Hunting Cari (First Wave) (11 page)

“But
there was something about this that felt stronger, more compelling than
anything I had ever heard described by anyone. And the strength we felt
afterwards… was indescribable. It was as if they shared their strength and
gifts with us. Even Mikel began  to develop the empathic abilities of his mate.
As I had begun to craft as my mate had. There was a sharing of more than body
and soul, and it was so compelling it could not be ignored.” Randor told them
softly, remembering his beautiful mate and child.

“Randor,
I am so sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing this with us to help us
understand. We will convene for now and think more on this situation. Until
then, make sure that all information is sent to us directly. There are to be no
more rescue missions without at least informing us. Is that clear, Scaden?” The
tone in his father’s voice let Scaden know that sooner, or later he was going
to be taken to task for his decisions and his earlier outburst. However, he was
far too happy about being able to keep Cari on the ship to care.

“Of
course, Sir.”

As
the comm was disconnected and the holo-forms of the council began to disappear,
Scaden immediately tried to leave the comm room, not willing to deal with
Randor’s “talk” that he wanted to have.

Randor
grabbed hold of Scaden’s arm just as the door to the room opened, and spun
Scaden around to face him.

“I
told you we needed to talk.”

“And
we can talk later. Right now, we should probably check on Cari and make sure
she’s ok.” Scaden growled as he jerked his arm from Randor’s grasp.

“If
she wasn’t feeling better, I’m sure Amun would have told us by now.”

“I
don’t have time for games Randor, what do you want?”

“I
want you to stay away from Cari. Whatever it is that you think you are feeling
or whatever is driving you to be near her… suppress it and stay away from her.
And I want her quarters changed to one next to mine on my level of the ship,
immediately.” Randor stated with a fierce scowl.

“I
don’t know what you’re talking about. I have no feelings for Cari that need to
be suppressed. And as commander of this ship, it is my decision as to where
people are assigned quarters, and that will not change without a good reason.
Is that understood?” Scaden was becoming angrier by the second. Did Randor
think he could keep Cari away from him? She belonged to him! And no one was
going to get in the way of him being near her!

“You
listen to me, that little girl is MY daughter! And as the council told you, I
have every right to dictate what happens with MY child! And I demand that her
quarters be moved, and that you stay the hell away from her! Randor stepped
closer to Scaden until they were standing nose to nose, unafraid of the younger
man’s obvious anger.

“I
don’t give a damn who you are; this is MY ship, and I dictate the rules here,
and you better not forget that or I’ll have you sent packing on the first ship
that arrives. Do I make myself clear?” Scaden snarled out, barely able to keep
himself from hitting the man.

“And
I’m telling you, if you lay one hand on my daughter, I’ll kill you. She is unfamiliar
with our ways, and she is not ready to be mated. And you will damn well wait
until she is before you even think of touching her. Do I make myself clear?”
Randor was shaking with the need to hit the arrogant commander. Did he think he
was stupid? He saw the looks he gave Cari. He recognized the possessiveness.
Did the idiot not hear anything he had told the council about how they had
known those particular women were mates to them? The feelings they had? It was
obvious to even a fool that he was showing all the symptoms of one who had
found their mate.

“You’re
a fool old man if you think I have any intentions of taking a mate, Cari or
not. And I will do anything I damn well please on my ship and not you or anyone
else will stop me; although, I would truly like for you to try.” Scaden sent
the man an evil smile, letting him know just how much he would enjoy him trying
to best him.

“Maybe
you should stay in your quarters for a while Randor. At least until your
violent tendencies and irrational outbursts are under control. I’d hate to have
to confine you until your mental state stabilized. Now if you’re done wasting
my time, I have things to do.” Scaden let the threat hang as he walked out of
the comm room.

His
long, angry strides took him quickly down the corridors to his own quarters.
What the hell was wrong with man? She’s too young to be mated? Who the hell was
thinking of mating her? Randor couldn’t possibly think that he wanted to mate
her. Sure he felt responsible for her; it was his duty to protect her. But mate
her?

