Fuck.
They stood as still as statues for several agonizing minutes. What were they waiting for?
“Heads up. Position six.” Alarr’s warning had me twisting my head to see the direction he indicated. What I saw made my heart stop beating. Whitney was blindfolded and barefoot, her eyes covered with a large black piece of cloth and her hands bound before her with a coarse rope attached to a long lead. She was being pulled like a pet on a leash, none too gently, by Commander Clive himself. Straight toward the ship. She stumbled, but righted herself, even without being able to see or use her hands.
“Take the shot, Alarr,” I ordered.
“Can’t. He’s got Whitney directly in my line of sight.”
“Fuck.” Oran’s curse was followed by a grunt, and I knew he’d abandoned his position and was on the move. “I’ll take Clive out. Teig, you get Whitney out of there.”
“Whitney’s mine,” I confirmed. “Affirmative. Say go.”
I moved slowly, working my way through the shadows of the trees as Commander Clive brought our mate closer and closer to the brutes waiting at the base of the ship. I had to wonder if he’d already sold her to them. If she got on that ship…
“Hurry. They’re too close.” The Cerberus soldiers were watching Clive and Whitney’s approach, their gazes lingering on our female too long for my liking. “Oran.” One word of warning. If he didn’t make a move, I was going to…
“Now!”
The Cerberus soldiers dropped less than a second apart, and I thanked the gods Alarr was still a god himself with the ion rifle. The one still alive somehow, yelled at his crew to close the door and take off. The other was dead, his blank gaze staring up at me from where he’d fallen to the ground.
Commander Clive ran for the ship—and, I assumed, his escape—pulling Whitney behind him like a rag doll until she stumbled and lost her footing. She went down in a heap as Oran burst out of nowhere, knife in hand, and buried the blade deep in Clive’s spine.
I’d seen Oran make that particular move before but seeing Clive’s face go from rage to terror to shock within a few seconds was extremely satisfying, and I relished it even as I ran to cover Whitney with my body.
When I reached her, she screamed, “No, get off me!” She thrashed, fought with all her might, but I held her down.
She was soft beneath me, lush. Afraid. Shaking. “Hush, love. It’s Teig. I’ve got you.”
I meant every word. Love. Yes. I loved her. And I had her in my arms. I would never let her go again. Never stop protecting her with my body.
She stopped screaming but did not relax in my hold, even as I pulled her close and inspected her wounds. The sonic boom of the departing ship’s rapid exit from Viken atmosphere assured me the Cerberus soldiers were gone. As for Clive, with the knife buried low in his back, he wouldn’t be going anywhere unless Doctor Helion decided to take mercy on him once the I.C. team arrived.
I wouldn’t make any bets in Clive’s favor on that account. He was responsible for the deaths of many innocent civilians. As much of a hard bastard as Helion was, he did have a code of honor, and the mass killing of innocents broke that code. Besides, a ReGen pod could fix some things, but not everything. Especially not evil.
“Get this thing off my eyes,” Whitney demanded, twisting her head about to try to get it off herself.
I worked the dark fabric free as gently as I could. When it was off, she blinked, then looked down at her bindings, not at me. Nor Alarr, who was coming down out of the woods. Nor Oran, who knelt over Clive’s cursing form, making sure he didn’t get any ideas about trying to shoot us with his still-functioning hands.
“Untie me, please. Now.”
I placed her hands in my lap to undo her bonds, but she pulled them back and tucked her feet beneath her, avoiding contact as I worked her wrists free. “You’re safe now, love. I promise. We are all here. All three of us. We won’t allow anything to happen to you.”
I glanced up at her as she nodded, trying to catch her breath.
“Okay.” She agreed, but her voice was… strange. I looked up at Alarr, who stood over us now, but he looked confused as well. Why was she not crying or clinging to one of us? She had to have been terrified. The gods only knew what Clive had said or done to her. Perhaps she was acting this way because she was human? From Earth? Human females had a reputation for being stubborn and strong among the warriors of the Coalition Fleet. Perhaps this was what they had been speaking of?
