Re: Hunted (UC, AU, Mi/L, ADULT) Chap 11, pg. 7; 1/17/10
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 8:27 pm
Kris - Glad you liked that little twist. I have a few more surprises to come and hopefully you'll like them just as much. Thanks for the feedback!
Whims - Haha! Thank you my wonderful beta and sounding board for helping with this story. Damn, it's so hard to keep my comments limited to this past chapter given our conversations. You've been an amazing help at keeping my thoughts clear and concise as well as pointing out potential pitfalls. I agree it's a shame Isabel is one of the last to know about the Future Max debacle, which is why I wanted to make her the second to know. Michael does indeed know everything and this will be addressed at a later date. As for Michael being slow on the uptake with Isabel/Kyle...well...he is a guy, can't fault him too much.
And since you loved the glimpse of Kyle and Isabel, you'll be happy to know that they'll get more screen time next chapter. 
Glad you're liking the story and thanks again for your amazing beta and sounding board services!!!
Elfangel01 - I know, I do have a lot of loose ends don't I? And you're right, I am going to tell you that the questions will be addressed through out the story. Sorry. Tess will be in it, but probably not quite as you expect. She won't make an appearance for a while though. As for what Max thinks...well we get a taste of him this chapter but you'll have to wait until chapter 13 for the full reaction. Yeah...I'm terrible.
Jan - Always love to see your comments and I'm so glad to have you as an avid reader. And that I made you like Michael/Liz. But we'll call that one a draw since you made me like Max. I can't believe it. Bah! Yes, I am teasing you and I'm afraid it will continue to be a tease as we only get a glimpse of Max in this chapter. BUT I promise you that Chapter 13 is the scene you've been waiting for at long last! I have to dedicate the next chapter to our lovely Incrowders and to deal with some more foursquare complications before we get there. My apologies! (Well actually...if it keeps you reading maybe I'll just hold off...kidding! Just kidding!) And thanks for the congrats!
sablaine - Yes, she has been a great help as I move from pure smut to plot, especially with all the help refining that plot, seeing potential plot holes and keeping me from ripping my hair out as I try to figure out where the hell this story is going. She is a Goddess as well!
AN: I apologize for the length of this posting. Damn...I'm long-winded today. I try to keep the chapters shorter but for some reason my characters were very chatty. In fact, the little scene I had planned with Max turned into a 3-page dialogue in Word. The man just wouldn't shut up and I was ready to kill him myself by the end of the conversation.
Italicized text is Michael's dream sequence. They will be speaking in Antarian with a translation following it. Sorry if I botched your grammar terribly sablaine. I looked in the file but didn't see any rules so I just did a word for word translation for the most part because I'm not the Goddess you are! That said, special acknowledgment to sablaine for her language skills!
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What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
~*~
“F-four…square?” Kyle stuttered, gulping at the unexpected answer to his question, running a hand through his light brown locks in agitation. Just when he thought his life couldn’t get any weirder, the aliens always found a way to prove him wrong. He winced when he felt a sharp nudge in his ribs and found Isabel glaring at him indignantly. He shrugged his shoulders, brow furrowing in confusion uncertain what about his comment had set her off this time. “What?”
“I heard that,” she replied, still watching him with a piqued expression, the barest hint of hurt reflected in her golden brown eyes. She knew he was still adjusting to the bond and his potential emerging powers, but she didn’t think any of it should be termed weird.
“Heard what?” he asked, confused at the hurt she was vainly trying to hide from him. He didn’t understand why his question would cause that reaction in his mate, unless she picked up on his underlying panic, but she knew that he was still adjusting to all the changes in their lives and relationship.
“That crack you made about how we always make your life weird,” she snapped. Surely he couldn’t be that dense, even for a guy. Shaking her head, she tried to stand but found her legs wouldn’t hold her for long and staggered to a chair, sitting down heavily as the world dipped sickly. Placing her head in her hands, she took several deep breaths until the dizziness passed.
“Huh? I didn’t say that,” he responded, wondering how she knew that before pursing his lips in annoyance at her crack about men. Women made absolutely no sense. If they would just actually say what they meant instead of hinting and hedging enough to drive a man insane, there’d be fewer problems. “And I’m not dense.”
“Actually, you did man,” Michael replied, shaking his own head to clear the lingering buzz of power floating through it and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from snorting over his response to Isabel’s crack about men. He may have agreed, but he was smart enough not to say anything out loud. He had to hand it to the leprechaun, he had some serious balls to say something like that in front of the girls.
“Ow, Liz! What the hell was that for?” He winced as he felt a smack on the back of his head and scowled at his mate, lifting his hand to rub his stinging scalp.
“For agreeing with him,” she smirked, glaring at both men for their comments, standing slowly and pressing her hands to her hips. Idiots, the both of them. “We do so make sense. Just because we don’t speak in grunts, snorts and scratching is no reason to mock our communication skills. And get over the weirdness already, Kyle. It’s a little late to be griping.”
“I didn’t say anything!” Kyle bellowed in exasperation, his frustration mounting as he started to wonder if he’d been dropped into an alternate universe or the Twilight Zone because the whole lot of them were hearing things.
“Idiot? Wait, what do you mean for agreeing with him?” Michael asked, looking down at his mate with slight confusion, understanding beginning to dawn as he listened to his squabbling friends. Liz’s eyes flew to his questioningly at his comment and he cursed under his breath as the pieces started to build a damn interesting picture and unforeseeable complication.
“You did, just admit it, Kyle,” Isabel spat, so focused on her mate and his comments that she missed the looks passing between the other half of their foursquare. Standing up, she walked over and stood in front of him, looming over him slightly and crossed her arms. “And so help me, I will zap you into the Twilight Zone myself if you make another comment like that again.”
“Liz?” Michael thought, staring at his mate while he experimented with an idea, hoping that she’ll catch on when she didn’t see his mouth move. He couldn’t help his palpable excitement over the usefulness of a mind connection with the four if they ever had to go into battle.
“Michael?” she mentally gasped, eyes widening incredulously as she stared at him, reeling with confusion for a moment before it shifted into scientific fascination as her mind adapted to having his thoughts in her head. “Foursquare perk?”
“I didn’t say anything!” Kyle insisted once again, pressing his hand to his face in aggravation, his head throbbing due to the constant chattering going on around him. He still hadn’t fully recovered from the foursquare merge and they were already trying to drive him mad. “And what’s a perk?”
“Whatever,” Isabel sniped, growing impatient with his insistence of innocence and turned her back on him, pressing fingers to her throbbing head. They really needed to work on the controlling the connection so it didn’t drain them of so much energy next time – if there is a next time. “And according to you, the perk is being driven mad.”
“Jesus, what the hell is going on?” Kyle snapped, finally reaching his breaking point and thoroughly confused as to why she kept repeating his every thought. “Do you suddenly have permanent residence in my brain?”
“Actually, I think that’s exactly it,” Michael replied stoically, scratching his brow in agitation as the other couple blanched and ceased their bickering. “Uh, Liz and I just did a little experiment where I called to her in my thoughts and she answered. Not only that, but you heard our exchange as well when she asked if it was a foursquare perk.”
“Are you saying that we’ve been reading each others minds this whole time?” Isabel asked quietly, shoulders slumping with exhaustion and rubbed her temples, trying to ease the tension building behind her eyes. She sighed as Liz looked at her and nodded slightly. “So what, from now on we’re going to be hearing each others thoughts?”
“I don’t know,” Michael replied, rubbing the back of his neck, scowling at the chatter still running through his mind. Although, it had muted to a dull roar when he focused on something other than the thoughts themselves and he rubbed a hand over his face, wondering what other weirdness was going to result from this merge. “Maybe it’s just a lingering affect of being so connected and will fade.”
“See, I’m not the only one that thinks all of this is weird,” Kyle cried, feeling vindicated when he heard Michael repeat his initial thought that had gotten him into trouble in the first place. Even with everything he had seen over the past two years, this was still weird by his standards. He hoped to Buddha that this wouldn’t be permanent, shuddering at the idea of being privy to Michael or Liz’s private fantasies or worse, them privy to his….
“Don’t even go there, Valenti!” the alien man growled, glowering at the shorter man with consternation, cringing at the idea of seeing his sister naked, even if it was just in the hobbit’s fantasies. No, he wasn’t allowed to think of her period. Bond be damned. “You aren’t to think of my sister like that, ever!”
“Too late for that one,” his friend muttered under his breath, smirking as the taller man shot him fiery glare, knowing that his actions were like badgering a caged wild animal, but couldn’t help himself. It was his nature after all and he rarely saw his friend display more than his typical stoic disinterest. “In fact…”
“Will you two quit the pissing contest and get back to our discussion on hand,” Isabel snapped, glaring at both men, shaking her head in exasperation and sighed. “I'm too tired to deal with this right now.”
“Why don’t you go lie down in the guestroom, we’ll talk about this later,” Liz suggested sympathetically, feeling drained herself after their little pyrotechnic display. Wrapping an arm around the taller girl, she turned to the guys and smiled as she walked towards the rooms. “You too Kyle. I think we all could use some rest before we address this some more. We expended a lot of energy today.”
“Bloody hell,” Kyle muttered under his breath, his own exhaustion catching up to him and followed Liz and Isabel, deliberately ignoring Michael’s annoyed grunt and scowl. Reaching the room, he walked in as Liz was walking away from the bed and saw Isabel curled up in the center, facing away from him. Heart heavy with remorse over the hurt feelings radiating from his mate, he turned to Liz and smiled weakly as she closed the door. “Thanks, Liz.”
