Chapter Six

Ero flexed his fists as he stood on the outside of a white wooden door, waiting for whoever was inside to respond to the doorbell he had just rung. He waited for a few seconds and then rung the doorbell again, following it up with a few pounds with his fist on the door. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Zuri standing at the bottom of the front steps of the house, her arm wrapped protectively around Samira. The teenager had her head buried in the older woman's shoulder and appeared to be shaking with fear. The sight made him even angrier and he pounded on the door again.

"What the fuck do you want?" an obviously drunk man said as he wrenched the door open.

Ero pushed into the house as soon as the door was open enough and immediately turned to the man. This was the first human man he had ever encountered, and he was struck by his size. On Uoria, Ero was tiny compared to the other warriors. Here, though, he towered by several inches over the man, who stumbled back, his red-rimmed eyes fixed on Ero's white hair and orange gaze.

"I'm here for Samira's belongings," Ero said, keeping his voice low, but ensuring there was enough intensity in it that the man understood he was not to be challenged.

"Who are you?" the man stammered.

"I'm the mate of a very dear friend of Samira's, which means that she matters to me and I don't like to see her cry or be scared because some full of himself asshole has been using her as a punching bag since she was 10, not to mention other things that I can't even get myself to say or I will pick you right now, snap you in half, and bring you home with me to use you as Klimnu bait."

The man took a swing at Ero, who immediately caught his fist in his palm and squeezed until he felt the bones shattering into pieces beneath the man's skin, causing an agonized scream to echo through the house. When Ero released him, the man cowered back against the wall, cradling his hand to his chest.

"Never try something like that again. Not against me, not against your stepdaughter, not against your wife. Not against anyone. I've traveled once. I can do it again, and if Zuri doesn't decide to stay with me on Uoria, I will be doing it again, which means I will be here all the time. Do you understand me?"

His voice had lowered to a fierce growl and he could see the terror in the man's eyes. Behind him he heard the women climbing up the stairs and he extended one hand toward the door, gesturing for them to come in, but not taking his eyes away from Samira's stepfather. They stayed locked in that position for several minutes while Samira and Zuri rushed through the house packing everything that she could fit into her luggage. When she was finished, Ero took another step toward the man. He met his eyes and stared intensely at him for several long seconds before turning and walking out of the house, slamming the door so hard behind him that the glass in the window shattered.

The three were silent until they were back at Zuri's house sitting in the living room. Samira finally looked calm, relaxed as if she had been vindicated.

"Thank you," she said, turning to Ero, "I can't tell you how much that means to me."

"It means a lot to me, too," Zuri said.

Ero turned to her and smiled, reaching up to stroke her face.

"You mean everything to me," Ero said, "I'm so glad you're coming back with me."

"You're going away again?" Samira asked.

Zuri nodded and Ero noticed the sad look in her eyes suddenly disappear.

"Come with us," she said, leaning toward Samira and grasping her hands.

"What do you mean?"

"Come with us. Come to Uoria with us." Samira started to protest and Zuri shook her head, leaning closer, "No, no, listen. It could be perfect. It would get you away from everything and give you a break. Ciyrs and Eliana have been working on creating healing ointments for the warriors to bring with them into battle, and you could help them. No one understands chemistry and biology like you do. This is a real way that you can use it. It doesn't have to be forever. It doesn't even have to be for long. I don't even know how long I'm going to be there. Just come. Please. It will make it even better for me there with you."

Samira looked back and forth between Ero and Zuri and Ero saw a change come over her. He smiled at her, reaching to take Zuri's hand and join in the encouragement for Samira to join them on their trip home. Through his bond with Zuri he had built an affection for the young girl, and more than anything he wanted to make Zuri happy.

He knew that back home the women were putting together the surprise they had planned for Zuri, getting it ready in the hopes that he would be able to convince her to come back with him. It had been a major risk to ask them to do that for him and to climb into a spaceship as the first ever Denynso to travel through the galaxy, but she was worth every single risk, every single moment of fear, and every single moment of doubting himself and his ability to be the mate that she deserved.