Chapter 13

HOPE'S QUEST
SIXTEEN HOURS UNTIL LAST PIRATE GATE

Martin held the data pad in his hand as he traced the star chart on the table in front of him with the index finger of his opposite hand. The mug of coffee was set on the table in the corner and had gone cold hours ago. The trip so far had gone off without a hitch. Yuriko and Filrian were acting as the faces and voices of HOPE'S QUEST, and so far the pirate forces in the area were none the wiser and they had passed through two of the three Jump Gates without incident. Komirri was constantly drilling the sixty Spartans in tactics and helm control so that if they had to fight they would at least have a decent chance. Helen had left the room only the hour before, after they had spent three hours going over details of how the memories of Canth that she had inherited remembered Lycavore. Those memories were clear and precise, as if they were her very own, and they would be helpful once they were down on the surface.

Martin's eyes flicked down as he felt the arms encircle his waist from the side and he stopped concentrating so hard on the chart that he finally smelled Anja next to him. He smiled and took a deep breath, letting her soft honey scent fill his nostrils. Aricia may have been the one his blood, heart and soul desired most of all the women in his life, but there was no denying the intense love and passion he felt wash over him whenever Anja was close and pressed up against him as she was now. He had known Anja longer than any of his Queens or For'mya, the path their relationship taking had not been without its many hurdles. Anja's was the first scent that had affected him to the point that he could not get her out of his head, and though he would never admit it openly, her sweet honey scent was equally addicting to him as Aricia's lavender and coco scent. He had witnessed the pleasure Aricia and the others gave to each other in bed next to him. They were not shy in their bed when it came to reaching for the pleasures of the flesh or simply lounging around naked. All of them wanted to feel each others' touch. It was this physical contact that meant so much to them.

Martin had stopped trying to understand exactly how he could feel what he felt for five different women and feel it so overwhelmingly. He had stopped trying to fully understand how these five beautiful women desired each other, and gave of themselves to each other as well as him without question when they were together. As far as he was concerned it was pointless to try and explain something that just was.

"You're getting better at sneaking up on me." Martin spoke, circling his arm around her slim waist as she pressed her petite figure against him, her Persian red hair pulled over one shoulder and her jade green eyes bright and alive.

"You are just concentrating so hard you didn't smell me." Anja spoke with a grin.

Martin nodded and shrugged. "I suppose so." He said.

"Marty you been over the plan four times. In every conceivable way." Anja spoke softly reaching up to grasp his jaw and make him look at her. "You are burning yourself out and we aren't even there yet."

"Exactly how long did you think you were actually going to be able to keep that you were pregnant from me Anja?" He asked with a grin.

Anja smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. "I was hoping maybe until we got back." She answered sheepishly. "Kind of silly of me to think you wouldn't be able to tell huh?"

"Anja why?" He asked.

"I didn't want it to affect how you treat me or how we proceed with this mission." Anja said matter of factly. "You have a tendency to be very over protective Marty, and you need me on this mission, especially since Little Wolf has gone to earth."

Martin picked her up gently under her arm pits and lifted her easily; turning and setting her very shapely butt on the chart table. Anja looked up at him with a loving smile, seductively wrapping her legs around his waist as she wiggled her ass on the table. "Wow ... you planning a little chart table seduction Marty?" She asked him with a grin.

Martin met her eyes and shook his head with a smile of his own. He reached up and caressed her cheek with his fingertips, releasing a tiny portion of his Alpha male aura upon her in the process. Anja's eyes closed as she felt his aura wrapping around her just enough to allow his love and devotion to course through her completely. The changes that had made her a wolf like him were fully complete now, and they also made Anja one of the most powerful Alpha female wolves anywhere on Apo Prime or within the Union. Aricia would always be the most powerful due to the pureness of the blood that ran through her veins, but Martin had turned her and Dysea. Martin's blood coursed through her veins now, just as it did Dysea and that made the two of them second only to Aricia in terms of power and status.

