Loving Anna

LOVING ANNA

Zequeatta Jaques

FANTASY ROMANCE

www.BookStrand.com

A SIREN-BOOKSTRAND TITLE IMPRINT: Romance ABOUT THE E-BOOK VERSION: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to one LEGAL copy for your own personal use. It is ILLEGAL to send your copy to someone who did not pay for it. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. LOVING ANNA Copyright © 2008 by Zequeatta Jaques E-book ISBN: 1-60601-062-X First E-book Publication: September 2008 Cover design by Jinger Heaston All cover art and logo copyright © 2008 by Siren-BookStrand, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. PUBLISHER www.BookStrand.com

DEDICATION Special thanks to Wanda Davis for her words of encouragement and my husband, Steve, for his belief in my ability to spin a tall tale.

LOVING ANNA Zequeatta Jaques Copyright © 2008

Prologue Year 1967 Absent-mindedly Tom looked at the dirty ceiling above him as he listened to his wife of fifteen years, nag at him over the phone he held loosely against his ear. The chair he sat in was tipped back precariously, on its two back legs. He yawned widely into the phone before he replied to his wife’s question. “Yeah sure, I can stop and pick it up from the store on my way home.” Tom didn’t say anything else just frowned at the ceiling, when she went on to tell him why she needed the object he had purposefully forgotten two days in a row. He wondered why she couldn’t just go to the store and pick up what she needed herself. Nag. Nag. That is all she knows how to do, he thought. Then she wonders why I want to play golf every weekend with the guys. Lazily, he scanned the monitor he watched nightly. Blinking rapidly several times, he stared in shock at what was coming across the screen chair legs hit the tiled floor with a thud. “Got to go, hon.” he hurriedly said into the mouthpiece of the phone he held. Eyes glued to the monitor before him he fumbled around trying to find the base for the phone. He could still hear his wife nagging at him over the phone before he finally found its base, hanging the phone up on her in mid sentence. No way, he thought, his heart racing. No way. He shook his head

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in disbelief. There it was again, clear as day. He had sat before this monitor night, after night, with nothing but yawning silence. There it was again. With trembling hands, Tom dialed the number for his supervisor, hoping he was home. His supervisor, believing he was a lady’s man, was always out cruising the nightclubs every opportunity he got. Apparently, the revulsion the females at work showed him, failed to penetrate his thick skull that he wasn’t quite the lady’s man he thought he was. The man was not bad looking. It was just so obvious he wanted to screw someone, anyone, other than his wife that the women at work found him something of a joke. Tom impatiently drummed his fingers on top of his desk, as he listened to the phone on the other end ring for the fifth time. “Come on man,” he said into the silent room he was sitting in. “Make tonight be the night you had to stay home with your wife.” “Hello,” a groggy, male voice said coming on the line. “Hey boss. It’s me, Tom. I have contact.” “The hell you say!” Jack sat up in bed with surprise. His wife rolled over against him. Jack impatiently pushed her back to her side of the bed. “There it is again,” Tom cried excitedly over the phone he held. Jack hastily shoved back the bed covers. Standing he looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was one am. “I will be there in thirty minutes. And, Tom, Don’t call anyone else with this. And, when I say anyone, I mean absolutely no one. Comprehend?” “Sure boss,” Tom replied, hanging up the phone. “Piece of shit,” he mumbled watching the screen. Quickly yanking on his clothes, Jack assured his wife it was problems at work he had to go and take care of. He left his house at a dead run. Jumping into his car he threw it into reverse, putting it in drive he took off. If Tom is pulling a prank out of boredom, I will fire him on the spot, he thought. A scant thirty minutes later, he walked down the empty hall to where Tom’s station was located. Slamming through the door, he hurried over to where Tom sat staring at his monitor. Jack slumped down onto the chair beside Tom’s desk, reading the message scrolling across the computer monitor. It was no prank. There, the message was clear as day. He stared at it as it bleeped continually across the screen, …we wish to make connection with your leader…we wish to make

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connection with your leader… His fingers shaking violently, Jack dialed the home number of his superior. When the phone was picked up on the other end, he hoarsely stated, “You need to notify the president. We have contact!”

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Chapter 1 Spring, 2007 College Campus “I am telling you, Anna, it could happen. Quit laughing at me.” Stylishly cut, short black hair bounced around the young woman’s face in response to her agitation at her friend’s reaction to her theory. “Charlee, you’re my best friend, but I’m telling you. There is no such thing as aliens living among us. You’ve watched too many sci-fi movies over the years.” Anna shook her head, as she wiped at the tears running down her cheeks with the back of her hand. She looked across the college dorm room at her best friend. One she’d had since she had went to live with Molly and George. Charlee was as striking as Anna in looks. Both girls getting a second and even third glance when out on the town in the busy college club hangouts. Charlee was much more likely to jump into a relationship with the opposite sex than her long time friend. She, for the last two years, had desperately searched for a lasting relationship, and had been in and out of love at least three times in the past year alone. Anna’s long, straight golden tresses swung past her shoulders, and brushed against her hips as she retrieved an arm full of her clothes out of the compact dorm room closet. Anna strayed more toward caution’s side when dealing with relationships of the opposite sex. She was very loyal, and very protective toward those she loved. The two young women were friends since the first day of grade school when Charlee walked up to Anna, took her hand, and paired them together for a game of tag. Anna stopped packing, and walked over to Charlee and gave her a hug, smiling as she did so. “You’re still my best friend, Charlee White, even

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though you’re a certified nut case.” “Oh, shut up,” Charlee replied as she laughed, then she sobered and asked, “Have you talked to Molly today? How’s George?” Charlee could tell as she watched her friend, that Anna now swallowed back real tears. “Molly informed me that the doctors said if the chemotherapy is ineffective in getting the cancer in remission, then he may have a year or less. Andy and I wanted to get home as soon as we could. But, Andy can’t get away from base for another two weeks. George didn’t want Andrew to request leave from his Marine training or for me to leave in the middle of a semester. He has been adamant about it. I’m just glad the semester is over. So, I can go home and see him.” Anna grew quiet. Absently, she folded the pair of jeans she held and then placed them in one of the tanned suitcases that lay open on the bed. The past seventeen years were full of fond memories. Molly and George were the type of parents who had displayed loving affection on both her and Andrew, making sure they grew into happy, well-adjusted adults. Nothing had ever been said about their true parents after that fateful summer day which had changed Andrew, and her lives for the better...much better. Funny, how she never missed her natural parents as the years had gradually slipped away. The subject never discussed with George or Molly about how they came to be her and Andrew’s adopted parents. Andrew and she had simply accepted it. With a slight shake of her head, Anna looked up at Charlee and smiled sadly. “You could never ask for better parents than George and Molly, Charlee. I hope George doesn’t suffer with his cancer.” “I hope not either, Anna.” Pulling the pair of packed suitcases off the bed, Anna walked toward the door a suitcase in each hand. Charlee followed, she pulled the door open for Anna, and then leaned on it once Anna strolled through. Anna asked as she walked down the steps to her car, “When are you coming home?” Charlee had lost both of her parents in a car crash two years previously, and as an only child she had no close living relatives. Charlee had always lived two blocks up the street from Anna and still maintained her parent’s house. “I plan to stay here another couple of days and talk to Lance before I head home.”

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Anna turned swiftly and looked back as she made a face at her friend. Charlee smiled down at her. Anna shook her head. “You know how I feel about Lance. You can do better. However, if he’s what you want, then I’ll wish you luck. If you’re happy, then I should be,” she stated, as she walked over to her white sport compact car. Placing her suitcases in the trunk of her car, she slammed the lid shut, then turned and waved goodbye. Charlee waved back. Anna slid in her car and then headed for home. As she adjusted the radio in the car to a favorite rock and roll station, Anna began to reminisce about the past seventeen years. Images and emotions rolled through her as she recalled the day she and Andrew had went to live with the Summers. How scared she had been, left with two strangers. Yet, those feelings of uncertainty had soon been replaced with feelings of warmth and love. She, to this day, when she caught the aroma of new car leather, felt the same emotional response she had experienced when Molly had helped her into the front seat of the car they drove at the time. The feeling of homecoming that had washed over her had been overwhelming. She and Andrew equally, had been overwhelmed when they saw their new home for the first time. The sloped, green manicured lawn that led up to the two story white manor house right out of a fairy tale, they had thought. Anna loved the gleaming wide-plank, pine wood floors, and wide-open space of the rooms. Still, sometimes when she had been away from home, and she walked through the front doors, she felt the same awe as that first day to learn she and her brother were actually to live there. Their experience of a home up to that time had been two room shacks with the stale smell of cigarettes. As she became aware of her surroundings, Anna slowed the car and signaled a right turn. She then eased the car onto the interstate and ongoing traffic. Her memories still flooded her. Molly had talked quietly to her and Andy that day as she told them that their parents through no fault of their own could not keep them. She and George were the lucky ones, she had said, because they would get to have Andy, and Anna, live with them. They were glad to have found them after such a long time.

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George had looked huge, to Anna from where she had sat quietly beside him, and listened to Molly’s lilting voice. He was well over six feet tall, a large boned, broad shouldered man, who seemed to dwarf the interior of the car. Molly a fined boned woman, with delicate hands and soft-spoken voice was a beautiful woman then, and still was even after all these years. George always in shape had been going strong until diagnosed with cancer eight months ago. Anna realized that Molly and George had both aged well, they didn’t look much older than they had seventeen years ago. Awareness of the scenery she sped by registered when she noticed how lovely the budded trees, and freshly mowed grass along the highway appeared. When she realized she needed gas and wanted a cappuccino to keep her awake on her fourteen hour trip, she pulled into the next station. Shutting off her car engine, Anna opened the door of her white compact sports car. When long, bare legs, with tan sandals attached to slender feet slid out of the car, an appreciative man issued a low wolf whistle from the next gas pump over. Anna smiled at the good-looking man, then gave him a quick wave with a flick of her wrist. He discreetly watched as the gorgeous female fully stood up. When she turned her back toward him and shut her car door, it gave him a glimpse of the outlined curve of a tight behind under stylish, mid thigh length shorts she wore. I bet the cheeks of her ass would fit nicely in the palms of my hands, he thought. Anna, unaware of the man’s continued appraisal, would have been mortified if she’d been privy to what flitted through his mind. As the gas flowed, she leaned back against her car and glanced over at the good-looking man who had whistled. Bet he’s married, she thought, knowing the number of married men who hit on her and her friend Charlee, were about the same number as single men who had shown interest in them. Shifting, Anna pulled her gaze from the man. I don’t trust people enough. Maybe, that’s why I’ve never found anyone who even remotely, made me want to settle down. As Andrew would tell me, I have let our early childhood experiences affect my judgment. Although… now Charlee, Anna smiled to herself, she’s another story. She seemed to be able to fall in and out of love all the time.

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Anna glanced over at the man again. Maybe there’s something wrong with me? No, I’ve always just been interested in other things besides a romantic relationship with a man. Nothing had ever been said verbally, but Andrew and she had picked up on Molly and George’s apprehension, when, as young adults, they’d begun to take an interest in the opposite sex. Click. The sound of the gas pump as it topped off her gas tank pulled Anna’s attention back to the car. Done filling her car, she retrieved her purse and headed for the store. “See ya honey,” a male voice called out. When Anna turned the same good-looking man who had whistled earlier looked back at her. He waved good-bye, and blew her a kiss. Smiling at him, she turned and walked across the parking lot to the front of the store. When she strolled out of the store a few minutes later, she carried a large, steaming cup of French vanilla flavored cappuccino in her hand, she had to laugh, a hot cup of cappuccino on an unusually warm, early summer day.

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Chapter 2 Planet Garr Seven months prior Striding up massive wide stone steps, and then past large columns of pillars leading to the High-Commanders private chambers, the large corrugated stone that made up the floor of the Government Palace resounded with the sharp, clipped sound of Traun’s polished, knee high, black leather boots. Traun, after within just the past hour, returned to the city from a month long battle in Sector Nine, the High Commander having ordered him there a month ago, was emotionally as well as physically exhausted. The Palace guards who quietly watched their High Commander’s Army Major approach saw only a strong confident man none of his inner turmoil or physical exhaustion was visible under their watchful eyes. Nodding to the sober faced guards before the receiving chamber doors, Traun strode confidently on into the private chambers. The twelve foot high wooden doors were heaved shut behind him. The High Commander and his lifemate regally and proudly watched as Traun’s long stride brought him closer to them. To the High Commander here was a man worthy of commanding a new world, a man who would rule with compassion and intelligence, a man who commanded respect. He had been bred to be a leader of men. Traun felt his mother’s love reach out to him when he was close enough to see the expression reflected on her face. “Mother, I am glad to see your lovely face once again,” leaning down he kissed her raised cheek. She patted his tanned face with a delicate hand. “I have been so worried about you while you were in Sector Nine,” she sighed.

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“Son,” the High Commander gruffly greeted. “Sit, sit.” He indicated the chair next to him. “Give your mother and me your report.” Traun lowered his tired frame into the massive, high backed chair. “Father, my report isn’t all good. We lost well over five hundred lives in Sector Nine,” his usual stoical control slipped under his parent’s watchful eyes. He felt the bile rise as he remembered the month long, bloody battle he had just returned from. Shifting, Traun stretched out his legs and swallowed hard. His gaze lowered from his parents, he tamped down on the emotional reaction felt. After a long, painful moment, he looked back up. “I am sickened that so many lives were lost. The people attacked everyone. They ripped apart their own towns and homes in their rage and fury. My troops and I gradually worked our way through their destruction and gained control. Before we left the Leading Council members agreed to pass out the calming serum to all of the people as needed.” Gazing at his father, Traun allowed him to see his anguish felt. “Father, there were over a thousand, rioting citizens that my troops and I had to forcibly inject with the calming serum. Most are now remorseful of the destruction they wreaked on their own countryside. For how long, though, Father? How long before the people rise again over the grave injustice done to them? An injustice has been done to all of us by our ancestors.” “What errors we and our ancestors have made over our lifetimes, all in the search for the perfect living specimen, the perfect cure all, and the perfect world,” his mother stated. Her heart ached at the loss of lives, and the loss of future generations for the world of Garr. The emotion she felt was apparent on her delicate aging face as she brushed away the moisture gathered at the corner of her eyes. “Traun,” his father gravely began as he watched his lifemate. “We received an urgent report while you were in Sector Nine from the Watchers’ of the Skies. It’s been noted, the wormhole has begun its one thousand year stirring.” “What? We should have another year before the wormhole path opens.” “The date must have been entered into the Book of Wisdom wrong. You will have to begin preparations to leave on the morrow. Your brother has already begun the organization of the ships and supplies you’ll need for your trip, and as many animals as he can have loaded that will help in your

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survival on the new world. By the time you go to planet earth, pick up the Caretakers and their Transfers, then travel back to the wormhole to meet up with the other spaceships, this barely gives you enough time to unload your cargo, and for the spaceship crew and the ships they are on to travel back through the wormhole path before it closes again.” “Your aunt sent news from planet earth that your uncle has contracted the human wasting disease. We received her report soon after you departed for Sector Nine. Your uncle needs the Learned One’s healing medicine in order to get the disease under control as soon as you reach earth.” Fatigued, Traun felt anger swell inside, anger that he didn’t have the next year as thought, to become mentally better prepared for his life on the new world. And anger at the lost year he’d believed he still had with Avreen. If he was honest, he had looked forward to another year with her. He was not in love with Avreen, maybe never would have been. Or, he mused, it could be because he’d been aware since his younger years, what his expected life plan was, so had never allowed himself to fall in love with anyone on planet Garr. He knew, however, that he enjoyed her company. She had been a faithful lover, and companion during their relationship and deserved his consideration and respect in now ending it. After a month of celibacy, he looked forward to seeing her again. With this current news his father had just given him, he would now have to let her know that tonight would be their last. He hoped she didn’t begin to cry when he had to break the news to her, he was in no mood to deal with an emotional scene. Traun shifted in his chair as the underlying tension he felt made his neck cramp. And a headache had started to rake its claw’s across his brow. “Son, I know this is unexpected. Your mother and I cannot tell you how devastated we are to not have another year with you as thought. Your brother said to give you his love. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to be back in time to see you off. He was very disheartened when he and his lifemate left here last month.” Traun rose, his tall form causing his mother to have to crane her neck to look up at him. Rising gracefully, she gazed up at him. She wanted to imprint his image into her mind. For, once he was gone, she would never be able to look upon his beloved face again. Lovingly, she pressed her lips to his cheekbone when he leaned down and enfolded her into his arms. Her

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heart ached with the loss she already felt. The High Commander rose to his great height from where he sat. “Son, I love you with everything I possess. I shall miss your presence here on Garr. But, you are our last hope. Only through you and your children, will your mother and I live on. From the written reports we received from earth, your chosen lifemate seems to be someone you shall be able to find happiness with.” His chest tightening at the impending loss of his family, Traun replied. “Father, I shall be a High Commander you will be proud to call your son. I make a solemn vow. You and mother will live on through my sons and daughters and be remembered.” “Let’s go convene with the High Council members, and brief them on your report,” his father stated as he held back his own rush of emotion. Traun briefed the High Council members, and then said goodnight to his parents. When he left the Great Hall and walked out into the cool night air, he realized that what he needed before he proceeded on to Avreen’s was a relaxing bath and deep massage. When he strolled into the bathhouse moments later, the women clamored over each other to serve him. Gradually, Traun relaxed as his headache eased, and the woman behind him worked her magic, her fingers firm on his neck and shoulders. An hour later, when he stepped down into his waiting, hot bath, he slid into the deep pool of water with a sigh of appreciation. The steam rose, and swirled over his head. More than one of the females in the bathhouse was disappointed that the man they washed gave none any special attention, his mind on other more important matters. The dark eyed female who held the large towel ready to dry the High Commander’s son as he rose from his bath, was envious of whatever, or whoever had his thoughts so firmly captured. Roughly, she began to towel him dry. Unaware of the tumult of emotions he had caused among the women, Traun wondered what had angered the female attending him. He noted the dark eyed female dried him rather briskly. In fact, she practically, snapped the towel she held at his bare body he thought in alarm as he stepped back from her. He reached out, and grasped the end of the towel, pulling it from

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her fingers before she could cause any damage to his exposed body parts. “I believe I can handle it from here,” he told her, he smiled questioningly when she pouted up at him. Spinning on her heels, the woman exited through swinging doors. Traun shook his head in bewilderment, he was curious as to what it was he had done to her. Making short work of drying off, he dressed again in freshly laundered clothes and strolled out into the brisk night air. He was anxious to see Avreen. When he reached the front of her home, he took the steps two at a time. With a raised fist, he pounded on her door. **** Avreen heard the news of Traun’s arrival several hours earlier. She had hurried to complete her errands in the busy downtown market and then rushed home. Her excitement grew as the hours passed and she bathed and perfumed her body. She made sure his favorite drink was prepared and chilled properly. It was a beverage made as a specialty in the city. A drink that few men could handle before its potency rendered them out for the night. She knew Traun wouldn’t stop to eat before he came to see her so she made preparations for his favorite meal to be ready, and delivered when she called for it. Humming to herself, Avreen was happy with life in general. Just that day, she’d received the good news she had worked so hard to achieve this past month. After Traun had left for Sector Nine, she’d learned the horrifying news that he was to leave for the new world within two month’s time, not in another year, as had previously been thought. With this news, she furiously, began to plead with the High Council members to allow her to take the place of a Volunteer scheduled to relocate on the new world, who unfortunately, had taken her own life. The young woman’s body was found by her aging parents who still grieved over the senseless loss of their only child. They couldn’t understand the note left by her bedside, she who had approached them, and asked permission to sign up to be a Volunteer to relocate on the new world. Three weeks, she had patiently worked to convince the High Council members, why she, Avreen, would be an excellent candidate as a Volunteer for the new world. Today, she finally received their consent. And, why

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shouldn’t they have chosen me? she thought. She was the child of a Leading Council member of Sector Twelve. Moreover, she had taken it upon herself to learn the language of the earth people. Although, they should have learned the language of Garr, while they waited for transfer to the new world, she thought with a scoff at her thoughts of the Transfers located on planet earth. The High Council members had informed her they were impressed with her intelligence, and her willingness to give of herself for the continued survival of their race. The one drawback on their decision was that she was a fairly, new member of the army of Garr. She had not trained under the appointed High Commander, who was to be sent to rule over the people relocating on the new world. In fact, she was still in basic training. Nevertheless, they felt with her family’s background, and the abilities she had shown so far in her army training, she would be an asset on the new planet. Avreen made certain none of the High Council members knew of her relationship with Traun, fearful they wouldn’t give their consent for her go if they had had prior knowledge of it. Uncertain of how Traun would react, she planned to keep the news to herself. She was confident he wouldn’t become aware of the change in the listed names of Volunteers going to the new world, until it was too late to make any adjustments. In high spirits, she wrapped her arms around her waist, and twirled around her small city private home in wonder at what she had accomplished. I know that once he sees me on the new world, he will not take another lifemate but me, she thought confidently. In the two years we’ve been together, he hasn’t even wanted to see anyone else. I love him, love him, love him, she happily hummed. He will be pleased, I know he will, so pleased, that he will forgive me my deceit. When she heard his fist pound on her front door a wide smile spread across her face. She knew she was a welcome sight to Traun’s appreciative gaze when he grinned broadly at her as he stepped over the threshold of her doorway. Swiftly, he reached out and grabbed her around the waist. Pulling her toward him, even as he reached back with a foot and kicked her door shut. Effortlessly, he picked her up, and began to stride with her toward her bedroom. When he tossed her over onto the bed, the gown she wore slid easily down her body as he tugged at it, exposing her for his appraisal.

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Quickly, he stripped his own clothes, as he scanned her body. “Ah,” he groaned deeply, when he lowered his hard body next to hers. “I’ve missed this,” he ground out. Avreen smiled when Traun grinned handsomely down at her, eagerly she met his lips. All will be right in the new world, she thought happily. She later lay sleepily, alongside Traun, when he suddenly reached over and drew her to his side, wrapping an arm around her. She realized he planned to break the news to her of his leaving on the morrow. Raising her hand to his mouth, Traun gently, grazed her knuckles with his lips. “Avreen, this is our last night together,” he began. “I am leaving on the morrow.” “I know, Traun, I already heard the news in the city this past week. I’m glad we have this night together, since we won’t see each other for a long time.” Avreen held her breath when she realized what she’d just let slip. Untangling her fingers from the hand he held, Traun rolled over onto his side. Propping himself up on his elbow, he faced her. “This is the last time we will see each other. You realize that don’t you? We discussed this at the start of our relationship and what was expected of me by our leaders. I must take a Transfer from planet earth for a lifemate, so that our race will be able to survive into the future. Where I’m going, I won’t be able to come back, the wormhole passage will close in twelve months time, not to reopen for another one thousand years. You and I will be long gone by the time that happens again, I’m saddened to say.” Avreen raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. She let her eyes well up her voice deliberately husky. “I know, Traun, it’s just that I can’t help but to dream.” As Traun looked down, his face softened, as he studied her. “I’m going to miss you and your gentleness,” he finally said before he let her ease his head down to her raised mouth.

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Chapter 3 Sioux Falls, South Dakota When Anna pulled into the driveway of her home that evening, she was bone-tired. She stepped out of the car, and leaned over touching her toes, stretching out her muscles. Two days on the road is enough for anyone, she thought, when she straightened. Looking toward the house, warmth washed over her when Molly stepped out onto the front porch. She ran to her. Molly opened her arms and enfolded her within them as she squeezed her hard. “I’m so glad your home, Anna. George will be happy to see you. He misses you when you’re away.” Her arms wrapped around Molly, Anna hugged her. Then she pulled back to look at her, “How is George?” “He’s holding in there, the chemotherapy is so rough on him though,” Molly responded. Arms wrapped around each other’s waist, she and Molly entered the house. “Where’s George now?” Molly patted her arm. “He went to lie down. We just got back from the hospital. He received a round of chemo today, and when we got home he said he felt tired and wanted to rest. But, you go on up, I’ll bring your bags in from the car and put them in your room.” Anna braced herself for any changes in George’s appearance as she climbed the stairs to the master bedroom. Molly had asked her to try and not show her shock by how much weight he’d lost. George, always a man in charge, did not like anyone to feel sorry for him. Knocking on the bedroom door and hearing George’s, “Come in,” Anna walked into the dimmed bedroom. She paused just inside the doorway while

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her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Then as she was able to see George lying on the bed, a ripple of shock coursed through her to see how thin he did actually look. Quickly, Anna schooled her face to mirror only her pleasure at seeing him. “Anna, come in, come in,” George exclaimed, he held out a hand to her. Eagerly crossing the bedroom floor, Anna grasped George’s extended hand. “How are you feeling?” she asked with concern. “Molly said you had a round of chemo today.” “I feel good, considering. Don’t want to dwell on it though. We have to do whatever must be done to control the cancer. How was the drive down? Not too hard on you, I hope. Look at you. You’re prettier every time I see you.” Leaning down to kiss his cheek, Anna replied as she sat down on the edge of the bed, “I’m good, a little tired from the drive down. I wish you had let Molly call Andrew and I when you first found out you had cancer. I would have come home earlier to be here for you. Andrew would have requested permission to have left the base to come home if he had known.” “Now girlie, don’t you worry about me. I wanted you to finish your studies. Besides, Andrew will be here in two weeks time and you both will be here for the summer.” Anna shook her head at George as she looked at him. “Still I would have been here for you and Molly.” George smiled. “You’re here now.” Scanning his face, she could tell he was tired. “George, I am going to go help Molly bring my suitcases in from my car. She says the chemo makes you really tired, so I want to let you rest. In a couple of hours I’ll come back, okay?” He squeezed her hand. “I do seem extra tired tonight. Let me rest for awhile. You come back when you get settled in.” Anna stood up from the bed and turned to leave when George asked, “Anna?” “Yes?” she looked back in concern. “You know how much I love you and Andrew don’t you?” “I’ve never had a doubt since you brought us here to live. Why do you ask?” “Just wanted to make sure you knew.”

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“We knew, George. We knew.” Anna eased the door shut as she watched his eyes close. Molly glanced up from the kitchen counter when she walked in the kitchen, then looked back down to the pale gray, granite counter top, where she tore the leaves from a head of lettuce she was preparing into a salad for the evening meal. “How did it go?” “He was tired and, as usual, worried about Andrew and me. I’m glad you warned me about how much weight he’d lost. He’s always been such a large force. I was shocked at how frail he appeared. Are the doctors predicting anything different than from the last time we spoke on the phone?” “They’re still trying to get the cancer in remission, if not, it’s the same prognosis. He might have six months to a year they say. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Andrew called while you were up with George. He says he should be here next weekend, instead of another two weeks as originally thought. He finished with his tests early and his supervisors gave him approval to leave early, because of George’s condition.” “George will be glad to hear that.” Anna swallowed back her emotional response to George’s prognosis if the chemotherapy didn’t take. Molly motioned toward the table when she sat the salad bowl she carried down. “Come and sit down and let’s eat. George won’t be able to hold anything down, so we’ll let him rest.” Walking over to the set table, Anna pulled out a cushioned chair, and sat down across from Molly. They caught up on each other’s news between bites of grilled steak and salad. After the meal, both still chattered away to each other while they cleaned up the kitchen. Anna retold the tale Charlee had told her about Aliens living among them. While she laughed over her friend’s imagination, she noticed that Molly didn’t laugh at the story, just looked down at the plate she was drying and smiled rather sadly. Peering closely at Molly, she took the dishtowel out of her hands, and gently shoved her toward the door. “Go, I’ll finish up in here. Go upstairs and check on George as I know you want to. I’ll stop by before I go to bed.” Anna glanced at the kitchen clock, which glowed the time as eleven pm. “It’s late, time for us to call it a night anyway.” When Molly walked out of the kitchen, Anna turned back around to the

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kitchen sink. How weird, she thought when her eyes caught movement out the window. She leaned in closer to the kitchen window for a better view. Squinting, she thought she saw another flash of light, but then it was gone. Must’ve been a falling star, she thought as she pulled back from the window. Drying her hands a few moments later, she folded the dishtowel she held, and laid it on the counter. Walking out of the kitchen, she flipped the lights off. Rapping lightly on Molly and George’s bedroom door, a low murmur of voices drifted through the doorframe. Anna thought she heard the distinct, deep sound of a man’s voice, besides that of George. Perplexed, she wondered when the visitor had arrived. Rapping lightly again on the door with her knuckles, she patiently waited. A second later, Molly stepped through the doorway and closed the door firmly behind her. “Molly? Does George have a visitor this late at night? I didn’t hear the doorbell ring.” Molly lowered her eyes from Anna’s direct gaze, and shifted uneasily, “No, honey, it’s just the television. Why don’t you visit with George in the morning? He’s exhausted tonight. Today’s chemotherapy treatment was particularly hard on him.” Anna wondered why Molly seemed to act edgy. Probably just nerves, she thought, deciding to let George rest. She reached out and gave Molly a hug, then pulled back. “Let George know I stopped by. A hot bath sounds delicious right about now. I’ll see you both in the morning, love you,” she stated, as she walked away. “Love you too, sweetheart.” Molly watched Anna enter her bedroom, then turned and entered hers. She saw Traun and George looking at her. “Did she hear me speaking with Uncle?” Traun asked. Molly sighed as she walked over to the bed and sat down beside George. He reached over and took her hand. “She heard, but I told her it was the television set.” “Is she the chosen one?” Glancing at Molly, George squeezed her hand. He nodded his head to Traun. “Yes, she’s the chosen one.” Traun wondered what the woman with the soft, melodic sounding voice

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looked like. He mentally shrugged, and turned his attention back to George. It didn’t matter what she looked like. What needed done, he would do, just as he had told Avreen their last night together on Garr. He must do his duty for the sake of their people even if he didn’t look forward to taking an unknown lifemate. Reaching into the square black container he held, Traun handed his uncle the bottle of small, white pills. “The Learned One said you are to take two of these pills a day, until they are gone. Don’t miss any. There are enough for thirty days, which is the complete treatment cycle for the human disease you’ve contracted.” Molly reached over and took the bottle from George. “Don’t worry I’ll make sure he takes all of them as needed. We were concerned that you wouldn’t make it in time. We sent the message eight months ago.” “Is that why you started the human’s barbaric treatment for the illness, instead of waiting for the Learned Ones healing pills?” Traun looked from George to Molly. “Yes,” Molly answered. “The wasting disease spread fast and we needed to do something to slow it down, until you got here.” “Traun, pull that chair over to the bed, it’s hurting my neck having to look up at you,” George instructed as he rubbed the back of his neck with a large hand. Walking over to where his uncle indicated, Traun picked up the wooden chair and carried it back to George’s bedside. He lowered himself down onto its polished wooden seat and stretched out his legs, as he crossed his feet at the ankles he returned his uncle’s gaze. “Uncle, I don’t have good news to report from home. My delay for the eight months to get here instead of the usual six is that our world is in chaos, there was a rebellion in Sector Nine that took me a month to quell. We’ve restored peace and order for now, by giving the troubled ones a higher dose of injections to stabilize them.” Molly gasped, “How are the High Commander and my sister?” she asked. Traun felt his throat tighten with emotion. “Mother is holding in there, aunt. Her and father both feel strongly the pain of the people. As well as their own, for what has happened to our world.” Traun looked back over at George. “Uncle, you must be prepared to

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leave in three weeks time.” George and Molly drew back in surprise. “We have another year for our plan to be put into place,” George exclaimed. “No, there was a miscalculation, the wormhole is open now. We have three months left in which to go through the passageway, before the door closes again. I have three ships on their way as we speak with supplies and the Volunteers. We’re scheduled to meet up with them at the wormhole passage in two months time.” Traun stood and pushed his chair back. “Uncle, aunt, be ready to leave, when I return.” Rising from the edge of the bed where she sat, Molly hugged the man before her. “Goodbye, Traun.” Nodding at his aunt and uncle, Traun reached across his midsection and pressed the device attached to his belt, in seconds where he had stood was now air. Turning, Molly met her lifemate’s gaze with her own. Concern was reflected in both their eyes as they looked at each other. “George, I don’t know how Anna and Andrew will respond to this. With it having to be sprung on them so fast now. A year would have given them the time needed to come to terms mentally, and emotionally, with what we have to tell them.” George sighed tiredly at Molly’s comment, he reached down and adjusted the blankets that lay over his legs. “Come to bed, Molly. We’ll break the news to them both next week and pray they’ll come willingly with us.”

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Chapter 4 Anna leaped up from the lounge chair where she lay by the swimming pool when she heard the doorbell chimes at the front door the following weekend. Grabbing her bathing suit cover she pulled it on over her head, then paused for a second in her flight, as she slipped on a pair of flip-flops before she ran on to the front door. “Molly, George,” she yelled through the house, as she ran. “Andy’s here.” Sliding to a stop on the polished wood floors in front of the door, Anna slung the door open. “Andy! You’re finally home,” she squealed as she grabbed him by the neck, pulling him through the open doorway. Laughing, Andrew hugged her. “Come on sis, it’s only been a couple of months since we last saw each other. No need to be so dramatic.” Anna laughed in turn at his statement, and released her tight hold on his neck, “So, I still missed you.” Both turned at the sound of George and Molly’s approach from the living room. “Andrew, glad you’re home,” George exclaimed. He reached out to shake Andrew’s hand at the same time Molly reached to give Andrew a hug. Laughing over their antics, Andrew placed his arm across Molly’s shoulders. “With this kind of welcome, I’m glad to be home. George you look good. From Anna’s phone call, the morning after she arrived here last weekend, it didn’t sound like you were doing too well.” Anna, who stood beside George, patted him on the back. “He’s even gained three pounds back this week.” Embarrassed with all the attention, George harrumphed. “I’m doing a lot better than I was. Let’s go back into the living room and get caught up on your training this past year.” “I’ll go brew some tea for all of us,” Anna stated. “Well son,” George said as they walked toward the living room, “how

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are the Marines treating you?” Molly jumped up from her chair to help Anna when she walked into the room fifteen minutes later with a tray full of tall glasses of iced tea. Anna set the tray she held down on the end table beside George, and handed him a glass. Molly had already taken one for herself and Andrew. Turning, she walked over and sank down on the plush, brown sofa beside her brother as she took a sip of tea from her own glass held. Playfully, she punched her brother on the shoulder. “Every time I see you, I swear, Andy, you’re taller and broader in the shoulders.” With smiles, George and Molly looked on as Andrew playfully punched his sister back before he asked, “Well sis, what have you been doing with yourself this past week? Looks like you’ve gotten a lot of sun, as tanned as you are.” “George has been up and about, and doing so well, and looking better every day, I might add,” Anna, gazed tenderly over at George, “that I have just been taking it easy, swimming in the pool and relaxing,” she looked back at her brother. George and Molly looked at each other. They realized the time had come to begin their story. Molly kicked off her shoes, and pulled her legs up beside her. As if, by making herself smaller, it would protect her from the emotional onslaught she knew was about to occur. Becoming aware of the tension in the room, Andrew and Anna glanced over at George and Molly. George, his face ashen, looked back at the two. Both of the young adults began to rise when they noticed the look on his face. George waved his hand at them. “No, sit back down, both of you.” He took a deep breath, and then gradually let it out. “There is something Molly and I have to say that will shock, and probably be unbelievable to you. We hope you both will come to believe and forgive us for what we have done. Molly and I wrongly, believed, we had over a year to gradually explain the situation to you. However, due to circumstances beyond our control, it must be explained to you today, so we can have time to prepare for what needs to be done.” Anna and Andrew looked at Molly, when they noted her distress, they looked back toward George, fear clawed through both as they waited for George to continue. Andrew finally burst out, “Good God, George, what are you trying to

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tell us? You’re not dying are you?” “No, Andrew, in fact, I received the cure to my cancer this past week and should be healed within a month’s time.” The confusion felt over his strange comment was apparent as the two young people looked from George then to Molly who wasn’t saying a word, then back to George again. “Let me start at the beginning,” George told them. He dropped his eyes from their confused gazes and cleared his throat. When his eyes met theirs again he began his tale. “Molly and I come from a planet outside of this galaxy, called Garr. The world we knew, our world, is in chaos because of choices our ancestors made thousands of years ago. We as a people are now sterile between each other, but not outside of our race. Through experimentation, it has been found that we are identical to the human race, except for an extra chromosome we have. You both are a product of that experimentation, descendants of a people on the brink of extinction. There are ninety-eight others like you stationed in the United States. Both of you are half of human origin and half of Garr origin. It is your destiny to leave this planet, and travel with us to another world, a new world where we as a people will have a chance to save ourselves from extinction.” An hour later, he trailed into silence. He and Molly studied Andrew and Anna’s faces as they waited for their reactions to what they had been told. The two young people stared back at them, their faces drained of color. Anna, who had slipped from the couch to the floor, gazed in horror at the two people she had believed she knew and loved all these years. Andrew looked hard at George, “My sister and I are half-alien, halfhuman, and we are expected to leave earth in two weeks time? Not only leave earth, but marry one of your, kind, in order to help preserve your race when we reach this unknown planet you spoke of?” his voice and eyebrows rose with his disbelief. “Yes” “Shut up!” Anna screamed at the three occupants in the room as she lunged to her feet. All three jumped. Molly burst into tears. Anna looked at George. The panic-stricken emotion she felt clearly visible on her pale face. “You expect Andrew and me too willingly, travel to another world and marry some

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unknown person? Jesus Christ,” she breathed as she gazed in disbelief at the stranger before her. “Well, let me tell you something! This half breed isn’t going anywhere.” She stomped out of the living room, and then took off in a panic for the front door, when she believed Molly attempted to stop her. “Anna, please try to understand!” Molly seeing Anna flee out the front door away from her turned back toward George. “What have we done?” she cried before she too whirled away and left the room. When she walked back into the room a few minutes later, both George and Andrew sat silent. Molly paused just inside the doorway, and looked at Andrew, his stunned and bewildered look at her caused sorrow at their deceit to shaft through her. At Molly’s return, George shook himself out of his shock at Anna’s outburst. “Where does the monitor show she is headed?” he asked. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Andrew jerked at his question. Another mystery he would have to explain, he thought with a silent sigh. Wiping at her eyes, Molly replied. “She’s headed over to see her friend, Charlee.” “Son?” George hesitantly began, once he was reassured of Anna’s whereabouts. He reached out a pleading hand to Andrew. “Please say you will listen to us.” Taking a deep breath, Andrew looked back at George and his extended hand. “Apparently, you have monitored our movements from the time you obtained us from Frank and Sue. I guess I can understand that. After we were conceived having lost us once, you couldn’t afford to lose us again, could you?” he asked bitterly. He held up a hand, and stopped George when he started to explain. “I don’t want to know how it’s done, George. At this point, I don’t think I can take much more. Just explain to me about Frank and Sue, who were they? Who exactly are Anna and I, and who are you and Molly?” In need of her husband’s emotional support, Molly walked back over to George and sat down on the arm of his chair. When she heard Andrew’s question concerning his human parents, she was unable to contain the anger she felt toward the situation and burst out angrily at his inquiry. “They were horrible people.” “Molly, no,” George told her, he patted her hand to be quiet. “Sue was

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your human mother, Frank her husband. Your donor parent from where you obtained our genetics is on our home planet of Garr, although getting up in age. We don’t expect that he will survive the winter. Molly and I would never consent to being donors, we submitted our names to be Caretakers instead, and were chosen by the Council in that role. Thus, we were assigned to yours and Anna’s case when your original Caretaker failed to report in at the usual time. You and Anna are descendants of a high-ranking Council Member, your father has served on the Council his entire life.” At Andrew’s questioning look, George explained. “A High Council member is a high-ranking official who serves his or her world, for the betterment of others.” “As I said earlier, we as a race are now sterile, it happened suddenly and without warning. Approximately one thousand years ago, our Learned One’s were successfully able to use germline manipulation for designer babies. This resulted in the people of Garr being mandated to use the technology for the betterment of our race. We now have a lifespan of around one hundred and fifty to two hundred years. Molly and I are approaching one hundred years of age. Molly’s ninety eight and I am ninety nine years old.” “My God,” Andrew gasped. “You both look and act like someone who’s in their middle forties.” After Andrew’s stunned statement, George continued. “Our Learned One’s failed to realize until it was too late the sterilization process that was happening between the people of Garr. We are sterile within our own kind, but not outside of our race. We as a world are dying off as each generation reaches their expected life span. I am the last of my family line, Molly has one sister, and two nephews left in her family. Our world is in war, over decisions made to make our people supreme beings. In order to save ourselves from continuing down the path to total annihilation and preserve humankind as we know it to be. It was decided by our High Commander. And, the High Council members, to select certain Volunteers and Caretakers to start over on another world with Transfers from earth like you and Anna, who could breed with our people. It is to be a new beginning.” Growing quiet, George watched the young man across from him. “How did you come to be here on earth?” “Our High Commander and High Council members made contact with the U.S. government some forty odd years ago. In exchange for our

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advanced technology, they would let us use artificial insemination with a participating human female, using the sperm from our donors. The humans were paid for their contribution. They were told that a family who desperately wanted children was sterile and would pay for their help. It was understood that upon the birth of the child, the child was to be handed over to the family.” “This is where Frank and Sue come into the story,” Andrew stated as he leaned back on the couch. The emotion George and Molly heard in his voice reflected the underlying tension he felt. George nodded in agreement then continued. “The Caretaker assigned to yours and Anna’s case decided for whatever unknown reason and without the Council’s knowledge or permission to leave you with your human parent’s until Anna was born.” “From what we understand, in reading over the Caretaker’s last written logged report, is that Frank began to demand more money right after Sue’s conception with Anna, or he was not going to let us have either of you. It’s not understood why the Caretaker didn’t notify the Council Members of Frank’s demands or what Frank’s hold was on the Caretaker. The night Anna was born, the Caretaker just suddenly disappeared. He stopped reporting in with the Council Members, and nothing else was logged in his written reports. We’ve searched for him, but he’s never been located since.” Andrew frowned. “He’s dead.” “How do you know that?” George asked puzzled by Andrew’s statement. “I overheard Frank as he told Sue about the incident the same morning they brought Anna and me to you and Molly. From what Frank said, it was an accident. How much did we cost your authorities?” “It had been agreed upon between Frank and Sue, and the Caretaker, that they were to be paid one hundred thousand at your birth and another one hundred thousand at Anna’s birth. In the end, two hundred and fifty thousand was paid for Anna, which was what I gave Frank, the day we got you both back. Frank even tried to demand more money the day they handed you children over to Molly and I.” “Where are they now?” Andrew snarled. His anger at the two people in his life who had mistreated him and his sister in their childhood rose within him again after so many years of it lying dormant.

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George answered his question gently. “They’re both dead. Robbed and killed while at a bar was our last report, two months, after given the final payment. The police report stated they had bragged around the bar about having lots of cash. Later that same night they were seen sitting, and talking, with a man who no one seemed to know or was willing to say anything about to the authorities. The bar owner found them in their car when he closed the bar that night. The money was never located.” Walking over to Andrew, Molly tentatively, touched him on the shoulder with her fingertips. “I’m sorry for the pain we have caused, Andrew.” Andrew looked up at her then reached up and closed his fingers around hers in a gentle grasp. No matter whom these people were. He still loved them. Molly was particularly special to him. He had always tried to please her and make her happy. It didn’t matter that he was confused or hurt. Seeing her upset troubled him more. **** Anna ran until she reached Charlee’s house, four blocks down the street. Confident, she was home since Charlee had called earlier and said she’d made it home that morning. Pounding on the door while ringing the doorbell at the same time, she burst through the door as Charlee started to open it, making her stagger back in surprise. Open mouthed, Charlee stared at Anna. She watched as Anna gasped for air, her chest rapidly rising, and falling, underneath the bathing suit cover up she wore. “What in the world is wrong with you?” Feeling like a fish flopping out of water, Anna sucked for air. With her flip-flops clasped tightly in her left hand, she tried to catch her breath. She had run full out for four complete blocks. She finally sucked in enough air to wheeze out, “I’m an alien, Charlee.” A startled burst of laughter erupted out of Charlee’s mouth, as she closed her door. “Anna, have you been smoking some wacky weed?” “No, Charlee, I am telling you,” Anna exclaimed as she rose from her bent over position to look Charlee in the face. She breathed in deeply. “I just found out Andrew and I, are aliens!”

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Charlee now laughed outright at her. “Anna, come off it. Ha, ha, okay you got me. You had me scared at first that something was seriously wrong.” With the emotional roller coaster ride she had just been on, Anna burst out into tears at her friend’s laughter. Charlee realized there really was something serious going on here. She took Anna by the shoulders, and turned her toward the living room. “You go sit on the couch, catch your breath, and let me get us something to drink.” “Here you go,” Charlee handed Anna a cold soda when she returned. She sank down on the other end of the sofa, and drew her legs up so she sat Indian style facing her friend. “Now, I’m going to sit here quietly while you tell me what exactly is going on.” Raising her glass she sipped her soda as she watched her friend shakily take a drink. Haltingly, Anna began to retell the tale George had told to her and Andrew earlier that evening. When she finished, she looked at Charlee. Her hands trembled as she took a sip of her cold soda. “Well?” “Well what?” Charlee fired back as excitement churned. She tried to stay calm in the face of Anna’s distress. Yet, she couldn’t contain herself. “Anna, it’s fantastic! What have I been telling you all this time? I knew they were among us. And what did you do, you just laughed at me for my theories.” Charlee grabbed Anna’s hand. “I want to go with you.” In shock, Anna stared at her friend. “Charlee, you don’t understand. I’m not going anywhere.” Charlee looked back at her in surprise. “What are you going to do? You’re the type of person that has to have your family around you. And, they are your family, Anna. You know you love Molly and George dearly, why you can’t go for two days without having to talk to them.” “What about you and Lance, I thought you two were serious?” Charlee grimaced, “When I arrived at his apartment, he had another girl there with him. I walked in on them and they weren’t just talking when I walked in, if you get my drift.” “I’m sorry, Charlee.” Concealing the hurt she still felt, Charlee shrugged it off. “I assume Andrew’s going?” “I don’t know. When I left, he was just sitting on the couch looking at George.”

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The phone rang beside Anna, making her jump. Reaching around her, Charlee picked it up. “Hello,” her gaze cut over to Anna as she listened to whatever was said on the other end. “I think it would be best if she spent the night with me.” She listened again to the voice on the other end of the line. “Yes, I’ll let her know.” “Who was it?” Leaning back on the sofa, Charlee handed Anna the phone. “Your brother, he said to tell you everything will be alright and for you to come back home early in the morning, so you two can talk.” “How did he sound?” “He sounded fine as far as I could tell.” Charlee glanced at her watch. “It’s midnight, Anna. Let’s go on to bed. I’ll wake you early in the morning, so you can go talk to your brother. Everything will be clearer to you in the morning you’ll see.” **** Gazing up at the white ceiling above her head, Anna lay wide awake when Charlee knocked bright and early at seven am on the bedroom door the next morning. “Come on in, Charlee,” tiredly she raked the hair out of her eyes, as she sat up. She had tossed and turned the entire night. Her remorse felt at George’s stricken look when she had yelled had caused her to sleep fitfully throughout the night. Opening the door to the bedroom, Charlee strolled into the room. “How do you feel this morning?” Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Anna stood, and then grimaced when the soles of her feet took her weight. The pounding they had taken the evening before, from the cement sidewalk between her house and her friend Charlee’s, had made them tender. Covering her mouth with her hand, Anna yawned wide. “I couldn’t sleep all night long, but I did come to a decision.” Charlee held out a pair of faded jeans and a shirt of her own. “And what have you decided?” she asked, as Anna took hold of the clothes. “I thought long and hard all night about everything that was said yesterday, and came to the conclusion, there is no way I’m going to a strange planet and be a breeder, of all things. Who ever heard of such a

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stupid thing to expect someone to do? I seriously doubt that Andrew agrees to go either. If they have happened to have talked him into it,” Anna shrugged a shoulder, “I guess I’ll be here by myself.” She suddenly sank down on the bed behind her and looked at her best friend in dismay. “What if he does decide to go?” she half-whispered. “And with Molly and George gone in two weeks time, too, I don’t think I’ll be able to survive. Andrew and I have always been there for each other and I do love Molly and George, even after everything that was said last night.” Anna jumped back up from the side of the bed she had just sunk down on. “I have to hear what Andrew has decided to do. As soon as I take a shower and get dressed, I’m going home.”

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Chapter 5 Anna hurried the four blocks home. With her goodbyes said to Charlee and her promise to call as soon as she talked with Andrew, she was anxious to hear what Andrew had to say. All was quiet when she opened her front door and stepped into the hallway. Treading toward the kitchen, she could hear the low murmur of voices as she got closer. The three occupants in the room stopped talking, and looked at her when she stepped through the doorway. Their breakfast remains evident in front of them. Unable to meet Molly or George’s eyes, Anna looked everywhere in the room, but toward them. “I want to talk only to my brother.” Pushing back his chair, Andrew stood. “Let’s go into the living room. We’ll talk there.” Pivoting, she left the kitchen. When Andrew noticed Molly’s pinched face, he laid his hand on her shoulder. “She’ll come around, Molly, you’ll see.” He lightly squeezed her shoulder before he left. Anxiously, Anna waited for her brother, her legs curved under her on the couch were she sat. Closely, she watched Andrew’s expression when he strolled into the living room seconds behind her and took a seat in one of the cushioned chairs beside her. “I am going,” he stated, breaking the silence of the room. Anna’s breath drew in sharply at his statement. “I can’t stay here without you, Andrew!” “Then you need to make up your mind, Anna. We have to be prepared to leave for our journey within two short week’s time. You can’t take time waffling between whether to stay or go.” At Andrew’s sharp tone, Anna stared at him. Her brother had always been someone she could rely upon to support her. Someone she always ran

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to when her feelings were hurt or when she needed a shoulder to cry on. He had always been her number one defender. Hurt, she burst out, “I can’t go Andrew. I just can’t!” “Your decision is going to devastate Molly and George.” Anna wiped at her tears. “I know it will. I can’t grasp that you and I are part of another world.” She looked at her brother returning his gaze. Who were they, she and her brother? Charlee accepted her tall tale of being part alien. Anyone else would consider her crazy. “Tell Molly and George, I’m waiting in here to talk to them myself over my decision. I still love them, Andrew, even knowing they’re not of human origin. I don’t want to hurt them. The thought of leaving earth and traveling to another unknown world is too scary. And to think, we are expected to marry strangers. A stranger, who I’m expected to breed with, it’s repugnant,” she shuddered with distaste. Andrew sighed at Anna’s words. He studied his fingertips for a moment then looked back up at her. “Wait here then, I’ll go tell Molly and George of your decision.” Rising from his chair, Andrew gazed down at his sister for a moment. He wanted to explain to her what he already knew from talking with George long into the night, that the choice really wasn’t hers to make. The decision of them going to the new world had been made years ago, by the people of Garr. Andrew hesitated with indecision, before he decided against trying to explain it. George and Molly still sat at the kitchen table where he had left them. The look of fear and hurt reflected on their faces caused Andrew to hurt in turn. He sat down across from them, and splayed his fingers in front of him on top of the table. “She says she can’t go. The thought of being used as a breeder is repugnant to her.” “You didn’t tell her there was no choice in the matter, she is going to have to go whether she wants to or not?” “No George, I thought it would be best if she believed the decision was hers to make. We’ll have to find some way, to convince her, that she wants to go.” George and Molly looked at Andrew, and then each other. They hated to have to do what it was they were about to explain. Yet, time was of the essence. They just hoped she didn’t put up too much of a fight. Tearfully, Anna looked up when her family came into the room where

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she waited. I’m going to miss them dearly, once they are gone, she thought as she watched them. Molly questioned if she had eaten breakfast. “I couldn’t eat anything now even if I wanted to,” she replied, as she felt the prick of tears. “Then just drink the coffee,” Molly told her gently, as she handed her the cup she held. Gradually, Anna felt the tension leave her shoulders as she sipped the steaming coffee from the cup she cradled in her hands. She looked over at Andrew and George. When her eyes met George’s he leaned toward her. “Anna, Andrew tells Molly and me that you have decided not to leave with us in two weeks.” “I can’t George. I am sorry if my decision hurts you and Molly.” Anna glanced at Molly. Molly reached out and patted her leg. “We understand honey. However, are you sure this is what you really want to do? Why, just last night, you said the thought of a cosmic journey was exciting.” Anna felt confused. “I did? I don’t remember saying that?” she looked to her brother, he nodded that yes, she had, before he quickly turned toward George. She followed his gaze to George who shook his head in agreement, also. “You did girlie, you said that very thing.” How strange? Anna thought. She realized the tension she had felt since last night in her neck was completely gone. She raised the cup again and wondered why no one said anything. They all just watched her. Molly finally spoke. “I can see how you would have second thoughts of going. You love your recordings of music that you have collected over the years and since you can’t take the complete collection. Well…,” Molly shrugged. “It’s just that we’re going to miss you so terribly, now that you’ve changed your mind about going with us. Now we are going to be one person short on the new planet. Your change of heart will leave the one to have been paired with you, alone on the new world. It’s sad really,” Molly told her solemnly, shaking her head. “He will be all alone with no one and no children.” Anna frowned. That was a stupid reason for not going to a new world because she couldn’t take all of her music collection. She felt extremely sorry for the poor unknown man as she looked around at her family. She

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looked back at Molly and nodded her head, “Yes, it’s sad really, isn’t it Molly.” Andrew choked. “Are you okay, Andrew?” “I’m fine, Anna. Just finish your coffee,” he coughed into his hand again. “Charlee’s going with us or I’m not going. She has no one here, and would be all alone if she didn’t go too!” The three conspirators looked at each other in alarm. They hadn’t expected her sudden demand. George spoke up. “Anna we can’t allow her to go, she is not like you and Andrew. You are part of our genetic makeup, she isn’t.” “I demand that she goes too,” Anna stubbornly replied. She then begged, “Please, George.” Molly grasped George’s forearm. “George, Traun will just have to understand if we bring Anna’s friend with us. And, once she is on board the spaceship, he won’t be able to send her back.” Molly felt intense guilt over what they had just done. Her only consolation was that if Anna had been dead set against going with them, they would never have gotten her to change her mind, even with the laced coffee. And, it was better than the alternative, which would have been to drag her kicking and screaming with them. She would only give the serum to Anna for a few more days as needed, then cease with their deception. The drug would be out of her system within twenty-four hours after she stopped giving it to her. Unable to refuse Molly’s plea, George agreed. He couldn’t help but wonder if his decision would cause undue hardship later on for all involved. **** “What about me?” Charlee asked as she combed her hair. She looked in the mirror back at her friend, her chest tightened with hurt at the thought of losing her best friend. Anna had come back over the following evening after spending the night, to inform her she had changed her mind. That she was going to go with her family to the new world after all. “You are all I have left too, you know.”

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“Oh, you’re going,” Anna replied, surprised at Charlee’s question, since she had considered her friend while she had debated over what to do. She stood when Charlee turned toward her. “I made it an ultimatum, you go, or I didn’t. Finish getting dressed and we’ll go get the items Molly says she needs from Nybergs Ace.” Anna was still somewhat confused that she had changed her mind in going to the new world. She had really believed she was dead set against leaving. Only after she had talked to her family, had she suddenly realized that she wanted to go. In fact, she found that she looked forward to facing the challenges of the upcoming journey. Even the thought of marrying a complete stranger and what was expected from that marriage had lost its touch of unreality. The next two weeks were a whirlwind of activity in the two households that prepared for their upcoming cosmic journey. George informed the young adults that they were allowed to bring their clothes and ten or twelve personal items they felt they couldn’t live without on the new world. Everything else would have to stay behind he told them. Anna and Charlee agreed that they should each bring different types of books on how to make homemade soap, candles, clothing, and of course, their botany books on identifying plant life. The earnest discussion, between the two was would it do any good to bring a book that identified plant life on earth. Since the plants on the new world may not have any resemblance to the plant life on earth. In the end, they reached an agreement that it couldn’t hurt to bring some of their plant books, just in case they might come in useful. **** As she sat in her bedroom, Anna mused over how fast the past two weeks had flown by since she had sat down with George, Molly, and Andrew, that emotional Sunday morning. The night after George had informed Andrew and her, of their mixed blood. She remembered how anxiously she had waited for George’s approval for Charlee to be allowed to go with them. After his agreement to her demand, she had sat and talked with them and had been able to reach an understanding of George and Molly’s world and what they were experiencing on their home planet. The

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four of them talked long into the afternoon. She was told by Andrew, what George had explained to him had happened to Frank and Sue. As she listened, she couldn’t help but feel sadness for them. That two people could be so self-centered, they had lost out on what life could have offered. Maybe it was George and Molly’s influence throughout the years as she grew from childhood, to adulthood that had softened her heart toward the two people from her childhood she had tried so hard to forget. She and Andrew’s life had been hard before Molly and George had finally found them. Once she had decided to go to the new world, she decided to do so whole-heartedly. Charlee’s and her enthusiasm seemed to catch hold of her entire family. There was only one thing that she was still curious about and wanted to discuss with Molly, alone. Rising from where she sat on her bed, Anna walked out of her bedroom to go look for Molly. She found her in her bedroom packing the last of her and George’s personal items. Anna sat down on the king size bed in the large room. The flowered patterned down comforter dipped as she sat. Silently, she watched Molly’s busy form as she sorted through her and George’s clothes that hung in the closet. Memories of the sound of George and Molly’s laughter floating from the bedroom during her childhood came back to her as she patiently waited for Molly to take notice that she was in the room. George and Molly’s marriage was the type of marriage she hoped to have with her unknown, soon to be husband. They were secure in each other’s love. They knew that they could fight and disagree on occasion, but that the other partner would always be there for them. Molly glanced at her to where she sat. “I should have started packing earlier. Now with just two days before we leave, I have to rush. What are you up to?” “I’ve been curious about something, and need some answers.” Molly stopped sorting through the closet and turned toward her. “What’s on your mind?” “Well…I’ve been wondering, when George informed Andrew and me about settling on this new planet, with the Volunteers from Garr and the Transfers and their Caretakers from earth. He said we were expected to marry up with a Volunteer from the planet Garr whom, as I understand, the High Council members of Garr have handpicked. What I’ve wondered

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about, is do we have a choice on who we will be paired with? If not, I think we should have some say in the matter. What if the person from Garr that I’m paired with doesn’t care for me or me him? Although, you said that your people are just like us, what if I don’t find the person I’m paired with attractive? What if I find his habits repugnant and can’t live with him?” Sighing at her worries, Anna watched Molly, who had bent to tape close one of the box’s that held her and George’s clothes. She wrote her name across the top of the box in her neat and elegant handwriting before she rose and looked at her again. “You know that once I decided to go with you, I made up my mind to go willingly, and with an open mind. In fact, I’m actually kind of excited about the challenges that we may face when we reach this new planet. Although, if I’m to marry a stranger, I would at least like to know he is someone I can live with.” Molly laid the magic marker and boxing tape she held down on top of the box beside her leg. Silently, she walked across the plush carpet covered floor and sat down on the side of the bed. Smiling gently she reached a hand up, and pushed a strand of hair behind Anna’s ear. “Anna, everyone, but you, will be selected a lifemate by the High Commander transferring to the new world.” “I don’t understand, Molly.” “Let me explain. As you know, yours and Andrew’s donor father is a member of the High Council on Garr. As such, his request upon being a donor, was that a female being born of his seed was to marry the current Leader’s unwed son that would be going to the new world with us.” “Anna, that chosen son is my nephew. And sweetheart,” Molly looked at Anna her gaze unwavering, “I honestly believe you will find happiness with him. I haven’t seen him for the past twenty-three years, except for the night he delivered George’s pills for his cancer. I can remember him as a child, as being someone who cared for others. He was a sweet thoughtful boy then, and I expect, knowing my sister, he has grown into a caring and just man.” Studying, Molly’s expression, Anna chose the only option she had open to her and that was to put her faith in Molly’s judgment. “What is his name?” “Traun Gladumere.”

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“Traun Gladumere,” Anna rolled the name off the tip of her tongue, it felt right somehow. She smiled at Molly her sense of humor taking hold. “That, at least, sounds like a name that should belong to a strong and confident man.” She raised her right hand, her palm facing outward toward Molly. “I here do swear I shall do my utmost best to help populate the new world for the people of Garr.” “Anna!” Molly exclaimed, laughter spilling out at Anna’s solemn faced vow. She rose from the bed and pointed to the door. “Go to your room and finish your packing, young lady.” As she shook her head in amusement, Molly watched Anna walk out of the room. Confident that Anna and her nephew was a perfect match for each other. If only, she thought wistfully, my sister would have been able to see the grandchildren she is going to have from their match. Oh, what beautiful children they will have. A twinge of guilt was felt at what she had done to convince Anna that she wanted to go with them.

