Accepting (The Return of the Nine book 2) (2 page)

“You hate change…ohh.” Ziggy got up and took a seat next to her.

Tiera felt the bed dip, but she was still disconnected from the world around her. It was a defence mechanism that she had always fallen back on in the past, despite its inconvenience.

“I am sorry, Ziggy. This should be a happy time for you, and I am delighted that you met someone. It will just take me time to work it into my thoughts. I should be a little un-kinked in the morning.” Tiera smiled at her friend’s hug.

Three days ago, Ziggy had just been the best friend a girl could have. Now she had a strength that wasn’t hidden behind sarcasm anymore. Oh, the sarcasm was still bright and shining but the strength was right beside it now. The change in her best friend was more striking than anything else, and it was also the most frightening.

“I know that it is sudden, and I know that it will take time for you to get used to it. That is why Rothaway sent for you. Since I can’t go to you, you are invited here for as long as you like.” Ziggy took her hand.

“You are touching me a lot. I know you can’t read emotions, so what are you after?” Her words came out far more blunt than she had intended.

“I am seeking to comfort you. Just two days with Rothaway has taught me the powerful effect that touch can have. You are calmer now, yes?”

Tiera laughed at the perky tone of Ziggy’s voice. “Yes. I am. Now, what do you have against Tonos?”

Ziggy sighed and Tiera followed her gaze into the other room.

“Can they hear us?”

Ziggy grimaced. “Without a doubt. The Wilder have excellent hearing, and from what I know, the People of the Air do as well. It was in their base species before the Nine split. I can’t believe that our folklore has them on record, and no one ever figured out that someone somewhere had seen aliens.”

Tiera laughed. “It figures that you figured it out, Zig.”

“It’s what I do.”

They sat holding hands while Tiera’s world spun and finally settled inside her.

“Better?”

She laughed, “Better.”

“Then, I will introduce you to my husband.”

“Wait. What is your problem with Tonos?”

“He is way too flirty for one of the Nine. And those wings of his are so…”

“Creepy.” The masculine voice from the doorway was amused.

Tiera smiled. “I don’t think they are creepy.”

His wings flicked in response to her words. “I thank you, Miss Tiera. I will take my leave of you now, but know that I enjoyed our time together very much.”

“Thank you for the tour.”

He bowed and left the room.

Ziggy’s man came forward and occupied the doorway. “I am pleased to meet you, Tiera MacKenzie. Signy has been quite agitated that you come, so she would not be the only Gaian on board.”

His blunt honesty made her laugh. “I am pleased to meet you, Rothaway. Ziggy has told me nothing about you, so I am dying to learn more.”

She and Ziggy got to their feet. Ziggy paused her husband with one hand. “Let me just explain the workings of the lav to her, and we will join you in the outer room.”

Tiera nodded. “Good call.”

It took a few minutes to get everything just right, but when they left the lav, Tiera was fairly confident about her grasp of the procedure.

The next thing to learn was how to summon a hot beverage, but that lesson was taught with an interested Rothaway looking on.

Sipping at a cup of tea, Tiera asked him, “How many of the Nine have learned Gaian?”

He shrugged. “Everyone on the mother ship.”

That surprised her. “But, I had an aquatic pilot, and he had a problem with speaking. He got the words right, but his mouth moved funny.”

Rothaway smiled, “You caught that? His species does not speak in their home environment. Learning any spoken language is difficult for them.”

Since this was her home for the interim, she took a seat at the table, and Ziggy and Rothaway soon joined her. “So, how does one go about learning an alien language in an effective manner, and how could the entire ship have done it with Gaian?”

He grinned and showed some very sharp teeth. “We do it via subliminal training. It helps to keep our minds on our duties during the day. A few of the races have representatives with a talent for language, and they were the first ones to speak with your people.”

Tiera sat back and just came out with it. “How is it possible that you meet an alien woman and decide within hours that she is the one for you?”

Rothaway blinked and then grinned at Ziggy. “You didn’t tell her?”

Ziggy was blushing. “There was no opportunity.”

“Shall I?”

“No. That’s fine. I will tell her. Tier, do you remember when I said that I met a member of the Nine and he had some men with him and they escaped from the ship I was on?”

Tiera blinked, “Yes, you said he was unwell so you stuffed him in the pod and hit the button.”

Rothaway arched a brow. “Unwell?”

Ziggy’s face was on fire with a blush. “Well, he wasn’t sick. I needed to get him out of there, so I kissed him, mugged his mind and shoved him into the pod while he was stunned. That is what started the bond. He has been waiting for me since that day.”

Tiera nodded as she absorbed the information that her friend had molested a wounded man. It was Ziggy from top to toe. She never did anything in the right order and this was proof.

Tiera grinned. “Congratulations on the end of a long wait, Rothaway. She was worth every second of it.”

He lifted Ziggy’s hand to his lips, and Tiera teared up at the genuine affection in his eyes. “I would have waited until the stars burned out for this woman, though I may have gone mad in the process.”

Tiera sipped at her tea and felt her world settle around her with another mental click. She just needed to know a little more of the customs of the place that she found herself, and it would be like being on a holiday that someone else had booked. Fun, but out of her control.

Chapter Three

“What do you mean
go mad
?” Tiera was eating some of the snacks that Ziggy had coaxed out of the dispenser in front of her eyes.

Rothaway sighed, “Tonos would be a better person to question, he is a medic.”

Tiera waved her hands. “Explain please. I don’t want to make any social gaffs.”