Was
Randor angry because he was the one who was waiting until he thought she was
old enough, and he wanted to mate her himself? Maybe he thought that Scaden
would stand in his way if he tried to mate with his 'daughter'? The thought made
him even angrier. No one was going to mate Cari. No one! She was his to
protect. She was his to take care of.

The
rational part of Scaden realized that a previously mated and bonded male could
not re-mate with someone else after the death of their mate. So Randor could
never mate with Cari or anyone else for that matter. However, the beast in him
could only see that someone else was trying to take Cari away from him, and he
couldn’t allow that. She belonged to him, and he would have her. One way or another,
she would be his, and he would make sure no one else ever tried to claim her.
The beast in him agreed.

Chapter Nine

Cari
couldn’t keep the smile from her face as Uncle Randor escorted her to the
dining hall for dinner. Amun finally had given in and told Cari that it was
possible to have children. Something she had always wanted but was never sure
was possible.

“Cari,
after dinner we need to talk.” Randor told her in a solemn tone. She knew that
tone. And it was never good.

“What
about?” Even as she asked she knew he wouldn’t tell her, but she tried anyway.

“We’ll
discuss it later, honey. For now let’s have a nice dinner together.” Which
meant what exactly? That if he talked to her before dinner, it would ruin her
appetite? She hated it when he did this to her. Why not just wait until after
dinner to tell her he needed to talk to her then talk! Why tell her now so
she’ll drive herself crazy during dinner trying to figure it out? Men were so
damn frustrating!

They
passed through the dining hall towards Gracus, who sat alone at a table; she
smiled brightly at the greetings of the men that they passed. And there was
Scaden, who was striding towards her with the ever present scowl on his face.
That man never seemed to smile, but it didn’t detract from his gorgeous looks.
She could feel her body responding to him already, and he hadn’t even reached
her table yet. This irritated her even more. She strengthened her resolve to
spend more time with some of the other crew members.

“Cari,
Gracus, Randor.” Scaden said by way of a greeting before sitting himself down
across from Cari at their table.

“Scaden,
I’m glad you can join us. I heard that the cooks were able to acquire some
traditional foods from Earth for all of us to try tonight, and some of Cari’s
favorites as well.” Gracus spoke conversationally.

“I
didn’t know you guys were getting some of our food! That’s awesome!” Cari
exclaimed with delight, causing some of the other crew members to smile at her
more brightly. Even though some of the Valendran food was very good, she found
herself missing some of the staples of the diet she grew up with on Earth.

“It
was obvious that not all of our food was to your liking, and Amun said it might
be bad for your body to switch foods so drastically from what you were used to.
Randor made a… grocery list that Balduen and Niklosi were able to gather for
us.” Scaden struggled to think. And not only because of her nearness either. He
was so attuned to her body; he could even smell her excitement. After his
conversation with Randor, he was beginning to wonder who her body was
responding to.

The
desire to take her and claim her was becoming even stronger. Even after hours
in the training room he was still wound up so tight it wouldn’t take much to
make him snap. And that bothered the rational part of him.

Glancing
at Randor for a moment to judge his reaction Scaden decided to take a chance.
“Cari, since you weren’t able to hear the rest of the discussion with the
council, I was wondering if we could have a private word after dinner, so I
could inform you of their decisions regarding you and Jess.”

“Oh!
I bet that’s what Uncle Randor wanted to talk to me about later! Cari said,
realizing that she should have figured that out already. By Uncle Randor’s
solemn expression, she was guessing it wasn’t good news and didn’t want to wait
until later to find out.

“C’mon
guys, don’t leave me in suspense here; I have a right to know.”

“Cari,
it’s nothing bad at all. In fact, it’s all good news. I will talk to you about
it after dinner.” Randor told her patting her hand gently, sending an angry
glance at Scaden.

There
was something wrong with Uncle Randor tonight, and she couldn’t figure out what
it was. He was hiding his emotions from her too well. Even Gracus could tell
something was wrong with not only Randor but Scaden. The looks Scaden and
Randor were sending each other were difficult to miss, and Gracus knew that
Scaden’s temper was barely controlled.