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Chapter 6 The Journey “Are you two girls ready to go aboard the spaceship?” Andrew asked two days later, when he strolled into Anna’s bedroom. He absently observed the stripped bedroom Anna had grown up in from a child. A room her and her gangly friend, Charlee, had grown up in actually. A room he remembered them mooning in over boys when they were in high school, and playing Anna’s growing collection of music. He remembered the giggling he had always seemed to hear when he happened to walk by the bedroom. Recalling how annoying he used to find it, since it seemed never to stop. Charlee and Anna sat on the floor, thumbing through the music recordings Anna had amassed over the years. “What do you two think you’re doing?” he asked, when neither of the girls bothered to answer his first question. “If you must know, we are picking out our most favorite CD’s to take with us. We are just about ready to go,” Anna replied, as she held out a compact disc cover for Charlee to look at. “What do you think about this one?” Charlee leaned over and read the title on the cover. “Absolutely, Anna, we have to take at least one recording of the Rolling Stones. They’re classic.” “George and Molly are waiting downstairs in the living room for all of us. George says to hurry up. He has already had the rest of our luggage transported on board the spaceship. Hurry it up,” Andrew told them, aggravated over their stalling. Anna and Charlee scrambled to their feet. Anna picked up her portable CD player. Her friend, Charlee, clutched her compact disc organizer in her hand, which held some twenty discs of the two young women’s favorite

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songs, sung by popular musicians of the past and present day. “We’re ready to go,” they both sang out simultaneously. When Andrew just continued to stand and gaze at her friend after they had told him they were ready, Anna arched an eyebrow. “Let’s get this show on the road, brother dear. Grab that box of batteries on your way out, will you?” she asked, when he suddenly seemed to become aware that they now waited on him. He quickly turned, and walked out of the room, grabbing the batteries Anna wanted to take. “There you are,” Molly exclaimed, when the three young adults entered the living room. “Come and stand beside George and I.” Three black belts dangled from her hand. “Here grab a belt and put it on.” “What are these for?” Anna curiously asked, as she turned the belt over in her hands and looked at both sides of it. “See those little black boxes?” Molly replied. “Yes, I see them,” Anna lightly fingered the box on her belt. “Those are transport power box’s linked to the ship.” Quickly, Anna yanked her fingers back from the small box she had been curiously examining. Molly laughed at Anna’s reaction. She motioned to them with her hand. “Come over here beside me and stand close to each other. Now, when George says to, you push the front of the box with your finger and hold it there. That will cause a message to be sent to the waiting spaceship to transport you up. Go ahead and put your belts on,” she instructed the wideeyed group. Nervously, Charlee and Anna looked at each other. “You scared?” Charlee asked. She couldn’t help but wonder if she had made the right decision in going to this new world with Anna and her family. Although, if she had stayed behind, who would she have here on earth? No one, she thought despondently. “I’m scared now,” Anna replied, careful not to touch the little black box with her fingers, afraid if she did so it would transport her up without the others. “Andrew you hold my boom box for me, will you?” When he turned toward her she handed it to her brother. Trying to still her quivering insides, Anna gazed around the living room that she had such fond memories of growing up in. Noticing the

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immaculately clipped shrubs out the large bay window, she felt a shiver of unease. What if this didn’t work out as planned? There would be no turning back for any of them. No more comfort of a safe place called home, to run too. Anna shivered at her thoughts. The soft murmur of voices between the other adults in the room drew her attention back to what George was saying. George gazed at the nervous faces of the three young adults who stood shoulder to shoulder in a semi circle before him. “Are you ready?” he asked. He chuckled to himself, when three heads nodded apprehensively back at him. “Then put your fingers on the front of the black box and push after the count of three; one, two, three, now.” “You can open your eyes now, sis” Andrew leaned forward and whispered in Anna’s ear. Cautiously, Anna peeped through her eyelids. Eyes rounding into surprised disbelief she looked around. Good God! she thought, this is just like the Star Ship Enterprise, except...wait a minute, she looked down at the floor of the platform she stood on, no, she thought, there are no lighted circles down there. Quickly, she looked back up and around the room. Where are Scotty and Captain Kirk to welcome us aboard she thought a bit hysterically. When she looked at Andrew and Charlee, she could see they were just as stunned as she was. Slowly their mouths spread into wide grins at each other. Anna raised her hands up to her shoulders and wiggled her fingers back and forth. Raising her eyebrows at her brother and best friend, she slowly, and with exaggeration, drawled out, “We’re…here….” George pointed to the wall left of him, “Take your transport belts off and hang them up over there,” he stated, as he smiled at Anna’s antics. “Molly and I will show you to your assigned quarters.” Geez, it’s eerily quiet, Anna thought, as she looked around. Except for a quiet hum, there was no other sound. “Does anyone know we are on board?” she asked Molly in a whisper, who stood beside her. “Yes, honey, they’re aware we are on board ship. In fact, we should have broken from earth’s gravitational pull within the few minutes we have been on board. Let’s all follow George out and find our sleeping quarters.” Molly smiled gently at the three young adults before she turned, and stepped in behind George, who strode out the door into the dimmed hallway. Single file, Anna, Charlee, and Andrew fell in line behind Molly who kept stride with George as he walked ahead of them. Superstitiously, the

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three young adults gazed all around. They stayed so close together they nearly tripped over each other. Five minutes later, George pointed to a door to the right of the corridor they were in. “Anna, this is your assigned quarters. Charlee will stay with you. Andrew, you are straight across the corridor from them. Molly and I will be on corridor two, where the other Caretakers are assigned, the corridor we are standing in is corridor four. All of the Transfers from earth are stationed on corridor three and four. Until you get oriented to the layout of the ship, just look for your corridor number above each entryway and your room numbers are above your doors, if you get turned around.” Picking up where George left off, Molly added, “To unlock the door, just enter your name and birth date in that box beside the door. You can change the code anytime you want after you open the door.” “Will you three be all right if Molly and I go on to our assigned sleeping quarters?” George looked at each of their faces, relief surged through him when they nodded their heads. He turned toward Molly and cupped her elbow in his hand. “Let’s go then Molly, I need to check in with Traun as soon as I can.” Andrew, Anna, and Charlee stood and watched George and Molly stride away, the dimmed lights in the corridor threw their shadows eerily on the wall. Turning toward the two girls, Andrew handed Anna back her boom box. “What do we do now?” Anna asked her brother laughing nervously. “I suggest we go into our assigned quarters and wait there. George or Molly will come back and get us if we need to go anywhere,” Andrew glanced at Charlee’s quiet form, then turned and strolled across the corridor to his room. Punching in his code, the door before him slid open with a soft swish. Andrew stepped into the room. The door closed quietly behind him with another soft swish of air sound. Anna punched in her name and birthday into the box, she and Charlee laughed nervously, when she messed up and had to start over. Finally, the door swished open. They cautiously walked into the room and looked around, both jumped nervously when the door began to close quietly behind them. Their eyes caught sight of two twin size beds in the room, straight across from the doorway they had just come through. The flat headboards of

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the beds slid snug against the wall. There was barely enough room to walk between the two beds they were positioned so close to each other. The young women agreed with each other, that the beds reminded them of hospital beds. The white covers were tucked in so tightly that not a wrinkle dared to be present on either of the beds. The room was stark and contained only the bare necessities. As the girls gazed around at the room, there appeared to be a small two-door closet, positioned slightly center of the room against the wall to their left. There was another door to what might lead into a bathroom on the wall to their right, all of the doors were pocket doors that slide into the walls. Everything seemed to be made of chrome or some other type of shiny metal they were not sure which. The only softness reflected in the room was from the covers on the twin beds. There was also a small, shiny metal writing desk, tucked up in the right corner of the room across from where they stood. It had a metal sitting stool under it, they then looked at each other with confusion at what appeared to be a complicated communication system on the wall behind the desk. Walking over to the closed door, Anna thought might be the bathroom, she pushed the black button on the wall before her. She watched as the door before her glided open. Glancing inside the small cubicle, she glanced back around to Charlee. “It’s the bathroom alright.” Closing the door, she walked over to the bed closest to her and looked at Charlee as she laid her compact disc player down on top of the bed’s tightly tucked in covers. “All the creature comforts of home don’t you think?” she asked, the slight frown on her face reflected her bewilderment at the starkness of the room. Charlee walked over to the double doors to the left of her, one of the doors quietly slid back when she lightly touched the black button positioned beside it. She observed some of Anna’s clothes hanging in the small closet, there were none of her own that she could see even after sliding the other door to the closet back. She looked back over her shoulder at Anna, “None of my clothes are in here.” “They aren’t?” Walking over to the small closet, Anna peered in around Charlee. “We will have to ask Molly and George where they are.” With a push of the button, Charlee closed the closet doors. “What do you think we should do now?” she asked. Anna confusedly looked back at her. “I don’t know.” She gazed around

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the stark room. “Why don’t we just sit on our beds and wait for George and Molly to come back.” Picking up her boom box from the bed, Anna placed it on the floor. She then kicked off her shoes, and crawled onto the center of the small bed. Charlee followed suit. Sitting down across from each other, they waited for George or Molly to show back up and inform them of what to do. **** “George, do you have to talk to Traun so soon?” Molly asked when they entered their assigned quarters. “I need to let him know what we’ve done as soon as possible. He’s our High Commander now. And, Molly you know, as well as I do that it was not right that I let Anna’s friend come with us without first consulting with him.” “I knew it wasn’t right, when I begged it of you. However, I couldn’t continue to see Anna upset. I’m just worried how he’ll respond to the news.” Molly walked over to where George stood and wrapped her arms around his waist looking up at him. Combing his fingers through her silky, short black hair, George kissed her on her upturned mouth. Reaching down he wrapped his fingers around her wrists and gently pulled her arms from around him. “The sooner I get this over with the better for all of us. You know that don’t you?” “Yes, I know.” Molly sighed, and then patted George’s chest with the palm of her hand. “Go ahead, call him.” She waved her hand toward the ships intercom system on the wall above the small writing desk. “Put it on speaker, so I can hear what he has to say,” she added as she turned away from him kicking off her shoes. George pushed the sequence for the Command Center, where he knew the High Commander would be, then said his name into the system. “Uncle, how are you and the Transfers settling in?” Traun’s deep voice asked over the ships communication system after a moment. “We are settling in our assigned quarters just fine.” George paused. “Traun, I called because I need to speak with you about something as soon as you are free.” “Is there some problem uncle?” Traun questioned back over the speaker.

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“No, no pressing issue, just something I need to discuss with you at your earliest convenience.” “Meet me in my quarters in half an hour. I need to brief the oncoming crew right now.” The intercom system went silent as the High Commander signed off. Thirty minutes later, George briskly strolled down corridor one, which contained the High Commander’s living quarters, private dining room, sickbay, and the ships briefing rooms. Gaining permission to enter, George stepped into the room. The High Commander’s quarters, was much like all the other sleeping quarters on the ship, very stark with only the bare necessities, except for a sitting area with a small round table with four chairs positioned around it. Traun sat in front of his computer at his desk across from the table. George could see the ships daily log report open before him on his computer monitor. Traun studied the monitor in front of him, he glanced back at George over his shoulder when he entered the room, and absently motioned toward the table. “Uncle, take a seat,” he told him, then turned back to the report. Clicking a button, he circled something on the report. Walking over to the table, George pulled out a chair. He couldn’t help but notice again, as he had on earth that the man in front of him had grown from the small boy he had known on Garr, into a self restrained formidable man, one who commanded your respect with just his demeanor. Traun finally slid the thin computer back and stood. Apparently finding the error in the report he had been looking for. “Uncle we are finally on our way to the new world. Are you ready for this adventure of ours?” he asked as he walked over and sat down at the table with him. Relaxing, George smiled. “I am ready. It has been over forty years in the making. Seems like it was just yesterday, your father and I were discussing the much desired contact made with planet earth. Your aunt misses her sister, she wishes she could have seen her one more time before we traveled to the new world. I too, wish we could have went back home one more time.” Traun sensed his uncle stalled for time before he told him why he had wanted to talk to him. “Uncle what is on your mind?” he finally asked, the

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rest of the report he had been going over needed his attention. George shifted sideways in his chair. Crossing his legs, he traced a large finger down the pleat of his brown trouser pants above his knee. Silently he wondered how to begin. “Traun, I approved for a friend of Anna’s to come with us to the new world. She is on board and in Anna’s assigned quarters.” Unflinchingly, George raised his eyes and met those of his High Commander. He watched Traun’s amenable expression stiffen and eyes harden as he looked back at him. He rushed to explain his decision. And, he continued to doggedly explain his decision, despite Traun’s stony silence. He explained how Anna refused to leave earth without her friend Charlee, and how upset Molly had been over the entire episode, what with the reaction Anna had toward them upon learning of her mixed blood. “Enough said,” Traun finally told him in a steely voice apparently tired of listening to his excuses. “Uncle you have overstepped your authority here. Not only did you go behind my back on this, but you waited to inform me of the situation when you knew there was nothing I could do about it.” Repressing the anger he felt toward his uncle, Traun leaned back in his chair and rested an arm on the back of another, as he gazed at his uncle. “Uncle I haven’t had time to check my reports to see if everyone who was approved to settle on the new world is still on that list. As you are aware there were one hundred Transfers from planet earth, and one hundred Volunteers from Garr, an even number of females and males from each group to pair up as lifemates. If the total Volunteer number is the same, this woman will be an extra female on the planet with no lifemate for me to pair her with, which I would hesitate to do anyway with her being of complete human origin.” Agitated, Traun pushed the chair he sat in further back from the table and adjusted his long legs. That explained one error in the log report he thought, as he studied his uncle when he failed to respond to his statement. “Why was my future lifemate allowed to think she could refuse to come to the new world? Was she not informed it was predetermined at her conception?” “Traun have you not read my reports sent to Garr concerning Anna and her brother Andrew?” “No, I haven’t uncle. Why should I have? If she hadn’t suited father

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would have informed me. I knew this was something I had to do to save ourselves from extinction. The choice of a lifemate was not mine to make. I accepted what needed to be done and was willing to do it. Is there something wrong with the female? Am I to be burdened with a lifemate who is weak?” Dread spread through him at the thought. “No,” George was shocked he even thought that. “She’s not weak. However Anna and her brother had a hard start on earth the first years of their young life. By the time we obtained Anna and her brother Andrew, your aunt and I strongly believed with the approval of your father, that it would be best to raise them by ourselves as a single-family unit. We felt it would be too traumatic to change everything in their life abruptly that they had been used to. We wanted any ill effects of their human parent’s early influence firmly squashed.” “Your aunt and I took them in and raised them up as a normal human family unit on earth. Not, as you already know, at the compound stationed on earth where the other Transfers were raised and educated as to who and what they were. Molly and I are extremely proud of both Anna and Andrew. We could not be prouder than if they were of our own blood. Andrew, after graduating from high school joined the Marines at my instruction. Anna studied Botany in college at Molly’s urging. They are both bright and intelligent and have tried hard to accept the truth of their birth and what is now expected of them.” George still indignant that Anna or even Andrew might be thought of as weak continued to explain the situation. “Since the two have been raised as other human children would have been on earth, it was impossible to keep them from having close contact with the human population while they grew up. Because of this interaction, we were afraid to explain to them as to whom or what they were, and what would be expected of them. We thought it best to wait and explain the situation, about a year before the time came upon us to be ready to leave our stations on earth and depart to the new world.” George paused as he looked at his nephew’s stern profile. “With the wormhole opening a year earlier than we thought it would, and with no time to spare, we had to tell them who and what they were, and leave their world in a short two weeks time after they were told. Our story shocked them both. It was especially hard for Anna to accept the truth of the matter.”

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Stopping his long speech, George gazed gravely at his nephew. “Traun, I believe Anna is the right lifemate for you. She is a loving, and as I have explained, an exceptional young woman. I’m asking you, not as one of the populace you are to govern, but as your Uncle, to have patience with her when she doesn’t understand the ways of the people of Garr or what is expected of her.” With a tense pause, he waited for his nephew’s response. “It’s time for me to meet my chosen lifemate,” Traun finally replied “and I’ll make up my own mind on how exceptional she is after I get to know her. You and Molly and the other three come to my private dining quarters tonight around seven. Uncle,” Traun added, when George stood up to exit the room, “I need to know if I can count on you in the new world to be behind me. I will not tolerate any additional overstepping into something that is my call to make.” George, gazed steadily back at his nephew. “Traun, you are the High Commander of the new world. I recognize you as such. You will always have my loyal support and backing.” Turning, he strolled from the room. Traun leaned forward and placed his forearms on top of the table in front of him as he watched his uncle walk out the door. He was confident that his uncle meant what he had said and would recognize him as his new High Commander. He remembered him as being known on their home planet of Garr as a good and just man. His uncle was someone his own father had put a lot of trust in. His uncle had always staunchly, supported the High Commander. Rising from his chair, Traun closed down the razor thin computer he had left open on his desk. He would finish his review of the report later. The reports, uncle sent in to the High Council throughout the years concerning his two Transfers, need to be read, he thought, as he picked up the computer and walked over to the cabinet where the computer was stored. Hopefully, they will help me to gain some insight on my soon to be lifemate. It’s time, I went over the reports on all the Transfers and Volunteers. Reaching up, Traun put the computer away. Shutting the doors to the cabinet with a decisive click, he turned to get ready for his dinner companions. He needed to inform the crewmember responsible for preparing his meals, there would be five extra for dinner that evening. ****

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“Anna, wake up.” Anna, groggy, could hear Charlee’s voice, but couldn’t get her eyelids to open. “Anna, wake up,” Charlee shook Anna’s shoulder again. She and Anna had both lain down and fallen asleep, when they failed to have anyone show back up at their room after an hour of them both patiently waiting. Charlee impatiently reached down to Anna’s shoulder again and shook it as she tried to get her to wake up. “Anna wakeup,” she called out. “I’m awake, Charlee. What is it?” “There is someone buzzing at the door.” “It’s probably Andrew, knowing him, he’s tired of waiting,” Anna groggily replied as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Treading barefoot across the cool floor, she pushed the button to open the door to their quarters. Anna’s face lit up with delight when she saw Molly’s familiar, and loved self, standing on the other side of the door. “Molly, Charlee and I thought you and George had abandoned us!” “Now you girls know better than that,” Molly replied, as she smiled at the two young women when she walked into the room. “What are we doing, Molly?” Anna questioned. “You girls need to freshen up. We are to eat our evening meal with our High Commander tonight.” “Is it him?” Anna quizzed. Her heart picked up speed as she waited for Molly to answer. “Yes, dear.” “Did George tell him about Charlee?” “Yes, dear.” “Well?” “Well what?” “Molly…What did he say?” Anna exclaimed, punctuating each word. Both, she and Charlee anxiously watched Molly as they waited for her reply. “Everything is going to be fine.” Molly smiled gently at Charlee before she looked back at Anna. “He wants to meet with you both, and Andrew. I spoke with Andrew just a moment ago. He agreed he will wait on you two to get ready, and then walk to our corridor with you.”

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Molly motioned to the small writing desk in the corner of their room. “Did you girls notice the communication system on the wall above your writing desk?” “We did, but we couldn’t figure out how it worked and were afraid to touch anything,” Charlee responded to her question. “Both of you come over here with me. I’ll show you what you need to do to make it work.” Molly patiently waited while the two walked over to the communication system to stand beside her. Efficiently and with little fuss, she explained how the system worked. At her question if they understood, Molly, patted the arms of the two young women when they nodded, that yes, they understood. “When you girls are ready, call Andrew’s room for him. George and I are in room ten on corridor two. Now, I’m going back to my quarters to freshen up and get dressed for tonight. I’ll see you two in a couple of hours. We are supposed to meet with the High Commander at seven,” she turned to leave the room. “Oh, Molly, none of Charlee’s clothes is here,” Anna told her, before she could walk out of the room. “She can wear mine, but Charlee would like her own clothes to wear if possible.” Molly turned back to Charlee. “I’ll see if we can’t have some of your clothes brought to you. I’m sure they are in the storage area of the ship. See you girls soon.” Charlee watched the door softly close within moments after Molly walked through it. “We have got to find you something extra nice to wear,” she stated as she turned back to Anna. “The High Commander is the one you are marrying, isn’t he?” “Yes, he’s the one. I’m scared, Charlee. What if he is extremely ugly or even worse, what if he’s a cruel man? None of us have any say in who we are to marry or even if we want to marry. Now that we’re here it’s going to happen whether we like it or not.” “What has Molly told you about him?” “She’s never described him to me, even though I’ve asked her repeatedly what he looks like. All she will tell me is that he resembles her and George and that she believes the two of us will make good lifemates.” Anna shrugged her shoulders at Charlee, as she tried to make light her apprehension felt, “Let’s get ready, so I can get this meeting over with.” The young women took turns in the small bathroom as each bathed and

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washed their hair somewhat haphazardly. They found through trial and error that the water in the small shower stayed on only a few minutes at a time before the valve would shut itself off. It caused each to have to hurriedly bathe and rinse between each water cycle. To their amazement there was a large drying unit attached to the bathroom wall. It was positioned high enough so they could take turns standing under it. Warm air blew down, and over their wet skin and hair, which allowed them to dry and fluff their hair. They excitably talked to each other about Anna’s future husband. What could he possibly look like, they questioned each other as they threw out between them what it was they liked in a man. Hopefully, Anna told Charlee, her unknown future husband would resemble George, who was a tall muscular man, with dark brown hair, and dark colored eyes the type of man that usually attracted her. Charlee grew quiet as she combed her hair looking in the mirror at herself in the small bathroom. “What’s the matter, Charlee?” Anna asked when she grew quiet. She patiently stood in the open doorway and waited for her turn in front of the mirror. Handing, Anna the hairbrush she held, Charlee walked past her out of the bathroom, and allowed Anna in front of the mirror. She then turned to lean against the doorframe and watched Anna comb her own hair. “I was just wondering if I will be forced to marry one of the aliens since I am not one of you. I’m scared as to who I might be paired with. Wouldn’t it be awful if we were married to men we couldn’t stand?” They stared at each other then shuddered. “Let’s not even discuss it anymore,” Anna told Charlee, as she shook her head at the horrifying thought. “At least, we’ll have each other on this new planet we’re going to.” Anna glanced back into the mirror and reached up and fluffed her hair. “Charlee I’m glad you convinced me to cut my hair before we left earth. It has more body to it now that it’s shoulder length instead of down to my hips.” Charlee glanced at her friend’s new haircut. “Anna, I would never have imagined when we were in high school that you and I would be standing in a spaceship in the year two thousand and seven, and discussing your marriage to an alien.” Anna stopped brushing her hair and looked over at Charlee in surprise.

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“You’re the one who was always telling me your stories about aliens,” she laughed. “Yeah, but I don’t think I ever really believed in what I was trying to convince you all those years we were growing up,” Charlee responded as she smiled back at Anna. She turned and walked away from the bathroom door. Going over to the small closet, that held some of Anna’s clothes, she slid the closet doors open and peered inside. “Can you believe this? I wonder who hung your clothes up in here anyway and where mine could be.” Anna walked up behind Charlee and looked in the closet from around behind her. “You know, that looks like the clothes that were in the last box I packed up. Molly said to write our names on the boxes. I guess that’s how whoever hung up my clothes knew what room to put them in.” “I wrote my name on my boxes too.” “Since you weren’t supposed to be here, they wouldn’t have known where your clothes were to go,” Anna replied. Then threw up her hands and exclaimed dramatically, “That’s why you don’t have any clothes in here. Our great mystery of your missing clothing is solved.” “Oh, shut the hell up,” Charlee replied, laughing. “You and your smartalecky sense of humor are going to get you in trouble one of these days. I just, wondered about my clothes.” She reached inside the closet and pulled out a short sleeved, tan and white dress, with a scooped neckline. “You should wear this dress it’ll show off the light tan you have.” She held the dress out to Anna. “Do you think so?” Anna frowned as she took the dress from Charlee and turned it back to front looking it over. “I don’t believe I’ve even worn this dress since I bought it last summer. Are the sandals in there that go with it?” She looked at Charlee, who still stood in front of the open closet. “I know I put them in the same box the dress was in.” Charlee glanced down to the floor of the closet. “Is this the pair in question?” “Those are the ones.” Anna took the shoes that dangled from Charlee’s fingers. “Now what should you wear?” Anna stepped up to stand beside Charlee in front of the open closet, slowly she sorted through her clothes. “This one,” pulling a dress out of the closet, Anna handed it to Charlee. “The

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bronze color shows off your dark hair and eyes. It will go perfectly with the gold sandals you had on earlier.” “If you say so,” Charlee lay the garment down and began to get dressed for the evening. Anna, slipped on the dress, Charlee had picked out for her then she slid bare feet into the tan and gold sandals. Sitting down on her bed, she bent down and buckled the razor thin, straps that circled her ankles. She was pleased that her toenails painted a clear, glossy shine, looked good with the sandals and dress she wore. “We better call Andrew before he thinks we’re going to be late,” Anna told Charlee when she straightened after buckling her sandals. Charlee looked over at her. “It probably wouldn’t be proper if we showed up late at the High Commander’s invitation to dinner. Instead of trying to call Andrew’s room, why don’t we just go knock on his door?” she shrugged a bare shoulder at Anna. “Since, we are both ready to go anyway.” “Lead the way,” Anna waved her hand toward the door just as knuckles rapped. “I bet that’s probably my dear brother now,” Anna smiled at Charlee. “To anxious to wait for us to come to his room,” she walked over and opened the door. When she saw Andrew, she looked back over her shoulder. “What did I tell you?” she said, laughing. “What did you tell her?” Andrew quizzed his sister, before he glanced behind her to Charlee. His breath caught at how stunningly, beautiful he found the young woman who stood behind his sister. Unable to take his astonished eyes away from her, he continued to gaze at her in disbelief. The sleeveless dress she had on had a low neckline that clearly let him know she was perfectly sized to fit just right in his hands. The dress also followed the slender curve of her waist and hips. He glanced down at trim ankles and slender feet in the sandals she wore. She had always, just been Anna’s gangly friend that had hung around their home for years. He never paid her any attention while they were all growing up together. The first time she had caught his eye was earlier today, when she and Anna had been sorting through Anna’s music recordings. He had found her attractive then too. Tonight though, this ugly duckling of gangly youth had turned into a beautiful swan, words he remembered from a storybook Molly used to read to Anna as a child. Andrew lightly coughed into his hand, and firmly pulled

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his eyes away from Charlee before he started to drool. “Come on you two, let’s go before we’re late.” Wondering why he had looked at her so funny, Charlee glanced down at the dress she wore, and made sure it was properly buttoned, before she followed Anna out into the dimly lit corridor. Wordlessly, George, Molly, and the three young adults walked down corridor one to the High Commander’s private dining quarters. Each lost in their own personal thoughts. Anna felt her apprehension build the closer they approached the High Commander’s quarters. This is crazy. What in the world made me change my mind about coming on this journey? she thought. George indicated for Charlee to push the intercom button on the corridor wall when they stopped outside the entrance of the High Commander’s door. All stood silent as they waited admittance into the room. Anna shifted uneasily. If I didn’t know better, I’d pinch myself, just to check to see if I’m really sound asleep in my bed. I’m probably in my room back on earth just having a strange dream or nightmare. As she watched the door slowly begin to open, Anna quickly reached up and gave her arm a hard twist with her fingers. “Ouch,” she gasped out. She realized what she was experiencing was no dream. “What is the matter with you, Anna?” Molly asked looking over at her. “Nothing, just needed to check something out,” Anna replied rubbing the tender spot on her arm. **** Traun absently swirled the dark golden colored liquid around in the glass he held. Staring down into the swirling liquid, he waited for his aunt and uncle to show up with his future lifemate. He missed Avreen and his home planet. When his door opened, he glanced up and watched, as an attractive young woman walked into the room. She reminded him of the women on Garr. Having the same color of dark hair, the women of Garr kept throughout their lifetime. She glanced his way. Turning her head, she whispered to someone who stood directly behind her blocked from his view. Anna leaned forward, toward Charlee, when she whispered to her over

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her shoulder. “My God, if that’s not your future husband standing over there, I want him.” Charlee stepped aside, so Anna could come into the room and see the tall, dark haired, muscular man. Traun quietly watched the attractive, dark haired young woman step aside to admit whomever she spoke to into the room. The glass of liquid, he absently raised to his mouth halted in mid air. His eyes riveted on the slender, blonde woman whose curves were outlined by a dress that loosely skimmed her body. The dress stopped short about five inches above her knees. Her long slender bare legs seemed to go on forever. Feeling a jolt hit him low in the abdomen, he realized he could easily span her waist with his hands. Unbidden, a plea raced across the inside of his mind. Please let her be the chosen one! Standing close enough to the two girls to overhear what Charlee had whispered to his sister, anger sliced through Andrew at her comment. His gaze unerringly found Charlee’s, stabbing her with the aggression, he felt at her comment. Feeling her neck and face flush with embarrassment, Charlee swiftly jerked her eyes away from Andrew’s hostile glare, confused over the anger she saw directed at her over her teasing comment. Anna missed their exchange as she looked past Charlee to the man who stood across the room with a drink in his hand. When their eyes made contact, she felt as if she couldn’t breathe for a moment. Now, I know why I was never interested in a relationship with anyone on earth. I have unconsciously been waiting for this man all my life, she thought. Reluctantly, Traun pulled his gaze from the woman when his uncle approached him to greet him in the age-old custom of the men of Garr. Traun extended his arm and grasped his uncle’s extended forearm in greeting, their fingers clasped firmly around each other’s elbows. George turned back to the young people who still stood in the doorway, he motioned for them to come forward. “Traun this is Anna, Andrew and Charlee.” Intense satisfaction coursed through Traun, when the blonde gracefully walked forward after his uncle introduced her as Anna. “Anna,” he repeated in his deep voice, as he nodded his head at her. He then glanced at Andrew and Charlee who stood beside her. “I am glad to meet you all three.”

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“Aunt, as always, I am happy to see you again,” leaning down Traun embraced Molly when she walked up to him. Her strong resemblance to his mother tugged at his heart strings. He turned back to include the whole group. “Why don’t we all sit down at the table. The food is prepared and ready to be served.” Walking over to the table, Traun took a seat at the head of the table. His uncle sat down at the opposite end. Realizing she would have to sit directly across from Andrew, Charlee wished she had moved quicker. Then she could have taken the seat where Anna currently sat. Reluctantly, she pulled out the chair in front of her and sat down beside Anna, next to the man Anna was suppose to marry. Once they were all seated, Anna noticed that Charlee was awfully quiet and had been since her teasing comment to her when they entered the room. Charlee, her eyes downcast, placed her cloth napkin in her lap. Anna looked over the table to where her brother sat directly across from Charlee and saw that he watched her closely. Could it be? she wondered. This was the second time today she had caught him staring at her friend while he seemed to be unaware of the action. “The food may not be what you are used to. However, it is the best we can expect while we’re on the ship,” Traun commented, his gaze circled around the table. “It is edible and nourishing, I guess that is what counts.” He smiled down at Anna at the other end of the table. Anna felt her insides tighten at his slow, drop dead gorgeous smile directed her way. She nodded her head at his comment concerning the food. She looked down at her plate and picked up her eating utensil, wondering what it was she was about to eat. Spearing a green looking vegetable, she decided it was probably best not to know. Cautiously, she placed her fork in her mouth. Not too bad, she thought, as she slowly chewed, a little bland tasting, but as he said, edible. “Uncle, I am glad to see you have recovered nicely from the wasting disease,” Traun commented. George nodded at Traun’s statement, and swallowed the bite of food he had just placed in his mouth. “Yes, once I received the proper treatment, I was back in fine form in no time. Has the transfer of knowledge that was agreed upon begun yet from our planet to planet earth?” “Our High Commander started the process as soon as I had time to pick

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up my passengers and leave earth. Although, I hope they didn’t expect to receive the complete workings of our spaceships and how we travel through space. We want a new beginning without the worry of being invaded in the future and our own knowledge being used against us.” George agreed with him. “How long will it take before we reach this planet we are supposed to inhabit?” Andrew inquired. “It will take a month,” Traun replied, after taking a drink. He glanced at his future lifemate and noted that she seemed caught up in their conversation. “There are three other spaceships we are scheduled to meet with at the wormhole passage. There are passengers on board those ships who are from Garr, as well as the supplies we’ll need to be able to survive on the new planet.” “Exactly what is this wormhole opening?” Andrew asked. “A wormhole is a tunnel in outer space that leads from one universe to another,” Traun explained. “Some stay open continuously, others open and close periodically. We have traveled for centuries through a wormhole tunnel from Garr to earth at our leisure, as it stays open continuously. The one that leads to the planet we plan to inhabit opens only briefly, once a millennium.” Nodding his head at Traun’s last statement, Andrew looked down the table at George. “George told us about the wormhole opening only once every one thousand years. With the rush in getting prepared to be ready when you came to pick us up, I never did get around to asking him to explain the whole wormhole thing.” He reached out and picked up the glass in front of him. While Anna listened to the men talk, she noticed what she and the other women had to drink was different from what the men had in their glasses, and she wondered why. She watched Andrew take a drink from his glass then look questioning at its contents before he sat it back on the table. Molly laughed when she noticed Andrew’s behavior. “Traun, what are you men drinking?” Traun looked over at his aunt as she continued. “Are you drinking that awful beverage that’s a specialty of the Palace city?” “Yes, aunt, why? It is my preferred drink, and as I remembered, Uncle used to enjoy it occasionally, when he was on Garr. I made sure he had some and figured Andrew might like the drink also.”

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“The girls might like to try it.” Andrew spoke up, smiling when he noticed Anna and Charlee bristle that they had not been offered the drink same as the men. “Andrew, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Molly said frowning. “As I remember it is pretty potent.” Reaching over, Anna grasped George’s tumbler with her fingers. Quickly, she raised his glass to her lips and took a large gulp of the contents, then gasped, when she felt the raw burn after the golden colored liquor hit the back of her throat. Head spinning, Anna worried if she was going to be able to catch her breath. Tears collected in her eyes. She slowly, handed the glass toward Charlee, who quickly shook her head. She didn’t want to try it after observing Anna’s reaction. Anna turned from Charlee and set the glass she held back down. “I think that’s all I want,” she gasped out as her eyes still watered. George and Andrew roared with laughter. Molly shook her head, lips twitching. Traun watched Anna with a slow smile. She captivated him. An unexpected surprise, this half earthling he was expected to breed with.

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Chapter 7 “Anna,” Traun said, when she answered the communication system in her room. “Would you like to take a tour of the spaceship with me, say in about an hour?” Anna hadn’t seen or talked to Traun since that first night after she had transported on board and she and her family had dined with him. She had begun to think he must not want to see, or get to know her, before they reached the new world. George and Molly told her he was a very busy man. He had to prepare and plan what needed to be done once they landed. And, his duties as High Commander were very demanding. Still, she had hoped, after meeting him that first night that she would have the month of traveling to the new world as a chance to get to know him. “I would like that, Traun” Anna said, glad to finally get to see and visit with him again after a week. She privately thought that his duties as High Commander of the ship were excessive. Not only did he have to command a spaceship, but he seemed to have a lot of required duties in getting everything planned out for once they landed on the new world. “I’ll see you in about an hour then,” Traun clipped out in his deep voice, before the speaker went dead. Turning back toward the center of the room, Anna asked. “What will you do, Charlee, while I am gone?” Charlee who lay relaxed and stretched out on her bed, looked cute in her blue-cropped pants and matching pin stripped top. “I think I’ll just stay here. Besides, some of the other Transfers we met the other day said they might stop by later this evening. It’s been fun and interesting getting to know everyone this past week.” Anna walked over to Charlee and pushed her bare feet over, and sat down. “Isn’t it weird how they were stationed isolated on earth all those years?”

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“Why were all of you kept on earth and not taken to George and Molly’s world?” Charlee asked, crossing her feet at the ankles. “George told us it was because not everyone on their planet agreed with the decision to interbreed with humans. Even officials within their government fought over the decision. The officials, who pushed the plan, were afraid that if we were brought back to their planet, there might have been plots organized to exterminate us before the time came to journey to the new world.” “Why was there so much controversy over the decision?” “From what I understand the people in disagreement with the decision, believed the government, needed to focus within their own race for a solution to their sterilization issue.” Anna shrugged, as she looked at Charlee. “You know, Charlee, we are all about the same ages. You and I are twenty-three, Andrew’s twenty five, and in talking to the other Transfers, their ages range from around twenty to twenty nine years old.” “At least they were taught the American language besides just the language of Garr,” Charlee replied. “Otherwise we would have been in trouble, unable to communicate with each other.” Anna smiled. “You know I can understand some, not a lot, but some of what they are saying when they begin to talk to each other in the native language of Garr. You should be able to understand a little of it too.” Anna slapped the bottom of the bare foot that lay beside her. Charlee sat up on the bed. “How?” she asked. Anna laughed at her confusion. “Do you remember that secret language I told you about when we were in grade school that Molly taught to me and Andrew? Remember? I taught some of the words to you, so we could talk in school to each other without our other classmates knowing what we said. Charlee nodded. “I remember now. It’s been so long since we used to do that. Once we got out of grade school, we never used it much. How did Molly teach you and Andrew without you aware of what she did?” “She is one smart lady. From the very first day when we came to live with her and George, Molly would play a game with us. She said she was going to make up a word for something to see if we could remember it. Then she would ask us what the meaning was when she’d repeat it back to us later. She was always pointing to something and asking, what is our pretend word for that, or what is our pretend word for this. Andrew and I

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would always try to remember more than each other and string the words together to make sentences for Molly. A lot of it has come back to me when I hear the Transfers talking to one another. Now, I know it wasn’t just a game we played. “She was able to teach you without you even knowing.” Charlee admired Molly’s underhandedness. “I haven’t practiced in years, so I am pretty rusty. I still don’t understand a lot of the words when I overhear the Transfers speaking to one another.” Anna stood up. “How do I look?” she asked, patting her hips with the palms of her hands. “You look fine.” Charlee looked over Anna’s tan slacks, white top, and the same tan and gold sandals she had worn the night they ate at the High Commander’s private dining quarters, that first night on board the ship. Anna’s naturally dark brown eyebrows and dark eyelashes enabled her not to have to depend on cosmetics to enhance her looks. “There he is,” Charlee said at the sound of the door buzzer. At Anna’s, “Open,” the door glided smoothly back. Traun stood in the corridor on the other side. Smiling at him, Anna admired his lean form in the uniform he wore as she walked toward him. Anna was tall at six feet two inches, but she noted he was a good head taller than her. His uniform molded his broad shoulders and lean hips, and his black leather boots were polished to a high shine. Traun’s glance into the room took in both Anna and Charlee. He smiled at both, and then directed his gaze toward Anna. “Are you ready?” “Yes,” Anna replied, his deep voiced accent sent ripples down her spine. She turned back to Charlee, “See you later,” she said. Then she silently mouthed, “Wow,” to her friend before she turned to go. Tongue tied as she and Traun strolled down the long corridor, Anna didn’t know what to say to start a conversation with him. “Where would you like to go first?” Traun asked. He matched his stride to hers. “How much time do you have?” Anna cheerfully asked. “I don’t know what to see first, but I’d like the complete tour when possible.” Traun smiled down at her. Cupping her elbow in the palm of his hand, he led her forward. “Let’s turn here. You tell me what you have seen so far. Then we will know where to start our tour.” He glanced at her blonde hair,

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the strands reflected the corridor lights. “I’ve been to the chow hall.” Traun grinned. “That’s the crew’s slang you’ve heard. Where else have you been?” “Just, Molly and George’s room and of course Andrew’s room. Other than that, Charlee and I have stayed pretty close to our own room. We’ve met a lot of the other Transfers in our corridor. We’ve all visited back and forth this past week. All of us, are wondering what the new world will be like.” Nodding his head, Traun replied. “Yes, I would think everyone would be excited, and wanting to discuss what the world we are going to inhabit will bring for us all.” “Why don’t we just stroll around the ship since you have only been to the dining hall, I have about two free hours I can give you. While we walk, I’ll explain anything you may have a question about. How does that sound?” He looked down at her. “Sounds good,” Anna gazed up at him and found herself admiring his thick black hair. “I do have a question.” They turned and went through a door that led from one floor of the ship up to another. “What would that be?” “Charlee and I have wondered how large the ship is. There seems to be several levels.” Traun lightly squeezed the elbow he still had cupped in the palm of his hand. “The ship we are traveling on is a passenger ship only. And there are several levels to it. We have level one, where the command center for the ship is located, with my private quarters, briefing rooms and sickbay. Then there are levels two, three, and four that hold the passengers. Level five is where the dining hall and the transport bay where you first came onto the ship are located. Then under that level is the mechanics of the ship. We have six levels in all. All of our spaceships are not designed the same.” Anna listened as Traun continued to talk. “Two of the ships, scheduled to meet up with us at the wormhole opening, are cargo ships and they have only four levels, although the cargo ships are bigger than the one we are currently traveling in.” “How many passengers can be transported on this ship?” “Around two hundred and fifty, it’s much smaller than the other

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passenger ship we will eventually meet with.” “How many spaceships does your world have, are they common?” “Our spaceships are extremely expensive to operate and our government controls all the operations of the spaceships. The government operates only two passenger ships and two cargo ships which are currently being used to get us to the new world. For common travel within our world we have the same as what you call airplanes. How would you like to see the command center?” Traun asked, believing with all her questions she would enjoy seeing the powerhouse of the spaceship. He stopped and turned towards her, letting his hand drop from her elbow as he gazed down at her. “I think, I would like to see where all the decisions are made concerning the ship and its travel through space,” Anna replied. She gave him a quick nervous smile. Traun pulled his gaze away. “Then the Command Center it is,” he replied. A feeling a well-being settled over him as he realized he was very pleased with this earthling of mixed blood, his soon to be lifemate. It was an hour later before they eventually, strolled into the ship’s command center having met George and Molly during their tour. They stopped and talked for a while, with George and Traun discussing the workings of the spaceship Traun commanded. When they strolled into the Command Center, several dark colored heads turned from their stations and looked their way. Traun walked up to the metal rail that circled the room. The steps he stood by led down into a large shallow pit, from where his crewmembers gazed up to them both from. “Crew, I would like for you to meet Anna, my lifemate to be. Anna, some of my crew members on this trip,” Traun smiled at Anna and indicated with a flick of his wrist the individuals who looked up at her. Anna felt a moment of unease when his entire crew of about ten or twelve men and women, turned toward her and bowed. Several of the men made eye contact and smiled a little too long at her. Traun scowled down at the idle grinning men. When the men became aware of their High Commander’s scowl, they quickly turned their attention back to their duties. As she gazed around the room in wonder, Anna never noticed Traun’s scowl directed toward his men. She reached out and grasped the top of his hand and squeezed his fingers with hers.

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Traun felt captivated by her innocent gesture. Turning his palm over, he lightly squeezed her slender hand back. Anna turned toward him. “Wow,” she said breathlessly. “Would you like to see what the outside universe looks like that we are traveling through?” he asked. “Yes, I would,” Anna eagerly responded. She turned to watch as one of the crewmembers, at Traun’s instruction, flipped a switch. Five feet to the left of where she and Traun stood, a large flat screened monitor rose up from a steel, razor thin gap in the floor. Anna watched in amazement while this large, five feet by five feet, monitor rose slowly. Traun motioned toward the crewmember again, the large screen lit up, and flickered to life. Before Anna was a vast and inky black emptiness, the stars shined brightly as the spaceship she was in passed them by from a distance. Instantly, Anna felt as if she tumbled out into that vast, black emptiness. Uncontrollable nausea rose. She clenched her fingers tightly around Traun’s and desperately hung on, she wanted to tell him to turn the thing off, but was unable to pull her horrified gaze from it. Feeling Anna’s quick, hard grasp to his fingers, Traun looked down at her. He quickly turned her away from the monitor, and toward the open door they had just recently entered when he saw her white face. Propelling her out of the command center, he hit the button on the wall and closed the door. Effectively, blocking the curious eyes of his crewmembers focused upon Anna and himself. “Anna,” he called out to her. With concern he looked down into her ashen face. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?” he watched as she swallowed hard, several times. “I think, I’m going to be sick,” Anna finally replied. She raised, desperate eyes to his, “Please get me out of this hallway,” she pleaded, afraid she was about to embarrass herself before him, and whoever, should happen to walk by. Picking her up in his arms, Traun with long strides hurried to his own room just down the corridor. Opening the door, he took her inside, away from prying eyes. Laying her on his bed, he swiftly turned and went into his bathroom. He found, and generously wet a washcloth with cold water. Wringing the washcloth out, he walked back over to the bed and lay the

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cool, wet cloth over her brow as he sank down on the bed beside her. “What happened in there?” he asked, after he noticed her color slowly begin to return to her face. Embarrassment crawled over Anna. She turned her face away and held the wet cloth to her forehead with her hand. “Anna,” Traun grasped her chin with his fingers and urged her face back toward his. “Look at me,” he instructed, he watched as she slowly raised reluctant eyes, to meet with his. “Don’t be embarrassed over getting ill in front of me. I’m sure over our lifetime together we will see each other ill plenty of times.” He smiled down at her. Lightly he rubbed a thumb back and forth across her rosy cheek. “Now, what happened in there?” he asked again. Gazing up at his concerned face, Anna replied. “I just panicked. I suddenly realized we were hurtling through space. And there is nothing but huge, never ending blackness out there,” she shuddered. Traun quietly stared down at her. He began to rub his hands up and down each of her chill bumped covered arms. “You were aware we are traveling through space.” “I know, except you can’t tell we’re moving in the spaceship. I just never envisioned what it looked like out there. This uncontrollable, sensation came over me that I was tumbling out into outer space when I looked at the screen.” Traun stopped rubbing her arms and let his hands rest lightly at her wrists. He looked down at her lying on top of his bed for a moment, before he bent, unable to resist tasting her lips, he captured her mouth with his. His pulse rate increased when she sighed and her arms reached up to encircle his neck, as she curled her fingers in his hair. Reluctantly, he pulled her arms from around his neck. Pulling back from her, he smiled down at her bemused expression. “I have to get back to the Command Center. Before I do though, I need to return you back to your room.” Anna watched that drop dead, beautiful smile of his spread across his wickedly handsome face. Unabashedly, she wanted to experience more of his soft kisses. She looked at his mouth with longing. “Come on, up with you,” Traun told her, able to read her expression as he stood and lightly pulled her up into a standing position. “Feeling better

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now?” he asked as he pushed her hair back from around her face with his fingers. She smiled at him. “I’m okay, just embarrassed over being so silly.” “Don’t be, it just shocked you when you realized we were actually hurtling through outer space.” “Please,” Anna held up a hand to him. “Let’s not talk about it. I don’t want to have another vision of what I saw and become sick again.” Chuckling at her as she crinkled her nose at him, Traun felt a faint puzzlement. He found he was glad she was to be his lifemate. There were plenty of women he had wanted over the years. But, never one he had wanted for a lifemate. He had accepted he was to marry a woman he had no option in choosing. Resigned to it in fact, but with that resignation had been the constant belief he would do his duty as required with little, or no emotional involvement with this unknown woman. Anna walked through the doorway of her and Charlee’s quarters after Traun left her at the entrance of the room. He had promised her, he would try to make time to see her the next day. She smiled to herself, as she recalled his comment that it was probably unfair to the other Transfers that he and she had a chance to get to know one another before they became lifemates. Since the others on board ship would be married without having had that opportunity. “But,” he had leaned down and told her huskily, “I’m glad we have been given this opportunity before my duties on the new world consume most of my time and energy.” Floating into the room, Anna felt happy and content. She wondered where Charlee had gotten off to. Just as her thought was completed, Charlee walked out of the compact bathroom they shared, and stopped abruptly in her stride when she noticed she was standing in the middle of the room. “Charlee,” Anna exclaimed in concern and quickly walked over to her friend when she noticed her red, swollen eyes, and blotchy face. “Have you been crying?” Charlee’s eyes shimmered. “Anna,” she wailed, “I am sick of that damn brother of yours.” Surprised, Anna dropped her hand from Charlee’s back. “What has happened between you two?” she asked, she didn’t understand Charlee’s heartfelt declaration. Her brother wasn’t the type to make women cry. In

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fact, he always had them tripping over themselves to be around him, hoping to get his attention. Anna walked over and sat down on the stool in front of the desk. She watched as Charlee began to pace back and forth in front of her. Clearly, still agitated over whatever had occurred between her and her brother. Abruptly, Charlee stopped pacing and looked at her. “He accused me of flirting with two of the male Transfers, can you believe it? Said, if I didn’t stop my flirting, they would begin to think I was easy.” She swung her arms out from her sides and miserably looked at Anna, her hurt feelings clearly visible on her face. “He actually even insinuated that maybe I was easy, maybe that was what I wanted. I’ll admit that I am not a virgin. Thanks, to that pig Lance. Who, I believed at the time, was the love of my life. You know I’m not easy Anna, and I promise, I wasn’t flirting with anyone.” Standing up, Anna walked over to her upset friend. Ripples of anger coursed through her at her brother for hurting her best friend with his false accusations. Embracing Charlee, she hugged her, reassuring her. “I know you’re not easy. You don’t have to convince me of it. What happened after I left to cause him to make such a wild accusation?” Charlee sniffed indignantly, then walked over to the bed closest to her and sat down so she faced Anna. “After you left, Andrew called our room and asked if I wanted to go with him to the ships lounge. He said some of the other Transfers planned to go there to play card games. I told him I would like to go since I was bored here by myself. Everything was going along fine. We were all playing this silly card game some of the male Transfers had taught to Andrew and me. Anyway, I was on the team of two of the male Transfers and Andrew was on the two female Transfer’s team. We were all just laughing and having a good time, I thought. Apparently, when the two male Transfers and Andrew went to get some refreshments for us, your brother overheard the two discussing me. Arguing between the two of them as to how they each hoped, they were given me for a lifemate.” “It seems,” Charlee huffily stated, “your brother remembers a lot from your secret word game Molly used to play with you two. Because the two Transfers were speaking the language of Garr when he overheard what they said about me.” Charlee wiped at her eyes. “When they all came back to the table with the refreshments, I noticed that Andrew was quiet, but didn’t think anything about it. Then when one of

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the men said something to me that I thought was funny as he handed me my glass, I laughed.” Charlee looked at Anna as she sniffed. “That was when your brother abruptly stood up and told the group he and I had to go, because we were supposed to go see George and Molly, he said. When we got out of their sight and hearing he grabbed my arm yanking me around to him, and accused me of flirting with them. He then accused me of wanting their attention, because, maybe I was the type that delighted in it. Telling me that he had better not catch me doing something I shouldn’t. He just kept on and on at me, practically dragging me down the hallway.” “I should have slapped his damn face then and there!” Charlee told Anna her hurt obvious. “His accusations so stunned me that I couldn’t move when he started tearing into me. I finally thought to yank my arm away from his grasp and ran back to our room. I’m not easy. Nor was I flirting with anyone,” Charlee repeated. Anna watched the tears well up in her eyes again. “No, you’re not easy. And, I don’t know what’s wrong with that stupid, acting brother of mine, either.” Anna was suspicious though that she did know. Andrew never acted like that toward anyone. In fact, he was unfailingly kind and thoughtful toward everyone. He must be falling hard for Charlee. This isn’t good, Anna thought, as she remembered that they had no choice in who, they would eventually be paired with. She recalled that Traun had told her, he as the High Commander, was the one who had the responsibility of pairing the couples up with each other once they reached the new world. I will just have to talk to him about this situation, and try to convince him to put the two of them together, she hoped, she could convince him it would be the right thing to do. Anna had her suspicions that Charlee felt something for her brother too. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so upset over what he thought of her. Moreover, her friend Charlee was the type that normally would tell someone where he or she could get off if that person made her mad enough. And she is definitely mad enough, Anna thought. **** They were into the third week of their space journey, before Anna had

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an opportunity to speak to Traun privately. Exactly a week, and two days after they had been in his private quarters, the day she had panicked, on seeing what was outside the ship they traveled in on their cosmic journey to the new world. Since that day, they had been surrounded by her family members or other passengers on the ship when they happened to have a chance to be together. Or else, his energy and time was tied up with duties required of the ship. If they hadn’t spoken or seen each other during the day, he made it a point to call her every evening on the spaceship communication system, even when it was late before he could call. They seemed to be able to talk to each other about everything, sometimes they talked late into the scheduled nighttime rest. Long after everyone on board ship, but the working crew in the Command Center, was fast asleep. Anna was positive he was her soul mate. Molly jokingly told her he should be, since she had been conceived just for him, after she had confessed her belief to her one evening when they had been speaking privately amongst themselves. Placing her eating utensil down beside her plate, Anna wondered what Traun would say about her request. She wanted her friend and brother to be as happy as she thought they were with each other, and would be during their marriage to one another. Traun laid down his fork, and wiped his mouth with the white linen napkin he had picked up. He looked at Anna, lost in her own private thoughts. He wondered what it was she was hesitant to ask him. Reaching over, he covered her hand, and gently squeezed her fingers. “Let’s go sit on the settee where it’s more comfortable. Then you can tell me what is on your mind.” Surprised that he was aware she had something she wanted to ask him, Anna rose beside him. She hadn’t realized she had been that transparent. When she started to pass by him, to take a seat on the opposite end, of the settee from where he sat, he quickly reached out and grasped hold of her wrist. Then gently, but firmly, jerked her down beside him. “No you don’t. You sit down here, beside me,” Traun demanded, placing his arm behind Anna on the back of the settee, after she gracefully fell down beside him. He began to toy with the blonde strands of hair that so fascinated him. He was used to seeing only black hair on the females from Garr. “Now, what has got you chewing your bottom lip?” he asked smiling

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down at her. “I have a favor to ask of you,” Anna began hesitantly, as she quickly stopped biting her lip. “What is this favor you need?” Traun hoped it was something he could give her. He wanted to please her if he could. Turning toward him, Anna pulled her hair out of his roving fingers. “You know how you told me that you were responsible for everyone’s safety going to the new world and that it was on your shoulders to pair the couples up, once we reach the planet we travel to?” She dropped her eyes when he began to frown. Traun wondered where this was going. He nodded, as he replied, “Yes, I said that.” He watched, as Anna fidgeted not meeting his eyes. “Could you pair my brother and Charlee as lifemates?” she finally asked, then looked up and met his eyes. She rushed on when he pulled his arm from the back of the lounge settee. “I believe my brother is falling in love with Charlee and she with him. He is jealous of any attention given to her by the other Transfers and she stays upset when she is around him. I have caught him staring at her several times and he doesn’t seem to even realize when he’s doing it.” “Anna,” Traun held up his hand for her to stop talking. “I can’t. There are ninety-nine Transfers from the planet earth and ninety-nine Volunteers from planet Garr that I am responsible for matching. That is an equal number of men and women from each of our planets scheduled to be paired together once we reach the new world. And, unless a female at the last minute from my home planet, didn’t board the ship scheduled to meet us on the new world, there is no one, much less your brother, I can pair your friend with.” “You mean she is going to be alone?” Anna asked in horror. “I am sorry, but your brother better get his hormones under control before we reach the new world, I hope for his sake he hasn’t fallen in love with your friend.” Anna didn’t respond, she felt sick inside at the thought of Charlee alone, with no family of her own on the new world, her friend Charlee who desperately wanted a family of her own since she had lost her parents. Her wonderful friend Charlee, who had no other close relatives she could call family. Anna knew that was why Charlee had wanted to come with them,

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because she felt alone in the world. Her and her family was all she had.

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Chapter 8 The ship buzzed with excitement and activity. They were at the wormhole passage. The High Commander was ready to begin the ships descent through the eye of the wormhole to the universe on its other side. Traun had informed Anna the prior evening that the other three spaceships had arrived two days earlier than expected at the wormhole passage. At their request, he had given them permission to travel on to the planet. He gave the same coordinates as had been recorded in the Book of Wisdom many centuries past. Ancient, written words passed down from ancestral space travelers of Garr. The spaceships and passengers now waited for their arrival. “Are you ready for this, Anna?” Traun asked, after she walked up to stand quietly by his side, and listened to his instructions given to the crewmembers below him. Anna watched the activity in the shallow pit. Traun surveyed his crewmembers as they busily pressed buttons on the control panels, each intently, watching their small razor thin monitors before them. Anna turned and smiled at Traun and his question to her. “I’m ready to have my feet on solid ground.” Slipping an arm around her slender waist, Traun pulled her up against him. “Don’t look at the monitors,” he whispered for her ears alone. The air around his whisper tickled her ear making her shiver. Traun lightly squeezed the slender hip under his hand, he continued to let it rest lightly over her hipbone. “Why don’t you go back to where your family waits? If you wait in the middle of the ship with them, you will be unable to tell anything different is happening once we do begin our descent through the wormhole or when the crew begins to bring the ship down into the gravitational pull of the planet.” “I confess,” he told her in an undertone, “I just wanted to see you once

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more, before we began our descent.” Lightly, he squeezed her hip again. “Once we are transported to the planet surface, things will be pretty chaotic. I may not be able to see you for a day or two. Make sure you stay close to your family.” Silently, Anna nodded as she laid her hand down over his, reluctant to part with him. “See you on the new planet.” she stated quietly, before she turned away in search of her family. **** After a month of cosmic travel, Anna was once again in the ships transport bay. Only this time, she waited to leave the ship instead of just arriving. Both instances filled her with wonder and apprehension of the unknown. Silently, she stood with Charlee, as they waited for their turn to walk upon the transport platform and swiftly be transported down to the strange world below. Looking at the other passengers, Anna wondered if any of them felt the same apprehension she experienced. Gazing around the room, she observed that some of the passengers excitedly talked with each other, while others did as she was doing, stood quietly in line not uttering a word. Nervously, Anna and Charlee looked at each other, when they heard their names called out. Charlee started to walk forward, when she felt a sharp tug on the back of her head, quickly she turned and looked at Andrew. She nastily wondered what it was he was going to tell her she had done wrong now. Unsmiling, she looked at him. “What?” she snapped. “Be careful Charlee, and stay close to Anna,” Andrew informed her. “It looks like it may be a while, before my name will be called.” Taken back at Andrew’s soft-spoken command, Charlee felt warmth engulf her. “I promise I’ll stay close to Anna.” She gazed at him for a moment, before she turned to catch up with Anna, who had already walked up the steps to the transport platform. Watching, the slender figure of his sister’s friend hurry to catch up with her, Andrew had surprised himself over his sudden impulse of wanting to make sure that she would be all right until he transported down to the new world.

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When Charlee walked onto the platform where she stood, Anna turned to her. “What did my brother say to you?” “He told me to stay close to you,” Charlee was unable to meet her eyes. Anna worried about the path Charlee and Andrew’s feelings for one another were taking them. Especially after what Traun had told her, the night she had asked for them to be paired together as a couple. The transport crew indicated they were ready to begin the transfer of the six passengers who anxiously waited their turn. Just as she had done the first time she transported through space, Anna quickly slammed her eyes shut. “Anna. Charlee.” Opening her eyes, Anna saw Molly and George hurrying toward her through a swarm of dark haired people who were busily locating each other and their property. Molly waved at her. Anna waved back, and then quickly looked behind her for Charlee. “Here we go again, amazing ourselves,” she stated, as she laughed at her friends bug eyed expression. Charlee laughed nervously back. A pair of black haired ladies hurriedly strolled by. They suddenly stopped, turned back toward Anna, and bowed to her from the waist down. Confused over their behavior Anna bowed back. The women smiled at her, then said something to each other before they walked on. “I wonder what that was all about,” Anna asked Charlee, surprised over their strange behavior toward her. “I don’t know, but they looked straight at you when they bowed.” A few minutes later the same two women came back toward Anna and Charlee, this time they had two other dark haired women in tow with them. They chattered excitedly amongst themselves. The four ladies stopped several yards away as they gazed over at Anna. Then all four bowed to her. Anna looked at Charlee in surprise. “What should I do?” “Bow back,” her friend instructed. Turning to the four women, Anna bowed. Mimicking the bows, they had just given her. The women giggled amongst themselves before they turned and walked away. “Molly, what in the world is going on here?” Anna asked when she and

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George walked up. Molly laughed at Anna’s expression. “They are bowing to the chosen lifemate of their leader of the new world. You don’t have to bow, just nod your head as you have seen Traun do.” “Why would they bow to me? I’m not going to be married to their leader. I’m marrying Traun the son of the leader of Garr,” Anna responded in confusion. “Anna, when you asked me about Traun, I thought you understood. He is to be our leader of the new world. Why did you think Traun was called the High Commander by everyone on the ship?” “Because he was the commander of the spaceship,” Anna looked at Charlee. “Did you realize he was to be the leader of our world?” “I thought he was just the commander of the ship also,” Charlee replied, feeling somewhat awed at Anna’s status. Anna turned back to Molly with disquiet. “I thought when the crew bowed to me when he introduced me to them, it was because he was the commander of the spaceship and it must be their custom. Not because he was the leader of our new world.” Now she knew why he seemed to have so many duties. Duties she had thought were excessive for just a Commander of a spaceship. Traun had never expressively told her he was the leader of the new world, since he must have believed, she was aware of his status. Anna looked at George, who stood quietly beside Molly. “I don’t know how the wife of a leader should act or what I’m even responsible for. What if I accidentally insult someone by not knowing how to act or what to do?” She was now embarrassed that she had bowed to the women, instead of giving a slight incline of her head as she had seen Traun respond. Had the women been laughing at her? she wondered. They hadn’t seemed to be, but who knew? “Just, be yourself, Anna. They will come to love you as we do,” George replied. Anna wasn’t so sure of that. She wondered exactly what would be required of her as the wife of a leader, she was not excited about learning the news of her status on this new world. She felt self-conscious when she noticed several pairs of eyes cut her way when they happened to think she wasn’t looking.

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“George,” Andrew called out eagerly, seeing his family in a circle talking to each other. He quickly strolled up to the group to stand beside Charlee. “This is pure chaos down here, isn’t it?” “Yes,” George replied. “But, Traun is fast getting things under a semblance of order. He gave me instructions, of where he wants us to mark off where we will erect his and Anna’s living hut, as well as the rest of ours eventually. Now that we are all here, let’s go to the area he showed me.” Looking around, Anna wondered where Traun was and what he was doing. She was unable to locate him in the sea of dark haired people that swarmed around them. When they began to walk away from the milling crowd, she noticed the scenery around her for the first time. Her breath caught at the pure unadulterated, naked beauty, of the world before her, raw nature in its primitive state, seemly to be untouched by mankind until today. Gazing around her in wonder, Anna’s pace slowed. Eventually, she came to a complete stop, and just looked at the land. Huge, towering mountains their top’s caped by white, which must be snow was to her left. Trees so big an eighteen wheeler could be driven through them grew in abundance. The knee high green grass she stood in swayed gently, with the soft breeze. There were yellow, purple, pink, and blue flowers that grew in expansive swaths across the valley as far as the eye could see. Anna closed her eyes. The air around her was alive with the tantalizing smell of the flowers, their scent mingled together in a light, chorus, melody. “Anna, come on” Andrew called out when he looked back, and saw she stood still and appeared to have her eyes closed. Smiling to herself, Anna opened her eyes and started toward her brother. There must be a creator, she mused, someone who has power beyond belief. Just as she had been taught in the Sunday, morning church classes as a child that Molly had said they all must attend, while she and Andrew were growing up. Someone had to have created this beautiful paradise, as this, she told herself as she looked around the meadow, could not have been accidental. She hurried to catch up with her family. When George stopped, he stood several yards away from a slight embankment that sloped downward to a rock-covered bottom, and gurgling stream, Anna stood beside him. The trees on the other side of the stream wouldn’t hamper her way if she wanted to cross the wide flowing creek and walk through them and beyond, Anna noted.

