Chapter 11

11

T he shuttle flew toward The Bridge, and turbulence rocked them around. Even with the secured seats, Karuk felt the jerking of the ship. He’d felt worse, but it was not comfortable.

Jenny, however, looked utterly terrified.

“Nasty winter storm we’re flying through,” the pilot said. “We’ll be landing in a minute.”

Jenny had a grip so tight on the chair, her hands were turning white as she stared out the small window next to her.

The wind slammed against the ship, even with the dampeners on it shook the vessel. Out the window, where the frozen rain hit, the protective force shields around the vessel sparked, and then a blur of vapor and white noise outside.

“How can they see?” Jenny whispered. “It’s like we’re lost in a fireball.”

“Sensors,” Karuk replied. He knew the transport’s telemetry would get them exactly where they needed to go, even though the external forces fought them. He’d piloted enough shuttles like this one to know that even if he couldn’t see everything, the sensors could.

“It will be fine,” he said, and patted her hand.

“Still scary to me.”

“We are almost there.” He pointed out the window. “See the light in the distance? That’s where we’re going.”

Jenny glanced at him. “How do you know?”

“It’s the only thing tall enough to be The Bridge.”

She nodded and stared at the beacon on the tower. The shaking continued, and he noticed she also squeezed the cat carrier, which sat on the floor between her feet.

“Do you want me to hold the carrier?” he asked.

“It’s fine,” she said.

Her pet was surprisingly silent, though Karuk expected the animal was upset.

Just like his owner.

He thought some conversation would help distract Jenny until they landed.

“Does your world always have storms like this?”

“This time of year? Yeah. It’s almost Christmas. People will be thrilled there’s snow on the ground. After the blizzard is done, that is.”

“Does this Christmas need snow?”

“On my side of the world, Christmas is usually cold, with snow on the ground. It’s one of the coldest times of year on this continent.”

“One would think your holidays would be more enjoyable if the weather is less intimidating.”

She chuckled. “We have a lot of fun things to do in the cold.”

“Like what?”

“Ice skating.”

“What is that?”

“You put special shoes on, ice skates, and you glide over frozen water.”

He raised his eyebrow. It sounded rather odd.

“I’m not explaining it well. I’ll show you a video when we land.”

He nodded.

The ship lurched, and he felt the shift in the engines. They had made it to the platform.

“We’re landing,” he said, touching her hand again.

She wrapped her fingers around his, holding on tight as they passed through the shielding, and all the turbulence stopped.

Her grip released. “Did we land?”

“Not quite,” he said. The sounds of metal hitting metal, a soft groaning and they came to a stop, the dampeners shifting as they depressurized. “Now we’re landed.”

“Thank goodness. Gotta say, don’t love space travel that much.” She looked out the window again and opened her mouth twice. “There we go.”

He glanced at her. “Are you well?”

“My ears popped.”

He looked her over. He didn’t see any evidence of her ears doing anything. “They look fine.”

She smiled. “The pressure equalizing, it makes our ears feel blocked, until the air pops.”

He noticed no such thing. “Interesting biology you have.”

“We’re a mess, I’m sure, compared to what you’re used to seeing,” she said. “You sure you wanna do this? Mate with a weird Earth girl?”

“I am sure.” And he was. The more he thought about it, the more he knew he’d made the right choice.

His time was limited. At some point, the Vorjan House would find him and return him for refusing his orders. It could be in a few days, or it could be years. They would not stop to find him.

The King’s Guard didn’t fail.

She picked up her carrier for the cat.

The cat howled.

“Get me out of here! I hate this thing!”

Karuk patted the box. “We are just getting back to the station. Be patient.”

“It’s okay, Mister Fluffikins. You’re going to get out soon enough,” Jenny cooed at him.

He hissed again.

Karuk glanced at her. “He hates his box.”

“Well, he’s not wandering on his own. At least not right now. When we get to our apartment, he can get out and explore,” Jenny said.

“Come on, time to off load,” the pilot said.

Karuk nodded and helped Jenny off the shuttle. They gathered their bags and headed onto the platform.

Karuk headed for the door, but only got a few steps when he realized Jenny wasn’t by his side.

Instead, she stood on the open part of the platform, just staring up at the force shield around the landing pad.

And at the snow and ice hitting the shield. She took a few steps toward the edge, her hand out.

