Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

"We're going to meet with Aydarr," Gabe said, holding Brent aside as the Badari soldiers left the landing area.

"Now?" Brent tried to catch Raeblin's eye, wanting to check on her, see how she was doing but all he caught was a rear view as she and Keshara walked away. "What's his big hurry?"

Gabe smiled but there wasn't much real humor in the expression. "I don't know—he's the Supreme Alpha and he doesn't have to wait for meetings? Come on, don't start this by making him mad."

"Start what?" Brent handed off his pulse rifle to a waiting cadet tasked with returning the weapon to the armory and caught up to his old friend with ease.

"It's not my place to explain." They walked along the path toward the administrative area of the valley and Brent noticed the colors were brighter and the scents more vivid. The forest and the lake and everything in between smelled fresh and some of the tension he was holding deep inside unwound. Gabe continued with his next thought. "You two were in deep shit on that mission."

"No kidding. Raeblin was solid though, had my six when she needed to, pulled me through after I was wounded." Pride over her abilities ran through him and Brent was impatient to see her again. Maybe after this damn meeting or debrief or whatever it was ended. There were always debriefings after a mission concluded but not usually like this, in a rush to meet with the Alpha, not unless there was a significant issue or crisis. Uneasy, Brent knew if Gabe was authorized to tell him anything prior to the meeting, he would have already.

Aydarr wasn't in his conference room when they arrived but less than a minute after Brent stepped into the room, the Alpha came in, followed by his mate Jill, his number one enforcer Mateer and his pack healer Timtur. For once, unusually, the alien AI MARL remained in the corridor outside, rather than floating along next to Jill. "Please be seated," Aydarr said with a growl in his voice. Looking at Brent as he made his way to the chair at the head of the table, he added, "Glad to have you back in one piece."

"Sir." Acknowledging the comment, Brent took his place and waited.

Aydarr stared at him for a long moment, eyes drifting toward a red gold color as they glowed. Chills along his spine told Brent he faced the Alpha's hidden predator and he tamped down the urge to check his knife. If Aydarr wanted him dead for any reason, the knife wouldn't help. Clearing his throat, Aydarr said, "The first thing you have to understand is you're not human anymore, Brent. You're Badari and nothing about us—not one tiny detail about us, the packs, our history, our goddess, nothing—is shared with humans. Understand?"

He didn't see how he qualified as a Badari, despite Raeblin's blood. He had no inner predator, he couldn't grow fangs or talons, hell, he didn't even have the telepathic ability. Not being a fool, Brent merely said, "I get it." He could tell Aydarr had a lot more to say but he asked his own urgent question. "Raeblin's not in trouble, is she?"

Now the Alpha's huge black talons were edging out. He raised his eyes to the ceiling as if praying for patience and said, "Timtur the Chief Healer told me the Great Mother told him Raeblin had her forgiveness for the choice she made. The subject is closed."

Relief flooded Brent's mind and he was now prepared to deal with whatever other complications Aydarr was going to throw at him.

Leaning forward, the Supreme Alpha said, "You've been with us—with my mate—since the beginning so I don't know how much you've heard or observed in that time but for us, the Badari, it's all about dominance. It's how our predators make sense of the world. It's how pack discipline and order are maintained. We each know where we stand. I cannot have any soldier, even one with only transfused Badari blood, standing outside the hierarchy. Therefore before we leave this room today I will have your blood oath swearing fealty to me and making you a member of my pack directly."

The declaration didn't jibe with what Brent expected and he shot Gabe a glance. "With all due respect, sir, since I'm carrying Raeblin's blood, don't I belong in Keshara's pack? If I belong in a pack at all."

"Are you her claimed mate?" Aydarr shot back.

"No, sir, you know I'm not."

"Mates become members of their other half's pack." A strange expression crossed the Alpha's face and he added ruefully. "No one expected a Badari Daughter to mate with anyone other than a Badari Warrior so we weren't prepared for this situation."

