Forbidden (A Serian Novel) (2 page)

Anara automatically put off the 'don't screw with me' vibe and that was the way she liked it. One heartbreak had been enough for a lifetime.

"Everything will be so much better on Earth. You won't be property. It's where we belong. Our human half needs to explore Earth."

"I can't wait for the sunshine. I've been reading about night and day and then there's the Ocean. I want to stick my feet in the sand and let the water splash over them." Laili gleamed.

All Anara wanted was to find her family. The others that Abarron raised made it on the ship to Earth and she still had no idea if they managed to get there or not. The night Abarron had them ready to
go, the ship was ambushed before he could get Anara onto it. He told the pilot waiting to leave and then forced Anara to hide as he distracted the Antikas that came to take him.

That was the last time she saw Abarron and she swore she'd get to Earth and find the others. After she accomplished this, maybe she could even enjoy Earth. "I'm sure it will be everything we imagine
and more. Let's get some rest and tomorrow we'll go test the scramblers."

Chapter Two

Ryder couldn't move as he watched the female run off. He looked behind him and knew why she ran away. The image of his father was enough to scare anyone, and it didn't help that Ryder looked just like him.

He held his hands up to see that they weren't glo
wing any longer. Strange. When he'd grabbed her arms, a white glow formed where they touched until he released her. He didn't think she’d noticed.

It took a moment before he followed. He kept to the shadows and decided against using his Jatron abilities to track her. There was no reason when he could somehow see her energy without the use of his gift.

He didn't know why he followed her but there was something about the blue-eyed Serian that pulled him to her. Even without using his abilities, he knew she was a Jatron. A strong one.

What if she could see him just the same? If so, then she'd know he was following and if someone found out about his strange attraction to her, especially his father, she'd be in trouble. His father would not hesitate to
kill her just to keep Ryder alone. Punishment because of what his mother did.

He also didn't want to frighten her. If she thought he was Jacrar or anything like the Commander, then she would have reason to fear him. The only difference was that he had brown eyes compared to his father's black ones.

He stopped moving, knowing he had no right to chase her, no matter how strong the need to keep going.

His com beeped and he tapped the small commun
ication piece in his ear. "Yes?"

"Ryder, you need to be careful. I just overheard some guards saying that Jacrar has a Jatron tracking you. He's watching your every move and reporting to him." Gage was Ryder's only friend and another Jatron who worked under his father

Ryder closed his eyes and opened himself to search the surrounding areas. There. Two buildings down a Jatron hid. "I understand."

There was nothing he could say when the other Ser
ian was so close.

"I'm coming in now." Ryder didn't wait for a r
esponse before clicking off and heading off to finish his work.

With it being the last day of the market, those from other planets were packing up to head back home. Ryder enjoyed speaking to some of them, but he was glad it would be another few weeks before seeing them again. It also meant he was off work until then.

As the son of the Commander, he shouldn't be stuck on patrol. Ryder didn’t expect to be pushed to the top without working hard. Unfortunately, his father didn't seem to care how good Ryder was. He'd never let him excel.

"Ryder!"

He dropped his head forward and groaned. Not what he needed. He still pasted a smile on his face and spun around as the young Liorg female came toward him way too fast. As fast as he ran toward him, he readied for the impact of her small body.

She did slow and stopped right in front of him. The small horns on her head were cute but eventually they would be nearly as long as his arm and nothing he wanted to be near. The young female had a crush on Ryder ever since he’d rescued her from a brawl between a Grimen and another Liorg. The two males would have trampled her if Ryder hadn't jerked her out of the way.

He never expected to have an admirer. A short distance behind her, her father glared at him. Nothing would ever happen between him and the Liorg. She was too young and he just wasn't interested in Liorgs. Or really any female.

Well, maybe the Serian he ran into earlier. But not
hing could ever happen between them and he needed to forget her. He didn't even know the female or what she looked like.

"I just wanted to tell you goodbye. My father said he would not be bringing me here anymore." Before Ryder could respond to the young girl, she rose onto her toes and kissed him on the lips.

Ryder stood there shocked as she pulled away and ran back toward her father. It wasn't possible, but Ryder swore her father's horns grew another few inches.

"Nice one." Two Cryoks walked by laughing. "And they say I could start a war. This guy just let a Liorg's daughter kiss him.
In front of her father!"

The other Cryok laughed as they kept going.

It wasn't one of his better days, that was for sure. Time off hadn't come quick enough.

In under an hour, the rest of the traders were gone and it was time for Ryder to call it a night. The moon was already gone, yet
he still couldn't shake the mystery female from his mind. Maybe he'd dream of her instead of the reoccurring nightmare he'd been experiencing. He could only hope.

A wave of fear filled him and he looked around tr
ying to understand where it came from. It didn't take long to figure out it wasn't his emotions, but the fear of the female he could still sense. He closed his eyes for a split second to find her exact location.

As soon as he knew where she was, he sprinted in the same direction he'd followed her before. Outside the ridiculously small home, two soldiers were struggling with her and one held a half-breed female with chopped off hair slung over his shoulders
as he took off. Ryder stepped forward to help his mystery female until he saw the blue streak of her weapon. One crashed to the ground, and the other followed right after another spark hit him. He couldn't move as he realized she just knocked out two of his father's soldiers.

It didn't take long for the anger to take over. Jacrar sent them, because of whoever he had following Ryder. He was ruining the female's life and his
father's only reason was to make his life miserable.

The hood still covered her face and he tried to see if she was actually a half-breed. Ryder wanted to go to her, but couldn't. It was his fault she was attacked and he had to fix it. Maybe he'd be able to convince his father and he could see if her friend still lived. He couldn't let her be killed. No matter
who she was.