Karuk sat down the bags and crossed to her.

“Jenny?”

“There’s no glass,” she said. “Nothing to mark the barrier, but I can see it. It’s like we’re inside a bubble that won’t pop.”

The droplets hit the shield, swirling up and down as the air currents moved them. Her eyes were wide, wonder filling her expression as she stared at the shielding and the weather’s impact on it.

Her beauty and curiosity moved him deeply. He wanted to hold time there, in that moment, with her staring in wonder and joy at the simpleness of a shield in a storm.

Something he’d known all his life.

But she’d never experienced before.

“It’s insanely beautiful. Almost like magic.” She reached out to touch it again, and this time, made contact. The shielding wavered, a light rippling out from her impact.

“It is beautiful,” Karuk said. Though he wasn’t speaking about the shielding. He only saw her and her joy and curiosity.

Something he didn’t see enough in his life.

Jenny glanced at him, then down, then back at the shield. “I was, uh, talking about the shield.”

“I know,” he said. He took another step toward her.

He brushed a strand of her hair away from her face, his fingers lingering in her hair.

She met his gaze.

“Hey there. Karuk and Jenny, right?” A male came out onto the platform. He looked to be another Earthling.

The Earthling broke the spell that was weaving itself around the two of them.

Jenny turned and looked at him. “Yeah, that’s us.”

“I’m Jeff, and I’m your go-to liaison here on The Bridge, and I’m here to make sure you’re happy with your accommodations.” The male smiled widely and seemed genuinely pleased to see them. He pushed a repulsor pad cart toward their bags.

“I’m sure they will be adequate,” Karuk said, returning to their things.

Together, he and Jeff placed all their bags on the cart.

Jenny carried Mister Fluffikins, but Karuk took the crate from her.

“He will ride smoother here,” he said, placing it on the cart in a way so the cat could see out as they walked.

“Oh, you have your own pet! How fun.”

Jeff pushed the cart around that moved like it weighed nothing. “Come on, then. Let’s get you all settled.”

“What is that?” Jenny asked.

“A repulsor cart, tech from up there. It’s like pushing nothing.”

“Really?” Jenny asked.

“Here, have a try.”

Jenny pushed it. “Wow, that’s lighter than an empty shopping cart.”

“They are so handy,” Jeff said, taking control of the cart again.

Karuk couldn’t help smiling at their excitement over basic technology. Well, basic to him, anyway.

As they entered the main area, he noticed it seemed to be a large circular space with counters all around. Bright and clean, and it had a lot of plants scattered about the station.

Karuk took a breath. The natural air smelled different from the reprocessed air of the space station. Of being in space.

Organic air always filled him better.

He missed the organic. He admired the flora they passed as they walked through the sizeable area. Plants of all shapes and colors brightened the level. He noticed as he walked by that many had little cards in the front, with the name and the region of the world they came from.

While the ceiling was high and spacious, the place seemed built for Earthlings. Everything seemed slightly smaller, like it would fit Jenny and not him. He wasn’t the largest Humanoid on the station, but many were taller, with bigger needs, or tails, and most everything around seemed fitted to the size of the Earthlings than anyone else.

“This is very exciting,” Jeff began. “As you know, The Bridge is a kind of housing complex for couples who are mated through the IDA, allowing them time to get to know each other, before jetting off into space, and making their lives together.”

“How many couples can be here at any time?” Jenny asked.

“We currently have ten suites available as a starting point, however, when we reach full capacity, we should be able to have fifty suites, plus the staffing to accommodate the couples and any events or excursions they may wish to try.”

“So it’s going to be like a hotel resort?” Jenny asked.

“Basically,” Jeff said.

“Will any humanoids be able to come here and stay, without being part of the dating agency?” Karuk asked.

“No, not that I’m aware,” Jeff said.

“What about you,” Jenny asked. “Do you get to go back down planet side? You and the staff? Or do you all live here full time?”

“Most live here full time, though some choose to leave on their days off and come back, staying here on their working days. I am one who commutes. My husband is a doctor, and is on call a lot, and I work here, so when I’m working, I stay here.”

“That’s gotta be hard.”

Jeff shrugged. “Makes us value our time together when we get it. For right now, it’s working for us.”

“That’s good,” Jenny said as she continued. She paused at a flower with large pink petals.