“No problem,” she said softly, closing the door and leaving her friends to talk. Turning back to Michael, she grinned at his unease with his sister sharing a room with the other man and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and sinking against his chest, teasing him gently. “It will be okay, big brother.”
He grunted, disbelief etching his face and made a mental note to have a ‘discussion’ with the midget as soon as possible. Looking back at the woman in his arms, his face softened and he wrapped her in his arms, burying his face in her hair for a moment before he pulled away and took her hand.
“You need rest too,” he chided, cocking a brow when she opened her mouth to protest and placed a finger against her lips to quell her arguments. “The diner can take care of itself. We have a good team this morning and if it will make you feel better, I’ll walk down and check things out.”
“You need rest as well,” Liz pointed out, smoothing a hand along his cheek, lightly touching the lines of exhaustion around his eyes. “You expended just as much energy as the rest of us. Probably more since you acted as the focus.”
“I know,” he replied, turning her around and leading her to her room, helping her onto the bed before he sat on the edge, pushing her hair back softly. “And I’ll be right back. I just want to take care of a few things.”
“You’re going to talk to Max, aren’t you?” she guessed, watching him with quiet apprehension as his eyes darted away from hers. It would just be like him to try and talk to Max alone and take the brunt of what she knew was going to be an ugly scene, protecting her at any cost. She sat up, trying to move past him, not about to let him face that alone. “You are. Damn it, Michael. You aren’t doing this without me.”
“Liz…” he started, grabbing her around the waist and holding her in place, fearing what Max might do when he found out about their bonding. He was still uneasy about his actions in the desert healing and didn’t trust him in the least. He’d remembered far too much about Zan and his machinations to believe what happened was a coincidence. “I need you to be safe from harm. If anything happened…”
“No,” she said firmly, pushing against him, fighting his hold on her while glaring at him in exasperation. “Not going to happen, Michael. I know what he did scared you, but I’m not letting you face his wrath alone. I’m going with you.”
“Aiba…baby,” he whispered against her temple, letting his wall fall further so that she could see his fear and unease, his protective nature going into overdrive as he held her against his chest. He was not one to plead, but in this instance it was worth it. Her safety was more important than pride. “Please.”
“No, Michael, we are doing this together,” she refuted firmly, moving to straddle his lap and cupped his jaw with her hands, looking deeply into worried whiskey eyes. “We are a partnership in all things or this doesn’t work. I’m going to be there even if I have to follow you.”
“I could seal the door,” he retorted arrogantly, lips pressing in a thin line, his stormy eyes heating up as he frantically tried to fight the panic welling inside him, his fingers digging into her hips. “Make you stay here.”
“But you won’t,” she replied confidently, tracing the lines in his brow, placing a tender kiss on his forehead before resting hers against it. Pressing her fingers to his mouth lightly, she traced the soft skin as she met his intense, steady gaze stubbornly. “You aren’t doing this alone.”
“Fine, but not now,” he replied, lips pursing with annoyance, wanting to shake her for her obstinacy. “You still need rest. I’ll have him come back tonight.”
“Promise me, Michael” she responded, watching him seriously, sinking her fingers into his soft waves and holding his head to hers, their breaths mingling, noses lightly touching as they stared into each others eyes. “Promise you won’t talk to him without me.”
“I don’t like this,” he griped, shaking his head at her stubbornness. “What if I can’t keep you safe from Zan…Max? He’s not going to accept this without a fight and I don’t want you in the crossfire.”
“I can protect myself,” she retorted stubbornly, leaning back a bit but keeping a heated gazed locked with his equally fiery expression. “And you’ll be there by my side.”
“But we don’t know what he’s capable of yet,” he argued, frustration lacing his voice, his back tight with tension as he loosed his hold on her hips, running his hands up her sides, and cupping her jaw tenderly, his large hands dwarfing the delicate lines of her face, brushing a thumb over her lips softly. “We don’t know how much he’s remembered.
“All the more reason that you shouldn’t confront him alone,” she refuted, crossing her arms over her chest, frustrated with his stubborn insistence on keeping her in a safe little bubble. “We’re better, stronger together and you know it! It will be harder for him to take two of us down rather than one alone.”
“Damn it! You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?” he grumbled, knowing deep down that she was right in her assessment of the situation, but still balking at the idea of her being anywhere near Max. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed in agitation and grudgingly admitted, “But you’re right.”
“What? Did you just say I was right?” she snorted incredulously, looking towards her window as if searching for something. Grinning at his questioning look, she snickered softly and continued. “Just looking for flying farm animals. Never thought I’d live to see the day that you’d admit to being wrong, Guerin. They must be snowboarding in hell right now.”
“You’re a riot, Parker,” he growled playfully, tossing her off his lap and pinning her to the bed, running his one hand over her ribs teasingly while the other held her hands stretched over her head.
“Michael, stop, please, stop!” she gasped, squirming beneath him while she tugged on her wrists and bucked, trying to dislodge him from her body, her eyes dancing with laughter.
“Don’t be a smart ass next time,” he smirked, stopping his torture and letting her hands go, sighing when they wrapped around his neck, pulling him down so that their foreheads leaned against each other once more. Bracing his weight on one arm, he trailed a finger over her cheek before leaning over, stoic once more and pressed a soft kiss against her lips.
“Promise me you won’t confront him alone,” she whispered, watching him with serious coffee-colored eyes, a hint of a frown marring her face. Brushing his hair back from his face, she marveled at its thick, silky texture, her breath catching in her throat at the thought that something could happen to him. “Please.”
“I promise,” he whispered, his skin shivering with apprehension as he made his vow, wishing he felt confident that he could keep her safe from Zan…Max. He couldn’t help the helpless fear churning in his gut. He was worried there was more to the desert ritual than Max told Liz and Kyle and he had a bad feeling things were going to get worse before they got better. “I won’t talk to him without you there. Can I go, now?”
“Yes,” she whispered, brushing her lips over his softly, smiling at his slightly disgruntled look and toying with a soft wave near his ear. “But hurry back.”
“Nothing could keep me away from you for long,” he rasped, swallowing thickly, a slight shudder trickling down his spine as her fingers trailed over his neck, down to his chest to cover his heart. Tipping his head slightly, he pressed a kiss to her brow and pulled away, climbing out of the bed. “Get some rest. I’ll be back in about five, ten minutes tops.”
“I’ll be waiting,” she smiled, watching as he grabbed his shirt from yesterday and threw it on, wrinkling his nose slightly at the stale fried food scent clinging to the gray fabric and walked towards the door. “There’s some shirts in the office downstairs. Grab one of those.”
“Thanks,” he smiled as he walked, closing the door behind him and quickly made his way through living room, scowling briefly when he heard muffled raised voices behind the guestroom door and made another mental not to talk to the dwarf.
Descending the stairs into the diner, he popped into the office and grabbed a shirt, quickly exchanging it for the one he was wearing and heading back out the door to the kitchen, waving at one of the waitresses as they hurried out to the diner. It still felt weird to him that the Parkers trusted him to co-manage the place with Liz, but he was glad for their trust nonetheless.
“Hey chico, what are you doing here so early?” Jose called as he wandered into the kitchen to check the supplies and smiled at the older man. “You’re not on until closing.”
“Parkers are out of town and Liz wasn’t feeling well this morning, so she called me in to check on things,” he lied, keeping his tone even and bland as he headed back out of the kitchen and went towards the grill. “Think you can hold down the fort here for the morning? She said to give her a call upstairs if you need her, but she just finally got back to sleep and I don’t want to disturb her if at all possible.”
“Sure thing, chico, I hope it’s nothing serious,” the Hispanic man frowned, his lips pursed with worry. He’d been working for the Parkers since he was a kid and Liz was like family to him. “She going to be ok?”
“Yeah, man, she’s fine,” Michael replied, clasping the other man on the shoulder to reassure him before walking towards the dining area. “She just didn’t get much sleep last night and wanted to sleep in a bit this morning.”
“Well let her know I’m thinking of her if you see her,” he called, turning back to the grill and working on the next orders.
“Sure thing,” he shouted back, heading out the door to speak to Claire, Erin and Jessica, the waitresses on duty this morning. Erin was still new, but Claire had been here for years and Jessica joined the staff three years prior. He knew that between the two of them, they could help Erin and keep the dining room running smoothly.
“Hey Claire, can I talk to you for a moment,” he asked as he walked up to the pretty brown-eyed, redhead, pulling her aside to talk with her privately. Glancing around the diner, he noticed Max walk in the door, his brow pinching with annoyance when he saw him. He held up one finger and let him know he’d be with him in a moment.
“Sure, what’s up?” she queried, surprised to see Michael in the diner so early since she knew he worked the grill tonight. Furrowing her brow with concern, she noted that Liz had yet to make an appearance, which was unusual when her parents were out of town and hoped nothing had happened to the girl she liked so much. “Is everything all right? I haven’t seen Liz this morning.”
“Yeah, she’s okay, just a little under the weather this morning,” he reassured, biting back an annoyed sigh when Max hovered nearby, trying to hone in on their conversation. Turning his back on him, he directed his next comments to Claire. “She’s going to spend the morning resting. Can you handle the girls? She said you can call upstairs if necessary, but she just got back to sleep and…”
“Not to worry, Michael,” she replied, giving his arm a light squeeze as she started to walk away and help one of her customers. “Tell her we have everything under control and we’ll see her later if she’s up to coming in.”
