Callim's Challenge Read online

  Matthias leads us out by kicking open the doors as he storms through the empty building. As we exit the other side, I’m relieved to see a shuttle waiting for us. The ramp lowers in time for us to stomp up and settle in with our bundles.

  “Mission successful, I see.” The pilot watches us buckle into the seats and immediately puts the ramp away.

  “Somewhat. The women have yet to come around. They used Eufen on them right before we made it in. This is Callim and Forohn.” I jerk my head in acknowledgment and he does the same as the rest of Matthias’s men pile in and buckle up their harnesses.

  I follow Matthias’s example and keep holding Shelly as we take off. This close, I can study her delicate features. I haven’t been able to do this yet.

  Her fine, light hair reaches just past her shoulders but as I stroke it away from her face, it doesn’t respond. It seems to be lifeless as it hangs. This could be because she’s unconscious? I notice Beth’s is the same although her hair has curls and is even lighter in color.

  Why didn’t Mila tell me more about our differences? Seeing her in my daily reflections didn’t prepare me for how different we are, and I need to confirm she’s alright. She has full lips and a straight small nose that almost turns up on the end. It adds to her knowing attitude she so carefully portrays.

  Even though she comes across gruff, I could sense her insecurities. I look forward to studying the contradictions between her words and actual feelings. Her eyes are large with dark lashes that twitch as she seems to be waking.

  Susan’s eyes flutter open with a soft inhale next to me. Matthias’s quiet voice reassures her instantly. “I’ve got you, Susan. I’ve got you.”

  She wiggles in his arms next to me before speaking. “Uh, crap. My stomach doesn’t feel well. Maybe just wake me up when we get there?” He laughs before leaning into her face to put his mouth on hers.

  How long before Shelly and I will possess that same familiarity? I want that. Watching with fascination, they touch lips but then they don’t stop. Their mouths seem to open together as their lips stay locked. I’ve never seen this before.

  My eyes flicker to Forohn to see he’s just as surprised. Susan pulls away panting, and we both peer down at our mates.

  Susan pats Matthias’s chest next to me. “Lordy! You’re deadly with those kisses now.” Kisses? This must be the mouth touching they are doing. Fascinating!

  She twists in his grasp to examine Beth and Shelly. When her eyes lock with mine, she looks back up at Matthias. “Everything went well?” She’s a good friend, checking on my mate and Beth.

  What would have happened if Susan and Matthias had not come with Shelly and Beth? I had resigned myself to the councilor’s proposed life of captivity. Obviously, these females made other plans. I owe them.

  “As well as expected, when they gas your mate unconscious.” Susan smiles at Matthias as if it’s funny. What if the drug Eufen was dangerous to their system? There is so much we don’t understand yet about their species.

  “You saved me again,” Susan whispers to him, pulling him down towards her.

  “Of course, my mate. I love you and I’ll always come for you, remember?” Matthias and Susan act like no one else is around them as he declares his loyalty and they lock lips again. Everyone in the shuttle is watching them with me.

  I stare without seeing as they embrace next to me. My heart aches for what they share, and I recognize the envy I feel. How long will it be before Shelly clings to me so sweetly?

  Looking down at her relaxed face, I commit to never quit trying. I’m so close to having something that no one else has or can have. My own Ermada. Even better, a mate.

  It’s a dream I never admitted to anyone before. And she will be just mine. And I will be just hers. Forever bonded.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  - Shelly

  I’m cradled and warm as I slowly wake up. This is the best I’ve felt in weeks. The achy joints I’ve become so used to don’t throb incessantly. The shaking and shivering have also subsided. It’s been so common to be cold.

  Wait. My eyes pop open to spot Callim staring back at me with a big smile. Damn! Why does he always appear so happy?

  I’m in his lap. That might be part of why he has such a big grin. But for me, it’s just another reminder of predatory foster fathers with wandering hands. My languid body just won’t move though.

  “What… wait, what happened?” Lifting my head, I catch sight of Susan on my left and Beth to my right on Forohn’s lap. Everyone is here, at least.

