Miners of Djaromir: Matrix

by Leora Gonzales

  “Nope,” Rue argued, but paused as she spotted Colby across the room. Warning the others about me, she thought, and narrowed her eyes when she saw him gesture her way. “I’m pretty sure he’s out to get me.”

  “You’re being silly.”

  “Pfft.”

  “Don’t pfft me,” Lucy said, gesturing to Sparx where he hovered patiently waiting.

  “Yes?” he asked immediately. “Do you wish to retire already?”

  Rue snorted at the eagerness in his voice. “Dear Lord, man. Can you not think of anything else? Give the poor woman a break already.”

  Lucy elbowed her. “Knock it off.”

  “He literally just let you up for air an hour ago—” Rue began to argue, salty that their girl time was cut short.

  “The mating heat—”

  “Both of you need to stop,” Lucy interrupted, her voice stern. “Sparx honey, I’m good for right now, but I do want to head back to our apartment soon if that’s okay. I can tell that I’m starting to get restless. I just need to talk to Rue for a little bit longer. Did you take care of everything you needed?”

  “I did.” He nodded as he slid onto the bench until he was thigh to thigh with Lucy on the opposite side. “Colby has been handling things well under Trix’s guidance, and I do not see a problem with extending my leave a few more days. They seem to have things handled well enough for now, and Gunninng has no issue with us borrowing their warlord a little longer.”

  “Only a few more days?” Lucy asked with a pout, making Rue roll her eyes.

  “I can do many things to you in only a few more days, mate. Many delicious things…” His voice trailed off as Lucy leaned even more into his side, practically climbing into his lap as they continued to talk in hushed voices.

  Rue made a face at the conversation she was involuntary eavesdropping on. She did not want to be hearing this. She knew her friend was basically a quivering mass of hormones at the mercy of her alien mate, but she didn’t want to actually witness their shenanigans.

  “Gunninng?” she interrupted, hoping to remind the pair that she was still sitting right next to them.

  “One of the other tunnel cities of Djaromir,” Lucy answered, glancing back at her with a frown. “Didn’t you read that pamphlet?”

  “I did—” Rue paused, trying to think of a good excuse other than the truth but unable to come up with anything. “—not read that because it wasn’t a pamphlet. It was a freaking book.” She shrugged, figuring that, since it was the truth, Lucy couldn’t argue with her.

  “It was not a book,” Lucy shot back, shaking her head.

  “Thirty pages!” Rue pointed out, her raised voiced making Sparx noticeably stiffen beside Lucy. “Thirty pages is not a pamphlet. It’s a goddamn novella.”

  “Well then, you should have sat down and read that goddamned novella!” Lucy’s voice rose to match Rue’s volume, garnering the attention of the others in the dining hall. “It only had important information about the alien planet we were literally going to be living on!”

  “It’s not like I planned on you getting dick-matized and being stuck here until the end of time!” Rue yelled, pointing her finger at Lucy. “And don’t yell at me!”

  “You don’t yell at me!” Lucy yelled, pointing right back but giving her finger a shake.

  Rue grabbed the offensive digit to stop the wagging. In retaliation, Lucy grabbed the pointing finger that Rue still had out and aimed at her face.

  Caught in a Mexican standoff—literally, because Rue was half-Mexican—the women glared at each other. Rue growled as Lucy twisted her hand free, rapping her on the knuckles with the action.

  Before she knew it, the women were slapping at each other’s hands. The slap fight was ugly and something you would have expected to see between children, but Rue didn’t care.

  “Ouch!” Rue squeaked, shaking a stinging finger before landing a slap to the back of Lucy’s hand. “Ah-ha! Take that!”

  “Brat!” Lucy yelled as she caught one of Rue’s wrists to stop her attack. “Truce!”

  “Truce,” Rue repeated, holding up her free hand as Lucy did the same as they squared off. Sparx stood just behind Lucy, having watched the squabble with a mixture of shock, horror, and possibly fear.

