“How do you know that?” Amy
asked.
Leah blushed. “Cobra mated
with me. He can’t keep a secret from me and he doesn’t lie. Under his gruff exterior
he’s a real sweetheart. He makes me feel safe. Cobra won’t betray my love.
There is something special about this race of males and the way they understand
emotion and sense it. I’m in love with him and his honesty.”
Amy’s eyes widened in
surprise. Leah was a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties. Amy had learned Cobra
was three thousand years old and never mated. It was a long time to be a
bachelor. Leah looked pleased about her situation. Leah turned slightly. Her
right shoulder was exposed and Amy could see a brilliant glowing green tattoo.
It was identical to Cobra’s markings. Leah’s face was practically glowing as
well with happiness and Amy knew how important it was for Leah never to feel
betrayed again.
Meg showed Amy the tattoo
identical to Talsk’s facial markings on her shoulder. Amy was happy for her
friend. Amy saw Danni’s mark as well. It was bittersweet. Her friends were
safe; Amy wished she could be, too. She would give anything to bear Dasks’ mark
and know they would live for thousands of years.
Another blast rocked the
vessel. Lisa began crying. Leah picked her daughter up. Amy scooped up Maddy.
The room suddenly went dark. Amy stood still. A flicker of a dimmer light came
on. Auxiliary power. They must have boosted power to their shields. The room
they were in was void of anything—no furniture, nothing. It almost looked like
a cell. An idea formed in Amy’s mind. It could be a cell. If they couldn’t
break out then hopefully nothing could break in.
No sooner did she think this
than the door to the room flew off. Everyone screamed when an armored Castian
came crashing in with a gray creature. The gray creature was hideous. Its
talons clawed at the Castian. Amy had no idea who it was; she had never seen
the facial tattoo markings of this Castian warrior. The Tonan whipped its
forked tail around and snagged the Castian by the ankle. A massive clawed foot
slammed down onto the tail and snapped it in half. The Tonan howled.
“You want to fight dirty?”
the Tonan snarled. “Castian bastard.”
To Amy’s horror the creature
flung its massively muscled arm forward and its talons shot out to slit Leah.
Leah screamed and ducked. Lisa fell to the ground. The Tonan was sent flying
back before it could connect with Leah’s middle. The creature bounced off the
wall. Lisa jumped up and ran to her mother, but she too was sent flying.
“Stay away from her!” the
Castian yelled. “The woman must be carrying my father’s babe. The shield is up
and won’t come down. Nothing can penetrate it.”
“My children!” Leah screamed.
Leah sat on the ground
looking terrified and confused, wanting to go to her children but unable to.
Amy was in shock. Dasks had casually mentioned that a woman became shielded
when pregnant, but to see a tiny woman send a massive warrior flying without
lifting a finger was like nothing she had ever seen before. And poor Lisa was
sprawled face up howling for her mother. Amy ran to the child and scooped her
up into her arms. More Castians and more Tonans flooded the room.
“Dasks!” Amy screamed when
she saw his tattoo.
Amy found herself between
Talsk and Dasks. Meg was beside her crouched on the ground holding Maddy. Leah
huddled into a small ball, and no one went near her. Amy lost sight of Craig.
Lisa struggled in Amy’s arms and yanked herself free. Amy screamed for her.
Talsk and Dasks were moving so quickly in front of her she could barely see
them. Their talons sliced across armor making a god-awful screeching sound and sending
sparks flying. Lisa was tiny enough to fit through an opening as a Tonan tail
slithered forward and made a grab for Meg.
Talsk’s foot slammed down and
cracked the tail in half. Lisa was gone. Amy screamed at Dasks to find the
child but neither he nor Talsk broke formation. They fought as one. With a roar
Dasks’ talons sliced across a Tonan throat when his enemy’s armor faltered with
exhaustion. There wasn’t much light on Earth. They needed to head home soon to
regenerate, Dasks had told her. If the Tonans were feeling loss of power, their
body shield would be low. When the creature fell, Amy caught sight of Lisa. She
screamed when a Tonan went for the child.
