Hearts of Ishira (Hearts of Ishira Saga) (81 page)

“Do not, for one moment, think that because your brothers mated with me, you’re a part of the package,” she warned him. “Just because we get along mentally, don’t think that seals the deal.”

He blinked at her in surprise, then grinned over her head at Jace. He was handsome, almost beautiful when he wasn’t smiling. When he grinned like that, it did something amazing to the butterflies in her belly. Dammit! Was she doomed to be sexually attracted to all of Aleah’s sons? What the hell was she supposed to do now?

“She’s feisty!” he said approvingly.

“You have no idea,” Jace chuckled, watching the exchange and knowing Ri wouldn’t like it one bit that Sean was talking above her. Literally.

“And don’t talk as though I’m not here,” she bit out. “These two learned early on that it doesn’t work on me.”

“So what does?” Sean asked, reaching over to snatch a legume from the pile and pop it into his mouth. She glared up at him, keeping silent. He shrugged, grinning unrepentantly. “Obviously my brothers figured it out. I guess I can, too.”

Jace stiffened behind her, bristling, but before he could say a word, Hunter strode back into the suite, right up to his older brother, and shoved him up against the cabinets.

“Mine,” he snarled.

“And mine,” Jace added, standing protectively beside Arianna, curling an arm around her and drawing her close. Ri snuggled into his side, loving his strength and the fierce protectiveness he was broadcasting toward his brother, for her. Sean looked at his brothers, then at Ri, then threw back his head and laughed.

“Why don’t we just see what happens?” he said softly as Hunter let go of him. “I’ll challenge, if I have to, but I’d rather keep it friendly.”

Arianna stood there in disbelief and shock. This man had only known her, in person, for an hour, if that, and he already wished to challenge his brothers for the right to claim her? True, they had shared some intimate mental moments and she knew much more about him than she would have if he’d just strolled into the room with no notice, but still… He already wanted her as a mate? No questions asked?

She’d had it with these guys acting as though she was the moon and stars wrapped up with a pretty little rainbow, dammit! She was just a thirty-something woman in a strange situation. She wasn’t the freakin’ Madonna!

“I am
not
that special!” she practically yelled in frustration. A handful of beans sailed past Hunter and smacked Sean right in the face. He sputtered as Hunter stepped back and laughed. “I am just me, Arianna Hunter, and I am-“

“Hunter-Jace,” Jace said quietly. She paused and looked up at him in question. “You are Arianna Hunter-Jace. It denotes who you are mated to.”

She nodded, saving that thought for later. She went back to glaring at Sean.

“I am Arianna Hunter-Jace. And I will not be challenged for. I will not just be claimed. We’re not on your world, buddy,” she stomped over to Sean and thrust a finger into his chest, not intimidated at all by his height or build. After months of malnutrition, he wasn’t quite as impressive as Hunter and Jace, though he was just as handsome. Devastatingly so.

And he was a Reader. She’d forgotten that, so used to Hunter being the only other one around. Crap on a cracker! He’d read her thoughts.

“See?” Sean pounced, reaching up to grab her pointy little finger. “You think I’m just as handsome as them. Does that mean I might have a chance?”

“
Argh!
” Arianna threw up her hands and threw a fulminating glare at her mates, who were laughing and absolutely useless. She snatched up her knitting basket and stomped off into Hunter’s room, slamming the door behind her. Aleah and Geoff chuckled from the doorway to the balcony.

“Well, now, she has a temper,” Geoff remarked, nodding with fatherly approval. “Good thing. She’s gonna need it!”

Ri sat on the bed, her back aching and her ego bruised, though logically, she knew that it should be anything but. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. Her emotions had been running rampant lately, but there was no excuse for the show she’d just put on for Jace and Hunter’s family. Her mother-in-law must think she was a complete idiot and crazy, as well.

Groaning, Arianna flopped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. A kind, brilliant, handsome man that she had an instant attraction to, had offered to challenge for her, to join their family group. Instead of welcoming him and being polite, she had flared up at him. To add insult to injury, she had caused Hunter and Jace to fight with the brother they had thought dead for all these years. The family should be rejoicing, not dealing with her emotional issues.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” she whispered to herself.

Brooding, she lay there for awhile, trying to ignore the sounds and smells of dinner in the making. She was starving. She was always hungry lately, though that was to be expected. But she didn’t want to go back out there, didn’t want to face those strangers that were now part of her intimate life, and would be for as long as she lived. She had made a complete mess of everything. Her throat started closing up on tears of frustration, but before she could let them loose, the door opened and Aleah entered the room. She shut the door behind her, leaning against it for a moment as the two women assessed one another.

Arianna’s head fell back down on the bed, and she sighed.

“Well, you think I’m nuts now, don’t you?” she asked. Aleah laughed.

“I think you’re pregnant, and I think you’re overwhelmed with meeting us for the first time. And I know that Sean took you quite by surprise with his offer. That boy is rather impulsive at times.”

Ri sat up, making room for her mother-in-law at the edge of the bed. Aleah sat down and took Ri’s hand in her own.

“Let me tell you a little something about our family.” She stopped, gathering her thoughts, then smiled and went on. “When I joined with Sean and Hunter’s fathers, it was much the same way. There were just the two of them, but they were so sweet, so attentive, and they simply swept me off my feet. I fell head over heels in love with them both, and we decided to wed.” She sighed. “Geoff was my mates’ younger brother. He had come home from another battle to rest and heal, and while he was there, we fell in love, as well. But then Hunter’s biological father was killed in action, when Hunter was just a young man. Siae was just a toddler, I’m not sure he even remembers Karl. Sean remembers Kess, his father, though. He was a man grown with Kess died. Shortly after we lost Karl, Kess’s transport reported heavy damage... I had lost two of my mates in one battle, and I had four young children to take care of, since Kale was Geoff’s.”

