Zared
As I lay with Harper spent on top of me, I had no words to express what I felt---except maybe awe. I simply wrapped my arms around her and held her, wondering a little what she might be thinking. I knew this wasn’t the best time to find my solmatu with what might lay ahead of us. Even after she made love to me so enthusiastically, I wasn’t sure she believed in solmatu. But she said the mating vow and I believe she means it. Eventually I will ask her to say the mating vows with me before my people.
Part of me wants to find the location of her world for her, and the selfish part wants it never to happen. I wasn’t needed on the bridge so I took some time away from it to strengthen her bond to me with sex. The more pheromones exchanged, the stronger the bond will be. It only works that way with solmatu. Someone as strong willed as Harper could resist if too much time passed between recognition and claiming. I couldn’t let that happen. She was mine---my mate, my love.
After what had happened on my home world, I felt like this was a fresh start in my life and I hoped it would be for Harper, too. She was so still for a while that I thought she’d drifted to sleep again, but she raised her head and smiled at me.
“You’re beautiful,” I said the first thing that popped into my head.
Her eyes were such a deep blue around the dark center. Her hair was soft and silky now that it was clean, and she smelled wonderful.
She laughed and said, “so are you,” then kissed me, a light quick little kiss. Then she moved off me and climbed off the bed padding barefoot and naked into the bathroom. Without her there filling my senses, I realized I was hungry. We had spent half the day in bed and neither one of us had eaten. Harper hadn’t even had a cup of tea that I had. I regretted not a moment spent with her in my arms, but we needed sustenance.
I pulled on an undergarment and went to the processor to order a morning meal for both of us along with tea. I didn’t know the kind of food Harper liked before she was kidnapped. The only way to find out was to have her try different things.
“You must have read my mind,” she said with a pleased expression when she found me sitting at the dining table with two steamy bowls of sweetened cereal grain and two mugs of lightly sweetened tea. “Be right back.” She padded into the bedroom and donned the shirt I lent her and then she came back, seating herself across the table from me. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I saw the food. This smells good---sorta looks like oatmeal.”
“Oatmeal?” That didn’t translate.
“Cereal made from a type of grain?”
“Ah, I understand. Does it taste like your oatmeal?” I asked and watched while she dipped her spoon into the bowl and tasted it.
“Mmm. Better actually---like oatmeal with some other grains mixed in,” she gave me an amiable smile and took another bite.
We ate in silence for a few minutes, then she asked, “What will happen to the other women from Earth that you rescued with me?”
“We have offered them asylum on Farseek as we rebuild our world. Most of our infrastructure was destroyed by invaders that stole most of the survivors.” I explained. The majority of the other females are from the outer Consortium worlds. Evzen Guryon has been given a list and is making arrangements for them to be returned to their homes.” I explained. “Twelve others are from worlds like Earth that are not on our star charts. We have offered them asylum as well.”
“Are they going to accept?” Harper asked.
“I don’t know. We gave them time to think it over, and Guryon said the Consortium might offer them asylum as well. I had to be honest with them about the conditions on Farseek. Conditions will be primitive at first. Many of our towns and cities were leveled. Those that weren’t most of the structures standing are beyond repair.”
I told her about our plans to go to Breskaa and free our people taken there as slaves. The Consortium offered to pay disaster relief to our world, but they’ve offered barely a tenth of what it could cost. Normally, it would be up to our government to negotiate a more equable settlement with them. We all hold them responsible, but taking revenge on them won’t bring back our people or rebuild our civilization. We could only hope that one day oo’matu would come back to repay them tenfold.
Our energies will be better spent trying to rescue our people and rebuilding our world. I would have been much more restless to get Kyanna Guryon back to the Consortium so we could be on our way to Breskaa were it not for Harper.
“Can I go and see the other women from Earth?” Harper asked when I finished relating our plans. “We got to know each other on the slave ship. We had almost nothing to do but sleep, eat and talk to each other.”
“Of course, Love. You are my mate, not a prisoner. Aside from the restricted areas, you are all free to move about the ship. After we finish eating and shower, I will take you on a tour of the ship, and to visit your friends.” The smile she gave me was heart melting. “It will be good for you to meet some of the rest of the crew as well. If your friends decide to stay with us, we will introduce them to the crew as well.”
“Do you think the others will find soul mates in your crew?” she asked.
“It’s possible,” I told her. “Some of the crew who know of our recognition, hope it will happen for them well.”
“If we can’t go home, it would be for the best.” She reached across the table and laid her hand over mine. “My home is with you now. I understand that. My only regret is that I can’t let my parents and friends know I’m okay. They will mourn for me and never know what happened me.”
“I understand how you feel,” I said slowly and took her hand in both of mine. “My parents and siblings are all missing and I don’t know if they are dead or alive. I can’t promise we will find Earth, but we will try. In our travels, we may find the slavers that took you, then we can tap into their records to find coordinates.”
“Thank you,” she said and put her other hand over mine. “I’m sorry for what I said before. Even if it were true, I understand it’s because you want me to stay with you. I can’t explain it, but I really feel like we are soul mates and I want to stay with you even if we do find Earth.”
I stood up and pulled her against me, kissing her fervently. It would have been so easy to take her back into the bed and mate her senseless again. But I didn’t. I just kissed her until we were both breathless then took her in the shower instead.