“I left you a text.”
It was my turn for my mouth to fall open. “I’ve been freaking out since I got it. A text is if you’re at the store and want to ask me if we need more milk. A text is to let me know you’re going to a friend’s house and won’t be home until late. Hell, a text is to let me know the name and address of the guy you picked up at a bar.”
Mindy leaned forward, as if we were alone. Little did she know who was on my side of this conversation with me. “Violet, shh. He might hear.”
“What? That you weren’t a virgin? I’m sure he’s discovered that for himself by now.”
Mindy had always been…free with her sexuality. With offering her body to men. I had no problem with her doing so, as long as she was safe about it. Women could have sex with no strings attached, just like guys. To go home with someone for a night and never talk to them again. There was nothing wrong with it and I’d never judged my sister for it. But I wasn’t like her. I was a relationship kind of woman. I couldn’t have meaningless sex. I’d had boyfriends. Short term relationships, but they’d been exclusive and had meant something.
Until now. Now, I rivaled anything that Mindy had ever done. I’d just let three strangers—three alien strangers—into my apartment and had sex with them within minutes. And it hadn’t just been sex. It had been fucking. Hot, dirty, wild fucking.
But Axon, Zed and Calder were different. They were matched to me and that alone was a strong pull. I’d known they were mine somehow, knew they wouldn’t hurt me and would give me exactly what I wanted. No, needed.
My pussy ached from being stretched around Zed and Calder’s big cocks. My jaw was sore from opening wide enough to take Axon deep. And my ass was a little tender from Calder’s play. Even now, standing here in the processing center, I wanted more.
My clit pulsed with the need for release. My nipples hardened, sensitive against my bra. I was addicted and it was time for my next fix.
Was Mindy like this with her mate? I saw her outfit, what there was of it. A gauzy dress that was sheer. It left nothing to the imagination and even across the universe, I could see her nipples, rings pierced through them and the chain that the men had mentioned.
I was curious to hear about that, about her mate, but this wasn’t the time.
I was too mad at her to have girl talk. She needed a verbal smack down and I was going to give it to her.
“There are no secrets between Goran and me,” she countered.
I put my hands on my hips. “Did you tell him you volunteered and left your only family a text instead of saying good bye?”
She flushed.
“Did you tell him I mean that little to you?”
Tears clogged my throat at the hurt that welled up again.
Mindy’s face softened. “You mean the world to me!”
“Then why did you treat me like shit?” I countered. “I’ve been worried sick for weeks, Mindy. Eight weeks!”
She frowned. “I’ve only been here for two days. I don’t understand.”
The warden cleared her throat a few feet away. “Time on Trion is slightly different than here on Earth. And Viken. I’m sorry, ladies, but the best I’ve been able to calculate, based on the brides I’ve sent to Trion in the past, is that one day on Trion is equivalent to somewhere between four and five weeks on Earth.”
“What?” Was I yelling? Or was the scream just in my head?
Mindy, in my twin’s typical reaction, waved her hand in front of her face and brushed away what she didn’t consider worth her consideration. Space-time continuum, Star Trek kind of bullshit, evidently fit in that category. “Look, Violet. This isn’t about you, it’s about me. After Josh dumped me, I needed a change. There wasn’t anything left there for me.”
I stepped back as if punched and I ran into a solid body. Big, tall, warm. A hand settled on my shoulder, comforting me. “Nothing left here? So, I’m nothing?”
“Who is that?” Mindy asked, wide eyed, pointing.
I didn’t know which mate it was, so I glanced over my shoulder.
“Calder.” I wasn’t going to tell her more. She hadn’t earned any explanations from me after what she’d just admitted.
Mindy held up a hand. “Wait. Wait! How are you talking to me? There aren’t any comms in Vero Beach.” I could see her brain working. “You’re at the Brides Processing Center. Why?”
“To talk to you.”
She shook her head, her dark hair sliding over her mostly bare shoulders.
