Valan's Bondmate (4 page)

He stroked his fingers over the etching on the armbands his father placed on him the cycle of his birth. Part metal, part organic, they contained his DNA including his mating fever. He couldn’t remove them but they could be divided and shared with his mate—the first step in the bonding process. Once done it couldn't be undone. No matter what the Elders thought, he believed bonding with a Wrothian was a betrayal of his mother and sister.

The memory of his grief when they'd died sparked his temper, anger made him stand to walk away, but Borg stepped in his path. He stopped and slashed his hand across his chest—the signal warriors used before a battle meaning 'remember your honor’. It was a reminder of the promise to his father that he’d bond with a Wrothian and live. He sent Borg a deadly glare and the bastard actually grinned.

Enraged, he grasped her right hand, slid his armband over their clasped hands, and onto her upper arm. Beneath his fingers it tightened and absorbed a small part of her DNA. A moment later it separated into two bands. He slid the wider half back onto his own arm and repeated the process with the left armband. Her DNA flooded through his system igniting a flame within his veins so cold it burned. A grim smile curved his lips. "Tor, help you, little cat, for you are not a welcome mate." She moaned when he spoke. His DNA was already changing her body and preparing her to cool his fever and accept his seed. Satisfied she couldn't escape, he left her and found Cam waiting in the corridor.

Cam offered him one of the tankards of ale he held.

"Long life to you and your bondmate. May your sons be fierce and your daughters beautiful," Cam said.

Valan slammed his tankard against Cam’s, drained it, and swiped his arm over his mouth. "Let’s go get your mate."

***

Lia's neck throbbed with pain where the barbarian touched her with the alien object. She sat up and her long hair fell around her, gathering it with her hands, she pulled it over one shoulder. The room was huge. Flat black walls stretched high above her head, curving into a ceiling glowing with light. The floor beneath her bare feet was white, warm, and sparkled in the reflected light. From her cot she could see thousands of beds like the one she sat on.

Females, in varying states of dress filled the room. Some gathered in small groups talking, while others sat alone crying or staring into the distance. Two women pounded on the oversized doors loudly demanding to be released. A woman on the bed next to her frantically tugged at a golden band on her arm. Lia felt her own arms and was shocked to find a band on each. They were about an inch wide and made of a gold substance etched with an intricate design in platinum with red stones mounted along the center. She smoothed her finger over the design, and then tried to remove the band. It tightened around her arm startling her. When she let go it loosened. She tugged on it again and it tightened until she released it. A moment later Minda screamed her name and bounced onto the cot and hugged her.

"Minda, you scared me."

"Sorry, but I'm so glad to see you," Minda said. "I've been wandering around for units looking for a familiar face. Then I saw you and I was so happy."

Lia interrupted her breathless rush of words. "Take a breath and calm down." She grasped her shoulders and smiled. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"Well, no, not exactly. But, one of the other women said she thinks we’re on some kind of a ship. She heard the brute who abducted her say something about returning to the ship."

"A ship? Are you sure? It's awfully big."

"That's what she said." Minda slid to her feet and pulled Lia up beside her. "Let's walk around and see if we can find anyone else we know."

Lia nodded and looked at the bands on Minda's arms. "Your bands are different from mine."

"Are they? I didn't notice."

Lia touched one of Minda's bands then pointed to her own. "Mine are gold with platinum etching and I think the stones are red diamonds. Yours are gold with green etching of some kind and blue stones."

Intrigued, they looked at the bands on the women standing closest to them.

"None of them are the same."

"A few are gold but most are a dull silver, and the etching and gems are different." She pointed to the bands on the women closest to them, but before she could say anything more, the doors at the end of the room opened and two huge warriors entered.

A collective gasp came from the women who moved away and bunched up for safety. The warriors towered over the women. Their clothes were made of a black leather and seemed to absorb the light. The open edges of their vests were held together by dull black chains crisscrossing their massive chests, and revealing glimpses of hard muscles and flat bellies. Both warriors had a design of some kind tattooed on the sides of their heads where the hair was removed.

