“He probably wouldn’t have. It’s a Badari secret and you had no need to know then but now you’re going to be with us so I’ll explain. For us, it’s not simply living in a unit and having a leader. The bond is an actual biological and mental link between the Alpha and each of us, and between each other. A Badari with the pack bond is never alone. Absence of the bond is a deep wound, a pain like no other.” He rubbed his chest and Samyra watched a reflection of bad memories move across his face as his expression grew stressed. “We know what we’re missing and our minds and bodies crave the bond.”
Horrified, Samyra exclaimed, “He never said a word, not one word. And he’s been in pain all this time? Why didn’t he bond with your pack while we were there in the Five Systems?”
“Because the bond is bestowed by the Alpha and requires a sworn oath of loyalty to the Alpha and from the Alpha. Kyden would have gladly taken him into the pack but Jamirr refused because of you.”
“Of me?” She touched her chest and strove to understand. “Why?—?”
“You wouldn’t give him his freedom and you wouldn’t agree to stay in the Five Systems where he could be free. And Kyden’s whole purpose for being is to find lost Badari, like he was, and free them, bring them into the pack. But Jamirr couldn’t take the oath in good faith knowing he’d defy Kyden’s orders and return to Porter Three with you, as a slave.” Rennyr’s voice was neutral, carrying no accusations, merely stating the facts.
Her emotions in a tangle, ashamed and embarrassed now she knew what her decision had cost the man she loved, Samyra felt tears burning in her eyes. “I’ll free him, of course, now that I understand. Can Kyden do the bond thing now? To help Jamirr recover?”
Rennyr’s eyes glowed and held pity but he shook his head. “The man has to be conscious to speak the oath for the magic to work.”
“Magic? I thought you said this was a matter of DNA and biology?”
“We owe ultimate fealty to our goddess, the Great Mother,” Rennyr told her. “She has laws we must abide by. We’re going deeper into the subject than I should venture since you aren’t a claimed mate, however much Jamirr loves you, but I will say the magic of being Badari is in the blood and a small amount of blood is shed at the oath taking.” He patted the arm of her seat and rose to his full imposing height.
As Rennyr moved forward to talk to Talinn, Samyra put her head back on the cushions and tried to take in everything he’d told her. She couldn’t forgive herself for forcing Jamirr to endure the pain of the missing pack bond but she hadn’t known. How could she? Unless he explained it to her, which she realized he’d never do. He’d been determined to protect her in the arena when she experienced Lajaran’s Syndrome attacks. The claimed mate remark was another mystery but she could guess at what it meant to the Badari and of course as a slave Jamirr couldn’t have asked her to become his mate. She recalled how Kyden referred to his wife as his mate, sometimes with the word wife appended on, so she was aware the title of mate was deeply significant. As Jamirr’s owner—and she cringed at the title—she couldn’t have become his mate or his wife. The power imbalance was too extreme, similar to what her qualms had been about making love with him, but even worse.
“We’ll set all of this right in the Five Systems,” she told Jamirr, who sat with his eyes closed but the underlying tension in his muscles told her he was conscious.
Once they docked with the waiting spaceship, Samyra and Jamirr were rushed to the medbay on antigrav litters. She would have preferred to walk but had to admit she was woozy. The medical staff separated her from Jamirr despite her protests and whisked her off to the other end of the area. Kyden and Rennyr stayed with Jamirr so she was confident he’d be well cared for. Talinn followed her and waited outside the exam area while she was treated.
Her wounds disinfected and sealed, and after an antibiotic inject, Samyra felt much improved. Clad in blue scrubs, which was all the medical staff had to give her, since her own clothes were torn and bloody and taken to be destroyed, she walked through the medbay with Talinn. “I want to stay with Jamirr.”
“And so you shall. Kyden has given orders, although you and Jamirr have a suite elsewhere on the ship,” her escort told her. “Once he’s conscious one of us will escort you there. Or if you’d prefer to go sooner, freshen up, change into less institutional clothes perhaps. The mates send an assortment of garments with us when we go on an extraction mission, if there’s known to be a mate.” He gave her a tight smile. “Or in this case a potential mate.”
Samyra was relieved to reach the semi-private cubicle where Jamirr had been taken after his treatment was finished. She rushed to the bed, trying to check the readouts and his physical state at the same time. “He looks more rested, less pale.” She took his hand in hers and rubbed the back. Leaning over she kissed his cheek and was relieved to find the skin warm under her lips.
With instincts honed in the arena she knew Kyden was behind her and she turned. “Thank you for saving him.”
The Alpha tilted his head. “Of course. No brother is left standing alone in time of need.”
“I’m sorry, so sorry. I didn’t know about the pack bond—I was so focused on trying to save my House, on trying to go out on a winning season.” Her words tumbled over one another but she it was urgent to make peace with Kyden. She’d always felt a reserve on his part towards her and now she understood why. “I never wanted to hurt Jamirr.”
“He chose of his own free will to accompany you to Porter Three,” Kyden said. “Truly. He knew I could make him a free man. He knew the pack and a future waited for him in the Five Systems and he chose you. You and I both need to move on. There’s a new reality.”
“I know,” she said, trying not to cry. The irrevocable nature of what she’d chosen to do tonight was crashing in on her. “Is he free now? Do we need to do paperwork? I don’t want to be any more of an obstacle in his way.”
“You sold him to me, remember? It was a clause in the contract you signed in the flyer. I have now made him a free man, yes. All the necessary legalities have been observed for your planet and mine.”
“What’s next?” she asked humbly.
“Jamirr recovers hopefully. You and he sort out your relationship. He swears his oath to me. When we reach the Five Systems you’ll both be part of the House of Badari and we’ll find roles for you. For now rest and keep an eye on him for us.”
“That part is simple,” she answered with the ghost of a smile.
“Good. Meals will be brought to you and I’m told the chair is comfortable for sleeping with the addition of a few pillows. Just ask the nurse if you need anything.” He turned and was gone.
The hours dragged. Occasionally Jamirr would stir and Samyra’s hopes would rise that he was coming out of the cryosleep aftereffects but he would open his eyes, glance at her and say her name and then sink into the fog again. The doctor assured her he was recovering as well as could be expected but the process would take time.
Rennyr sat by the bed for a few hours on the second day while Samyra went to her suite and took a shower and got dressed in a tunic, boots and buttery soft leather pants the mates had sent for her. They’d had her sizes from when she’d been in the Five Systems and Falayla had redesigned her gladiatorial costume. She rushed to the medbay and took her place in the chair again. Leaving him for any time at all had been hard but she refused to arrive at the House of Badari in the state she’d been in. This was the first day of her new life there and she didn’t want to feel at a disadvantage.
“He was much more restless with you gone,” Rennyr told her as he prepared to take his leave. “You’re good for him.”
Once they were orbiting the planet, Jamirr was transferred to a shuttle and Samyra walked next to the antigrav litter, holding his hand. The trip to the surface was short and Kyden had several groundcars waiting for them at the spaceport. The closer she got to the House of Badari compound the faster her heart pounded. Samyra wasn’t sure she was ready for this drastic change in her life but events were overtaking her and she had to ride the wave.
Elara waited to greet them as the vehicles pulled into a private courtyard at the estate. After kissing Kyden in an embrace so scorching Samyra had to look away, the lady of the house came to her with a smile. “We’ve prepared the same suite you had when you were here before, which I hope will meet with your approval. You and Jamirr should be fine there. If you need anything, you only need to let me or Arinna know.”
