by S. E. Smith
Now, she was surrounded by seven… no eight… very tall, very grim looking men. She was hurt too. Her ankle was throbbing bad enough that she knew it was at least sprained pretty badly. Hot, sharp pains were radiating up through her leg the moment she put pressure on it. Her left arm was throbbing as well. One of the men had slammed down on it when she had swung around to nail him as he grabbed at her. Despair swept through her. She hadn’t been able to find her sister, Trisha, or Cara. She had no way off this planet. She had nothing left to live for. The one thing that kept her going the past three years was a single-minded need for revenge. Now, even that seemed like an impossible goal.
Depression hit her hard. As hard, if not harder than the first year after Scott’s death and her losing their child. She felt totally useless. She swung around in a circle, favoring her injured foot. Her right hand went instinctively to the knife she carried. She felt as trapped now as she did that night on the tarmac. Her mind was beginning to splinter as she fought the panic of being trapped and helpless again.
Carmen pulled the knife out of its protective sheath and swung it in a wide arch forcing the men to jump back. A wild look came into her eyes as she realized there would be no escaping, at least not alive. A low sob escaped her as the depression she had been fighting overwhelmed her with a feeling of total hopelessness. She tried to focus on the mediation techniques that Connie showed her but she was beyond that. She tried to believe she could make it back home but even that seemed beyond her reach.
“Get back,” she growled out in a low voice. “Get away from me.”
Harvey appeared outside the small circle. It pushed through two of the guards, ignoring their commands to stay back. The symbiot slowly moved closer to Carmen, as if it recognized that she was hanging onto her sanity be a thread.
“Go Harvey,” Carmen commanded in the same low voice. “Go on. I don’t want you here. Go back to your master.”
The symbiot shimmered in distress as it sank down to lie on the ground just a few feet from her. It watched her carefully, as if sensing she was frightened and fighting for control. A low humming sound escaped it as it flickered in varying shades of different colors.
“Not this time,” Carmen whispered as her eyes flashed from one guard to another. “All I wanted was to find my sister and friends and go home,” she said huskily to the golden figure watching her so intently.
“Carmen,” a deep voice called out to her.
Carmen’s eyes flew to the new figure moving toward her. It was her dark haired warrior. Anger burst through her. It was his fault she was in this mess. He should have just sent her back home. It would have saved them all a lot of heartache.
“I want to find my sister and go home,” Carmen hissed out keeping the knife in front of her. “Just send me home.”
Creon stared intently into the wild eyes of his mate. “I told you I cannot do that,” he replied calmly as he motioned for the guards to leave them.
Carmen jerked sideways when she saw the guards behind her moving away. She stumbled a little as pain shot through her foot. She bit back a cry as the hot needles of pain shot up her leg.
Creon took a step toward her but stopped when she swung the knife at him. “Let me help you,” he said calmly. “You are hurt. Let me care for you.”
“No!” Carmen responded tersely. “I don’t want or need your help in anything but getting back home.”
“I told you I cannot take you back,” he said softly taking another step closer.
Carmen took a painful step backwards away from him. “Then there is nothing left for me,” she whispered looking at him with pain filled eyes. “I have no reason to keep fighting. No reason to continue….” Her voice faded as grief overwhelmed her.
A shiver of warning ran up Creon’s spine at the softly spoken words. There was a conviction in it, an acceptance. He needed more time to understand how he could help her. He could feel he was losing her.
“Scott would not want you to end your life,” Morian said quietly as she moved to stand next to Creon. “He would not want you to give up a chance to be happy.”
Carmen swayed dangerously at Scott’s name, her eyes reflecting her pain and sorrow. “You don’t know what the pain is like day in and day out. It is tearing me apart. I miss him so much,” she choked out in a voice thick with tears. “It’s my fault he is dead. If I had stayed back at the house he would still be alive. Our… our baby would have lived,” Carmen whispered as a single tear broke loose and rolled down her cheek.
“Will killing the man who took this away from you bring either of them back?” Morian asked as she took a step closer to Carmen. “Would Scott have wanted you to go after the man knowing how dangerous that would be for you? Do you think he would blame you the way you are blaming yourself?”
Carmen let her arm holding the knife drop back to her side. “No, it won’t bring them back,” she choked out. “But I made a promise to Scott, to our baby, and to myself that I would kill the man responsible,” she forced out in a voice that was a little stronger, a little louder.
Morian took another step closer until she was standing within arm’s reach of Carmen. “Even if it kills you?” She asked gently.
Carmen looked into the warm gold eyes of the woman in front of her and nodded. “Yes,” she answered in a barely audible whisper. “At least then the pain will be over.”
“For you, but not for me or the rest of Creon’s family. For if you die, so does my son. I am asking that you give this life a chance,” Morian responded quietly. “The pain can fade if you give it a chance. Life can begin again. Just as with your phoenix. You have risen from the ashes, Carmen. It is time to begin your new life.”
Carmen shook her head, her eyes searched out the man standing quietly behind the woman. “How can my dying harm your son… Creon?” She asked, hesitating as she said the name of the warrior who refused to let her go.
