Bonds Unbroken - 6. Chapter 6

The next few days were a rollercoaster of emotions. It was by turns stressful and blissful. Being with Natham was a joy, the connection that we felt that let us talk comfortably for hours the one time we met before was still there. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized it was the bond mates feel when they meet but cross-species mating was just something he hadn’t heard of before. We talked about just about anything they could think of but by unspoken agreement, recent events went unmentioned. I treasured the time he spent next to Natham, gently touching and getting to know him though he was in pain and slept a lot.

I used those times to practice my combat techniques and to talk with Mishtar. His men were working on finding out the identity of the police conspirators and they kept running into a lot of roadblocks. Grants Pass was toward one edge of our territory and not many Carthera lived there. Many of the clans had moved northward to be closer to the center of the land my father had claimed. The local humans were used to us here and we had very little problems between our kinds.

That was due to my father and his tireless work to get the humans to understand the different Carthera clans and to elect government and police officials that were sympathetic to the discrimination that Carthera came up against all the time. He had told me many times that my birth was what really galvanized him into action. He wanted me to grow up in a world safe for Carthera and humans both.

I wanted to continue my father's work but I was afraid that whoever Natham's dad was, he would continue to come after him and me.

More and more the idea that my father's death was part of some bigger plot played in my mind. I had held Mishtar off for two days so that Natham could heal and become more at ease around me. To my shock, my mother took pity on him rather than hating him when she met him the second day he had been recovering with me. He had been sitting in one corner of the office near my desk when the door slammed open and my mother stormed in, raging and shrieking about my father's murderer being in her home.

Natham had to outweigh my mother and me by at least forty pounds, most of that pure muscle, even in the extremely thin state he was in now. He had fangs and claws and all the skills a silent predator brings to the hunt. But the very instant she burst into the room, her anger an almost palpable force, he became more submissive than the smallest child among my clan.

The visible fear and panic that held him motionless shocked us both. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight as he buried his face in my neck. I wrapped my wings around his back gently stroking him and stared at her, defying her to not show compassion and understanding when it was so clearly needed. He was so clearly not someone who had maliciously killed my father and planned to kill us in our sleep; the ridiculous accusation she had been shrieking when she burst into the office.

Her eyes had filled with tears and I knew then that she saw Natham, not a cruel vicious monster who had killed my father. No one who was capable of such a thing in cold blood would have reacted to her approach that way. She came closer and Natham mewled in fear, shrinking away from her touch.

She lost the battle with her tears and they streamed down her face. Shaking her head, she stood up. She had mouthed an apology at me and then slipped out of my office, leaving me to calm Natham. I had held him and stroked him with my wings until he was able to stop shaking and stand up. Soothing him with quiet words and gently stripping him I put him to bed; he never said a word, just watched me with broken eyes.

Stroking his hair with one hand, I wiped the silent tears that slid down his cheeks from time to time until he fell asleep. I had planned on calling Mishtar and meeting with him and Natham that afternoon but the trauma of meeting my mother had sent him someplace in his mind that undid most of the work I had accomplished on getting him to open up.

He wasn’t ready, and I was so jumpy only sliding in next to him on the bed and cuddling him had calmed me down.

Two days after the incident with my mother, I could no longer put it off. I called Mishtar in the morning and asked him to come by right after lunch. Natham had been healing very well and each hour that we spent together brought more and more life back to his eyes. I had talked to him quietly while holding him in bed before the meeting. The closeness my body yearned for was not as important as healing the damage done to him so I focused on comfort and not the heat I felt when I touched his bare skin.

When we finally got around to talking about my father he understood, I saw his eyes darken when I mentioned what Mishtar had found out so far. He had shuddered and cried, holding onto me and whispering he was sorry over and over. Nothing I could say would ease the pain we both felt over his death but crying together seemed to purge some of the turbulent emotions and brought us closer.

My hunch was right about his father wanting to take over my clan’s land. During the meeting, Natham was able to give Mishtar names that the leader of the Falcons recognized from their investigations, though the Carthera and humans he mentioned were not local. Mishtar had recognized the name of one of the humans as one of the police detectives, not the man that had called my mother with details on my father's death but he worked for the same task force.

