Chapter 7
2274 Words
7
Natalie
I followed Roark from the oasis, his large hand around mine was firm, but warm and gentle. My insides were so scrambled I couldn’t process all the emotion running through my body. The connection between us was instant, and so powerful that I couldn’t even look at him now without my heart racing. He’d been dominant and demanding, f*****g me like a caveman, even tugging on my hair. But then he turned into a gentle giant and nearly ripped my heart into pieces with his tenderness.
He was everything I’d ever dreamed of in bed. I had high hopes that he’d be everything I dreamed of out of it as well.
We emerged from the oasis and I knew from the heat in my cheeks that I blushed as his soldiers stood at attention. They each inspected me with open curiosity, but I did my best to ignore them. I would not behave in any way to bring dishonor to my mate, so I held my head high, thrust my chest forward proudly, the chain and medallions, the mark of Roark’s family, clearly visible through the thin fabric of my dress. The weight tugged at my n*****s constantly, teasing me with sensation and leaving me in a never-ending state of arousal.
Not that I minded. I had a feeling all it would take was one look from me and I’d be on my hands and knees with my wild lover filling me from behind any time I wanted.
Dozens of tents sprawled in the middle of the desert landscape as if they’d popped into existence from nothing. They clumped around the center tent, the largest where—Roark had pointed out—the transport station was hidden. Beyond the edges of the outpost I saw nothing but sand for miles in every direction with an occasional dark smudge of what I assumed was a hearty bush or rock. On my right, just beyond the edge of camp, a rock formation rose from the middle of the desert like sentinels watching over the outpost. A slight breeze kept me from feeling miserable in the heat, a trail of sand clearly visible where the wind pushed the small grains around the edges of the rocks.
A wind block, then? Did the wind usually come from that direction? And what direction was it? I had no idea.
The world was alien and strange, but oddly beautiful. I felt like I’d stepped into the pages of a fairy-tale adventure. Arabian Nights. I glanced up at the sky, noting that their large sun was fully overhead, the soft yellow glow warm and welcome on my bare arms. But on the horizon, newly rising, a dark red sun climbed in the sky and I wondered what they called it. I’d never seen a red sun before, and I wondered if it would feel hot when it blazed its brightest overhead. Roark had said there were two moons as well, but he’d kept me too busy to notice them.
“Councilor.” One of his men bowed slightly. He was tall and dark, as they all were, and had a furrowed brow. He was younger than Roark by perhaps a decade. “I did not wish to disturb you, but there have been reports of Drovers on the fringe of the territory. We believe they are massing for an attack.”
I stepped closer to Roark. Their talk of an attack made me nervous, but Roark’s huge bulk made me feel safe. As did the presence of a dozen more equally massive and well-armed males. Each of them was at least six foot six with a wicked-looking sword on one hip and some kind of silver, space gun on the other. I had no idea what a Drover was, nor did I care. Not right now. I only worried that Roark might be injured while fighting them.
My mate looked down at me as his men surrounded us in a cocoon of protection. “Don’t worry, mate. The Drovers cannot reach you here.” He looked calm and completely in control. I believed him, the tension in my body retreating to a manageable level. This was his world, not mine. I would have to trust him. But that didn’t mean I would remain ignorant of the threats around us.
“What are Drovers?”
“Come, mate.” He tugged on my hand. “I will explain everything in due time. For now, I will take you to the transport center. You will be safe there, with the doctor, while I deal with these invaders.”
Roark’s command spurred my feet into action. He’d given me soft sandals that sank into the white sand as I walked. It was warm underfoot, but not scorching hot. I took two steps when a bomb went off.
Before I knew what happened, I was on the ground, Roark’s massive frame covering me.
A wall of fire shot out overhead but disappeared in the blink of an eye. I heard screams and men shouting on the edge of camp, near the tall rocks.
I could barely breathe, and was about to protest Roark’s heavy bulk when he lifted off me.
“Are you injured?” He rolled onto his side, his back to the shouts, protecting me with his body as his eyes drifted over me from head to toe. Fierce, intense, concerned. Gone was the gentle lover.
“I’m okay.”
“What is O-K? Letters? You speak to me in letters?” His gaze intensified and he lifted his chin, never taking his eyes from me. “Doctor!”
His roar hurt my ears but I lifted my hand to his cheek to soothe him. Obviously, the translator thing implanted behind our ears didn’t translate American slang. “I’m fine, Roark. I’m not hurt. Just shaken up a bit.”
He lowered his head to mine for a quick kiss as the doctor he’d summoned appeared, her sandals a few inches from my head on the sand. “Councilor?” she asked.
Roark rose to his feet, pulling me with him. The chain swung beneath my loose dress. “Take my mate to the transport station and protect her with your life.”
“Roark, no…” I didn’t want the woman killing herself to protect me. We were in this together now, the two of us. It was Roark and me against the world, against the Drovers. “Give me one of those gun things. I can fight.”
His warriors surrounded us in a loose circle, swords in one hand and guns in the other. He shook his head. “No, mate. You will go with the doctor.”
“What? Why? Where are you going?”
He turned, his scowl fierce and frightening. I would not want to be one of those Drovers right now. “I must make sure my parents transported back to Xalia. If not, I need to ensure they are protected. Once they are secure, I will kill the Drovers.”
So, parents. Drovers. Then me. Okay. Fine. I could deal. I nodded. “Make sure you come back to me.”
