by Hannah Lin
not the time. It's better to bide your time and look for an
opening. Don't rush into anything like you did last time.”
I felt my breath come faster and my heart slammed in my
chest. This conversation was getting more infuriating by the
minute.
“Bide my time, huh? How long have you been doing that?”
For the first time in a long time, Liana's stone cold exterior
melted, and hurt flashed across her face. My throat
constricted. I'd hit a nerve, and I hated that.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered.
“Look,” Liana said, a hard edge to her voice. “If you don't
go, you'll create trouble for us all. Think of Justin.” Liana left
the room, leaving me with guilty thoughts.
A few weeks ago, I'd refused to accompany my father to
one of his work parties. He'd always asked me to attend,
and I had always obliged, knowing that with my father, the
path of least resistance was better. Besides, he didn't have
a wife to accompany him after things with my mother ended
badly.
My father and I weren't close. I knew it disappointed him
that I didn't go into military life or something he considered
appropriate. And I understood he was a cold, driven man
who had no time to raise a child. I'd learned that a long time
ago.
So, we’d co-existed in a live and let live situation for most
of my life. But when I refused to attend the party a few
weeks ago, my father had been furious. This prompted a
visit from my cousin, Taylor.
Taylor had rumbled on about my duty as a daughter, and
when that didn't work, he'd done something I never
expected. My cousin had revealed the glorious work that he
helped my father carry out on Zov's behalf, going into
details about their latest mission. Taylor's dark brown eyes
shone as horror filled my heart.
My father ran a suicide bomber cell, and my cousin helped
him. I quickly kicked Taylor out, promising I’d think about
attending the party. But as soon as he left, I snuck out
through the back window of the cellar and made a run for it.
Literally.
I hitched a ride from a stranger and was soon within the
walls of the Testean embassy, waiting for an audience with
some important higher up. All I'd told them was that I had
vital information to share. The young man that received me
had his doubts. Then I told him that my father, a major in
the Zovite army, ran a suicide bomber cell that was
planning an attack on Mabos.
The young man's face blanched, and he ran out of the
room, promising to return with someone higher up. Before
he could, Justin, one of my father's guards, stormed into the
room and dragged me away.
After that, things moved quickly. My father was furious
with everything and everyone. He blamed Taylor for
revealing the truth to me, interrogated all his guards, and
fired Justin. I wanted to tell my father that Justin had no part
in all of this, but he'd stopped talking to me by then.
I took a deep breath and pulled my shoulders back. I
would not be responsible for another life. In my father's line
of work, anything could have happened to Justin.
I ran up to my room and packed a bag of clothes.
Realizing that I didn't even know where we were going, I
packed a mixture of clothes for summer and winter. With my
father not talking to me, and still furious over the fact that
his daughter had been so eager to betray him, it was best
that I take my comfort in my own hands.
After packing, I sat on my bed. “I can't believe I'm doing
this.”
I was about to spend days on end with my father and his
men. The guards that stayed at the house, and
accompanied me when I went out, were friendly enough,
but the men my father worked with had an air of danger and
perversion about them.
Simon was the sweetest, but when he was around the
other guys, he turned into someone else. I shook my head.
It wasn't like I had plenty of friends to begin with. I clapped
my hands and rose, carrying my bags down the long flight
of stairs. By the time I got to the bottom, Liana was waiting
for me with a stern look on her face.
“Travel safely, and make sure you steer clear of your
father's men,” she said.
I smiled and hugged the older woman. That was the most
affection she allowed, but it spoke volumes. It meant that
Liana had forgiven me and that she hoped nothing bad
happened on my trip.
“Thanks, Lil,” I said, shortening her name in a way that I
knew she secretly liked. It was an odd relationship we
shared. But then again, what hope did I have of regular
relationships with the upbringing I'd had?
My mother, I'd been told, was a traitor who now lived in
Testea. That left me with a military father who was never
around, and when he was, his coldness filled our house. The
other kids kept away from me because of my mother's
reputation, but also because of the wolf heritage I got from
her. Wolfs were a minority in Zov, and so, I had always been
alone. Except at work. My coworkers were lovely, but I
suspected that had more to do with their fear of my father.
“Off you go,” Liana said, pushing me away.
I stepped out into the cloudy day and sighed. There was
no turning back now.
“Ah, Maddie,” Simon called, stepping out of the van. “Do
you need help with your bags?”
I rolled my eyes. “I'm a wolf, remember? I may not be as
strong as a bear, but I can manage.”