Ri watched the older woman, listening intently.

“When we got the news about Karl, I was heartbroken and grief stricken. We both were. Me for my mate, Geoff for a beloved older brother. When we heard about Kess, not even a month later, it nearly broke me. Hunter and Siae were Karl’s. Sean was Kess’s, but both men had raised my boys, loved them as their own, because they were. Brother-cousins, we called them when a label was needed. But among our people, that is the way of things. Having Geoff there eased the pain. It didn’t lessen my love for Karl or Kess. It couldn’t possibly. But he took his brothers’ three boys as his own, raised them as he knew his brothers would have, and trained them to be warriors like their fathers, like himself. When he went off to battle, I was left with Sean, Hunter, Siae, and Kale, with Jace on the way.”

Arianna waited, holding her breath, even though she knew that Geoff had been fine.

“To shorten this tale,” Aleah smiled, “I will say that others have been in my life, joined with us for a time, but were lost to us. Geoff has always been there, and I hope to the gods that he always is.”

“Why do you tell me all of this?” Arianna asked, truly curious. Aleah patted her hand.

“Because you seem to have the idea that what Sean is doing is wrong. And perhaps among your people it is. But you do not have to live by your people’s rules, unless you wish to.”

The door had opened at one point, and Hunter was leaning against the jamb, listening to his mother and mate talking.

“Mom, it’s funny that you should say that, since my little warrior is fond of telling her ladies just that very thing.”

“Then perhaps you should take your own advice?” Aleah asked Ri with raised eyebrows.

“Dinner is ready,” Hunter growled, whirling away from the doorway. Ri blinked at his behavior, but Aleah only chuckled.

“He is not happy with Sean’s wish to claim you, child. But it is, ultimately, your choice. And there really is nothing wrong with it, in our eyes. I have a feeling that my younger boys just want to keep you to themselves.”

“Well, there is that,” Arianna said, blushing. “They might have mentioned that at some point, yes.”

“And you don’t have to make up your mind tonight, Ri,” Aleah promised. “But I felt that you were having trouble with the situation. I sense your attraction to Sean, as I’m sure everyone else does, and I wanted to assure you that you are a part of this family. No matter what happens with Sean, by mating with Hunter and Jace you are and will always be my daughter, from this day forward.”

Ri felt tears prickling at her eyes and throat again, but fought them back, offering her new mom a smile.

“Now come,” Aleah said, rising and offering her hand to Arianna. “I believe we should feed you, before you pass out again.”

Having another woman around the house might have been nice, if the woman wasn’t also a Commander, a first officer and a physician. Early the next morning, Geoff and Sean went off with Hunter to learn the lay of the compound and get up to speed with Hunter’s plans for expanding the colony. As they left, they spoke of all the parts that might be salvaged from the three ships currently on planet, to possibly create one working vessel, should they need it.

Aleah left with Jace to inspect her son’s work at the med center, eager to look through his notes on the aborted psychic space projection experiments. She was incredibly intrigued by the differences between human and Thorsani brain patterns and psychic abilities, and could barely contain herself from begging Ri to come with them, so they could continue the research with new Readers available. Hunter and Jace had both put their feet down and firmly informed their mother that they had called a halt to the official experiments, at least for several more weeks.

The morning meal had been fast and frenetic, with conversation spinning around Arianna so quickly that all she could do was eat and listen. She didn’t stand a chance of actually joining the conversations right now, but the noise and the bustle reminded her so much of her own lost family that she felt a wonderful warmth spreading through her.

And when they left, the living quarters were much as they had been when her family was alive… noisy and frantic and crowded one moment, silent and empty the next. Arianna sank onto the couch on the balcony with a cup of tea, sipping it and looking out over the courtyard, gathering herself before she got up to clean.

So many people were here now!

She was trying to get used to having the extra mental energy around her, but it was hard. And there were some problems already. Bev and her family had come over the evening before so that Trey, Rom, and Erik could reunite with their aunt, uncle, and Sean. They had been heart-broken when they learned that their parents hadn’t been on the Adelphae, but had perked back up at the news that all of their families were aboard the other transport from near their territories. Hunter’s sister, Dasha, was the Commander of that ship. Ri furrowed her brow, wondering if she could bring that ship home, as well. Hunter, Sean, Aleah, and Geoff had all glared at her and said ‘No!’ at the exact same time. She sat back, in a bit of a huff, but slowly realized that it was because they cared about her, not because they were trying to dictate her life.

Ri chose to focus on other issues now.

Bev was not the only woman who had been blind-sided by the appearance of long-lost mates and children. Salaiya was beautiful, gracious, and patient with Bev’s many questions and rapidly changing emotions, but Ri sensed growing unrest among the other women.

She hurried to clean her kitchen and get down to the courtyard to be available for her girls, should they need her. But before she could finish cleaning, she was taken by surprise when Kim stopped by. Seeing that Arianna was working, Kim immediately joined in to help, talking about her situation the whole time.

“What am I going to do?” she wailed after spilling the story of the woman that her team had thought dead but now wanted them back. Kim was pregnant and the men truly cared for her. The other woman, Selie, was apparently very understanding, but Kim didn’t know how to approach the situation. “I mean, when it was just me and the guys, it was one thing. But this… I mean… how do we share them? Are we going to have schedules or something, for when we want to be with them?”

Arianna barely had time to brace before Kim threw herself into her mentor’s arms and wept. Ri hugged her, stroking her back and sending soothing thoughts and energy her way. The kitchen cleaned, Ri sent Kim out to the balcony with a cup of calming tea and put a kettle on for more. When there was another knock on the door from another bewildered and confused young woman, Arianna sighed and filled a bigger pot with water. She only hoped she had enough tea.