Cari
was immediately distracted when heaping platters of food were placed in front
of them and the other men dining in the room.

Cari’s
mouth started to water at the sight of the huge steaks, baked potatoes dripping
with butter, broccoli and cauliflower and a wide assortment of cakes and pies.

She
and Uncle Randor began to pile food onto their plates while Scaden and Gracus
looked on dubiously at the colorful food on the platters. Looking around she
noticed the rest of the men in the room seemed to be taking their cue from
their commander and also just stared at the strange food.

She smiled
brightly, got up and walked around the table to Scaden, ensuring that the rest
of the room could see what she was doing. She placed a large steak on his plate
along with a baked potato and vegetables. She figured she’d save the dessert
until after she convinced them to try the food. She walked over to Gracus and
did the same, piling his plate with food.

Moving back
to her seat, she showed them how she cut her steak and took a large bite of it.
She closed her eyes in ecstasy as the taste hit her tongue and moaned in joy.
She really missed steak and ‘normal’ food! Opening her eyes to see if he and
Gracus had followed her lead and tried the steak, she noticed Scaden’s eyes
glued to her mouth and self-consciously stopped chewing her food.

“What? It’s
amazing! You have to try it.” She told him with a beautiful smile.

Scaden had
to shake himself to get the thoughts out of his head. If he wasn’t careful, he
was going to grab her and take her here, in front of everyone. He shifted in
his seat to relieve the ache in his manhood from straining against his uniform
pants for so long. Noticing all eyes in the room on him, he deftly cut a piece
of the meat as she had done and took a tentative bite.

“Oh that is
so good! What is it? What is it from?” He exclaimed in amazement. It was the
best thing he’d ever tasted! Within moments Gracus and the rest of the men had
taken bites and were also exclaiming over how wonderful it tasted.

While Uncle
Randor explained to them what steak was, Scaden devoured his and grabbed
another off of the platter on the table.

“You should
try the potatoes and vegetables as well. They’re fantastic.” Cari told him,
with a big smile as she cut a piece of potato and popped it in her mouth,
hoping he’d follow her lead.

It didn’t
take long for Scaden and the crew to devour everything on the platters,
including the vegetables, pies and cakes. They exclaimed the whole time that it
wasn’t fair that Balduen and Niklosi got to eat this wonderful food every day
while they were on Earth, and the crew couldn’t. By the look on Scaden’s face
when he realized all the food was gone, she could tell he agreed. She laughed
at the disgruntled look on his face and knew that she would be eating Earth
food much more often now.

“That was
truly wonderful. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the
future.” Gracus said with a chuckle at the crew’s reaction to the Earth food.

“I do
believe they would mutiny if we didn’t bring more of it on the ship.” Scaden
replied smiling at the reaction of his crew at the delicious food, and how
happy Cari was at such a simple thing.

“Well, I
think it’s time Cari, and I had our talk. If you will excuse us?” Randor said
politely but firmly, taking Cari’s hand in his, he began to escort her from the
room. She brightly returned the smiles of the crew as she exited the room with
Uncle Randor. Not sure if she should be dreading the conversation coming up or
not.

Scaden was
losing the battle with the beast inside of him again. The smiles she was giving
to his crew, sending him into a jealous fury making him want to smash their
heads in. Everything in him wanted nothing more than to lock her in his cabin
and teach her that she belonged only to him.

“What the
hell is wrong with you?” Gracus demanded.

Shaking
himself out of his thoughts, Scaden tried to figure out what Gracus was talking
about. “What do you mean?”

“You’re
acting like an idiot. You growl and snarl at everyone. Amun says he’s had to
patch up more injuries than ever before after you’ve left the training room.
And you spent the entire meal glaring blades at Randor. So again, what the hell
is wrong with you?”

“There is
nothing wrong with me. Why don’t you explain why you spent the entire meal
staring at Cari like you’re obsessed with her?” Scaden growled back.

