Rykhan (Book 1 of Mate Search Series) (24 page)

Five short months to figure out if the man who
had already swept her off her feet could truly be the man destined
for her.

Leah smiled at her own musings as she stepped
up the stairs, trying to keep the thuds of her boots quiet as she
moved. And just as she was slipping into bed, washed and
moisturized, Rykhan sent a text message.

‘Every hope I’d ever entertained,
every dream I’ve ever allowed, is nothing compared to the
completeness of you,
mica
tisha
. I know of your hesitation. But I
swear, I vow, you are everything I’d ever thought to have in my
life.’

Leah pulled the covers up to her
shoulder as she settled into her pillow, realizing her
wahrom
twin had said it
plainly.

There just might be the fulfillment of a dream
in the simple knowing he was around and maybe, just maybe had been
destined for her.

Leah didn’t realize her lips were wearing a
contented smile as she drifted off into sleep.

Chapter
Sixteen

Bronsyn noticed how his group of
warriors hung around in the common area after the females had left
and realized that Leah and Pam’s presence brought cohesiveness
their unit had lacked. Sure the Protectorates had banded together
to choose their landing point, over-riding any decision the Quest
Committee might have proposed and then spent days discussing before
taking any decisive action. For whatever reason, his warriors had
never really fallen in together as a group until that day although
he didn’t know why.

As their leader, Bronsyn wanted to take
advantage of their newfound closeness. Something even he was
feeling.

“I have news that needs to be shared,” he
announced during a lull in the males conversations. “Shall we
gather?”

The burly warriors went to the large table in
what the realtor had called ‘the dining room’. Bronsyn noted the
lack of tension, the ease of their smiles as they joked and teased
one another while they took their places. He only hoped that what
he had to impart would not change their newfound well-being and
belief in their futures as a paired partner.

As the commander took his seat, he debated how
much of his conversation with Gwynt to expose to the group. While
he hated to have to deliver news from their home worlds that could
shatter their newfound unity, he needed to hear the warrior’s
thoughts on the subject of the protests.

However, he quickly found that the Picari
Protectors were of the same mind when faced with the knowledge that
there were those that would call their future children
‘abominations’.

“But-but,” Rykhan sputtered, his eyes roaming
wildly around the others at the table. “That’s beyond
crazy!”

“Utter bullshit, if you ask me.” Gyard glared
at no one in particular as he crossed his arms tightly over his
huge chest.

Arbrynt simply slammed his huge fist against
the thick tabletop without using words to show his
anger.

Tyshar leaned his elbows on the table in a
relaxed pose but the movement of his dark eyes as it traversed the
ceiling gave evidence of his internal agitation.

Ducking his head, Laxon asked, “Do you think
they’ll cancel the mission then?”

Every face in the room turned to the youngest
member of the group, only their raised eyebrows showing their shock
at his very valid question.

“They better
fracking
not!” Wyst yelled, jumping
to his feet. “After all the millions of credits spent to get us
here, the Committee can’t just call it off because a few
fracking
tailpor
-biters get together and come
up with some catchy little slogan. I mean, seriously? Pure bred,
not hybrid? What the
Frack
does that even mean, for
Tsiran’s
sake?”

“Let them call my younglings an abomination to
my face and let’s see how fast they run from my fury!” Gyard’s roar
was loud enough to override every other voice in the room, stunning
the other men into silence.

Tyshar’s eyes moved from the blonde giant back
to his commander. “Why did we not know of these protests before we
left the Picari system?”

Bronsyn shrugged because that was something he
was curious about as well. That information was vital and could
have been included in the daily communiqués, not withheld until
after they had landed. “I was only told of them today. That it
started out as a small group but has since been growing in
size.”

“Don’t most protests of this sort have a
central source,” Laxon began his cheeks aflame as he sought an
answer to his own question. “A leader of some sort? Do we know who
might be in charge or in control of the group?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Bronsyn muttered,
remembering that his first thought was that the objection to the
mission had come from the more conservative religious leaders. In
truth, the opposition to their search could be from a number of
Galaxi or Nutrolian sectors.

Arbrynt cleared his throat and leaned forward.
“How do we fight this then? Given that we are so far away and have
so little intel on who is stirring up trouble.” Bronsyn blinked at
the large male who was scowling so hard it made Bronsyn’s face ache
in sympathy. It was a good question but one that Bronsyn could not
answer with anything other than a shrug. At his movement, he sensed
the combined frustration of the group around the table.

They were the elite warriors of the Picari
Protectorate and had spent years learning all the skills needed in
order to defend, shield, and keep their worlds from any harm that
threatened-- whether the threat came from their citizens or from an
outside source. But how were they to fight against an idea of
something yet to occur? The males were fighters and quick to
resolve the insurgencies that had popped up throughout the years.
Their job was to police and enforce the laws enacted to insure a
peaceful co-existence and to defend their worlds from outside
invaders. Ones such as the Basules who had tried on several
occasions to gain a foothold in order to conquer both Galaxia and
Nutrol.

The warriors, especially the ones who encircled
the large table, were hard-wired to overcome anything that
threatened. It went against their very nature to sit quietly by
when they could engage the enemy in order to enforce a peaceful
solution. But this? The purebred versus hybrid argument was not a
physical ‘thing’ the males could battle.

“I will attempt to obtain more information on
the situation and let you know as I receive it,” Bronsyn mumbled,
hating that he felt powerless and without concrete
information.

“You don’t think these dissidents will harm our
mates, do you?” Rykhan was looking directly at Bronsyn. “I mean,
once we are back home, our blays will be safe in all of this,
right?”

