Hannah's Warrior: Cosmos' Gateway Book 2 (16 page)

“
What of the human male? He is
dangerous. He killed two of my warriors. I want him delivered to
us.” Teriff responded coldly.

“
He still has his purpose. When we are
done with him I will turn him over.” Merrick said arrogantly.
“Where did you get the female?”

“
That information cannot be shared at
this time.” J’kar responded stepping up next to his
father.

“
Why? We wish to see her. I,
personally, doubt that she is real. I have never seen a creature
such as her in all my travels to other systems. I believed this
male is lying. But…” Merrick said with a raised eyebrow and a cruel
twist to his lips that could be considered a smile. “…now I wonder.
I want to see this female for myself.”

J’kar’s fist clenched as he fought back the
urge to challenge Merrick. He knew the warrior was baiting him but
the thought of exposing his tiny mate to such a threat caused his
blood to boil. What infuriated him even more was the knowledge his
tiny mate was probably closer than he would like right now. He
fought back the urge to clear everyone out of the room so he could
find where she was hiding. Then, he might not be able to beat her
ass right now but he could definitely tie her up! J’kar let his
eyes flicker around the room briefly again narrowing on the large
planters towards the back.

“
That is not possible.” Teriff answered
in a low voice. “The male you have not only killed two of my
warriors but tried to kill my son’s bond mate. You know the penalty
for that. He struck her and stabbed her repeatedly. If not for
their bond, she would have died. What warrior would protect another
who would harm a defenseless female of any species?”

Merrick’s eyes grew dark at not only the
insult to his clan but at the thought of a male attacking a female
and harming her so badly. The human male said nothing about killing
any Prime warriors or harming the female in the holovid. Merrick
would deal with the human male who thought to take advantage of
him. His jaw tightened as he fought back his own annoyance.

“
Answer this question. Was one of your
warriors able to bond with a female from a different species? If
so, are you prepared to share this knowledge with other clans?”
Merrick asked Teriff.

Merrick watched as several of the other
council members leaned in to talk in hurried whispers. He already
knew the answer. He just wanted a chance to see the female. It was
hard to see from the grainy image and the angle if the female
species was worth pursuing. Personally, he was still skeptical but
for the sake of his clan he made the decision to come see for
himself if what was on the holovid was true. Just the thought of
what the female had said made him shift in discomfort as his cock
swelled. He let out a low growl of frustration.

“
Merrick.” A soft voice came from
behind him.

Merrick let his head turn slightly to look at
one of his younger cousins. “What?” He practically snarled under
his breath.

Core stepped closer so he couldn’t be other
heard. “There is something at the back of the room hidden. I do not
know if it is a trap but I sense something and cannot figure out
what it is but my senses tell me something is there.” Corman said
in a deep, hushed voice.

Merrick looked at the members of the ‘Tag
Krell Manok clan. He saw both of Teriff’s sons looking fiercely
towards the back and conversing in aggravation. Yes, he felt it
earlier too but was distracted by the way Teriff stiffened when he
demanded the female be presented.

Merrick nodded to Core. “Be prepared to
fight.” Merrick growled out.

“
Merrick.” Teriff said impatiently
waving one of the councilmen back from him as the man continued to
argue. “If you present the human male to us we will allow you to
see the female. Understand, she is already bonded and cannot be
taken. Your request for more information will be discussed at that
time.”

Merrick growled at Teriff taking a menacing
step forward. “You think you can dangle a leaf in front of us and
we will accept your offer? You offer nothing! If you had the female
you would present her! You have nothing! I want to see the female
now!” Merrick said with a snarl.

J’kar moved in front of Teriff going chest to
chest with Merrick. “You will stand down.” J’kar snarled back
moving into a defensive position in front of his father. Borj moved
in beside J’kar baring his teeth which had come down at Merrick’s
aggression towards their father and leader.

