Chapter Fifty-One:

The first thing she felt upon waking was a pounding headache. She groaned as a herd of banthas rampaged about her skull at random. The next thing she knew was that she was ravenously hungry.

How long she had been out was beyond her, but at the moment she was simply glad to be free of the dark. Though with her throbbing head, she started to rethink that assessment.

"Good morning."

Mara jerked fully awake at that, sitting up lightning quick. All aches were forgotten upon hearing that deep voice. She spotted Sar lounging upon a fallen tree as though it were a fine sofa, and in his grasp was a piece of bread and a glass of water.

"I was beginning to wonder how long it would take for you to come around." Sar went on. "I almost ate your meal for myself."

Mara glared at him, the memories of the other night- how long had it been? - came back to her.

"Where is Luke?" she demanded, though with her hoarse voice she had to pause and repeat it.

"He is in good hands," Sar replied dismissively. "You and I have much to discuss my dear."

"Call me 'dear' again, and you won't be discussing much of anything," Mara warned.

He flashed Mara a broad grin. "You shall indeed be a fine match for the task I require of you. You have a strong heart and an iron will; things my late wife did not."

Mara narrowed her eyes. "If you are looking for sympathy, you came to the wrong person."

"Not at all," Sar replied. "I simply ask that you let me fill you in on what it is I ask of you."

"Don't you mean demand?" Mara snapped. "And I am not granting you anything until I know what became of my husband."

Sar studied Mara, obviously assessing her.

"Very well, then." Sar set the food and drink down beside him. "Your man, Luke I believe was his name…"

"'Was!'" Mara cried. "He's dead?"

"No, no," Sar assured her, before cocking his head thoughtfully. "Well, not yet anyway."

Mara's relief was cut off by her anger. "What in space is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that Luke is no longer any concern of yours, woman," Sar snapped, his genial demeanor vanishing. "You are now mine, so just accept that."

"I would rather serve Palpatine again," Mara ground out.

He lifted his brows, clearly intrigued, but then he glanced at the sky; which Mara just then saw was rapidly becoming dark with the late afternoon as well as a nasty-looking storm.

"As much as I would love to hear that particular reasoning, time is drawing short." Sar turned his attention back to Mara. "You see, I have been searching for a woman who is strong enough to bear me a new generation of wolves, and survive the process."

Mara managed not to be sick as his words sank in, and she glared daggers at him. "If you think I will cooperate with you in any way, especially in that, then you are delusional."

Sar stood, picking up the small meal and offering it to her. Mara moved to swat it away, but yelped when her arm was yanked painfully back by some sort of resistance. She glanced at her wrist to find it bound with heavy chains, and upon closer inspection, her other limbs were also shackled.

She could still move some, but there was no way Mara would have enough maneuverability to defend herself properly. Which was, of course, his intent.

"I learned well from the other night, my dear," Sar informed her imperiously.

He jerked back with a surprised shout when Mara found a small stone and hurled it with great accuracy into his throat.

"You wretch!" he roared, leaping toward her to land a blow to her face.

Mara rolled with the hit, taking it in stride to minimize its effect. But even with the maneuver, nothing had prepared her for his sheer brute strength, and Mara ended up spitting blood out.

"I… warned you not to call me that," Mara said when she recovered, and held her head up proudly.

Sar looked about ready to hit her a second time, but he narrowed his eyes and restrained himself.

"I must admit I am impressed, woman." He walked a few paces away. "You are indeed strong, and you will bear me many fine sons and daughters."

"Like hell I will," Mara retorted. "Find yourself someone who wants to be with you."

"I never asked if you wanted it," Sar countered smoothly. "Come this evening I will revert to my noble wolf form, and we will begin the mating process. You will bear me pups; there is no way around that. And if you perform well, I will reward you very handsomely."

"Save your praise," Mara ground out, though she was starting to doubt how much she could actually do to resist him while she was chained up in such a fashion and still Force-less.

"As you wish," He said. "Enjoy the rest of your afternoon."

00000

As the doctor performed his latest set of experiments on him, Luke was beside himself with worry. Jena hadn't come in the morning like she'd promised, and he couldn't help but feel as though he'd been played like a gullible fool.

Had her whole charade been simply that? An act to make him lower his guard?

Well, if that was her intent then she'd succeeded quite well.

Luke hated himself for being unable to stop Sar from destroying his beloved Mara. If Heresha would just let him out long enough to deal with that horrible man, Luke would return after Mara was safely away.

