The Harvest Young- Bound by Love

by M. A. Church

  “I am. Can you live with this?”

  “I can.”

  He held the dagger out to Dossi. “I thank you, but the killing blow should be yours.”

  Princes Dossi smiled, her chapped lips cracking. More blood seeped down her chin. She wiped the back of her hand across her face, smearing it, then took the dagger from Hamza. Nodding, she returned the low bow of respect. Finally, she gave Camars a gentle squeeze, then she stalked toward were Queen Ogill was chained. The queen lifted her chin, sneering.

  And Princess Dossi cut her throat.

  Epilogue – Neo

  THINGS MOVED quickly after that. Princess Dossi declared herself queen and ordered Ogill’s body thrown in the ocean. Through Camars, Queen Dossi shared with Hamza and Neo that the Ne Reyn came from the ocean, and now Ogill had been returned to it. Neo couldn’t help thinking that the overthrown queen had literally became fish food.

  Then Dossi started cleaning her house, so to speak. Her first act was to imprison everyone who took part in torturing her.

  Camars informed him and Hamza that the Blishue mercenaries ran when the tide of war turned. Well, all but one ran. As Queen Dossi dealt with her royal court, Grand Lady Impur requested Neo examine the spy.

  Neo took one look at the male, who was beat to hell and unconscious, and immediately requested he be transported to the Unity. The medical staff of the Unity scrambled around the Blishue’s medibed.

  Leads attached to him led to a free-standing console that beeped occasionally. Overhead monitors showed his vitals, and an intravenous device delivered an electrolyte solution, pain medicine, and nutrients. Once they had him reasonably stable, a nurse cleaned the dried blood from his face. Finally his features were visible.

  Neo had never seen a Blishue outside of pictures, and now that he had, he could say that the photos didn’t do them justice. This one was tall, humanoid, and over six and a half feet in height. The species possessed a sagittal crest that began on the forehead and continued over the skull. He also had horizontal ridges across the bridge of the nose. His long and kinky hair was a deep amethyst in color and badly in need of a cleaning.

  Once the medical staff was finished and went back to their normal duties, Neo picked up the vid chart at the end of the bed. Neo hummed under his breath. Fascinating. As a species, they were truly fascinating.

  “Oh my gods.”

  Neo glanced up. Laken was standing several feet away from the medibed, his mouth hanging open.

  “He’s quite the specimen, isn’t he?” Neo teased, unable to resist. Laken looked as if he’d been run over by a flyer. “I was going to comm you later. How’s Kia doing?”

  “He’s fine. I think seeing Ogill killed helped him move on.” Laken licked his lips. “Oh gods, Neo. This is the Blishue who helped the resistance, isn’t it? Is he okay?”

  “He’s okay, and yes, he’s the spy. Unfortunately, we don’t know his name yet. He was unconscious when found, so because of his injuries, it was best to keep him sedated during treatment.”

  “He’s… he’s….” Laken tiptoed closer until he was right beside the medibed.

  Neo frowned. Seeing Laken so rattled was highly unusual. His interest was quickly drawn away from Laken by a shout from outside of Medical. He placed the chart back on the hook at the end of the bed. Wondering what was going on, he started toward the door.

  It opened with a whoosh. Raiden, face flushed and ears laid back, stomped inside. With every step he took, his growls grew louder.

  “What the hell, Raiden?” Neo asked. What was Raiden doing? His actions were a good way to get written up.

  “I heard we transported up a Blishue. I couldn’t believe we allowed that kind of space trash on this ship, so I had to come and see.” Raiden moved toward the back where the Blishue was located… and sedated.

  This starship’s Medical might not be where Neo practiced, but he was still a doctor, and every instinct he had as a doctor said not to let Raiden get any closer. He grabbed Raiden by the arm. “That’s far enough.”

  “Let me go.”

  “Nope. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you’re close enough.”

  “I….” Raiden shook his arm like he was trying to get Neo to let go.

  “Again, nope. You need to get ahold of yourself.”

  The door to Medical swished open again, and Dayo rushed inside. “Shit, has Raiden been by—oh thank the gods. You caught him.” He grabbed Raiden’s other arm. “Raiden? What the hell are you doing?”

  “I’d like an answer to that also,” Neo said.

  The doctors and nurses backed away, giving Dayo and Neo plenty of room to deal with Raiden.

