Chapter Eight
Ty sat on the floor of the cave beside the entrance to the tunnel, leaned back against the cold stone wall so that he could listen for any sound coming from the tunnel. It felt like he had been sitting there for hours and he wanted to connect with Samira and talk to her the entire time she was away, but he knew that she needed to be able to concentrate if she was going to gather all of the information that they needed about the tunnel and wherever it led and then get back to them safely. Pyra had gone back outside of the cave to talk to the other warriors and the silence surrounding Ty was becoming overwhelming. He closed his eyes and went back over the events of the last few days in his mind.
He never expected this. From the time he was a little child he knew that he was not going to be a warrior. The destiny of each Denynso man is set from the time of birth and it is evident early on what a man is going to do with his life, whether that is to join up forces as one of the clan's fearsome warriors so that he can march into battle and help the others defend the clan and the planet, or take on another role within the group. As a very young child it was already evident that being a warrior was not what he was made to do. While he was nearly as massive as Pyra, his spirit was gentle and nurturing, not aggressive. He had never been prone to fighting or lashing out. Instead, he was drawn to cooking and baking. He used his skills to prepare food for the warriors to take with them while they were in battle and to strengthen them when they came back.
It wasn't until Samira came along that he ever felt the intensity of what the warriors felt. She sparked something in him that was so powerful he was almost afraid of it himself. Suddenly he was ready to use his tremendous size and strength for more than he had ever used it for, and was ready to step forward and be a part of defending the planet from the Klimnu in what they hoped would be their final showdown. He always knew that he would change when he met his mate, but he never expected that the change would be so drastic and powerful. It brought to mind elements of his inner self that he had hidden for so long he didn't even know if he could still use them, elements that he had always feared and tried to forget that he had, but now knew may be the key to him helping the warriors.
"Can you hear me?"
The sound of Samira's voice suddenly coming through the tunnel broke Ty out of his thoughts and brought him to his feet. For a moment he thought that he may be hearing her talking to him through her mind, but her voice sounded too loud for that to be what was happening. He leaned into the mouth of the tunnel.
"Samira?" he shouted.
"Ty! Is that the first time you heard me calling for you?"
"Yes. Just now. Are you OK?"
"We're fine. We're coming your way, but the torch finally went out so it's dark. Just keep talking to me."
Ty nearly sagged with relief. He felt a smile break across his face as he crouched down so that it was easier to call into the tunnel.
"I'm here, Baby. I'm right here. Just keep coming toward me. Listen to my voice. I'm right here waiting for you."
Ty kept talking, repeating himself over and over because he couldn't think of anything else to say that he would want the other two women listening to as they walked through the tunnel. Finally he heard footsteps coming toward him and a few moments later he could feel Samira's presence near him. He reached out and his hands touched her. Even in the intense darkness he knew he was touching his mate. She curled into his arms and he pulled her back away from the mouth of the tunnel so that the other two women could step out into the main chamber of the cave.
"Pyra!" Ty shouted, "Bring us a new torch."
Heavy footsteps sounded in the front part of the chamber and Ty saw the bright glow of a new torch flame cutting through the darkness toward them. They rushed toward it, using the illumination to guide them around the stalagmites that jutted up from the floor of the cave. As soon as they stepped out onto the plateau, he saw Samira take a deep breath and lean over to rest her hands on her knees. She continued to draw in long breaths as if she were trying to replace all of the air from the tunnel in her body with fresh air. He stroked her back gently, trying to calm her, as Gyyx and Ero rushed forward to scoop Leia and Zuri into their arms. Everyone stayed silent for a few seconds as the men comforted and cuddled their mates. Finally Pyra stepped forward.
"What did you find?" he asked.
Samira straightened and curled close to Ty's side before she spoke. He wrapped his arm around her waist, giving over as much of his strength to her as she needed.
"I don't know if we'd be able to describe it to you effectively," Samira said.
"But I can draw it for you," Leia said, "I just need some paper and a pencil and I can sketch everything we saw out for you."
"Let's get back to the compound, then. The sooner we can find out what you saw, the sooner we can start building our defense plan."
Leia, Zuri, Gyyx, Ero, and Pyra started back down the side of the cliff to where the rest of the warriors were waiting for them. Ty held Samira back, waiting until the last of Pyra's Mohawk disappeared beneath the edge of the cliff to turn to her. He curled her up into his arms so that her chest pressed against his and her arms looped tightly around his waist. She rested her head against his chest for a brief moment and then looked at him, leaning back slightly so that he could see her entire face gazing up at his.
"I love you, Samira," he said softly.
A smile broke across her lips and he thought he saw the glimmer of tears in her dark eyes. She cuddled him a little closer, bringing her body forward so that as much of her pressed against him as possible.
"I love you, too, Ty."
His heart swelled and he felt his body getting hot again. The heat radiating off of his skin told him even more that he had definitely found his mate in Samira. That searing, glowing heat told all other females to stay away from him and gave both him and his mate even more reason to take off their clothes. She took her arms from around his waist and trailed her fingers down his arms, tracing the curves of his muscles with her fingertips. He could see her eyes getting smoky as she touched his skin, feeling the warmth on hers.
"I wish we didn't have to go with the warriors," he murmured to her.
She nodded, her long eyelashes dipping down over her eyes as she continued to touch him tenderly.
"I do, too. How long do you think that the meeting will be?" she purred back.
"I don't know. However long it takes for you three to tell us what you saw and for them to decide how we should move forward with the war."
The mention of war seemed to dampen the smoldering building inside her and she got a solemn look on her face.
"What's going to happen, Ty?"
Ty put his hands on her arms, gently squeezing her.
"Everything's going to be fine. I promise. The Denynso are the best warriors in the galaxy. Once we figure out how the Klimnu have been learning about us and getting into the compound so easily, the warriors will be able to defeat them."
"Why aren't you a warrior?"
The question stung him a little, but he had to remind himself that she wasn't familiar with their kind and didn't know how things worked with them. She wouldn't understand that it wasn't his choice what role he was going to play within the clan, or what skills he would have. From the little bit that he knew of Earth, he knew that each person had a choice of what they were going to do with their lives and what types of skills and abilities they were going to use throughout their lives. He figured that as strange as that seemed to him, it must seem strange to Samira that each of the Denynso were born to fulfill a certain role and meet their specific responsibilities so that the entire clan operated effectively.
"I wasn't meant to be," he answered.
He expected her to pry, to try to figure out more, or to criticize him for not being one of the powerful, fierce men who had a reputation throughout the galaxy. Instead, she smiled at him and got up on the tips of her toes to touch a kiss to his lips.
"We should probably catch up with everyone else before the think that we've been kidnapped. I don't think that they need any more stress in their battle planning."