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“I can hear a waterfall. Can any of you hear it?” she asked. “Yes,” turning, George pointed to the trees across the stream below them. “When you walk through those trees, Traun told me it’s about a mile or two farther on. The valley we are standing in starts to slope down from here on out. In some places, it’s a very sharp drop, in others a gradual decline. The large valley we are currently standing in is boxed in between both sides and ends, of the surrounding mountains and hills.” George looked at everyone. “When I saw Traun earlier, right after Molly and I were first transported down, he showed me this site. This is where he wants us to set up camp, he said to partition off a large area for the huts we will eventually erect here.” “Andrew help me stake out the area,” George instructed. The women watched as the two men secured a large area. “We need to go locate our belongings that were transferred down earlier,” George stated when he and Andrew walked back up to where the women waited. George, Molly, Andrew, Anna and Charlee strolled back onto the edge of the milling crowd, George turned to Andrew, “I’m going to go find the servants that would have been sent to serve the High Commander. You stay here with the women. Once I find the servants, we’ll go hunt for our personal belongings. The servants can help us move our things to the area we’ve just sectioned off.” At George’s instructions, Andrew nodded. **** Hours earlier, Traun had transported off his spaceship and met with the Commanders of the other three spaceships. They briefed him on the supplies brought with them for survival. He was also informed that he was short one Volunteer female passenger. When the time came for her to board the spaceship, she had become hysterical, and begged her parents not to make her go to the new world. The female being inconsolable was granted permission to stay on planet Garr with her parents, they told him. Her behavior was unexpected, since all of the Volunteers had been selected from strong-minded individuals who had penned their names to a

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petition circulated through the ranks years prior. Traun’s first thought when he heard the news was that now he could give Anna her request. He would be able to pair her brother as a lifemate to her earth friend. He didn’t like the thought of her brother’s offspring having more human genes than Garr, but it was better than the alternative, which was to leave Andrew or one of the other men without an assigned lifemate. The now ninety-eight, instead of the original ninety-nine, loyal men and women chosen as Volunteers by the High Council of Garr gathered around Traun at his motion. Each had been selected as lifemates for the ninety-nine earthling Transfers he had brought with him. Before him stood loyal men and women chosen from the army he had commanded on their home planet, unwed men and women who were willing to come to this new world and serve him. Men and women guaranteed to breed a healthy, strong, and robust new world for the people of Garr. Holding up his arm from where he stood before his ninety-eight followers, Traun signaled for their attention. Once they all quieted and looked at him, he allowed a grin to stretch across his face. “We are finally here on this planet we have all heard so much about. It is an exciting time for everyone. I have seen you looking around this crowd of people trying to locate the Transfers from planet earth. I understand your curiosity and your wish to get a glimpse of your potential lifemates. All that must wait, right now, we need to focus our attention on what must be done for our survival. We not only have our potential lifemates to protect, but we have the Caretaker couples that came with them. We also have two Keepers, of the Book of Wisdom, the Learned Ones and the other two hundred and twenty couples that wished to come to this new world. There are six hundred and ninety three individuals now on this planet, including ourselves that we are responsible for.” His followers quietly listened while their High Commander spoke. Upon his instructions at the end of his speech, each turned to begin their duties. Traun watched his men and women for a moment then turned and strolled over to the group of servants sent by his father and mother. The servants had gathered as he had instructed, away from hearing distance of where he spoke with his troops. When he approached the twenty servants, ten childless couples sent from Garr, Traun told the servants, “Go stand beside the storage boxes that have my name, or the name of Summers or

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White written across the top or sides of them. A man, my uncle, will come by eventually and collect you to help move mine, and my family’s belongings to an area that has been sectioned off. It’s where we will erect our huts. Move your belongings to that area also.” The servants bowed to their High Commander before they excitedly turned and read the names on each item or packed box they walked by. They were thrilled to be a part of something so monumental, each couple saw this opportunity as a privilege to have been chosen to serve the High Commander, his lifemate, and the offspring of their union. Children that would guarantee their race of people would continue. Continue on, even when their own planet’s population would be gone within the estimated three hundred years time. Hearing a man behind him clear his throat, Traun impatiently wondered which one of his troop members, whom he thought he had just sent away to get things organized, needed a question answered now. When he turned, prepared to give instruction, he was taken by surprise by who stood behind him. “Bran,” he exclaimed, holding his arm out to his one and only brother. Smiling from ear to ear, he clasped his fingers tightly around his brother’s elbow, a brother still in his prime at the age of sixty-five years young. “Brother, what are you doing here?” he asked with delight. Bran equally having a broad faced smile, looked at the brother he would deeply miss upon his return to Garr. “Since I didn’t get to see you before you had to leave for planet earth, I asked our father for permission to travel here to see you one last time. One last time brother, before the wormhole closes again for its standard one thousand years.” Looking around at the crowd, Bran stated. “You are getting things organized quickly.” He watched as Traun’s troop of men and women spread out. They calmly, and quietly, gave directions on who needed to go where, and slowly worked to bring order to the confused crowd. He turned back to his brother. “I wanted to surprise you, which is why nothing was said about my presence on board the spaceship I traveled on.” “I am glad you were able to come,” Traun replied. “I noticed the animals penned up across the valley as soon as I was transported down. How did they fare on the long trip here? Did we lose any?’

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“Not a one,” Bran responded. “I was able to bring fifty of father’s best riding animals, plus his prized male breeder for them. Besides the other several hundred or more animal’s you may need for breeding purposes, to supply you with provisions. Also, the hundreds of live fish we brought were dumped into the two large lakes we located just beyond your encampment. The bodies of water are capable of nourishing fish, yet, there was no indication of any type of fish life found, prior to us transferring what we brought into them. We have been here for two days now waiting on your arrival, and there has yet to be a report of any animal life form. We may have scared what was here in this area off with our arrival. With our hectic schedule, we weren’t able to scan a very large area, just ten or twenty miles out from where you will settle for now. If we had had the room to transport our land rovers we could have investigated further for you.” Traun looked around at the beautiful land spread before him. “Bran, I can’t believe that on this planet there is no other life. I just hope that what is out there, we can live with peacefully.” He looked back at his brother. “Did your lifemate not travel with you?” “No, she felt she should stay with her mother and father until I returned. How about you? What are your feelings on this chosen lifemate of yours? Did I ever tell you that I saw her as a child of six? You were only fifteen at the time when I traveled to earth to help our uncle and aunt find her and her brother. We were worried we had lost your future mate. She was a skinny, little thing then.” Traun laughed. “No, you never mentioned her. At fifteen I would have been away to study and train for my future here. I wouldn’t have been happy to have to listen to anyone tell me about a lost, six year old, child. I was interested in the girls on our planet at the time.” Traun smiled at his brother. “Bran, you can tell our father and mother that I am very pleased with my little earthling.” Traun hesitated for a moment as he wondered at his feelings. “Brother, I believe I love her already. We had a month to get to know one another as we traveled together on the ship here. I cannot seem to get her off my mind when I am away from her. Even now, as I stand here with you, I find myself wondering if she is all right.” His brother laughed in his deep rippling way at Traun’s revealed feelings about the half earthling. “Sounds like you are experiencing either love or a powerful attraction, baby brother,” he smiled at his brother in

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understanding. “I’ll tell you something I have never shared before, except with my lifemate. I knew the moment I saw her, she was the one I wanted.” Sobering, Bran realized the time had come for him to return to the waiting spaceship. He held out his arm to his brother. “Traun,” he began, wanting to say his goodbyes, but unable to get the words to pass his lips. Ignoring the arm held out to him in goodbye, Traun reached out and grabbed his brother and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, uncaring at the moment, of his uncharacteristic public display of emotion before the observant eyes of the people he would rule. “I shall miss you deeply brother and also our esteemed father and mother,” he gruffly stated. “I too shall miss you greatly, little brother,” Bran responded back huskily. “Now,” he stated firmly, getting his emotions under control as he stepped back out of their embrace with a slap to Traun’s broad back. “I must transport back to the spaceship. The anxious Commanders and their crewmembers need to start our journey back through the wormhole before its passage becomes too narrow for our ships to pass safely through, each minute that goes by it collapses more.” Traun stepped back away from his brother as Bran reached for the transport button on his belt. “I can’t watch you leave,” he told him brusquely. Turning, he walked away from his brother, sorrow cutting deep at the loss of his entire family, lost on behalf of the sake of duty. A duty, he must now embrace for the good of the people of Garr. An obligation, he had throughout the years been willing to embrace, yet he hadn’t fully realized the deep down, intense pain, he would feel when the time came to take up those reins of responsibility. When he heard the distinct slight difference in the sound emitted from the spaceships hovering above, Traun knew from familiarity the sound he picked up with his experienced ears, indicated that the four ships above had geared up in preparation for their swift flight from the planet to the collapsing wormhole. It has been a long day already, he thought tiredly, with sudden loneliness gnawing at his gut. He still had an enormous amount of duties that needed accomplished before nighttime fell on this recently inhabited planet of his. ****

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Her eyes glued to the clear sky, Anna watched as the four spaceships slowly began to rotate above her in the blue heavens. Then in the blink of an eye, they were all four gone, vanished as if they had never been there. She continued to gaze up at the sky as she waited for George to return with the servants he said would have been sent from Garr. Eyes squinted, she wondered at the sudden sense of loss she felt. Turning back to her family and best friend, she wondered how Traun fared with all the duties the scene around her must demand of him, all this confusion that must be regulated by the High Commander, her future husband. **** Sharp loneliness still gnawing at his gut, Traun sought out a moment of quiet solitude. He needed time in which to gather together the inner strength required to command. Command, without a waiver of sentiment displayed before the eyes of the people he was destined to lead. The peoples’ High Commander stepped behind several huge wooden crates. Crates that held the material needed to erect temporary living huts for his people. The huge crates provided him the necessary temporary shield. Just as he took a deep and calming breath, he heard a slight snap sound and looked up. A woman stepped forward toward him. He stared in shock for a moment, and then he reached out and yanked her to him, wrapping his arms around her familiar frame. “Avreen,” he sighed, as he pulled her up tight against his body and eagerly kissed her on the upturned mouth that sought contact with his own. The sight of her was welcome to him in his time of emotional need. Avreen his lover, and companion, before his duties as the second son of their leader had required him to leave her behind on Garr. Avreen, someone he considered a friend. Someone who he knew cared about him and his welfare. When Avreen hungrily kissed him back, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, Traun slowly began to realize what he was doing and with whom, and that she, Avreen, should not even be there. He reached up and pulled her tight hold from around his neck, then quickly stepped back away from her. Glancing up and around he made sure no one had come around to

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the backside of the crates and been a witness to his actions. The image of Anna swiftly came to him as he recalled his soon to be lifemate. “Avreen what are you doing here?” he asked not understanding her presence on the new world. He gently held her clinging form away from him when she tried to come back into his arms. “Stay back,” he instructed his voice firm when she still tried to come toward him. **** Having kept a low profile after her transfer down to the planet, Avreen experienced a scare when Traun had gathered his troops together, she now being one of them. She had wondered, as her heart pounded in fear, if he planned to call out her name for her to come forward, instructing her she was to be sent back home. With this cutting fear, she had remained in the very back of the group. Keeping her head down while he had instructed the troop members on what he wanted done. They would create a small village in the valley where they currently stood he had told the group, with orders given as to their duties in reining in the disorder around them. Then he had dismissed them without calling out her name to come forward. She hadn’t realized that the spaceships they traveled in were scheduled to be returned to their home planet, until the passage to the new world. There was just enough time, and fuel for the ships to pass through twice, before the wormhole passage closed. Unsure if Traun was aware of her name added to the list of Volunteers from Garr or if he was aware, what his reaction had been, she worried that he might send her back home with this new knowledge. While this unknown question lingered she had thought it prudent, to stay out of his sight until the spaceships departed, eliminating any possible chance of her return. She had watched with pleasure as the four spaceships disappeared from her view. “Bye, bye,” she whispered with satisfaction. Then she lowered her eyes from the sky, and quickly glanced back over to where she had last seen Traun speaking with his brother. Sharp disappointment settled in her breast when she didn’t see his familiar form. She had lost track of him in the crowd. Maybe…she thought, as she searched over all the dark haired heads

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for the sight of him. Maybe, he’s walked around behind those large crates he had been standing beside, before his brother transported up to the spaceship that waited for him. Steadily she began to work her way toward the huge wooden crates in the open field. Avreen’s heart rate picked up speed with every singleminded short step she took. Both eagerness and fear coursed through her with each step that brought her closer to her one and only love. Walking up to the sides of the huge wooden crates, she stopped and took a deep breath. Then determinedly, she stepped around to the backside of the crate where she suspected Traun was. When she did she disappeared from the view of anyone who may have watched her steady progression. Concealed, deep in his own private thoughts, Traun stood alone. Steadily she walked toward him. Her foot crunched a small twig, the slight noise causing him to look up. She hesitantly smiled, then saw his eyes widen with pleased recognition, before he quickly reached out a long arm, and roughly pulled her into his strong embrace, breathing out her name as he lowered his mouth to hers. Quickly, Avreen raised her mouth to his as excited elation bubbled up in her. She had known he would be happy to see her. He loved her just as she loved him she thought with excitement. She kissed him back hungrily. Traun must have wanted her to come to this planet with him but had felt the duties required of him would have kept her away. Avreen sighed as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Her arms abruptly pulled from around his neck made her look up in surprise at the man she loved with an obsession, and had worked so hard to make her lover. Confusion coursed through her when he pushed her away from him. She tried to focus on what he said, even as she attempted to step back into his arms. “Traun?” she asked in uncertainty, finally hearing his rough, “Stay back,” said to her. She didn’t understand his abrupt change of behavior. Looking at the frown on his face that now replaced Traun’s earlier display of pleasure upon seeing her, Avreen felt fear course through her. **** As Traun looked at Avreen her bewilderment and confusion was

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apparent to him. “Avreen, what are you doing here?” he asked again. She stood motionless before him, her face frozen, eyes glued to his. “How did you manage to sneak on board the spaceship without anyone catching you? This uniform of one of my troop members you’re wearing must have helped you,” he stated, upon noticing the outfit she wore. Avreen finally smiled. “Did you not notice my name on the list of Volunteers? Is that why you pushed me away because you are confused as to my being here?” She didn’t give him time to respond before she rushed to explain about a young girl of Garr, who had taken her life in fear of transferring to the new world. Rapidly, she explained how she had applied to the High Council as a Volunteer and been chosen as the young woman’s replacement. At Avreen’s explanation, Trauns’ brow knitted. “Your name is not on the list of Volunteers. I know I have gone over it many times in preparation for my selection of pairing the Transfers and Volunteers as lifemates.” Avreen smiled serenely at him before she responded, “In the rush of the wormhole opening sooner than expected the High Council members must have failed to have the other woman’s name replaced with mine.” “I have missed you terribly these past nine months, Traun. I know we’ll be happy as lifemate’s together on this new world of ours. You were just afraid to ask me to sign up as a Volunteer, did you think I wouldn’t be happy here?” Avreen laughed as she reached for him. “You must know now, seeing me here that I would go anywhere with you and for you.” Taking a quick step back away from her outstretched hands, Traun didn’t want to hurt her, but apparently, he needed to explain to her again, what he had believed she had fully understood and accepted when they first began their relationship two years ago. “Avreen, I cannot have you for my lifemate. My chosen lifemate is someone whom I can create life with for the survival of our race.” “You love me, Traun. I know you do. You would not have grabbed me as you just did. And been so happy to see me if you didn’t love me.” Avreen watched, frightened when Traun took another step back away from her at her declaration of his love for her. “Avreen, I’ll have to pair you with the Transfer I had selected for the young woman who took her own life.” “No!” Avreen shouted at him. Her eyes locked with his in open

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defiance. “Yes,” Traun swiftly and sharply replied as he stiffened in surprise at her outburst, angered now over her refusal to understand the situation she had gotten herself into. “As your High Commander, I’m telling you, you will marry whomever I select for you to marry. Our whole mission on coming to this planet was to procreate life, life for our survival as a race of people. If I married you, there would be no children from our union.” “Traun…?” Avreen pleaded now in the face of his obvious anger. Traun watched as she stretched out a slender hand to him while tears gathered in soft, pleading eyes that anxiously focused on his. “Please don’t be angry at me, I will do the right thing. If you say I must marry another, then that is what I will do. I want what is best for our people too, same as everyone who transferred here to this planet.” Avreen took a small step back from him. She stood up straighter, and displayed her proud determination to give of herself for the people same as he. At her actions, Traun felt his anger toward her soften. He watched as with determination she got her emotions under control, and decided to do what was best for their race of people. And, when she kindly asked him if he really wanted this unknown earthling, chosen for him by others, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her further by admitting that yes, he wanted his Anna as his lifemate. A desire he had never experienced with her. He now knew that he loved Anna, and was pleased that he was to be married to her and her only. “I must do what is best for our people,” he finally replied. Avreen looked at him queerly for a moment before she abruptly turned and walked away. Leaving him alone just as when she had first found him, behind the crates. I must do what is best for our people, Avreen mulled over the statement made to her after she had asked if Traun really wanted the earthling, he must marry. Her heavy heart gradually lifted, and her step got lighter as she walked further away from the man she was convinced loved and wanted her, yet sacrificed himself for the people of Garr. Smiling to herself, Avreen’s spirits soared. She and Traun would eventually be together. As he said, he must do his duty first. He must create life with that earthling. Avreen shuddered in distaste at her last thought. She must also, she thought with

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firm determination, do what he thought was best for them both. Until the day, he could make her his. Just as she and he secretly knew, he really wanted. **** “Anna,” Charlee called out, as she looked over to where her friend was busily gathering up an armload of broken dead tree limbs. Her own arms were heavy with the broken branches she carried. She and Anna had been given the task of gathering firewood for their small group. Firewood they would need for cooking their evening meal, and once nighttime fell on this strange planet, firewood for a campfire. The others in their group were still busy moving everyone’s personal items to their camping area. Looking up when Charlee called out her name, Anna irritably blew a strand of hair out from in front of her eyes. The physical exertion and heat of the day made the sweat pop out on her forehead and run down the sides of her face. She frowned, when she felt the sweat roll down the center of her back as well. “I have all I can carry,” Charlee called out when she saw Anna look her way. “Okay Charlee, I’ll be right there,” Anna called back, she bent down to pick up the small dead branch that lay at her feet. Raising her chin, she was just able to get it to fit on top of the others. Her arms piled high she carefully turned and started toward Charlee. Walking up to where the last armful of wood they had each gathered, and dumped on the ground lay, Anna lowered her arms. The wood she held fell noisily to the ground. Anna watched as the pieces bounced haphazardly over each other, she quickly jerked her foot back when one large piece almost landed on top of her toes. As she and Charlee swiped at the dirt and bark left on their forearms, they looked up and out across the meadow. A group of men helped a woman move her storage trunks into an area some of the single women had picked out to camp at together. The men all scrambled to see who could bring the woman her things to her the fastest. Her tinkling laughter was heard easily, as was Anna and Charlee’s ability to see her exquisite beautiful features. She wore the same uniform they had seen some of the other men and

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women wearing that had walked around and organized the camp setup. Looking at each other then down to their dirty clothing, Anna and Charlee both grimaced, feeling ugly at that moment. Charlee looked on with an unexpected stab of jealousy when she saw Andrew stop, and speak to the woman, just as he and George started to pass by her. They lugged, between them, a heavy container filled with articles from home. Andrew and George huffed up to where the women stood, as they watched their slow approach. “What did you say to that woman, Andrew?” Anna asked, when he and George bent to set the heavy trunk down. Andrew glanced over at Charlee, and grinned at her as he straightened up from the trunk. He found her appearance appealing, when he noticed the smudge of dirt across one of her cheeks that she apparently was unaware was there. She quietly looked back at him unsmiling. Andrew wondered if maybe she was jealous. That would be a nice change, he thought, especially since he had made such a fool of himself toward her the night he had practically accused her of wanting to sleep with anyone and everyone on board the spaceship, except him. Turning back to his sister, Andrew replied, “She asked if I was the brother to the blonde haired lady who was to be our High Commander’s lifemate. She said she asked, because she had noticed my blond hair when I started to walk by. And, she hadn’t seen anyone else with my color of hair. I told her yes, I was, and she was welcome to come by our campsite tonight, if she wanted to meet you.” “What did she say?” “Nothing, her attention was taken by one of the men helping her to move her things. I might go back later and see if she needs any more help,” he added. He cut his gaze over to see Charlee’s reaction to his statement, he was disappointed when she just turned away without a change of expression. When the servants behind them came into the campsite carrying the remaining personal effects of the individuals connected to the High Commander’s selected campsite, nothing else was said between the young people. Anna and Charlee went back to their duty of gathering firewood. They stacked the smaller, dried pieces they found, in the shallow fire pit they had

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dug out together. The pit was to be used to hold the firewood the evening’s meal rations would be cooked over. Molly, who took the rations handed out, directed the female servants to start the preparations for their evening meal. The smell of cooked food began to waft across the valley. With evening dusk falling over the valley, everyone quieted down, and conversation grew hushed, as the recent inhabitants of the unknown planet settled into their selected areas across the valley. Tired, hot, and sticky, Anna and Charlee both longed for a bath in the creek that flowed not far from where they still busily gathered firewood. The clear running water of the creek looked cool and inviting. “After we take this armload up to the campsite, let’s walk back down to the creek and wash up, before it is time to eat,” Anna told Charlee tiredly, ready to call it a night. “I think we have plenty of firewood, don’t you?” Charlee didn’t reply just shook her head as she agreed with Anna’s suggestion. They slowly trudged back into their campsite where the others gathered. “Andrew, Charlee, and I want to walk back down to the creek to wash off before it’s time to eat. Can you come with us, since it’s getting dark?” Anna asked when she entered the campsite with her last armload of wood. Tiredly, Andrew rose from where he had been silently sitting and listening to the conversation going on between the older women. Molly and the female servants were having an earnest discussion on how to cook the rations handed out to them, while they stood around the open fire pit. His arms and legs ached from his days work. He had just sat down. The large log he, George and the other men had struggled to pull to their campfire for seating, had actually felt comfortable. Molly looked over at Anna’s and Charlee’s dirty cheeks, and lank hair that hung around their tired, sweaty faces. “Anna, see that storage box positioned to the very back of the others? It has towels and wash clothes in it. Go get each of you a towel and a washcloth. There is soap as well as shampoo in the storage box too, don’t waste either of them.” The three young adults eagerly took off down the incline behind their campsite. All of them were anxious, now, to wash the dirt from their bodies in the clear inviting water. “How are we to do this?” Anna asked her brother, when she looked back

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up toward the campsite to the other campers above them. “The others can see us down here.” Glancing back up toward the campsites close to the backside of the incline they had just scrambled down from, Andrew replied. “It’s dark enough, no one should be able to see us down here. If it will make you feel better, I can stand here on the bank with my back toward you and hold out one of these large towels in front of me. That should block anyone’s view. Both you and Charlee can bathe behind me.” Anna and Charlee walked behind Andrew and the towel he held out for them. His arms were stretched wide. Stripping bare they eagerly stepped into the water. Both, quickly, jumped back onto the creek bank when the icy water bit sharply at their feet. “Yeow,” Anna squealed. “What is the matter?” Andrew asked, catching himself when he almost turned around at her squeal of surprise. “This water is icy cold,” Charlee exclaimed from behind him. “Just go for it, you two,” he told them, as he laughed at the girl’s reaction to the water that flowed in the creek. “I am not going to stand here all night, and hold this towel out while you take your time getting used to the water.” The young women reluctantly waded into the icy, four-foot deep water and quickly began to splash it up on themselves as they washed off. They gasped when each cold splash hit their arms, faces, and legs, as they hurriedly washed. Anna quickly, and with a sharp gasp, ducked her head down in the stream and began to wash out the sweat and dirt collected in her hair. Her hands made fast work of shampooing and rinsing out her thick mane of shoulder length blonde hair. Charlee followed suit. Both girls’ teeth chattered when they stepped out of the icy water, goose bumps covered their arms and legs. Drying off they put on clean underwear and their lounging pants with matching tops. Drying the soles of their feet with the edges of their towels, they slipped their feet down into their unlaced shoes. “Your turn now,” Charlee told Andrew. She anticipated his shock when he would feel the icy sting of the water. Anna laughed, as she held up her large and now damp towel in front of

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her as she turned her back to her brother. She handed one end of the towel to Charlee. Charlee took the end of the towel from Anna but continued to stand facing Andrew. She watched him as she grinned in anticipation. “Are you, wanting to watch me undress?” Andrew teased, as he locked blue eyes with green when she failed to turn away after he had stripped off his grubby shirt. He flexed an arm muscle when he noticed Charlee’s eyes flicker down across his bare chest and arms. Snorting, Charlee swiftly turned away from him, embarrassed that she hadn’t turned her back when he had first stripped off his shirt. Her curiosity caught, she hadn’t been able to look away. His broad chest, covered in blond chest hairs that tapered down to a vee into the waistband of his jeans and those well defined arm muscles, would make any red blooded American girl stare, she thought with embarrassment. Her face flushed even more, when Anna looked at her with what she thought was censure. With no more than a curse at the sting of the cold water, Andrew made short work of cleaning the sweat away. Drying off, he pulled on his own cotton lounge pants. Slipping his bare feet down into brown work boots, he quickly reached up, and grasped a fistful of Charlee’s shiny wet hair in front of him. He gave the short, black hair a quick, firm yank. “You can look at me now if you want to,” he teased her throatily. He laughed when she snorted at him as before, and then took off walking at a fast clip back toward their campsite. Andrew followed her, pulling his tee shirt over his head as he grinned to himself. “Leave her alone, Andrew,” Anna told her brother from where she walked behind him, carrying their wet towels. She worried what would happen with the two when Traun paired her brother with one of the female Volunteers from the planet Garr. Anna didn’t know whether to tell each of them what was in store for them or to keep quiet. Keep quiet, she decided to herself, as she followed Andrew. Quiet in the hopes that thing’s would work out for the best, as they were both aware that none of them had any control over whom they would be paired with. “Um,” Andrew said when he caught the aroma that came from where the group of women stood around the cooking pot. His stomach, growled loudly in response to the smell of the food they were cooking when he and the girls strolled back into their campsite.

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“Molly, that smells delicious,” Andrew told her, as he eagerly walked over to the fire pit. The fire in the shallow dugout pit crackled, as the burning logs spit glowing sparks of ambers out and up into the cool night air. Generously, Molly spooned out the mouth-watering food from the bubbling pot that hung over the open fire. She then handed Andrew the loaded down plate. “Don’t tell me. Tell the women who helped prepared it, that it smells good,” she informed him, pointing to the women who stood around her. “They are the ones who thought to bring spices with them that we were able to use.” Andrew smiled over at the women servants who had prepared the meal. “Thanks,” he told them wholeheartedly, as he anticipated the taste of the food. He watched as they ducked their heads over his compliment, then smiled broadly at him. Taking the full plates handed to them, Anna and Charlee sniffed at the food appreciatively. “Thank you,” they told the women, before they followed behind Andrew to sit down upon the logs he and the other men had strategically, placed around the campfire. Andrew made sure Charlee would sit on one side of him as he waited for the women to choose a place sit. When they started to sit down beside each other, he quickly plopped down between them. Hurriedly scooting across the log to give him the room needed to sit between her and his sister, Charlee nearly lost her plate. She looked at him in exasperation, then quickly looked back down at her plate when he boldly winked at her. Anna could barely keep her eyes open as she finished the last bite of the delicious meal. She still didn’t know what it was she ate, the same mystery food as the meals prepared on board the spaceship, but the prepared food tonight had a flavor and texture that she had savored. “Give me your plates,” she told her brother and friend when they finished eating. The work of the day and the open air must have made them all extra hungry, she thought, as she carried the empty plates over to the women heating water to wash up as everyone finished their meal. “Let me help wash the dishes,” Anna told the women, when she approached them, she knew they must be just as tired as she was. Anna stepped up to the short round tub they had set atop a tree stump and filled

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with steaming hot water. She lowered the plates she held into the steaming water, and then began to roll her nightshirt sleeve up to her elbow on her right arm. She paused in the act, as the women around her began to excitedly chatter amongst themselves as they watched her actions, talking fast and furious in the tongue of Garr. Anna was unable to catch any of the words they were saying. However, she did understand that they were all shaking their heads at her indicating no. They didn’t want her help. One bravely stepped forward and bowed to her. Then, she very animatedly repeated in choppy English what it was the other women had tried to tell her. Walking up to where Anna stood, looking in bafflement at the excited women around her, Molly told her, “Anna, don’t try to help them. They will be insulted and hurt. They’ll think you don’t care for their work.” “Oh. But, I know they are tired just as we are.” “It’s just not done, Anna. You are to be their High Commander’s lifemate. You are not expected to help them. It is their duty to serve you. They want to help you and their High Commander. It’s considered an honor, and privilege in their eyes, to serve the High Commander’s household. They are doing what they can for the race of our people.” Anna felt embarrassed as the women before her wrung their hands. “Will you tell them, Molly that I appreciate their hard work and I just wanted to help them with the chores? Let them know that I didn’t mean to insult them.” Anna looked at the women, and worried if they would understand her motives, she then turned back to Molly. “I don’t understand how the world you come from can be so technically advanced, yet still have such an ancient attitude toward people and their status, we are all equal. There should not be a separation in equality because of status.” “Anna that is the way it has always been. Anyone can improve his or her status in life. We don’t have a closed social class order. Everyone can move up the hierarchy, if and when, the opportunity comes to them. It is just that the ones on the lower end of the hierarchy are servants. Go visit with Andrew and Charlee. I’ll tell the servants that you appreciate their hard work.” Molly turned toward the women and spoke to them in her soft way, calming their upset. Anna walked back over to where Charlee still sat beside Andrew on the large tree branch. They had observed the commotion between her and the

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servants. “What was that all about?” Charlee asked when she approached. “I guess I just insulted our servants by wanting to help do the dishes,” Anna replied as she looked at her friend and brother. “I think I’m going to go lay down before I do something else wrong,” she told them, still wondering about the class system of Garr and their ancient ways. “Besides, I’m exhausted,” she stated, as she walked to where the servants had spread her bedroll out on the ground earlier for her. Wearily, Anna slipped her shoes from her feet and stepped onto the neatly folded back top of her bedroll. Sitting down, she inched her way under the covers, and pulled them up high under her chin. The night air felt cool. Lying on her back, she folded her arms behind her head and stared up at the flickering stars. She felt awe that there was another universe that contained a planet which so closely resembled earth. Yet, so different in so many ways, she thought, as she sleepily noticed what looked like two hazy outlined planets way up in the dark sky above her, beyond the planet’s moon. I miss Traun, she thought, drowsily, as she yawned broadly into the night, she realized this would be the first night in three weeks time that they hadn’t either seen each other or spoken to each other before they went to bed. Rolling over onto her side, she faced away from the flickering light of the campfire, with her arm curved under her head Anna closed her eyes in exhausted slumber. Strolling up to the campsite, several hours later, where she was sound asleep, Traun had just left from visiting with the patrol surrounding the new campsite. On the morrow, everyone would be married by the Keeper, of the Book of Wisdom, he had decided. Afraid to let too many days go by before he paired the couples together, he didn’t need relationships to spring up between individuals who were not going to be paired as lifemates. What a mess, he thought, this responsibility of pairing individuals together, who may or may not fit, personality wise. Nevertheless, the select pairing was necessary, as he alone knew the genetic makeup each carried within them. Genes that would guarantee their offspring would be healthy and strong, because of the diluted human genes mixed with the people of Garr. Having left his men, Traun wanted to see his Anna as he unconsciously had taken to calling her. He soundlessly walked among the sleeping

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prostrate bodies in the campsite. Finally he spotted Anna’s blonde hair across the flickering campfire and strolled over to where she lay. Squatting down beside her, he gazed down at her sleeping form for a moment, before he reached out and stroked the backside of his fingers down her exposed cheek and chin. Reassured of his Anna’s safety, he stood back up. As he looked around the campsite he wondered where the servants had laid his bedroll, he needed badly to catch a few hours of shuteye before it was time to circle the camp again. A light sleeper, Andrew had woken when Traun first walked into the campsite. He silently watched as Traun had searched for and then found what he looked for when he had walked over to where his sister slept. When Traun rose from his squatting position beside Anna, and scanned the campsite, Andrew quietly got to his feet from where he lay on top of his bedroll and walked to where an empty one had been laid several feet from his own. He bent and picked it up. Noiselessly, he stepped around the bodies scattered on the ground before him as he walked over to where Traun stood. “Here, why don’t you spread this out on the ground beside Anna,” he said in hushed tones, as he handed the bedroll to the High Commander. Reaching out over Anna, Traun took the bedroll from her brother’s outstretched hands. “Thanks,” he replied. He hadn’t realized until he had stood up from beside Anna that Andrew had been awake, and aware of his presence in the camp. “I noticed the men patrolling the area. I have trained in the military. If you trust me, I can help.” “I am aware of your training, Andrew. That is why I wanted to leave you here at the side of Anna, and the rest of the group lying here asleep.” Andrew shrugged his shoulders, “I didn’t know if you were aware of my background. I wasn’t sure what was going on with you having the area patrolled.” Traun studied Andrew’s unsmiling face. He liked Andrew and the way he conducted himself as a man. He had a gut feeling that he was someone he could rely upon if, or when, he should need his assistance or backing. “The surrounding area we are camped in, and some miles beyond were scanned by the Commanders from the spaceships before they transferred the passengers down. There was no life form picked up on the scanners, even

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after the area was scanned twice. I don’t believe there is any danger lurking out there at the present time. Nevertheless, we still need to stay alert just in case. Eventually, I will send ground scouts out to investigate the area beyond where we are camped, to see if they find any evidence of other life. What they find will let me know if I should continue with the nightly patrols,” he stated in hushed tones, not wishing to wake Anna or the others sleeping around them. He knew Anna’s brother was anxious to be of help, which was why he took the time to explain to him his plans in figuring out this new planet. “I don’t plan to send the ground scouts out until after we have our huts erected. I want to first ensure we all have shelter from the elements, and a safe place to sleep at night.” “Let me know if I can be of any help,” Andrew told him earnestly. “If you should want volunteers to scout the area, I’m willing to give you my assistance.” He turned and walked back to his own bedroll. Bending down, Traun spread his bedroll beside Anna’s. He lay down on top of it fully clothed and stretched out. Raising his arms, he placed them behind his head. Closing his eyes, he instantly slipped into a light sleep, needing the rest after the long day he had just been through. Dozing lightly, he stirred a few hours later, and then rose to check on the rest of the camp as he started his day’s routine over again. His bedroll was neatly folded and placed back down beside Andrew.

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Chapter 9 The next morning, Anna woke to the sounds of the servants preparing the morning meal, she was eager to experience another day on her strange, new world. Rising from her bedroll, she searched for a glimpse of Traun, as she gazed out across the valley and the campsite’s spread out close by. I wonder where he slept last night, she thought, when she failed to locate him. Andrew and Charlee were arguing again, she noticed, when she took her eyes from the valley around her. Charlee said something to her brother that Anna could tell made him mad. She watched as her brother abruptly turned from her friend and swiftly walked out of the campsite. Anna sighed to herself, shaking her head over their budding relationship. She was afraid that they both were scheduled for hurt. I’m glad, I already know that Traun and I are to be paired together, she thought, anxious to see him again. Reaching down, she picked up her bedroll and shook it out. She started to roll it up neatly, when one of the servants quickly walked over and reached to take it from her hands, smiling cheerfully at her as she did so. Smiling back at the determined servant, Anna gave up her bedroll. “Let’s go search for something to wear out of our boxed up clothing, and get ready for the day,” she told Charlee, when she walked over to where Charlee dejectedly stood. She decided not to ask what the argument had been about with her brother. “Good morning,” Anna called out gaily as George and Molly approached. George smiled at Anna’s high spirits. “Anna, the High Commander has decided that all the Volunteers, and Transfers, are to be united today. We are to meet together with the others down in the valley in about two hours.” George looked at Charlee who stood silently beside Anna. “You are to come too. He said for you to be prepared to be paired off as well.” Peering at her friend, Anna was excited at this unexpected news. She

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wondered if somehow, Traun was going to be able to grant her request. Oh, she hoped so, for both Andrew’s and Charlee’s sakes. “Let’s go get ready, Charlee.” Anna laughed in high spirits. When Charlee just stood there, as if she wasn’t for sure what to do, Anna grabbed her arm, and pulled on her friend, forcing her to move. No bridal dresses or veils for the young women. None were even brought on their journey to the new world. Anna and Charlee donned their everyday clothes, both wore knee length shorts with halter sun tops. After slipping their feet into comfortable sandals, they were ready to go. They knew that after the group wedding was over, they were to go to work. George had informed them everyone was expected to work. The High Commander had stated they could not waste a day in celebration. They did not have the time to spare. Everyone was expected to work hard for the next couple of months, helping to erect shelter for each other. Anna was ready to begin her life with Traun, prepared to embrace their union together on this beautiful planet. She strived to keep her pace in step with the others who walked beside her, the eagerness she felt though made her want to run to where he waited. Molly and George smiled at each other. They listened as she joked with Charlee. She attempted to get her friend to smile over some silly bridegroom joke she was telling her, Charlee finally erupted into laughter when Anna messed up the punch line. As their small group walked up to the crowd, Anna glimpsed Traun’s broad shoulders as he stood on top of a large crate. And standing by his side was a strange looking old man. Or, what appeared to be an old man to her, as she gazed up and over the heads of the people in front of her. The man had a long, snow white, thick braid of hair that hung down his back to his waist. His eyebrows, the same snow-white color were thick and bushy. He wore a long sleeved black, flowing robe that hid his hands and feet from view. Good grief, Anna thought as she looked him over, I wonder who this strange, character is? She glanced over at Molly and George to gauge what their reaction was on seeing the weird looking man who talked to Traun. They didn’t appear to find anything odd in his dress or looks. She turned back toward Traun and watched as he spoke quietly to the man. When the odd-looking man bowed

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to Traun, then slowly backed away to stand behind him, Anna was alerted that something was about to happen. Turning toward the crowd below him, Traun raised his arms for silence. The people around Anna instantly grew quiet, their eyes glued to their High Commander. He smiled down at them for a moment then spoke. “It appears that we were lucky and landed here on this new world during its spring cycle. There was no recorded information in our history books on what the seasons would be like on this planet. This first year that we are here, will be a lesson for us all on what to expect from one season to the next. Without any prior knowledge to go by, we must be prepared for the worst kind of weather.” “Now, in saying that, following the ceremony, I expect everyone to help in erecting shelter. Once our shelter is erected we will then have a celebration for what is about to occur this morning.” Pausing in his instructions, Traun looked out at his people’s eager faces. “Today,” he began in an impassioned voice easily carried across the crowd, “is our much anticipated day, a day that the leaders of our world of Garr worked diligently toward and planned for, for years. They had a vision for the survival of our race. That vision will finally reach its conclusion by all of you who stand before me. The day the Volunteers of Garr will be united as lifemates, with the Transfers from the planet earth. Through, their combined genetic makeup and ours, will we give our race the ability to survive into the next generation and beyond. The children that will be forthcoming from our unions after today will guarantee our survival as a people from this day forward. We are to forget that we are each from separate worlds. We are now only of this world. A world of new beginnings, a world for continued life, a world from henceforth, to be known by the name of Garrearth!” The people all cheered wildly at his words. Their High Commander looked back at the man who stood silently behind him. The crowd quieted when he turned back toward them and held up a hand for quiet. “The Keeper, of the Book of Wisdom shall enter into its hallowed pages the name Garrearth, he shall record it from this day forward, as meaning rebirth, life giving. Our new world shall begin in the year two thousand and seven, for the Transfers from earth, and in the year eight thousand and one, for the people from Garr. Today is the day of our beginning, when two worlds shall merge as one. It shall be recorded as the

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first day of our beginning in our history book.” The crowd began to cheer again as they agreed with what he said. Traun held up his arm as he requested their silence once more. When they grew quiet, he spoke. “My chosen lifemate and I shall be united as one, after the Volunteers and Transfers are united. The Keeper, of the Book of Wisdom, shall call each of the names paired together from the list I have given him. You are to come forward and stand beside each other when your names are called out, linking you as one. The Keeper shall then unite you as lifemates from this day forward and forevermore.” The crowd around Anna whistled and cheered. Anna watched as each of the Transfers and Volunteers whose names were announced, walked toward the waiting holy man, and each other. Some smiled happily, others with anxious expressions reflected. She held her breath upon hearing her brother’s name announced, and then slowly released it when his name was followed by the name of Charlee White. Charlee jerked in surprise beside Anna when she heard her name announced after Andrew’s, linking her to him. When she looked at Anna, her face showed her stunned, disbelief. Andrew swiftly walked over to Charlee, and possessively, grabbed hold of her hand, leading her after him to stand with the others. Taking her eyes off her brother and best friend, Anna gazed around at the crowd surrounding her, only then did she become aware of the exquisite beautiful woman that had spoken to Andrew the night before, the one who had asked him about her. The woman stood only a few yards away in the crowd and gazed over her shoulder at her. Anna smiled at the woman. A look of surprise, filtered across her face when she saw her smile. Her expression changed, as she stared back, unsmiling. Beautiful, brown eyes reflected pity, before she abruptly turned away. She walked forward when the Keeper, of the Book of Wisdom called out the name, Avreen. Puzzled, Anna watched her. She was curious as to the strange look of sympathy she had seen flashed for a moment, before the woman turned away. Cold chills swept over Anna and raced down her arms. Distractedly, she rubbed her hands over the top of her arms. A premonition her subconscious gave that went unheard. “Anna.” Anna swiveled around toward Molly.

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Molly hurriedly walked up to where she stood. “Anna, the High Commander has called for you to come forward.” Turning, Anna walked toward the makeshift platform to where Traun stood and toward who she now knew was a holy man dressed in the black flowing robe. The holy man stood beside Traun as they waited for her approach. Now that the moment was upon her, Anna was suddenly nervous, and fearful of what the future might hold. She didn’t look over at the woman she had smiled at earlier. The woman had been paired with one of the male Transfers from earth she had gotten to know and liked. She kept her gaze focused on Traun. He was her future now. He who as Molly had jokily, stated, she had been conceived specifically for. Traun watched, as Anna gracefully, walked through the parted crowd toward him. When she approached the crate, he reached out his hand to her, and helped her to step up to where he stood. The morning sunlight caressed strands of her blonde hair with gentle fingers, seeing it, he was jealous of the sun’s roving fingers, and wanted to replace them with his own. “My Lady Anna,” a female voice yelled out in the crowd. Anna turned to see who had called out to her. One of the female servants of Traun’s ran up to the crate to where she stood. The servant breathlessly, handed up to her a handful of blue flowers she had picked. Smiling down at the woman, Anna bent and took the beautiful wild flowers from the woman’s outstretched hand. It was the same servant from the evening before, who had tried to explain to her that she wasn’t to help her or the other servants clean up the dishes. “You have a loyal servant already, Anna,” Traun quietly told her, when she looked at him in surprise over the flowers being given to her. “Come, let’s go stand beside the Keeper.” Gently, he grasped her elbow. “The crowd is anxious to see the unions,” he told her as he guided her over to stand beside the holy man. Anna listened as the holy man chanted in the foreign language of Garr to the ninety-nine couples below where she stood. She watched, as a younger version of the holy man, only he had long black hair, made the mark that indicated the couples were united, and then with a solemn face, he dripped oil over the clasped hands of the couples. He then covered their hands with his, and gazed into their eyes for a moment before he moved on to the next couple and repeated the process.

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Once the younger, holy man had worked his way through the ninetynine couples, the white haired holy man, who stood on the platform with the High Commander and Anna, turned toward them. He began to chant again the same singsong words, he had just said down over the other couples. He reached out and lightly grasped, Anna’s left hand when he finished his chant. Anna winced, when he quickly pierced the skin on top of her hand between her thumb and forefinger with the slim needle he held, leaving behind a small, round black tattoo mark. The same type as Molly and George had on top of each of their hands. He then placed Traun’s right hand over her left one, and repeated the procedure, marking the top of Traun’s hand. The Holy man picked up the beaker of oil that sat on the makeshift platform floor at his feet. Upon rising, he tilted the glass he held, and poured several drops of the holy oil on top of Traun’s hand that covered Anna’s. He then laid his hand on top of their clasped ones and looked deeply into both her and Traun’s eyes for a moment before he stepped back away from them. The crowd below cheered wildly, ready to embrace this new world of theirs with the leadership of their High Commander and his lifemate who stood regally by his side. Traun retained his hold of Anna’s hand, keeping her by his side as he turned and gave instructions to the crowd below them. After his direction, everyone split into groups, getting the equipment needed to build their living huts out of the crates around them. The holy man stepped down from the makeshift platform. Turning toward Anna, Traun gazed down at her. “Hello, my lifemate,” he told her in a quiet undertone. “Hello,” Anna responded back, she felt as if everything that had just happened was unreal. The whole situation surreal, she realized that now she was actually tied to someone from another world. Someone she had been born to breed with for the future of the world of Garr. Shakily she drew in a breath of air. “What now?” “We go to work.” ****

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Anna was surprised at how fast the huts were erected by the strong ablebodied men. There were at least twelve erected that day alone. The material stretched tightly over the frames of the erected huts reminded Anna of tent canvas material. To her amazement, when water was added to the tautly stretched material, it started a chemical chain reaction which caused it to harden. The material became impermeable to the elements of nature once it was dry. It feels like cement, once dry, Anna thought, as she ran her fingers down the wall of her and Traun’s hut, one of the first to be built. Each living hut was around six hundred square feet, small, yet livable for a time. It would take them a little over a month and a half maybe two, Traun had told her, to get all the living huts and storage buildings erected. Three hundred and fiftyone to be exact, in the meantime, everyone would have to camp out as before. Hopefully, things would go as planned and nothing would hamper their efforts. The women worked just as hard as the men in preparing shelter. Several of the women in the camp, including Anna, were given the task of toting water from the creek below the encampment to the recently erected huts. They handed their buckets of water to the men and women who waited for them. The men and women in turn, soaked the fabric down and then smoothed the material out with their hands. The chemically changed material would stand up to nature at least ten years or so, before it would begin to slowly deteriorate. By dusk, everyone was tired, yet exhilarated, over what had been accomplished in just one day. Traun walked beside Anna, with Andrew and Charlee as they headed toward their campsite. Molly and the women servants had came back early to the campsite to wash up, and start the evening meal. George had come with them to prepare the campfires, one for the women to cook over, and another for everyone to gather around for the evening. When they entered the campsite, Traun and Andrew walked over, sat down, and began conversing with George where he sat relaxing beside the burning campfire. As they walked toward their trunks of clothing, Anna asked Charlee if she wanted to go down to the creek with her to wash off before eating, if their meal wasn’t ready yet.

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Charlee agreed to go with her. In dismay, Anna turned back toward Charlee after she looked down toward the creek bed. “On second thought, let’s wait until the crowd clears before we go down to the creek to bathe.” She and Charlee looked back down the incline toward the creek. All along the creek bank were individuals who attempted to bathe behind hastily erected blinds, although no one lingered long. “I agree, let’s wait,” Charlee replied, then turned and walked to where her trunks sat. Turning, Anna strolled over to where Andrew and Traun talked amongst themselves with George as they sat around the campfire. She smiled at George when he rose to go to where Molly stood, and directed the evening meal. Gingerly, Anna sat down beside her husband. The recent hard day’s work caused her leg muscles to protest the movement. During a lull in the conversation, Andrew rose, and walked over to Charlee. He said something to her before he went on and picked up a towel and a change of clothing from his own packed trunk of personal items. They spoke quietly together for a moment when he came back to her, before they turned and walked toward the creek bed together. “Well, I guess that leaves me to go by myself to bathe,” Anna stated as she watched her brother and new sister-in-law walk away together. Glancing over at Anna, Traun picked up the hand lying beside his. He looked at the blisters forming from their hard work that day when he turned her palm over. Raising her palm to his mouth, he lightly kissed it. “I wanted some time with you by myself tonight, so I’m glad they went on ahead. I’ll take you down to the creek later. You and I can bathe after everyone else is gone.” Anna shivered in response to his gentle touch. Embarrassed, she looked away from him and tugged her hand out of his. “Traun,” she whispered so the others in the camp couldn’t overhear, “We can’t...you know…not tonight. Everyone will know.” Traun leaned in closer, his laugh low as Anna let him know she had misunderstood what he had meant. “We could…you know…but, I want guaranteed privacy the first time I make love to you, sweetheart. So, you are safe for now. A bath is all we’ll do tonight,” he growled as he watched the attractive blush tint her face.

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**** Much later that night, after everyone was fast asleep in the campsite around them, Traun reached a long arm over to where Anna lay awake in her bedroll, not far from his. Instinctively, he knew she was wide-awake, the same as he. Grasping her bedroll in his large hand, he pulled it and her over against his own. He rose up on his elbows, and looked down into her astonished eyes blinking up at him. “What do you think you are doing?” she whispered. “I wanted to kiss you goodnight. Now that everyone is asleep, I believe I will,” he whispered back, as he wrapped an arm around her. “You’re crazy,” smiling happily up at him, Anna wiggled even closer. Traun devoured her lips, his kiss then glided across her cheek. Swallowing back a groan of desire he whispered hoarsely in her ear, “I shouldn’t have done that. Now I will never get to sleep.” “Me either,” Anna breathlessly whispered back. Dozing off in the wee hours of the morning, Traun rose after only a few hours of rest. Everyone else in the campsite around him still sound asleep. He felt a surge of desire hit him full force again when he glanced down at Anna. The top buttons of the nightshirt she wore had come unbuttoned during the night, exposing her bare breasts to him in the moonlit premorning hours. Unbeknownst to her, Traun reached down and quickly buttoned her nightshirt back up. Turning from her, he took off for the creek bed below their campsite its icy cold water could do double duty, curb his desire and wake him up at the same time, he decided. Although the sun hadn’t risen yet to announce a brand new day, he didn’t want to waste any daylight hours.

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Chapter 10 “What do you think, Charlee?” Anna asked her friend, after they had both finished lugging the last of her and Traun’s belongings into the hut, erected just two weeks ago. Two weeks in which one hundred and forty huts had been hastily erected. Charlee’s and Andrew’s home was just six huts down from Anna’s and Traun’s. No one lived in the recently erected huts yet, as everyone was too busy with getting living huts built for each other. Everyone fell exhausted into their bedrolls at the end of the day, and had no time or energy to move their belongings into the completed personal huts, except for today. Charlee looked at where the male servants had placed the large bed Traun had brought with him from Garr. “I think it should stay where it is. You can walk around both sides of it. And, you can section that corner off, if you want to, it would hide the bed from view of the rest of the open room. It’s so heavy and huge, I don’t want to try to move it.” Anna looked at the bed. It was huge, but it needed to be to accommodate Traun’s extra tall and wide shouldered body. She shrugged as she agreed with Charlee. “Okay, we won’t attempt to move it. It stays where it is. Besides it needs to be far enough away from the fireplace, so the covers won’t catch fire.” Anna eyeballed the distance from the bumped out fireplace to the corner of the bed and judged there to be plenty of distance between the two. Traun had told her the chemically altered material was able to handle the heat from the fireplace, he guaranteed her it wouldn’t catch the rest of the building on fire, when a fire was built within its structure. All of the huts also had one solar powered light attached to the center of the ceiling with one window placed at the back of the structure. “Are your hands as blistered up as mine are?” Anna asked Charlee. She

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blew on a freshly burst blister as she tried to stop the stinging sensation on the palm of her hand. Charlee glanced at her hands and then whistled in sympathy. “Molly gave me some ointment for mine. Have you not used it?” “Well it would have been nice if someone had told me we had ointment for our hands,” Anna stated angrily. “Don’t be mad at me.” “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself. I haven’t said anything, since I never heard anyone else complain. Help me rip this tee shirt into small strips. I am going to wrap my hands so we can get back to work and lug the rest of your belongings to yours and Andrew’s hut. When we get back to camp I’ll get some of that ointment.” Charlee helped Anna rip the tee shirt into strips then securely wrapped her friend’s blistered, and raw palms with a couple of the small clean strips. Charlee and Anna had been able to work on getting their things moved to their completed homes, only because the men in the camp that day worked on erecting a hut in the center of the village that would be large enough to accommodate village meetings. The hut would be used to conduct community meetings by the yet to be elected High Council members, who would directly report to the High Commander and he to them, under certain circumstances. Another day of labor for the men, and then, water would need to be hauled from the creek to the newly erected building, so they could start the chemical hardening process of the material that would be stretched tightly over the community hut frame. Stepping out the door of her and Traun’s newly erected home, Anna noticed that Traun walked toward her. His long confidant strides hesitated for a moment as he looked to his right, and paused as someone called out for his attention. Curiously, she looked over at the hut he had turned toward, about eight huts down from where she stood. She watched as he strode over to the woman who had called out to him. **** When Traun approach Avreen, she stepped out of her open doorway and smiled prettily at him. “Avreen, did you need something?” he asked with resignation, he had

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attempted to stay out of her path, after what she had said to him one evening, four nights ago. Casually, she had walked up beside him that night, and strolled along with him after he had passed her campsite. Her lifemate one of the night guards he had posted on the other end of their encampment. “I’m willing to meet with you later tonight. I know how tedious your required duty must be in creating life with that earthling,” she had told him. Stunned, he had abruptly stopped walking, turned, and looked at her in surprise. He had wanted to reach out and shake some sense into her. What was going through her mind to say something like that to him? Aware of the others who could see them talking together, he restrained his urge. “Avreen, I explained the situation to you that first day here,” he had replied keeping his voice deliberately lowered. “We both now have lifemates we must live with and strive for happiness with. You need to focus your attention on your lifemate.” “I don’t understand why you’re acting this way toward me? I thought that was why you posted my lifemate on the opposite end of where we are camped. I thought that was why you walked by my campsite just now.” After Avreen’s statement, he had in disgust, strode away from her and her pouting lips. He had wondered, after that night, if he shouldn’t explain to Anna about Avreen, but had quickly decided against it for the time being. He was fearful of her response should she learn of their past intimate relationship. He knew he loved Anna, but was uncertain of her own feelings toward him. She appeared content with him as her lifemate. Yet, she had not openly expressed her emotions, one way or another to him. Given his uncertainty, he felt they still needed time to get to know one another better, before they faced the complicated issue of Avreen. “Avreen did you need something?” Traun asked again, when she failed to respond to his first inquiry. He wryly observed her eager smile directed at him. “Traun I must speak with you. It has been two weeks since the marriage ceremony. I’ve done my duty as you instructed. I know you’re busy but we need time for us, too. Please, don’t be mad at me for asking for some of your time.” Traun frowned, he didn’t understand what she was babbling on about. This continued misunderstanding of hers that somehow they were still

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linked together as lovers, needed straightened out. She seemed to fail to understand that the intimate relationship they had on Garr was over. They did need to talk privately, and frankly on his part he realized, as he looked back at her. “Okay, Avreen, I’ll meet with you tomorrow night. I will put your lifemate on night duty. Watch for when I pass by your hut during my rounds, then give me about an hour and wait for me behind your hut.” Traun stiffened when she laid her hand on his arm. Avreen quickly withdrew her hand. “I’m sorry, no one saw me touch you,” she smiled up at him. When he turned away from her, Traun noticed Anna’s brother walking up the slight hill toward his own lifemate, who stood beside Anna outside their hut door. Feeling distaste, rise within at the situation between him and Avreen, he wondered if Andrew had seen or heard anything. This misunderstanding, Avreen has about the two of us, is definitely going to be cleared up by tomorrow night, he thought with sudden anger. All he needed on top of the other demands placed on his shoulders was an angry brother demanding an explanation. Andrew had seen Avreen’s face tilted up toward the High Commander’s. And her hand possessively lay on his arm when he had passed them by. He had been unable to see Traun’s face to gauge what his expression had reflected. Hers definitely had been that of someone who was in love with the person in front of her. As he swiftly walked past the talking couple toward Charlee, he hoped, the High Commander was not the kind to participate in any type of disloyal behavior. He was unwilling to see his little sister hurt. Traun hadn’t struck him as an individual who would conduct himself in that way. He seemed to be someone who valued family. Unclenching his jaw, Andrew forced himself to relax as he walked up, and smiled at Charlee, sure that what he had seen could easily be explained away. “Hey,” he said as he stopped in front of her. “How are you feeling this afternoon?” he asked with concern. “I didn’t know you were feeling unwell?” Anna looked at her friend. Charlee shrugged a shoulder. “I feel fine now. I just didn’t feel too good this morning.” Putting his arm around his wife’s waist, Andrew told her, “Come on, let’s go see what you two girls have gotten moved into our small home.”

