Hunting Cari (First Wave) (8 page)

“She
tried to escape, many times. They finally got tired of her trying so they broke
her legs… and kept breaking her legs while they tried to heal, until they
finally healed so deformed that she can barely walk. I’ve never seen anything
so horrible and cruel. She knew she could never escape them, so she said she
felt her only duty was to make sure she saved as many of us that she could
before they finally killed her.” Cari’s voice broke and she tried to control
her emotions, as she thought of the selfless and sweet girl who’d tried to help
her.

Amun
almost visibly recoiled from the horror of what Cari had just described. He
could not begin to imagine such a talented and caring person being subjected to
such violence and cruelty. He knew the second he first held the tiny little
piece of jewelry and felt its pulse of life that he would help Cari find her
friend. However, he now felt an urgency not only to find her, but protect her
and help her heal if he could.

“Why
couldn’t she just make a few of those to heal herself?” The dark-haired man
asked Cari, pointing to the anklet still on her other ankle.

“She
said her own gift would not work for her. She could make things for the other
captives taken, even her mother. But she said she was never able to call
anything from the earth for herself. She didn’t know why it wouldn’t work for
her.”

“We
know so little about the gifts they have. I’ve never heard of one that did
something like this, but we haven’t been able to do much communicating and
comparing notes with each other so that we could learn more about them either.
Any time we tried to group together they found us more easily and waited for
the right time to kill us and take our mates and children. But regardless of
her gift, we have to try to find her and the others.” Randor stated
emphatically.

“Indeed,
I also believe we must find this female. Her ability is extraordinary. The
potential benefits of her and those like her to our people are unfathomable.
What if her ability can do what we cannot, and cure the plague that has caused
our women to be barren? Or if another female’s gift can do such a thing?
Besides the benefit to us, we have to think about them. They are our people.
And if this female has saved so many, including Cari, then she may know where
or how to find them. Maybe through the gifts she made for them, I don’t know.
However, there is a chance, and we can’t just abandon them.” Amun added,
wanting very much to find the girl capable of creating such an amazing thing,
feeling the slight pulse of the object warm him in a way he had never known
before.

“I
also think we should find her, Sir. If there are more like her out there, we
owe it to our kind to find them and protect them.” The blonde-haired man added.

“Sir,
with all due respect, although they may have their own gifts, no matter how
small or amazing they seem; they alone are the true gift to our people. They
are females! Those we unwittingly abandoned have found a way to produce the one
thing we no longer can produce. It’s not just how unique they are; it's WHO
they are. We have to consider how many there are, the ramifications of their
existence, and if we are even compatible. They might be able to save our
species.” The dark-haired one added his thoughts.

Scaden
watched every emotion cross her face while the others spoke. He watched the way
she moved, how deeply she breathed. He couldn’t stop watching the beautiful
woman in front of him. It took all of his control not to snatch her up and storm
to his quarters with her; to be alone with her for just a few moments; to
listen to her voice and smell that intoxicating scent she had.

By
watching her, he knew how important it was to her to find this Jess. He knew by
the other's defense of her proposal that they agreed they had to find this
female. However, all he really wanted was to see that smile on her face again.
To see her eyes light up, and feel her excitement steal through his body as she
talked, like she did when she talked of this Jess.

“Scaden,"
Amun began but Scaden cut him off.

“I
have no choice but to check in with the council at this point. We have an heir
to a counselor and a clan daughter to report. Not including an explanation of
more clan daughters, other heirs and children, not yet reported. I have already
exceeded my authority, in order to deviate from our scheduled path and come
here. And to come to the planet and bring both of you back. I can’t ignore my
responsibilities forever while we find them all.” Scaden replied.

Everyone
in the room seemed to protest at once. “Enough!” Scaden shouted, holding his
hand up. “We are heading back to the prime ship. They will heal, as they
should. Randor will make a full report to me, the council and his father. And
we will introduce Cari to her clan mother. We will lay out a plan, to find them
and bring them home. Every one of them we can find, we will. I don’t care if we
have to stay here for centuries, we will find them. And we will find the Jess
that saved Cari’s life; I give my word as a warrior and commander on that.”

