PART THIRTY #2
A particularly hard gust buffets us.
Yar-Sh has his arms wrapped entirely around me, molding my body to his. I feel so small, so utterly reliant on him.
But he doesn’t let me down, he keeps that grip, his hold is solid.
And then suddenly the wind dies. It is still loud but it’s moving away.
“Is it over?” I ask, opening my eyes.
“Yes, it is moving toward the creek.”
“Good.” I blow out a breath. “That was…”
“A particularly nasty one, you did well.”
“I did nothing except sit here.”
“You didn’t turn hysterical. That is to be commended. Sandstorms are frightening and unpredictable even when, like me, you’ve sat through many.” He removes the slippery covering from us.
The ghinut shakes his head and whinnies then looks around for the herd.
They are close by, all sandy and dark cheeked, but it seems everyone survived.
“Onward!” Yar-Sh calls, pointing forward. “And fast.”
Soon we are moving on again, through ravines, over flat land, and into the shadows of the cliffs. The steady motion of the ghinut and Yar-Sh’s warm body against mine finally makes me relax.
My future is uncertain. My kidnap will cause ripples that could turn into tsunamis. But there is nothing I can do about it at this moment.
Eventually, on the horizon there is some movement. Not exactly a settlement, but I see other males moving around. As we get closer what appear to be homes, hacked into the cliffs, are revealed.
The ghinuts pick up pace, as though they know this is our destination and food awaits.
“This is the Jakarty’s main camp,” Yar-Sh tells me. “It’s where we first settled when we left Athos’s rule and since then we have created a warren of homes in caves. When the drones come, we can hide.
“I suppose it makes sense.”
“It does now we have Earth females.” He breathes deep, his nostrils in the curve of my neck.
It’s as though he’s smelling me, taking in my alien aroma.
A shiver goes through me. Fa-Ling never did anything like that. Sure he was fascinated by my body, so different to his mates, but he only really seemed interested in filling me with his seed.
Or non-seed as it turned out.
A thought flicks into my mind. Was Yar-Sh fertile? Would his seed be thick and purple the way the woman, Sophie, at the medical center had described? Or was infertility a common problem on Planet Hade and that was half the reason for their current population situation?
“Yar-Sh!” A huge male, bare-chested, inked, and with a thick tail was striding toward us. “Is that you?”
“Yes, brother!” Yar-Sh raises his arm in greeting. “I am back on Jakarty land. Dan-Y it is so good to see you, finally.”
“And you.” Dan-Y smiles and places his hands on his hips. A long sword sits snuggly on his belt.
A gaggle of males form behind him, presumably all keen to see the new arrivals—most especially me judging by the curious looks.
Yar-Sh draws to a halt and slips from the ghinut with surprising agility for such a huge male.
He then draws Dan-Y into an embrace and they slap each other on the back as though incredibly pleased with the outcome of a grand plan.
“You have a woman,” Dan-Y says, gesturing to me.
“Yes. I found her…very convenient, don’t you think?”
“You found her?” A woman—Earth woman—elbows forward. “For Heaven’s sake you can’t just take women!” She scowls at Dan-Y and then Yar-Sh. “What were you thinking?”
“He wasn’t,” says one of the males at my side. The older one.
“El-Frankin. In-Sar. What can I say?” She points at them both. The younger one looks away as if embarrassed. “How could you let this happen? Is it not bad enough that I am here? That I was taken? And now this, another hostage.”
I watch her walk toward me. She has gorgeous curly pink hair and wears a scruffy sweater and pants a little too large. Despite her attire she is totally feminine and her hips sway and her breasts move without a bra to contain them.
“Oh dear,” she says to me, her eyebrows drawing together. “What an ordeal you have had. But you are safe now. Come with me.”
I look around at the crowd, then release the reins I am holding and slip to the ground.
Yar-Sh is there in an instant to wrap his hands around my waist and slow my slide.
I press my palms to his broad warm chest. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank him,” the woman says. “He’s caused a whole lot of trouble bringing you here. I am Tammy by the way.”
“Nina. Nice to meet you.”
She takes my hand and starts to lead me away.
“Where are you taking her?” Yar-Sh demands. “She’s mine.”
“She needs food and drink and a rest, she is quite pale, or hadn’t you noticed?”
Yar-Sh studies me and then shrugs. “No.”
I guess my pale skin is too new for him to distinguish between shades.
“These males, honestly.” Tammy huffs and continues to walk.
“Meet us in the round room,” Dan-Y calls after us.
She doesn’t answer and we step through males who let their gazes drift the length of my body without apology.
“What on earth has happened to you?” Tammy asks as we reach a hole in the cliff wall. “How did you get here?”