Karuk stepped next to her. “It is lovely.”

She nodded. “Lotus flowers are.”

He glanced at her face. “You dislike them.”

She shook her head. “That’s what my ex would call me. His lotus. I hated it.”

Karuk put his hand on her back and steered her away from the flowers. “Then I shall endeavor to not put you in the path of those flowers ever again.”

She chuckled. “You’re sweet, for a big old humanoid.”

“You are my friend. I want my friend to be happy.”

“I thought we were experimenting here,” she said, a little smile on her face.

“We are. We are experimenting to see how far our friendship can go.”

“Ahh, so that’s what we’re doing,” Jenny grinned.

Jeff had stopped a short distance away, waiting for them to catch back up.

“Sorry,” Jenny said.

“No worries,” Jeff replied. “The flowers are all so pretty and full of life. I just love them.”

“We like all but the lotuses,” Karuk said.

“Good to know,” Jeff said with a smile. “Anything else I need to know about you two?”

Karuk wasn’t sure how to answer that.

“We’re still figuring that out,” Jenny said.

“Oh, for sure. Well, just let me know if you think of anything.”

They walked for a bit before Jenny had a question. “What if we wanted to go down to the planet. Like if I wanted to take Karuk to meet my family.”

“I would have to check on that,” Jeff said as he led them down a hallway that was narrower, and there were doors on either side. He guessed they were the apartments that were mentioned for the different couples.

Jeff continued. “The closer we get to Christmas, the weirder people are being about this place. There’s more and more protesters out there every day, it seems like.”

“Where’s their sense of brotherly love?” Jenny muttered.

“Exactly,” Jeff said.

“I thought Christmas was a celebrated holiday,” Karuk said.

“It is,” Jenny started. “But it’s also got a lot of religious belief wrapped around it. Many people on our planet don’t like the idea of humanoids, because that may bring their religious beliefs into question.”

“Which is why we’re being careful about allowing anyone who’s not from Earth on the ground. We wouldn’t want anyone to be hurt, or worse, by someone who is not in their right mind.”

Karuk nodded. “I will be careful.” He doubted anyone on the surface could match him in an altercation.

Even with the small knife he carried, he could be quite lethal if necessary.

Jeff looked him up and down. “Honestly, we dress you right, you’d probably blend in enough that it wouldn’t be a problem,” he said. “It is those like Erzo, who Polly is married to, with his big tail that is hard to hide. That causes a lot of issue.”

Karuk nodded. “Charro have always been difficult.”

Jenny grinned. “Thought they said that about Dalgurians.”

“Takes trouble to know it,” Karuk answered back.

“You two are cute,” Jeff said, and led them just a little further, stopping at the one on the end. “And here we go, we’re at your suite.” He tapped a card on the door. A light beeped, and the door lock clicked. Jeff pushed it open.

“You’ll see it’s a fully functional apartment, complete with a little kitchen, living area, bath and bedroom. There’s plenty of space for you to unpack and there’s a large closet for you to hang up your clothing as needed.”

Jenny gasped as they entered.

Inside the room, dominating one corner of the main living area, was a tall green tree. The woodland smell coming off it was divine. The tree was covered in red, white, and gold glittering balls, and lights that pulsed in different colors. A star sat on top, twinkling as well.

He’d seen nothing quite like it before. There was something mesmerizing about the look of the tree.

They both walked toward it. Karuk wanted to touch it and feel the branches and the stick-like leaves.

Jenny turned to Jeff. “You all put a real Christmas tree in here?”

Jeff grinned. “Well, it’s getting close to time. So, it seemed appropriate.”

Jenny glanced at him. “There’s presents under the tree too?”

Jeff waved his hand. “Just a few things that might make your stay a bit more pleasant.”

Jenny turned and her eyes glistened with tears.

“Oh, honey, don’t cry!” Jeff said. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“But it is,” Jenny said. “I’ve sort of lost track of time up there. This is a pleasant reminder of home.”

“It is a very special looking tree,” Karuk said. “This is part of the Christmas you mentioned before?”

She nodded. “I told you about Santa, how he brings presents? He puts them under the tree for all the good boys and girls.”

Karuk looked at Jeff and then back at Jenny. “Is he our Santa, then?”

Jenny grinned. “It seems so.”

