After the shower, Sasha put on one of those suits his people seemed to like so much and finally went out to the living room to meet his mother. She had no idea why the woman would want to meet her, but she doubted she would be able to escape that situation.
“Ah, Sasha, there you are,” he said when he saw her walk in. They were still standing, clearly waiting for her. “Allow me to introduce you to my mother, Oydis. Mother, this is Sasha O’Donnell, from planet Earth.”
“You have no idea how pleased I am to finally meet you,” the woman said with a wide smile. “Your species represent a burst of hope for us.”
“So we have been told,” Sasha nodded, still having trouble to believe that story. So far, she hadn’t seen the first soulmate.
“What do you think about our planet? Do you think you can be happy here?” the other woman asked, ignoring the obvious doubt in Sasha’s tone.
“It’s too early to tell, but it’s a lovely place,” she said, in an uncompromising tone, not willing to antagonize the woman.
“Actually, she thinks we are a very boring planet. She doesn’t seem to understand why there’s no color in our cities and our clothing,” Asgar commented, with a scowl.
“Asgar!” she shouted, flustered.
“She’s absolutely right about that. The other day I was helping a couple with their child, from a neighbor planet, and they showed me some pictures of their city and believe me, it’s way more attractive to the eyes than ours is. It’s colorful and full of life,” his mother said, surprising them. “I guess we’ve dedicated way too much time on the pragmatic side of things and forgot how to make them look nice as well.”
“That’s exactly my point,” Sasha agreed, with a pleased smile. “This city has so much potential that I have a hard time accepting it the way it is.”
“You should discuss this with Brynjar,” she suggested. “Perhaps he’ll listen to you.”
Sasha snorted. “The king is not a big fan of me right now,” she explained. “But that’s a long story. Asgar told me you’re a pediatrician.”
“Yes, I am. Most women on this planet don’t work out of their homes, but I guess I was always a bit of a rebel.” The other woman explained with an amused chuckle. “I even made Asgar’s father wait for me much longer than usual. I had wanted a taste of freedom before I settled down as his wife and soulmate,” she added.
“If he’s anything like Asgar I’m sure that wasn’t easy,” Sasha pointed out, with an amused scowl.
Oydis let out a loud laugh. “Oh, it wasn’t. It was very hard to resist him and ignore all of his promises when I wanted him as much as he wanted me,” she recalled. “But at the end, I believe that time made us stronger as a couple, and we have been able to maintain that same passion we shared when we were young still alive.”
“That’s amazing,” Sasha had met very few people able to say that. Her parents weren’t some of them.
“Two of my children have found their soulmates and have turned us into proud grandparents. But I still have faith the rest of them will find their other half as well. Your arrival it’s a sign we’re closer to having that than we ever thought possible.”
The idea of Asgar finding a soulmate felt like a punch straight to her stomach, but Sasha managed to hide her feelings as quickly as possible. She didn’t want his mother to notice her interest in him.
Apparently, she knew they were lovers, but there was no need for her to know she had fallen for him as well.
“Mother, will you join us for our meal? We’re starving,” Asgar said, changing the topic. Apparently, he didn’t want to discuss the soulmate thing either.
“Yes, of course, I thought you would never ask,” she agreed, walking to the kitchen. “But I’ll order it. You tend to ask for the same food all the time.”
“Sure, go ahead. Sasha has protested about that as well,” he said with a self-deprecating smile.
“I’m sure she did. I can see she’s an intelligent woman.” The other woman said, winking and eye at Sasha.
The food was delicious and very different to what Asgar usually ordered. Sasha took notes of that food and asked his mother for some other dishes, determined to have something more than just meat and vegetables.
When Oydis finally left, Sasha felt she could easily become her friend. Despite the age difference, Asgar’s mother was pretty much like her, and she loved that.
She wanted to express her feelings to the older woman, but considering she had no idea what would become of her in the near future, she preferred to keep them to herself.
