Sarazen's Fury (A Sarazen Saga Novel Book 5) Read online

  Tara hummed her appreciation, swiping her tongue from side to side across his burning skin, swallowing until she felt him hit the back of her throat.

  Brennaugh's shout of ecstasy was all the warning Tara got before he grabbed her under the armpits and hauled her forward, rolling with her right off the edge of the lounge and down to the thick fur rug on the floor.

  His strong arm kept her from hitting the ground, but she lost her breath anyway at the ravenous kiss he slanted across her swollen lips, excitement racing through her blood like a drug as he caught her leg over his elbow, jerking her up and toward him.

  The blunt head of his cock found her opening with unerring precision, driving straight through to the heart of her in one burning lunge.

  She reveled in the way her warrior mate went a little wild, throwing her arms out to claw at the floor instead of his back.

  His hungry growls were almost non-stop now, punctuated by his driving rhythm and her answering cries.

  Four years together, and the sex just kept getting better.

  When the rippling aftershocks faded and Tara could once again form a coherent thought, she turned her mouth to his scarred cheek and nuzzled at the twisted flesh.

  It never failed to make her smile, the way Brennaugh went still and let her do this.

  She took her time tracing each scar she could reach with gentle, loving kisses.

  "One of these days, I'm going to tie you down so I can finish you with my mouth." The threat lacked heat due to her hoarse, drowsy murmur.

  Tara felt him smile, another cascade of pleasure-filled ripples rushing through her as his cock gave one more hard pulse.

  He took the breath to answer, but his wrist unit beeped and the breath turned to a heavy sigh. Brennaugh gave her a quick, firm kiss before he pushed up on one arm to answer.

  "Yes, Tygge?"

  "Daeli has missed his scheduled check-in, Commander."

  "Understood. Meet me in the docking bay. Fifteen minutes."

  "Yes, Commander."

  Tara wrapped her arms and legs around her mate, the feeling of wrongness returning with such strength it felt like an actual stone settling in her gut.

  Brennaugh looked down at her tenderly, his enormous body caging hers as he gave her a comforting rumble.

  "I must go."

  "I know," she answered softly, her throat working hard to swallow the urge to ask him one more time to stay. Instead, she did her best to not make this any harder for either of them.

  "I'll help you pack."

  Precisely fifteen minutes later, Tara stood in the docking bay in the shadow of her armor covered mate, her fingers curled around his wrists as he cupped her cheeks in his hands and pressed his brow to hers.

  For the benefit of the warriors at her back, he spoke aloud.

  "You are my voice within the fortress in my absence. Hollen and his squad are yours to command, and answer to no one but you. I will return in four days."

  ~Be safe. Come back to me in one piece.

  ~Four days, my One. Not a moment longer. He vowed silently.

  ~I love you.

  Brennaugh ducked his head for one last kiss.

  ~You are my heart.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The jungle was so dense, the heat so intense the thermal readout in her helmet was completely useless.Everything looked red and orange, which gave her no way to distinguish the branches and hanging vines above him from the thick, muscular tails of the Na'ah queens surrounding them.

  The animals all around them were silent or had fled for safer territory, scenting the unfamiliar predators.

  She wished the filtration system in her helmet wasn't so efficient, but then again, the scent of the jungle was strong enough to confuse the nose of her most skilled hunters.

  They were blind, surrounded, in the worst possible terrain to fight these vile creatures, and the only thing protecting them from the crushing force of the serpent's tails was their armor.

  To remove it was certain death and she had no desire to feel the deadly kiss of a queen's skin-melting venom ever again.

  The memories bubbled up relentlessly, each pop made her flinch, remembering the smell of her own flesh burning.

  Remembering the pain, the certainty she was going to die before Ga'rae could neutralize the acidic venom.

  Worse, she remembered the day she had finally been released from the medical bay and seen her face for the first time...

  She shook the dark memories away and focused on the problem at hand. There were precious few options left, dangers all around them, and she had no intention of dying in this green hell.

