Star's Storm(9)

Star was staring at Madas totally mesmerized by the story. Her hand reached up to her throat. What must it have been like to have the huge Tearnat stalking her day after day? Then, to be caught in a trap, unable to get out. Star could feel her own pulse increase at the thought.

“What did you do?” Star breathed out.

Madas grinned. “I cursed him, fought him, and fell in love with him,” she said quietly.

“Yes, but....,” Star grounded her teeth together. “What did he do?”

Madas’ cheeks burned with color as she lowered her head. “He claimed me. Over and over until I couldn’t think straight. Then, he demanded I take him back to my clan so he could tell them I belonged to him,” she hissed out softly.

“How did your mom feel about him?” Star asked curiously, wondering how her own parents would react to Jazin’s claim on her.

“She insisted he prove that he was strong enough to claim me,” Madas replied looking out the window as she remembered how frightened she had been. “In my clan, a warrior has to prove he is strong enough to protect his mate. If he is not, both die. I was taken during the night to the Death Springs. Gril had three days to find and rescue me.”

“What do you mean, you would both die? What happens at the Death Springs?” Star asked quietly, sensing this was not a good thing.

Madas looked intently at Star before she lowered her eyes. “There is a place in the mountains where the heat of the planet is closer to the surface. There are springs in this area where the water boils and nothing can live. My clan uses these springs as a test. Cages are suspended above the largest boiling spring and the male or female who is being claimed is placed in it. For three days and three nights, they are left there alone. If the warrior claiming them does not complete the journey to the Death Springs before the light of the fourth day, the cage is lowered into the boiling water,” Madas explained quietly. “The path to the springs is deadly. Many warriors have lost their lives trying to make it. Even then, some have made the journey but did not arrive in time to save their mate. If they survive but their mate does not, they are given to the boiling waters for failing to be a good protector.”

“But Gril made it,” Star insisted. “He saved you, otherwise you wouldn’t be here now.”

Madas smiled. “Yes, he made it. My clan was not happy that I was claimed by a warrior from outside the clan. They….” Madas shook her head sadly. “Tell me why you are unhappy, little warrior. Perhaps I can help you.”

Star realized there was more to the story of Madas and Gril but she also realized that she would not get any more today. They spent the next several hours talking about Star’s frustration at getting Jazin to realize that she might be small but she was strong. Madas laughed as she told Star about the night she was injured. She told her how she had warned Jazin that there were some forces in the universe he couldn’t control. One of them was his mate.

Madas promised that if Star really wanted to get out for a while, all she had to do was call. Madas would be more than happy to sneak her out. After all, she was forever doing it to Gril! Star gave her big, alien friend a fierce hug before she left. This world really wasn’t so different from the one she had known in the circus. Friends came in all different sizes, shapes, and forms there as well.





Chapter 4


“Jazin, I have to return to Earth and tell my parents Jo and I are alright. I was thinking maybe…,” Star said later that night. She stared into the mirror and shook her head. “No, I’m not going to tell him I’m thinking maybe,” she sighed in frustration. “Since when did you ever ask to do something, girl? You are not growing weak and needy! Walter would turn me over his knee and spank my ass if I became a wimp,” she growled out to her reflection.

“No one is going to turn you over and spank you but me,” a dark growl came from behind her.

Star squeaked in surprise. She had been so busy trying to figure out the best way to approach Jazin about taking her back to Earth that she didn’t hear him come in. It was late, well after midnight. It was always late when he came in lately. Since she had been injured, he insisted on her sharing his bed. She refused for all the fat lot of good it did her. She went to bed in her bed and either woke up in his or he was in hers.

She was just so afraid he was going to turn out to be like Justin, her first real boyfriend. She felt like she had been in a cocoon her entire life until she and Jo got their condo in Orlando. It was kind-of difficult to go on a date or get serious about anyone when you were in a different city every other night. Not to mention, she had more surrogate aunts, uncles, and grandparents than any kid needed as a chaperone. In Orlando, she and Jo had lived with their parents for the first year after they gave up the circus. They wanted to make sure it was something them really wanted to do. She had been so consumed with learning the new routines and adapting to life outside of the small world of the circus that she didn’t even think about dating.