“In-coming message from Trax on the Hunter Station,” the pleasant computer voice repeated.
It was the demanding Creekan who’d originally trained him. What had he done wrong now?
“Is that your boss trying to get ahold of you?” she questioned.
“Heh. I do not have a ‘boss.’ I work independently, although they can revoke my license if I make too many errors. But I am still in probationary status, this could be why he’s checking on me.”
She ran a hand along his bicep. “I’m sure you’re doing fine. But I wonder what he wants. Do you want me to go with you?”
“I’ll go alone,” he said, getting up. “You go back to sleep. I want you perfectly rested and healed so I can slide my cock inside you again the moment I return.”
“Okay,” she breathed. “I can do that. But I won’t wait forever. If you take too long I’ll come up there and embarrass you in front of your friends and kiss you and drag you back to bed.”
He chuckled and stood to clean and get dressed.
Minutes later he was on the bridge, ready to get this over with so he could return to his Bride. “Computer, open vid message with Trax.”
“Affirmed.”
The vid blinked to life and a Creekan immediately formed on the holo screen. The male turned around, staring at him intently. A thin layer of film rolled down and back up to lubricate his large, bulbous eyes. The male’s skin was a series of shiny small green scales and his mouth was edged with a hard line of darker scales. His smile was more of a grimace, full of pointy white teeth and exposing a red interior. He was built like many of the main species in the four sectors—breathing oxygen and walking upright, with two arms and two legs. The Creekans were historical allies of the Xylan.
“Hmm,” Trax hissed. “Daxon you look different, you look…happy. What happened? The male I knew was angry and defensive, mad at the universe for taking away his livelihood and his home and for having to lower himself to becoming a Bounty Hunter.”
He grimaced. It was true, Trax had met him at his worst. “Nothing is the same; I have found my Bride.”
“What?” Trax straightened. “You found your Bride? You were on your first mission as a Bounty Hunter which happened to be to New Earth, and it was decommissioned. You had less than a diurnal of turnaround and then you were in space again, returning to the station—and during this time you managed to find your Bride. How is this possible?”
“A human female snuck onto my ship and I found her in my bunk after I’d already left port and was in open space. This is how we met.”
“A stowaway? This is highly unusual. I’m shocked that this female was able to bypass our security system in order to gain access to your quarters.”
“It was because I am Xylan. The security system accounted for that, scanned her and discovered her genetics matched mine and confirmed she was my mate and gave her immediate access.”
The Creekan’s brow furrowed. “Should we consider this a loophole in our security that needs to be closed in the future?”
“Leave it as is. Any Xylan, male or female, would want their mate to be given immediate access to their ship. A mate is always an ally. And if the ship had shut her out, I would’ve left New Earth without having met her.”
“Understood… Why was your Bride running away from New Earth and hiding in your ship? What was she trying to escape from?”
A growl rumbled in his chest. “Darcy of One was about to be force mated to a human lazhul. She left him at the ceremonial altar and ran to my ship in order to find a way to depart her planet and escape.”
“What are you two talking about?” a deep voice cut in. “Did I hear you say Daxon of Seven has found his Bride?” A Green-horn stepped into view, the other male who had also been in charge of Daxon’s training.
“Rengeli,” Daxon muttered.
“Daxon,” he answered, sweeping long black hair over the green skin of his massive shoulders.
These two males had made Daxon’s life miserable during the intensive training course he’d taken to streamline his testing for the Hunter license.
“Maybe this mating has something to do with the reason why we called,” Rengeli remarked.
“Why are you two calling me?” Daxon asked. His Bride was in his bunk, naked, waiting for his attentions…
“We decided to get in contact with you because we have a target we retrieved from New Earth in lockdown stasis.”
He rocked back on his heels. “You’re on a mission to New Earth?”
