by Roxie Ray
“I need you to make the calls and get some backup ready. We may need reinforcements. Kain, describe the transport you saw them take Brittany in.” Just saying the words had bile rising in my throat.
He did, and then he described Sophie.
“Have a team on the lookout for them. Kain and I are heading out. Let me know the minute you get a lead.”
I ended the call then shared a glance with Kain. From the look on his face, I was certain my eyes must have looked like glowing glaciers. I was beyond angry, beyond furious. I felt nothing but wrath now that I knew who was responsible for the attacks on my mate—and now her kidnapping.
As Kain and I reached the transports and climbed inside the fastest one available, I tried to shove down the panic that threatened. I had to be cool and calm. I had to remain focused. Brittany was all that mattered right now and flying off the handle wouldn’t help her in the least.
But part of me was truly afraid. Yivonne was clearly unhinged. What if she took it too far? What if the things I’d said to her in my office had finally sent her over the edge? If she hurt Brittany, I didn’t know what I would do.
One thing was crystal clear, though. I would find my mate and bring her to safety. And then I’d make Yivonne pay for her actions.
20
Brittany
My mouth was dry. My head was pounding. I blinked my eyes open, then immediately slammed them shut again as the bright light made my head feel like it might shatter.
What happened? Where was I?
I shifted in the uncomfortable seat, then froze as I realized my hands and feet were bound. It all came flooding back. The fight with Niall and my subsequent rush to get away from him, heading out into the palace garden, then a sickening crack to the back of my head.
Someone must have knocked me out. Panic flooded my veins as realization sank in. I’d been kidnapped.
Barely breathing, I fought against the panic, knowing I needed to keep a level head and remain alert, then I pried my eyelids open once more.
Squinting against the light and trying my best to ignore the nausea that roiled in my stomach, my eyes adjusted, and the first thing I saw had me gasping aloud, despite my resolve to be quiet.
Sophie.
She was sitting on a chair across from me, biting her lip and watching me with a worried gaze and what appeared to be no small amount of guilt. Had she done this?
I didn’t want to believe it, but the fact that I was bound to a chair and she wasn’t doing anything about it was a dead giveaway.
I licked my dry lips, struggling past the fog in my brain to form the words to ask her what the hell was going on, when another figure stepped into my line of sight.
Yivonne. Immediately, I saw red and struggled against my bonds.
“What’s going on here?” I demanded.
Yivonne merely arched her over-plucked eyebrows, her steel gaze boring holes into me before she gave me a wicked grin.
“You’re getting what you deserve,” she replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
I glanced between her and Sophie, the latter giving me an apologetic look.
Though I wanted to call her every derogative name I could think of, I ignored her because it was obvious she had something to do with why I was here.
“What I deserve,” I repeated sarcastically, “because you know me so well.”
“I know enough.” Yivonne’s voice was clipped and laced with venom. “I know you’re nothing but yesterday’s trash, a worthless human who isn’t worthy of the crown prince of Hollander. And you certainly aren’t worthy of being queen.”
Queen. I frowned, trying to make sense of her words. Is that what this was about? Me being queen? I didn’t even know if I was Niall’s girlfriend right now, but even if I wasn’t, Yivonne certainly didn’t stand a chance with him. Niall didn’t have the slightest interest in her.
I watched her pacing. She was delusional, which showed in the way she was glaring at me with pure hatred. A shiver raced down my spine. It looked like she intended to hurt me, probably kill me—and there was no one to stop her. I wasn’t even sure if anyone had the slightest clue I’d been abducted.
My heart thudded so hard I was certain Yivonne could hear it. The last thing I’d said to Niall was that I needed space. What if he didn’t come looking for me? What if by the time he realized something was amiss, it was too late?
“What are you going to do about it?” I demanded of Yivonne, pushing down my panic.
She laughed, an evil sound that set my nerves on edge. “I’m going to make you disappear.”
Fuck!
She stopped in front of me and sneered. “You’ll be on a ship headed back to Earth soon enough, human.”
“I’m not going back to Earth. Niall will never agree to it.”
“He doesn’t need to. I have contacts in the IEP, and I’m shipping you back. I’m even giving you the money you would have earned had you served out the year—”
“I don’t want your money. I don’t want anything of yours.”
I tried for bravado, but the idea of being sent back to Earth made my stomach twist in fear. I knew I’d never be able to make it back here on my own, and to be separated from Niall with no guarantee I’d ever see him again was more than I could stand. It would be the ultimate form of torture. Being tied up and imprisoned by Yivonne paled in comparison.
I almost moaned as I remembered the last things I’d said to Niall, the argument we’d had. Those couldn’t be the last words I ever said to him. Regret washed over me, and I wished I’d given him a chance to speak. Yes, what he did was wrong. He’d lied and schemed to get me to Hollander, but if he hadn’t, I never would have met him, and he was the man I was supposed to be with, of that I was certain. I couldn’t be sent back to Earth, I couldn’t.