“Balduen,
Niklosi I want you to go back to Randor’s housing unit and stay there with a
team. I want to know the second the trajectory scan finds out where the fleeing
Relians have gone. I am leaving you here on this planet, but not abandoning you
as ours were abandoned in the past. I will be back for you. You will track as
best you can. Randor, you need to communicate any information to them; you
think necessary for their continued presence on the planet without alerting anyone
that they are not from here. You will be given a comm, and will ensure you have
constant communication with them while they hunt for Jess. Am I clear?” Scaden
asked everyone in the room.

“You
don’t understand! I promised her!” Cari began to argue but stopped at Randor’s
hand on her arm.

“He’s
right. We can’t follow them until they stop long enough to set up camp. We have
no way to find her until they do. Until then… we have to meet with the council.
And honey, your father’s greatest wish was for his mother to see you. It does
no harm, to allow him this. You have to understand; you are Valendran; we have
to follow the correct protocol and Commander Torenson broke those protocols in
order to find not only me, but you. We will find Jess, and the others. I promise.
The council will not let allow our people to stay on this planet in danger.”
Randor stated trying to placate Cari.

“Scaden
is right; we must do it this way in order to get enough reinforcements from the
home world to find them all. Our ship cannot do it alone.” Amun said reaching
to clasp Cari’s hand gently within his own.

Scaden
was so angry; it took all of his self-control to stop himself from beating the
hell out of his friend. He was touching her! His woman! He should know better!
She had been through so much; he didn’t want her to see this dark side of him
and tried desperately to hold onto his anger. She belonged with him. He was
meant to protect her, he was meant to take these risks for her. She was his.

“Cari,
he’s right. We need their approval to get more ships and more people here to
find them all. We have to convince the council to send more ships, more
personnel. We have to find them all. Not just you baby, but all of them. Not
just you and Jess.” Randor said to Cari pulling her to him, so he could hold
her close.

Chapter Seven

Everything
seemed to happen so quickly after she, and Uncle Randor were rescued and Cari
had a hard time processing it all. She looked out the window in her quarters on
the ship Adaria and stared in awe at the millions of stars around her; the
planet Mars beneath the ship. She was given an amazing room on the ship. The
largest most comfortable bed she’d ever seen graced the center of the room,
covered in blankets so soft and silky they rivaled anything she’d ever felt on
Earth.

There
was a large bathroom, the size of her room in the last cabin where she and
Uncle Randor had stayed, with a Grecian-like tub that she could soak in and a
shower big enough for four people. The colors used to decorate the walls and
rooms were all of a nice 'earthy' tone, which she found very comforting. Browns
and cream colors in all shades, some familiar and some not. However, all were
comforting shades that she found familiar enough to Earth not to freak her out…
too much.

There
was a desk, with a comm, their idea of a computer/phone system she’d guessed.
And a large closet like room where she could keep all the new clothes they’d
made her on the ship, through a Nano technology system they had. The only thing
that bothered her was that they were all made in the traditional way of the
Valendran people.

Which
means they were all Grecian like dresses; most had long slits up the sides, all
bared more cleavage than she’d ever bared in her whole life. She missed her
comfortable old cut off shorts and tank top she’d been rescued in, but they
were so damaged and blood stained; they couldn’t be saved.

It
was almost surreal to her, that the stories her uncle had told her were true.
That she really wasn’t technically fully human. And that she was the grandchild
of a leader on their planet. It all seemed so overwhelming sometimes. Knowing
she had a real grandmother out there did not stop her from thinking of Uncle
Randor as anything other than her family. And she never would. He would always
be her family. She would never love him as anything less.

They
had been on the ship for three days. And she was becoming a bit more
comfortable around the crew, especially now that she had begun to learn their
names. She had found out that the tall blonde in the MedLab that first day on
the transport was Balduen, and the dark-haired one with them was Niklosi. Amun,
of course was the commander of MedLab. Scaden the Commander of the ship, and
she met Gracus the first time she set foot on the Adaria.

She
smiled at the thought of Gracus. He was so funny and was always trying to make
her laugh when she saw him.

Unlike
Scaden. He was… she couldn’t even think of how to describe him. He was such a
contradiction it was almost impossible to figure him out from one moment to the
next. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever see though. And never far from
her side anytime she had left her quarters on the ship. She really had to
figure out how he always knew where she was and who she was with. It was
starting to drive her crazy.

He
was also the biggest asshole she’d ever met. He was constantly threatening
someone on the ship or acting violent towards them. The only people that seemed
to be safe from his wrath were her and Uncle Randor. She couldn’t imagine why
anyone would think that he was stable enough to command a ship.