I walked down the stairs and cursed the day I ran to the
Testean embassy for the thousandth time. Now, my father
never let me leave the house without at least three guards.
And apparently, I couldn’t stay home by myself if he was
going off the planet.
“Hi,” a tall, lithe woman greeted, appearing out of
nowhere. I looked up at her and did my best to keep my jaw
from dropping. Had the woman been in the car with Simon
all this time? How had I not noticed her?
The woman had dark brown hair and the brightest blue
eyes I had ever seen. Her curves were subtle, but difficult to
miss, and the muscles of her arms stretched the sleeves of
her t-shirt nicely. I licked my lips as I imagined what the
woman looked like naked. I was sure that toned abs and a
tight butt would be part of the visual feast.
“I'm Kate,” the goddess supplied with a cheeky grin.
I cleared my throat and lifted my eyes to her face. Kate
knew how ridiculously good looking she was, and the last
thing I would ever do was fan a person’s ego. Besides, Kate
was a murderer who worked for my father, wreaking havoc
all over the universe.
I brushed past the taller woman and made my way to the
back of the van. I threw my bag in through the open doors
and walked around the vehicle, ready to settle into the
passenger seat.
“I'm afraid I ca
n't let you sit there,” Simon said, moving
closer.
“Why the hell not?” I said, folding my arms.
Kate had already thrown me off balance with her sex
appeal. My wolf was stirring within me, eager to get closer
to Kate. I had to hold her off. I needed to get laid, but Kate
was not the woman for that, nor was this the time.
“I've heard stories about your escape from vehicles over
the years,” Simon said. “I'm afraid I can't take that chance.
You'll sit in the back with Kate.”
I scoffed, then turned to find Kate leaning against the van
with her arms and legs crossed. The lazy smile on her face
told me she'd been watching me for a long time and liked
what she saw. Butterflies filled my stomach as I swallowed
thickly.
Why does this criminal of a bear get under my skin like no
other woman has? I wondered.
She's not a bear, my wolf said, excitedly. She's a dragon
and our mate.
My heartbeat thrashed in my ears as my skin tingled.
Mate. This woman was my mate.
After all these years alone. Never having friends or a
genuine relationship that lasted once anyone found out who
my father was. After all this time, I'd found my mate.
I stood rooted, unable to move or blink. Kate's eyebrows
furrowed as she regarded me. The concern in her blue eyes
rose with each second our eyes remained locked. Gods, Kate
was my mate, and she was worried. Since when had anyone
cared about my emotional well-being?
I turned around, needing to break the intense connection.
Kate undoubtedly knew we were mates. How was I going to
spend the next few days or weeks by her side pretending I
didn’t know of our connection? I had no intention of mating
a murderer.
“Your father said to use force if we have to,” Simon said,
his voice laced with worry. “Will I have to do that?”
I shook my head. “I'll go,” I croaked. The poor guy had
missed the entire exchange. He probably thought we had a
face off.
Hah! I thought. How could I face down a dragon?
Simon doesn't know Kate is a dragon, my wolf supplied.
My breath hitched. That was right. As usual, my wolf was
one step ahead of me. When I first scented Kate, I thought
the blue-eyed woman was a bear. Now, as I took a stronger
whiff and concentrated, there was a trace of a dragon.
I turned sharply and stared at Kate. Whoever she was, she
wasn't Zovite. All Zov's dragons, the few that we had, were
forced to fight on the front lines.
Kate was from another planet. And she had a potion that
hid her dragon scent and made her smell like a bear. My
skin tingled as I breathed a sigh of relief. My mate was not
one of my father's people. Kate did not kidnap innocents
and send them to their deaths.
That relief was short-lived as my stomach dropped. If my
wolf had figured it out so quickly, couldn't my father do the
same? Or did it have something to do with the fact that we
were mates? I hurried to the back of the van, needing to
have a serious chat with Kate. Whoever she was, and
whatever she was doing, she was playing a dangerous
game.
Kate followed me into the van and shut the door behind
us. I heard Simon turn a key in the door, locking us in like a
herd of cattle. I couldn’t even get mad. There were much
more critical issues at hand.
“Who are you?” I asked once the van started moving.
Kate grinned. “I’m your mate, and you’re mine.”
My heart fluttered at the way Kate said those words. The
taller woman was so possessive, so sure, and I wanted
nothing more than to replay those words while lying in her
arms, naked, after a few hours of what I imagined would be
spectacular sex.
Focus, I chided myself.
“I know that,” I said. “But who are you? You smell like a
bear, but my wolf says you’re a dragon. Zov’s dragons are
all on the front lines, so you’re not from here. Where are you
from?”
