Keeper of the Heart

Chapter 21

If Tedra hadn’t given the impression that she was furious with her lifemate for his decision, so furious that she wasn’t about to be helpful no matter the reason, then the search party might have come to her sooner for questioning. As it was, Challen didn’t show up until that evening, with Falon at his side, and the young warrior looking like he was about to do murder if he didn’t get some answers fast. Well, that was too bad for him. The man needed to learn some patience, and he was pretty much going to be forced to start learning now.

Challen said nothing until he stood above her with his intimidating height; then he came right to the point. “Brock has pointed out the probables that you would know where Shanelle is hiding, and if you do not, then Martha surely would know.”

Tedra swirled the dhaya juice in her glass and replied indifferently, “You must be desperate if you’re using Brock. Instead, why don’t you just accept the fact that Shani doesn’t want to be found?”

“So you know why she hides?”

“I know why she’s not here to be claimed by our young friend from Ka’al, but so does he.” Her eyes swung accusingly toward the younger man. “Why don’t you tell him, warrior?”

“He has already done so,” Challen said calmly. “He has also informed me that the lack of control he suffered was a thing to be expected. It can happen only with the keeper of his heart; thus does a Ba-Har-ani know when he has found his true lifemate.”

Tedra wished to Stars she’d heard that little tidbit sooner, and her defenses rose now with a touch of guilt that because of her, Shani was not here to hear it. “If he had bothered to tell her that, she might not have panicked when it became apparent that you favored him. You know how little tolerance she has for pain, Challen. She’s afraid of him, afraid he’ll hurt her again, afraid of the unique punishments a warrior will give his own woman, that all women end up earning for one reason or another, afraid that he can’t love her because he’s a warrior. She’s not ready to accept him yet, and won’t be until she can reconcile herself to some of that.”

There was no indication that he understood Shani’s difficulty, or her own in deciding what to do about it. All he said was, “Where is she, woman?”

His inflexibility infuriated her, causing her to gulp down the rest of her dhaya juice, then slam the glass down on the table beside her. “You may not consider it my duty to protect her, but I do! And right now she needs protecting from him”

Challen’s gaze had unfortunately followed her glass to the table, and he picked up the bottle of dhaya juice sitting there and took a large drink of it himself. Tedra squirmed nervously. She hadn’t wanted to feel anything when he got around to punishing her, which was why she was drinking the juice. A blatant case of defiance on her part that he couldn’t help but realize, because dhaya juice was what warriors took to kill all sexual urges so they could punish their women with desire that wouldn’t get relieved.

Setting the bottle back, he leaned over her to say, “There is always the new rising, chemar, and the next-and the next.”

His meaning was absolutely clear and Tedra blanched. “You wouldn’t punish me that much!”

“Where is Shanelle?” was all he said.

She pushed off the couch and began pacing in agitation. Her silence prompted the warning “Do not make us both suffer with your stubbornness, woman.”

“Well, if I’m damned anyway, it might as well be for a good reason.”

He was beginning to look like his patience was running out. “You will cease to defy me on this now.”

“Wanna bet?” she shot back with a tightly fixed smile.

He stared hard at her for a moment before he finally sighed and reached for the computer-link unit attached to his belt. “Brock, best you join with Martha’s terminal so I may speak to her of this matter.”

Brock did not respond immediately. When he did, it was to say, “Martha has either been turned off or gone beyond my reach.”

Challen’s eyes bored into Tedra’s again, with full suspicion now written all over his features. “Where is Martha?” he asked her.

“You heard him,” Tedra replied carelessly. “Beyond his reach-beyond your reach.”

Brock then announced with a good deal of male chagrin, “The Visitor’s Center has just informed me that the Rover is no longer in Spaceport.”

“Shanelle has left the planet?” Tedra winced at how close Challen was to raising his voice, but he wasn’t finished. “You gave her permission to take the Rover?”

“If I hadn’t let Martha take her off-planet, she would have left alone, and then we wouldn’t see her again. Even now, she thinks she’s not coming back. She’s that serious about not wanting to end up with a warrior. If you had bothered to ask her, she would have told you that. But no, you plowed right ahead in typical barbarian fashion, insisting it had to be your way or no way. Well, she got it her way instead.”

“With your assistance, woman. She could not have left otherwise.”

