Soulbound
I don't own the X-men or any of Marvel's characters. Everything else is mine.
A/N: A few preliminaries before we jump into the story. First and foremost, I'm so excited about finally being ready to post. Of the four books, this one has presented the greatest challenge, mostly because the longer the saga continues, the more details I must keep track of – like plotlines, subplots, character bios, timelines, imperial planets, species characteristics, etc. You should see the background files I've created just to keep track of everything. Perhaps if I contradicted myself here and there, many readers wouldn't notice…but I would. Probably that obsessive side of me!
Keep in mind:
* Words that appear as / thus / are telepathic communication. (A suggestion from a wonderful reader.)
* Most sentences that appear in 'single quote marks' are thoughts.
Those of you who read my previous books know that my chapters are typically very long. This time, I decided that some will be longish, but others will be quite short (at least for me). I'm hoping the smaller doses will help ease the chapter time commitments for you, my stalwart readers (gods and goddesses that you are), yet not break the story up excessively.
Be warned – Soulbounds is the lengthiest story yet, so you're in for a long-term commitment if you take the plunge. I'm hoping to post frequently enough to not drag this out forever. The timing will ultimately depend on how the very last editing goes with each segment as I do that just prior to uploading and how much real life interferes with that task.
One final note. For some reason I struggled with a name for this book since the first words hit the computer screen. Why? I have no idea. But a couple of my wonderful supporters who stayed in touch between books assured me the name would come (thank you, O Wise Ones – you know who you are). Now that it did, the title seems so obvious. I think I was trying to be too clever or too intriguing or something. Sometimes the KISS rule rules!
Whew! With all that said, let's get to Warren's next adventure.
Chapter 1
His target was airborne. Sensors revealed no watchful ships or shuttles, no imperial guards, no powerful mutant protectors, not even a single, feeble Human sentry. Was he that careless or did he still not fully comprehend his value? Possible. Probable. Overconfidence in the Empire's ability to protect him was likely as well. Foolish.
The reacquisition order was overdue in his opinion; the target would have been relatively easy pickings for months. Why his superiors hesitated so long was puzzling, but it was not his place to question. Days of stealthy observation were over. Yet while the target was almost offering himself, time was not a friend. Another pursuer was closing in. An old acquaintance, so to speak. Things could get interesting…
###
Warren soared toward the heavens on a strong updraft, that thrilling leaving-the-stomach-behind sensation tickling his insides. 'God, I love days like this!' The waxing warmth of the spring sun across his back and wings contrasted the coolness of the winds as the last vestiges of winter clung on. Feeling wild and free amongst the snowcapped peaks, he pumped his wings to increase the acceleration in joyful enthusiasm.
He'd spent only two days at his Long Island estate after returning from Sat'rey before deciding on a whim to treat himself to time at his mountain aerie. The Etagllot trial was over; sentences likely carried out already in swift imperial style. Many of those involved in the Ymoz incident paid the ultimate price for kidnapping him and the Empire's leader, yet the masterminds behind the crime were still at large, and all concerned assumed Warren remained an Etagllot acquisition target. Ztar and Gtar-Cro warned him the illicit organization does not give up easily.
Worries over the Etagllot weren't what prompted Warren to seek solitude in the Rocky Mountains. A revelation had. Realization that Ztar had been the road to his own inner healing had hit with a clarity and certainty that eluded him the past year. The resultant paradigm shift was causing a reassessment in how he had labeled and integrated the six years spent under Ztar's control into the overall chronicle of his life. Warren wanted a few days to mull it over where his soul felt most at peace.
With powerful strokes, he rose ever higher. Wind tearing past him, the world falling quickly away, shuffled and examined recent comprehensions from a new, freer perspective. He reflected back on what he'd concluded just two days prior – Ztar and he had been brought together for a purpose and they had ultimately healed each other. Unknowingly. Unintentionally. What had been begun as a horrifying experience for Warren, ended with two repaired souls.
He let an updraft catch him. Wings stretched to their full 16-foot span to grab as much crisp air as possible, he rode it up. Underside pressure of the wind sent a wave of sensual delight from wing tip to base, reminiscent of a lover's caress. Eyes closed, he let the wind take him where it may as he gave himself to the blue firmament.
His mind drifted to a less positive realization – comprehension that he had been "the other man" for a few hours. Warren and Ztar had allowed themselves a romp in the hay during his Sat'rey visit. In retrospect, it was puzzling that although Ztar clearly loved Jharda, he and the Emperor had sex as if they had never been apart. Warren hadn't asked any questions at the time. Perhaps he should have. He was party to Ztar's cheating on Jharda and as guilty as the Turzent. That bothered him. Opening his eyes, he dipped slightly to the left to spiral high above a mountain meadow.