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Anna watched as they walked away together. They seem to get along fine now that they are married, she thought as she waited for Traun to stroll up to her. He and her brother didn’t say anything to each other as they passed, just a slight nod of their heads to one another, she noted. When Traun reached her, he quickly pulled her into their hut and closed the door behind him. “At last, a moment just to ourselves” he told her as he backed her up to the inside of the closed door, all the while smiling down at her. Laughing at his devilish smile, Anna anticipated his kiss as he lowered his head. Leaning fully into her, Traun wanted to feel her against him. His breathing was labored when he finally raised his mouth from hers. “Anna we are sleeping in here in two night’s time. I’m not waiting any longer.” He took an abrupt step back from her, frustrated that he didn’t have the time to make her his completely then and there, and remnants of anger still lingered inside over the situation with Avreen. He wondered if he shouldn’t have done like some of the other couples he had noticed sneaking around when they thought no one was aware. Maybe he should have weeks ago, taken Anna out to the woods behind one of the huge trees and made her his instead of wanting to wait for them to be moved into their hut, his frustration level was at a high point that day he realized. Anna, not prepared for his abrupt withdrawal still had her arms clasped around his waist. One of her fingernails inadvertently caught at the strip of cloth wrapped around the opposite hand. She hissed in pain as the nail scrapped deeply across her raw, blistered palm. “What’s wrong?” Traun asked as he stilled. “I scrapped a fingernail over a blister,” Anna withdrew her arms from around him, in pain she looked down at her hand. Only then noticing the white cloth wrapped around each of her hands, Traun reached for the hand she was looking at. Grasping it, he began to pull the strips away, and then sucked in his breath when he saw her raw palm, bloody now from the deep scrap of her fingernail. “What have you been doing these past two weeks?” he demanded as he yanked the rest of the rags away. He reached for her other hand, and unrolled the rags from it too. Grasping both of her hands, he gazed down at her palms, furious that he didn’t have the time to pay attention to her during

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the day, much less at night. He had been too busy with keeping everything on schedule as planned. Always leaving before sunup, and usually coming back into their campsite, well after everyone else was in bed fast asleep. Anna yanked her hands from Traun’s grasp, and glared up at him, angered over his accusatory tone. “I’ve been working the same as everyone else.” “Don’t you have to go back to work?” she demanded, whirling away from him. “Stay here,” he ordered before he stalked out the door. As she watched him go, Anna fumed. What did he think, she’d done this to her hands on purpose? Walking to the now open door, Anna saw that woman, Avreen, discreetly wave at him when he walked swiftly by. I’m going to ask him about her, she thought, with self righteous anger, as she went back inside to sit on one of the boxes that lined the walls, she shook her hand at the stinging sensation where her nail had scrapped over her open blisters. Twenty minutes later, Traun abruptly strolled back into the hut. When he walked over to her, he instructed, “Give me one of your hands.” He opened the tube he held and squeezed some of the contents over her palm. Anna held up the other palm as he instructed, the soft cream instantly soothed her aching palms when he rubbed the medication over them. “What is it?” she sullenly asked, thankful for the blessed relief. “Just something from the Learned One, it will help heal your hands. You should have shown me your hands days ago,” he stated his tone abrupt. “How was I supposed to show them to you? When this is the first time in two weeks we’ve actually gotten to talk to each other. Besides, I can take care of myself,” she stated. “I can clearly see that,” he responded dryly, as he put the cap back on the tube of medication he held, and then handed it to her. Anna bristled at his condescending tone. “Who is this Avreen woman you were talking to before you came to the hut?” she demanded. “I noticed, she so happily…” Anna ground out in dislike, “waved to you when you went back by to get the medication.” Gazing down at Anna, Traun wondered how their discussing her hands had just jumped to her asking about Avreen. Did she suspect their past relationship with each other? He wasn’t ready to explain that complication

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to her today, and especially not in the fighting mood they were both currently in. “You know what little lady. You had better get used to me talking to all the people under my command, male or female. I am their High Commander and if someone seeks me out day or night, I will stop and listen to what they have to say. There is no room for jealousy as my lifemate.” “Did I say I was jealous?” Anna demanded, hurt over his highhanded attitude toward her. “I’m not jealous. I just asked a simple question. I could care less who you talk to, Mr. High Commander,” Anna curled her lip daringly in a sneer then ducked her head down at the flare of anger she saw at her impertinent attitude. She wished he would hurry and leave before she started to cry, the whole situation had gotten out of hand, as far as she was concerned. Intense anger flared through Traun at Anna’s smart-alecky attitude, and at her telling him she could care less who he talked to. Looking down at her, he realized she didn’t care for him in the same way he cared for her. As his uncle had told him on the spaceship, he thought bitterly, she was an intelligent woman who was trying to make the best choices in an unusual situation. Well, so be it, he thought before he turned and stalked out the door without another word. When Traun exited the doorway of the hut, Anna’s shoulders slumped. So much for my misguided assumption of our compatibility with one another, she thought. Dejectedly she wiped at the tears on her face with the backs of her hands. Not feeling like seeing anyone, Anna stayed, and worked at organizing the layout of the small interior of the hut. Charlee never showed back up the rest of the afternoon. Which, she was thankful for, she really didn’t want to discuss the argument with anyone. It was dusk before she left the hut, and walked the short distance to her family’s campsite. When she walked into camp, she attempted to walk directly through it, she didn’t want to be there if Traun came in from his evening duties early. She planned to go straight down to the creek to wash up before the evening meal, and then to bed early. Carrying a towel and her pajama bottoms and a tee shirt under her arm, Anna didn’t speak as she passed Andrew, then George. She was almost through the campsite, thankful that Traun wasn’t anywhere to be seen, when Molly stopped her, and asked

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to see her hands, telling her that Traun had informed her about them. Molly, tsked, over them when Anna raised her palms up to her for her inspection. “Honey, you should have told me. I would have known to get the medication for you.” “I didn’t think there was anything you could do.” Anna shrugged. “Keep the medication applied to them frequently throughout the day.” Molly told her looking at her closely. “You feeling okay?” she asked, pushing Anna’s hair back from her face when she noticed her slightly red eyes and puffy face. “Crap,” Anna thought, upon seeing Traun walk into the camp out of the corner of her eye. “I’m fine Molly,” she hurriedly replied. “Really, I’m just tired, is all. I’m going to go wash off now,” she smiled wanly before she scurried away. Molly looked over at Traun, who was busy watching Anna hurry from the campsite. Traun followed Anna down to the creek bed. He wondered how she thought she was going to bathe with no one to help block the view of her from the others. Anna, thankful that she had escaped Molly without having to talk to Traun, sat down on the creek bank and began to unlace her tennis shoes. She smiled up at her new friend. He stopped and spoke to her briefly for a moment, before walking on down the side of the pebbled creek bank. He asked how she was doing and told her he was doing fine too, when she asked him in return. Seeing the Transfer by the name of Nevin pause and say something to his Anna, Traun felt a slow burn begin when he noticed Anna smile charmingly back up at the man. He realized the Transfer speaking to Anna was the one he had paired with Avreen. He wondered if he was why she had asked him about Avreen. At his thoughts, he allowed his jealousy to flare, frowning he continued to watched the two. Anna jumped, when Traun walked up and abruptly sat down beside her after Nevin left. Traun wondered if she jumped in guilt. “I’ll hold my towel out for you as you wash off,” he told her not looking at her. He had decided not to question her about the Transfer. He would closely watch the both of them though, he thought with anger as he kept his outward expression void of his

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inner thoughts and feelings. When Anna didn’t move or respond to his offer he glanced inquiringly at her. As she gazed back at him, Anna wondered what was going through his mind. If he’s not going to mention the fight, then neither am I, she thought. “Okay,” she sighed, “then I’ll hold mine out for you, too,” she felt awkward with him for the first time in a long time. She wanted to tell him she was sorry, but was unwilling to make the first move. Since, he technically, started their fight to begin with. **** Anna woke early the next morning, but as usual not early enough. Traun was already out and about within the campsites, neither one of them had had much to say to each other the night before. They had sat with the family and servants around the campfire, talking to everyone else, while avoiding speaking to each other directly. Today, the men should finish erecting the frame of the large hut that’s to be used for a meeting hall. After this hut is completed, the remaining couples who don’t have a living hut yet, will be able to bed down in it if it should rain. Anna looked up at the sky when she thought of the chance for rain. Traun had mentioned he was afraid rain was in the forecast, given the read out’s he had been obtaining from the device he looked at every evening. Luckily, the weather had been nice so far, although each day was getting hotter. The weeks were fading away and summer steadily progressing, Anna realized as she reached to pull her hair up into a thick ponytail. The back of her neck was hot already that morning. I bet today, it gets up into the nineties at least, she thought, as she looked down at her palms after securing her hair. They looked and felt better after just one evening of treatments. Raising her head from her examination of her hands, Anna looked around the campsite for her sister-in-law, then caught sight of her standing outside the front door of her own hut. She wondered if Charlee and her brother had slept in their hut during the night, making her recall Traun’s comment to her before their fight yesterday. That in two night’s time they would sleep in their own hut, which now meant tomorrow night. She knew Traun hadn’t wanted to stay in their own hut until everyone under his command had

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shelter of some type. **** From where he was busy hoisting up a beam for Andrew to bolt together, Traun was thinking along the same lines as Anna. Tomorrow night they would sleep in their own hut, finally alone together. She would know him as his lifemate tomorrow night, he thought firmly. I’ll not allow any more time to slip away without her knowing me as a man. I’ll keep her so busy every night she won’t have time to think about that Transfer, he thought savagely. His muscles bunched as he hoisted the beam up to the waiting men and recalled his thoughts of the previous night. After lying awake and thinking about Anna and the male Transfer from earth, he had come to the conclusion that Anna really hadn’t had time to form a relationship with the Transfer while traveling on the spaceship. Since she and he had spent a lot of time together on the trip. He also knew when he hadn’t been with her, she had always been with her family members or her friend Charlee. However, he had decided, she might still be attracted to the Transfer since they had in common their half-human genes. With that thought in mind, he would make sure she was constantly aware of her married status and aware of him. In time, even if she was attracted to the Transfer, he was confident the emotion she was feeling would fade. And, to start with, he thought, as he held his end of the heavy beam above his head, I’m going to try to talk to her this evening. Get things back on the right footing, so to speak, before tomorrow night gets here. Feeling better about the situation between him and Anna, Traun joked with her brother. “Hurry up, boy, and get this thing bolted. I don’t have time to stand here all day. We have more huts to build.” “You just go as fast as you want.” Andrew laughed down at him. “I’ll keep up, no sweat, old man.” Traun, only seven years older than Andrew, seemed much older. His status as their High Commander and the confidence he exhibited, gave him an aura of maturity far beyond his thirty-two years. **** Working steadily throughout the day, Anna organized the hut where she

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was to live with Traun. A couple of the male servants, she still had a hard time thinking of them as such, had helped her move their boxed up clothing under the huge king size bed in the room. The bed now had an off-white cotton comforter draped over the high mattress that sat atop the bed frame, its long sides just brushed the top of the floor. There were two large fluffy pillows, covered with the same material as the off-white comforter on top of the bed. Long, rugs, placed on the floor on each side of the bed would protect their feet from the cold in the mornings, when winter set in. Traun had brought with him two medium sized wooden storage chests and a large woven beige rug. The chests where placed at the foot of the bed. In them, she had folded neatly, enough change of outfits for her and Traun to wear for at least ten days before the servants would have to do laundry. The rest of their clothes, she had decided, needed to stay stored away, she didn’t want to wear out to many clothes too fast. The large, woven beige rug Traun had brought, she placed in front of their fireplace. Anna had also brought with her a small, square, wooden table that she placed beside the front door. A favorite, milk white, flower vase of hers, had the honor of sitting on top of the table. Up against the wall when you walked into the hut and looked left over toward the large bed, was an oval, floor length mirror. She had brought that with her, too. Its polished wooden frame that sat on wooden legs, fit in with the surrounding decor. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Anna looked around the interior of the small hut, and felt a curl of satisfaction that she had been able to get all of their things moved in and organized. The room now seemed inviting and cozy. There was even a long, high backed bench, and large chair more than large enough for Traun to sit in, placed before the fireplace on top of the large beige rug. The two pieces of furniture the first things you would see when you opened the door and looked across the room to the fireplace. The male servants had fashioned the two pieces of furniture out of limbs and branches they had gathered over the weeks since landing on the planet. She was delighted with the furniture. They were very rustic and looked good with the rest of the furniture in the small hut. The legs, arms, and backs of the bench and chair tightly secured by twisted vines the servants had found, and wound tightly, through holes drilled into the wood along the sides of the bench and chair. The vines as they dried out had shrunk, and tightened, binding securely together anything they were wrapped around.

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The two buttery-yellow flower design silk throw pillows she had brought with her, she placed in each corner of the bench. After receiving the gifts, she had searched and found a large, almost perfectly round, flat on both ends tree stump that was just the right size to sit beside the chair for an end table. The servants had helped her give a high polished shine to the top of the stump. Her portable compact disc player playing music softly, had the honor of sitting on top of the homemade end table. Walking over, Anna clicked her CD player off. Humming the recorded tune that had just been playing she walked out of the hut into the moonlit night, ready to join her family members gathering around the campfire, another day of hard physical labor behind her. She was in better spirits that evening than the previous one of the night before. Molly had spoken to her that morning in passing, commenting to her how all couples fought from time to time, everyone was under pressure she had told her, what with adjusting to their new life here on this planet. Tension was bound to be high she had reassured her, as she patted her arm in understanding before she walked away toward George. Slowly, Anna walked into her family’s campsite. Charlee and her brother were already there, and sat close beside each other as they chatted to Traun, who sat across the fire from them alone. She made the decision to go sit beside Traun, a move toward making up on her part, if he accepted it. Not saying anything to anyone as she approached, she nonchalantly walked over and sat down on the ground beside him, then leaned back and rested her shoulders on the log behind her. Quietly she listened as Traun replied to her brother’s question about the animals brought from Garr. Andrew had posed a question concerning the babies the animals were scheduled to have. “The animals will need to be bred as soon as possible, come again next spring,” Traun replied. “Hopefully we will not lose any of the babies during their birthing process. All of the animals except the ones brought here for riding purposes, were brought here to help feed and clothe us if there are no other animals found on this planet that we can use. The riding animals will be used to investigate the land for long journeys. Until the herd is expanded we will have to go by foot to explore our surrounding world. It would have been handy if we could have brought our land rovers, but needless to say, there wasn’t enough room for them or the fuel they required.” As she listened to the men’s talk turn toward a discussion of what could

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be out there, Anna turned her palms over to look at the dried and healing blisters. Her hands looked and felt so much better. She shouldn’t have any trouble carrying the water buckets for the large communal hut scheduled for completion. She tugged on a piece of dried skin pulling it off her palm. Traun reached over and took Anna’s hand in his, he held it in his lap as he continued to converse with Andrew, his action effectively stopped her from picking at the dried skin. He began to stroke the soft skin on the inside of her wrist with his thumb, as he listened to what her brother said. He was pleased that Anna had come directly over and sat down beside him. His senses alerted to where she was as soon as she had stepped out of their hut and began to walk up to the camp from behind him. With her making the first move toward him, he was confident they would be able to get back on the right footing. Come tomorrow night, they would have the nights here on out to themselves, no more having to sleep separate, surrounded by others. Leaning against Traun’s shoulder, Anna clasped her fingers around his. They were still unable to find a moment to themselves to talk before it was time to prepare for bed. Yet, both felt they had patched things up without having to discuss the fight. Traun squatted down beside Anna as she was about to crawl under her bedroll covers. “I have to make my rounds. But, I should be back shortly. Pull your bedroll over up against mine. When I get back we can talk if you want to.” She nodded. Reaching up a hand, Traun ran his fingers through the silky-smooth hair hanging down beside her face. “I will see you when I return.” He lowered his hand down to the top of his knee, and pushed up to a standing position. Anna watched as Traun swiftly strode out of camp. Keyed up, she was restless, after a few minutes had passed she finally decided to walk up to their hut and wait for Traun there. He would have to pass by it on his way back to the campsite anyway. Carefully, she crept around the sleeping bodies scattered around the camp area. Once clear of the campsite, she leisurely walked the short distance to their hut. The night sky was clear as the stars and full moon shined brightly. Opening the door to her hut, she walked in and pulled the handmade chair from its position in front of the fireplace to the open doorway. Sitting down she stretched out and propped her feet up on the

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doorframe. Humming under her breath, she watched and waited for Traun. Looking out at the huts they all had had a hand in helping to build, Anna felt a sense of pride and ownership in each one. She was also proud of Traun and the way the people were willing to follow him, his ability to lead apparent. They all willingly worked hard to accomplish the tasks he laid out, knowing everything he had them do was in their best interest. Lowering her feet from the doorframe, Anna watched from her darkened doorway as the woman Avreen came out of her hut, and appeared to slink around to the back of it, as if she was afraid of being seen. I wonder what she is about? she thought as she watched her strange actions. She smiled, when she was able to make Traun out in the moonlight, on his way back to her from his rounds as he walked by the front of the hut the woman, Avreen had just exited. The smile slipped when she saw him abruptly turn and walk down the side of that same hut, then completely out of sight behind it. Anna sat there for a moment in the darkness as she waited for Traun to come out from behind the back of the woman’s hut. Okay…she thought with irritation as she looked at her wristwatch. I know at least, five minutes have passed by now. Standing, she shoved the chair she’d been sitting in back into the hut, then pulled the door shut. Turning she walked toward the hut she had seen Traun disappear behind. Uncertainty rose with each step she took, even as she told herself she had nothing to worry about with her husband. It took her no more than a couple of minutes to walk to Avreen’s hut from her own. Cautiously, she walked up the side of the recently erected building not making a sound. When she stepped out around to the back of the hut, Anna froze, her breath stalling at the scene being played out before her. Traun, his back to her, had Avreen in his arms. Her own arms were wrapped tightly around his waist neither of them aware of her presence. Hastily, Anna took a quick step back, then another, back into the moonlit darkness behind her. In shock, her heart seizing in her chest, she turned and ran from the scene. **** Running to Traun, Avreen wrapped her arms around his waist, when he

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rounded the corner of her hut. Swiftly, Traun took hold of her wrists and pulled her arms from around him. “Avreen,” he began harshly, wanting her to fully understand this time that their relationship was over and done with. “You and I are no more. I don’t know what you believe is still happening between us. Whatever it is, you have it wrong. I am going to be faithful to my lifemate.” “I…I thought you, we…?” Stunned, Avreen gestured toward him, then to herself with her hand, before she dropped it to her side. “You said that you loved me,” she cried. “When did I say that?” Traun was taken back by her statement. “The first day we were here after you kissed me. You told me you were just doing your duty, letting me know that you loved me, not her.” “I’m sorry, Avreen, you misunderstood the statement I made to you that day, and my actions. I am, doing my duty, but I love my lifemate also, and want only to be with her.” Raising her hands to hot cheeks, Avreen stepped back from Traun. Scalding embarrassment ripped at her as she stood before her past lover. “I’m sorry,” she looked away unable to meet his eyes. Hunching her shoulders, she began to cry. “I love you. I thought you loved me too.” In an attempt to comfort her, Traun pulled her into his arms. He didn’t want to see her hurt. “I should be the one apologizing for this misunderstanding. I should have made myself clearer to you that first day,” he told her. Avreen continued to quietly cry as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He patted her on the back and let her cry. “Can we still be friends?” she asked when she finally pulled away. “Friends.” Stepping out of Traun’s arms, at his one word agreement to her question, Avreen hesitantly and hollowly gave a short laugh. “I guess I’ve made a fool of myself.” “Let’s just agree to forget tonight ever happened,” he stated gently. Avreen nodded, then turned and walked back to the front of her hut. When Avreen shut her door, Traun walked away, sorry that he had hurt her. Hopefully, she will now turn to her assigned lifemate, and find love in that direction, he thought as he strolled toward his Anna and his future with her.

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By the time Anna raced past her own hut, anger had begun to boil in her, forgotten memories flooding back into her consciousness with upsetting clarity. Memories, of how she had had her share of married men on earth who had let her know they were willing to cheat on their wives if she was only willing, and they believed they could get away with it. It seems, she thought with a deep sense of betrayal that even alien men were of the same mindset. Stalking back into the sleeping campsite, she yanked her bedroll away from Traun’s, moving it back where it had been, then for good measure, she moved it another couple of feet more out of his long arms reach. Yanking off her shoes, she crawled under the covers. Pulling the top of her bedroll up high on her head, she turned her back away from where he would be sleeping. Another twenty-five minutes went by before he finally strolled soundlessly back into camp. Well! Slam, bam, thank you, ma’am! Anna sneered to herself. When she realized he couldn’t have been behind the hut with the woman for more than thirty minutes. If he comes over here, I swear I will punch him right in the mouth, she frantically thought, closing her eyes in pretence of sleep, she held her breath in fear that he might. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists under the covers as she anxiously waited for his approach. So much for soul mates, she bitterly thought. The first tear slide down the side of her face, and dripped to the blanket under her cheek when he went to bed not bothering to come over to her. Traun was disappointed when he came back into camp and noticed that Anna hadn’t moved over beside his bedroll as he had thought she would. She must have fallen right to sleep after I left, he thought, as he looked over to where she lay with her back turned toward him. He realized he was pushing everyone as hard as possible in order to get the shelters up and tomorrow was going to be another long, hard day. He decided to go to bed and not bother her. Let her get her rest, he thought as he stretched out tiredly on top of his own bedroll. Settling back, Traun recalled the emotional scene with Avreen. He had almost forgotten he had promised to meet with her that night, anxious to get back to Anna. It had dawned on him just as he was about to pass her hut that he had told her to meet him that evening.

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Chapter 11 Anna, Charlee, and the other women assigned to carry water to the men and women who worked on the community hut, were busy hauling buckets of water from the creek to them. Once doused down with water, the men and women quickly smoothed out the material covering the hut as it began its curing process. Their actions finishing the last details needed for the completion of the large communal building. Traun himself was one of the few men who still worked on the communal building. He had assigned others to begin the erection of two additional huts further down in the valley, since there were still many more they needed to build, and the finishing work today, didn’t require that many hands. The women smoothed the material out as far up as they could reach. The men took over past the women’s reach from where they stood on scaffolding. Having managed to avoid being one of the women that handed Traun up a bucket of water, Anna was dismayed when she returned with a full bucket and noticed that he was the only one who stood empty handed. She tried not to look at him as at a snail’s pace she walked to where he waited. She still simmered over what she had witnessed the night before between him and that woman Avreen. Anna felt razor-sharp anger well up inside at herself and him, when she found herself still wanting to know him as a man as she slowly approached him. She wondered how she could still be attracted to the pig, after what she knew he had done the night before. Traun, stepped down from the platform he stood on, he didn’t want Anna to have to strain to reach him when she handed him the bucket of water she carried. As he stepped down he noticed her quick once over of him as she approached, and allowed a slow, smug grin, to spread across his face. Seeing that cocky grin, Anna thought sickly, surely, he can’t tell what I

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was just thinking? Oh God. Please spare me that humiliation, she desperately prayed, as she lifted the bucket of water she held. She refused to meet his eyes as humiliation spread through her. “Like what you see?” Traun drawled, teasing her. His smile stretched wide when Anna finally raised her eyes to him, shocked surprise showed on her face at his joking words to her. The bucket of water she held in her hand slammed into his chest and bounced up to hit him under the chin. Cold water drenched him. Seeing the bucket she had held bounce back from under Traun’s chin seemly in slow motion, then roll to a stop at her feet, Anna stared at it stunned. Her mind took a moment to grasp what it was she had just done in front of everyone around them. She looked up at her husband in shocked disbelief. She realized that her anger had wrapped her with such intensity that when she had heard his drawled comment of liking what she saw, she had struck out blindly, unthinkingly. Fear slithered down Anna’s spine when she finally noticed that Traun’s easy smile and previous, laughing eyes had hardened with chilling fury. She took a quick step backward, ready to take flight from the white hot, anger she felt and could see radiated from him toward her. Swiftly, Traun reached out and clamped his fingers around her elbow halting her flight away from him as he angled his body so the shocked spectators around them were unable to see his face. He gritted out between clenched teeth, “Lady, don’t you ever show me that kind of disrespect in front of my people again.” His fingers unknowingly cut into the flesh around her elbow. Ripping her eyes away from his, Anna anxiously hunted for her family for support, her fear paralyzing her. Finally, she found George and Molly’s shocked eyes with her own. She beseeched them silently for help, they shook their heads at her and lowered their gaze. Andrew! She thought wildly, where is my brother? He will help me. Anna swiveled her eyes over to her brother. Andrew. Help me! Andrew had stopped working. Frozen at the public disrespect, his sister had just shown toward their High Commander. When he met Anna’s pleading eyes, he could only shake his head no to her unspoken plea. This was one time he could not, and would not, come to her rescue. He reached out a hand and stopped Charlee from intervening when she took a step

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forward. “Don’t look to your family for help,” Traun informed her, his lowered voice harsh. “If they interfere they will reap the consequences and rightly so. Do you understand me?” Anger intensely gripped his body over her actions in front of their people. Actions he did not understand. “Look at me,” he ground out when she continued to avoid his gaze. He gave the arm his fingers were still clenched around a hard squeeze. Anna’s wide eyes swiveled back up to lock with his. “You will continue to work the rest of the day as if nothing happened. After we are done with our work today, you will go straight to our hut and stay there. Do you understand?” he rasped out his narrowed eyes piercing hers. Slowly, Anna nodded her head that, yes, she understood. She wondered if she would be able to stand up when, and if, he should ever let go of her arm her legs were shaking so badly. “And, Anna,” Traun continued in that unnerving soft, yet hard voice he had been using since she had thrown the bucket. “You will reap the consequences for your disrespect,” he warned her, as he let loose the tight grip he had from around her elbow. Hastily, Anna turned from him, she moved stiffly, every muscle in her body tense as she tried to appear calm in front of the shocked spectators who watched her and Traun. White-hot embarrassment coursed throughout her trembling body, as she slowly bent and picked up the water bucket she had thrown. Clenching the handle of the bucket as a lifeline, she squared her shoulders, and walked away from the gawking crowd, back down to the creek to fill the bucket up with water again. Once she finally made it to the edge of the water, she sank down onto her knees beside the creek. What have I done? she thought, as she reeled from her actions and Traun’s obvious fury. Reaching down into the cold water, Anna brought her wet fingers up to her hot face again and again, shocked over her own behavior. She had never been prone to violence before. Last night she had thought of punching Traun in the mouth, now today, she had actually thrown a bucket at him, hitting him with it. The other women, who had been busy with their own buckets of water, gradually began to come back down to the creek for refills.

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Quickly, Anna dunked her bucket down in the water and filled it back up. She rose from her kneeling position, and swiftly walked back up the incline toward the waiting men and women. They failed to meet her eyes the first few trips, just as uncomfortable in meeting her gaze as she felt in meeting theirs. However, as her quiet dignified manner continued throughout the day, they silently wished for her and their High Commander to find happiness with each other, her behavior the rest of the day earning their respect. They were curious as to what had happened between the two. Anna had thought the day would never end. Wearily she walked toward her and Traun’s hut. She was unwilling to test him, by ignoring his command for her to go directly to their hut at the end of the work day. Charlee made eye contact with her in passing, and pointed to the creek indicating for her to meet her there. Anna’s eyes welled up at her sister-in-law’s concern as she shook her head no at her. “We will talk later,” Charlee silently mouthed to her from beside Andrew. Anna nodded her head again, as she agreed with her this time. She stopped walking and stood in front of the door to her small home. Andrew slowed his step to a stop and gazed at his baby sister, as he let his wife stroll on ahead. “Sis, I don’t know what happened out there today. I do know though the kind of disrespect you showed to our High Commander cannot, and will not be allowed.” Holding back her tears, Anna gazed down at her shoes and refused to look at her brother as he scolded her. “You don’t understand, Andrew” she wailed, finally looking up as soon as he paused. Her voice nasal sounding from the tears she held back, as she attempted to defend her actions of that morning against his obvious criticism. “Anna, you’re an adult now,” Andrew cut in. “I’m not coming to your rescue in this situation. This is something you need to work out with your husband.” Turning he walked away from her, and followed the path his spouse had taken. Confidant that the man he had gotten to know this past month, and a half was not the type to physically hurt a female, otherwise, he would never have left Anna to face Traun alone. After watching her brother abruptly stroll away from her, Anna turned toward the closed door behind her. Opening it, she stepped through the

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doorway and closed the door firmly shut, she did not want anyone to see her or she them. The tears she had held at bay all day burst forth when she noticed the two plates of food that sat on the bench and her nightclothes neatly folded, and laid out on the bed. Laid out beside her clothes was a towel and scented bar of soap, evidence of that sweet female servant, thinking about her, when it seemed her own family members were willing to leave her to suffer alone. I must remember to thank Klinn when I see her again, Anna thought, wishing she had the nerve to defy Traun’s orders by going on down to the creek to wash up, she felt sticky from the day’s work. Instead, she went and curled up in the homemade chair and anxiously waited for him to walk through the door. Her plate of food was left untouched. She wasn’t particularly hungry from the tension she had been under all day. Her stomach felt as if it was in a knot. After an hour of waiting passed by, with the tension felt all day, and having slept only a few hours the previous night, her eyelids began to droop, exhaustion finally took its toll. Traun paused in the doorway when he entered their hut well after dark and noticed Anna curled up in the chair fast asleep. Closing the door quietly behind him, he walked on into the room. The overhead solar powered light cast an intimate soft glow throughout the hut. What had happened between last night and today? he thought in confusion, as he gazed down at her sleeping form. He was perplexed by the extreme anger she had exhibited toward him after his teasing comment to her that morning. Walking over to the bench, he picked up one of the full plates of food the servant had left. Turning, he sat down where the plate had been and stretched out his legs. He took a bite of the now cold meal. Anna became aware of Traun’s presence sitting directly across from her, as her subconscious diligently worked to wake her up fully. She didn’t know what it was that finally, abruptly made her wake up, but when she did, she quickly sat up in her chair and placed her feet on the floor. She refused to look over at her husband. She wondered how long he had been sitting across from her. Traun didn’t make a comment as he watched Anna wake, then abruptly sit up. He continued to eat, finishing the last bite of the cold meal. Setting the empty plate down on the bench beside him, he watched her fidget. “Come on we are going down to the creek,” he told her, his tone harsher than he had intended.

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In a panic, Anna wondered if the consequences he had warned her she would reap would be a drowning. Wouldn’t her family be sorry, to find her floating face down in the creek come tomorrow morning, since none of them were willing to interfere on her behalf. Fear and sympathy washed over her, for herself. Her fingers clutched at the arms of the chair she stiffly sat in. “Get your change of clothes and towel from the bed,” Traun abruptly told her when she didn’t move, making Anna realize her foolish, and childish thoughts for what they were. Jumping up from her chair, she gathered the items the servant Klinn had laid out for her on the top of their bed. She was afraid to argue with him. Nervously, she waited while he collected his change of clothes and a towel, unwilling to meet his eyes when he glanced at her, her own clothing clutched tightly in her arms. Together they walked down to the creek bed, unspoken words and angry emotions hovering between them as they walked. When they reached the water, Traun stripped naked before her, uncaring what Anna thought of his behavior. After tonight, she would know him intimately anyway, he thought silently to himself. Anna whirled away from him. “Get in Anna, there is no one down here this late at night, and it’s to dark for anyone to see us. You can’t even see me clearly, it’s such a dark night,” When she just stood on the bank with her back turned, unmoving, he warned her in an unyielding voice, “Little lady, I will strip you, and wash you myself, if I have to.” Quickly, Anna began to yank off her dirty clothes. She stepped into the cold water several feet away from Traun, and then hastily began to wash her hair and body. After a haphazard attempt to dry off while keeping her back turned to the flowing creek water, she grabbed up her nightclothes that lay on the pebbled bank. Hopping on one foot, then the other, she shoved each leg into the thin, cotton pajama bottoms as rapidly as she could over still damp skin, before she quickly shoved her arms into her pajama top and swiftly buttoned the shirt closed. Toweling her hair dry, Anna anxiously waited for Traun to finish with his bath. She jerked in a flight reaction when he splashed the water behind her before she realized he still bathed, and was not getting out of the water as first thought. Her breathing shallow and unsteady, she gradually stilled.

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With amusement, Traun watched Anna’s actions. Deliberately, he splashed again, watching her jump, before he stepped out of the water. Drying off, he pulled on his own pajama bottoms. Slinging the damp towel he held, around his bare neck, he slipped his feet into his shoes. Without a word he began to walk up the slight incline toward the back of their hut. Anna quickly slipped on her shoes when she realized she was still barefoot then trailed silently behind him. When they reached their hut, Traun shut the door behind her after she edged past him into the room, then he reached up and shoved the lock on the door home with a loud, resounding click. Jumping nervously at the sound of the ominous click, Anna whirled over to stand on the other side of the chair the male servants had made for her and Traun. The chair gave her some measure of comfort as a barrier between herself and her husband. Not saying a word, Traun just watched Anna. He pulled the damp towel from around his neck, and slung it over to the basket they used for their dirty clothes. He wondered where to begin with her. Should he ask her about her anger? Or should he get her to understand there were certain standards of behavior that must be exhibited in front of the people that he and yes, even she, commanded. Uneasy at Traun’s continued silence, Anna felt the tension inside her build. She kept her eyes lowered onto the arm of the chair her hands gripped as she wondered what was about to happen. His words unhurried, Traun began to speak. He wanted to understand what was going on between them. “Anna, I can understand you were angry at me after our disagreement of the day before. What I don’t comprehend or grasp is that you came to me last evening in a gesture of forgiveness, and we were fine when I left you last night, I thought. Then today, you lash out at me in front of our people with behavior that was uncalled for and unbecoming of you.” When Traun informed her that her behavior that day was uncalled for and unbecoming, Anna fumed. And, when he went on to tell her that as his lifemate, there was a standard of behavior she needed to adhere to when in front of the people they commanded, she stopped listening to him. Who did he think he was, talking down to her? she angrily thought, especially after the behavior of his, she herself, had witnessed the night before.

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Eyes flashing, she finally looked up at him. “Don’t you dare, preach to me.” she stated harshly, interrupting what she considered an arrogant speech on his part. Really, considering what she knew. Anger that had simmered just under the surface all day flared in Traun at Anna’s words, gripping him, he took a quick angry step in her direction. Hastily, Anna backed up to the wall behind her, eyes wide as Traun stalked toward her. Suddenly, very afraid that this recent wed husband of hers was going to strike her. If he did, he could lay her low with just one swing of those muscled arms. Eyes glued to his grim face, Anna quickly darted around him when the distance between them narrowed too much for comfort. Hastily she turned to face him, backing away when he turned and followed. Her eyes and attention focused only on the angry man before her, she unknowingly, backed toward the bed across the room. Traun knew by Anna’s frantic actions and wide eyes what she believed he might do. He continued to slowly stalk her. Unbeknownst to her, she didn’t have to fear he would ever beat her. If a man on the world of Garr was ever caught abusing his lifemate, the punishment was swift, and harsh. The behavior was not tolerated. It was even taught against from the Book of Wisdom that guided their behavior. And, he had been raised to find the action abhorrent. Yet, in that moment, he relished her fear of him and wanted her to fear him in fact. Anna attempted to dart around him again. He quickly reached out a hand, and grabbed hold of one of her wrists just as she started to run around him. “Don’t you dare, think of hitting me. You alien beast,” Anna yelled out in fear, her breath catching when he managed to snatch hold of her wrist. She desperately jerked backwards on the wrist he now held firmly in his grasp. Anxiously she dug her heels in when he slowly started to pull her toward him. Torturing her, like she had seen her cat on earth do to a mouse he had caught out in her back yard. She hit at the hand that held hers imprisoned, and then desperately kicked at the beast, when she couldn’t stop his pull of her toward him. Traun easily sidestepped Anna’s kicks to his shins as he tugged her twisting body toward him. He grasped her other flailing wrist then began to maneuver her toward the bed behind her. She stumbled backward when he moved forward.

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“Let me go,” Anna demanded in a rasp, unable to catch her breath, as fear clogged her throat. “Make me,” he mocked back, lazily he watched her frantic attempts to get away from him as he kept pushing her backwards. Abruptly, he roughly shoved her. Unable to stop her sudden backward falling motion, Anna looked up at Traun in stunned disbelief at what he had just done. It seemed to her as if her topple downward happened in slow motion. She wondered when she would hit the hard floor behind her, she expected to feel jarring, pain at any moment. When she hit the bed she had been unaware was behind her, she felt a moment’s quick surge of relief, before she rapidly attempted to claw her way further up onto the center of the bed, in a desperate bid to get away. Traun swiftly followed, swinging a leg over Anna’s twisting form, he effectively put a halt to her panicked attempts to curl away from him. He pulled her around to face him, leaving his leg slung over hers as he held her in place easily. Once he had her captured, he silently gazed down at her, his breathing faster after their recent struggle. Patiently he waited for her to quiet down. Anna gradually calmed and became still, when she realized her fear of Traun was unfounded when he did no more than quietly watch her useless struggles to get out from under his heavy leg. She gazed up at him her breathing heavy. “Let me up,” she demanded between breaths. Traun continued to gaze down at her for a moment before he replied to her breathless demand. “No, I want you to tell me why you are so angry at me. Then I will let you up, maybe,” he taunted. As she looked up at him, Anna realized in that moment, that she loved him with every vibrating, trembling fiber within her, and her heart acutely ached that he apparently didn’t feel the same way about her. Given the evidence of what she had witnessed the night before. Her eyes began to fill even as she fought the emotion, the tears gradually, rolled down each side of her face. Unwilling to give him an answer, she tried to turn her face away from his. “Anna, don’t cry,” Traun begged. He felt his own pain course through him at her obvious distress. Unanswered questions still lingered, he could

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not fathom her deep-seated anger at him. He grasped her chin, and urged her face back toward his. Gently he kissed her forehead, then her wet cheeks, then the bruises he noticed on her arm where he had unknowingly gripped her too hard earlier that day after she had thrown the bucket of water at him. Anna’s tears increased at the tenderness he now showed. Traun took possession of her mouth. Wanting to stop her tears and ease her pain, as well as his pain at seeing her tears fall. She gradually stilled and grew quiet, her arms reached up to encircle his neck. Kissing the side of her neck, he felt her erratic pulse under his lips. He skimmed down to the tops of her beautiful exposed breasts. “Yes?” he asked in a ragged breath, he ached with need as he met her eyes with his own questioning ones. Framing her face between two gentle hands, he waited for her response to his question. His thumbs gently rubbed away the traces of tears on her face. “Yes,” Anna responded haltingly, unable to deny him, desire for him curling, and drawing her into his embrace.

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Chapter 12 The next morning, the stain of her lost virginity, was evident on the sheets as Traun rose quietly and got dressed to begin the day. The smudges under her eyes while she slept, testified to the sleepless nights she had experienced. There would be no work today, Traun thought, as he decided to let her sleep in when he heard the soft plop sound of rainfall, as it hit the roof. He was thankful everyone, who didn’t have their personal hut erected yet, could stay in the communal meeting hall they had finished yesterday, or with the others in the village who did have a hut to live in. Turning he walked of the hut. Anna slept heavy, the rain soothing and comforting, as it cocooned her within the small hut. Jerked awake by the sound of something hitting the door of the hut, she turned over onto her back, and gazed groggily over at the open doorway that framed the rain that fell beyond it. Hastily, Anna made sure she was adequately covered. She realized that whoever had opened the door could see into the hut to where she lay. “Bring it in. She is awake now.” Klinn told her husband, she gazed apologetically over at Lady Anna’s sleepy eyed stare. She tsked at her husband when he came through the open doorway, carrying a metal tub between his hands. “Put it over by the fireplace,” she instructed. “Now go get some water.” She shooed at him with her hands as he backed away, he didn’t glance over to where Anna lay on the bed. In sleepy amazement, Anna watched what was happening. Klinn shut the door behind her husband and shook her head before she hurried over to where the Lady Anna lay. “My lady, I’m sorry we woke you. My lifemate was only supposed to set the tub down beside your door. When he started to put it down it slipped from his fingers, hitting the door which caused it to open. Now that you are awake, I might as well get your clothes out for you and make your bed. You will want to bathe, I’m sure, as soon as

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warm water can be brought for the tub.” Anna pulled herself up to a sitting position, and clutched the top sheet to cover her nakedness as she tried to grasp what Klinn rambled on about in her heavy accent, something about the tub and clothes, and making the bed. “Klinn,” she finally interrupted, as the woman continued to babble on about rain, and people who needed time alone. “Yes, my Lady?” “What time is it?” “It is in the afternoon, my Lady.” “What!” Anna gasped. “I can’t believe I have slept so long.” Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she worried why Traun hadn’t bothered to wake her, everyone was required to work. “Is everyone out working?” In a frantic, Anna tried to bunch up the sheet she held without completely exposing herself to the servant’s watchful eyes. The sheet caught under her feet. Klinn reached out a hand and halted her Lady Anna’s frenzied movements. “No one is working today. Our High Commander gave everyone the day off because of the rain.” Anna started to laugh, as relief flooded through her. “Klinn, what are you doing here then, if everyone has the day off?” Klinn smiled at the Lady Anna, glad to see she appeared to be no worse for wear after the episode she had heard about. “I wanted to make sure you were taken care of, my Lady. I heard what happened yesterday.” Klinn patted her Lady Anna’s arm sympathetically. “Oh.” Anna looked away from the servant embarrassed. “Yes, well…I ‘m fine, Klinn. Thank you for your concern.” Klinn nodded her head, and then bent down and helped to pull the sheet out from under her Lady Anna’s feet. She became a whirlwind of activity around Anna while she talked. “I told my lifemate, you and our High Commander just needed some time together away from everyone. Then you would be able to work out whatever was wrong between you.” She began to strip the bed. “I see I was right,” she stated, when she saw the blood stains on the sheet. “Now, as soon as you start to have babies everything will be complete.” She turned and smiled at Anna. Anna was mortified that the servant knew what she and Traun had done

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during the night. Her servant continued to talk on about babies that were soon to come, seemingly unaware of her embarrassment. Finishing her tasks, Klinn turned to leave her Lady Anna to herself. She smiled before she closed the door firmly behind her. Yes, soon I will have babies to care for, she thought happily as she walked away with her husband in tow. Finally, alone again, Anna thought when Klinn and her husband left her after he had filled the tub. The water having been heated from the servant’s fireplace in their hut that sat next to hers. Anna shook her head in amazement, she felt as if she had just been through a windstorm. She had eaten the plate of food Klinn had fetched for her. The bed was made, her clothes laid out and a warm tub of water waited for her. All accomplished in under an hour. In spite of her repeatedly, telling the servant she didn’t need anything, to please, go take the earned day off the High Commander had given everyone. Stepping into the smooth metal tub, Anna eased herself down into the hot water. After bathing, she stretched her legs out, and hung them over the edge of the tub at the knees. Leaning back on the sloped end of the tub, she closed her eyes and sighed, enjoying just lying in the warm water. It felt delicious, even if the tub was too small for her tall frame. She hadn’t had a warm bath for ages, and ages, it seemed. Languidly, she recalled the previous night. Traun had been gentle with her, extremely gentle…and when he had reached for her a second time in the wee hours of the morning, she had clung to him as he wrung husky moans of pleasure from her trembling body. Afterwards, he had wrapped his arms around her and held her close, as if he couldn’t bear not to touch her. When he had slept, she had slipped her hand onto his chest over his heart. She had wished the heartbeat she could feel under her palm beat only for her. How could he make her feel so loved and cared for after what she had seen, she wondered in confusion? She was unwilling to confront him with what she had witnessed, in fear of what he might tell her. She knew it was cowardice on her part, and felt ashamed that she was willing to poke her head in the sand like an ostrich, and not stand up for herself, demand what was rightfully hers as his wife, his respect and commitment to know only her from now on as she would know only him. Anna’s eyes flew open when she heard someone at the door, she

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realized too late, she hadn’t locked it before getting into the tub. Not again, she thought as she glanced desperately around for her towel, she grimaced when she located the fluffy white towel lying out of reach, slung over the arm of the chair. “Wait” she called out when the door began to open. “I’m not decent.” She quickly crossed her arms over her breasts and tried to scoot further down into the tub when the door continued to swing inward. Traun strode through the doorway and shut the door promptly behind him. Taking his raincoat off, he shook the rain out of his hair. “Well, well, what have we here?” he teased, as he walked over to the edge of the tub and looked down into it at her. The tops of her breasts exposed to his roving gaze. Her breasts were pushed up from her attempt to cover them with her arms. Traun squatted down beside the tub. He dipped his hand down into the warm water then ran his fingers slowly back up her bare side, brushing the side of her breast with his knuckles when his hand came out of the water. He reached up and pulled her head over to him. His fingers splayed behind her ear, he kissed her open mouth. Traun thought she looked lovely and cute, with her long legs hung out over the edge of the tub, while she tried to stay covered up. His kiss makes me tingle clear down to my toes, Anna thought. Embarrassed to be caught in such an unbecoming position, she realized she must look ridiculous all spread out from the tub. “Good morning, or good afternoon, I should say,” Traun stated as he pulled back from the kiss. He smiled at Anna’s bemused expression. “Good afternoon,” Anna responded shyly. “Will you, please, hand me that towel, so I can get out of this thing?” she nodded her head over toward the towel. “But, I like you in this thing,” Traun teased. He ran a hand down the top of a smooth, soft leg. “Traun please,” Anna said, her face hot with embarrassment. When Traun saw how embarrassed she really was, he quit his teasing. Standing up, he walked over and picked up the white towel and handed it to her. “Turn around,” Anna told him as she took the towel from his outstretched hand, she kept one arm over her bare breasts. Traun’s eyebrows rose. “I saw all of you last night, Anna.”

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“Please.” He turned his back, amused at her shyness with him after their intimacy of the recent night. Scrambling up out of the tub, Anna hastily dried off, and then wrapped the large towel around her, securing it under her arm. “Does everyone have shelter from the rain,” she asked, after she made sure her towel would stay in place. Turning at her question, Traun’s eyes traveled from her slender bare feet, up her long tanned legs exposed under the bottom edge of the towel, to her light blue inquiring eyes looking up at him. Anna wanted to curl her toes into the floor under her at his slow appraisal of her. “Yes, the communal hall we finished yesterday is large enough to accommodate those who don’t have their own personal hut built yet, and who want to stay there. Some are bunking with those who have their own hut,” Traun finally responded answering her question. “What about the huts that aren’t built yet? Will the material be ruined with the rain?” Reaching out, Traun pulled Anna to him, wrapping his arms around her slender waist as he pulled her up against him, pleased with her questions. They reflected that she was concerned for their people. Thinking of their welfare not just her own. “Everything is secure. Once the rain is over, we can resume building the rest of the huts. Would you like to go to the communal hall and visit with the people who are staying there during the rain?” When Traun drew back and looked down at her inquiringly, Anna wondered how everyone would act toward her after her actions of yesterday. Might as well face the music, she thought, and get the awkwardness over with as soon as possible. “I think I would like to go and visit with everyone.” She raised her arms to encircle his waist when he bent down and kissed her on the lips. Traun wanted to ask her about her actions of yesterday, still needing answers. Yet, he was reluctant to start something that might end their harmonious mood between each other.

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“I have an extra rain coat and hood you can use. Go get dressed.” He slapped her lightly under the towel she had wrapped around her bare bottom. If he held her much longer, they wouldn’t be going anywhere.

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Chapter 13 Traun and Anna hurried through the rain toward the communal meeting hall. They took off their raincoats when they entered through the doorway, Traun took Anna’s from her as it dripped water on the floor around them. He handed them over to be hung up, and then guided her around the puddle of water made. “I’ll be right back,” he told her when someone motioned to him standing a few feet away. Feeling somewhat abandoned, Anna looked around at the people who had gathered in the communal hall, she smiled back at the ones who met her eyes. There seemed to be an air of festivity in the hut, as the people laughed and chatted amongst themselves. She spotted George and smiled hesitantly at him, she wondered if he had been embarrassed by her actions of yesterday. Seeing Anna’s timid smile, George walked over to her. When he reached her he pulled her into his embrace, reassuring her of his affection. Hugging him tightly, Anna laughed happily. “Where’s Molly?” she asked. George glanced at Traun as he approached from behind them, then he smiled at Anna. “She’s around here somewhere,” he replied over a burst of laughter from a group at the other end of the hut. “Everyone has decided we need a party. We’re setting up tables, so those who want too can play card games. Some of the others who play instruments went to get them. Even the Keeper, of the Book of Wisdom, has gone to fetch his wind instrument to play for us.” “Sounds like we came at the right time, Anna,” Traun told her slipping a hand up to her waist. He held a glass of amber colored liquid in his other hand. Anna looked down at what he held.

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“My men broke out the drinks for the occasion,” he told her chuckling at her expression of distaste. George laughed with him. “How much of that drink did your men manage to bring with them from Garr?” Traun grinned. “Not nearly enough, but they have assured me, they managed to bring plenty of seeds to grow the plant needed for the main ingredient this drink is made from. “I have married a drunk,” Anna told George, smiling up at Traun teasing him. Traun squeezed her waist, as he smiled back down at her. He never allowed himself to get intoxicated. He enjoyed the strong drink, putting away more than most men before it even affected him, and he knew when to put the drink down, before becoming intoxicated. George watched their behavior with each other. They must have worked out whatever the problem had been between them, he thought, glad to see Anna smiling again. “I am going to find Molly in this crowd,” he told the couple, before he strolled away. Others began to walk up to them eager to speak to the High Commander and the Lady Anna. Before long, Traun and Anna drifted apart as they visited with everyone. Standing alone for the first time since George had gone to find Molly, Anna absently watched the musicians play. She thought that the musical instruments the people had brought with them from Garr looked a little strange. The sounds that came from them, though, were hauntingly beautiful. No one who played an instrument attempted to sing. He or she only teased and plucked out the notes that rose within the building. Anna didn’t notice when someone walked up to stand beside her and watched, listening with her. “The sound is beautiful, don’t you think?” “Oh, hi” Anna said laughing, the low voiced statement coming from beside her, surprised her, having been completely absorbed in listening to the music being played. Nevin smiled back at her. “It is very beautiful music,” Anna glanced behind Nevin, hoping his wife was not anywhere around, she dreaded coming face to face with her.

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“The rain slowed our work, but I think we all needed a break, don’t you?” she asked him when she didn’t see his wife. “I do, my lifemate is having a hard time adjusting to this planet and the change of lifestyle she enjoyed on Garr. She needed some time alone, and the rain provided the excuse for her.” “Oh.” Anna didn’t know what to say to Nevin’s unexpected statement. “I shouldn’t have said anything. It is just that I feel so comfortable talking to you. And I know you haven’t had an easy time of it from what I heard happened yesterday.” Embarrassed by his comment, Anna blushed. She knew positively now that the people had discussed her behavior amongst themselves and with others who weren’t there. She looked down at the floor. “Please don’t be embarrassed. I brought her up, because I thought, you might be able to help her somehow. She is so withdrawn into herself, maybe you could talk to her, explain the hard time you’re having adjusting here too.” Anna shook her head as she looked back up and met Nevin’s gaze. “No, I’m sorry Nevin. I can’t be of any help.” He smiled sadly back at her. “I’ve overstepped my bounds in asking it of you, but I had to try. I won’t bother you with it again. Let me change the subject now, by asking, if you would like to join me in a card game?” Feeling sorry for Nevin and his obvious concern for his lifemate, Anna felt an emotional tie with the Transfer. Knowing what she did of her husband and his wife. “Let’s go play a game of cards together,” she told him, smiling at him and wanting to be friends. **** Traun watched the scene between the two from across the room and wondered what they discussed so earnestly. He didn’t like the smile, Anna bestowed upon the man before they walked away together to go sit at one of the card tables. He excused himself an hour later from the group of men he talked with. It was getting late, time to walk around the camp to check on the four individuals posted as night watchmen for the evening, and see what they had

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to report. He walked across the room to where Anna still sat playing the card game. Upon his approach behind her, he heard the transfer Nevin tease her about cheating to win. No one at the table noticed his silent approach. Anna’s laughing comment of Nevin being a big baby loser, had the others at the table bursting into laughter at her teasing comment. Nevin reached out, and grasped Anna’s hand that she had over the winning cards she had laid down on the table before him. He made a pretense of looking up her sleeve for the cards, he swore to her, she had switched to win. Traun frowned heavily at the overly familiar gesture. He laid a hand possessively on Anna’s shoulder, when he stopped at the table beside her. Nevin quickly drew his hand away from Anna’s arm when he caught his High Commander’s frown, and possessive stance. He didn’t want to draw disfavor from his High Commander and he realized to late, what it was he had done. The others at the table grew quiet. “Anna, I am going to walk around camp now that the rain has eased. I wish you to come with me.” Anna rose, ready to quit the card game that she had started to become bored with. She wondered at the frown Traun had directed toward Nevin and the sudden quietness of the table. She smiled winningly at Traun, before turning to the others who sat around the table and watched her and the High Commander’s actions. “Thank you for an enjoyable game,” she told the group. “And next time, maybe I’ll let you win,” she teased her friend, Nevin. She felt awkward at the sudden tension that surrounded the table. He smiled weakly back at her not looking toward his High Commander. Traun nodded silently to the group before he and Anna strolled away. “Man I wouldn’t wish to be in your shoes,” the male who sat at Nevin’s right shoulder told him. The others at the table looked sympathetically at him. “I guess our High Commander effectively took care of the problem between them. Did you see how fast she jumped up to leave with him?” One of the male card players said, in an undertone, so only those sitting around the table with him could hear. His assigned lifemate who sat beside him laughed huskily at his

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comment. “Well darling, if he wanted me to go with him I’d leap up to. Look at him.” She licked her lips suggestively. The others around the table laughed. Most in embarrassment, some as people are wont to do, in amused enjoyment of idle gossip. Nevin didn’t laugh. He gazed in growing dislike at the female Transfer from earth and her lifemate from Garr as they sat across the table from him, smiling at their comments. For all the gene manipulation the people of Garr knew about, evidently they had not isolated the gene for crudeness, he thought, pushing back his chair ready to call it a night. **** Quietly, Anna walked beside Traun. She smiled back and told those who approached goodbye. All in all, the evening hadn’t been too bad, she thought, when they stepped out of the communal hall, into the night air. Inhaling the fresh smell of the recent rain, Anna found the scent pleasing. She wondered at Traun’s quietness while she tried to keep up with his long strides as they walked away from the hut. Did he want her to walk with him or was he trying to leave her behind, she wondered. Reaching out, she grasped his hand and pulled him to a stop. Traun looked down at her questioningly. “Is this a marathon?” she asked, with a half smile. “What?” “I can’t keep up with you. Have I done something wrong? If I have, I would appreciate it if you would let me know what it is,” she didn’t want to have another fight. She didn’t think she could take much more drama after last night’s fight. Traun lightly squeezed the fingers she had grasped around his. “Let’s talk about it after we get back to our hut, okay?” Puzzled, Anna looked at him and felt her muscles tense. What had she done she wondered? Quickly she thought back over the evening, there was nothing unusual that had happened that she was aware of. She definitely had not caused a scene tonight. Her one, very public scene, would provide enough gossip for the people to talk about for a long time to come. “I am not angry at you, sweetheart,” Traun said, when he saw the worry flicker across her face. He slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her to

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his side and started them walking again, this time shortening his long stride to fit her own stride. He had been wondering how to approach the subject of the Transfer’s familiarity to her, without causing a rife between them again. They quickly made the required rounds. The posted guards were friendly to Anna, yet kept a reserved distance, maintaining the boundaries as decree demanded of a High Commander’s lifemate. When Anna and Traun walked up to their hut, they were met by Klinn and her spouse as they brought them their evening meal. Her spouse as usual, had nothing to say, and she, talked non-stop. “I hope this meal is to your liking High Commander and Lady Anna. We were just going to set it inside for you. Did you have a nice time at the communal hall? Everyone needed to rest and the rain provided it for us, don’t you think?” Anna smiled at Traun’s confused expression as Klinn rattled on, barely pausing for air. She knew not to try and interrupt her flow of words. She would do what she wanted and talk the whole time doing it. Klinn made short work of turning down their bed and laying out nightclothes for each. She motioned to her spouse that she was ready to leave, she smiled at Anna. “Goodnight,” she told both. Turning, she didn’t pause in her chatter, just switched her babble to her husband, talking about babies, to take care of, as she walked out the door. He only nodded his head back at her and obediently followed her out the door. “Goodnight,” Anna told her with a laugh. “Is she always like that?” Traun asked, after he hurried over, closed, and locked their door on Klinn’s chatter, afraid she might come back. Laughing outright at his actions, Anna handed him one of the two plates Klinn had shoved into her hands. “Yes, and it doesn’t do any good to tell her you don’t want her to do something, she doesn’t pay any attention.” She took a seat on the bench, as Traun lowered himself into the chair. Crossing her legs, she took a bite of the hot food and settled back onto the bench. “Did I hear her mention making booties for our babies that would come soon after last night?” Traun asked, between bites. Blushing, Anna had hoped he had missed that part of the woman’s babble. “She thinks I am pregnant already after last night.” At Traun’s surprised look, Anna hurried to explain. “She saw the blood stain on the

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sheets this morning when she stripped the bed. Surely, you don’t think I would discuss what we did with her?” “No, I didn’t think that. So, she thinks after only one night, you are pregnant, huh?” Traun smiled broadly, and pulled back his shoulders. “Oh, please. Don’t get puffed up.” Anna rolled her eyes at his broad smile and stuck out chest. She secretly hoped she was pregnant. “Come here,” he said, setting his plate down on the floor. Rising from the bench across from him, Anna laid her plate down and walked over to where he sat. He reached out and pulled her down onto his lap. Reaching a hand up under her shirt, he spread his fingers over her flat stomach. “I hope she is right for all our sakes.” Anna’s smile slipped when he reminded her that their marriage was for the precise purpose for her to breed. The only reason any of them were there was for the continued existence of the people from the world of Garr. She wondered what would happen, if for some reason, she became unable to have children. Would he lose interest in her then? She needed to remember this was not a normal marriage she had. Traun saw the slight tightening of her facial muscles as she stopped smiling. “What are you thinking, Anna?” “I just remembered you said there was something you needed to discuss with me,” Anna answered, only at that moment recalling their earlier conversation. She wasn’t about to tell him what she had really been thinking. Traun lifted her hair from her nape. He leaned down and kissed her on the soft skin. Anna shivered when a tingle raced down her spine. “There are certain standards of conduct as my lifemate of which you need to be aware,” he responded as he continued to kiss her neck. The hand he had under her shirt worked its way up to a breast. He brushed his thumb over an erect nipple. “What standards?” Anna asked as she arched into his hand. “First, other men should not touch you. If you reach out, and touch them that is fine. However, they are not to lay a finger on you. Only a holy man or a relative is allowed to touch you.” “Wait a minute,” drawing back from him, Anna pushed Traun’s hand out from under her shirt. “What brought this up?” she asked, puzzled at his

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comment and wondering if she shouldn’t be getting mad, right about now. “I have not let anyone touch me, but you.” Traun let his hand lay in her lap where she had pushed it. “When I walked up to the table where you were playing cards this afternoon, the Transfer from earth had your arm in his hand and he was looking up your shirt sleeve. He knows that is against the world of Garr’s rules of social conduct toward the lifemate of a High Commander. He will be punished, as is fitting, for his action. Even a close friend would not be allowed to touch you in such a manner.” “Nevin didn’t mean anything by his actions. He was just teasing me about having the winning hand. I don’t want anything to happen to him,” Anna demanded of her husband. Concerned for her new friend, she was set to defend Nevin’s actions, as she felt the fault somehow lay in her direction. Frowning, Traun looked back at Anna. Did she care for this man more than he had realized. “Why are you so concerned about this Transfer? You may not have known about the social class rules, but he sure did. And, he broke those rules knowingly.” At Traun’s biting tone, Anna’s heart sank, she didn’t want to fight again and it seemed as if it might escalate to that level if she didn’t do something fast. Deciding quickly, she picked up the hand that lay in her lap and laced her fingers through his, then kicked off her shoes. Turning, she straddled him, bending a knee on each side of his hips in the chair they sat in. Traun adjusted Anna so she fit more comfortably on his lap, surprised at her abrupt move. Anna loosened her fingers from his, and placed his hand back under her shirt against her bare skin. Not saying a word, Traun brought his other hand up to her hip as he watched her. Smiling at him, Anna cupped his face with her palms, replicating his actions of her the night before. “He is only a friend. I’m sorry if I broke a social class rule. He is a nice man, who, I’m sure, didn’t mean anything by his actions.” Anna leaned over and kissed her husband, she pulled on his bottom lip gently with her teeth, surprising herself at her actions, she hadn’t realized until after last night with her husband, how sensuous touching and kissing him would be to her. Traun instantly hardened under Anna’s spread legs. His hands pulled

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her closer to him as he took control of the kiss. He groaned, when he heard the summons at their door. “Go away,” he whispered against her mouth. Laying his forehead against Anna’s, he waited, gaining control of his body before answering the door. “We will finish what you started, as soon as I get rid of whoever is at our door,” he promised throatily. Pushing her off his lap, he stood. Weakly, Anna straightened her clothes while she watched him walk to the door. Traun yanked the door open. Ready to tell whoever was on the other side that whatever they needed could wait until the morrow. He paused when he saw his aunt and uncle standing outside the door. “Uncle is there some problem?” he asked with concern. “No, no problem. Your aunt wanted to talk to you. She has a worry that she thought couldn’t wait until tomorrow.” Not having talked to Molly for two days, Anna had missed her. She quickly strode over to the open door. “Molly, George, come in,” she told them smiling. “I hope you weren’t getting ready for bed,” Molly said when she and George walked into the small hut. They walked across the room to sit down on the bench. Anna met Traun’s eyes behind Molly and George’s backs. His lecherous grin at her caused her own smile to spread at Molly’s innocent comment, before she quickly pulled her eyes from his. “We were just sitting here talking,” she fibbed, not looking at Traun. She walked over and picked up her half-eaten plate from the bench, beside Molly. Motioning to George to sit down, she picked up Traun’s plate from the floor, and placed the half-eaten plates on the small table beside the entrance door. Traun sat back down into the chair they had just left. Anna walked back over to where he was. Demurely, she sat down on the floor in front of his legs, since there was nowhere else to sit besides on his lap. She thought it best not to sit there. Traun spread his knees, so Anna could sit between them. Leaning back between his legs against the front of the chair, Anna looked over at Molly and George. “Aunt, what concern do you have that couldn’t wait?” Traun asked.

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Reaching down he played with the blonde hair before him. Molly watched Traun’s actions for a moment before she spoke. “Traun, I was speaking with the Keeper, of the Book of Wisdom today. He is worried that you have forgotten about building a House of Reflection for the people. I promised him I would approach you with his concern and mine, I might add. We must not forget our spiritual needs on this new world.” Traun knew his aunt was a deeply religious individual as was his own mother. His own beliefs in a Higher Power were not strong. Yet, he understood the need for people to have a belief that there was an entity that created life, and watched over you in your daily struggles. “I haven’t forgotten the need for a House of Reflection, Aunt. Tell the Keeper to pick out where he would like for the spiritual house to be built, and I will assign a team of men to begin its structure. It will need to be small for the time being until we settle in an area permanently.” “I knew you would understand, Traun. It will be a great relief to the Keeper to know that a spiritual house, even a small one, will be built. We better go, George. It’s getting late.” Molly turned toward her lifemate. Her anxiety, felt all day, was gone now that she knew her nephew planned to build a House of Reflection for the people. Laying a hand on top of Traun’s knee, Anna lifted herself up from her position on the floor as she and Traun told George and Molly goodbye. Anna walked to the door with them, shutting it behind them. “Lock the door, Anna,” her husband instructed, as he lightly treaded up behind her. Lifting her hair, he twisted the strands loosely between his fingers and kissed the back of her neck. Anna reached up and slid the lock home, before slowly turning around to face him, her knees weak. “Now where were we?” Traun asked, smiling down at her. He let the thick hair he had clasped in his hand fall. His pulse rate increased at the limpid, look of desire his lifemate failed to conceal from him. Placing a hand at her hip, he pulled her to him and led her over to their bed. He sat down on the side of the bed, and pulled her up between his legs. He began to unbutton her shirt, stopping between each button to kiss the satiny exposed flesh. Once he had her completely undressed, he held her at arm’s length. He gazed his fill of her, looking unhurriedly from her face to the tips of her toes, before he ran his hands down each side of the curves of her waist and

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over the slight flair of her hips. Anna could feel herself blush at Traun’s slow, methodical appraisal of her. “You’re beautiful, Anna,” rising from his sitting position, Traun lifted her up into his arms. Turning, he laid her down on top of the turned down covers. Leaning forward he kissed the center of her flat stomach, below her navel, before quickly stripping his own clothes. His knee dipped into the soft mattress as he lowered himself down beside her and reached for her. Anna, eager for his touch, needed no urging, as she met his mouth with her own. Her love for this man, something she did not understand, but was willing to give to him, even with the suspicion he didn’t need or require it from her.

