Hannah's Warrior: Cosmos' Gateway Book 2 (18 page)

Brock sat up with a wince. “I can’t imagine
it was for not locking the door to the portal room either. We were
both in there. Tilly showed us the documents with Hannah in them
but except for the one where she was injured, I didn’t see anything
else that would have been so bad.” Brock said as he rotated his
shoulder and groaned.

Lan stood up. He reached down a hand to help
Brock up and both men walked stiffly over to where Borj was
sitting. They each grabbed a towel off a small table to the side of
the bench and sat down, one on each side of Borj. Borj sat forward
twisting the towel between his large hands.

“
She cuts me out.” Borj said
quietly.

“
She cuts you out?” Lan said as he
wiped his face. “What do you mean ‘she cuts you out’?”

Borj sat back leaning back against the wall.
“Out of her mind. I can’t stand the silence. I reach for her and
there is nothing there. The emptiness is suffocating.” Borj replied
looking out over the training room with blank eyes.

“
Have you told her how it affects you?”
Brock asked softly. “Maybe if you told her it would help. She is
human. She does not know of our ways.”

Borj looked at Brock. “I said things to her I
should not have. I hurt her.”

Lan leaned back against the wall as well.
“What did you do? I cannot imagine you doing anything to physically
hurt her so what did you say?”

“
I told her I was restricting her to
our living quarters under guard until further notice. She would not
be allowed out unless I escorted her.” Borj said. “She reminded me
I promised her I would never cage her. I would always let her be
free.”

Brock shrugged his shoulders. “She is a
female. She should not be out unescorted. She will learn.” He said
standing up and tossing his towel into a cleaning bin. “Go to her
and take her mind off it. Bite her if necessary. She will forgive
you and if not, you can always tie her up until she does.”

Lan threw his towel at Brock. “That will go
over really well. I don’t think that will help him at all.
Apologize to her. Tell her you were just upset. I have been
listening to what Tink and Tilly have been saying. The females of
that world are strong and stubborn. They are also very independent.
Angus often talks of the things Tilly does. He trusts her to tell
him if she needs help.” Lan said.

Borj looked up at Lan. “Angus told you this?
That his mate asks for help when she needs it?”

Borj was silent as he thought back to the
Council Chamber room. Angus had come in but he did not seem upset
that his mate had been in the middle of a fight. He looked at her
proudly and stood beside her and his daughters as if…as if he
trusted them to know what to do and how to do it. When Tink started
crying he took both women in his arms and slowly walked them
out.

“
Gods, I have to let Hannah know I did
not mean it.” Borj said surging to his feet. “I promised to never
cage her and I will not.”

Borj was almost to the door when one of the
guards he sent with Hannah staggered through the door. Borj caught
the man as his knees collapsed under him. Lan and Brock rushed
forward helping Borj lay the man down on the floor.

“
They took her.” The man whispered
disoriented. “Not sure how many.”

Borj felt a chill run over his sweat laden
body. “Who took Hannah?”

The man shook his head as if to clear it.
“Not sure. She tried to warn us but something hit us from behind.
Not sure what…” The man’s voice faded as if he was still
groggy.

“
Look.” Lan said quietly.

Borj watched as Lan turned the man just
enough they could see the small pin pick in his neck. Borj let out
a curse as he pushed up off the floor. He slammed out of the
training room and broke into a fast run. Reaching out with his
mind, he called to Hannah. Borj felt like his heart was being torn
out of his chest when all he felt was a void of blackness instead
of her warmth. He passed the other guard who was leaning against
the wall. He vaguely heard Brock yell for more help behind him and
the sound of running feet. Pushing against the door leading into
his living quarters, Borj yelled for Hannah. Turning around in a
circle, he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He turned
as J’kar and his father burst through the door.

Dropping his hands to his sides, he snarled
out. “They took her. Those dead sons-of-bitches took my mate.”

