Zen awoke to a knock on her door again.

“Sis it’s dinner time! Don’t make me warp in there! I know you’re with the pirate!”

“Doesn’t he have an off button,” muttered Stephan as he turned into her neck, his hair tickling her cheek.

“I’ve been looking for it for years. You think Marco might find it?”

“Zen!”

“I really hope so,” he muttered, wrapping his arms tighter around her.

“Zen! Don…”

“I’ll be right out Isaias! Go find Marco, geez!”

Stephan chuckled as she snuggled up to him again. She kissed him and drew back. “We better get a move on before Isaias screams this whole place down.”

Stephan sighed then grinned. “Fine but I get one more of these,” he muttered, kissing her. She moaned and he pressed her into the bed. He drew back smiling and helped her off the bed. They stood and walked out the door to greet everyone, hands clasped. Stephan moved at the front of their group and they started down the hallway where an arachnid was waiting for them to show them to the dining room. Along the way, they passed two more open common rooms where several arachnids were sitting. No one was wearing brown unless they wanted to. Some were reading, others were gossiping about something. They all had their tattoos on display. Only one had two stars. He was a lanky black-haired male. As they passed by the arachnids paid them attention. She did not like the looks Stephan was receiving from the female populace. Isaias must have not liked the looks Marco was receiving because he curled his arm around Marco and wrapped them in shadow. A beautiful female stood in their way and looked at Stephan. “Never seen you around here,” she said.

Stephan sighed. “I’m a guest here for now.”

“Oh, would you like to eat with me?”

“Sorry, already taken. I’m also holding her hand,” he said, raising his and Zen’s entwined hands to the limelight. Zen pulled herself closer to him and he turned to kiss her. He wasn’t ashamed of being with her. He pulled back and smiled, squeezing her hand.

“Can you let us through, we’re going to be late,” he said, mentioning the hallway.

“You can’t be serious about a little girl?”

“Uh, how old do you think I am?”

“Like twenty.”

The others laughed and Stephan pouted. “It must be the stress,” he muttered.

Zen snickered and turned his face kissing him. “Poor baby,” she crooned and squeezed his hand, chuckling.

“Well how old are you then,” the woman said.

“I’m seventeen!”

“We need to get going Nita,” their guard said and Nita nodded letting them pass.

She glared at Zen for a minute.“Wait do I know you from somewhere?”

Zen ignored her and moved with a pouting Stephan. Zen called upon the shadows and masked the two like Isaias had done for Marco, to avoid more Nita’s. They made it to the dining room and gawked as the dining room was a literal cafeteria where Arachnids sat and conversed with one another. They walked to the high table where Carmelo and Rosalinda were sitting and chatting with several Arachnids. All had three stars on their spiders. Only two were currently suited up as soldiers, the rest were in jeans and t-shirts.

Carmelo took a look at them and noticed two shadows. “You can come out of there, Isaias, Zen.”

Isaias appeared first and dropped the shadows revealing a disgruntled Marco. “Wasn’t me they were after, or not just me anyway.”

Zen popped out. “We were stopped and Stephan was picked up by a female too blind to see that he was holding hands with me,” she said, dropping the shadows to reveal a still-pouting Stephan.

“Why is he so upset?” Carmelo asked, digging his fork into his spaghetti.

“The female thought him older than he was,” Kiera said grinning.

“Must be the stress,” muttered Stephan as he and everyone else were given large plates of spaghetti and meatballs.

“Such a simple dinner for a Don?” questioned Zen.

Carmelo nodded. “One of my Arachnid’s favorites as well. We all eat the same thing with the same helpings. The only thing that changes is that I sit here with the lieutenants.”

Zen looks at the other Arachnids on the table and sees how some are waiting on Carmelo to turn to them. He did and their conversation resumed. Zen looked at her mother who was joking with an Arachnid female. It was Iona. She dug into her plate and grinned. This is good! No wonder the Arachnids love it.

He rules justly for a Don.

Zen almost swallowed her fork. Ishevara?

Yes, Zen?

You’re awake!

Far too late. I saw what that man did to you. I’m sorry.

Don’t be! It wasn’t your fault. That crystal soother took you out. How are we going to fight him if he appears again?

I don’t know. I’ve never encountered such a strong soother before him. He shouldn’t have been able to separate us so definitely.

There must be a way to get rid of the soother’s effects. There is always a way around an obstacle if you look for it.

