Page 19 of Tara's Warriors

“Okay, but take your time!”

Hurrying back out to the counter, she tried to keep the worry out of her voice as she said, “You’re leaving?”

Karwin nodded, his face tight with irritation and more than a hint of anger. “We have been recalled to our shi—our duty station.”

“A work issue has arisen,” Phin added as he shot Karwin a hard look. “We must return to address it.”

Feeling like they were blowing her off, she mustered a smile. “Oh, well, it was nice meeting you. I hope you enjoy your stay in the United States. Come back anytime you want some of the best food in Georgia.”

Phin tilted his head slightly to the side as he said, “We will still meet with you tomorrow, correct?”

“Oh!” Her heart suddenly lighter, her smile became real. “Of course. How does around six o’clock sound? In front of the clock tower near the square? It’s a big red brick building with a white tin roof and a giant clock. Hard to miss. The clock is actually something pretty special, brought over from Germany in the mid-1700s when the town was founded. At noon, three, and six o’clock, little animal figures come out from the sides and dance to the chimes. Jillian loves it—her favorite is the dancing bear.” Realizing she was babbling, Tara held out her hand to Phin to shake. “I’ll see you then?”

Phin and Karwin both reached out at the same time, each taking one of her hands in his own.

She had a moment of confusion before they both bent over her hand and kissed her on the knuckles. The moment their lips touched her hand, she gave a little shiver as her hormones went off like fireworks up and down her spine. Their lips were so soft, but different. Phin’s were a little thinner, firmer, while Karwin had lips like a cloud. She could imagine kissing both of them, and tried to steady herself as they booth stood.

“We will see you soon,” Karwin said in a deep voice that sounded like a promise.

“Until then, be well, Tara Taylor. It has been my honor to spend time with you,” Phin added before jerking his chin in the direction of the door. “We must be off.”

Holding her tingling hands to her chest, she nodded and said in a faint voice, “Okay, see you at the clock tower.”

Chapter 7

Karwin

Exiting the primitive mode of transportation the humans called a car, he waited for Phin to join him before approaching the Kadothian base disguised as a rundown hotel. The parking lot held only a few automobiles visible to the passing driver, and the hotel itself was old and rundown looking—not the kind of place anyone would chose to spend the night. If a human did approach looking for a room, a repellant barrier would divert them, sending them in search of lodging that did not make them feel ill and very uneasy.

Behind the hotel, cloaked from human sight and sensors deep below ground, was the regional Kadothian base. There, Warriors would cycle in and out, staying there while they searched this area of the world for a hint of theiralyah. A few Warriors remained permanently stationed there, but most were transient like Karwin and Phin.

An alert had gone out, recalling all Warriors to the nearest base for an important announcement from the High Council of Kadothia. The High Council ruled their home planet, made up of a collection of Matriarchs and their bondmates who represented the different continents of Kadothia. While intellectually he knew whatever they had to say was of the utmost importance, he hated being taken away from Tara for any amount of time. If he had his way, they would have stolen a kiss right at the diner and started Tara’s transformation into a Matriarch.

But Jaz had warned them against it, saying they needed to try to let her get to know them first. She claimed it would work out much better in the long run if they had a little patience at the start. So, despite their souls urging them to claim Tara the moment they saw her, they’d held back.

Even if it was the hardest thing Karwin had ever done.

In the brief time they’d been together, he felt whole, stronger and more aware of himself and the world around him than he had been in years. She was so beautiful, with her hair shining like gold in their planet’s pale sunlight, her eyes a lovely blue like the color of their sky. And she was smart, with a quick wit that challenged him and a smile that melted his heart. From the scent of her arousal, she’d found them equally pleasing, and he could not wait to lap that intriguing scent from between her thighs and explore her uniquely human shaped sex.

“Easy, brother,” Phin said from next to him in a choked voice. “I am having a hard enough time as it is not forcing you on your knees right here and now to relieve my aching shaft.”

Karwin snarled at his mate, his own rampant arousal demanding satisfaction. “As soon as our business is completed, I look forward to subduing you in our quarters.”

Phin gave him a silent snarl, but his excitement sizzled through their bond as he said, “We shall see who is serving who tonight.”

They passed through the shielding and took the transport down beneath the Earth, joining a trio of Kadothian Warriors.

“Greetings,” said one of the men with long blue and gray hair dressed in human clothes. “Do you have any word on why we’ve been recalled?”

“Nothing,” Karwin replied with a grimace.

The other men grumbled in agreement, then they filed out of the elevator and into a large gymnasium usually used for training. Filled with around a hundred Warriors, the space echoed with their conversations as they all faced a hologram of an empty speaking platform made of the familiar golden wood that dominated the Northern Continent of Kadothia, where their Territory was. A few seconds later, Lady Elsin, High Council for the Northern Continent, and Lady Yanush, High Council for the Southern Continent, appeared standing side by side. Pale and blonde, Lady Elsin was about a head taller than the dark haired and skinned woman at her side, but their presence was equally strong.

Seeing them presenting a united front was not a good sign.

Normally the women were political rivals—not truly enemies, but certainly not friends.

To see them together with a look of grim solidarity on their faces didn’t bode well.

---