Hannah woke slowly. She
could feel the drug still in her system. It made her feel sluggish
and disoriented. She tried moving her fingers and found it was
difficult to focus on them. She kept her breathing even and her
eyes close letting her other senses take over. She wasn’t
physically up to escaping yet but mentally she was getting there.
She just needed to listen and find out where in the hell she was
and who took her. If she could get her hands on the darts they used
she was going to shoved them up every one of the sons-of-bitches
asses. She was royally pissed she had been caught off guard.
That was another reason it was better to go it
alone,
Hannah thought distractedly.
If I’m alone I don’t let shit distract
me.

Hannah felt her body being
lifted carefully. She was being carried up a steep slant from the
feel of it. She hoped whoever was carrying her got winded! She knew
she wasn’t a lightweight. Unfortunately, carrying her up a steep
slope didn’t seem to even begin to tire the bastard. Fact number
one, whoever took her was in very good shape.
Not good for me,
Hannah thought. She
could smell the fresh air and what smelled like trees. Hannah let
her eyes crack open just a tiny bit so she could see through her
lashes. She caught glimpses of trees and dark shadows but not much
else. Not wanting them to know she was awake, she closed her
eyes.

“Take her up to my home. I
want to know the minute she is awake.” A deep, smooth voice
said.

It took everything in Hannah not to react
when she heard the voice. She knew who had her now. It was the huge
warrior from the council chambers. Maybe he was pissed she knocked
him out. If so, he was going to be even more pissed when she
escaped.

Hannah felt the arms around
her tighten for a moment before the man holding her moved again. A
moment later she could feel the change as if she were in some type
of open-air elevator.
Going up.
Hannah thought in silent amusement. She might be
able to use this to her advantage. Hannah felt the arms shift her
slightly as the man stepped out of the lift. She fought her body’s
reaction to the cooler temperature as he stepped inside some type
of structure.

“
Who is she?” A young feminine voice
asked in excitement. “Are we keeping her?”

“
Nadine, hush.” An older woman said
softly. “Core, who is she? I have never seen this species
before.”

“
She looks like the male Merrick has,
only she is not scary like him.” Nadine whispered. “Is she hurt?
She is very pretty.”

Core chuckled. “Yes, she is. No, she is not
hurt. I had to dart her to bring her here.”

The older woman gasped. “Why would you do
such a thing? It is not our way to take a female against her
will.”

“Nadu, she can give us
answers. You know the males of our clan grow restless and more
dangerous every day. The ‘Tag Krell Manok is the only clan that
knows where her planet is. She is not the only one they have. I saw
two others. One is the bond mate of J’kar ‘Tag Krell Manok.” Core
said as he smoothed a strand of hair away from Hannah’s face
gently.

Hannah felt someone pick up her left hand.
The hand was small, more delicate than the one touching her face so
she suspected it belonged to one of the women in the room. A soft
gasp followed as her palm was turned upward.

“
You must return her, Core. She is
already bonded. She has the mating mark. You cannot keep her. It
will be dangerous. Her mate will come. You will bring war to our
people. There are not enough warriors to fight against a clan as
large or as strong as the ‘Tag Krell Manok.” Nadu said
urgently.

Hannah felt the hand gently
caressing her cheek and fought to hold still. She did not want to
be touched by anyone else. She could feel the panic building in her
as old nightmares surged to the surface. If he didn’t stop she
was
so
going to
have to kick his ass.

“
I want her, Nadu. I mean to have her.
Her mate turned from her when she needed him. He sent her away. I
will never do that.” Core said looking up at his mother.

Hannah felt like she had heard enough. The
man was sitting next to her and she could feel the knife attached
to his waist. The moment the older woman released her hand, Hannah
surged up swinging around at the same time and grabbing the knife.
In one fluid move, she had her arm around the man’s neck and the
knife pressed hard enough against his jugular that she actually
pierced the skin.

“
Back off!” Hannah said coldly. She
moved just enough to keep the man off balance. “I said, back
off!”

