Destiny Found (Epsilon Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  She held her breath in anticipation; now that she was done pretending to not care, she was riveted by the potential information she might glean from this little meeting of the minds.

  “I’ll answer your questions in order. Yes we have parent’s, silly. How do you think we got here?” she asked with a teasing glint in her green eyes. “Growing up, we were lucky enough to have quite a bit of money. My great grandfather was very wealthy. He helped create some of our best weapons we still use today. So my father grew up in the lap of luxury and made some powerful friends. One of those friends was the King at the time, King Kyeign, Ty’s father. They knew each other for many years before either one got married and had children. So Taavi, Ty and I grew up together. So even though, yes, it’s just Taavi and I, I consider Ty a brother.

  “Then when I was ten cycles and Taavi was fourteen cycles, Andris came to live with us.” She paused, a sad yet angry look crossing her face. “Andris didn’t have the best parents, they are both dead now, with no other close relatives around. We all went to school together when Taavi, Ty, and Andris became close, so when things went downhill for Andris, our parents were only too happy to have him come live with us.” She shook herself, seeming to try and shake the melancholy that was written on her face. “Anyways, enough about that. Your last questions’ answer is yes, my parents are still alive, but they live on the other side of the planet so we don’t see them all that much.”

  Natalie processed all the information she was given, but one thing stuck out to her.

  “Why don’t you see your parents often? I mean you have conquered space travel, haven’t you? Can’t you just grab a shuttle and go?”

  Tali snorted. “Yes, we have conquered space travel, but it was agreed a long time ago not to utilize the ships except for exploration or defense of the planet. So we have land shuttles that will transport you where you want to go, but it will still take several hours. For example, if I wanted to go from Tarlish – oh that’s the city we are in now, it’s our capital – to Farnel, where my parents live, it would still take roughly seven hours. It’s a long, exhausting trip and we don’t take it very often because we are usually so busy. Taavi is an Elite Team Captain and I’m an apprenticing healer, and my parents run many foundations and are busy with their charities, so we see each other maybe a few days every two months. Don’t worry,” she rushed to reassure Natalie when she saw the look of disbelief, “we talk almost every day. We keep each other up to date on what’s going on in our lives. Yes,” she smiled, “that does mean they know about you. The council tried to keep it quiet, but you are a hot topic in the cities. I mean, you and Taavi are the first soile-miena coupling in seventy years and you are from the famed Earth. The only reason you haven’t been bombarded is one, you’ve been so intent on fixing your ship and Jarrod has threatened everyone with working extra long hours if they bother you, and two, they are more concerned about the Nezleans attacking than some alien. No offense.”

  Natalie chuckled. “I was actually just going to ask that. You know me well.” She took a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. “That’s actually comforting, even if having war really, really sucks, but I can’t say I hate not being the center of attention. And thank goodness for Jarrod, he’s been an angel this past week.”

  Tali moved quickly, lunging toward Natalie and slapping a hand over her mouth.

  “Shhhhh…” she hissed in her ear. “Do not ever say that out loud. He would kick both our asses.” She looked around stealthily, paranoia getting the better of her. “He has spies everywhere, and I guarantee if someone heard you say that, he will hurt you.” She lowered her voice to quietly say, “I love him to pieces, but he hates being thought of as soft.” Her voice rose to a comically loud level and said, “He’s a hardass. No softness to him. He would as soon smack you as tell you anything nice.”

  She gave an exaggerated wink and released Natalie.

  After Natalie’s heart returned to normal – Tali had scared the crap out of her – she thought back to what Tali had just said, and started to laugh. She was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face and she was rolling on the floor. A good couple minutes had passed before she could get a hold of herself and sit up. Tali was sitting where she had been before, a self-satisfied grin on her mouth.

  Natalie wiped that tears from her eyes and cheeks.