This had been the very first mating phase for her, the time when she would be most fertile throughout the year. She could get pregnant at any time she knew, but this three week phase is when her body was most prepared to produce a child and she had desperately wanted to become pregnant. Their night together not so long ago had seen to that. It had been the most intense and erotic time they had shared since coming back into each other's lives, Martin unleashing almost his complete aura upon her in a way that only Aricia had experienced so far. He had held back his complete aura she knew; only Aricia could tolerate that fully from him, but what she had felt was enough to make her practically melt in his arms and leave her in a state of constant arousal. Anja had known the moment he had filled her the first time that she would become pregnant and that knowledge had made her sing his name louder than ever before.

"Have you given any thought to names?" He asked softly.

"When did you figure it out?" She asked him curious now.

Martin leaned over and kissed her full softly dropping his hand to her abdomen. "The moment she was conceived." He replied with a grin. "I am strong enough to sense that, and she is going to be just as strong as Androcles."

"Marty I..."

Martin put a finger to her lips silencing the words she was going to speak. "I love you Anja ... and as an Alpha I want to protect you, especially now that you carry our daughter. I am also smart enough to know some things, and what I know is that you are the most powerful Hadarian Healer alive in the universe right now. Sivana might come close to you someday, but you are it baby." He told her with a smile. "And while many would disagree with me, I consider you the second most lethal woman I know."

"Me?" Anja said with a chuckle. "You must be joking. I mean it's a given that Aricia is now the most dangerous, but Dysea and Isabella can fight circles around me Marty, and you know that."

"Anja ... you are the most methodic and downright lethal woman I have ever known." Martin spoke calmly. "And that was even before we discovered all this about ourselves. Lexi was right when she said behind Aricia you are the deadliest. Dysea and Isabella may be ... heck they are faster and in some respects stronger, but neither of them can match you when it comes to precision. In a fight, any fight, whatever you hit is going down and it ain't getting back up."

Anja's smile was broad as she reached up and kissed him softly. "You know you say the most romantic things to me." She said.

"Am I getting my point across to you?" He spoke with a smile. "You may be carrying our daughter Anja, but I trust in your skill enough to know that you are invaluable to me. In many more ways than you know. And unless we find ourselves in a situation that is hopeless or completely unacceptable risk wise, I will not coddle or shield you in any way because you will not let me. And I also know you will not place yourself at undo risk either."

"I won't act any differently Martin. I may not be as reckless or stubborn as I usually am, not while I carry our daughter, but I can't force myself to be someone I'm not."

"I don't expect you to be. That is the biggest reason why I love you the way you are." He replied.

"You are worried that she ... that Lisisa will hate you? That is what is bothering you isn't it?" Anja said softly, her face suddenly becoming serious.

"I don't know what to expect." Martin said in a whisper. "I am steeling myself to expect the worst, all the while hoping for the best. She has been a slave for so long, forced to endure things she should not have had to experience. Yuri took her childhood ... Yuri took that away from her, and the more I think about that, the more it makes my blood boil. I had her in my crosshairs 'Firecracker'. I could have removed Veldruk's two oldest children and possibly crippled him forever."

"Don't do that Martin." Anja scolded him feeling little shivers of delight course through her when he used his nickname for her. "You have no reason to second guess your decisions. You did what was right at the time and no one doubts that. You didn't even know Lisisa existed! There was nothing you could have done!"

"But..."

Anja shook her head. "No! You have been searching for her since the moment you knew of her existence, and now we are closer than we have ever been. You have to remain positive! Lisisa will need that confidence! Aricia, Dysea, Isabella, me, all of us know she is a member of our family. She is your daughter Martin Leonidas and that makes her our daughter now as well. We are not afraid of that anymore, regardless of her age."

"You want to name her Eliani don't you?" Martin asked suddenly.

Anja blinked a few times in rapid succession before catching up with him. He had a habit of jumping off in another direction during a conversation, and all of them had grown accustom to it and were getting better at reacting to the changes.

