Theron Destiny (Brides of Theron) (18 page)

She nodded her head and tried to give him a small reassuring smile. Her insides felt like mush now that the tension had left her body. She was no longer hungry and just wanted to go back to their quarters. “Can we go back now?” she asked. The day was ruined now and she just wanted to go back to the only place on the ship she felt completely safe.

He looked at her and squeezed her smaller hands, “I think that is a good idea. We can take the food back to our place. It’s kind of noisy in here anyway.” He was trying in vain to lighten the mood and put her fears to rest but it didn’t seem to be working. He gathered up their food and grabbed her bag with the dress in it, then finally her hand and led the way back through the dining area out into the mall. He regretted having to lead her back through the mall in her present state, but they needed to use the transportation tubes on the other side of the mall to get to the living quarters. Once back at the tubes and safely inside, Zeb pulled Avery into his arms. She let out a huge breath that she seemed to have been holding she since first spotted Lars.

“I’m sorry.” She mumbled into his shirt.

He pulled back and looked down at the top of her head. He lifted her chin with his index finger and thumb, “Sorry for what, my love?” He searched her eyes for an answer.

“He is never going to leave me alone is he?” Her words were so soft he had to strain his hearing in order to make out what she said. The look on her face just about broke his heart.

“I will protect you with my last dying breath. You do not need to worry so much. I promise nothing will ever happen to you.” He leaned forward a placed a kiss on the lips that he loved to taste so much. Her lips quivered beneath his but she didn’t pull away. Without pulling his face away from hers, Zeb gave his command to the computer and before Avery could utter another sound Zeb had her locked in his embrace as the transportation tube shot off to their appointed destination.

Chapter 17

Lars stormed to his quarters after leaving the dining area. He had to come up with some kind of a plan to get his hands on that Earth woman. He was determined that he would have his revenge on her with or without Hano’s help. He was so close this time he could almost taste her fear. He entered his quarters and proceeded to kick the trash can that stood next to the door. “Damn it!”

“Hey watch where you are kicking things man!” Hano appeared from behind the wall. “What is wrong with you?” He went and flopped down on the sofa that sat in the middle of the room and waited for Lars to respond.

Lars looked at Hano and balled his fists, “I almost had her. If only I had had a few more minutes, I could have gotten her out of there. But no, Zeb shows up right on time, as usual. There has to be some way that I can get hold of that bitch and get her away from Zeb.” Walking to the sofa opposite Hano, he sat down and put his head in his hands. “We have got to come up with something and soon. I want off this ship and that earthling is coming with me.”

Hano leaned forward, “You have got to distract the commander some kind of a way. Get him out on a mission or something.”

“That’s easier said than done. He rarely leaves her alone and when he does she is locked their quarters.” Lars was becoming more agitated by the minute.

  “Why don’t you ask Gatton for help? You made a deal with him. It can’t hurt to ask. Maybe he can finally get us off this Gods forsaken ship.”

“I knew I kept you around for something Hano. That is an excellent idea. That way it will look like the Drylons took her and with Zeb occupied with the Drylons that earth woman will be unprotected.” Lars got up to grab his transmitter and opened up the frequency that he had secured so that he and the emperor of the Drylons could communicate on board the ship.

A voice came through that gave even a man like Lars the chills to hear, “Why are you bothering me? I do not recall making a request to hear from you at this time.  This better be worth it.”

Lars and Hano both swallowed while listening to the emperor speak over the transmission line. “Emperor Gatton. It is my greatest pleasure that you have answered my call. I am requesting your help in return for information.”

Silence was the only thing coming from the other end of the transmission line until both men heard that low voice, “What kind of information are you talking about and what do you need help with. You had better not be wasting my time warrior.”

Lars looked as if he was going to smile when he said, “Emperor, I need help in gaining my revenge against the Earth woman who belongs to the Commander of the Theron Mother ship. The information that I provide you with will give you a great advantage over the Therons.”

The Emperor seemed much more interested now as he responded quickly, “Tell me more.”

“I have been informed that the mother ship will be leaving soon and returning to our home planet. As you know the ship must travel through a series of worm holes in order to return. I can provide you with the exact locations of the worm holes that the ship will use. This way you can plan an attack on the ship as soon as it comes out. The Therons will be taken by complete surprise. With the ship under attack and in chaos, I will be able to have the time I need in order to take the woman off the ship and away from her mate.”

“Interesting warrior, very interesting.” The Emperor’s curiosity was now at an all-time high. He might not ever get such a wonderful opportunity to attack the Theron scum. To have the upper hand of total surprise was something that he was not willing to overlook. “Find out when the ship is leaving along with the flight plan data. I will help you in your cause warrior, but let me warn you in advance. If this is some kind of trap or your plan backfires in any way, I will hunt you down until you take your last dying breath.”

Lars smiled, “This is no trap, at least not for you Emperor. I am your servant and wish to only serve you. I will find out the information you need and contact you as soon as I have it. Thank you, Emperor.” With that, the transmission was cut off. Lars turned to Hano, “We need to find out when this damn ship is leaving and what worm holes they will be using. That Earth bitch is finally going to pay nice and slow for her actions against me. She will see what a real Theron warrior can do in the art of torture.”

“But how are we going to find out which worm holes they are going to use. You know that only a select few will have that information.” Hano stood looking at his friend who now had that murderous look in his eyes.

Lars turned his threatening look on Hano, “You are either with me or against me.  So, are you with me on this or do I need to dispose of you, too?”

“Lars, are you seriously asking me that? You know that I am with you. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t. You know I always have your back. We need to figure out a plan on how to obtain the information that we need. Otherwise, the Emperor will have both of our heads.”

