Claimed: The Warriors of Nur (13 page)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Leo’Nya picked fitfully at her breakfast.  The usually mouthwatering fruit held no appeal for her.  It’d been two days since returning with Erol, and she was no closer to getting back to her ship than she’d been then.  The argument about her remaining on Nur had ended badly. 

Sighing, she absently stared into the lush canopy above her.  In her short time here, this canopied enclosure had become somewhat of an oasis to her.  It was one of the only places that she felt truly alone.  Surrounded by mammoth stone walls, it sat within the center of the mountainous structure they called home.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t too hot, the shadow of the enclosing stone providing enough shade to keep the ground from drying completely so that plants grew in abundance.  After explaining about her need to be outdoors, Erol had shown her to this small space and given her reluctant permission to spend time here unsupervised.  It’d been made clear that Erol would rather she didn’t go outside at all but-- after watching her mope sullenly-- he’d relented.  But just barely.  She’d made no bones about not wanting to stay, and now felt forever watched, like he was just waiting for her to try to escape.  After her experience with Kereteki, that was the last thing he had to worry about.  While she had no intention of staying, she didn’t want to re-live her recent captivity either.  She’d find a way back to her ship; she just hadn’t figured it out yet.  Waiting for her sister to find her was no longer an option.  Without, her tracking unit, it would be like finding a needle in an enormous haystack, and though she knew her Avi’Nyla would never abandon her, the longer she had to search meant the more danger she would be in.  While she no longer had to be concerned with Muda, there were other males who would find her sister just as exotically appealing. 

Closing her eyes, she listened to the beautifully alien songs of the birds in the surrounding vegetation.  Here she could almost forget that she wasn’t on Earth.

“You look very peaceful.”

Leo, startled by the softly spoken words, looked up into the gently innocent features of their young sister.  At fifteen, Uriel was just in the blush of young adulthood, and Leo found she liked the younger female.  She found her to be open and unassuming, nothing at all like her older brothers.  At 5 feet, 10 inches, she showed the promise of future curves tempered by the gawky awkwardness of too long limbs universally found in the adolescent and newly pubescent form.  The most striking feature was her hair.  It fell to the back of her knees in a cascade of platinum blond curls, the shade so pale it was almost white.  That and her violet eyes contrasted almost painfully with the deep brown of her skin.  The combination anywhere else would have been disturbing, but on Uriel it was breathtaking. 

“This would be heaven if I had a hammock”

“What’s a hammock?”

“Kinda like a bed but it’s strung between two trees so it swings back and forth.”

“Why would you want to do that?” 

Leo laughed at her horrified expression.  “It’s actually very soothing.” 

“You spend a lot of time here?” The girl plopped down beside her.  “Do humans need to be always in the sun?”

Since arriving, Uriel had become fascinated with Leo’Nya.  Physically, they were complete opposites. One was light, the other dark.  Where one was tall and lean, the other was petite and curvaceous.  To Uriel, everything unfamiliar was fascinating, and Leo was the most interesting thing she’d ever seen.  She never got tired of asking questions.  What was Earth like?  Was it much different from Nur?  Were all human females small and fair?  What were the males like?  Leo sometimes used words and phrases that confused her; she could tell that it was due to the differences in language and found Uriel trying to use the new words herself.

“We don’t need to always be in the sun,” rolling over, Leo propped her chin on her stacked hands, “but we do absorb minerals through our skin, and the sun helps with that.”

“I heard Erol speaking to my brothers about how ill you became.  He is concerned that you will become ill again.”

“I was only ill because of dehydration. That’s when there isn’t enough liquid in your body.”

Uriel nodded in understanding.  “I have heard of warriors succumbing to the heat of the sun when journeying across the wastelands if they cannot find a
kollah
to shelter and rest.”

“The wastelands?” Her interest piqued. “Is that the desert that we traveled across to get here?”

“Yes.  The wastelands are to the west of us.  It is extremely dangerous!” she added, alarmed by Leo’s appraising stare.

“Don’t worry, Uriel…”  Leo sat up, shoulders sagging.  “…It would be crazy for me to try to run.”

Uriel saw sadness in her friend.  She knew from frequent…over hearing…that Leo was desirous to leave.  She’d heard her brother speak in frustration of her refusal to mate him, and it confused her.  Erol was a worthy male, and
Mexxeja
of their clan.  Why would she refuse him?  He was strong and beautiful, and she did not say so out of bias. 

Though all five would be traumatized to know it, Uriel was well aware of how sexually attractive her brothers’ were to others.  Though there were few females, there were occasions when their
estiż,
along with other clans, gathered to socialize.  During those times, the unmated females were also allowed to attend and mingle.  Though it was expressly forbidden for any female to interact with unfamiliar males, she’d had plenty of opportunity to listen to the lustful ramblings of the other females.  None of them had ever captured the affections of her brothers, but she knew that they were all considered attractive.

“May I ask something?” her gaze down, she focus shyly on her hands.  “Do you find my brother unattractive?”

Surprised, Leo frown slightly at the down turned head.  “Why would you think that?”  Just the opposite.  Erol was probably the most non-unattractive male she’d ever seen.

“Do you think him unworthy then?” indignantly she raised her gaze. Her brothers were all worthy males.  She would not tolerate any other opinion.

“Of…course not.”  Leo answered cautiously.  Where was she going with this?

“You are claimed by another then.”  Her shoulders sagged in disappointment.

“No…” understanding dawned.  “Oh Uriel…”  Sighing she rocked closer to the young female.  “It isn’t that I don’t…like…your brother.  Or that I find him to be unworthy.  I’m sure he’ll make some female a great mate someday.  It’s just…” her voice trailed off at Uriel’s pained expression.