The older woman gasped again and pulled a
young girl who looked to be about eleven or twelve back behind her.
Hannah glanced around the room. It looked like some type of
bedroom. She pulled the knife tighter when she felt the man’s
muscles under her tense.

“
I wouldn’t if I were you.” Hannah said
softly in his ear. “I’ll slit your throat before you would even
know it.”

Core froze at the cold, deadly words. He knew
she would do it. There was something in her voice that made him
believe her. He forced his body to relax. A part of him was cursing
at letting his guard down. He had been so focused on her beauty and
how small and delicate she was when he should have been remembering
how quickly she was able to knock Merrick out. She was indeed a
mate for a warrior.

“
We mean you no harm.” Core choked out
as the pressure increased as she moved further back keeping him off
balance so it was difficult to move.

“
I’m sure that is exactly what the
serial killer said to his next victim. I’m really not interested in
what you have to say. I know what you want and you can go to hell
before I give you any information.” Hannah said coldly never taking
her eyes off the doorway leading into the other room.

Hannah wondered vaguely if the men here were
close enough to humans to be affected by some of the moves she
learned from her mom. After her attack, Hannah spent years training
in martial arts. Her mom decided it would help her in several ways:
The biggest way being to build her mental strength and the second
to make her feel better about protecting herself should she ever
need it. Hannah decided so far the males appeared close enough to
human males it might work. She could only hope she didn’t kill the
huge guy in her arms. Hannah let her arm slide around Core’s neck
and began applying pressure. At first, she didn’t think it was
going to work but a moment later she felt him stiffen in alarm. He
started to struggle but she increased the pressure pulling him
further back until he had to use his arms to prevent from
falling.

“
Shush, you will only be going to
sleep.” Hannah whispered in his ear.

Core was surprised at first when he felt the
female slide her arm around his neck and press but he wasn’t
alarmed. It wasn’t until his vision started to get fuzzy that he
began to feel that something wasn’t right. When she increased the
pressure, he realized he was about to lose consciousness. He
started to struggle but his limbs felt weak. By then, it was too
late. He slumped just as her softly spoken words registered in his
mind.

Nadine cried out when she saw her older
brother’s eyes close and his body slump backwards. Hannah slipped
out from under the huge male and moved on silent feet towards the
two females. She didn’t want to scare the little girl but she knew
she might not have much choice.

“
He’s not hurt. He is just sleeping.”
Hannah said gently looking at the little girl. Turning to the older
woman, Hannah asked quietly. “Where am I and how far is it from the
city I was taken from?”

The older woman looked at her son before
turning her head to look at Hannah proudly. “As you said, you may
go to ‘hell’ before I tell you.” Nadu said.

Hannah couldn’t quite keep the grin from her
face. “I guess you’re mad at me. Is he related to you?” Hannah
asked.

Nadu looked at the unusual female in front of
her and couldn’t quite keep her own lips from curving. “My son.”
She replied.

Hannah nodded. “I didn’t hurt him but I don’t
have much time before he wakes. I just want to go back to my
family. Surely you can understand that. Your son had no right to
take me against my will.” Hannah pleaded quietly.

Nadu looked at Core again before looking into
Hannah’s eyes. “You are our hope. He had no choice but to grasp it
when it was within his reach. There is no way for you to escape.
Lay down the weapon. We mean you no harm.” Nadu said calmly.

Hannah shook her head. “I can’t.” Waving the
knife at Nadu and Nadine, Hannah nodded towards a small door. “I
need you to step through that door. I hope it is a closet otherwise
I am going to have to tie you up and I really don’t have the time
to do that.”

Nadu took Nadine’s hand in hers and walked to
the door. Hannah breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw it was
a closet. Once both females were inside, Hannah grabbed a chair
from the corner and wedged it against the door. She checked to make
sure Core was still out and quickly ripped up some of the bedding
to tie him up. Not as good as the tie straps but it would have to
do.