It had been Falon’s own house that had been shamed all those years ago, his own sister who had been stolen by a visitor, kept for several months aboard the man’s ship, and returned with a child in her belly. It had been Falon’s father who had gathered the warriors of Ba-Har-an to ride against the visitors, ready to go to war if the man responsible was not turned over to them for punishment.

This had been the incident, the last of many, that had led to the closedown of the whole planet to visitor travel, and had turned the Ba-Har-ani so against visitors of any kind that they had never traded with them again. And Falon now wanted to take one home with him? But as a slave, Dalden reminded himself, not as a lifemate, and Falon likely wouldn’t want her any other way.

Reluctantly, Dalden had to disappoint Falon. “If she’s a visitor, she can’t be bought.”

“How, then, may I obtain her for my own?”

“In most cases, you have to ask the female herself if she will have you.”

“It is foolishness to leave such an important decision up to a female. Is there no male at all to be dealt with in the matter?”

“In some cases, but not in most. Yet we no longer speak of buying, Falon. If you truly want the female, you would have to take her as your lifemate, and I doubt you are prepared to do that.”

“No, I am not. She would refuse even did I ask, because she fears me.”

Dalden commiserated. “Visitors usually do fear warriors. Our own women fear them when it comes to joining with one for the first time. This is normal.”

“So I tried to tell him,” Jadell said.

“And I told you, brother, that her fear came after.”

“You mean you have already had her?” Dalden asked.

Falon’s nod was so curt as to be barely noticed. “Is there no alternative you can offer me?”

“Since you only wish to own her, best you hope she is a Catrateri. They would likely do anything you demand just now, including ordering one of their women to accept you-at least temporarily. Did you happen to find out what planet she is from?”

“No.”

“This, then, we will discover first thing on the new rising. But do you decide you would have the woman as other than a slave, I could ask my mother to speak with her, to ease the woman’s fears. She relates well to visitors, knowing how they think, what their concerns are. And she is a perfect example of how happy a visitor can be in joining her life with a warrior’s.”

Dalden’s mother was the farthest thing from happy as she slammed into her bedchamber late that afternoon-or tried to. The door was simply too large and heavy to close with any speed that would generate a good slamming. But in this case, it was stopped from closing all the way when Challen followed Tedra into the chamber.

He was none too happy himself just then. “Woman, you will speak to me of this.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be speaking to you again! How could you? And without telling me!”

Briefly, Challen thought about challenging that High King of Century HI for arrogantly claiming that he would defeat the champion of the games after they were over and thereby win Shanelle for himself. Hearing that, Tedra had demanded to know what becoming champion had to do with her daughter, and had been told that Shanelle was the prize being offered for victory. Challen had been forced to explain to the man his misconception. Warriors knew the way the competitions worked. Visitors had to be told that winning didn’t necessarily net the final prize.

But the damage had been done. Tedra had not waited around to hear all of the explanation. She had quietly walked away to return to the palace. But Challen knew his lifemate well. There was nothing of calm in her silent departure. She was on the borderline of committing violence and had wisely left before the committing began in public.

Now he watched her pounce on their bed and attack it with her fists. Usually she had Martha deliver Corth to her when she needed to pummel something, that being one of the android’s uses, to assist Tedra in the exercising of her skills-and the expending of her fury. But Corth was otherwise occupied right now as Shanelle’s protector and could not be taken from that duty.

Challen waited patiently for Tedra to rid herself of the worst of her fury, fully aware that the bed was a substitute for himself, just as Corth usually was. He was touched, as always, that she chose not to attack him instead, settling for only secondary satisfaction in substitutes. Such was an indication of the deep love she felt for him that was stronger than the strongest anger. Ironically, when she was only mildly angry, she did not hesitate to strike him. Yet when what she felt was extreme, she would not take the chance of hurting him with it.

It had become an easy matter to determine the degree of her displeasure in this way, and what he faced now was serious displeasure.

He spoke carefully while she was still pummeling the bed. “I did not tell you the reason behind these competitions because I knew this would be your reaction.”

Tedra glanced up only long enough to growl, “Damned right, but you did it anyway!”

“Yet is the reason no different from what you already knew I faced, finding the proper lifemate for my daughter.”

“My daughter will have no trouble finding her own lifemate. I’ve told you that a hundred times.”

“And I have told you a like number of times that I cannot release her from my protection to a man who cannot protect her as well as I.” Then, more gently, he added, “This you know, chemar. This is why the decision cannot be hers.”

That warrior logic had Tedra gathering the bedding up to her face so she could scream into it before she bounded off the bed and came to glare up at Challen. “You’ve made her a prize, a goal! You might as well have put her up for auction to the highest bidder!”

“I see it differently. What I have done is bring together the finest warriors in the land to determine those with the greatest ability and skill. From the best whom I find approval with, she may then choose.”

“She may?” Tedra’s eyes narrowed. “Just how many best are we talking about? Thirty? Forty?”

“Five.”

“Unacceptable! Make it ten and I might consider it.”

“We do not bargain here, woman. I go against my better judgment to allow her five to choose from when the fifth will have been bested by four others.”

“And what if she wants none of those five? What if she absolutely hates them?”

“You look for difficulties before they arrive.” And then he put his arms around her to draw her flush with his body. “You know I want her happiness, chemar, yet must she be happy and well protected. You would not want it any other way.”

“It just seems so impossible.” Tedra sighed.

But she was now privy to the fact that Shanelle didn’t want a warrior-and why-whereas Challen was not. Nor would it do to enlighten him on that fact.

She rested her chin on his wide chest to look up at him. Her culture considered him a barbarian, and it wasn’t easy loving a barbarian, but she did. She loved this one to distraction. But she knew his limitations, in particular his lack of understanding a woman’s fears. She was partly responsible for that because she had so few fears herself, and those she did have she merely gritted her teeth at and plowed right through. But Shanelle wasn’t like her in that respect. Shanelle had been so well protected all her life that she’d never had anything to fear as she grew to womanhood. But now suddenly she had a great many things to fear and she wasn’t prepared to face any of them.

“She’s going to be horrified when she finds out all those men are competing for her,” Tedra said quietly now.

“Why should she be? Never did it bother her when all my warriors lusted after her.”