“You are the first female that has every caused his phase.”  She grasped Leo’s hand imploringly.  “I don’t know if he’ll EVER mate if you don’t choose him as
Mati
.”

Leo cringed.  Great!  Just what she needed.  The hopes of the future continuation of this child’s entire bloodline pinned on her…NO PRESSURE! 

“I’m sure you’re exaggerating, Uriel.”  She patted the hand reassuringly. “Your brother barely even knows me.  I just happened to be in the right crashed EP at the right time.”

“You’re wrong…Atif says that he’s never seen Erol so out of control.  He was fully phased when they found him…he even phased a few times on their way to the
Tobba
.  All because of you.”

Leo didn’t have a clue as to what this ‘phase’ was, but from Uriel’s awed tone, she imagined it to be something she should become more familiar with.  If she was going to be blamed for something, she at least wanted to know what it was.  It wasn’t like she’d asked to be kidnapped in the first place, so how was any of this her fault?

“When you say he ‘phased’…what does that mean?”

“I mean like…he phased.”  She shrugged as if Leo should already know what she meant. “You know…he lost control of hi—”

“URIEL!” 

They were both startled by the abrupt interruption. 

Cahil -the fifth brother, and second youngest of the clan- stood within the entrance to the garden.  It was apparent that he’d been there for a while, and Uriel bristled at the reprimand in his tone.  All of her brothers were protective, none more so than Cahil.  The youngest of the brothers, he was the closest to her in age.  At twenty summers, he was newly into his maturity, and he took his new social rank very seriously--to the point of being overbearing.  A relationship that had always been easy and loving was now, not less loving— but a lot less easy.  As a whole, they were protective to the point of sometimes being stifling, but as the only female, she’d been indulged as much as possible when it came to her curiosity and adventurous nature.  She’d been raised with an understanding of the dangers she faced, but she had never felt anything other than assurance that she would be protected above and beyond anything.  Now, as she just completed her first breeding cycle, she’d begun to feel even more guarded.  Cahil now treated her as if any moment out of his sight was dangerous.  Even enclosed within the impenetrable stone walls of their home.

“I have been looking for you.”  His irritation was clear.  “You were not given permission to leave the dwelling.”

“I am visiting with Leo’Nya.”  She stated the obvious,; her tone no less rife with irritation. “If it’s safe here for her, how is it less so for me?”

She’d found that the easiest way to avoid an argument with Cahil was to ignore him, or at least to pretend to.  Lately it was getting harder and harder to do, and more times than not, their encounters ended in argument.  While she understood his over protectiveness, she refused to be restricted.  Dismissively, she turned her back, missing the frustrated look that crossed her brother’s face. 

“And that’s my cue…”

Stretching, Leo gathered her still full plate, and with a pat to Uriel’s’ head, squeezed past Cahil and back into the cool darkness of the mountain.  She was restless and irritable and didn’t feel up to refereeing the obviously brewing sibling disagreement

“What’s wrong?”

She jumped at the unexpected voice. 

“For all that is holy!”  Her heart pounded.  “I can appreciate a little stealth as much as the next stalker…but for God’s sake…you gotta hum or something.”

Relinquishing her plate, she watched as Erol disposed of it into a large stone bowl set on a ledge about an inch and a half above the floor.

“What’s wrong?” he repeated

“Aside from you scaring me half to death?  Nothing.”

“You’ve taken all the sun you need?”  He stacked the bowl neatly in the stone basin.

“Yeah, I’m good for the day.”  She crossed her arms restlessly over her chest. 

Like always, he wore only a fur cloth to cover his nakedness, and she found her mouth watering at the thought of what all that tattooed skin would taste like.  The urge to lick him, to taste the saltiness that’d left her wet and needy at their last kiss, made it almost impossible for her body not to respond whenever he was close.

“Besides, I didn’t wanna listen to the two of them argue.”

“Uriel must learn her place.  And Cahil must learn his.  They will argue until this happens.”

“By ‘learn her place’, that would mean…what?”

“She is no longer a child—”

“She’s what…sixteen?!”

“--and must learn to submit to things that are not of her desire.”

“So is that what you expect of me too, Tarzan!”  She knew his name, but insisted on calling him Tarzan.  It was passive aggressive, but rebellious all the same.  Hey, she took her joy where she could get it.

“You will be
Mati
and will only need to submit to me.”

“You can keep saying that all you want…but it doesn’t make it true.”  She yelled defiantly, chin and eyes lifted to blaze stubbornly into his eyes.  “I know for a fact that you can’t force me to…to
Mati
!  No matter-—”

She was crushed against his thick muscled chest, the breath rushing from her lips as his arms wrapped her in bands of corded muscle. 
Again with the hair
, she thought as he wove his fingers through the heavy mass, anchoring her in place for his possessive consumption.  His mouth, first demanding, relaxed into a coaxing,; almost pleading, rhythm, asking entrance to her tightly closed mouth.  His tongue gently laved the seams until she was helpless to do anything other than open to his exploration.  He tasted her, the fruity citrus mixing with her own exotic flavor to become almost intoxicating.  He groaned in painful need as her body relaxed into his, her thick , pebbled nipples taunting him through the material of her
libsa
.  He massaged her scalp and neck, no longer needing to hold her anchored, and skimming both hands down, he cupped the generous curve of her ass, pulling her into him, to rub her wet heat against his straining erection.  A soft echoing groan escaped her, testament to her growing need, her sultry fragrance clouding his senses until there was nothing more important than the taste, the decadent feel of her.