"But Gabe?—"

"Yes, he's Keshara's mate and they have the mating bond sealed in blood," Aydarr said. "It's a different thing than the pack bond." He leaned forward, tapping one talon on the table. "This does not leave this room, although of course every Badari knows it. Keshara isn't an Alpha. She wasn't Alpha-born and she hasn't and won't acquire the dominance to make her one. She and her girls share a pack bond but it's a unique link and not at all like the one the males have. Not based on dominance but on sisterhood as I understand it. We assume it's because the women don't have the 800 years of forced evolution we acquired in our labs. Her ‘pack' is a polite fiction we all agreed to when the Daughters arrived because we'd never dealt with anything like it before and in no way did it feel right to make them swear blood oath on their knees to me. Keshara did on their behalf. Again, we expected them to mate into the existing packs over time and Gabe and Keshara would remain affiliated with my pack. She'd retain her status as an Alpha, on the council of Alphas and be an advisor to me." He waved one hand as if to brush all of what he'd said aside. "The point is, aside from her own mate, Keshara will not have warriors. She isn't going to have you. Maybe in another time and place things could be different but I have to work with what's in front of me now and again, I will not have a soldier with our blood outside the pack. For a human, you're deadly, tough, experienced and an asset. For a transfused Badari, you're still the same man and I'm happy to have you in my pack because what's done is done."

"And if we do become mates?" Brent asked, although right now that was very much an uncertain outcome in his mind.

"She joins my pack directly through the mate bond. The pack bond will sort itself out like it reliably does. If she chooses a different mate, an actual Badari, then she'll be in his pack."

Brent was so immediately angry at the idea of Raeblin mating with a Badari Warrior, he had a hard time concentrating on the next speaker.

"The goddess herself decided you were worthy to mate with a Badari Daughter," Timtur said. "She pushes a Badari into the path of a potential fated mate but then it's up to the individual to decide whether to accept the claim or not. Have no doubts, however; with the addition of Raeblin's blood, you are now counted as one of us in the eyes of the Great Mother."

"Enough discussion." Aydarr banged the table with his fist. "I will take your oath now." He gestured to the open area beside the table and chairs. "You will kneel."

Everything in Brent rebelled at the idea of being forced to accept a new role and to become a pack member. It was the exact thing he'd avoided ever since he left the human military. He was an independent, free agent, living as he chose to do so. Sure he'd been under Aydarr's command all this time technically but that was a hell of a lot different than becoming an actual bloodsworn warrior. Raeblin, what have you done to me, girl?

He'd seen a few men swear their allegiance to Aydarr during his time with the Badari. He knew the drill but he stayed in his chair for a last, doomed second or two of independence. Would the Supreme Alpha kill him if he refused? What would defiance accomplish?

Gabe laid his hand on Brent's shoulder and squeezed hard. "Proud to stand with you, brother."

Mateer had moved to the open space already and Aydarr and Jill were waiting.

Gut in knots as if he was going to his execution, Brent rose and walked the few steps to the spot. He kept his face blank of expression as he sank to his knees and the two enforcers—Gabe and Mateer—held him on either side. He tilted his head to give Aydarr easy access to his neck and held rock steady as the Alpha blooded him with one blink-and-you-miss-it slash from his fangs. He repeated the necessary oath of fealty and the deed was done. Aydarr extended his hand and Brent shook it. Jill, to his utter amazement, kissed his cheek, which was a gesture Aydarr normally would have killed him for receiving from his mate and then the actual Badari and Jill all left the room. Gabe was the only one remaining.

"You okay?" his friend asked.

"Yeah. I'm going to my quarters, need some space, brother." Struck by a thought, Brent blinked. "Do I get to keep my own residence? Or do I need to relocate to the damn barracks like a fucking new guy?"

"Aydarr assured Keshara and me you'd keep all privileges you already had, based on your support for Jill in the early days and to the Badari since. You're not the FNG. The Badari know you, have seen you in action. This blood thing messes them all up, honestly. Aydarr's on edge because of the ongoing war and the new tricks the Khagrish are springing on us and he didn't want to deal with any complications. He wanted to get you squared away in his pack, have it be a done deal and move on." As they walked into the corridor and headed for the door to the outside, Gabe added, "I tried to convince him to let it go, or to wait a while to see how the transfusion affects you but my suggestion was a no go. He was adamant."

Although Brent appreciated Gabe's efforts, his overall emotion remained anger.

"Don't hold this against Raeblin," Gabe said. "If she thinks you could be her mate, of course she's going to do everything in her power to save your life. Did you get the telepathy?"