Just
a few hours ago, she went down to the dining center to grab some breakfast with
Uncle Randor; they'd not been there for more than two minutes when Scaden
showed up and sat down to eat with them. Then moments later he screamed at the
entire room to eat and get to their duty stations. She wouldn’t mind so much
being in his company if there wasn’t something about him that made her want to
kiss those lips, or smack him for being such a jerk to his crew.

She’d
never felt more attracted or repelled to anyone in her life. Not that she’d
ever really been exposed to anyone other than Uncle Randor for this long of a
period of time before either.

Maybe
that was it, she mused. Maybe she was only attracted to him because not only
had he saved her, but his quarters were right next to her own, and they were
constantly bumping into each other on the ship. Maybe she should try spending
more time with some of the other members of the crew and see if they would
eventually bring out the same attraction that he does, or at least break the
attraction she had towards him.

Making
up her mind, she decided to do just that the next time she ventured from her
quarters. Something had to be done, or she would end up doing something stupid
like trying to cuddle in his lap at the dining center or smacking the hell out
of him. She cringed at the thought of how embarrassing either of those would
be!

He
was driving her crazy though. He smelled so wonderful and he was so beautiful.
Never had looking at a man made her feel the dampness between her legs the way
it did whenever he came near her. Her body would begin to feel on fire with the
kind of want and need she’d only read about in those romance novels she’d
bought on her Kindle, her Uncle gave  her for her birthday one year.

And
if she didn’t know better, she’d swear he knew it too, and that really
embarrassed her. Her first crush at her age was ridiculous, even if their
people did age very differently than Earth people. Ugh…. She grunted. They are
even getting me to start calling them Earth people! Her mother was an Earth
woman! Just because her father was Valendran didn’t mean that she wasn’t an
Earth woman too! She was a child of both worlds. As would be any other's, they
would find, including Jess.

This
was another problem they would be facing soon. What if we don’t want to leave
Earth and go to Valendra? What if we want to stay here? She wondered if she
wanted to go hundreds of thousands of light-years away to a place she’d never
been to before, forever. She knew Earth, knew the customs and the people and
how to interact with them. Going to Valendra wouldn’t be like going to Europe
for a few years and traveling around to avoid the Relians. It would be months
away, not hours. And what if they wouldn’t let her come back? She’d heard the
females are kept almost prisoner-like on Valendra, to keep them safe. They
aren’t allowed 'off-planet', to explore or just go somewhere.

The
longer she thought about it; the more Cari realized that she couldn’t live like
that. Earth was her home, and she wanted to stay here and help find the others,
like her. She didn’t want to go to Valendra and never be able to see Earth
again. And she knew she was going to have a really hard time convincing anyone,
including her uncle Randor and her grandmother, uh Clan Mother, as they call
them, that she wasn’t going to leave. However, in a few moments, she would have
too. Scaden informed her at breakfast that the council wanted to speak with her
and Uncle Randor now that he was healed. And that her Clan Mother wanted to
meet her clan daughter.

The
chime at her quarters let her know she had a visitor. “Enter," she stated
glumly knowing who it was, and that it was time to meet the council.

Uncle
Randor entered with a bright smile, followed by Scaden, who wore his usual
blank expression. If it wasn’t for the sparkle that entered his eyes or the
noticeable deep breathe he took through his nose, she’d think he was stuck in
that expression only. She wished he would smile for her, just once. She had
seen him laugh with Gracus the first day on the ship, and it transformed him
into something so beautiful she thought her knees would give out.

“Sweetheart,
it’s time to speak to the council. Are you ready? Don’t be nervous, honey. They
are your family and will love you as I do.” Uncle Randor folded her gently into
a warm hug as he spoke.

“I’m
scared to death, Uncle.” She whispered quietly as she snuggled into his
embrace. She could have sworn she heard a growl. Peering behind her Uncle, she
saw Scaden. He stood there with no change in his expression, but his eyes had
deepened to a dark and stormy shade of blue.

“There
is nothing to be afraid of little one. Your Clan Mother will adore you, just as
your father did. And the council is nothing to be afraid of either. They just
want to see for themselves how beautiful our children are. You are so very
special to us. You and Jess and the others like you. We could never have hoped
to have children, but ones with gifts such as yours are truly amazing. They
just want to see you. Scaden and I will be with you the whole time, so you
won’t be alone. Then we’ll go have some dinner together. Ok honey?”

