Possessive Alien’s Mate by Luna Hunter
Chapter Eighteen
Thiray
“Thiray, calm down. Calm down!”
“Let me go, Zusin! I will fight all of you, I will kill anyone who stands in my way!”
I am absolutely seething with rage. My chains are broken, dangling from my wrist and ankles. A dozen warriors try to hold me back, and I’m fighting them off as best I can without tearing them limb from limb. If they don’t get out of the way, I won’t hold back. I’ll kill anyone who stops me from seeing my mate.
Zusin’Xeeram has his arms around my throat as he tries to wrestle me into submission.
“Don’t be an idiot,” he hisses. “I have seen the marks!”
His words cut through the cloud that is my rage.
“The marks?”
“Yes! I know the female is yours. I know you will do anything for her. But you need to calm down! Do you trust me?!”
I don’t know how to answer that. Zusin is a good friend from the Academy, but that was centuries ago. Viliana’s life is on the line.
“We have listened to your words, but you must trust us, like you are asking us to trust you!” Zusin hisses. “Pretend to fight and let me drag you away!”
I struggle against my captors, but not enough to stop them from dragging me out the door. Once we’re out of sight from the sneering Matriarch and the councilmen, Zusin lets me go. He hugs me tightly, briefly resting his forehead against mine in our customary greeting.
“It’s good to see you again, Thi. I wish it were in other circumstances. Come, follow me.”
He guides me down a stairwell, into the bowels of the cathedral.
“Take me to Viliana,” I say. “I don’t have time for this!”
“You can’t just walk out the front door, Thi. We only have a small window of opportunity to pull this off.”
Downstairs, a whole slew of Thaana warriors awaits us in silence. I recognize a few from my Academy days, but many are much younger than me. New recruits. The men nod respectfully when I enter the room. Zusin’Xeeram removes the broken chains on my wrists and ankles. The men all look to him to speak. It’s clear they regard him as their leader.
“We have heard your words, Thiray,” Zusin says. “They resonate with us. Among our ranks, among the Warriors Class, there are many who agree with you, who have felt the same way for a long time already. Perhaps we didn’t know as much as you do about the world outside, but we all find our laws and dogmas… restricting.”
“That is good to hear,” I say. “There is still life in the Thaana left. Yssadril’s gifts haven’t made all of us docile.”
“Wimo’Neem is on her way to her palace to sever your connection to Yssadril. We could intercept her, but… The Matriarch Guard is loyal to her and her alone. There are a few in her ranks who are sympathetic to our cause, but not enough to avoid bloodshed.”
“Not enough to avoid civil war, you mean,” I say. “That is the last thing I want. There needs to be a change, but we need to avoid needless bloodshed. I don’t want a war. No, my connection will be severed, and that is okay. As long as I have Viliana, then I am happy.”
“That can be arranged. She is on route to a secure location right now.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Take me to her!”
Zusin raises his hand. “Calm, my friend. I know you desire to be with your mate, but this may be the only time that we can talk so freely and openly. You have traveled far, you have seen much of the universe. You know more than us all, Thiray. What must be done?”
My eyes scan the room. The Thaana warriors look to me for guidance. I have never thought of myself as a leader. I travel alone, and live by my own rules, using Yssadril as my guiding light.
Now that light will be diminished, and I’ve got to follow my own gut.
“We have to build an alliance,” I say. “The Dohan will be our allies. Together, we will have the strength to fight the Uttux, and bring peace to the universe.”
The Thaana warriors nod in agreement.
“First, you must take control of Yssadril, Zusin’Xeeram. Avoid civil war, but use your connections, get the Warrior Class on your side.”
“That will take time. To change the status quo… it is not done lightly.”
“The universe doesn’t work on the Thaana timespan. We do not have centuries, or even decades. I’m talking a year. At most. Months, if possible. Weeks. The sooner the better, my friend.”
Zusin’Xeeram shakes his head. “You ask the impossible.”
“Humans don’t have the luxury of Yssadril, of the connection, of eternal life. They go out and make things happen, while we sit and debate something to death for a millennium or two.”
“Your point is taken, Thiray. We will strive to be more like the humans. I will see what I can do.”
I grab my friend’s lower arm and squeeze. “Thank you, Zusin. You’re a good man.”
“No, thank you, Thiray, for risking it all, and speaking truth to the Matriarch. Your sacrifice will not be in vain.”
“Sacrifice?”
“The connection.”
“Ah, yes. But I will spend my days with my farlin, Zusin, and that is a reward greater than immortality itself.”
Zusin shakes his head in disbelief. “If you say so, friend.”
“Perhaps you will experience the bond yourself one day. I think we’re done here — take me to Viliana.”
My friend nods at a young warrior. “Yaen’Gum, take Thiray to see his mate at once.”
I cannot wait to see my mate again and spend the rest of our lives together…. If she will have me.