Destiny Found (Epsilon Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  When she caught Tali’s eye, the other woman winked.

  Yes, very interesting indeed.

  “Carik, if she is with Taavi, we do not need to check her. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt King Tyeron,” the red headed giant finally spoke. He had intriguing golden eyes that complemented his beautiful red hair. “Captain Taavi, King Tyeron and the Elders have asked that you be shown into the antechamber and given refreshments. Litana will be here shortly with food and drink.” He looked over at Natalie and gave a small smile. “Welcome. I hope you are feeling better. If you ever find yourself in need of help, just come find Rome. I’ll help you any way I can.” He glanced back at Taavi with a fist over his heart and a bowed head. “Tavanni has smiled upon you, Taavi,” he said as he backed away to his side of the door.

  Taavi faced Carik once more and then stilled. The two men seemed to be caught in some sort of stare off. There was a story there, a history.

  Natalie was intrigued; she would have to ask Taavi more about that later.

  She stood there waiting for the two men to quit looking at one another; it appeared that this was the alien equivalent of a pissing match.

  Typical men.

  But it seemed Taavi won because after a long, tense silence, Carik glared at the three of them and backed away.

  “Thank you, Romein.” Taavi nodded to the red head. “Carik,” he clipped out while grabbing Natalie’s hand and walking into the room beyond.

  Chapter Eight

  And what a room it was.

  It was the most luxuriously furnished room Natalie had ever seen. There were couches, chairs, chaise lounges, and tables. The colour pallet was done in burnished orange and all the accompanying accents and furniture were done in a grey-blue.

  The two massive windows were separated by a wooden mantel that boasted a fireplace, and in the far corner was a long rectangular wooden table, with twenty seats around it.

  As she approached one of the arched windows, which was thankfully glassed in, she saw they were on the other side of the mountain and she was looking upon a massive lake. The blue of the lake went on as far as she could see, and on the land surrounding it there was an abundance of greenery.

  She was caught again, enthralled by the scenery before her.

  She felt Taavi move up beside her, and turned toward him.

  “I don’t think you have any idea how alike your world is to the Earth of old. This is what pictures of Earth looked like hundreds of years ago. I’ve never seen it with my own eyes, and the more I see here, the more I’m saddened by what my people have done to our own planet.”

  He grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

  “I’m sorry for that. Sometimes we do not understand or care about the impact we have on those around us. Whether people, or things.”

  The door behind them opened and a lovely young woman with blonde curly hair entered with a cart. On the top of the cart were two carafes: one that appeared to be water and one that was full of a purple liquid. On the middle row of the cart there appeared to be several dishes loaded with finger foods.

  The blonde pushed the cart further into the room and said, “Hello Taavi, Tali, miss. My name is Litana, but many call me Lity. I’ve brought some beverages and food for you while you wait for the king.”

  “Hello, Lity. I’m Natalie. What is that wonderful smell? Could you tell me what exactly you brought for us?”

  “With pleasure. So this is water. And this is a fruit juice made from caldaili,” she held up the purple liquid. “It is very sweet and good for your hair. Now these are marran, which is a type of meat.” She pointed at pink slices of meat on a plate. “This is a bagel, which is said to be from our ancestors from Earth, which we usually smear with caldaili. That,” she then pointed to a cracker topped with a white chunk that had small holes in it, “is crackers and our equivalent of Earth cheese. It is also said we were never able to get it right. And now for my favourite treat,” she smiled and inclined her head to the last plate, “is our sweet bread. It is bread that has been sweetened, with just a hint of spice. So please, eat. Try it and let me know what you think.”

  “It all looks delicious. And since it’s your favourite, I have to try it first.” Natalie grabbed the sweet bread and took a small bite.

  Flavour burst over her tongue and made her salivate. At the same time, her stomach grumbled, making her realize how long it had been since she had eaten.

  “My goodness, this tastes just like a cinnamon doughnut. It was my favourite back on Earth.”