On the other hand, Turzent morals in the area of sex and monogamy, particularly those applied to their crowned heads, were quite different from what is typical on Earth. Monogamy was not expected of emperors or empresses. Historically, imperial life partners and companions lived side by side, fully aware of each other. Extramarital companions were accepted as part of royal life. Was that the case with Jharda and Ztar? Did Jharda know of his and Ztar's tryst and accepting of it? Warren hoped so. The idea that Ztar would deceive the woman who in all likelihood was destined to become empress was disturbing. But that was between Ztar and Jharda and Warren decided to maintain perspective on the accompanying guilt. 'Do better if there's a next meeting by leaving before anything happens,' he told himself.
Awareness came that he'd been circling that same place for some time and brought himself to a hover. 'Going in circles, Worthington?' That metaphor summed up how he felt about another issue dredged up by the Sat'rey tryst – his love life. Love 'em and lose 'em. He had been caught in that vicious cycle, repeating the same scenario time after time. The names and details changed, but not the outcome. Find someone to love. Fall head over heels. Something's missing on someone's part or circumstances drives in a wedge. Then either his lover dies or leaves. 'God, what's wrong with me?' The lyrics to an old song suddenly popped into his head. Are you "looking for love in all the wrong places" War old boy?
The past year had been difficult in another respect, as well. Sex with Ztar had been an almost nightly occurrence that was simply…incredible. Ztar was amazing in bed – no one Warren had ever been intimate with came close to the man's skill as a lover. It mattered not that Warren was straight and Ztar was male. His mind and body had burned with a lust and sexual euphoria he didn't know existed before the Turzent. 'You miss the sex, plain and simple,' he admitted. The first couple of days on the return trip to Earth, he'd been fine, but as the days played out, some deep part of him longed strongly for Ztar. Or perhaps more accurately, for what Ztar could do in bed.
He broke his hover and headed higher to cool down the sudden rise in body heat at the mere thought of the physical delights Ztar could bestow. He'd taken two women to his bed over the last many months in an attempt to recreate what he and Ztar had. All he came away with was frustration. They paled next to the Turzent. Multiple reasons why. Both women looked to him to fulfill their sexual need where Ztar had focused on pleasuring Warren much of the time. Add the lack of empathic ability, that they didn't know his body, and that they weren't sure what to do with the wings. Plus, he had no real emotional connection with the women. Two dismal failures. With apologies all around, he broke it off with both quickly and cleanly.
'Sexually frustrated. That's me,' Warren summed up. 'Damn you, Ztar!' he riled, but little anger accompanied the curse. 'You've ruined me for everyone that follows,' he lamented in a variant of the long-ago voiced sentiment. It seemed like such an innocent statement when he'd said it originally to Ztar. Instead, it had been prophetic. Then his concern switched to Ztar. The Turzent repeated the same sentiment to Warren a year ago during their last night together on Sat'rey. And there was Ztar's casual prediction made that same night – "You'll never find another lover who can make you burn as I do." That was also proving true. Would Warren always be left wanting in bed? 'Is Ztar feeling the same? Is that what our little romp was all about?'
Having reached a height where the air was bitterly cold, Warren began a leisurely, spiraling descent. The sun was warm on his feathers even in the high altitude. He wanted it to sink in, slide its warmth down between his feathers to the sensitive membrane beneath. Just as Ztar had slid his skilled fingers through the wings, creating sexual delight from wing tips to groin and all points between. His body instantly ignited in remembered bliss. 'O-o-oh, god!' He moaned with the arousal. Spasms of need rippled through his body forcing Warren to pull up short and hover until he could calm himself.
The ache went deep, so much more than from simple, unmet physical desire. His very soul seemed to reach out for what was no longer there – Ztar. "One night in his bed and look at you!" he cried out, the words whipped away in the mountain winds. 'Thought you'd gotten over him, didn't you? Me thinks you're addicted to Ztar-sex,' he chided sarcastically. 'It's gone. The source has dried up. Get over it!'
Breathing in and out, calming his body and his mind, the ache eased. 'Don't become what Ztar had, Worthington, looking for something you had but lost.' A new appreciation set in for what Ztar had gone through after his genetic augmentation by the mercenary Etagllot scientists. The Emperor had gradually turned into a hungry, sadistic bedmate in part because of unmet sexual need and it took Ztar years to overcome the darkness that had corrupted his soul.
'You don't want to go there, Worthington,' he confirmed to himself. 'Take your own advice – learn to find pleasure and fulfillment in bed another way.' He shook his head. 'Right, easier said than done.' Then he took off like a dart and started an exercise routine to give the remnants of arousal an outlet. 'Gives me a whole new admiration for what Ztar endured and overcame.'