"I was hoping too yes." Anja replied softly.

"Your Aunt and Uncle won't like it." Martin said.

"Fuck them!" Anja barked loudly her face scrunching up in disgust. "Let them go suck on a big tree stump somewhere!"

Martin laughed and shook his head. Anja had been trained as a United States Navy SEAL in their time on Earth and she had learned how to curse just as well as any man, if not better in some respects. "Anja ... it is language like this that only reinforces to your aunt and uncle that I am a bad influence on you." He told her.

Anja met his eyes and waggled her eyebrows, drawing him closer with her powerful legs and sliding her arms around his waist. "You just keep on influencing me with what you have dangling between your legs big boy! You let me worry about my Aunt and Uncle!"

Martin kissed her hard, crushing her lips with his own and pulling her tightly against him. After a long moment he pulled away and looked at her. "You are such a little vixen." He spoke with a grin. "As much as I would love to rip your clothes from you right here and take you ... my body is telling me I need sleep more."

Anja smiled gently and rested her head against his chest. "Right now ... sleeping next to you sounds like the most delightful thing in the universe." She spoke.

Martin curled his hand under her legs and lifted her into his arms. "Sleep it is then." He spoke.

Sivana heard the grunts of a serious workout coming from the cargo room adjacent to the landing bay and she went to the doorway slowly, not wanting to disturb whoever was in the room. It was late and she didn't think anyone was still going to be awake. She had taken to wandering the corridors of the freighter these last two nights trying to come to grips with what had happened in her life in the last few weeks and months. Anja was her sister; there was no question in regards to that any longer. Sivana had seen the results of the numerous tests both Anja and several other Hadarians had conducted. The results had been the same no matter how they had tried to make the tests different or random. That knowledge alone had shaken Sivana right down to her boots. Never in her five hundred plus years of life had she ever entertained the thought that she might have family somewhere. Never had it crossed her mind, even in her wildest dreams, that she could have a twin sister. And never had it ever occurred to her that this sister would be not only the Queen of the Hadarian people, but the wife and mate, and therefore the Queen of the Lycavorian Union itself.

Anja was an enigma to her.

The Persian red haired female was exceptionally passionate about everything she did. She was straightforward and had no qualms about telling you something as she saw it. She was fiercely in love and devoted not only to King Leonidas, but also the dark haired Hadarian healer that never seemed to be far from her side. She had a famous temper as she had heard from others, yet she could be the most compassionate individual anyone had ever seen in action. She had a reckless nature as Sivana herself had witnessed on Gellen Station, and that reckless nature transferred over to the green scaled dragon that seemed to be her constant shadow. Anja was power, Sivana knew just by looking at her. Sivana had seen Anja's combat skills on Gellen Station, and marveled at the speed and strength Anja had displayed, not to mention the ease with which she had used the Shi Viska and Nehtes.

Sivana had read the history of her sister as given to her by their grandfather Fuleos. Anja's life had been difficult, no where near as violent and humiliating as her own, and Anja would be the first to admit that to anyone, but she had not led a charmed life. The one constant had been her unrelenting love for Martin Leonidas after he had come into her life that first night. They may have been separated by events and decisions over the years, but Sivana could tell just by reading the history of her sister that Anja had never stopped loving him from that moment on. They had resisted their positions when Martin finally discovered who he truly was, and by virtue of that who Anja had become because of him. They had finally accepted those positions reluctantly, and had made it a concerted effort to not let their status change that which they were at their cores. None of them had from what Sivana could tell.

