14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Z ylar was holding Amelia in his arms when his body was tossed across the bed, the force field she spotted earlier keeping him from crashing to the floor with her.

"What the hell?" Amelia shouted, trying to fight her way out of Zylar's arms.

"We're under attack." He put her down, jumping up to get dressed. He handed her an outfit she'd never seen before.

Amelia was sitting on the bed, the covers pulled up to her chin as she stared at Zylar like he had gone momentarily off his rocker.

"What?" They were in space; how could they be attacked? Nothing made any sense; it sounded like white noise in the back of her mind. Could she have suffered from an aneurysm from the trip to Nirvana she took last night?

"Amelia, my lotus flower, get dressed." His voice was hard steel over soft silk, and it was enough to make her move. She dressed automatically, still trying to understand how they could get attacked in space.

He took her hand, and then they ran down the corridor to the lift.

"I don't understand. How could we be attacked when we're on your spaceship that's in space?"

"Have you watched any sci-fi programs about space?"

"Well, yeah."

"Then you've seen battles in space between spaceships."

"But that's fiction!" She almost wanted to laugh at how unreal all of this was. That kind of television wasn't real, just something to get humans hyped up. Then again, aliens were real and not monsters who stood tall with purple skin and knew how to use their mouths and tongues. Darn it, why hadn't she offered to get him off last night? Some mate, she was already failing at the job.

"It's fiction in your world, and reality in mine."

"Commander Gylor, report." Zylar barked the minute the door to the lift opened.

"What took you so long?" Commander Gylor spit out, his eyes going to Amelia.

"If you wish to keep your eyes and your command." Zylar went silent and Commander Gylor turned to look at him.

"A Tan-ge ship uncloaked and fired on us. Since we are flying your colors, they thought we were nothing but a med-aid ship."

"They knew my colors, which means they knew better. Let's show them the error of their ways."

The commander motioned to his chair, but Zylar shook his head. He took Amelia into his arms and found a seat with a good view of the bridge.

"Unknown battleship, this is your last chance to stand down. You've fired on the med-healer ship, Guardian. Stand down and wait to be boarded."

"That wouldn't work with me," Amelia whispered, watching the commander.

"It won't work with them either. Don't be fooled, we don't want them to stand down. All we need is a reason." She wanted to argue, but then she felt the emotions coming to her from the crew. The Tan-ge not only fired on them knowing who they were but that they helped the helpless. There was also the rage that they had devised a plan to kill every female on their planet, young and old, for their gain. They didn't want to play nice with the scourge of the universe and she couldn't blame them.

When the captain of the Tan-ge ship laughed, she watched the commander's lips twist with a sick kind of joy. He was a male who didn't enjoy killing, but there were certain things he made exceptions for, and the Tan-ge was one of them.

There was another volley of explosions that racked the Guardian.

"Shields down to ninety percent," a voice rang out.

"Are you sure you don't want the pleasure?" The commander turned to ask Zylar.

"Do your thing. Let me see you in action," Amelia said.

Zylar stood and placed Amelia in the chair he was sitting in before he touched a button that held her to the chair with a force field.

He exchanged places with a young Diza male sitting in front of a terminal. Amelia wasn't sure how she could tell that he was young. Maybe it was the pattern of his emotions when they bombarded her.

"Commander." Zylar's voice rang out strong and confident in his abilities.

"Fire when ready," the commander said.

"Incoming," the same voice from earlier said."

The ship rocked. Amelia could feel the impact, but she thought she felt the ship release a volley of weapons aimed at the other ship. The view screen went live, and she watched the other ship being hit.

"Direct hits in quadrants six, nine, and eleven. We've damaged them but their shields are still holding." Zylar nodded and stood down.

Amelia could feel his emotions like they were living and breathing inside of her. His rage knew no bounds, but the healer in him didn't want to add to the blood on his hands. Zylar wasn't new to fighting or killing, but his genetic makeup demanded that he heal. That he bring those with no hope or the ones on the brink of death hope and healing.

"Commander, they are charging weapons to fire again," someone called out.

"Shit!" a different voice screamed before getting himself under control.

The lift opened andDelsa, the second in command, walked out. "Commander, they plan to wipe us from the face of the galaxy. I've been monitoring their internal communications."

The weapon they fired hit them, knocking Delsa off her feet. Anyone not being held down was tossed across the room. Amelia was stable and so was Zylar. She felt when his emotions changed. Sadness went through him like a whip cutting flesh. Behind it was the resolve that some species couldn't take a hint.