  “All is well,” Callim murmurs, leaning in towards my face. For a minute there, I think he will kiss me.

  Wiggling slightly, I try to bring my body back under my control. Not only did I want that kiss, I don’t even want to move. That doesn’t sit right with me. “They drugged us!” It finally dawns on me what happened. “Those crazy fucking bitches drugged us, Susan!”

  Callim’s arms are bands of steel around me as I struggle to wiggle out of his grasp. “Shh, Shelly. It’s alright. I have you now.”

  What does he think I am? A three-year-old? “I’m fine. I’m fine.” I punctuate my words with slaps on his arms as I try to sit up and move next to him. He doesn’t let me go though.

  “Relax now, Shelly. We are almost to the spaceship Discovery, and there isn’t a seat for you. I’m your restraint.” He’s let me sit up a bit, and I agree he’s right. All the seats are taken by big guys in dark gray uniforms.

  So, this was the calvary. They’re all staring at me as I make a scene too. Well, fuck them.

  “Let me sit up at least. Fuck.” I shift until I’m upright and sitting on his legs at an angle. I’m not a total bitch though. “Thank you for getting us out of there.” Turning my head, I meet Matthias’s eyes. “You were right. They had no intention of ever honoring our agreement or letting us go. Wait until I tell Hannah!”

  Shaking my head, I watch Matthias agree with a nod. “There’s too much at stake right now. This will change the power structure of the entire planet. The good thing with how this all happened, is they won’t stop the Discovery. They won’t want to admit what happened there today.”

  The shuttle shimmies and shakes as we enter the Discovery’s shuttle bay. Callim stiffens behind me and I examine him curiously. His eyes are wide as he looks out the windows. “Have you ever been off Quasar?”

  He smiles slightly as he meets my eyes to answer me. “No.” His simple response doesn’t tell me much about him. I sit for a minute and study him while he looks outside the windows into the shuttle bay.

  I feel… nervous? But I’m not. I’m sure I’m not.

  Everything in my body still feels relaxed from the drug they used on me. It’s hard to sit up and not collapse back onto his very wide chest behind me. This means what I’m experiencing is from him, right? That’s how this works?

  It actually makes me feel better to realize he’s nervous. He certainly looks calm and collected on the outside. And yummy, too. Even his skin is perfect. The only thing giving away his unease externally is his hair. Long pieces hover over the rest that is wound into a style I’ve never seen on anyone else.

  As soon as we touch down, the surrounding guys are flinging open the door. Standing slowly, Callim keeps a supporting arm on me to lean on and for the moment, I’m grateful. He isn’t manhandling me like Forohn does as he stands with Beth in his arms and carries her off after Matthias.

  “Please, Shelly. I know you can walk, but let me carry you?” I still have a hand on his thigh, and I jerk it away. Damn it! I really am not steady yet. Everyone has left the shuttle but Barek the pilot who’s looking at us curiously.

  “Fine.” Callim’s smile never falters as he calmly swings his arms under me and effortlessly lifts me up. Even though I put my arm around his neck, I studiously keep my eyes on Beth and Forohn ahead of us. They are just leaving the shuttle bay.

  He catches up with them by the time we enter the Medical Center where Matthias even has Susan laying down on a
bed. He’s holding her down by her shoulders and whispering earnestly in her face. Probably trying to talk her into sticking around. Susan doesn’t like doctors.

  It’s a good thing I don’t have her hang ups! With how sick I’ve been, it would have sucked to have a fucking breakdown every time I visited Brock and Atticus. And they’ve been very supportive, answering all my questions and dealing with my mood swings.

  “Here is good.” I point to my normal examination bed. I’ve spent more time here than in the room they assigned me. Callim lowers me down and I immediately relax as he steps away.

  The sexual tension between us is off the charts. There’s a very strong part of me that doesn’t want to be put down. It wants him to climb up here behind me like Matthias is doing with Susan.

  I’m distracted by Atticus, who’s instantly hovering, running a scanner over me. “They gave you the antidote, right?” He isn’t even looking at me, just at the device in his hand.