  Realizing how quiet it had become in the crowded dining hall, Rue took a moment to compose herself before looking about at the men who’d been patiently waiting to meet her. Most were edging away or staring at her like she was some sort of roadside attraction.

  Well, fuck.

  “I’m pretty sure we can cross the other half of the room off the list.”

  “Yeahhhh,” Lucy agreed with a nod, dropping her hands into her lap. “Don’t worry though. There are plenty more where these came from.”

  “Yay.”

  Chapter Ten

  Matrix cast Sparx a forced smile where he was leaning over the readouts that had just arrived.

  “—and did I mention her hair?”

  His friend had only arrived a short time ago and already unleashed a verbal avalanche of musings and accolades for his perfect little mate. He only had so much patience.

  “Yes, you did.”

  “It’s just that it is so soft.” Sparx shifted restlessly in the chair across from Matrix in the command center. “And the soap she uses for it smells amazing. You did send out the order for the additional supplies, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did,” Matrix answered, barely keeping the annoyance out of his tone.

  It was hard to blame Sparx for being so damn annoying. But every time he and the newly mated warlord met up over the last few days, he just couldn’t stop with the stories of his female. Initially, Matrix filed away some of the general information for the future, figuring it could be useful once he found a mate of his own. As Sparx continued to fawn over his mate, often repeating himself when extoling Lucy’s virtues, he was approaching a limit. Amusement had given way to tedium.

  “I apologize, ‘Trix.” Sparx stood up to join him at the long table. “I can’t stop thinking or talking about Lucy.”

  “I hadn’t noticed,” Matrix replied with a faint twist of a grin accompanying his sarcasm. “Honestly, I am surprised to see you still here,” he pointed out, not even realizing until just now how long Sparx had been away from the woman he’d mated. “I thought you would have given in and set off to track her down a while ago.”

  “Staying apart is hard. Both mentally and physically,” Sparx said with a wry smile. “It has been a struggle to test our connection like we have today. I wanted to go back to her within the first hour, but Lucy was right. A human female requires personal time to focus on her own interests and friendships. She needs time where I am not ‘hovering’ over her.’”

  “Were you hovering?” he asked, catching the change of tone in his friend’s voice as he spoke. He hoped the small joke would bring his attention back.

  “Possibly just a little,” he mumbled, his eyes now locked on the readouts on the table. “The byorin are moving more and more into our territory. Has K’hor reported any change in numbers close to Hamuir?”

  “No, but I sent a message to my second on Gunninng and have them checking into the packs roaming nearby.” Matrix pointed at one of the circles he’d drawn earlier. “I plan on taking out a hunting group later to scout this area here. Previous scans have shown increased activity in the area, and it would be foolish to turn down the opportunity for fresh meat with them this close.”

  Sparx nodded. “I agree.”

  “I’ll gather our hunters and head out this afternoon then,” he said, already mentally preparing a list of the items and men he’d need for the quick trek.

  “Make sure the men you take have already met the volunteers. Out of the ten that arrived, half of them are still without mates.”

  “Half? Really?” he asked, surprised. He’d spent the entire time covering for Sparx’s duties within the command center, expecting to find all of the females to have been quickly placed with the
miners of the city.

  “Yes, really.” Sparx looked up at him, a brow raised. “Why are you surprised? You know how mating works.”

  “Of course.” Matrix nodded. “Part of me assumed with so many of us unmatched that it would be more likely for us to match all of the volunteers instead of having unmated females roaming about.”

  “They may still find mates within the city. There are plenty they haven’t met yet,” Sparx argued with a look that said he didn’t quite believe what he was saying.

  “How many more of your men in Fyeir still need to be introduced to the available women?”

  Sparx rubbed his jaw, disrupting the thick beard he had. “A few hundred at the most.”

  Matrix studied his friend with a frown. Sparx was nervous. He was trying to hide it, but Matrix still picked up on it. It was an awareness he’d gained over their years of friendship.

