Hunting Cari (First Wave) (20 page)

It had
taken everything in her not to laugh at Randor and Scaden’s mothers and her
great-mother when she came home from one trip to town with some jeans and
sweaters for them. The look of horror on their faces was priceless.

Cari
convinced them that if they wanted to go to town and meet the people, like
everyone else, then they had to dress as the locals did, so they wouldn’t stand
out. The ploy had worked, and it hadn’t taken long before they were all buying
themselves more jeans and sweaters.

Construction
had already started on a comfortable home for the men who would be staying and
working the land and animals. With the advanced technology they possessed, the
large home would be completed within days. They included a few extra comforts
from home that the men were used to; and comm’s and perimeter technology to let
them know if anyone tried to sneak on their land.

She looked
out the bedroom window and sighed over how much she would miss this place. For
the first time, she had a home and family, and she felt truly safe and happy,
and she didn’t want to leave.

She felt
Scaden come up behind her and leaned into him when he wrapped his arms around
her, enjoying the feel of his warmth and love surrounding her.

“We’ll be
back soon,
Amalaya
. I don’t think any of our parents want to stay away
for long either. They seem to have adapted very easily to this world of ours.”

She loved
that he called this world his as well. That he had readily adopted her home, as
easily as she had his. Turning in his arms, she hugged him tightly and leaned
up for a kiss.

“I had a
talk with Amun today. He said that I was fully healed now.” She smiled as his
cock immediately hardened at her words.

“Does that
mean what I think it means?” The hope in his voice was unmistakable.

“It does
indeed, my love.”

“Then let’s
get the hell out of here and get on the ship. At least, we’ll have some privacy
there; we sure don’t have any here.” He grabbed her bag and practically dragged
her out of the room, while she laughed at his eagerness.

Epilogue

It had been
six months since they left the quiet ranch in Montana and went back to the ship
Adaria. Scaden and Randor’s parents, as well as Cari’s great-mother Caretia had
all taken up residence in the quarters surrounding theirs.

Tessa and
Amia had pretty much taken over the entire ship. They had started crawling a
month ago and were constantly being lovingly tended to by whatever person they
happened to run into on their escapades.

Now every
comm on all the ships was tuned to the girls, as everyone marveled at their
little miracles. They didn’t need baby sitters for their girls; everyone always
knew exactly where they were whenever they left Scaden and Cari’s quarters.

From the
time, they had boarded the ship as infants; they had been adored by everyone.
Charming even the hardest of men on all the ships, and when they started to
babble and try to learn to speak everyone took it upon themselves to teach
them.

Cari
thought back to something Randor had told her one time was an Earth saying and
found it to be very true in the case of her daughters. “It takes a village to
raise a child.” In their case, it was several villages of ships.

Scaden and
Randor’s parents, as well as her great-mother Caretia and even Uncle Randor,
made a point of taking the girls to visit the other ships and the other crew
members. They said it was great for morale, but Cari and Scaden figured it was
to show them off.

There was
no doubt that their family was extremely proud of their girls and didn’t
hesitate to tell anyone they saw what amazing little thing they were able to do
now. Cari could never have dreamed of finding such love and loyalty.

She
finished packing the clothes and personal items needed for the trip they were
taking to their ranch on Earth. She was very excited to be going back and
seeing all that the men had accomplished while they had been gone.

Scaden’s
father, Ivint, had to start rotating the men at the ranch, the others on the
ships becoming so jealous of those on the planet that he was afraid of a mutiny
if he didn’t do something. Luckily, this solution had been more than acceptable
to everyone, and things were running smoothly.

Leaving
their bags on the bed, she left the room and went looking for her mate. She
hadn’t noticed the excitement in the air, until she had walked farther down the
corridor. Curious, she followed the emotions, until she reached a conference
room, two levels down.

Seated
around the table looking serious, but excited, were Ivint, Randor, his father,
Scaden, Caretia and several members she knew were a part of Scaden’s personal
tact team. Against the wall holding Amia and Tessa, were Scaden and Randor’s
mothers.

Quietly
walking over to them, she caressed her daughters’ hair and kissed their cheeks,
sending them her love, as they cooed and babbled softly.

“What’s
going on?” She whispered to Scaden’s mother since she was the closest to her.

