by Corin Cain
I gulp.
I’m going into the belly of the beast.
Alone, unarmed, and with barely a plan.
I take a cheap shuttle at the entrance to the spaceport, and the driver looks shocked when I demand he take me to The Rhino. The death-stare I shoot at him when he nearly refuses makes the driver instantly shut his mouth.
The promise of a little extra credits butters him up – and soon enough, the driver drops me off a block away from The Rhino, exactly as instructed.
The service entrance is at the back of the club. I have my mask back on, and I realize I’ll have to switch the purifier to its highest setting in this dingy, low-level area, with its high levels of toxic pollution.
As I stride through the smog and smoke, I see a guy – already drunk off his ass at midday – who stumbles towards me.
His eyes are full of lust.
“Hey, little lady! You lost? Why don’t I…”
Thump!
The moment the drunk reaches forward to paw at me, I deck him across the head.
I’ve slapped and punched a hundred men before – but never like this. I hear the satisfying crunch as the groping pervert’s jaw breaks. He falls like a rock to the sidewalk.
I look down at my hand with wonder.
So, this is the power that a man has in his fist. Now, that power is mine.
I take the route through the back alley, weaving through the overflowing garbage cans and bags of refuse. The air is clear through my purifier – but I can almost imagine the fetid stench.
Eventually, the service door of The Rhino stands in front of me.
Stick to the plan, Allie: In and out.
Try to find her. Ask some of the girls if they saw anyone who looks like me. If they did – even if they deny it – I know I’ll see the truth in their eyes.
I pull the door, but it’s locked tight.
For a second, I stand there, running my tongue over my gums – thinking.
I should have been thinking before – thinking clearly, at least.
Suddenly, I realize this was all a huge mistake. I should have stuck to my initial plan. I should have just taken the first flight off this rock and come back much, much later – with guards.
I need to come back with men who aren’t going to try to link me with them for all eternity.
A pang of sudden loss shudders through my body. I’ve fought down and muted the Bond all this time, but something in me still clings to the idea of what I could have had if I hadn’t fled.
Part of me, I’m ashamed to say, wanted to live happily ever after with those three towering, gorgeous, devoted men.
That’s my heart talking. My heart has always been a fool.
I need to listen to my head. My head tells me that those three Aurelians couldn’t treat me as anything other than a breeding slave and plaything, even if they wanted to.
Reluctantly, I pull out the hilt of Kitos’ Orb-Blade. I’d been planning to sell it – but I figure it’s the only thing on my that could open this door right now.
I fondle the hilt, trying to figure out how to get it to work. There are no buttons, or controls - and I’m too scared to touch the Orb-Shard itself.
Work, dammit! Just work!
Instantly, the blade suddenly appears.
As if summoned by my thought, a long blue-black blade of nothing shimmers into life from the top of the hilt – humming with an otherworldly energy.
It’s terrifying, and I’m trembling as I take the Orb-Blade to the service door and press the shimmering, blue-black blade down against the metal.
It cuts through the door like the sheet steel is nothing more than tissue paper. I cut down the door in seconds, kicking down the broken pieces.
The barrel of a pistol greets me.
I instantly freeze.
It’s Giovanni standing there – the greasy-haired host from the previous night. He’s holding a pistol aimed right at my face.
“Drop the weapon.”
I drop the Orb-Blade, which deactivates the moment it clatters to the ground.
The towering Aurelian who calls himself Torelli strides down the hallway, to take his position behind Giovanni. He looks down at me with incredulous eyes.
“Little one - did you really think that would work? Breaking in here? Did you really think I have no security?”
I instantly feel so, so stupid.
Yes, I’d thought I could sneak in. Yes, I’d thought it would be that simple.
But I hadn’t thought – not really.
The only thought I’d truly had was the overwhelming thought that my sister had to be in there.
I hear a footstep to my left – but before I can turn my head, something hits me hard.
