Page 2 of Rescuing Mara

“Yes, mistress.” My voice is soft and I keep my eyes focused on the ground. My wrist is throbbing, but the shock of my fall and the pain is keeping me grounded.

“Good,” Ananta declares, then she starts moving towards the huge balcony where her cruiser has been stationed.

“Bring the trunk, Mara,” she commands, and I hurry after her. I struggle with the trunk. It’s heavier than me, and it takes everything I have to load it into the cargo bay.

Ananta thinks it’s funny, giving me tasks I am physically unfit to perform just so she can punish me when I fail. But I am stronger than she gives me credit for. I hesitate when I close the loading hatch, taking one longing look at the building. The warrior is still there. I don’t think she killed him, but it feels wrong to leave him. Something inside me feels wrong.

“HURRY UP, MARA!” Ananta yells through the ship’s comp link. I quickly push the button to close up and silently take my place next to her.

Ananta has already started up the ship, calling her security team for backup. I don’t really pay attention to what she says until I hear my name and someone called Zarra. I feign disinterest but secretly listen in.

“I have found him, father. The lost prince of Arracate. He killed the guards, and he nearly killed me. I was lucky he got distracted when I battled him. He is fully grown now, well trained.”

I can’t hear the response she gets because she has her comp link connected to her ear, but the nasty cackle she lets out next makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“No, I did not kill him, but he will wish I had. He got a whiff of Mara’s scent that distracted him so much I could injure him.” She’s silently listening while she steers the cruiser away from the moon into the atmosphere. I take one last look at the dreadful compound we are leaving behind. I feel a sharp pain in my chest as if I’m leaving a piece of my heart behind. Ananta’s voice gets me out of my head, and I perk up.

“Yes, Mara is his mate. Who could expect that, right? I will fly her back to the Mothership immediately, yes. Then we will figure out a plan to grab him.”

I can’t hide my interest in her conversation anymore. Mate. I know about the Warriors of Arracate and their females. The race is made up of only males, who each have one fated mate, hidden within other races throughout the galaxy. They roam the stars to protect the weaker worlds, and as a reward, they get the chance to find their perfect match. It is said that their bond is special and unbreakable. An Arracate Warrior will do anything for his mate to make sure she is safe and happy.

Ananta is saying that the warrior we left behind is mine. I can’t hide my interest in the conversation anymore, and I stare at her with wide eyes. She just laughs in my face.

“Oh, he will come for her,” she says, looking at me. “And she will be his downfall.”

CHAPTER2

O’Rec

“Ihave to act. I need to make a plan. I need to go.” I am rambling, pacing through my living quarters on the Ring. Our new home is a big space station that looks like a giant floating ring. It connects all the refugees from our lost planet, Arracate, with the Warrior crews who are still out in space protecting the innocent.

Most Warriors stay in their spaceship, docked into the Ring when they are home. But unfortunately, I am not most warriors. I am O’Rec of Arracata, the last of our royal family. People throughout the galaxy call me the lost prince. A title that is even more fitting now: I found my mate only to lose her to our nemesis. The Sternotheri. A foul race of usurpers who bring nothing but hate and destruction to the galaxy. Now, my Zarra is at the mercy of the daughter of their High Commander. I ball my fists and stop in my tracks, looking at M’Ran, who is standing stoically in a corner of my room.

“I need to find her, M’Ran. I am going crazy here, doing nothing, while I know that every minute of every day she is hurting.”

He nods, his lips pressed into a thin line. “You need to craft a solid plan, sir. Going out unprepared would be suicide. And if you fall, what happens to our people? We would lose our last shred of hope!”

I sigh, suppressing the urge to roll my eyes. M’Ran is my most trusted advisor; he was my father’s advisor long before I was even born. I am truly grateful to have him here, but he worries. He worries so much. I am actually surprised he has not died from it yet. He is also a little bit dramatic. Okay, maybe more than a little bit. I try to smile, but a flash of pain is slicing through the bond, making me rub my chest—a bond to a female I had to leave behind right after I saw her. Maybe I am not worthy of my mate. I start pacing again.

Apparently, M’Ran is still talking because when I hear an insisted “Sir!” I stop and pivot around.

“What!” I growl, immediately feeling ashamed of myself when I see him flinching. “I am sorry, I am on edge. We have been back on the Ring for multiple days. The bond is hurting. It is urging me to search for her.”

The look on his face softens when he walks towards me.

“I know, sir. I wish I could help you, but I do not think I am the right person for that task.”

I stalk towards the couch in the corner and flop down on it. I may be a prince, but there is no regal bone in my body. I let my head hang, my hands covering my face.

“You need to talk to T’Rak, sir.” I turn my head up to look at him. “T’Rak is your captain. He would most certainly want to help you. He has exceptional strategic and tactical insights. I would be astonished if he does not have a plan of some sort already.”

I sigh at his words. “I did not tell him.”

“How could you not?” M’Ran looks shocked. I blink and groan.

“D’Var was in bad shape; we had to help him reconnect with his mate. When we could leave him, T’Rak went to his brother, and I sought refuge here, locking myself up in this room.” I hit my forehead with my palms and take a deep breath.

“You are right, he will be able to help me. I should have told him. I guess I was also a little ashamed. Because what kind of warrior would leave his mate?”

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