“The only head I want is the woman’s. Oh, what I plan on doing with that head!” Lars chuckled and slapped his friend on the shoulder, “I am sorry my friend. Come, let’s go get a drink and start our planning. We only have a short amount of time before the ship leaves and we must have that information.”

“Zeb, you have got to tell her. You have no choice. The ship is leaving in less than a week and she will find out one way or another.” Zane was looking at his longtime friend with face full of concern.

Zeb drew in a long breath and held it for a moment before slowly releasing it and replying, “I know, I know, but she is going to be so upset. I told her once before that we would be traveling back to our home planet but I hadn’t expected it to happen this soon.”

Zane stood up to leave the ship’s main control deck and slapped his friend on the shoulder, “Just tell her and get it over with. There is not much she can do. It will be easier for her to hear it from you. Good luck my friend.” With that Zane left Zeb standing in the middle of the control deck facing the window that overlooked little blue and green ball that was called Earth.

Zeb took another deep breath and looked around the control room to make sure that everything was complete and in good hands. “Ceran, I will be in my quarters if you need me.”

“Yes sir, Commander.”

Zeb left the control room without another word spoken. He had to tell Avery that the ship would be leaving Earth’s moon in a few days and that he was uncertain when they would return or even if they would in the future. Zeb had gotten word via the council that the Drylons were starting to stir up trouble back in their own galaxy Odin. All ships were being commanded to return as soon as possible. Zeb had no choice but to follow through with his orders regardless of Avery’s feelings. He just didn’t relish the thought of having to tell her that they were departing sooner than he had anticipated. Things between them seemed to finally be going in the right direction. Avery was accepting her new life with him as his mate and as a result, his life couldn’t be more perfect. Now this unexpected turn of events was probably going to upset her greatly. As much as he hated the thought of bringing her and the other females with them back into a possible dangerous situation with the Drylons, he hated the thought of leaving her behind even more. He never again wanted to be alone without her.  He also knew that the other warriors felt the same way about their mates. These women were all much too precious to lose now.

Zeb made his way back to their quarters and stood outside the door a moment before opening the door. It was quiet inside and the lights were dimmed. He assumed that Avery must be asleep in their bed since it was rather late. Due to the event with Lars, he had switched shifts with Brylon so that he could take care of some business that he had otherwise been neglecting. Recently he wanted to spend every waking moment of the day with his female. He could not get enough of making love to her again and again. He just couldn’t get enough of her, period. After their return from the mall the other day he had made love to her slow and easy. The fear he had seen in her eyes when she was looking at Lars nearly drove him insane with anger. Lars was becoming a big problem, especially to him, that he needed to take care of quickly. Avery would never feel completely safe until Lars was transferred and off the ship permanently.

In fact, the Lars problem was what he had been working on this evening when he had gotten the call from the council to return to their home planet. Turns out, they had intercepted a transmission that was sent out from the enemy, a message suggesting that the Drylons were once again planning an attack against Therons. The Therons were not willing to sit by and wait to see if the information was true or not since the last attack had taken the entire galaxy by surprise. All ships were ordered to return to Theron as soon as possible, no matter where they were or what mission they were previously assigned. The leaders on their planet were not going to let the Drylons devastate their world again nor would they be taken by surprise. They had come too far and had rebuilt too much of their world to let the Drylons destroy it yet again.

He remembered how the Therons and several other races had suffered extreme losses at the hands of the Drylons and their Emperor. How Gatton had broken a peace treaty that had been effect for hundreds of years between the Drylons and Therons. The effects of his war on them had caused most of their females to perish or become enslaved. As of now, less than twenty percent of their female population remained which was why the Theron warriors were out searching the universe for compatible mates. Now that they had finally found a planet that held the key to their survival, they were once again being attacked.

But for now, Zeb had the unpleasant task of telling his mate that they were leaving. He made his way to the bedroom which was also cast in dim lights. Lying there in the middle of the huge bed was his life mate and that damn rewa. He was actually a bit jealous of the rewa right now since it was curled up against her chest asleep. Gods how he loved holding her in his arms at night, to feel her warm curvy body pressed up against his. Just the thought of her body pressed up against him made his blood start to stir. Walking to the bed he sat down next to her and leaned over so that he could caress her cheek. He brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen forward over her face while she slept then softly ran his fingers across her cheek. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip and leaned further in so that he could gently kiss her awake. She sighed as he pulled back from her. He liked to watch her sleep. Unfortunately, this time he had to wake her up.

“Avery, my love. Wake up.” He ran his fingers down her cheek again and watched as her eyes lids slowly started to flutter. She blinked her eyes as few times to focus them and finally realized what had awoken her.

Smiling she said, “Hi” in a husky sleepy voice. She placed her hand over the hand that was covering her cheek.

“Hello, my little one.” he replied with a slight smile. She drew her eyebrows in together in confusion.  She saw the pensive look on his face.

Pulling herself up into a sitting position she asked, “What’s wrong?” Zeb had let his hand fall to the bed as she sat up and stared at him.

“I need to speak to you about something and I am afraid that you will not like it.” His eyes never left her face as he spoke to her. He didn’t give her the opportunity to reply and continued to speak, “I have received word that the ship is to return to our world immediately.”

Avery’s eyes grew big as his words sank in as to what he was meaning. “What does that mean exactly Zeb?”

He watched her response and stood up and moved away from the bed, “It means that within a few days this ship will be returning to Theron.”

“No, I am not ready to leave yet. You can’t do this. I don’t want to leave. You said we would eventually travel to your world but why right now? We can’t leave yet. I haven’t spoken to my aunts yet to let them know.” Her voice was growing louder with panic. She had quickly gotten out of the bed and had come to stand behind Zeb as he gazed out the bedroom window. Out there the earth was slowly turning on its axis while inside the tension in the room was beginning to build. He knew she wasn’t going to take this news lightly.