Shields down to fifty percent. One more hit like that and we'll be defenseless." Was it another voice or the same one speaking? Amelia didn't know all her concentration was on Zylar. His long, nimble fingers played across the keyboard like it was an instrument.

"They are charging weapons." Zylar never flinched or turned away from what he was doing. Amelia had to give him credit for being single-minded. When they discharged their weapon, Zylar touched a button and a weapon from the ship met it blowing it up between the two vessels.

"Let the records show that I gave them a chance for peace." Zylar's fingers played over the board in front of him, and then several weapons left the ship detonating on impact.

"Their shields are down."

Zylar hit another series of buttons, and the ship in front of them was blown to smithereens. He picked Amelia up, holding her closer.

"Commander," Zylar said before they left the bridge.

The emotions from the bridge crew bombarded her before the doors to the lift closed. His crew respected him, adored him, and wanted to be like him someday. Some loved him and she knew it was brotherly love and most were grateful they were on his ship.

She hit him on the chest. "When you said this was your ship, you meant it was your ship!" Her voice was a little loud. He'd have to forgive her, and she'd call it shock. Commander Gylor commanded the ship because most times Zylar couldn't be bothered with it, but in situations like the one they just left, he was always there making decisions in the background.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She could hear the sadness in her voice. Just one more person who lied to her.

"Listen to me. I knew you were my mate, but I didn't know who you were."

She wanted to call BS but stopped to think. It helped that she could feel his emotions. Feeling them allowed her in to his pain and that hurt. It made her feel something other than human, not a monster, but how would the scientists look at her if they knew? She'd become a medical experiment for the greater good, of course.

"Females have wanted you because they thought you were rich since you owned a ship. They also thought you were handsome, so they were getting the best of both worlds, a rich and handsome male."

"Only you." He laughed. They were greedy sycophants who wanted what they thought they deserved and were willing to walk over me or any other male to get what they wanted."

She took her time to dissect his words and the emotions flowing over her. She realized that his ‘only you' comment meant that only she could see the good in life after having lived the bad. The rest was what he believed was going on and she gave him a nod. He was probably right, it seemed women were women no matter what world they came from. Some wanted nothing but fortune and fame while others wanted love and a home and there were always those that straddled the fence.

"I don't care about your name, fame, or fortune."

"Then it's a good thing that it's now your name. Fame, and fortune. The empath that brought the healer to his knees."

"Did I bring you to your knees?" She was flirting with him, but part of her knew that there was a battle coming and she didn't expect to live through it.

The male who used her turned her into a missel that he directed at her family was still out there and he wouldn't rest until she was dead. Her time with Zylar felt like it was ticking away, and she didn't want to miss one second with him. Was she in love? No, not yet. She was in deep like and lust. If he proved to be the male he presented himself to be, she could fall for him, but why? Sooner than she liked, she'd be dead, and she didn't want him grieving too long for her.

She wanted him to grieve some. Just not long. Life moved forward, and she wanted him to move with it.

"That look on your face tells me I won't be happy with whatever you're thinking."

"I didn't know healers had crystal balls."

"You say some of the strangest things." She laughed because being here in the Guardian had given her the time away from her cousins and Earth to start feeling whole again. Zylar was a large part of it.

She didn't want to lose him, but if she did, then she wanted every memory she could take with her.

Amelia reached out, pulling him down for her to press her mouth against his lips.

"Amelia?"

"I know this is the eye of the storm, but I want to take advantage of it. Before I'm fighting for my life and yours, I want to make some good memories with you."

The door to their lift opened, and he carried her to their cabin. She was all in from this moment forward. What did she have to lose? Zylar. That's what she was going to lose. The pain hit her in the center of her chest, and she cried out.

His hand was there, rubbing where hers had been clenching.

"I felt that."

"It's a reminder to us that we have business on Earth. The Tan-ge who tried to kill you is still determined to win. I was able to lessen his hold on your soul."

"When you spanked me?" Her face was blood red.

"Yes, then." He ran his hand over her ass, cupping one cheek, then the other before he smacked her gently.

"You like my behind."

"It was made for me." His eyes sparkled, and he made her laugh. She'd never thought of being made for another or them being made for her.Could the path she was on be the one she was meant to always walk? That thought gave her a little peace.

"We're not promised tomorrow, but we have right now. What are you going to do about it?" Amelia teased.

He tossed her on the bed, enjoying the sight of her bouncing on his sleep space. "Let's see what I can do." She laughed as she launched herself at the other side of the bed. Zylar laughed, chasing her.