  “Yep. Great to see you too, Atticus. This is Callim.” I wave to the hulking man standing next to the bed. He’s leaning over me and trying to peer at the scanner in Atticus’s hand.

  Atticus’s eyes flick up at him. “Nice to meet you, Callim. Should I check you too? Any injuries I should be informed about?”

  “No. I’m in perfect health.”

  Yeah, yeah. Lucky him. “Are you sure? Because you were down for the count too, right?”

  “Down for the count?” His smile falters as he looks at me questioningly.

  “She means knocked out by the Eufen.” Atticus shuts down his scanner to interpret for me. “Human females have a very diverse language. ‘Down for the count’ refers back to a fighting game on their planet called boxing. If you were knocked down for a certain amount of time, you lose.”

  “Fantastic, Atticus! You’ve been studying.”

  Atticus corrects me. “We don’t study. I’ve completed the English language upgrade.”

  “I did not lose. I’m here with you now.” Callim’s wide beaming smile tells me he thinks this all worked out great.

  “Ah, okay.” I’m not going there right now. Instead, I give Atticus all my attention. “Can you register the vaccine in my system? They supposedly gave it to me. It was in a little, round drink?”

  “That would be a nanup. A nano upgrade.” Atticus hesitates before he continues. “I can see they gave it to you. The markers for it are in your body’s tissue. But…”

  “But what, Atticus?” He’s pissing me off with all the drama. He wasn’t even this bad when he told me I had the disease Tirus X.

  “You know you’ve been progressing and acquiring the physical effects of the disease…”

  Callim cuts in. “What are the physical effects?”

  Atticus grabs my wrist and holds my arm out in front of us all. “Shaking, weakness, numbness in the extremities, loss of control of the physical body—” The more I try to steady my hand, the more it shakes.

  Yanking my arm from him, I snarl, “Yes, and then loss of control of the organs and total body shut down. I got that.” My voice is raising as he pisses me off. I don’t need sympathy. I need it straight. “It’s in my body, but what?”

  “But you will recover much faster if you get your mate’s nanos inside you. Now.” Mother fucker. Atticus can be such a dick sometimes.

  “Well, I better move over so we can get to it. These beds are pretty narrow.” Shifting my gaze from Atticus, I bat my eyelashes innocently at Callim. “Did you want to be on the top or bottom?”

  “I’m not ordering you to.” Atticus’s hair is floating up around his head and I can’t help smirking at his discomfort. Seeing hair like that means he’s flustered, like he’s blushing. “It’s just…”

  “I know. Okay?” I grab his forearm before he gets too far away. “I’m aware, and I’ve already heard enough from Beth. I care about you too, Atticus.” I'm already aware that I don’t have a choice. Whatever, right?

  It’s just sex and I don’t have a problem with that. It’s been a long time, but I have had time to come to terms with the idea. And fucking look at him! He’ll easily be the youngest and best-looking guy I’ve been with—by a long shot.

  “I’ll leave you two and check on Susan.” Atticus jerks away and practically runs to the other side of the room. Weird.

  It isn’t until I glance up at Callim that I register why. His smile is gone. A squeezing pressure settles in my chest and I instantly feel bad. What the fuck?

  “Just friends.” I wave my finger back and forth between Atticus and me. “You understand, right?” Sitting up, I swing my legs over the side and he instantly moves in front of me, leaving no space for me to get down.

  “He cares about you and I think I have him to thank for you being here today.” Callim’s tone is grim, but he’s saying all the right things. He looks like he wants to throw up.

  “Exactly. Atticus is the one that discovered the disease and then realized that we could get the nanos from our mates. Technically, that was hypothetical but now that we know Jenny and Rachel are fine on Dactyles, it’s a proven fact.”

  “Jenny and Rachel are friends? Other Earth females?” His hands float around my body as he tries to figure out where to touch me. It just makes me tired. I don’t bite. Not hard anyway.

  Grabbing his hands, I pull them in front of us and settle them in my lap. He tightens his fingers around mine instantly as if I’m a lifeline. “Yes. Their mates were prisoners there. Are you okay?”