****

"The girl had curly blonde hair. I was unsure at first, because her powers radiate from her, but once she removed her cloak, I knew instantly that she was a half-breed." The young male smiled. "She's his Lamira."

Jacrar grinned
when he heard the news. He'd taken care of one female his son cared for but this one would be so much better. It was his son's Lamira, the supposed one that they were meant to be with.

"You're certain of what you saw?"

"Yes, sir. The glow was obvious and I know your son saw it too. There's no doubt that this girl is his Lamira. He started to follow her but stopped." The young Jatron in front of him may be confident, but Jacrar knew there was something more.

"What else?"

"He received a call and then I felt him check his surroundings. I think he knew I was there."

He itched to punch the Jatron for his incompetence.
That would have to wait. He still needed the boy to watch Ryder, especially once he found out about this new female's death.

"I've already sent a few Antikas to capture her and the female she lives with. It won't be long and I'll hear from them. You can leave now and keep a close eye on Ryder. There's no telling what he'll do, and I can't risk missing the opportunity." If his son broke the laws then Jacrar could make an example out of him. No one would want to go up against a Commander who's willing to kill his own son to uphold the laws.

The Elders would be pleased with his dedication to their planet.

His com beeped. This was it. He pressed the clip located in his ear. "What do you have?"

Silence.

"You better have some good news to tell me." The silence lasted too long and he almost thought the connection was lost before his top Antika finally spoke.

"We got one but the other took down the other men after I left with her friend. She shouldn't have had a weapon. We need another Jatron to hunt her down." The male's voice was shaky.

It should have been
, because he wasn't going to be able to stand for a week after this loss. "I don't have another Jatron to spare."

Then it hit him. What better
way to have his son break the laws than to send him after his own Lamira. "What color is the female's hair that you did capture?"

"It's short and brown."

Perfect. "She's not the one. Bring her anyways. I have a Jatron to go after the other female."

Now it was time to call his son and put him back to work. This time Ryder would get the kind of job he'd been asking for.
A chance to capture a half-breed who just happened to be his Lamira and the cause of his future death.

Chapter Three

Two Days Later

Crouched in the shadows, Anara shifted and her back popped in four different places. Her hips ached from her motionless state for the last hour. She rubbed her hands together and managed only to hold her burning and watery eyes open through pure will and determination.

The raggedy clothes that barely covered her body didn't prevent shards of ice from penetrating her skin again and again. She reached up to rub her numbed nose and shivered from the feel of her icy fingers. The cold night air of their planet was relentless.

Beep.
Anara jerked her attention up above her to the cause of the sound. The electronic alarm system flew over in a search for intruders. The low hum from the POD should've alerted her of its presence. Maybe it would have if her mind hadn’t been on the blood she'd found at her home.

Laili
. After searching, Anara came up empty and she could only believe her friend had been killed. Someone was after Anara too, so she was forced to move her escape up.

She froze and her heart pounded against her chest as she looked down at the bracelet. She never had the chance to test it and knew she would be done for if it didn't actually work. The POD hovered right above her head.
Beep.
A green light scanned over her. After a few dreadful moments, the POD left.

It worked!

Her heart slowed back to normal as she watched it move away and the low hum silenced.

Still, she lingered. Anara never planned to escape alone, but plans never seemed to work out the way anyone expected. Laili was supposed to be there and now there was no chance of that happening. If Anara had been more careful and stayed away from the market, her friend would still be alive and they would be leaving together.

Sitting alone made it all too real.

Blessed to inherit her mother's gift to track others of their kind, Anara would use her abilities to escape to the place her parents met. Earth was where she was meant to be.

She refused to stay a slave any longer, and if she didn't escape, slavery or death was all she'd ever know.

Why did the Commander want her? The wanted signs of her picture didn't make sense. It had to be his son. Obviously, he realized what she was and foll
owed her. Her own stupid fault.

Anara closed her eyes. Now wasn't the time to kick
herself. It was time to check out the soldiers standing guard ahead of her.

The world around her disintegrated as she released her energy to search the area. At the first set of soldiers, Anara examined the Antika with green hair and couldn't miss how his oversized muscles bulged beneath his uniform.

She moved her energy on to the second Antika with a shorter build and black hair. Anara couldn't read minds, but she sensed the Antika's distraction, more than likely revolving around thoughts of sex. Didn't all men think about sex constantly?

Anara picked up a loose rock, tossed it away from her and held her weapon up, waiting for the right chance. As her throat tightened, breathing became difficult. Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

Green pivoted with his weapon raised. He stalked closer to where she hid and stepped past her.

She fired. The blue of the electrical shock streaked between them. Even in the deadly situation, she found the light to be pretty.

He recoiled from the macca's blast and then twisted his large body in her direction.

She shivered as angry green eyes shot daggers at her before
he collapsed, face first.

As she searched for his partner, a scrape of boot against the cemented ground sounded behind her. She spun around and fired with one pull of her finger.

He ducked, then swept her feet from under her.

Her shot missed! She landed with a smack; air e
scaped her lungs as he trapped her underneath his heavier weight, his dagger poised above her throat. Fear caused her body to shake, before she shoved the emotion aside and replaced it with rage. Rage for her crappy life and rage for her best friend.

"Well, look what I found." His voice came out in a growl as he ripped the macca from her firm grasp. "I've waited for a moment like this."

Up close, she could really see his blue skin. How would she hide the blue tint of her own skin? The sting from the knife pressed into her throat jerked her back into reality. A trickle of blood slid down her neck. He pierced her skin, jerk!