Between Two Tiron

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An Ellora‟s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Between Two Tiron

ISBN 9781419920295

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Between Two Tiron Copyright © 2009 Rebecca Airies

Edited by Helen Woodall.

Photography and cover art by Les Byerley.

Electronic book Publication March 2009

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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places,

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imagination and used fictitiously.

Between Two Tiron

Rebecca Airies

To my sisters, Ronnie, Debbie, and Barb, thanks for listening, nodding and cheering me

on when I grumbled about these “cats”. I love you all.

The insistent buzz of her communications alarm woke Lina from a light sleep. She rolled

over on the soft bunk. Brushing her wavy blonde hair away from her face, she swiveled a nearby

monitor around so that she could see the readout. The ID signal showed a familiar origin at

Central Command, an agency that held jurisdiction within human-controlled space over hate

crimes, terrorism and many other areas.

So much for the vacation
, Lina thought as she opened the com-link and, with a groan,

rolled to her feet, stretching and yawning.

The smooth silver-gray floor was cold beneath her bare feet. The entire ship had been

customized for convenience and use—from hidden storage space to the motion-sensitive camera

which would follow her wherever she went within the ship. “Cadian here, are you just checking

up on me, Callie, or is there a reason for this?”

Dark-haired and slender, the cheerful image of Callie Meuru grinned at her from a cushy

office in Central Command‟s headquarters. “There‟s a reason, but it shouldn‟t interrupt your

vacation too much.”

Lina rolled her eyes and began pacing toward the front of the ship. Her long legs quickly

crossed the distance and she slid into the pilot‟s seat. As if she would believe that avowal—she

hadn‟t yet received a simple quick mission from them. Idly, she checked the readouts on the

advanced instruments on the gray panels in front of her. The last time Callie had said something

like that, Lina had been stranded for two months, playing nursemaid and guardian to six

scientists at an isolated base until Command personnel could get there.

Lina wasn‟t an agent for Central Command, just someone they found useful at times.

Although she was a shifter, she had no qualms about working for them. They paid well and when

she‟d first started taking assignments from them, she had badly needed that money.

“What is it this time?” Lina settled back into the padded black pilot‟s seat waiting for the

worst. If this was just a normal mission, they would have sent one of their own agents on it. She

got the assignments where they didn‟t want to be directly connected to the mission or the ones

that required a shifter touch.

“A woman on a planet known as Nariu Minor, a large world in Shifter-Protected Space,

has gone missing. She was there with a group of researchers studying the ruins on the planet.”

Callie paused and thought for a moment.

“Why do you need me for a disappearance?” Lina narrowed her eyes. She knew there

was more to this than just a mere missing person report. Missing personnel was a local issue.

Central Command wouldn‟t even be part of it if someone was simply missing on that planet.

“One of the shifter patrols will take care of it. They certainly won‟t welcome interference.”

“A distress call has come in from her. When I heard it, I thought of you.” Callie smiled,

an annoying this-is-just-your-type-of-mission encouraging smile.

That drew a groan from Lina. A woman went missing in Shifter-Protected Space usually

for one reason and it wasn‟t pirates. This woman had been chosen by a shifter as his mate and

had run. Lina would rather go up against a shipload of the worst space scum in the known

universe than mess with a shifter mating. Everyone who entered Shifter Space was informed

before they crossed the border that they would be expected to obey shifter law. In the case of

women, that meant knowing that should they be the mate of a shifter male they could be claimed.

“Show me the distress call.”

Callie nodded, a satisfied smirk crossing her face. “Here it is. Audio only, no vid on this

one. The method she used was archaic.”

“Help me…” The sound of panting breaths and breaking foliage—as if the woman was

running through a forest or an overgrown area—came clearly over the link. “You‟ve got to come

get me. They‟ll come after me. I drugged them, but they know where our camp is. I can‟t go

there. They took me from there.” The woman‟s voice was thready and high-pitched. She sounded

panicked, almost incoherent. “They‟re animals. Please, send someone for me.”

