Apparition (14 page)

“Oh no,” he whispered.
Oh no, Zoe!

“Did she carry your babe?” Cobra asked hopefully.

“No.”

“I don’t know how
Tonians
mate, I have no
Tonan
memories,” Cobra mumbled,
“You’re the first hybrid I have met. You are a mix; a
Tonan
won’t share his gift of mortality with a female. They won’t take the chance at
being vulnerable. You may not die with her. There may have been a part that
remained separate. As long as your shield stays up you will live.”

“I will die without her either way. I can’t be alone.
I love her too much, she’s become my whole world,” Doss whispered. “Have I been
cursed again for being a hybrid?” Yet he must be. He still lived; his armor
surrounded him, trying to control his emotions. Doss didn’t want his emotions
controlled. Perhaps there was a part he hadn’t given her. But how could it be
possible when she meant everything to him and more? Doss couldn’t take the
pain, his shield dropped. If he were to die, he wanted to be with her now.
Nothing happened and the idea of living without her rocked him into agony. His
emotions were raw and vulnerable. He was all alone. Zoe had loved him for who
he was.

She loved
me—me
.

“I don’t scent her, Cobra, she’s gone.”

Cobra settled a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry,
Doss. She sacrificed her life to save hundreds. It would have been mercifully
quick. Loy would have held her to give her comfort.”

All around, mass explosions were sounding; the
Tonan
ship fled, but
Castian
vessels were in hot pursuit. War raged all around them as the systematic strike
played out. Both
Tonan
and
Castians
were battling for dominance. None of that mattered to Doss.

From the shooting fiery flames came Loy. A massive
tree collapsed behind him plummeting to the ground. Loy continued forward. His
armor saved him. He was unscathed. “Doss,” he muttered when he reached them.

“It wasn’t your fault, Loy,” Cobra started to say. “I
should have waited. This is my fault.”

Loy dropped his armor and Zoe slipped to the ground.
All of them were stunned.

“But, but…” Doss sputtered; he was overwhelmed with
gratitude and surprise. Loy’s armor would have covered her emotions to keep her
safe. The shields were made that way, no one was to scent when a warrior
concealed a female for their protection—not even their own mate could detect
them.

But how was
it even possible?

Zoe collapsed against Doss and his secretions went
into overdrive to calm her. Her entire body was shaking when his large arms
wrapped around her. He couldn’t get enough of the feel of her. His armor stayed
down even though his heart was thumping in his chest. He wanted to feel this
overwhelming emotion. His hand stroked her long locks away from her face. She
was so pale.

“I thought I was a goner, but Loy grabbed me and
suddenly his shield was all around me. I was so scared, but Loy said the shield
needed all of its strength to deflect the power of the blow. I saw fire
everywhere, but there was no pain. I felt Loy’s skin against mine and wondered
why he hadn’t put his shield up to save his life. I was so confused when Loy
just stood up and walked away with me through the wall of flames. I thought he
had to be warrior mated with Doss first before he could do that?” Zoe asked.
Her confusion was as apparent as Doss’ and Loy’s was.

“He does, otherwise there has to be a blood
connection,” Cobra said, gazing back and forth to each warrior. “There is only
one way this could happen. You are both related. It’s not possible Loy is your
father. Loy and Doss must be brothers.”

“We’re the same age,” Loy said. “My mother was
Castian
.”

“And Doss’ was
Tonan
. You
are both of the same
Castian
father
,
which means you share the same shield DNA. After Doss’ father and mother
joined, his father left this planet with me. The talks had not gone well at
all. It was more like a fast getaway. Your father found Loy’s mother and mated
with her and had another son—Loy. A woman doesn’t have to mate to become
pregnant.” Cobra turned to Doss. “Your father never knew you existed. It was
his first must. If he didn’t mate with your mother, she must have repelled him.
He would have left fast, taking the hint and wouldn’t have been given a chance
to feel any awareness of you. When he mated with Loy’s mother, he wasn’t
allowed to go back to
Ulsy
, she needed him. Tensions
were too high. I swear if he had known about you, he wouldn’t have left you
here, neither would I.”

“Brothers?”
Doss said and stared at Loy, mouth agape. Loy looked
just as surprised.

“We should have realized something was up when Loy’s
warrior mate’s babe didn’t balk at the idea of his chosen warrior mate,
especially since Doss is half
Tonan
. The babe would
scent her mother’s fear of
Tonans
and that her father
was killed because of them. The child would scent what and who Doss was. She
must have already understood he was family.”

“But why didn’t Loy or Doss know?” Zoe asked.

“Maybe because we are half
brothers?”
Doss said shaking his
head. But he didn’t doubt for a moment it wasn’t true. That nagging feeling in
his gut was telling him something all along. No wonder Zoe’s dream had been so
important. Doss had been alone for so long and so few scent memories were
detectable, now he was awash with them. He searched for the emotional scent of
a brother.

“A babe’s scent is far superior to ours. It has to be
for survival instincts and fast reaction. A female is highly desirable when
pregnant,” Cobra explained. “And Doss is a hybrid and capable of
masking
his emotions. It took me a while to scent his
intentions. And I’m three thousand years old. Loy has been under too much
duress, and if he sensed a brother connection, he would have naturally assumed
it was with another and not Doss.”

“This means you’re
Raiden’s
brother, too,” Loy exclaimed.

“Another brother?”
Doss asked.

“Yes. I’m afraid our little sister died because of the
poisoned water; it was a devastating blow to my parents—our father. Mother was
already pregnant with
Raiden
by then and her baby
shield only protected our parents until
Raiden
was
weaned. I raised our brother. This is his first must, for both him and his
warrior mate,
Cace
.”