  “Oh Tali, you are too much. You scared me! Brat.” She threw a greasy rag at her and watched it smack her in the face. She let loose another chuckle, laughing harder when she saw the stunned look on Tali’s face when the rag dropped. “Whoops. Sorry. That’s payback for the palm-over-mouth. Anyways, back to the questions. Has Taavi ever had a girlfriend?”

  Tali squinted her eyes, saying in a low voice, “You will pay for that offense. But that will wait for later.” She quickly swiped her face with the back of her arm, her face making a comical expression of disgust when it came away dirty. “Thanks a lot. And no, Taavi hasn’t been with anyone exclusively. He’s had women, but that was mostly when he was younger. It was almost as if he, Ty, and Andris used to compete growing up who could get the most girls. It was disgusting and I hated it. They were renowned for it, and yet that didn’t stop girls from throwing themselves at them. It was disgusting to have to see, especially considering they were my brothers and all the girls talked about was them.” Her face had scrunched up in distaste, obviously remembering some of the rumours. She shook herself and kept going. “I haven’t seen him with or met any of the women he’s been rumoured to have been with recently. Usually he’s too busy now to have a life outside of his duties. It’s been seven cycles since he made it to Elite Warrior Captain status. That was his dream. To be the best fighter on the planet, and he succeeded. He’s smart, loyal, and when he needs to be, savage.”

  “And what does a soile-miena bond entail? I mean, if there hasn’t been one in over seventy years, how are you even here?”

  “Well, it’s a very sacred bond to our people, so typically only those who have found their mates are allowed to know the history behind it. But one of my ancestors, Jabiyka, wrote a journal detailing his experiences with his bondmate, Myasha.

  “Apparently when they first met they could feel the presence of each other in their minds. They could catch glimpses of each other’s emotions if they were strong enough. The bond grows stronger over time, making it so you can feel what they are feeling – so fear, anger, sadness, and happiness – or even detect when they are in danger. Once, he wrote that Myasha was being stalked by an old friend who was in love with her and he attacked her at a party Jabiyka’s parents were throwing. They were in the garden because she was waiting for Jabiyka to seek her out, and the man followed her there and attacked. Jabiyka had been on his way to the garden to do just that when he felt her fear and knew what was happening. He was able to save her, but the man ran and was never seen again.

  “Personally, I thought he should have chased and killed him, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyways, when they finally got married and made love, he wrote ‘I have never felt something so pure, so beautiful. In that moment she was a part of me and I was a part of her. We were one soul, finally put together after years of agonizing separation. Nothing felt as good or as right as when the bond fully manifested. It felt like the gentlest of breezes, brushing over your skin on a hot day; a gradual kindling of a fire, until it was a blazing inferno. When we had finished, I could speak to her through my thoughts, and she could answer back. It was soile-miena, just as Tavanni intended.’” Tali sighed wistfully, a romantic look in her eyes.

  Natalie sat there watching Tali with a raised eyebrow.

  Tali looked at her and blushed.

  “Hey, I couldn’t help but memorize it. It was so beautiful. It’s something I have dreamt of for so long, but I knew it was out of reach and never to be.” She looked at Natalie intently, grabbed her hands and squeezed. “That is, it was a lost dream until you came. Now I might just get my chance at having that beauty for myself.” She gent
ly squeezed Natalie’s hands before releasing them.

  Natalie took a moment to compose herself; she wasn’t as unmoved as she tried to be after listening to Tali’s passionate words and the passionate words of a man long dead, talking of his beloved.

  It was beautiful, something that filled her with a natural excitement of what might be to come for her and Taavi.

  “And what about how you are here? If your parents weren’t soile-miena’s?”

  “Well, when the bond hadn’t been formed, everyone was distraught, searching for answers, seeking out new species, looking at our genetics, but nothing happened. It just slowly died and there was nothing anyone could do. Everyone thought Tavanni was cursing us, but then we were able to procreate without the bond. Oh, sorry, I forgot to tell you that part. Soile-miena’s were the only way we could reproduce, those who had sex outside the bond couldn’t get pregnant. So we were afraid our people would die out, but then people who were not soile-miena’s were able to get pregnant. That is how we know Tavanni has blessed a union, if they are able to have children. There are some unions that do not produce children, so the parents are tested and there is usually nothing wrong with either person, so it is just said that Tavanni hasn’t approved that union.”

