Triumphant (Battle Born Book 14) Read online

  “If I’d wanted a mate, you moron, I would have volunteered for the transformation program.” She calmed down enough to stop screaming, which made her voice more melodious. Still, her expression screamed defiance and her stance was threatening. “I will not mate with any alien. Now put me back. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  He didn’t have time, nor the patience, to argue with her so he used a verbal command Kage had helped him perfect over the years. “You will sleep.”

  She fought against the compulsion for so long he was tempted to repeat the command, but that could be dangerous. Once her mind succumbed, she might slip into a comma rather than ordinary slumber. She was seriously stubborn. Whoever ended up with this one would have his hands full. Finally, she swayed. Her eyes rolled back and Arton rushed forward, catching her as her knees buckled.

  He swept her up in his arms and placed her in a nearby seat, quickly securing her unconscious body with safety restraints. He had three more stops to make before he returned to the Relentless, so he needed to get moving.

  * * * * *

  Sedrik took several deep, calming breaths and still wanted to punch his fist through the nearest wall. Unfortunately, the surrounding walls were solid rock so all he could do was clench and unclench his fingers. His next instinct was to push the panic button and return to his ship where logic still existed, but a rescue at this point was counterproductive to his mission. He’d barely begun to unravel Rebecca’s secrets and find out what she really knew.

  All of Rodymia’s six deities enjoyed playing tricks on each other, but only Trinza, goddess of the night, amused herself at the expense of mortals. So Trinza herself must have given Rebecca Dayton DNA compatible with his.

  Rebecca was intelligent and spirited, both qualities he appreciated in females. Physically he found her very appealing. But her willingness to abandon logic entirely was exasperating. She’d felt the pull of bonding fever, abandoned herself to his touch, so how could she possibly come to the conclusion that he was “playing her”? Even if it was true, to some extent. He desperately needed information she possessed, but that was not why he’d “turned on the charm”. Finding out she was a potential mate had been as shocking to him as it had been to her.

  She’s afraid, silly boy. Think of it from her perspective. You’d be terrified too.

  His mother’s dear voice was so clear within his memory that it made him smile and release a bit of the tension coiling from the nape of his neck to his knees. She hadn’t been talking about Rebecca, of course. The two had yet to meet. But the past situation was similar enough to the present that the principle still applied.

  According to Skyla, his mother, people sometimes attribute bad intentions or ulterior motives to people or situations that frighten them. It was easier to push the person away than admit that they were afraid. Was that why Rebecca had turned on him so suddenly? Was she afraid of him? No, more likely she was afraid of becoming his mate and all the changes that would cause.

  Well, he’d never find out what had caused her radical mood swing if he continued avoiding the conflict. It wasn’t like him to retreat before the battle was won anyway. She’d just caught him so off guard that he’d had to retreat and regroup. It was an acceptable strategy, but now it was time to return to the battlefield.

  He expelled one last frustrated breath, then crept back toward the archway leading to the outer room. She sat on the sleeping bag, a blanket draped around her shoulders like a cape, legs drawn up to her chest. Her cheeks were still slightly pink and her hair was adorably mused, reminding him of the pleasure he’d given her not that long ago. Her troubled gaze lifted as he moved closer, but she said nothing.

  “My mother is a very wise woman,” Sedrik began without preamble. He pulled the cooler closer, arranging it beside the sleeping bag, yet far enough back that he could still face her. “She taught me many things down through the years.” He sat, careful to keep his boots off the bedding. “Some of it I wasn’t ready to hear at the time, but years later it made perfect sense.”

  “My mother officially died when I was nineteen, but her spirit went into the ground with my father. I was ten when he died, so I received no wise words from either of them.”

  Her tone wasn’t quite as waspish as it had been when he walked into the other room, but clearly she was still on the defensive. “I’m sorry you didn’t have more time with both of them.” Rather than continue his story, he waited to see how she’d react. If she countered each of his statements with some provoking barb, the conversation would have no purpose.

  Gradually, she relaxed. She lowered her legs, folding them in front of her as she huddled beneath the blanket. “Why did you bring up your mom?”

  “I have a point, but it will take a bit of background. Are you willing to hear me out?”

  She shrugged, but already curiosity warmed her gaze. “We’ve got around ten hours left to kill. You might as well entertain me.”

  “I’m not sure how entertaining you’ll find this, but hopefully it will be interesting.”

  A hesitant smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she nodded. “Interesting is still better than staring at the walls.”

  “I agree.” She didn’t reply, so he began his explanation. “There are a variety of relationships between males and females on my planet, but the majority fall into one of two categories, permanent and temporary. From what I’ve learned of humans, the concept of permanent relationships is all but extinct.”

  She shook her head. “The ‘concept’ is alive and well, we’re just not very good at making it happen. Most of us set out with happily ever after in mind, but it very seldom ends up that way. A lot of people my age don’t bother getting married at all. They live together for as long as it feels right, then move on to the next relationship.”