Brent shook his head.

"It'll come if you two claim each other. The goddess withholds it otherwise, or so we believe."

"I told Raeblin I wasn't on board for this mating stuff," Brent said. "Not my nature to settle down—you know that about me."

Gabe was silent for a minute. "Times change is all I can say. I used to think the same about my life and so did Flo but now both of us are claimed mates and firmly entrenched in the structure here. Neither of us will ever be leaving. I don't think there's ever been a situation where the mates didn't end up together. Give it time maybe, see how you feel. Raeblin's a good person, helped me quite a bit when I was a prisoner at their lab and when we were escaping. I like her."

Brent swallowed a hot retort. "I'll be in my residence if you need me. Since I didn't get the telepathy, I guess you'll have to com me,"

Clapping him on the shoulder, Gabe seemed troubled and Brent was sure his friend had a lot more to say but he wasn't in any mood to listen so the men parted in silence, with Brent walking away and not looking back.

His cave was as he'd left it, with a bare minimum of furnishings and no decoration. He got a beer out of the stasis freeze unit and sank into his chair in the living area. He sat, head down, beer dangling unopened from his hand and tried to absorb all the things that had happened to him on the mission just completed. The scope was so huge, from nearly dying, to Raeblin, to today with Aydarr that he couldn't assemble it into any understandable set of realities to deal with. With a bitter laugh, he took a long drink of the beer and then strode to the sink to spit it out. His first thought was the drink had spoiled despite being in stasis but then he remembered Badari couldn't handle alcoholic feelgoods.

Of all the ways his life had changed, this one was the last straw. He poured out the rest of it and tossed the bottle into the recycler before heading into his bedroom. He took a fast shower to rinse off the remainder of the grime from the mission and flopped onto the bed, staring at the phosphorescent lichen making patterns on the cave's roof far above.

When Aydarr had blooded him he'd felt…well, he didn't know what to call it. He was in no way psychic but something inexplicable and emotional expanded in his chest, not scary or painful, but warm. For a moment he'd heard many voices in his head and then right before he was so dizzy he'd have fallen over, the voices muted. Brent rubbed his chest gingerly. It was still there, quietly humming, connecting him to…what? Was this the fabled pack bond? How could he, a human, even with Raeblin's blood cells taking over his bone marrow, possibly feel the pack bond?

He wondered how Raeblin was doing. Surely her homecoming had been warmer and more welcoming than his, especially if the goddess had sent a message she wasn't in trouble over saving him. He sent her a quick text on his handheld and briefly wished they could spend time together but he frankly wasn't in the mood tonight. He'd be lousy company and her feelings might get hurt.

It was too much to deal with although he guessed he'd have to eventually. Brent closed his eyes and forced himself to go to sleep. Maybe he'd have more clarity in the morning.

In the morning he got up, drank two nutrition drinks, dressed in running shorts and a tee shirt, put on his boots and headed out for a run as he did every day when he wasn't deployed. He ended up at the training compound which the Badari had built and rehydrated while he contemplated the obstacle course. The facility was deserted at this hour and he definitely didn't want any witnesses to what he was about to do. Going to the starting point, he hit the stopwatch function on his wrist chrono and launched into the most difficult of the three courses, which was the one for Badari. He'd run it before and of course his time had been abysmal and he'd had to walk around a couple of the obstacles, to his endless displeasure, but the Badari had their inner predator to help them. Despite Raeblin's blood, he wasn't going to end up with one of those, but he had to know what he was capable of.

Barely a quarter of the way in, he could tell he was setting a personal record and things kept getting better. He didn't have to skip any of the obstacles and when he crossed the finish line and hit the stopwatch button, he was gratified. Not close to the best time for a Badari but significantly better than any human could do. He knew, because he'd been the top scoring human to ever try the damn course. So Raeblin's gift had definitely given him physical advantages he'd be using the next time he deployed on a mission.

There was the sound of clapping and he looked up with annoyance to see Camron, a senior soldier, standing next to the building. "You were damn good out there," Camron said in a genuinely positive tone. He came forward, extending a hand. "Welcome to the packs, brother."

As he shook the man's hand, Brent said dismissively, "Yeah, good for a human. Or a Badari cub maybe."