The warrior on the right had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He smiled at the women as if he was happy to see them. His companion was a bronze barbarian and the taller of the two. He had black hair and silvery-grey eyes. He didn't smile. The bands on his arms were a lot like hers and sent a chill of dread through Lia.  

She watched the dark barbarian as he surveyed the room and a spark of memory flared at the edge of her mind. She’d looked into those eyes and felt threatened. As his gaze swept over the women in the room they moved restlessly, like it had a physical effect on them. When his eyes landed on her she stared into his eyes, trapped like prey. The hair on the back of her neck bristled when she realized he was the barbarian who abducted her.

Shaken, she stepped back and bumped into Minda while his eyes ran over her from the top of her head to her bare feet. She crossed her arms over her breasts and his eyes flashed to hers and captured her gaze. The heat of a blush warmed her cheeks and she glared at him, and then smirked when she noticed the scratches on his neck and chest. As if he knew what she was thinking, he rubbed his hand over one of the chest wounds. Defiantly, she lifted her chin daring him to touch her again. A dark brow flicked up accepting her silent challenge before he stepped forward and called for their attention.

"I am Commander Eirikson. This is my First-in-Command, Cam Gunnarson. In a few moments you will be brought clothes and food. There are bathing chambers at either end of this room. In sixty micro-units you will be escorted to the auditorium. There you will be told why you have been brought here. Anyone who has not bathed and changed will be disciplined."

He sent her a threatening look before he and his companion left the room.  Lia breathed a sigh of relief when the doors slid shut. Around her the room remained quiet for a few seconds and then broke into chaos.

A dark haired woman stood on a cot and yelled, "I say we refuse to obey them until they agree to return us to our homes." Several enraged feminine voices rang out in agreement. A small blonde reminded them the leader promised punishment to anyone who disobeyed. Other women, exhausted with fear, collapsed on the beds and wept. A woman standing by Lia loudly proclaimed to anyone who would listen she intended to cooperate with their captors. Intrigued, Lia listened when the woman and several others discussed the situation.

Minda tugged on her arm and she hushed her. "Just a moment." She pointed to the women. "Listen. They're right. This might be the best thing that's ever happened to me. At least I've escaped Gorm." She hugged Minda. "Once we get to their village we'll escape and get you back to your mother. Maybe we'll find a place along the way where I can live and Gorm can't find me."

Minda nodded, then whispered, "Those two warriors were the ones who came to my room last night."

"They came to my room too, Minda." Then remembering her own experience with the dark one called Commander Eirikson, Lia asked, "Did they hurt you?"

"No, but I think the one with the brown hair drugged me. I remember waking up and seeing them then nothing more until I woke up here."

Lia touched the sore spot on her neck again as she watched a group of six or seven women pound on the doors and demand they be opened. When their demands were met, they scrambled back, screaming with fright. 

Several very young warriors pushed heavily loaded carts of food and clothing placing them in a wide aisle between the rows of beds. Then without a word, they turned and left. Lia waited a moment, then pulled Minda to the carts and handed her a food tray before she chose one. Together, they returned to her bed and ate while the other women grabbed trays.

"Do you think it's safe to eat the food?" Minda poked the unfamiliar food suspiciously and watched as Lia bit into the bread in her hand.

Seeing her friend’s distress, Lia was tempted to grab her throat and pretend to die. Instead she smiled. "I doubt they would've gone to all the trouble of abducting us if all they wanted to do was poison us." Thinking about their abductors reminded her of the scratches she'd seen on the barbarian. Even though she’d hurt him, he hadn't harmed her at least not physically.

Minda sniffed the food. "Maybe it’s drugged."

"Well, if it is, I intend to enjoy it before I pass out. I'm starving."

"How can you tease at a time like this? Aren't you scared?" Minda asked.

"Of course I am, but I'm not going to let them know it." She pointed at the door with the crust of bread in her hand. "Besides, by abducting me they've done me a favor."

Minda nodded. "True but what if we can't get away from these warriors?"

"We will. Wait and see." Lia bit into a purple fruit and thought about her escape.