“Thanks Claire, we really appreciate it,” he replied, bracing himself for the inevitable bombardment of questions Max was sure to have about his absence last night as well as why Liz wasn’t downstairs this morning. Turning back to the dark-haired king, he schooled his face into a mask of indifference and nodded his head towards the back of the restaurant. “Maxwell.”
“Michael,” Max greeted with reservation, watching the taller man’s back stiffening slightly as he walked towards the break room. “You didn’t come home last night. Everyone was worried.”
Michael barely refrained from snorting at that comment, all too aware that the only people that were likely concerned were Max and Maria and them only because they felt him and Liz slipping from their grasps. Shrugging his shoulders, he pushed the door to the back room open, waiting for Max to walk through, not comfortable with having the man at his back.
“Something came up,” he replied cryptically as he shut the door behind him and leaned against the wall, waiting for Max to get to the point so he could usher him out the door and get back to Liz. His energy was finally starting to flag and he desperately needed to get some sleep.
“Where were you?” Max asked tightly, his jaw ticking slightly at Michael’s blasé attitude towards his unasked question. Lately, Michael had been keeping more and more to himself and he didn’t like this new development, especially coupled with his apparent close relationship with Liz. Their spending so much time together made him uneasy.
“Here and there,” Michael stonewalled, shrugging his shoulders once more and fixing the other man with an inscrutable look. It was too bad one of his powers didn’t cover mind reading because he’d really like to know what was going on in the fearless leader’s head. He’d been getting bad vibes from his ever since Tess had shown up.
“Don’t you think you should have informed us of your plans,” Max griped, getting tired of his pseudo brother’s lack of response to his questions. It was almost as if he knew, but he didn’t understand how he could have started retrieving his memories unless he bonded. Which would explain the new level of calmness in his demeanor. “What if something had happened?”
“Nope, it was personal, not alien related,” the taller man replied, staring over the brunette’s shoulder in apparent unconcerned boredom, although he was really trying to read the other man’s body language and figure out what had him so agitated. He had never been overly concerned with his comings and goings before. Of course, he hadn’t been after his ex-girlfriend before either.
“Still, Michael,” the would be king commanded, crossing his arms over his chest as he studied the other man, knowing he was hiding something from him. There was something different about him this morning, some change in his powers that hadn’t been present the day before. “You need to be more careful.”
“Worry about yourself, Maxwell,” Michael retorted, rolling his eyes at the other man’s audacity. It never failed. Every time he felt one of his minions slipping away from his control, he tried to bring them to heel as if they were nothing more than heedless puppies. “As you can see I’m fine. I can take care of myself.”
“Where’s Liz?” Max asked suspiciously, having overheard Michael’s conversation with one of the waitresses and wondering how and why he would know how Liz was feeling this morning, given he hadn’t been home last night. “I heard one of the waitresses saying something about her missing too.”
“She’s upstairs, Maxwell,” Michael snorted, all too aware of his obvious play for information regarding his mate and his possible involvement over her absence. He was not about to play into his games. “Where else would she be if she isn’t feeling well?”
“Maybe I should check on her,” Max replied, watching the sandy-haired alien skeptically, still wondering what was going on with his former friend.
“She’s sleeping and doesn’t want to be disturbed,” Michael replied, shrugging his shoulder negligently once more, careful to keep his face blank despite his worry. The last thing they needed was Max to go upstairs and discover everything. “She’ll be down later.”
“How do you know this?” the dark-haired man asked, jealousy all too apparent on his face as he shifted with agitation, his anger growing every minute he didn’t get the answers he wanted.
“She called me,” he responded stoically, trying to prevent raising Max’s suspicions any higher. There was nothing more he wanted to do than to tell his royal highness exactly where he had been last night and why, but he had promised Liz that he wouldn’t tell him anything without her.
“But you weren’t home,” Max pointed out, thinking he finally found a chink in his story – a story he didn’t believe in the least. He could feel the new level of power radiating off the other man and knew there was only one thing that could have caused it.
“Cell phone,” Michael replied with a careless shrug, knowing the other man was trying to catch him in a lie, which wasn’t going to work.
“Since when do you have a cell phone?” Max asked suspiciously. Michael hated talking on the regular phone, preferring to simply speak with the others in person, so he couldn’t imagine him with a cell phone.
“Since Isabel went all Nazi on me after I got the bike,” Michael casually stated, cocking his brow at the other man in amusement. “She didn’t like the idea of me riding around without some way of contacting people.”
“And you couldn’t call to let me know you weren’t coming home last night?” Max growled, irritation growing.
“Slipped my mind,” the other man smirked, knowing he was getting to the wanna-be king. “I don’t report to you, Maxwell.”
“Well, maybe you should,” Max bit out, clenching his fists at his second’s caviler attitude about everything. He was more convinced than ever that something was up just by his evasive answers.
“Maybe you should back off,” Michael grated, finally getting annoyed with the interrogation. “While I’d love to play twenty questions with you, I have a diner to run and things to do, so can we get to the point?
“By all means” he replied in a clipped tone, jaw tightening further at the other man’s insolence. “Get to the point.”
“I need you to come by the Crash tonight for a meeting,” he sighed, his head starting to throb, body aching from earlier events. “There have been some…developments.”
“I thought you said last night was personal?” Max inquired, cocking his brow, lips thinning with agitation. “That it wasn’t alien related.”
“It is personal,” Michael grunted, pinching his nose in exasperation. He’d already been gone longer than he intended and was worried that if he didn’t shake Max off now, Liz was going to come looking for him, upset that he had broken his promise. “Look, I don’t have time for this. If you want to know about last night, be here after closing. If not, that’s your problem.”
Michael gestured to the door, waiting for the other man to leave so he could get back to more important matters, knowing without a doubt the control freak wouldn’t miss the opportunity to find out what’s going on. He followed behind him, walking him to the swinging door, still uneasy with his actions of late.
“I’ll see you tonight then,” Max replied, walking through the door. He was itching to make his way up to Liz’s apartment, but knew there was no way he’d make it past Michael without a fight. Maybe he’d sneak around to her balcony and see what was going on from there.
“See you tonight, Maxwell,” the tall alien responded, watching him until he made his way out of the diner before heaving a sigh of relief and turned to head up to the apartment, taking the steps two at a time, unaware of a pair of angry eyes watching him in his haste to get back to Liz.
Slipping into her room quietly, he smiled to see that she was indeed sleeping and quickly moved to the windows to reinforce his seals and black them out. He was glad he had thought to close the blinds last night, as it’d just be like Max to come around to the balcony and confront Liz.
Slipping out off his clothing, he crawled into bed, pulling her into his arms and sighed with contentment when she snuggled into him, murmuring his name under her breath. Sinking his face into her hair, he breathed deeply, taking in that soft vanilla and strawberry scent that clung to it and gave into the pull of slumber and dreams.
~*~
Steam rose from deep red ochre soil, curling lazily in the humid summer air to mingle into verdant, moss-covered branches of all shades of green – emerald, pine, forest, hunter and spring – their broad, fan and fern-like leaves dripping condensation. Three boys raced down a shaded, rocky path, panting as a hot summer breeze kicked up, scenting the air with damp earth and the sweet, spicy, jasmine-like flowering vines clogging the path.
Ripping through the vilondra, the boys tore away the foliage that had grown since their previous summer’s trek to their favorite watering hole, desperate to beat the damp summer heat. Looking back at his younger counterparts, the eldest boy laughingly taunted them as he slid through the loamy red earth, kicking up rocks and clumps of red earth in his wake, calling behind him.
“Natakna iri kiempa eina vortmar! [Last one there is a vortmar!]” Dusan laughed, nearly stumbling in his haste and caught himself just before he fell face first in the rich, damp soil beneath him. Pushing off the ground, he threw a clump of mud at his brother, catching him in the chest and continued at a full out run through the rainforest surrounding their palace, breathing heavily as he tried dragging the soupy air into his lungs.
“Ur eina kilma, Dusan! [You’re dead, Dusan!]” Rath grunted, scooping the loam off his bare chest and threw the mud to the ground as he doubled his speed, tawny waves whipping behind him, silky blue shorts hanging on his hips precariously as he tried to catch up with his elder brother.
“Tromeri noua, Rath! [Rath wait up!]” a young boy with platinum blond hair and blue eyes gasped, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he desperately tried to keep up with his older counterparts. “Dia tayagu taihan! [Not so fast!]”
“Pasae Khivar! [Hurry, Khivar!]” Rath called, turning to run backwards and wait for his best friend, who was smaller than either of the Silerius brothers. Grabbing his hand, he pulled him along as they burst through a densely covered area into the clearing beyond it, ripping off shoes and clothing as they entered.
“Urani eina heso sa Obijwa conopida [You both are slower than Obijwa drool],” Dusan smirked, pulling his long dark-blonde hair back with a tie, flashing the other two a mocking grin as he rested his hands on his hips. “Vilandra tel auhia undrea sa urani. [Vilandra can run better than you.]”
Rath scowled at his brother, glaring at him menacingly for his unfavorable comparison to a mere slip of a girl that spent all her time playing Aswani and prattling about the boys at court. Exchanging an evil grin with his friend, he nodded slightly and turned back to his preening brother.
“Arhara iche! [Take him!] he yelled, as his friend let out a war cry and they ran straight for Dusan, launching themselves into him, all three boys landing in the periwinkle waters behind him, laughing as they broke the surface.
~
Khivar and Rath were walking though the school joking about their last class of the day, making their way through the maze of blue walls to their dormitory to get ready for Baji practice when they noticed a small crowd near their dormitory.
Exchanging a puzzled look, they walked over cautiously to find the Crown Prince of Antar holding court. Rolling their eyes at each other, they tried to walk around the arrogant prince and his minions, but were waylaid when Zan stepped in front of them.
“Ueda heu nui urangi, Rathin, [Good to see you, Rathin]” Zan greeted, sending a smug glance to his entourage knowing that the other prince despised him but couldn’t blow him off due to etiquette.
“Zan,” Rath returned, keeping his voice and face neutral despite his irritation at having to play these political games with the spoiled, self-centered prince. If only his father had not signed the betrothal papers, making them allies and worse, family once Dusan married his sister Vilandra.
“Khivar,” Zan greeted dismissively, purposely ignoring the other boy to rile him. Turning back to Rath, he smiled coolly at his chief rival for all things academic, athletic and social. While people tolerated him because they had to, they genuinely liked Rath and that grated his nerves.
“Lo da eina dia kisiechuu ia Ahrensa, [If it isn’t the parasite of Ahrensa,]” Khivar snarked, referring to Antar’s reliance on his and Rath’s home planet, Ahrensa, for valuable resources and smiled at the idiot prince coldly, glad he didn’t have to play the diplomatic games his friend did. “Amenki da bissau utem okoro. [Sorry, that’s your father.]”
“Utem supia cless kauna rahi piioli, [Your friend needs a lesson in manners,]” Zan addressed Rath, staring at him coldly, again pointedly ignoring the other boy.
“Trovia urangi indal nera cluera piioli, [As if you know anything about manners,]” Khivar spat as Rath grabbed his arm and drug him away from Zan and his pack of monkeys before things got anymore heated.
~
“Rathin Varik Silerius, lo esdla ur tena punia ta kamir… [Rathin Varik Silerius, if you don’t stop pulling my hair…]” Vilandra threatened, pulling her ponytail out of his hand for the fourth time as she rolled her eyes and smiled at Dusan, reaching for his hand as they sat talking in her quarters.
“Uryeh es amar? [You’ll do what?],” he smirked, reaching over and tugging on her ponytail once again just to get a rise out of the girl who’d become a sister to him. At least he could tolerate her much better than her spoiled brother.
“Esdla ur hahi heu indal, [You don’t want to know,]” she glared at him, smacking his hand away from her hair once more, pinning him with her best haughty expression.
“Tu nunavik, Aizui, [I’m scared, Princess,]” he snickered, reaching over and yanking on her ponytail once more before jumping up and running from the room, the blond girl in hot pursuit.
~
Moonlight streamed through the thick canopy of trees, as Rath watched a petite girl with rich mahogany hair and cerulean blue eyes as she stared up at the clear sky, sighing longingly as she listened to the strains of music coming from the ballroom just beyond her private garden.
Breath hitching as a warm summer breeze molded the gauzy purple material of her dress to her slight frame, he stepped onto the balcony, so entranced by the sight he inadvertently upset one of the pots, knocking it over and startled the young girl out of her trance.
“Pareva raspunde setsuna? [This a private moment?]” he asked quietly as she spun around, her face lighting up when she saw who it was. His heart pounded in his ears, throat clenching as she walked over to him and took his hands.
“Rath,” she replied, her face glowing with happiness as she took in the face she had come to love so much in such a short time. He’d only been gone for a month this time, but it had felt like years. “Ur eina sola. [You’re home.]”
“Tu teldla wanosope kuu, Lareena [I couldn’t stay away, Lareena]” he whispered, brushing a finger over her cheek softly, before dipping his head to capture her lips.
~
Rath walked into the ballroom, glad to be home after the three-month mission with the federation military that almost kept him away from his brother and Vilandra’s Declaration of Intention Ceremony, where they made their betrothal known to society. Although the betrothal had been common knowledge for years, a family never officially announced the impending bonding until the girl was eighteen.
Smiling, he caught sight of the glowingly happy couple surrounded by friends, his brother and his soon to be mate talking animatedly, all the while sharing soft, loving glances. They were lucky enough to be one of the all too rare love matches among royalty and he couldn’t be happier for them.
Striding past his brother, Rath wrapped an arm around the blond at his side, pulling her into an affectionate embrace and placed a kiss on her cheek, smirking at his brother’s mock outrage as he dragged her from his arms.
“Mdaalo dia heu hupia, Lannie, [Welcome to the family, Lannie,]” he whispered, smiling at the sweet, pretty girl that held his brother’s heart, happy that whatever streak of meanness that ran through her brother skipped over her. “Uryeh hahabu srili aiza. [You’ll make a wonderful queen.]”
“Veda, Rath, [Thank you, Rath,]” she replied, beaming as she stared at Dusan, her golden brown eyes sparkling with happiness and love. “Che hahabu da amada dia munui ichemay. [He makes it so easy to love him.]
“Da eina dla nolka tonu dia mai,[It’s not too late to renege]” he teased softly, knowing full well that his brother was listening to their conversation and couldn’t help but poke at him. “Tu indal dia osieri heu undrea oletasu. [I am known to be the better brother.]
“Tena opokopen ta baipia, Rathin, [Stop hogging my girl, Rathin,]” Dusan growled playfully, swooping in and yanking a laughing Lannie from his arms, kissing her on the cheek. “Sio iri utem ia penhalagon! [Get one of your own!]
“Cha chiparos, [Not a problem,]” Rath laughed, walking away from the grinning couple and heading for a shy brunette hovering on the edge of the dance floor.
~
The sky was clouded over, damp air hanging heavy and still, crushing the lungs of the mourners, dressed in royal blue, as they watched a shrouded figure being lifted into the Royal Burial tomb, wails of grief punctuating that oppressively heavy sky and tears streaming over most of the faces present as they laid Crown Prince Dusan Laris Silerius to rest.
Staring at the cold marble box that would soon hold his brother’s remains, all because of a stupid, unforeseen accident, Rath’s heart thudded dully, tears choked in his throat as he somberly waited for the ceremony to be over. Dazed, he and Khivar each wrapped a comforting arm around Lannie, squeezing her shaking body softly as she poured out her grief at losing the man she loved heart and soul.
“Umiki es tu pacal wakwael ichemay?[How do I live without him?]” she choked out, pain dulling her typically vibrant eyes as she stared up at the two of them, tears coursing down her cheeks as she took a shuddering breath.
“Tu esdla indal, [I don’t know,]” he whispered hoarsely, clenching his eyes against the prickling tears that were fighting for release and squeezed her tighter, pain lancing his heart as the officials gave their final salute and sealed the tomb. “Juha tu sinpia ewiges osieri cona ur sempra. [But I’ll always be here for you.]”
~
Rath stood in the royal balcony, Lannie cold and somber at his side, clinging onto his hand as if it were her lifeline, shattered disbelief crossing her face as Zan smiled at the gathering crowd. He shook his own head in disbelief at the last few days of his life, heart heavy, furious that his brother hadn’t been properly mourned before Zan made his move.
Looking down from the balcony, he met a pair of cerulean blue eyes, bright with unshed tears, hiding on the fringes of the crowd and his heart ached, helpless fury coursing through his veins. He’ll never forgive Zan for forcing him into this travesty, forcing him to honor the betrothal because of a technicality in wording – Lannie had been betrothed to the Crown Prince of Ahrensa, not Dusan himself.
And since he was now crown prince because of Dusan’s unfortunate death, he was obligated to go through with this farce of a marriage, damning both he and Lannie to a life of unhappiness. After all, royalty doesn’t marry for love – at least not the Crown Prince. Dusan and Lannie had been a rare exception.
Meeting his love’s eyes again, he pleaded for understanding, although she had already given him her benediction, knowing that he no longer had control over his life. She nodded softly and gave him a watery smile, pressing shaky fingers to her mouth and sending him a kiss as she waited for the death toll of their budding relationship.
Swinging enraged caramel eyes over at Zan, he prayed that one day, he too would know what it was like to have to walk away from the one he loved for a destiny he didn’t want. Zan smirked, seeing the all too apparent fury in his old rival’s eyes and turned to face the crowd, waving his hands for quiet.
“Tu intriaba dia searoi ta kletapia Vilandra Arelli lehali dia heu Epli Zanui dia Ahrensa, Rathin Varik Silerius![I’m pleased to announce my sister, Vilandra Arelli’s, betrothal to the Crown Prince of Ahrensa, Rathin Varik Silerius.]” Zan announced, stepping aside to let him and Lannie pass.
His gut churned sickly as the crowd let up a half-hearted cheer, murmurs of discontent and anger over Zan’s audacity vaguely heard over the cheering crowd. Looking at Lannie, he saw she was watching her brother coldly, the seeds of hate stirring in her eyes and he shivered in apprehension, wondering what was going through her head.
Ripping his eyes from his new betrothed, he looked over to where he last saw Lareena, catching her beautiful blue eyes one last time, heart shattering at the tears slipping over her pale cheeks as she blew him one last kiss and turned to walk away.
“Lareena…”
~*~
Michael woke with a start, heart pounding in his chest, gasping at the lingering pain that twisted his gut from his last batch of dreams. Swiping a hand over his face, he was surprised to find his cheeks wet, having shed the tears he hadn’t allowed himself in his previous lifetime.
Gathering Liz in his arms, he hugged her to him tightly, letting her soft energy fill him and chase the demons away. Kissing her on the head softly, he traced their seals, vindicated that this time, Zan wouldn’t be able separate him from the one he loved.
Whims - Haha! Thank you my wonderful beta and sounding board for helping with this story. Damn, it's so hard to keep my comments limited to this past chapter given our conversations. You've been an amazing help at keeping my thoughts clear and concise as well as pointing out potential pitfalls. I agree it's a shame Isabel is one of the last to know about the Future Max debacle, which is why I wanted to make her the second to know. Michael does indeed know everything and this will be addressed at a later date. As for Michael being slow on the uptake with Isabel/Kyle...well...he is a guy, can't fault him too much.
And since you loved the glimpse of Kyle and Isabel, you'll be happy to know that they'll get more screen time next chapter. Glad you're liking the story and thanks again for your amazing beta and sounding board services!!!Elfangel01 - I know, I do have a lot of loose ends don't I? And you're right, I am going to tell you that the questions will be addressed through out the story. Sorry.
Tess will be in it, but probably not quite as you expect. She won't make an appearance for a while though. As for what Max thinks...well we get a taste of him this chapter but you'll have to wait until chapter 13 for the full reaction. Yeah...I'm terrible.Jan - Always love to see your comments and I'm so glad to have you as an avid reader. And that I made you like Michael/Liz.
But we'll call that one a draw since you made me like Max. I can't believe it. Bah! Yes, I am teasing you and I'm afraid it will continue to be a tease as we only get a glimpse of Max in this chapter. BUT I promise you that Chapter 13 is the scene you've been waiting for at long last! I have to dedicate the next chapter to our lovely Incrowders and to deal with some more foursquare complications before we get there. My apologies! (Well actually...if it keeps you reading maybe I'll just hold off...kidding! Just kidding!) And thanks for the congrats!sablaine - Yes, she has been a great help as I move from pure smut to plot, especially with all the help refining that plot, seeing potential plot holes and keeping me from ripping my hair out as I try to figure out where the hell this story is going. She is a Goddess as well!
AN: I apologize for the length of this posting. Damn...I'm long-winded today. I try to keep the chapters shorter but for some reason my characters were very chatty. In fact, the little scene I had planned with Max turned into a 3-page dialogue in Word. The man just wouldn't shut up and I was ready to kill him myself by the end of the conversation.
Italicized text is Michael's dream sequence. They will be speaking in Antarian with a translation following it. Sorry if I botched your grammar terribly sablaine. I looked in the file but didn't see any rules so I just did a word for word translation for the most part because I'm not the Goddess you are! That said, special acknowledgment to sablaine for her language skills!
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Complications and Reincarnated Kings
What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
~*~
“F-four…square?” Kyle stuttered, gulping at the unexpected answer to his question, running a hand through his light brown locks in agitation. Just when he thought his life couldn’t get any weirder, the aliens always found a way to prove him wrong. He winced when he felt a sharp nudge in his ribs and found Isabel glaring at him indignantly. He shrugged his shoulders, brow furrowing in confusion uncertain what about his comment had set her off this time. “What?”
“I heard that,” she replied, still watching him with a piqued expression, the barest hint of hurt reflected in her golden brown eyes. She knew he was still adjusting to the bond and his potential emerging powers, but she didn’t think any of it should be termed weird.
“Heard what?” he asked, confused at the hurt she was vainly trying to hide from him. He didn’t understand why his question would cause that reaction in his mate, unless she picked up on his underlying panic, but she knew that he was still adjusting to all the changes in their lives and relationship.
“That crack you made about how we always make your life weird,” she snapped. Surely he couldn’t be that dense, even for a guy. Shaking her head, she tried to stand but found her legs wouldn’t hold her for long and staggered to a chair, sitting down heavily as the world dipped sickly. Placing her head in her hands, she took several deep breaths until the dizziness passed.
“Huh? I didn’t say that,” he responded, wondering how she knew that before pursing his lips in annoyance at her crack about men. Women made absolutely no sense. If they would just actually say what they meant instead of hinting and hedging enough to drive a man insane, there’d be fewer problems. “And I’m not dense.”
“Actually, you did man,” Michael replied, shaking his own head to clear the lingering buzz of power floating through it and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from snorting over his response to Isabel’s crack about men. He may have agreed, but he was smart enough not to say anything out loud. He had to hand it to the leprechaun, he had some serious balls to say something like that in front of the girls.
“Ow, Liz! What the hell was that for?” He winced as he felt a smack on the back of his head and scowled at his mate, lifting his hand to rub his stinging scalp.
“For agreeing with him,” she smirked, glaring at both men for their comments, standing slowly and pressing her hands to her hips. Idiots, the both of them. “We do so make sense. Just because we don’t speak in grunts, snorts and scratching is no reason to mock our communication skills. And get over the weirdness already, Kyle. It’s a little late to be griping.”
“I didn’t say anything!” Kyle bellowed in exasperation, his frustration mounting as he started to wonder if he’d been dropped into an alternate universe or the Twilight Zone because the whole lot of them were hearing things.
“Idiot? Wait, what do you mean for agreeing with him?” Michael asked, looking down at his mate with slight confusion, understanding beginning to dawn as he listened to his squabbling friends. Liz’s eyes flew to his questioningly at his comment and he cursed under his breath as the pieces started to build a damn interesting picture and unforeseeable complication.
“You did, just admit it, Kyle,” Isabel spat, so focused on her mate and his comments that she missed the looks passing between the other half of their foursquare. Standing up, she walked over and stood in front of him, looming over him slightly and crossed her arms. “And so help me, I will zap you into the Twilight Zone myself if you make another comment like that again.”
“Liz?” Michael thought, staring at his mate while he experimented with an idea, hoping that she’ll catch on when she didn’t see his mouth move. He couldn’t help his palpable excitement over the usefulness of a mind connection with the four if they ever had to go into battle.
“Michael?” she mentally gasped, eyes widening incredulously as she stared at him, reeling with confusion for a moment before it shifted into scientific fascination as her mind adapted to having his thoughts in her head. “Foursquare perk?”
“I didn’t say anything!” Kyle insisted once again, pressing his hand to his face in aggravation, his head throbbing due to the constant chattering going on around him. He still hadn’t fully recovered from the foursquare merge and they were already trying to drive him mad. “And what’s a perk?”
“Whatever,” Isabel sniped, growing impatient with his insistence of innocence and turned her back on him, pressing fingers to her throbbing head. They really needed to work on the controlling the connection so it didn’t drain them of so much energy next time – if there is a next time. “And according to you, the perk is being driven mad.”
“Jesus, what the hell is going on?” Kyle snapped, finally reaching his breaking point and thoroughly confused as to why she kept repeating his every thought. “Do you suddenly have permanent residence in my brain?”
“Actually, I think that’s exactly it,” Michael replied stoically, scratching his brow in agitation as the other couple blanched and ceased their bickering. “Uh, Liz and I just did a little experiment where I called to her in my thoughts and she answered. Not only that, but you heard our exchange as well when she asked if it was a foursquare perk.”
“Are you saying that we’ve been reading each others minds this whole time?” Isabel asked quietly, shoulders slumping with exhaustion and rubbed her temples, trying to ease the tension building behind her eyes. She sighed as Liz looked at her and nodded slightly. “So what, from now on we’re going to be hearing each others thoughts?”
“I don’t know,” Michael replied, rubbing the back of his neck, scowling at the chatter still running through his mind. Although, it had muted to a dull roar when he focused on something other than the thoughts themselves and he rubbed a hand over his face, wondering what other weirdness was going to result from this merge. “Maybe it’s just a lingering affect of being so connected and will fade.”
“See, I’m not the only one that thinks all of this is weird,” Kyle cried, feeling vindicated when he heard Michael repeat his initial thought that had gotten him into trouble in the first place. Even with everything he had seen over the past two years, this was still weird by his standards. He hoped to Buddha that this wouldn’t be permanent, shuddering at the idea of being privy to Michael or Liz’s private fantasies or worse, them privy to his….
“Don’t even go there, Valenti!” the alien man growled, glowering at the shorter man with consternation, cringing at the idea of seeing his sister naked, even if it was just in the hobbit’s fantasies. No, he wasn’t allowed to think of her period. Bond be damned. “You aren’t to think of my sister like that, ever!”
“Too late for that one,” his friend muttered under his breath, smirking as the taller man shot him fiery glare, knowing that his actions were like badgering a caged wild animal, but couldn’t help himself. It was his nature after all and he rarely saw his friend display more than his typical stoic disinterest. “In fact…”
“Will you two quit the pissing contest and get back to our discussion on hand,” Isabel snapped, glaring at both men, shaking her head in exasperation and sighed. “I'm too tired to deal with this right now.”
“Why don’t you go lie down in the guestroom, we’ll talk about this later,” Liz suggested sympathetically, feeling drained herself after their little pyrotechnic display. Wrapping an arm around the taller girl, she turned to the guys and smiled as she walked towards the rooms. “You too Kyle. I think we all could use some rest before we address this some more. We expended a lot of energy today.”
“Bloody hell,” Kyle muttered under his breath, his own exhaustion catching up to him and followed Liz and Isabel, deliberately ignoring Michael’s annoyed grunt and scowl. Reaching the room, he walked in as Liz was walking away from the bed and saw Isabel curled up in the center, facing away from him. Heart heavy with remorse over the hurt feelings radiating from his mate, he turned to Liz and smiled weakly as she closed the door. “Thanks, Liz.”
“No problem,” she said softly, closing the door and leaving her friends to talk. Turning back to Michael, she grinned at his unease with his sister sharing a room with the other man and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and sinking against his chest, teasing him gently. “It will be okay, big brother.”
He grunted, disbelief etching his face and made a mental note to have a ‘discussion’ with the midget as soon as possible. Looking back at the woman in his arms, his face softened and he wrapped her in his arms, burying his face in her hair for a moment before he pulled away and took her hand.
“You need rest too,” he chided, cocking a brow when she opened her mouth to protest and placed a finger against her lips to quell her arguments. “The diner can take care of itself. We have a good team this morning and if it will make you feel better, I’ll walk down and check things out.”
“You need rest as well,” Liz pointed out, smoothing a hand along his cheek, lightly touching the lines of exhaustion around his eyes. “You expended just as much energy as the rest of us. Probably more since you acted as the focus.”
“I know,” he replied, turning her around and leading her to her room, helping her onto the bed before he sat on the edge, pushing her hair back softly. “And I’ll be right back. I just want to take care of a few things.”
“You’re going to talk to Max, aren’t you?” she guessed, watching him with quiet apprehension as his eyes darted away from hers. It would just be like him to try and talk to Max alone and take the brunt of what she knew was going to be an ugly scene, protecting her at any cost. She sat up, trying to move past him, not about to let him face that alone. “You are. Damn it, Michael. You aren’t doing this without me.”
“Liz…” he started, grabbing her around the waist and holding her in place, fearing what Max might do when he found out about their bonding. He was still uneasy about his actions in the desert healing and didn’t trust him in the least. He’d remembered far too much about Zan and his machinations to believe what happened was a coincidence. “I need you to be safe from harm. If anything happened…”
“No,” she said firmly, pushing against him, fighting his hold on her while glaring at him in exasperation. “Not going to happen, Michael. I know what he did scared you, but I’m not letting you face his wrath alone. I’m going with you.”
“Aiba…baby,” he whispered against her temple, letting his wall fall further so that she could see his fear and unease, his protective nature going into overdrive as he held her against his chest. He was not one to plead, but in this instance it was worth it. Her safety was more important than pride. “Please.”
“No, Michael, we are doing this together,” she refuted firmly, moving to straddle his lap and cupped his jaw with her hands, looking deeply into worried whiskey eyes. “We are a partnership in all things or this doesn’t work. I’m going to be there even if I have to follow you.”
“I could seal the door,” he retorted arrogantly, lips pressing in a thin line, his stormy eyes heating up as he frantically tried to fight the panic welling inside him, his fingers digging into her hips. “Make you stay here.”
“But you won’t,” she replied confidently, tracing the lines in his brow, placing a tender kiss on his forehead before resting hers against it. Pressing her fingers to his mouth lightly, she traced the soft skin as she met his intense, steady gaze stubbornly. “You aren’t doing this alone.”
“Fine, but not now,” he replied, lips pursing with annoyance, wanting to shake her for her obstinacy. “You still need rest. I’ll have him come back tonight.”
“Promise me, Michael” she responded, watching him seriously, sinking her fingers into his soft waves and holding his head to hers, their breaths mingling, noses lightly touching as they stared into each others eyes. “Promise you won’t talk to him without me.”
“I don’t like this,” he griped, shaking his head at her stubbornness. “What if I can’t keep you safe from Zan…Max? He’s not going to accept this without a fight and I don’t want you in the crossfire.”
“I can protect myself,” she retorted stubbornly, leaning back a bit but keeping a heated gazed locked with his equally fiery expression. “And you’ll be there by my side.”
“But we don’t know what he’s capable of yet,” he argued, frustration lacing his voice, his back tight with tension as he loosed his hold on her hips, running his hands up her sides, and cupping her jaw tenderly, his large hands dwarfing the delicate lines of her face, brushing a thumb over her lips softly. “We don’t know how much he’s remembered.
“All the more reason that you shouldn’t confront him alone,” she refuted, crossing her arms over her chest, frustrated with his stubborn insistence on keeping her in a safe little bubble. “We’re better, stronger together and you know it! It will be harder for him to take two of us down rather than one alone.”
“Damn it! You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?” he grumbled, knowing deep down that she was right in her assessment of the situation, but still balking at the idea of her being anywhere near Max. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed in agitation and grudgingly admitted, “But you’re right.”
“What? Did you just say I was right?” she snorted incredulously, looking towards her window as if searching for something. Grinning at his questioning look, she snickered softly and continued. “Just looking for flying farm animals. Never thought I’d live to see the day that you’d admit to being wrong, Guerin. They must be snowboarding in hell right now.”
“You’re a riot, Parker,” he growled playfully, tossing her off his lap and pinning her to the bed, running his one hand over her ribs teasingly while the other held her hands stretched over her head.
“Michael, stop, please, stop!” she gasped, squirming beneath him while she tugged on her wrists and bucked, trying to dislodge him from her body, her eyes dancing with laughter.
“Don’t be a smart ass next time,” he smirked, stopping his torture and letting her hands go, sighing when they wrapped around his neck, pulling him down so that their foreheads leaned against each other once more. Bracing his weight on one arm, he trailed a finger over her cheek before leaning over, stoic once more and pressed a soft kiss against her lips.
“Promise me you won’t confront him alone,” she whispered, watching him with serious coffee-colored eyes, a hint of a frown marring her face. Brushing his hair back from his face, she marveled at its thick, silky texture, her breath catching in her throat at the thought that something could happen to him. “Please.”
“I promise,” he whispered, his skin shivering with apprehension as he made his vow, wishing he felt confident that he could keep her safe from Zan…Max. He couldn’t help the helpless fear churning in his gut. He was worried there was more to the desert ritual than Max told Liz and Kyle and he had a bad feeling things were going to get worse before they got better. “I won’t talk to him without you there. Can I go, now?”
“Yes,” she whispered, brushing her lips over his softly, smiling at his slightly disgruntled look and toying with a soft wave near his ear. “But hurry back.”
“Nothing could keep me away from you for long,” he rasped, swallowing thickly, a slight shudder trickling down his spine as her fingers trailed over his neck, down to his chest to cover his heart. Tipping his head slightly, he pressed a kiss to her brow and pulled away, climbing out of the bed. “Get some rest. I’ll be back in about five, ten minutes tops.”
“I’ll be waiting,” she smiled, watching as he grabbed his shirt from yesterday and threw it on, wrinkling his nose slightly at the stale fried food scent clinging to the gray fabric and walked towards the door. “There’s some shirts in the office downstairs. Grab one of those.”
“Thanks,” he smiled as he walked, closing the door behind him and quickly made his way through living room, scowling briefly when he heard muffled raised voices behind the guestroom door and made another mental not to talk to the dwarf.
Descending the stairs into the diner, he popped into the office and grabbed a shirt, quickly exchanging it for the one he was wearing and heading back out the door to the kitchen, waving at one of the waitresses as they hurried out to the diner. It still felt weird to him that the Parkers trusted him to co-manage the place with Liz, but he was glad for their trust nonetheless.
“Hey chico, what are you doing here so early?” Jose called as he wandered into the kitchen to check the supplies and smiled at the older man. “You’re not on until closing.”
“Parkers are out of town and Liz wasn’t feeling well this morning, so she called me in to check on things,” he lied, keeping his tone even and bland as he headed back out of the kitchen and went towards the grill. “Think you can hold down the fort here for the morning? She said to give her a call upstairs if you need her, but she just finally got back to sleep and I don’t want to disturb her if at all possible.”
“Sure thing, chico, I hope it’s nothing serious,” the Hispanic man frowned, his lips pursed with worry. He’d been working for the Parkers since he was a kid and Liz was like family to him. “She going to be ok?”
“Yeah, man, she’s fine,” Michael replied, clasping the other man on the shoulder to reassure him before walking towards the dining area. “She just didn’t get much sleep last night and wanted to sleep in a bit this morning.”
“Well let her know I’m thinking of her if you see her,” he called, turning back to the grill and working on the next orders.
“Sure thing,” he shouted back, heading out the door to speak to Claire, Erin and Jessica, the waitresses on duty this morning. Erin was still new, but Claire had been here for years and Jessica joined the staff three years prior. He knew that between the two of them, they could help Erin and keep the dining room running smoothly.
“Hey Claire, can I talk to you for a moment,” he asked as he walked up to the pretty brown-eyed, redhead, pulling her aside to talk with her privately. Glancing around the diner, he noticed Max walk in the door, his brow pinching with annoyance when he saw him. He held up one finger and let him know he’d be with him in a moment.
“Sure, what’s up?” she queried, surprised to see Michael in the diner so early since she knew he worked the grill tonight. Furrowing her brow with concern, she noted that Liz had yet to make an appearance, which was unusual when her parents were out of town and hoped nothing had happened to the girl she liked so much. “Is everything all right? I haven’t seen Liz this morning.”
“Yeah, she’s okay, just a little under the weather this morning,” he reassured, biting back an annoyed sigh when Max hovered nearby, trying to hone in on their conversation. Turning his back on him, he directed his next comments to Claire. “She’s going to spend the morning resting. Can you handle the girls? She said you can call upstairs if necessary, but she just got back to sleep and…”
“Not to worry, Michael,” she replied, giving his arm a light squeeze as she started to walk away and help one of her customers. “Tell her we have everything under control and we’ll see her later if she’s up to coming in.”
“Thanks Claire, we really appreciate it,” he replied, bracing himself for the inevitable bombardment of questions Max was sure to have about his absence last night as well as why Liz wasn’t downstairs this morning. Turning back to the dark-haired king, he schooled his face into a mask of indifference and nodded his head towards the back of the restaurant. “Maxwell.”
“Michael,” Max greeted with reservation, watching the taller man’s back stiffening slightly as he walked towards the break room. “You didn’t come home last night. Everyone was worried.”
Michael barely refrained from snorting at that comment, all too aware that the only people that were likely concerned were Max and Maria and them only because they felt him and Liz slipping from their grasps. Shrugging his shoulders, he pushed the door to the back room open, waiting for Max to walk through, not comfortable with having the man at his back.
“Something came up,” he replied cryptically as he shut the door behind him and leaned against the wall, waiting for Max to get to the point so he could usher him out the door and get back to Liz. His energy was finally starting to flag and he desperately needed to get some sleep.
“Where were you?” Max asked tightly, his jaw ticking slightly at Michael’s blasé attitude towards his unasked question. Lately, Michael had been keeping more and more to himself and he didn’t like this new development, especially coupled with his apparent close relationship with Liz. Their spending so much time together made him uneasy.
“Here and there,” Michael stonewalled, shrugging his shoulders once more and fixing the other man with an inscrutable look. It was too bad one of his powers didn’t cover mind reading because he’d really like to know what was going on in the fearless leader’s head. He’d been getting bad vibes from his ever since Tess had shown up.
“Don’t you think you should have informed us of your plans,” Max griped, getting tired of his pseudo brother’s lack of response to his questions. It was almost as if he knew, but he didn’t understand how he could have started retrieving his memories unless he bonded. Which would explain the new level of calmness in his demeanor. “What if something had happened?”
“Nope, it was personal, not alien related,” the taller man replied, staring over the brunette’s shoulder in apparent unconcerned boredom, although he was really trying to read the other man’s body language and figure out what had him so agitated. He had never been overly concerned with his comings and goings before. Of course, he hadn’t been after his ex-girlfriend before either.
“Still, Michael,” the would be king commanded, crossing his arms over his chest as he studied the other man, knowing he was hiding something from him. There was something different about him this morning, some change in his powers that hadn’t been present the day before. “You need to be more careful.”
“Worry about yourself, Maxwell,” Michael retorted, rolling his eyes at the other man’s audacity. It never failed. Every time he felt one of his minions slipping away from his control, he tried to bring them to heel as if they were nothing more than heedless puppies. “As you can see I’m fine. I can take care of myself.”
“Where’s Liz?” Max asked suspiciously, having overheard Michael’s conversation with one of the waitresses and wondering how and why he would know how Liz was feeling this morning, given he hadn’t been home last night. “I heard one of the waitresses saying something about her missing too.”
“She’s upstairs, Maxwell,” Michael snorted, all too aware of his obvious play for information regarding his mate and his possible involvement over her absence. He was not about to play into his games. “Where else would she be if she isn’t feeling well?”
“Maybe I should check on her,” Max replied, watching the sandy-haired alien skeptically, still wondering what was going on with his former friend.
“She’s sleeping and doesn’t want to be disturbed,” Michael replied, shrugging his shoulder negligently once more, careful to keep his face blank despite his worry. The last thing they needed was Max to go upstairs and discover everything. “She’ll be down later.”
“How do you know this?” the dark-haired man asked, jealousy all too apparent on his face as he shifted with agitation, his anger growing every minute he didn’t get the answers he wanted.
“She called me,” he responded stoically, trying to prevent raising Max’s suspicions any higher. There was nothing more he wanted to do than to tell his royal highness exactly where he had been last night and why, but he had promised Liz that he wouldn’t tell him anything without her.
“But you weren’t home,” Max pointed out, thinking he finally found a chink in his story – a story he didn’t believe in the least. He could feel the new level of power radiating off the other man and knew there was only one thing that could have caused it.
“Cell phone,” Michael replied with a careless shrug, knowing the other man was trying to catch him in a lie, which wasn’t going to work.
“Since when do you have a cell phone?” Max asked suspiciously. Michael hated talking on the regular phone, preferring to simply speak with the others in person, so he couldn’t imagine him with a cell phone.
“Since Isabel went all Nazi on me after I got the bike,” Michael casually stated, cocking his brow at the other man in amusement. “She didn’t like the idea of me riding around without some way of contacting people.”
“And you couldn’t call to let me know you weren’t coming home last night?” Max growled, irritation growing.
“Slipped my mind,” the other man smirked, knowing he was getting to the wanna-be king. “I don’t report to you, Maxwell.”
“Well, maybe you should,” Max bit out, clenching his fists at his second’s caviler attitude about everything. He was more convinced than ever that something was up just by his evasive answers.
“Maybe you should back off,” Michael grated, finally getting annoyed with the interrogation. “While I’d love to play twenty questions with you, I have a diner to run and things to do, so can we get to the point?
“By all means” he replied in a clipped tone, jaw tightening further at the other man’s insolence. “Get to the point.”
“I need you to come by the Crash tonight for a meeting,” he sighed, his head starting to throb, body aching from earlier events. “There have been some…developments.”
“I thought you said last night was personal?” Max inquired, cocking his brow, lips thinning with agitation. “That it wasn’t alien related.”
“It is personal,” Michael grunted, pinching his nose in exasperation. He’d already been gone longer than he intended and was worried that if he didn’t shake Max off now, Liz was going to come looking for him, upset that he had broken his promise. “Look, I don’t have time for this. If you want to know about last night, be here after closing. If not, that’s your problem.”
Michael gestured to the door, waiting for the other man to leave so he could get back to more important matters, knowing without a doubt the control freak wouldn’t miss the opportunity to find out what’s going on. He followed behind him, walking him to the swinging door, still uneasy with his actions of late.
“I’ll see you tonight then,” Max replied, walking through the door. He was itching to make his way up to Liz’s apartment, but knew there was no way he’d make it past Michael without a fight. Maybe he’d sneak around to her balcony and see what was going on from there.
“See you tonight, Maxwell,” the tall alien responded, watching him until he made his way out of the diner before heaving a sigh of relief and turned to head up to the apartment, taking the steps two at a time, unaware of a pair of angry eyes watching him in his haste to get back to Liz.
Slipping into her room quietly, he smiled to see that she was indeed sleeping and quickly moved to the windows to reinforce his seals and black them out. He was glad he had thought to close the blinds last night, as it’d just be like Max to come around to the balcony and confront Liz.
Slipping out off his clothing, he crawled into bed, pulling her into his arms and sighed with contentment when she snuggled into him, murmuring his name under her breath. Sinking his face into her hair, he breathed deeply, taking in that soft vanilla and strawberry scent that clung to it and gave into the pull of slumber and dreams.
~*~
Steam rose from deep red ochre soil, curling lazily in the humid summer air to mingle into verdant, moss-covered branches of all shades of green – emerald, pine, forest, hunter and spring – their broad, fan and fern-like leaves dripping condensation. Three boys raced down a shaded, rocky path, panting as a hot summer breeze kicked up, scenting the air with damp earth and the sweet, spicy, jasmine-like flowering vines clogging the path.
Ripping through the vilondra, the boys tore away the foliage that had grown since their previous summer’s trek to their favorite watering hole, desperate to beat the damp summer heat. Looking back at his younger counterparts, the eldest boy laughingly taunted them as he slid through the loamy red earth, kicking up rocks and clumps of red earth in his wake, calling behind him.
“Natakna iri kiempa eina vortmar! [Last one there is a vortmar!]” Dusan laughed, nearly stumbling in his haste and caught himself just before he fell face first in the rich, damp soil beneath him. Pushing off the ground, he threw a clump of mud at his brother, catching him in the chest and continued at a full out run through the rainforest surrounding their palace, breathing heavily as he tried dragging the soupy air into his lungs.
“Ur eina kilma, Dusan! [You’re dead, Dusan!]” Rath grunted, scooping the loam off his bare chest and threw the mud to the ground as he doubled his speed, tawny waves whipping behind him, silky blue shorts hanging on his hips precariously as he tried to catch up with his elder brother.
“Tromeri noua, Rath! [Rath wait up!]” a young boy with platinum blond hair and blue eyes gasped, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he desperately tried to keep up with his older counterparts. “Dia tayagu taihan! [Not so fast!]”
“Pasae Khivar! [Hurry, Khivar!]” Rath called, turning to run backwards and wait for his best friend, who was smaller than either of the Silerius brothers. Grabbing his hand, he pulled him along as they burst through a densely covered area into the clearing beyond it, ripping off shoes and clothing as they entered.
“Urani eina heso sa Obijwa conopida [You both are slower than Obijwa drool],” Dusan smirked, pulling his long dark-blonde hair back with a tie, flashing the other two a mocking grin as he rested his hands on his hips. “Vilandra tel auhia undrea sa urani. [Vilandra can run better than you.]”
Rath scowled at his brother, glaring at him menacingly for his unfavorable comparison to a mere slip of a girl that spent all her time playing Aswani and prattling about the boys at court. Exchanging an evil grin with his friend, he nodded slightly and turned back to his preening brother.
“Arhara iche! [Take him!] he yelled, as his friend let out a war cry and they ran straight for Dusan, launching themselves into him, all three boys landing in the periwinkle waters behind him, laughing as they broke the surface.
~
Khivar and Rath were walking though the school joking about their last class of the day, making their way through the maze of blue walls to their dormitory to get ready for Baji practice when they noticed a small crowd near their dormitory.
