Between Two Tiron (3 page)

hundred Common Credits or more. If there is a woman who paid that much for underwear on this

planet, it‟s probably one of those with the researchers.” Medina smiled at the Ardin and looked

enviously at the garment they were holding.

“We‟ll check that, but the method and expert camouflage indicates that it was done by a

born shifter female.” Kaleb looked at all of the women. “In these times, we can‟t afford to lose

one female of our kind, much less a female from a mated pair.”

* * * * *

Kaleb and Shard stalked into the researchers‟ camp. All the busy researchers immediately

stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on the two Santir males. A few of the

people wore a gloating look, others looked arrogant. They all acted as if they knew something

important. That attitude told Kaleb more than any words could that someone had slipped onto

this planet, most likely a shifter female.

The lead researcher, a gray-haired man named Vedix Mercia, rushed forward to greet

them. “Welcome, Ardin Kaleb, Ardin Shard. What can we do for you? We told you that we

would contact you if we saw Nerisa. She hasn‟t come here. We assumed that she was with you.”

Kaleb read the lie of that last statement in the man‟s eyes. He didn‟t need the man‟s scent

to reveal the deceit. The researcher had known that she hadn‟t been found. Kaleb found that very

interesting.

“What do you know of this?” Shard held up the pack of clothing, opening it to display the

feminine articles.

Fear rolled off the researcher, a pungent smell. “I-I‟ve never seen it before.”

He might have never seen it, but he knows something
, Kaleb sent the thought Shard on

the mental path they shared as
Tierna
, bond-brothers, bound by magic and blood.

There is one way to ensure he tells us. His work means more to him than anything else.

Shard narrowed his eyes as he paced closer to the researcher. “Is there something you wish to tell

me? Remember, this is Shifter-Protected Space. You are here at our discretion.”

The calm warning had immediate results. Vedix reeled back as if he‟d been hit and his

eyes opened wide. The man didn‟t need the threat to be made any clearer. If he didn‟t cooperate,

he‟d be sent back to his museum without a single artifact. Kaleb knew the moment that the

researcher made his decision.

“Nerisa sent out a distress signal the day that she escaped. Galactic Central Command

sent someone to look into the situation,” Vedix rushed to tell them.

“Who did they send? How many are here?” Kaleb stepped forward and stared down at

the man. That they‟d managed to slip onto the planet undetected astounded him, but it was the

fact that they seemed prepared to take the mate of a shifter that angered him. Any shifter should

know better.

“I only know of one and from the way she spoke, I thought she was alone.” Vedix

shrugged and stepped back intimidated by Kaleb‟s size. “She introduced herself only as Lina

when she came by early yesterday.”

“Describe her to me,” Kaleb snapped.

“She‟s blonde, large breasts, tall and long legs. She has the same spots along her jaw as

you do, although hers are more visible. They‟re a light brown against her golden skin.” Vedix

pushed his hand through his hair.

That would make it much easier to find her and it explained why she was stashing packs.

In
tiron
form, she would be golden and unable to blend with the other Santir here. Kaleb

wondered just how a female shifter became mixed up with Central Command and just how far

she intended to go.
Would she actually try to take a mate off the planet?

“Did she ask any questions or speak to anyone for any length of time?” Shard stepped

forward, looming over the short, thin man.

“The same people you spoke to, she spoke to,” Vedix answered quickly.

She probably has the woman’s entire history
, Shard raged silently.
She wouldn’t require

much outside information if she knows the woman’s habits. That’s an advantage that we don’t

have.

“Do you wish to ask anyone any more questions?” Vedix wrung his hands nervously

during the silence that had fallen.

“Did she say when she‟d arrived here? How did she come to Nariu?” Shard looked at the

man. He stepped forward, close enough to smell a lie if the man tried it.

“She didn‟t say, but I got the impression that she‟d been here a few days. She assured us

that Nerisa wasn‟t with you.” Vedix shrank back. His fear carried easily to them on the light

wind.

She’s not only stashing kits in preparation—she has been watching us.
Shard‟s growl

rumbled through the researchers‟ camp. The low, menacing sound startled several people and a

piece of old pottery crashed to the ground, breaking into small pieces.

“If we think of anything we need to know, we‟ll return to ask you,” Kaleb informed the

man just before he and Shard turned to walk to the skimmers. Now they had to hunt for not just

one woman but two—and the second had found a way to get past the sensors of a Veriga-class

battleship.

We have more questions now than we did when we came here.
Shard activated the

skimmer. It hovered and a single toggle took it to a level above the treetops.

Kaleb pulled his skimmer even with Shard‟s as they turned toward their camp.
Like how

she even got close to the planet, much less on it without the sensors picking up her ship, where

that ship is and where this little, golden-haired kitten is right now?

If we can find Nerisa soon, we’ll probably come across the woman.
Shard turned the

skimmer to take it in for landing.

You don’t think that she’ll try to take Nerisa with her?
Kaleb raised a brow.
Since she’s
on her own, she likely didn’t grow up in a
thent
.

She has been taught more than the basics. The expert method of stashing indicates that

she was taught and lived as a shifter at least part of her life. She’ll know the primary laws. Once
she finds that Nerisa is on the cusp of transformation, she’ll make plans to leave.
The assurance was filled with certainty.

We’ll just have to make sure she doesn’t get the chance.
Kaleb clenched his jaw. This

woman had lived on the edge too long. It was time she was brought back under the protection of

Santir society.

This part of Nariu was riddled with ruins, some aboveground and some below ground.

Dense forest surrounded the remnants of some old civilization. In the end, an offhand remark

made by the woman who had shared a tent with Nerisa had led Lina in the right direction.