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Chapter 14 The living huts were completed as well as the House of Reflection for the Keeper. Six weeks had passed since the first night, Anna knew her husband intimately. She was content even though Traun had yet to tell her he loved her. He was always passionate behind closed doors. Letting her see the softness and tenderness inside him that he kept hidden from the discerning eyes of the people he ruled. Anna never knew what Nevin’s punishment had been for touching her. He still smiled and talked to her when he saw her, although he maintained a respectful distance from her. She knew he had approached Traun the day after the card game, before Traun had a chance to call for him. Traun had told her that much, the Transfer he told her had seemed to be sincere in his apology to him. Assuring him that the behavior was all his doing and the Lady Anna should not be held to blame for any of his actions that day. When she had inquired as to what type of punishment Nevin had received, Traun had remained mute, unwilling to discuss it further with her. “So, is there anything I should be doing?” Anna asked the female Learned One. She was the one who had examined her, and confirmed her pregnancy. She and her lifemate, Learned Ones from the world of Garr sent to the new world to assure the best of care was given to the new mothers to be. Anna now knew she was pregnant from her and Traun’s first night of lovemaking. Just as Klinn, had predicted she would be. She was six weeks pregnant, she kept thinking with delight. Assured when she questioned the Learned One that all she needed to do was take one of the pills daily, given to her. And, to make sure to eat well, and rest if needed, Anna left the Learned One’s examination room. A cozy little room built out from the side of the Learned One’s private living hut. With a spring in her step, Anna walked across the valley bottom toward her sister-in-law’s home. She wished to find her friend anxious to share her

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news with her. Charlee had been keeping to herself these past few weeks and Anna was beginning to worry about her. This was a good opportunity to see her and check up on her. When she approached the front of Avreen’s home, the woman happened to be coming out of her door at the same time. When Avreen noticed her, she stopped and stared. The detestation reflected on her features caused Anna to tense, and falter for a second, before she continued past her to reach Charlee. Avreen remained mute as she walked by only a few feet in front of her. Anna wondered at the obvious hatred the woman had taken to letting her see when no one else was around to witness the emotion reflected. She had tried to stay away from her, refused to acknowledge that Traun might have had a relationship with her at one time. Anna was sure that whatever had been between them before was over now. Traun may not have told her he loved her, but he had made her feel loved each night for the past six weeks. Traun’s instructions to her on how to act before their people weighed heavily on Anna. She strived to keep her face impassive before the woman’s obvious show of dislike. She hadn’t mentioned her behavior to Traun, almost afraid he might not believe her. Avreen was unfailingly, careful, to exhibit the utmost respect whenever anyone else was around. **** Avreen watched Traun’s lifemate walk by. His lifemate, appeared as if she had not even noticed her glare as she strolled by seemly unconcerned. Her hatred swirled through her as she continued to watch the half earthling walk up the incline toward her brother’s hut. How could, Traun love that ugly, blonde haired, earthling, she thought in confusion. Her hair was the ugliest, palest, color she had ever seen, blonde with streaks of an even lighter color threading through it, almost white from being in the sun. All men of Garr preferred dark haired women. It was a known fact. She turned and stalked back into her hut, slamming the door shut behind her. The errand she had planned to do, forgotten, her hatred for Traun’s lifemate gripped her deep within, twisting her insides. She began to pace around the small interior of her home. A plan began to slowly materialize in her mind as she paced. Gradually, she calmed, stopped her pacing, and felt

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at peace for the first time since Traun had told her he loved his lifemate and not her. She now knew what she must do to correct all the recent wrongs in her life. The plan was so simple. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it weeks ago. Once the task was completed, Traun would once again turn to her. Avreen sat down, and smiled serenely at her thoughts. Her smile faded, as she recalled her emotions felt the night Traun had turned away from her and the love she freely gave to him. At first her hatred had focused on him. Coming out of her thoughts, Avreen whispered for Traun to forgive her for her previous anger at him. She knew it was not his fault he had turned away from her. It was the influence of others around him. His dedication to the people of Garr, for what had happened between the two of them. She laid her head back, and rested it on the back of the chair she sat in. Closing her eyes, she thought over the recent weeks since her arrival on this awful planet. After forgiving Traun for his betrayal, she had begun bit by bit with each day that passed been made to realize that it was the fault of Nevin, and the lifemate assigned to Traun for everything that had happened to her. When seeing Traun and his lifemate together, she wanted to scream, and pull at her own hair, at the unfairness of her life. With everything she had been through to be with Traun, for that ugly, white haired, earthling to be lying with him night after night. While she had to endure her lifemate’s lovemaking, not that he had not shown her care, she reluctantly thought. He just was not Traun, or what she wanted. She had always gotten what she wanted before her arrival to this awful planet. Mommy and daddy, always before, had guaranteed it. Life was unpredictable, and so unfair, she thought, missing her mommy and daddy, whom she had had to leave behind to follow her beloved. She reached up, and rubbed at her aching forehead, then lowered her hand down to the arm of the chair she sat in. Even her assigned lifemate seemed to be under the ugly earthling’s spell. Avreen frowned as she recalled her lifemate’s punishment received from Traun. Why, she had even shown concern for his well-being when he had received the four lashes on his back, for touching a High Commander’s lifemate. Avreen’s fingernails scratched at the chair arms under her fingertips. She had been livid on Nevin’s behalf, her hatred for the ugly, white haired

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earthling bubbling forth out of her unchecked, as she had doctored his back. What had he done? He had told her harshly to, “Shut up.” The lashes were his fault, he had said, no one else’s. He could have received a lot more than the four she was currently doctoring, if the High Commander had decreed it. Well, of course, it was not his fault. It was the fault of her! Not only had she stolen Traun away, it seemed even the lifemate she had never wanted to begin with, would defend the white haired witch against her, his own lifemate. Avreen quickly stood from where she sat, when she realized Nevin was coming through their door. When he smiled at her, she stared back unsmiling, and then brushed past him out the open door without a word spoken. Nevin watched the angry woman he was tied to march past him in sullen silence. He felt a hollow empty place swell inside his breast. Swallowing the hard knot in his throat, he closed the door and walked on into the room. He sat down in the chair Avreen had just vacated. This life of his on this new planet was not what he had thought or hoped it would be. His lifemate was a beautiful woman, but she didn’t seem to have any place in her heart for him. He knew she hated the High Commander’s lifemate, but he hadn’t been able to figure out the cause. **** Anna knocked on the door of her brother’s hut. When Charlee opened the door, she was surprised at how wan her friend looked. “Can I come in?” she asked, when Charlee just looked at her. “Can we go down to the creek, Anna?” Charlee abruptly asked surprising Anna with her question. “Yes, I don’t know why not.” Anna stepped back in confusion. Charlee didn’t say anything else. She just took off toward the creek at the back of their huts. Silently, Anna followed behind her, and then sat down quietly beside her when Charlee sat beside the creek and began to wash her face. “I am pregnant, Anna,” Charlee told her unsmiling. “Oh, Charlee that’s great so am I.” Anna laughed, confused over Charlee’s sad looking face when she should be happy. “Is the pregnancy hard on you? You look very peaked,” she reached a concerned hand up to

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her sister-in-law’s white face. Charlee started to cry over Anna’s concern, she wondered how she was going to take the news she had to tell. “Anna, I am four months pregnant.” Charlee waited for Anna to realize what that meant. Anna’s eyes widened as she looked at her best friend since childhood. They had left earth only three months ago. “Are you sure, Charlee? You’re not showing.” “I’m positive. It didn’t dawn on me that I was pregnant until about two weeks, after Andrew and I were married. Remember, I was sick when we were moving our belongings into our huts. After I was sick for several mornings in a row, I realized I hadn’t had my period since the last time Lance and I were together.” “Does my brother know?” Unhappily, Anna already suspected the answer. “No,” Charlee covered her face with her hands and cried heartbrokenly into them. “Anna, I love Andrew dearly. I don’t want to hurt him with this.” Anna didn’t know what to say to comfort her friend. She sat in uncertainty beside her. Her brother was going to be hurt and hurt badly, she knew. Nevertheless, he needed to know the truth and the sooner the better. “Dry your tears,” she stated sternly, taking command of the situation before Charlee made herself sick. “You have to tell my brother tonight. Don’t let anymore time go by. He’ll be angry, even hurt at first. But, when he has time to cool off, he’ll realize this isn’t something you planned. You had no idea what the future held when you thought you were in love with Lance.” “Come on, lean over let me wash your face,” she softened her stern tone when Charlee’s tears finally began to cease. “I’m still your friend no matter what. We’ll get through this together. Do you want to walk back up to your hut now?” she rubbed Charlee’s face dry with her shirtsleeve. “No, let’s just sit here for a while,” Charlee replied. Some of the pressure she had been under for the past few weeks lifted from her shoulders with Anna’s steadfast friendship. “How far along are you?” she asked, after several minutes had gone by. “Six weeks the Learned One said,” Anna smiled wickedly at Charlee. Charlee laughed at her expression. Then hiccupped, catching back a half sob. “The first time, huh? That fight must have really revved you two up.”

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Anna laughed outright at her comment. “I passed her coming up to your hut.” “Did she do or say anything this time?” “Just glared at me, of course, no one was around to witness her actions.” Anna picked up a pebble, and absently, rolled the small rock around in her hand. “You still don’t want me to tell Andrew what you saw that night or how she’s acting toward you?” “No, I don’t want Andrew to know. He would go straight to Traun.” “Why don’t you just ask him about her? If she is glaring at you, apparently she’s not getting any from your husband.” “Charlee, I hope not,” Anna looked at her friend with shock. “She would be smiling instead, from what you have told me,” Charlee teased Anna, then seeing her friend’s fallen expression she hastily added. “I know he’s not. Good grief, the man’s crazy about you. It is so obvious when we are together as a family. Besides, I’ve watched him when she’s around. He doesn’t even notice her.” “He hasn’t said he loves me,” Anna stated forlornly. “Have you told him you love him?” She shook her head. “One of you needs to make the first move.” “Maybe,” Anna threw the pebble she held out across the creek, trying to make it skip. She was unwilling to open herself up to rejection, in case he didn’t voice his love back to her. “I am so tired today.” “You’re pregnant alright,” Charlee told her friend, standing up. “Come on let’s get back so you can go take a nap.” **** Anna fell fast asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow. Barely did she get her shoes kicked off before she dozed off. The sun slowly set while she rested. Something tickled her nose. Annoyed, Anna reached up and rubbed the end of her nose, her eyes still closed she drifted back to sleep. There it was again. Anna frowned. She reached up and rubbed the end of her nose again. Traun blew at her face again, then laughed at her actions.

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Raising heavy eyelids, Anna swatted at her nose. “Stop it,” she said groggily, when she realized it was Traun. “Wake up sleepy head. What are you doing fast asleep, so early in the evening?” Anna woke up at his question and smiled up at him. “Guess what.” “What?” “I’m pregnant,” she watched as his teasing expression changed to one of elation. “How far along are you?” he asked, as he reached a hand out to lay it over her flat stomach. “The Learned One said six weeks.” Leaning down, Traun kissed Anna. He wished his family was there to hear the good news. The people of Garr would live on. His family line would continue. Traun’s heart swelled with love for the mother of his child. He climbed up on the bed beside her. “I haven’t seen you sick in the mornings. I know that’s one of the symptoms of pregnancy.” Anna snuggled up to Traun. “I haven’t had an ounce of sickness, thank goodness. I’ve been really tired lately though.” “Hence, me finding you asleep so early in the evening,” Traun smiled at her. “Are you happy, Anna?” He pulled her thick hair back behind her shoulders. Anna wondered why he had asked her if she was happy. She gazed up at him then smiled at his worried look when she didn’t immediately reply to his question. “I am happy, Traun, I….” she almost blurted out that she loved him but caught herself before she said the words that would bare her soul to him. “What?” Traun asked when she didn’t finish her sentence. “I’m happy to be married to you and I’m happy to have children for you and for the people of Garr,” Anna responded softly, her love for him making her want to please him. “I’m lucky to have you,” Traun told her before he gathered her up in his arms. They both dozed off to sleep, sleeping long into the night, unaware, of Klinn knocking on their door bringing their evening meal to them. Assuming they weren’t home when her knock went unanswered, Klinn opened the door prepared to leave the meal where she always did, on the

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bench. She smiled to herself when she saw their sleeping intertwined bodies, lying on top of the bed together, fully clothed. Tiptoeing over to the bench, she set their plates down on it for them to eat later. She quietly closed the door to the hut on her way back out. **** Charlee paced as she waited for Andrew to be relieved from his night watch post. Having taken his evening meal to him, she had walked back to their home and now waited anxiously for him to stroll jauntily through the door, like he always did. She was sick with dread at what she had to tell him. She wished she had known what the future had held in store for her before she had met Lance. She now knew what real love was. Her feelings for Lance were nothing, when compared to the depth of emotion she felt for Andrew. She had been upset and hurt over Lance’s betrayal, but had been able to bounce back quickly. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if Andrew turned away from her, she would be devastated. Unable to stop herself, Charlee walked to the door for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, opening it, she peered out as she attempted to catch a glimpse of Andrew. She was anxious for his return, and at the same time dreaded it. The minutes dragged slowly, yet strangely, moved too fast. Charlee clutched the edge of the open door. Here he comes. He’d noticed her waiting for him in the open doorway too. She stayed where she was, even though she wanted to go back inside the hut and hide. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm her nerves reciting, he loves me he will understand, he loves me he will understand, as she watched him walk closer. Approaching her, he smiled broadly. “Hey, baby. Waiting for me?” he asked when he stopped in front of her. Reaching out he pulled her to him. “I, love, you,” he told her between kisses. “You are sweet to be so anxious to see me. Let’s go inside.” Placing his arm around her waist, Andrew led her through the open doorway. She couldn’t help it, she burst out crying when they entered their hut. “Hey, what’s this?” “Andrew, I’m pregnant!” Charlee ducked her head down away from the concern reflected in his eyes. “Sweetheart that’s good news.” He raised her face back up with a

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thumb. Trembling, Charlee returned his look, her heart contracted when he smiled tenderly. She could tell he was confused over her behavior. “Hush,” he told her as he brushed the tears from her cheeks with his fingertips. “Are you scared? Is that what is wrong?” “Andrew, I am at least four months pregnant,” she blurted out, feeling deceitful at his show of concern. She watched as the tender smile instantly dropped from his face. Brusquely, he shoved her back away from him out of his arms, his face twisting. He looked down at her shirt-covered stomach then back up to meet her eyes with his own angry ones. You disloyal bitch, Andrew angrily thought even while he knew his thoughts were untrue. Not uttering a word he spun on his heels and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Charlee stumbled over to their bed, and crawled on top of it. Curling up tightly she stared dry eyed at the far wall. She wondered if Andrew would ever forgive her. She knew by his expression that he felt she had been unfaithful to him. Even with the knowledge that she had been pregnant long before they had noticed each other. Andrew didn’t know how he had finally gotten to where he was, sitting secluded at the base of one of the giant trees behind his hut. After he had walked around the quiet camp and tried to calm down, somehow he had ended up where he was. He was still angry, even hurt at what he felt was Charlee’s betrayal of him, and their love for each other. His fingers gripped into the ground beside him, his gut twisting at the thought of another man’s baby growing inside his wife’s belly. A baby he didn’t know if he could love or accept as his own. He felt unmanned when his eyes watered at his thoughts.

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Chapter 15 It had been four days since Anna had seen or talked to Charlee. She had been kept extremely busy every day since Charlee had told her about her pregnancy. Today, she and Molly supervised the last of the storage of the produce harvested that week from the garden planted soon after they had landed on Garrearth. She needed to make sure what they picked that day was stored adequately, and seeds saved for next year’s plantings. The ground was fertile and the crops were abundant. Anna gazed across the large plot sectioned off for the garden. The ground worked by equipment brought from Garr. A smile of satisfaction settled across her face at the work accomplished so far. It still amazed her that she was accountable for the maintenance of the garden, and the thirty people, that Traun had assigned under her to help work and maintain it. Everyone who worked in the garden always deferred to her if there was a problem concerning the plants, or the harvest of a crop ready for storage. Traun had given the responsibility of the garden over to her, and clearly expected her to carry out his orders. He had asked her about her plans for storing the harvest from the garden, and saving seeds for next year’s crop. Given her advice a couple of times when he came by to check on the progress, but other than that, he had left the majority of the responsibility of the garden to her. Charlee usually helped with the garden plot. However, this week, she had to help to tend to one of the servant women who had somehow tripped, and broken not only her leg, but an arm also. She had taken over the poor woman’s daily chore of collecting eggs laid from the poultry brought from Garr and the daily required feeding and watering the noisy things. She also had to make sure the newly hatched chicks didn’t escape their confined pen area. They couldn’t afford to lose any animals. Anna did not like the birds. They weren’t like chickens from earth. These things were about twice as

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large, with large yellow beaks and black satiny colored feathers that covered their bodies, even their legs. They squawked all the time, an earsplitting sound that got on her nerves. The males of the species had a different squawk than their female counterparts. They drew out their calls in several short loud bursts. Closing the door to the storage building, Anna locked it. She felt foolish having to lock the building, but Traun’s instructions were to keep their food supply secure at all times. Throughout the coming winter, a set allotment of food would be handed out weekly. He had told her this was to make sure they had plenty to eat until next year’s harvest. When they settled permanently where ever that might be, the people could grow their own gardens. Molly walked up just as she finished turning the key in the lock. “We put in a good day’s work, Anna.” Anna turned and smiled at her, putting the key she held in her jean pocket. “You should be exhausted. I don’t think you slowed down all day.” Molly laughed. “Oh, I’m feeling my age today, sweetie,” Her comment about her age made Anna remember how old Molly really was. Ninety-eight years old. It was easy to forget how old George and Molly were because neither looked or acted their age. Their age in human years that is, she guessed they were still just middle age, if you thought about how old they could potentially live. Anna didn’t want to think about their age. It scared her to think of eventually losing them. “We’re done for today and for at least another week before our next big harvest, why don’t you go home and rest, Molly. I’m going to go check on Chloe, see how she is doing since her accident. Then, I think I’ll go visit with Charlee for awhile before going home myself.” “I believe I’ll do exactly what you have suggested dear. Tell Chloe, I will come by later and visit, will you?” “I will,” Anna responded as she watched Molly tiredly turn to walk away. “Molly,” she called out, suddenly needing Molly to know how much she cared for her. “Yes dear?” Molly turned back meeting her eyes questioningly. “I just wanted to tell you, I love you and I count my blessings daily, for when you and George found Andrew and me.” Anna smiled tenderly at Molly, feeling sentimental for some reason.

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“Why, I love you too dear,” Molly smiled affectionately back at Anna, before turning once again to go home to George. Anna walked through the village to where the injured lady lived. She was tired, but not excessively, like some of the days she had experienced. Thank goodness, she hadn’t been sick like Charlee. Other than some days of extreme tiredness, she was healthy as a horse. Seeing Traun across the way, she waved at him. He raised his hand to her, before he turned his attention back to the group of men he was talking to. They were earnestly telling him something important, it seemed to Anna. Knocking on Chloe’s door, Anna opened it when she called out loudly, “Come in, whoever’s pounding on my door!” “Lady Anna,” Chloe exclaimed, she raised her one good arm and fussed with her hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was you at the door.” Anna walked over to where she sat. “I wanted to come by and see how you were doing?” “I’m fine. Please sit down.” Chloe pointed to another rocker, a twin to the one she sat in. “I’m so sorry about breaking my leg and arm. Now one of you has to help care for me and take care of my assigned duties.” “Good grief. You didn’t break your leg and arm on purpose,” Anna exclaimed, uncomfortable with the woman’s subservient demeanor. “We all have to pitch in when needed. You just rest and let your body heal. Charlee doesn’t mind helping you.” The woman liked the High Commander’s lifemate. She didn’t put on airs like some of the others. The importance of giving birth for the continuance of their race, made some act as if the one’s who couldn’t have children were dirt under their feet. She smiled at the Lady Anna sitting across from her. Anna, smiled back, she thought they must be around the same age. The woman looked to be in her twenties, but then again she thought, as with Molly and George she could be a lot older than she looked. “What did the Learned One say about your leg and arm?” Anna asked feeling sorry for her. “He said both were clean breaks and should heal fine.” “That is good news.” After they chatted for a while, Anna stood. “I am going to go now and

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let you rest. Please, have your lifemate let me or the High Commander, know if there is anything you should need.” She meant the words she said and was not just giving lip service to the woman before her. “Lady Anna, I don’t need anything, but I do have a concern that I think I should mention to you.” “What is this concern?” “It’s about your friend, Charlee,” Chloe began hesitantly. “Yes?” “Charlee doesn’t seem happy, and she hasn’t had much to say these past four days.” Chloe gazed up at the Lady Anna and shrugged a plump shoulder. “Please don’t think I am complaining about her,” she hurriedly added, upon seeing the Lady Anna’s face go still. “I like your friend. She is a nice young woman. She and I got to know one another before my mishap. It’s just that she’s been coming here for four days now, cooking for me and taking care of my assigned duties, while my lifemate is out with his own assigned duties.” Chloe paused in her hurried speech and frowned up at the Lady Anna. “She always tells me she’s not hungry when I ask her to sit down and eat with me. She goes all day without eating a thing. The poor thing has no life in her, no spark. She’s different now, than when we used to talk. Since, you are her friend I thought I should let you know, so you could check on her. I’m afraid something is seriously wrong. She is of total human origin you know.” Anna thanked Chloe for informing her about Charlee, and for her concern. Before she turned to leave, she remembered to tell her that Molly would come by in a few days to visit. She promised Chloe that she also would come back, and visit with her. Walking away, Anna thought about what Chloe had told her. She knew four nights ago was when Charlee had told her brother about her pregnancy. She had seen Andrew only in passing for the past five days, his duties kept him busy on the opposite side of the village from where she worked in the garden. She hadn’t gotten to talk to him to see how he had taken the news. She couldn’t help but smile to herself at Chloe’s behavior, when she had made the comment about Charlee being of total human origin, as if that must be what was at the root of all her problems. Maybe it was a good thing she had decided to visit with her today. Anna knocked several times on the front of Charlee’s door. She had

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started to turn away, thinking Charlee must be out and about somewhere, when the door cracked open. She turned back, Charlee had the door cracked open just barely enough for her to see her face. It was pitch dark within the interior of the hut. “Anna,” Charlee mumbled upon seeing her friend, “can you come back later? I am just not in the mood for company right now,” turning she started to push the door closed behind her. Anna quickly stuck her foot in the doorway preventing it from closing. She was appalled at the drawn look of her friend’s face. The little bit she had been able to see. She gave the door a shove with her hand and pushed it open, so she could step inside the dark room. Charlee felt a spark of emotion for the first time in four days. “Damn it, Anna. I want to be left alone,” she spit out, angry at Anna for intruding. The sudden spark of anger she felt, evaporated as quickly as it had come upon her. Dejectedly, she walked back over to the bed from which she had just risen. Crawling back under the covers she pulled them over her head, and turned her back on Anna’s worried face and the now bright room because her interfering friend had flipped the overhead light on, and opened her curtains. “Turn off the light when you leave,” she instructed. Charlee closed her eyes. She knew when Anna left, she would be alone for the rest of the night. Andrew only came to change his clothes in the mornings after she was gone. Where he stayed during the night, she didn’t know. She only knew that he hadn’t stayed in their hut or spoken to her for four days or nights now. It was as if she had ceased to exist as far as he was concerned, he had even turned his back on her when she had attempted to approach him the following morning, after he had walked out on her. All she wanted to do now was sleep, blissful sleep where you were not aware of anything or felt any pain. Anna walked across the floor to the bed and yanked the covers down from over her sister-in-law’s head. “Charlee, you get up from there right now, and tell me what happened when you told my brother about the baby.” Charlee had always been a fighter, someone who went for what she wanted with gusto. Anna did not recognize the person lying on the bed before her. There really was no life, no spark, in her. This was not the friend she knew and it scared her.

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Charlee rolled over onto her back and gazed up at Anna tiredly. She wished, everyone would just leave her alone and let her sleep. Chloe had kept asking her if she felt ill today. Now Anna was here pestering her too. “Anna I am fine, I just want to sleep. Come back later.” Anna looked down at Charlee’s thin cheeks. She had lost weight in the past four days. If she wasn’t eating, it wasn’t good for the baby, a baby blameless of any wrongdoing. She knew Charlee wouldn’t deliberately do anything to harm her baby, whether she wanted the child or not. “Charlee, when did you last eat?” she asked as she pulled the covers back, away from Charlee’s searching fingers. “I don’t know. I haven’t been hungry.” Charlee sighed, closing her eyes, she hoped Anna would take the hint and leave. She gave up on being able to pull the covers back over her head when Anna kept pulling them back from her. “Go away, just leave me in peace.” Anna stood and looked down at her friend for another long minute before she turned and left. She could tell Charlee was already fast asleep before she had even walked out the door. Something had to be done, but what? Hearing the knock on her door, Molly was surprised when she opened it to see Anna. She and George had just finished an early meal and planned to relax for the rest of the evening. “Anna, I thought you were going to go visit with Charlee this afternoon? You two must not have had a very long visit. Why the long face, dear? Did you two have words over something?” “Molly, may I come in and talk to you about something?” “Yes, dear, come in.” Molly stepped back, so Anna could come into the hut. Anna, just then seeing George, hesitated. Molly seeing her hesitation, “You might as well say what it is you have come to tell me in front of George. You know I’ll tell him later anyway.” Anna smiled at George and went to sit beside him. “I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you. It’s just that I don’t know how you’ll take the news. I haven’t even told Traun yet, although, it’s not going to matter that much to him anyway,” she told the two individuals looking at her in confusion.

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Molly walked over and sat down facing Anna. “What is going on Anna?” “Charlee is pregnant,” Anna began, looking at both George and Molly. She held up a hand when they both started to tell her that was good news. “She is pregnant by someone she had been dating on earth. She is four months along. She told Andrew the news four nights ago. I don’t know what happened, since I haven’t had time to visit or see her for the past four days. However, whatever did happen must not have been very pleasant. I just came from seeing her.” Anna’s eyes teared as she looked at Molly. “She has lost weight. I don’t think she has eaten anything for the past four days, and she seems so lifeless. She didn’t want to see or talk to me. All she wanted to do was go to sleep. She’s not the Charlee I know. I don’t know what to do for her.” Anna hunched her shoulders. “It can’t be good for the baby, for her not to be eating.” Molly stood. Full-blooded earth baby or not this was an innocent babe, who would be harmed if the mother didn’t take care of herself. She looked at George and Anna. “Come on, you two. We all three are going to go talk to her, and talk to Andrew too, if we must.” Anna knocked repeatedly on the front of the door. When her knocks remained unanswered, she opened the door, glancing at George and Molly as she did so. Stepping through the open doorway, all three sets of eyes swiveled over to where Charlee was lying asleep. She hadn’t waked to turn off the light Anna had left on when she had left her earlier. She was so deeply, sound asleep, the repeated knocks on the door had not even roused her. Charlee felt a hand on her shoulder shaking her awake. Her heart leaped believing Andrew was finally coming to talk to her. “Andrew?” she rolled over anxious to see him. “Oh,” she said, when she realized it wasn’t Andrew. The dejection she felt obvious to all three individuals standing before her. “No, honey, not Andrew,” Molly said. Charlee’s eyes, slowly, moved from each individual standing beside her bed to the next. She tried to sit up. “Is something wrong?” Anna reached out a sympathetic hand and helped her friend to sit up. Molly took hold of her arm. “Let’s get you up from here,” she stated firmly, but kindly. “Anna, pour Charlee a glass of water.

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Anna hurried to do as Molly instructed. She filled the drinking glass, then brought it over to Charlee, who Molly was directing toward a chair. Charlee looked at Anna in bewilderment before she took the glass of water from her hand. “Drink,” Anna instructed. She watched Charlee obey without question. “Charlee, Anna told George and me the complete story about your pregnancy,” Molly began, no censor reflected in her voice as she spoke. “I wish it weren’t so, for yours and Andrew’s sake, but it is and as such, life must go on. I understand you informed Andrew about your pregnancy four nights ago.” She watched as Charlee nodded her head, affirming her statement. “Am I right to assume he didn’t take the news well?” Charlee looked at Anna then Molly. She couldn’t meet George’s eyes. What they must think of her, she didn’t know. They appeared concerned about her. These people, she had known since grade school, yet really had not known at all. “He hates me now,” Charlee stated flatly. She sat down heavily in the chair behind her. “He hasn’t spoken to me, or stayed in our hut, since the night I told him.” “Well, dear. I cannot speak for Andrew or even reassure you of his eventual understanding. However, I am going to tell you, that you must pull yourself together and out of this depression, you appear to be under. You are not taking care of yourself and your actions could harm the baby. Do you want to cause harm to your baby?” Molly asked her voice firm. Charlee shook her head. No, she didn’t want to harm her child even if she didn’t care for its father. She did love the child growing inside her, she realized. She suddenly felt protective of the child, and anger at herself, for indulging in self-pity these past four days. Then she felt intense anger at Andrew, for his behavior toward her. Fine, he could be hurt, but she hadn’t cheated on him. She had thought she was in love with the baby’s father at the time she had gotten herself pregnant. She and Andrew hadn’t even been aware of one another until the trip to this planet. Charlee straightened up in the chair she sat in. She felt energy flow through her limbs as the anger she suddenly felt, unfurled inside of her. She looked at Anna feeling alive for the first time in weeks. Anna smiled back at her friend when she saw the fighting light behind Charlee’s eyes.

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**** Andrew opened the door to his small home, he had decided after his blow up at one of the men that day that it was time to talk to Charlee and hash out their problems. He loved her and wanted to set things right between them. He knew she was probably taking the situation hard. Yet, he hadn’t been able to face her or the issue until today. He still didn’t know if he could accept the child she carried as his own, or even find love in himself for it. He didn’t want her to realize how he felt. He knew it would hurt her. Four sets of eyes turned to the open doorway. Andrew felt they all stared at him in accusation. He stiffened, ready to defend his actions. It surprised him when he saw anger reflected in Charlee’s eyes. He had believed she would be glad to see him. Even cry, as he graciously told her he forgave her. Now he didn’t know what to expect as fear shot through him. “What’s this?” he sneered. He threw the door wide, and walked further into the room, stopping to stand defensively before them. Legs spread wide, hands on his hips, he glared at his family. Anger shot through Anna at his behavior. “Someone has to stand up for Charlee since you seem incapable of doing the job!” Andrew’s eyes swiveled sharply to his sister, he smarted under what he felt was a direct blow to his manhood. “Your husband was looking for you earlier. Why don’t you go home and mind your own goddamn business.” Molly gasped at his words. George’s shoulders pulled back with surprise. “Son, that was uncalled for.” Anna stiffened, her brother never talked to her that way. She knew he must be hurting, and wanted to lash out, but she was not going to let him talk to her in that manner or hurt her friend anymore. “Why don’t you grow up?” she snarled back, as she went to stand beside Charlee defensively. Andrew’s eyes widened at her actions. What did they think? He would physically hurt his wife? He looked at Molly and George as they gazed back at him, standing their ground beside Charlee. “All of you,” he ground out, pointing to the open door behind him, “go home! Let my wife and I work out our problems on our own terms.” His

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anger at the whole situation vibrated through him. “Traun,” Anna cried out, when he stepped up into the open doorway. “Tell Andrew he needs to calm down.” Traun looked at everyone huddled around Anna’s friend he had heard Andrew’s words to them to go home. He didn’t know what was happening here. But, he for sure knew, they all needed to let Andrew talk to Charlee alone. A man did not need his whole family involved in a personal squabble with his lifemate. Andrew whirled around meeting Traun’s eyes. Hell, he thought, now the High Commander is even going to get involved in this mess. Traun motioned to Anna, Molly, and George. “Come on, let’s leave these two to work out their problems privately,” he told them sternly. Anna looked down at Charlee, not moving. “Please, Anna, go. I want to talk to Andrew alone,” Charlee said, she did not want everyone to be involved in her private problem. Especially not the High Commander, who intimated her. She was aware he hadn’t been happy with George allowing her on board the spaceship without his prior knowledge or approval. Anna stepped away from beside Charlee as she looked at her brother. He, in turned, glared back at her. Hurt, that she of all people, would think he would do harm to his wife. Her eyes narrowed at his glare. Traun firmly, turned Anna toward the doorway that George and Molly had already passed through. “Let’s go,” he said, shutting the door behind him when he got her through it. He was ready to laugh at the fighting stance she had held with her brother. “Come on, you can release all that pent up energy on me when we get home,” he teased her, as he chuckled down at her. “Oh, shut up,” Anna responded, laughing at his comment. Avreen, walking up to her hut, couldn’t hear their words said to each other, but she could hear Anna’s laughter, and her teeth grinded together at the sound. She had not had an opportunity to put her plan into effect yet. However, she was confident the time would come, when everything would fall into place. She just needed to bide her time, and be patient, she told herself as she watched the happy couple walk toward their hut.

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That should be her and Traun as they walked together, happy and secure in their love for each other, she thought. She began to imagine scenarios of them together after she succeeded with her plan, she saw herself laughing at something Traun told her.

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Chapter 16 Now that everyone had left, Andrew didn’t know what to say to Charlee. The anger he felt drained out of him. She has lost weight these past four days, he thought with concern, as he gazed tenderly at her. He could tell she wasn’t going to make it easy for him, the anger reflected out of her eyes as she just watched him, let him know that much. Walking over to the front of their fireplace, he sat down on the large round rug she had brought with her from earth, a sentimental thing her mother had given to her before her death. “Charlee will you come down here and sit beside me?” he patted the rug under him. He didn’t think she would for a moment when she hesitated. She finally stood and sat Indian style before him. Reaching over he clasped both of her hands with his. “First off, I’m sorry for not speaking to you or coming home for the past four nights,” he half smiled at her. He wondered at her thoughts when she just looked back at him. It scared him that maybe she would be unable to forgive him his actions. “Charlee, I love you. I’m sorry for what I did to you that night. How I shoved you away from me. I did some serious thinking over the past four days, about us and the baby.” He reached out and placed his hand up against the slight swell of her stomach and felt her tense under his hand. “I will try to love this baby, and I promise you, I will raise him or her as my own. I can’t live without you by my side. Charlee, please, say you forgive me,” he begged, his voice lowered, emotion choking him. When she didn’t respond, he lifted his hands from hers. He guessed she couldn’t forgive him. His heart heavy he started to rise. Charlee quickly reached out a hand and stopped his movement. “I thought I was dying these past few days,” she told him, shaking her head

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‘no’ at him when he started to put his arms around her. Confused, Andrew let his arms fall to his sides. “When your family came to me today, they made me realize that I love this baby. I love you, Andrew, but if you really don’t think you can find room in your heart for this child, then, please, tell me now. I will not subject this baby to a lifetime of trying to earn your love.” Charlee waited, afraid that she and her baby would be all alone in this new world. That Andrew would get up and walk out on her and her unborn child. Abruptly, Andrew pulled her onto his lap, and then spread his palm over her stomach. “I love you, honey, and there is enough love in me to make room for the baby, too.” “Oh Andrew,” Charlee felt herself start to tear up at his words. Lowering Charlee down to the rug, Andrew stretched out beside her. Raising her shirt, he kissed the slight swell of her stomach before moving to her mouth. He felt like a man who had been starved of nourishment the past four days as he kissed her deeply. If he couldn’t love the child, she or the child would never realize the truth, he promised himself. The deep, jealousy, he felt for the unknown man who had known his wife would be his cross to bear. **** “What was all the commotion about last night?” Traun asked Anna, as they were getting ready for their day, the next morning. “Your brother must have had a bad day all day yesterday,” he continued, as he buttoned up his shirt. “He jumped all over one of the men as they were working together, I was told. It seems, when the man innocently inquired how his lifemate was doing, Andrew jumped up in the man’s face telling him his wife was his concern not his. The other men said they thought they were going to have to pull Andrew off the man for a moment, before he was able to explain to your brother, that it was an innocent question. He just hadn’t seen her around much was why he asked.” Anna slipped her shoes on as she listened to Traun. Raising a foot, she began to tie her shoelace. They hadn’t been able to discuss what had happened last evening, since a problem called him away right after they had returned home. She didn’t think the news would make much of an impact

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with him anyway. “Charlee is pregnant by her old boyfriend from earth. She told Andrew the news five nights ago. It was very upsetting too both. Andrew apparently hadn’t spoken to her, or been home for the past four days, since she had told him of her pregnancy. She wasn’t eating or taking care of herself. That was why my family and I got involved in the fight between them. I hope they worked things out last night.” She retied her shoelaces, not satisfied with the knots she had just made. Anna glanced up at Traun. He had grown strangely still at her words. She was surprised at the anger she saw on his face. “When, exactly, did you plan to tell me this news?” he asked sharply. He knew now why her friend had missed her scheduled appointments with the Learned One’s. He had planned to talk to Andrew about it that morning. “I didn’t think you would care one way or another. It’s nothing to you,” Confused at his behavior, Anna let her foot fall from where it had been propped on her knee. “Nothing to me? A human baby being born to another full blood human is nothing to me?” “What’s that got to do with anything?” Anna asked, still baffled by his attitude. “Anna!” he bit out, “everyone here was selected because of their genes. I myself looked at everyone’s files and paired them with partners from earth that would guarantee strong, healthy babies, babies of strong Garr blood. Your human friend was sneaked on board the spaceship without my approval, as you well know. If I had been made aware of the situation in time she wouldn’t even be here. The only reason I paired her with your brother was because I had no other option. This baby of hers will have weak, human genes, with possible disease. Even your friend’s genetic material could contain disease. Your brother and her pairing was a chance I felt I had to take or else leave your brother without a partner.” Staring at him, Anna was hurt. She felt she was of human blood, not Garr blood. Traun seeing her hurt expression softened his tone. “Anna, the people of Garr are genetically stronger. Through gene manipulation, we live longer, and are basically healthier throughout our lifespan than humans could ever think of being.”

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“Well, you sure needed human help when you made yourselves sterile with your gene manipulation,” she snapped back at him. Traun stiffened at her words and tone. “I will tell you now. No child of mine will be paired as a lifemate with the child she is carrying. I do not know of any here, that would want their offspring paired with the child when it is grown. Who knows what that child, could be carrying in its genetic makeup.” My god! He’s prejudice against humans. Anna sat stunned at his words. What else did she not know about this man? she wondered as she looked at him. How could he ever love her if he felt that deeply? She was, after all, half human. Traun didn’t realize the full impact his words had on Anna. He could tell her feelings were hurt, but he felt it was more in defense of her human friend. “I will see you this afternoon,” he told her, softening his tone before he turned to leave. Anna nodded her head at him, and looked away. She felt defeated. She had convinced herself he must love her, after all, he seemed to care, even if he hadn’t said the words. She wondered if Molly and George held the same beliefs. If they had been able to keep secret their origin of birth from her, for all the years they had lived on earth among humans, who was to say they didn’t hold the same beliefs as Traun, just never voiced them. She felt sick inside. Dejectedly she walked toward the door. When she opened her door, Molly was walking toward her. Unsmiling, Anna watched her approach. She felt as if the woman coming toward her was a complete stranger. When Molly reached her, unable to stop herself she blurted out, “Molly, do you think I’m less of a person because of my human blood?” “Honey,” Molly exclaimed. She realized Traun must have learned about Charlee’s pregnancy. “Come, let’s go inside and talk.” Molly gently pushed Anna back into the hut and over to the bench. Facing Anna, she sat down beside her. “First of all, no, I don’t think you are less of a person because of your human blood.” “Traun does,” Anna mumbled. “I don’t believe he thinks you are less of a person, Anna. He just was raised to believe the people of Garr, are genetically superior to the human race. We have been able to basically, eradicate all genetically defective

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genes within our makeup. Something humans have yet to do.” “Shouldn’t you be afraid my human genes could contaminate the perfect Garr blood when I have my child?” Anna demanded. “Anna, we can sit here and argue all day over this issue. I love you, no matter what flows in your veins.” “Do you really, Molly?” Anna hatefully asked. “Or, are all of us half breeds just a necessary evil, to accomplish your people’s plan to survive as a race?” Molly’s shoulders slumped at Anna’s attitude toward her. She felt the prick of tears, as she looked at the young woman she had raised from a little girl. She was unable to hide her hurt. “Oh Molly, I’m sorry,” Anna cried upon seeing her reaction at the hateful accusation. “I know you love me. Really I do.” Anna quickly hugged the woman who had been her mother since the tender age of six. She was sorry now for her spiteful words. Molly had always shown her nothing, but care and love. “All is forgiven.” Molly patted Anna’s back, her hurt fading at Anna’s sincere apology. “Now,” she pulled back from Anna’s embrace. “Why, I came to see you this morning, was to tell you to take the day off. George says he wants to work in the garden today. He will oversee the weeding and watering for you. You and Charlee take some of your botany books. Go see if you can find any plants similar to those on earth. Don’t go too far though,” she added with concern. “But, Charlee has to take care of Chloe,” Anna replied, even as her spirits soared at the possibility of a day off. “I plan to go and stay all day with the woman.” Anna hugged Molly tightly. “I love you, Molly.” Molly smiled at her. “I know you do, sweetheart. Now go, go have fun today,” she gently urged Anna toward the door. **** “You don’t want to go?” Anna was disappointed. After Charlee had reassured her that she and Andrew had worked out their problems the night before, she had excitedly informed Charlee, they both had the day off. She explained that Molly had graciously decided to watch the hurt woman for

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her and George was taking care of her own chores in the garden. “Anna, I’m sorry. If we have the day off, I would just as soon stay home and rest.” Anna jumped up from the padded chair she sat in. “I’m going anyway.” She wished Charlee would go with her. However, since she obviously didn’t want to go, she wasn’t going to let that keep her from enjoying a beautiful summer day. She could go alone. Charlee looked at her apprehensively. “Anna, do you really think you should go walking away from camp by yourself. I thought we were supposed to always go in pairs.” Anna frowned. “We haven’t seen any other people or, for that matter, any other animals in all the time we’ve been here. I’m going. Don’t try to talk me out of it. Besides, I’ll stay close to the areas we have already been to.” “Exactly where do you plan to go?” “I think, I’ll walk down to the waterfall and look around at the vegetation there. Then from there, I am going to go investigate the woods to the left of the waterfall.” At Charlee’s doubtful expression, Anna laughed. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I had planned on us being back right after lunch anyway. After I check out the woods, I’ll come back and eat my noon meal by the waterfall. It’s so peaceful there that I want to spend some extra time there. Then I’ll head straight back here, will that make you feel better, mommy?” “Be careful,” Charlee told her, laughing at Anna’s drawled out mommy. “I promise I will be back right after lunch. Besides, Traun will probably come and ask for me if he doesn’t see me during the men’s scheduled lunch break,” Anna reassured her, as she headed out, giving her a wave as she left. Leisurely, Anna strolled down the beaten path behind the hut she had just left, headed to the creek that seemed to be the lifeblood of the settled encampment resting above it. The creek, used to bathe in, wash their clothing in, a place to visit with others, and a supplier of their drinking water. The constant flowing water was always clear and clean. Anna walked across the fallen tree that lay over the swiftly, flowing water. Everyone who visited the waterfall had to use the natural bridge to get to the bank on the other side. She took her time as she walked, pausing every so often to bend down

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and examine the vegetation along the trail. The heat of the day had already started to climb and there was no breeze through the thick trees, and plants. She could hear the roar of the cascading waterfall, at the end of the trail, as it got louder the closer she approached. Within forty-five minutes, Anna stood at the outer edge of the clear, light blue liquid that filled the natural basin below the waterfall. The over flow from the natural pool followed the drop of the mountain range beyond it. The light mist that bounced from the waterfall and settled over her face was refreshingly cool on her hot brow. Sitting down on the grassy bank, Anna quickly pulled her tennis shoes and socks off, then stuck her hot feet into the cold water. Sighing with pleasure, she lay back on the thick, green carpet and folded her arms behind her head, as she gazed up at the sky. I think I will lay here for a short while before continuing on, she thought lazily, enjoying her day off from work. The sound of the waterfall was hypnotic as she drowsily thought of how everything she had ever known before was gone, never to be again. She remembered how she and Charlee would go to the nightclubs while in college. Not too many months ago, she thought sleepily, yet it seemed a lifetime. They had always had so much fun. Never realizing the carefree times they enjoyed was soon to come to an end. No one on earth would ever believe her story, if somehow she were able to go back to earth and tried to tell them what she had experienced, and now knew. She laughed outright, when she recalled the man at the service station, who had whistled at her the day she was heading home to George and Molly. Unknowingly, heading toward a lifestyle change she could never in a million years have dreamed up. Wouldn’t he have been shocked if he had learned he whistled that day at a female who was half-alien, half-human? Anna yawned. I had better get up or I am going to fall asleep. Rising to a sitting position, Anna pulled her feet out of the water. Drying her feet off with her socks she then put her socks and shoes back on. Standing, she reached for her backpack and pulled out the slice of wrapped, sweet bread Klinn had given her to snack on before her noon meal. Taking a bite out of the soft bread, she slipped the backpack straps over her shoulders and took off walking. As she walked she flipped through the plant book she had brought, she glanced at its pictures in between pausing, and examining the plant life, she passed.

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Anna straightened from her close scrutiny of the plant at her feet. She wasn’t seeing anything that looked vaguely, familiar to the pictures in the book. She decided to walk further into the wooded area than originally intended, not ready to go home yet. Anna wasn’t for sure how far she had gone, when all of a sudden, she realized, the wooded area she now stood in was denser, and darker, than where she had come from. Gazing up ahead into the thick trees and plants, she felt a shiver of unease. She had the oddest sensation that eyes were looking back at her, watching her. Turning quickly, she took off running back toward the waterfall. A surge of adrenalin shot through her as fear sliced within when she thought she heard someone, or something following just to the right of her. Anna quickly veered off to her left, running all out. She zig zagged around the trees, and bushes in front of her, the hair on the back of her neck rising, the space between her shoulder blades twitched, the sensation strong that whatever was behind her was getting ready to reach out, and grab hold of her. The low limbs, of the tree branches reached out and slapped her across the face, stinging her cheeks. Out of breath and a stitch beginning to cramp her side, she felt her chest tighten. I am going to have to face whatever is behind me, she thought, as she tried valiantly to make an effort to keep running, her pace slowed even as she pushed forward. Breathing labored, Anna agonizingly drew air into lungs that screamed. She realized she couldn’t run any further. It is now or never, she thought. Yelling loudly, she quickly twisted her body around, she raised the book she held in her hand ready to use it to hit at whatever was behind her. Her right ankle popped. Pain shot through her foot, and up her leg, making her cry out in agony. Falling helplessly to the undergrowth around her feet, Anna quickly threw her arms up over her head. She lay sprawled on top of the forest’s plant life. The crushed plants she lay upon identical to the ones that just moments earlier, she had been unconcernedly examining. Expecting a creature to begin snarling down at her anytime, she laid face down cringing, as she drew the musty smell of the forest floor into flared nostrils with each scared breath she took. Heart slamming into her ribs, she waited with bated breath. After several long moments of silence and no movement, she slowly raised her head and looked around fearfully. I know something was right behind me. I just know it, she thought in

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confusion, when she didn’t see the expected monster. Her whole body quivered with fear. Several long minutes more, her breathing finally calmed and her heart rate slowed. Shakily, Anna tried to stand, only to cry out into the silent woods at the intense pain that shot through her ankle. She sank back down to the forest floor. Tears of pain slid down her cheeks as she examined her throbbing swollen ankle, her shoe already felt tight, and pinched into her foot. As she looked down at her ankle, she wondered if it was broken. Raising her head, Anna glanced behind her at the massive tree she had darted around only moments before. Making up her mind, she slowly began to pull herself over to its base, she wanted something solid up against her back. If there was a creature out there, she didn’t want the thing to be able to grab her from behind. Moments later, she laid her head against the bark covered tree trunk, exhausted after having inched her way over its base. Sitting with closed eyes she sent a prayer up to the heavens for her and her baby’s safety, she held her foot absolutely still her leg straight, any slight movement sent sharp waves of pain through her entire foot. Opening her eyes, Anna looked around at the forest’s green-topped trees and dense plants around her. I’m lost, she thought miserably, when she didn’t recognize any of the surrounding area. Traun is going to be so mad at me, when and if, he finds me. She wiped at her wet cheeks. He’ll give me another one of his lectures on how I must act and be responsible as the lifemate of a High Commander. After what seemed an eternity of watching and waiting, she began to nod off, the aftereffects of her recent adrenalin rush and fear made her extremely tired. Every so often, she would jerk awake, thinking she could hear something. Each time, she quickly raised the book she held in her lap, ready to use it to defend herself if needed. The day gradually slipped away, nightfall forthcoming over the forest that trapped her within its darkening interior. Anna began to believe she was destined to spend the night in the woods. She shivered, her fear threatened to take control, after another jerk of awareness yanked her from a light sleep when she thought she heard a rustling sound in the bushes to her left. What if I die out here, she thought morbidly. And, no one finds my body. My family will forever wonder what happened to me. I will never have told Traun that I love him. I wish he could have known that before I had to die.

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Anna laid her hand over her still flat stomach and cried softly. I deserve one of Traun’s lectures. I should never have come so far into the woods. “Traun!” she yelled, she knew he would come look for her when she wasn’t home for their evening meal. “Traun!” “Traun!” **** Traun went home early having missed his normal check on Anna at noon, his duties to the people seemed never to end. Someone seemed to always call out for his attention. He wanted to talk to Anna after he had hurt her feelings that morning over his comments concerning her friend Charlee. He had realized how she must have taken his words when he thought about the conversation later that day. She would view herself as human, not of Garr blood, since raised on earth as a human. He opened the door to their hut expecting her to be waiting for him. They had taken to eating their evening meal together at home with just each other. He frowned when he saw the two steaming plates of food laid on the bench, but no Anna. Maybe she was still mad at him and had gone to Molly’s or Charlee’s home. He turned deciding to check with Molly first. “No, Traun I haven’t seen Anna since this morning. She planned to walk down to the waterfall today with Charlee. They were going to examine the plant life.” “There’s Charlee now,” Molly pointed toward her when she saw Charlee come out the door of her home to greet Andrew as he walked up to her. “Anna must be around here somewhere if Charlee’s here. I’ll go with you,” she said when he turned to walk away. She shut the door to her hut before she quickly turned and followed behind him. Charlee put her hand on Andrew’s arm drawing his attention to Traun and Molly. Andrew smiled at the pair, having talked to George and Molly before coming home to Charlee. He had apologized to both for his behavior the night before. He still needed to apologize to his sister. Traun smiled back at Andrew as he walked up to him. “I’m looking for my lifemate. I always seem to find her here. So, I thought I would come and

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get her out of your hair.” Andrew looked over at Charlee as he laughed at Traun’s statement. “Charlee, where’s Anna? Is she inside the hut?” “She’s not here. Have none of you seen her all day?” Charlee cried. Molly’s eyes widened at Charlee’s excitement. Instantly, Traun knew Anna had gone out on her own against his orders. “You didn’t go walking with her this morning, did you?” he asked, afraid that he already knew the answer. “No, I didn’t feel like walking this morning. Anna wanted to go anyway. She promised she would be back a little after lunch said that if she wasn’t, you would come over here looking for her. I assumed she had come back since you never showed up.” Charlee looked accusingly at Traun. “Where was she planning to go?” Traun asked. Guilt tore at him that he had not been able to come home during the middle of the day as he usually did. “She was going to go to the waterfall, then a little ways into the woods, left of the waterfall. No further than we all have walked before, she promised.” Charlee was practically wringing her hands in her anxiety. “Andrew, go find her,” she demanded of him. “No,” Traun told him, when Andrew started to take off, his face having lost its color. “You stay here. It’s going to be dark soon. I’ll go and try to find her by myself. I don’t need more people lost. If I’m not back by morning, pull together a search party and come look for us both.” “I will,” Andrew replied. Traun, beginning to turn away, told the three standing around him, “I am going to go back to my hut and get a weapon and camping gear. Molly, will you go fetch me a medical kit? Just in case she’s got herself hurt, not just lost,” he added, beginning to walk away, anxious to get gone. Molly whirled and took off to get a medical kit from the Learned Ones. She grabbed George on her way, telling him that Anna had not showed back up from her walk that morning. George wanted to go with Traun. Traun refused to let him go when he told him of his wish. Within the hour, he strolled away from the small group that had walked to the creek bed with him. Andrew his expression bleak listened as George tried to reassure Molly and Charlee that Anna would be fine. Traun would bring her safely home he

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told them. Traun, able to make out where Anna had lain in the grass by the waterfall turned and headed left, he hoped she had gone left, as Charlee had told him she planned too. He came across a piece of paper further up the trail that must have slipped out of her plant book. It had her hand written notes on it from a prior date during college. Folding the piece of paper, he put it in his pocket as he continued on. He began to call out for her, pausing every now and then to listen. Dusk crept over the woods. Traun never in his life felt as fearful as he did at that moment, as he wondered what could have happened to her. He yelled her name again, and then stopped to listen for a response, nothing. He figured he had walked at least five miles from the waterfall by now. Why would she have gone so far by herself? He stilled, cocking his head to one side. He thought he heard something. There it was again. He veered to his right and followed the slight sound. **** “Traun!” Anna yelled. After she yelled one more time, she decided to give up. She was getting hoarse from calling out his name constantly. They would surely, send a search party, come daylight. Tired she let her eyes slide shut for just a moment. The fear she felt of the steady onslaught of darkness, made her slightly sick to her stomach. Traun finally saw Anna leaning up against the base of a huge tree. She looked like she was sound asleep, which he knew she couldn’t be, because it was her calling out his name that had drawn him to where she sat. He walked toward her, relief flooding through him at finding her at last. He didn’t know whether to kiss her, or bend her over his knees and give her a good sound thrashing. Suddenly she grabbed the book lying in her lap, and quickly raised it over her head, looking in his direction as she did so. He started to laugh at the pathetic picture she made. Dirt smeared down two scratched up cheeks. Her hair, practically standing on end, had leaves poking out of it. Her eyes rounded with fear, engulfed her face. He guessed she planned to defend herself with the book she had held over her head. Anna, when she heard the sound of his laughter, slowly lowered the book she held. There was no sweeter sound for her at that moment, than to hear his deep laughter at her expense. “Don’t you dare, laugh at me you

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alien beast!” she yelled out hoarsely. “I thought you were never going to come,” she stated tearfully, when Traun walked up to stand in front of her. He squatted down facing her. “Alien beast, am I?” he asked as he smiled. “Yes, you are,” she replied happily, her tears glistening. “You know, I was afraid I was going to die out here,” Anna told him. Feeling extremely sorry for herself and what she had been through that day. Her expression turned pitiful. “I am so glad to see you, Traun.” Looking at the scratches covering her face, Traun reached up and cupped her chin in a large palm. “I don’t know whether to kiss you or give you a good beating. I thought I gave strict orders, to everyone, to never go away from our camp alone,” he stated sternly, the smile leaving his face. Anna reached up and grasped his hand. “Kiss me,” she told him, smiling broadly. Traun leaned in and kissed her parted lips. Anna wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, Traun,” she whispered to him, her voice catching with emotion. Traun put his hand up behind her head, and braced himself on the tree trunk behind her, as she clung to his neck. He looked down at her in surprise. His heart soared at her words, even though he had already begun to suspect her feelings. He realized she wasn’t the type to respond to his lovemaking as eagerly as she did, if she didn’t care for him. Yet, he hadn’t realized that hearing her say the words aloud would cause him to feel so overwhelmed emotionally. My Anna, he thought. My beautiful Anna loves me. Seeing how still he had gotten, Anna hurriedly spoke up as she kept her arms locked around his neck, “I don’t expect anything back, Traun. I know you don’t feel the same way I do. After what I went through today, I just wanted you to know how I feel. I plan to tell you everyday how I feel. I love you,” she stated again. She smiled at him tremulously, feeling anxious when he still didn’t say anything, just looked back at her as if he was unsure what to say to her. “So, now you know, I love you.” she repeated firmly, as she lowered her arms back down to her sides. She may have told him she didn’t expect anything back, but she was hurt that he just looked at her. Somewhere deep inside she had been sure that he must love her too. How could he be so

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tender during the night with her if he didn’t feel something? she thought in confusion. Lowering her eyes from his, Anna was uncomfortable under his direct gaze. Maybe her human blood did, after all, cause him to view her as just a means to an end? Despite that, Molly had assured it didn’t. Traun was surprised, Anna thought he didn’t love her. He might not have verbally told her. However, he had shown her, over and over again, how important she was to him. He shifted his feet under him intending to tell her just how much he did care for her, when his foot bumped into her leg, causing her to cry out in pain. “What is it sweetheart?” he asked in concern looking down at the leg he had bumped into. “It’s my ankle. I think I may have broken it,” Anna pointed to her foot, clenching her teeth at the fresh waves of pain. Traun looked down at her foot. He could tell even in the growing darkness, it was hugely swollen and bruised. “Here let me take your shoe off. It’s cutting off the circulation to your foot.” With quick fingers, he untied her shoelace, and eased the shoe off. He realized that her hurt ankle was why she hadn’t made it back to their village. Anna sighed when the tight restriction of her shoe was removed from her foot. She felt her foot expand even more. At least the binding pressure was gone. She wondered why she hadn’t thought to take the thing off herself. “Better?” She nodded. “By the way, I love you too, little lady.” Anna smiled wobbly up at Traun, her hurt at the previous unsaid words leaving her. “Well, that’s nice to hear, even if I had to tell you first,” she teased. “What are you doing?” she asked, when he rose and began to take things out of the bag he had brought. “I plan to set up a tent for us to sleep in tonight. Then, I’m going to doctor your scratched face and take a closer look at your ankle. “How does your face and ankle feel now?” he asked, after having gotten her into the tent, then cleaned and doctored by flashlight. “Better,” sighing, Anna lay down on her back beside him. Although, she was tired, sore, and her ankle throbbed painfully, she really was better now that he was with her.

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“Now, explain again sweetheart, did you actually see anything before you started running?” Traun looked down at her, the slender flashlight he had laid beside them gave off enough light for him to see her expression. “No, but I swear, Traun, I could feel eyes watching me,” Anna looked up at him as she shivered feeling that awful, crawling, sensation again that had gripped her, before she had started running for her life earlier that day. Traun could tell by her expression, she had had a bad fright and earnestly believed there was something that had followed her. He laid the weapon he had brought on the tent floor, above their heads. He wanted it within easy reaching distance just in case. Carefully, he stretched out beside Anna, then clicked off the flashlight beside him. Reaching out, he pulled her up tight against him, holding her within his embrace. “I love you, Anna,” he told her kissing her recently cleaned, and scratched up face. Drawing back from her, he slightly shook her, “But, I think I’m still going to give you a good thrashing for coming into the woods by yourself and scaring me half to death.” He pulled her slight frame back up close to him and began to work his fingers through her tangled hair in the darkness, throwing aside the leaves caught up in the thick mess. “Traun?” Anna began in a whisper, wanting to talk. The cover of darkness and his professed love gave her the courage to ask him questions she needed answered. “What is it?” Traun asked, his voice lowered also, he shifted his large frame in an effort to get more comfortable beside her. “What you said this morning, do you not like Charlee?” Traun finally finding a comfortable spot reached over and slowly stroked Anna’s arm in the darkness. “I like your friend just fine. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings this morning. However, I feel strongly about my concern. I don’t know her genetics or now the baby’s she is carrying. For us to survive, we must have healthy genetic material within our structure. If we don’t survive on this planet, my race of people will cease to exist. What was planned for all these years and finally executed will have been for nothing. It is my responsibility as the leader of our people to make sure of our survival.” Anna didn’t say anything as she thought about his comments. She knew it was useless to argue with him over the issue. She hoped Charlee would never come to realize how he felt.

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As he continued to rub his palm up and down Anna’s arm, Traun wanted answers himself, now that he knew Anna loved him. “Anna, why were you so mad at me when you hit me that day with the water bucket?” he asked, suddenly needing to know the answer after so many weeks of wondering about it. He felt Anna stiffen slightly at his question. He spoke beside her “Surely, we have come far enough along in our relationship that you can tell me what I did to you, can’t you? I have been baffled by your actions ever since that day.” Afraid of what she might learn, yet wanting answers herself, Anna hesitantly responded. “I saw you with Avreen the night before that awful day. I had gone to our hut to wait for you that night, when I saw you go behind her hut after I’d seen her go behind it just moments earlier. When you didn’t come back after a few minutes, I went to investigate. That’s when I saw you two together.” Traun frowned, he didn’t understand what she could have seen that would have made her so angry. He thought back to that time trying to remember. Then it dawned on him. “Sweetheart, did you see her in my arms that night?” “I did,” Anna whispered, her voice catching, as she relived the awful scene again. Traun pulled her closer to him. “Anna, I wish you would have told me that night, what you had seen,” he scolded, understanding now the cause of her anger. “I was too scared to confront you with it,” she responded. “I was afraid of what you would tell me about you and her. I still am.” Traun rose up on his elbow, tipping her chin up with a finger, he lowered his mouth to hers and softly kissed her trembling lips, then he lay back down beside her. “It’s time I explained something that I should have told you as soon as I found out Avreen had come to this planet.” He began to explain about his and Avreen’s relationship on Garr. When Anna stiffened and tried to pull out of his embrace, he pulled her tightly back up against him. “I was letting her know that night that I loved you and only you, making sure she knew whatever we had between us before was over. Anna, I love you. I have known it since we first landed on this planet. When you saw her in my arms, I was just consoling her as she cried.” Anna slowly relaxed and leaned into him. She kissed the base of his

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throat. “I love you, Traun. I knew I loved you the first night you and I made love, which, incidentally as you know, was also the night you made me so very pregnant. Our baby was conceived in mutual love after all. I was afraid it was only my love that night that our unborn child might have felt, when he or she decided to be born to us.” Laughing lightly, Traun hugged her to him. Growing sleepy as they talked on into the night, Anna felt safe and secure in his arms as her eyelids drifted down, becoming unaware of anything but her dreams of a happy future with her husband. Lying awake in the dark tent, Traun felt her body relax as she fell deeper asleep. He listened to the night sounds around him. Hearing the wind as it picked up, the creaking of tree branches as they swayed in response to the wind, then the soft patter of light rain as it began to fall on the roof of the tent. He dozed off holding Anna tightly by his side. Early the next morning, Anna woke to a hand as it gradually moved up her stomach under her shirt, fingers stroking her skin. The hand moved slowly, inching its way along, only to stop when it reached her bra covered breast. She felt the light pinch of fingers on her nipple through the material. Opening her eyes she looked into her husband’s laughing eyes. “Did I wake you?” Traun asked innocently, spreading his fingers he gave the firm breast he held a light squeeze. Feeling her nipple harden under his palm, he slowly moved his hand across the hardened nub. “You’re a tease,” Anna told him, pulling away from his hand. Feeling her ankle begin to throb when she moved, she grimaced with pain. “Your ankle?” Traun asked, moving carefully away from her. Anna nodded. “Let me look at it,” he told her, sitting up. When he was confident he wasn’t going to bump her foot, he moved down to her ankle looking it over. It looked like it should hurt, swollen twice its normal size. Her whole foot looked bruise. Around and under her ankle it was a deep, purple color. “You did a good job,” he told her looking up meeting her eyes, he moved back up to sit beside her. He reached for the weapon he had placed above their heads the night before. “What are you doing?” Anna watched as he checked the weapon he held in his hand. “I’m going to take a look around.”

