The Diamond Heartstone (7 page)

hands.

Barrick pulled the watch off his arm. ‚Here take this. The blue

button will take you there.‛ He leaned down, kissed her and gave her arm

a reassuring squeeze before falling on all fours and shifting. He was the

most beautiful tiger she’d ever seen. Even on all four paws, his back was

level with her belly button. Barrick and his brother were larger than all the

other cats. Tigons. Half tigers, half lions. It had to be.

He turned his head and roared at her. Alycia jumped and

remembered the watch in her hand. She pushed the blue button. The air

around her stilled and her stomach dropped down as if she were floating.

Suddenly she was back in his bedroom.

This little watch could be her ticket out of here. If one of those little

buttons took her to his ship, she might have a decent chance of escaping.

There were four big buttons on the watch. The blue one brought her here

so either orange, green, or red.

Red was usually a sign of danger so it had to be orange or green.

She pressed the green button and found herself inside what had to be the

command center of the ship. Lights went on and off, noises beeped, and

three of the cat men were manning the consoles. When they looked up, she

hurriedly pushed the orange button.

She opened her eyes quickly. She was standing in front the chair of

the small ship.

‚Thank goodness.‛ She pressed the blue button for the autopilot.

‚Enter destination, please.‛

How the hell was she supposed to know? "Where was the last

destination?"

"Last destination was home."

Alycia rolled her eyes, not that the computer could see her. "And the

destination before that?"

"The Neutral Forest."

"Take me there." She strapped into the seat. If that's where he found

her, that's the way home.

"Please prepare for take off," the voice droned.

Would she really leave? What if she were pregnant? She shuddered

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to think of what people would do with a half human half tigon being. She

put the thought out of her mind. First things first. She had to find a way

home.

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The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown

Barrick bit down on the neck of the last rebelling member of his

crew. So far each one had either submitted to him or his brother. Once he

had this last one's acquiescence, Barrick would be free to go and find

Alycia.

The tiger below him reared up a bit. Barrick tightened the muscles

in his jaw, cutting off the animal's air supply. He didn't want to hurt his

navigational officer but he would not have a repeat of today's

performance. The salty tang of blood filled his mouth. Finally, the animal

below him stopped resisting and lay on the floor.

Barrick opened his jaws wide and let the animal go. He roared at the

room in general. The next one to get too close to his mate would be shown

no mercy. He shifted back and commanded the door to open and left the

room without even a backwards glance.

"Wait up," his brother said, running up behind him.

"You couldn't have expected that to have gone any different. Even if

she didn't smell like that, just looking at her would have induced the same

type of riot. Her skin... it was—‚

"Mine." Barrick barked out.

Timbal continued on as if Barrick hadn’t spoken."No. Not white.

Nowhere have I seen such pristine skin. And add in the fact that it was

such a rich striking color. And it must be able to take our sun.‛ He grabbed

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Barrick and spun him around. ‚You have to understand the men's

curiosity."

Barrick harrumphed at his brother.

"You never did say where you found her."

"No. I didn't."

"Well, I know she's not from this world. So the question becomes

why. Why did my brother go searching for his mate?"

"I couldn't find enough mated males to fill our orders for the

stronger pheromones."

"Try another one," his brother said, speeding up and turning to

block the walkway. "Why?"

"Because." Barrick moved to go around his brother.

"Not good enough for all the trouble I just went through. And no

doubt the countless problems this will create. You owe me an answer."

"I don't owe you anything. This is my life."

"And our business. You seriously impacted it today. Now that the

captain is mated, what do you think the rest of the crew is going to start

thinking about? Especially if they have to smell her every day.‛

Barrick stopped quickly. He didn't think about that one. Mates were

almost impossible to find. The biggest barrier was the fact that their

women had a choice. And, with their DNA breaking down with each new

breeding, very few of their women would accept their true mates. His

Alycia didn't have that option.

"Shuttle One has left the station," the computer announced over the

intercom.

"Problems. See what I told you. Your mate has just stolen your

personal shuttle."

"That's impossible. She has no idea how to fly it. Computer, who is

flying Shuttle One?"

"Shuttle One pilot unknown."

Barrick stared at the ceiling. Would this never end? Did he need to

chain her to the bed? He lifted his head and roared his frustration. When

he found her, he would teach her to be obedient.

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Alycia watched out the window as the little craft flew faster than

any plane she'd been on. Green trees, blue trees, even completely white

ones. If she knew how to fly this thing, she’d be tempted to land just so she

could see the things close up.

"Prepare to land." The irritating autopilot voice blared into the small

space.

She hurried over to the seat and strapped in. The ship shifted and

started floating down. A loud bang erupted, tossing the ship to the right.

Alycia’s neck fell forward then snapped back. Black smoke curled outside

the windows and started filtering through the ship.

"Navi... trols... going offline."

What the hell did that mean? She looked around the control panel.

The autopilot light switched from blue to red and finally went blank. She

grabbed what looked like a joystick and pulled it towards her. The front of

the ship tilted up and over. She pushed hard on the stick but it was too late.

