Page 47 of Guardian's Soul (Space Guardian's Mate #2)

THARAAX

I barely caught Hannah before she hit the floor. Too caught up in my own emotions at hearing Nova say the name she couldn't have possibly known.

"Hannah," I yelled as I kneeled, keeping her in my arms.

"Get some water," Luph suggested.

Moments later, Zoe handed me a moist cloth and Nova handed me a cup of water. Hannah's eyelashes fluttered as she slowly came to. She stared at me in bewildered reverence. Her hand reached up and touched my cheek. "Tharaax." She said my name without a hint of an accent. Different from anybody else who had ever spoken it. From anybody but one. But that wasn't possible.

I swallowed, having no idea what was happening.

"Here, put her on the chair." Luph waved me to the table. "She probably needs some food."

I put Hannah on my lap, unwilling to let her out of my arms.

"What is it about the name?" Zaarek asked.

I cleared my throat, unable to look away from Hannah. I told the others about my dreams. "I didn't want to say anything. It's weird. I mean, I love Hannah, with all my heart, more than my life…"

"But?" Nova glared at me, looking ready to kill me.

"I've told you I've been dreaming about running through a forest." I looked up long enough to make sure they were all nodding. "Well, that part is true. What I left out is that in my arms, I'm holding the body of a female. A female who wore the same markings as me. I know I loved her just as much as I love Hannah, and losing her nearly killed me… or I think it did. I'm not sure." I massaged my neck, and a headache was forming. "I don't know what to think."

"Do you remember her name?" Noodar asked in a solemn voice.

"Suahaana," I confirmed what the others already suspected.

"Holy shit!" Nova exclaimed.

"That makes so much sense," Luph agreed.

Hannah was reaching for a cookie, and I took that as a good sign and helped her reach the bowl. She also drank a few sips of water and color was returning to her face.

"What makes sense? None of this makes sense," Zoe piped up.

"The rest of the story." Nova pointed at the wall, where the markings were still visible.

"See what we haven't gotten to yet is"—she paused, not for dramatics, but because she was searching for the right words—"before it sounded like some magical mumbo jumbo, but now it makes perfect sense. According to the Darlams' beliefs, the mating marks would appear on their bodies to guide them to their Soulbond."

"Okay, we already know that," Zaarek said.

"Well, that part, yes, but the reason for it developing is that these souls have been a couple for as long as time exists. They have to find each other again, in each new life."

"Reincarnation?" Zoe's eyes widened .

"More than that," Hannah said, then looked confused as if waking from a daze, staring at the cookie in her hand as if she had no idea that she had grabbed it. "Did I faint, Thrax?"

"Yes." I felt a deep heaviness in my chest. She was calling me Thrax again. I didn't mind. I really didn't, but for a moment, a second there, I thought… I didn't know what I thought.

"What do you mean, it's more than that?" Nova narrowed her eyes at Hannah.

Hannah shook her head. "I don't know. It just feels like it's more than that." She rubbed her chest. "Like we are on the brink of finding something out, but we're not quite there yet."

"So you're saying that Hannah was Suahaana in a previous life, mated to Tharaax. And then the Ohrurs killed them, and now they're back together?" Noodar summarized.

I closed my eyes and held Hannah close, rocking her slightly as she snuggled into me.

"And then the markings appear, with their names and boom." Nova clapped her hands. "They're back together."

"That sounds all good, but if Hannah was Suahaana, then why has Tharaax always been Tharaax and I Zaarek?" Zaarek asked.

"Oh." Hannah startled as if remembering something. "You know what? My mom said that it was the strangest thing. She wanted to call me Elizabeth ever since she found out she was pregnant, fully convinced I was a girl. But after I was born and the nurses asked what name they should put down, she said…" Hannah hesitated, squeezing my hand. "She said she opened her mouth and could have sworn she said Elizabeth, but all she and the nurse heard was Hannah. Well, not really Hannah. She said it sounded different, but that was the closest she could say."

Everybody stared at her, including me. Nova threw her hands in the air. "What in the hell is going on here? This is getting way too much into the Twilight Zone for my taste."

But I tuned her out as guilt lifted off me. I nearly laughed at the thought that I didn't need to feel shame anymore for loving two females since they were both the same. I hadn't betrayed either one of them, and for that knowledge, I was eternally grateful.

"Do you want to call me Suahaana now?" Hannah asked quietly.

I shook my head. "You're Hannah. My Hannah and always will be." I saw a small frown crease on her features. "Unless you want me to."

"I don't know," she confessed. "I need to think about this. This is all just a bit too much."

"Yes," I agreed. "But we're together."

She smiled at me, and her smile lit my world from the inside out. It was beyond any logic or rationality how much I loved this female. She was my one, my everything.

"I love you," she said, leaning up to kiss me.

"I love you so frygging much," I replied before I crushed my lips to hers to show her just how much.

"All right, love birds, can we stop for a moment?" Nova clapped her hands. "I'm serious. Can we please talk about this?"

Hannah sighed and disentangled herself from me. "What does your name say?"

"It doesn't matter," Nova tried, which made all of us stare at her. She rolled her eyes. "Fine! Noevah, happy?"

Zaarek looked as if someone had slapped him while a shudder moved through Nova. I didn't think she even realized she was repeating the name quietly and with reverence.

"Oh, do mine." Zoe clapped her hands, oblivious to the others.

Luph's smile, as always, was bright and beautiful. "Zoahn."

"Zoahn, Zoe." Zoe looked at Raasla. "What do you think? Raasla?"

Raasla stumbled a few feet back. His hand hit the wall for support. His silvery skin took on a grayish pallor and his face scrunched up in pain. Zoe was immediately at his side. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry."

Raasla raised his hand to embrace his mate. He tried a reassuring smile, but his pained expression didn't help. "I'll be okay."

"Okay, let's stop this for now," Hannah rallied. "So we've got some more kinks to work out. We found some puzzle pieces. Let's see how they fit." She smiled broadly, but it didn't reach her eyes. I was sure, though, I was the only one who noticed.

"In the meantime, who ate the last Oreo?"

Nervous giggles followed her statement.

"No, I'm serious, who did?"

The tension in the room broke, and warmth spread through me. This was my mate, my Hannah. My Suahaana. Perky, bright, and chipper whenever a situation needed to defuse. She was perfect for it. A born cheerleader … yeah, I admit I might have gotten a little addicted to watching human movies with her, but they were fun.

She was everything we needed to stop our dark thoughts and dwelling when we needed to.

"Let's do some more research, but differently." She grinned and winked at me. "Can you find Ghost Town ?"

"You can't be serious," Nova groaned. "Not Ghost Town ."

"Oh, I've never watched that movie. Can we?" Zoe was still hovering around Raasla, concerned, but for his benefit, she was putting on a good show, and he was starting to look a bit better, too.

"What are you talking about?" Zaarek asked while I started projecting Hannah's request to the wall.

"This looks like fun," Luph exclaimed happily, pulling Noodar to a chair and sitting on his lap.

"You found it." Hannah beamed and moved back into my arms.

"I'll always find what you're asking me for, baby ." I winked at her .

She laughed and it was the best sound in the entire universe to my ears. We might not know yet what was awaiting us, but when I looked at our group and held my mate in my arms, I knew we would make it through. Every single person in this room brought something to the group that strengthened us. Even Nock, as he opened another bag of cookies, looked mischievously around to see if anybody noticed.

Yes, there was no doubt in my mind that our immediate future would be filled with danger and adventure, and I would protect the female in my arms with my life, but there was also a stranger's voice filling my ear, telling me that everything would be all right. We would find what we needed and get our revenge.