The woman had said that Nerisa had had an argument with the lead researcher about

where they should be searching. Nerisa had believed that there were more buildings outside the

valley on the opposite side of the mountain. The lead researcher had considered it a waste of time

when the ruins were so abundant within the valley and wouldn‟t investigate.

According to the Sendar‟s scans, Nerisa had been right. There was an extensive, mostly

subterranean complex on the mountain and more beyond the mountain‟s slopes. More

importantly, someone was in this area. Lina had picked up a sign of life yesterday as she flew a

remote scanner drone over the area.

She‟d been excited when she had found that sign. She was anxious to get this mission

completed. There were too many Santir on this planet. Every time she stepped off the Sendar she

took a risk. Just going to the researchers‟ camp without being seen required intricate planning

and a huge amount of luck. With so many shifters roaming the area, it would be impossible to

remain undetected for much longer.

This morning, she just had to make sure she had a clear path and then she could go. As

early as it was, she hoped most of the men were still in camp. The sun hadn‟t even fully risen

yet. She wanted to know where all the Santir were before she went after Nerisa. She sighed as

she watched the screens. Counting the Santir in the camp, she noted thirty men were missing.

First, she piloted a remote bot to the sites the men had been searching for artifacts. She

found seven of the men busily at work there. Didn‟t any of them sleep in? She‟d love to be

curled up in bed, but finishing this damn mission quickly was too important.

Switching the bots into search mode, she began finding the men in groups of one and two

throughout the forest, some much too close to the direction she had to go. She grimaced—going

around them was going to take time and care. The bot slowed as it flew through the trees,

pausing just inside the tree line at the edge of a clearing.

The large man with the curling black hair strode from the forest. His eyes were focused

on the ground. The man was very obviously hunting, but she had no idea what. He wore

camouflage-patterned clothing that hugged his body tightly. The only unbroken colors on him

were on the pack at his hip and his black boots. He stopped occasionally, looking for signs in the

tall grass. She switched the control to manual for a minute, unable to resist the urge to get a

closer look. She focused the image on the man‟s backside. She sighed in appreciation as his tight

pants molded to muscular legs and a gorgeous ass. Those muscles clearly showed as they flexed

and relaxed with each step.

Pulling the camera back to a wide view, she noted the man‟s location and was preparing

to put it on auto again when she saw dark shape creeping through the tall grass toward the big

man.

It was a
tiron
. She frowned as the Santir in animal form kept low to the ground, moving

with absolute stealth toward the man walking toward the trees. He seemed completely unaware

that anyone was stalking him.

The huge animal with brown-black fur drew close, within pouncing distance. She saw the

muscles bunch beneath the sleek fur and then it leapt. The man spun and his arms lifted to catch

the huge feline hurtling toward him. This wasn‟t anyone‟s pet kitty. Standing on all fours, it

would probably be almost chest high even on the huge black-haired man.

He didn‟t look shocked or frightened. He smiled. For a moment, she wondered if he was

insane. A huge
tiron
jumped him and the man found it amusing.

As the animal‟s momentum knocked him off his feet, the
tiron
changed into the man with

brown-black hair she‟d seen earlier standing next to Curly Hair. They wrestled, rolling around

the clearing. She watched avidly, unable to tear her eyes away from them. She wished she could

hear as well as see them. Her imagination was running wild wondering what they‟d do next.

Kaleb pinned Shard to the ground. His lips turned up into a satisfied smile as he saw the

heat building in Shard‟s brown eyes. Kaleb leaned down and ran the tip of his tongue over lips

pulled into a tight line. He knew that Shard wasn‟t angry, just a little annoyed that he‟d ended up

on the bottom.

“I got you this time.” Kaleb went to work on Shard‟s clothes. He‟d known from the tense

set of Shard‟s shoulders this morning that his bond mate needed something to break the tension

of the search for Nerisa and the mysterious Lina as much as he did.

Shard‟s fingers brushed his as he tried to keep his shirt on. “We do have to find Nerisa

and the other woman.”

“And the others are looking. You know we‟ve looked here. If you‟d really wanted to

search, you‟d be searching fresh territory. You‟re only upset because you were going to lure me

here and didn‟t get a chance.” Kaleb fastened his lips to Shard‟s, thrusting his tongue deep into

Shard‟s warm mouth.

“But my plan was so much better than this. A nice swim in the river, a long fuck to help

us both relax and here you are on top of me in the middle of a field and you don‟t appear to have

any supplies with you.” Shard raised a brow in challenge.

Kaleb just couldn‟t let that go unanswered. He slid his hand down Shard‟s hard body

until his fingers touched the pack. “I might not be prepared, but I‟m willing to take advantage of

your foresight.”

He unfastened the closure and slipped his hand inside, searching until he found the slim

bottle of lubricant. Bringing it up, he rolled the bottle between his fingers before he lowered his

head to lick his lover‟s lips.

“We‟re going to fuck, and then we‟ll have a swim. After that we‟ll find those two women

and get some answers.” He rolled his hips, rubbing his cock against the cloth covering Shard‟s

penis.

Shard‟s eyes closed and his hips arched, returning the grinding caress. Kaleb tipped his

head back, reveling in the sensation of cloth rubbing against his shaft. The soft rasp against his

already hard, sensitive cock felt too good. His balls drew tight to his body. He took a deep breath

and grabbed for control. He wanted to be inside Shard when he came. And he wanted to give

Shard a hard, satisfying orgasm before that happened.

He pulled back, intent on removing Shard‟s clothes. He‟d just pushed the shirt wide when

he felt warm fingers brush his cock a moment before they closed around his balls. The hand

tightened, squeezing firmly and rolling his balls. A bolt of fire shot up his spine and his pelvis

thrust forward involuntarily. At that moment, he knew he‟d lost control and needed to get it