CHAPTER 50
Dakleth
I was grateful to Leo for his advice to connect to the intergalactic network and download files on humans.
Not much was available regarding their planet Earth, but there was significant information about their physiology and behavior.
Human females, in particular, had been trafficked for centuries.
Their stories were generally unhappy ones - they were usually kept as pets or in sexual servitude - but it meant they had been studied a great deal.
Thus, I knew what to do when the first tear slid from Andie’s eye.
Ptexari did not cry. If I had not already seen recordings of human females crying, I would have been perplexed at this behavior.
Sadly, there were lots of videos of females crying in captivity.
They often sought comfort from one another, clinging together.
Humans were a very touch-oriented species, so I had pulled Andie into my lap to comfort her.
Surprisingly, as her sobs subsided and I helped her clean up, I found that I had taken comfort in it as well.
I was still recovering from my berserker outburst, and soothing her satisfied my inner beast. He nearly purred in satisfaction at being able to provide for our mate.
It calmed me considerably. Taking care of her felt natural, right.
It was my duty and prerogative as her male.
Seeing her safely home, I felt a deep sense of contentment.
After she closed her door, I took flight and made my way to my estate.
It was less than a centine’s flight. Not too long for my back muscles, but long enough to think through how drastically my life had changed.
In nearly four weeks, I had gone from a prison camp back to the Palace.
I had my first conversation with my mate.
In the time since, I had spent a wonderful day with her at the ruins, rescued her from the cliffs, seen her nearly naked at the spa (which I thought about constantly), and held her as she cried.
I had been through a whirlwind of emotions, and so had she.
Mine for her were simpler, I thought. I craved her with every essence of my being.
I would do anything to make her happy. I still felt guilt for every harm I inflicted upon her person, but I was hopeful that she was letting me spend time with her and that she would allow me to court her.
I considered calling my steward from my wristband to let her know of my pending arrival, but decided to surprise the staff instead.
I wished to see how things had been running in my absence.
I had not been pleased to hear from Kashtinela that my mate was mistreated.
I would be investigating those allegations thoroughly upon arrival.
The guards were alarmed when I backwinged down, then relaxed when they saw it was me. “Prince Dakleth!” they exclaimed, “We did not expect you!”
“Yes, I know. I will be staying here a few days, then returning to the Palace. Please inform the steward to have my rooms readied,” I said, striding through the front door.
The security locks had never been changed, even though the estate had technically been transferred to my mate’s account.
That should not be. It was beneficial for me at the moment, but did not speak well of my staff’s attentiveness to my mate.
I was already boiling as I made my way down the corridor to the security room.
“Your Highness!” Xomina exclaimed as she hurried to meet me. “Welcome home. How may I assist?”
“I have some things to do in the security room,” I said bluntly. “Bring a small meal to me there and have my rooms prepared. I shall be staying here a few days.”
“Of course, Your Highness!” Xomina gave a small bow. “I shall see to it personally.”
“Other than the meal, I do not wish to be disturbed,” I said.
“As you wish, sire,” she bowed again and scurried off. I entered the security room, and the guard stood.
“Your Highness!” he said. “How may I assist you?”
“I wish to review some of the security footage. Please leave and report to the Captain and tell him to reassign you for the rest of your shift. Report back here tomorrow as usual.”
“Of course, sire,” he said with alacrity. He gave a small bow and left the room. I sat and looked at the video feeds.
“Computer,” I said, “Rewind to show feeds starting the twenty-third day of Aeircar of last year.” That was the day I had been sentenced, and when Andie was escorted to the estate.
I fast-forwarded to the afternoon when she had arrived, shuffling, looking like the walking dead as she entered the front door.
She showed none of the bright curiosity I had come to know in the last few weeks.
No laughter or tears, even. She simply stared straight ahead, face completely devoid of expression, as Xomina pointed out estate features, showing her to my bedroom.
Andie finally stirred as she looked around my bedroom and declared she would not stay there. The rejection stung, even though I understood it. Xomina ushered her to a guest room, and the fight she had previously displayed suddenly drained out of her.
Andie did not respond to any of Xomina’s inquiries or offers of food or drink.
She sat on the low cushion of the bed, still staring at the wall.
It hurt to see her disheveled hair and tear-stained cheeks.