  “What are you so worried about?” he asked. “I agree that it is upsetting that those five haven’t met their matches here, but who’s to say they won’t find a mate in one of the other cities. They could be matches for Djaromir in Hammuir or even Gunninng for that matter. It would foolish for us to assume that there may not be a few that will go unmatched at first.”

  “We’re running out of time, ‘Trix.”

  “What do you mean?” Matrix gestured to Sparx to follow him over to the chairs in the middle of the room, figuring they might as well have this conversation in comfort instead of leaning over a table. “We have time…don’t we?”

  “Not enough,” he answered, wiping a hand down his face. “I don’t know what I’m going to tell Lucy if she has to go back.”

  “Don’t be silly,” he scoffed. “Lucy isn’t going anywhere. Your mating has guaranteed that.”

  “Not Lucy,” Sparx said, shaking his head.

  “You just said you weren’t sure what you were going to tell Lucy—”

  “About Rue,” Sparx said, interrupting him. “I don’t know how I’m going to break it to Lucy that her friend Rue may have to go back to Earth when the Phaetons return.”

  “Rue?” he asked, completely confused. “Who’s Rue?”

  “I thought Colby had already talked to you regarding Lucy’s friend.”

  Matrix searched his memory for a mention of who Sparx was talking about and slowly nodded as it began to come back to him. “That was the female that he was concerned about the first day, correct?”

  “One of them, yes. She’s incredibly close to Lucy. So far, the Phaetons and Earth have not given any leeway to her staying longer than the original contract’s duration.”

  Matrix waved away the concern as he picked up a pile of papers on the small table next to him. “Let me handle the negotiations with them. If your mate wants her friend to be able to stay, I will do my best to make sure she has that option. It’s not as if we haven’t been going back and forth over everything else regarding our agreement with Earth.”

  “Should I be made aware of anything in particular,” Sparx asked, his brow raised as he eyed the stack of printouts that Matrix had.

  “I have things under control,” he said, even as he stood to hand them over. “They are considering our request for an increase in volunteers per cycle.”

  “I appreciate everything you’ve done for Fyeir.” Sparx clapped Matrix on the back as he glanced over the most recent communication logs.

  “You would have stepped in to handle Gunninng for me if our roles would have been reversed,” Matrix said with a shrug of his big shoulders before lifting a hand to touch the scar that ran down his cheek from the corner of his eye, past his mouth. “I remember a time when you did step in and handle Gunninng for me.”

  “We were both new warlords back then. Much has changed since those days.”

  “True.” Moving away from the table, Matrix dropped heavily into one of the carved chairs and then winced. “I think I’ve started to become accustomed to the pillows the humans have been scattering about. This is not the first time I’ve expected to be greeted by something with a cushion only to land on stone.”

  “It is amusing how quickly we’ve become used to the comforts the women have brought with them. I have a new understanding for their love of something soft,” Sparx murmured, his eyes getting a glazed look that Matrix now associated with Lucy.

  “I am happy for you, brother,” he said, truly happy that his friend had found his soulmate.

  Sparx blinked his way out of the daydream he’d fallen into and gave the other warlord a grin that was no longer a rare occurrence. “Me too, ‘Trix.”

  “Tell me—” Matrix leaned in, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Is it everything K’hor has made it out to be?”

  “The mating?” he asked.

  “Yes, the mating.” Matrix rolled his eyes at his friend before asking, “Does it really feel how he described?”

  Sparx sat back and thought on the question for a moment. When Matrix gave him a look, he simply held up his finger asking for more time.

  “Yes and no,” he started. “From what Lucy has said, she experienced some of the same physical discomfort and confusion that Juniper had. Although it didn’t seem nearly as bad—”

  “Because K’hor and Juniper waited too long to finish the mating, right?” Matrix interrupted.

