Page 20 of Tara's Warriors

Phin shifted closer to Karwin as Lady Elsin started to speak.

“Greetings, Warriors,” she began in her cool, cultured voice. Her white hair gleamed with purple highlights as she nodded her head in their direction. “I come to you bearing ill tidings. The wormhole has begun to show signs of destabilization.”

An instant wave of conversation and sounds of disbelief and worry came from the Warriors around them as Karwin reached out and grasped Phin’s hand.

“You are in no eminent danger,” Lady Yanush added as she smoothed her hands down her white robe. Her long, braided black hair swaying while she turned her head as if looking out slowly over the crowd. “But the fluctuations in the wormhole are making it more dangerous to travel and allowing more of our enemies to sneak past our guards and traverse the wormhole. There has been an uptick in slavers and opportunists, those seeking to make a profit off Earth before the wormhole closes forever. We are unsure how much longer we will be able to keep our activities hidden from the humans. Lady Elsin is working with the Negotiators and Trackers on how to best proceed in the event our policy of non-interference with Earth changes.”

Lady Elsin nodded to the other woman. “We will do our best to find a solution that will work for both the safety of the Kadothians and the people of Earth. While we have been so far successful in acquiring brides without causing too many disruptions, as is our way, the slavers have no such mandates. We believe they are taking hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Earth people. Our Warriors have been vigilant, hunting them down when and where they can, but with a vastly unexplored galaxy, there are plenty of places for the slavers to hide. We also fear the Hive have set their sights on Earth.”

This brought a much louder reaction from the crowd. Lady Yanush waited a moment before speaking, as if anticipating their reaction. “Our intelligence indicates the Hive has taken a great interest in Earth women. It could be because of the Earth Matriarch’s ability to bond potentially hundreds of Warriors. It could be their powerful gifts from the Lord of Life, but there are more and more indications that the Hive is going out of their way to try and destroy every Earth woman they can. Huge bounties have been put on the heads of any Kadothian Matriarch of Earth origin. As a result, there have been hundreds of assassinations attempts on Kadothia. We have had to pull some of our forces back to Kadothia in order to protect the Matriarchs, leaving sections of our galaxy vulnerable.”

“Considering one of my sons has mated an Earth Matriarch, we are taking this threat very seriously.” Lady Elsin lifted her chin, every inch the intimidating ruler. “I swear to you on my mother’s name, I will do everything I can to protect your bondmates. For those out there still searching, make haste. Our experts have informed us that it will be much harder for you to convince your bondmate to accept you if the humans learn of our existence. While we believe we have at least another six Earth months before the wormhole becomes too unstable to use, we all have to be ready for any surprises the Lord of Life may throw our way.”

Lifting both of her arms, the sleeves of Lady Yanush’s white robes slid back, revealing her slender brown arms. “May the Lord of Life bless you, may he guide you and keep you safe, and may he lead you to your bondmates and strengthen us all with his love.”

The holograph cut off. Right away, conversation filled the room, echoing off the high ceiling as they all tried to process what they’d just learned.

“Listen up!” The command snapped from the front of the room brought them all to attention, turning and facing the General with short black hair wearing bright human clothes as he faced the crowd. “Your number one priority is to, of course, find your bride and bond her as quickly as possible. But while you are on Earth, you will keep your eyes and ears open for any sign of slavers or the Hive. If you spot any sign, any at all, of the Hive, you will contact the Reaping ship immediately. As you are aware, your bond to your Matriarchs back in the Bel’Tan Galaxy does not extend to the Milky Way Galaxy, and you are particularly vulnerable on Earth. We do not think any actual Hive members have arrived, but the Lord of Life rewards those who prepare, so prepare we will. There is a contingent of Earth Matriarchs who remain on the Reaping ship with their bonded in order to defend Earth from any possible Hive attack. They will remain as long as we are able, but with the wormhole acting up, who knows how long we actually have? Extra troops will arrive to patrol Earth’s solar system, but not as many as I would like. Keep on your guard, do not go anywhere unarmed, and keep your implants on and active at all times. You are dismissed.”

“What do we do?” Phin asked as they left the room with the others, headed to the small sleeping quarters they shared at the base.

“We follow our orders,” Karwin said in a grim voice. “And we try to bond our Matriarch before everything goes to shit.”