Merrick’s men moved out into a defensive
stance. Hannah watched with growing concern. She had seen this type
of aggression often and it almost always ended with some type of
struggle, even if it was just a small one for show. She didn’t
understand why males of any species felt like violence was the only
way to demonstrate how strong and macho they were. Hannah focused
on the posture of each male trying to see which would be the one to
make the first move. She knew it wouldn’t be the tall, muscular man
standing chest to chest with J’kar. It wouldn’t be J’kar or Borj
either. Her eyes flick to the one of the men in the back. He was
young and moving his feet just a little in impatience. He didn’t
understand the rules yet. He could be the one to make the first
move. Her eyes searched where he was looking. He was glaring at one
of the guards who was staring him down. His pride was being
challenged by the older guard. Hannah’s eyes flickered around to
the others. The councilmen would not be a problem but the guards
were getting antsy. Borj, J’kar and Teriff were focusing on the
huge male in front of them. Shit was about to hit the fan.

Hannah glanced at her sister and mom. Tilly
looked at Hannah with a grin. Hannah fought back a snarl of her
own. Her mom would think a brawl in a council chamber would be fun.
Hannah shook her head. Tink looked at Hannah and rubbed her fist
into her hand. She didn’t like the big oaf messing with her man.
Hannah’s eyes widened when she realized it wasn’t the young
warrior, the guard or anyone else who was going to make the first
move but her little sister. Oh shit! Hannah tried to motion for her
mom to grab Tink but it was too late.

Hannah moved at the same
time as Tink did. The moment the huge man went to grip J’kar, Tink
let loose the most god-awful warrior cry and took off as fast as
her tiny body could move. Tilly just shrugged her shoulder and let
out a war cry of her own before following her youngest daughter
into the middle of hell.

The moment Merrick put his
hands on J’kar he could feel the change in the room. A loud war cry
unlike anything he ever heard echoed around the room. He would have
closed his eyes but that would be fatal. Instead, he prepared for a
good ass-kicking, preferably someone other than his own. He ducked
as J’kar swung his fist listening as his second in command was hit.
The war cry in the back of the room was followed by a second one.
He moved with lightening speed moving around and throwing a low
punch into J’kar’s ribs. He heard the grunt and felt the pain
radiate through his fist as it connected with J’kar. A moment later
a return punch knocked him back several steps. By now, six Eastern
Mountain Clan members were in a knockdown fight with a dozen
members of the ‘Tag Krell Manok clan, including their ruler and his
sons.

Merrick was about to take another swing when
something small and vicious jumped on his back wrapping its arms
around his neck and biting down on his ear with a vicious tug. He
swung around trying to knock it off but it was wrapped around him
so tightly he couldn’t shake it. He howled in pain as a set of
teeth clamped down again on his ear and a set of hands covered his
eyes blinding him. As he reached up to pulled the thing off of him
another came up under his arm and hit him in the groin. His knees
buckled as the creature on his back continued to scream curses in
his ringing ears. He was about to get back up when something
crashed down over his head and everything went dark.

Chapter 12

Merrick came too slowly with a groan. He was
going to kill someone. He didn’t care who it was but he was going
to kill someone just for the hell of it. He could hear voices
around him. It sounded like he wasn’t the only one who was furious.
The male’s voice was raised in anger. Loud curses, threats, and
promises of grievous torture were echoing throughout the room.

Merrick opened his eyes slowly. He stared up
at his younger cousin and his second in command with a frown. Why
were there two of each of them? Slowly the images blended until
there was only one of each. Core helped him sit up. Merrick moaned
as he felt the knot on the back of his head.

“
Who hit me?” Merrick growled out
dangerously. “I’m going to kill the bastard.”

Core grinned making Merrick growl out even
more dangerously. “You might want to wait before you kill your
attacker.” Core said quietly nodding to where J’kar was stomping
back and forth in front of a bench.

