Laura Jo Phillips (9 page)

“That was inexcusable of us,” Tor said, his jaw clenched tightly with anger.  “That you understand our need is no excuse for behaving in a manner that would ever cause you fear or worry.”

“I’m afraid that we may not be worthy of you,” Merrick added sadly.  “There are many older, wiser, and better behaved male-sets that are certainly more deserving of a woman such as yourself, Berta Simms.  This we know.  However, we also know that we will never give you up, or give up on you.  If you wish us to wait a hundred years, we shall do so.  We will work every day to become worth of you.  We ask only that you not decide against us just yet.”

“Not all of the lessons I’ve learned over the past few weeks have been about Clan Jasani,” Berta said.  “I’ve learned a few things about myself, as well.  Enough to know that the path I had set my feet on was not the right one.”

“Does this mean you want to be with us?” Jerri asked.

“It means I want to give us a chance,” Berta replied.  “I sense the three of you, feel your emotions.  I felt you on the morning we first met, though it was nothing as strong as it is now.  I know how you feel, the worry and hope you have.  I feel the same way.  I feel other things too, things that I’ve never felt before, and those feelings are somewhat confusing to me.  I want time to explore them, or at least get used to them.”  

“That’s all?” Merrick asked.  “You want only to get to know us?”

“To start with, yes,” Berta replied, resolving to be completely honest.  “I do have some concerns still.  They are not about you, but they will impact you, I’m sure.”

“Can you tell us what they are?” Tor asked.

“There are still some things afraid of,” Berta said, dropping her eyes.

“Are you afraid of us?” Jerri asked.

“No, not of you, not any more,” she replied quickly.  “I’m afraid of being abducted again.  Of being stolen away because of what I am, a
berezi
.  That’s why I won’t leave the ranch.  I know the Xanti cannot get to me here.” 

“Your fear is not unreasonable, Berta,” Merrick said.  “But I ask that you remember that you are no longer
berezi
.  You are now an Arima, our Arima, and therefore not alone any more.  If you were abducted, we would never rest until we found you.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Berta said, a sensation of warmth filling her at his words.  “Not alone,” she said softly.  “It is such an amazing, strange and wonderful thought.”  She smiled brightly at them.  “It may take time to get used to that idea.”

“You said you had concerns,” Jerri said after giving her a few moments to collect herself.  “More than one.  Will you tell us the others?”

“I have just begun as the supervisor of Arima House,” Berta said.  “It is a big responsibility for me, the first I’ve ever had, and I do not want to give it up.  Not just yet.”

“Why should you?” Merrick asked. 

“I thought that if we...got together...you would want me to leave here, move to Berria with you,” Berta said.

“For one thing, we would never ask you to stop doing something you so clearly love,” Merrick said.  “Nor do we care where we live.  If we are with you, wherever you are, then we are home.  Besides, you surely know that all of the Arimas who have children now live here, on the ranch.  There is a reason for that.”

“Because it is the safest place for them,” Berta said with a nod.  “I just wasn’t sure how you would feel about it.  You did mention that your home was in Berria, and that your family lives there.”

“Berta, look at me please,” Merrick said.  Berta turned her head and gazed into Merrick’s violet eyes, which somehow soothed her by their intensity.  “We want you to be our family, Berta Simms.  We will do whatever we must to win your heart.  We’ll wait as long as you wish, live wherever you want.  Nothing in all of the Thousand Worlds is more important to us than you.”

“Thank you,” Berta said, hot tears stinging her eyes.  “That means very much to me.  I think it’s safe to promise that it will not take nearly so long as a hundred years for me to make up my mind.”

“That’s a relief,” Jerri said with a hefty, exaggerated sigh that broke the tension and made all of them smile.

Berta checked her watch.  “I must go in now,” she said reluctantly.  “I would invite you to breakfast, but as this is our first day with a full house, I think it best if you three handsome men are not there to distract the other women.”