  There was someone waiting for her back home. Someone important.

  "Tygge, Thain, I want this area clear of vegetation. Use the tritonic grenades."

  ∆∆∆

  The explosion was so violent Tara was thrown to the floor, landing on her ass on the hard ground.

  She froze, waiting for the sounds of warning alarms, the shouts of the warriors, for more concussive shock waves to shake the citadel, for fear to grab her by the throat.

  But nothing happened. No shouts. No alarms. No more blasts or explosions. No fear.

  Strangely, Tara felt a sense of ice cold rage. She sat up, shaking as she called up the lights and looked around the familiar walls of the suite she shared with her mate.

  Only Brennaugh wasn't here right now.

  The more settled in her own skin Tara got and the intensity of her dream faded, the more obvious it was that the rage she felt wasn't her own.

  It was his.

  Something was wrong enough for them to have connected via their dreams. Tara reached for him through their bond, needing to feel him, needing to know he was alright.

  ~Bren? Where are you? Are you on your way home yet?

  The silence was profound, and just as panic threatened to overwhelm her, Brennaugh's voice filled her mind.

  ~I am here, Tara. We have reached the facility and come under attack as we made to leave.

  I must concentrate. Control your fear and trust in your mate's experience as a warrior. Can you do that for me?

  She was well aware Brennaugh had been born and bred to be among the fiercest of the Sarazen warriors.

  She knew he was experienced and had held command of a ship and a small army for decades.

  Neither of those facts negated the fear something might happen to him.

  ~I'll try to keep my worrying to myself. Whoever is attacking you, kick their ass and come home to me. You've got one day left.

  Tara could feel the smile that stretched over her mate's beautiful lips, and the burn of love he felt for her reaching out across space and time to warm her.

  ~As you command, my One.

  She felt the ghostly sensation of his hand on her cheek, the tender, loving caress all she got before Brennaugh's presence in the forefront of her mind was gone.

  Tara sat still for all of two seconds, admitting to herself there was no way she was going back to bed.

  She needed to know what was going on, and there was only one place to be.

  ∆∆∆

  Hours later, pacing in the command center of the citadel, Tara chewed the last of her fingernails to the quick. There was nothing wrong with the communication systems.

  Daeli and the first squad of warriors sent to secure the jungle fortress were all dead, and had been for some time.

  Her mate had walked right into an ambush.

  Tara knew her pacing and the smell of her concern were distracting to the warriors trying to keep the information and communication flowing, but she couldn't make herself sit down or leave.

  If she wasn't here and kept up to date on what was happening, she knew she wouldn't be able to keep from constantly reaching out to touch Brennaugh through their bond and potentially distract him during a crucial moment.

  Every few seconds she could clearly hear Brennaugh's voice commanding his warriors as they battled against the Na'ah, but she had to take slow, deep breaths to keep her fear to herself like he had asked.

  To not call out to him on the open channel and demand to know if he was okay.

  Tarek suddenly blew into the room, his voice and his presence filling the command center like thunderclouds, the obvious shift in the atmosphere suggesting lightning might shortly follow.

  "Report!" he bellowed, and immediately got all the updates Tara had been waiting on bated breath for.

  One of the warriors—not Brennaugh— answered Tarek's demand.

  "We have engaged what appears to be a nest of over twenty female Na'ah.

  "We have brought down eight so far. At the moment, we are fighting to gain the high ground."

  Tara watched the pride ruler take a wide stance, folding his arms over his enormous chest while his eyes roamed the holo-screens, seeing what the warriors on the ground saw.

  Nothing but dense jungle, the dark of night, and the occasional flash of pale white when the blasts of their plasma weapons lit up the night in bright blue flashes.

  "I do not see vital activity from Commander Brennaugh. His status?" Tara waited for the answer to the intensely distressing question.

  A disembodied voice grunted, their view shifting as the warrior leaped over a fallen log to fire wildly into the darkness.