Anja had been protecting her from a world she didn't understand. A world that wanted to alter everything she knew, and Anja was protecting her from that. Sivana was beginning to see how others were treating her as knowledge of who she was began to leak out. Sivana had met her Aunt and Uncle and found them demanding and pompous, not to mention hostile when it came to Anja. Her Aunt and Uncle wanted her to return to Hadaria with them and told her that only Anja's authority as Queen kept that from happening, though they were attempting to get that changed. It was that one defining moment that Sivana had thanked who her sister was. Anja was allowing her to become accustom to this new life at her own speed, where her Aunt and Uncle wanted her to be thrown into it head first so that they could control her. Sivana was smart enough to figure that out all by herself just from their actions when around her. Anja was shielding her, exposing her to little bits of this new world at different times, allowing her to acclimate in such a way that she was able to make her own decisions. Anja had already told her that she would like nothing better than to have Sivana sit beside her and rule Hadaria, but she wanted Sivana to be ready and able to make that commitment of her own accord, not at the whim of others. And she wanted Sivana to be able to reject it completely if that was her choice.

Her choice.

It was something else that Anja was giving her without even realizing it. It was also something that Sivana had never really had before now.

She stopped just inside the doorway when she saw the half dozen Spartans in the cargo room training with their Nehtes. And just as quickly, Sivana's eyes found Belen among the group. She watched intently as he and another Spartan went through some very intricate movements with their Nehtes, their tank tops quickly become soaked with sweat, their tanned skin glistening in the light of the cargo room. Sivana didn't want to tear her eyes away from the young Spartan. He was no where near as muscled and ripped as the King, of course she did not have the same musculature and endurance of her sister either. Belen was built lean and for endurance. His limbs were extremely well defined, yet in the way of a superior athlete, and they belied the enormous power they could produce. Sivana was not shy about expressing her feelings, especially when she wanted something. There had been more than one occasion where she had practically picked a man out of a crowd because she liked the way he looked and taken him to bed. More often than not it had not been worth it, but Sivana had learned long ago if you saw something you wanted to go after it.

Sivana wanted Belen, and she made no bones about it.

She had taken every opportunity she had to brush up against him, making sure her breasts touched his body, or her hips gently caressed his legs in some way. She was having an effect on him she knew, but he was the strongest man she had ever come across, and the first man that she had met who was not ruled by what he carried in his pants it seemed. Come to think of it, none of the men she had met since Gellen station were like that, to include Anja's man the King. He was a big bastard, and without a doubt could squash her like a bug, but he was also the most methodic man she had ever met. And he was the most well endowed of any man she'd ever seen if what she had seen the night they had saved her life was any indication. Sivana still wondered at times how her sister was able to accommodate his size in her small body.

"It will not be easy." The female voice spoke from behind her. Sivana turned quickly and saw the older woman they referred to as the Oracle standing behind her.

"I'm sorry ... what did you say?" Sivana asked.

Helen stepped closer to her. "It will not be easy."

"What won't be easy?"

"Learning how to trust. Learning how to let those that care about you inside." Helen spoke. "You have come a long way from just a few short days ago, and you have a long way to go."

"I don't need to be psychoanalyzed." Sivana spoke quickly.

"You have a very large chip on your shoulder Sivana." Helen spoke unfazed by her comment. "That is obvious even to the most unintelligent around you. You have had to rely on only yourself for so long that you trust no one but yourself. You are also arrogant and in many ways disrespectful to people who are your betters."

"I've survived this long by being that way!" Sivana told her in a low voice that carried anger and distrust.

Helen nodded slowly. "Yes you have ... but now you don't have to be that way." She said calmly. "You are among men and women who rely on each other every day, who trust each other every day. That you are Anja's sister affords you some leniency but I want to tell you something that you should probably hear. I know you have made the decision to remain within the Union and learn about this new life Anja has offered to you. A life that is by birthright yours to experience and grasp hold of. " Helen stepped up to her with a smile. "They will do everything within their power to see to it that you have all that you desire Sivana, Martin and Anja will. His respect for you went up dramatically when you offered to come on this mission and you did not have to. You are at a point in your life now where you must let old habits fall to the wayside no matter how hard that may seem. These men and women you see here ... all but one or two have fought directly with Martin Leonidas over the course of the last year, some like Daniel Simpson since they were small boys and they would cast themselves into the heart of a sun instantly and without regard if it saved his life or the life of his Queen. And all of them would, without hesitation or regret, eliminate anything that they saw as a threat to their King and Queen."

