Born of Defiance

  "So, no, Felicia. My father's family despises him for shaming them, and me because I come from him. As far as they're concerned, whatever happens to me is no concern of theirs. All I have in this entire universe is you and my mother."

  And Galene had no idea how bad things were for her son. For the love of his mother, he said nothing to hurt Galene's feelings.

  Never had she loved Talyn more than she did right now. Rising up on her knees, Felicia pulled him against her and held him tight. "I think you're wonderful, Talyn. You're more Andarion than anyone I've ever known or met. Or even heard of. You have the heart of a mighty War Hauk."

  Talyn flinched at her choice of words. In her mind, she thought she was complimenting him. After all, his father's bloodline went straight back to the most heroic legend of their people. What it really did was slap him in the face and remind him of the heritage that should have been his.

  But right now, none of that mattered while Felicia held him. She didn't see a worthless bastard. She didn't see a victim or a mongrel. The one they'd all thrown away.

  In her beautiful eyes, he was still honorable.

  Taking her hand, he led it to his cheek and closed his eyes so that he could savor the softness of her flesh on his. "You are and will always be munatara a la frah."

  Felicia choked on a sob as he called her the most precious lady of his life. In Andarion, it was the highest avowal of love. Something no male said lightly.

  Tears filled her eyes as fear tore through her. As much as she loved him, she couldn't tell him the news she'd been given earlier that day from her agency, that they were refusing to allow her to contract with Talyn when their probationary period ended. Even though she was no longer a virgin, they had a new patron for her.

  One with more money and a much stronger lineage that Talyn wouldn't be able to fight against. Because of her contract with the agency, she was going to have to leave Talyn forever.

  But how could she tell him that after this blow? It would devastate him. He had no way of fighting their decision. No way of keeping her contracted to him.

  You could buy out your contract and live with Talyn without one.

  If she were human, it would be easy. On Andaria, that would make her a whore. Lower than even a prostitute. No male would ever consider her fit for dating or pledging, and marriage would be out of the question. Forever.

  All relationships on Andaria were done through legal contract negotiations, with a third party overseeing them. With all parties, and their families, signing off on it.

  While the life of a companion wasn't the most perfect way to exist, it was legally acceptable. Socially acceptable. But with it, she was forced to bend to agency rules.

  What do I do?

  She couldn't decide right now. There was no way. And whatever decision she made, she wasn't going to discuss it with him. Especially not while he was hurting like this.

  Talyn kissed her hand. "It's okay if you don't love me, Felicia. I'm just glad I have you with me. And now that I've lost my rank, I fully expect you to leave when our contract expires. You're too decent a female to stay with someone you know has no future of any kind. You should be with a male who can give you a lineage and children you can be proud of. Someone who can protect you."

  "Tay--"

  "Shh," he said, cutting her off. "There's nothing more to say. Just because I get hit in the head a lot doesn't mean I'm stupid or delusional. You're planning to be a great doctor one day, and while your parents aren't married, you have both lineages. Once you have your degree, you'll have your choice of husbands. That's how it should be."

  "And you should have your choice of females."

  Talyn sighed. She had no idea how right she was. His paternal grandfather had been pledged to Tizirah Cairistiona at one time. The Baturs had practically beaten down the door of his grandparents to pledge their daughter to his father. Had his parents married, he would have been Talyn of the Warring Blood Clan of Hauk--the only male of his entire generation who could legally use that prestigious name. To the Andarion race, that was even more impressive than Jullien of the Most Sovereign Blood Clan of eton Anatole.

  But that was a title that would never be his.

  Not as long as the royal family was in power, and not as long as the old traditions stood.

  You could change that.

  All he had to do was call her brother and help WAR overthrow their government.

  Closing his eyes, Talyn wanted to play by the rules. He wanted to believe that hard work was rewarded. Yet the one thing he'd learned in the Ring was that sometimes you had to take that cheap shot. Even when it was repugnant. Even when you didn't want to. Sometimes, just sometimes, you had no choice. No one could win a fair fight when your opponent didn't respect the rules.

