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.
It 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. S
he 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
time
s 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.
T
he time
after that,
she had tried sneaking out dress
ed as one of the servants that ca
me 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 th
e
n 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 Creon.
“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.
Carmen grabbed the small statue she had been using as a weapon to intimidate the guards and strode to the door. Flinging it open, her scowl turned to one of surprise as she looked her visitor over quickly. She glared at the guards who were watching her warily. Reaching out, she grabbed her older sister’s arm and pulled her inside before slamming the door loudly.
“What did you do? Kill someone?” Ariel asked
teasingly
. “They have half a platoon guarding you.”
Carmen rolled her eyes at the exaggeration before turning back toward the living area. “Aren’t you stretching it a little bit? And no, I haven’t killed anyone… yet,” she added under her breath. “Where in the hell have you been? Do you know what is going on?”
Ariel moved toward the couch before replying. “Did you hear about Abby and Zoran?” She asked a question of her own as she sat down.
“Yeah, Morian told me. It seems shit happens even on alien worlds,” Carmen said
,
moving to a cart and pouring a drink. She walked over and handed it to Ariel. “I thought you had dropped off the face of the planet. No one would tell me where you were and I couldn’t find you.”
Ariel squirmed as Carmen looked at her intently. “I’ve been in the mountains,” Ariel muttered before taking a sip of her drink. “With Mandra,” she added quietly.
“Mandra, huh? Which one is he?” Carmen asked with a raised eyebrow.
Flushing, Ariel stared into her drink for a moment before raising troubled eyes to Carmen. “He was one of the guys in the transporter room, the one trying to catch me.”
“Looks like he did more than try,” Carmen replied drily eyeing the mark on her sister’s neck.
“Yes, he did,” Ariel responded biting her lip. “I like him, Carmen, a lot. I… I love him.”
Carmen stared at her big sister with sad eyes. There wasn’t much she could say. She had noticed the mark on Ariel’s neck when she pulled her through the door and recognized that glow in her eyes. She had that same glow a long time ago when Scott was alive. She was happy for Ariel. It would be easier leaving her knowing she would be taken care of and wouldn’t be alone. Everything would be alright. She knew in her heart now she could leave her big sister without feeling guilty.
“I’m happy for you, sis. If anyone deserves happiness
,
it’s you,” Carmen said quietly.
Ariel’s head jerked up. “You’re still going to try to get back home, aren’t you?” She asked in resignation.
“Yes,” Carmen responded.
“Then I’m going with you,” Ariel said, reaching down to set her drink on the small table. “It would be best to go while most of the guys are gone.”
Carmen shook her head sadly. “No, Ariel. You have a life here now. This isn’t your battle, it’s mine. There are some things that I have to do alone. This is one of them. I want… need to know you are safe and happy,” Carmen said
,
hoping Ariel would understand and agree. “Please, I need to know you are safe and happy.”
Carmen watched her big sister’s eyes fill with tears. “We promised we would always be there for each other, no matter what. I am going with you so just shut up and accept it,” she muttered.
Carmen let out the breath she had been holding. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way of escaping,” Carmen said. “Do you have any ideas?” She asked looking down at her sister.
“I’m not sure. I tried going out the window and almost killed myself,” Ariel said with a twisted grin. “Miss Grace, I am not. The ledge was too narrow for me to hold onto. I was going to work my way over to another room and sneak out through that room.”
Carmen thought for a minute before she grinned. “What about if instead of going along the ledge we went down the side? We could rappel down to the balcony below us.”
Ariel looked doubtful. “Do you have any rope?” She asked.
“No, but I have curtains. We can tie them together like we used to do when we were kids,” Carmen said suddenly excited.
“O… kay,” Ariel drew out. “What then?”
“I’ve been watching shuttles lifting off not far outside the city. We make our way there and steal one of them. You said you thought you could fly one, didn’t you? Then, we program it to take us home,” Carmen said coming to kneel in front of Ariel and grasping her hand tightly.
Ariel looked into Carmen’s eyes with worry. “What if we can’t find our way back?”