“I
understand. I’m kind of excited to meet them as well… sort of.”

Randor
laughed at the grimace she had on her face when she said that. It was clear to
both men that she was very nervous and afraid, and didn’t want to admit it to
either of them.

Scaden
wanted nothing more than to hold her and comfort her as Randor had. His arms
ached with the need to hold her and feel her body close to his again. Pushing
away those thoughts, he preceded them out of the cabin door and waited in the
hallway as Randor followed with Cari’s arm looped through his own. He quietly
seethed at the physical contact between the two of them.

The
rational side of him knew that they were just like a father and daughter, but
it annoyed him to see the other man touch Cari when he couldn’t. The few times
when he’d been able to touch her silken skin had been amazing, and he wanted
nothing more than to pick her up into his arms and lock them both in his cabin
until he tired of looking at her and touching her. Although he didn’t think
that he’d never get tired of either of those things. 

He
watched her hips sway gently as she walked down the corridor. By the One,
whoever keeps making those dresses for her is going to get beaten; he thought!

He
could barely keep his eyes of the creamy skin of her breasts as they strained
at the tight material of the upper portion of the dress. The halter style of
the top caused a lot of her skin to be on display. And as she walked towards
him when he was standing at her door, he could see that the long slits in both
sides of the floor-length skirt showed off her beautiful legs all the way to
the middle of her thighs. The gold color of the dress made the light golden
color of her skin seem to glow.

He
was hard as a rock. All he wanted to do was throw her down on the bed and taste
every inch of her. And he knew by the reactions of some of his crews, that they
had some of the same thoughts when they looked at her. And he wanted to kill
them for thinking it.

Following
behind Randor and Cari in the hallway was another hell for him. He could not
help but stare at the luscious curve of her bottom, as it swayed seductively in
her dress. The fabric clinging to her curves in such a way as to display them
to perfection.

As
she and Randor passed Bakur from MedLab in the hallway, the man just stopped
and watched every single step she took and admired the way her body moved with
such grace. Scaden couldn’t control the anger at such a blatant display of
disrespect, snatching Bakur by the throat; he shoved him into the wall. “Do not
ever look at her that way again! Do I make myself clear? She is not yours to
look at in such a way!” Scaden growled into the man’s terrified face.

“Yes
Sir! I’m sorry Sir!” Bakur whimpered with fear as he dangled from Scaden’s
fist.

Hearing
Cari’s startled gasp, he immediately let go of Bakur and turned to her. He saw
no trace of fear in her features, just anger at his actions, and he could have
sworn she’d said “asshole” under her breath. She really shouldn’t be too
shocked anymore; he’d done the same to most of the crew since she’d been on the
ship. He couldn’t blame them. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen
in his life or ever would. But she was his and no one else had a right to look
at her that way but him.

As
if realizing the drama was over, she, and Randor turned back around and headed
to the main comm room, stopping in front of the door. She looked at Uncle
Randor and held his hands in hers. “I won’t embarrass you Uncle Randor. I’ll
make you proud.” She whispered quietly to him, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

“Oh
honey! There has never been a time when I haven’t been proud of you. Just be
yourself, because I am proud of who you are.  You’ll do fine honey.” Randor
scooped her up into his arms for a quick hug. Hearing the growls behind him,
Randor gently set her down on her feet and tapped her nose. Turning to Scaden,
he sent him a scowl, “You and I need to talk later, Commander."

“Then
later it is.” Scaden growled as he walked into the comm room, where they would
meet with the Council, and waited for Cari and Randor to join him.

Cari
was so nervous. Here she was going to stand in front of the One only knew who…
going to have to plead the case of finding Jess and staying on Earth. She was
in a large, wide room with black screens all around her. Scaden left her in the
center of the room with Uncle Randor. She honestly wanted to ask him to stand
beside her, just so she could touch him. However, she refused to do that. And
then the screens seemed to dissolve around her.

There
were eleven figures standing around her. She felt closed in; the room didn’t
seem quite as large now. There were nine men and two women, and she was so
close to walking out the door. Her pride was the only thing holding her in
place. She clasped Uncle Randor’s hand. The room was so quiet; no one was
speaking. The eleven pairs of eyes just staring at her and Uncle Randor was
unnerving.