  "Unknown, Asho. He was beside me moments before you spoke, our backs are to the solid wall of the facility, but he is not here beside us now."

  Tarek and Falken both looked to her, but she was already in the process of doing her solid best to shout so loud across her bond to reach Brennaugh, his ears should be ringing.

  It took him what felt like hours to answer her, but he finally did, and he didn't sound good.

  ~I hear you, Tara. I hear you.

  Tara pressed her hands to
her ears and screwed her eyes shut tight, focusing on the glowing skeins of life that bound her to her alien mate.

  She struggled to keep herself open to him while not allowing her emotions to stampede past her control.

  ~I'm in the command center with Tarek. We can’t track your vital signs. Are you hurt?

  ~Not yet. I was pulled into the facility from behind. A molecular displacement module must have been deployed.

  I am in some kind of press; I cannot move. My armor is thus far protecting me from the crushing force. I—

  Brennaugh stopped mid-word, his attention turning elsewhere for a moment.

  ~I hear voices of two males, their intention unclear at this time, but a gas is being pumped into the room.

  My helmet readout isn't registering it... I can smell... sweetness... if my armor is removed... vulnerable...

  Tears spilled down her cheeks, but her fear was slowly turning to rage as his voice got weaker and weaker, his words slurred and sluggish.

  ~Commander! Keep talking, you don't have to breathe to talk to me. Stay conscious. Tell me what else you hear.

  For a heartbeat she felt their connection strengthen, his voice steadying in reaction to the harshness of her command.

  ~Memory download. Vital data stored... they require data...

  ~Who requires the data, Bren?

  ~Tara?

  ~That's right, warrior. Your mate has not given you permission to die, do you hear me?

  I told you to kick their ass and come home to me. If you can't do that, I will find you, even if I have to burn that entire planet to the ground!

  ~Tara... my heart.

  ~Keep talking to me. Brennaugh? Bren? Answer me!

  ∆∆∆

  The meager information Tara had been able to glean from Brennaugh before whatever gas had taken hold of him, urged the warriors on the ground in the jungle of S4 to retreat back into the facility and tear it apart looking for him.

  Only there was nothing inside but bodies long since dead, and no trace of where Brennaugh might have been taken.

  She argued that if a molecular displacement module had been used, there must be some kind of subterranean section to the facility.

  Tara argued until she felt blue in the face, but there was nothing to be found.

  Tara could feel that Brennaugh was still alive, but two days passed in a flurry of activity, and not a single word or emotion was felt from him.

  Then on the morning of the third day, Tara felt her beast in a way she never had before.

  There had been no thoughts of right or wrong, only survival. Primal reactions to sight and smell, the fury of a cornered animal.

  In the thrall of the visceral reaction, Tara saw flashes of green and heard the echo of roaring.

  When she came to, she found herself surrounded by six warriors holding her down with a mix of horrified and worried expressions on their usually stoic faces.

  She lay perfectly still beneath their hands because the restless rage, the confusion, the urge to shift and kill was still right there.

  She tried to do what they said and remain calm, to breathe slowly, that help was coming, but it was so difficult it caused her physical pain to hold back her beast.

  Tara heard someone tell her she had fallen to the ground screaming, that she'd frightened them as her screams turned to enraged roars, but Tara didn't remember any of that.

  It didn't take much to realize she wasn't the one struggling to breathe.

  ~Bren? Talk to me, I'm here, I'm here for you. Are you hurt?

  His fury, his animalistic rage rose as he fought the touch of her mind. Brennaugh could hear her, but something was seriously wrong.

  He couldn't answer her, he didn't recognize her voice, and the more she tried to connect with him the more he fought and snarled, and connected like they were, the more Tara fought and snarled against the hands holding her down.

  "Tara? It's Gwen, honey. You're scaring the big bad warriors out here," Gwen's hand smoothed over her hair, followed by a sharp, quick sting to her thigh.