Tight loops, quick course changes, and dodging imaginary weapons fire worked wonders to ease the mental and physical tension. As he relaxed and slowed his frantic pace, he looked to heavens. 'Is there someone out there for me? Will I ever find her?' He wanted to settle down. Wanted someone in his life that made him complete. Someone who would light a fiery passion in him. A woman to love until the end of his days. 'Too much to ask?'
He caught a gentle updraft and rode it, relishing the caress of the wind over his body. Then movement caught his attention. Another flyer a couple miles in the distance, clearly discernable to his incredible vision. Even with his sharp eyes, it was impossible to tell whether male or female, but definitely winged. Who was it? Several possibilities came to mind, but the list narrowed dramatically when he noted the wings appeared to be brilliant white. "Now who could that be?" he asked the puffy clouds as he propelled himself cautiously toward the other wind rider.
###
Ettwanae flew toward the one she had sought for so long. Could it be? Was she finally going to meet another of her kind? Everything about his bio-sig said that was the case according to Volu. Her heart pounded as she streaked forward.
An odd sensation began to grow deep within her. Not truly physical – not mental. Was this was what Volu had told her about when her kind approach one another? With each wing beat, she felt more certain it was. The distant figure seemed to be drawing her in – pulling her through the sky. Her heart raced even more in anticipation. "If the feeling is exceptionally strong, you have found your soulbound – the one you are meant to be with," her friend and teacher had explained. "If it is indeed your soulbound, there will be other signs as well."
"What are those signs?" she'd asked.
"You will know – they will be unmistakable," Volu had answered cryptically.
Wind tearing past her, Ettwanae pushed herself, so afraid that something would once again come between her and her goal. 'Please, goddess, let this finally be,' she prayed. The pull intensified, becoming a vibration within her.
###
As they drew nearer, details came into focus. Warren admired the flowing golden hair, the lithe form, and the obviously female contours. Distance closed until facial features were discernable. 'My god, she's…gorgeous!' he marveled.
The distance was rapidly narrowing. Strange sensations stirred deep inside Warren in a place he couldn't identify and in a way he couldn't quite define – almost a pulling. Concern nudged.
As the strange feeling grew steadily stronger, his apprehension intensified. Warren stopped to hover as they came within a hundred feet of each other. The female flyer did likewise. He scanned around them – you never know when something might be a trap. The strange tug was too strong, too unexplainable. Was the woman a telepath and exerting mild control over him?
###
Ettwanae observed him as he hung in the sky. 'Goddess, he's beautiful!' How long she'd waited to look upon someone like herself. But he was hesitant. 'To be expected,' she told herself. 'We are strangers.' They were close enough to hear each other above the sound of the wind and beating wings. "I mean you no harm. I've been searching for you!" she called loudly, trying to ignore the insistent tug that continued to strengthen despite holding their positions.
The woman was speaking Turzent – the official language of Ztar's empire, which Warren spoke fluently. Wariness immediately overrode the sharp urges prodding from inside. "Why?" he demanded in Turzent. 'Who is this woman and what does she want? And most puzzling of all, how is it she looks so much like me – an image inducer?'
Her long, golden hair whipped in the turbulence created by her beating wings. She snared the wild locks with one hand to keep them from her face. "We are of the same kind. Please, let me come closer," she called out her request.
The strange attraction felt so-o-o right, which increased his apprehension. "What is your kind?" Did she think him so gullible? 'Some sort of trap. Etagllot?' he thought with trepidation.
Ettwanae heard the emphasis. Did he not recognize they were the same? Did he not feel the pull? "I am Eshaaru, as are you."
Eshaaru? Esserru! 'Bullshit.' He'd been down this path before. "You are mistaken. I am Human."
Human? Why did he deny his heritage? Was it the same reasons she concealed hers? Yet he obviously felt no need to disguise his appearance, even when he had appeared in public at the trial on Sat'rey. "Please, may I come closer so we can talk more easily?" she pleaded, fearing he might dart away. She watched and prayed as he considered. Then he changed his aerial position and flew forward and her heart leapt.
Warren halted when a few yards from the woman, watching her every movement for signs of foul play. At least they no longer had to yell. Without warning, the pull magnified multifold to nearly overwhelm him and he swayed in the air. 'My god, what is she doing to me?' He thought to move away, yet did not. "Whatever game you're playing, stop immediately or I'll take you out!" he demanded hotly.
Ettwanae was confused at first as to what he thought she was doing, but then it clicked. He was experiencing the same tug and her heart rate escalated with barely contained elation. "It's nothing I'm doing – not intentionally. I think you're feeling the pull of kind when we near each other – like a homing signal."
The sensation was escalating rapidly and from what Volu had taught her, it meant this male was likely her soulbound. Warmth began spreading through her nether regions, and lustful yearnings filled her. Another sign that the man before her was to be her life mate?
