“You are mine, River. I have claimed you. You belong to me.” Torak said arrogantly. He moved far enough back to look her up and down possessively.
River’s eyes narrowed. Only once before had someone ever said that to her and looked at her that way. It had been some guy she had gone out with on a total of two dates and he thought that entitled him to her body. River didn’t like it then and she didn’t like it now.
Narrowing her eyes, she said calmly, “Take it back.”
Torak looked surprised before replying, “No.”
River glared at him coolly, “I said, Take. It. Back.”
“And I said, no.” Torak replied just as coolly.
“Fine. Your funeral.” River said right before she lifted her knee and impacted it with Torak’s exposed crotch.
Torak’s eyes widened before he let go of River’s arms which she brought down in a karate chop on his shoulders dropping him to his knees. River had a moment of doubt when she kicked him in the chest knocking the wind out of him. Twisting away from the pain and fury she saw in Torak’s eyes, River realized she might have acted just a might hasty. Not knowing what else to do she headed for the door only to find it wouldn’t open.
Torak groaned out, “You are going to pay for that.” He gasped as he held his crotch with one hand and his chest with the other.
River looked around frantically trying to figure a way out of the room before he recovered. Rushing for the bathroom she ordered the door closed and locked it from the inside. Glancing around, she noticed a vent in the ceiling. It would be a tight fit but she was sure she could wiggle into it. Standing on the toilet, she pulled the grill down and jumped pulling herself through the small opening. Scooting back until she could reach the grill she pulled it back into place as she heard a loud thump against the outer door. Frightened, she backed up until she came to a junction leading to a larger vent. Moving on her hands and knees she moved as fast as she could through the ventilation system. Oh God, she was back to living in the vents, she thought with despair.
“What do you mean she’s gone?” Manota asked in disbelief. “Where could she have gone?”
Torak ran his hand through his hair, flushing. He had finally had to break down the door to his bathroom only to find River gone. He knew the only place she could have gone was into the ventilation system. He had called for her over and over to come out but she had not responded. When he had torn the grill off the opening so he could at least get his head up inside the vent to look around he didn’t see her.
“She’s in the ventilation system.” Torak muttered brushing his hand over his neck.
“And why is your mate in the ventilation system?” Jazin asked puzzled.
“She wanted me to rescind my claim on her.” Torak muttered softly.
“What?” Manota asked irritated. “She wanted you to what?”
Torak turned and glared at both of his brothers. “I said, she wanted me to rescind my claim on her and I refused.”
Both brothers looked at Torak in shock. Never had a female refused a claim by a male, especially a claim by one of the ruling members. It was a great honor to be claimed by one of the ruling males. The female would receive much acclimation and be held with great respect and honor in any house she was at. Torak, as the next leader, was considered to be one of the greatest prizes with many females asking to be in his house with the hope of being chosen. They didn’t know what to think of a female actually refusing to being claimed.
“How did she get into the ventilation system? Jazin asked curiously.
Torak just glared at his younger brother in frustration. Like he was going to tell them how the female disabled him and put one of the strongest warriors on Kassis on the floor like a sniveling first year.
“What of the other two females? What did you do after you took them from the training center?” Torak asked. If at all possible they had to keep the three females apart. He hated to think of how much damage the three female warriors could do to his men and his ship. He had had a taste of their power on the Tearnat’s warship.
It was Jazin’s turn to flush and rub his hand across the back of his neck. “I took Star to another room and locked her in. She wouldn’t quit crying as long as I was near her. I couldn’t stand her tears any longer and told her I would return later once she had calmed down.”
“What about you, Manota? What did you do with the female named Jo?” Torak asked in frustration.
“I took her back to her room.” Manota said defensively. “What? She said she would never speak to me again and every time I tried to talk to her she just held up her hand, not even looking at me. It was as if I didn’t even exist!”