  He didn’t tell her how tragic he found that attitude. To be honest, many Rodytes weren’t any better. But he’d grown up with his parents’ deep and abiding love as an example. Their union flourished despite unimaginable odds. “My planet faces different challenges in our quest for—how did you put it—happily ever after. Because of our fondness for genetic manipulation, we now face the frustration of genetic compatibility.”

  Her brows drew together and her head tilted a bit, apparently something he’d said caught her attention. “The need for genetically compatible mates was more or less self-inflicted?”

  “Yes. Nature has a way of punishing those who stray too far from her original patterns.”

  “So that’s why being compatible with one Rodyte doesn’t mean the person is compatible with all of them,” she mused.

  “Correct. Our genomes have been altered in so many ways for so many generations that we’ve almost become individual species with some basic similarities.”

  She nodded, letting him know she understood what he’d said, but her question was unrelated. “Are you warm enough? There are a couple more blankets.”

  Pleased by her concern, he just shook his head. He wanted to join her on the sleeping bag and wrap the blanket around them both, but it had nothing to do with the cave’s chill. He wanted her pressed against his side, or snuggled in front of him with her legs wrapped around his waist. He didn’t care about the position. He just wanted to touch her.

  “Back to relationships on Rodymia,” she prompted.

  “Yes. Those with the means often hire investigators to locate those with compatible genetics. Those who can’t afford to hunt down potential mates are left with the sad reality of not being able to reproduce or spending their entire life hoping they stumble across that one person who triggers the pull in them.”

  “Are you elite? I thought all the battle born fell into the second category.”

  “We do. None of us are elite, but my parents are.” Not wanting to get into the complexities of his parents’ relationship, he rushed on. “When I earned my first command seven years ago, my father rewarded me by locating two compatible females. One of the females refused even to meet me. She w
anted nothing to do with any battle born male. The other, however, was curious about me and agreed to a face-to-face encounter. Her name was Izondra.”

  He could feel Rebecca pulling away, retreating into herself. How odd. Was she jealous? And why was he pleased by the possibility?

  “Did you like her?” She sounded hesitant, almost as if she dreaded the answer.

  “Her scent made it hard not to like her, but she seemed cold and secretive.” The emotions he read in Rebecca’s eyes became so convoluted he could no longer untangle them. “We courted for several weeks, but Izondra remained distant, so I suggested a transfer link. The mental connection is temporary and it would have allowed us to share memories and emotions. The exchange is interactive. She would have had as much access to my mind as I had to hers.”

  “She refused?”

  He nodded. Though years had passed since the incident, the memory still stung. “Izondra claimed I wanted to control her, to force her into a union even though she had serious concerns about binding herself to someone who was battle born. She knew my mother was a powerful psychic and, according to Izondra, everyone thought my mother was training me in secret.”

  “Was there any truth to Izondra’s claim, or was she just afraid of what you’d learn once you had access to her mind?”

  He chuckled, amazed by her perceptiveness. “You immediately came to the same conclusion as my mother, but I was baffled by Izondra’s sudden hostility. Everything had been going so well, and then all of a sudden I was a villain, not only unworthy of trust, but with malicious intent as well.”

  “Oh, I see.” Rebecca smiled, then quickly looked away. “This isn’t about your old flame at all. It’s about me.”

  “My mother helped me see that Izondra was lashing out at me because she was afraid, not just of the proposed link, but of what life would be like if she bonded with a lowly battle born commander.”

  With obvious reluctance, she dragged her gaze back to his. “You think I’m afraid of you?”

  “No.” He paused, staring deep into her eyes. “You don’t fear me personally, but I do think you’re afraid. Will you tell me why?”

  “Why am I afraid?” She laughed, shaking her head. “Why the hell wouldn’t I be? A few hours, not days, hours ago you were hunting me like an animal. Now you want to mate with me, to ‘protect and provide’ for me like some dutiful servant. That’s not rational.”

  She was still using sarcasm to push him away, maybe even hoping to trigger his temper. “I’m sorry it has happened so fast. That has to be confusing, but this wasn’t planned and I’m not trying to use it to further the battle born cause. Discovering that we’re compatible is separate from all the rest.”

  “I have only your word on that, and I don’t know you.” The sarcastic bite mellowed, leaving her tone flat and sad. “I have no way of knowing if anything you tell me is true, yet you expect me to accept it all on faith. I’m sorry, Sedrik, but I don’t trust anyone anymore.”

  “Do you trust yourself?”

  “I thought I did, until I found myself nearly naked and enjoying things I never should have let you do, never would have allowed under ordinary circumstances.”

  He sighed. She was being honest, so he needed to honor her point of view, even if he was frustrated by her attitude. “These are not ordinary circumstances. We’re not just a male and female forced to spend time together. We’re potential mates, so the rules are vastly different.”

  “I’m aware. The problem is this pull is like a drug. It alters our thinking and suspends our inhibitions so that we end up doing things that… This is how people end up in Las Vegas waking up with a stranger in their bed.”

  There was a vast difference between the pull and temporary intoxication. They wouldn’t sober up in the morning and regret their actions. The pull would grow stronger, making them irresistible to each other until they got as far away from each other as possible or finally bonded.