The world instantly goes black.
The last thought I have before I pass out?
Lilac…
24
Allie
My eyes blink open, and then the headache hits me.
Gods! My head feels like I’ve been drinking cheap wine for a week without water.
There’s a slow, steady drip, and something heavy on my head. My mouth has the acrid taste in it, like oil.
I try to talk… but as I’d suspected – there’s something in my mouth.
I can’t feel Daccia, Hadrian, or Kitos. Even when the Bond was muted, I could at least feel something of their aura. Now they’re just… gone.
I weakly lift my head, and find Torelli is standing above me, looking down cruelly.
I take bearing of my surroundings. That’s when I see her.
Lilac.
Oh, Gods! Lilac!
My sister is huddled in the corner, looking barely older than when I’d seen her last, three years earlier.
But she does look different. Her eyes are blank and stretched wide open, like there’s nothing going on inside her mind.
I try to get up, but Torelli gives me a hard shove and I slam against the wall.
"Your little triad can't feel you anymore, slut.” He towers over me. “You think I'm stupid, little child? Those goggles fooled no one! You were obviously Bonded to them – and what does that mean? That you four came here looking for the other woman who shares your DNA. I could smell your shared blood a mile away.”
Torelli takes a menacing step toward me.
“How could you be so stupid? I looked you up, Allie Tabber.”
Oh, Gods… He knows my name!
“You’re Allie Tabber – wanted fugitive. That means they are Law Enforcement, just as I suspected. Although not for very long – since they clearly fucked their prisoner."
I'm gagged, so I can't say anything.
I look weakly over at my sister. She's got blank eyes, like she’s staring ahead but seeing nothing. Like, right now, she’s staring straight at me – but clearly doesn't recognize me.
"Stupid bitch, that one,” Torelli jerks his head towards her. “Hasn't talked in two years. No good to anybody, except as a warm, wet hole to fuck.”
The menacing Aurelian looks down at me.
“You, on the other hand. You’re quite valuable. Valuable enough for me not to want anybody trying to take you away from me.”
Anybody like Daccia, Kitos, and Hadrian. I know they’ll already be searching for me.
As if reading my mind, Torelli snarls:
“Don’t get your hopes up. Your little friends are going to get a surprise visit from Law Enforcement. I told the agency everything. Those three are on the Kill List now.”
Oh, Gods – the Kill List.
One of the Most Wanted lists of fugitives from Aurelian justice. Wanted criminals with the order to shoot-on-sight.
Oh, Gods! I feel so stupid!
I feel so stupid for thinking I could take on a crime-boss all by myself. I feel so stupid for thinking we’d fooled Torelli with our display yesterday – of my triad fucking me, in front of that crowd.
The entire time, Torelli must have been laughing at us – way ahead of our scheme.
I don’t
care, though.
If nothing else, I’ve found Lilac – or, what’s left of her.
I’ve been dreaming about finding my sister every day for three years. Now she’s here! Just a few feet away from me!
I crawl towards her, hoping for her to recognize me, but there’s nothing in her eyes.
The blankness breaks my heart.
Torelli laughs. “I expect your triad to come looking for you – but no matter. They’ll have three Reavers from Law Enforcement Orb-Shifting in to take them into custody within the hour – if they don’t just shoot them dead.”
I shudder. My triad! Those three gorgeous, devoted, honorable men.
They’ll be arrested, or killed – because of me.
I know, I know… I’d toyed with the idea of condemning them to that fate before…
…but I’d never had the strength of will to go through with it. I couldn’t.
I craved my freedom. I was terrified of becoming their slave.
But at a deep, fundamental level…
…I truly loved them.
Torelli sees my anguish, and he smiles.
“That’s right, little one. No one’s coming to save you anymore – and you’re the only person who’s ever come to try and save your sister.”
He snorts bitterly.
