Cornering Carmen (5 page)

“I need to return to my planet immediately,” she added with a determined tilt to her chin as she faced him. “As in yesterday.”

*.*.*

Creon had listened in disbelief to his mother’s fears for the slender female down in her garden. She had told him of the girl’s desire to end her life. That something was hurting her. Tears had formed in her eyes as she told him of the whispered words of fear the girl expressed and about the painful cry that had been torn from the girl when his symbiot held her. The pain had been so intense his symbiot had absorbed some of it and was in distress.

“I have never seen anything pull a cry like that from a symbiot before,” Morian had said desperately. “The sound of it resonated with such pain and grief it tore at my own heart. Your mate is hurting. I do not know if she is ill or what but you must help her.”

Creon had looked doubtfully at his mother until the image of the slight figure clinging to his symbiot surfaced in his mind. Fear swept through him at the thought of his mate in pain. He needed to link with his symbiot so he could see what was wrong with her. If he needed to chance putting her through the transformation where the added healing qualities of his dragon would help her, he would. It would be dangerous but if there was a risk of her dying anyway he would have no choice. Creon knew that if there was something wrong with her and she did not make it, he would not live. Even without fully claiming her, their lives were intertwined together whether they wanted it to be or not.

“Are you sure,” he had asked his mother quietly.

“Yes,” Morian replied looking carefully at her youngest son.

He had suffered so much during the Great Wars. He was also the reason the wars had ended peacefully. Out of all her sons, she had worried the most about him. He had always been the quietest one of the five boys she had been blessed with. He had also been one of the most lethal in his protection of Valdier and their people. Not that her
other
sons would not have done what was necessary but Creon had sacrificed a part of who he was to ensure the successful end to the wars.

“She is a she-demon,” he had responded with a slight curve to his lips as he touched first his ear, then his eye, before his lip. “It is hard to believe anything could be wrong with her but I will make sure she is well,” he had added as he turned to walk back down the stairs.

“Creon,” his mother called out softly.

Creon paused at the door and looked back at his mother. “Yes.”

“Look beneath the mask she wears as protection and you will see the true girl underneath,” Morian advised quietly. “And be prepared for a fight unlike anything you have ever had to deal with before. She will not give in easily.”

Creon’s lips pulled up into a smile even as a hard glint came into his eyes. “I am well
versed
in the art of war,
Dola
. And, I never lose,” he replied in a steely voice.

Morian watched as her son descended the steps and moved toward where the human girl sat.
Her eyes followed the fierce figure until he stood over the smaller one sitting next to his symbiot.
As the girl rose, she saw the defiant stiffening of her body and the stubborn tilt of her chin.

Morian shook her head in concern. “I hope you are right, my son. For this is a battle that could take your heart as well as your life if you lose it.”

*.*.*

Creon rolled his shoulders to ease some of the tension in them and grimaced as he felt a new bruise. The meeting in the garden with the white-haired savage had gone about as
well
as the one in the transporter room. He finally had to tie her up and haul her ass out of the atrium kicking, screaming curses, and vowing to do more than emasculate him when she got free. His symbiot had been very protective of the female but at the same time worked to help him capture her.

She had looked at his symbiot with such a look of betrayal it had taken off almost immediately after he locked her in his suite of rooms. The sounds of glass breaking against the door as he pulled it closed showed her temper had not calmed down during the time he had carried her over his shoulder to
his living quarters
.

The one thing he discovered was she was not hurt physically. At least, that is what he hoped from the information his symbiot was able to tell him during the brief contact it had with her. It tried to send the
wrist bands
and necklace that it formed on her over her body to make sure but she had removed them, tossing them out the window before it could make sure.

Right now, he needed to get down to the conference room. He was supposed to meet with his brothers to go over the information he had learned so far. The newest information from Ha’ven was too disturbing to share yet. At least, until he could verify it. He was supposed to meet up with Ha’ven in a couple of days. Until then, it was best to keep what he suspected to himself. He wanted to tell his brothers about what he had learned from his trip to the Sarafin star system. He had met up with Vox, the leader of the cat-shifting race. Vox said that several of his most trusted warriors had approached him about a member of the Royal family of Valdier requesting a meeting with him. Vox had put off the meeting as he was about to disembark on a quick trip to one of Valdier’s
Spaceports
to broker a deal for more crystals and sniff out some troubling information about one of his councilmen who had disappeared suddenly while at the spaceport. Vox was concerned as the man was one of his most trusted friends.

Taking a deep breath, he focused back on his current situation. He had to attend the meeting downstairs but he needed to make sure his mate was safe first. He glanced at the closed doors where his mate could still be heard yelling dire threats of murder and mayhem.

A good ass whipping might be in store for his older brother while he was down there. It wouldn’t change anything but it would make him feel a little better. He rolled his shoulders again and motioned for the two guards who had been standing to the side, waiting for his instructions. Both of them were staring warily at the door as if expecting some insane beast to suddenly burst through it.

“Guard her with your life,” Creon instructed before he grimaced. “Dragon’s balls!” He muttered as another string of unladylike curses sounded through the door followed by another crash. “Just… make sure the door stays locked and she doesn’t get out,” he grounded out in exasperation.

The guards nodded their agreement to Creon before positioning themselves in front of it. Both winced when a small thump hit the door followed by a bellow to be released immediately or else. Creon shook his head in resignation before he turned and strode down the long corridor. It was going to be a very, very long day.