“We have
back up teams heading your way right now. Several are coming from the ranch
since they are closer and should be at your location within the next few
minutes.”

“Amun is
coming with backup from here. Since he is the most knowledgeable of our
Med-Tech’s on the unique Valendra/human children, it’s best that he be the lead
to tend her when you find her.”

“The others
will be sent with Niklosi, to retrieve the other child. I want updates as often
as possible, is that clear?” Scaden’s father commanded with that scary voice he
had sometimes when he was directing the crew.

“Yes sir!”
She recognized Balduen’s voice immediately.

“Is it
Jess? Have they found her?” She knew she shouldn’t interrupt them, but she had
to know. Sensing her upset, Scaden got up and walked over to her and put his
arms around her.

“Yes
Amalaya
,
they think they have finally found her. At the same time, they confirmed that
they thought it was her; Randor received a distressful message from a girl on
the website, claiming to also be one of our children.”

“Father is
trying to extricate both girls as soon as possible. As you heard we have teams
that have left from here and some from the ranch. Amun will be there to see to
Jess and to the other girl to confirm she’s one of ours. They’re being taken to
the ranch once we have them.”

“Then let’s
go!”

“Absolutely
not!” Cari stopped on her way out of the door and turned at Ivint’s order to
her.

“Why not?”
She expected Ivint to answer, but it was Scaden, who held her again as he
explained it to her.

“Until we
can confirm that this other girl is truly one of ours, we can’t put you and the
babies in danger. We can’t take the chance it’s some kind of trap, or that
she’s being tracked.”

“Then take
her to another location, I want to be there when Jess is brought to the ranch.
She’s going to be terrified enough as it is! I promised her, and I’ll be there.
We don’t break promises to our own.” The last she directed specifically at
Ivint.

She knew
she’d won when; he relented and ordered that the other girl be taken to the cabin
that Niklosi and Balduen had been staying in. And for the team to hold her
there until Amun could get there and verify who she was.

“Thank you,
Father. This means a lot to me, and to Jess.” She ran over there and hugged the
man, turning she went to take Tessa and Amia, when Randor and Scaden’s mothers
stopped her.

“We’re
going with you. She may feel better if there is more than one woman around her,
since she’s been surrounded by those animals for so long. We might be able to
help.” Scaden’s mother Sacara offered. Randor’s mother Jintaria nodded her head
in agreement.

Cari
silently thanked the All Father for giving her such wonderful women in her
life. And was not the least bit surprised when her great-mother Caretia looped
her arm through Cari and told them, “Let’s go pack ladies; we have one of our
own to help.” And led them from the room.

Cari
squeezed her arm affectionately, and gave her a bright smile through the tears
misting her eyes, her gratitude broadcasting for all the women to feel.

“We’ll take
care of her, Cari. Don’t you worry. She’s one of us; her bravery is beyond
anything we could imagine. To me, she’s a hero. If she hadn’t saved you, you
wouldn’t be here and neither would my incredible great-daughters, for that
alone, she will always be dear to me.” Cari was humbled when Sacara and
Jintaria readily agreed with Caretia.

If anyone
could help Jess heal from what she’d been through, Cari had no doubt it would
be these wonderful and loving women beside her.

With hope
putting a spring in her step, she helped each of them get ready to go. Somehow
she knew things were going to change for them all… again.

THE END

Available
Now!!

Finding Jess

It had been
almost a year since Cari had escaped and promised to come back and save Jess
from the Relians who held her captive and brutalized her since she was a child.
Now as her usefulness to the Relians was at an end and rescue nowhere in sight,
she only hoped to face her impending death with courage. Walking onto the field
where she was to die, she never expected the giant warrior who tried to save
her.
Amun had been obsessed with the tortured woman since the moment Cari had told
him about her and showed him her gift. He’d spent the last year desperate to
find her as their ship tracked the Relian camp in the hopes of rescuing her,
never giving up hope that one day he could hold her, heal her. He never
expected the impact that her shattered body and soul would have on him.
With a traitor on the loose and the Relian leader threatening to kill all of
the hybrid women and children, Jess and Amun are thrust into the middle of
danger, only this time he is determined to protect her and keep her safe.

Thank you
for choosing to spend a few hours sharing my world. I love to hear from my
readers.

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ML