  Fight fire with fire.

  He'd spent his entire life doing what he was supposed to. And they'd figuratively gelded him for it. It was time to leave the gloves in the dressing room. Time to meet them on the terms they'd set when they bound his hands behind his back.

  Degradation was a bitch and it was time he acquainted her with Jullien and the entire Anatole family.

  CHAPTER 18

  Felicia sat outside her broker's office with a sick lump in her stomach. For three days, she'd wrestled with what to do about leaving Talyn.

  She still had no answer.

  The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. That alone told her what she needed to do. But it was much easier said than done. Especially since he seemed to want her out of his life.

  "Felicia? The director will see you now."

  Swallowing hard, she got up and went into the elegant office where her broker, the director of her agency, sat behind his ebony wood desk. He smiled as he saw her.

  "Come in, Felicia." He gestured to the padded chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat."

  Her limbs trembling, she obeyed.

  "I'm assuming you want to talk about the new contract?"

  "Yes. Very much so. I don't understand how I ended up being offered to someone."

  "Actually, you weren't. They called and asked for you by name. Apparently, the secretary who contacted us had been calling all the agencies, looking for you, but all they had was your first name and your patron's name. The female I spoke to was elated to have finally located the right agency that held your contract."

  "Female?"

  "Mmmm, yes." He pulled up a file on his computer. "The terms are incredible. While your condo won't be so grandiose or that close to your school, your new patron is willing to buy out the current contract, plus pay a staggering fee to the agency to convert you before your probation ends."

  Felicia gaped. One of the items she'd been firm on was the location of her condo. While Talyn had graciously provided her with a transport, most patrons didn't, and Eris was too congested to rely strictly on public transportation for her classes.

  "I know!" her broker said, mistaking her stunned facial expression for approval. "It's incredible that he'd be so generous. But he said that he wants your services immediately ... within a standard Andarion week."

  "May I ask who this patron is?"

  He pushed a folder toward her. "Commander Merrell Anatole."

  Bile rose in her throat as anger ripped through her. She gently pushed the folder back toward her broker. "The answer's no."

  He arched a brow. "You don't have a say in this. Especially given the amount he's offering to pay."

  Aghast, she stared at him. "I believe I do."

  Now anger darkened his eyes as he glared at her. "If you turn this down, we won't offer a contract to your current patron. Period. You'll have to start the process over again. Only this time, you're no longer a virgin and you won't have the same bargaining power you had before."

  Rising to her feet, she tapped the folder with her fingertip. "This isn't about me. This is the commander trying to hurt Talyn, and I refuse to be a part of that. The only reason he's doing it is because we have a ban on his brother contracting
with the agency after he killed a companion. No offense, I'd sooner walk the streets as a prostitute. If you force me to do this, I will leave this agency."

  He scoffed at her bold words. "You can't. You owe us ten years of fees at your current contracted rate. That's what you agreed to when we took you on and trained you."

  "Fine. I'll buy my contract back."

  "And do you have a half million credits? Those are the buyout terms and fees."

  Her vision dimmed at the amount. Dear gods, if she had that kind of money, she'd never have had to sell her virginity. "That wasn't what I signed on for."

  "Those are the fees that are currently being paid by your patron and the fees Anatole has agreed to continue for the next ten years."

  Talyn was paying fifty thousand credits a year to her agency to have her? Holy gods! That was more than five times the normal agency fee! Was he insane? And that was in addition to paying for her living expenses, university fees, and monthly spending stipend and salary.

  "You're the only one I wanted, Felicia." He seriously hadn't been joking when he'd said that. Virtually every credit he made as an officer was going to her. Probably more, given his caste. What the hell was he living on?

  And never once had he told her to go easy on his money. "Your comfort and safety are my priority."

  If she hadn't loved him before, she would now.

