Sarazen's Claim, Book One (30 page)

The two days it took to return to the citadel, they didn’t leave their room.

Twenty Eight

When they reached the stone fortress, Tarek was grinning smugly, and she was walking funny. Thankfully she wasn’t alone, several of the other women looked just as wrecked as she felt, stars in their eyes while they were tenderly ushered forward by their mates. Her male crew members looked ragged, some more so than others, and she raised her eyebrows over the familiar faces that had grown a massive amount of muscle overnight, and gained a foot or more in height. “I take it you agreed to the conversion?” She asked, and the guys grinned sheepishly. “Seemed silly not to,” Their female Sarazen mates looked quite satisfied, and she idly wondered how the human men were going to take to the idea of only having sex twice a year.

Ne’tare and Te’sha were waiting to greet them, their expressions clearly overjoyed to see each of their charges now paired to a Sarazen. The one woman who wasn’t, Elenna, they both went to her and spoke softly, making her give a token smile despite the fact that she seemed disappointed. She gave them a moment to welcome the newcomers, and then quietly requested their presence after everyone had settled. They graciously agreed, and she leaned heavily on Tarek while they made their way back to their suite. She fell face first onto their bed, moaning softly when Tarek straddled her hips and kneaded firmly at the muscles in her back. At the touch of his mouth rubbing against the mating mark on her shoulder, feeling and hearing him turn his nose to her hair to inhale deeply. “Do I need another shower or something?” She groaned into the bedding, tilting her neck for him to get better access, “No, the scent of you is intoxicating, my one.”

The roughness of his voice, the deeper tenor made her frown in confusion and roll one eye back to look up at him. At the weird, tender expression on his face. “Are you alright?” He nodded, bending down to touch a kiss to the corner of her lips, “I am. Why did you want to see Ne’tare and Te’sha?” She remembered then that she’d forgotten to mention her little chat with Mr’awl. She quickly filled him in, watching the tenderness disappear from his features, her lover gone, replaced by the stone cold face of the commander. “Brennaugh allowed him to escape with his life?” His deadly soft hiss made her roll over under him, made her settle her hands on his belly, “Dead men tell no tales.” He got off her and pulled his hand down his face, opening his mouth to respond, but growled instead when a loud knock was rapped out on the doors to their suite.

Sore and exhausted though she was, she got up and followed him out, wincing over the burn of her overtaxed thighs and abdomen, wondering if someone could become crippled from to many orgasms. Ne’tare and Te’sha were accompanied by Brennaugh, speak of the devil, and Tarek immediately, irately demanded to know why his most trusted commander had allowed his mate to face down one of the fuckers responsible for compromising her food, and insult to injury, allow him to leave alive. Ne’tare and Te’sha were immediately irate as well, and shifted so that their large bodies were between her and Brennaugh, while the other commander did his best not to smile. “Had you been there,
Asha
, you would have been proud of the little warrior your mate is. She commanded the room, her beast superior to all save possibly you. She was glorious, and her will was undeniable. She almost forced him to shift forms.” This, if anything, made Tarek even angrier. “I trusted you with her life, and she was close enough to a traitor, who for all we know was commanded to rip her throat out, to make him nearly change forms?”

Brennaugh looked at her then, and she realized if she didn’t intervene here soon, he was going to be blamed for something not his fault. She stood up and prodded her lazy, sleeping beast into awareness, moving to stand close enough to Tarek to touch, and allowed the same energy she’d used to overpower Mr’awl, to flow over him. His shoulders bunched, hair flying as his head whipped around to look at her with furious eyes. “He was right there beside me, the whole time. Myself and my crew are an unknown entity to your people, our loyalty has not been pledged to the ruler of your pride, we’ve pledged it to you, because you earned our trust and have taken great care to keep us safe. From what little I know of politics, this is a threat to the pride ruler’s command, and those loyal to him will likely take steps to either ensure our loyalty is to him, or that we are neutralized.”