“Well, good news. I’m selling you both as a package deal. Identical twins. I know it’s not strictly true, but it’s close enough. Men love that – enough that they’ll even kid themselves into believing it.”
I sob, and Torelli grins as he watches the tears roll down my cheeks.
“Enjoy the rest of your life,” he growls, and then he gives me one more kick for good measure. I feel his sharp-tipped shoe sink hard into my side and hear one of my ribs crack. Pain shoots through my body.
I clutch my side, groaning in agony, as Torelli turns and leaves.
As soon as he’s gone, I rip the gag out of my mouth. It’s only an oily, dirty rag.
I throw the fabric down and crawl to Lilac, grabbing her and holding her closely as I sob into her shoulders.
After a moment, I lift my head - grabbing her shoulders, forcing her to look me in the eyes.
Nothing.
She’s like a ghost – empty and spiritless.
“Lilac,” I sob, “it’s me! It’s your sister! Please! Remember me. Please, Lilac! Please remember me!”
I’m pleading to her – but I know she’s been through so much abuse and pain that I can barely see anything left of humanity in her glassy eyes.
It breaks my heart.
I feel my stomach drop. I look around this bare, metal room and realize we must be in the hold of a spaceship. It’s takes off – I can tell by the sinking feeling in my stomach as the artificial gravity struggles to compensate.
Clutching Lilac close, I weep for my little sister. My eyes flood with anguished tears. The teardrops splatter on the cold, steel flooring of this cargo bay – all that pain and anguish dropping, wasted, onto the floor.
“Lilac,” the one thing I never do is stop talking to her. “It’s me, Lilac! It’s Allie! It’s me!”
Suddenly, her eyes focus.
“A… A… Allie?”
It’s like she’s awakening from a trance. My sister gasps in a broken, horse croak.
“Yes!” Now my tears are those of happiness. “Yes, it’s me!” I hug her tightly. “Oh, thank the Gods! You recognize me!”
“Allie!” My sister croaks. “Allie! You have to be careful! He’s… He’s evil.”
She clutches her knees, bobbing her head up and down, repeating those same words over and over.
“He’s evil... Evil!”
She must be referring to Torelli – and, sadly, I’d discovered that already.
I have to think.
I look around desperately. So, we’re in the cargo bay of a ship. If it tries to Orb-Shift, I could use the augmentation in my left arm as soon as I feel the gut-wrenching lurch.
But where would we be going? We must be flying somewhere. Probably to the home of some rich bastard with a fetish for twins.
“Aurelians are evil,” Lilac murmurs says, rocking her head back and forth.
I gently sooth her. “No. They’re not all evil, Lilac.”
I feel a gut-wrenching twist of anguish – thinking of Daccia, Kitos and Hadrian – and how I’d betrayed them.
I shake my head.
“We don’t need to worry about Aurelians, anyway, Lilac. We’ve got each other. Now, I’m going to find a way out of this, I promise. I’m going to save us.”
I grab my head. I hadn’t noticed it earlier – I’d been too distracted by Torelli, and my sister – but there’s some type of helmet on my head.
No, not a helmet – just a ring around my ears. However, it’s skintight – and I can’t pull it off.
Whatever it is, it must be the reason I can’t feel the triad in my mind.
But even if I could… Would they still come for me, after I’ve betrayed them?
But I know, deep in my heart, that they would.
“Fuck,” I growl. “If I could just get this thing off, I’d have a triad of Aurelians rushing to come save us right now!”
Lilac gasps and crawls away from me like I’m trying to hurt her. Panic fills her eyes as she starts hyperventilating. She must have suffered horrific abuse at Torelli’s hands – and, as such, Aurelians have become her worst fear.
I’d thought my sister was dead. I hoped, every single day, that somehow I’d find her alive again.
Now I have – and I’d always thought this moment would be one of pure joy.
Now, instead, I feel pure hatred for the man who did this to her.
Lilac sobs silently.
