Ambushing Ariel (13 page)

Her eyes swiveled back to the gold eyes when she heard another low growl as it crept closer. She frowned as she followed its eyes which were glued to the bed. Ariel looked back and forth for a moment before she realized that it was about to pounce… on the bed… after one of her little babies!

“Oh no you don’t!” Ariel gasped and moved in front of the dragon as it sat back on its haunches preparing to jump. “Bad dragon! Bad, bad dragon! You do not eat your friends,” Ariel snapped out hurriedly as she climbed onto the bed.

She barely rolled off the other side with a squirming Grombot in her hands before the dragon jumped, landing in the middle of the beautiful bed which promptly collapsed under its weight. Ariel’s screams echoed through the room as she fell onto the floor on the other side of the bed, rolling away from the huge dragon. White furry Maratts were running everywhere. The Grombot she was holding bit her f
inger forcing her to let it go with a cry of pain as other Grombots crawled up anything they could find or ran for the living area. Ariel heard one of the small Maratts squeaking in terror. It was trapped under the bed.

“Don’t move,” Ariel cried out moving on her hands and knees as fast as she could toward the bed which was precariously perched on one leg. “Don’t move. I have to help it,” Ariel choked out trying to squeeze into the tight space between the wall and the bed.

The huge sapphire dragon snarled at the creatures running all over the place. It stretched its neck out to snap at one of the little Maratts that had been hiding in the pillows as it scurried across the bed and jumped off. It started to move when Mandra sharply pulled back on it in warning.

Stay. Our mate is in danger,
Mandra snarled out furiously.

He was ready to kill his dragon and spank his mate! Where in the hell was his symbiot? He needed it here now. He was afraid to move at all in case the slightest change caused the rest of the bed to collapse with his mate under it. It would crush her.

My mate. I hurt my mate,
his dragon mourned.

Not yet but you will if you move. We need our symbiot with us just in case,
Mandra whispered in a calm voice as he reached for his symbiot.
We need you, my friend. Our mate is in grave danger. Come to us.

Mandra felt the moment his symbiot responded. It was in the nearby forest but moved as fast as it could toward his living quarters at his call for help. Mandra heard the glass shattering in his living area moments before his symbiot, in the shape of a Werebeast, flew through the door snarling and hissing at the threat to its mate.

“Ouch!” Ariel’s muffled voice came from under the bed. “Come on, baby. I won’t let anything hurt you. Come on, I promise. Please come to me, sweetheart. He didn’t mean to scare you.”

Mandra gritted his teeth. His little mate was totally oblivious to the danger she was in. She was so focused on saving something that he thought of as food that she had no clue she was in mortal danger. He could feel his muscles tense as the bed shifted slightly.

Hurry! Get her out of there now!
Mandra called out urgently to his symbiot.
The bed is about to collapse.

Mandra’s symbiot shifted until long arms reached out wrapping around both of Ariel’s legs and up to her waist. Ariel squealed almost as loud as the dozens of little creatures scattering all over Mandra’s living quarters. Her cry was cut short as the gold tentacles wrapped tighter squeezing the breath out of her. Ariel wanted to protest but she barely had enough air to breathe. She wrapped her hands around the small furry creature tucked in the far corner under the bed at the same time as she felt herself being pulled roughly out from under it. She didn’t have time to say anything before a loud crash shook the floor.

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.*

Mandra’s roar of denial shook the walls as the bed collapsed. An eerie silence filled the room right before the sound of the outer doors being flung back and the thunder of running feet burst into the room. Mandra shifted back but was unable to move as terror froze his huge form.

“Mandra, what happened? Who attacked you?” Creon asked as he and several guards stood looking around with swords and laser pistols drawn.

Mandra drew in a deep breath trying to force words out of his mouth but nothing would come. Fear unlike anything he had ever felt before choked him. He forced himself up onto his hands and knees until he was almost sitting. He kept his eyes closed as he fought for composure.