Very true.

Stephan tapped Zen on the shoulder. “Hey you're looking a little spacy what’s up?”

“Oh, Ishevara woke up is all. I was talking with her.”

“What happened to her? She wasn’t present for…”

“No, a crystal soother took her out of the equation and separated her power from me. He shouldn’t have been able to do such a thing but he did it. Now I have to find some way around him. No doubt D’Angelo will use him again.”

Stephan growled low and bristled slightly at the name. “If he ever touches you again I’ll make what I did to the Tokens people look like child’s play and believe me no one could recognize the Tokens when I was done with them.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Zen patted his cheek. “You are not losing any more of your soul because of me Stephan. Besides, I can and will handle D’Angelo.”

“Zen you turn into a mess when he comes around!”

“I know.” She stood but he gripped her arm making her turn to him.

“I won’t let him touch you again, Zen!”

The table was quiet and everyone was staring at them. Zen flushed and yanked her arm from his. “He’ll never get that chance again!” Tears filled her eyes. “Yell a little louder I don’t think the Arachnids in the far corner heard you!” She took off running down the hall. Stephan made to get up but Rosalinda glared at him. “What do you mean? Who touched my baby and how?”

Stephan sighed and looked at Isaias who nodded.”Mama, Zen was taken advantage of by the creep Don of New Arctica. She hasn’t been the same since,” Isaias said lowering his head as Rosalinda cursed and got up to find her daughter. Carmelo held her back and looked over at Stephan who was sighing. He looked up to meet Carmelo’s gaze and nodded. “I know I screwed up big time here.”

“Then go make it right,” Carmelo said, shrugging. Stephan excused himself from the table and ran in the direction Zen had taken.

###

Zen wiped her tears as she shuffled along the hallway. She was lost but honestly didn’t care right now. How could Stephan do that? He knows how private I am and he goes and tells everyone about...that. He…

Cruel laughter interrupted her thoughts as Nita and some other girls circled around her.

“We saw what happened at dinner. So you were touched by another man? And you didn’t like it? How are you ever going to open up to your boyfriend if you can’t handle another guy touching you?”

A tall male put his arms around Zen and she was back with D’Angelo again. The kisses. The touches. The fire. All wrong! All unwanted. When hands began to trail her arms gingerly she broke from the hold shaking. She felt faint as the others' laughter swarmed her senses.

“You have no idea what I went through,” Zen growled as Nita laughed then something strange happened as Zen found herself ‘pushing’ her memories of her rape onto Nita’s mind. Nita’s eyes widened and then she collapsed and began to scream.

“No!” Please! No!”

Zen grinned. “That’s what I went through! Do you like it!”

Nita looked up with tears in her eyes. “Please take it away...please stop!”

Zen blinked and gasped. She took a step back from the screaming girl. My god, what have I done? What have I…

“Zen,” Stephan called as he saw the screaming girl on the floor and the terrified girls surrounding Zen.

“What happened? Zen?”

Zen turned her ashen face to him. “We need your brother. I did something to her mind and I don’t know how to reverse it,” Zen whispered. He turned to the girl. He recognized her from earlier and stepped up to her, putting a hand on her head. He closed his eyes and dived into her mind. He saw what she was going to do to Zen and couldn’t help but be mad but he passed that and into the loop Zen had inadvertently made of the rape in this girl’s mind. She must have really pushed some buttons.

He untangled the threads binding the memory to the girl but decided she should keep the memory as a warning not to mess with Zen. He wasn’t as merciful as his brother and seeing what he did had pissed him off a bit. She was going to replay a rape scene. Let her know what one is really like. You don’t play around with that. Someone could have ended up hurt or traumatized.

He thought of Zen’s empty eyes that gazed back at him at the station and shuddered. No more of that.

He opened his eyes and stared at the teary eyes of the girl.

“You’re lucky that’s all that has happened to you,” he said, then he whispered lower. “I would have done much worse for what you had planned.” He pulled his arm away and stood facing a stricken Zen. He took her in his arms and led her to a seat not far off bathed in moonlight and sat down with her in his lap. He glared at the other girls.

“Well pick her up and carry her to the med bay! She needs to see a doctor for the trauma this has caused her.”

The girls nodded and picked Nita up.

“Ugh Nita you need to lay off the cupcakes,” groaned one girl. They carried her to their med bay which was on the other side of the mansion.