“Really, you two, this is just a gesture,” Jeff said. “I just wanted to make your apartment more homey.”

“Well, it is amazing. Thank you.” She wiped away a tear. “The holidays are important to me.”

“Glad to help,” Jeff said. “Now, let me finish showing you around, so you can get settled. Here’s your patio, and it looks out onto the world.”

“Wow, what a view,” Jenny said, looking out the large window. “Is this patio under that shield thingy too?”

“Absolutely, you can go out there at any time and watch the weather.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out another card. “And here’s the wifi information, so you can check emails and stuff. Though just like before, no photos or anything inside The Bridge, just like on the station.”

“Of course,” Jenny said. “Thanks, I’ll hook in and see what I’ve been missing the last few weeks.”

“I also put a few snacks and drink options in the kitchen for you. We have room service as well, and can get you about anything from the kitchen, just use that tablet that’s on the counter. And if you need anything from us, please ask.”

“Thank you for everything,” Jenny said.

“Of course. Now, I’ll leave you two alone to enjoy your time.”

“Thank you,” Karuk said, bowing to him.

Jeff repeated the gesture back and then left them alone.

Jenny immediately took Mr. F’s cage and opened it up so the cat could get out and explore.

The cat leaped out of the cage and landed on the couch.

“Now where are we? Is that a Christmas tree?” the cat demanded. And turned to look at Karuk. “Are you staying here?”

“Yes, and yes,” Karuk said telepathically back to the cat.

The cat responded by spinning around, and scooting into a corner of the couch, and curling into a ball.

“I guess he approves of this couch,” Jenny said.

“I suppose,” Karuk said.

“Or he’s plotting how he can climb that Christmas tree.”

“Do cats do that?”

“Absolutely. We’ll just have to watch him.”

“For now, he is sleeping.”

“Not a bad idea. But first, I think we should probably put the rest of our things away. Get settled and check out everything.”

“Agreed.”

Karuk and Jenny divvied up space in the residence for their possessions. The whole time, Mr. F slept on the couch, though Jenny believed he was plotting his first attack on the Christmas tree.

There was a natural ebb and flow between them as they put their things away, and he found it pleasing. Like they had a psychic agreement on everything, without having to vocalize it.

Their liaison, Jeff, also sent up Earth food to the apartment for them, as well.

Jenny called it pizza with all the trimmings. Bread cooked with toppings on it. A favorite food of Earthlings, evidently. She had been very excited to see it. There were also sticks made of similar bread and small meat sticks called chicken wings that, while messy, were quite delicious as well. He could have eaten plenty more of them.

They also got a fizzy drink, though Karuk was not a fan. It was dark and bubbly and made him burp. Jenny was also very excited about it. Made by a doctor, she said. But she only had a single glass of it. After they finished what they could eat, Jenny wrapped everything remaining and put in the food storage box. She called it a fridge. After, they both relaxed on the couch and stare at the glistening tree.

So far, Mr. F had not attempted to climb the tree. Though so far, he had not moved from his spot, either.

Karuk believed Jenny was wrong about Mr. F’s intentions.

Which was fortunate. The large tree brought him joy. Just smelling the fresh, organic scent of him soothed him. He had been in space far too long.

“Tell me of this Christmas tree. What does it symbolize?”

“It’s Christmas,” Jenny said.

“Is there a reason for the tree?”

“You know, I’m not sure. The history of it goes back for centuries, I remember that in school, but I can’t remember exactly why, other than it is supposed to be a gift of love and light. A symbol of the coming brighter days, I believe. I’ll have to look it up.”

She pulled out of her pocket her personal communicator. “That’s right, I need to connect this and see what I’ve been missing.”

Though she hesitated to do it.

“Why do you wait? Do you not wish to hear from your people?”

“It’s not my people I’m worried about.”

Karuk raised his eyebrow. “Are you concerned about the one who stalked you?”

She nodded. “I don’t want to know what he’s been doing since I’ve been gone.”

“It has been several weeks, would he continue his onslaught?”

“Most likely,” Jenny said. “But I also know that my parents may want to reach me as well, so I should, just to see how they are doing.”

He saw her nervousness and put his hand on her arm. “I promise you; I will let nothing happen to you.”

She patted his hand back. “I believe you.”