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“Wait, don’t leave me here!” Anna frantically clutched hold of his leg when he started to move. She rose up into a sitting position. “Anna,” Traun grasped her chin with his free hand. “Calm down. Stay here in the tent. I only want to see if I can find anything.” She just looked at him. “I am not going to go far. I’ll keep the tent in sight, okay?” he reassured her. She reluctantly nodded and released her tight hold on his pant leg. He leaned forward kissing her mouth. “I promise, I’ll be right back,” pulling back from her, he smiled tenderly at her for a moment before turning to leave the tent. With apprehension, Anna watched Traun crawl out of the tent. Inching slowly over to the open flap, she stuck her head out of the tent opening. She kept her eyes glued to his back, and watched as he walked away from her studying the ground. The minutes seemed to crawl as she waited for his return. Finally, she thought, after what seemed to have been hours of waiting, relief flooding through her upon catching sight of his long strides bringing him back her way. She glanced at her wristwatch, no more than twenty minutes had passed since he had disappeared into the thick, wooded area around the tent. “Did you see anything?” “I did,” Traun told her as he bent down and helped her out of the tent, then eased her down to sit on the ground. He began to take the tent down. Folding the material up tightly, he stuffed it back into its case, then placed the case up against the base of the tree Anna had sat at the evening before. The tent would be collected later along with the backpack she had worn. When he didn’t go on to tell her what he had seen, Anna quickly looked over her shoulder into the surrounding woods. “What was out there?” “Whatever was out there, left early this morning after the rain ceased. The footprints left behind were clear enough to make out.” Traun didn’t let Anna see how shook up he really was. It had scared him to think that whatever had been out there, had apparently sat, and watched them long into the night. What if he hadn’t found her last night? Whatever it was might have decided to take her, or left her for dead before going back to wherever it had come from. Anna couldn’t tell by Traun’s expression whether to get scared or not.

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She looked over her shoulder again. “Was it a footprint or an animal track?” she asked uneasy. “Both.” Traun finally turned and looked down at her. He pointed to the wooded area behind her. “The tracks lead away from here, and go in the opposite direction of our village.” Today, there was only one set of human footprints. Traun couldn’t help but wonder if that one set of tracks was headed to get reinforcements. At his thoughts, he gazed down at Anna. At her worried look behind her again, he squatted down before her. Reaching out a hand he stroked the scratched up cheek in front of him. They needed to head for home. “I’m going to carry you home on my back, if it won’t hurt your ankle too much. Do you think you can handle it?” “I guess I’ll have to handle it. Help me up.” Anna raised her hand up to him. Traun grasped her hand. Pulling her up, he held her steady as they both stood. Her weight resting all on one leg, Anna watched as he put his weapon on safety, then place it in its holder attached to his belt. The weapon didn’t look lethal, but she knew it was, having seen him show Andrew how to operate the thing. Turning his back to her, he squatted so she could lie against his back, bringing his arms behind him up under her rump, he slowly stood. He pretended to stagger as he stood up. “You’re heavier than you look,” he gasped out in an exaggerated groan. Anna laughed at his antics. “Get walking,” she winced when her ankle bumped into his leg after he took a step. “Are you okay back there?” “I am fine. Let’s go home, my handsome alien beast.” Traun grinned to himself at her words. His long strides quickly ate away at the distance toward their small community of fellow pioneers. After a while, Anna began to nuzzle on his neck. Her lips sent goose bumps down the length of his arms. “Stop it,” he told her, tightening his arms under her rump. “Or, hurt ankle or not, I’m going to finish what you are starting.” Anna laughed lightly. “I love you, you know.” “You are not making it easy for me to walk,” he growled. Anna suddenly grinned mischievously behind him. “I know of a technique humans do to each other that you might enjoy,” she blew

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delicately on his ear. “How, do you know of this, so called, technique, little lady?” he demanded still walking. “Oh,” she exclaimed, innocently behind him. “I haven’t ever done it before. Although I have heard it discussed, earth women say men love it.” Anna smiled to herself. She knew she had peaked, his interest. “I’ll just give you a small sample of it,” she kissed his neck again. “It’s called a wet Willie.” Traun was suspicious of her, but didn’t say anything. He wondered what a wet Willie was. Generously, Anna wet her finger, then quickly stuck it in his ear. “Anna!” he roared. Stopping, he quickly slid her off his back while he attempted to get the wad of spit out of his ear. Andrew and the three other men with him stopped walking when they heard Traun roar Anna’s name. When they heard her laughter peal out a few seconds later, the men looked at Andrew. Andrew shrugged his shoulders at them before he took off toward the noise. Relief flooded through him at the sound of his sister’s happy laughter, knowing she was safe. He started to smile when he realized she must have pulled some type of prank on Traun. **** “Ow! Ow!” Anna gasped between gales of laughter. Her foot throbbed. Traun held on to her keeping her steady while he wiped at his ear. “You will pay for that sweetheart,” he threatened, as they both watched her brother and the men with him coming toward them. Wiping at the tears streaming down her cheeks, Anna tried to sober before the men reached them. She returned her brother’s smile, and that of her male friend Nevin. Andrew shook his head at her. “Anna, I’m glad to see you are safe and sound.” Noticing her lopsided stance and Traun’s support of her, he glanced down. “Well maybe not so sound.” He whistled at her swollen, bruised foot. “What happened?” he asked. The other men with him crowded around looking down at the foot she held carefully still. Traun answered for her. “She fell running from something.” The men jerked their eyes up to their High Commander, all reaching for

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the weapons strapped to their belts. “No need to panic now,” he told them, while he eased Anna down to sit on the ground. He sat down beside her. The men squatted before him, anxious to hear the story. “Your Lady Anna went further into the woods yesterday, than we have previously before. She felt something watching her and took off running back toward home.” Anna nodded when the men glanced at her. “I twisted my ankle when I couldn’t run any further and whirled to face what was chasing me.” “What did you see?” Nevin, who had squatted a few feet before her, asked. “Whatever it was I didn’t get a look at it.” The men looked toward Traun. “This morning, I checked the surrounding area close to our tent. There were distinct impressions left by a set of fairly large, human footprints, and some type of animal track that followed beside the footprints. Whatever was out there stayed and watched us until early daylight.” “Where did the tracks lead off to?” Andrew asked. He realized they must not have led back to their camp, otherwise, Traun wouldn’t be so calm. “Opposite direction of our encampment, I want you men to go check the tracks out for yourselves. Bring back the camping gear I had to leave behind. You will find it propped up against the massive tree where we spent the night last night. Just head straight west from here and you will walk right to where we stayed. When you get back to our village, come to the communal hut. I’m going to call together a meeting tonight with everyone to be there. I’ll want your reports of what you think when you return.” The men stood up sober faced. They watched their High Commander carefully help his lifemate to stand. Quietly, and with obvious concern, he asked her if she thought she could stand the pain for a while longer. Two of the men who had come with Andrew that morning, observed his actions with something akin to awe. To see him display a surprisingly unexpected and touching gentleness to the woman chosen for his lifemate made them realize he must care for her deeply. The High Commander whom they had served under on Garr, and knew only as an intensely, private person rarely let others glimpse into his private life. They respected him as their leader, but it had often been discussed among his men whether he felt

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pain or emotion as other men did. They had decided he was raised to not need, or want emotional attachments, as it would interfere with his duties of leadership on the new world. Traun, after helping Anna to her feet, turned toward Andrew and the other three men. He frowned, wondering why the two men who had served under him for the past five years looked at him queerly before they dropped their eyes from his. “I’m going to take my lifemate on to our village and have the Learned One examine her ankle. I expect you four back within four hours time with your reports.”

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Chapter 17 The men with Andrew nodded their understanding of their High Commander’s instructions before they turned away. Andrew looked at Anna. “Take care sis,” he told her, before he too turned away. Anna knew Andrew was sorry for his harsh words to her the night before. “Be careful Andrew,” she called out, then smiled when he jauntily turned and bowed at her. She watched the four men disappear into the woods then turned back toward Traun, not looking forward to riding on his back again. Her foot really was throbbing. The pain shooting through her ankle felt as if someone tapped at it with hot pokers. She was learning from her husband though, and kept the pain she felt from showing on her face when he turned towards her and looked at her searchingly. “Let’s go,” he told her after she settled on his back again. When he finally walked up the slight incline toward the back of their hut, Traun was bone tired, his legs, actually felt shaky. His lifemate might be slender built, but after two and a half hours of carrying her on his back, she felt like she weighed a ton. To make matters worse, she had fitfully dozed the last half hour or so, dead weight on his back who, every so often gasped out, “Ouch,” behind him. When he rounded the corner of their small home, it seemed as if the whole village came running toward him surrounding him and Anna, George, Molly and Klinn leading the pack. “Oh, my!” Klinn gasped out upon seeing her Lady Anna being carried. She quickly ran to the door of her High Commander’s home, then stood back as George and Molly hurried through the open doorway behind the High Commander. She frowned, when she noticed Lady Anna’s hugely swollen, and badly bruised ankle. Quickly she went to get a glass of water when she noted her white, strained face.

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Traun carefully slid Anna down to the floor beside their bed, and then turned facing her, lifting her, he sat her down on the edge of their mattress. When he noticed how pale she was, he knew she was hurting badly, although she was not admitting it. “What happened?” George asked Traun. Molly walked around Traun and hugged Anna. She looked down at Anna’s purple, swollen ankle. “Oh you poor, baby,” she told her making Anna want to indeed, howl like a baby. Anna bit down on the inside of her cheek, afraid she was about to pass out, or worse embarrass herself by crying in front of everyone. It felt as if she could actually feel each pulse of her heartbeat in her ankle. Waves of pain radiated out from her swollen foot. She knew Traun wouldn’t want her to cry before the people that crowded around them. Giving in to her emotions in front of others was something he had made plain was unacceptable behavior. Please make them leave, she silently begged, when she looked up and met his eyes. Traun understood her silent plea as he gazed down at her. Turning he intended to clear the room. “Where are Andrew and the other men? Did you not make contact with them?” Impatiently, Traun turned toward George. He realized he was worried, but wished he would wait until later to question him. “Yes, we met them. I sent them to look at some tracks we found.” “Wait!” he commanded the occupants in the room when they collectively gasped, and excitedly began to question him over his statement. “I will explain everything later tonight outside the communal hall. Right now, I want to have the Learned One examine my lifemate and for everyone in here to clear out, so the Lady Anna can rest and the Learned One can be brought in.” “I will go fetch the Learned One,” George spoke up. He quickly turned, and began to herd the curious individuals out before him who had crowded into Anna and Traun’s home. Molly turned toward Klinn when she walked up to Anna with a glass of water. “Thank you,” Anna said, as she took the glass from Klinn’s outstretched hand, surprised that the woman was quiet for once. Lifting the glass

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unsteadily, Anna drank half of the thirst-quenching water, before she handed the glass over to Traun, so he could have a drink. “Let’s start some water heating so we can get a bath prepared for Anna. And we need to prepare something for both of these two to eat,” Molly instructed Klinn, when Traun handed the servant the now empty glass. She turned back to Anna, “We were so worried about you,” she told her kissing her cheek before she turned to go. When the room was finally empty, Anna, unable to keep her tears from falling, miserably looked at her husband as they slid slowly down her scratched cheeks. Traun gently grasped her legs under her knees. Raising her legs, he turned her, so she could lie down on the bed. Grabbing hold of a pillow, he lifted her leg placing her distended bruised ankle on top of the pillow. “The Learned One will have some pain killer she can give you.” Anna nodded, wishing the Learned One would hurry up. Traun gazed down at her ankle, it had swollen twice the size it was that morning. He pulled her shoe off her uninjured foot. The other shoe was stuffed in the bag left at the tree where they had camped last night. He looked up at her from where he stood at her feet. “I’m going to have to cut your pants off. I don’t believe I can get them off of you otherwise, without hurting you even more.” “I don’t care about my jeans,” Anna groaned. She pointed across the room to a small brown box. “There is a pair of scissors in that box over there.” Traun retrieved the scissors from the box she had indicated. He cut both jean legs up to the waistband then eased the destroyed jeans down her hips over her swollen ankle, dropping them to the floor once he had the material clear of her foot. Picking up her housecoat from the foot of the bed, he draped it over her hips. Effectively, covering the low cut pink panties she wore, and the tops of her long slender legs. Going to stand beside her, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Better?” His duties as High Commander needed his attention, but he was reluctant to leave her until the Learned One told them if her ankle was broken or just badly sprained. Reaching for his hand, Anna looked up at him. “You need to go, don’t you?”

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“I’ll wait,” he replied, squeezing her fingers back lightly. He reached up to gently trace the tip of his finger over a deep scratch going across her cheek. He pulled his hand back down to her shoulder when he heard George speaking to the Learned One outside the door of their hut. The Learned One, a serious, large boned woman who rarely smiled, walked briskly into the room behind George. Hurrying over to her patient lying on the bed, she abruptly asked, “Do you hurt anywhere else, besides this ankle that I can clearly see would cause you pain.” “No, just my ankle,” Anna was surprised at the abrupt question, and wondered at her brusque manner. The woman had seemed nicer when she had examined her before and informed her of her pregnancy. The Learned One looked at her High Commander. “I will do a complete physical tomorrow anyway, but for right now, I’ll examine her ankle then give her the treatment needed for it.” Nodding back at the woman, Traun didn’t say anything. He expected no less from her. The Learned One lightly ran her hand around Anna’s ankle, she held a small shiny medical device, firmly, between her fingers as she did so. Looking up at her audience, the Learned One gave what she thought was a smile to her patient. “You have a small hairline fracture across the middle of your ankle also a severe sprain. I have some ointment that will help get the swelling down and a couple of pain killers for you to take.” Silently, she handed the medication she retrieved over to the High Commander. Anna watched as the Learned One bent down and pulled out a silver colored slender short wand from her large grey, medical bag. The tip of the wand was made of thin metal and the cord connected to the bottom of the wand was attached to something in the bag at her feet. The Learned One leaned down and flipped a hidden switch. Immediately a humming noise came from the bag, the tip of the wand shot out a narrow, two-inch long, purple plume of light. Anna wondered what she was about to do with the strange contraption. She looked worriedly up at Traun when the Learned One lowered it close to her foot, moving it slowly across her ankle. Traun shook his head at her indicating for her not to worry. After a few minutes of doing this the Learned One indicated to her High Commander that she wanted to move up to Lady Anna’s face.

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Traun quickly stepped back out of her way. He watched as she ran the beam of light over the scratches on Anna’s cheeks and chin. Finally, she bent down and shut the machine off. Folding up her equipment, she stuffed it down into the bag. “What was that tool you were just using? What was it doing?” Anna asked when the Learned One raised back up beside her. “That tool is a plasma pencil,” at her patient’s blank look, she patted her shoulder. “It helps to speed up the healing process of wounds. Now, make sure you take one of the painkillers tonight it will help you to sleep. And have that ointment rubbed into your ankle,” she instructed. “The medication won’t hurt my baby, will it?” Anna fearfully asked. She wouldn’t use either of the items if there were even the slightest chance of harm to her unborn child. The Learned One looked down at her patient sharply, “Of course not, I wouldn’t use anything that would harm the baby,” she felt insulted at the question. Especially, with the High Commander standing right behind her hearing a question that made it seem she would put a child of his at risk. “I’m sorry, but I needed to ask,” Anna replied, apparently she had insulted the woman. The Learned One relaxed at her patient’s look of contrition. She is such a pretty little thing, she thought, as she glanced at her unusual color of hair. Turning toward the handsome High Commander behind her, she couldn’t help but think that these two would produce a beautiful race of children for the continuation of the people of Garr. “You will have to use crutches for a few days,” the Learned One told Anna, looking back toward her. “I have some that I will have brought to you in the morning.” She gave Anna one of her tight smiles before picking up her tools and abruptly leaving the hut. “Well,” Anna said, with a short burst of laughter when Traun stepped up to stand beside her, “so much for the friendly doctor routine.” Traun smiled down at her. “She and her lifemate are two of the very best Learned One’s sent from Garr. I’m willing to overlook her bedside manner as long as she does what she is supposed to do.” George walked over to the foot of the bed and looked down at Anna’s ankle. “You sure did a number on your ankle, girlie,” he grimaced up at Anna before adding, “Charlee said to tell you, when she saw how everyone

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was crowded in here earlier that she decided to come back by later to see you.” “I wondered where she was,” Anna murmured. “Uncle, I want to call together a meeting of the entire village. Will you gather a couple of the others, and start spreading the word?” Traun asked. “I’m anxious, as is the entire village to hear what happened out there with Anna,” George told him. “When should I tell everyone to come together?” Traun looked at the watch on Anna’s slender wrist. “Tell everyone in two hours. That should give Andrew, and the men with him, time to return.” “I have to go,” he told Anna, handing her a glass of water after George had left them. “Here take your pain pill,” he instructed. “I’ll send Charlee over to keep you company, and Aunt should be back soon.” He silently watched as she swallowed the medicine, then he took her empty glass. Leaning down, he whispered against her lips, “I love you,” before he pressed his lips to hers affectionately. “Love you too, tell me everything that happens in the meeting when you return.” “I will, if you’re still awake,” he stated as he walked away.

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Chapter 18 Traun motioned to Andrew, when he saw him and his three companions enter the packed communal hall. The noise in the hall was deafening, as everyone excitedly discussed what they had heard had happened. People stood lined up shoulder to shoulder against all four walls. Others sat squeezed together on the honed benches made for the hall. “If it wasn’t for the rain falling again, I would move this meeting back outside,” Traun told Andrew and his companions, when they walked up circling him. They had to lean in close to one another to be heard over the din. The crowd, seeing their huddle, gradually grew quiet. When they couldn’t overhear the men’s earnest discussion, they whispered to their neighbors beside them, what they thought was being discussed. “Did you get a good look at the tracks?” Traun gazed at the faces around him. They nodded solemnly back at him. The men turned toward Andrew, they considered him their spokesperson. Traun swung his gaze over to Andrew. “What did you think?” “We closely inspected the wooded area where you and Anna camped. Whatever was out there circled your camp several times. We thought it might be curious of you, yet afraid to come out in the open. The footprints were fairly large, as you said, the animal tracks, we believe, must belong to a domesticated dog. The tracks didn’t look feline. We followed the tracks for quite a ways. Whoever, or whatever it was, appeared to be on its own, maybe a lone hunter. It seemed to know where it was going back to the tracks headed in a definite west direction.” Andrew looked at the other men, then back at their High Commander. “We discussed it and we think a search party should be organized to try, to follow the thing, to see how many more there are and if they are a possible threat to us.” Nodding, Traun met the men’s eyes. “My thoughts exactly,” he told

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them. “Do you four want to be included in the search party?” “Yes,” all four men responded, excited at the chance to explore the planet they had settled and the possible encounter of other beings. Turning back toward the crowd, Traun held up his arm for quiet. He explained what had happened to his lifemate, and that there was now proof of other life forms on the planet. Pausing, he looked out over his people. “What I need now are volunteers for a search party. I have five already, counting myself. I want seven more people for a search party of twelve.” “Can we women volunteer if we want to go?” one of the women in the crowd spoke up. Her lifemate from earth gaped at her in surprise. Traun wasn’t surprised by her question. She had been under his command when getting Sector Nine under control. She also had excellent marksmanship with any type of weapon she put in her hand, and would definitely, be an asset on their journey. He wanted to smile at her in approval, but kept the grin from spreading across his face. “Any female can volunteer to be in the search party that hasn’t conceived. Your lifemate must be a volunteer though,” he told the crowd. He knew there were only four females who had not conceived yet, having spoken to the Learned One’s on the issue just a few days prior. Traun briefly watched as the woman who had asked if females were allowed to go, talked furiously with her lifemate, he then turned his attention to the rest of the crowd. Several hands went up, including Avreen’s, at his response to the woman’s question. It looked like there would be three females on this trip. He began to point to some of the raised hands in the crowd as he selected volunteers that he knew could track or had some skill, which he felt would be beneficial on the trip. Avreen looked at Nevin when he walked up and sat down beside her. “I want to go with you on this trip,” she excitedly told him. Nevin gazed at his lifemate. She once again did something that totally threw him into confusion. She is a chameleon, he thought to himself, never knowing what to expect from her. She hadn’t shown him anything but contempt, for how long? Now she wanted to be with him? He had finally quit trying to find ways to please her, his initial delight at having her chosen as his lifemate had dwindled to a heavy disappointment. Her exterior beauty, he had found was just that, exterior. Consumed inside with hatred for the High Commander’s lifemate, although she tried to keep it hidden, the anger

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would sometimes spill out behind closed doors. He had attempted to get her to talk to him about her anger, but when she had turned on him and shrilly accused him of wanting the High Commander’s lifemate for himself, he had turned away from her and her anger. He wished he had been given someone like the Lady Anna. Maybe, he was half in love with the High Commander’s lifemate, he thought bitterly, as he looked at Avreen sitting beside him. At least she had a smile for him when they happened to see each other and talked to him as if he was someone of worth. Avreen reached over and laid her hand on Nevin’s arm, afraid that he was going to ruin this opportunity to put her plan into action. She had known all she had to do was be patient, and play the waiting game. She smiled at her lifemate, and gave him her best expression of heartfelt longing, for a closer relationship with him. “A new beginning for us,” she told him in a whisper. I always get what I want, she thought smugly, when she saw her lifemate begin to waver. Nevin heard in Avreen’s voice and saw in her eyes what he had longed for since joined as lifemate’s...a yearning to be with him. He slowly grinned at her, his heart raced at her obvious wish to start over with him. When she curled her fingers around his, her eyes soft, and glowing with warmth for him, desire jolted through him for the first time in weeks. **** It was late into the night by the time Traun returned home. He and the group of volunteers stayed behind after the rest of the crowd had left for home. They discussed amongst themselves what might be encountered on their journey, and the supplies their High Commander informed each to bring with them. He had informed the group to be ready to leave within forty-eight hours before he stood up to go home, wanting to check on his lifemate. Traun grimaced at the cold plate of food left on the bench when he walked into his hut. It seemed he always had to eat cold food. The tub of water Anna had washed off in had been left in front of the fireplace. It looked more appealing than the cold plate of food. He quickly stripped and stepped into the tub of cool water. He had to stand upright in the tub to bathe, the bathing tub too small for his large frame. Using the washcloth left

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hanging on the side of the tub, he soaped himself, water splashed on the floor as he scrubbed and rinsed. When he stepped over the side of the tub to the bare floor, he made short work of drying off. Walking over to the bed he eased down beside Anna. Was she snoring? he wondered in surprise. Leaning over her he listened, then chuckled. He heard a definite snore that time. She wasn’t going to like it when he teased her about her snoring, he thought smugly. Stretching out tiredly, he lay down beside her. Draping an arm across her waist, he dozed off, slipping into a sound sleep. The screeching of a rooster from the gamut of poultry brought from Garr woke Anna. Finding the sound grating, she cringed at the noise. She didn’t understand how Charlee found the early morning screeching comforting. Her friend told her that when she heard the sound each morning, it reminded her not to take life for granted. She looked on it as a call to get up, to enjoy life. Anna flinched when the bird screeched again. Had it gotten out of its cage? It sounded as if it was right outside her door. She pulled her pillow over her head. It was not even daylight yet and the thing was already shrieking. I would like to have him cooking in a pot, she thought viciously, under the pillow. Wide-awake now she felt across the bed for Traun, she grinned when her fingertips encountered his naked hip under the sheets. Lifting the pillow off her head, she looked over at her husband barely visible in the pre-dawn light. She trailed her fingertips across his broad chest. Smooth and hairless as was his face. The men of Garr couldn’t grow hair on their chest or face. The areas remaining smooth throughout their lifetime, she had learned. The muscles across his chest rippled when she lightly traced her fingers down his rib cage. Flattening her hand, she slid it over his stomach, easing ever downward. “Hunting for something?” Traun asked, his voice gravelly sounding from sleep. Anna laughed, removing her hand. “Wake up, sleepy head, and tell me what happened last night.” Yawning, Traun turned over on his side facing her. Not ready to face the day yet. She was certainly cheerful, he thought. “How’s your ankle this morning?” he asked sleepily. “Better, now tell me what happened at the meeting.” Anna reached out,

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smoothing the frown from his brow with her fingertips. Traun caught her hand. Pulling her arm to his mouth, he kissed the inside of her wrist. Causing tingles to race up her arm where his mouth made contact with her skin. “There are twelve of us leaving within fortyeight hours to track whatever was watching you and me the other night. I would like to make contact with whatever is currently living on this planet with us. Hopefully, they are friendly. Since we are the interlopers here, we need to reach out for their friendship.” Anna agreed with him, yet was afraid of his going out into the unknown. “How long do you think you and the others will be gone?” “I don’t know for sure, hopefully, not more than four weeks, but it could be longer.” “You could be gone a month?” Anna gasped. She reached out to him, suddenly very afraid. Traun saw her fear. “I say a month. It may not be that long,” he told her, trying to reassure her. “Whatever is out there will have three days head start on us before we even begin tracking and following it. I don’t know how long it will take us to catch up, or if we even will. Then again, we might be able to catch up with it within a week of our departure. It depends on how fast it is traveling.” “You don’t think it might live close by?” “I don’t think that whatever it was that watched us the other night, has lived alongside us all this time and we are just now encountering each other. Whoever or whatever it was, I think, just happened to be crossing this part of the country, at the same time you were traipsing through the woods yesterday.” “Who are the men going with you?” “Not just men. There are three women who wanted to take the trip too.” “Really?” Anna looked at her husband surprised. Traun laughed at her expression. Propping himself up on his elbow he tweaked her nose. “Why the surprise, I had women under my command on Garr. They are just as capable as men in everything except something that requires brute strength.” “Well, I know that,” Anna replied indigently. “It’s just that the planet you come from is so backward in so many areas that I just never dreamed you would allow women to be involved in this type of thing.”

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“Garr is not backward as you like to call it. My planet has a very advanced society. There are just certain, social customs, we as a people, clung to as our technology continued to advance rapidly.” He frowned down at her. “Whatever,” she frowned back at him rolling her eyes. “Anna….” “Okay, I’m sorry,” she told him, knowing he was sensitive of any criticism of his people’s ways or customs. In all honesty, she guessed she was just as sensitive when he didn’t agree with what she had known on earth. “So, who are they? These lucky individuals going with you,” she asked. Traun reached out and unbuttoned the top button to her nightshirt, listing their names as he reached for the second then third button. Some of the one’s going Anna had gotten to know very well, others she had talked to, but didn’t know as well. Of course, she wasn’t surprised her brother was going. Her eyes narrowed at the last female name that passed his lips. “You’ve got to be joking?” Angry, Anna rolled away from him, scrambling off the side of the bed she winced in pain when her forgotten hurt foot hit the floor. Traun hurriedly leaned over and grabbed her arm, dragging her back on top of the bed beside him, he pinned her down by lying halfway across the top of her as he held her arms above her head. “You had better let me up this instant,” Anna spit out, glaring up at him, eyes flashing. He always seemed to manhandle her when she wanted to get away from him, she thought angrily. “Anna, all of the women’s lifemate’s are going with them. Did you not hear me say Nevin’s name after hers?” Traun asked as he watched the play of emotion on her face. Looking past his shoulder, Anna avoided his eyes. “No,” she said, as her anger lessened within her. She still did not want that woman anywhere near him. Before she knew what he was doing, he had rolled to the side of her, and pulled her against him. He positioned his left leg on top of hers pinning her in place. Raising his large hand, he slapped her panty-covered bottom sharply and painfully.

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“Ow!” Anna yelled in surprise. “What are you doing?” she cried, trying to pull away from him, her rear end burned. “That was for not believing in me,” Traun told her his face forbidding. He held onto her, so she couldn’t move then he raised his hand again. “Don’t, you do it,” she ordered him furiously, tensing when she saw his hand lower. He brought his hand down hard again. “That was for going into the woods alone, when I left specific orders for everyone to go in pairs,” he informed her. “I will get you for this,” Anna warned him with narrowed eyes. “I am not a child to be disciplined by you or anyone else.” She tried to jerk out of his tight hold. Traun rolled them both over, and lay half-on top of her again, he gazed down into her flashing angry eyes. “Anna, I love you,” he told her huskily. “Knowing what happened yesterday, you have to learn to listen when I give an order as the High Commander. And, what is this jealousy? Place a little faith in me, would you please? Our relationship together is much more important to me than to risk it on what Avreen and I may or may not have had.” Leaning down he nuzzled her neck. “Hmm, you smell delicious,” he told her inhaling her light flowery smell. He loosened his tight hold on her wrists when he felt her tense muscles under him begin to relax. Raising his head, he looked down into her searching eyes. Flexing his hips, he asked roughly, “Do you feel what you do to me, Anna? I promise you, I do not want anyone but you.” Raising her arms, Anna encircled his neck. “I still don’t like the thought of you and her being that close together,” she whispered. Traun reached up and caressed her face. “I love you,” he responded huskily. Gazing up at her husband, Anna felt the last of her anger drain away before she melted into his arms. “I love you too.” “What?” she asked in alarm, when he turned and raised his hand again. “What else have I done? Traun stop, please,” she begged trying to grasp his hand as it lowered. This time his slap was lighter. “That was for your wet Willie,” he told her, smiling handsomely down at her.

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Anna’s laughter pealed out remembering the shocked look on his face at the time. “Make love to me,” she told him, reaching for him, needing him. Always eager for her touch, Traun was glad to surrender to her demand.

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Chapter 19 “Don’t let our people see your fear of my leaving,” Traun told Anna as they began to walk to the anxious group waiting for his arrival. If they picked up on her fear, the people would become fearful themselves. The village people parted for their High Commander and the Lady Anna as she hobbled along beside him. Nodding her head slightly at Traun’s words to her, Anna knew he would not show any emotion toward her at leaving, just as he expected her to keep her feelings under control. She knew he wouldn’t kiss her in front of the people, either, before he left. They had said their goodbye’s behind closed doors. Feeling an overwhelming need to touch his lifemate one last time, Traun, under the guise of steadying her as she hopped along on her crutches, reached over and discreetly slid his hand down the inside of her tanned bare arm. If she were not hurt and pregnant, he would have been tempted to take her with him, he thought. Glancing curiously at her husband, Anna wondered at his actions. The crowd, standing before the eager group planning to venture out into the unknown, quieted when the High Commander and his lifemate arrived together and turned toward them as one. “While I am gone, you are to bring any problems to the attention of your Lady Anna,” Traun informed the crowd. “She will act on my behalf, for any and all concerns you may have while I am away. I expect everyone to continue with their daily duties in making sure we are prepared for the upcoming winter.” The crowd nodded, expecting no less. Traun had told Anna earlier to expect his announcement. He had also informed her to seek his uncle’s advice on anything she felt unsure of handling. He had confidence in her to make sound judgment calls when

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needed. He knew also, she would seek his uncle’s advice. Anna very much wanted to give her husband one last hug before he had to leave. Yet, remained quiet and still refusing to allow her emotions to take over. Her brother, and the others selected for the journey, began hoisting their gear onto their backs. Laughing and joking with each other and the crowd around them, Andrew, not caring what anyone thought of his exuberance, grabbed Charlee up from where she stood beside him and kissed her soundly. The watching crowd laughed at his show of vigorous passion. Traun gazed down at Anna for a moment before he reached down and lifted his gear onto his broad back. “Make sure you keep the guards posted around the village,” he told her. “As I told you, Uncle will help you. Be sure you keep him informed of everything.” “I will,” she replied. “I love you, Traun,” she whispered, watching as he adjusted the large backpack he had placed on his back, tightening its straps around his waist. “I love you, too,” he mouthed back, before turning to leave. Anna watched with the rest of the village as the group of twelve left them with their fears. Anna stood long after everyone else began to drift off. She kept her eyes trained on Traun until she could no longer catch even the smallest glimpse of him. Sighing, she turned to face her extra responsibilities, and met Charlee’s gaze with her own, unaware until she had turned, that her friend had remained beside her, watching Andrew leave. “They will be fine,” she said trying to reassure Charlee as well as herself. That first day was a long one for Anna. Not an hour after seeing Traun off, the male poultry that had been outside her door bright and early, two mornings prior, had gotten out of his cage again, this time with four female accomplice’s trailing after him. Anna standing outside her front door saw the rooster and his entourage coming straight toward her. Molly and Charlee ran along beside the animals, as they tried to herd the pack back to their cage. Hobbling out to meet the run away poultry, Anna raised one of her crutches in an attempt to help turn the flock around. In alarm, she watched the rooster run straight to her, then jump into the air toward her, squawking loudly. She swore later to both women, that she saw a definite gleam enter the

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rooster’s eyes before he jumped on her flogging her. She was convinced, she told the women as she doctored her leg that the bird had it out for her. “Why else would he deliberately pick my hut to scream his early loud call these past two mornings? Now the hateful thing has intentionally attacked me and to add insult to my injury, he brought others with him to show them what he was going to do.” Molly and Charlee held their sides, their laughter at her outraged expression and words doubling them over. “I’m going to personally see that his neck is wrung and have him plucked, and cooked, for our evening meal!” Anna heatedly declared, at the laughing women, even as she started to smile, knowing she was being ridiculous thinking that the rooster held a personal vendetta against her. Just because she didn’t like the way the thing sounded when it sang its early morning wakeup call, did not mean it held a grudge against her. She knew too that she couldn’t kill the darn thing. Traun would be livid at her. Molly wiped at her eyes. “Well, at least we have the villain and his followers locked back up,” she stated, holding her laughter back, when Anna wondered aloud, how long she had, before the thing made a break for it again. “I have to go see why George wanted me earlier,” Molly told the two young women. “Charlee you stand guard over Anna, just in case the rooster returns,” she teased, before she left. Bending down, Anna inspected the scratch on her leg. The bleeding had stopped completely now. She looked up at Charlee in alarm, when two women started to verbally fight below the hill from them, their argument, easily overheard, as to whether a scarf belonged to one or the other. Both women came running up to her declaring the scarf belonged to each. Bewildered as to what to do, Anna glanced from one screaming woman to the other. Then unexpectedly she had an idea. “Give me the scarf,” she firmly told the two, holding out her hand for the scarf they tugged between them. Putting it behind her back, she looked at the loudest woman. “Describe the scarf to me.” The woman with a haughty, self-assurance responded, “It is blue silk, trimmed in gold.” Anna turned to the other woman, “Describe the scarf to me.” “It’s the lightest of blue silk, trimmed tightly in gold thread. It is four

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feet long, and in one corner, there is a slight discoloration. It was given to me by my father before leaving Garr, and holds my father’s love.” Anna handed the scarf to the woman. “Thank you, my Lady,” the woman told her, holding the scarf to her cheek, tears brimmed in her eyes. “You may go,” Anna told her gently. Turning she looked firmly at the woman who had answered her question first. “I do not expect to see you before me again with this same type of issue.” The woman lowered her eyes from the Lady Anna, ashamed that she had given in to temptation. The scarf was extremely lovely and when she had seen it on the woman’s clothesline she had been unable to keep from snatching it. “It will not happen again, my Lady.” The woman quickly turned escaping the censor in her Lady’s eyes. “Wow, how did you know to do that?” Charlee asked, having stood silently beside Anna during the entire episode. She was amazed at how Anna had resolved the issue, she gazed at her with new respect. “I don’t know?” Anna looked at her friend shrugging her shoulder. “It just came to me.” She was astonished herself that she had known what to do. It shocked her to think that on this planet of only six hundred or so people among their small village that there were some who exhibited behavior she would have believed, if asked, would only have occurred on earth among strangers. For some reason, she had thought with everyone being hand picked, and specially conceived to come to this planet, that everyone would be above the baser instincts known to humankind. People were people no matter where they were, or who they were, she realized. Later that night, alone behind the locked door of her home, Anna lay curled in a ball in the center of her bed. Wide-awake she reached out and pulled her husband’s pillow into her arms, she inhaled the scent of him. She wondered how his group was doing and how far they had walked that first day. Please keep them all safe, she prayed, before finally drifting off to sleep. **** It had been a full week, since the eleven individuals followed their High Commander and left their family and friends behind.

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With night fast approaching, Traun raised an arm. “Let’s stop here for the night,” he told the weary group. He knew they were exhausted, he was fatigued himself after the miles they had covered that day. They had scaled down the backside of the mountain their village was nestled into that first week, as they followed the path of the unknown thing ahead of them. There were a few days they had lost the trail, but eventually and with excitement, they had picked it back up again. Whatever was ahead of them traveled light and fast. Easing his backpack to the ground, Traun watched as the others around him quickly did the same. Looking up at the clear sky, he decided not to set up his tent. Tonight, he would sleep under the night sky. “It’ll be safe to have a camp fire. We’re far enough behind whatever we are following. It’ll be unable to see our fire. In this rocky enclosure, it would have to be right upon us, before it would know we are even here,” he informed the men and women standing before him, waiting for his instruction. At his words, the group quickly began to set up camp. Before long, a warm fire crackled, and food was being prepared for their evening meal. The women cooked the meal, making sure to keep set portions for everyone, doling out rations in the event no wild game was seen while on this journey. Otherwise, whether they found the thing they hunted or not, they would have to turn back home before long. There were only enough rations for two months out, dried processed food from Garr. The processed food was so light to carry, almost to be nonexistent in its weight, but upon adding water, it expanded, increasing its bulk ten fold. Not the most savoring thing to eat, but fortified with everything a body needed to survive. Furtively, Avreen watched as the men after they put up the last tent for their group began to settle around the campfire they had built. She had been careful all week not to allow anyone, especially her lifemate, to see her love for their High Commander. Desperately, she wanted to be the one to serve Traun his meal that night. Hopefully, he will notice me, she thought, having taken extra pains that evening in combing her hair, and freshening up. She knew she looked good. The exercise and outdoor air put a glow to her face that was very becoming. She felt intensely alive, excited at the future before her. Carefully hanging back, she fiddled with packing the cooking supplies

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back into the backpacks. She let the other two women begin to ladle out the recently prepared hot meal and hand the steaming bowls to the men, as they began to line up ready to eat. Seeing her lifemate step up into line just as Traun sat down on a log beside the campfire, Avreen quickly moved toward the women. “Our High Commander has sat down and does not have a bowl of food. I’ll take one to him if you will fill a bowl for me,” she told the busy women in an undertone. The women looked past the line of men to where their High Commander sat. They quickly filled a bowl and handed it to her. With measured steps, Avreen walked to where Traun sat. Traun, checking his weapon patiently waited for his men to be served before he would eat. With the weapon set on safety, he raised his eyes and noted that Avreen had brought him a bowl of food. He returned her hesitant smile when she stopped before him. “Thank you, Avreen, but you didn’t need to bring me my meal,” he reached to take the bowl she handed out to him. When she placed her hand over his as he took the warm bowl, he looked guardedly at her for a moment, wondering at her actions. Slowly, he pulled his hand out from under her fingers. She didn’t say anything, just gazed back at him for a moment, before she gracefully turned and walked back toward where her lifemate stood. She stopped beside Nevin and spoke quietly with him for a moment, before going on to where the other two women were busy doling out the evening rations. As Traun watched her he thought how strange life was. Just a year ago, she could have had him ablaze, with such a come-hither look and touch. He didn’t think she even realized what she had just done. Now, all he could think about was what Anna’s reaction would have been if she had witnessed that touch and look. My Anna, he thought, with an inward smile, dipping his spoon down into the warm bowl he held in his hand. My lover, my companion, and my lifemate, he thought, missing her strongly. Avreen smiled secretively to herself later that night as she lay beside Nevin in their tent. Traun had noticed her. She knew he had, by the way his eyes had skimmed over her face when he had taken the bowl of food from her. She stiffened when Nevin placed his arm over her waist. Then she made herself relax. Nevin could not have any suspicions of her, she thought, forcing herself to turn into his embrace.

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Squeezing her eyes shut, Avreen lost herself briefly in her own world. She imagined it was Traun kissing her, Traun fondling her under the cover of darkness. Hearing Nevin say her name jolted her back into cold reality, and whom it really was she was lying with. I hate him and, this wretched place, she thought sickly. Me, the daughter of a Leading Council member, lying with this half earthling, she moaned softly feeling the strong urge to puke rise within her throat. Avreen knew Nevin thought she was excited at his touch… her lip curled into a sneer at his stupidity. And when he whispered to her in the darkness how beautiful she was to him and how desperately he wanted to make her happy, she swallowed back her rage that it was not her beloved Traun saying those words to her. **** “It has really started to turn chilly these past few days,” George said, to no one in particular from where he sat before the glowing fire with his family. He just wanted to break the hollow silence that had fallen upon the group that evening. He looked at the women as they each gazed into the fireplace, lost in their own private thoughts and worries. A month, as of that day had passed since the eager adventurers had left their small village. When darkness had fallen that evening, everyone’s worry over their loved one’s failure to walk into camp as had been expected, reached a high point. Anna finally roused herself to reply to George’s statement. “I think fall weather is definitely setting in. Winter will be close behind. The sky, to me today, almost looked like it could snow. Did you think so, George?” “I noticed the dark blue color of the sky, too. I suspect this planet may have hard winters. Since we are sandwiched between four mountains, we are probably guaranteed to see early snow.” Charlee absently listened to their conversation while dreading having to go back to her empty hut that night. She shivered hearing the wind outside, as it swirled and dipped through the trees, singing forlornly on its way pass the hut. She had dreamed strange dreams all night, last night. Getting up twice, to double check that she had locked her door. In her last dream, she had seen Traun kneeling, his back to her. Then suddenly she was standing in front of him, watching his face twist first in shock, then fury, then in anguish as he cried out for mercy from the heavens. Observing his obvious heartfelt

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grief, and sorrow, she tried to stretch out her arms to comfort him. Each time she attempted to comfort him, Andrew had kept pulling her back telling her to turn away. Then in the dream, she saw Lance walking toward her. He kept repeating, “The child is mine,” to Andrew, while he laughed at them both. Chills raced up Charlee’s arms as she remembered her dreams. The echo of Traun’s cry for mercy in her dream had been so heartfelt, and pierced with such sorrow, that she had woken with tears on her own cheeks. George looked at his lifemate. She was lost in her thoughts. He knew she was worried about Andrew and Traun. “Molly. Molly,” he repeated again, before she looked at him. “We better head back to our own hut. It’s getting late.” He looked over at Charlee. “We’ll walk you home, if you want.” Charlee rose from her chair. “See you in the morning, Anna.” Anna locked her door behind her family’s retreating backs, after they agreed amongst themselves that the others were fine. Traun and the others would be strolling back into camp before long, they had reassured each other. With everyone gone, Anna walked back to the pillow she had just risen from, and sank back down on it in front of the glowing fireplace. Pulling her knees up, she wrapped her arms around her legs, and rested her chin on top of her knees as she watched the flickering fire before her. She worried where Traun and the others were and how they fared, especially with the change in the weather pattern the past week. The nights and days were definitely getting colder with each passing day. The last few mornings, there had been a light frost that covered the ground when she had ventured out. She was exhausted from her worries, and the demands of everyday issues that seemed to crop up endlessly. She didn’t know how Traun effortlessly seemed to handle the pressure. The duties of a High Commander were constant. Even with George’s help, there were some days she wanted to hide from the never ending daily demands. She hadn’t realized the extent of the constant pressure Traun was under. The wind picked up its cry outside. Listening to it, Anna thought it almost sounded like it cried, “Follow me! Follow me!” as it whistled through the tree branches. She jumped an inch off her pillow, when a loud thump sounded at her door.

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Thump. Thump. Anna rose, and slowly turned toward the door. “Who is it?” she called out dry mouthed. “Me. Let me in.” Anna laughed as she breathed in, feeling silly. Walking swiftly across the bare floor, she jerked open her door. “Charlee, you scared me half to death! What are you doing out there?” “Lock the door, Anna,” Charlee told her rushing in. Quickly, Anna shut door and locked the door. Her eyes wide, she looked at her friend. “What’s the matter?” “Can I stay here tonight? I am too scared to stay by myself. That wind is giving me the creeps.” “It does sound like it is calling to you, doesn’t it. I think, it sounds like it is crying, ‘Follow me. Follow me.’ Listen.” Anna cocked her head to one side. She and Charlee stood silent as they listened to the call of the wind. Charlee shivered, then grabbed hold of Anna’s hand. Pulling her with her, she walked over to the bench beside the fireplace. “Let’s sit here. Maybe we’ll be able to block out the sound by talking. Turn on your CD player,” she told Anna as she sat down, and then pulled her feet up on the bench. She leaned against the silk throw pillow that lay on the arm of the bench. “We can listen to some music it will help to block out the eerie sound of the wind.” Anna picked out a compact disc of easy listening, music. After turning the volume down, so the music quietly surrounded them, she sank back down on her pillow in front of the fireplace. “I am actually glad you’re here. The sound of that wind was starting to give me the creeps too,” she commented. The shadows caused by the flickering fire in the fireplace bounced on the wall beside her, as she adjusted the pillow underneath her bottom to a more comfortable spot. Neither of the young women said anything else as they sat quietly and watched the fire dance in time to the music. They both began to feel melancholy as they listened to the music that floated softly around the room. Charlee looked down at Anna to where she sat on her pillow. “Do you ever miss earth or what we left behind?” she asked, breaking their silence. “There are days that I do.” Anna sighed. “The other morning, I was trying to decide what to wear when I started thinking about us going

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shopping in our hometown, and wishing we could go again. I would love a cup of French vanilla cappuccino, just one more time.” Anna grinned at Charlee. Charlee smiled back. Those were carefree days, she thought. “What about you? What do you miss from earth?” Anna asked. Charlee looked back at her for a moment. “I miss being able to visit my parent’s graveside.” “Oh, Charlee. I’m sorry,” Anna reached over to where Charlee sat and patted her knee. “I miss earth and what we left behind, but if I had a choice of going back to earth or here with Andrew. I would pick Andrew without a moment’s hesitation,” Charlee told her. Anna, feeling slightly foolish over the things she had told Charlee she missed from earth, knew she would pick Traun over what she had left behind too. She missed the modern conveniences she had been raised up with, but not so much that she resented being here on this strange planet.

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Chapter 20 Traun crawled cautiously on his stomach as he inched closer to the campfire. He motioned for Andrew and the others to halt from where they crept quietly behind him. Everyone stopped as they waited for his next signal. He motioned for the group to ready their weapons into position. He still couldn’t see what was ahead of him, only able to make out the firelight. Smoke spiraled up into the clear night from the campfire below, and ahead of him. He could hear rough garbled language as whoever was up ahead, talked amongst them selves. The sounds carried easily up to where he and his companions were lying on their bellies. Every so often, they could hear the yelp of a dog as if it had been kicked. Traun motioned to his left holding up six fingers, then to his right holding up five. The group behind him silently split, spreading out on each side of him, keeping close to the ground. Heads down, they crawled forward on bellies and elbows. When everyone was in position, he motioned for the group to begin inching forward again, the tall native grass around them covered their actions. They halted only when they could see through the grass down the small ledge they were on, into the camp below. Hearing a gasp from one of the women to the left of him, Traun quickly motioned for quiet. He was afraid for a moment they had been discovered, when one of the creatures below looked up toward them. He breathed again, when the thing squatted back down by the fire. He looked toward Andrew, who in turn, gazed back at him, their mutual shock at the scene below them caused alarm to race through them both. Traun turned his eyes back to the camp, only ten or twelve yards below from where he lay hidden. Quickly counting, he came up with a total of twenty primitive male species milling around the campsite. Several were squatted around the campfire where they had some type of medium sized animal skinned, and cooking over the open fire. Others squatted over recently

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slaughtered animals. They efficiently skinned and gutted the animals, making short work of the job. Then they hung the bloody meat up into the surrounding tree branches, the heads of the gutted animals hanging down toward the ground below. Traun caught the odor of blood from where he lay. The scent assaulted his nostrils with each lift of the wind. He watched as some of the men, too impatient for the meat to finish cooking, walked over to the fire, and cut off hunks of bloody raw meat to eat. Every so often one of them would kick away the huge furry white dog as it tried to get at the meat the men ate. They were unclothed, most with long bushy, ratted, thick black hair surrounding their faces. Some had their thick hair pulled back behind their necks and tied with rawhide string. They were short, stocky built men, no more than five feet tall, any one of them. Bushy, black eyebrows, slashed heavily across broad foreheads. They didn’t seem to feel the cold night air as they talked amongst themselves. One was motioning excitedly, speaking in a guttural, short choppy language to the men gathered around him. Traun suspected he was the one they had trailed to their current hiding spot. Another of the savages said something to the excited one across the fire pit. His gestures indicated that he did not agree with or believe what the man said. The one, Traun suspected they had followed, replied something swiftly back causing the men around him to laugh. The disbeliever abruptly stood up. Hauling a foot back, he savagely kicked the white dog in its ribcage, causing it to yelp in pain as it rolled across the ground from the force of the kick. The one, who he seemed to have disagreed with, suddenly dived over the fire on top of him. They both rolled on the ground throwing hard swift punches at each other. The dog owner suddenly straddled his disbeliever. With his short thickset legs planted on each side of his opponent’s waist, he bent down and grasped his opponent’s hair in his huge fists, then slammed the man’s head down to the ground, apparently knocking the disbeliever out because he lay unmoving. Then, it appeared, the dog owner slammed his opponent’s head down on the ground one more time just for good measure, before he stepped away from him. The other men in the camp sat and watched, unfazed by the vicious fight

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between their comrades. The dog owner, pulling his long bladed knife out from its holder strapped to his bare thigh, swiftly walked over, and cut a chuck of meat off of the animal carcass cooking over the fire pit. He then turned, and threw it at the white dog. The dog leaped up into the air, catching the offering between its huge jaws. It slinked off to lie outside the circle of men to eat. Motioning for everyone to stay put, Traun waited. He wanted to see where the Neanderthal men eventually headed off too. It didn’t look as if they planned to spend the night. Several of the men had begun to take down the gutted and skinned animals from the trees around their campsite. The bloody carcasses were slung over broad backs as they grunted out their guttural language to each other. The dog owner walked over to the primitive man still lying sprawled out on the ground, he looked down at him for a moment, then kicked him in the side with a bare foot. The audience, hidden on the grassy ridge, wondered if perhaps the savage wasn’t dead when he didn’t move. The dog owner kicked his side again, the savage slowly rose into a sitting position. Shaking his head as a dog would, when shaking off water, he finally stood, and staggered after the others as they walked out of the camp. Waiting another thirty minutes, Traun then stood and quit their hiding place. Andrew and the others rose also, silently they gathered around their High Commander. “We will definitely not try to make contact with those savages today. As outnumbered as we are, and from what we just witnessed, if they got the jump on us we’d be lost before the fight even got started. Even with our high-tech, hand weapons,” Traun told the group standing around him. “What do you make of what we just saw?” Avreen spoke up. “It looks as if that was a hunting party headed back home. This is a relatively young planet in comparison to Garr. Unless there are other more advanced people on this planet, those may be all we have for neighbors. Not a pretty picture is it?” he stated, gazing at their disheartened expressions. “We now know from the carcasses they had hanging in the trees, there is animal life on this planet. We are not just dependent on what we brought with us for food.” Traun looked back down the small hill he stood on, to the path the

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savages had taken when they left. He turned back to the others waiting for his next direction. “Let’s head back to where we stashed our gear and start our journey back home.” Avreen turned with the rest of the group as they started walking back toward where they had left their gear. Nevin quietly walked along beside her. Glancing sideways at him, she realized that she only had three weeks left before they would be back at their village. Unexpectedly, she felt sorry for him for an instant as she thought about what she needed to do. Surprised at the emotion, she smiled at him tenderly for a second, before quickly squashing the feeling. Irritably, she shook off his hand when he reached out to help her step over a fallen tree branch. Nevin sighed at Avreen’s refusal to accept his helping hand. He never knew what to expect from her. One moment she seemed to want his attention, the next she acted as if she couldn’t stand him. He felt as if he was a chess piece in the middle of a game, in which, he didn’t understand the rules he was suppose to play by. Stepping over the fallen limb behind her, he followed her bringing up the rear of the weary group. Disappointment lay heavy in Traun as he walked, he had hoped, that they would find a civilized people. He now knew how naïve his expectations had been. He felt in his gut that the savages would come back to investigate what the one had seen and told the others about. He was not foolish enough to think that his people were safe because of their superior weaponry. The primitives may have crude weapons, but seeing the number of animals they had pulled down with those same crude weapons, he realized their hunting and stalking skills must be superior to anything he had ever witnessed. Palming his small weapon, he gazed down at it. It was lethal, able to cut a man in half when powered to just medium capacity. What was going to happen when their high-powered, high-tech weapons began to wear out? They didn’t have the tools, or the essential elements that made up the structure of the weapons to make repairs or build new ones. Those necessary items were found on Garr and not something that had been feasible to transport on a spaceship. Having the powerful weapons was a plus, but he realized that he and his men needed to fashion basic homemade weapons of their own to practice with and carry at all times. If caught without the highpowered firearm and it came down to hand-to-hand combat, he was afraid he and his men might be on the losing end of the battle. His jaw clenched.

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The weapons he and the others held could easily wipe out the savages, if he gave the order to sneak up on them and fire without thought or feeling. Traun realized that was an order he couldn’t give. The Book of Wisdom taught that all race of life was precious. Yet, if the savages attempted to attack his people, he knew he would not hesitate to give the order to attack back. He hoped they would be able to live peacefully along side each other. His instincts were telling him, this was probably wishful thinking on his part. Andrew walked up beside him. “I don’t know about you, but what I just saw back there scared the living hell out of me.” At Andrew’s low voiced comment, Traun glanced over at Anna’s brother. “I was thinking our high-tech weapons are a plus, and as long as they remain in good operating condition we should be fine. However, in hand-to-hand combat, I believe we could easily find ourselves on the losing end. I don’t believe we’ve seen the last of them. They’ll eventually come back to investigate what the one who saw Anna and I, told the others so excitedly about.” “My thoughts were along the same lines,” Andrew replied, as they arrived at where they had stored their gear earlier that day. Walking over to his gear, Andrew bent down and grasped his belongings. He was ready to get back to Charlee and let her know what he had seen. That evening as the group made camp for the night, the mountain they were to climb in the next few days loomed before them. They all dreaded the climb, each glanced at the mountain in turn, while getting ready to settle in for the night. With resignation of the mountain’s power, they privately wished it were behind them already. Traun lay with his arms behind his head as he gazed up at the night sky. All day the sky had been a heavy, dark blue color. He wondered if it might begin to snow on them before they were able to reach their village in the next few weeks. He hoped not. The pass up the mountain was hard enough without having to contend with snow. The camp grew quiet, the others around him, settling in for the night. He wondered how Anna had held up to the demands of a High Commander’s daily duties. He was anxious to see her again. Shifting to find a more comfortable position on his bedroll, he wondered at the children they would have together. He hoped, their first would be a boy child, then the

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next a girl child, a girl child who would look like their mother. He would have to raise any male children they had to be rough, tough fighters, who would make sure of the survival of their kind. The girls they would have, he could spoil, he thought with a smile. Father, mother, I have your first grandchild on the way, he missed his parents. An empty feeling settled in his gut. He would never see them again. They in turn, would never know for sure what had happened to him. My Anna is my world now. My Anna, and the children we are blessed with, he mused, before he finally dozed off. The morning air had a sharp bite to it that just a week ago had been missing. A heavy frost had fallen during the night, blanketing everything on the ground. The crunching noise, their shoes made on the rocky bottom canyon, sounded loud in the early morning hour to the subdued hikers. Traun turned and began to work his way up the slanted slope of the mountainside that flanked the wide canyon he and his group were trudging through so early that morning. The same mountainside his group had descended just four weeks earlier while tracking the savage. Cautiously, he worked his way around the rocks, and boulders that littered the path before him. The trees were sparse, lower down the side of the mountain, where he currently hiked, although they gained in popularity further up the steep trail ahead of him. Glancing over his shoulder, he noted that everyone stayed up with him, Avreen and her lifemate brought up the rear, with Andrew only a step or two in front of Avreen. Keeping close to the backside of the rocky ledge he walked on, Traun was careful not to look down over the sharp drop to the left of him. After four hours of steadily climbing, the height could make you dizzy if you looked down to see where you had just come from. There was enough room for a grown man to walk on the trail. Yet, even with that, you needed to be vigilant. One wrong move and you just might find yourself tumbling down the side of the mountain ridge. They had been gone a month now and still had another two weeks of walking ahead of them. This past week they had made good time. Traun was ready to get home. He knew the entire group was just as eager as he was to arrive at the place they all considered home, now. A shrill scream ripped through the air. Jerked out of his thoughts, Traun quickly turned to look behind him. “Stay here,” he ordered the others as he squeezed by them. He quickly

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walked back around the bend in the trail he had just rounded. Rounding the curve in the trail, he noted that Avreen stood on the edge of the narrow ridge. She was looking down the side of the rocky slope of the mountain they had steadily climbed all morning. Andrew had two, fist full holds of her shirt, where he had apparently grabbed her from behind, he too, gazed down the side of the mountain. Giving a quick glance down the trail, Traun failed to locate Avreen’s lifemate. Andrew turned toward him, a look of horror reflected on his face as he approached. “Goddamn, Traun! He fell down the side of the ridge,” he exclaimed, his shock palpable to the man before him. “Goddamn,” he repeated hoarsely. Nausea rose in Traun when he looked down the side of the ledge and spied the broken, sprawled body of Nevin lying face up. At Andrew’s words, Avreen suddenly seemed to become aware of where she stood. She whirled, and clasped him around the waist. Holding tight, she sobbed touchingly, her face pushed into his chest. Traun pulled her up secure against him, backing up, he got them both away from the edge of the ledge. Compassion rose in him at Avreen’s obvious shock of what had just occurred. He couldn’t imagine the pain she was experiencing, at having seen her lifemate plunge to his death before her very own eyes. “Shh, Avreen, shh,” he murmured softly, running his hand down over her hair as he tried to calm her. “Traun just hold me. Hold me,” she cried heartbrokenly. Traun pulled her closer into his embrace wanting to comfort her, their past history tugged at his heart. He ignored Andrew standing beside them. He had noticed Andrew’s astonished look, shooting from Avreen to him upon hearing her request, and the intimacy it implied. Gently, he handed her over to one of the females, when he finally got her to let go of him, and they were able to walk back to where the rest of the group waited for them. He briefly told the others what had happened while they looked in horror at Avreen. The two women in the group hugged her talking to her softly, as she wept. Andrew confusedly watched Avreen, he was unable to shake the feeling that her emotional breakdown was an act for the benefit of the audience around her. From what he thought he had seen and heard, in those few

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seconds before he had reached her, he couldn’t banish the unholy consideration that this was not just an accident as everyone assumed. Something, just did not feel right. He glanced at his brother-in-law and wondered how Traun fit into the scheme of things. Traun frowned back at him. Shit, Andrew thought, seeing his frown. What am I thinking? Traun, noticing Andrew’s slanted look at him, wondered what was going through his mind. Not only Avreen, but Andrew also, had just experienced a severe shock over seeing a man fall to his death. He hoped he could hold up to the strain of what he’d witnessed, and would witness even closer. “I want everyone to continue up the trail to where we camped when we came down the mountainside. It’s not much further up ahead,” he told the stunned group. “Andrew, you and I are going to go down and bury the body. We should be back with the rest of you by tomorrow evening.” “What? No! I don’t want you to go down to where my lifemate fell,” Avreen exclaimed at Traun’s statement. Her eyes were wide and luminous as she looked at their High Commander. Andrew’s eyes narrowed. For someone overcome by grief, she sure was paying attention to everything said around her. Walking over to where she sat between the two women who comforted her, Traun squatted down in front of her. “Avreen, we can’t just leave him. Andrew and I must bury Nevin’s body. I refuse to walk away and leave him as if he meant nothing to us,” he told her his voice gentle. Looking beautiful in her sorrow, Avreen reached out and grasped his forearm. “I don’t wish to leave him as he is either, but I don’t want you or Andrew to risk your lives, by going down the side of the mountain to where he fell either. He is dead already, you two are not,” she ended on a sob falling into his arms. Traun gently handed her back to the two women sitting beside her. They reached out in compassion to her, nodding to their High Commander that they would take care of her. At their nods, Traun stood. “It is something that must be done,” he stated firmly, when Avreen looked pleadingly up at him. Turning away from her obvious concern, he motioned to Andrew. Gathering up ropes and the supplies they would need, he and Andrew strode away

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from the subdued group. Slowly, they inched their way back down the mountainside. The sun was just beginning to set by the time Traun and Andrew reached the twisted mangled body. As he watched Andrew, Traun wondered if he was going to be able to handle the gruesome sight before them. Turning a pale shade of gray, Andrew quickly turned his head away from the body when they walked up to stand beside it. “You all right?” “I’m fine,” Andrew bit out angrily, not wanting the man beside him to realize how sick he really felt at the sight. He swallowed hard several times, as he fought back nausea at the scene before him. “We are not going to be able to bury the body as I wanted,” Traun stated with regret, as he looked around at all the rocks. He had wanted to give the man a proper burial. Nevin had been a good man, eager to work, willing to pull his weight in whatever needed done. He had not forgotten the way he had come to him as a man should have, the night after he had touched Anna inappropriately, taking his punishment without complaint or censure. Traun knew he had lost a good, loyal man this day, and felt anger rise within at the senseless death, the first loss of life on this new planet of theirs. As he looked at all the rocks around him he reached a decision. “Andrew since we can’t bury him. We will cover his body with rocks. That way, at least, he won’t be left to the elements. Help me move him over to the area left of you, where the ground dips down into that shallow hole.” He nodded in the direction he wanted to lay the body. Andrew bent down and grasped hold of the dead Transfer’s feet, he watched sickly as Traun grasped the dead man under his armpits. Traun looked up at Andrew’s white face. “Ready?” Gritting his teeth, Andrew quickly nodded his head. His muscles bunched under his shirt as he and the High Commander together heaved the heavy body up, and over, into the natural shallow pit. Nausea quickly rose again when turning from the body, he noticed the blood that freely covered the ground where the man’s head had been. The back of his skull had been crushed from the impact of his fall. Jesus! His brain had even begun to seep out, Andrew thought. Quickly he tore his eyes away from the sight, and turned his back on the scene. Taking several, deep breaths, he fought the urge to heave, in the end unable to stop his stomach from rebelling.