I untied her, and she immediately rose from the ground, refusing the hand I held out in offer of assistance.
Alarr looked at me. “The containment team will be here within minutes. The I.C. is tracking the ship.”
“Good.” Oran stood over Clive, one boot firmly on our enemy’s back to hold him down. His gaze went to our mate, raked over her to find any kind of wound. “Whitney, are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
Whitney raised her gaze at last and looked at Oran. “I’m fine.” She took a step backward, toward the row of buildings behind us.
Alarr reached for her hand, but she retreated yet again. “I am sorry, mate. You should not have had to endure this. We failed to protect you.” He put his hand to his heart. “I vow it will not happen again.”
She shook her head, her hands taking turns rubbing the opposite wrist. She was shaking, the adrenaline from what happened coursing through her veins. “I’m fine. Really.” A bright light shined down on us from above, and she glanced up, as Alarr and Oran did, to see the I.C. ship coming to land where the Cerberus smuggler’s vessel had been minutes before. I didn’t need to see the I.C. ship. I’d seen hundreds of them. I kept my gaze trained on my mate, who acted oddly.
Whitney stepped back as the ship settled, and the loading ramp lowered to the ground. I turned at last, at the sound of Helion’s voice. “Excellent job. I knew having a mate here would be the final thing we needed to complete this mission.”
Fuck. Me. Inwardly, I groaned.
“What?” Whitney’s voice made me turn to her, but the horror on her face had me turning to Helion to beg him to explain.
“No. It wasn’t like that, Whitney,” I said. “On my honor, you were matched to Alarr.” I watched Helion approach the injured Commander Clive with a smile on his face that had nothing to do with humor. “Doctor, please tell her.”
Helion held up his hand, a clear order for me to stop talking. Me, as well as Alarr and Oran, for both males had opened their mouths, presumably to argue my point. Our point.
“Commander Clive. So good to finally meet you.” Helion moved silent as a ghost, the huge Prillon warrior was an imposing and ruthless figure. He wasn’t in a Coalition Fleet uniform. Instead, he wore the dark green of a doctor, but I knew he was so much more dangerous than the healer’s uniform he wore when he faced the rest of the universe. He was a demon in disguise. A killer in a healer’s cloak. He was, without doubt, the most dangerous male I’d ever met. And our new prisoner had his full and undivided attention. “You have caused Prime Nial and the I.C. a lot of problems.”
“Just let me get to a ReGen pod,” Clive gasped, his face contorted in pain. “I’ll tell you everything. I swear.”
Helion crouched down in front of Commander Clive’s face. “Oh, I know you will.” His gaze traveled down Clive’s spine to the knife blade still protruding from his back. “Do you require the return of your blade, Captain Oran?”
“No.” By the look on Oran’s face, he never wanted to see the dagger again.
“Good.” He stood and faced Alarr. “Good work, Captains. You will report to I.C. Core Command for a debriefing immediately.”
“We can’t, sir. I’m sorry. We must attend to our mate.” Alarr dared to defy him, and I knew by the tone of his voice I needed to be ready to go to battle beside him. I moved to stand behind Alarr, as did Oran. We’d told him in that last comms call that once the mission was complete, we would take our mate to Battleship Zeus. Together.
Doctor Helion raised both
of his pointed eyebrows in a look of shocked surprise. “What mate? I don’t see a female clamoring for your attention.”
What the fuck was he talking about? Whitney was right—
She was gone. A quick scan of the area and I saw a flash of her bare legs as she ran toward the transport room.
Alarr took off at a run. “Whitney, wait!” he bellowed.
Doctor Helion raised his hand, and an I.C. operative stepped in front of Alarr and pointed a blaster at him. “Don’t make me shoot you, Captain.”
Alarr rounded on Helion with rage in his eyes. “You will let me pass,” he growled.