No one had thought to brush her hair after her ordeal.
I loved her hair. The lush golden locks always reminded me of liquid sunshine.
Here, seeing the tangled tresses, with bits of dirt and leaves strewn throughout as remnants of her fight with me, I sagged.
I put my head in my hands. I had done this to her, put her in this state.
As I forced myself to watch, I saw her crawl under the covers, curl up into a fetal position, and close her eyes.
She ignored any attempts to engage in conversation.
My hearts broke for her. I fast-forwarded and saw that she hardly moved.
For days, she remained in bed, barely moving, eyes closed or staring blankly at the wall.
I sat for hours as I watched her, fast-forwarding, to see the days pass with little to no movement from her.
The food and drink that were brought for her remained on the bedside table, untouched.
Eventually, a medic came and pushed a needle into her arm to feed her intravenously.
She made no sound or movement when that happened.
At night, it was a different story. She thrashed, whimpered, cried out as she was plagued by nightmares.
She often woke, gasping for air, tears streaming down her face.
I wanted to go back in time to hold her and comfort her, but knowing that it was I she was dreaming of, and the way I had held her down as I violated her, made me ill.
I reviewed footage from the other camera feeds, which had markers for when servants nearby were engaged in conversation.
“Lazy thing,” one of the servants said.
“She’s never getting out of that bed.”
“I can not believe we are forced to care for her,” said another.
There were several similar conversations during the weeks that Andie stayed at this manor.
And uglier speculations that she had asked to be mated, then cried rape in order to gain access to my estate, or that she should be grateful I chose her.
I burned with anger as I listened to their hateful words.
She had been through the worst time of her life, and she was met with ignorance, jealousy, and disdain by my own staff.
Finally, I witnessed her attempt to take her own life.
I roared for her to stop, even knowing that I was watching a recording of the past. To see the light dim from her eyes would have been too much for me to bear. I could not watch anymore.
I captured the image of every servant who said one unkind word about my mate, saved them to a file, and sent it to Xomina with a note that I wanted them dismissed immediately.
The meal Xomina had brought had long grown cold.
I had been in the office for the day and most of the night.
I had turned another guard away at shift change, and now a third was knocking on the door.
I stood up, needing the stretch, left the room, and made my way to my bedroom.
I stared at the bed for a moment, then left and found the guest room where Andie had stayed.
It was unchanged since I had been there last. I thought of my mate curled up in this bed. Normally, I would love such an image, but today it brought me no joy. She had suffered here. And no one had moved to help her.
I sank down on the bedcushion and brought the pillow she used to my face.
Her scent was long gone. I thought of my time in the prison camp.
It was harsh and demeaning in its own way, but it was nothing compared to what my mate had faced, alone on a distant planet with no friends or family.
Brutally violated. Tormented by nightmares.
I admired her, I realized. She had been through a terrible ordeal, and yet, she had forgiven me.
How could she forgive me, given what I saw?
She had built a new life for herself in the village.
She sang and she danced, she wove blankets, she gardened.
She made friends easily. Kashtinela and Camavel were both notoriously persnickety females, and yet both of them were fiercely loyal to her.
She had tamed a Granthor! She charmed everyone she met - even my father, who was so jaded from political maneuverings that he held everyone at arm’s length.
But not Andie. She cared for people and was cared for in return.
She generously gave of herself to make those around her comfortable - made every attempt to adapt to her surroundings.
She was extraordinary. She had been dealt a terrible hand, but refused to succumb.
Instead, she thrived, even if she had moments of sadness for her past life on Earth.
That she was willing to talk to me at all was a miracle.
I would court her in earnest. The pull of the mate bond was stronger than I had ever expected.
I admired her, I respected her, I craved her body, her mind, and her soul.
She was mine. But she had not yet accepted it.
I recalled my conversation with Leo about gifts and “dates.” Flowers, he suggested.
Ptexari did not gift flowers, so I was not quite sure what he meant, but I thought about flowering plants that grew well here.
I would ask the gardener for something suitable.
Jewelry. Leo had indicated that jewelry should be given in later stages of courtship, but my mate would want for nothing. She would be bedecked in the finest jewels, dresses, and hats (to protect her from the sun) that I could find. Tomorrow I would begin the formal courtship of my mate.