We were now that much closer to finally figuring out what was going on. Natham was exhausted and shaking by the time he was done talking, telling us about the degradation and pain he had been raised in and the absolute ruthlessness of the man he called Father. He’d been conditioned since childhood to obey without question. Most nights ended with beatings and then being locked into a tiny dark room.

For years Natham had been beaten and forced to listen to his father's rants over the way the Carthera were treated. It turned out his brother had been the boy who saw our kiss and that is when they moved away to plan this attack. He’d recognized the mate bond between us, even if we didn’t.

For the months we’d been apart Natham was drugged and then beaten and goaded until he passed out. He didn’t remember much of that night because by the time they set their plan in motion he was unable to use his human mind, completely feral. When he lashed out at the person who was shoved into the small cage he had been penned in, he had not known it wasn't another of the Carthera who had been tormenting him for months.

The shock of the blood and the ritual his father led his clan in performing had roared through him and then through me bringing our bond to life and brought both him and me to maturity. Somehow the link from my father to me and the mental tie that it seemed Natham and I had shared since we were children had created a completely unique bonding. Over time and distance our bodies had bonded and we became mates. He remembered my scent, but it was only the touch of my body to his that brought him back from the mindless ferocity that had been the only emotional state left to him by all the torture he'd experienced.

“But we’re not like other mates,” I said, “and how do we have this connection? How have I dreamed about you since I was a fledgling? How does all of this fit in with whatever his plan is?”

“He never told me,” Natham said. “I’m sorry. No one should have had to feel that pain.”

“You shouldn’t have had to feel it either,” I said angrily. Natham’s grip on my hand tightened and I squeezed him back. “Sorry, I just feel like for every answer we find we get two more questions.”

"No, I didn't, but even then you had to save me.” I stroked his hand. “You do that a lot.”

Natham’s eyes dilated. “I like saving you,” he said huskily.

My wings rustled from the shiver that went up my spine as I met his eyes and saw the lust in them that mirrored my own. I swallowed hard.

Mishtar cleared his throat, and I had to look away. It took a few breaths before I could speak again. I had to keep my mind focused, for my mate’s sake.

I took a deep breath. “It’s time to bring that bastard down. Mishtar, you know what to do. Find out all you can and then we will come up with a battle strategy. This time we will attack."

Mishtar's eyes lit up with a grim purpose. His smile held the promise of death coming for our enemies. "Consider it done."

He stood and bowed with one fist to his chest, then left the room to begin contacting the Falcons immediately.

I looked over at Natham who looked frightened.

"Don't worry; it'll be our side that wins. No matter how many people you father might be blackmailing or bribing into helping him we have many more allied to us through bonds of friendship and loyalty. I don't even think we will have to call in our allies among the different Carthera clans." My smile was sharp; I wanted to take Natham’s father down myself.

Natham still looked a little frightened so I shook myself, relaxing my posture so that he would stay calm. I was talking about going up against a man who had indoctrinated Natham in fear since he was a small child. I understood and didn’t judge Natham for that.

Mishtar would work on finding them wherever they were hiding; we needed to work on our bond. Standing up, I pulled Natham to his feet.

"Alright, I think we need to take you shopping," I said, looking at the clothes that didn't quite fit him. They were getting smaller as his body filled back out with good food and rest. Not that the shirts stretching across his broad shoulders weren’t fun to look at but I wanted my mate comfortable.

Shopping would be a good distraction for both of us.

The trip to the mall was quiet. We talked softly in the backseat while two of the Falcons sat up front. I pulled Natham into the mall, holding his hand when he flinched at the noise. The guards trailed behind us at a discreet distance. There were some stares, his eyes were striking and he moved with a feline grace though not everyone would be able to tell he was Carthera until they got closer. At least the humans wouldn't, the few Carthera we saw recognized both of us for what we were instantly and typically bowed then backed away.

My wings drew far more attention from the humans. Their pure white color and the blood red drops on the end of each feather seemed to fascinate people. It was annoying but most strangers kept their distance. The children I tried to smile for, though; their eyes held an innocent curiosity.