“I mean that,” he said. “We have a great deal of respect for females in Dalgurian culture. On our world of Feox, females are regarded as our life and future bringers, because they bring the next generation. And those who harm females are regarded as the worst of our people, the only worse is those who harm young ones.”

“Good. Those who harm children should be considered the worst of the worst.” She scooted closer to him and raised his arm.

He realized what she was doing and put his arm around her. Her little frame curled up next to him. A blanket rested on part of the couch, and she tugged it to her and tossed it onto her legs, as well as his.

It was comfortable. Cozy.

Intimate.

He didn’t want to let her go.

Not ever.

“And why isn’t your world called Dalguria?” she asked as she smoothed out the blanket. “You’re called Dalgurian. Shouldn’t you be Feoxian or something?”

He chuckled. “Our original home world, Dalgur, was lost to a super nova. We were able to find a new world, Feox, to settle on.”

“Why didn’t you call it Dalgur 2?”

“The world was already named. We had to get permission to live there from the Galactic Alliance.”

She leaned into him. “So there is some kind of galactic empire. Do they have soldiers in white armor with big face masks?”

“That is an interesting visual.”

“It’s from a movie.”

“May have to watch it some time.”

She chuckled. “You’ll either love it or find it ridiculous.”

“I am already intrigued.”

She laid her hand on his leg. He wondered if her touch was from comfort or the desire for something else. Her hand was close to his rod. If she slid it up, just a little...

“What did you do before you were in construction?” she asked.

He waited a beat to answer, for he was unsure about her response. Some would be impressed. Others were terrified.

Most females were terrified.

But he knew if he did not tell her who he was, then she would be vulnerable when his past caught up to him. “I was the King’s Assassin in Vorjan House.”

Surprisingly, she didn’t pull away from him. “You were an assassin?”

“Among other things. I was commanded by my king to carry out tasks. Sometimes, yes, they were assassinations.”

“What made you leave?”

“Not following orders from my king. An infraction punishable by death.”

She shifted in his arm so she could look at him. “So you left because you didn’t follow orders? Must have been a pretty serious to make you question it.”

“It was. I refused to assassinate an heir to another house.”

“Huh. And now you do construction? I feel like there’s more to this story than you’re telling me.”

He nodded. “I should explain. There are multiple Houses in our society. Each one has a monarchy ruling, and territories that each House rules over. There is a head House, with representatives who speak for the kings of each House, to mediate between the different Houses.”

“I’m following. And you worked for one of these Houses?”

“Yes. Vorjan House.”

“So why were you asked to kill an heir of another house?”

Karuk shook his head. “I do not know. I was given the assignment, and no explanation why. I could not complete it.”

“What stopped you?” she asked.

“It was a female child.”

“Wow,” she said, shaking her head. “Who would order a hit on a child?”

“I still do not know. When it was learned that I refused to complete the assignment, I was hunted down. So I left.”

“Are they looking for you?”

“Most likely.” He ran his hand up and down her arm. “When they find me, it will not bode well. Punishment is death.”

“Well, that’s, uh, horrible.” She shifted. “No chance for a trial or anything?”

“Not unless evidence presents itself.”

“Is there any way to look for some?”

“Not without returning to Feox, and if I do, they will kill me.”

“I don’t think I like your homeworld. Did you try to defend yourself somehow?”

“In what way? I was given an order that I disobeyed.” There really was no defense of his actions beyond his own moral rules of what was right and wrong.

He’d hurt and killed many in the name of his king, but he did not kill children.

He would not.

Regardless of what that did to him. His conscious was clear on the matter.

Jenny, however, was still curious. “And this king gave you that order directly? Or did it come from someone else?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Was it possible that the order was misunderstood? That you were supposed to do something else? That the order had been changed, either by accident or purposely?”

The idea gave him pause. He never truly thought about it. Had he been manipulated with the order? The order came in with an honest intention from the deliverer. He sensed no malicious intent upon delivery.

Did it come directly from the king?

No. “It came in through channels, as all orders come in.”

“Was it sent to you to purposely damage your standing, perhaps? You said yourself that the worst of your people are those who hurt females and children. This would have made you guilty of both. Could it have been some kind of set-up to remove you? Or even a test to see how loyal you were?”

“It is possible. Though I would think that those who knew me on the King’s Guard would have known that I would not assassinate a child.”

“Well, I’m sorry you had to run away from your world, but I am glad you’re here.”