All he wanted was to protect Mara… and he couldn't even do that.

Some husband I am. He thought bitingly.

00000

Luke wasn't the only one who was frantic. Jena and her three family members were doing their best to get to the facility, but the storm had unleashed its pent-up fury without thought to the occupants of the land.

Flash-flooding ran rampant about the entire settlement, and two homes on the outskirts of town had already been damaged.

The Elders had called for everyone to gather together to collect livestock and help those who were caught in a bad way. So by the time the foursome was free and clear, it was late afternoon.

Jena rushed into her home and grabbed up the muffins, even as she wondered if they would prove useful any longer. She led the way to the medical facility and when they burst through the door, they saw that the complex was devoid of workers.

"They must have all been called out to work the storm." Ash panted as she doubled over.

"I did not see Doctor Heresha anywhere," Tye informed them.

He was not breathing as hard, since he was much younger, and Jena smirked at Ash's jealous reaction to this fact.

"He must be down with the wolf, then," Nickole guessed aloud.

"Alright, let's regroup here." Jena turned to them. "We can use the storm to our advantage."

"How?" Ash asked.

"I will go down and ask to speak to Heresha per Elder Griand's orders," Jena said. "Nickole, I need you and Tye to hide somewhere, wait for Heresha to leave, and then run downstairs. When you see Ruche- he's the one guarding the door- I need you to act frantic. Say that several predators were sighted outside of town, and the Elders demand all able-bodied men to assist in its death so they don't take advantage of the vulnerable livestock."

"He will want to ask Heresha's permission, Aunt Jena." Nickole was certain.

"Take this." Jena handed them a bottle of brandy from where she knew Heresha stashed it. "If he gives you too much trouble hit him over the head."

"Alright." The two teens set off.

"What do you want me to do?" Ash inquired.

"Get to the north door and get it open for us." Jena replied. "And hurry, time is very short!"

00000

Luke heard the door open, and despite his sour mood he couldn't help the tiny ember of hope that sparked within his being.

Please, let this be Jena.

To his delight, it was.

"Jena, I am busy, can you not see?" Heresha said irritably as he set down the scalpel he'd been using on Luke's waist.

"I am truly sorry, Doctor; I know this beast is important to our safety, but I bring a message from Elder Griand." Jena bowed. "He wants you to come and tend to the injured. The storm has taken out two homes already, and there are still others who were washed away, and as such are nearly drowned by all the flooding."

Heresha was clearly upset at being called away from his victim, but he knew that to refuse Griand would only lead to serious trouble.

"Very well," He grated, practically throwing the apron to the floor in a huff.

He left angrily, Seira following since she was his assistant. "Ruche, do not leave this door unguarded under any circumstances. If the Elders call you out on this, I will protect you."

"Yes sir." She heard Ruche reply just as the door shut behind the doctor.

Jena grimaced: his new orders would complicate things for certain. She pushed that worry to the back of her mind, trusting Tye and Nickole to handle it. And if not, she was certain Luke could.

"I am so, so sorry, Luke!" Jena whispered as she rushed to straighten his seat and then began un-strapping his limbs. "This storm caused all kinds of hell: the town is being flooded, and homes are getting pummeled into nothing. Everyone was forced to pitch in," Jena explained as she helped him to sit up. Then she spotted a shot of adrenaline and held it up for him to see. "We got here as soon as we could."

"What time is it?" Luke demanded, accepting the shot from her. He didn't really want it, but it would come in handy for the fast trip to the ruins. He injected it himself, ignoring the pinch of the needle.

"It is very late in the afternoon; the sun is beginning to set." Jena braced herself for his reaction, and she wasn't disappointed.

"I have to get going then!" he leapt off the bed.

"Wait!" Jena made to put a hand on his arm. "Ruche…"

A shout from outside the door was accompanied by the sound of shattering glass. Luke wrenched the door open, and they saw the guard lying unconscious on the floor.

"Will no longer be an issue," Luke finished for Jena. "Let's go."

Then he was out the door, and though his gate was stiff, Jena knew he would not stop until he reached Mara. And the adrenaline should be kicking in anytime now.

Jena led the way to the door, and as soon as he reached it, Jena placed a hand on his shoulder.

"May whatever powers you believe in be with you tonight," she said in farewell.

"Thank you for the help, Jena." Luke gave her a small smile. "I could not have done this without you."

"Go now." Jena insisted, looking into the sky. Dark was rapidly approaching, though the moon itself was not visible due to the thick clouds. "And goodbye."