  Tears choked her. "I will not break Talyn's contract. I'll get you your buyout fee."

  "With what? You're not that attractive."

  She ached to slap the arrogant, insulting expression from his face. But she couldn't afford the lawsuit. She needed every credit she had to fight this. "You'll get your credits."

  "Then I'll e-mail you the bill. You have fifteen days to pay it or we will accept Anatole's contract on your behalf." He hit the Send button on his computer screen.

  Her link buzzed immediately, letting her know that the bill was already in her inbox.

  "Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do."

  Dizzy and shocked, she pushed herself away from his desk and headed to the street. As soon as she reached the lift, she took out her link and wanted to die as she saw the full amount she owed her agency. 524,050.

  Her mind reeled. Not even her brother had that kind of money. No one she knew did. Except maybe her father. But he'd laugh her out of his home if she dared ask him for that amount.

  What am I going to do?

  She'd kill herself before she let a monster like Anatole touch her.

  Climbing into a transport, she set her home address, then used her link to access her bank account. She didn't even have three thousand credits to her name, and that was with the savings account she'd had since she was fourteen.

  Her heart breaking, she erased the condo address and typed in her mother's. The transport turned and headed in the opposite direction. Choking on a sob, she called Talyn, who was alone at the condo.

  "Maj..." his voice trailed off as he caught himself. "Lieutenant Batur."

  Even though she wasn't running the video feed, she brushed the tears from her cheek. "Hey, sweetie. Is it okay if I see my mom while I'm out? Would you mind?"

  "Not at all. Is everything all right?"

  "Fine. Why do you ask?"

  "You sound weird. Like you're upset. Did something happen at the agency?"

  More tears fell as she ached to tell him. But he didn't need to hear it right now. "Just regular crap." She cringed as he requested a video chat. Wiping her cheeks again and taking a deep breath to calm herself, she accepted it. "Hey, handsome."

  He frowned at her. "Do you need me to come get you?"

  His thoughtfulness choked her. No matter what, he always put her first. "I need you to rest. You're not supposed to leave the bed. You know that."

  His scowl deepened. "I will come get you if you need me to. Just say the word."

  She traced the lines of his face on her small screen. "Thank you. But I haven't seen my mom in a few weeks. Do you want me to pick something up for you while I'm out?"

  "Nah. I'm good. Just be safe."

  "I will. Now lie back down and rest."

  "Yes, ma'am." He kissed his fingers, then held them out to her.

  Smiling, she duplicated the gesture before she hung up and sat in silence while she ran over every possible legal way to get that amount of money.

  I can always rob a bank. Prison was an acceptable alternative to being Anatole's companion.

  The transport stopped outside her mother's condo building. Felicia paid the fee, then headed for the door. She ran up the stairs and waited for her mother to buzz her in to the complex.

  As soon as she reached the hallway, her mother was at the door, waiting.

  "What's wrong?"

  Felicia started crying again as she threw herself into her mother's arms and told her everything. Ever tall, elegant and graceful, her mother led her into her the kitchen and made them tea. She didn't speak as Felicia unloaded her entire predicament.

  "What do I do, Mommy?"

  Her mother handed her a box of cookies. "What did I tell you about being a companion?"

  "Not to fall in love."

  "And what's the first thing you do?"

  "I can't help it." Felicia held her link up to show her mother the lock screen photo of Talyn in his uniform. "Could you say no to this face?"

  "He is pretty. But--"

  "You don't know him, Mama. He's not like other males. He takes care of me like I'm his beloved wife. Talyn's precious and kind. Funny. Warm."

  "And your father once took care of me, too. Until his wife forced him to leave us. Even though I'd given up everything to be with him, including my family's support and a staggering trust fund, he didn't look back."

  That was true. But Talyn wasn't her father. "Talyn can't legally marry."

  "You think that makes this better, Felicia? You stay with him and you'll never have children of your own."