Taking Natham into stores was another story altogether. Female clerks kept trying to pull him away from me and help him to the dressing rooms but he never let go of my hand. We picked out an assortment of things for him to try on after I finally managed to run off the last annoying salesgirl by flapping my wings threateningly and issuing a firm command for her to leave us.

She was intimidated by me enough to listen thankfully. The bird Carthera clans, the Falcons and Eagles, were showy but rarely feared as some of clans with features that were a more obvious threat. The large cat clans like the Jaguar, Lynx, and Tigers were beautiful to humans but given wide berth because of their fangs and claws. The fearsome looking Snake clan was small as their numbers had dwindled almost to extinction due to their own biology. Both humans and other Carthera were biased against them as well and rarely did a Snake child grow to adulthood. Even then, they were outcasts, even if they found a mate. Scaly skin, fangs and a forked tongue were hard to hide.

"Here, go try these on. I'll be right here outside the door."

I handed Natham a stack of clothes, jeans, t-shirts and tank tops for the most part. I almost drooled when he came out, low rise jeans hugging his thighs and ass. The light blue t-shirt fit snugly across his shoulders and just covered the tops of the firm muscles of his biceps. The color was perfect to highlight his tan skin and his long hair that he had left to fall straight down his back.

Natham pouted and crossed his arms over his strong chest. “But I don’t want to.” His personality had been slowly coming back, especially when we were alone. He wasn’t afraid of me.

“I think I want to take these off,” he ran his hands down his chest and sides to rest in the waistband of the jeans, “and get in bed with you.” He winked. “For a nap, of course.”

Oh man, I was going to need new jeans to replace the ones my erection was about to put a hole through if he didn’t stop. I cleared my throat.

“Tough. If we don’t do it now we will have to do it later. Do you want to come back?” I raised my eyebrow at him.

He grimaced and then shrugged like it was my loss, giving in and going back into the dressing room, shaking his ass a little as he looked over his shoulder with a small glare. That made me smile, though I made sure to hide my smug grin until he shut the door. He came back out a few minutes later in a pair of tan slacks and a loose button up in a dark green that highlighted his exotic striped patterned skin and shining hair.

I gasped when he strutted in front of me and it took me a moment to remember how to talk. “Oh, you need to keep that on.” I eyed him hungrily and it was his turn to grin. His eyes flared and his walk turned predatory as he stalked toward me. His nose flared as he took in my scent and he began to rumble, a quiet low purr that sounded like it resonated right out of his chest.

He stopped when he stood less than a foot from me.

He grabbed the clothes he wore to the mall out of the dressing room along with the jeans and t-shirt he tried on first. We grabbed a few more in the same size and paid for them. Natham blushed and frowned a little when I paid but we had talked about that on the way over. We knew we were mates. What was mine was his and what was his was mine. He might not have liked it, but he accepted it.

For a little while at least.

I tried to fight, to use my training, but I was caught unaware and my wings and arms were pinned to my body so they and my talons were useless. I heard Natham’s enraged hiss before the sound was choked off. Two cats had a hold of him and he was fighting their hold which alerted my guards still getting their pretzels. They shot up into the air as they flew fast, trying to reach us.

Our abductors were too fast and the guards too far behind to catch up before they hustled us through the mall doors and into a van that was parked on the sidewalk right in front of the doors. The humans gaped at us but stayed out of the way, unsure of what was happening.

Fear and anger warred in Natham. I could smell his scent move to complete and utter terror when the man spoke again.

“The first thing I unwrapped was our new cane. You know how much you loved the smooth one? This one has studs. The pain will be exquisite.” The man licking his lips as he watched Natham break disgusted me. I was beyond rage and only my body forced into immobility by whatever they injected me prevented me from ripping his face off with my talons.

I tried to catch Natham’s eyes, to reassure him I was here and he wasn’t alone but he didn’t see me. I don’t think he saw anything or anyone in front of him anymore. He was now locked somewhere in his head, sent there by the man’s words. I had seen part of his life through my dreams and I knew it was a very bad place.

Tears slipped down my face at the sheer torture he was already experiencing while I watched. I had promised to protect him and I failed. That bitter thought was the last thing in my mind before the drugs sent me into the blackness.