“He is your true mate,” Morian explained. “His life, the life of his dragon, and the life of his symbiot are in your hands. You have the power to decide if he lives or dies.”
“But…” Carmen frowned at the woman before looking back at the man standing rigidly behind her, waiting to see what she would decide. “I don’t understand,” she murmured confused.
Morian smiled gently and held out her hand. “Come with us, my daughter. Give us a chance to explain.”
Carmen looked down at the hand that was held out to her. Looking back up, she stared at the patient eyes waiting for her to make her choice. Her eyes moved past the woman to stare into the dark, gold eyes of the man. Some instinct told her to give them at least the chance to explain.
Creon, she thought to herself. Now she knew his name.
Carmen slowly slid the knife back into its sheath and placed her trembling fingers in the woman’s out-stretched hand. Strong, slim fingers curled around hers and squeezed them in encouragement. A moment later a strong, muscular arm circled her waist supporting her weight.
“Would you allow me to carry you?” Creon asked huskily.
Carmen blushed and nodded. “I hurt my ankle,” she muttered.
Creon’s face tightened in anger. “I will discipline the men for hurting you.”
Carmen scowled as Creon picked her up. “They were following your orders so if anyone needs to be disciplined, it’s you!” She snapped back. “They were just doing what they were told.”
Morian’s chuckle prevented Creon from responding. “I think you have met your match, my son. She is as protective of the warriors as you are.”
Creon groaned. “I was trying to impress her with my protectiveness!” He growled back.
Carmen looked at him skeptically. “I don’t think telling the men to keep me a prisoner, then disciplining them when they do, is being protective. If you would have just let me go in the first place none of this would have happened.”
“I thought we were beyond that. How many times do I have to tell you that I will never let you go?” He snapped back, tir
ed of her not listening to him.
“Well for your information, listening goes both ways!” Carmen responded just as heatedly. “You aren’t listening to what I am saying so why should I listen to you?”
“You are the most confusing, aggravating, infuriating female I have ever met!” He bit out.
“Confusing? Me?” Carmen looked up at him in surprise. “You put me in your apartment, climb into the shower with me when I’m naked, and tell me I belong to you like it is some great privilege. I didn’t even know your name until two minutes ago! I’m not the one who is being confusing. I told you exactly what I wanted!”
A chuckle startled both of them back to the realization that they were not alone. “Creon, why don’t we get her healed, have some refreshments, explain to her where she is, why you are claiming her, and what that means to you both,” Morian said in exasperation. “I am beginning to understand why she is so confused.”
Creon grunted in response to his mother’s cheerful observation. He climbed the white stone steps leading back to his living quarters. Harvey trotted by his side waiting to get a chance to heal his mate. Creon half wondered if his symbiot could heal his little white-haired she-demon if he throttled her. He grunted when he felt a sharp tug on his hair.
“You said that out loud,” Carmen muttered under her breath as she released her hold on his hair. “You are not allowed to throttle me if you are protecting me.”
Creon’s eyes glittered wickedly for a moment before he leaned over enough to whisper in her ear. “What about spankings? Do they count?”
Carmen jerked back, blushing furiously. “Yes,” she hissed out. “They count!”
“But as what?” He murmured as he set her gently down on the couch in their living area.
Chapter 8It had been over a week since she arrived on the planet and she was feeling just as confused now as she had when she first came. And, just as frustrated. After her capture in the palace courtyard, Creon had carried her back to his living quarters. His mother, Morian, had patiently fixed them all something to eat while Creon had Harvey heal her leg and arm. Carmen had been skeptical at first but within a few minutes all the pain was gone.
Afterwards, Morian and Creon had given her a brief history of their world and their beliefs, namely the beliefs about true mates. Carmen had listened but it was impossible for her to believe that her leaving could harm, much less, kill Creon. In a way, she could understand it if it had been like her and Scott where they had known each other all their lives and been together the whole time but at first sight? That was why she tried to escape again and again and again.
She had made it to the corridors one afternoon but he had cornered her in one of the back rooms when she took a wrong turn. She ended up in a room with no other exit but the door she came through. Her face burned as she remembered the scorching kiss he had given her. She had felt truly cornered that day as he trapped her against the wall and kissed her so passionately she was gasping for breath afterwards. He had hauled her ass back to his living quarters telling her there was nowhere that she could go that he wouldn’t find her. She was more determined than ever to prove him wrong!
“This is ridiculous!” She muttered looking out of the window again at all the activity down below. “I think they were just making it up so I wouldn’t try to escape.”
It hadn’t stopped her. She tried to escape several more times over the past week. Now, the number of guards stationed outside of her living quarters looked like a miniature football team. She was running out of ways to try to trick them. One of the times she tried to escape, she had convinced two of the guards that she needed help with a stopped up toilet of all things. She had locked the guards in the bathroom. She made it to the end of the corridor before Harvey caught her and dragged her back. The next day she had four new guards outside the door.