“
There is no male of worth on either
Galaxia or Nutrol who would ever harm a female.” Gyard voice was
firm, resolute. “There will be no threat to our mates once we
return home.”

Bronsyn offered a short prayer
to
Tsiran
that the
large warrior was right but decided to change the subject. “I
believe we have been very successful in assimilating ourselves with
the humans in Phoenix, but as our studies have shown we could be
doing more. Even Pam spoke of changing certain aspects of our
appearance in order to blend in better.”

“Such as cutting our locks,” Gyard complained,
sliding a large hand over the length of his hair.

“Yes and in changing the way we dress,” Bronsyn
confirmed.

Wyst broke in. “We also need jobs since I’ve
discovered the human males in this part of the planet value in
themselves by the work they perform.”

“I read something about that as well,” Rykhan
added. “One website stated that a human male defines himself by his
employment while the females use the success of their interpersonal
relationships to do the same.”

“According to their laws, we must carry proof
of our identity at all times. This proof also enables employers to
ascertain what a citizen has done in the past, what other work the
human has previously performed and to determine if they have ever
been convicted of a crime.” Gyard tapped his forefinger on the
tabletop as if to emphasize his next words. “This proof of identity
is established at a very early age. I am uncertain how we are to
obtain it though.”

“I do!” Arbrynt’s wide smile was a welcome
addition. “The best thing about where we are, is that anything we
want or need can be obtained…for a price. As long as we have the
money, we can purchase all the documents we need in order to
present ourselves as part of the human populace.”

Tyshar began to grin. “And I think I know of a
source who can help us acquire the documents we need.”

“Will they be legal?” Gyard’s rough bass voice
interjected. “Identity theft is a major crime in this country and
comes with severe punishments.”

“I was assured the paperwork would be real
enough no authority would question them.” Tyshar sounded very sure.
He turned his face to his commander. “This comes from the same
barber who purchased our last handful of adornments. And was only
offered after he had determined I was not ‘from around
here’.”

Bronsyn had been shocked to discover how much
the metal and jewels on their uniforms and formal weapons would
fetch when traded for the paper money used in Phoenix. Since they
had arrived, Tyshar had been doing incremental trades in order to
keep the money coming in. “Tyshar, I want you and Gyard to
determine what documents are needed and negotiate a price for six
new identities—enough for all the warriors. I’m not yet certain
employment outside of our quest is appropriate but perhaps there
are other avenues we can explore to appear to others as if we have
jobs with which to support ourselves.” He looked around the group
and rapped his knuckles on the table to signal that their meeting
was over. Just as Bronsyn rose from his seat, Wyst spoke
up.

“Wait! Rykhan needs to be debriefed regarding
his relationship with his female.” Wyst turned to the only warrior
who had connected with the one of the humans. “Well,
brother?”

With ruddy cheeks, Rykhan kept his
face pointed to the top of the table, only lifting his eyes and
doing a sweeping glance at the other brothers. Bronsyn wondered if
the male was uncomfortable with the question or the laser-like
scrutiny he was receiving from the other warriors. “What do you
want me to say? You all saw her
wahrom
.”

“You took her to your room, yes?” It seemed the
Nutrolian Wyst was the one who was going to lead the inquisition.
“And you two were enclosed in there for a long time.”

“Is that a question?” Rykhan’s eyes remained on
Wyst but his casual demeanor did not fool Bronsyn. Not when he saw
how the Galaxi warrior’s hands clenched together so tightly. “What
is it you want to know, brother? Speak plainly.”

Wyst held the other male’s gaze for the space
of a heartbeat. “Did you join with her?”

“That is private.” Rykhan’s forehead creased as
he frowned. “And not subject to discussion.”

“Is that how she grew her warrior’s mark? By
you joining with her?”

Rykhan’s hair swished around his
shoulders as he shook his head in the negative. “No. As I told you
before, Leah’s
wahrom
grew after we first…kissed.” He closed his eyes and leaned
back in his chair before speaking again. “She told me we couldn’t
join unless I used a condom.”

“Isn’t that something the human
males cover themselves with in order to prevent pregnancy?” Arbrynt
scoffed. “Why would we have a need to wear such a thing when
joining with our potential mates?”

Rykhan’s bright gaze fell on the warrior Pam
had renamed ‘Brent’. “As I understand it, it is also utilized to
prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.”

Laxon’s face paled and his hands
slid to cup his
tailpor
and
tai
between his legs. “Humans can get diseases from
just joining?”

“You should know, Sean,” Wyst spat. “Weren’t
you the one who was assigned to study the human diet, health, and
diseases?”

“Yes, but…” Laxon’s young face was as red as
the first rays of the Nutrolian dawn. “I haven’t read they can get
a disease from just doing that!”

“Perhaps you need to study that subject a bit
more,” Bronsyn murmured from behind the knuckles he had pressed to
his mouth. The commander had not wanted to interrupt the
conversation between Rykhan and Wyst especially in light of Rykhan
invoking his right to privacy. Nevertheless, he was curious as to
the details of how a Picari might mate with a human. Were there
differences in the anatomy between the females of this world and
their own? Directing his next question to the only warrior who had
yet claimed a mate, Bronsyn did not want to intrude but they all
needed to know. The information was vital to their search. “So you
didn’t join with your Leah?”

Rykhan swallowed and could not seem to meet the
gaze of anyone around the table. “I didn’t say that.” He swallowed
again only much more slowly as he seemed to come to a decision. “I
joined with her, yes.”