“Yes, we’re calling from our ship, this message is routed through the Hunter Station so our exact location remains secure. This is our latest security upgrade. Since you were just recently also on New Earth we wondered if you had any information on the target we’ve retrieved. The bounty for our target was placed by a human named Gurpreet Singh.”
Daxon slammed a fist on the console. “That’s the asshole I’ve vowed to kill.”
“Really?” Trax crossed his massive green-scaled arms, “And why is that? Tell us.”
Rengeli nodded. “This is going to be interesting.” He elbowed Trax. “See, I was right. I told you we should call Daxon.”
“Maybe we should sit down to listen to this.”
“Wait, I have snacks,” Rengeli said. And in seconds they were both seated and pulling out bowls of food. “We’re ready, tell us everything,” he mumbled through a full mouth.
Daxon rolled his eyes. These two were exactly the same as he’d remembered.
While they ate, he told them the entire story. How he’d found his mate in his bunk. He admitted that he’d asked her for a testing and she’d declined and vowed to never marry. He explained how he’d given her his honor over hers. And then how Gurpreet had found them and threatened to take his female back and vowed revenge. Daxon explained how his Bride was brilliant with mechanics and engineering and she’d found the part he’d installed incorrectly and fixed it. And then he told how the ship had failed and she’d saved him by clasping his claw. Then they’d had a confirmed mating—he’d claimed her in the holo deck. And they were now in his quarters enjoying their post-claiming time together.
Trax popped the last bit of food into his mouth and rubbed his clawed hands together. “That was a great story. Congratulations on finding your mate.”
“Yes,” Rengeli agreed. “Congratulations on such a momentous event. We are both happy that you have found your mate. She sounds perfect for you. But what are you going to do now that you’ve found your Bride? Will you return to New Earth? Are you going to remain as a Hunter?”
“I do not know. But I can only remain as a Hunter if my Bride can stay with me.”
“Hmm,” Trax hissed. “Do you think she’d make a good Bounty Hunter? Is she interested in that?”
“I don’t think so, but her skills with engineering and mechanics are excellent.”
“We’ll hire her,” Rengeli announced, standing and tossing his half-eaten bowl to the floor. “She’d be valuable on our maintenance team. And because she’d be your Bride we wouldn’t have to worry about her allegiance or longevity in her position.”
“Well, she’s pregnant with my offspring.”
“She can work around that. We’ll take what we can get.”
“Now, back to our original reason for this message,” Trax interrupted. “You obviously know exactly who put out the Bounty on our target. This human is not a worthy being. It makes sense this is compromised.”
“Compromised? Explain this to me. Who is your target? Who did Gurpreet put a hit on?”
“A male named Hector Chopra.”
Daxon cursed and glanced around, thankful his Bride wasn’t on the bridge to hear this terrible announcement. “That male is my Bride’s brother,” he growled. “He is my new brother-in-law, legally now part of my line.”
“Ah. Well, then good thing we called. You see, we picked this male up and put him in lockdown stasis but we knew something wasn’t right. He didn’t present like our typical t
arget. This male had simply been working in a field of crops when we found him, unarmed and not hiding from us or running away. And unfortunately, his abduction resulted in a whole group of nearby beings weeping and shouting in anguish.”
“It was highly uncomfortable,” Rengeli commented.
“I can imagine,” Daxon muttered. Not that this stopped the two of them from taking Hector.
“We brought our target back to our ship and placed him in lockdown stasis, but before we formally turned in our target we decided to do a background check of our own. We knew you’d just left New Earth so we’ve called you for intel and now we know this is an illegal Bounty.”
Daxon grinned. Gurpreet was about to meet his maker. “Gurpreet Singh is a murderer,” Daxon affirmed, trying his best to give these two males as much information as possible. “He has a harem of women and offspring from his own loins. He beats them and sometimes this leads to their death. My Bride discovered his murder and abuse and this is why she ran from him. She is eager to see him apprehended so he does not continue to harm others. But I want him to die in blood. He posted this Bounty on my brother-in-law, who is an honorable male, as retribution for her brother’s help in her escape off-planet. Hector Chopra is the reason Darcy of One was able to escape and survive.”