I pulled against my bonds, but they were too tight. Yivonne, stood over me, trying to terrorize, but if she thought she could do that, she thought wrong. The second she tried to get me on that ship, I’d kick up such a fuss… I needed to get back to Niall. I refused to lose him when I’d only just gotten to know him, to love him.
She curled her lip, making her look as ugly on the outside as she was on the inside. “You don’t have anything of mine, bitch.”
It was pretty easy to figure she was talking about Niall, and I grinned. “Damn right I don’t, because Niall isn’t yours, he belongs to me, and even if I wasn’t in the picture, he still wouldn’t want you.”
Yivonne’s expression was one of blazing fury, her eyes full of hatred as she reared back and raised a hand as if to strike me. But I didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. I stared her down, refusing to be intimidated.
I saw her hesitate, just the barest of seconds, and I would have rejoiced if it wasn’t for the fact I knew she was probably going to hit me hard enough to break my cheekbone, but before she could swing and make contact, the door to the tiny room flew open, slamming against the wall.
Yivonne spun, and I could just make out the outline of a man in the doorway.
Niall!
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he growled, and I’d never heard such ferocity in his voice. He stormed into the room, four other men hot on his heels. They crowded in, assessing the situation, and the tension in the air was so thick it crackled with electricity.
My eyes locked with Niall’s, and I’d never seen him so livid. He snarled in anger just as Kain kneeled beside me and began untying my bonds. Niall took a step toward me, but then whirled on Yivonne.
“You’ve gone too far this time, Yivonne.”
Yivonne stared back at Niall defiantly, her eyes blazing. “You have no idea what you’re doing.”
He shook his head and crowded in close, hovering over her. She took a step back, as anyone with a brain would in the face of the torrential storm that was Prince Niall of Hollander. “Mark your days. You’re going to pay for your actions, and it won’t be pretty.”
Yivonne bared her teeth like some feral an
imal. “You’re making a huge mistake. You’re going to regret this for the rest of your life.”
He gave her a pitying look. “I’m afraid you have it backward.” He lifted a hand, and the other three men who were hovering by the door dashed forward, two of them taking Yivonne, and the other moving to Sophie.
Kain helped me to my feet then cast a warning glance at both Yivonne and Sophie. No words were needed, his meaning was clear—don’t bother resisting, it would be futile.
Yivonne didn’t heed his warning, though, twisting and spitting and fighting against the men who contained her. It was indeed useless. She was overpowered, and they started to drag her from the room.
Sophie, however, didn’t fight. She looked toward me and began apologizing profusely. I turned my back on her.
In a matter of minutes, it was over, the two women hauled away, Kain trailing after them.
Then I was in Niall’s arms as he enveloped me in a near bone-crushing embrace. I clung to him, my breathing hard, the shock at everything that just transpired making my body tremble.
“Brittany, oh, my Brittany,” he murmured, pressing his face into my hair and breathing me in deeply. Then he pulled back. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
I shook my head, digging my fingers into his arms almost as if I needed to know he was real. “I’m okay,” I whispered. When he didn’t look convinced, I forced myself to speak up, to hold it together and be strong for him. “I swear it, they didn’t hurt me.”
He nodded, and then pulled me tightly to his chest, releasing a soft sigh that almost sounded like a moan against my hair. “Let’s get out of here.”
I couldn’t agree more. I let him lead me out of what appeared to be a house, down several halls and through a grand entrance, out into the night air where a transport pod was waiting for us.
He ushered me into it. The entire ride home was a blur as I tried to process everything that happened. The only thing that truly mattered, though, was that Niall and I were both okay, and that we were together. My stomach twisted in knots at what Yivonne had planned. She’d truly intended to send me away, thinking it would keep me from my mate.
But I knew in that moment that the bond between Niall and me was strong and true, and that nothing she could have done would have kept us apart.
We arrived home, and I’d never been so happy to call Niall’s house my home. He lifted me from the transport and carried me inside, cradling me to his chest. Only when he’d settled us down on his bed, still keeping his arms firmly in place around me like he never wanted to let me go, did he speak about what had just gone down.
“Can you tell me what happened?” he asked quietly. “Or would you rather sleep? I can wait.”
I knew he would, too. He would let me rest and wouldn’t press me for details until I was ready, even if it drove him mad waiting.
“No, I’d like to talk,” I said, and I truly did. There was so much to discuss, especially after the way we’d left things when I stormed out. It was time I was completely open and honest with him.
I told him about the kidnapping first, about how I’d been knocked out in the garden. His eyes darkened at that, and he told me it was Sophie. I wasn’t surprised, though I was disappointed. I told him about everything Yivonne said, what she had planned for me, and he tightened his arms around me even more.
“She also said something about me being queen. Is that true, Niall? If we stay together, would I really be the queen? I mean, I’d never considered it, and to be honest, the idea is daunting. And would the people here even accept a human as their queen?”
Niall stared into my eyes for a long moment before nodding. “It’s not as daunting as you might think, and yes, the people would definitely accept you as their queen… If that’s what you want. I hope it is, but either way, I’m done making decisions for you, Brittany. I’ll never take away your choice again. And I’m so very sorry I hurt you by doing so in the first place.”