Helion shook his head. “You will accompany me to I.C. Core Command and give your reports. Once that is complete, you can chase your cocks back to that female. She’ll be safe on Viken United.” He glanced down at a comm on his wrist. “Ah, see, there she goes now. Straight to the arms of Queen Leah, no doubt, to tell her all about you three and how hard her life is.”
I waited for the top of Alarr’s head to blow off, he was that angry. So was I. I wanted to rip the bastard limb from limb like an Atlan in beast mode.
“Fuck you,” Oran yelled. “You really are nothing but an asshole.” His fist crashed into Helion’s face as Alarr rushed the I.C. fighter in front of him. I tried to rush to Oran’s aid, but a blast of agony hit me square in the hip, dropping me to the ground like a stone.
I knew what a stun blast felt like, had taken one in training, and several during battle, and that had been more than a warning.
More weapons fire sounded around me, and soon, Alarr and Oran were laid out next to me on the ground in front of the I.C. ship, paralyzed for the next several hours.
Doctor Helion stood above us, staring down his sharp, Prillon nose. “As I said, Captains, you will accompany me to I.C. Core Command, and then you may go after your female. Her pussy will still be wet and eager, I assure you.” He chuckled. “Unless, of course, you were not good lovers. In which case, she might have three new mates taking care of her needs by the time you get back to her.”
Alarr growled. The fury in his gaze a living, breathing thing. Oran’s anger smoldered, like an ember waiting for a hint of an opportunity to light. Me? I was dying inside. Whitney thought we’d used her for the mission, that we weren’t her true mates, that everything, from her arrival to now, had been part of Doctor Helion’s plan. A complete lie.
Perhaps Helion was right. Perhaps she deserved better.
9
Whitney, Viken United
* * *
I’d thought I was all out of tears on Earth, but I’d been wrong. Once I arrived at the palace and Leah stood in front of me, I started crying. Ugly sobs with snot. I knew it wasn’t pretty, and I hadn’t cared. Neither had Leah, for she’d hugged me, then somehow got me to a room of my own. She’d settled me into bed, set the lights to low, and told me she’d contact Warden Egara and update her on what happened and that I was rejecting the match. I’d assumed I’d have to do it, but a queen of an entire planet probably got special dispensation for stuff like this. I was left to be miserable in peace.
I threw the covers over my head and let it all out. The happiness I’d thought I’d finally found. The fact that it hadn’t been real. How I’d felt when I’d thought Alarr, Oran and Teig were arms dealers. How I’d felt when I’d discovered they weren’t. At least the match hadn’t paired me with pure evil.
That made no difference. Okay, maybe a little, but still.
They’d deceived me. Lied. Used me as a pawn for their jobs. Fucked me to keep their cover. They could have told me the truth. I would have understood. I’d have found them brave. Valiant. And that would have been ridiculously hot. Three heroes as mates? Totally worked for me.
What kind of hero used a woman? What kind of hero used his mate?
I couldn’t live with them any longer, couldn’t handle the possibility of being used again. I couldn’t trust them.
And that was why I cried. And cried. Cried for wondering if there was someone out there who I could love unconditionally, who would want me for me, and only me. Not for some other reason. Not to lure people to invest their money. And not to gain access to sex parties in a pleasure resort so they could hunt for weapons.
I thought of my time with Oran in that hut, of how he’d tied me down and I’d allowed myself to trust him. Of the way I’d begun to panic, then been in bliss simply because Alarr had soothed me, and I’d known he was there. I’d felt safe. Wanted. Protected.
And it had all been an act. Every single time they touched me… Alarr, Oran, Teig. All three of them, but never all together.
I’d thought they were perfect, and they were far from it. I wasn’t expecting perfection. Still, I’d thought I had finally found a healthy, solid relationship since Warden Egara said I had such a high match percentage.
Stupid alien computers. What the hell did they know? Apparently, not much.
“Wake up, Whitney.”
The voice pulled me from a sleep I hadn’t even realized I’d succumbed to.
“Come on, wake up, sleepyhead.” That was followed by a nudge on the arm.
