Alien General's Beloved: SciFi Alien Romance (Brion Brides) (14 page)

Lana stared at him, willing him to expose the truth, as if her eyes could pry it from him.

"How? Are you
sure
?" she asked, fighting down the urge to go, run, and check every ship in the fleet.

"They slipped away under the cover of the
Raptor
," Corden said. "The
Abysmal
didn't pick them up or didn't care to."

Alive
, Lana thought, starting to laugh. It was a relieved, thankful, unrestrained laugh. She hadn't gotten her crew killed! The
Raptor
was gone, but it was only a ship. She'd miss it, but it was not a living, breathing person she was responsible for.

She had to sit down on the bed and catch her breath. Lana closed her eyes, envisioning her friends, still alive. When she opened them, Corden was standing right before her.

"You saved them," Lana stated.

She didn't need to ask. Worgen had dispatched another unit down to the
Raptor
right before it was destroyed. There was no way her crew would have been able to make the escape on their own. And if she'd guessed he was behind the Toron attack too, now she was sure. She wasn't alone.

Corden said nothing, only reached out one hand, helping her stand. Straight into his arms, of course. Lana gasped, meaning to protest, but all thoughts of resisting were gone with the touch of his lips on hers.

So far in her life, Lana's first kisses had always been awkward, slow, clumsy. Careful, most of all, like every movement was asking permission before continuing.

Corden didn't ask for anything. His lips on hers were strong, demanding, and Lana gave in like it was the most natural thing in the world. She let him in, relishing the way his tongue explored every corner of her mouth, hungry for more of her. There was no restraint, only need, and it was driving her out of her mind.

The way his arms tightened their hold around her told Lana exactly how much he had wanted to kiss her. She knew that, because she answered in kind. Her hands were clawing at the general's armor, moaning into the kiss, feeling Corden's tongue dance with hers. The need to breathe was forgotten when everything that mattered was that she get closer, deeper into the heated kiss that made her dizzy.

He wasn't lying about the bond.

That was a sobering thought. Lana pulled back, feeling more conflicted than ever before. Her body was already betraying her to the bond, but she wasn't going to give in that easily. The momentary sensation of safety was gone when she remembered where they were. Corden saw the change and released her with unmistakable regret in his eyes.

"I can't do this," Lana said, her voice apologetic for some reason. "This can't happen."

"You feel it," Corden said simply.

That much was true. Lana was willing to admit to it. Ever since she first saw him in the hallway, emerging from the shadows like a warrior god, she had felt drawn to him. Not by attraction alone, not even by the fact she needed him.

By a force stronger than her. Lana wasn't very religious—it was difficult to be with so many species in the galaxy. Thousands of gods, none of which had ever given their believers a single sign that they were real. But Corden made her feel like there
was
a presence out there, pushing her to him. Perhaps not a god, but fate maybe.

Lana felt like she had the right to make up her own mind. She was attracted to Corden, there was no denying that, but she also knew nothing real about him. So far, what she'd seen was impressive, but that was no reason to give in to him.

She doubted
I need to know a man before I commit myself to him for life
worked for Brions. They didn't see life that way. Their bindings were absolute.

"Worgen seems to hope I'm his," she said. "But he's still looking, so I can't be."

The look in the general's eyes got very dark all of a sudden. Even knowing it wasn't directed at her, Lana jumped back, landing on the bed. Before she could blink, Corden was on top of her, his green eyes flashing with passion.

"You are mine," he hissed, but the care in his voice was replaced with possessiveness.

Lana felt like she was seeing double. She'd heard about the Brion bindings and learned about their culture. No Brion man forced himself on a woman. On the contrary, it was customary for the
geshas
to resist the idea of the bond. It showed the fated couple fought to be together in the end. Knowing that, Lana kept repeating to herself that Corden wouldn't hurt her. That he was incapable of hurting her. The bind might have meant less to her, but it was the world to the general.