“I…I…to tell the truth I’m not too sure. One minute I was beside the Militarized Border waiting to see my mate, and then the next I am on Jakarty land with him…” I jab my finger behind myself. “And he seems to think I am his now.”
“Yes, that’s how they are. Possessive and obsessive.” She pulls a curtain aside. “Come in here. It’s not much but it’s comfortable and has everything we need.”
I see that it’s a home of sorts. With a fur-strewn bed and rustic wooden seating. There is a cooking area and a table along with barrels of what I presume are supplies. A few candles offer buttery light from holes in the walls.
“We were in the mountains,” Tammy says. “After Dan-Y took me. He was so worried King Athos would launch an attack or at the very least a rescue mission that he took me away from everyone and everything. But we came back here after he struck a deal with my mate, or rather old mate, El-Frankin, to do a prisoner swap. Yar-Sh for me.”
“Are you looking forward to going back?” I ask. “Which you will now, with Yar-Sh returned.” I’ve just met her but the thought of being the only female here fills me with dread.
She looks at me, holds my gaze steady, then gives me a strange smile. “Come on, let’s get you some better clothing for this environment and something to eat and drink.”
I am happy to let her pick me out a pale green sweater and a pair of brown pants and quickly I slip into them. I am also happy to accept a drink of honeyed water and a few biscuits flavored with lapla flowers.
“How do you feel?” she asks.
“Scared. Out of control. Helpless. Vulnerable.” I pull in a breath. “But also curious. Life wasn’t so good with Fa-Ling if I am honest.”
“Why not?”
“We couldn’t…I came on the first wave of Project Hope and still no baby.”
“Ah…I see.”
I close my eyes and press on my belly. “And it’s why I traveled light years. I am desperate to be a mother. It’s all I ever wanted and maybe…”
“Maybe Yar-Sh is your destiny?”
I stare into her eyes. “Is that so bad? He’s just kidnapped me and I am thinking that perhaps…” My words trail off.
“I have only just met Yar-Sh so I couldn’t comment on his nature, but there is no harm chasing your dreams, Nina, even if you have to go down a different path to get them.”
“Is that what you have done?” Was she happy here? Was Dan-Y more than her abductor but also her destiny?
“Tammy.” A deep voice outside. “Dan-Y is waiting. He says to hurry.”
“Okay,’ she calls.
“The great Dan-Y cannot be kept waiting.” She half rolls her eyes but I definitely get the sense she has affection for him.
We walk deeper into the web of tunnels and into a room that is indeed round. There are several big purple aliens seated in an arc, including Dan-Y and Yar-Sh. An older man, hood pulled up, surveys me.
“This is Sal-Hay,” Tammy says, gesturing to him. “He also speaks our language.”
“Many here don’t?” I ask.
“No, King Athos kept that knowledge for his society, but Sal-Hay managed to steal a download program and soon more and more Jakarty will speak our language,” Tammy explains.
I nod and straighten the sweater.
Yar-Sh is staring at me as if seeing me anew. Perhaps he doesn’t like me now that I am not in a revealing white gown. Maybe he is changing his mind about me being his.
“This Earth woman,” he says, pointing at me. “Will be my mate. I will impregnate her and we will breed.”
Oh, so he does still like what he sees.
“Hang on.” Tammy holds up her hand. “What if she is already pregnant, Yar-Sh, you didn’t think of that did you, when you stole her. If she is you will have to take her back immediately.”
Dan-Y frowns at his brother and his horns give a few dull flashes as though he is irritated.
Yar-Sh kind of snarls. “Are you?” he directs at me. “Are you with child? Impregnated by your fool of a mate in the Civilized Tundra?”
I close my eyes and again touch my belly. “This could be my way out and I see how Tammy has set it up for me.”
I take a deep breath and look from her to Yar-Sh. “No, I am not with child.”
His face creases into a broad grin. “This is good news. You are ready for my seed.”
Tammy gives my hand a squeeze. I am not sure if she was pleased or not with my answer.
“That might be the case, brother,” Dan-Y says. “But you have brought trouble with your return. King Athos will be searching for this woman, Nina isn’t it?”
I nod.
“I don’t know how you can criticize me,” Yar-Sh snaps, “when you have a woman of your own. A woman you just took.”
“The king never found out she was gone.” Dan-Y looks at El-Frankin. “Did he?”
“No,” El-Frankin says. “He has no idea Tammy is here.”
“We are being careful to keep it a secret until her return,” In-Sar adds.
Dan-Y slaps his hand on his thigh and laughs. “Her return. Her return. You really think I will give her up? This beautiful mate of mine. Not a chance.”
Now I understand Tammy’s little smile. She knew Dan-Y would not let her go.
“She is not your mate.” El-Frankin stands, fists balled and tail lifted as though ready to swipe. “She is my mate.”