“No. They wouldn’t have just let you walk in there and ask to talk to me. What’s going on?”
I let out a deep breath. “Mindy, I’ve been crazy with worry. You left almost two months ago and I haven’t heard a word.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you?” I wondered. “You don’t sound sorry to me. I haven’t slept in weeks, and you’ve been playing house with an alien.”
“I’m not playing anything. I’m falling in love with him. And god, he’s so good in bed. I think I had four orgasms the first couple of hours and—”
“Shut up. Just shut the fuck up.” I wasn’t one to swear, but now was sooooo the time for it. “I can’t believe you right now.”
She sighed and titled her head in that way she had when she was going to placate me and use the twin bond against me. It always worked. I always forgave her for whatever crazy shenanigans she pulled. But this? This was too much.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you in person. But I wouldn’t have been able to go through with it, to go and get tested. I needed to go, to find my mate. I was tired of losers like Josh and I just didn’t want to wait for the next loser and then the next. I wanted him, the One for me. I wouldn’t have been able to say goodbye. It was too hard.”
Tears welled in her eyes and slid down her cheeks. What she said was true, all of it. She’d dated a string of losers. She might have had some good orgasms, but that had been it. No connection. No love. A bunch of assholes. There may have been some decent guys in there, but they hadn’t been the one for her.
I knew now that the test was really good and if she’d been matched to a mate with as much compatibility as I had with Axon, Zed and Calder, then she was probably really, really happy.
“I would have gone with you,” I told her.
She sniffed. “Really? Violet, you’re perfect. Your life is perfect. We might be twins, but you’ve been taking care of me for years. I’m a total fuckup in comparison to you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t like hearing you talk about yourself that way.”
“I don’t either.” A deep voice boomed through the display and Mindy’s eyes widened. At first, she looked a little panicked, then she smiled. Brilliantly.
“Master, please, I very much would like you to meet my sister.”
A big man came into view, stood slightly behind Mindy. He wore armor covered by flowing robes that made him look like he belonged to a medieval desert tribe. The sword on his hip look deadly, but it was the weapon on the other hip I knew was the true threat. Some kind of gun, but all silver. An alien gun. He looked ready for war, which made me nervous.
But Mindy was beaming up at him like he was her everything. I’d never seen her look at anyone like that, and something inside me forgave her, just a little. I’d never seen her that happy. This guy, my sister’s master, was tall, dark and handsome, his hair long enough to brush his shoulders, whiskers on his jaw. He looked like a… a pirate or a sultan. The way he had his hand wrapped around Mindy’s waist, high up so that her breasts rested on his forearm, was blatant indication of possession. Had she really called him Master?
“Yes, I would like that, but I warned you what would happen if you spoke negatively of yourself again, didn’t I?”
Mindy looked contrite and slightly ashamed. But I knew my sister. She wasn’t afraid. The look in her eyes was…eager? Had this man brought her to heel? “You said you’d punish me.”
“That’s right. After I meet your sister, y
our ass will be a fiery red before I fuck you.”
He sounded quite a bit like Zed and I had to wonder if all hotties from space were this dominant. But I knew—since she was my identical twin—that Mindy needed a mate who wouldn’t let her walk all over him. And based on the way her breath caught and her eyes glazed over, it seemed she had exactly what she needed.
“Yes, Master.” Mindy’s cheeks flushed hot, perhaps a mix of worry at being spanked and eagerness at being fucked. I actually knew the feeling.
She cleared her throat. “Violet, this is General Goran of Trion, my mate.” She smiled brilliantly and glanced up at him. She looked happy. Thrilled. In love. The term Master indicated the depth of his dominance and she seemed to thrive in his care.
I was happy for her, ached for that happiness and wanted it for myself.
“Hello, sister of my mate.” He studied me through the display and I felt Calder’s hand squeeze my shoulder. “It is remarkable, you look just like Mindy. But there are some differences.”
