Saving Sara: Warriors Of Kelon Book 5 (8 page)

“There will be a delegation
waiting when we arrive and you will be safely home with your people.”

Te-Commander
Rell’s
words brought her no comfort.

“Um, why?
I just want to go home.”

“I know, but we have to inform
your human authorities each time we visit your planet. We wish to maintain good
relations with your people, so we comply with their wishes.”

It made sense, but still
didn’t make her feel any better.

Throughout the whole ride,
her stomach was a knot of nerves. Did she really want this? Didn’t she want to
be home, to see her family, to mentally prove to herself that her home was real
and not just a dream of her nightmarish imprisonment at the hands of the
Xersons
?

More questions lingered.
Would she ever feel at home, could she go back to a normal, routine life on her
parents’ farm? Her mother and father, her three older sisters—would they be
happy to see her, relieved she was alive and finally home?

The shuttle dropped suddenly,
Sara instinctively reaching out
ans
grabbing
Solron’s
arm.

“Do not fear, star shine, the
atmosphere drop only lasts a few
milrons
,”
Solron
soothed. It was the first time he spoke since
leaving the ship.

She glanced up, meeting his
dark, intense gaze. Wishing she knew what was on his mind, she sucked in a
breath, then let it out slowly, trying to calm her anxiety.

He patted her hand and
quickly glanced away. She could feel the stiff rigidness of his body and wanted
to do something to ease the tension she felt rolling off him. With their
audience, she knew she dare not appear too intimate. No, it was time to suck it
up, put on her big girl pants and face the fact she would never see him again.

She pulled away, but couldn’t
stop herself from gripping tightly to the seat; ahead of her clouds vanished
and the ground rapidly came up to meet them. She recognized Australia and the
little island of Tasmania, once her home. The shuttle shot past the island,
heading up the coast toward Sydney.

“Where are we going? Tasmania
is my home.” Sara glanced back over her shoulder at Te-Commander
Rell
.

“We have been asked to
deliver you to the coordinates sent to us by your Earth authorities. They will
see you to your home.”

A chill of dread ran down
Sara’s spine. Suddenly having to face people asking questions, staring at her,
being examined by—she shuddered—Earth doctors.

“Are you alright, Sara?”

She glanced up at hearing the
concern in
Solron’s
voice. She shook her head.

“I want to go home, not
somewhere else,” she pleaded.

“We must abide by your planet’s
laws. It will be alright. Your family will be waiting for you when we land,”
the commander said with assurance.

She should feel more at ease
with her family, shouldn’t she?

Sara closed her eyes,
concentrating on keeping her breathing even and calming the rapid beating of
her heart.

Soon, the shuttle smoothly
landed, the engines powered down and came to a compete standstill. She opened
her eyes when
Solron
tugged on her arm.

“You are home,” he said
quietly, unbuckling her seat belt.

He rose to his feet, and Sara
followed on wobbly legs. She blinked, raising her hand to shield her eyes from
the glare when she stepped from the shuttle onto a sun-heated tarmac.

Men in military uniform stood
around, their gazes fixed on her as she walked between
Solron
and Te-Commander
Rell
. Off to one side was her elder
sister, Eve, but no one else.

Two of the men stepped
forward.

“I am Te-Commander
Rell
and this is Doctor
Solron
here to hand over the human female, Sara Button, per her request to return
home.”

The military man in his
brown-and-tan uniform saluted.

“I am Colonel
Morland
, head of Australian Military Operations for the
human/
Kelon
friendship treaty. We are grateful for
your rescue and return of our citizen.”

The chief commander turned
his gaze to her, his hard gaze examining her from head-to-toe.

“Miss Button, if you would
come with our officer, we will reunite you with your sister.”

“
Where’s
my mom and my dad?”

The colonel’s gaze turned
almost sympathetic. “Miss Button, it will be best you talk with your sister.”

With reluctance, she let the
other officer lead her away toward her sister. Sara’s heart pounded harder with
every step she took towards her older sister.

“Sara, we thought you were
lost forever,” Eve said, stepping forward and giving Sara a stiff hug before taking
a step back.

Sara struggled to fight back
the tears.

“
Where’s
Mum and Dad?”

“You’ve been gone for a year,
Sara, and you being Mum and Dad’s favorite
¼
well, they couldn’t handle the stress of your disappearance. Dad died
of a heart attack a month after they declared you missing. Mum, she broke down
not long after and simply withered away in the months that followed.” Eve’s
tone was harsh and bitter.

Sara stared into her sister’s
eyes and it became clear to her upon seeing the contempt and jealousy in her
sister’s gaze, that she blamed her for everything that happened. A numbing
sensation seeped through her upon hearing the news of her parents’ deaths.

Sara tried to swallow the
hard, painful lump in her throat. “Where are Megan and Sally?”

“They couldn’t make the trip
to Sydney to get you. Anyway, the Army said they will keep you a while before
you can go anywhere.”

“W-what
about the farm?”

“We sold it last month and
divided the money. I guess you can come live with me once the Army is done with
you.”

The clear lack of any kind of
affection and care made Sara’s blood run cold.

On top of that, who knew what
the Army had in store for her; she didn’t want this, didn’t want to be placed
back into a cold, heartless world.