Kate’s smile dropped, and genuine panic settled onto her
face. My mate was in some deep shit, and there was still a
chance she wasn’t one of the good guys.
Just my luck, I thought.
“I guess I can trust you since we’re mates,” Kate said.
I folded my arms warily, not in any hurry to hear about
what mess my mate was in. Kate must have done
something terrible if she had to hide her dragon scent. A
powerful creature like her should only have feared her kind.
“I’m an undercover Testean soldier,” she said. “And I’m
here to take down your father’s operation.”
CHAPTER 3
KATE
I watched Maddie’s head jerk back. That was the last thing
she’d been expecting. I knew it was a risk to reveal the
truth, but Maddie was my mate, and her wolf had seen past
the magic and scent I wore to conceal my identity. That
thought alone made my chest warm. That kind of deep
connection was everything I’d ever hoped for.
Yeah, but how does she feel about you killing her father?
my dragon asked.
That poured a bucket of cold water over me. Simon had
said Maddie hated her father’s men, but she didn’t know
what they did. I had just jumped the gun in a big way.
What if, when Maddie found out what they did, she
believed her father was on the right side of things? What if,
when she found out the truth, she didn’t want me to kill
Carter?
I ran a hand down my face. “Okay, that was wrong of me
to blurt out. We need to talk about things.”
Maddie’s eyes widened as she nodded. “So, my message
got through.”
“What message?” I asked, cocking my head.
“A few weeks ago, I found out what my father really does.
I went to the Testean embassy to get them to stop what he
was about to do, but I didn’t get to deliver the message
fully. I guess the kid behind the desk took me seriously.”
My jaw hung open. Immediately after finding out the truth
about Carter, Maddie’s first instinct had been to go straight
to Testea. It was a heartfelt move, but it had put her life in
danger. What if one of Zov’s spies in the embassy had found
her?
I shook my head. “That was a dangerous move.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Maddie snapped. “I was
overwhelmed, and I needed to do something.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just thinking out loud.” I smiled bashfully. “I
rarely do that. So, what stopped you from delivering your
message?”
“Justin.” Maddie hung her head. “He was one of my
father’s guards. He must have followed me. My father was
furious.”
I pictured the already scary Carter angry and winced. “Did
he do anything to you?” Maddie was my mate, and while
she could protect herself, I still felt the need to do all I could
for her. I would repay every harm Carter might have caused
/>
her with a slower, more painful death.
“No. He just yelled.” Maddie sighed. “I can’t believe that
my father runs a suicide bomber cell.”
I moved to the opposite side of the van and sat beside
Maddie. While I desperately wanted to take her in my arms
and comfort her, I knew that things between us were new.
We were strangers, after all.
I patted Maddie’s shoulder, then withdrew. “There was no
way for you to know. No one else on Zov does.”
“But maybe I could have dug a little deeper. Paid more
attention. I was always so busy with my charity work that I
just assumed he was doing regular military stuff.”
“What kind of charity work do you do?”
Maddie’s brown eyes were wide as she faced me. “With all
that’s going on, that’s what you want to know?”
“Yes.” I shrugged. “I want to know everything about my
mate.”
Maddie's nostrils flared as she took a deep breath and
shut her eyes. “Okay. We need to pump the brakes on this
whole mate thing.”
Ouch, I thought, as I moved back to my spot opposite her.
“Can I ask why?” I said.
Maddie opened her eyes and pinned me in place with
them. “It’s distracting, and right now, distraction is the last
thing we need if you're going to get out of this alive,
hopefully with me in tow.”
I grinned. “So, you'd come with me?”
“Of course!” Maddie chuckled. “I've been planning an
escape for weeks.”
Double ouch, my dragon said.
Oh, shut up, I responded.
“Well, I can help with that,” I said.
“Good, now let's talk strategy. How are we going to get my
father into Testean hands? He's a big guy, and a lot of his
men are good fighters. Are you going to use a trap of some
sort to lure him in?”
I folded my arms and stared at the floor. Maddie didn't
understand what I did. She thought that Carter's
punishment would be a lifelong sentence. How could I tell
her that in a matter of days or weeks, he'd be dead, and by
my hands too?
“Hey,” Maddie said, scooting forward in her seat. “What's
wrong? You checked out for a minute there.”
I let out a deep breath. “My mission is to infiltrate your
father's cell, learn as much about his operations, then kill
him and his top men.”
“What?” Maddie’s face went white as a sheet, and she