“Please take her home next week. The whole family will be there, and it would be an excellent moment for them to meet her,” Oydis said as she was leaving, with a wide smile.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, mother. Perhaps, some other time,” Asgar’s quick refusal was another stroke to her heart, and though she tried her best to keep the smile on her face, she was sure his mother had noticed it.
She frowned. “It’s an excellent idea, and I don’t want to hear another word about it. Just be there and take Sasha with you,” she demanded before she turned around and left the house.
The minute she disappeared, Sasha turned around and walked straight to her room. She didn’t want to be with Asgar right now. She needed some time alone to rebuild her protective walls.
“Sasha, wait,” he called to her.
“Not now,” she replied in a curt tone. “I’ll see you later.”
“We need to talk,” he insisted.
“No, we don’t. Right now, all I need is to be alone,” she assured him as she closed the door to her room in his face.
She had no idea how to lock it, but fortunately, he stayed out.
She paced through the room for a few minutes but soon, she was feeling like a caged animal. Grabbing her cape from her dressing room, she left the house through her window, heading to the back of his gardens. They were big enough for her to walk on it, without feeling trapped.
Why the hell her life had to be so damn complicated? Why was she falling in love with a man that wasn’t supposed to be with her, at least, not more than a few days, weeks at most? Wasn’t she supposed to fall in love with the so-called soulmate?
The questions swirled her mind again and again, but she was unable to find a logical answer to them. She was convinced he wasn’t her soulmate. He had given her enough proofs of that, like his reaction to his mother’s invitation. You didn’t take a lover to meet your whole family.
Her head was pounding so hard when she reached one of the property’s walls; she was having trouble thinking straight. She wished she had one of her migraine pills with her, but for now, she would have to deal with the pain.
She walked along the wall for a few moments until she found a narrow door. Curious, she tried to open it up, and when it slid easily, she decided to take a look outside. It opened up to what seemed like a forest with the tallest trees she had ever seen in her life surrounded by bushes and flowers. She was able to distinguish a trail that went across the forest, and looking for some distraction, she decided to walk along it.
The minute she set a foot outside the wall, a searing pain shot through her whole body, and she fell to the ground.
Asgar’s words activating her collar came to her mind, and she tried to go back inside. But she had fallen outside the walls, and the door had closed behind her.
Every second she spent outside increased her pain to excruciating levels; finally, she managed to get up and walk to the door, looking for a way in.
But the door was locked, and she needed an access code to open it up again.
Desperate, she tried several, feeling the shots of pain going down her spine, fighting nausea and the dizziness, but there was no use.
After a few moments, she lost hope and crumbled to the ground, in so much pain she lost consciousness for a few minutes.
Asgar let out a deep sigh and returned to the main room. He had messed up again. He had known that the moment he looked at Sasha after he rejected his mother’s invitation. His purpose had been to stop her from finding out she was his soulmate, but instead, he had managed to make her feel like his dirty little secret he didn’t want to introduce to his family.
Being mated was proving to be way harder than he had expected and now, all he wanted was to walk in that room and let her know the truth, no matter what the consequences were. But she had asked for some time alone, so the least he could do was to give it to her.
He paced the room for a few minutes trying to resist the acute need to go join her, respecting her needs, but after a while, he simply couldn’t resist any longer.
He walked straight to her room, just to find it empty. Assuming she had gone for a walk in the garden, he walked out to the terrace, but there was no sign of her and sense of danger fired inside him. She was in trouble.
As if to confirm his suspicions an intruder alarm went off. He pulled his communication device to check it and soon he had an image of her lying on the ground next to the exit door.
His wings spread out in a split second and he flew up to where she was. He had no idea what had happened, but he could tell she was unconscious and probably hurt.
It only took him a few seconds to reach her, and yet it felt like centuries. He landed next to her and pulled her into his arms.
“Sasha, wake up, please wake up,” he asked her, shaking her gently.
Her eyes fluttered, and she groaned, obviously in pain. “Take me inside… please,” she muttered, through gritted teeth.