  “That’s what the healers believe,” Sparx said with a nod. “Although the females have all experienced similar symptoms, they’ve not been predictable in strength or timing. The one thing the healers know is that the human body isn’t equipped to handle the mating like ours. Their needs are amplified and uncontrollable. If I hadn’t gone to Lucy when I did, she would have eventually fallen into a coma like Juniper.”

  “Well…I am glad that did not happen.”

  “Same,” Sparx agreed wholeheartedly.

  “You’re welcome, by the way,” Matrix leaned back and gloated, his hands crossed behind his head. He wanted credit for the hand he’d played in getting his friend to realize what a fool he’d been.

  “I’ve already thanked you for standing in for Fyier, ‘Trix.”

  “I’m not talking about that,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I’m talking about the thanks I deserve for telling you to go and give in to the mating. Who knows how long you would have resisted if not for Colby and me telling you that you were acting like an idiot.”

  “You’re right. On all accounts.” Sparx nodded, as he moved restlessly in the chair. “To be honest, the urge to mate with Lucy was beyond my ability to fight it much longer than I had. Even if you hadn’t called me out, I could have never denied myself or my mate forever.”

  “Is something wrong?” Matrix eyed Sparx closely as he rubbed the back of his neck as if irritated with something.

  “I feel odd,” his friend answered with an odd look upon his face.

  “Ill? Feverish?” Matrix threw out as his worry grew the longer he watched him.

  “No,” Sparx said with a shake of his head. “Like I’m missing something.”

  He held up the forgotten papers. “Do you want to go over the communications once more—”

  “Not that,” Sparx immediately retorted with a sharp shake of his head, “I think I need—”

  Whatever he was about to say was cut off as the door to the command center flew open with a bang.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Oh! Thank God we found you!”

  Matrix was startled at the shout from the doorway. He watched wide-eyed as a gorgeous female half-dragged, half-carried another into the room. His eyes didn’t need to linger on her longer than a second for him to identify her. Considering how much he’d heard Sparx talk about Lucy, he knew in an instant the female in distress was she.

  “What happened?” Sparx asked, rushing over to the women.

  He picked his mate up in his arms and moved her to the center of the room where the chairs were gathered in a circle. Sitting her in one, he knelt before her and placed his hands on her cheeks. Steadying her head, he looked into her eyes. />
  As Matrix watched the scene unfold, his attention was drawn away to the darker-haired female as she huffed and fussed. If the one woman was Sparx’s mate, then that meant the other must be the one they’d just been discussing.

  “She said she wasn’t feeling good about twenty minutes ago,” the woman answered quickly, keeping close behind with a worried expression on her pretty face. She looked at her wrist, made a face at the Phaeton band, and let out an irritated—but adorable—growl. “Give or take. I hustled her here as quickly as I could, considering we didn’t know how the hell to get here. FYI, your girl there has the worst sense of direction.” She took in a deep breath, blowing it out in a huff before continuing. “Seriously. Don’t let her go walking around here alone unless you’ve got lojack on her or something. She even got lost once walking to the laundry room at our apartment complex, and we’d live there two years.”

  Matrix couldn’t help but smile as the small, curvy female began spitting out orders to the other warlord.

  He didn’t know who this woman was, but she was not only full of fire, she was his.

  “Stahp talkin’ ‘bout me like I’m not here,” Sparx’s mate slurred as she leaned forward to run her nose along his neck. “C’mere.”

  In the blink of an eye, Lucy had slid out of the chair and wrapped herself around Sparx, who was still knelt before her. Her lips grazed his jaw and ear before landing on his neck where she tucked herself into him. Sparx stood up holding his precious burden, a soft look on his face as he cuddled her close.

  Matrix averted his eyes when he noticed that her dress barely covered her ass. Looking around, he noticed the other miners occupying the control room were respectfully doing the same.

  “You may want to…” Rue reached down and tucked Lucy’s skirt around her bottom, keeping her slightly more modest as she clung to her mate.

  “Thanks,” Sparx muttered before addressing Matrix. “I should get her back.”