"No, I could see the improvement. You'll never morph into one of us, as I'm sure you understand, but you have gifts. Your job is to figure out how to integrate your new capabilities into what the pack does. Make your own place, don't try to be one of us or remain a human."

Although his mood remained unsettled, Brent appreciated Camron's advice. The two of them were teaching an all-day class for the latest human recruits to the fighting force and after he'd showered and dressed in utilities and the ubiquitous black tee shirt, he and Camron discussed their agenda and goals for the day's session.

The humans were all volunteers and several had previous military experience, although nothing like Brent's time in the Special Forces. The group was motivated and enthusiastic and he and Camron made a good team, taking turns running the various events and giving instruction. He guessed he'd needed something like this to get his mind off the drastic changes in his life.

At the midday break he and Camron walked to the commissary together to grab lunch, talking over the morning and making adjustments to the planned curriculum for the afternoon. Camron was a solid guy, a senior soldier and Brent respected him. He also checked his handheld briefly and saw a quick reply from Raeblin to his message last night.

Everything's fine with me, her text said. Congratulations on joining the pack.

Which set him off again and he turned off the device without replying.

As he entered the busy commissary and went through the line with Camron, Brent encountered Lydima, working today as a server. She gave him a bright greeting and leaned across the counter as she ladled beans and sauce onto his plate and added fresh bread. "Long time no see," she said. "Listen, the women's dorm is putting on a party tonight, out on the square. You got back just in time. Dancing, feelgoods, the works—Aydarr okayed it as one of his official social events. We could go together? Or maybe meet up. We don't have to stay too long," she added with a saucy wink. "We could have our own party in a more private location, like last time."

Lydima was pretty, well built and ready for anything in the bedroom. She was one of several women in the valley he'd dated casually and his first instinct was to agree to meet her at the party and take the encounter private as she'd suggested. But even as he opened his mouth to make the arrangements, Brent had a vision of Raeblin in the bed with him in the Wanderer's cave and he couldn't form the words. Any desire he'd had for what Lydima was offering fled, leaving nothing negative about her in his thoughts in any way. She wasn't Raeblin and he wasn't interested.

"Maybe I'll see you there," he said as casually as possible and turned to join Camron, who was waiting with his full tray a few feet away.

The senior soldier made no comment but led the way to the Badari Warriors tables. Brent had been invited to eat at the table a few times as a guest of one soldier or another but he realized this time was different. Now he was one of them so of course he'd be sitting there and never again anywhere else. The Badari kept to themselves and Brent remembered Aydarr's stringent admonition from last night, about how not a single shred of information was to be given to the humans. He supposed word hadn't spread yet among the human population of his change in status, although obviously all the Badari were aware, thanks to the pack bond.

He acknowledged the greetings from a few of the men he'd deployed with one time or another and sat next to Camron. As he dug into his food, he and the senior soldier continued their conversation about the training class. Suddenly Brent heard a harsh laugh and a crude comment from the other end of the table thanks to his newly enhanced hearing, and he was on his feet and challenging the man, right in his face.

"You care to repeat that?" he said.

The Badari got to his feet, towering over Brent by at least a foot. "I said, human, the Badari Daughters are lowering the standard for all of us, preferring puny humans to real Badari. The girls don't have enough Badari in them to handle someone like me and now we've got human trash in the packs thanks to those women. Thanks to Raeblin. You going to make something of it? Try to deny it?"

"I'm going to make you regret you got out of bed today," Brent said, "Unless you apologize to the Daughters. Maybe the women didn't suffer in the same labs you did, but they had their share of pain. They're as much Badari as you are."

"But not you." The South Seas soldier shoved Brent.

He managed not to stagger and a red fury was creeping into his brain but he locked it down as the other man flashed his huge talons. Immediately Brent's knife was in his hand and he was calculating the best way to humble and embarrass his opponent. He'd sparred a few times in friendly fashion with Aydarr's men and he knew how to slide in and leave his mark without getting cut to shreds. Sure he'd lose if this progressed to full on battle but by then he figured cooler heads would prevail and his point would have been made.

Camron was at his six and the next moment Yonn came to his side, glaring at the South Seas soldier, talons out.

Yonn? What the seven hells?