“My mate,” he choked out. “She…”

Creon looked at the collapsed bed in horror as he realized what Mandra was trying to say. He and several of the guards made to move around it at the same time as Ariel’s shiny, tangle of blonde hair popped up on the other side.

“You poor little thing!” Ariel said sitting up next to the bed on the floor cuddling a tiny Maratt against her bosom. “Did that big ole bed scare you when it fell? You have to be more careful. You could have gotten hurt, sweetheart,” Ariel said brushing the soft fur of the shivering creature.

Ariel looked up at Mandra with her big brown eyes filled with worry. “I think you scared her,” she said in an accusing tone.

Mandra’s eyes had popped open in disbelief when he heard the soft, feminine voice talking as if nothing had happened. He stared in shock at the beautiful face looking up at him as if half his living quarters wasn’t in shambles because of her. He was about to let her know about his displeasure when a roar came from his living area followed by more shrilly squeals.

“Oh no!” Ariel said scrambling to her feet and thrusting the shaking Maratt at Mandra. “Protect her while I go rescue the others.”

Mandra’s hands opened on instinct to catch the little ball of hissing, spitting rodent as he watched Ariel fly out of the room screaming she was going to have dragon for dinner if anyone hurt her babies. Mandra looked at the creature who was trying to escape then up at his brother for help as he tried to figure out what to do with it. His first thought was to change and gulp it down but he didn’t think that was what Ariel meant when she handed it to him.

Creon and the guards with him looked at him in a combination of amusement and confusion. It wasn’t until he heard Ariel’s scream that he rolled off the bed thrusting the furry creature into his brother’s hands with a word of warning to not let anything happen to it. He charged into his living quarters skidding to a stop when he saw three dragons snapping at all the Maratts and Grombots running for cover. His mate was swinging her hairbrush like a sword at them and screaming for them to get out.

Mandra cringed when he saw his dining table flying through the air and crashing into his sword collection. Three of his prized carved chairs were in pieces. Where his couch had been was now a pile of shredded filling as one of the dragons tried to get to several of the furry little rodents that had burrowed down into it looking for protection. Mandra was about to growl out a warning at another dragon to be careful of his prized glass lights over the shelf housing his collection of ancient scripts when it all came crashing down in a shimmering rain as the dragon lunged for a Grombot that flew through the air into Ariel’s out-stretched arms. She swung around and popped the dragon on the nose when it snapped at the creature almost taking her arm off.

Mandra’s symbiot lunged at the dragon in fury. The dragon went flying through the special crystal etched doors he got from the Mazaran star system leading out onto the balcony of his living area. When another dragon came toward Ariel, his symbiot attacked again throwing the guard out the huge double doors leading out into the corridor. Ariel in the meantime, was gathering as many of the creatures as she could under the skirt of her gown while the Grombots were hanging from her shoulders to the point she could barely stand under their weight.

“ENOUGH!” Mandra roared.

Everyone froze as the dark menace in his voice washed over them. “Get out!” Mandra snarled at the one guard left. The guard was fighting to get control of his dragon. “Get out before I kill you for coming near my mate.”

Mandra looked at Creon and jerked his head indicating he wanted Creon to get everyone out. Mandra saw Creon fighting his laughter as he looked around what was left of his living quarters. Mandra growled at a couple of guards who looked at the creatures hanging from Ariel with hunger.

“Good luck, brother,” Creon said as he fought back a chuckle. “I thought I had the difficult female but I think we are tied.”

“Just… get out,” Mandra growled in a low voice.

“I will. I will,” Creon said looking at the huge double doors. One was missing and the other was hanging cockeyed on its hinges. “I would close the door behind me but you seem to be having a problem with them,” Creon said with a chuckle as he set down the squirming Maratt which ran straight to Ariel.

Mandra growled and took a menacing step toward Creon who moved quickly away laughing loudly. Mandra stared for a moment at his brother’s departing back. He was afraid to look around again for fear the reality of what happened would prove to be worse than he thought. It wasn’t until he glanced back at his mate that he began to appreciate how absurd the situation really was. It was hard not to when the small female was standing there biting her lip and looking so uncomfortable all of the sudden.