He wanted to ask why but he didn’t waste time. Instead of opening the door, he took her in his arms and flew her back to the house, straight to her bed.
“What happened?” he asked her, caressing her face.
“The collar… I forgot…” she mumbled, closing her eyes, still experiencing some lasting pain.
“What do you mean…? He started asking just to stop the moment he remembered he had activated her collar a couple of days ago, to prevent her from going out of the property. “I did this to you?” he muttered, breathing hard.
She opened her eyes for a second. “The collar…”
“But I gave the order,” he replied, clearly upset.
“I forgot… I wasn’t supposed to leave…”
He didn’t wait for her to finish her sentence. “Disable collar permanently. Open collar,” he said in a firm tone and the collar opened up.
Carefully, he removed it from her neck and twisted between his hands until it was a shapeless piece of metal.
“Come, I’ll take you to see Colborn,” he picked her in his arms and carried her out of the room.
“I’m alright,” she protested, but he paid no attention to her.
In just a few minutes, he was parking his vehicle in front of his friend’s house. He had called him while they were on their way and the other man was already waiting for them.
“Take her to my office. I have all I need in there,” he said as Asgar hopped out of the car.
“Sure,” he carried her out and took her quickly to the office, laying her down on the examination table.
“What happened?” Colborn asked as he prepared the scanners to examine her.
“A few days ago I activated her collar so that she couldn’t leave my property alone and forgot to deactivate it. She stepped out of the garden, and the collar immediately acted,” Asgar explained in a self-scolding tone.
“How long was she under the attack of the collar?” Colborn asked, with a deep frown.
“I have no idea. A couple of minutes I guess.”
The doctor turned to ask Sasha. “Can you remember what happened?”
“The moment I stepped out of the garden, a shot of pain rushed through me throwing me to the ground,” she managed to explain. “It took me a few minutes to control the pain and get up to try and open the door… but I couldn’t.”
“That must have been when the alarm was set off,” Asgar realized, punching the wall next to him in sheer frustration.
“I told you that keeping these collars might not work as planned, but you didn’t pay attention, as usual,” Colborn said in a cold tone.
“I know.”
“Where’s her collar?” he asked, checking her neck.
“I smashed it and threw it away,” Asgar admitted.
“A bit too late, if you ask me, but there is no permanent harm done,” he said, removing the scanners. “She’ll be sore for a few hours, but she’ll recover completely.”
“Thank you. Can you give her something for the pain? She’s been through enough,” he asked as he ran his fingers gently through her hair.”
“The painkillers we have are too strong for them. They knock them out, and that’s a bit dangerous since their body could react in ways we have no knowledge of,” Colborn warned. “I can give her some, but she would have to stay here for the night.”
Sasha hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation taking place next to her. Her whole body ached, and her headache was worse than ever. But, even in the middle of the haze produced by the pain, she heard Colborn’s last words.
She didn’t want to stay there. “No… I’m not staying here,” she protested. “If you want… to get rid of me… just take me to the palace…” she stuttered, unable to keep her eyes open.
“I don’t want to get rid of you. But, you’re in a lot of pain,” he grumbled, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. “If I ask my mother to stay with her, would you give her the painkiller?” he suggested, as he recalled what had originated the whole incident.
“Yes, of course. Víf Oydis would know exactly what to do in case of an adverse reaction to the painkiller,” Colborn nodded.
“Then do it. I’m calling her right away,” he ordered, pulling his communication device from his pocket.
“No… you can’t bother… your mother…” she protested again, trying to get up, just to fall back to the table, whimpering with pain.
“She won’t mind,” he assured her, as he placed the call. In a few seconds, he had explained to his mother what had happened, and the woman ordered him to take Sasha to her place.
She talked to Colborn to get the details on the treatment he was giving her and soon they were on their way to her house.
The painkiller had knocked her out like Colborn had said, but at least, she wasn’t in pain anymore.