“I am too.” With every moment they spent together, the stronger his desires to remain with her built.

“Good,” she said with a smile. “Because I’m getting used to the idea of us being mates. I’m not ready to give you up yet.”

He wasn’t ready to lose her, either.

While they sat so intimately on the couch, watching the blinking of the fancy tree, he knew he felt more content than he had in a very long time.

The faint sound of the wind and the storm that was moving through the area could be heard in the background, but it was otherwise peaceful.

“You know what we need?” Jenny said after a bit.

“What?”

“Some Christmas music.”

“How do we get that?”

“I’ll bring it up on my phone,” she said. She picked up her communicator and started tapping on the screen. “Right, I’ll have to connect to the wifi. Just a second.” She climbed up and got the card that Jeff had given her before.

In a moment, she was back and fiddled with her device, and soon sweet songs played. Songs about trees and magic and lights and having a wonderful Christmastime filled their residence.

She bopped her head back and forth to the music, and he could see how the music brought up her mood.

And then, in the middle of a song, a barrage of bells interrupted the music.

She sighed and picked up her phone. “This was what I was avoiding.”

“What is it?”

“All the things I missed while we were on the station and disconnected to Earth’s network.” She shook her head. “That felt so weird to say. Earth’s network.”

He smiled. “Well, your people need to get used to the idea that your universe has expanded, and it is now more than just your planet.”

“True,” she said. She would stroke the screen, stare intently at it and then brush whatever it was away, and go to the next thing.

With each little screen she saw, her expression got darker.

Her body language shifted, and so did Mister Fluffikins.

The cat raised his head and looked at Jenny.

“Something’s wrong,” he said. “Bad. Very bad. She smells upset.”

“Thanks for the tip,” Karuk answered the cat, though he’d figured that out already. He turned to Jenny. “Has something happened?”

“It’s my landlord. My apartment. One of my neighbors reported that someone has been coming and going there.”

“Was someone supposed to be watching your domicile while you were gone?”

“Yep. My landlord. My neighbor across the hall knew I would be gone. I only told the couple that lived there because I didn’t want them to think I was dead on the floor when they didn’t see me for a while.”

“Do they know where you went?”

She shook her head. “I told them I was leaving for work for a while, but didn’t give them any details.”

She kept staring at her device.

She was reading, her hands trembling.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I, um. Uh,” She held the phone out.

You’re sick. How dare you touch those aliens!

You’re going to destroy our world!

You’re a whore. A menace to our society.

The world will self-destruct because of horrible bitches like you. How dare you allow aliens to come to our planet!

Her thumb stroked the screen, and the messages kept coming. No names attached to them, but the horrible harassment and degrading words burned a fire in Karuk.

Whoever did this would pay for this. He would bring the full fury of the King’s Assassin on the monsters who dared threaten his mate.

“What are these,” he growled.

She stared at him for a minute.

He could see the fear in her eyes.

“Who is it?” he asked again.

“Phil. My ex, Phil.”

“Did he do this? Send these horrible words to you?”

“I’m sure some of it.” She sat the phone down. “He doxxed me. Revealed not only that I was going up onto the station, but how to reach me, all my private information, it looks like, to the public. Those are from some of the hate groups that are all against the idea of other humanoid species coming to Earth. He did this all while I was in orbit. I can’t believe he’d go this far because we broke up.”

Her face was pale, tears running down her face. Karuk’s fury built.

She leaped up and ran to the bathroom.

Karuk kept looking at the hundreds of messages.

And then he heard Jenny making horrible retching sounds.

He crossed to the door to assist if he could. “Jenny?”

“Don’t go in there,” Mr. F hissed at him. “You’ll regret it.”

Karuk glared at the cat.

He tucked back into his furry ball and turned away from him.

The waste disposal bowl cycled.

“Jenny, are you well? Should I call a healer?”

“No, I’m just…” She pulled the door open, and her face had paled, her eyes were watery, and her hair was disheveled.

He pulled her into his arms and held her. She cried, and he held her tight.

“I can eliminate the threat,” Karuk said. “Whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

“Just hold me. I’ll have to figure out what to do later. I just can’t right now.”

He held her close.

And promised himself that he would do whatever it took to protect her from this wicked male who dared to hurt her.

Regardless of the consequences.