  She took another large bite, happily chewing away before she realized that three pairs of eyes were watching her, all smiling.

  “I am so pleased you like it. I made it all myself. My father is the King’s personal cook and he has taught me everything he knows. I also made the sweet bread and am so glad you enjoyed it. Now, I will leave you. Just have the King call down when you are finished,” Lity said as she backed toward the door.

  Natalie nodded, smiled, and kept right on chewing. She poured some of the caldaili into a glass and took a sip. It tasted like a blending of apple juice and grape juice. She wasn’t sure if it would have worked with Earths’ flavour equivalents, but it blended together beautifully on her tongue.

  She grabbed a small serving plate, piled it high with food, took her drink, and went to sit on the sofa. As she ate her food, she looked out the window, rehearsing what she was going to say to the King.

  “So, how do you like everything? Not too strange, eh?” Taavi took a seat beside her, making her body fall toward the divot he made.

  He had his own glass and plate, which was piled high with food, balanced on his knee. He settled an arm behind her shoulders on the couch, and leaned back.

  She resisted rolling her eyes.

  Men. They are the same everywhere.

  She knew he was attracted to her, but in her limited experience, no one had ever moved so darn fast.

  She looked away from him, mumbling around the food, “Yes, everything is amazing.”

  Tali sat on the chair across from them, a small smile on her lips. Natalie just knew they were thinking the same thing.

  She swallowed her last bite, took a drink, and asked the question sure to get a rise out of him.

  “So…what is a soile-miena?”

  She definitely wasn’t expecting the reaction she got, but she and Tali both burst into laughter.

  When she asked the question, she didn’t realize Taavi had his mouth full. When it registered what she had asked, he spit out his drink and started to cough. As her and Tali laughed, she smacked Taavi on the back, pleased she had gotten such an extreme reaction.

  As he sputtered, clearly trying to formulate an answer, Tali said, “Yes brother dear. Do tell. What, exactly, does that mean?”

  Taavi glared at her before turning slowly to look at Natalie.

  He slowly let out a breath before saying, “I do not wish to tell you right now.”

  “Well, why not? It had to be important if you got that asshole outside to be shocked.”

  He glanced back at Tali, an ill look on his face as if looking for support yet knowing it wouldn’t be found there.

  “I will tell you after we meet with the council.”

  “Actually, you will tell me right this minute or I will smash this cup over your head.” She surprised herself, never having been so violent before.

  “Fine, but you will not like it.” He took a deep breath, as if fortifying himself for what he was about to say. “You, Natalie White, are my soile-miena… my true mate.”

  Natalie couldn’t help but stare in disbelief.

  Was it odd that she didn’t think that was at all close to what he had been going to say? Maybe. But that didn’t stop her from thinking just that.

  Though, she thought, it would definitely explain the weird warm feeling in my head whenever he is close, or the extreme horniness I feel just being near him.

  In a twisted, weird, alien way, it actually wasn’t a
surprise at all. But what shocked her the most was the almost instinctive recognition when he said it. Like she knew in her bones it was true, that he was her true mate.

  “Okaaaaaaay…” she got off the couch, needing to be away from him.

  His presence was too overpowering. She couldn’t think straight when he was around, and even when she could, she was too distracted by the sheer immensity of him, and how her libido decided to turn on full throttle.

  “Let’s say,” she wandered to the window, “let’s say that I believe you. What exactly does it mean?”

  “Well, it basically means that you belong to me and,” he was quick to add as he saw her frown, “that I belong to you. There hasn’t been a true mate found in seventy years, and the last couple that were true mates died twenty years ago. It’s basically when we are able to recognize the other half of our souls. We will feel a sense of familiarity, of warmth and safety, when we first meet them. We can sense when they are near, or when they are in danger. When we complete the bond, it is said that we will have a telepathic connection. Meaning, if we chose to open our minds to each other, we could communicate, just the two of us.”