The time after that, she had tried sneaking out dressed as one of the servants that came to clean. She had hog-tied the poor girl and stuff her in the back bedroom. She made it halfway down the stairs before the alarm sounded once again thanks to Harvey! The golden symbiot was beginning to get on her nerves. Creon had exploded in a rage when he saw her running hell bent for the gates of the palace. He had caught her and hauled her ass back upstairs. She ended up with eight guards that evening. They were instructed to identify every individual who entered and exited their living quarters.
Carmen glared at Harvey. “He’s still pissed that I’m not talking to him.”
An image of the huge bed in Creon’s room flashed through her mind. Carmen scowled down at the gold bracelets around her wrists. Harvey refused to remove them after the incident in the palace courtyard. She had tried to pry them off but nothing she did would remove them.
“And because I refuse to sleep with him!” She added. “If what they say is true then sleeping with him and letting him claim me completely would be even worse for him. Maybe if he doesn’t claim me like they say and I leave he will be alright. He’ll be able to find another girl to mate with,” she reasoned ignoring the stab of jealousy at the idea of Creon being with another girl.
She cursed under her breath again. The feelings inside her were getting harder to ignore. Fortunately for her so far, Creon had been the perfect gentleman. He hadn’t tried to push his whole ‘I claim you’ thing on her. He had made sure she had food, which she picked at while he grumbled. He only let out a few snorts and growls when she took the clothes that Morian had delivered to her into a smaller guest room instead of his bedroom. He had even given in somewhat gracefully about her refusing to attend the dinner. She figured it had something to do with the muttered words ‘at least I won’t have to kill another warrior if he tries to claim you since I haven’t yet’.
Then two days ago, he disappeared and she hadn’t seen him since. She knew something was going on. The activity down in the courtyard had increased almost as dramatically as the number of guards outside her rooms. She had gotten so pissed yesterday that she had tried to just storm through them. They were learning it was easier to catch her if they worked as a team. She also suspected Creon promised to skin any of them alive if she got hurt again because they were really careful whenever they fought with her to make sure they did it as gently as possible. It was royally pissing her off!
She had been kept a virtual prisoner here. Morian had come to visit with her the day after the courtyard incident. Creon had left for a meeting shortly afterwards. She tried to ask her questions about Scott but Carmen refused to tell her anything else. She was afraid the more they knew the more they would try to use the information to change her mind.
Morian had quietly shared how difficult it had been at first when her mate had died suddenly. She talked about the pain, grief and loneliness that still affected her sometimes. When Carmen pointed out that she was still alive, Morian explained that while she had loved her mate deeply he had not been her true mate.
“What is the difference?” Carmen had asked, even more confused by the difference.
“While Zlatan loved me as I loved him, his dragon and his symbiot never fully accepted me. They cared for me and protected me, especially his symbiot as I was a priestess. But, it was not the same as if I had been his true mate. His dragon cared for me but there was not the fire for me that a true mate would have had. But Zlatan the man,” Morian sighed as she took a sip of her tea. “Zlatan the man was very passionate and caring. He made up for what was missing.”
“I still don’t understand,” Carmen said impatiently. “It is ridiculous to believe that just because you see someone you will die if you don’t claim them.”
Morian studied Carmen carefully seeing underneath the stubborn mask she wore to the frightened girl underneath. Carmen was afraid to let herself love again. She was terrified of opening herself to love. Her son would have to fight to overcome the walls this fragile young Earthling had built around her heart. For while she acted very tough, underneath she was balanced on a precipice that could lead to disaster for both her and Creo
n.
“A true mate is a very rare and special gift all warriors hope to be blessed with by the gods,” Morian explained carefully. “Only a true mate is accepted by the three parts of the warrior. The man, his dragon, and his symbiot. All three make up the warrior and give him his strength. But, it is a lonely existence. Deep inside there is a hunger that only a true mate can sate. The need to feel complete eats at the warrior, growing as he ages. He may enjoy sex with a female but it never sates that hunger. His dragon will become more difficult to handle as he grows older, wanting a mate of his own. This can only happen with the right female. Only then will the dragon’s fire burn. It becomes more difficult for the male to control once he discovers his true mate. The fire will burn hotter and hotter until he takes her.”
“What if she doesn’t want to be taken?” Carmen asked in a small voice, looking down at her clasped hands instead of at Morian. “What if she doesn’t want to be claimed?”
“She has no choice, my daughter,” Morian replied gently. “Once bitten, the dragon’s fire will ignite inside her, transforming her, pulling her own dragon to the surface in answer to her mate’s call. She will not be able to deny either the man or the dragon. Once she has been claimed, she can never leave her mate.”
Carmen had sat on the couch for hours afterwards thinking. She needed to get away before Creon bit her. That was why she had been trying to escape all week. She needed to put as much distance between them as possible before it was too late.
The sudden knocking at the door startled Carmen back to the present. She frowned. She hadn’t been expecting anyone. Morian normally knocked once and came in. Whoever was at the door was pounding on it like it was a bass drum.
