by Regine Abel
“Of course, there is. Warriors have a direct connection to every building in the city. If something happens, we need to be able to respond on site in under two minutes,” Legion said, leading me past a security guard I didn’t know, to the elevators in the main hall.
Like the Residence, it was a huge circular room with a domed ceiling. But where ours boasted white floors and tiles with metallic accents, black, dark greys and gold dominated the Vanguard HQ. Instead of giving off a sense of dread and doom, the dark colors exuded strength and power.
“Well, that’s even faster than the train,” I said, wondering why Myriam hadn’t shown us that route.
“Don’t get excited,” Legion said in a teasing tone. “It is not for public use. Most Veterans ignore its existence.”
“Oh,” I said, disappointed. “Then why did you show me?”
He gave me an enigmatic look followed by an even more mysterious smile. “Maybe you’ve earned special dispensation after saving all of our girls.”
My step faltered as I gaped at him. “So the food truly was poisoned?” I asked in a shocked whisper.
A slight frown marred Legion’s forehead. “Yes. It would have taken us a while to figure out what to look for without your hint. The toxin used is somewhat similar to your hemlock flower. Without your warning, you would have all experienced a horrible death while looking totally peaceful in your beds.”
A cold shiver ran down my spine. Despite the harshness of his tone and the seething anger he barely repressed, I felt no fear in his presence.
“I don’t understand.”
“Hemlock paralyzes your body but your mind remains fully aware. You would suffocate to death, helpless to do anything, while your respiratory system shut down. In the morning, when you all failed to show up for work or training, we would have found all forty-eight of you dead in your sleep from apparent natural causes.”
Legion all but spat the last words, as we entered the elevator. He pressed the button to the penthouse, almost absentmindedly.
“That’s not your office!” I exclaimed, still reeling from his words.
His expression softened, and he gave my hand—that he still held—a gentle squeeze.
“Neither of us have eaten. You must be starving. I’ll prepare us dinner, and we can train after the meal.”
I stared at him, feeling both confused and… I wasn’t quite sure what else.
“Okay,” I heard myself say in a small voice.
The elevator flew us straight to the penthouse divided into five wings. Each contained the housing suite of a different Warrior. As they didn’t officially have hierarchy, the suites had been earned through challenges or awarded for exceptional accomplishment. According to Myriam, Legion had earned his by winning a tournament.
We walked down the short corridor to his quarters, our steps echoing in the empty passage with its twelve-foot high ceiling. Legion finally released my hand, leaving me oddly bereft, and touched the biometric lock by the door. The door swished open. Instead of going in, Legion spoke a command in Xian, then grabbing my hand, he held it palm up, facing the lock. A blue light surged from the device and scanned my palm.
“Look into it,” Legion said, lowering my hand, “then speak your name out loud.”
Too stunned to argue, I complied. The biometric lock scanned my face and recorded my voice.
A synthetic feminine voice rose from the device. “Access granted to Ayana Antoine. Please state restriction level.”
“None,” Legion said.
I gaped at him, flabbergasted.
“Full access granted to Ayana Antoine. Registration complete.”
“Why would you do that?” I asked in a breathy voice.
He smiled, his mysterious expression making me feel weak in the knees.
“So you can come and go as you please,” he said, placing his hand on the small of my back and gently pushing me into the apartment.
Here as well, black and gold dominated. Dark gray panels covered the main wall, with light colored walls on each side. Hidden lights lined the recesses of the coffered ceiling. Comfortable looking gold and beige throw pillows accented the black leather couches of the living area. Stepping out of my medium-heel black shoes, my toes sank into the plush, black and white shag carpet, as I headed toward the giant floor-to-ceiling windows that gave a breathtaking view of the garden out back, the pedestrian walkway, and the lake beyond that stretched into the distance.
I didn’t hear Legion approach but felt the heat of his body against my back.
“Mesmerizing,” I said, entranced by the view.
“Indeed,” he whispered.
Something in his voice made me look at him over my shoulder. Legion wasn’t looking at the view but staring straight at me. His expression made it clear who he was referring to. Unnerved by his intoxicating presence and confused by his sudden display of interest after two weeks of indifference, I stepped away from him, pretending to be fascinated by the alien sculptures and art pieces decorating the room—which wasn’t quite false. I hadn’t pictured him having a properly furnished home, imagining instead the typical guy place, with the bare minimum needed to live, but everything clean and orderly in a strict, military fashion.