Minda picked up the purple fruit and sniffed. "What do you suppose this is?"

"I don't know, but it tastes good. Sort of sweet and tart. I don't recognize any of these foods. These warriors must be from the dark side of the planet."

"I wonder why they shave their heads like that."

"Probably the same reason our sires tattoo the names of their dead enemies on their bodies. So they'll look fierce."

Lia finished her meal, returned her food tray to the cart and went through the pile of gowns, finally pulling one out to examine. The material was white, thin, and silky against her hand. There were two straps to go over her shoulders but the rest of the gown was a tube of stretchy material. Holding it against her body, and looking down, it was obvious it would cling to her body from her breasts to her ankles. Minda came over and she handed her a gown. "They're all the same size."

Minda held the gown against her body. "This thing will be too short and show my legs."

Lia clutched the gown in her hands and led the way to the bathing chambers. The room was unlike anything she’d ever seen. There were multiple openings along two of the walls. A woman from their village stood in one of them with water raining onto her from the ceiling. She waved when she saw Lia. "The water is so hot. It feels wonderful."

Lia smiled. "What makes it come out?"

The woman pointed to several buttons. “You push the one in the center to make it come out. The button on the right makes it cooler and the one on the left makes it hotter." She held up a couple bottles. "There’s cleansing oil and drying clothes in each little room. They thought of everything we’d need."

Other women began wandering into the chamber, so Lia quickly stripped out of her gown, tossed it into a basket and stepped into a cubicle, adjusting the water until it was just right. She opened a bottle, sniffed, and then used it to wash. After washing and rinsing her hair she dried off and then wiggled into the gown. Wandering over to a counter with mirrors, she chose a comb from one of the baskets lined up on a shelf and filled with hairbrushes, combs and ribbons. She worked the tangles out of her hair, and then braided and tied a gold ribbon around the bottom. Only then did she look at herself in the mirror. A soft blush covered her cheeks. On Zhang women wore loose gowns but this gown was so tight it hugged her body, outlining every curve.

Minda walked up behind her, tugging on the hem of the gown she wore. "I can’t go out in public like this. Look how short and tight it is."

"We don't have any choice. At least they gave us clothes." Lia grabbed Minda's hand. "Let’s see if we can find more women from our village."

She and Minda strolled around but their attention soon centered on a small group of women on the far side of the chamber. The women refused to eat or change their clothes. They glared at Lia and the rest of the women in the room, warning them they would be sorry they cooperated with their captors.

Too soon, the doors opened and the same young warriors who brought the food and clothes entered. They glanced at the small group of unbathed, rebellious women and then ignored them. The older one stepped forward. He had bands on his arms but his hair covered his whole head and Lia couldn't see any tattoos on him. He pointed to the floor and said, "Form two lines here."

Lia smothered her laughter. He couldn't be older than twelve or thirteen but acted like he had the power to make them obey him.

He frowned and continued to point at the floor. "Anyone who does not obey will be disciplined."

Lia took pity on him and moved to stand in front of him. She smiled at him and he began to smile back then firmed his lips and blanked his expression. Next to her Minda giggled. The other women lined up behind them. The young warriors turned and led them out of the room. 

The corridor walls were lined with huge, fierce looking warriors ready to grab any woman who panicked and tried to run away. The few who were foolish enough to try were chased down and caught. Then returned to the group by an amused warrior. Lia and Minda held hands and walked together, determined to be brave until they entered a humongous auditorium. Lia stopped and stared in amazement. Dozens of wide aisles slanted down toward the front of the room and ended at a large raised stage. Thousands of widely-spaced seats sat in a semi-circular shape facing a lighted podium.

Minda poked her in the back. "Move, Lia. This warrior looks like he's getting angry."

Lia glanced at him, saw him glance at the bands on her arms and step back as he motioned for her to keep moving. She smiled at his impatient frown, then with a slight shrug of her delicate shoulders she moved away. When she tried to enter the back row another warrior motioned her to continue to the front of the room. With Minda behind her, she descended the aisle and took a seat in the middle of the second row.