Chapter 17
The Mindoran who walked into my room earlier appears beside our table and glowers at Zorin as he sniffs the air. “Holster it. It’s about time for your first event. Ohni wants you both to participate.”
Zorin releases me and hangs his head. “Tessi, this is Rorsar. He is a medic from our other squad. He is part of my M-pack, my Military Pack. Both of our squads are here, minus my brother.”
Rorsar nods. “Azrim is still roaming the woods back home. But Isonians are keeping an eye on him while they monitor portal activity. Now, please, get out to the events before we get in trouble. Mindorans do not need a worse reputation than we already have.”
“What reputation?” I ask, wondering what I’m missing.
Rorsar jerks his head in my direction, then steps out of the way.
Zorin leads me outside to the ropes course, an array of buildings with rope bridges, spires, and nets to climb in the race to ring the bell atop the tallest tower and hunt for one of the special prize eggs.
“So?” I ask.
“We’re just...primitive compared to most of the other federation planets. Most of our packs do not permit technology, so no coms or tablets or hovercraft. No modern medicine. No weapons. They are the traditional packs.
“Aegeris is descended from a goddess who was our guardian.” Zorin looks down at me. “From another world. Likely the one you see in your dreams.”
I shake my head. “I don’t remember that man. But I don’t sleep well. Some dreams I know I have but I forget them when I wake up. It’s weird knowing I forget them.”
“Next time you dream, see if you can find that image.” Zorin motions me toward the ropes course, where other women gather. “You’re up.”
“It’s honestly difficult to care about this right now.”
“You don’t want a prize?”
“I just want to stay alive and safe, make sure Radar is happy and fed.”
Zorin smiles then shoves it into submission.
“What?”
“It’s just that... I think you’d make a good mother. You worry because you care, I can tell.”
I peer up at him as his hand rubs my back. “If you were with someone every day of your life and then they were suddenly gone, don’t you think you’d feel like a piece of you is missing?”
“I do.” Zorin encourages me forward even though he looks like he doesn’t want to. “Please, watch your back. I’ll do what I can from where I’m permitted to watch.”
I walk up to the line and scout the complex. There are a few good hiding places for eggs. I definitely don’t want the bell because that’s easy and most women are probably going to go for it.
I’m searching for an egg. The starting gun goes off and I run to my first spot pick, a nook of the tower’s eave.
When I find nothing, I go for my second best spot pick, and get a glimpse of jade, but so does someone else.
I could make the jump but I’m not confident.
When I see Carielle going after it from another rope bridge, anger fuels my body.
I jump, swing on the bar above the foam pit, and snap-kick myself to the horizontal rails on the side of the tower. I crawl up the slats of the wall and collect the egg.
Carielle is pissed. She throws something at me which splats on the wall. The red jelly makes me flinch. Then another item smashes into the wall. Somehow, Carielle has pulled together a team of rich bitches, all pink-banded or pearls, and they have stashed items in their race suits to throw at me.
I hunker around the egg, but my grip is slipping. When I try to climb away from them, my fingers lose their hold. Air wraps around me. I’m too far off to the side. I’m not going to land in the foam pit.
A heavy weight slams into me. Arms wrap around my body. Zorin skids to a running stop in the grass. His heart beats so fast that I can feel it through his armor. He puffs out a weighted breath and calms the moment his eyes meet mine. “Are you okay?”
“Better…now.” But the moment I move the egg aside so I can hug him, he steps back and looks away. “Zorin…”
“We can’t. The federation is willing to go to war to keep you and the other targets remaining from being captured. I do not want to be the trigger of a war.”
Zorin backs up and lets Ohni hover in on her platform and take the egg from me.
She informs me of a prize that I’ve won, that will be loaded into my account before I leave.
It’s a three day trip on Starlight Cruiser Jade.
But I don’t really care. I smile and nod, but I can’t take my eyes off of Zorin or the dejection on his face.
Carielle and her groupies snicker at me from the cluster of women heading back to the staging area. Zorin follows my gaze to them, then urges me under his arm again.