I swallowed, gathering my courage for what I needed to say next. “Thank you…but I’m glad you did make a choice for me—in this one case only! But don’t interfere again in the future.”
“So we still have a future?” he asked, and I’d never heard him sound so uncertain before.
“Of course we do. I never had any intention of leaving you—and I decided that if Yivonne did somehow send me back to Earth, I would do everything in my power to get back to you.”
He chuckled. “You wouldn’t have had to because I would have been right there to bring you back.”
“I was angry, though,” I said, needing him to know that. “And you have to promise me you won’t ever pull something like that again. Even though it did bring us together.”
“I swear it, Brittany. I should have told you the truth. I was just so afraid of losing you once I realized how vital you were to me. But I understand if it’s going to take some time to forgive me—”
I cupped his face in my hands and silenced him with a kiss. When I pulled back, he was blinking fast, his expression a little dazed.
I smiled. “There’s nothing to forgive. Even if I don’t agree with your methods, I can’t hold it against you. Not when it brought us together.”
“In that case, there’s something else I should tell you.”
My heart jumped into my throat, but there was a gleam in his eyes that told me whatever it was, it wasn’t a bad thing.
“I love you, Brittany. I’ve loved you for a while now, I just haven’t had the courage to tell you. I wanted to be sure you were happy here with me. I didn’t want to scare you away, and—”
“I love you, too,” I said softly.
He paused, absorbing what I said, then a brilliant smile flashed across his face, lighting him up from the inside out.
“You love me?”
“I do,” I replied with a smile of my own. “The thought of not being with you frightened me more than I thought possible. You’re my mate, Niall, my heart, and I want to spend my life with you.”
I watched a myriad of emotions flicker in his eyes, the most powerful of all was love, and then he captured my face in his hands and kissed me like I’d never been kissed before. I could feel all of his emotions pulsing through me. Relief, protectiveness, passion, hope, and most of all, love.
When he’d kissed me so thoroughly, and there was no doubt in my mind he felt everything I did, I pulled back and gave him a teasing grin.
“So, about this queen thing…”
Niall laughed. “We can figure it out. We can take our time. Whatever you need to feel comfortable. I’m not in any rush. As long as I have you by my side, that’s all that matters.”
I loved him even more for that answer, and I kissed him once again. It may have taken me journeying to a distant galaxy and working on an alien planet for an alien prince, but I’d finally found the man for me. And I had no intentions of ever letting him go.
21
Niall
I stood just to the left of the dais that had been raised in the palace’s elaborate ornamental gardens on the east side of the mountain. My heart raced and anticipation coursed through my veins, but this time there was nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be on the lookout for because today was the day that would forever change my life. It was the day I would make Brittany my bride.
We’d decided seven months ago that our wedding should take place at the end of autumn. It was my favorite time of year on Hollander, when all the colors were at their most vibrant, as if nature were bursting with one last effort to shine her most brilliant and brightest.
I glanced over at my brothers, Soren and Aiken, who stood beside me as we waited for the ceremony to begin. They both smiled with excitement. Over the last half a year, they’d come to love Brittany, just as our parents did, and they couldn’t be happier for the two of us. Ironic, since neither of them had any interest in love of the romantic sort for themselves. But they’d seen what joy Brittany brought into my life, how she made me complete, and they were two of our
biggest fans.
We’d opted for a ceremony that was a hybrid of traditions from Hollander and Earth, and because of the uniqueness of the mating gene that had brought us together, we’d declared to the citizens of Hollander that today would be our Mating Day. And any moment now Brittany would make her appearance.
“Nervous, brother?” Soren asked with a lifted brow, eyeing the way I was fussing with the hem of my ceremonial suit, a rich forest green robe with golden accents that was worn by Hollander royals throughout the ages. The last time I’d worn this robe was when I’d taken my vows to my people upon coming of age.
“I’m just ready to get this party started,” I replied with a grin. And it was true. It felt like I’d waited forever for this day. Making Brittany mine in front of my friends and family, in front of my people, was the last step left in sealing our mating bond.
Soren chuckled, rolling his eyes. He didn’t quite get the depth of my feelings for Brittany. He saw the mating gene as an anomaly, fascinated by the science of it. I didn’t mind his clinical assessment of our relationship, though. Perhaps one day he’d meet someone who changed his life forever, too.
Soft music played in the background; musicians strumming on stringed instruments that we rarely saw these days in our high-tech world. They were a remnant of another age, something typically only found in traditional ceremonies like this.
I shifted from foot to foot, growing anxious as I waited. What would she look like, my beautiful human bride, decked out in a traditional Hollander gown?
I didn’t have to wait long to find out. The music swelled, and a murmur of voices filled the air. Then there she was, standing beneath an arch of red and yellow and golden flowers.
Her hair was twined in intricate braids that circled her head like a crown before cascading in waves down her back. Her eyes gleamed, and I could see the now-familiar sparkle of love in them even from a distance. And her dress. Light and airy layers of golden fabric hugged her body before flaring at her hips into a silky train that made her look every bit the princess she would soon be.