I sniffled, stirred. Blinked.
Leah loomed over me and smiled. “I’ve let you rest and wallow. Now it’s time to shower and talk. I’ve got ice cream.”
I sat up with those words. “Ice cream?”
She laughed. “I thought that would perk you up.”
I slipped from the bed and I felt awful. My body ached and my head throbbed. My face felt swollen from crying.
I was content being led to the bathing room, having the water in the shower tube set for me, clean clothes left on a counter.
“I’ll leave you on your own, but whatever you do, don’t look in the mirror.”
Leah left, the door sliding closed behind her. Of course, I looked at my reflection. Of course, I squealed at the sight. Shit. My hair stood up in seven different directions. My face was splotchy. I looked droopy and dejected. Miserable.
I took a deep breath, realized Alarr, Teig and Oran had made me this way. It was their fault I looked like roadkill. I hated them all over again for it.
I would not let them continue to fuck with me. Being like this was giving in, proving they’d hurt me.
No fucking way. I was Whitney Mason from Earth. No man was going to keep me down.
I took my shower, washed my funk away along with any of the guys’ lingering seed on my pussy and thighs. Like the shampoo commercial, I washed them right out of my hair… my body, my mind.
I was done.
Afterward, I dressed and left the bathing room. Leah was on the couch, watching something on the vid screen on the wall. I hadn’t paid the room any attention when I’d arrived, but now I took it all in.
Fancy, but not like Buckingham Palace stuffy. The furnishings were elegant, the décor something that didn’t exactly match what I knew of Leah, but it also was Viken casual. It had a sort of outdoor vibe that made it homey while still giving off the air of royalty.
The bed was along one wall with two floor-to-ceiling windows flanking it. Outdoors, all I saw was green. Trees, leaves… peaceful, a dark ocean crashed against the shore far below us. I’d thought Viken United was a big city, but at least from what I could see, it was a huge fortress surrounded by nature.
The room was large with a sitting area with two couches, a coffee table—or whatever it was called on Viken since I had yet to see a cup of coffee—before a vid screen, a fancy TV.
The screen went blank, and Leah hopped up. “Good! Time for ice cream.”
I had no idea how to work the S-Gen on the wall, so I plopped down on the couch, tucked my feet beneath me. She’d left me a green gown, the style similar to the others I’d worn. Viken dress for ladies. I didn’t mind it with the softest of materials, the pretty cut, the flowy style. Thankfully, the weather was mild, or it had been at the pleasure resort, and the room’s temperature was just right.
“What’s your favorite flavor?” She glanced over
her shoulder expectantly.
“Mint chocolate chip.”
She fist-pumped the air, then fiddled with the machine. “Excellent choice.”
She returned with two bowls, spoons, and all. Mine was filled with the familiar pale green treat, little specks of chocolate dotting the three scoops.
My mouth watered at the sight, and I didn’t hesitate to take a bite.
“Yum,” I replied, closing my eyes and reveling in the familiar taste from Earth.
“I’ve got Butter Pecan. That’s my favorite. God, I love the S-Gen machine.” She sounded as if she were talking about one of her mates, not a computer thingy that could generate whatever the user wanted, from clothes to ice cream.
She didn’t say anything until I was on my last scoop, and I was slowing down. “So… you want a new mate.”
I flicked my gaze to her. “Yes, ma’am.”
“What they did was pretty shitty.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I repeated. I wasn’t sad any longer. Now, I was mad. A little resigned, but mad. My heart hurt for what they’d done to me, but I wasn’t going to let it get me down any longer.
“You want one mate or three?” It was a serious question, but it was accompanied by the waggling of her eyebrows and a wicked grin. “Because once you’ve had three, it’s hard to go back.”
I dropped my spoon in the bowl. “I never had three,” I admitted.
She paused. Stared. “Even after we talked?”
She was the one who’d made me see that things weren’t right in my match.
“Nope. One of them was always off doing whatever.”
“Guys are so stupid,” she muttered.
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