to her knees, stunned. How did one deal with the inconceivable?
Cheers rang out around the circle and the warlords came forward to offer congratulations. Koda accepted their good wishes as she knelt in front of him. She knew if she tried to run again, he would only catch her. That would humiliate her even more than this... whatever this was. It would humiliate him too. Instinct kept her still. In her wildest imaginings she had never dreamed of anything like this. She reminded herself that all she had to do was survive until Calks came back to get her.
She pulled the blanket closer around her while she covered her face. Why had her world gone quiet? The last thing she had received were thoughts from Reaf and Koda. They thought the mate bite and the Claiming Ceremony might offer protection. Protection from her? The bite and ceremony muted her empath abilities. They had begun to dull since he bit her. Did Koda do this to her on purpose? How could he have known this would happen? That last feeling she had from him after the mating was deep regret. It was painful in its starkness. What did he regret?
"Come, pita," Koda said as he picked her up in his arms and carried her to his tent. He let her down just inside the doorway. “I will protect you. Even from my own customs. You may dress now, pita." Koda turned to go. "I have provided you with clothing appropriate for a female." Then he was gone.
Claire was still standing there when Osiria entered the tent. Her countenance fell when she looked at Claire.
"What is wrong, girl?" Osiria asked.
"What just happened out there?" Claire demanded.
"Koda claimed you, girl. For what reason are you unhappy?"
Claire whispered, "Never, never are we supposed to be claimed, or mated, or married. Why did he do that?" Claire's breath came in gasps. "Why?" She demanded.
"Girl, he gave you his binding," Osiria said.
Claire looked up in confusion.
"Koda was honor bound to claim you and then put his binding on you in the Claiming Ceremony. It is our custom. It is a time for rejoicing. Our Warlord Leader has claimed a mate."
Claire thought the words should have some significance, but she could not put them together in a meaningful way. Anger rose up and bubbled out of her. "It was a very cruel thing to do. I had no idea he was capable of such... such... truculence."
"Koda is an honorable male. There was nothing else he could do," Osiria said softly.
Claire saw Osiria's sadness. Why was Osiria sad? Did she not think Claire fit for Koda? If he had to do it for his honor... why did Koda feel regret and Osiria feel sadness?
"You helped him," Claire said softly. "You knew and you helped him."
"Koda has provided this clothing for you." Osiria held it out to her.
“Clothing fit for a female.” The idea of it made her anger surge. Claire took the clothing and fought with it while she tried to figure out how to put it on. Osiria reached to help, but Claire jerked away. She finally managed to get the wrap-around skirt around her waist and tied a clumsy knot with the pieces of fabric meant to hold it on her. The top was more difficult. No buttons. After she got her arms through the long sleeves, she struggled with the ends. Finally, she pulled them across the front and crossed them in back and pulled them around again to tie them. Dressed, she stormed out of the tent.
Koda saw her coming. "My people would get to know you better."
"Get to know me? I was just naked in front of them, what do you think they could possibly have missed?" Claire kept her voice to a harsh whisper.
When Koda moved closer to her, she pushed her hands up to his chest to hold him away. "What have you done to me?" She hissed at him.
Kod
a held her wrists, "I would see you calm."
She had never felt so defeated. Angry, afraid and alone, she wanted to hide from everyone. "You had no right." A single tear fell from one eye to trickle down her cheek. She had little fight left in her.
He pulled her close and held her tight against his body. “Might gives me the right, little one,” he said softly.
"Barbarian," she whispered. "How can you do this to me?" Utterly exhausted, the tears came then.
Koda picked her up and carried her to his tent. He held her for long hours and rocked her. She cried herself to sleep in his arms.
***
Claire woke alone the next morning. Sounds of the camp coming awake confirmed the new day. She was still dressed from the night before. She opened her mind to – emptiness.
A review of the events from the previous day yielded no answers. He had known or at least suspected that claiming her might make him immune to her empath abilities. The ceremony was bizarre. He had explained nothing to her. And she had... she had drunk his blood. His blood! What had she been thinking? She was not a pawn to have the high-handed Koda take over her life. These people were truly savages. What had Calks gotten her into? They were going to end her for all the rules she had broken on this assignment.
The solitary stillness of being without her empath abilities left her off balance. The hollowness echoed down into her desolate soul. Her own emotions were so intense, they frightened her.
Claire washed her face with water from the canteen and left the tent. She walked apart from the other females and sat down in the grass to begin her meditation. Around her, they were breaking camp. A shadow fell across her, making her heart skip a beat. She looked up to see Koda standing over her.
"We leave now." He offered her his hand to help her up. She ignored him and stood. Koda mounted the paccar and pulled Claire up in front of him. She did not have the heart to look at any of them. Koda had hurt her beyond what he knew.
"You will have to speak with me at some point," Koda said.
"You had no right," her voice shook though she tried to keep it even.
"Calks told me that you were aware of the customs of our society. I spilled your virgin blood. I had to claim you. All actions have consequences, pita, even the ones we count as mistakes."
She was a mistake to him? She was a mistake that his honor and duty required him to repair with the Claiming ceremony. He had destroyed her empath abilities. His people were safe from her and the MX Facility was probably going to end her for this and all she was to him was a mistake? She shook with anger and shock.
"Are all MX able to heal?" Koda asked.
She turned away.
"Answer me, girl," Koda said.
"We have different gifts," she answered.
"What are the gifts?" He asked.
She lifted her chin. Eventually, he would realize she was not going to answer that question.
They traveled upward on a gradual slope. Huge, rocky, mountains towered in the distance. The forest here was thick on one side and the grass very green on the other. There were rocks strewn about the grass as if some giant child had tossed them while playing and neglected to pick them up before going off to another adventure.