  She wasn’t ready for that particular analogy, so he said nothing as he struggled for a new strategy.

  “This transfer thing,” she said a few minutes later. “Is it something we can do?”

  The question surprised him. He’d brought up the incident because of the similarity in their reactions, not because he wanted to create the bond with her. But it wasn’t a bad idea. “It is, but you need to know that exchanging emotions could make the pull stronger.”

  She shivered and her tongue peeked out to wet her bottom lip. “I’m not sure that’s possible.”

  Desire cascaded through his body, stirring the smoldering embers of his aching need. He cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably on the cooler. “What are you hoping to learn?”

  “Everything, hell, anything.” She paused, tensing as something occurred to her. “If you allow me access to your memories, can you manipulate what I see?”

  “No. There are no lies, no deception within this sort of exchange.”

  Her gaze, which had been reflecting curiosity, suddenly turned cunning. “And you’ll have access to my mind as well?” He nodded. “Can you go anywhere you like, or can I choose what I show you?”

  “It can be set up either way.” What was she planning? She clearly had some sort of mischief in mind. “If you’ll feel more comfortable passing me specific memories, I can leave your mind shielded.”

  That seemed to surprise her. “You would really allow me to wander around in your mind, to look at any memory that caught my attention?”

  He shrugged. “My life has been rather boring. My childhood was happy and uneventful. Izondra is about the most embarrassing thing that happened in early adulthood, and I already told you about her. The rest has been endless routine, lots of battles, training, the occasional promotion, and combating boredom. Why do you think we’re fighting so hard to make our lives better?”

  Rebecca stared at Sedrik for a long, silent moment, unsure what to think. He seemed sincere, earnest, yet her past had taught her that looks could be deceiving and everyone lied. This would be a test in more ways than one. If she was able to change one of her memories as she passed it to him, then she’d know he was full of shit. But if her memory reached his mind unchanged, despite her best effort, she’d know she could trust what he showed her.

  “I want to try it.” She lowered the blanket and patted the sleeping bag in front of her. “It’s not like we have anything else to do anyway.” Other than finish what they’d started last time he joined her on the sleeping bag, of course. Her nipples tingled and her core clenched, obviously liking the idea.

  “Are you sure?” Emotion textured his voice, but his careful expression made it impossible to identify exactly what he was feeling.

  She nodded. “So much of what I know is tainted by RF propaganda. I want to see things from your perspective for a change, maybe bring some balance to my ideas.” That was true, but she was far more interested in Sedrik personally. If they really were locked in some sort of bonding fever, she needed to know a whole hell of a lot more about him.

  “All right.” He sounded a bit hesitant, as if he didn’t quite believe her. That was only fair, after all, he’d expected her to believe with nothing but his word as evidence. He pulled off his boots then mirrored her position. Their knees touched, but he rested his hands on his thighs rather than touching her face or reaching for her hands.

  She placed her hands on her legs too, waiting for instructions.

  “Close your eyes. You’ll feel me brush against your mind and then a quick sting as I establish the link.”

  Her lids started to close then flew back open. “If Rodytes can’t work magic, why do you know how to do this?”

  “Learning how to create and maintain links is part of puberty for Rodyte males. It’s the male’s responsibility to claim the female, so we must know how to instigate mental connections.”

  He made it sound so simple. Still, it was all just words to her. She’d never experienced anything like what he described. “Do you just instinctively figure it out
or did someone teach you?”

  “It’s largely instinct, but my upbringing was unusual.”

  “Because your mother trained you in secret just like everyone thought?” She laughed at his startled expression. “Rumors generally have some basis in fact. They’re just twisted and distorted as they’re passed along.”

  “There was truth in the rumors,” he admitted. “She taught me some basic skills in the hopes that I would be able to use them one day. That day has yet to come.”

  There was much more to the story than he was telling she was sure, but she didn’t want to complicate what they were trying to accomplish by asking him a bunch of questions about his mother.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  “I suppose.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Nothing happened for several seconds, then a strange sensation occurred near her temple. Stronger than a tingle, yet not quite a prickle, the sensation intensified suddenly and she gasped. As he’d said, there was a fast sting, then warm, soothing energy flowed into her mind. “Is that you?”

  I’ll just be a moment. I need to anchor the link.

  Her eyes flew open again. “I heard you in my mind. How did you do that?”

  His eyes were already open, or still open. She wasn’t sure he’d bothered to close them in the first place. But then, he was used to this sort of thing. The link has to stay active for us to be able to speak mind to mind. I thought you wanted me to close the door on my way out, so to speak.

  She wasn’t even sure why the possibility of telepathy appealed to her, but it did. Still, she needed to know whether or not she could trust him before she gave him unrestricted access to her mind. “No. Let’s start with the basics. You just surprised me.”

  Sorry. Habit. Our com-bots make many conversations feel like telepathy. I forget everyone is not used to the sensation. His gaze became unfocused for a second, then he smiled. “All done and your shield is restored. You can push or pull whatever you like through the barrier, but I can’t enter unless you let me in.”