Raw lust slammed into Warren from out of nowhere. His body went from zero to ninety so fast he nearly forgot to beat his wings. 'Jesus Christ! What's happening?' He wanted to race headlong to the woman and have sex right there in the air. She was definitely exerting some form of control. "What are you doing to me?" he yelled. "Stop now!" Alarm rose, yet he could not bring himself to move away; the inability causing apprehension to escalate further.
Carnal urges ratcheted up. Mating instincts kicked in full throttle and she shuddered. "I can't – it's nothing I'm trying to do. P-please believe me! We- we belong together – that's all. We're soulbounds!" she managed to stammer out, instantly knowing it was a mistake. 'Oh, goddess! It's happening too fast! I'm frightening him. Need more time.'
"Soul what?" He shook his head against the driving demand to close the gap between them. It was nearly impossible to resist and clear thinking was becoming a struggle. "Lady, you're crazy! I'm leaving." As determined as he was, he hung there – pinned in place to the sky by the unseen force.
Ettwanae desperately wanted to fly to him. Every cell in her body screamed to take him into her. "P-Please don't go. I've waited my w-whole life to find another like me. Stay…please. I'll do anything!" Waves of lust crashed through her and she clenched her fists, nails biting into flesh, the pain helping her determination, but her strength to resist was quickly waning.
Hormones raced through his body – lucid thought was slipping away. He wanted her as he'd wanted no one else his entire life. It was primal and undeniable. Yet the line she was feeding him was ludicrous. 'Eshaaru? Soulbounds? Bull!' He shook with effort to maintain control. "Back off now!"
She hesitated, unsure if she had the strength to move away. Then coherent thought fractured and fell away in jagged shards. Instincts as old as time took over and in a single downbeat, Ettwanae propelled forward.
Warren saw her coming and momentarily considered moving, but thought didn't translate into action. His body and mind froze. When the female reached him, it was like a silent energy explosion. 'Join!' the energy commanded as it rolled through him. It was blinding. All remaining cognitive reasoning vaporized. There was only the female and the need.
As he took her mouth in a savage kiss, shockwaves pounded through her. Ettwanae gasped into the warmth of his mouth and then groaned as flames of sexual craving raged within her. She pushed further into his mouth and dropped herself vertical and he did likewise. Their legs entwined, pulling them tightly together, grinding their loins against one another, and they hung in the air.
Warren couldn't catch his breath as he probed deep, twirling their tongues. Deeper, farther he pushed into the warm moistness, but he couldn't get deep enough. He wanted to consume her, be in her, of her. Her taste was sweet and fiery. He wanted to feel every inch of her trembling body; wanted his hands everywhere at once. He was burning alive and it was glorious. More. He had to have more!
He tried to break from the kiss; she not wanting him to, refused to release his mouth. Finally tearing away, he bit her lip, kissed her chin, nipped her neck, squeezing her even tighter to him, pressing her breasts his chest. His hands found the wing bases and moved to those points where flesh meets feather and densely packed nerves come together to create one hell of an erogenous zone. He tantalized those spots with his fingers, one hand at each beating wing. Feathery softness. Beneath, powerful muscles worked. The contrast was erotic.
Ettwanae threw her head back and moaned loudly in bliss as he did something amazing at the base of her wings. She was over the edge and tumbling into the erotic unknown. No longer able maintain a beating motion, the wings spread wide of their own volition and held their span. She squeezed down on his legs with hers, trying desperately to position his shaft where it had to go. The throbbing need for him to be inside her was almost painful. "Goddess!" she cried aloud in lustful ecstasy.
Her head arched back, exposing a graceful neck. Glowing golden hair danced wildly. Wings spread to their full glory, the white feathers nearly blinding against the blue sky under the intense mountain sun. Her slender, lithe body writhing from bliss in his arms. He took it all in. She was magnificence and wonder and he wanted her to the depths of his soul.
Ettwanae pulled her head forward and looked into the incredible blue eyes – it was like looking into her own. She was meant to stare deep into that blueness. He was part of her. She part of him. They were one. His majestic wings beat in rhythm with the thrumming of her body. She wanted to be taken – wildly and with abandon.
Allowing him to hold them in the air, she took his mouth in another ravaging kiss. Grabbing a handful of cloth, she ripped at the barrier between her and what she needed. Ettwanae moved against his groin, fire burning as she felt his arousal press to her. The need to copulate was unbearable. She had to get rid of the clothes!
Warren was beyond thoughts of traps and mind control as his lust whipped as wildly as the wind around them. Nothing existed but the drive to mate. He must have her. All of her – leave nothing untouched. Be with her, in her. Now! He devoured her mouth, nearly crushed her in his embrace. He moaned as she ground against him, while two pairs of hands ripped at cloth desperately to remove the obstacle.