They spent most of the next day watching over Tara, hidden from her view but always close by. Neither wanted to risk her being hurt or abducted now that they finally found her. Rumors circulating suggested the slavers were kidnapping women the Kadothian’s had shown an interest in, even holding them for ransom in some cases. Everyone knew a Kadothian male would do anything for his bride.

At the first sight of Jillian—or Jillibean, as Tara liked to call her—Karwin fell in instant love with his future granddaughter. With long brown hair and sparkling brown eyes, she was a being of light and laughter, in constant motion and always busy. She seemed to have an affinity for animals, so Karwin and Phin began to make plans to expand their stables and menagerie on Kadothia. They’d ensure Jillian could have as many pets as she wished.

The more time he spent watching Tara, the more he worried about her agreeing to leave Earth behind. Her bond with her home and her family was strong, and while he’d known on an intellectual level that it would be hard for her to leave her planet behind, it had been an abstract concept. Sure, she would hopefully be bringing Lacey and Jillian with her, but she would still be leaving behind her elderly relatives, friends, and extended family in order to be their wife.

It was a huge sacrifice for anyone to make, and he worried that she would hate them for taking her away from everything she knew.

They waited until Tara had been at the festival for a few minutes before pulling into the large, grassy field next to the local elementary school being used for parking.

As they got out of the car, Karwin marveled again at the unusual beauty of the world. True, they were primitive by Bel’Tan Galaxy standards, but the variety of cultures on the small planet was astounding and fascinating. And warlike. Tribalism drove the humans, and they seemed determined to find ways to keep themselves apart rather than come together. To define themselves by continent and territory rather than recognizing that they were all Earthlings.

He guessed that when a planet did not know they weren’t alone in the universe, they had a harder time understanding that they really were one people.

Then again, the Kadothian’s still fought amongst themselves. While their battles were over Territory, there were still ancient cultural biases that caused feuding. Nothing to the point of worldwide wars of old, but there was just as much conniving and greed among the powerful on Kadothia as on Earth.

Phin walked around to the front of the car, his gaze going to the direction where they knew Tara waited. The more they were around her, the more the first tentative strains of the bond built between them, even without the blood exchange. Lord of Life willing, they would get their kiss tonight and get Tara to the safety of the Reaping ship. Reports suggested at least three slaver ships managed to access the wormhole, and while Kadothian troops were in pursuit, catching them would be almost impossible. The wormhole itself was too vast to patrol all of it and the Kadothian forces were hesitant to fire on the slavers ships for fear of harming the Earthlings onboard. They’d managed to rescue some of those abducted, but Lord of Life only knew how many poor humans suddenly found themselves as slaves.

Or, even worse, meat.

“What is it?” Phin asked, the bond between them barely open so they could both focus. “You are grinding your teeth so hard, I’m afraid they might snap.”

“I am considering the consequences of what could happen if we fail.”

Giving him a small smile, Phin patted his shoulder. “We will not fail. The Lord of Life did not bring us all this way for us to fail. Come, courtship is no time for such dark thoughts. Enjoy the evening and the festival.”

They walked through the parking area, conscious of people staring and whispering at them as they passed. Jaz was right—no matter what they did, they just did not blend well with the Earth males. Though some human men had the same size and muscles mass of a Kadothian Warrior, they were few and far between, especially in first world countries where the men lived peaceful lives of leisure. They did not need enhanced bodies to fight for their lives, and Karwin envied them. He could not imagine living in a world that had never heard of the Hive.

Phin knocked him in the ribs with his elbow. “Focus on the moment.”

He cut his blood brother a glare, then took a second to admire him. It was odd seeing Phin in the fading light of the Earth sun, but he had to admit the pants known as jeans looked exceptionally good on his mate. They brought out the hard muscles of his thighs and the ample bulge of his cock. They hadn’t had a chance to burn off any sexual tension earlier, both too focused on keeping Tara safe, and he had to will his erection away as he took in the easy swagger of Phin’s walk, and the musk of the other man’s arousal.

They followed the crowd, observing Tara’s people and town. Scents of unusual foods and perfumes filled the air. Despite his worries, Karwin found his steps slowing as he took in the small village square. Like many cultures, the people of Tupelo Creek put their important buildings in a cluster, with a large green space with a gazebo in the center, as well as a fountain and various statues surrounded by flowers. Little lights had been strung through the trees, and there were festive flags bearing the waxy white image of the magnolia blossom.

“Ahhhh,” Phin said from next to him as they paused at the edge of the closed street, taking in the rush of humanity. “This is nice. So much happiness. And look at all of the children.”

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