###

Stephan kissed Zen’s head and wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled up to him.

He looked at the hallways and sighed. With his terrible navigating skills, they’d probably end up on the other end of the mansion. Still, I remember that couch.

He picked Zen up and walked a few paces where a familiar bookcase was. I remember that. A little lower was another sofa. Uh-huh, then we turned left and there was the common room. Yes! And the hallway was on the right. It was tan like the common room but who the hell can tell in this darkness? There was a lamp and then the hallway. Found it! Now our rooms were the last two on the right. He opened the door to the last room on the right and grinned as the familiar crumpled duvet met his eyes. He laid Zen down and began to walk to the adjacent door that led to his room.

“Don’t go,” Zen whispered.

He turned to her. “I thought you were mad at me.”

“I was I...I did something horrible today and I.”

He turned back to the bed and climbed on, opening his arms for her. She collapsed into them crying. He held her, running a hand through her ponytail and undoing it, letting the hair fall to her shoulders.

“I’m so s-sorry Stephan! I should have never left. Then that wouldn’t have happened and you wouldn’t have had to experience the rape again.”

“I wasn’t experiencing it. She was...on a loop. How did you do that Zen? Only Travelers can do things like that and with my diluted blood I don’t find it as easy to do.”

I don’t know, I just pushed my thoughts onto her. I don’t know how I did it. It came...like a normal thing to do in my anger.”

“I want you to push a thought into me as you did her. Let’s see if you can do it again.”

“What do I get as a reward,” she sniffed looking at him.

“We’ll see. Are you going to try?”

“Yes! I’m trying now!”

Strange I don’t feel a thing, maybe you need an incentive,” he said pulling her close and tickling her. She giggled. “N-not fair!”

“Who said anything about fair,” he muttered, tickling her harder. She snorted and closed her eyes. When her eyes opened again, she looked straight into his eyes and once again pushed a thought into his mind. It was a secret fantasy of hers. He collapsed backward as if from a blow and groaned arching. He turned and grabbed her flipping over her, his hands tracing her sides. Their lips met in a blaze of lust and passion and need. She arched into his touch and moaned as he traced her breasts and lower. He drew back to kiss the saltiness of her neck. The scent of wolfsbane floated from her skin and he was lost to it. He’d never felt anything quite as intense as when he was with Zen. It was as if the world just burst into color and sensation whenever she was around.

She slid her hands under his shirt to caress his abdomen and slid his shirt farther up until he yanked it off and rolled her so she was on top. Their hips met and he moaned as she innocently leaned over to kiss his neck rocking her hips into him. They both moaned.

She had never known this fire burning deep inside her could be so all-consuming! She kissed down the cords of his muscled neck to his shoulders and lower. He moaned and pulled her back up to his lips rolling so he was on top again. Her hips cradled his perfectly. He started a gentle rocking motion that had her clenching in want beneath him. He stopped rocking and slipped her shirt off and the cool feel of skin meeting skin made her sigh. He began to kiss the swell of her breasts. He moved lower, kissing her breast bone and she moaned as his tongue traced her ribs. He kissed down to her taut stomach and over her belly button, gaining a giggle from her, before going lower to the line of her jeans. He slid his hands down to her stomach and paused there drawing back and gazing at her.

“Really Zen, don’t play with water if you don’t intend to get a little...wet.”

“I want you,” she groaned, arching into him and gasping as their hips came in contact. He kissed her again, getting lost in her tantalizing taste, and groaned when she ran her hands through his hair. He drew back panting and a stray sniff of hers brought him back to reality. Just what the hell was he doing? He looked at Zen’s passion-clouded eyes and sighed. He had brought her to this. Should he push her over the threshold or wait? Another small keen had him swelling back in her arms. He ran his hands up her stomach and stopped just under her bra. She arched into his touch rubbing their hips together. The friction made him moan. Once again he was hit by reality as another sniff left her, and this time when he drew back he sat up as well, earning a dissatisfied groan from her.

“Zen-we can’t now. Not yet.”

“Why not,” she groaned, rolling over and staring at him.

“You...you’re still…”

“Oh...I know. I would have freaked out wouldn't I?”

“Yeah, especially tonight after that girl.”

Zen sighed and opened her arms. “Nothing else, promise.”

He looked unsure but nodded and snuggled into her arms, closing his eyes. She soon followed.