Merrick chuckled softly.  “You, Miss Simms, are a flatterer,” he said with a wink.  “Fortunately, flattery doesn’t work on me.”

Tor and Jerri glanced at each other, then looked at Berta.  “It works on us!” they said together. 

“Please feel free to flatter us whenever you like,” Jerri added. 

Berta rolled her eyes and stood up.  “Thank you for coming this morning,” she said.  “I wonder, would you mind if we did this again tomorrow morning?  I might even be able to invite you in for breakfast then.”

“We would be most honored to meet you here tomorrow,” Merrick said as the three of them rose to their feet.  “There is no need to feed us, either.”

“There isn’t?” Jerri asked with an expression of such obvious disappointment that Berta had to laugh. 

“Don’t worry, Jerri,” she said.  “I’ll see to it that there’s plenty of food for all of you.”

“You are not only the most beautiful woman in the Thousand Worlds, you are also the most generous,” Jerri said with a grin. 

Berta turned to walk away, feeling her cheeks heat with pleasure.  She didn’t remember having ever blushed before, and wondered if there was some secret to preventing it from happening.  She made a mental note to ask Hope about that later.

She paused before entering the house and looked back over her shoulder to see the Falcorans standing as she’d left them, their eyes still on her.  She lifted her hand in a wave, then quickly stepped inside, keeping her face turned away from them.  If they had eyesight anywhere near what a Earth falcon had, they would see her face redden even from that distance if she wasn’t careful.

***

After Berta closed the door behind her, Merrick turned to his brothers, his heart filled with pure joy.  He knew, as they all did, that Berta would agree to link with them, and truly become their Arima.  It might not happen for a time, but it
would
happen eventually.  She had as much as told them so.

“I truly did not expect to see this day come for us,” Tor said, his orange eyes nearly glowing with happiness.

“Nor did I,” Merrick admitted.  “I feared that the crimes committed against her would prevent her from ever wanting us, or any male.  Nor could I find it in my heart to blame her.”

“Well, I knew it would happen, eventually,” Jerri said.  “My concern was that her aged body would not survive the transformation.  That was my greatest fear.”

“I am sorry, Jerri,” Merrick said, wondering why their youngest brother had kept such a horrendous fear to himself.  To imagine Berta dying was far worse than imagining her rejection of them.  “Why did you not share your worry with us?”

“I saw no reason to give you a fear you didn’t already have,” Jerri replied.  “Now, it doesn’t matter.  She is young, healthy, and stunningly beautiful.”

“She certainly is,” Merrick agreed.  “Also, for the record, I am no longer missing the sexual response we all lacked the first time we met her.  How about you two?”

“No, me neither,” Tor said.  “I think I need new pants in a slightly larger size, though.”

“Ah, so that’s what that is,” Jerri said in feigned surprise.  Tor and Merrick laughed as they turned and headed out of the garden.

“What shall we do now?” Jerri wondered.  “We won’t get to see Berta again until tomorrow morning.  That leaves a lot of time to fill.”

 “Since we will certainly need to remain on the ranch while Berta supervises Arima House, I believe we should speak with the Dracons, today if possible, about us living here,” Merrick said.

“After that, perhaps the Bearens will agree to give us something to do on this side of the world,” Tor suggested.  “We cannot sit around all the time.  We’ll go mad with boredom.”

“Agreed,” Jerri said.  “Only, let’s ask for something that doesn’t require us to sit at a desk.”

“Of course,” Merrick said.  “But we’ll take whatever is offered to us so long as it allows us to remain near Berta.”

Jerri nodded in agreement.  He would sit a desk for the remainder of eternity if that’s what it took to be near their Arima.  He would just prefer something with a bit more action.

“Shall we contact the Dracons directly, or go through the Lobos?” Tor asked.

“I think we should speak with the Bearens first, since Berta is under their protection,” Merrick decided.