  I feel something and it isn’t me. It’s an uncomfortable sensation. Like a displacement.

  He smiles and moves closer until his body nudges my knees and I spread my legs a little so I’m not feeling him up. “Just surprised. Maybe a little overwhelmed. It’s just…”

  “Just what?” His eyes are beautiful. Big, greenish brown orbs are locked with mine as he seems to consider what to say to me.

  “I had just finally come to terms with meeting you and living with you on Quasar in the mating study. This is better—but unexpected.”

  Oh, poor guy. “Surprise!” I keep my voice low but smirk at my words. “Welcome to my world.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  - Callim

  I’m on a spaceship in space! I always knew eventually I would be. As an emissary I would go to either the Marel or Sinth, and both are long trips. But this is different.

  Very different. When Shelly reaches for Atticus and purposely touches him, a shot of pure rage goes through my system. I’ve never experienced such a strong reaction about someone I know nothing about.

  Over the course of my life I've had limited interactions with others. It makes dealing with two sets of emotions challenging. I'm still trying to negotiate with the emotions I experience personally. Not that I would ever trade my position with anyone.

  Add to that the fact that Shelly rarely speaks what she truly feels… and her words are harsh and often crude. But I can detect her insecurities hidden in them. Her feelings for Atticus were honest, and they made me very jealous. And angry.

  We spent a large amount of our time in the Sanctuary studying and in daily reflections. It isn’t often that strong emotions ever pierce my control. Right now, I endure everything. Clearly. I’ve felt more emotion in the past day than I have in years.

  Shelly’s eyes flick to the door behind me as it opens and closes. Glancing over my shoulder, I watch another Earth female and Quasar male enter.

  “Welcome Callim Devesti and Forohn Kana.” The big male’s voice booms out and I turn to face him, releasing Shelly’s hands and stepping to the side so she can see him too. “I’m Bren Khar, the captain of the Discovery and Matthias’s brother. I’m sure you were surprised by Matthias’s arrival. But Beth and Shelly did not want to stay in the mating study group on Quasar.”

  “Fuck, no.” Shelly breathes the words under her breath. She slides her body to the edge of the bed before dropping onto her feet. The female with Bren moves towards us as Shelly talks. “Did you see what those crazy council m
embers had set up?”

  Shelly bends down to grab her bag but I snag it before her, placing it on the bed for her to look through. “They wanted to monitor us all the time!”

  She sounds outraged. Maybe this is an Earth issue? I’ve been monitored my entire life so this would be nothing new for me.

  “I knew they wouldn’t be able to help themselves. There must be an ulterior motive too.” The Earth female that came in with Bren has reached us and sticks out her hand. “Hello, I’m Hannah.” I recognize this from when we were introduced to Shelly and Beth at the Amphitheater. “This is an Earth welcome gesture. We join hands and shake.” She grabs my hand and brings it up and down twice before letting go.

  She moves over to Forohn to repeat the gesture. Shelly starts her tablet and takes it over to Bren who is studying it with Matthias. “Look at that. They fucking drugged us. So, not only cameras, but they planned to subdue us at will.” With her hands on her hips, outrage is clear in every line of her body.

  Shelly is so feisty. I can feel my body tingle with interest and excitement along with her. I hope she has as much enthusiasm about sexual intercourse.

  “Hannah, maybe we could get uniforms for our guys?” Beth gestures to me and Forohn.

  I see Hannah raise her eyebrows before looking at Shelly with a big smile. “Uh, yeah. Atticus or Brock… do you have any uniforms around here?”

  Shelly looks over at me at Hannah’s request. Her eyes drop and I'm aware of what she sees. I can’t help it though. It was a surprise when we met and my cock engorged, but I’m proud that it’s working—perfectly.

  “Can you control that?” I’m still smiling as she moves closer. Her proximity and eyes on it make me swell more. My smile widens.

  I don’t know if I can control it. But I definitely can’t while I can sense her interest. She may verbally say she wants it controlled, but that’s not what she’s really feeling.

  “That would be a no.” Beth is looking at me too but directs her attention back to her own mate.