“It sounded as if she was dealing with one of your kind.” Callie lounged back in her plush

blue-gray chair.

“Well, she
is
probably dealing with a shifter. The message did seem to indicate that. My

kind, I don‟t know. I can go there, look for her.” Lina pursed her lips as she considered the

difficulties of this mission. There were obviously some shifters there or somewhere nearby,

which could make things difficult.

“You don‟t think you can find her?” Callie raised her brows, but her smile taunted,

challenged.

“If the man is already mated to her when I get there, she won‟t want to leave. I won‟t try

to take her from him. As long as she isn‟t mated, any help I give her won‟t get me killed.” Lina

exhaled heavily.

“Why would they kill you?” Callie frowned, clearly perplexed.

Lina ignored that question. Trying to explain the seriousness of a shifter mating to a

non-shifter was useless. “If she‟s still free and not mated, I‟ll get her off the planet and

rendezvous with one of your ships. As I‟ve told you before, even getting her off the planet

probably won‟t help in the long run. He‟ll find her.”

“We‟ll get her out of Shifter Space. She‟ll be safe if you can get her to us.” Callie‟s

cheerful smile and perky attitude radiated confidence.

“Shifters are persistent. I‟ll need everything you have on her. If she‟s hiding, I‟ll need to

know where she‟s most comfortable.” She doubted Callie believed or even grasped just how

intent a shifter male would be in the search for his woman. He would come after the woman he

considered his mate. Tracking her across galaxies was normal for a shifter male.

The transmission of the woman‟s files as well as those of the people with the research

group came almost immediately. The files contained no information about the shifters. Lina

frowned at that, but it was normal for Central Command. To them, a shifter was a shifter. They

didn‟t differentiate between the various groups. They‟d have more success with their missions if

they started noticing which shifter they were facing. Different types of shifters had different

behaviors, abilities and tolerances for certain behaviors.

She began preparing to go into Shifter-Protected Space. It wasn‟t only the rescue mission

that was risky. For her, just being found in Shifter Space could be the end of her freedom. She

put her ship, a Sendar 4 shuttle, into stealth mode. If there was a group of shifters on that planet, they had a ship. She wouldn‟t give them advance warning of her presence.

“The researchers will cooperate in any way you ask. They‟ve been told an agent is being

sent to investigate but not when, who or how,” Callie advised. “Be careful.”

Lina shook her head as the screen went blank. Callie didn‟t understand. She had just told

Lina to be careful after assigning her to retrieve a woman most likely chosen as a mate by a

member of an unknown group of shifters. With shifters, careful wasn‟t enough.

Lina studied the files on Nariu Minor. From the artifacts logged by the researchers, she

knew that it had once been a shifter world, but she couldn‟t decipher which group of shifters

from the images of the artifacts. There was a complete list of the research team as well as some

information on each member. The file didn‟t contain much information about the location of the

camps. She would have to do some preliminary scans of the planet to get better information on

the topography and just who was where when she arrived there.

The prep work would be extensive and she wouldn‟t contact the researchers until it was

done. After she spoke with them, the chance that her presence could become known to the

shifters rose dramatically. And she didn‟t have the faith Callie seemed to have in the scientists‟

cooperation. Researchers, just like everyone else, had their own agendas. She had to be prepared

for a fast retreat if it was needed.

On the journey to the planet, she sipped at some chilled juice while she studied the files

on the missing woman. Nerisa Regal had an interesting history. She had spent most of her

childhood with her father, a researcher. The woman was accustomed to primitive conditions and

knew how to survive. That would be a plus in eluding those who hunted for her.

If Nerisa hadn‟t been recaptured, Lina would wager she‟d taken refuge in some ruins. She

had done that with her father and some other researchers when a flood had swept away their

camp and again when a freak storm had made it impossible to return to camp on another

expedition. That was if she had managed to elude those who would have tried to find her.

That was a big if. Even the best trained and most experienced person found that eluding a