/ Poda? / A strange voice came into her head. She ignored it as his mouth explored the skin exposed by a rip in her top.
/ Poda! / The voice reverberated within her mind. 'Volu?' she distantly put the voice and name together.
/ Poda – listen to me! /
She ignored the telepathic call. Ettwanae was too busy tearing at her soulbound's clothes.
/ Ettwanae! Look down, now! Do it! / The cry was desperate and commanding.
To silence the intruder, she tore her mouth away and glanced down. "GODDESS!" They were freefalling and the ground was nearly upon them.
The woman's scream nearly stopped Warren's heart. Then jarring realization of what was about to happen drove panic through him.
Two pairs of wings shot out in instinctive reflex to grab air and halt their plunge as they shoved away from one another. Swooping in opposite directions, feathers brushed the tops of the pines standing tall in the alpine forest they'd come so close to crashing into.
The blend of sex hormones with those of raw panic was too much. Her head whirled chaotically and her body shook violently. 'Must land,' she thought breathlessly and scanned the landscape. Sighting a small clearing, she headed in that direction. / Thank you, Volu! / Ettwanae projected out to her friend high above the planet.
/ You frightened me, Poda. /
/ That's makes two of us. Dear goddess, so close! /
/ Be careful, Ettwanae. First Meeting can be…intense. /
Ettwanae shook her head in disbelief. / You call that merely intense? / Gentle amusement was Volu's silent response.
She landed in the clearing, her heart and breath still racing.
###
High above, Volu monitored. The plunge from the sky scared her. While Ettwanae and her soulbound likely would have survived the fall, both would have been in much pain and helpless until healed. And if one or both had impaled on a tree, it would have been a very serious situation.
There was little doubting that Ettwanae had found her soulbound – sensor readings on the two beings all but confirmed. The physical response was classic. Even after millennia, the species retained its primal drives – mating being one.
Then something nudged Volu's sensor attention away from the winged pair as they landed. With Ettwanae safely on the ground, Volu widened her awareness once again. A small skimmer was coming to rest at the edge of the meadow where the pair was recovering. She scanned more deeply and then more broadly – extending her intense probe to the surrounding mountains. Volu lurched in space as fear gripped her.
'They are here!'
###
'My god, Worthington, what the hell were you doing!' Warren followed the mystery woman he nearly splattered himself on the mountainside trying to have aerial sex with.
Ettwanae watched her soulbound alight some distance from her. It took everything she had not to run to him, knock him to the ground, and take him right there. She shuddered from the effort to stay where she was.
"I am Ettwanae. What is your name?" she called out, surprised her voice sounded steady.
Warren was wary, but the drive to make love was still nearly all-consuming and he was torn. There she stood in all her exotic beauty – ethereal and majestic. The mountain winds caught her hair and wings, lifting them – enticing him. His body wanted more of her taste, smell, her feel with an intensity that was painful. He moaned from the need and clenched his fists so hard he nearly drew blood.
"What…are…you doing…to me?" he demanded, struggling to push words out.
Seeing his distress heightened her desire to a level that stole her breath all over again. She wanted to fill that need. "We share the affects of…first meeting of soulbounds." She took a caution step forward. He didn't move, but watched her, conflict clearly etched in his beautifully handsome face. She took another step. "What is your true name?" she asked again, fighting the urge to rush into his arms.
'True name?' What did she mean? "No answers…until you…explain." Mistrust reasserted itself along side burning desire. He held to control by an unraveling thread.
A wave of heat ran the length of her body. She groaned, nearly collapsing to her knees. She struggled against instinct, her voice almost a victim to its call. "When…when soulbounds meet for the first time, it c-can b-be like this. We are meant to be together." Primal urges would not be denied, and she shook violently. "Please! I need you," she was not above begging.
The plea hit him with irresistible force. Instinct overrode all fears and logic and drove his body to act in defiance of his will. With one leap and downbeat, he closed the distance between them with lightening speed and he was upon her. But as their mouths connected with bruising force, a flash of blinding pain sliced through his head and blackness swallowed him.
###
She did not care what alarms or warnings her headlong plunge through the atmosphere set off on the remote planet called Earth. Ettwanae was in terrible danger. She would not lose her Other – not again. Then sensors told her both Eshaaru were unconscious and she shuddered in raising panic.
/ Ettwanae! / she screamed with her mind. No response, as she knew there would not.
###
He smiled from the unexpected bonus. Two for the price of one. Yet without specific orders to capture the female, he'd simply release her if commanded to do so. Moving back to the skimmer, he allowed himself just a bit of satisfaction. Weeks of waiting were about to come to fruition. All that remained was retrieving the unconscious bodies that had succumbed to his mindblast.