  “What? That’s kind of harsh. Why should this Tavanni have any say at all in whom you marry or can have kids with? What a crock of crap. He sounds awful.”

  “Yes, unfortunately, I agree. I know some good, decent people who have not been blessed with children, and I think it is very unfair. But then others, like Aaren and his wife Selly, they have been blessed with two children and a third on the way.”

  “Aaren is married? Actually, that doesn’t surprise me. He’s yummy.”

  Tali laughed and stood.

  “Yes, he very much is. They all are. And don’t worry about Selly hearing you say that. She gets very smug because she gets to have him in her bed every night… well, mostly every night. And I get to deliver her baby! She asked me to and I accepted! Actually, we should have a girls night!” She jumped up and down in excitement, clapping her hands and squealing. “Yes! Selly, Lity, you, and I should get together! It will be a lot of fun! You’ll love it and them. We will take you into the city and go to a club.” She moved away from Natalie muttering, “I need to call the girls, make arrangements. We need to go shopping for some outfits. Oh, I can’t wait!”

  She disappeared around a ship and was gone.

  Well alrighty then, Natalie thought, guess I’m going out partying.

  She felt a smile lift her lips. She couldn’t wait.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Taavi slammed his bedroom door.

  Damn, it had been way too long since he’d seen Natalie and she wasn’t here. He hadn’t been able to find her. He knew she was with Tali, but he was frustrated that they hadn’t been in any of the places he had checked.

  He went to his bed and flopped down.

  Fifteen days. That’s how long it had been since he had kissed her, fifteen long and torturous days where his body burned and ached for her.

  He sighed, thinking of all the preparations that had been made with the Admiral and some that still needed to be ironed out.

  Thankfully, Jarrod was almost done repairing the damaged ships, so they could be sent back out to patrol in a few days. He was impressed with how fast Jarrod and his team had gotten them done, and he was even more impressed by the amount Tali and Natalie had gotten done all on their own. He couldn’t imagine Tali actually picking up tools and helping Natalie, but she did and he regretted not being able to see it. It would have been the perfect thing to make fun of her for; miss prissy Talisha Larn getting down, dirty, and sweaty, fixing something without worrying about breaking a nail. If his men hadn’t seen them with their own eyes, he would never have believed it to be true.

  He sat up and walked over to his communication console. Sometimes when he didn’t feel like spending another night listening to one of his men snore, he stayed in this room. That way he could sleep without interruption and get some work done.

  He opened a file he received from Ty a few days ago, still reeling from the contents. According to Ty, there had been rumblings of unrest now that the soile-miena bond had been found. Some wanted Natalie to be executed for bringing false hope, while others wanted her for their own, hoping she might be able to bond with them too. Not only that, but there were rumours that some people, some higher in their government, wanted to destroy the wormhole that transported Natalie here from Earth. They didn’t want any more aliens coming to take over their planet.

  The most concerning thing was they wanted to overthrow Ty. Granted, there was just a small number – about three hundred people – that wanted this, but that was still three hundred too many. Along with strengthening planetary defenses, he had to assign and train more warriors to protect Ty.

  The absurdity of those radical claims gave Taavi a headache.

  He quickly stood when he heard the front door close.

  Finally, they were back and I can see her face, he thought, walking to the door.

  He would chew them out for making him worry, and then finally give in to his desire to hold her.

  “Where the hell have you…” his voice trailed off, derailed by the sight before him.

  Tali’s long blonde hair was straight to her shoulder blades, with some small braids throughout. It had a sort of small sparkly ropes weaved within the braids and they glittered in the light. She had dark lipstick on and sparkly gunk on her eyes. Even though he was her brother, he always thought she was beautiful, and that’s exactly what he thought now.

