Cynic (Book 1 of Eioneus)

The Answer

"Hold on, darling

This body is yours,
This body is yours and mine
Well hold on, my darling
This mess was yours,

Now your mess is mine"

- Vance Joy

♂ Tartarus' POV ♂

I had to tell them. I couldn't let them hurt her. She was the only thing I would fight for. The thing I would die for.

An old man in a white long coat walks in and asks, "What are you?"

I breathe a heavy sigh as I see my angel shake her head no. She didn't want me to tell them anything just to save her, I have to though.

"I'm from Kosmos, a planet 3 million light years away. My species are called Epithetikos, we have extreme strength and our only weakness is our mate." I grind out. The old man smirks at me, "Do you have a mate?" I quickly glance at my angel from the corner of my eye and return my gaze to the scientist. He saw me look at her and leans over to the microphone that was clipped onto his jacket. "The girl is his mate, and his only weakness. What do you think we should do to her? What would cause him to become weak?"

Static comes through the mic before a man's deep voice comes through. "What about this?" He says as the man removes the knife from my mate's neck and she visibly relaxes before he leans in and kisses her. My vision turns red again as I become furious, jumping up from the metal seat I was in, my fist shatters the glass and and I jump through the jagged hole. I stalk over to my struggling mate and the man who dared to lay a finger on her.

I grab his arm and rip it off with a small tug, before leaning down and gathering my shaking mate in my arms. The alarms go off again as I bolt out of the room, towards the exit I had found by searching through the scientist's memories. The heavy metal doors will only open if a keycard is used. I didn't have a keycard, but I did have my feet. I kick the door in, wondering why I hadn't escaped with my angel sooner. My eyes quickly landed on a police car and I rush over to it.

Setting my mate in the passenger's seat and buckling her in, I race over to the driver's side and realize the controls are the same as the ships. The Fos. I can't leave here without him and the others. Speeding out of the compound, I head towards a 'highway' where we could escape the men chasing us.

I drive for hours on end, holding my loves hand the whole way, before we lose them and pull up to a motel. The sign says there is food and a place to sleep and I assume that my mate needs some of both. Getting out, I walk over to my baby's side of the car and lift her out of the seat. Walking into the motel, I sneak past the desk worker who wasn't paying attention and get onto the elevator.

"What floor do you want to sleep on baby? We'll figure out what we're doing after you sleep." I say, setting her down in front of the buttons. She eyes me suspiciously before pressing the 8. Spinning around, she walks back into my chest, nuzzling her head into my now dirty jacket. She must feel the mate bond. I wrap my arms around her as I watch the numbers go up until we reach the floor she chose. Stepping out, I sigh and close my eyes before using my powers to check to see what room was empty of any people. Finding an empty room, I lift my princess into my arms again and walk towards the door.

Opening the door by unlocking the lock, I walk in and lay my mate on the king bed in the middle of the room. I leave her there to relock the lock and turn on the bath for her. "What's your name princess?" She smiles slightly before pointing to her throat. "You can't talk? Do you know sign language." Due to my advanced learning ability, I can learn it in seconds. She shakes her head and points to a pad and pen on the bedside stand. Handing it to her, she quickly writes something down before showing it to me. My name's Annabelle. What's yours? I smile down at her. Annabelle. I love it.

"My name's Tartarus, we need to get you cleaned up and into new clothes. Can you shower by yourself?" Her cheeks turn pink before she shakes her head and looks down. I put my finger under her chin and lift her eyes to meet mine. "Never be ashamed. I am so happy I found you and I don't care that you need help. It makes me happy knowing you need me." I say before kissing the top of her head and carrying her into the bathroom. She undresses to her dirty bra and underwear before sitting in the warm water. Grabbing a washcloth, I put some soap on it and start to wash her arms. When I get to her back, I feel myself become angry again. I can't believe someone could hurt her. I carefully wash around her bleeding cuts and finish washing her before dabbing the washcloth on the large gashes on her back. I feel bad knowing it's hurting her as she whimpers every time the cloth makes contact, but cleaning it will make it less likely to get infected. Handing her a towel after I'm finished, I instruct her to take off her undergarments and wait for me to come back with clothes for her. I manage to find a small clothing store very close to the motel and buy things before the store closes.

Running back to our room, I knock before walking into the bathroom where I left her. She's sitting on the toilet and dry with a new towel wrapped around her petite body. I hand her a pair of underwear, a bra, some pants, and a shirt I got for her. I leave the room and sit on the bed waiting for her and planning how we're going to get out of here. Feeling stupid, I remember the button I could press to contact an alien near me. Pressing it, an interface comes up as I choose to call my dad. Waiting for him to pick up, he does and I explain our situation.

He tells me to let Annabelle know what we are and how we're planning on going back to our home planet. I hang up after I see my mate's little head peek out from behind the wall that separated the bedroom and the bathroom. Waving her over, she cautiously walks over to the bed and hops onto the covers. Seeing her wince in pain, I pull out the bandage and medicine that I had bought on my way back. "Can you lay on your stomach so I can bandage up your cuts princess?" I softly ask her, causing her to nod and lay down. Pulling up the back of her shirt, I carefully put medicine on the gashes and wrap bandages around her bruised body. Bringing the bottom of her shirt back down, I kiss her forehead before placing her under the blankets on the bed. I take off my shoes and socks before laying next to my mate's tiny body, pulling her towards me.

And then I fall asleep with a smile on my face for the first time in awhile.