Tor nodded as he placed his vox in his ear, then tapped it.  A few moments later he removed it and put it into his special pocket to protect it from the effects of magic when they transformed.  “Arima Hope said that the Bearens and the Lobos are at the airfield and asked that we join them there if we voxed before they returned.  Apparently they have already foreseen our need to remain on the ranch and work, and have plans to discuss with us.”

“Excellent,” Merrick said.  “Let’s not keep them waiting.”

Chapter 9

Once again Berta awoke at dawn, only this time she was smiling before her eyes were opened, her first thought that she would see the Falcorans again this morning.  The day before had been very busy for her, but she had still thought of the Falcorans almost constantly.  She’d finally allowed herself to admit that she thought them to be strikingly handsome with their long, graceful bodies and uniquely colored eyes with the matching streaks in their hair.  Unfortunately, once she’d made the admission, she’d been unable to stop thinking about them.

She’d watched from the window as they transformed into their falcoran alter-forms the previous morning, and she was captivated by their beauty, power, and grace.  She’d seen the Lobos, Bearens, Dracons, and even the Katres transform during her months on the ranch, and while all of their alter-forms were certainly magnificent creatures, she hadn’t considered them to be beautiful.  Not like the Falcorans. 

The only thing that confused her about them was whether they were mammals, or birds.  Except for their coloring and their size, they looked just like Earth falcons.  Well, that and the fact that they had fur rather than feathers.  She decided to ask them about that the next time she saw them.

Which would be very soon, she reminded herself as she sat up and stretched.  She tossed back the comforter and hopped out of bed, filled with excited energy as she headed for the shower.  She was looking forward to meeting them so much that she’d actually had a difficult time settling down to sleep the night before.  Thankfully, she’d been exhausted from her long, hectic day, and eventually fell asleep.

After her shower, she left the bathroom and turned on her vid terminal to check her messages while she combed out her hair.  There were messages from two male-sets who had identified their Arimas from the pheromone samples.  Lobos and Katres.  Another message from the garrison commander informed her that both male-sets had arrived overnight and had been assigned a Rami House.  They awaited a message from her as to when they could visit.

She set her comb down and sent a message to both male-sets, welcoming them and offering her congratulations.  She informed both of them that she would speak to their respective Arimas at breakfast and inform them what time they could visit afterward. 

She sent her messages just as two more came in.  The first one was from Elder Vulpiran of the Jasani Council, so she opened it first.  She read it quickly, smiling as she did.  Three more male-sets had reacted to the pheromone samples and would be leaving on a Council transport for the ranch in a couple of hours.  She wrote back, thanking him, then jotted down the male-sets names, and the women they had identified as their Arimas.  Another Lobo male-set, one Bearen, and a Vulpiran. 

She leaned back in her chair for a moment as she thought about it.  In the last few moments she had learned that five different male-sets had identified their Arimas.  Five.  It had taken nearly four years for the first five Arimas to be found.  This was phenomenal.  All Clan Jasani would be rejoicing at this news.  She considered sending a message to the Dracons, but realized there was no need.  Surely Elder Vulpiran had informed the Princes already.  Instead, she sent a quick note to Hope, who would share the information with the Bearens.  If the Dracons didn’t already know about it, they soon would.

Then she opened the second message, uncertain who it was from.  She was surprised to see that it was from Aisling.  The message was short, but stunning.  They were bringing a rather large and varied group of people to Jasan from Earth, aside from the former slaves and potential
berezi.
  Among them was a young woman named Honey Davis who was the great-granddaughter of Berta’s younger brother. 

Berta’s eyes teared up so fast she didn’t realize she was crying until she felt the tears roll down her cheeks.  She had family.  Real family.  The Director had offered to search for any remaining family she might have before she’d left Earth, but he hadn’t been able to find anyone.  He’d promised to keep looking, but Berta had assumed there was no family left, or if there was, it was far too late for her to find them.