The ship was flipping end over end. She was going to crash. Hopefully this

damned ship had airbags. Her stomach dropped out as the darkness

rushed up, taking her.

Alycia woke up to the sounds of people stepping through the

wreckage. A large piece of metal covered almost her entire body. Only one

part of her left leg was exposed. Please let them overlook her.

"Search the wreckage."

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Alycia heard the voice and knew it wasn't Barrick. It was like the

sound of one of her old bosses, too self-important. Like the guy assumed

he was better than the people he spoke to. Definitely not someone she

wanted to know.

Another voice sounded directly above her. "I see something, Your

Highness."

She closed her eyes, trying not to make them too tight. Before she

could decide whether to make a run for it or not, the large piece of metal

was pulled off her upper body. She peeked through her lashes and enough

light filtered through her lids for her to know one man stood above her.

He was taller than an average man and sporting the same tiger-like

markings that Barrick had. Most of his were hidden beneath a sort of

tunic, his pants mirrored those that Barrick wore but of a cheaper grade.

"I think she’s alive."

"Of course she is." Metal crunched as someone approached. "If she

were dead we would smell the stench of death."

A large hand skimmed the flesh of her upper arm. The hand moved

to her breasts and down her legs. It was rough, but not rough enough. It

was too smooth. With animals and men, it was easy to tell those that

worked to find a meal and those that sat back and let others provide for

them.

"Pick her up. We will take her to the palace."

"But, sire. This is not part of the Imperial Kingdom. We cannot

just—‚

"Silence. Pick her up. She is mine." Angry stomping accompanied

the command.

Big rough hands picked her up and slung her over a shoulder. She

kept breathing normally as the man's shoulder pushed into her stomach

with every step.

"What about this ship, my prince?"

"As you said, it is outside the Imperial Kingdom. It's not our

problem."

The servant looked back at the wreckage and stopped as if he were

unsure.

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‚Get over here,‛ the prince yelled.

The man jogged over to the prince, punishingly jamming his

shoulder into her with every step. They boarded another ship. The man sat

her down in a chair and strapped her into a seat. She wanted to open her

eyes but that would put her in a small ship with two males who turned

into who knows what. There was no escape from this one.

It seemed like less than five minutes when she felt the familiar shift

in air pressure. They were landing.

‚Take her to my chambers and call the palace medic.‛

The way this man treated his own servants didn’t give her the warm

and fuzzies about how he planned to deal with her. The servant scooped

her up. This time his steps were definitely less jarring.

‚I know you are awake. I hope that you can understand me. The

prince plans to keep you as his pet. Your only means of escape is to get

away before he puts you on display to the entire palace.‛

What the hell had she done? Jumped out of the frying pan and into

the fires of hell? Pet? Display? Why had she run away?

The slave turned down corridor after corridor. This place was huge.

Alycia gave up on trying to memorize the route. Right side up it might be

possible. Hard but possible.

Too soon the man opened a door and stepped beneath an arch. He

walked through several rooms and deposited her on a bed. Her body

bounced onto a firm mattress. She waited until the man closed the door to

the room before she let her breath out in a big whoosh. The room was

huge, but it fit the massive furniture. The chairs were two times the size of

the one in Barrick's chamber and the bed was double the size.

The room was laid out with several rooms branching off from a

center room. The carvings and gems adorning nearly every surface

screamed at her. This guy liked to surround himself with his wealth.

"She's right through here. Now, I don't want you to tell anyone

about her."

Alycia fell back on the bed and closed her eyes.

Someone held up her wrists.
Slow down. Slow down.
She tried to

regulate her breathing but knew she was failing miserably. Anyone with

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an ounce of training would know she was faking.

Her wrist was placed back against her body. Hands roamed up one

leg and down the other with medical precision. Next up and down her

arms. Her head was moved from side to side. Was he going to check her

teeth next?

Fingers skimmed over the bite marks on her shoulder. "My lord, she

is mated."

"Impossible."

"I'm afraid it's not. She has the marks. That explains the scent."

"I will not give her up. I found her. She is mine."

"But the laws—‚

"If you enjoy your position, you will forget that you saw those

marks." The tension between the two men was almost palpable. "Now

wake her."

"I want no part of this." The doctor’s footsteps pounded out of the

room.

"No matter. I know how to wake you." Air rushed by her cheek

signaling his swift exit.

Please don't let him touch me
. She tried not to cringe. There was no

way in hell she was going to just lay here and let him put one finger on her.

Ice-cold water splashed against her skin. Alycia bolted into an

up-right position. Her eyes popped open. She spun around quickly to find

the prince several steps away from the bed.

"See. I didn't need that fool."

Scanning the room, she searched for some kind of weapon. There

was a sword on the wall behind him. That was out. Large claws on the

desk to her left. But he would be there by the time she got out of the bed.

She was stuck. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I wonder if you can understand me." He tapped his fingers against

his almost non-existent lips. He took several steps closer to the bed.