“Don’t worry about her. I mean, you still beat her. Focus on that. I will protect you and whatever prize you get.”
“You have a lot of faith in me,” I mutter.
He guides me up to Rorsar, where he stands by the doors. Zorin makes it look like he’s speaking with Mindoran security, and I realize, as he motions in Carielle’s direction, that has become their cover story. She’s my bully in real life. It’s just become useful.
“Tessi, I saw you climb that rock face. Few females have that skill. And you hung on even when the Thorian had you by the ankle.” Zorin tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his. I’m not sure he realizes that his claws are out.
His thumb sweeps over my bottom lip with a tenderness I didn’t think claws could have. For a moment, I think he might actually kiss me. I want him to. But Rorsar is watching.
Zorin’s mouth squirms like he’s thinking about it but knows he won’t get away with it.
Rorsar lightly backhands him in the shoulder. “You’re up. Go run. And you better fucking beat those Lunas.”
Determination narrows Zorin’s eyes. As he pulls away from me, he lightly drags a claw up my throat and over my jaw, then stalks to the waiting group of males like he’s on another mission.
Rorsar walks up beside me.
When the starting gun goes off, Zorin charges through the crowd with surprising force.
Even Rorsar hums a note in shock as Zorin scraps with the other Mindorans, breaks free, and heads for the spire with the fire egg that has risen in the middle of the complex just for the males’ heat.
He leaps up, bare-hand climbs the pole like he’s done it before, and captures the fire egg.
He tucks it in an arm and slides down the pole.
One of the other Mindorans snarls and snaps at him, trying to take the egg. Zorin drops to all fours, shifting into a full-blown wolf. His silver-tipped dark fur glistens in the bright light. And he’s magnificent.
“Wow,” I mutter.
Rorsar tilts like he’s trying to figure out what I’m looking at.
Ohni zooms down from near the bell, where she’s just congratulated an Amphiran for being the first to the bell. Her presence encourages the other Mindorans back. Zorin shifts upright again and extends the egg.
“Zorin Aegeris of Mindor, congratulations on capturing the fire egg. Please pick your prize.” Ohni opens a case. On a nearby screen, I watch the cameradrone feed.
He picks a card then says, “Please give this to Tessi of Earth. I already have a ship.”
What did he just say? I gape as Ohni hovers up and comes over to me, the cameradrones following her. She never quite lands, but she extends a glittery chip to me.
“Tessi, your ship will be waiting for you in the women’s hangars. It has already been loaded to your account and is therefore genetically coded to you. Just present your chip to receive your introduction to your new ride.”
I take the ship with shaking hands. “A ship?”
She beams down at me. “You’re going to like it. Promise. It has autopilot, so if you don’t have your license, you can operate it.”
“I do. I got it when I was a teen.”
Ohni gives me a thumbs up and a wink, then races off to reward the male who found the other egg.
Zorin walks to the edge of the race grounds and stops. But when I start toward him, he turns and walks off.
“Zorin…”
“Let him go.” Rorsar stops me with a gentle hand.
I glare at him. “This isn’t fair.”
“I know. The way this all came together is pretty messy.” Rorsar sighs. “Just give him a moment to chill out. Both those Aegeris brothers need extra space when they’re struggling emotionally. Otherwise, they could light off any number of supernatural forces.”
“What are you talking about?”
Rorsar guides me toward the lunch hall, but I’m more concerned with Zorin. I refuse and storm past other racers and into the main hallway.
“What’s the matter?”
“How can I eat when he isn’t?” I ask. “He just gave me a ship! He saved me from Myndrous. And he clearly wants me, but I’m supposed to ignore all of it?”
“Yes.”
I growl. “No. The military might own him. But they cannot tell me what to do.”
Rorsar arches an eyebrow. “They could put you in jail if that’s what it takes to keep you from causing a war.”
“Caring about Zorin is not going to start a war.” But as I say it, I wonder what I’m missing about him. “Is it?”