Yonn was a Generation 11 cub, alpha-born and probably destined to be as powerful as Aydarr one day but for now he was a kid and although Brent appreciated the support, now his task also included protecting the boy from harm in the melee to come. Jadrian, another senior soldier, stepped up to flank Yonn. This was getting serious.

"What in the seven hells are you idiots doing?" Mateer arrived, voice booming. "The fucking humans are getting an eyeful. Stand down, all of you."

Enforcers like Mateer never set foot in the commissary, so Brent figured one of the Badari had telepathed him. Power flowed from the huge warrior in a wave.

Not lowering his knife, Brent shook his head. "Not until this piece of trash apologizes for what he said about the Daughters and about Raeblin."

Now Ivokk, the senior enforcer from the South Seas pack had arrived to stand with Mateer. Taking in the situation with a glance, he said to his man, "You're in the wrong, Balkor, in so many ways I can't even count them right now. Do as the man says and while you're at it, ask the Great Mother to forgive you too."

Balkor sheathed his talons, drew himself up and said, "Meant no harm. Sorry if it came across as disrespect."

Brent eyed him, hearing no sincerity in the man's words but knowing the two powerful enforcers wouldn't allow the incident to continue. He nodded, putting his knife away. "Don't let it happen again."

"For fuck's sake," Mateer said, addressing the entire table, his eyes narrowed. "Brent's one of the Originals, one of the three humans who helped Jill at the beginning, along with your Alpha's mate Flo, might I add. Brent doesn't help Jill then, maybe none of us are standing here right now as free men after 800 years of torture and death. However he came to be in the pack, we're fortunate to have him and he'll carry out his part of our job with honor and his considerable skills." The enforcer turned to Brent, hand out. "Again, welcome."

Brent shook the extended hand, then pivoted on his heel and returned to his lunch, sitting down as if nothing had happened.

Ivokk cuffed the now shame-faced Balkor on the back of the head so hard he fell to his knee. "Daegan wants to talk to you, now." He and the soldier walked off together.

The humans in the commissary who hadn't understood any of the excitement, since none of them spoke Badari, resumed eating in an uneasy silence, with many peering sideways in apprehension at the Badari.

"You were saying? About this afternoon's drills?" Brent said to Camron.

The soldier flashed him a smile and picked up on the thread of the topic and his interrupted comments from before the incident without a hitch. The rest of the Badari fell to chatting and eating with no pause.

Yonn was leaving with Mateer, but he stopped next to Brent. "I'm glad you and Raeblin came back to us. She's a sweet person—all the Daughters are great, but Raeblin is above and beyond. Thanks for standing up for her."

"Thanks for having my six," Brent said with genuine appreciation. "Probably best if you don't go wading into fights between full grown males yet though."

"I was trying to make him stand down," Yonn said. "He's not in my pack though and I wasn't able to overcome his emotion. He was aggressive and worked up. I could have subdued him in another minute or two."

"Another minute or two and the knives and talons would have been flashing," Brent said with a grin and perfect truth.

"I think he had his eye on Raeblin at one time," Mateer said, setting a hand on Yonn's shoulder. "Which might have added to his fury. She wasn't interested in him and they weren't potential mates as far as I'm aware. Aydarr's waiting, cub, we need to go."

"You're not in trouble, are you?" Brent asked, half rising. "It was my fight."

Yonn drew himself up to his full height and his voice deepened, although a note of humor remained. "No trouble. I do think he wants to lecture me a bit about interceding but it's an Alpha's job to cool tempers and quash disagreements. I can't act against my own nature, now can I?"

Oh yeah, once he had a few more years Yonn would be as powerful as Aydarr, Brent had no doubts. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, I get it kid."

"Aydarr understands as well but he's waiting for us nevertheless." Mateer firmly shepherded Yonn away from the table and the tension lessened further. Probably the only man who could take Mateer was Aydarr and possibly Daegan, the South Seas Alpha so once the huge enforcer was gone, everyone could relax.

Walking to the training area with Camron a few minutes later, Brent pondered the way he'd scented the lie in Balkor's faux apology in addition to knowing from the man's voice and attitude he was reluctantly acting repentant to appease the enforcers. It had been like a sour whiff of spoiled citrus rind in his nose. Brent added another mental note to his tally of what the blood transfusion had conferred upon him and turned his focus to the afternoon's work.