"It's going to be perfect," Leia said, patting Ero on the back as she and the other women made their way out of the house.
"I hope so," he smiled, feeling a little nervous now that the planning was over and he was actually going to get to go through with the night he had arranged for Zuri.
"The bond's already there," Eden assured him, stepped past him onto the porch, "You just have to make sure now that she understands what that means. Remember that she isn't a Denynso. Ask these ladies. It takes a little more than just a good lay to get a human girl to stay with you forever."
She meant it as a tease, but her words made Ero feel even more nervous. He nodded and watched the women start toward the road, but all three stopped when they saw Creia approaching. The king rarely left the hall unless there was a specific event, which meant that whatever he had to say was very serious.
"Hello, girls," he said affectionately to the women as he passed them, towering over them but smiling gently at them, "Ero, I need to have a word with you."
"Alright."
He made no move to go inside and the women started to turn away, but Creia held up his hand to stop them.
"No, you should stay. Your mates will need to know about this, too."
"Is there something wrong?" Ero asked, the intense look on the monarch's face making his stomach turn.
Maybe there had been another attack or capture. But if there was, why would the king come to him instead of Pyra or Gyyx?
"It's Zuri," the king started and Ero already felt his heart start to pound.
"What happened?" Ero demanded.
He could feel the aggression he had been trying to fight building back up inside him and the anger making his muscles tighten and twitch. Lashing out at the king could have dire side effects so he had to keep himself under control, but he was starting to feel again like he could rip anyone near him limb from limb if he found out that she was hurt in any way.
"She left," the king said bluntly, "She went home."
Ero felt something inside him break and his vision blurred.
"…What?"
"She went home, Ero. She decided she couldn't stay here and continue with the program. I felt like you should hear it from me. I've noticed your behavior recently and I thought that perhaps you saw her as a potential mate."
The king was speaking softly, trying to comfort Ero, but he only felt rage and a type of emptiness he could never have imagined. He heard the women gasp and whisper to each other, but he couldn't make out their words.
"When did she go?" he asked when he had control over his voice again.
"This morning. She got back on the shuttle back to the university."
"Did you know about this?" Ero demanded, turning fiercely toward the women.
"What the hell do you mean did we know?" Eden responded, stepping toward him without fear, "Would we have just sat in your house with you for the last three hours trying to put together this big date for you if we had known that she was gone?"
"I'm sorry," Ero relented, and turned back to the king.
"Did she say why?"
"Just that the program wasn't for her and that the Klimnu attack had frightened her so she wanted to go home. She says she will find a replacement for her position in the program."
"It had nothing to do with the Klimnu," he muttered and saw the king nod.
"I know, Ero."
He couldn't take it anymore. He felt like fire was rushing through his veins and that he was inhaling liquefied stone so that it solidified in his lungs with every breath. Without another word, he started to run.
His feet pounded into the ground harshly, carrying him at the fastest speed he could achieve away from the houses and into the forest. He ran like he had before he understood what was going on with Zuri, ran like he would eventually be able to outrun the pain and the disgust at himself. He was just like the warriors. He had bullied Zuri for her size and then just expected her to be fine with it if he explained he was joking. Instead of being there to forgive him, though, she had left him behind.
Ero paused in the middle of the forest, close to where he and Zuri had spent their few minutes together, and put his hands on his hips, looking up through the branches of the trees at the setting sun. Suddenly from behind him he felt a harsh push and hit the ground.
"Do you feel better now?" Pyra demanded from above him and Ero scrambled to turn around.
"What the hell, Pyra?"
"Do you feel better now that you chased her away?" the huge warrior shouted, shoving Ero further away from him with his boot, "Does it make you feel big and powerful to know that you hurt her feelings enough that she didn't even want to stay here anymore?"
Ero jumped up and squared his chest at Pyra.
"No, you ass, it doesn't make me feel better. I feel like shit. I just sat in my house for the last three hours trying to plan a date for her so that I could tell her that I love her, and instead I find out that because of my own fucking mouth she's gone back to Earth and I'll probably never see her again."
"So you're just giving up? Just like that?"
"What?"
"You're just going to give up. She left, so you are going to do the same thing you always do and take the weak route. Instead of manning up and doing something about it, you are going to run around and whine."
"What do you suggest I do about it? She's on a space ship right now heading back to another planet. It's not like I can just walk up to her and tell her I'm sorry."
"Why not? Is there a rule that says that if you want to say you're sorry it has to be on Uoria?"
Realization hit Ero and determination took the place of the anger and devastation. He took off in the direction of the hall, hoping that Creia had returned so that he could request a special audience with him. He wasn't going to give up. For the first time in his life he felt strong and powerful, and he knew that was because he had discovered his mate. He wasn't going to give up on her just because he did something stupid and made her leave. This was his last chance to do something that really mattered and show his mate that there wasn't anything that was going to keep her away from him, even if she tried to put an entire galaxy between them.
When he finally stood in front of the king, Ero felt more courageous and sure than he ever had in his life. It no longer mattered to him that he had always been seen as the orphan of the planet or that he was so much smaller than the other warriors. What mattered to him was getting to Zuri, and that meant requesting something that no Denynso had ever done.