“Lilac,” I sooth her, “it’s okay. The Aurelians won’t hurt us.”
She looks up at me with those big eyes. “Promise?"
I smile and nod. “See here? See this, in my right arm? If I press that, I can knock anyone out – even an Aurelian. And see this? In my left arm? This will disable their ship engines. No Aurelian will be taking us anywhere. I’ll protect you, Lilac – I promise. Okay?”
She nods, and the trust in her eyes breaks my hearts.
She was only seventeen when she was taken. Now she’s barely twenty – but she’s acting younger than the day she was taken. It’s as if her personality had been beaten down completely, reducing her to the mentality of a child.
I hold her tightly, singing softly to her, trying desperately to bring back the vibrant, powerful young woman I’d one known.
“It’s going to be okay, Lilac,” I promise her. “It’s going to be okay.”
Suddenly, the ship rocks, and fear grips my heart. That wasn’t the lurch of an engine firing. It was an evasive maneuver.
We’re under attack!
The poison of hope wells up inside me once again.
After everything I’d done to hurt that triad of loyal, devoted Aurelians, something tells me that they’re the ones causing this chaos.
Beyond the doors to this cargo hold, there’s a sudden, thunderous roar. I hear the sounds of battle rattling through the bulkheads.
The door smashes open.
Lilac clings to me as Daccia stands looming in the doorway. He’s drenched in blood. The rest of my triad stand behind him – wearing their battle-armor, and they fiercely look down at me.
“Allie! You’re safe!” Kitos looks at me with nothing but concern – as if I’d never betrayed him. He grabs me in his huge arms, and then looks down at Lilac, realizing it’s my sister.
When he holds me tight, I finally realize the truth.
I do need these men.
I’d told myself I didn’t – I’d convinced myself to run from them and betray them. I’d even come close to seeing them imprisoned or executed.
But I need them.
It isn’t just about safety. It’s because I’d never felt so alone as when their auras had winked out of my mind, because of this infernal device I have strapped to
my head.
While I’m wearing it, I don’t sense their auras, and I can’t feel the Bond…
But it isn’t the pain of losing that connect which makes me realize how I much I need them…
It’s the fact that right now – totally free and independent of the Bond – I still feel the same way about them. I still care for them and crave them. I still want them and yearn for their protection.
I still love them.
And I feel that way independent of the Bond. It never made me feel what I did for them. I’d always felt this way. Even if we weren’t Bonded – even if I didn’t have this incredible connection to them – I’d still belong to these three, towering, gorgeous warriors.
I finally realize, deep in my heart, that the only way I’ll ever truly be free is if I surrender to this. If I allow myself to love them without fear.
I thought I was running from them – when, in fact, I should have been running from my own self-doubts, insecurities, and pain.
Kitos gently runs his fingers through my hair, testing the helmet. “We’ll get this off soon enough, I promise – but it needs a med-bay or a doctor.”
Without the Bond clouding my judgement, I suddenly know how badly I want these three men in my life. I wish I’d been clear-headed enough to see that earlier, but after all I’d been through, it had felt like I could never trust another man again – let alone three of them!
But while Kitos holds me tenderly, Lilac is screaming – practically dragging herself away from them, as far she can.
“She’s traumatized,” I explain quickly. “Right now, we need to get her somewhere where she can’t see you, okay?”
Daccia nods. “Come with us.”
25
Daccia
I let Allie trail behind us. She's dragging her sister, who’s still kicking and screaming as if she’s being led to an execution chamber.
The poor girl is terrified. When Kitos tried to pick her up, she screamed so loudly it hurt my ears. Allie had shot him a dark glare, and shaken her head. The young woman is obviously so traumatized, she can’t even barely to be near my kind.
We stalk through the halls of this transport vessel – the one that had taken off carrying our Fated Mate and her sister. When we’d intercepted it, the crew of men tried to stop us. That was a poor decision on their part – and they all died for it.