Tarek snarled viciously, but she continued on as though the enraged sound had not been made, “As I understand it, the only reason your brother was made pride ruler when your father stepped down, was because he called a mate first. When people speak of him, it is with pride and fondness, so by all accounts he’s done well, and will continue to do so. But when people speak of you, they are awed, they are fiercely proud, and they know that if war breaks out, which brother is going to lead them to victory. Facts. I did what I thought was best under the circumstances, to impress upon Mr’awl that taking a message to his conspirators was in his best interest. I told him that for now, my crew and I are no threat, but if they continue to antagonize us, or do anything to jeopardize you and the homecoming you deserve, the life, the happiness you deserve after everything you sacrificed for your people, we will become a very big threat.”

Her mate’s eyes narrowed on hers, but the furious snarls continuously pouring from his mouth softened to unhappy rumbles, so she allowed her cat to fall back to sleep and turned to face the two males who were valiantly trying to hide their grins, and failing admirably. “I asked you to meet with me, because I wanted to sincerely thank you. Your care and diligence, looking after my crew prevented Mr’awl and whoever he is working with from putting toxins into their food that might have prevented them from finding their mates. I overheard them complaining to one another about it, and I would be very grateful if that continued to be an obstacle.” The two males did exactly the same thing that Brennaugh and the others had done the night of the festival. They dropped gracefully to one knee and reached forward to press their fingertips to the floor, murmuring, “
Asha’na
.” In that reverent tone that made her skin prickle.

She jumped in surprise when Tarek’s hand slid around her belly, fingers spreading wide to pull her back against him, his lips cruising lightly over her temple. He sighed when his childhood caretakers stood up and smiled at them with a relaxed expression that hadn’t been there before. “We are delighted to be a continued obstacle in the face of any who seek to bring harm against you.” Te’sha told her, his eyes sparkling with amusement and respect. “With your permission, your numbers have grown two fold, we will need some assistance.”

“I trust whomever you choose to assist. Two of my crew were caretakers of a sort aboard our ship. Don’t hesitate to put them to work, I don’t intend for us to be a burden, on anyone.” Tarek sighed and dropped his head to her shoulder, making her frown and give his face a wiggle, “What?” She demanded, and got another kiss to her throat. “Nothing, my one. You simply refuse to be a meek female that I can manage and insist on exceeding expectations or predisposed notions set down by foolish males who ought to know better.”

“My sincerest apologies. I need a nap.”

Brennaugh cleared his throat and she rolled her neck back over Tarek’s shoulder to look at him, arching her brow questioningly. “No nap?” She huffed, and he chuckled, touching his fingertips to his chest, “I would ask a favor, if you permit me,
Asha’na
.” She didn’t like the way Tarek growled in response, or how weird it felt for people to call her that. Treat her so…strangely. “Sure, what’s up?” Tarek started to growl again, so she elbowed him, which made Ne’tare choke on a guffaw. “Tara has decided that she wishes to make the conversion, to claim part of my beast as her own.” She smiled wider at the way he said it, glad for Tara’s bravery and her willingness to step into her new life with eyes wide open. “That’s wonderful. Congratulations.” The tips of his ears had pinkened. For a battle hardened warrior, Brennaugh was sweet, and terribly soft where it counted most. “She would like you to be present, to…walk her through it, she said.”

“When?”

“Tonight,”

“She was sterilized, I didn’t experience it for long, but it hurt when my body started to heal itself after taking Tarek’s blood.”

“I have already procured the appropriate tonics to soothe any pain she might feel.”

“Good. So we don’t know why it took so long for us to change, may I ask why now? Ga’rae and Gwen haven’t gotten through analyzing the data they’ve collected thus far.”

Brennaugh cleared his throat and nodded, looking like he was struggling to keep himself from displaying the emotion that poured off his body in waves. Happiness, the smell of it like sunshine, the warmth of it radiant and bright. It was like he didn’t know what to do with all of it, so he just hung onto it tightly, just in case someone tried to steal it from him, or deny its validity. “When we returned here to the citadel, my one asked me if we could stay. She gave many reasons why, and all of them valid, but the one I care for the most is that she didn’t realize how much she had been yearning for a home until she arrived here. For a family. I want that for her, for us.”