  Raiden stared at the medibed. He stilled, then another low growl started in his chest. “That looks like—”

  Dayo glanced at the medibed too. “Oh no.” Dayo blinked several times. “It can’t be. Shit. That looks like—”

  “Torin!” Raiden bellowed. “That’s the fucking Blishue Torin who beat Dayo. Son of a bitch, it’s that fucker! I’m going to kill the bastard.” Dragging Dayo and Neo with him, Raiden advanced toward the medibed.

  “Dammit, Raiden, stop!” Neo yanked at Raiden.

  Laken swung around, putting his back to the medibed. “You will come no closer!” he yelled. His fists clenched, and sharp spines erupted from his knuckles.

  Raiden staggered to a halt. “Laken?”

  “Oh, holy shit,” Dayo whispered.

  “What the hell?” Raiden swore loudly. “Get away from that fucker. You know what he did to Dayo.”

  Neo pressed his comm and sent an emergency signal to Hamza. “Raiden, you will not take another step toward the Blishue. As your King Consort, I have spoken. Stand down. Now.”

  Raiden gawked at Neo.

  The door to Medical swished open again, and Hamza stormed inside. “What in the ever-loving hell is going on?”

  “Glad you got here so fast.” Neo smirked. “It seems that destiny—or whatever you want to call it, love—well, it might be a little late to the party, but it’s finally arrived for Laken.”

  I hope you enjoyed Bound by Love. The last book in this series will be Bound by War. You may be asking why I didn’t use the title for this book. While war was a significant factor, love is what saved the day. Hamza came very close to losing himself to the darkness, but Neo’s love saved him, as did the love of his family and friends.

  This was a tough book. There were parts that were devastating to write. Sometimes things were so intense I actually had to step away for a few days. There is pain in this story. But there is also hope.

  We humans have a saying: learn from the past or history will repeat itself. Hamza came very close to seeing that awful reality.

  ~M

  If you enjoyed this book, please post a review!

  Books by M.A. Church

  Changeling Press

  Bad Boys Club Box Set

  Lust and Ice

  Into the Darkness

  Haunting the Night

  eXtasy Books

  The Yellow Rope

  Self-Published books

  The Harvest series

  The Harvest: Taken

  The Harvest: Journey’s End

  The Harvest: A Tah'Narian Christmas

  The Harvest Young series

  Bound by Fate

  Destiny: A Prequel to Bound by Destiny

  Bound by Destiny

  Bound by Love

  The Deep Blue Sea series

  Beneath the Surface

  Riding the Ride

  Make a Wish series

  Nighttime Wishes

  Nighttime Promises

  Heart of a Jaguar series

  Paws and Claws

  Fur and Fangs

  Leap of Faith series:

  Shadows in the Night

  To Touch the Sky

  The Gods Series:

  Priceless

  Perfect

  Pure

  Fangs, Fur, and Felines series:


  Trouble Comes in Threes

  Behind the Eight Ball

  It Takes Two to Tango

  At Sexes and Sevens

  The One and Only

  The Mystic Bay Series

  Night’s Fall

  Coming Soon: Day’s Light

  Standalones

  In Enemy Hands

  Texting, Autocorrect, and a Prius

  A Country Boy at Heart

  Wrapped in Leather

  Dragon’s Hoard

  Faded Love

  Coming Soon: Kiss Me Deadly

  AUTHOR BIO

  M.A. Church is a true Southern belle who spent many years in the elementary education sector. Now she spends her days lost in fantasy worlds, arguing with hardheaded aliens on far-off planets, herding her numerous shifters, or trying to tempt her country boys away from their fishing poles. It’s a full-time job, but hey, someone’s gotta do it!

  When not writing, she’s exploring the latest M/M novel to hit the market, watching her beloved Steelers, or watching HGTV. That’s if she’s not on the back porch tending to the demanding wildlife around the pond in the backyard. The ducks are very outspoken. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, and they have two children.

  She is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

  Contact M.A.:

  Blog: machurch00.blogspot.com

  Twitter: @nomoretears00

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/machurch00/

  The Harvest FB fan page: www.facebook.com/#!/theharvest00

  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nomoretears00/

  Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/5141393.M_A_Church

  Amazon: www.amazon.com/M.A.-Church/e/B007A8JA4C/ref

  Email: nomoretears00@hotmail.com