  But it wasn’t her who held his attention.

  A vision of beauty stood next to Tali. Her blue eyes were framed by dark shadows tipped with a slivery white and her lips were a beautiful, shiny red that complemented her pale complexion and black hair. Her hair was pulled away from her face and fell down her back in waves.

  She was, in a single word, stunning.

  Both women had stopped when he barged down the hall, and were now staring at him, curious. He cleared his throat, swallowing several times because it was so dry.

  “Natalie…” he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

  She raised her dark brow, waiting for him to finish.

  Say something, you idiot!

  “You look beautiful. Absolutely stunning.”

  When he saw her pale cheeks flush, he knew he had said the right thing.

  To think he was lucky enough to call her, his.

  Still blushing and unable to meet his eyes she stammered, “You’re here. Um… uh, thanks, it was Tali’s idea. I, uh, didn’t want to do it but she made me and I’ll stop talking now.”

  He watched her, amused despite how badly he wanted her in that moment. His mate wasn’t only beautiful she was also adorable.

  A throat clearing had the two of them jumping.

  Tali gave a little wave to Taavi.

  “And what about me, oh brother mine? How do I look?” She slyly looked at Natalie and with a smile said, “Quit monopolizing the praise. I look good too, you know.”

  Taavi saw Natalie glance at him out of the corner of his eye and he felt his face flush.

  Looking like an ass in front of your mate, nice one.

  He walked to Tali and kissed her cheek.

  “You know you always look beautiful. And I always tell you that. So quit complaining.” He looked between the two women and took a step toward Natalie. “So, where have you been and why are you all dressed up?”

  Tali shook the two bags hanging from her hands.

  “We went to Alarus at Pentia. He made us up while Iara did our hair. I remembered that Natalie hadn’t met Selly and then just decided we needed a girl’s night. So I called Lity and Selly, and now we are all going to Fluora, that club down on Wyilen. We’ve been working hard and deserve a nice night out.”

  “You can’t go out without protection.” Taavi quickly grabbed Natalie as the women started walking down
the hallway. “It isn’t safe. I’ll come with you,” he quickly volunteered.

  “No way. You’ll scare all the men off. Besides, Rome and Hannan already volunteered earlier. You trust them, right?” Tali tapped her foot, looking superior.

  Taavi hated when she did that. She had done it all the time when they were children and she had gotten him in trouble for one thing or another. It didn’t make it any easier as an adult.

  Natalie placed her hand on the skin of his arm, both of them gasping at the contact.

  Taavi immediately felt Natalie’s arousal and happiness.

  He quickly grabbed her around the waist, tugging her into him. They quietly stood like that, just staring into each other’s eyes, standing in their arms and enjoying the contact.

  Taavi would have been happy to stand like that all night, but Tali intervened.

  “Whoa! Watch the makeup! Don’t you dare kiss her Taavi or I’ll punch you. Alarus would be distraught if you ruined it before we had a chance to go out.”

  She tugged Natalie out of his arms, grabbed both of their bags and pushed Natalie down the hallway.

  “We’re getting dressed now. You can either wait until we come back or you can leave, but you will not kiss her. Understand?” She punctuated the statement by slamming the door.

  Wait. He would definitely wait.

  He wanted to see his woman in the finished product and he wasn’t about to make a promise he might not keep.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Natalie allowed herself to be pushed into her room while Tali slammed the door and threw the bags on the bed.

  “Now get dressed, we need to meet the girls soon. Go on. Take it off. Quit being so shy.”

  Tali took her clothes off as she spoke, uncaring of showing off her body.

  Natalie envied her that confidence, but thought, To hell with it. Be brave, and took off her clothes.

  It had been an eventful day, first working on the ship and then being dragged to Alarus and Iara for a makeover where they were met by Selly and Lity.