But it was all wrong. Bringing up Worgen's name had been a huge mistake. Now, Corden's eyes were as dark and cold as the space around them.

"I belong to no one," Lana snapped back.

She'd meant to sound angry, to show Corden he was crossing a line, but her voice shook.

"Has he touched you?" the general asked, his deep voice so low it gave her goosebumps. "If he has laid a finger on you, I will keep him alive for another century before I permit him to die."

"No," Lana said, more angrily this time, trying to push Corden away, but it was like moving a mountain. "Get
off me.
"

There was a single moment of clarity in Corden's eyes, but it was drowned out by rage in the next. His hands were sliding up her body, pushing the tunic out of the way. Lana could not deny her body was melting under his touch, arching involuntarily into it, needing more. But it was wrong, it had all gone terribly wrong so quickly.

She kicked him as hard as she could.

Physically, Lana felt she probably hurt herself more than him. The armor he was wearing was made of metals that could hold against any weapon in the galaxy. Her fists would do nothing but scrape themselves on it. But the gesture itself did what Lana was not able to do.

It woke Corden up. She didn't miss the change happening, saw the way his eyes were filled with horror all of a sudden. The angry red light of his valor squares dimmed, leaving them almost as dead as those on the necks of the other Brions. Without saying a word, the general got up. He remained standing next to the bed, watching as Lana curled up in the opposite corner.

Confusion racked her. What had happened to Corden? Lana had seen the shock in his eyes, telling her it hadn't really been him pushing himself on her, but she couldn't shake the unease either.

For several long moments, it seemed like Corden was about to speak, but the general said nothing. Finally he drew a long knife from his hip. Lana yelped, but he didn't point the weapon at her. Instead, Corden took one of his braids and cut it clean off.

Lana waited, not daring to speak. Something bad had just happened, other than the obvious.

"It's been a long time since I last surrendered to the rage," Corden finally said.

Lana had heard his voice drop to a heart-stopping growl, but even that hadn't been as bad as hearing it completely devoid of emotion. There was no mistaking what he was talking about. The Brion rage was the reason everyone in the Galactic Union still tiptoed around them, long after they'd started to make up for their reputation. All Brions, but especially the warriors, carried a dark secret within them, passed down to them by their ancestors. The mindless, aimless rage that Worgen was the symbol of.

The general held the cut braid in his hand, looking at it like he'd removed one of his limbs instead.

"I had this to remind me of it," he said. "To be a sign that I had put it in my past where it belongs. Like all the Brions, I tried to suppress the rage in me. Hearing you speak his name, like you doubted who you belong with, it brought it all back. Seems we can't destroy that part of ourselves after all."

Lana wanted to say something, but didn't know how to make it better. She felt sorry for Corden, battling a dark urge that he wanted to be rid of. But it didn't excuse him and she wasn't about to find justifications for him attacking her. Even knowing that the bond between them made him weak to it, that his every breath belonged to her... she couldn't trust him anymore. And the fact he still insisted on her belonging to him showed Lana that there was a whole world between them.

For a second, while they were kissing, she'd thought it would be
fun
. An alien general for a fated, how romantic. To have a man like that, whose name instilled terror in the hearts of his enemies, love her above everything else?

Lana had just witnessed that they didn't speak the same language. Corden was a Brion. That was the one thing that would never change, the part he could never escape. And in that world, there was no room for compromise. She had no place there, wanting to be free to make up her own mind.

The silence lingered and neither spoke. There was nothing to say, no words to heal a broken bond.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Corden

Time stood still. The universe didn't seem to move.

Corden's mind was once again the peaceful, controlled realm he'd carefully crafted it to be. The braid was still in his hands, proof of his failure. The general wondered if that meant he had to cut the other too, but decided against it. The two braids symbolized completely different defeats.

He would have rather lost the other.

Lana had barely moved since he stood, cowering as far as possible from him. Underneath his newly reinforced iron control, a turmoil raged in Corden's soul. This one wasn't the same blind rage that had wreaked havoc on him moments ago. The anger he felt now was directed inward. It was a fury at himself.