  He seemed a little uncertain about his explanation as soon as she moved away from him, and now he was frowning.

  She thought he was adorable, like he needed her approval or something.

  She kept her face blank.

  “What do you mean we ‘complete the bond’?”

  She raised her eyebrow, hoping she looked haughty, and then suppressed a grin as she saw him swallow.

  “Well, uh, we would, umm… Talisha, can you please stop smiling and give us some privacy?”

  He glared at Tali, obviously wishing she wasn’t there to see him bumble his way through this explanation to his true mate.

  “Oh, leave her be and answer me. What do you mean?”

  “We would have to…make love to complete the bond.”

  At that, Natalie couldn’t hold back her laughter. She had never ever heard such a sexy ass, sweet man say ‘make love’ and she thought it adorable when his face flushed.

  “Are you serious right now? Oh gosh, that is too good.”

  He abruptly stood up, stilling her laughter as he advanced on her and pushed her gently against the wall. He grabbed ahold of the hair at the back of her neck and gently pulled her head up so she was looking at him. He put his other hand just beside her shoulder and leaned into her shocked face.

  “I know you can feel it too. You felt me when I rescued you. That is why you didn’t scream when you saw me. Why you trusted me enough to faint in my arms, and then cry in them. You know me, because you are part of me.” He grabbed her hand and trapped it against his heart. “You feel that? That is my heart. It is now complete with you here. Feel how hard it beats? It now beats to protect, shelter and love you. You are mine, and I am yours.”

  With those words, he swooped in and kissed her.

  He wasn’t tender or gentle. He dominated, using her gasp of surprise to plunder her mouth, raking his tongue against hers and stealing her breath.

  She had only ever been kissed twice as an adult, and they both paled in comparison to this.

  She found herself leaning into him, plunging her fingers into his hair and pulling. His head lifted just a fraction and when she had his attention, she nipped his bottom lip before soothing it with her tongue. She watched in fascination as his breath caught and his pupils dilated.

  He seemed stunned for a brief moment before he moved into her again. Only this time, he gentled the kiss. Almost as if he were wooing her, thanking her, cherishing her.

  She gave a soft moan that was quickly smothered by his lips.

  A throat clearing had them jerking apart.

  “I hope I’m not disturbing you, but don’t we have a meeting scheduled?” came a deep voice from behind Taavi.

  Taavi slowly closed his eyes and lowered his forehead to hers. His soft exhalation puffed onto her lips. He opened his eyes, stared into hers, and smiled. He gave her a gentle kiss and backed up a step, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him.

  “Ty, you sure know how to ruin a good moment,” Taavi grumbled with a small smile.

  Natalie was stunned, both by the passion of the kiss, and by who had interrupted them. Twelve people stood behind a grinning Tali, who was now standing in the arms of a very handsome man.

  At Taavi’s words, the man standing with Tali smiled, while frowns were formed on most of the faces behind him. Clearly Taavi had spoken to the King like this often and, just as clearly, not many liked the familiarity between the two.

  “Natalie, may I present to you King Tyeron, or as we like to call him, Ty. Ty, this is Natalie.” Ty stepped forward to grasp Natalie’s hand. “And the people behind him are the Elders. Together, they make up the council.”

  Natalie shook Ty’s hand, amazed anew at how handsome he was. His light violet eyes were a sharp contrast to his golden skin and pale hair.

  As she studied him, she realized he studied her in return. Still not used to being the center of attention, she slowly took a step back, dropping his hand. Taavi quickly pulled her into his side.

  “I, for one, would like to formally welcome you to Tarlon. I am happy to see that you have recovered. Taavi told us of finding you on the Nezlean ship. I’m glad our Tali could fix you up.”

  An older gentleman, with distinguished white hair pulled into a long braid, cleared his throat as he stepped forward.

  “Your highness, why don’t we take a seat at the table and begin our meeting?”

  “Of course, Kale. Come. Let’s take a seat and discuss.”