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Traun began to gather rocks and laying them over the dead man. He didn’t say anything, knowing Andrew was embarrassed to be seen getting sick. He felt ill over the gruesome sight himself, and understood Andrew’s reaction. Swiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, Andrew finally turned back around. Silently, he bent down and began to pick up the rocks lying around them, placing the rocks over the body. “Do you want to try to climb back up out of here in the dark or wait till daylight?” Traun asked after they had completely covered the body. “The moon is bright enough. We can make out the trail just fine,” he added. “Let’s get the hell out of here!” Andrew responded. He didn’t relish spending the night with the body or the blood soaked ground around them. “Traun, I don’t know how to bring this up. Since I know you and Avreen have had a relationship with each other at some point,” Andrew blurted out. He watched his brother-in-law and wondered how he was going to react to his statement. Traun frowned back at him. “Andrew, I don’t know what it is your about to say. But, my past relationship with Avreen is none of your business. Your sister knows about Avreen that is all that needs to concern you.” “You’re my High Commander and I respect your authority, Traun. However, Anna is my sister and I refuse to see her hurt,” Andrew stated. He knew he could very well anger Traun, yet he was willing to take that chance. He had always looked out for Anna and the habit was hard to put aside. Traun sighed. He respected Andrew’s dogged determination to see that his sister was treated well. Yet he was tired of the subject. “Listen Andrew, I love your sister. What was between Avreen and I was over a long time ago. I consider her a friend now, nothing more.” “Well, you’re not going to like what I have to say next, one way or the other. Even knowing that, I am still going to express my thoughts on what happened today and that dead man lying in that makeshift grave over there.” Andrew jerked a thumb in the direction of the pile of rocks they had just finished stacking over the dead body. His agitated movements were an indication to the man before him that he was unsettled about something besides just the man’s death. “What are you talking about?”

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Andrew looked Traun square in the eyes. “I don’t think it was an accident.” Traun took a step toward Anna’s brother in anger. “You are accusing me of having something to do with his death!” He couldn’t reason what had just been said and wanted to strike out at Andrew with his fists. Knock some sense into him. He pulled himself up, staying his desire. He knew Anna would never forgive him if Andrew returned home beaten black and blue, from his hands. Besides, he hadn’t even been close to the man when he fell. “No! I didn’t say that,” Andrew blurted out as he braced himself for a blow from Traun’s rugged hands. “What are you saying then?” Traun gritted out, forcing himself to relax and remain composed. He was anxious to know where Andrew got the belief that the man’s death was not an accident. “What I am trying to say is that something is just not right about the whole incident. Avreen may be your friend, but her emotional breakdown seemed false to me. Shit Traun! She didn’t even start crying until you arrived on the scene.” Andrew watched Traun’s fingers flex again and took a step back. “Look man,” he continued even in the face of Traun’s obvious desire to strike him. “I was just a couple feet in front of them before he fell. There was nothing in our path that he could have tripped on as he climbed. You and I, all of us, were able to walk that trail without incident. I turned just as soon as I heard her start to scream. Traun, I am telling you, he was holding on to her arm as if she had pushed him. I saw his face in the split second before he fell, and he had such a confused surprised look directed at her before he let her arm loose. I think the scream I heard was not because she had seen him falling. It was because she thought he was going to pull her over the cliff with him. When I turned and grabbed her from behind, to steady her, she was not only scared, she was angry. Hell Traun! I know enough of the Garr language to understand cursing when I hear it. The lady was cursing up a blue streak.” “Andrew,” Traun replied with a clenched jaw, “I don’t care what you think you saw or heard. You are wrong. Avreen is the gentlest natured person I know. She doesn’t have it in her to hurt anyone. It was an accident, plain and simple, nothing sinister to it.” He was shocked at Andrew’s allegation against the woman who had once been his lover. He and Andrew

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stared at each other. Andrew was the first to break eye contact from the High Commander. “Maybe, I am wrong,” Andrew reluctantly conceded. Uncertain now, in the face of Traun’s defense of the woman. Hell, Traun knew the woman better than he did. Maybe, he had seen something that wasn’t there. His own fear and rush of adrenalin over what he witnessed at the time had caused his judgment to take a twisted, irrational turn. “You are wrong,” Traun told Andrew again with conviction. There was no way he could ever imagine Avreen, doing something that evil. He thought back over their relationship of two years and could not recall her behavior as ever being anything but charming and giving of others. Yes, she had been upset and confused, when they had first landed on this planet. Even with that upset, she had not shown Anna or him, anything but respect after he had made it plain to her that their own relationship was over. Traun shook his head. No, Avreen was a gentle, sweet woman. Who it seemed, he thought sadly for her, should never have been allowed to come to this planet in the first place.

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Chapter 21 Clang! Clang! Clang! Anna quickly rose up from her inspection of the last of the fall harvest she gathered, her excited eyes met those of Charlee, whose own eyes shown with excitement. “Their here!” she called out happily to George, as he too turned toward the clanging sound from the metal bottom of the tubs she had had hung from the trees. The tubs were widely spaced out around the backside of their village, where the trees grew heavy and thick. The reverberating sound they currently emitted, announced the long awaited arrival of the twelve that had left their village over a month and a half ago. She took off running toward the backside of the village. Charlee and the others weren’t far behind her, leaving their baskets of harvest where they fell to the ground beside them. Skidding to a halt, Anna, breathless, laughed with her friend as they tried to catch air in their lungs. They watched with the rest of the village, as the long awaited group, straggled over the log bridge across the flowing creek. Frowning, Anna quickly counted again. “Charlee, I count only nine people crossing that log none of them Traun or my brother.” “That’s all I count too,” Charlee replied. “Wait!” she excitedly grabbed hold of Anna’s arm. “There. I see Andrew and Traun,” she pointed to the last two men coming out of the trees. Anna breathed a sigh of relief as, she too, located her husband and her brother, and then she realized that one person was still missing. Only eleven individuals so far had come out from the trees. As a whole, the people around her began to surge down the incline toward the approaching group. Traun looked up the slight incline that rose from the flowing creek bed toward the village encampment on top of the rise. He stepped down off the log he had just crossed, bringing up the rear of their group. He searched for

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his Anna among the crowd rushing down the incline to meet them. He was glad to be home. All he wanted was Anna, home, and a locked door behind them. Finally spotting her in the crowd he smiled. Locking gazes with her, he started to move toward her. A hand grasped tightly on his arm halting his movement forward. Pausing in his step toward Anna, Traun looked down at Avreen now by his side. Her eyes shimmered with tears. “It is so hard to come home without Nevin,” she told him in a whisper, as she gazed despondently up at him. She wiped at the sudden tears on her cheeks with slender fingers. Patting her hand on his arm awkwardly, Traun didn’t know what to say to her to ease her pain. He was secretly relieved, when he noticed his aunt rushing toward him after just tackling Andrew with a bear hug. Watching the scene between her husband and Avreen, Anna slowed her approach toward them when Avreen abruptly turned into her husband and wrapped her arms around his waist. Taking her eyes off Traun, Anna looked around for her friend Nevin. Without being told when she couldn’t locate him, she knew he was dead. Feeling the painful loss of her friend in her breast, she swallowed back her rush of tears. She knew he had been a champion for her as she had been for him. Traun looked up from patting Avreen on the back after she had suddenly burrowed into him, to Anna, and saw her hesitate in her approach to him. He looked at her lovingly, hoping she would understand what was going on. When he saw her glistening eyes, he knew she had grasped the situation clearly. My Anna, he thought warmly, wanting to rush to her side and comfort her. Molly, upon seeing Avreen clinging to her nephew, checked her impulsive rush to his side. She looked at him, her inquiry reflected in her eyes as she wondered what was going on. She noticed that Anna’s eyes shimmered, when they both halted in front of her nephew. “What happened?” Anna choked out as she watched Avreen clinging to her husband with a feeling of disquiet. “There was an unfortunate accident that resulted in Nevin’s fall to his death,” Traun the women. They looked at him with dismay, then distress toward Avreen. She was obviously very grieved, overwhelmed, at the loss of her lifemate. “I am truly sorry, Avreen” Anna told the woman. She hoped Nevin had

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not suffered any. Avreen didn’t reply, but continued to cling to Traun, for all appearances, not going to release her hold on him. Anna felt insecurity raise its ugly head as she watched her in her husband’s arms. She looked in uncertainty at Traun. Traun was beginning to feel irritated at Avreen’s clinging hands. She had been fine for the past two weeks and had seemed all right, up until just a few moments ago. Now she appeared to be falling apart, unable to stand, unless holding onto him. He was uncomfortable with such a public, emotional display, realizing that the others around them were growing silent while they watched, and listened to what the High Commander and the Lady Anna said to one another. “Aunt, please take Avreen to her hut, make sure she settles in with no problems.” Molly reached for her. Traun quickly handed Avreen’s clinging form over to his aunt’s concerned hands, knowing she would be able to comfort her. “Go with my aunt, Avreen,” he instructed, when it appeared she was going to refuse to leave his side. Molly firmly took hold of Avreen’s shoulders, she then motioned to two other women who stood close by for their help in escorting the distraught young woman home. She turned back toward her nephew after Avreen and the other two women began to walk away. “Traun, we are so glad you and the rest of your group have finally returned home.” Traun gave his aunt a tight smile. “Aunt, we are glad to be home ourselves.” Molly turning quickly strode up to the two women walking beside Avreen. The three of them spoke to Avreen in soothing tones. They were surprised when she quickly gained control of her emotions, once they cleared the crowd that surrounded them. “Thank you,” Avreen told the women standing around her. She inhaled bravely for effect, and realized that they looked at her funny when her tears stopped abruptly. She didn’t want their company, and certainly, didn’t need their sympathy. Avreen lifted her mouth into, what she thought, was a heartrending slant, her eyes, she hoped, reflected the sadness the women obviously believed she should be feeling. She hoped to take the surprised

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looks from their faces with her acting. She didn’t want word to get around that she wasn’t expressing the appropriate sadness, over the loss of her lifemate. “Please, go back to your families. I just need some time to myself. Please, I will be fine,” she beseeched them again, when all three women quickly exclaimed they would be glad to stay with her. “Are you sure, honey?” Molly asked. “Yes, thank you,” Avreen returned Molly’s hug before swiftly walking away from the women. Molly looked at her rigidly held, retreating back. She turned her eyes to the other two women as they, too, watched Avreen walk away. Nevin’s widow now faced a future alone. “Poor thing,” they tsked to each other before they went their separate ways. **** After watching his aunt put her arm around Avreen, as she and the other two women walked away with her, Traun turned toward Anna. He was relieved to have Avreen’s clinging hands off him. Then, felt shame at the emotion, knowing she would have a tough time of it until the hurt she felt gradually lessened. Everyone around Traun ceased to exist when he met Anna’s gaze, the laughter and joyful chatter of the excited villagers faded into the background. He took a determined step toward his lifemate, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn’t wait to distant himself and Anna from the crowd around them. “Come on, sweetheart,” he quickly took hold of her hand. “Let’s go home,” he instructed. Anna wrapped her fingers tightly around Traun’s as she hurried to keep up with his long strides. She felt breathless at the banked lust that had smoldered in his eyes when he had looked at her, before grabbing her hand and taking off for home. Quickly opening the door to their hut, Traun ushered Anna in before him. Retaining his hold on her hand, he turned, and shut the door behind him then slammed its lock home with a determined thrust of his free hand. Turning back to her, he yanked her to him with their clasped hands. Anna remembered the one time before Traun had slammed their lock

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shut. That time, she had been weak-kneed from fear. This time, she was weak-kneed from want. She fell against him and lifted her mouth to his. Their eyes met, clashing, souls meeting, a jolt of quivering desire sliced through her when he finally lowered his head, and captured her mouth with his in a fierce kiss. Traun, achingly hard, with unsteady hands began to loosen Anna’s clothing and his, he dropped each piece to the floor one by one as he stripped them off. Reaching up to the buttons on his shirt, Anna helped Traun shuck it off his shoulders. She stepped out of her flimsy underwear as he lifted her up into his arms, and strode toward their bed. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she rained kisses on his smooth jaw and chin. Traun quickly lowered her to their bed, joining them together. Anna moaned into his mouth. His forceful domination of her as he sank deep within her with a low growl, sent her sprawling over the edge of rapture, into paradise. Dimly she heard his guttural groan as he followed his own path to fulfillment. **** “Apparently, you missed me,” Traun lazily teased Anna later, as they lay atop their bed. Anna, lying sprawled half on top of him, half off, raised her head from where it lay on his chest. She grinned up at him before she slapped at him, playfully hitting the broad chest under her. “I missed you! Apparently, you missed me, mister.” Traun, his eyes reflecting his deep felt contentment laughed, the deep sound, rolling up out of his chest, enveloping Anna with its cadence. He reached down, and pulled her up, so her face was even with his. “I guess I missed you a little,” he told her, before pulling her head down for an ardent kiss, he pulled her even tighter to him, when she responded back with a passion-filled request for more. **** “What exactly happened to Nevin? Did the individual you were tracking

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have something to do with his accident?” Anna asked Traun as they sat beside each other on the floor. The fire, they had started in the fireplace, emitted a warm inviting heat. The hut had begun to take on a chill after darkness fell and the temperature outside dipped sharply. Stretching forward, Traun placed another piece of wood on the fire, as he thought about what had happened on the way home and the savage looking men they had witnessed on their trip. Straightening, he leaned back. Propping his elbows on top of the pillow behind him, he stared at his bare toes as he contemplated what to tell Anna. “No,” he finally responded to her question. “His accident wasn’t connected to the people we finally caught up with. We were crossing a treacherous trail on the backside of the mountain behind our hut, when somehow, he slipped over the side of the steep ridge we walked on. Andrew and I climbed back down to where he fell, and buried him before we continued on home.” He reached over and rubbed his hand up and down Anna’s bare arm at the moisture gathering in her eyes. “It happened so fast. I don’t think he felt anything, sweetheart.” Anna lay back on her pillow. Beside her, Traun leaned back on his elbows. Wrapping her housecoat around her, she turned toward Traun glad he and her brother had returned safely. “What was the person like, when you finally caught up to him? I’m assuming it was a male individual?” In detail, Traun told Anna what they had seen. Her eyes grew wide when he described the men’s appearance, and the fight between the one they had tracked and his companion. Anna realized she’d been lucky not to have been found dead, or dragged off with the apparent wild man, the day she’d gone hiking alone. “What was the loud, clanging noise I heard announcing our arrival earlier?” Traun asked, after he had finished telling Anna his story, remembering the noise. “That is our alarm system.” “What’s wrong with the system we had?” “It just quit working one day.” Anna shrugged. “None of the men could figure out what happened to it. Their hand held communication devices went dead, too, after the first real cold night we had here. When George and the men checked the control units, they had lost all power. They couldn’t find anything wrong with them either.”

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Traun frowned, there should have been enough stored energy in both control base units to last for years. The hand held communication system was used only by the guards on duty to communicate with each other, when needed. And, the alarm system set up around the village should only pull energy when it was set off. He would look at the machines in the morning. “So what have you rigged up that the guards were pounding on?” Traun asked Anna, curious. Anna smiled at him. “You know all those extra metal bath tubs we had stored?” He nodded. “We pulled about twelve of those out of storage, and hung them from the trees around the village. We tested how the sound would carry throughout the village from each tub we hung up. When we pounded on the tubs, you could hear each one, anywhere in the village. Not as loud in some areas, but still capable of being heard by everyone.” “Since the system seems to work we’ll leave them up for now. I can’t figure out what could have happened to the power base units. What worries me, is that the men on guard can’t radio each other if they see something. And, if for some reason, they can’t beat on the tubs it leaves us open to someone sneaking in.” Traun abruptly stood up. “Come on Anna, let’s go to bed.” Reaching down a hand, he pulled her up beside him. “Are you worried about those wild men coming back? Do you think they might try to attack us?” Anna asked him, worried at the possibility. Traun draped an arm around her shoulders as they walked over to their bed. “I think there is a good chance they will come back to investigate what the one saw. As far as attempting to attack us, I just don’t know. If they do decide to visit us, I don’t believe they’ll come until spring. I can’t imagine them traveling over the treacherous mountain range behind us with this cold weather moving in. If it starts to snow, the passage we crossed coming over the mountain would be almost impassable either way.” He climbed into bed beside Anna, and curled his arm around her when she snuggled up beside him. At least, if the wild men didn’t show up until spring that would give him time to plan a defense strategy if they were attacked. Time to practice fighting with weapons, besides just the hand held laser weapons they currently carried. Shaking his thoughts off, Traun turned his attention to his

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lifemate’s naked leg thrown across his waist, unable to resist he slid a hand up that smooth leg, losing himself once again to her sweet surrender.

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Chapter 22 “You will go apologize to Avreen this instant!” Traun snapped at Anna from where he stood in the open doorway. He was livid at what she had done that morning. He knew she was jealous of Avreen, but for her to be intentionally cruel to her? He would not tolerate the behavior. And, especially not from his own lifemate, who commanded the people in the village through him. Anna gaped in astonishment at her husband. She had been working in the storage building all morning, busy packaging, and then labeling the packaged seeds, which had been saved from the summer and fall harvest. Angry and upset upon first arriving at the storage building, she had since worked through her anger, the work before her having a calming affect. She had decided as she worked that it was time to tell Traun how Avreen acted toward her before he had even left on his journey. And what she had said to her that morning when she had went to visit with her. As she gradually calmed down, she had wondered how Traun could have been attracted to such an obvious bitch. She hated to think like that, but that was exactly what the woman was. Having gotten dressed early that morning, soon after Traun had left, she had made a spur of the moment decision that she would go see how Avreen was holding up and if she needed anything. She wanted to give Avreen her condolences again, as she felt extremely sorry for the woman who had fallen in love with Nevin after all, only to lose him to a cruel twist of fate. Avreen’s obvious hurt of yesterday, tugged at her heart, making her realize how lucky she was to have Traun safe at home. Traun loved her, and it was time to leave any jealousy she had over his and Avreen’s history, behind her. Avreen needed a friend right now, someone to help her through this hard time. Anna knocked on Avreen’s door a third time that morning. The outdoor

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air felt cool against her bare cheeks. I wonder if she is even up yet. Maybe, I have come by to early, she worried. She turned to go, deciding to come back by later, after her third knock went unanswered. The door behind her suddenly swung open. She turned back around, and gave a friendly smile to Avreen, who stood unsmiling before her. She looks beautiful even with uncombed hair, Anna observed. “I am sorry, I didn’t realize how early it still was until after I had knocked on your door,” she apologized, feeling uncertain when Avreen continued to stare back at her, frowning. Avreen seemed to suddenly come out of her shocked trance of who stood before her. She glanced behind Anna, “Come in,” she said. Hesitantly, Anna stepped through the open doorway. Glancing around inside the hut, she noted that it had a homey feel to it. She suspected the feel of the home had a lot to do with Nevin’s influence. There were several, cut crystal vases sitting around that were very beautiful, and she could tell, very costly. Those, she quickly guessed, would have to be Avreen’s crystal vases. “Your vases are beautiful,” she told Avreen trying to break the awkward silence between them. “Why are you here?” Avreen abruptly asked. Anna swallowed back her sudden anger, giving the woman before her the benefit of the doubt that her tone was caused by her grief over losing Nevin. “I wanted to come by to see if there was anything you needed and to tell you how sorry I am about Nevin. He was a good man, who will be missed by everyone.” Avreen stared at her. “Just what do you know about my lifemate?” she demanded her tone hateful. “Maybe I had better go,” Anna replied. She realized it had been a bad idea to come and offer her condolences again. Obviously, the woman did not like her, and was not going to hide the fact in the privacy of her home. Avreen stepped in front of her when she started for the door. “Answer my question, Lady Anna,” she sneered hatefully. “What do you know of Nevin?” Anna bit back her angry retort. “He was my friend, someone I will miss terribly. Now, get out of my way,” she gritted out, ready to push the woman out from in front of her if she had to. Avreen stepped back out of her way. “Oh, before you go, Lady Anna.

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Let me tell you something. Traun is mine and always has been.” Anna did not turn around or acknowledge Avreen’s softly voiced dig. She felt sick and angry inside at the scene that had just played out. She had made a grave mistake in her thinking. The woman did not need her sympathy or anyone else’s. **** “What is it that I am supposed to be apologizing for?” Anna asked her husband in bewilderment, coming out of her thoughts of the scene that had occurred that morning. Traun shut the door behind him. “Don’t act the innocent with me Anna. Avreen just now told me what you said to her early this morning. Frankly, I’m ashamed of you and your behavior.” Anna stiffened as hurt spread through her. “I know you are jealous of her Anna, but why would you go to Avreen’s home, and accuse her of trying to lure me into her bed? And, that you did not ever want to see her talking to me, or crying on my shoulder again. What were you thinking?” “So, she just walked up to you and told you I did that to her and you believed her?” Anna asked, through lips so stiff she had to focus on forming the words. She was in shock at his believing what Avreen had told him, before coming and asking her side of the story. “No Anna, I went by to check on her just now. When she answered the door and saw me, she burst out crying, telling me how sorry she was. She didn’t want to confess to me what you had done, but eventually, I got her to tell me what was wrong. She begged me not to be angry with you. That it was her fault, she said. She knew that she had clung to me yesterday, and obviously, it had made you jealous. She is just sorry that you feel threatened by her. Now, you will go and apologize to her for your actions.” Anna slammed the empty pan she held in her hand down on the wooden counter before her, anger at Avreen for her lies, and at her husband for believing them, surged through her, leaving her shaking. “I will not apologize to that lying woman. She is the one who told me you were hers and would always be hers!” she cried, her voice husky from emotion. Traun swiftly walked over to her.

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“Anna don’t you try to turn this on Avreen. Did you or did you not go to her home this morning?” “I did, but…” “Stop it,” he gritted out. “You will apologize. Don’t make it worse by denying what you did. Now let’s go.” He grasped her elbow. Jerking her arm from her husband’s grasp, Anna dug in her heels as she met his hard gaze. “She is a liar and even if you drag me to her doorstep, I will not apologize for something I did not do!” Her husband looked at her. “All right Anna, have it your way,” he finally stated. “However, I had better not catch you talking to her or going anywhere near her. She has enough hurt to deal with, without a jealous shrew, accusing her of wanting a relationship that she put behind her when I told her I loved you, not her.” Anna turned her back on him, shattered by his belief in Avreen over her. Traun looked at Anna’s back for a moment before he pivoted on his heel leaving her. He was mystified over her actions. He did not want to believe what Avreen had reluctantly told him. He knew, though, that Anna was jealous of his and Avreen’s past history. She had made it plain to him on several different occasions. Anna still had a lot of growing up to do he decided, as he walked away from the storage hut. He knew she was a generous, loving individual. She had just let her jealousy gain control of her, instead of her controlling it, which he could not understand since she knew he loved her. Anna laid her arm on top of the table before her, and dropped her head down atop her arm, unable to stop the flow of quiet tears that sprang forth. She felt lost, and deeply hurt. Why would Traun believe Avreen’s story? The woman was hateful. Couldn’t he see that? Some time later, she finally raised from the table a determined glint in her eyes. Locking the storage door behind her, she took off for the House of Reflection the Keeper of the Book of Wisdom could always be found in. She avoided passing Avreen’s hut taking the long route around the village to her destination. Traun watched Anna from a distance and wondered at her actions as she walked up the rocky slope to the House of Reflection. She is going up there to think about what she has done, he decided. “Father, do I call you father or is that wrong?” Anna asked the Holy man sitting in front of her, recalling that Molly always referred to him as

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Keeper. She hadn’t been up to the House of Reflection for some weeks now. She knew Molly came faithfully, if not every day, at least every other day. The Holy man smiled kindly at the High Commander’s lifemate. “I am just called Keeper.” He could tell the young woman was exceedingly upset about something. Besides the obvious red rimmed eyes from a recent bout of crying, she fidgeted nervously before him. He reached out a gnarled hand and gently laid it on top of her knee. “What troubles you child?” Anna’s eyes welled up at his soft question. “Keeper, I want a divorce. I didn’t know whom else to go to besides you. Since you were the one who married us, I thought you could help me.” The Keeper looked at her in confusion. “What is this divorce you speak of child? I have never heard the word before.” “A divorce is when a married man and woman legally separate, going their own way.” “No child!” the Keeper exclaimed drawing back in alarm. “I can’t stay with my husband. My lifemate,” Anna corrected, when she realized he did not know what husband meant. “No! No!” He waved his gnarled hands before her clearly agitated. “Don’t speak so.” Anna burst out crying. It was obvious he was going to be of no help to her. The Keeper stared at the upset young woman. Slowly he reached a hand forward patting her knee again. “Does he beat you child?” he asked in his soft mellow voice. Unable to believe the woman before him was so miserable with the High Commander. The man seemed to be just in his dealings with the people under his command. Had not he understood the need for a House of Reflection? He dreaded hearing that their High Commander mistreated the lovely young woman before him. The charge would have to go before the newly elected, eight High Council members. Two of which included the woman’s own brother, and the male Caretaker who had raised her. If the High Commander was found guilty of abuse, he would be publicly flogged, forbidden to seek another lifemate. It would be a disgrace to the man and his entire family. He would lose all respect and be unable to continue to lead the people under his command. “No. He doesn’t beat me,” Anna responded with force.

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“Then why do you wish to be separated from him?” Anna tried desperately to gain control of her emotions. She could not tell the Keeper what had just happened between her and Traun. What if he thought she was just as hateful a person as Traun did? “I’m just very miserable with my life as it is right now, Keeper. I can’t tolerate what I have been accused of,” she finally told him. “Child, this trial will pass. Go home. Think about your request and what it will do to your family and the community your lifemate rules over.” Standing, Anna realized how foolish she had been to think she could get a divorce from Traun. She wasn’t on earth. She was tied to a man who commanded their world. “Please don’t mention my request to anyone,” she told the Keeper. Afraid of how Traun would react should he find out about her request. The Keeper nodded his head at the Lady Anna’s request, not taking offense by her plea to him. He would beseech the Higher Power during his daily meditations, to look down with compassion on her and her troubles. **** Traun opened the door to his home, and glanced at his lifemate huddled before the fire in the large chair. She didn’t turn around when he softly closed the door behind him. He was still dismayed by her actions of that morning. As his lifemate, she had to realize the power she had over the people he commanded. Avreen had been terribly shaken by the thought of her disapproval and as such, his disapproval. Anna felt Traun’s eyes on her from where she sat. Discreetly, she wiped at her wet cheeks with her fingertips. She hoped he didn’t try to talk to her. She would not, could not, forgive him for his accusations of her that day. With a heavy heart, she kept her eyes glued to the flames that danced in the fireplace. Her knees pulled tightly up under her chin, arms locked around her legs, she remained drawn up in the chair. A knock sounded on the door behind her. Anna did not move or act as if she even heard the knock. Traun sighed as he turned to open the door. Klinn smiled at him. “I have your meals for you,” she told him. Silently, Traun motioned for her to lay the filled plates on the bench where she always placed them. Anna walked over and picked up her plate when Klinn left. Then went

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back to sit in the chair she had claimed. She wasn’t hungry, but she hadn’t eaten anything all day. Today had been her scheduled day for a checkup. The Learned One assured her the baby was growing fine. Just to make sure she continued to take care of herself. Anna took a bite of the food, gagging it down. As upset, as she was, it was like eating sawdust. She narrowed her eyes, jabbing her fork into the food on the plate. She would make sure to take care of her baby even if his or her daddy was a jerk, she thought with anger, swallowing another bite with determination. Traun sat down on the bench across from Anna. Silently he began to eat the hot meal before him. He didn’t like the tension between them, and didn’t know what to do about it, since Anna wasn’t willing to admit to any wrongdoing. After silently preparing for bed, Anna crawled under the bed covers hugging the edge of the large bed, her back turned toward her husband. Traun lay beside her for a moment looking at the ceiling before he turned on his side, his back to her as well. The silence between them was deafening. **** It has been fourteen days now and nothing has changed between us. She silently goes about her daily chores, unwilling to speak, or even look at me, Traun thought to himself, as he watched Anna drift back up to their hut after visiting with her friend Charlee. Even her friend had been studiously, avoiding him these past few days. He laid down the piece of equipment he was working on. Enough, he decided firmly. We are going to talk this thing through and get on with our lives, right now. Anna turned in surprise when the door behind her flew open. She stiffened as Traun walked in, determination stamped on his face. “It is time for us to talk this thing out between us, Anna,” he told her, shutting the door behind him. “There is nothing to talk about,” she snapped. “You believe her. End of conversation,” she hissed with a swipe of her hand in front of her. “Then, tell me now, what you have to say happened that morning between you two,” Traun stated beseechingly. “Tell you now!” Anna yelled in anger. Uncaring if anyone outside their

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hut heard her. “Lower your voice,” Traun ordered. Realizing he had said the wrong thing. “I wish I had never agreed to come to this planet! And, I wish to God, that I had never laid eyes on you,” Anna told him eyes flashing in anger. She hurt at his desire to only now, after all this time, to want to hear her side of the story Avreen had told him. Anna’s words stunned Traun. He knew she was angry with him. However, her heartfelt cry left little doubt in his mind that she, now, no longer desired to have anything to do with him. Hurt curled through him as well as anger. “You had no choice in the matter,” he told her, watching as her eyes widened in surprise. “I did too!” she spit back. “I only agreed to come if my friend Charlee was allowed to come with us too.” “No. A serum would have been given to you if needed. If that didn’t work, you would have been gagged and bound. Either way you would have been here with me. You had no choice in the matter. You were conceived for me, were mine even before conception. Go ask my aunt and uncle if you don’t believe me,” he told her with scorn at her look of complete disbelief. “Mine, Anna. You had no choice in being my lifemate still don’t.” Anna felt her face drain at Traun’s words. She knew Molly had joked about her being born just for him, but to not have had a choice in coming here? She didn’t believe him. “I hate you,” she whispered, knowing she lied even as the words crossed her lips. “You’re nothing but an alien beast to me, someone who has used me for their own gain. Go back to your lover! You have what you want. I’m pregnant. Your job is done,” she hissed out. Dazed at the blowup between them, Traun abruptly left. He knew he had hurt Anna terribly by not giving her a chance to tell him her side of the story before he had jumped on her. She was unyielding in her defense that Avreen had lied to him. He wished now he had handled the situation differently. He had made a grave error in judgment by not hearing both sides of the story before believing one over the other. Anna went hunting for Molly. When Molly opened her door to Anna, she knew instantly her and George were about to be questioned about something that they probably

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would not want to answer. “Come in out of the cold, Anna,” she told the young woman she loved as a daughter. “George, get Anna something warm to drink,” she instructed her lifemate. George poured some of the warm milk he had been heating into a cup. He handed it to Anna as she silently sat down at the small table in the corner of the room. Holding the warm cup between chilled fingers, Anna looked down into the white liquid without saying a word to either of the people who had raised her. George looked at his lifemate with the unvoiced question as to what was wrong. Molly shrugged a delicate shoulder before walking over and pulling out a chair to sit down quietly beside Anna. Anna finally raised her eyes looking at both Molly and George. “Did I have a choice in being here?” she asked, afraid that the intense emotion she felt for her husband was drug induced. “I can see that I didn’t,” she answered for them. “Just please, tell me that whatever you gave me to help you get me here, is not still being given to me,” she begged, unwilling to believe that what she felt for Traun was not her own feelings. Molly reached over and laid her hand on top of Anna’s. “Darling, I admit, we did slip you an altering serum for a few days after you returned from Charlee’s home, the night after you learned who you and your brother were. I stopped giving it to you, two days before we boarded the spaceship. I promise, every emotion, every thought you have had since leaving earth, has not been influenced by the drug.” Anna felt numb. She didn’t feel anger at Molly, or even George for that matter. She now understood they had had no recourse. Her destiny was planned long before her birth. There had been no turning back for anyone of them. She and her family sat at the small round table drinking their warm milk. None of them having anything to say as they wondered at the hurt their actions had caused others. Anna knew her hateful words to Traun earlier, had stung him. She knew without a doubt that he loved her had even been attempting to bridge, the ever-widening gap in their relationship. She just could not seem to forgive him for believing Avreen’s lies against her. Abruptly, she stood up. Looking down at the astonished faces beside

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her, she bent down and solemnly hugged them. “I love you both,” she told them. “I have just made a decision, now I need to go home and repair my relationship with my husband.” She watched their astonished expressions, at her abruptly jumping up, turn into wide grins at her words.

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Chapter 23 Anna waited long into the night for Traun’s return. Finally giving up, she went on to bed. She was scared that he had taken her words to heart and was even now, enjoying the embraces of Avreen. No, she told herself firmly, he wouldn’t do that. Would he? She slung back the covers she was under, to agitated to sleep. She could get dressed and go hunting for him, she thought, but was actually afraid she might not find him, unless she knocked on Avreen’s door. Poking at the coals in the fireplace, she brooded over his absence. **** Traun was in the communal hut with Anna’s brother. Andrew, upon returning from his round of duty, had found him there drinking in the dark, alone. Traun wasn’t drunk, but he wasn’t completely sober either. He soon found himself confiding in Anna’s brother all that had transpired between him, and his lifemate, the past few days. Andrew quietly listened to his brother-in-law as he sipped the strong tasting liquor that had been offered to him. The drink took the chill off the night. “I just don’t know how to repair the damage I have done. I know I made a grave error in judgment by not asking Anna her side of Avreen’s story before I jumped on her.” Traun quit talking. He now felt he had told Anna’s brother thing’s which should have been kept between him and his lifemate. “What you have just said, Avreen accused my sister of doing doesn’t sound like the Anna I grew up with,” Andrew spoke up into the silence when Traun suddenly grew quiet and pensive. “You know my feelings on Avreen. I think she is very capable of lying.” Traun looked down at the glass he held in his hand. Was he blind to

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Avreen, he wondered, feeling baffled. The woman had always been charming, seeking to please. Maybe, it was just him she wanted to please, the thought popped into his head. Traun frowned, now questioning what he knew of the woman. Looking across the table at Andrew, he realized he had sat with him all night. Leaning back in his chair, Traun reached up, and tiredly raked his fingers through his hair. “You better go home and get some rest, Andrew. I’m going to go work on our control units again. There seems to be nothing wrong with them, although I can’t get either one of them to power up.” Andrew yawned as he stood up. “Let me catch a few hours of sleep, then I’ll come help you.” **** Anna caught glimpses of Traun throughout the long day. She wanted to talk to him, although was hesitant to interrupt his work on the control units he worried over daily. He and her brother, having taken apart the control units, were beginning to reassemble them now, she noticed. Traun looked up at her, and caught her gaze with his. She returned his gaze for a long moment before she turned and headed for their hut. Klinn would be coming by in a few minutes to gather her and Traun’s laundry. She needed to get it ready for her. She also wanted to ask Klinn if her husband had finished the large bathtub he was making for Traun and her. He was going to take two medium size tubs that were in storage and cut them in half. Apparently, he had some type of soldering tool that he could use to solder the two tubs back together into one long tub. Picking up the basket of dirty laundry by the bed, Anna dumped it, and began to sort hers and Traun’s laundry. There wasn’t much that needed washed, she thought, looking at the dirty clothes. “So you do have to do something after all. Can’t get the servants to sort your laundry for you?” Anna whirled around at the sneering question directed at her, recognizing the voice of Avreen. “What are you doing in my home?” she asked, in stunned surprise. “Thought I would come by to see for myself how you took it that Traun believed the story that I told him. You should realize by now, he will believe

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whatever I want him to believe,” Avreen told her, strutting further into the room as she looked around. Confident she could intimidate the woman before her. She had been deathly afraid that morning, that Traun had come to punish her for her words to his lifemate. Only to realize after she had begun to cry, that his lifemate had not told him what she had done. “Get out!” Anna demanded hoarsely, anger making her tremble. Klinn, who had just walked around the corner of the High Commander’s hut, up to the slightly ajar door, frowned at the Lady Anna’s unusually sharp command to someone in the room with her. Pushing the door slightly with her finger, she caught a glimpse of the Lady Anna’s pinched, white face. I need to get the High Commander, she thought. Not understanding what was happening in the hut. She knew though by the look on the Lady Anna’s face that whatever was occurring was upsetting her. Whirling, she took off at a run for her Commander. “High Commander!” Traun looked up at the call, frowning he watched as the servant assigned to his lifemate, ran breakneck toward him. He glanced at Andrew who had stopped working, and watched the woman run toward them as well. “Lady Anna. Your hut,” the red faced servant gasped out when she stopped in front of him. “She needs your help!” Traun felt his heart skip. Anna was losing the baby. He dropped what he had in his hands and took off running. Andrew and the servant quickly followed behind him. When he reached the front door of their hut, he slid to a confused stop. He could see Anna standing in the middle of the hut through the slightly open doorway. She was talking to someone in the room. He frowned when he heard the distinct sound of Avreen’s voice replying. Listening, he slowly pushed the door wider open. Both Anna and Avreen were so engrossed in each other that they failed to notice that they now had an audience. “Traun and I were lovers for two years prior to coming here, we still are. You are just a breeder for him. Something he has to force himself to lie with. I don’t have to tell you where he was last night.” Avreen knew her well-placed dig had hit home when she saw the Lady Anna sway. She had taken a wild guess that Traun had not been home all night, when she had seen him coming out of the communal hut before sunrise that morning. Smiling she watched as Traun’s lifemate turned ashen.

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Anna felt the room tilt, when Avreen confirmed where Traun had spent the night. Traun watched her in alarm, afraid she was about to pass out. Rushing through the open doorway, he quickly grabbed hold of her then urged her over to sit down in the chair by their fireplace. He looked up at Avreen’s shocked face after lowering Anna down into the chair. “Get out!” he ordered her, sickened by the sight of her. He could not believe he had actually lain with the viper that stood before him. When she didn’t move, Traun looked at Andrew. “Take her to her hut, have all her belongings moved to the hut furthest away from here on the opposite end of the village.” He looked back at Avreen. “You are, from this day forward, forbidden access to this half end of our village. If you ever again set foot in this side of the village, you will be swiftly and severely punished. Do you understand?” he ground out, watching her until she slowly nodded at him. Andrew walked over, and firmly grabbed hold of Avreen’s elbow, guiding her out the door. He wished there was some way he could prove she had deliberately, pushed her husband over that mountain ledge. Avreen felt sick, she had over played her hand, grown too confident since Nevin was not around to watch her. That servant Klinn must have brought Traun to the hut, enabling him to catch her taunting his lifemate. The woman had had the nerve to smirk at her as she had been led away. Andrew gathered several men in the village, and Avreen was moved before nightfall. The couple’s hut he moved her into, were delighted to be uprooted and moved closer to the High Commander and the Lady Anna. No questions were asked by the people in the community as they watched what was taking place. They all realized Avreen had somehow drawn the disfavor of their High Commander and they drew away from her. **** Traun knelt down in front of the chair before Anna and her bowed head. “Anna,” he reached for the clasped hands lying atop her lap. “What she said was a lie. I stayed in the communal hut last night. I went there because I dreaded to come home to another night of tension-filled silence between us. Your brother found me there alone, nursing a bruised heart after he had

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finished his duties and was heading home. He stayed with me till early this morning.” Anna loosened the fingers she had tightly gripped together. Slowly she turned her hands over to grasp his fingers covering her own. Traun breathed a sigh of relief. “I am sorry, Anna, for believing what she told me without first hearing your side of what happened.” Anna raised her arms and encircled his neck. No tears flowed. She was to shell shocked for tears. She just needed to be close to him. Clasping his arms around her waist, Traun stood holding her. Turning, he sat down in the chair he had just taken her out of and settled her onto his lap. “I love you Anna,” he told her as she looked at him, her bewilderment of the incident showing on her face. “Why would she tell the lie she told you? Then, come here to taunt me?” Anna asked her husband in confusion, unable to grasp the woman’s malice. “I knew she didn’t like me from the way she acted toward me when no one was around. But, after the grief she showed over losing Nevin, I thought she must have finally fallen in love with him.” Traun looked at Anna, now he was confused. “How has she acted toward you when no one else has been around?” Anna shrugged. “Hatefully, I’ve always thought. I smiled at her the day of our wedding. She just stared at me, then turned her back on me. When I would happen to cross paths with her, she would sneer at me. One time, she acted like she was complimenting the color of my hair. Then she smirked, telling me how the men of Garr found the color distasteful. Traun reached up and stroked her hair. “I love the color of your hair.” “After I saw you two that night, behind her hut, I thought she was acting that way because of you having a relationship with her. Charlee told me, if she were getting any from you, she wouldn’t act that way. She would be smiling at me instead of being jealous.” Jerking slightly upon hearing what Charlee had told her. Traun looked at Anna in surprise. “What made your friend think that?” She smiled shyly at him. “I guess I’ve told her how wonderful you are in bed.” Traun could feel the color rising up his neck. “Anna! What are you doing talking about something as personal as that?” “We tell each other everything. Don’t worry, she won’t repeat anything

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I tell her. Just as I don’t repeat, what she tells me. Besides, I leave out our more intimate moments.” Traun shook his head, still not liking the thought. “If Avreen acted that way toward you, why in the world did you go to her home that morning then?” “I thought that after the grief she had shown over Nevin’s death that she would need consoling. I thought if I reached out my hand in friendship, maybe she would to. I was so very wrong. She not only was very rude that morning, but she told me you were hers, would always be hers.” Traun hugged her. “I have never been Avreen’s. You are the only person I have ever expressed my love to, Anna. She knew before we even began our relationship that I was coming here to marry another. I don’t understand her behavior myself. I have never seen the side of her you just described, until today.” Anna sighed upon hearing Klinn’s knock on their door. She started to rise from her husband’s lap. “Where do you think you are going?” he demanded, pulling her back toward him. Anna looked at him in confusion. “You know it’s the servants, Traun. Do you want them to see us sitting like this?” “I haven’t held you in over fourteen days. In this instance, I am going to be very selfish by keeping you right here. If anyone dares to spread the rumor of what they see, I am sure your loyal servant Klinn, will promptly set them straight.” “Come in,” he barked out, smiling at her. Klinn opened the door before her. She smiled when she saw her Lady Anna sitting in the High Commander’s lap. Turning, she frowned at her lifemate and the other male servant behind her. “Just bring in the tub, then hurry and help the others get the hot water,” she ordered the men. Both men jumped to do as she commanded. They were smiling broadly when they walked back out the door. They looked at each other in amusement. Their High Commander was just as done in by a female as the rest of them. Klinn quickly had the room cleared and food brought in before she turned to go. She felt proud of herself. Through her help, her Lady Anna was back where she belonged.

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Anna actually felt embarrassed sitting in Traun’s lap while the servants prepared their baths. She noticed the grins spreading on all their faces, before they quickly exited the hut. Silently groaning, she hoped they didn’t tell the others in the village about her and Traun. She guessed she was becoming just as sensitive as her husband about public displays of emotion. Traun chuckled. “Your face is red, sweetheart.” Anna looked at him frowning. “It’s your fault,” she stated as she slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “You’re the one who has made me highly sensitive in how we act before the people under you.” He grabbed her hand drawing it to his mouth. “Are you hungry?” he asked after kissing her hand. “Our dinner and bath are both getting cold that Klinn, so thoughtfully, has brought to us.” Anna slid off his lap. “I’m starving,” she told him, suddenly feeling ravenous, she handed Traun his plate. She sat on the rug before the fireplace crossing her legs Indian style, then dug into her meal. Traun smiled, watching her. Finishing her meal, Anna stood and laid her plate aside. She walked over to the basin of water they used at night. After brushing her teeth, she pulled her hair up with a clip. Smiling at Traun, she slowly began to strip her clothes off as she walked over to the tub. It was the large tub Klinn’s lifemate had promised would be completed that day. Feeling his mouth go dry, Traun watched as she elegantly stepped into the bath water. He stood and quickly stripped. “I love you,” Anna told him softly, much later. “I am sorry for the hateful things I said to you yesterday.” Traun turned on his side in their bed so he faced her, reaching out he tenderly pulled her into his arms again. He kissed lips that still showed signs of his recent lovemaking. This was the generous loving Anna he knew and loved. Stroking a hand down her bare back he loved the feel of her. “I want you all over again,” he told her huskily bending down to clasp a nipple between his lips. Anna gazed down at her husband’s head bent to her breast. She raked her fingers through his short hair, the familiar ache spreading through her again. Her breathing grew shallow “Traun please,” she gasped, when he raised his head. Her alien husband smiled his drop dead, gorgeous smile at her before he brought them together again as one.

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Chapter 24 Anna laughed happily at Charlee and her antics. She was content. The Learned One at her five-month checkup had informed her and Traun that they were going to have a baby girl. She had been convinced that her husband had wanted a boy first. He seemed not to mind that they were to have a girl. He talked excitedly, about how he was going to spoil this child of theirs. She had to tell him firmly one day, that if he was bent on spoiling the child to much, the girl would grow up to be such a rotten brat, that no one would be able to stand to be around her. He had just smiled that slow smile of his at her, causing her pulse to quicken. “Charlee stop,” Anna begged, holding up her hand laughing. “You’re making my side hurt.” Her friend laughed, stopping her impression of the hateful rooster in question stalking Anna again. It had become a family joke of the seemly mutual feeling of hostility felt between Anna and the strutting rooster. The rooster did always appear to make a beeline for Anna, when he happened to escape his pen. And, he seemed to be able to do that on a fairly regular basis, according to Anna. She had begged Traun for permission to have the thing for a meal, after one particularly trying day of the rooster getting loose, not once, but three times, before they had finally figured out his escape route. Charlee plopped down on Anna’s bed. “Andrew says the rooster makes you a target because you’re scared of it and try to run from him.” “Well,” Anna huffed, “if I didn’t run, the thing would flog me to death.” She sat down beside her friend. “Have you talked to Molly this afternoon,” Charlee asked, suddenly changing the subject. “No, I haven’t seen her since this morning. Why?”

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“She said she wants us all to get together one last time around the campfire as a family, before it gets to cold to eat outside.” “Tonight?” “Yes, tonight. She told me to make sure I told you, if she didn’t see you first. It looks like we could get another snow tonight. She’s afraid that once winter really sets in, she and George won’t be able to get out as much.” “Oh.” Charlee frowned. “Good grief, Anna. You don’t have to be so enthusiastic about it. I’m not supposed to say anything, but she wanted us to get together for your birthday, too.” “That’s just it, Charlee, Traun said he had something planned for my twenty fourth birthday tonight, just the two of us.” “You can’t disappoint Molly, Anna.” Anna nodded. “We’ll be there.” **** “Happy birthday, girlie,” George told Anna, sitting down beside her on the log before the campfire. Anna smiled at him, she had been sitting quietly as the others around the campfire talked, and laughed amongst each other. “Thank you, George,” she replied. “Did you see what Klinn gave me?” she showed him the little white knitted boots. “Aren’t, they adorable?” George picked up one of the tiny boots, his hand dwarfing it. He could not envision such a tiny foot fitting into the small boot. “Before we know it, we’re going to have bundles of children running around here.” Anna watched Traun across the fire as he conversed with her brother. Andrew glanced over at her and winked. She noticed her brother nod to him before he stood up to leave. As she watched she wondered what that had all been about. Traun must be going to check on the guards, she decided, when he strolled away from her and her family. He had probably told Andrew, something he would need to know before he went on duty. She turned back to George. After about thirty minutes, Andrew stood up and yawned. “Come on Charlee it’s getting late. I’m ready to go home.”

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Andrew’s action prompted everyone else to stand and prepare to leave also. As they said their goodnights, Anna thanked everyone for their thoughtful gifts. She turned and headed toward home, humming a favorite piece of music under her breath. Opening her door, her eyes met those of her husband’s. “Close the door and lock it,” he ordered from where he stood before the blazing fireplace. Anna hurriedly shut the door behind her, locking it. She was amazed at the room. He had spread out, on the rug he stood on, pink petals of flowers she had carefully dried, then filled a bowl with for decoration. She realized he must have used the whole bowl, when she noticed more of the pink petals sprinkled copiously over the top of their bed. Music played softly in the background from her stereo. Pushing her flower vase out of the way, Anna lowered her birthday gifts down on the small wooden table beside the door. She began to smile. If he weren’t so masculine, he would look ridiculous, she thought with a giggle. Standing there in nothing but his snug fitting pants, even his feet were bare that the pink petals were lying around. “Don’t you dare, laugh. I am trying to be romantic here,” Traun told her roughly. Never having done anything like this before, he was slightly embarrassed at his attempt. “Come here,” he ordered brusquely. Anna walked over to where he stood, smothering her laughter, her eyes dancing. “Here,” he said, holding his fist out to her. She stretched her palm out. He opened his fist and let what he held drop into her hand. Anna stared down at the ring that sparkled up at her even in the dim light cast by the fireplace. She looked up at Traun. “Where did this come from? It is gorgeous.” Traun smiled at her affectionately. He took the ring from her hand, and slid it on her finger. “It was my mother’s. She gave it to me before I left Garr and told me to give it to my lifemate, after the birth of our first child. I couldn’t wait though, as I didn’t think I could match this gift, for the rest of the children we are going to have. It would be unfair to the excitement of each of their births. I believe she would understand.” “Traun, I wish I could have met your family. From listening to you talk about them, they must be wonderful people.” Anna’s eyes glistened as she

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looked at him. “This ring was given to my mother by my father at my birth. She felt it was only right for you to have it.” Traun pulled Anna into his embrace. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.” Wrapping her arms around his bare waist, Anna smiled up at him. “I want you for my birthday.” “That’s what I hoped for when I planned the flower thing.” He motioned to the petals around the room, then he began to sway with her to the music playing softly around them. Anna realized it was an old Rolling Stones song, titled Beast of Burden. They quietly swayed together as Mick Jagger belted out the words to the song. “I’ll never be your beast of burden, my back is broad, but it’s a hurting. All I want is for you to make love to me.” Looking up at her husband, Anna hoped he didn’t think he was her beast of burden. She remembered her words to him during their fight over what Avreen had led him to believe. “Music on the radio come on baby, make sweet love to me.” Traun squeezed Anna’s waist as he listened. He hadn’t realized what was on the compact disc he had placed in her stereo. Not long ago, he had felt as if she had every right to call him an alien beast. Someone, she wished she had never met. She had eventually confessed to him of her asking the Keeper to be separated from him. He guessed she had had every right, at the time, to feel as if that had been her only option. “Ah baby…please appease the beast…” taking Traun’s hand in hers Anna led him over to their bed. She sighed with need when he bent, and swept her up into his arms, cradling her to his chest as he walked over to their bed. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him with want and love coursing through her body. The song playing on the stereo changed to another melody as she gazed up at her husband. “I love you, Traun. You may be my alien beast, but never a beast of burden to me.” Traun looked down at Anna, but didn’t reply to her softly voiced statement. He couldn’t imagine ever tiring of being with her, this little half earthling of his that he seemed to crave. Gradually he let her slide to the floor to stand before him. Leisurely he began to undress her, gazing quietly

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at her naked form for a moment, before removing his own article of clothing. Kissing the small swell of her stomach that protected their unborn child, he then climbed up on the bed beside her. Pulling her soft, naked, and willing body to his, he slowly entered her and began a practiced pace. Traun, watching his lifemate’s face, saw it become flushed with desire. When Anna clasped him tighter to her, he groaned deeply, quickly following her down the same path she had just taken.

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Chapter 25 Avreen brooded in her hut. Absently, she twisted her fingers together back and forth, unaware of the nervous action. She was no one in this village. Invisible, since the High Commander had shown his disapproval of her. She felt her hatred twist inside her at his lifemate. The hatred, a living breathing thing that constantly gnawed at her insides and consumed her every waking thought. She had taken to secretly watching the High Commander’s lifemate during her comings and goings throughout the day. Always very careful never to cross the boundaries set out to her by the High Commander. Today, she had listened to the women living near her talk about how happy the couple seemed to be with each other. Never, they exclaimed, had they seen such contentment between two lifemates. They sighed to each other over their comments, ignoring the silent Avreen from where she sat beside them. When she abruptly stood and walked away from their conversation. They took no notice of her departure. Avreen was puzzled as to how her plans had gone awry so fast and so abruptly. If only, she thought, she had not had the driving urge to push Traun’s lifemate over the edge that day. If only I had waited one day longer or just a few minutes more. That stupid servant of hers might not have caught me and summoned Traun. Then his lifemate might be out of his life and he would be coming to me for comfort. Then I would be the one everyone would have to bow to or meet with his disfavor. Sighing, she looked down at the fingers she had twisted together. Frowning, she parted her hands. I have to think of something to lure her close enough to my boundaries, so I can catch her alone, she mused. After a moment, her eyes held an unholy gleam.

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Opening the sealed note that a servant had brought, informing her, he had been instructed to give it to her personally, Anna looked down at the handwritten note from her husband. It was short and to the point, telling her to meet him in the food storage hut. Anna shrugged. Smiling, she wondered what he was about. She lay the opened note down. He probably had something he needed to ask concerning the storage of their food supply. She had just been in the storage hut the day before. Everything was fine. The cold weather and heavy blanket of snow that covered the ground, would not affect how the food needed to be stored. Dragging on her snow boots and a heavy coat, she headed to the storage hut after making a detour to Charlee’s home. Heavy snowflakes fell around her, wetting the hood she had pulled over her head. “Traun,” she called, pushing the door to the storage hut open, then rubbed at what looked like a burnt spot on the door. She wondered what had caused it. Turning, she flipped on the overhead solar powered light. What was he doing in the dark? She knew he had to be in the hut, because the lock on the door was gone. “Turn around,” a voice drawled. Turning toward the voice she recognized coming from inside the room. Anna’s eyes widened at what was pointed toward her. “Don’t make a sound,” Avreen hissed. “Or I will cut you in half.” Anna froze. Her eyes glued to the laser weapon Avreen had pointed at her. Did she really know how to use that thing, she wondered nervously. She hoped that Avreen didn’t accidentally push a button that would instantly end her and her baby’s lives. “What are you doing?” she asked, terrified of the weapon she held. Avreen sneered at her. “You and I are going to take a walk,” she waved the weapon at her. Anna turned, hoping Traun would happen to come by, and chance upon her and Avreen leaving the storage hut. Avreen walked up close to Anna’s back. “Don’t worry on the route we are going to take, no one will see us,” she hissed as she poked at Anna’s back for her to move forward. Anna stepped forward at Avreen’s hard nudge. Avreen kept pushing her

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toward a stand of trees that she knew a guard was always posted by day or night. Apparently, Avreen was unaware she was about to get caught. Soon, she would be handing her weapon over to the guard, Anna thought, feeling relief surge through her quivering limbs. “Go, hurry,” Avreen snarled, as she speeded Anna up to a trot, worried that someone, for whatever reason, just might happen to come along at the wrong time. She had figured out how to get Anna away from their village with no one the wiser. At this time of the day, no one was around in this area, except for the lone guard stationed where the trees began to frame the mountain range behind the village. She smiled to herself as they finally approached the belt of trees. Anna gasped when she walked into the trees and saw the body of the guard lying sprawled out on the snow-covered ground, she was deathly afraid now of what it was that Avreen had planned for her. She wondered if the man was dead as she looked worriedly down at the guard when Avreen pushed her by him. “Oh, don’t worry,” Avreen, told her from behind. “He will only be out until I come back and wake him. He will believe he was derelict in his duties, convinced he fell asleep while on duty. ” Anna could tell she smiled by the sound of her voice. “I only kill those that get in my way.” Anna sucked in her breath, whirling around, she faced, her adversary. “You won’t get away with this,” she exclaimed, as she tried to stop her limbs from shaking with her fear felt. “Go!” Avreen commanded harshly, waving the weapon she held. “Turn around and walk.” She gave Anna a hard push. Anna stumbled as she quickly turned walking in the direction Avreen pushed her. Sweet Jesus in heaven, she prayed, please save me from this evil woman. After an hour of walking, Avreen snarled at her to stop. With bated breath, Anna turned, and faced the woman whose hatred of her reached out to her in suffocating waves. Avreen laughed, then jeered, at the wide eyed woman before her. “You should be scared. I’m going to kill you right here where we stand.” She waved her weapon indicating something past Anna. “I have already dug a hole to put you in. Which, I am confident will keep you securely hidden, no one ever the wiser of what happened to you when you’re not found. I’ll be

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back, snug in my hut, before anyone will even realize you’re missing.” She taunted her enemy before her. Anna was afraid her knees would buckle under her. Sweet Jesus, she thought. “You’re not the first person I’ve had to kill for Traun, you know.” Anna stared in horror at the woman before her. The woman was obsessed with her husband to the point of insanity. “Left you speechless, have I?” Avreen found the thought funny. Laughter spilled forth, as she looked at the terrified woman before her. “Each time gets easier,” she stated with a far away look appearing in her eyes. “The first time was the hardest. I took to my bed for a week.” She focused back on Anna. “The stupid girl refused to tell the High Council members that she had decided not to come to this planet as I told her to.” Avreen shrugged. “So, I tricked her into swallowing poison, taking her own life. I even made her write a suicide note to her parents before she died. Which I thought was a touching gesture. Don’t you?” she suddenly questioned, looking at Anna expectantly. In confusion, Anna wondered if the woman really expected her to give her an answer. Avreen shook her head. “Then Nevin got in my way.” Anna gasped. Avreen’s eyes narrowed. “Oh yes, you and my lifemate. He always looked out for you,” she told Anna almost tenderly, then frowned heavily. “He knew I hated you,” she confided, before looking lost. “I thought if he wasn’t around, Traun would look my way again.” Avreen scowled at Anna. “But he didn’t. That is why I have to get rid of you! I worked for a year on Garr getting Traun’s attention, then keeping it for two years, before he came here and you became his lifemate. He was mine, before you took him from me.” The confusion that clouded her mind was unmistakable as she stared at Anna as if suddenly not knowing where she was. The dark evil of insanity, that had cocooned Avreen in comfort for so many months, slowly began to recede. She stared at the frightened woman before her that she finally realized, Traun loved above all else. He never loved me, she thought helplessly, her weapon lowering, after everything I put into our relationship he never came to love me. “Avreen,” Anna began to plead. “Please, you don’t want to do this.

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Traun will figure out what you’ve done, then you will have lost him forever.” “Shut up!” Avreen cried. Quickly she raised her weapon. The evil jealousy she felt for the Lady Anna, hissed through her twisting through her insides, pulling her back into its darkness, its fangs dripped venom. The time was right. Traun would be hers again. Anna, realizing her mistake, swiftly closed her eyes, unable to watch Avreen squeeze the button on the lethal weapon that would end her life. She felt something slice through the air beside her head. Avreen grunted. Deciding, she had missed, Anna thought to tackle her in an attempt to try to get the weapon away from her. Opening her eyes ready to pounce, she froze in her step and opened her mouth instead, and screamed at the top of her lungs. Avreen lay sprawled and unconscious on the snow-blanketed ground, her right arm lay at an odd angle. Around her were three of the wild men, Traun had described. A large hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her terrified screams. Anna clawed at the person behind her, twisting and turning, as she tried to get away from the hand over her mouth. Quickly and unmercifully thrown to the ground, a savage stood over her. Swiftly, he wrapped a wide piece of dried animal skin determinedly across her mouth. Tightly binding her hands and boot covered feet, he jerked her up into a standing position by her bound hands. He grunted at her before slinging her over his shoulder, and taking off at a hard, fast trot. His loping trot, eating up the distance between him and the strange one’s he and his followers had stalked for days. The companions of the savage quickly followed. The one closest to Avreen grabbed her unconscious body, and slung her roughly over his shoulder, before he, too, quickly followed his leader. The blood that rushed to her head, in combination with her fear and the jarring motion of the thing running with her, caused Anna to lose consciousness within minutes after being taken captive, she flopped loosely on the savage’s shoulder, mercifully for the time being, unaware of what was happening to her. **** “High Commander, you need to come check this out!”