Rorsar sways nervously between his boots.
“Zorin and Azrim are the last two Aegeris. While many of us are descendents of the goddess’ power, loyal to Aegeris, we are not her bloodline.
Azrim was the alpha until he lost his mate and turned to Night Stalking.
Zorin is now the alpha of the Luna rivals, which means he is to us what a king is to you, except he acts more like an independent undercover operative.
“There are two classes for us. Azrim is a Dire, a lone hunter, great at fighting with no one else on his team to help him or to think about. Zorin is what you would call an altruist to a fault. He will put everyone else before himself, including his brother, who doesn’t always notice. We call Zorin a Navorxis.”
As Rorsar says it, I get the feeling he doesn’t like saying the word, or it brings back bad memories.
“What does that literally translate to?” I ask. I know orxis is sacrifice in Mindoran, but that’s the only piece I remember from my brief year of coursework.
“Destined to sacrifice.” Rorsar looks down the hallway, and it makes me look.
Zorin’s at the far end of the males’ dorm, watching us. Then he pushes through the doors and takes off running into the trees.
“Because his type always ends up paying the ultimate price.” Rorsar grumbles. “Now, he’s turned his attention to you. So he will do everything he can for you, even if it destroys him.”
“I don’t like that.”
“We can’t lose him, or the Aegeris pack will be basically gone. Rhysan is still blood, but getting him back from their old pack is going to be problematic. The alpha’s daughter has custody of him now. He will grow up believing their lies.”
“And you can’t get him back?”
“We cannot take him by force, or it will be viewed as an act of civil war.” Rorsar crosses his arms and glares at Carielle as she passes us at a distance.
“What isn’t considered an act of war these days?”
He clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “I don’t know, ma’am. I wish I did. Just promise us not to break his heart. He is more important to those of us who resist Luna law and are trying to protect our world than you can possibly imagine.”
“Sounds like a lot of pressure on his shoulders.”
“Likely. Considering his wandering brother, his taken nephew, and now being told the one thing that can bring his family back together is the one thing he can’t have…”
“What can I do? Can’t Zorin just find a new mate?”
Rorsar draws in a deep breath and hangs his hands from the straps of his armored tactical vest. “He is scent-bonded to you. You have to die for him to move on. Otherwise, I don’t know.
We fight for him. We give him space. Nothing eases the pain.
He still goes on the walkabouts, monitoring the perimeter alone. ”
“Almost like Night Stalking?”
Rorsar looks down at me with worry. “He would’ve cared for Jezza if Azrim died. Sometimes, Mindorans are known for bonding the second and or third in line to a female in case her mate dies. I suppose it’s possible he was scent-bonded to her too.”
“So when his brother’s mate died, Zorin felt similar pain?” I ask.
“Likely. But Jezza was special. She was the kindest and sweetest female I’ve ever met. We all lost a piece of ourselves that day.”
I think I know what he needs. It’s the same thing I do.
“Just don’t break his heart,” Rorsar repeats. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to put him back together.”
The only things Zorin has done are protect me, sacrifice his comfort for mine, and give me things I need but never asked him for. I’m certain I’ll never find another guy like him, not in this life.
I smile. “I won’t. Just make sure he doesn’t leave this complex, since I’m stuck here.”
Rorsar’s blue eyes dissect me in a quick second. “You care for him?”
“Your Shifters decide in a moment based on scent. Is it so hard to believe humans might be capable of falling fast too?”
He frowns. “When we scent bond, it is no longer a choice. You could be the worst person in the universe, and we would follow you everywhere. I’m not saying you are…”
He’s not getting the message, but I feel like someone needs to know so they can help us be together.
“Rorsar, I like Zorin. Your superiors would disapprove of what I want to do with him.”
It takes a second before he blushes. “I see. Just…hold off until we can ensure your safety. Please.”
It’s not going to be easy. “Now, how about we track down this elusive alpha and drag him back here for something to eat?”
Rorsar’s lungs swell with purpose. “Yes, ma’am.”