  Chapter Nine

  The meeting started out like a tribunal would on Alpha Station. The group made their way over to the table, the council taking their seats on the far side of the table with Ty in the middle. They gestured for Tali, Taavi and Natalie to sit opposite Ty.

  Natalie felt like she was about to be on trial for something she didn’t do.

  The man with the white hair, Kale, again cleared his voice.

  “We have gathered here to discuss what has been done to this woman, where she comes from, if she can return, and plans for a counter attack.” The others spoke quietly amongst themselves until Kale spoke again. “Now miss – Natalie – would you please tell us how you happened to be in the Epsilon Galaxy?”

  All eyes turned toward Natalie and she tried her best to not look like a scared little coward. But she had to admit they were an intimidating bunch. Apart from Ty, Kale, and two older women, every single person was glaring at her.

  Just as she felt the beginnings of a small panic attack, Taavi grabbed her hand under the table and placed them on her thigh with a squeeze. With a deep breath and a return squeeze, she began.

  “Okay. I’ll start with why I was out there. I am from a planet called Earth in the Milky Way galaxy. Gradually, my species has killed our planet. The air is now toxic, the water is almost undrinkable and population is out of control. We managed to set up an outpost on a distant planet, but it is very cold and not a replacement for permanent residence. From there, our military has set up a large base, sending out drones and pilots to look for a new, habitable planet. Unfortunately, after many years of researching ways to make the planet healthy again, and two years of searching the stars, it has become an almost desperate and fruitless effort. We sent out a drone but needed a pilot to be in that quadrant to do an in-depth search. So, being a pilot, I volunteered for the position.

  “I had been out for about two months when the drone apparently disappeared or was destroyed, and my new mission was to discover what had happened to it. After some travel to get to its coordinates, an anomaly appeared and sucked me into it. My engines were destroyed trying to get out of its gravitational pull. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but after reviewing the data of my ships computer, I can say with certainty it was a black hole. After about three days of being in it, I was ejected into your star system. Imagine my shock when I saw other ships fl
ying around, and destroying each other when my people had thought we were alone in the universe. Anyways, I saw some ships coming toward me and just prayed that they wouldn’t see me or would go past me. And that is when I got an up close and personal introduction with those evil bastards.”

  There was silence around the table, some shaking their heads in disbelief and others looking at her with sympathy.

  “Could you tell us what happened next, Natalie? If you are able?” Ty asked gently, obviously worried about her mental state.

  Well screw that.

  She survived the loss of her family and the attack on her from the Nezlean. She had nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed of.

  “So after they pulled my ship into theirs, they welded open the door and, well, I got an up close and personal look at those hideous creatures. There were three of them and the leader, Imhal, grabbed me first. After he shoved me at his men, Imhal started… touching me.” Natalie took a deep breath, trying to distance herself from the emotions that were starting to rise. “He ripped my suit open while the other two, Targ and Gile, held my arms tightly and pulled me back. Imhal went to, uh, touch me with his mouth and ended up taking a bite of my shoulder. He said he enjoyed blood and that I was his now. Then someone ran onto the shuttle because apparently your people were giving chase and he was needed in command. He ordered Gile and Targ to take me to his quarters and tie me up. When we got to his quarters, Gile let go of my arm and punched me in the face. Targ wouldn’t let him hit me again, worried about Imhal’s reaction, so thankfully that little gem only happened once. They threw me on the bed and tied me up. Then Gile ripped the rest of my suit off, but again, Targ wouldn’t let him take my, um, underclothes or do anything else. Then they left.”

  She knew her face was red and that her breathing had sped up, but dang, she never realized how hard it must be for women, and some men, when reporting about an assault. She felt like she was being judged for the actions of someone else; and that someone else had caused her harm.

  She felt a hand grip her shoulder and looked over at Tali, surprised, and moved, to see the tears glimmering there. She gave an encouraging nod and squeezed Natalie’s shoulder again.