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Traun turned toward the guard who had called out to him, the one he had scheduled to replace the guard who watched the entrance to their village, from the south side. Frowning, he followed the man over to the area in question. The guard scheduled to come off duty sat on the ground holding his head. Traun walked over to him. “What’s happened to you? Are you sick?” The man staggered to his feet. “Commander, I think I have been drugged.” Traun sharply looked around the area and noticed faint impressions of two sets of tracks that led away from where he stood and on into the thick growing trees beyond. The falling snow was fast covering up the tracks. “What makes you believe you have been drugged?” he asked turning back to the guard. “That widow of Nevin’s came by at noon with my lunch. She told me the servant who usually brought the guards their meals, was sick today. I didn’t think anything of it. However, right after I ate, it was hard to stand. Next thing I know. I am being wakened by my replacement.” “Go to the Learned Ones and have them check you out,” Traun told the man, turning from him. He couldn’t think why Avreen would want to drug the man. “High Commander,” the sick man exclaimed. Traun turned back to the man. “It seems that my weapon has been taken!” Traun frowned heavily at the man’s disclosure. Curious, as to the two faint sets of tracks he had noticed, he motioned to Andrew to come over to him. “Come with me,” he told him when he walked up to him. Pulling out his weapon, he turned off its safety setting. Andrew followed his motions. “You stay at your station,” Traun instructed the sick man’s replacement, before he and Andrew began to follow the tracks. They followed the tracks for an hour before coming to where there had been some type of struggle. They separated as they looked around the area. “Traun,” Andrew hollered, “here’s the guard’s weapon over here in the snow. It’s set to fire.” Picking up the weapon, he walked back to where Traun studied the ground. “What do you think happened here?” Andrew pushed the flashing red

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button on the weapon back to its safety setting. Traun gazed worriedly into the trees for a moment, before he turned and looked at Andrew. “I think our wild men have come for a visit. And, I believe Avreen, and whoever her accomplice was, got themselves taken captive.” Andrew turned and looked over to where the apparent struggle had taken place, and then turned back to Traun when he spoke again. “What I don’t understand is what Avreen and her accomplice were up too? Come on, we need to put together a search party and rescue them. I’m tempted to leave them,” Traun angrily stated as he began to stride away from the scene. He would need to gather at least ten men to take with him. From the looks of the tracks he could make out, there seemed to be no more than six of the wild men. At the sound of the urgent pounding on the metal tubs, the people in the village quickly gathered. They realized something important was about to be announced. Traun looked for Anna. She should be here any moment, he thought, seeing Charlee coming from the direction of their hut. He held up his hand for quiet. “It appears that we have two in our group that wanted to leave us. They drugged a guard before they left. However, they didn’t get far before the wild men you were all told about captured them. I need ten volunteers to go with me to help get them back.” Someone yelled out from the back of the crowd, “If they wanted to leave so bad, I say let them stay with the savages!” Traun shook his head at the comment. No one had raised his or her hands yet. He wondered where Anna was. She should have been there by now. He motioned for Charlee to come forward. “Where’s Anna?” he asked when Charlee walked up to him. He was starting to get a bad feeling. He looked worriedly at Andrew, remembering his belief about Avreen and her lifemate’s accident. “She hasn’t been around all afternoon,” Charlee told him wondering at his question. “I thought she was with you. She came by and told me you had sent her a note to meet her at the food storage hut this afternoon. She thought you were probably worried about the recent freeze ruining the food.”

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Traun’s face blanched. “I didn’t send her a note to meet me, Charlee.” Charlee’s eyes rounded. “Oh, my god.” Turning, Traun took off for the food storage hut. The crowd around him parted then turned, and followed him. The door to the storage hut was unlocked and no one about. He could still make out the faint outline of two sets of tracks leading away from the hut, toward the unconscious guard found just a few moments ago by his relief. Traun staggered, as he realized Anna was the other person taken captive. He roared with rage the names of ten of his most dependable men to go with him to find his lifemate. This time there was no shortage of volunteers eager to help their High Commander. “I’ll kill the bitch myself,” Andrew told Charlee in anger and fear, as he hastily packed the essentials needed for the trip to rescue his sister. Traun quickly packed what he felt he might need. Bending down, he slid the long, steel bladed knife into the sheath specially made for it. He strapped it snug to his thigh, just as he had seen the savage men wearing. He then placed his laser gun in its holster at his waist. Picking up his backpack he slung it over his shoulders. He needed to get his emotions under control, he thought, looking down at hands that continued to shake. He knew he would not be of any help to Anna if he were unable to control his fear. Without a trace of emotion showing on his face, Traun swiftly strode out of their hut. His ten handpicked men silently gathered around him. Their faces hard they took off at a trot following their High Commander when he turned without a word, and took the same snow-covered path the savages had taken. **** Anna, sat huddled in her coat, reaching up she pulled her hood further down over her face. The bite of the cold wind stung her face. She was starving. The smell of the cooking food made her stomach growl. The savages didn’t always remember to feed her and Avreen. It had been over two days since she had eaten last. Sixteen days had come and gone, since the savages took her and Avreen captive, she knew it had been exactly sixteen days, because every morning she counted off another day and prayed for rescue. Hoping Traun, and the

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others with him, would be able to continue to find the trail they left behind. A trail that some days, she knew, the heavy falling snow quickly concealed. Anna looked over at Avreen. She didn’t look very good that evening. She sat cradling her broken arm. What food was sparingly offered, Avreen barely ate. She knew Avreen had a fever raging through her body. She kept mumbling about being excessively hot. Occasionally, she would frown over at her with the now permanent glazed look in her eyes. Her face flushed a bright red. The savage that had carried Anna that first day, stood up and withdrew his knife from the sheath on his thigh. He efficiently sliced off two chunks of meat from the skinned animal that cooked over the open fire. The huge white dog that had waited in the woods while his owner had captured them, stood, and walked with his master. In apprehension, Anna watched as the savage and his massively, huge dog walked over to where she and Avreen sat. Squatting down in front of her, he offered her one of the half-cooked chunks of meat. When she hesitated, he grunted at her, shaking the hand that held the meat. Anna reached out, and snatched the meat. Her mind rebelled at the thought of eating the half-cooked meal. She, with resolution, was determined to eat it. She needed to keep her strength up, and she had to eat for her baby. Survival through this ordeal was all she could think about, while she prayed for Traun’s rescue of her to happen soon. The savage stretched out his hand with the rest of the meat to Avreen. Avreen looked at him, then the meat he held, then spit in his face. Anna quickly drew back at the flare of anger, reflected in the man’s rugged features. He angrily backhanded Avreen with his huge hand, knocking her backwards to the ground. The force of his slap split her bottom lip wide. Avreen screamed in terror as she lay sprawled on the ground at his feet. Her eyes were wide as she cringed from her tormentor. Blood flowed from her split lip to the ground around her. The savage grunted something at her before he threw the meat over her head to the ground. The dog at his side scrambled to obtain the discarded meal. The savage turned and walked back over to the fire squatting down in front of it. Avreen’s sobs finally quieted. She lay huddled under her coat across from Anna in shivering silence.

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Even with knowing what Avreen had done to the others she had mentioned, and attempted to do to her, Anna still felt a tug of sympathy for the obvious pain she had to be going through with her broken arm and bruised face. Curling up into a tight ball on the cold ground, Anna was thankful that she had put on her heavy coat that awful afternoon as well as her snow boots. Both gave her some measure of comfort from the severe weather. Roughly wakened before daylight the next morning by one of the savages kicking her in the back, Anna quickly stood. She watched as Avreen cradling her broken arm, staggered to a standing position after a swift kick, woke her. Both herded forward, they fell in behind the one who had offered them their food the previous evening. Avreen even in her pain filled fever-hazed world, felt her hatred of the Lady Anna curl inside, tormenting her as she realized Traun’s lifemate was unhurt even after being with the savages for over two weeks now, while she felt pain in every conceivable place on her body. She wished the savages would torment the Lady Anna as they did her. She didn’t deserve what she was going through, she thought in bewilderment, feeling the hot fever coursing through her body. Why hadn’t Traun rescued her yet? She thought in puzzlement. Of a sudden, she clearly heard her mother’s voice scolding her for demanding a trinket she had wanted as a child. “Mommy?” she said, looking around confusedly. “Mommy, where are you?” she demanded shrilly, gazing in startled confusion at the strange faces around her. Anna watched, as Avreen cried out for her mother in the language of Garr. She wondered if Avreen was sinking further into her own insanity, or if it was the fever raging though her body, that made her act so strange. The savage’s stopped walking as they watched the woman they had captured and her strange behavior, they grunted to each other before roughly, nudging the two women to begin walking again. By concentrating on the Lady Anna and her hatred of her, Avreen found she was able to bear the pain that racked her body, and block out her mother’s scolding voice. Realizing this, she earnestly began to taunt Anna as they walked, describing in minute detail, how the savages would eventually kill her and the baby she carried. How Traun was not going to find them. She talked about her two-year relationship on Garr with Traun, going over intimate details of daily life.

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Anna, numb in both spirit and body when the savages finally halted for the night, sat down despondently where the savage pushed her. Avreen had not shut up all day. She wanted to cry her heart out at the feelings of fear that coursed through her from her detailed description, of how the baby growing within, would be ripped from her body. All the while, Avreen had told her, she would be screaming for death while the savage men took turns with her. Avreen pushed down not four feet from her immediately began her taunting of her again. “Shut up!” Anna screamed, covering her ears with her hands, unable to take anymore that day. “Shut your filthy mouth!” The savage who considered the female with the sunlight in her hair his, swiftly looked up when she screamed at the one who had acted strange all that day. He had not understood what the strange one had been saying while they hiked that day. Trying to stay well ahead of whoever might be following them to retrieve their stolen bounty. He did know, though, he was heartily sick of listening to her constant, never-ending chatter. Quickly he walked over and brutally kicked the woman in the face, sending her tumbling backwards with his powerful kick. Anna seeing his actions, and hearing the pop of Avreen’s jaw as it shattered, could not stop the scream of terror that rose out of her lungs into the air around her. Jumping to her feet, she took off, stumbling through the woods behind her. All she could think about was that she couldn’t wait any longer for Traun to rescue her. She needed to take action now. Try to save herself. She didn’t make it very far before the savage caught her, tumbling her to the ground. Screaming she rolled kicking out at him, catching him in his chest with the heel of her boot by chance. Unable to rise, Anna scrambled backwards using her elbows as she continued to scream, unable to cease once she began. She cowered when the savage, after staggering back from her kick, swiftly lunged toward her again. When he reached her, he drew back his hand and slapped her sharply across the mouth, effectively silencing her shrill screams. Reaching down he grasped a wrist, and dragged her violently across the rough ground over to where he planned to bed down for the night. Grabbing a fistful of hair he raised her face toward his, and shook her head by the handful of hair he had. He grunted furiously at her before letting her fall limply to the ground.

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Turning, he stomped back over to where the other men were sitting beside the campfire. Lying shivering with fright, Anna whispered a prayer for rescue to happen soon, she felt the sharp sting of her busted lips, before tasting the salty tang of blood that filled her mouth. Spitting the red liquid out on the ground, Anna glanced over to where Avreen lay so deathly still. Curling into a tight ball, she closed her eyes in exhaustion. The next morning the savages left Avreen where she had crawled to in the middle of the night. The one, who had Anna, roughly yanked her up to stand beside him. Giving her a shove, he indicated for her to follow behind the others leaving the camp. He prodded her on when she happened to slow down as they walked that day. Looking at the snow-covered ground under her feet, Anna did not think she could take another step. They had walked all day without stopping. Her legs were heavy, made of lead, it seemed. Each step she took taking every ounce of concentration she had to make them move. The image was stuck in her mind of Avreen as she and the savages left camp that morning, leaving her behind. The savage walking directly behind her said something to the others while he pulled on her arm, halting her slow step forward. At his guttural words, the other savages all stopped and began preparing for camp. Anna fell limply to the snow covered ground where the wild man had pulled her to a stop. He reached down and roughly yanked her to her feet. Ripping off her heavy coat, he walked over to where the others were building a fire and motioned for her to sit where he had spread her coat out on the frozen ground. Tiredly, Anna walked over and sat down on top of her coat. When the savage dropped an animal fur down beside her, she stared at it in confusion for a moment, before reaching out and pulling the short fur around her shoulders. She shivered from the cold air that swirled around her. Looking at the men, Anna realized that one of the six was missing. Swiveling her head, she failed to locate him anywhere. She had been unaware he had dropped off behind them, but apparently, he must have sometime during the day. Anna wondered what had happened to him. Oh well, she thought, good riddance, one less that Traun and the men who come with him will have to deal with. Curling into a tight ball beside the now

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blazing fire, its warmth and her tiredness caused Anna to slip into a light sleep. The men, talking excitedly amongst themselves woke her. The one she had missed earlier had come back into camp while she slept. He was waving his hand, and pointing back toward where they had all just come from. Anna tensed when the one who appeared to consider her his turned, and walked toward her. Her heart pounded, as she watched him pull out two short pieces of woven rope from under the loose fur of the animal skin he wore as covering from the cold. Walking up to her, he roughly grabbed her hands and tied them together. Then he pulled off her snow boots, and tightly bound her ankles before walking back to the men. He said something to his dog before they all left the camp. Heading back up the trail they had just come down. The huge dog walked over and plopped down across the fire from Anna. Numbly, Anna watched as the savages left her. Once they were out of sight, she hastily began to chew on the rough rope that bound her hands. The dog stood, and growled low in his throat at her actions, baring his teeth. Anna promptly, lowered her hands. Her heart raced as she crooned, “Good doggie, good doggie, pretty doggie.” The dog lay back down, his eyebrows twitching as he watched her. Slowly, Anna slipped her hands down to her feet. She thought she might be able to untie her feet. The dog noticing her movement growled deep in his throat again. Quickly, Anna pulled her hands back up to her lap. The dog was apparently there to prevent her from escaping. **** Traun and his men had finally gained ground on the savages that traveled in front of them. Quietly they walked into the empty camp they had come upon. Each man, walked around the empty campsite looking for any sign of the direction the men had taken when they left that morning. “Holy shit,” Andrew gasped. “Come here! There’s someone over here,” he yelled out. Andrew, deathly afraid it might be his sister, was shaking so hard he had to brace himself with a hand on the snow-covered ground where he knelt. Traun and the other men quickly walked over to where he knelt beside

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the large bush. Reaching up under the branches of the bush, Andrew slowly pulled the lifeless body out from where the person had dragged herself. Traun recognized the coat on the body as that of Avreen’s. “It’s Avreen,” he told Andrew hoarsely, having seen her wearing the same coat around their village. He felt like crying in relief, knowing at least, his Anna was not the one lying here before him. Andrew slowly turned Avreen over, the hood on her coat fell back revealing her dark hair, and face. He and the men around him cringed at the bruised and battered face before them. Her right arm flopped loosely. “Jesus,” Andrew murmured. He felt at her neck for a pulse. Looking up at Traun, he shook his head. The woman was dead. Traun did not want to lose precious time in burying the body. “Lay her over here Andrew, between these two rocks. When we come back through, we’ll bury her. I’m not going to lose precious moments on a dead body when Anna is still with those savages.” Within moments, the men were ready to follow the trail they found again. It picked up just outside the camp area. They knew they were right behind the savages now. The trail they found had to have been made that morning. No fresh snow covered the men’s tracks and no animal tracks had crossed over the trail. With determination, they took off, closing the gap between their two groups. Traun slowed his swift pace to a stop, and looked at the path ahead of him with an uneasy feeling. There were plenty of places up ahead for a person to hide. It was an ambush ready to happen. He turned toward the men behind him. “I have an uneasy feeling about us walking through that pass, but I cannot see any other way to go, except, exactly where the tracks are leading us. Get your weapons ready to fire, keep your eyes peeled for movement.” The men with him nodded, and drew their weapons from their holsters. Drawing his own weapon, Traun turned and walked toward the pass, alert for any sign of movement behind the rocks and trees on each side of the narrow pass. Just as he was about to clear the narrow trail and some of his tension felt leaving him, the savage who had lied in wait at the end of the narrow trail, landed heavily on his back. The savage screamed loudly in his ear, knocking

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his laser weapon out of his hand when his booted foot made hard contact his arm. Upon seeing his laser weapon skid across the ground out of reach, Traun his ears ringing, swiftly reached up, and wrapped his arms around the screaming head. He and the screaming savage, rolled forward, tumbling end over end. Traun felt the sting of a sharp blade sink deep into the flesh of his shoulder. The blade scraped the shoulder bone, as it sliced through the fleshy meat. Finally shaking loose from the wild man, he quickly drew the weapon he had strapped to his thigh. When the savage lunged at him again, he hastily brought the knife he held, up before him, narrowly dodging the rapid, downward slash of the weapon the savage yielded. Rolling with the savage, he plunged the knife he held into the flat stomach above him to the knife’s hilt, giving it a hard twist. The wild man slumped, dead weight. Traun heaved the heavy weight off the top of him. Another savage raced by him just as he cleared himself of the dead body. Jumping to his feet, he glanced at his men fighting behind him, deciding to give chase. His men were doing fine. He was sure the wild man would lead him to Anna. Grabbing his laser weapon from the ground where it lay, Traun quickly sprinted after the fleeing wild man. **** Anna could hear something happening up the trail from where she sat tied. She began to scream when the savage who seemed to have claimed her as his, rushed through the trees toward her. Blood covered the animal fur he wore. The huge white dog lunged to his feet snarling at her. The savage, when he ran by her, grabbed her tied wrists and continued running, dragging her by the arms after him. Anna bounced along on the rough ground, crying out with pain when dragged over the sharp rocks along the trail. Her arms, stretched fully out behind her head, felt as if they were coming out of their sockets. She expected to feel the dog’s powerful teeth sink deep, into her flesh at any moment as it ran along beside her flailing body. It snapped excitedly at her with sharp, white teeth. ****

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Traun raced through the trees and brush. He could hear Anna’s terrified screams ahead of him. His heart thundered in his chest as he ran, fear clutching at him. Finally, he caught sight of the savage dragging Anna behind him. He had a clear shot! Dropping to his knees he quickly raised his weapon. Aiming, he squeezed the trigger. The wild man roared with rage upon feeling intense, burning pain, rip through his arm, losing his tight hold on the screaming woman behind him, he quickly turned and grabbed a fistful of hair by his other hand. Pulling her up to him, he wrapped a hairy arm around her neck from behind her. Anna’s terrified screams died down to whimpers when the wild man tightened his arm around her throat. Fearfully, she kept her eyes glued on her husband, afraid the savage holding her would squeeze the breath out of her if she moved or made a sound. Traun rose to his feet, and watched the savage as he held Anna around the throat. The wild man was breathing heavily, his eyes wide. The yapping dog finally stood still beside his master, growling low in his throat. The savage holding his much-wanted prize, watched as the man who had prevented him the first time from capturing his bounty, slowly stood to his feet. He had wanted this woman when he first spied her during his return to the huntsmen who hunted with him for their tribe. He had taken that particular path that day, because it was a short cut to their designated meeting area. There had never been animals or other living things in that part of the woods. He had been shocked into stillness upon seeing the female walking toward him. The light color of her hair and skin had fascinated him, never having seen her like before. When she had stopped and appeared to stare right into the bushes to where he stood, he had been unable to move. Then, when she took off running, he and his faithful dog had followed. He had sat and watched, curious as to whom and what she was when she had cried after she had fallen, listening as she called out strange words from time to time. Just as he had been about to step out of the low growing bush he was hidden behind, this same man had walked up to her, causing him to have to quickly hide again. He sat and watched as the unusual looking man had squatted before her and spoke to her. She had been glad to see him he had noted.

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Then the strange man had stood, raising a strange contraption that they both had disappeared within, not to come back out. It had confused him when he had seen a small light moving magically around inside the strange contraption. He decided to leave only after the sun had begun to rise, and they were still hidden inside the strange contraption that he was to fearful, to approach alone. The Neanderthal man motioned with his head at that man a second time, to leave him and his prize. “Mine! Leave yaw now!” The strange man didn’t move, but just watched him. The savage wondered at his chances of fighting the man to win his prize. He was confused at the burning pain in his left arm that left his arm useless. The man looking at him had not used the knife he had strapped to his thigh and he held no other weapon that he could tell. Andrew and the other nine men who had come with their High Commander ran to where they could hear guttural yelling. They skidded to a halt beside their High Commander when they burst onto the scene. The savage watched in desperation when the others of the strange man’s kind, suddenly joined him. They began to walk toward him as one unit. He screamed, stomping both his feet upon the ground, signaling to them that she was his. When they continued forward, he looked down at his prize with regret, realizing he would have to leave her behind again. With a roar, he dropped his stolen prize, and bounded into the forest behind him, quickly leaving his enemies with his lost treasure, his dog hastily followed at his heels. **** Traun sprinted over to Anna’s prostrate form. Kneeling down on the frozen ground, he pulled her onto his lap, trying to calm her hysterical fear as she sobbed against him. Andrew and the men with him bounded after the lone savage. Finally giving up, when they became afraid the other four savages that had gotten away earlier might double back upon the High Commander and the Lady Anna. Although, the injuries they had managed to inflict on the savages, should have slowed them down considerably. “Sh.., darling, sh…,” Traun crooned to Anna, his heart slammed into his ribs. Untying her hands and feet, with shaky fingers, he smoothed her hair

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back from around her face. “You’re safe now, sh…Yes, I know. We found her body,” he told Anna, when she, in her hysterics told him the savages had left Avreen behind that morning. He pulled her tighter to him as she sobbed out how Avreen had planned to kill her. That she had told her she had killed Nevin, and a girl who had been scheduled to come to the new world, so she could take her place. Traun felt sick inside, as he listened to Anna sob out what Avreen had done in order to be with him. He wondered what could have gone so horribly wrong with her to cause her actions. Anna finally gained control of the hysterics that gripped her. Traun’s arms around her and his quiet voice telling her she was safe, finally quieting and calming her. Then, she promptly fainted upon seeing his blood soaked arm and the blood that covered the front of his shirt. That same blood now smeared all over her. Andrew and the other men walked back to Traun just as Anna went limp. Traun rose to his feet holding her in his arms. His injured arm burned with pain and the blood flowed freely down his arm to his hand. “Let’s get away from this place as quickly as we can. I think we can make it back to the small cave we came across several miles back, within a couple of hours,” he told the adrenaline pumped men surrounding him. “What types of injuries have the rest of you received, any very severe?” he asked, seeing the stain of blood on several of the men’s clothing. The men assured him they had received only minor cuts. Andrew and the men, their adrenaline still flowing strong from the recent intense fighting, laughed with merriment as they relayed to their High Commander of banging two of the savages heads together, knocking them both out cold. Their savage companions had managed to drag them away when they had taken off into the woods. The men had quickly decided not to give chase, instead running to help rescue the Lady Anna upon hearing her screams of terror. Andrew sobered from his laughter. He realized Traun must be in intense pain from his injury while he held Anna in his arms. His blood flowed freely from the wound on his shoulder. “Give me my sister, High Commander,” Andrew told him, reaching out for her. When Traun hesitated, Andrew pointed to his bloody arm. “You need to try to stop the bleeding, before you lose too much.” Reluctantly, Traun handed Anna over to her brother, knowing his

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injured arm made it impossible for him to carry her. He had one of the men help him take off his coat. Gingerly pulling his shirt off, he grimaced in pain when it snagged on his open wound. The men ripped his shirt into strips. Then one of the men pulled the gaping wound together, and wrapped the torn strips from his shirt tightly around it, staunching the bleeding. The sling made with the rest of the shirt supported his throbbing arm. His coat was laid loosely back over his bare shoulders as the men stepped back watching his face. “Let’s go,” Traun told the men around him sharply, wanting to reach the cave they had passed earlier that day, before nightfall. It would be a safe place to hole up until they could begin their journey back to their village. **** Anna became aware of the sound of men’s voices quietly talking. She picked up Traun’s voice, the sound comforted her, before she drifted back to sleep again. Andrew walked over to where his sister lay. Her badly bruised wrists clearly showed the imprint of the rope previously tied around them. Traun had cleaned her up by washing the blood from her face and hands. Stripping her, he gave her clothes to the men to wash. They washed the blood from her shirt and jeans, using the cold snow to remove the bloodstains. Rubbing ointment over her badly bruised back and wrists, Traun then placed her heavy coat back over her as she slept, dead to the world around her. Walking back over to the blazing fire at the mouth of the cave, Andrew watched as Traun meticulously cleaned his wound, the open medical kit sitting beside him. Medical paraphernalia lay out around him on the ground. The wound, the savage had inflicted, was deep. The flesh across his right arm high on the shoulder lay open, exposing bone. Andrew looked at the tools around Traun. Picking up the loaded needle, he looked at his High Commander. Traun, gritted his teeth and nodded his head at Andrew, he watched as Andrew shot the liquid into the gaping flesh. The liquid stung intensely once it entered the soft tissue of his arm. It must be done. The liquid would stop any infection from setting in. Unmoving, he watched Andrew pull his wound together, and sew the edges of his flesh. The sight and smell of his

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own blood sickened him, as did the gaping wound. He was afraid he might actually faint for a moment, before finally hearing Andrew murmur, “Finished.” “Pay up,” he told Andrew, before standing. Fighting nausea, he walked over to where Anna was asleep. Stretching out beside her, he closed his eyes and passed out. Andrew watched Traun in amazement as he nonchalantly stood, and walked over to lie down beside Anna. The men had bet him that the High Commander would not show any pain, or emotion, while he doctored his wound. Andrew had bet them he would. He had just lost his bet. The only noticeable sign that Traun was in pain or affected by his wound was the bead of sweat that had popped out on his forehead when he began to sew the gaping flesh together. He hadn’t realized his brother-in-law had known about the bet he had between the men, until he’d heard the words “Pay up.” He guessed he better start the evening meal. It looked like he would be cooking for everyone until their group reached home. **** Late in the evening the next day, Anna woke to sharp pains in her back. She gasped at the sudden tightening of her stomach muscles. Lying still, she wondered at the pain as it receded. Just minutes later, the pain radiated from her back again, spreading around her stomach tightening her stomach muscles. She cried out for Traun when she realized what was happening. She was only a little over three weeks of being past five months pregnant and she was going into labor. Traun stood outside the cave talking to the men when he heard Anna cry out. He quickly strode into the cave. Looking up at her husband in terror as he hurried to her side, Anna cried out. “I’m losing the baby! I am losing our baby, Traun!” With alarm, Traun pulled her coat back from where it lay on top of her. Blood was spreading out on the blanket beneath her. With a cry of anguish, he knelt down and quickly checked between her bent legs. He wept at what he found. “Stay out,” he harshly ordered Andrew and the other men when they started to enter the cave. Gathering a thick cloth, he gently lifted the

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exquisite tiny dead infant girl, and wrapped her tightly in the cloth. Walking to the mouth of the cave, he called hoarsely, out to Anna’s brother. Andrew, walking up to Traun, realized what had happened. Traun’s face, drawn tight with pain, let him know without words what had occurred within the cave. He took the tiny bundle from his brother-in-law’s hands, his own throat tight with emotion. “Bury this precious child and mark the grave, so I can show it to Anna when she recovers,” Traun told him, the shimmer of his tears shining in his eyes. Andrew nodded. The other men lowered their eyes from their High Commander’s obvious sorrow. Knowing that he would not appreciate them seeing him in what he would consider a personal and private moment. They went with Andrew to help him dig a small grave for the tiny, precious bundle he carried. Anna cried softly while her husband cleaned her, then sat holding her hand. Traun’s shoulders shook as he silently mourned the loss of their child. Reaching out he stroked Anna’s hair until she finally fell asleep. Silently, getting up from her side, he walked out of the cave going to the freshly dug grave of his first-born. He hunted until he found just the right size of stone. Sitting down he began to carve. **** A week had passed since Anna lost the baby. She needed to go see the burial site of her child for closure, to realize that the child she and Traun had wanted so badly was truly gone. Traun helped Anna to her feet, then out the mouth of the cave at her request. She was still weak and bruised heavily over her entire back from the rough dragging by the wild man. Reaching out, Anna grasped tightly onto Traun’s hand when she saw what he had carved on the large stone, used as a head stone for their child. (Our Precious Baby Conceived in Love). Her brother and the men with him had buried the small baby under a huge tree, and then had built a two-foot high stone wall around the tiny grave. Anna swallowed back her rush of tears. She wondered if she would ever get over the feeling of loss that consumed her. Needing Molly’s comfort, she wanted to go home.

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“Let’s go home, Traun,” she said, looking up at the somber expression of her husband as he stood silently beside her. At her words, Traun shook off the bleak feeling he was experiencing and looked down at Anna. He was ready to go home too. The men fashioned a carrier in order to carry her, still too weak to walk. When she settled comfortably on top of the carrier, four muscled men raised up. The handles on the carrier firmly gripped between their capable hands. The solemn group began the long, two-week journey back to their waiting village. Laying her arm over her eyes, Anna hid the tears that silently began to slide down the sides of her face, upon having to leave her baby behind. Traun noticed her tears, but quickly, walked on ahead leading the group home. If he stopped to comfort her, he would break down in front of everyone. His own grief, and anger over what had occurred, still gripped him, twisting his insides. He needed to focus on getting their group back to their village safely. Adjusting the injured arm in its sling, he welcomed the pain. He felt it forcing his attention away from Anna. Deliberately, he flexed his arm muscle, as he walked. He blamed himself for the tragedy that had occurred to his child and lifemate.

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Chapter 26 The weary group trudged slowly into the village, amidst the loud banging of metal tubs, which announced their long awaited arrival. Walking beside her husband, Anna watched as Molly ran toward her. Her eyes quickly began to fill. She seemed to tear up constantly and knew Traun hated it. When Molly reached her, Anna gazed silently at her for a moment as she fought her tears. “I lost my baby,” she finally choked out. Molly looked at Traun’s grief stricken face. Swallowing back her own pain, she enfolded Anna into loving arms. Anna cried softly on her shoulder. “Aunt, take Anna to the Learned One, so she can give Anna a physical,” Traun ordered, unable to handle Anna’s pain. He wanted to hurry to go find something that needed to be done, hard physical labor. Anna pulled away from Molly’s welcoming comfort at his request. She knew Traun wanted to leave her side and felt hurt by it. “What about your arm? You need to have the Learned One look at it, too,” she told him, avoiding looking directly at him as she tried to hold back her tears. “I will have the Learned One look at it later. Right now I want to see what has been happening here since we’ve been gone.” Traun avoided looking directly at Anna in turn. Abruptly, he turned, and walked away, leaving Anna staring after his retreating back. Molly gently took Anna by the arm. “Let’s go, honey. He is grieving and handling it in the only way he knows how.” Anna wondered helplessly if he blamed her for losing their child. He had barely spoken to her these past two weeks. Several times, he had, just as now, abruptly left her side when she had begun to cry, unable to control the sudden sadness that would come over her. Anna quietly stood beside Molly, as Molly turned toward Andrew hugging him. She froze when she heard Molly softly tell Andrew that Charlee had delivered a darling, little boy

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three weeks ago. Anna watched heavy hearted as her brother bounded toward his home. She decided then and there to make sure she kept clear of Charlee. She just couldn’t handle any more pain. She was glad for Charlee and Andrew, yet knew she wouldn’t be able to see the baby without falling completely apart. Anna took off walking toward the Learned One’s visiting room, not looking at Molly when Molly quickly followed her. She had believed she needed Molly’s comfort, but now she just wanted to be alone. Andrew flew to Charlee, his heart pounding with the news of the birth of a baby boy. Charlee had refused to be told the sex of the child, telling Andrew she did not care whether the child was a boy or girl. She would be just as happy with either. When she had asked him what he wanted he hadn’t said much, just mumbled that either would be fine with him too. At the time, worried if he would be able to love or accept the child as his own that she was so happy to have. Now he was anxious to see Charlee and tell her how much she meant to him. He had noticed Anna’s stricken look when she overheard Molly tell him about the birth. He knew how lucky he and Charlee were to have one another, and apparently, a healthy baby boy. Andrew wondered at his feelings of jealousy over this unknown man whose child he would now raise as his own. Would he be able to view the child as his, or would he be unable to forget the child was another man’s and not his own? No matter how hard it may be, he swore an oath to himself as he stepped up to open his door, even if he was unable to love the child, he would do everything in his power to keep his feelings locked deep down inside of himself. He knew Charlee would be unable to contain her hurt if he couldn’t view the child as his. “Charlee,” Andrew called out to her. She lay curled on her side, asleep on their bed. He glanced around the small hut, but didn’t see the baby anywhere. “Charlee,” he gently shook her shoulder. He hated to wake her, but he wanted her to know he was home. Charlee turned her head, and gazed up at him sleepily. Her eyes snapped open, her face breaking into a beautiful smile. “Andrew, your home,” she breathed. Bending down, Andrew kissed her softly. “Where’s the baby?” he asked gently, needing to see the baby that he ashamedly admitted to himself, he was scared to look at, afraid of what he might feel. “Come over to the other side of the bed,” Charlee instructed.

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Rising, Andrew walked around the bed. Charlee pulled the covers back. She closely watched Andrew’s expression. Andrew gazed down at the plump, fat cheeked baby lying in the middle of the bed. He had a shocking, thick head of reddish brown hair. The baby opened sleepy eyes and locked dark brown eyes, with light blue ones. Reaching a hand forward, Andrew stroked the fat cheek before him. The small fingers waving in the air suddenly gripped tightly around the finger that lay against his soft cheek. Andrew felt the air leave his lungs at the strong hold the baby had on his finger. As if he were boldly stating, “Here I am! Take me or leave me. Either one makes no difference to me.” Incredible tenderness filled Andrew for the tiny baby before him, his and Charlee’s son. He slowly raised his eyes to Charlee’s apprehensive ones. He realized in that moment that she had known all along he was worried he might never be able to love this child as his own. He smiled tenderly at her as he climbed onto the bed beside the baby that refused to release his finger. “Our son is going to be a fighter,” he told her proudly. Leaning over, he kissed her. He knew he would love this tiny baby as if it were his own. Charlee wiped at her eyes. She had been so afraid Andrew would look at the baby and not feel anything but the jealousy she knew he had privately fought to control. Reaching over the baby with his free hand, Andrew cupped her cheek. “I love you.” Charlee turned her face into his open palm. Oh, how she loved this wonderful man, she thought, smiling teary-eyed back at him. **** After having walked away from Anna, Traun felt like a heel. Every time she started to cry, he felt as if he was cracking into a million shattered pieces. Unable to bear her pain, guilt ate away at him. He waited until he saw Anna and Molly leave the Learned One’s office, then went to have his arm checked, grilling the Learned One on Anna’s condition the entire time. Anna pretended to be asleep when Traun finally came home. It was after midnight before he quietly opened their door, and stepped into the hut easing the door closed with a soft click. She lay unmoving when he crept

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over to her. She wondered what he was about when he just stood beside the bed for a moment. Then she felt him gently brush her cheek with his fingers before he turned, going to sit in the chair beside the fireplace. Opening her eyes, Anna watched him as he broodingly stared into the flames. She finally drifted to sleep. The next morning she woke to find Traun already up and gone. The Learned One had told her at her visit yesterday that she was healing normally. She had told her to wait at least six weeks before becoming intimate with her lifemate again. This would give her body time to heal. Rolling over onto her back, Anna looked at the ceiling above her. She was angry this morning. Angry at the senseless loss of her child and angry with Traun for walking away from her every time she broke down and began to cry. She realized with a start of surprise she even, deep down, blamed Traun for what had happened. If he had not had a relationship with Avreen, she would not have followed him to this planet causing her capture by the savages, which caused the loss of their child. Reaching over, Anna picked up his pillow, and threw it savagely toward the wall beside her, she ignored Klinn when she knocked then brought in her bath water. Klinn looked at her lady’s tight face, her heart hurt at the pain the Lady Anna was going through, the silence in the room unbroken as she quietly went about her duties, closing the door softly behind her, upon leaving. **** Traun made sure he was bone tired when he went home at night. He fell into bed exhausted, only to rise early the next morning, to begin again. He had even taken to visiting with Andrew and Charlee in the evenings, to see the baby boy Andrew bragged about, just to avoid going home to Anna’s silent pain. He knew Anna still had not looked upon the baby, even after being home now for eight weeks. Charlee had tried to talk to her about her grief. Since she had lost her parents, she understood some of the pain Anna was experiencing. Later, Charlee had told him, when Anna had not wanted to talk about losing the baby, that losing a child would cause a different sort of pain, and feeling of loss, than losing one’s parents. At night, he would reach out to hold her, but after a moment of being in his arms, she would pull away, turning from him to lie stiffly on her side of the bed. At a loss,

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Traun felt lonely that night. He looked down at the chubby baby he held in his arms, his heart clenched at the innocent sleeping face before him. Charlee looked at the forlorn expression on Traun’s face as he gazed down at her baby. She glanced over at Andrew. He shook his head at her. She didn’t know what to do to help Anna work through her grief. Traun at least was attempting to go on with life. Anna was shutting everyone out, even Traun. Charlee sighed, hurting for her sister-in-law. Looking up at Charlee’s sigh, Traun realized it was late and they were probably ready for him to leave. Standing he handed the baby to its mother. “I should be going, it’s getting late,” he told the two adults looking at him questioningly. Andrew stood, going to the door with his brother-in-law. Locking the door after Traun stepped out into the night, he turned back to Charlee and the baby she was placing in the homemade wooden cradle beside their bed. Charlee rose from the soundly sleeping baby, her green eyes meeting Andrew’s blue ones. He gazed quietly at her for a moment before walking over to her. “I love you,” he whispered to her, slipping his arms around her waist. “I need you, Charlee,” Andrew told her, thankful that his family was safe and sound. Wrapping her arms around his trim waist, Charlee raised her mouth up to his demanding one. **** Walking the short distance to his hut, Traun wondered how many hours Anna had stayed at the House of Reflection today. She seemed to find comfort in being up on top of the mountain ledge. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her to cry until her sorrow eased, and not to stop because it made him uncomfortable, and that he would not walk away from her this time. She had stopped crying the day after they had returned to the village. That was when she had begun to draw away from him. Sometimes she would just look at him for several moments without saying anything, then abruptly turn away. He had harshly blamed himself for the loss of their child for weeks after returning home. On one particular evening, he had expressed

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his belief bitterly to Andrew and Charlee. Surprisingly, Charlee had been extremely angered over his self-blame. She had torn into him with harsh words letting him know that he was to stop blaming himself for the actions of others. Traun smiled to himself. She had made a believer out of him that night, having surprised him at her defense of him. Looking up when the door to the hut opened, Anna noticed the smile on Traun’s face and wondered what he was smiling about as he came through the door. She had come to the decision that day that she was determined to try to get pregnant again. There would be no turning back this night. Eight full weeks had passed now since she lost the baby. Another baby would help ease her grief. Slowly she stood when Traun closed the door behind him. Watching as his eyes widened at what she was wearing. The silky nightshirt hit her high on the thigh, the sheer material leaving little to the imagination. Her dark pink nipples were clearly visible to his roving gaze. “Are you sure, sweetheart?” Traun asked, suddenly feeling nervous tension tighten within him. They had been down this road twice this past week, each time she had pulled away at the last minute, leaving him aching with unrequited need. “I am sure this time, Traun. I want to get pregnant again.” Traun felt his insides tighten. There was no I want you, or I need you. Just, I want to get pregnant again. He looked at Anna closely. She smiled hesitantly back at him. Maybe this was what she needed, he thought watching her. Getting pregnant as soon as possible with another child just might help heal her sharp grief. Traun reached out for her. **** Anna lay beside her husband in the middle of their bed. When he did not immediately wrap his arms around her, she rose and leaned over him. Kissing him opened mouthed, she ran her tongue lightly over his lips. Traun, groaned at her actions. Reaching up, he swiftly flipped her over and under him. Devouring her mouth hungrily, he ran his hands up, and down her soft skin, even as he tried to slow his need, afraid to rush her with his hunger. Raising her legs, Anna wrapped them around Traun’s waist. When she felt his hard arousal pressed against her, she froze. I can’t do this, she

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thought panicking. I am not ready. I am disloyal to the baby we lost by wanting to replace her with another. She pushed at him. “Get off! I can’t!” she sobbed out. Traun froze at Anna’s cry. He gripped the sheets on each side of her, anger boiling up in him. With a vile curse, he lunged from the bed. Grabbing his pants, he jerked them on. “I can’t keep going through this Anna!” he told her harshly from beside the bed. “I lost a child that day too. You’re not the only one suffering.” Angrily, he gazed down at her as she tried to stop sobbing. She turned her back to him rolling to her side of the bed. Watching her, Traun raked trembling fingers through his short-cropped hair. His anger, draining out of him, he walked to the other side of the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he reached out to stroke her hair. “Cry if you need too, sweetheart,” he told her not knowing what else to do for her, his shoulders heavy from the weight of her pain. Anna shrugged his hand off. “We wouldn’t have lost our child if it wasn’t for you and your lover,” she told him bitterly, looking up at him. Quickly rising from beside her, Traun jerked the rest of his clothes on and slammed out the door.

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Chapter 27 “Andrew, what are we going to do about Anna?” Charlee asked. She looked down at the baby she nursed, then switched him to the other breast. The baby noisily latched on, his tiny hands waving in the air. Charlee stroked his fat cheek for a moment before looking back up at her husband. Andrew eased his muddy boots off at the door he had just walked through. Damn he was tired, he thought. Traun was working all the men hard, from daylight to sundown. Almost like a man possessed. He knew Traun started, and ended his day, long before and long after everyone else was expected to report for duty or went home at the end of the day. From the abundance of trees growing in the area, they were building better, sturdier new pens for all the animals, as well as birthing sheds. Once the animals began birthing in the spring, Traun wanted to be able to separate the expectant mothers in case there were any birthing problems. Not only had they been busy for the past two months constructing pens for the animals. They also were expected, for three hours each night, to practice hand-to-hand combat with each other. He drilled them on what to do if the savages returned. Procedures were put into place to be followed with no exceptions. Andrew knew the High Commander felt some relief when they finally figured out the problem with the power bases. The alarm system around the village was back in place, as well as the communication system the night watchmen needed. He frowned at Charlee’s question concerning his sister. Hell, he didn’t know what to do. His sister was hurting, and trying to deal with the pain she felt, in the only way she knew how. Just as he knew, Traun was doing, by working until he dropped. Walking over to where Charlee sat nursing the baby, Andrew bent and kissed the top of the breast the baby noisily, sucked on with an eager

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appetite. Rising, he then kissed his wife on the mouth. Charlee looked up at him, her worry causing her brow to crease. Sighing, Andrew turned and sat down in the other chair before the warm fire. “I don’t know what to do, Charlee. Anna and Traun both are going through a hard time right now. They are handling their grief in the only way they know how.” Charlee’s eyes shimmered as she looked back at Andrew. “That’s just it Andrew. Anna is not handling her grief. Traun is keeping busy. He is working, interacting with you men. Anna, she’s drawing into herself. She won’t even look at Rowan.” Charlee tearfully gazed down at her nursing son for a moment before she looked back up at Andrew. “All she wants to do is sit up at the House of Reflection. Molly came over today all upset. She said she had tried to get Anna to go with her to check on one of the women in the village that has been under the weather the past few days. Molly said, Anna just turned and walked away from her without saying anything.” Andrew knew what Charlee said was true. He just didn’t have a clue as to what he could do to help his sister. He watched as Charlee pulled the sleeping baby away from her breast, then buttoned her shirt. He motioned to her. “Give me the baby,” he told her. Charlee looked at Andrew in surprise. “He’s sleeping, Andrew. I was going to lay him down on the bed.” Andrew motioned with his hand again. “I want to hold him. I won’t wake him, I promise.” Smiling, Charlee stood. Walking over beside Andrew, she handed the sleeping baby down into his waiting arms. **** Anna sat looking out at the magnificent view she had from the backside of the House of Reflection. From her vantage point, the mountainside the House of Reflection sat on dropped steeply, allowing a clear view down the side of the mountain on to the next mountain that rose steeply. The heavy pile of powdery snow on the tree branches was a pure, glistening white. The sunlight flowing down from the clear sky gave the snow a magical quality. It is so peaceful up here, she thought. Leaning forward, she propped her

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elbows on the open windowpane before her. She always felt comforted when she was in the quiet, holy house. The intensity of her grief was fading, she realized. She knew her family was worried about her, but she had not wanted to talk about her loss. She knew she had hurt Molly’s feelings, when she had abruptly walked away from her yesterday. The woman, who was under the weather that Molly had wanted her to go with her to visit, was hugely pregnant. She had not wanted to hear her talk about her pregnancy or her excitement of the coming birth. Anna smiled wryly to herself. Everywhere she turned there were pregnant women now, except her. She prayed for all of the women to have healthy babies. She would not want any one of them to experience the pain she was currently going through. She knew Charlee’s feelings were hurt over her not having anything to do with baby Rowan, although Charlee hadn’t said anything to her. It just hurt too much right now to even think of holding a baby that was not hers. Anna gazed out at the snow covered trees. With a start, she suddenly noticed grayish, white birds flying overhead. They swooped, and dived, settling not far from where she sat. It was the first time she had seen any birds in the area. There had been none during the summer months that she and the others had ever noticed, or heard. She wondered what they ate in this part of the woods during the winter that would cause them to fly down to where she sat. The birds cooed for a moment, almost as if they were singing to her. Then, as abruptly as they landed, they took off again. Their recent serenade cheering her, Anna smiled at their graceful flight away from her. The Keeper, walking into the House of Reflection, pulled her from her silent musings. He never imposed on her solitude while she was there she realized. He would wonder in from time to time, sitting down to play his musical instrument, or just sit quietly, reading from the Book of Wisdom. She liked the old man tremendously, and his young trainee, who, just as quietly, drifted in and out. She hoped the Keeper planned to play his musical instrument. Noticing he was beginning to pull the instrument in question out from its velvet case, she turned back to her view of the mountain and the snow covered tree branches that graced its hillside. The music the Keeper began to play flowed softly around her. It had the haunting sound of Celtic music, beautiful in its simplicity. Closing her eyes, she let the music soak

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into her pores. The Keeper watched the Lady Anna allow the music he played absorb into her soul, comforting her. She is better today, he thought, having glimpsed a brief smile on her face. She just needed her time to grieve. Maybe today was the day for the Book of Wisdom, he thought, as he continued to play for her, slowly ending the musical piece he played with a soft drawn out note. Quietly, he placed the instrument back into its holding case. Turning, he soundlessly walked over to where the Lady Anna still sat with her eyes closed. Bending, he placed the Book of Wisdom on the bench next to her. Then, he turned and left the House of Reflection. Opening her eyes, Anna realized she was alone again. The Keeper had left, just as he had entered the building, without a sound. It was time for her to go home. Turning to stand, she knocked a book lying on the bench beside her off to the floor. Puzzled, she gazed down at the Book of Wisdom that lay open on the floor. She didn’t remember the book being on the bench when she sat down. Reaching down, she picked the thick book up. Absently, she read the first passage on the open pages, then reread them. When sorrow, is at its deepest, look to your loved ones for comfort. See who has been silently standing beside you, ready to embrace you should you turn to them. Open your heart to your lifemate. This trial, too, shall pass. Your pain shall ease with each passing moment in time. Slowly, Anna sank back down on the bench behind her, laying the open book down beside her. She realized she had clutched her pain to her, selfish in her sorrow, unwilling to allow her family to comfort her. She had turned away from Traun and the grief he was going through, even blaming him for the loss of their child. Silently, condemning him for something he had had no control over. Anna felt ashamed. She could lay the blame for the loss of their child at Avreen’s feet or the wild men, but not Traun, never Traun. It was time for her to go to her husband and ask for his forgiveness, draw comfort from his presence. Yes, this trial, too, shall pass, she thought, standing, knowing she would, in sudden unexpected moments, feel sadness by the loss of their child. The pain had and would ease with time, but not the memory of her and Traun’s first born, she realized. Determinedly, she walked out of the House of Reflection to find her husband straightway. This was something that couldn’t wait until after their dinner with the entire family tonight. Molly requested the family meet over

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the campfire that night for a family get together. She always gathered the family around her when the evenings were not too cold to eat outside around a blazing campfire. **** The Keeper, of the Book of Wisdom watched, as the Lady Anna hurried from the House of Reflection. He walked over to the open pages of the Book of Wisdom. Glancing down, he read the first passage. Smiling, he knew exactly where the Lady Anna headed. There were many verses in the Book of Wisdom over grief and sorrow. The Higher Power had known this passage was the one she needed to see. Carefully, Anna walked down the slope of the mountainside, watching where she stepped, not wanting to slip and fall. When she reached the end of the trail and the edge of the village, she looked around for her husband, finally she located him clear across the village. Her gaze pinned on her husband, Anna was single minded in her course of direction. He is so handsome, a beautiful welcome sight, she thought as she walked. She noticed the men around him stop working and watch her determined approach. Turning to see what Andrew and the other men were gawking at, Traun stared as Anna started to run toward him. Alarmed, he wondered what she was about. She never came and interfered when he was working. Running straight up to her husband, Anna flung her arms around his waist, and squeezed as tight as she could. Raising her eyes up to his astonished expression, she gasped out, “I love you, Traun. I’m sorry for what I accused you of.” Standing on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and deeply kissed his still lips. Turning, she just as swiftly as her approach, began to walk away from him, a smile formed when she heard the snickers start up behind her. Stunned, Traun gazed after his lifemate. The men around him snickered elbowing each other. In a daze, Traun turned, and stared at their smirking faces. “Get back to work the lot of you,” he finally ordered, unable to stop the wide grin that spread across his face. The men roared with laughter causing several heads across the village to turn in their direction.

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Anna knocked on Klinn’s door, requesting her bath water brought to her early that evening. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble?” she asked, looking directly at her servant for the first time in months. “Oh and please prepare an early bath for the High Commander, also,” she added with a smile, before turning away. Klinn quickly told the Lady Anna that she would see to it. Closing the door on Lady Anna’s retreating form, Klinn did a happy little jig. Her Lady Anna was finally back, from her dark place. Anna soaked in her hot bath water. Another couple of hours and it would be time to meet with the family around the campfire for their evening meal. Leisurely, she soaped her arm, then, slowly rinsed it off. Tonight was going to be Traun’s night, she promised herself. When the water cooled, she finally raised up out of the tub. After drying off, she began to towel dry her hair, then brushed it until it shined. She pulled the red ribbed sweater on over her head that had been laid out on the bed by Klinn at her request, its form, hugging her full high breasts. Next, she pulled on a long gray wool skirt that swirled around her booted ankles, and draped over her slim hips. She would not need a coat tonight, she realized. The clothes she had chosen to wear would keep her warm enough by the campfire. Anna glanced in the mirror standing in the corner beside the bed. Moving her hand back and forth, she looked at the ring Traun had given her, its luminosity seemed more intense that evening. She looked good, she realized, smiling with happiness. Dabbing perfume on her wrists, she turned toward the door ready to embrace life again. Traun walked up to their door just as she pulled it open. Anna smiled at him. “Your bath water is waiting for you,” she told him, walking by him smiling. Hungrily, Traun watched her walk away toward the campfire the family and servants were beginning to gather around. He turned, hurrying to begin his bath and join her. Anna sat down beside George, and reached for the strong hand that had always been loving and generous toward her. Raising his hand to her mouth, she kissed the back of it. “Girlie?” George questioned, smiling at her and her actions.

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“Nothing, George, I’m just glad I have you.” George placed his arm around Anna’s shoulders, and gave her slender shoulders a tender squeeze. She would be fine, he thought, looking up at Molly, and seeing her eyes tear before she quickly turned her head away, directing the meal that was cooking over the open fire. “Go sit with your lifemate,” he instructed Anna when Traun walked into the camp and sat down across the fire from them alone. Smiling at George, Anna stood and walked toward her husband. Traun watched as Anna gracefully walked his way. She looks beautiful tonight, he thought. There was an air of maturity about her that before the loss of their baby she hadn’t had, he realized. Tonight, she seemed almost serene. She boldly met his gaze when she sat down close beside him. “I have missed you these past few months,” she told him, clasping his hand hidden under the folds of her skirt. Traun felt his breath catch. He curled his fingers tightly around hers. “I have missed you too, Anna,” he watched her for any sign that she was forcing herself to behave as if she was not still intensely hurting. Anna looked directly back into his searching gaze, she understood his hesitation. “I still hurt, Traun, but the hurt is fading. I needed my time to grieve. Today, I noticed my grief was not as intense. It made me realize that the cycle of life does go on. And, I want to be with you during that cycle of life.” When Traun gave her one of his slow, drop dead gorgeous smiles after her words to him, her own lips, stretched into a wide smile. Turning, she watched her brother and Charlee arrive at the cookout. Charlee was carrying the bundled up baby Rowan. She would like to go see the baby, but was actually afraid that it might still hurt too much. Traun watched Anna’s beautiful smile fade as she looked over at the bundle her friend carried. There was still a hurdle she needed to overcome, he realized. He squeezed the fingers under his. Anna turned back to him. “I guess I’m not ready to see the baby yet.” “All in good time Anna,” he told her his words just as softly said. “All in good time.” **** Charlee glanced over to where Anna sat beside Traun. Andrew had told

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her about Anna’s actions today. He was convinced she was finally coming out of her deep depression. Charlee sincerely hoped so. She noticed Anna look at the bundled up baby in her arms, then quickly turn back to Traun. Apparently, it hurt her still to think about looking at the baby. Charlee frowned. “Don’t frown so, Charlee,” Andrew told her, “everyone will think you’re mad at me.” Looking at her husband, Charlee quickly wiped the frown from her face. She smiled at him handing him the baby. “Sit down. Molly is motioning that the food is ready. I’ll go get us both a plate.” Sitting down, Andrew held the baby as he watched Traun and Anna stand together to collect their plates. At least they were looking at each other again. He smiled down at the baby in his arms. “The food tasted exceptional tonight didn’t it,” Anna commented, coming back to Traun from taking their empty plates to the servants. “Yes, it did,” he replied as she sat down. Everything about that evening was exceptional, he thought watching her, he noticed her quick glance over at the baby again, before she turned toward him. “I’m going to push her to face her fear,” Charlee firmly told Andrew, before she stood up holding the baby. She had noticed Anna’s quick frequent glances, toward the baby all evening. “What are you up to, Charlee?” Andrew asked in alarm. “Just something that needs to be done,” Charlie stated, before she walked away heading straight toward her friend. Anna watched in unease as Charlee walked toward her carrying baby Rowan. She glanced nervously at Traun, who smiled encouragingly back at her. Traun placed his arm around behind Anna and squeezed her waist. He hoped what Charlee had planned didn’t backfire, causing Anna to go back into her depression. Charlee, when she reached Anna, quickly laid the baby she held down into her arms. “Hold him for me, Anna, I forgot something at home,” she told her, before abruptly turning and walking away. Anna held tightly onto the baby. She glanced desperately at Traun afraid to look down. The baby in her lap began to coo up at her. Slowly, she lowered her eyes down to the squirming bundle she held. “Oh, Traun, isn’t

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he beautiful,” she whispered. Reaching down she stroked the baby’s fat little cheek, her heart melting. Traun looked over at where Charlee now stood, watching the scene play out. He smiled at her. Charlee teary eyed, smiled back. She walked over and sat down beside her sister-in-law. After a time, everyone around the campfire began to make motions of returning to their huts, the day had been a long one. Reluctantly, Anna handed the baby over to his mother. “I will be over tomorrow to see him again,” she said, smiling. Charlee laughed. Standing she handed the sleeping infant to Andrew when he walked up. “Welcome back, Anna,” she whispered. Andrew reached out and rubbed his sister’s cheek before he walked away with Charlee, the baby lying in the crook of his arm. Anna turned toward Traun who sat quietly beside her. “Should we put out the fire and go home ourselves?” she asked, watching as everyone walked away, leaving them alone beside the campfire. Traun circled an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s just sit here for a time. And enjoy the fire and quietness of the night.” Wrapping her arms around his waist, Anna leaned into him as she gazed into the crackling fire. “This planet we have occupied is really very beautiful, isn’t it,” he stated, after a moment of silence between them. “I thought it was from the very first day I was transported down,” Anna responded looking up at her husband. “Do you miss earth, Anna, and the life you left behind?” he asked looking down into her eyes. “I sometimes miss the modern conveniences I knew. However, I wouldn’t give you up for all the modern conveniences on planet earth,” Anna’s love for him shined from her eyes to his. Traun lowered his head and kissed her perfectly shaped mouth. “Let’s go home,” he told her gently. He made sure the fire was completely out, then turning, he reached for his lifemate’s hand. Pulling her to his side, he kissed her hand over the black tattoo mark, which identified her as being married to him. They walked home hand in hand.

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Rolling onto her side, Anna faced her husband. He lay on his back, his arms behind his head. He hadn’t made any sexual advances toward her once they had gone to bed. She supposed he waited for her to make the first move. Not wanting to assume she was interested in making love, just because she had finally come out of her depression. “I love you,” she told him as she watched him. “I love you, too,” he replied smiling over at her. Anna rose and kissed the ugly scar on his shoulder. “I could have lost you that day,” she huskily stated. How lucky she was not to have lost him. She kissed softly across the scar, and felt his arm muscles contract under her mouth as she did so. His breathing grew labored. Anna smoothed her hand across his chest. Rising, she kissed the side of his mouth, then nibbled on his ear. She breathed heavily into his ear, letting him feel her hot breath. Abruptly, Traun rolled to his side and wrapped his arms around Anna. “You’re killing me,” he groaned hoarsely, before he devoured her mouth hungrily. He slung a leg over one of her silky smooth ones, and pulled her up tight against him letting her feel his hard arousal. If she tried to pull away this time, he honestly did not think he could stop what she had started. He had fought his urge to take her in his arms and love her as he wanted when they had first came to bed. His heart raced as his mouth lowered to a beautiful breast. Anna urged him on curling against him. “I love you,” she whispered when his lips glided back up to her throat. “Please don’t stop.” “Darling, I am too far gone, to stop,” he groaned, looking up at her, wanting her, needing her. Smiling, Anna wrapped her legs around his waist, as she reached up with soft arms and pulled him down to her, murmuring against his lips, “Love me, till, I beg for mercy then.” At her words, Traun plunged deeply, and lost himself in her loving embrace. “Anna, my Anna,” he cried out, as his lifemate writhed underneath him. Her cries of pleasure letting him know she wanted him, desired him. Her legs wrapped around his waist held him tight as she whispered to him that without him her world would be incomplete.

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Epilogue Traun looked down over the vast valley he ruled. Today was the first day of the three-day feast to celebrate life and survival. A yearly celebration enjoyed by the people of Garrearth. A tradition that had started, following the first year his people had landed on this planet and had survived. Now, a swift one hundred years later, look at what they had accomplished, he thought proudly. They had relocated to the land he was currently standing on, after ten years of living in the original valley they had settled upon, The original six hundred and ninety five other world pioneers now numbered in the hundreds of thousands, over time marrying into another race of people that Andrew’s oldest son had come upon during his travels, and introduced them too. The wild men they had encountered, and fought over the years eventually became extinct. Traun gazed at the multitude of people setting up camp down in the valley even spilling into the palace courtyard. They were here for the yearly celebration, plus the handing over of his leadership to his eldest son. He was ready for the transfer of power. After one hundred years of leadership, it was time to hand over the reins to someone younger who had his own ideas of leading the people into the future. He had been thinking about his home planet of Garr last evening, realizing that his parents were long passed on. His brother now ruling over the planet, unless, he too had passed on. He would be one hundred and sixty five as of yesterday. Traun noticed Anna walking determinedly, in the direction of a group of servants, her determined strides pulling him from his thoughts. He laughed aloud when he noticed what she was handing over to one of the servants. The servant took the dangling bird, nodding his head at his Lady Anna’s instruction. Looks like I will be having chicken for my evening meal, he thought with

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amusement. He continued to watch his lifemate, when she turned, and began to climb to where he stood. After all this time, she could still make him pause in whatever he was doing when she happened to unexpectedly, walk into a room he was standing in. Just as she had done that first night he had seen her on board his spaceship. She was still the love of his life. His desire for her never fading in intensity as the years had passed. She had birthed eight healthy children for him after they had lost their first-born. The first baby born, after the loss of their first child, an eight-pound boy, then a healthy bouncing girl following him just seventeen months later. She had given him four boys and four girls over the years, their third daughter born to them, eventually marrying Andrew’s oldest son Rowan. He had almost lost two good friends over the union of his daughter Catalena and Rowan. His stubborn belief, that no child of his would be united with someone of complete human origin, causing a rift between them. Anna had fought with him privately over his belief, but never during that difficult time, had she come out publicly with her discontent over his hardheadedness. Years later, being able to crow with delight when her friend Charlee aged no faster than either she or he did, maybe it had something to do with the atmosphere on the planet. He had finally given up trying to understand that mystery. Anna walked up to her husband. “What are you doing up here by yourself, Traun?” She took the hand he held out to her. “Just, thinking back over our years here, Anna.” Anna rubbed the hand that held hers. “They have been good years, Traun. Are you regretting deciding to hand over the reins of power to our oldest son?” she asked, wondering at his pensive mood of last night and now this morning. “No, Anna, he will be a good leader. I believe Allon and Rowan will build their two kingdoms into powerful forces. A powerhouse to be reckoned with, the unknown people moving in and beginning to attack our settlements won’t know what hit them.” They both watched as their eldest son and Rowan walked across the palace courtyard deep in conversation. Anna wished Molly and George were there to watch the ceremony, knowing they would have enjoyed seeing the passing of power to the next

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generation of children born, descendants of a people barely escaping extinction. George passed on at the age of one hundred and ninety four, with Molly following him just two years later. They had both lived a long happy life. Traun turned toward her. “How do you feel about going back home with Catalena and Rowan? He asked me if we would like to come live with them for a while. I think it would make the new role of leadership easier for Allon, if I wasn’t still here for the people to continue to look to for guidance. It would also give us a chance to get to know our grandkids better, and great grandkids, and great, great grandkids from the union of Catalena and Rowan. What do you think?” Anna laughed, turning into his arms. She hugged his still trim waistline. “I think that is a wonderful idea, husband mine.” Turning, they walked arm in arm back down the hillside to join their large extended family.

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THE END WWW.ZEQUEATTAJAQUES.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Zequeatta Jaques and her husband make their home in the great state of Oklahoma. With a Masters in Applied Psychology, she is always people watching. Wondering what is going on inside of them. Besides writing, she loves working in her yard and flowerbeds. Must have that sunshine! Having worked for twenty years outside the home, the last ten within the private correctional prison system and the last four of those years as Assistant Warden, she now stays home and focuses on her writing career.

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