  She shook her head. "I can't be the mistress to Anatole. Not for five minutes, never mind ten years. He's a beast like his brother ... who he'll probably share me with. I'd sooner kill myself."

  "Don't be melodramatic."

  "I'm dead serious. The thought of it makes my skin crawl."

  Her mother sighed wearily. "I have fifty thousand I can loan you, but it has to be a loan. I don't have that kind of money and it's every bit of what I have in savings. Maybe we can work out a payment plan with your agency?"

  She gave her mother a droll stare.

  "I said maybe." With a heavy sigh, her mother sipped at her tea. "Since the day you were born backwards, you've been impossible, child. You've never, ever done anything the easy way."

  "I know. I'm working on shaving more years off your life."

  Her mother snorted. "Yes. You are." She took Felicia's hand into hers. "But you are ever my beautiful baby girl. And I will do everything I can to help you. You know that. Give me a few days to talk to your father, and see if I can work something out with that old goat."

  Felicia choked on another sob as the uselessness of that cut her to the bone. "He didn't pay for my school. Why would he do this?"

  "You didn't ask him to pay. You didn't want to."

  "Fine. Assault me with the truth. But he doesn't love me. Not the way he loves his legal children. You know that."

  "Still ... you are his flesh and blood. I'll ask him for a personal loan. If he doesn't have it, maybe he'll cosign a loan with me for it from a bank or one of his investor friends."

  "You would do that?"

  Her mother gaped at her astonishment. "I'm not a total heartless bitch, Felicia. You are my daughter and I don't want to see you become the pawn of a male like Anatole. He obviously intends to use you to strike back at Talyn. The gods only know what he'll do to you in the process. I will kill him myself before I allow him to hurt you like I fear he might."

  "Thank you, Mommy."

  Her mother hugged her tight and kissed her head. "Smile for me, daughter. Trust in the gods as I've
taught you. We will find a way to get you out of this. I promise."

  They spent the rest of the afternoon catching up. By dinnertime, Felicia felt a lot better. She still had no real solution, but it helped to know that her mother was on her side.

  On her way home, she stopped at her favorite restaurant and picked up dinner for them. She texted Talyn to let him know, and headed back to the condo.

  As she neared the front door, a shadow fell over her.

  "Excuse me," she said, stepping around the male without looking up from her link.

  An iron grip fastened onto her biceps.

  Gasping, she looked up into the face of Chrisen Anatole. "Let me go!"

  He shoved her against the wall of her building. "No minsid whore turns down my contract. Who do you think you are?"

  Felicia shoved her dinner at him and tried to run.

  He caught her wrist and backhanded her so hard, she feared she might black out. He grabbed her dress, ripping it, and dragged her toward his transport. "I'm going to show you what happens to whores who don't mind their place."

  CHAPTER 19

  "Major Batur!"

  Talyn shot out of bed as he heard Aaron's shout. A shout that was punctuated by Felicia's gut-wrenching sobs. His heart pounding, he ran to the living room to find Aaron carrying her. He set her down on the couch and stepped back. Her face was red as if someone had struck her, and her dress was torn.

  In that moment, a horrifying rage the likes of which he'd never known descended on him. Worse, it started that forgotten sensation of burning skin on his back.

  He had to get control. Fast.

  "Felicia?" Talyn pulled her gently against him.

  Trembling and sobbing, she latched on to him and held him as if terrified.

  Aaron swallowed hard. "I saw a male trying to pull her into a transport on the street. I only got part of the transport's markings. Sorry."

  His back still burning, Talyn fought down his fury before he let loose something he couldn't take back. "You saved her. That's the most important thing."

  Aaron nodded. "I just wish I'd seen her sooner. One second more..." He met Talyn's gaze. "I'm so sorry. I swear to the gods, it won't ever happen again."

  "Could you call a medic for us?"

  "Absolutely."

  "No," Felicia said. "It's okay. I'm not really hurt. Just scared."