Trax and Rengeli exchanged a deadly glance. “Leave this to us. We will deal with your ‘lazhul.’ Bounties are only placed on citizens who have committed actual crimes and law enforcement is unable to capture them due to their ability to slip between planets and sectors. We are not mercenaries for hire. We do not deal kindly with individuals who manage to sneak false Bounties past our evaluation team. We take our reputation in the four sectors very seriously.”
“I want him dead for how he has treated my Bride and for his other crimes against females and offspring. If you do not properly finish him, then I will.”
“Understood.”
15
One hour later Daxon had managed to quickly fuck his Bride, leave her satisfied, and make up a reason for them both to dress and be in the cargo bay at that exact moment.
He felt he deserved an award for his ingenuity.
Darcy of One stood with him, wearing layers of occupational clothing, innocently unaware that anything unusual was planned. Trax and Rengeli had the code to his transporter disk and were set to release their target and transfer him to Daxon. He hadn’t told his Bride what was happening or why. He hoped it would be a surprise. A good surprise.
“Why are we in the cargo bay staring at the transporter?” she asked. “Are you expecting something…or someone?”
He stood behind her, his arms around her waist. She fit so perfectly in his embrace. Daxon settled his chin on top of her head. Standing with his Bride and inhaling her scent settled his nerves. “Maybe,” he answered. “We might possibly be waiting for someone to arrive.”
“What? You big sneak, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me we were having company. Who’s coming?”
The transporter started to hum, signaling an arrival.
“You’ll see,” he answered, raising his voice over the sound, “he’s arriving right now.”
“He? He who?”
A myriad of atoms and light began to coalesce into an actual form. Finally, a large human male materialized.
“Oh my gods,” his Bride gasped. “Is that my brother? What is my brother doing here? Hector,” she called out. “Hector, is that you?”
Darcy broke from his embrace and ran to the transporter disk. The male was standing, looking slightly sickened and shaky.
“He just came out of lockdown stasis,” Daxon explained as he stepped forward and placed an arm around the male’s chest to stabilize him. “It always takes time for a being to recover. They took him out of stasis and put him into the transporter, knowing we’d take care of him.”
The human male groaned.
“They? Who?” His Bride’s sparkling eyes were bright with tears.
“Trax and Rengeli, they released your brother and sent him here with me. Let’s walk him over to med bay for an evaluation so he can recover. I’ll explain everything once we get there.”
In minutes they had the male on a bed and a wand running over him. He was swiftly hooked to liquid intake, medications were administered and within minutes the human was recovering from stasis.
“Sometimes the effects of the stasis unit hit some beings harder than others. We never know how it will be. One being can instantly recover from lockdown stasis, and the next will need resuscitation.”
“Why was my brother in a stasis unit?” Darcy demanded.
“He was in stasis because Gurpreet Singh put out an expedited Bounty for your brother, therefore two Hunters from the Guild were sent to retrieve him.”
“What?” she gasped. “That asshole. I cannot believe. How dare he.”
“I figured it was Gurpreet,” Daxon’s new brother-in-law, Hector, responded with a raspy voice.
Darcy rushed over to his side. “Hector, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. The meds and liquid are helping.” He sat up and held his sister’s hand. “It’s good to see you.”
Then Hector’s eyes swept over and met with Daxon’s. The same green-gold eyes Daxon had been looking at for the last few diurnals. These two siblings looked very much the same with their dark hair and Margol pigment; it was obvious they were brother and sister. He wondered when he’d eventually meet their parents to find if they favored their father or mother.
“When I saw the Bounty Hunters approach, I knew Gurpreet was behind it,” Hector said. “I tried to tell the Hunters it was a mistake.”
Daxon shook his head. “That’s what all the targets say. We’ve been trained to ignore it.”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“How did you know they were Bounty Hunters?” his Bride asked.