What could I say? It’s nice to meet you? Did you see the Marlins game last night? He wasn’t from Earth and the only thing we had in common was Mindy. Hell, they weren’t even on Earth. I was having a conversation with them light years away. They were on Trion.
And suddenly I knew exactly what I wanted to say to this man who had taken my place. “You better take good care of my sister, or I’ll come for you myself.”
He chuckled at the threat, not the least intimidated. “I see you share your sister’s fire.” He raised his gaze from me to Calder. “You will enjoy taming this one, warrior.”
The entire exchange made me mad. I couldn’t be angry at Mindy, not anymore. But I was still upset, and my rage had a new outlet. “I’m serious, General. If you hurt my sister, I will kill you myself.”
Warden Egara gasped. “Miss Nichols, you are threatening a—”
She didn’t get to finish. Goran raised his hand and even the warden responded to the dominance in him, stopping mid-sentence. “I welcome you to Trion, sister. Mindy is mine and I assure you, I will care for her, protect her and love her as a worthy male should. You will have no need for violence.” He grinned then, and I saw exactly why my sister was looking at him like he was the center of her universe. He was stunning when he smiled. “And I admire your wild spirit, Violet. It is something you share with your sister. Her passion and loyalty are just two of many reasons that I love her.”
Mindy blushed, clearly pleased with his declaration. I had to admit, not many men I knew would just say they loved a woman flat out like that. And especially not in front of strange warriors he didn’t know.
My sigh was loud. “Mindy. I don’t know what to say.”
“Violet, would you really have let me go?”
I looked away for the first time, so mad at her for leaving, I hadn’t thought about how I would have reacted if she’d told me beforehand. Would I have even let her out of the apartment? I’d have laughed at the idea of volunteering, told Mindy she was insane, that she should just wait for the right guy to come along. But now, seeing her so blatantly happy with a Trion alien, I had to wonder if I would have kept her from what she really wanted. No, needed.
“I would have locked you in the apartment, gotten you drunk on your favorite wine and plied you with ice cream until you promised not to leave me.”
She grinned. “Exactly.” Her gaze darted to Calder, but her hand was wrapped around her own mate’s wrist and I was fairly certain she was completely unaware of the way her fingertips caressed his arm.
“But you have a mate of your own, a Viken, I believe,” Goran said, his eyes falling to the hand on my shoulder, to Calder.
Mindy’s eyes widened. “What?” she screeched. “That’s why you’re at the processing center, because you’ve been matched, too? Wait.” She held up her hand, her usual gesture for taking a moment to think. “Why is your mate there?”
Zed and Axon stepped beside me so they were pressed against me on three sides.
Mindy’s mouth fell open all the way as she just stared. And stared.
“Calder is not her only mate,” Axon said, his voice clear. “I am her mate, Axon of Viken.”
“As am I.” Zed inclined his chin at the alien warrior. “Royal Elite of Viken. I am Zed. Violet is my mate.”
Mindy screeched and lifted her arms over her head as if she were a referee indicating a touchdown. I was used to this action, but her mate stared at her wide-eyed and my mates startled beside me.
“Three mates? You go, girl! You have to tell me all about it. I mean, they’re in Florida! And three! Vikens. Wow, I’ve heard really…kinky things about them. Have you…I mean are you—”
“Mate, calm yourself,” Goran said with a dark tone, although I could see the way the corner of his mouth tipped up.
“Yes, Viken. Yes, three. They are here because I needed…couldn’t leave until I talked to you.” I wasn’t going to tell her that I refused the match. Not with them beside me and especially with Warden Egara in the room, who’d been right all along. I’d have really missed out. I glanced at the woman, but while she was looking my way, she didn’t have an I told you so expression at all. She just seemed pleased. “But now I’m going to Viken, as soon as we’re done talking.”
“So you’ve been claimed!” Mindy clapped her hands together gleefully.
I shook my head. I wasn’t going to say it involved fucking all three of them at the same time. It would be too embarrassing.