“Obsessed?
Me? Have you lost your mind? You’re the only one who stares at her like that! I
just happen to enjoy her company as does the rest of the crew.” Gracus was
shocked at the anger and fierceness coming from Scaden. He’d never seen him
like this and couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him.

“Apparently
you and the crew seem to be enjoying her company a bit too much, don’t you
think?” Scaden yelled at Gracus as he rose from the table.

Gracus and
the rest of the crew in the dining room stared at Scaden in shock. The
implication of what he said and didn’t say stunning them all into silence.

“Scaden,
you need to calm down. Maybe we should go see Amun.” Gracus stood and began to
follow Scaden as he left the room. He had to figure out what the hell was wrong
with him. He seemed to have lost his mind. He followed his friend into the
corridor and tried to talk to him.

The thought
of Cari spending time with Gracus or any of the crew was driving him insane. He
thought of the smell of her excitement and thinking that someone else was
making her feel that way, pushed him to the edge of reason. He grabbed hold of
Gracus and slammed him into the wall, his face inches from him. “If I ever find
out you or anyone else was alone with her or touched her; I will kill. Do you
understand me? I will kill anyone who touches her.” Scaden snarled the words at
him, oblivious to the fact some of the crew had seen and heard him.

Letting
Gracus go, he continued down the corridor to Cari’s quarters. He had to talk to
her. He had to know why she smiled and flirted with his crew. He had to know
who she was excited for… so he could kill them.

Gracus
stood staring at Scaden’s back as he disappeared around a corner. He had to
talk to Amun… now. Something was dangerously wrong with Scaden.

*****

Cari was so
happy! Uncle Randor told her that not only did she get to stay on the ship and
help find Jess and the others, but that she could stay his daughter. She
couldn’t believe that the council was so willing to grant these concessions.
And she was thrilled that not only were Randor’s parents coming but so was her
clan mother. She hadn’t lied when she told Caretia that she looked forward to
hearing about her father.

She lay on
her bed thinking about everything Randor had told her before retiring to his
own quarters. The only thing that made her frown was thinking about when he
told her that she had to stay away from Scaden and to make sure she was never
alone with him. He had refused to tell her why, no matter how much she asked.
The only thing he would tell her was that it was very important to never be
alone with Scaden.

She knew at
dinner that things were strained between Scaden and her uncle. It was obvious
that the two were trying to control their animosity towards one another.
Something had to have happened or been said after she left the comm room with
Amun that caused the friction between the two men, but she couldn’t figure out
what could have happened.

The
multi-tone sound of someone requesting entry to her quarters drew her out of
her ruminations. Sitting up in bed she gave the ok for entry and expecting her
uncle Randor, she was shocked when Scaden came striding into the room with a
thunderous expression. She could feel the confusing mix of emotions pouring off
of him in waves.

She slid
off the bed and backed up slowly, feeling like prey to the predatory emotions
she felt from him. He followed her movements and grabbed her hand; his arm
briefly brushing her breast caused her nipples to instantly harden from the
slight contact. Cari could feel the moisture pooling between her legs as desire
hit her so strongly she thought her knees would buckle. When she saw Scaden’s
nostrils flare slightly, she knew that he had felt her need and her face
flushed with embarrassment.

She tried
desperately to build a wall around her emotions, but it seemed like the harder
she tried the more he affected her. She was so distracted she hadn’t even
realized that he had backed her up against the wall near the head of her bed.

She pulled
her hand from his and tried to move away, needing some distance to clear her
head of not only his emotions but her own.

Scaden
thrilled at the feel of her near him. Until she moved away from him, and he
smelled her heat. Who had been in here before him that made her body heat? Is
that why she pulled away from him? Because she had already been intimate with
someone else before he got here? The beast in him roared to life. He would make
her see that she belonged to him. That her body will respond only to his from
now on!

Scaden had
no rational thought as to what he was doing anymore. One minute he was standing
in front of her and the next she was in his arms. Where his beast said she
belonged.