“I give you my word, Natalie. I will come to you immediately once the battle is over. But first I must ensure my parents left yesterday, as planned.” Roark placed a small dagger in my hand, pressing the handle tightly to my palm until I wrapped shaking fingers around the hilt. It was small, not much longer than my fingers, and the blade was a bright, brilliant gold. “Take this. Keep it with you at all times.”
I nodded as the doctor tugged on my arm and I took a step in her direction. I had a bad feeling about this. Roark turned from me and ordered two of his men to accompany us to the transport station. The two warriors grabbed each of us by the arm and began to run as a second explosion sounded.
I turned back to watch my mate bellow orders into the chaos. He was a mountain among his men, fierce and strong, and completely focused on finding his parents and securing the camp. He turned, scanning the site with a predator’s gaze. That scrutiny flitted over me, through me, past me, is if I were already forgotten.
“Don’t be a baby,” I scolded myself as I ran with the doctor. She was half a head taller than me, and strong. I was running, but she dragged me about every third step because I couldn’t keep up with her in the sand. She may have been used to running on a beach, but I wasn’t. The transport station wasn’t far, but I was winded and scared by the time the doctor and I ducked under the tent flap. The two warriors with us stood at the entrance, weapons out and ready. The noises outside the tent were nothing like when I first arrived. Calmness ensued then. Now, without even being able to see, I knew something was wrong. Fear, panic, death could be heard through the thin walls.
The doctor closed the flap and wrapped me in a quick hug, girl to girl, and I really needed it. “Tell me everything’s going to be fine, even if you have to lie.”
The doctor pulled back and smiled. “Everything’s going to be fine. And I’m not lying. Councilor Roark wouldn’t have sent you here otherwise.” She released me, pointed to the transport platform. “But I’m also cautious.”
“What do you mean?”
She pointed. “Get up there. I’m going to get the transport codes ready, just in case.”
“Just in case?” I knew what she was saying, but I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to leave Roark behind.
“Your mate asked me to protect you and this is what I’m doing.” She was a doctor and seemed to remain cool under pressure, but I could see her eyes were slightly wild, her hands quick. “This is the only way out of here with the Drovers everywhere.”
“Where are you going to send me?”
“It takes a couple minutes to power up, then a few more to enter new coordinates. Right now, this thing is still set to Earth.” She waved at me again, but didn’t look up from what she was doing at the transport controls. I felt like I was on a Star Trek episode waiting to say, “Beam me up, Scotty.”
I stood and wiped the sand off my skin. I was covered, the fine grains coating my arms and chest and clinging like glitter to the soft fabric of my dress. It fell, spreading in a random mess all over the transport pad.
“Hurry. Hurry.” The doctor muttered under her breath and I stopped with my hands on my thighs, rubbing at the sand. A loud clattering of metal, of sword striking sword, sounded from the entrance of the tent. The doctor cursed in her native tongue and I jumped, screaming as one of our guards flew backward through the entrance, a knife sticking out of his left eye socket.
“Go! Now!” Our remaining guard roared the order as he backed into the entrance. He fought three men that I could see. These Drovers were smaller than he, but fast and vicious. They were covered, head to toe in a dark brown robe and scarves that reminded me of desert nomads I’d seen on National Geographic. Their smaller swords flashing through the air so quickly I had trouble tracking the battle with my eyes.
“No!” I screamed. “What about Roark? Where’s Roark?”
The doctor shook her head, shouting even as she worked the controls. “He’s dead. I’m sorry. If they’re here, he’s already dead. I have to get you away from here.”
“Dead? No!”
No. He couldn’t be dead.
No. No. No.
The doctor yelled at me but I could no longer hear her. The floor vibrated beneath my feet. A bright blue light erupted from previously unseen lines. The brightness made me squint in pain as it formed a strange grid pattern on the transport pad. I tried to move off the pad, but I was trapped by the energy rising to choke me in a cloud of power and I could not breathe. The guard I’d barely met fell to his knees and one Drover slit his throat as another plunged a dagger into his side. I tried to reach out to them, to scream, but I couldn’t do anything. I could only watch and do nothing.
Behind the doctor, the third Drover raced to her and plunged a dagger into her back. She screamed, I saw her mouth open as she sank to her knees, but I heard nothing now, nothing but the hum of the transport. One Drover plunged his knife into our guard’s chest, over and over as I stood, frozen, watching with growing horror as the other attacker rushed toward me.
He lunged through the bright blue light, his gnarled and calloused hand grasping at me.
His fist tightened in my dress, tugging me mercilessly, relentlessly forward. I braced my feet and struck his arm with the dagger I still held. The gold blade struck his arm. Blood splattered on my dress, but he did not release me. Terrified, I pulled away from him with every ounce of strength I possessed. I felt the seam of my dress pop along my back as the dress ripped in two. The Drover fell back with a yell when the garment fell away from me, the seam in back exploding with a tearing sound that rattled my teeth.
Naked but for my sandals and the chains hanging from my breasts, I screamed at him, enraged that he’d killed the doctor, stabbed her in the back. Cold blooded. They’d also taken my mate from me. This was to be my fate on this stupid planet. The man I’d just begun to love, who had officially claimed me, was dead?
The hum surrounding me changed to a roar so loud I feared my skull would explode. I could not even scream as everything went black.
- Writer