“They were wearing black suits with the Bounty Hunter insignia on their chests, plus they were carrying blasters.”
“Oh.” She darted a glance over at him and met Daxon’s gaze, her cheeks growing pink. He knew she loved those black suits. She’d made him put his on just so she could see what it looked like on him.
The human male turned and swung his legs over the edge of the med bed and stood up. He stepped forward, meeting Daxon’s gaze and this time he put out his clawless hand. Daxon stared, wondering what this gesture meant.
“You are the male I placed my sister with,” Hector said. “I appreciate you for treating her well. Many thanks.”
“Take his hand and shake it,” his Bride whispered. “It’s a human custom of greeting and thanks. Tell him ‘you’re welcome.’”
“Oh.” He grabbed the other male’s smaller hand and moved their joined arms up and down. “You are welcome,” he responded.
Then their hands dropped.
Hector gave him a warm smile. “I can take over her care now,” he said. “You do not have to be burdened with this any longer. If you could drop us off at the nearest space station Darcy and I will both leave this ship immediately. I apologize for this inconvenience.”
Darcy burst out laughing. Daxon stared at his Bride, loving how her features brightened when she was happy. His cock thickened in his trousers at the deep, throaty sound of her laugh. The sound of her voice was enough to trigger his mating response.
“Hector, I’m not leaving. I’m staying right here, with Daxon.”
“Daxon?” Her brother frowned.
His Bride moved and stood next to him. Then she put an arm around his waist and tucked herself under his arms. Daxon bent and kissed the top of her precious head.
“Yes. Daxon of Seven is my mate,” she announced.
Hector’s jaw dropped. “Your mate?” His eyes darted between the two of them.
“Yes,” Daxon confirmed for him. He pulled his Bride tighter into his side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, needing to mark her with a symbol of possession. “The moment she stepped onto my ship the security system evaluated her and k
new she was my mate and she was then allowed full access to my ship. She ended up falling asleep on my bunk. I found her there and scented her and knew she was my Bride.”
A dark cloud formed over Hector’s features. “And then you immediately took my sister to your bunk?”
“No—” his Bride started.
“No,” Daxon cut her off, wanting to explain this to her brother himself. If the situation was reversed and this was his own sister, he’d want to be assured of her safety and honor. “No, I scented that your sister was my Bride but this only meant that I requested her hand. I formally gave my honor to her before mine and then I requested her hand for testing of mating compatibility. She rejected me…”
Hector gave his sister a sharp glance. “You rejected him?”
His Bride crossed her arms and proudly lifted her chin. “Of course I did. I didn’t want to marry anyone, especially after I’d just run away from two different marriage ceremonies.”
He chuckled. “Yes, of course you did.” He shook his head, “Go on…”
“I told her I’d take her with me to the Bounty Hunter station,” Daxon explained, “and she’d be free to go to the Omega 9 station, if she chose.”
“But I decided I wanted to test with him before that…”
“Wait, you did?” Daxon placed his claws on her small shoulders and turned his Bride to face him. “You’d decided to test with me? When did you decide this?”
“Well, when I was alone and running that diagnostic before the engine went off-line I was thinking about you and how much you’d done for me and what you meant to me and I decided it was only right to try. I couldn’t leave you without testing. It wasn’t right.”
He crossed his arms. “You only wanted to test with me out of a sense of obligation?”
“No. No, I…I wanted…”
“What? What did you want?”
“I wanted to test with you because I thought you were right, that you were my mate. And then the engine room exploded, and I needed to grab your hand—”
“And you were forced to test with me, even though you had doubts?”
“Stop saying that. No. I had no doubts, you big idiot. I had already decided that you were going to be my husband and I liked that idea and that we’d test the moment we got to the Hunter Station. I was going to tell you my decision that night, but then the engine went off-line and everything went to hell.”
Daxon's Hostage (Alien Bounty Hunters Book 6) Page 11