Sivana's eyes went wide. "They see me as a threat?" She gasped.

Helen shook her head quickly. "No ... not a threat Sivana. An unknown. They don't know if they should trust you or not because you will not let anyone inside that wall you have built. Trust me ... this is King Leonidas's personal Guard, they call themselves Durcunusaan." Helen told her. "It means 'Wolves of the Blood' in our ancient language. You would not last a millisecond against one of them in combat let alone many. All of them have some of the purest Lycavorian bloodlines that have been measured in the last year. However, you could forge powerful friendships with these men and women Sivana. They are intelligent, loyal and devoted to all they see as a friend. They will not abandon you if you remain true to them."

Sivana looked at Helen her face impassive and stoic, not revealing anything. "You ask quite a bit Oracle." Sivana said finally meeting her steady gaze.

Helen nodded and reached out to squeeze her arm gently. "Yes we do. And we offer so much more in return." She said softly. "Think about it Sivana."

Sivana turned back slowly to let her eyes settle on Belen. He finished executing a training move and stepped back, his dark eyes falling on her as he did. He turned back at the shouted command, bringing his Nehtes up to face his opponent.

EARTH
LOGGERHEADKEY ISLAND

"I knew I wasn't going crazy." Tareif exclaimed in a loud whisper. "Do you see it this time Isra?"

Isra nodded slowly, his eyes focused through the macrobinoculars glued to his eyes. The sky was cloudless and filled with stars and the night vision properties of the binoculars made it easy for them to see for several kilometers in any direction.

"Indeed I do." Isra spoke softly as his violet eyes took in the long flashes of flame on the distant horizon.

They both lay on the concrete floor at the top of the centuries old lighthouse. The four foot thick walls at the top and six foot thick walls at the base had allowed the lighthouse to survive even to this day with rock solid construction. The metal lens room at the top was missing all the glass circling the tower as well as the actual lens, but the metal staircase was still anchored deeply into the concrete and brick inside the tower and the metal decking had long been burned dry and any sea life that had grown onto it during its time under water was also burned away by the sun.

"Any ideas on what it is?" Tareif asked.

Isra lowered his binoculars and turned to look at the elven War Master. "Oh yes. Those lines of flame are the breath of dragons Tareif." Isra said. "Seven different ones that I can distinguish for sure. Two adolescent and five older infant hatchlings it would appear."

"Infant?" Tareif asked aghast.

Isra nodded. "The older a dragon gets, the longer they can sustain a flame, and the further they can project it. Isheeni for example can sustain her flame for the better portion of an hour and project it for almost a hundred and fifty meters. Iriral, Queen Dysea's dragon, can sustain her flame for just over thirty minutes and has excellent distance. I have never seen Arzoal breath fire, but it is said she can sustain her flame for well over an hour and the distance she can project it is incredible. These dragons we see on the horizon are much younger than the one we are facing. The blasts of flame are erratic and brief. They are learning."

"I'm guessing that isn't a good thing." Tareif said meeting his eyes.

"No ... that's a bad thing." Isra answered.

"Maybe you'd better explain that Isra." Steven's voice echoed in their ears from the implants they all now wore. He was still at the base of the lighthouse. "Getting burned alive by a dragon doesn't rank up there at the top of my lists of things to do."

"I believe what we are facing are the descendants of two Firespitters that came here to Earth to escape the battle that was raging on my world between my people and dragons." Isra told them looking at Tareif. "I believe it is our fault that dragons even came to this world."

Tareif looked at him wide eyed for a moment in the darkness, but then shook his head. "Regardless of how they got here Isra," He spoke. "You are not responsible for their actions once they got here. Remember that."

"He's right Isra." Steven spoke from the base of the lighthouse.