He considered telling Lana the truth about all the reasons the Elders had picked
him
out to act as their guard. Corden remembered his initial confusion to this day. Lana would react the same, he knew. Words were meaningless compared to actions. He had to build up his trust with her again, before he could even think of explaining.

The look on her face nearly stopped his heart. Corden was the most analytical mind amongst the Brion generals. Her sudden refusal of the bond and her willingness to fight against her body's desires was perfectly in accordance to what had to happen. She was a Terran, after all. Even Brion women sometimes welcomed the news as a shock, despite being raised in a society where it happened every day.

Corden had read all of the reports of the other generals and their Terran
geshas
, as much as they had deemed to share, at least. Every single one of the women had reacted with the same resistance, their reasons for fighting practically the same. Brion women resisted because they felt like it or their fated was a disappointment to them for some reason, and because they had to, but Terrans... they found the bond itself problematic.

Honestly, they'd even made the Brions consider the bindings from their perspective. Free will removed, committing to a stranger for life... no wonder Lana rejected him.

She had done nothing wrong. It was Corden who had acted against one of the sternest principles of the Brions. Nothing had happened. He'd caught it before it was too late, but the memory stayed.

The anger bubbled furiously under his silent surface. But the worst was yet to come. No matter what had happened, Corden still had his duties. To the Brions and to Lana, whether any of them liked it or not.

"You have no reason to fear anymore," the general said, his deep voice emotionless.

The valor squares on his neck that he usually worked so hard to suppress were almost lifeless. Despite the anger he felt, it was all empty, burning without heat, because it lacked purpose.

Lana looked like she was about to protest, but didn't. Her silence was a heavier punishment than her anger would have been. Corden looked at his
gesha
, his reason to live. Even like that, she looked gorgeous. Despite himself, the general felt his cock strain against the armor, aching to be thrust into her hot, wet pussy.

All the words were wrong, but he couldn't find the right ones.

"I can't leave you alone," he said. "We have to find out what Worgen is planning. Until then, I need to protect you and stay in hiding. This is the one place the Brions would think twice before barging into."

Gritting his teeth, he added: "Especially since Worgen seems to think you will be his. He wouldn't let another man into your room."

Lana's eyes burned with defiance as she sat up, seeming to gain confidence from the fact he kept a distance between them. It was painful when all he wanted was to take her into his arms, hold her perfect, soft body there, and claim her.

"I am my own," Lana said coldly, but turned thoughtful then.

"But I think you are right," she added after a pause. "This is the best place for you to hide. The Brion patrols are all over the ship and there are simply too many people here. If anyone even squeaks about you..."

"You can stay," Lana finished, but her eyes were careful and worried. "But I don't want you anywhere near me."

Corden said nothing. All he wanted was for the sparkle to be back in her eyes, to see Lana smile at him like she had before. To taste her. The kiss they'd shared was a ghost in his mind now, torturing him with what could have been.

There was a small couch at the far end of the room. He pulled the spear free from the sheath on his back, noticing how it made Lana wince. Without a word, he rested it against the wall and sat on the seat, a guardian watching over her, as he should be.

"Sleep," he said. "I will stay right here."

Lana kept an eye on him as she obeyed, clearly exhausted, if still defiant. The general watched as his
gesha
climbed under the sheets, her beautiful body barely covered by the thin silk that served as the blanket. Her long curly hair fell in flawless disarray on the pillow as she tried to keep her eyes open. Corden sat motionless, content to simply be where Lana was until she fell asleep.

Only then did he allow himself to relax and consider what had happened. The dark days of the Brions were long past, but they made their ugly appearances here and there. In recent history, several prominent Brions had succumbed to the easy temptation of power. It was the very thing the Elders were fighting against, but it was a pretty hopeless cause. After all, how did one triumph against themselves?