That was debatable. But as long as Tedra was getting blamed anyway, she might as well keep quiet on that score and take it all. But Challen wasn’t finished telling her how bad she’d been.

“What you have done is shame this house. You deprive this warrior of his right to protect his lifemate.”

Tedra glanced toward Falon, who’d stood silently near the sunken pool all this time, probably in a state of shock at seeing a woman defying and arguing with a warrior. “She’s not his lifemate yet.”

“She will be the moment he finds her,” Challen reminded her. “This you know.”

Perhaps it was time to do some reassuring. “She’s only going to be gone for a few weeks. Martha will see to that. She’s going to work on Shani, help her to conquer her fears.”

“I have waited two risings to claim my lifemate.” Falon spoke for the first time. “I will not wait any longer.” And to Challen, he asked, “Is there a way that I may follow her?”

“It can be arranged.”

“No!” Tedra said incredulously, but she knew it could be arranged, and why hadn’t she considered that?

Her anger now was at least half self-directed, that she was going to fail in protecting Shani after all. But it was Falon she took it out on, marching over to him to rail at him in full volume. “Dammit, what do I have to do, challenge you to get you to back off for a while? Shani needs some time to think and figure out for herself that a life with you won’t be so bad. You know it won’t be, my lifemate knows it, even I do, but Shani… does… not! If you find her before she’s ready, she’s just going to resist you. Is that what you want, warrior? Because if you’re so eager for another fight, I’ll damn well accommodate you.”

By his expression, Falon wasn’t taking her suggestion the least bit seriously, and her anger simply didn’t impress him. “She is mine now to protect, yet is she not here for me to do so. I cannot remain here and do nothing while this is so. But your concern is unnecessary. When I find her, I will not allow her to resist me.”

He might have got away with saying that to any other Sha-Ka’ani mother, but not to one who believed totally in free choice. “That tears it in half, warrior. Consider yourself challenged.”

Falon almost laughed at the absurdity of a woman challenging a warrior. He did smile. But Tedra wasn’t interested in his reaction. Her body loosened into a fighting stance, she heard her lifemate call out, “Do not!” which she ignored, and in the next moment she was delivering a high kick square in the center of Falon’s chest.

He was totally ill-prepared, since he hadn’t expected her to actually attack him. Because of that he was knocked off-balance-right into the sunken pool. He came up shaking hair and water out of his eyes. But those azure eyes quickly settled on Tedra with a heated glare.

“I will not fight you, woman.”

“The hell you won’t. I won’t allow you to refuse. So come on, warrior.” She beckoned him with her fingers to get out of the pool. “How does it feel not to have a choice?”

Unfortunately, Challen intervened at that point, coming to stand beside Tedra, but it was to Falon he spoke. “You cannot be faulted for refusing challenge from the mother of your lifemate. Perhaps you will allow me to stand in your stead?”

“No,” Tedra whispered, even as Falon gratefully nodded his head, and then said as Challen turned toward her, “Challen, no! I would only have demanded that he give Shani the time she needs to get over her fears! That’s all. I wouldn’t have embarrassed him or put him to work.”

“Challenge was issued, chemar.” Hearing that prompted Tedra to run, but so damn easily was she stopped, and a moment later she was lying flat on her back on the floor, with her lifemate calmly lowering his body to cover hers. “Now it is accepted, and now do you lose. And you know what it is I will have of you for your challenge loss.”

She did. Perfect obedience in the bedchamber, which meant she wasn’t going to be able to fight when he got around to punishing her.

“Get off me, warrior,” she growled low. “Even after all these years, you’re still a farden jerk.”

His lips curled in humor the slightest bit at her tone. “And you still try a warrior’s patience.” But he kissed her briefly before he let her up.

And now Tedra was the one who could do no more than glare at Falon as he hefted himself out of the water. “Try all you like, but Martha won’t let you find them.”

“Then I must allow Brock to accompany him,” Challen said quietly.

“Brock isn’t up to taking on Martha.”

“This you hope. I disagree.”

“So do I,” Brock seconded.

“Fine,” Tedra snapped in disgust. “Have it your way-you farden warriors always do. But I warn you, Falon Van’yer, that my daughter has had a year to convince herself that she would prefer anyone other than a warrior for a lifemate. It’s going to take more than a few days to get her to see things in a different light. So go protect her. Do what you feel you just have to do. But I guarantee you won’t be happy with the outcome.”