"The King was able to speak at length with Arzoal, the dragon Elder Mother, and it was she who told him that almost five thousand years ago my people rode dragons before, albeit very briefly. There were only eleven of them total, but they were ridden by Lycavorians that had worked for the High Coven and had no morals or values except self gain and power. They were defeated but two of them escaped, both of them Firespitters, one male and one female. The rider of the female was a male of my species. We are almost certain they came here to Earth. That is roughly about the same time that dragons became part of the legends and myth here on this planet."

"So what you are saying is this dragon and rider ... they are not the only one on Earth?" Steven asked.

"They are the only bonded pair on Earth yes, but I don't believe she is the only dragon, and what we are seeing confirms that." Isra answered calmly. "As you both know, having the Mindvoice ability to actually bond with a dragon is not something all of my people possess. We are all able to Mindvoice on a certain level, but the ability to bond with and ride a dragon is not common, and that is why there are only three hundred of us. The flames we are seeing now are more than likely the younger siblings of the dragon we are facing. There is no way to tell for sure, but if Martin and Arzoal are correct, there could be upwards of a hundred dragons here on Earth."

"A hundred?" Tareif gasped.

Isra nodded. "Yes ... but I don't believe that is the case however. If it was, men and women across the planet would have seen sightings of dragons far more often than have been reported through the years. Firespitter eggs are notoriously fickle." He explained. "Conditions must be exactly right for them to hatch. Heat, wind, temperature, moisture in the air, the surroundings, all of it together must be perfect for the eggs to hatch; otherwise they will remain dormant until the time is right."

"So these eggs could sit for hundreds of years without hatching?" Steven asked.

Isra nodded. "Hundreds and even thousands of years." He replied. "The events of Earth's past, the last five hundred to a thousand years has been a state of flux, and I would not be surprised if there are several dozen eggs that have not hatch. A Firespitter pair can produce three eggs with each batch, and they are fiercely protective of their nests. They will kill anything to come remotely close to the nest without hesitation."

"But you said this dragon is only a few thousand years old." Tareif spoke.

Isra nodded. "I believe this dragon is one of the first eggs to have been produced by the original pair after they came to Earth. That also tells me the original female has either died or was killed or we have not seen her yet. We don't know what happen to the male and he could very well be alive too, but this dragon and the ones we see on the horizon there are most definitely their offspring."

Isra? Aricia's voice filled Isra's thoughts and he immediately felt a wave of strength and peace wash over him.

"My Queen." He gasped softly with a smile. "It is very good to finally hear your voice." He saw Tareif's eyes widen just a little. "I am here with War Master Tareif and our pilot Steven."

Isra I am going to establish a link with all of us using Isheeni and Aelnala as conduits. Aricia told him. Let Tareif and this Steven know what I am doing so it does not take them by surprise.

"Tareif ... Aricia is going to establish a mind link with you and Steven so that all of us can communicate together within Mindvoice. It will not be permanent, but it is advisable right now." Isra told them. "Steven?"

"Let's do it." Steve answered.

"I am ready." Tareif spoke.

Now Aricia. Isra spoke. He watched as Tareif's body twitched slightly and his head dropped quickly, his eyes shutting tightly. It took a few seconds more and then his eyes opened again.

Isra I don't feel any different. Tareif spoke just as his eyes went wide as he realized he hadn't spoken a verbal word.

You will not feel any different War Master. Aricia spoke calmly.

My ... my Queen?

It has been many months since we last talked Tareif. Aricia said her voice confident and strong. I see that you are maintaining your reputation for finding trouble wherever you happen to go.

He does that quite well. Tarifa's voice filled Tareif's mind.

Tarifa?

Hello Papa! Tarifa exclaimed.

This is amazing. Tareif said unable to keep the awe from his voice. This ... this is what you can do all the time daughters?

Aihola's soft laughter filled the connection now. We would not be able to include you without Aricia's added power and control Astalder Atar. (Father of my Heart) She stated. Selene, Lynwe and Layna are also within this connection.