“Rask!” Dasks yelled. “The
child!”
Amy had heard of Rask.
He was the Castian in charge
of Dargon. Perhaps Cobra had sent for him knowing there was going to be
trouble. If it were Rask and his men fighting, their armor would hold better
having been regenerated from Dargon’s two suns. Amy watched as Cobra’s son grabbed
Lisa, his shield dropping then snapping into place while another Castian
guarded him. Amy knew it had to be the man’s warrior mate. Lisa was unseen, but
safe.
Rask and his warrior mate
continued to battle. One by one the Tonans fell, then fled. The Castians roared
their victory.
Meg released Maddy who
approached her mother tentatively.
“Mommy?”
“I think it’s okay, sweetheart.
Just come to me slowly,” her mother warned.
Maddy moved closer until she
was in her mother’s arms. Rask’s armor lowered and he set Lisa onto her feet.
The child marched to her mother scowling.
“You throwed me,” she said
and stomped her foot.
Rask was chuckling. “It
wasn’t your mommy, little one. It was your baby sister who did that.”
Lisa pressed her nose to her
mother’s belly. “No more throwin’, baby.”
Leah chuckled then looked
around. “Where’s Craig?”
Leah was soon scrambling to
her feet and racing for Cobra who held the limp boy to his chest. Amy saw the
blood. Craig had been sliced by talons across his chest and throat. Leah
screamed. Cobra looked devastated as he cradled the child.
“I tried, but I have no
warrior mate to watch my back. I thought I moved fast enough but there were
four of them.”
“No, no,” Leah sobbed.
“He needs a doctor,” Amy
said. Though from the wounds she doubted it would help.
“We have no doctors,” Cobra
said. “Our shields heal us if we’re injured. I don’t think the healing water will
cure this. He’s lost too much blood.”
“Then we can give him a
transfusion,” Danni said.
Amy knew Danni had been going
to school to be a nurse, but that was eons ago.
“What’s a transfusion?” Cobra
asked.
“We take blood from another
to put in him,” Danni explained.
“A Castian can’t give blood
willingly. Our armor won’t permit anything to penetrate our skin,” Rask said.
“But you have a warrior mate.
Your fangs penetrated a warrior’s skin,” Amy said desperately.
“It only happens for our
protection,” Cobra said. Gently he lowered the boy to the ground.
Leah was over him sobbing
hysterically. She looked up at Cobra with pain-filled eyes. “You said you would
take care of him,” she accused. “You swore it when we mated.”
Cobra looked defeated with
her agony.
Amy knew he was feeling what
she was. The pain was radiating from his eyes. Amy could tell he loved the boy.
He would have no choice but to love him because Leah loved her son. Cobra would
feel what she felt.
“I’m so sorry,” he stammered.
“I hurt,” Craig whimpered.
Cobra dropped down to one
knee beside him. “Close your eyes.”
“Don’t touch him,” Leah
snapped. She lifted a hand and slapped Cobra across the face. She drew a fine
line of blood at his mouth. Amy was surprised his armor hadn’t gone up then
remembered Castian armor would not go up if it would injure a female. She had
hit to hurt; the armor might have broken her hand.
Amy wondered if Cobra had
sensed this from her and surmised he had.
“I can ease his pain,”
Cobra’s voice was solemn.
Amy was sobbing in Dasks’
arms when Cobra lowered himself to bite into the child’s neck. Amy knew Craig
would feel no pain after the bite. He would die quietly.
Leah was howling when Cobra
pulled away. She gathered her son into her arms and crushed him to her chest.
Amy was stunned when Leah was
flung back and landed harmlessly on the ground with a bounce.
A gasp of surprise rose when
armor tediously began to clasp around Craig’s body. Piece by piece it
forcefully slammed into place incasing the boy.
“Cobra?” Rask asked in
confusion.