She turned her head to see
Te-Commander
Rell
shaking hands with the colonel.
Solron
stared at her and she saw her own sadness reflected
in his dark gaze.

Brighter than the core of the
sun, realization hit Sara with full force; beyond a shadow of a doubt, she loved
him. His every touch and look proved to her that he cared for her like no other
ever had, or ever would. The Earth, its people and her family were not hers
anymore.

Te-Commander
Rell
and
Sorlon
turned, walking
back towards their shuttle.

“Miss Button, if you’ll come
with me, please.”

The Army man took loose hold
of her arm.

Sara ignored him and shrugged
off his hand. The blood pounded in her ears and she swiftly turned and ran back
towards the
Kelon
shuttle, desperation making her
blood
fizzle
like a shaken soda can. She cried out, “
Solron
!”

* * * *

Every muscle in his body rigid,
Solron
forced his legs to move, every step heavier
the next. The simple act of walking back towards the shuttle was the hardest
thing he had ever done in his life. He did not want to leave her in the hands
of these humans. She needed special care—his care. His primal instincts
demanded he take back what belonged to him.

Solron
whipped around when he heard Sara call out to him.
She was running, her pale hair shining in the sunlight: golden, beautiful. She launched
herself at him and he caught her easily, lifting her up against his chest.

“Don’t leave me here. This
isn’t my home anymore. I love you, I want to be with you, please, I’ll do
anything, don’t leave me here!”

“By the
Fires of
Elron
!”
Her small hands trembled while they clutched at his shirt, her face buried
against his shoulders.
“But what about your family?
Do
you not wish to be with them?”

“My parents are dead and my
sisters don’t want me, and I don’t know what I will do if you don’t either.”

He felt his shirt dampen with
her tears. He pulled her tighter against his chest. Her words gave him more
hope than he dared believe.

“My precious star shine, of
course I want you, I always have. You are my
corami
.”
Solron
glanced to his right to see his commander with
a
I-told-you-so smug expression.

“I claim Sara as mine.”

“By the Fires of
Elron
, it is about time!” Te-Commander laughed, slapping
Solron
on the back. “The whole crew laid bets whether you
would let her go or not.”

“You knew?”

Te-Commander
Rell
gave him a dry stare. “You think any of us would not
claim a jewel such as Sara if they had her alone in their quarters for four
weeks? You may not be a warrior,
Solron
, but you are
still a male with primal
Kelon
instincts.”

“Commander
Rell
!” Colonel
Morland
marched up
behind him. “Tell your doctor to release the woman; we will take her from
here.”

“I am afraid Sara has decided
to take our good doctor here as her mate, and
Solron
made a claim for her.”

The colonel’s face reddened.
“She is a traumatized woman and doesn’t know what she’s saying. Give her to us,
now.”

Sara raised her head from
Solron’s
shoulder, and turned to glare at the colonel.
Solron
gently set her on her feet, but kept his arm around
her waist.

“Hell no, I’m not going with
you. I’m not going to let you interrogate me and do experiments on me. I want
to stay with the
Kelons
and I want to stay with
Solron
. I love him, so go shove it up your drainpipe.”

Sorlon
could not help the proud grin widening his mouth at
her feisty words.

She glanced over to her
sister, who stood with her arms folded a look of disgust clear on her face.
Sara’s heart broke. She loved her sisters but they did not return her
affection. Her life was now with
Solron
.

“You see, the female knows
what she wants, and I will respect her wishes and it is best if you do also.
Solron
, take Sara and secure her on the shuttle.”
Te-Commander saluted the colonel. “Good Earth day to you, Colonel.”

“You haven’t heard the last
of this!” yelled the human colonel, as
Solron
carried
her back onboard, followed by the commander. The door slid shut behind them.

The pilots turned with
curious stares when he put her back in her seat.

“Take us back to the
station,” ordered Te-Commander
Rell
, retaking his own
seat.

“Does that mean you want me,
even though I can’t have children?” Sara gazed at him, her lashes spiked wet
with her tears.

“Star shine, I have formally
claimed you as mine; in your language it means we are married, and I have no
care whether you can have younglings or not. I have what I want—you.”

Her eyes grew wide with
astonishment. “We’re married?”

Te-commander’s laughter
filled the shuttle. “You two have been married since you first mated with him,”
Te-Commander said behind them. “It is our way to only have sexual relations
with our mates. We were simply waiting for
Solron
to
publicly acknowledge that he claimed you.”

“Oh, I didn’t know.”

Sorlon
chuckled, watching Sara’s cheeks turn an arousing
shade of pink, as he realized the ship’s commander knew all along what they
were doing in
Solron’s
quarters.

“Oh, my sweet
corami
, in my heart I always knew you were mine, but
wanted what was best for you, even if it meant letting you go back to your
planet.”

Sara shook her head, her
lovely blond locks falling over her shoulders.

“I thought it was what I
wanted, but my world has changed, I’ve changed. Deep down, I knew I couldn’t
live without you. I love you.”

Solron
, not caring if they had an audience, leaned forward and took her lips
in a deep, passionate kiss.
When
he pulled back, he saw her beautiful soft smile with her shining silvery gaze speaking
more volumes of the love she had for him than words ever could.