As he settled the skimmer within feet of his prey, sensors raised the alarm he had been expecting just as a soft presence in his mind nudged an alert. The other ship was dropping through atmosphere at an alarming speed toward his location. He had to move very quickly. 'Cover me!' he rammed the telepathic command out to his own waiting spacecraft as he leaped out of the skimmer.
'Take no chances, get the target,' he told himself running toward the one known as Archangel. With the other ship closing in, he'd leave the female. Grabbing up the limp male, he hoisted him across a shoulder and turned to run back to his surface craft. 'Surprisingly light for his size,' he took a moment to note.
###
Volu streaked through atmosphere. / I am coming, Poda! / she called out again with her mind; only silence replied. Scanning ahead, the enemy was unarmed, yet she knew he was the cause of the pair's unconsciousness. 'Telepathic assault,' she concluded. Volu watched with dread through scanners as the attacker approached the fallen soulbounds. When the man grabbed Archangel, she readied the only weapon she would risk under the circumstances. The other ship barely registered on her sensors as it rose up from its hiding place, its cloak only partially employed in obvious warning. Volu ignored the threat. It would not fire on her – could not.
###
'This needs to happen quickly,' he told himself with a glance to the sky. He caught a glimpse of distortion ripples. / Bae! / he raged. It was his last act as the world convulsed and vibrated violently around him. He and his prey dropped like stones to the ground, awareness gone instantly.
###
"What the fuck's happenin'?" Flint demanded when Volu told him and Gatebi get to the hatch immediately – there was trouble. The whole business about finding more Eshaaru he understood, but it was becoming more and more dangerous. It's not what he'd signed up for. Adventure, yes. People trying to capture or kill them at every turn, not so much.
"Flint, hurry, please." Fear came through the audio feed as clearly as the words. He met up with Gatebi who was already on the lift that had begun descending to the lower level.
"We should have accompanied her," Gatebi pointed out with the I-told-you-so smugness she wore with expertise. It always riled him.
"If Twae wants to go cruisin' solo, that's her biz."
Gatebi gave him her usual look when she hadn't a clue as to what he'd said. 'You'd think after all this time, the clever alien tech that calls itself a universal translator woulda figured some of it out,' he thought sardonically. "We're not her freakin' babysitters."
The woman moved on to her usual disapproving frown. "But we do take care of each other, Flint. Or would you rather we not?"
As the lift neared the bottom, the duo leapt off and raced to the opening hatch, wind swirling in the bay, nearly knocking them from their feet. Looking through the opening, it was apparent they were coming in hot for a landing.
"Volu, Ettwanae is in trouble?" Gatebi called out.
"She is unconscious. They are here. We must return her to the ship quickly."
They are here. It was all that needed to be said. Gatebi and Flint exchanged fearful glances as the ship slowed quickly above a mountain meadow. Three bodies were lying on the ground – two with wings, one without. Volu settled herself in the tall, mountain grass.
"That's the other bird we've been looking for?" Gatebi gave him a scowl, but held her tongue. He loved yanking her chain despite the tense situation.
"Yes. He must be brought on board as well," Volu ordered as they settled onto the grassy clearing.
"Least there'll be some more testosterone 'round here. All the girly hormones on this boat can drive a guy to drink!" Yank.
Gatebi's scowl deepened. "Why Ettwanae doesn't drop you off at the nearest mining colony, I cannot begin to understand," she snapped back with indignation oozing. Then she was off like a shot out the hatch, Flint on her heels.
###
Warren struggled through the sticky, thick mud that was awareness, fighting to comprehend. His body vibrated as if it were a very taut string that had been plucked, yet it was numb. Vision was a blurry blend of light and shadow and hearing consisted of a loud ringing – all other sound heavily muffled. 'What?'
He saw movement around him, then hands were grabbing him under the arms and the knees, carrying him. He couldn't move; his body simply didn't respond. Helpless, he couldn't stop what was happening. Fear pumped adrenaline. His body whizzed as his healing factor fought whatever had hit him. Within moments, he was laid out on a flat surface and the hands release him. The world was still out of focus, but as the ringing in his ears eased, words became discernable.
"Are they okay?" a female voice asked.
"Merely stunned," another female replied.
"Hey, this dude looks like he could be Twae's brother!" a male voice piped in.
"Ettwanae's regaining consciousness," the first female announced.
Warren felt a close presence. The dark blob next to him started to come into focus.
"Him, too. Come on, little birdie. Time to wake up." Flint looked more closely at the winged man struggling to consciousness. "Hey, Gabby, I know this guy! Don't mean know him, but know who he is. Now what the fuck's his name?" Flint wondered rhetorically, straining to resurrect the memory.