Creon could hear Mandra’s voice before he ever entered the conference room. From the sound of it, his older brother was in a foul mood. Creon entered the room just as Mandra was threatening to beat Zoran’s ass.

“You brought those females here! I should kick your ass good for that,” Mandra growled out in a low voice.

“I second that!” Creon said walking into the room and moving on silent feet to sit down at the beautiful rosewood table with a holovid display mounted in the center. “I’ll help you, Mandra, with total enjoyment.”

Creon couldn’t help but cast a dark look at Trelon and Kelan as he sat down in one of the plush dark leather seats. He rubbed a
weary
hand over his forehead before he sat back to watch his two older brothers clash. They were locked arm-in-arm, their muscles straining as each pushed against the other.

“I can’t find that damn female anywhere,” Mandra snarled out. “I should kick your ass for bringing her back!” He said looking darkly at Trelon as well.

Trelon raised his hand in defense. “Don’t blame me! I have enough on my hands. I can barely catch the one I have. She never sleeps, never shuts up, and has dismantled everything on Kelan’s warship and in my home at least a dozen times trying to see how it works.”

Kelan looked at Mandra and Creon with a long suffering look on his own face. “The female called Trisha is demanding I take her home to her father. She is a stubborn little thing. She refuses to give up the idea.”

“How are you doing, brother?” Kelan asked turning to look at Creon. “Did you ever find the short-haired she-demon? She was a pain in the ass on
board the
V’ager
. She fought every male she could and damned if they didn’t all fall in love with her for it.”

Creon face turned ridged with tension at the thought of other males fighting with his mate. “Yes, she is not happy with me right now. She insists on being returned to her planet immediately. I had to restrain her so I could lock her up,” he said tersely.

Zoran looked at Mandra and Creon in confusion. “I thought you two were going to find mates for the other two? Surely there are males who will take them,” Zoran said.

Creon was on his feet growling dangerously at Zoran before he could stop himself. His dragon fought to get loose at the idea of giving Carmen away to another male. Black scales rippled uncontrollably over his skin as he fought for control.

Zoran glanced back and forth between Mandra and Creon watching in amazement as both of his younger brothers fought for control. He had never seen either of them lose control like this before. It took a moment before he realized what had happened.

“You too?” Zoran asked quietly
,
looking between the two. “Both of you have claimed the females?”

Creon returned to his seat and stared moodily out the window with his arms crossed over his chest. No, he had not claimed the one called Carmen yet. He had finally learned her name after he downloaded the reports from the
V’ager
. He had read about her exploits on
board. How she antagonized the men on board to fight her. How she had barely been alive when she was brought aboard. Even with the advanced technology the Valdier had, Zoltin had written that he almost lost her more than once. She had been stabbed several times in the chest and side. The sound of Mandra talking about the long-haired sister broke through his thoughts.

“Yes,” Mandra was saying. “The problem is every time I get near her
,
she attacks me! Now, I can’t even find her. She broke my nose and took off. She is hiding somewhere and I haven’t been able to locate her yet.”

Creon’s head jerked up. “She broke your nose? When did she do that? I just thought she knocked you out,” Creon said with a frown trying to remember his brother’s condition when he found him unconscious. “Your nose didn’t look broken.”

Creon wondered if all the creatures on the planet Zoran landed on were like this. Females weren’t supposed to know how to fight. What was the purpose of having a planet full of male warriors if the females were just as vicious as the men could be?

Kelan grunted as he stood up and walked over to the small bar to pour a drink. “What are we going to do with them?”
He
asked dejectedly. “How can such a fragile, delicate species do so much damage and be so stubborn?” His voice faded away as all of them contemplated the sudden changes to their lives.

*.*.*

Several hours later, Creon stood outside the doors to his living quarters. He wondered vaguely if he had any more glass objects for his mate to smash. His symbiot stood at his side looking at the door as well. Both of them were a little wary of what they would find.

“Have you heard anything recently?” He asked one of the guards standing by the door.

“No, my lord,” the guard replied. “There hasn’t been a sound for the past hour or so.”

“I don’t think there is anything left for her to break,” the second guard said with a sympathetic look. “I also had no idea there were that many ways to curse someone either,” he added with a small grin of appreciation.

Creon ran a tired hand over the back of his neck. Standing here wasn’t going to make the task ahead any easier. He might as well face his mate’s fury. He had a feeling she wasn’t going to like it when she found out it was his rooms that she occupied.

He nodded his thanks to the two guards before he quietly opened the door. He was surprised that the floor wasn’t littered with broken shards of glass. He pushed the door open a little further and listened. All that greeted him was silence. He nodded to his symbiot to go ahead of him. He stepped inside, closed and locked the door with a swipe of his hand. The hidden panel in the wall glowed briefly to show it was locked.

Creon glanced around. Against the wall near the door was a small basket he had picked up during one of his many journeys. It was filled to the top with bits and pieces of broken pottery and glass. Next to it was a small broom that the servants used when cleaning his living quarters. The female confused him. His mother worried that she was fragile and in pain while all he saw was the fierce hostility and defiance.

His symbiot paused by the door to his sleeping quarters and looked in. It turned to him and shook its massive body before it bounded into the room. Creon walked slowly forward until he stood in the doorway of his sleeping quarters. Curled in a small ball in the middle of the bed was his mate. In the soft glow of the moon, he could make out her white-blonde hair. Strands fell along her cheek and curled at her neck. He could see the steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept.