Ariel moved toward the couch. "Did you hear about Abby and Zoran?" She asked as she sat down.

"Yeah, seems s.h.i.t happens even on alien worlds," Carmen said moving to a cart and pouring a drink. She walked over and handed it to Ariel. "I thought you had dropped off the face of the planet. No one would tell me where you were and I couldn't find you."

Ariel squirmed at her sister's intense look. "I've been in the mountains," she muttered taking a sip of her drink. "With Mandra," she added quietly.

"Mandra, huh? Which one is he?" Carmen asked with a raised eyebrow.

Flushing, Ariel stared into her drink for a moment before raising troubled eyes to Carmen. "He was one of the guys in the transporter room, the one trying to catch me."

"Looks like he did more than try," Carmen replied drily.

"Yes, he did," Ariel responded looking at her sister with worried eyes. "I like him, Carmen, a lot. I... I love him."

Carmen stared at her big sister with sad eyes. There wasn't much she could say. She saw the mark on Ariel's neck when she pulled her through the door and recognized that glow in her eyes. She had had that same glow at one time when Scott was alive. She was happy for Ariel. It would be easier leaving her knowing she would be taken care of and wouldn't be alone. Everything would be alright and she knew in her heart she could leave her big sister without feeling guilty.

"I'm happy for you, sis. If anyone deserves happiness it's you," Carmen said quietly.

Ariel's head jerked up at something in her sister's tone. "You're still going to try to get back home, aren't you?"

"Yes," came the determined answer.

"Then I'm going with you," Ariel said with just as much determination. "It would be best to go while most of the guys are gone."

Carmen shook her head. "No, Ariel. You have a life here now. This isn't your battle, it's mine. There are some things that I have to do alone. This is one of them. I want... need to know you are safe and happy," Carmen said looking intently at Ariel willing her to understand and agree. "Please, I need to know you are safe and happy."

Ariel's eyes filled with tears before she looked away. "We promised we would always be there for each other, no matter what. I am going with you so just shut up and accept it."

Mandra slammed into the room where Creon was scowling darkly at the guards who looked at each other nervously. He had only been gone two days! That was how long it took to track down where Abby was taken only to find her gone. Fortunately, the man who took her was dead. Unfortunately, the one behind it was still alive and free. When he returned this morning his first thought was to find his mate and f.u.c.k her until neither one of them could walk. His dragon was impatient for his mate and so was Mandra. Precious, as Ariel fondly called his symbiot, snarled next to him in fury. The tiny gold bands that had graced Ariel had been absorbed into it.

"Nothing! Where in the h.e.l.l are they?" Mandra bit out savagely.

"We do not know, my lords. We have searched the palace extensively and have expanded the search further out. It does not appear they were taken but left on their own," the guard said hesitantly.

"How did they get past you?" Creon snarled.

The guard swallowed as he saw Creon's eyes darken. He had heard the tales of the young lord, some that would chill the blood of any warrior. His eyes flickered to the long curved knife the youngest royal held clenched in his fist.

"They climbed over the balcony and scaled the wall down to a lower one using the curtains around the bed as a rope," the man replied.

Creon snarled again and threw the knife in rage. The group of guards froze as it quivered where it stuck in the wall. Mandra placed his hand on his brother's shoulder to calm him.

"We will find them," Mandra said in a deadly voice. "They cannot have gotten off the planet."

A knock at the door caused all the men to look around. A guard wearing the standard uniform of black leather pants, black vest, and black knee-high boots stood at the door. He waited until Mandra acknowledged him before speaking.

"My lords, we have them," the man said drawing in a deep breath.

"Where?" Mandra growled out menacingly and took a step toward the man.

"At the launch base, my lord," the man replied hurriedly. "They stole one of the shuttles but we were able to override the controls."

Creon turned with a deadly cold look on his face that caused all the guards to flinch. Before the guard could say another word, both Mandra and Creon were pushing pa.s.s him. The guard at the door looked at the others and shook his head. He, for one, felt sorry for the females if the looks of the two men leaving were anything to go by.

Ariel looked at Mandra under her lashes and bit her bottom lip again. He was beyond furious if that was possible. She felt a shiver go down her spine as she remembered him entering the room where she and Carmen had been taken. Neither one of them had gone without a fight. Well, she would have if it hadn't been for the one guard who grabbed her a little rougher than he should have causing her to cry out in pain. Carmen went ballistic on his a.s.s. One of the guards struck Carmen across the face knocking her to the ground. That was when everything went to h.e.l.l. By the time it was over, both she and Carmen were in restraints. Carmen was nursing a bruised jaw and a possible broken wrist while Ariel could feel her left eye swelling and still taste the blood from her busted lip.

"Mandra," Ariel began quietly.

"Do. Not. Say. A. Word," Mandra gritted out between clenched teeth as he walked her over to his symbiot that was in the shape of a sleek, open air transport. "We will discuss this once we get back to the palace."

Ariel nodded silently as Mandra released the restraints holding her wrists behind her back only to reconnect them again in front of her. She shot him a furious look but didn't say anything. There was the war and there was the battle. Right now, this was a battle. She wanted to win the war even if she didn't have a clue as to what she was trying to win.

As soon as she was seated, gold threads began to form and move up her arms. Mandra snarled out something and the threads halted and shimmered for a moment before returning to the solid gold form of the transport. Ariel bit her sore lip without thinking and gasped in pain. She saw Mandra's mouth tighten but he did not say a word to her. Ariel folded her hands tightly together and looked down at them trying not to cry.

She didn't have anything to cry about, she thought furiously. She didn't do anything he wouldn't have done if their roles had been reversed. h.e.l.l, he had spent the last two days looking for Abby with his brother so he should understand family loyalty and duty.

It didn't take long to get back to the palace. Ariel looked at Precious as it changed shape into a huge cat-like creature and brushed up against her in an effort to comfort her. It shook when Mandra growled at it. Ariel reached her hands down and let her fingers lightly caress its silky head as it moved pa.s.sed her into the palace.

Ariel straightened her shoulders and ignored the stares as she walked down the long corridors toward Mandra's living quarters. She didn't say a word, just like he instructed. If he wanted to give her the silent treatment, so be it. She really wasn't in the mood for a long conversation anyway. He could say he was done with her and send her back to Earth. It was where she was trying to head to anyway.

She watched as he nodded to the guards stationed outside the doors to his living quarters. One of them opened the door as they approached. Mandra never slowed down. Ariel bit her lip again and winced as it throbbed in a reminder of the abuse it took a short time ago. She ran her tongue over it trying to see how bad it was and sighed when she tasted blood. She broke the cut open again.

Ariel was so focused on her lip that she would have run into Mandra if he hadn't reached out and grabbed her at the last second. She was about to apologize when she felt tender but firm hands slide up her bruised arms until one of them raised her chin up enough to look at her face.

"Why?" Mandra asked quietly looking at the battered face of his mate. "Why would you leave me?"

Ariel's eyes filled with tears at the sadness in his voice. She was expecting ranting and yelling; perhaps even some type of accusation of not loving him, not this quiet hurt. She looked up into his dark gold eyes that seemed dim. She could see the exhaustion and the faint lines of worry around his eyes and mouth.

"I didn't want to," she whispered back.

"Why?" Mandra asked again gently touching the swelling under her eye.

"To understand why I will need to explain who I am and where I come from," Ariel replied in resignation.

Mandra studied his mate for a moment before he nodded. Taking her wrists in one of his huge hands, he unlocked the restraints and led her to the newly installed couch. He gently pushed her down onto it before he moved to the kitchen area on silent feet. He returned a moment later with a small bowl and cloth. He dipped the cloth into the warm water and gently began cleaning her face.

Ariel started when she saw the gold bands on his wrist dissolve. They began moving first around her eye then over her lip before disappearing down the neck of her shirt. She wiggled as they moved around her to the bruises covering her. She giggled when it got to the ones on her side.

"I'm ticklish," she muttered looking up into the hot gaze of her mate.

"Tell me why you would leave us," Mandra demanded quietly as he continued to wash the dirt off her face.

She hesitated a moment before taking a deep breath and nodding. "I'm the oldest out of the two of us by a year. We might be sisters but we are also best friends," she looked at Mandra who nodded for her to continue. "Trisha is a part of our family too, don't get me wrong, but it isn't the same. Carmen and I are almost like twins, can you understand this?" Ariel asked.

"My two younger brothers, Kelan and Trelon, are like you and your sister," Mandra replied quietly moving to clean the dirt from her neck.

Ariel breathed out a sigh of relief. Maybe he would understand. "We promised each other when we were little we would always be there for each other, no matter what. It was a little different when I went away to college at first. I was still there but Carmen had my parents, Trisha's dad, and...Scott," her voice faded as she thought about all that they had lost, especially her sister. "Our parents were killed in a car accident when I was in college and Carmen was a senior in high school. It was a very difficult time in our lives. I had Trisha who I had followed into college and Carmen had Trisha's dad, Paul and Scott, the love of her life. Carmen and Scott married a few days after they graduated. I've never seen her so happy," Ariel whispered with a small smile. She looked up at Mandra before continuing. "They were going to go out and save the world together. They both trained to be bodyguards with a security company out of Texas. They loved the excitement and travel. Most of the time it was just escorting some businessperson or celebrity to an event but the last job was a little longer. They were hired to protect a local politician and his family down in South America. It was a different country from our own. It was supposed to be for just a couple of months and the pay was really good. They were saving up to come back to start a family. Scott was just getting tired of all the moving around. Personally, I think he was afraid something might happen to Carmen," Ariel's voice faded as she remembered the phone call she received that changed everything.

"I got a call late one night. Carmen and Scott had been shot. Scott was dead and they weren't sure Carmen would make it. A hit had been set up on the politician and his family. Carmen took three bullets meant for the politician's ten year old son. Scott rushed in to cover her and was shot. The family was able to get away. Carmen and Scott were left bleeding on the tarmac of the small airport," Ariel looked up at Mandra whose hand was frozen on her collar bone. "The other bodyguards left them like a piece of trash to the sons-of-b.i.t.c.hes who shot them. They were both still alive and the others just left them knowing they would be killed."

"What did you do?" Mandra asked.

"I took an emergency leave from the Air Force. It is the military on my planet. I knew by then I would never make it into the s.p.a.ce Program and decided I would finish out my tour of duty before getting out. Trisha was in the hospital recovering from a helicopter crash and my sister was fighting for her life. I had already put in my request to not renew and had some leave built up. I was able to finish it out while trying to take care of both of them," Ariel said.

"Something else happened that you are not telling me? What is it?" Mandra asked calmly.

Ariel tried to turn away but Mandra would not let her. He splayed his fingers along her cheek to keep her facing him. He needed to understand why she would leave him. He also needed her to understand what would have happened to both of them if she had been successful.

"Eric," Ariel whispered closing her eyes. "Eric happened during that time as well."

"Who was this Eric?" Mandra asked in a deeper voice.

Kill this male. He hurt my mate. Kill him, his dragon growled out dangerously.

Hush, let her tell us. It is important that we understand her so she does not run from us again, Mandra hissed out fighting his own jealousy at the mention of another male.

"Eric was my fiance. We were going to be married... mated," Ariel said looking up at Mandra warily as a low growl rumbled out of him. "We were engaged to be married for four years. I wanted to be a vet when I was growing up. I loved taking care of animals and working with them. I thought for sure that was my life ambition so I majored in the sciences and math all through high school. One summer I had a chance to work with the local vet in an internship through our high school. Unfortunately, the first time I helped with surgery I pa.s.sed out. Dr. Baumgartner thought I would get over it but by the end of the summer I was restricted to caring for the animals and not allowed anywhere near his surgery. He got tired of having to call my folks to come get me after I pa.s.sed out or threw up so much it was stressing the animals out. That was when I decided to follow Trisha. We already had our pilot's licenses for non-commercial flights due to both our dads so it was natural to focus on flying. Trisha always dreamed of going to the stars and since we did everything together, we figured we would do that as well," Ariel shook her head at how nave they had been. "We both graduated from college and enlisted into the Air Force. I was the better pilot but Trisha was better at physical tests. I didn't make it into the program but she did. During this time, I volunteered at a local animal shelter when I could. I met Eric when he brought in a litter of stray kittens. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew we were in love."

Mandra's low growl turned to a loud rumble. He jerked his eyes down to where he was gripping the cloth so tight his knuckles were white. He looked at Ariel when she touched his chin with the tips of her fingers.

"I realize now I was just infatuated with him. What I feel for you is much deeper," she whispered. "I needed someone during a critical period in my life when I was feeling a failure. Trisha had married and seemed happy, Carmen was married and deeply in love, and I... I wanted to be loved like that, too. I should have broken it off the first time I realized there was something wrong but I kept thinking if I tried harder or loved him more he would feel the same. At first, it was a subtle remark about my friends. I didn't see Trisha much and as time grew I seemed to have less and less time to talk to her. Then, it was how I dressed when I wasn't in uniform. The clothes he started buying me and telling me I should wear. It didn't seem like a big deal and it made him happy. Then, it was spending more time with him and less at the shelter. I didn't even realize how he was slowly beginning to isolate me from everyone and everything I loved. He said if I loved him I wouldn't talk to the men at work. He told me if I needed to go to the store, I needed to wait for him and he would go with me. It began to affect my work so I just told him what he wanted to hear and continued talking to the guys like I always did," Ariel looked over Mandra's shoulder ashamed that she had let someone manipulate her so easily.

"He found out," Mandra murmured.

"He found out. He accused me of not loving him. If I did I would have done what he told me. He said I would need to work harder to prove I loved him as much as he loved me. He never hit me but by then all my close friends were gone and there was no one I could talk to about my feelings. I was confused and hurt that he thought I betrayed him when I felt like he was being unreasonable. It was my fault for not realizing sooner that he was being abusive. It took Trisha and Carmen's near death to make me realize what was happening," Ariel said in an emotionless voice. "He told me if I went to them we were over. He told me I would never amount to anything without him and no one would ever want me."

"What did you tell him," Mandra asked in a deceptively calm voice.

We are going to kill him, Mandra growled out silently to his dragon. He felt the agreement from his dragon and his symbiot as they both snarled in anger.

"Nothing, there was nothing to say because by then I believed him," Ariel said sadly. "I packed my clothes and left everything else and walked out."

"Good!" Mandra growled catching Ariel's chin in his hand and brushing his lips across hers possessively. "You are mine! You are our mate! Why did you leave me?"

"Because of Carmen," Ariel whispered leaning into Mandra. "I promised her I would help her avenge Scott. She was determined to leave and I couldn't let her go alone. She wanted me to stay but I refused. I can't let her go. I know if she ever gets back to Earth she is going to die going after the man who was responsible for Scott's death but she doesn't care. She refuses to let it go. I hoped what happened to us, coming here, would change her mind but something else is scaring her. I think... I think it is your brother, Creon, but I'm not sure."

Mandra nodded and began undoing the hooks holding the front of her shirt together so he could continue wiping away the dirt. "Creon will take care of your sister from now on. Let him worry about her. It was suicide to think you could travel back to your world in a shuttle."

"I know. I hoped you would catch us before we got that far but Carmen was determined. I had to do something. I wasn't even sure I could fly the d.a.m.n thing," Ariel choked out hoa.r.s.ely as she felt Mandra's fingers brush her hard nipples. "Mandra... I missed you."

Chapter 14.

Mandra glanced down at the sleeping figure in his arms with a sigh of contentment. His mate was not aware of the changes in her but he and his dragon were. Last night, as he made love to her, he watched the thin veins of her wings and the rose color of her scales ripple across her back and shoulders. She was not ready yet to transform but soon she would be. He needed to make sure she fully understood what it would mean if she tried to leave him again. He would find her. He could never let her go. Her dragon would mourn for her mate and so would Ariel. The loss would eat away at all of them until their will to live would simply disappear.

He pressed a kiss to her brow before gently untangling himself from her arms. Zoran had returned late last night with Abby and he needed to meet with his brothers about the threat to their mates and to their world. His uncle needed to die. That was all there was to it. His treachery was unforgivable. He murdered his own brother, sought to torture and kill his nephew who thought of him as a second father, and was plotting to bring their world to war again with the two species they had fought against long ago.

"Where are you going?" Ariel murmured lifting her head up.

Mandra smiled down at the tangle of blonde hair that didn't quite cover the new dragon's mark on her right shoulder. At the rate he was going she was going to be covered in his marks. She was the most beautiful thing in his world and he would do everything he could to protect her.

"I need to meet with my brothers. Zoran and Abby returned late last night. There are matters that must be taken care of," Mandra said leaning over to kiss his mate's exposed shoulder.

He groaned when he felt her fingers lightly skim over the tip of his c.o.c.k. With a low growl, he pushed her over onto her back and buried his face in the curve of her shoulder. He fought the urge to rip the bedcovers off and take her again and again.

"You make me lose control when I am around you," Mandra groaned as he wrapped his arms around his mate's soft body. "I want you again."

"We could give each other a shower," Ariel whispered against Mandra's cheek.

"I am already late," Mandra growled out disappointed. "When I return, I promise."

"Your loss," Ariel replied letting her tongue dart out to lick it along the rim of his ear as he pulled away.

Mandra's dark growl of frustration caused Ariel to chuckle. She had to admit she wouldn't mind sleeping in a little longer. It had been a long night and she suddenly felt sleepy again.

Me too, a soft voice echoed in her head.

Ariel jerked upright looking around frantically. What the h.e.l.l?

Not h.e.l.l, the voice responded sleepily. Me.

Who is me? Ariel asked hesitantly not really expecting an answer.

Your dragon, the voice responded before it faded away.

Ariel sat frozen in the middle of the huge bed wondering if she had just lost her mind or if something deep inside her just talked to her. Her dragon?! Ariel remembered a faint memory from last night. It was just as she was about to have an explosive o.r.g.a.s.m. She remembered feeling like something was moving under her skin and in the faint glow of the moonlight coming in through the windows, she could have sworn she saw scales rippling over her arms. She thought it was a hallucination but now she wasn't so sure.

She watched as Mandra came out of the shower drying his long hair and dressing quickly. He glanced over at her and smiled. She smiled back tentatively as she rubbed her arms. She looked down and noticed she had gooseb.u.mps on them.

"I will try not to be too long. I have placed guards at the door for your protection. If you wish to go anywhere, just tell them. They will escort you. It is for your safety after what has happened to your friends," Mandra said urgently.

"I know. I think I will go see Abby. I want to make sure she is alright," Ariel responded with a nervous smile; And ask her a few questions. Like, have you noticed any scales on your arms lately or heard any voices talking to you?

"That would be good for both of you," Mandra said as he brushed a light kiss over his mate's swollen lips. "But, make sure you get some rest. I have plans for you later."

Ariel looked silently out the window of Mandra's living quarters petting the small, striped creature she found earlier when she was returning through the garden. It had grown dark and there was lightning flashing in the sky. It began to rain about an hour ago but the heaviest of the storm seemed to be out over the ocean.