  Tara felt her body go lax, a gentle sort of numbness spreading to encompass her from nose to toes.

  She could hear Gwen's concern, but the smell of rain, of green growing things, of blood and musk overpowered her senses.

  Tara opened her eyes but she couldn't see the ceiling through the haze of tears.

  "Can you hear me?"

  "Yes. I hear you, Gwen," Tara choked out, her eyes rolling left and right, trying to see more through her mate's eyes, but whatever sedative Gwen had popped her with had dulled the connection.

  "I can hear Brennaugh. I know he's alive, but it's like there's no one home. He's just rage and animal instinct running through the jungle."

  Her stomach flopped as she was lifted off the ground, dizziness pulling at her as she was carried away.

  "Everything will be alright, Tara," Ga'rae soothed, his deep voice usually so comforting, but not today.

  Tara was struggling to keep hold of the far too fragile connection she had with her enraged mate.

  "So long as he's alive, Brennaugh will fight to come home to you."

  But everything was not alright. Not even close.

  CHAPTER THREE

  "This is your last chance. No one will think less of you if you don't wish to proceed."

  The heat of S4 coupled with the intense humidity made it seem like she had just stepped out of a steamy, hot bath only to be wrapped in a hot, wet towel.

  Tara tore her eyes off the dense vegetation waiting to swallow her whole as soon as she stepped out of the open transport hatch, and up to meet Warrior Hollen's solemn face.

  He had literally just put one foot down on the forest floor, and already sweat trickled down his temples.

  Standing just shy of eight feet tall, with a mane of stark black hair, ghostly pale skin, and blood red eyes, Hollen was one of the most physically frightening warriors Tara had met to date.

  His clan markings were every bit as red as his eyes, and in spite of his angular, fearsome features, he was one of the gentlest.

  He spoke to her softly, firmly, but this was the third time Hollen reminded her she could go home. Promising her he and the other warriors would not return without Brennaugh.

  Tara was beginning to think Hollen didn't want her along.

  Her chin shot up at an angle, her armored fingers clenching at her sides. "You think I'm too weak to keep up, don't you?"

  Hollen simply blinked at the hostile challenge in her tone, his head tipping to the side ever so slightly as he gave her a penetrating look.

  "Physically, I fear the trek will be too difficult for you, yes. I do not doubt your devotion to your mate, but I know Commander Brennaugh would not want you to put yourself in danger."

  Hollen was brutally honest, which made it difficult to throw attitude at him and demand he get over himself and out of her way.

  She took a deep breath, the smell of the jungle so overpowering it made her momentarily dizzy.

  Tara stared out into the mindbogglingly thick collage of greenery and was unable to deny it: she was terrified to leave the safety of the transport.

  "You don't have a mate yet, do you, Hollen?"

  "I have not been so blessed," the warrior answered in his quiet way. "But if I did, I would wish her to be anywhere but here."

  Tara nodded and shouldered her light survival pack. "Brennaugh took me to S12 to hunt harkaxx. Did you know that?"

  "I did not."

  Clary said harkaxx resembled a midget ostrich, white, with stubby wings and long necks.

  They had spade-shaped feet and moved silently across the snow and ice of S12, their natural scent so faint as to almost be non-existent, making them one of the most difficult creatures on any of the fifteen planets to catch.

  Brennaugh told her aspiring trackers went to S12 and claimed the title of an Elite Hunter by tracking and capturing harkaxx in a blizzard.

  It hadn't been a blizzard, but the snow had been falling when Tara pounced on the first small bird.

  In the month they had been there visiting Brennaugh's family, Tara claimed five of the little creatures.

  Brennaugh's youngest brother crafted her an elegant shoulder cape and some beautiful jewelry out of the soft white feathers.

  Remembering how proud Brennaugh had been, smiling and eagerly denying he had caught the harkaxx for her whenever someone at the citadel stopped to compliment him on the extravagance of his gift, made tears well in her eyes.