“She has thirty days to make a formal decision,” Zed said. “In that time, she will learn about her mates and her new planet.”
“That is the law, my brothers.” Goran nodded in approval and Mindy settled back into his embrace like she’d been with him for years. “As she is now my sister, you should know that she is formally under my protection.”
I frowned. What? Five minutes ago, he didn’t even know I existed.
Calder’s hand clamped on my shoulder. “I assure you, General Goran, she will be well cared for. We will keep her safe. We have thirty days and will use it wisely.”
“We will be with her at all times,” Zed added.
“We will be in her at all times,” Axon clarified, which made Goran laugh and Mindy blush. Her gaze met mine and the Holy Shit, Big Sister look she gave me was full of happiness for me and contentment for herself.
I flushed so hotly I thought I might combust. Their possessive words were embarrassing, but also made me ridiculously hot. What Earth guy could be so blatantly bold and…interested?
Mindy just smiled and waggled her eyebrows.
“Very good. We leave in a few hours for the High Council meeting at Outpost Two where I will introduce my new mate to the others. Do not worry about your sister, Violet, I will keep her safe. And when the meeting is done, I will hunt those who threatened her.” Goran leaned in, nuzzled Mindy’s neck. “And we welcome you to our home. Warriors, please come to Trion for a visit when my sister-kin is claimed and completely yours. You will be welcomed with open arms.”
Goran spoke to all three of my mates, not me. But I knew nothing about space, had no idea how to even get to Trion, so it made sense. I had a feeling since I was leaving Earth, I’d have to get used to dominant males guiding me.
“Come visit us, Violet,” Mindy all but begged. “Please, come.”
“She will,” Zed replied, his voice dark like it had been in my apartment when he was deep inside me. “I guarantee it.”
I looked up at him, stunned by his double entendre.
“Or we can come visit you. Can we, Master? I’d love to visit my sister.”
Goran looked down at her and I saw the one thing that made me relax completely. Love. Devotion. Complete and total possession.
I’d only ever seen that look on a man’s face in a movie. “I must hunt the rebels first. Destroy those who threaten you. When they are taken care of, we will check in with your sister, gara.”
Zed tensed next to me and I slid my hand into his in an
automatic response. “What rebels? I will not bring my mate to Trion if she will be in danger.”
Goran looked up from my sister’s face and his gaze hardened instantly. “They threatened my mate. They will be dealt with.”
The words made my heart race. Next to me Zed actually relaxed, which I didn’t understand at all. Someone threatened Mindy? And that made Zed calmer? What was I missing? “Understood, brother. Good hunting.”
The Trion nodded his head as some kind of silent understanding passed between them.
I looked up at Zed to figure out what the hell had just happened, but he wasn’t looking at me. He nodded at Warden Egara. “Say goodbye, Violet.”
“Bye, Mindy. See you soon.”
“Bye, Violet. I love—”
The transmission ended.
I stepped away from Calder, from all three of them, and spun on my heel, my arms crossed. “I don’t understand what just happened. Mindy is in danger. We need to go to Trion.”
Zed raised a brow, but his eyes were ice cold. “She is in no danger, Violet.”
Frustrated, I lowered my hands to my hips and glared at all three of them. “How can you say that? Goran just said someone threatened her!”
“Exactly, mate.” Axon grinned. “What do you think we would do if anyone threatened you?”
The question gave me pause. “I have no idea.” I didn’t. I’d only known them for a few hours.
Calder, who had been silent for most of the exchange, was the one to respond. “Anyone who threatens you dies a painful death, mate.”
“What?” Had he just said what I thought he had? Were the laws so different out in space? Because here, on Earth, killing someone for saying something stupid was called murder. And the threat alone could mean jail time. “You can’t just kill people for saying something stupid. Don’t you have jails on Viken?”
Zed’s entire body went predator still. “A mate is sacred, Violet.”
But…that was just…. I turned to Axon, expecting him to be the reasonable one in this crazy conversation. “Axon?”
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