“I hate to break up this family reunion, but what the
hell is all over that stallion?” a man asked.

“Doss, Zoe, this is my son Rask,” Cobra said.

There was a definite family resemblance between father
and son. Doss looked at Caveat. “He’s covered in
Moonway
.”

“I went back for them,” Zoe said quietly. “I didn’t
want them to get left behind.”

Doss smelled her remorse battle with indecision. He
knew she blamed herself for what happened. The smell was emanating from all of
them.

“Well then, let’s get them on board,” Cobra said. He
turned to Doss. “It’s time you went home.”

*
* * *

Zoe had her face pressed to a window and watched as
the stars flew by. She had flown in a large shuttle her first trip to
Ulsy
when the meteors weren’t as bad in the beginning. The
same craft had brought Caveat and other prize animals. Many of those animals
were now being taken to
Bagron
. Both she and Doss
pledged alliance to Cobra. Zoe wanted to believe the
Castians
were decent men. It was hard when she couldn’t get the ringing of women’s cries
from her mind. While Doss had examined the vessel’s controls and was being
taught how to use them, Cobra had taken her on a tour of his ship.

“I can scent your hesitancy and indecision about
coming to
Bagron
,” Cobra said.

Zoe stiffened and pulled back from the window. Cobra
stood right beside her. She knew it would be useless to lie. “I don’t want to
be afraid.”

Cobra placed his hand on her shoulder and Zoe was
surprised his secretions calmed her. It wasn’t that he drugged her; it was more
a feeling of safety. She felt unthreatened, so that her thoughts could clear.
“All
Castian
males are capable of calming a female—to
an extent,” Cobra said obviously seeing her curiosity.

“Doss will be better at it because you are his mate. I
am now one of the oldest
Castians
alive; many died
with their mates. I never mated Rask’s mother, her decision not mine. This is a
way a female learns of
Castians
. If you were a
Castian
female and you felt my touch wasn’t right, you
would have the ability to repel me. Human females don’t have the ability.”

“Repel you?”

Cobra grimaced. “A
Castian
female was able to secret a scent so foul it would drop a warrior to his knees;
your daughter, if you have one, will have the same capability. Human females
are exceptionally vulnerable around males.”

“The captive women you saved must be so scared.”

“Yes, there were twenty women and sixteen children in
the first dome the night Doss and Loy saved Loy’s new mate. They are aboard
this vessel.
As is Brandy.
You both need to form bonds.
My men are still tallying the count of other domes. Some females and children
fled, fearing for their lives once set free and have yet to be found on
Ulsy
. Like you did, they are hiding in fear of both
Castian
and
Tonan
. Doss could be
a big help seeing as he is neither race, they may feel less threatened if he
approaches them.

“The children are easier to deal with. Acts of
kindness and food and water have already gotten many of the children to smile
and laugh. The place they are kept is open and bright, warm. We replicated a
few toys, and they seem content. The women who were abused are afraid, but my
warriors are falling over themselves to be helpful and charming.”

Cobra rocked back on his heels and Zoe wondered why he
really wanted to take her for a stroll. “You want me to talk to the women,
don’t you?”

“I was hoping you would share your experience with
them,” Cobra said. “I understand what happened between you and Loy, and Brandy
is also willing to tell them of how a
Castian
warrior
was killed to save her from suffering. There are even a few of the other women
with stories of my men’s bravery. Unfortunately, many of my warriors were in
must, some still are. It’s impossible to excuse their actions and yet I
understand them.
Bagron
is well-protected. This must
cycle is coming to an end, for many it has passed. We have little time before
the next generation of
females
slips between our
fingers.”

Zoe was annoyed. “Females, is that all you want?”

“I want the women to be happy. I realize the last
thing on their minds is mating with a race of would be attackers.”

“Then what is it?”

Cobra looked sad. “We are a wounded race. We have much
love to give. It pains me what happened. The
Castian
warriors we saved all look so defeated. The stench of self-loathing hangs in
the air.”

“There will be more sadness when you save the others.
But maybe in time there will be healing as well.
Cobra?”

“Hmm?”

“You say a
Castian
scents
what a female is feeling and a touch can help?”

“I know what you’re thinking and yes, my warriors can
help the women with our secretions, but many don’t want us near them. Our
secretions are confusing the ones we have touched. A warrior can’t make a woman
want him, but a touch can calm a female to where she wants to be held and
reassured and made to feel safe again.”

A loud yell captured their attention. The sound of
thundering movement was coming around a corner at Zoe and Cobra fast. Cobra’s
armor snapped into place and he grabbed Zoe into his arms and scaled the height
of the side of the vessel to about twenty feet. He hung almost upside down
between ship floors. The ship had many levels. The walls and floor were
sponge-like so sharp talons and claws could embed to aid in the
Castians
’ quick movement from level to level.

Zoe clung to Cobra, her arms around his neck. Her
thoughts centered onto Doss. Cobra held her cradled to his chest with one
massive arm. A huge black ball of fury burst around the corner trailed by two
warriors.

“Caveat,” Zoe exclaimed. She heard a small chuckle and
jumped in surprise when she saw Doss hanging almost upside down, like Cobra,
right beside her.

Wow, he is
fast.

The stallion stopped dead and reared. His hooves
rested on the wall and he snorted up at Cobra. His ears were pinned back and
his teeth snapped together. He dropped down and stomped his front feet in a
crushing gesture. His regal head tossed and he ran around in tight circles
finally stopping and
whinnying
his displeasure.