Koda led them through a pass. The trail was not treacherous. The beauty of the mountains and the valleys they passed took her breath away.
She caught sight of a flash of blue in some trees just ahead and was startled at the brilliant color. It was some sort of bird, but the bird was turquoise and like nothing she had ever seen. She looked at the trees in search of more of the beautiful birds.
All the magnificent sights they passed stung her soul. She wanted to enjoy this, instead she was... What was she now that she was no longer an empath?
They came over a hill with a lake below. Sunlight sparkled on the surface. Large four-legged creatures with hooves and horns stood in and around the lake. These creatures were large and their horns were of a different shape than the ones they had seen on the way here. The graceful creatures paid them little attention as they rode by.
They followed a road across the lake. There was water on either side although the road was dry. They were in a valley; beyond the water of the lake lay fields filled with crops. The air was fresh and clean and the sky was a beautiful clear blue. On the other side of the lake, a town occupied both sides of a small rocky stream that ran down from the mountains to the left. They crossed the stream on a sturdy wooden bridge.
As they made their way through the town, Claire saw many people dressed in colorful attire. There were quaint little shops. It must be market day, she thought, because there were many wagons loaded with foodstuffs and goods positioned around the town. There was a main street through the town that ran parallel with the stream. Several side roads disappeared into foliage so that it was impossible to guess how many people lived there.
Claire felt nothing from the people they passed as they rode through the town.
On the other side of the town, the road began to ascend, a brown ribbon of stone that meandered up through the mountains and out of sight around a curve. On the right was a huge white building. It sparkled in the sun like a jewel surrounded by lush green vegetation.
There was a high stone wall around the entire structure. Guards stood on top of the wall and the wide gates opened to let them ride into the courtyard. The structure itself was rectangular in shape. There were at least two stories and an attic with dormers. From the center of the building, a tower rose with a domed roof. A flag pole sat atop that. Claire recognized the symbol on the flag as the same symbol the warlords wore on their left arm.
The large building had a covering along the front with both ends built further out to create a large courtyard. Purple mountains could be seen in the distance behind the castle. The entire thing made Claire feel very small. They had slept in tents and made a slow journey riding on paccar and yet, this was where Koda lived? The more she knew of these people, the less she understood them.
The grandness of the setting was impressive. The castle spoke of great wealth and beauty, but it was lost on Claire.
The trim around the windows and the door itself was a rustic red. There was a large door in the center of the building. It was in front of this door that Koda stopped.
Koda turned to the other riders and thanked them for traveling with him on the journey. He let Claire down off the paccar and left it in the care of a groom. Koda put his hand in the small of Claire's back when they walked into the castle. His touch was intimate, possessive. Heat suffused her. How was he able to have that effect on her, just by his touch? She hated herself for being so weak, hated him because her body reacted to him.
Inside the castle was a great hall. There was a large stairwell to the right and another to the left. A balcony went around the entire square of the great hall. Koda led Claire up the stairs to the right and down a hall at the top of the stairs. The hallway was wide enough for four males to walk abreast. They passed several doors. Koda stopped in front of one on the left. He opened it and stood aside to indicate she should enter. Claire was confused. Why had he brought her here?
The first room was a sitting room with several chairs and couches and small tables. There was a small open kitchen on the right. They continued through the sitting room to a bedroom. The bed chamber was large and dominated by a four poster bed made of dark red wood. There was a hutch, as well as four chairs. A small table sat between two of the chairs, which were placed beside one of the floor to ceiling windows. There was a huge chest of drawers on one wall and a bookshelf on the other. A door to the right was closed. On the wall opposite the bed, another door stood ajar. Koda showed Claire through this doorway to the bathing room. She stood quietly looking at the round sunken tub. There was also a large shower in the corner and a wooden bench. Stained glass windows cast the bathing room in soothing colors.
"I will send a servant to help you with your bath and bring you some clothes to wear," Koda said. "There are things I m
ust attend to. I will be back later."
"I have my own clothes," Claire said.
Koda stopped and looked back at her. "Your wardrobe has not held up well."
Claire read nothing on his face. True, her garments had been torn and bloodied more than once on the trip.
"You will have some time to rest before the evening meal." He walked past her then, out of the bath chamber, out of the bedroom. She heard the outer door to the apartment close.
Soon after, a woman entered. "I am Eria, I will draw you a hot bath."
Eria was shorter and darker than the females on the trip. Her hair was dark blond and her eyes were blue. She turned the dial which agitated the water, put the soaps and shampoo down and left the bath chamber.
Claire was certain that most of the problems of the world could be solved with a nice hot bath.
In the mirror she got her first look at the lavaliere Koda had put around her neck when he claimed her. The silver chain was very fine. The pendant that hung from it was silver inscribed with the same symbol branded on Koda's left arm. A cerulean blue stone sat in the center of the lavaliere.
The mate bite at the curve of her neck and shoulder had healed, leaving a crescent-shaped mark. He had bit her. These people had strange customs. Unable to remove the lavaliere, she stepped into the scented water of the sunken tub. There was a tile shelf in the round tub for her to sit on.
After all the dirt and grime of the trek were scrubbed away, she washed and rinsed her hair and then soaked. If only the scented soap could have washed away everything that had happened on this assignment. The Facility was probably going to end her when they found out. She took a deep breath, laid her head back and closed her eyes.
After she dried off and dressed in the cerulean blue gown Eria had laid out for her, she went to the bedroom and sat in one of the chairs to look out the window while she brushed her hair.
