Chapter Six
"Look what you did," Dillyn said tauntingly, "You made the pretty little thing run away. Well, maybe not so little. Young, though. Fresh and tender just like…"
Before he could get another word out, Ty's fist connected with his cheek and Dillyn went sprawling across the ground. The impact sent a surge of adrenaline through Ty and he launched at the prone warrior, tackling him down into the dirt before Dillyn could even get his wits about him again. He could barely believe what he was doing, but Ty couldn't stop his attack. The anger and protectiveness that filled him was unlike anything he had ever felt. Usually calm and docile, he had always been a nurturer, not a fighter. Suddenly, though, he had discovered the beast inside him. As soon as Dillyn started talking about Samira that way, he had felt like something inside him had unfurled like a tightly wound metal spring that someone suddenly released.
He continued to wail on Dillyn, pounding him into the ground with all of the fury that boiled within him. After a few moments he felt a tug on his shoulder and his name coming through the loud ringing in his ears.
"Damn, Ty, get off of him!"
He felt another hand on his other shoulder and the combination of the two finally pulled him away from Dillyn. The warrior writhed on the ground, blood pouring from his face and streaked across his chest. It felt like his constantly present erection had gotten even harder and now Ty was so filled with energy and adrenaline all he wanted to do was find Samira, toss her over his shoulder, and bring her back to his house. In the back of his mind, though, he could still hear Dillyn talking about how young she was. The conflict made him feel sick and he needed to get away from the situation.
He pushed past Pyra and Ero, heading for his shop. It was the one place where he felt completely comfortable and could get out his stress in a way other than beating the shit out of a warrior for upsetting Samira and then talking about her in such a disrespectful way. He heard the two warriors fall into step behind him, but that was fine. He didn't mind them coming along. In fact, he thought it might be nice to have them to talk to. Since they were both recently mated they might be able to help him navigate all of his confusion. He thought that maybe they would be able to talk him out of his compulsive need for Samira.
"She's 18, Ty," Pyra said as soon as they stepped into the shop behind Ty.
"Holy shit," Ty said, resting his elbows on the counter and burying his head in his hands, "She's only 18."
"That's an adult," Pyra reminded me, "and she is far smarter than other women her age. You really are not that much older than she is. I don’t understand why this is stressing you out so much."
Ty raised his head and looked at the two warriors standing in front of them. These were men he had been taking care of for years, using his unusual talents and strengths to nurture them and make sure that they had what they needed. He was like Ciyrs in a way, but whereas Ciyrs healed them if they were sick or injured, Ty took care of them while they were well and helped to make sure they stayed that way. It was not what people expected of a Denynso of his size, but it suited him. Now he was feeling more like one of the aggressive, violent warriors and it was all because he was struggling between knowing he had found his mate and not knowing if it was right to pursue her.
"What if I hurt her? What if she isn't ready to handle all of this and she ends up going back to Earth?"
"I just went through that exact situation," Ero reminded him.
"I know, but you went after her and she came back. Zuri is a grown woman. She knows who she is and what she wants out of life. She made the decision to leave you, but she also made the decision to come back to you. What if Samira leaves and is too afraid to come back? I don't think I could stand knowing that I had hurt her or taken advantage of her in some way while trying to bond with her, and then having to be alone for the rest of my life."
"Here's the thing, Ty," Ero said, "I didn't know if Zuri was actually going to come back with me, but I had to try. You already know that Samira is your mate. Whether you bond with her now or 5 years from now when she's your age, she will still be your mate and she will still be linked to you forever. Remember, though, that 5 years from now, she will be older, but so will you. When is it going to be right? And are you willing to possibly lose her forever because you were too afraid?"
Ty didn't have a chance to respond before he saw a figure appear in the doorway.
"We're going to head out of here," Pyra said, taking Ero by the arm and dragging him out of the room.
"Hi, Samira," Ero said as he struggled to keep up with Pyra.
"Hi, Ero," she replied, and then turned to Ty, "Hi, Ty."
"Hi," he said, turning the bread dough he had been working on out onto the counter.
"What are you doing?" she asked, taking a few steps toward him.
"Making bread," he answered shortly, still not looking up at her.
Suddenly he felt her come up beside him and rest a hand on his upper arm.
"Can I help?" she asked softly.