He straightened, “Right. Well, our parent race mated via pheromone triggers as many do. We have evolved to determine our mate via contact. When we find a woman ninety-eight percent compatible, and we touch, our body keys itself to that female. Depending on our race, there are a variety of effects which occur after that initial contact.”

Ziggy reached over and snagged a cracker, “Aggression toward other males is one of those side effects. Apparently they get horny and then they get deadly.”

Rothaway looked upset for a moment, but then, he nodded in agreement. “It is an unflattering but accurate assessment.”

“What stops it?”

Ziggy sipped and munched. “Well, Rothaway went to medical for several years and got suppressing shots.”

Rothaway’s dark skin darkened further. “I will leave you two to catch up. I will return in an hour with some more appropriate clothing for dinner. Don’t fill up. There is a council dinner in three hours.”

He got to his feet, kissed Ziggy in the most passionate embrace that Tiera had ever witnessed and escaped.

Tiera laughed, “He lasted longer than I expected him to.”

Ziggy grinned, “I know. He has stamina. Let me just confirm that. So, what do you want to know?”

“What was your wedding like?”

Ziggy’s gaze got far away. “There is a private area in the central garden, the air is filled with the scent of flowers and everything is so soothing.

“We stood in front of the altar stone, and I pulled the knife—”

“Knife?”

“I pulled the knife, and Rothaway put his wrist against it, breaking the skin. He bit my wrist, and we pressed the wounds together. This transferred his rut to me, and the first moment that we had alone, I jumped him.”

Tiera laughed and then sobered. “A knife? You are serious?”

“The blood keys him to me and me to him. It is freaky at times, but I am trying to get used to it. When you finish the cutting, you put the dagger back into the altar, and your union is now official by the laws of the Nine.”

“And you didn’t think that was weird?”

Ziggy cackled, “I thought it was nuts. If it weren’t for Rothaway being serious and focused, I would have made a run for it. I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere but I would have taken off.”

Tiera grinned, “So, we don’t touch the men of the Nine.”

Ziggy snickered, “Not unless you want to chance being stuck up her indefinitely. I can tell you, once they find a mate, they are not eager to let them go.”

Tiera tried to forget the peculiar shudder that had run through Tonos when she touched his arm, the fluttering of his wings and the flexing of the muscles in his body-builder physique.

Ziggy caught on to her change in expression. “What? What did you do?”

Tiera bit her lip.

“Wait, who did you touch and what happened?”

“It was probably nothing. I am sure it was nothing. It couldn’t have been anything, I am sure that he was just cold or something.”

Zig leaned forward. “He shivered? Did anything else happen?”

Tiera winced, “His wings flicked, eyes heated up and he licked his lips repeatedly. He said he was fine, but how would we know if he was affected?”

Zig closed her eyes and found the information. “The Air folk signal that they have found a mate with a change to their wings. The delicate veins harden and the panels become as hard as steel. Basically, if he has been affected, he is now carrying four swords on his back.”

Tiera winced, “What would that be for?”

“Fighting over females. It is possible for a female to be perfect for more than one male, and so they fought to get her to be theirs exclusively. If that wasn’t possible, they would try and abduct the woman and keep her with them until the bonding had been enacted.”

“And the women just stand for this?”

Zig smiled, “When it happens, you will know. You will do whatever it takes to get your male and nothing will stand in your way. A ninety-eight percent chance is way better than the odds of knowing that a Gaian man is meant for you.”

Tiera leaned back, “So, you have embraced becoming one of the Nine completely then?”

Ziggy shook herself and sat up. “In the last few days, I have learned more about space, the races who live out here and the history of our world than I had ever imagined. The Nine came here because they wanted to know what could possibly attract the Tokkel to their old world. They stayed because we showed potential to become more than simple colonists on a tempting world.”

The word
potential
suddenly snapped Tiera into understanding. “You are the reason that they are here. You are our Potential, Ziggy.”

Her friend’s blush was enough proof. “It wasn’t my idea.”

Tiera laughed. “I know it wasn’t, but it is weird how things turn out. If you hadn’t been going to get those crocuses for your mom, you wouldn’t have been taken, wouldn’t have escaped and wouldn’t have met Rothaway for the first time. You have always been so very special, and you spent your time hiding it. I am glad that it is out in the light of day.”

They sat in silence until Tiera couldn’t stand it anymore and dragged in a deep breath. “Fine, so what do the women of the People of the Air look like? What colour are their wings?”

“Only the men have wings. It is sexist, but it is how they evolved.”

Tiera leaned forward and whispered, “How sexually compatible are they with Gaians?”

“I don’t know if it is because of three generations growing up on Gaia changed our bits to match but we fit together very well. Any minor shifts are being corrected by the blood exchange.”

They chatted about minor matters, the rumour mill that was talking about Ziggy’s sudden departure from the surface. Many folks said she was being arrested for war crimes, and in a funny way, they were right. If she hadn’t assaulted Rothaway to knock him out, none of this would have happened.

“So, why is he going to get me clothing? I brought plenty of stuff.”

Ziggy grinned, “They are not impressed with Gaian clothing. They like their women to look like women and not cargo operators on leave.”

“Hey, I have some very nice stuff.”

Ziggy patted her arm. “I am sure you do, but just wait until you get to wear some Wilder formal wear. You will feel all delicate and weird.”

A suspicion filled Tiera. “Is he trying to set me up with someone?”

Zig shook her head, “No. They don’t do that sort of thing. Every male is responsible for his own female. If they are compatible but there is some hesitation on her part, he kisses her in front of witnesses and that is equivalent to an engagement. Since they don’t touch casually, it is a fairly serious thing.”