Chapter Five

The sound of the deep, gruff voice calling Ty's name jolted me out of the peaceful calm that he had created between us and I stepped back away from him. His hand fell away from my face and I immediately missed his touch. He was so incredibly sweet, so caring and attentive in a way that I had never experienced. When he talked about the mated couples and how happy they were together, I felt my heart reaching out to him, seeming to melt with each of his words. There was something in the way he was saying them that made it feel like he was telling me much more than just about how they created partnerships in his culture.

What really stood out to me about what he had said was the concept of bonding as opposed to marriage. He hadn't explained what the bonding was or how they went about knowing that they both wanted to bond, and I was desperate to find out. The way he talked about it was so reverent and mysterious, but at the same time, when he said it I could feel a primal heat and energy come off of him. My body responded instantly and again I felt the need for him to touch me. It was unlike anything I had ever felt about another guy. The teenage boys that flocked around me and even the older students at the university had been a bore and even though I dated, I never felt a strong connection to anyone. Now all I could think about was Ty and the way I craved him.

"Tyant!"

The booming voice sounded intense and demanding, almost like whoever was yelling was trying to be forceful and intimidating to whoever was around to listen, but particularly to Ty. I saw Ty's eyes close briefly before he turned around to face the man walking toward us. He had the Mohawk of the other men and the long stride of a warrior. I immediately tensed. Pyra, Gyyx, and Ero seemed nice in the very brief time that I had had to interact with them, but I was quickly finding that I didn't like the other warriors very much. Their aggressive, almost violent personalities made me feel the same type of crushing oppression that I had become accustomed to feeling from my stepfather and I was not about to let myself feel that again when I had just so narrowly escaped him. I came here to get away from the things that frightened me and held me back, if only for a little while, and the thought of them putting me right back into that feeling was something I couldn’t tolerate.

"The king and queen want you now," the man said as he approached.

He wasn't looking at Ty, but at me. I saw his eyes scour over my body and lock on my mouth. He licked his lips and I felt my body stiffen uncomfortably. There was none of the gentleness, the connection in his eyes that was in Ty's, and I noticed that his eyes remained a dark purple color rather than shifting occasionally to orange as I noticed that Ty's did.

Ty stepped up closer to me and I felt myself leaning toward him.

"We're on our way," Ty said.

"Maybe I should take over from here," the man said, "After all, shouldn’t our lovely new guest have a warrior to protect her like the other human women have?"

"Ciyrs isn't a warrior," Ty said.

"Ciyrs didn't escort Eliana when she first came here. Pyra did. But as we know, Pyra is extremely mated and has a little more on his plate than the rest of us do, so there seems to be a position open that requires a warrior to step in and take over. You did a fine job getting her to her house, but I'll take it from here. Why don't you go on back home and bake something?"

The words were so vicious that even I felt the venom coming off of them and I shifted uncomfortably. I didn't feel like a person in that moment, but more like a toy that these two men were batting around between them, trying to gain dominance over the other.

"She was given to me," Ty protested.

"Excuse me?" I said, taken aback by the words coming out of Ty, "Given to you? Is that what you men do on this planet? Just gather up the women as they step off of the shuttles from Earth and hand them out like party favors?"

Tears were stinging in my eyes and I felt like I couldn't be near either of the men anymore. While I was furious with the warrior for his arrogance, I was heartbroken by Ty. He had been so sweet and suddenly he seemed just like all of the other men who had come my way.

I took off running, not entirely sure where I was going but confident that I would be able to find my way to the meeting hall on my own. Going on my understanding of patterns and grids, I used my instincts to weave my way through the compound until it opened out into a large space with a towering building at its center. I saw Zuri standing on the steps leading up to the front door with Ero standing a few steps beneath her, his head rested on her stomach as he held her around her hips.

I ran toward her, part of me feeling horrible for breaking up the beautiful moment between the couple. She looked up and noticed me. Gently easing Ero away from her, she came to meet me, gathering me in her arms even before she spoke.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I shook my head and tried to explain what had just happened. I could feel the eyes of the other men on me and I found myself longing for Ty even though I was still upset with him. At least with him nearby I felt like I was protected.

"Where is he?" the enormous warrior I remembered from the night before as Pyra stalked toward me.

"I left him near my house," I answered.

"And you said he was with a warrior?" I nodded, "And he insulted you?"

"Not me, really. More Ty, I guess. He told him that he would take over from there and that he should be the one that was guarding me."

"Oh, shit."

Without any more warning than that, Pyra shot off in the direction of my house, Ero following even faster after him.

"What was that all about?" I asked Zuri.

She stroked my hair and smiled at me. I could see something different about her, but I wasn't sure what.

"Can I ask you a question, Samira?"

"Of course."

"What color are Ty's eyes when he looks at you?"

"Sometimes they're brown and sometimes they're orange."

Her smile grew slightly and she nodded, looping her arm through mine and guiding me toward the door to the meeting hall.

"Let's get you inside to meet with the king and queen and then get some breakfast. I think we have a few things to talk about."