Page 29 of Lacey's Warriors

The men shared a smile and Gwarnon cleaned both himself and hisalyahbefore they did just that.

Tangled up in Chel’s arms, Gwarnon woke with a start, a burst of pain and fear coming through his bond like a strong mental slap.

Chel let out a shout in his sleep and woke up with a start, both men staring at each other in confusion.

Almost as one, their eyes widened as they both said, “Lacey.”

“Where is she?” Gwarnon asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“I cannot reach her through her implant, or she is not responding.” Leaping from the bed, Chel tossed him a pair of pants as he said, “I have scanned the ship, but there is no sign of her.”

Gwarnon hurriedly got dressed, feeling as if he’d woken to a nightmare. “I can sense her faintly nearby, but her implant has been set to not receive any outside communication.”

“Her side of the bond is…bleary somehow? Like it is being masked,” Chel said as his gaze went distant. “Recordings show that Lacey left our room an hour ago and programmed a transport pod for the Baladium,” his lip lifted in a snarl, “and the recording ends.”

Disbelief roared through Gwarnon, loosening the cage of his soul around the beast bound to his heart. He let out a wordless roar, his rage all consuming, his soul screaming for his bondmate. Faintly, ever so faintly, he felt the answering ping of hisalyah’ssoul, but it was far away and growing further by the moment.

A deadly silence filled the room as Chel and Gwarnon mentally worked together, trying to locate Lacey, but to no avail. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a piece of paper that had been pinned to the door. His heart sank as he read the words, trying to understand what they were saying. The note was brief, and it simply said that Lacey was returning to Earth with the young Earth girl she’d ‘won’ from the Baladium.

Both Chel and Gwarnon let out pain-filled roars, their hearts shattering in unison at her rejection. Clinging to his blood brother, Gwarnon let loose the tears of absolute despair, his soul weakening, the beast within him stirring and testing the strength of the bonds holding it back. Chel’s love tried to help heal him, but it was a drop in an ocean of need.

“Why?” Gwarnon whispered against his blood brother’s damp neck. “Why would she leave us? I know she loves us. I know she intended to bond with us. Why would she abandon us now? Her note makes no sense.”

“Lady Roxy might know,” Chel said suddenly.

Together, they raced through their ship, passing their grim faced crew members who whispered promises of aid in finding Lacey.

After the door to Roxy’s room opened, they rushed inside as Gwarnon prayed that Roxy knew something about Lacey’s disappearance.

“Oh my God,” Roxy gasped and reached out to touch Chel with a concerned look on her narrow face. “What’s wrong?”

“Lacey is gone,” Gwarnon roared, then tempered his tone when Roxy flinched. “We think she left on the speed craft bound for Earth. The one with the young Earth girl from the Baladium that was being returned to her family.”

“What happened?” Nosa asked, his long black hair falling over his bare chest as he tugged on some pants.

Gwarnon threw his hands into the air, adrenaline, grief, and his inner beast tearing at his self-control. “I do not know. We made love then fell asleep. When I woke, Lacey was gone! She left us a brief note apologizing and insisting she wasn’t our true bride. Why would she do that?! Why would she leave us?!”

The last word came out in something close to a roar, and Nosa and Cormac reacted at once. While Cormac shielded their Matriarch, Nosa roared and leapt at Gwarnon with surprising speed and pinned him to the ground. Chel released a low moan of despair, but he helped Nosa subdue Gwarnon as he trembled, the beast using his pain and fear to gain hold over his mind.

“Do not give in to the madness!” Chel pleaded with him. “Hold on, please.”

“Why? Why should I hold on? She rejected us. Our bride left us. I cannot even feel her anymore.” His grief choked his voice. “She does not love us.”

“Yes, she does. Do not give up,” Chel urged. “Please, my brother, my beloved, do not leave me.”

“Then why would she abandon us? We were to be bonded today!”

From the shelter of her husband’s arms, Roxy yelled, “She does love you, but she is a mother. She loves her daughter more, and she knows she needs her.”

Shock filled Gwarnon as all the extra puzzle pieces began to fall into place in his mind. “What did you just say?”

“Lacey—she has a daughter. I think Lacey probably returned to Earth to get her little girl.”

Chel slumped against the wall, his eyes gone wide. “A daughter? Why would she keep this from us?”

“Seriously?” She poked Cormac, making him move an inch so she could see them better. “You guys have repeatedly told us that no one from Earth can come to Kadothia with us.No one.She didn’t share her plans with me, but I think she didn’t tell you so you wouldn’t try to stop her.”

“I would never separate a mother from her child.” Gwarnon took in a shuddering breath. “I knew she hid something from me, that something held her back. I never expected…a daughter? Who is the sire? Why is he not caring for his offspring when her mother is away?”

---