Merrick’s frown turned to puzzlement then
wonder as he saw what his younger cousin was nodding to. On the
bench sat three of the most tiny, unusual females he ever saw. They
had similar coloring and looked somewhat alike but there were also
dramatic differences. Two were very small. One was a little older
than the others but still just as enchanting. Her light brown curls
in a disarray around her head as she looked on with a bored
expression while J’kar yelled. The other tiny one looked like a
younger version of the first female. She was looking on with
amusement as J’kar continued yelling threats at her. She actually
looked like she was enjoying his ranting and not in the least
intimidated by him. She was sitting swinging her legs back and
forth. The third one was taller than the other two and had a long
braid down her back. She had a dark frown on her face and her arms
were crossed in front of her. Merrick’s eyes flicker to Borj who
was standing next to her with a frown on his face.

“
But…” The tiny female kept trying to
say something. “But…”

“
There is no ‘but’…” J’kar snarled out
at her. “I ordered you to stay in our living quarters! I locked you
in! You disobeyed me. You will be punished for that.”

The tiny female jumped to her feet at that.
Merrick and the rest of his warriors watched in fascination as one
by one each of the females stood up and faced the furious warriors
surrounding them. None of them seemed afraid. None of them seemed
to even be aware of what could happen. If anything, the warriors
now appeared to be a little nervous. A door opened in the back of
the chamber and another male resembling the human male they had at
one of their camps came hurrying in. He took the older woman in his
arms in a brief hug before moving to stand beside her.

“
You try to punish me, mister, and
I’ll…I’ll make your life totally miserable! I was just trying to
protect you and this is how you treat me! Like I’m…like I’m nothing
but a pain in your ass. I just wanted…” The tiny female’s voice
falter and a loud wail could be heard as she started crying. “Now
look wh…what you made me do again.”

The older female moved forward quickly and
wrapped her arms around the tiny female comforting her. A few
murmured words and the human male and the two smaller females moved
down the corridor. J’kar watched them leaving in frustration and
worry before he finally said a muttered curse under his breath and
quickly followed them. Merrick watched in disbelief as J’kar gently
picked up the female, cradling her in his arms. Whatever he said to
her must have made her happy as she looked up at him and gave him a
passionate kiss before snuggling back into his arms.

“
Did you see that?” Core asked in a
hushed voice.

His eyes swung to the taller female. He
recognized her scent now. It was the one he smelled earlier when he
thought something was behind them. There had been…the females. She
was still much smaller than him. He watched as whatever the male
next to her said seemed to make her angry. She tossed her head and
glared up at him. The male bit back a curse before he reached for
her. She pulled away from him, turning and walking stiffly away
followed by two guards. The male would have followed her but Teriff
called him. Core watched as the male looked first at the female
before turning back to Teriff reluctantly. Core smiled. If he was
her mate he should keep a better eye on her. From the looks, she
was not happy with him either. Perhaps, she would be interested in
a different mate.

Merrick stood up slowly.
“Which one attacked me? I need to return the favor of a pounding
head.” Merrick said with a grimace as he rubbed his ear and groin
at the same time. “And by
hockta
balmas,
who bit me?!”

Core laughed. “The one that bit you was the
tiny female carried out of here. The other tiny one hit you between
the legs bringing you to your knees while the tall one hit you over
the head with the planter. They then turned on the rest of us. I
have never seen anything like it. Between the three of them they
were able to take out two more of our men before Teriff and his
sons grabbed them.” Core said with a glint in his eyes. “I want the
tall female, Merrick. She could tell us where other females
are.”

Merrick’s eyes narrowed. He
did not like the idea of taking a female against her will but the
needs of his clan weighed heavily on him. Teriff refused to tell
them where the female’s planet was and the human male couldn’t tell
them anything except it was called Earth. He did not know how he
ended up on board the warship the
Prime
Destiny
. All he said was Earth females
liked to be taken against their will and made to be submissive. It
was the only way they would accept a male. Merrick found that hard
to believe considering what he just witnessed but he did not know
enough about the customs of this species to question the male.
Perhaps, as Core pointed out, the female could tell them
more.