Abruptly, his healing factor won its battle in a rush of focused vision, cleared hearing, and bodily control. A male face loomed over him. In a flash of movement, Warren's had his hand around the man's throat and in a throw-down maneuver, his attacker was on his back with Warren straddling his body, pinning the man to the floor by the neck.
"Nobody move or I break his neck!" Warren squeezed tightly for emphasis. His hostage struggled and coughed. Quickly surveying his surroundings, it appeared they were in a room with one female Alcab standing and the woman calling herself Ettwanae lying on the floor, but struggling to sit up. Where were they? He'd been in the air near his aerie last he recalled. More memories took form – her, the mysterious pull of lust, kissing, falling, landing in the meadow…
The Alcab gasped. "No! We're friends. You're in no danger."
Warren wasn't buying it. "Really? Then who the hell attacked us! What do you want?"
The Human continued to struggle annoyingly, hands wrapped around Warren's wrist in a vain attempt to dislodge his hold. He wasn't nearly strong enough for that. "Lie still!" he ordered down.
Ettwanae got upright; wide eyes revealing fright. "She- she speaks the truth. Please don't hurt Flint!"
Warren eyed the threesome warily. They made an interesting group – Alcab, Human, and proclaimed Eshaaru. He wouldn't let the kid go quite yet.
"Hey, dude. We're not gonna hurt ya," the juvenile choked out as he tugged at Warren's arm uselessly. "Twae's been cruisin' around the galaxy hoping to hook up with you. She's been kinda obsessing over it, but you're safe, man."
Warren looked hard at the teen, registering that he wasn't speaking Turzent as were the other two. "Perhaps you should be quiet before your mouth gets you in even more trouble," he warned in English.
"Be quiet, Flint!" Ettwanae chided with a sharp look. Then her eyes returned to Warren. "He's right, though. You are safe here. We mean you no harm."
A shiver of desire raced through him again. 'Shit! Get your libido under control, Worthington.' He studied her face and body language closely. No signs of deceit there, but then she claimed to not be Human, so body signals had to be doubted. Yet no ill intent radiated from her. Ettwanae indeed could be mistaken for his sister – uncannily so. A female version of him sat facing Warren, her crystalline-blue orbs filled with a concern and wonder. He had to tear his eyes away as wanton lust all but bowled him over yet again. 'Steady, flyboy.'
Turning his study to the Alcab, she looked scared, but not hostile; holding herself in a manner unsuggestive of a physical threat. She appeared to be the eldest of the trio, but certainly not old. Perhaps 23-25 Earth years. Hard to know with an alien species. He cast his gaze down to the obvious Human. American. No doubting the accent – Upper Midwest. Young, 18-19 max. Smart-mouth by all early indications. 'Damn bunch of kids.' Warren knew from hard experience, though, how much pain and trouble a bunch of kids could cause.
He released the boy's throat, but did not dismount. "You three have a lot of explaining to do. You, in particular," he directed at Ettwanae. Then he got up, completely recovered from whatever hit them in the meadow. Another wave of sexual hunger swayed him. 'Jesus!' From the look on Ettwanae's face, the wave hit her as well. Her face flushed and eyes dilated. Warren caught a subtle trembling of her hand as the Alcab extended hers, which Ettwanae grabbed to pull herself up. Warren noted with interest Ettwanae recovered as fast as he had.
"I'll tell you whatever you wish to know," his look-alike offered with a tentative smile.
"Right now, I want to know where I am."
/ Volu, what happen? / Ettwanae projected, struggling to put the pieces together as the situation de-escalated.
/ They were there. He rendered you unconscious psionically I believe. He was taking Archangel when I used my concussive weapon to disable him. Unfortunately, you both were also impacted. Flint and Gatebi brought you inside. /
Ettwanae struggled to turn off the urges, but even dual assaults in the mountain meadow had done little to quell raging hormones. She wasn't so certain she could control herself with him so easily within reach. Perhaps if they sat? 'Or maybe I could ask Gatebi and Flint to hold me down?' she winced mentally. "Perhaps we should sit and talk?"
Warren shook his head. He'd go no deeper into wherever they were. His senses were telling him that they were moving and Earth's magnetic field was gone. "No. Are we on a ship? Have we left Earth?" he conjectured in an accusatory tone.
Ettwanae was surprised. Few beings would have been able to detect that. Another sign he was Eshaaru? / Volu, what is our status? /
/ I am preparing for FTL. /
"We're aboard Volu – my ship."
"And we've left Earth, haven't we?" he repeated, fighting the arousal that threatened to consume him. 'Damn it all! Need to get out of here.'
She nodded, sensing his pruriency, which only escalated hers, nearly robbing her of breath.
"Turn us around now," he commanded through clenched teeth in the most authoritative voice he could muster. He was not going to be kidnapped by a some kids playing sex games.