“Uh, Mandra,” Ariel said looking everywhere but at him.

Mandra let out a deep breath before responding. “Yes, little one?”

Ariel’s cheeks turned a dark red as she glanced at him briefly before looking away again. “You don’t have any clothes on,” she whispered looking down at the Grombot that was trying to get her attention.

Mandra looked down. He didn’t have a stitch of clothing on as he had still been in the bathing pool when he transformed. He looked around his normally meticulous home. The doors leading into it were destroyed. None of his prized furniture survived. The doors to his balcony were either cracked or totally gone where his symbiot had flown through it then tossed the guard out of them. His prized collection of ancient weapons and scripts littered the floor and his home was crawling with things he normally ate.

Mandra looked at the little human that came into his life just that morning and wondered where in the hell she came from that this kind of destruction followed. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't think of a single thing to say. He winced as more items fell making a loud crashing sound as it hit the hard, marble floor. Instead, he just shook his head and turned on his heel. He moved toward his sleeping area trying not to groan at the destruction to his bed. Pulling some clothes out of the hidden panel in his bedroom wall, Mandra quickly dressed. The first thing he needed to do was get rid of all the creatures running around what was left of his home. All the creatures, that is, except the infuriating female. Then, he needed to fix the door leading into his living quarters. Once it was secure, he was going to go back and finish kicking his older brother's ass for finding the female again.

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.*

Ariel moved cautiously along the edge holding on as best she could to the narrow lip where the stones connected. She was leaving this planet as soon as she found Trisha and Carmen. If she couldn't find them, well, she was leaving anyway. She didn't belong here. After Mandra came back into the living area he had scooped up all her little babies and put them back in their cages. Then, he had the nerve to call several of the guards who had been in the room before to take them out. He ignored all her protests saying he would not have any animals in his home. He told her food did not belong running around in the place where he lived. Ariel had tried to stop him but he simply picked her up and locked her in the bedroom. She pounded on the heavy door but no one came to help her, not even the gold creature who had become her friend. The tiny bits of gold on her tried to calm her but she had finally demanded they get off her. They belonged here, not where she was going. The little pieces tried to send her images of Mandra's fury over the destruction of his home but all Ariel could think of was this was Eric all over again. She wouldn’t, couldn’t go through that type of rejection again.

No, it was better to get out while she could,
Ariel thought.

She bit her lip to hold back a cry of pain as the rough stone cut into the tips of her fingers. She was almost to the next balcony. This was definitely not one of her smartest moves but she was committed now. She didn’t dare to look down. If she didn’t fall or pass out, she would surely lose what little food she had eaten earlier. She was on a narrow ledge about six inches in width and holding onto a lip no more than a half inch wide six stories up. It was the only thing keeping her from falling. She had put her dirty pants back on and one of Mandra’s shirts. She had to lock the tiny bits of gold in a small clothing panel in the wall. She didn’t want it to know what she was doing because she knew it would alert Mandra to her escape.

A gasp escaped Ariel as her foot slipped and she started to lose her balance. She gripped the crack in the stone tighter. She tried to compensate for the slip, but there wasn’t enough rock exposure for her hold onto and she felt herself falling backwards. Ariel reached frantically for a better grip on the narrow cut between the stones but it was too late. She closed her eyes and let out a scream as she felt herself falling into empty space. For a heart-stopping moment, she wished she had one more chance to change the outcome of her life before everything went blank.

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.*

Mandra ground his teeth together as his symbiot walked silently beside him as if he didn’t even exist. It was pissed at him. It wanted him to return Ariel’s little pets back to her. Even his dragon wasn’t talking to him. Mandra didn’t know whether to be happy about having a bit of peace or angry that they were mad at him! It wasn’t his fault that his home was in shambles. It wasn’t his fault that six of the warriors were in medical. Well, it was partially. Two of the warriors his symbiot put there. The other four Mandra was responsible for when they tried to eat his mate’s pets. He finally ordered Jarak to find a safe place for them until he could decide what to do with them.