She let Tarek take her weight, secretly yearning for the same exact thing, and wondering why she was so hesitant to say so. A corner of her mind to explore later, because right now what Brennaugh was asking of her was huge, special. Because she remembered Tarek’s hoarse voice telling her how when a Sarazen experienced his or her first shift, that the family surrounded the emerging cat to guide them into the change with confidence and security. Tara didn’t have family, she didn’t know what family Brennaugh had, but he was here, asking her to be present for Tara’s change, it hit her hard, the importance of the life they were beginning here. “I would be honored.” She managed to murmur, hugging Tarek’s arm when he curled it up around her shoulders, holding her steady. “You understand what you’re asking?” Tarek asked gently, and some of the joy in Brennaugh’s expression dimmed. His jaw clenched a bit, his stance turning a little defiant while he braced his feet and tucked his scarred hands under his armpits, crossing his arms to make his muscles bulge beneath the fabric of his shirt, and up when his chin a notch.

She didn’t understand at all, so hoping for a clue, she looked to Ne’tare and Te’sha. They had mixed emotions on their faces, though they were looking at the floor pointedly, and Tarek was kneading at her shoulder almost a little bit like he was worried. But she couldn’t feel it, their bond still somewhat sketchy, and she couldn’t smell it, because he was a master at containing his scent when he wanted to. Even from her. “I do,” Brennaugh grunted, and Tarek sighed, rubbing his chin over the top of her head, “I don’t. This is important, Tarek. Tara’s one of mine, of course I’d be there for her.”

His hand swept up her throat to tilt her head back against his chest, his thumb gently moving over her jaw while he looked down into her eyes. His face was so gorgeous, his eyes so vibrant and intense. She hadn’t noticed until just now, the angle just right and the lighting just so for her to see that he had two, thick, lacy rows of eyelashes to frame those gorgeous eyes. “It isn’t that, my one. It is the complications that come with it.” She raised her eyebrows to entice him to say more, but he didn’t. He looked back to Brennaugh, “I understand how important this is, for you and your mate. It is much of me to ask, but I must. Wait one more day, give me time to speak to T’mai.”

Brennaugh clicked his tongue and hissed shortly, but gave a tight nod and left with a softer look for her.  Te’sha and Ne’tare left, but not before Tarek asked them to keep quiet about what they’d just heard. And by asked, she meant commanded with rigid authority. As soon as the door shut, she turned around and glared at her mate, “What the hell? You told me that when a Sarazen cub comes of age and goes through their first change, he’s surrounded by people who care about him. I mean, I know she’s not a cub, and not technically a Sarazen, but why is it complicated for me to be there with Tara?” Her demand had him pacing away and reaching up to rake his hands through the stripe of his hair. “Clary, I want you to be there. You will be. That’s not the complication at hand.”

“Well? What is it?”

He stopped and mimicked Brennaugh’s earlier stance, arms crossed over his chest, feet splayed, looking for all respects like a commander. A king. A very frustrated king. “Niora,” She shrugged and lifted her hands out to her sides, “What about her?” He huffed, pulling his hand down his face now and it started to penetrate that something bigger was at work here, and she was starting to think maybe it was part of the reason why Mr’awl and his bosses had attempted to keep her and the others from legally mating to their warriors. “She is the mate of the
Asho
, it is her duty to be present or appoint a subordinate female to oversee a first shift.”

“So she won’t like it that I’m what, taking her job? Tough shit! I’m sorry, Tarek, but I don’t trust her. Not one little bit.”

“That is because you are no fool, my one. But Niora has the ability to help ease a reluctant cat from inside an inexperienced or frightened cub. She attempted to do that to you when you met, as a way to prove her dominance. You didn’t so much as bat an eyelash in response. She does this to anyone she believes she can overpower, indiscriminately. Now, according to Brennaugh and several other witnesses, you not only controlled the beast of a fully grown Sarazen male, a warrior despite his betrayal, you displayed to every male in the room that inexperienced and newly bonded to me, to your cat and your change, just how strong a female you are. You did it again just now, soothing my beast with the power of yours so I would listen, proving exactly how fit you are to rule this pride as my
Asho’na
.”