Exchanging a puzzled look, they walked over cautiously to find the Crown Prince of Antar holding court. Rolling their eyes at each other, they tried to walk around the arrogant prince and his minions, but were waylaid when Zan stepped in front of them.
“Ueda heu nui urangi, Rathin, [Good to see you, Rathin]” Zan greeted, sending a smug glance to his entourage knowing that the other prince despised him but couldn’t blow him off due to etiquette.
“Zan,” Rath returned, keeping his voice and face neutral despite his irritation at having to play these political games with the spoiled, self-centered prince. If only his father had not signed the betrothal papers, making them allies and worse, family once Dusan married his sister Vilandra.
“Khivar,” Zan greeted dismissively, purposely ignoring the other boy to rile him. Turning back to Rath, he smiled coolly at his chief rival for all things academic, athletic and social. While people tolerated him because they had to, they genuinely liked Rath and that grated his nerves.
“Lo da eina dia kisiechuu ia Ahrensa, [If it isn’t the parasite of Ahrensa,]” Khivar snarked, referring to Antar’s reliance on his and Rath’s home planet, Ahrensa, for valuable resources and smiled at the idiot prince coldly, glad he didn’t have to play the diplomatic games his friend did. “Amenki da bissau utem okoro. [Sorry, that’s your father.]”
“Utem supia cless kauna rahi piioli, [Your friend needs a lesson in manners,]” Zan addressed Rath, staring at him coldly, again pointedly ignoring the other boy.
“Trovia urangi indal nera cluera piioli, [As if you know anything about manners,]” Khivar spat as Rath grabbed his arm and drug him away from Zan and his pack of monkeys before things got anymore heated.
~
“Rathin Varik Silerius, lo esdla ur tena punia ta kamir… [Rathin Varik Silerius, if you don’t stop pulling my hair…]” Vilandra threatened, pulling her ponytail out of his hand for the fourth time as she rolled her eyes and smiled at Dusan, reaching for his hand as they sat talking in her quarters.
“Uryeh es amar? [You’ll do what?],” he smirked, reaching over and tugging on her ponytail once again just to get a rise out of the girl who’d become a sister to him. At least he could tolerate her much better than her spoiled brother.
“Esdla ur hahi heu indal, [You don’t want to know,]” she glared at him, smacking his hand away from her hair once more, pinning him with her best haughty expression.
“Tu nunavik, Aizui, [I’m scared, Princess,]” he snickered, reaching over and yanking on her ponytail once more before jumping up and running from the room, the blond girl in hot pursuit.
~
Moonlight streamed through the thick canopy of trees, as Rath watched a petite girl with rich mahogany hair and cerulean blue eyes as she stared up at the clear sky, sighing longingly as she listened to the strains of music coming from the ballroom just beyond her private garden.
Breath hitching as a warm summer breeze molded the gauzy purple material of her dress to her slight frame, he stepped onto the balcony, so entranced by the sight he inadvertently upset one of the pots, knocking it over and startled the young girl out of her trance.
“Pareva raspunde setsuna? [This a private moment?]” he asked quietly as she spun around, her face lighting up when she saw who it was. His heart pounded in his ears, throat clenching as she walked over to him and took his hands.
“Rath,” she replied, her face glowing with happiness as she took in the face she had come to love so much in such a short time. He’d only been gone for a month this time, but it had felt like years. “Ur eina sola. [You’re home.]”
“Tu teldla wanosope kuu, Lareena [I couldn’t stay away, Lareena]” he whispered, brushing a finger over her cheek softly, before dipping his head to capture her lips.
~
Rath walked into the ballroom, glad to be home after the three-month mission with the federation military that almost kept him away from his brother and Vilandra’s Declaration of Intention Ceremony, where they made their betrothal known to society. Although the betrothal had been common knowledge for years, a family never officially announced the impending bonding until the girl was eighteen.
Smiling, he caught sight of the glowingly happy couple surrounded by friends, his brother and his soon to be mate talking animatedly, all the while sharing soft, loving glances. They were lucky enough to be one of the all too rare love matches among royalty and he couldn’t be happier for them.
Striding past his brother, Rath wrapped an arm around the blond at his side, pulling her into an affectionate embrace and placed a kiss on her cheek, smirking at his brother’s mock outrage as he dragged her from his arms.
“Mdaalo dia heu hupia, Lannie, [Welcome to the family, Lannie,]” he whispered, smiling at the sweet, pretty girl that held his brother’s heart, happy that whatever streak of meanness that ran through her brother skipped over her. “Uryeh hahabu srili aiza. [You’ll make a wonderful queen.]”
“Veda, Rath, [Thank you, Rath,]” she replied, beaming as she stared at Dusan, her golden brown eyes sparkling with happiness and love. “Che hahabu da amada dia munui ichemay. [He makes it so easy to love him.]
“Da eina dla nolka tonu dia mai,[It’s not too late to renege]” he teased softly, knowing full well that his brother was listening to their conversation and couldn’t help but poke at him. “Tu indal dia osieri heu undrea oletasu. [I am known to be the better brother.]
“Tena opokopen ta baipia, Rathin, [Stop hogging my girl, Rathin,]” Dusan growled playfully, swooping in and yanking a laughing Lannie from his arms, kissing her on the cheek. “Sio iri utem ia penhalagon! [Get one of your own!]
“Cha chiparos, [Not a problem,]” Rath laughed, walking away from the grinning couple and heading for a shy brunette hovering on the edge of the dance floor.
~
The sky was clouded over, damp air hanging heavy and still, crushing the lungs of the mourners, dressed in royal blue, as they watched a shrouded figure being lifted into the Royal Burial tomb, wails of grief punctuating that oppressively heavy sky and tears streaming over most of the faces present as they laid Crown Prince Dusan Laris Silerius to rest.
Staring at the cold marble box that would soon hold his brother’s remains, all because of a stupid, unforeseen accident, Rath’s heart thudded dully, tears choked in his throat as he somberly waited for the ceremony to be over. Dazed, he and Khivar each wrapped a comforting arm around Lannie, squeezing her shaking body softly as she poured out her grief at losing the man she loved heart and soul.
“Umiki es tu pacal wakwael ichemay?[How do I live without him?]” she choked out, pain dulling her typically vibrant eyes as she stared up at the two of them, tears coursing down her cheeks as she took a shuddering breath.
“Tu esdla indal, [I don’t know,]” he whispered hoarsely, clenching his eyes against the prickling tears that were fighting for release and squeezed her tighter, pain lancing his heart as the officials gave their final salute and sealed the tomb. “Juha tu sinpia ewiges osieri cona ur sempra. [But I’ll always be here for you.]”
~
Rath stood in the royal balcony, Lannie cold and somber at his side, clinging onto his hand as if it were her lifeline, shattered disbelief crossing her face as Zan smiled at the gathering crowd. He shook his own head in disbelief at the last few days of his life, heart heavy, furious that his brother hadn’t been properly mourned before Zan made his move.
Looking down from the balcony, he met a pair of cerulean blue eyes, bright with unshed tears, hiding on the fringes of the crowd and his heart ached, helpless fury coursing through his veins. He’ll never forgive Zan for forcing him into this travesty, forcing him to honor the betrothal because of a technicality in wording – Lannie had been betrothed to the Crown Prince of Ahrensa, not Dusan himself.
And since he was now crown prince because of Dusan’s unfortunate death, he was obligated to go through with this farce of a marriage, damning both he and Lannie to a life of unhappiness. After all, royalty doesn’t marry for love – at least not the Crown Prince. Dusan and Lannie had been a rare exception.
Meeting his love’s eyes again, he pleaded for understanding, although she had already given him her benediction, knowing that he no longer had control over his life. She nodded softly and gave him a watery smile, pressing shaky fingers to her mouth and sending him a kiss as she waited for the death toll of their budding relationship.
Swinging enraged caramel eyes over at Zan, he prayed that one day, he too would know what it was like to have to walk away from the one he loved for a destiny he didn’t want. Zan smirked, seeing the all too apparent fury in his old rival’s eyes and turned to face the crowd, waving his hands for quiet.
“Tu intriaba dia searoi ta kletapia Vilandra Arelli lehali dia heu Epli Zanui dia Ahrensa, Rathin Varik Silerius![I’m pleased to announce my sister, Vilandra Arelli’s, betrothal to the Crown Prince of Ahrensa, Rathin Varik Silerius.]” Zan announced, stepping aside to let him and Lannie pass.
His gut churned sickly as the crowd let up a half-hearted cheer, murmurs of discontent and anger over Zan’s audacity vaguely heard over the cheering crowd. Looking at Lannie, he saw she was watching her brother coldly, the seeds of hate stirring in her eyes and he shivered in apprehension, wondering what was going through her head.
Ripping his eyes from his new betrothed, he looked over to where he last saw Lareena, catching her beautiful blue eyes one last time, heart shattering at the tears slipping over her pale cheeks as she blew him one last kiss and turned to walk away.
“Lareena…”
~*~
Michael woke with a start, heart pounding in his chest, gasping at the lingering pain that twisted his gut from his last batch of dreams. Swiping a hand over his face, he was surprised to find his cheeks wet, having shed the tears he hadn’t allowed himself in his previous lifetime.
Gathering Liz in his arms, he hugged her to him tightly, letting her soft energy fill him and chase the demons away. Kissing her on the head softly, he traced their seals, vindicated that this time, Zan wouldn’t be able separate him from the one he loved.