Cobra reached up to touch his
mouth. “Our blood mingled.” Cobra stumbled then slipped to the floor. He looked
drained.
“Cobra?” Rask yelled and
dropped down beside him.
“I have no warrior mate. I
haven’t for almost four hundred years. My armor felt my frustration while I was
fighting. No one had my back.” Cobra began laughing. “I have given two pieces
of my armor in just days. It’s no wonder I feel a bit weak. The first was to
the new babe. Now it would appear I have a new warrior mate.”
“But he’s a little boy,” Leah
said, creeping closer.
“He’s a Castian warrior now.
You said he was almost twelve. It’s when a Castian first takes a warrior mate,”
Cobra declared. He chuckled at Leah’s expression. “It’s all right, Leah. He’s
related to the baby. She’ll let him close after she learns his scent. She can
smell him through your nose. It was just a shock to be so close to a male, then
a male warrior. Even that tiny inside your womb a babe can sense emotion and
belonging. Learning which male to stay away from and which male to seek aid
from is for her and your survival. Instinct in our young is conceived when they
are.”
“What just happened here?”
Amy said. She felt like she was run over by a steam engine.
“When you carry Dasks’ baby,”
Cobra said, “the baby will form a shield the second it’s conceived. Nothing can
harm the child or mother while she carries or while she nurses for up to
three-and-a-half years. Both mother and baby are indestructible. That is the
only reason my son and his warrior mate left their wives on Dargon. Nothing can
harm either. Including a warrior. When a female is pregnant, a male is drawn to
her scent. Their hormones make them irresistible. Unless you are related to the
baby or are female, you can’t go near the mother. The shield forbids it. After
the baby is born, the woman has a new scent which makes a Castian male very
protective of her and her young. It prepares the males for the time when the
shield falls. Instinct kicks in to keep any female child safe from harm with
their armor.”
“Mom?”
Craig’s armor slowly dropped.
The boy sat up and rubbed his eyes. There wasn’t a mark on him.
Cobra picked him up and
grunted. “You got heavy all of a sudden,” he said happily.
“Where are you taking him?”
Leah asked.
“His armor needs to regenerate.
We all do,” Cobra informed them. “We need to get back to Dargon and regenerate
the ship’s shield. It’s time to go home, men.”
Chapter 6
“I would have four more years
for certain?” Amy asked Dasks. “And we don’t need to mate? Like Rask’s mother
never mated with Cobra when she learned she was dying? I won’t kill you?”
Dasks was staring up at the
ceiling. Amy couldn’t see the Earth any longer from the long window. Space was
a blanket of stars, so beautiful. It had been impressive watching the familiar
planets fly by and then being introduced to a new solar system.
Dasks answered her multitude
of questions. He was less busy now that they were headed to Dargon. Every spare
second was spent together.
Amy had fallen in love with
him. It would be nice if he could always have a piece of her. It would be nice
to know a piece of her would stay with him.
Dasks turned his head to look
at her. “If I give you a babe, I can’t mate with you. I can’t leave our child
alone to be raised by my brother. I know he wouldn’t mind, but I lost both
parents. I won’t do that to our baby.”
To say sincerity was in his
eyes was an understatement. Amy had learned a Castian couldn’t lie. They were
too connected to scent and emotion to be able to pull it off. She had also
learned not to lie to him, as it would be useless. A chance at another four
years was so tempting. But would it be best for Dasks? Could he handle knowing
in the fourth year at any moment her milk would stop flowing—then her heart
would cease beating. Would it be fair to the babe? Would it be fair to Amy? So
many emotions bombarded her. Dasks traced the line of her jaw with his finger.
As always, his touch calmed her.
“It’s not fair, is it?” Amy
finally stammered. “I can’t expect you to wait years before mating when there
are so few women. You may not have a second chance. There are still a few
unmated women, aren’t there?”
“They’re not my Amy.”
“You can sense I’m in love
with you.”
“If we were mated, you would
feel my love for you.”
“I won’t be the cause of your
death.”