"Please, can't we just talk? I'll explain everything," she implored. Their first encountered was not going well. The wild swings between joy, lust, and panic were extreme enough. Now he was becoming agitated again. Just to add to her emotional maelstrom, another demanding urge to knock him to the floor and mate rolled over her. A moan escaped before she could stifle it.
The groan sent him reeling. With every ounce of willpower he possessed, Warren stood his ground. The effort almost muted him, but he worked his throat to find his voice. "This…had better be…good."
Ettwanae was on the verge of panting in her efforts to control the carnal drives seeking to wrest control.
"If I may make a suggestion…" a disembodied, female-sounding voice filled the room.
"Fuck and get it over with?" Flint offered, eyebrows raised to emphasize the obviousness of his idea. He was rewarded with a pointed jab in the side. "What?" He turned sharply to Gatebi. "You'd hafta be dead not to feel the heat. It's sizzling in here!"
Warren grabbed Ettwanae's arm hard before he thought the action through. "Who was that – that other voice?"
"That's the ship, dude. A real tightarse. Never heard her crack a joke yet," Flint injected.
Warren shot the kid a warning look. "Did I ask you?" He turned back to Ettwanae. "Is that true?" Then desire intensified with flashover swiftness sending quivers right down to his wingtips.
She nodded. His hand on her arm stole her voice. 'Sweet goddess!' With hands tightened into fists and nails dug into flesh, she held to herself. 'Stay in control. Just stay in control,' she repeated the mantra.
"Remove your hand from her now!" The disembodied voice boomed and Warren jumped back startled. "I suggest you go both get something to eat. Your energy levels are dropping. That condition will weaken self-control."
Warren refocused himself quickly. How was it possible he was being taken against his will by aliens once again? 'I'm cursed – only explanation.'
"Not until we return to Earth!" he growled as anger ignited. "What you are doing is kidnapping. And I won't tolerate-"
"What we just did," the voice interrupted tersely, "was stop an Etagllot operative from kidnapping you for their twisted purposes. Perhaps you prefer I take you back to the meadow and let them have you."
"Etagllot?" Warren shivered for an entirely new reason. The idea of the Etagllot slipping through the heavy security net surrounding Earth quickly cooled his runaway libido. If true, it confirmed the illicit organization was still after him for the nannites. 'What happened to all Gtar-Cro's defenses?' He wasn't the only one in potential danger – any Human, and particularly mutants – were at risk. He had no proof of the voice's declaration, but if there was even the slightest chance the Etagllot were once again a threat to Humans… "I need to warn people. Get me back to Earth now!"
"You may warn whomever you wish from here."
"Volu's right. We can comm anyone you want. Please, let me explain everything first. Give me just a few minutes."
Warren eyed Ettwanae. "A few minutes are all you have. First, though, this ship comes to a halt."
"Volu, please stop," Ettwanae requested into the air.
/ That is not wise, Poda. They likely follow. /
/ Just for a few minutes, Volu, or he will become more upset. /
Ettwanae heard the mental sigh.
"It is done," the ship confirmed. "Now you both need sustenance."
Warren realized the ship's artificial intelligence, or AI as it was commonly called, was right. He felt depleted, as if he hadn't eaten all day. In fact, he was almost shaky from caloric deficiency. Sensing no immediate danger, Warren acquiesced. "Food and explanations then."
"Hey, eating's always a good start, right?" Flint asked, his eyes darting from one to the other, rubbing his throat absentmindedly where Warren had held it in a vise grip, still trying to put a family name to the winged man.
Warren followed Ettwanae at a safe distance toward a round platform in the floor. He stopped abruptly.
"It's an elevator, man. Don't let it spook ya. No sides, but you get use to it," the teen encouraged in his own way.
It wasn't an open lift that made Warren pause; it was the closeness of her if they took it together. At the moment, he had the urges barely under control, but if he came too near the object of his lust… "Perhaps the two ladies should go first. Flint and I will follow."
Ettwanae turned toward him. "What should we call you?" She knew his Imperial moniker, but doubted it was his real name.
"Warren."
"Warren," she repeated thoughtfully. It wasn't an Eshaaru name and seemed alien on him.
Memories cells fired and Flint had the name and all that went with it, but he'd save his proclamation for a moment when his revelation would be most applauded.
"My name is Ettwanae, if you don't remember."
Warren let himself smirk. "Oh, I don't think I could ever forget it." Something nudged him about the name. So familiar…
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A/N: Okay, so the first chapter wasn't exactly short (12 pages in Microsoft Word), but most will be this length or less.
A review from you will absolutely make my day. Have I captured your attention? Do you want to keep reading? What do you think of the new characters so far?
Your impressions and thoughts will keep me motivated as I plow through the final editing chore.