Did Myriam decorate this for him?
The unpleasant thought spoiled my enjoyment of the refined décor.
“You often do that, giving people full access to your place?” I asked, trying to sound amused.
He chuckled while heading towards the kitchen area of the open layout of the loft. A couple of doors, almost hidden in the pattern of the paneled walls, probably led to the bedroom and bathroom.
“No, Ayana. Aside from you, only four other people have full access to my quarters; Chaos, Raven, Dr. Lashan, and Myriam,” Legion said, pulling out ingredients from the refrigerator and laying them down on the counter of his gourmet kitchen.
My back stiffened upon hearing her name, although I knew she would be among the select few. While reflecting on how to get him to show his hand where Myriam was concerned without being too obvious, I watched him stuff vegetables in a tube-shaped culinary robot. The state-of-the-art device would wash, peel, and cut any type of meat, fish, or produce according to specification.
“I’m not sure Myriam will appreciate you giving full access to your place to some other woman,” I said, proud that my tone came out far more casual and playful than I felt.
It totally didn’t fool him, though.
He looked up at me from the two large pieces of meat he had begun seasoning, a serious expression on his face.
“Myriam doesn’t have a say in that. She’s my Soulcatcher, not my mate.”
I snorted. “Oh please, that’s a technicality. You don’t expect me to believe that you two aren’t romantically involved—not that it’s any of my business,” I challenged.
Legion’s face hardened. Grabbing a kitchen cloth, he wiped his hands and walked up to me. I straightened from leaning on the counter, suddenly feeling intimidated.
“Myriam and I were never romantically involved. Yes, we have been intimate as is common between a Warrior and his Soulcatcher. But she isn’t my soulmate, and we were never in an exclusive relationship. I made it clear to her from day one that it would never go beyond the occasional encounter between us, and that it would completely stop the day I met my mate.”
I opened and closed my mouth a few times before finding my words. “Right. This really isn’t any of my business. Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
Legion took a step forward and his black eyes seem to darken even more, if that were possible. “Oh, but it is very much your business, Ayana.”
The purring sound of his voice hit me straight in my girly bits, and heat blossomed in my nether region.
“You felt the connection between us. I permanently ended any involvement with Myriam right after your test.”
I took a step back, hoping, yet unable to believe what he was implying.
“Why?” I whispered.
<
br /> “You know why, my mate.”
A ball of fire exploded in the pit of my stomach, and my head swam upon hearing from his lips the words I’d so often fantasized about.
“Humans don’t really believe in that instant love thing.”
“You don’t need to,” he said, stepping close enough that the heat of his body gave me goosebumps. “Our souls know each other, even though our minds don’t. I intend to spend the foreseeable future rectifying the latter. By the time I claim you as my bonded-mate, there will be no doubt in your mind—as there is none in mine—that we belong together.”
His hand wrapping around my waist and pulling me against his hard body prevented my brain from coming up with some smart and sassy remark. Instead, my eyes remained locked on his plush, sensual lips. I couldn’t recall Legion leaning forward, only the searing heat of our mouths meeting at last, engulfing my entire being into an all-consuming inferno.
The world around us faded away as his tongue demanded entry—which I gladly granted. I greedily drank from his lips, unable to quench the insatiable thirst of my burning body. He tasted sweet with a sliver of cinnamon, and I wanted more. My hands slipped over the bone ridges protruding through the scales of his broad shoulders before wrapping behind his neck. The bulging muscles of his strong arms tightened their embrace around me. A bolt of desire surged inside of me when I felt Legion’s hard body against mine. The dull throb deep within my core intensified.
This time, the scent of cinnamon with a touch of ginger tickled my nose. For some reason, it made my nipples harden painfully. Needing even more closeness, I pressed myself against him, and his chest vibrated in a rumbling moan. Yet, even as the sound faded, the vibration persisted, creating a discrete, subtonal melody that teased my nerve endings. Legion broke the kiss, his lips trailing down my neck. Turning his face to the side, he gently rubbed the scales of his temple on the skin at the crook of my neck. I cried out as a violent shudder coursed through me. All my senses had gone into overdrive, and the gentle scraping of his scales had set my skin ablaze.
What’s happening to me?
The scent of cinnamon hit me again. Through the sensual fog clouding my mind, I realized it came from Legion, probably some kind of pheromone. Overwhelmed, I opened my mouth to ask him to stop, but he pulled away before a single sound came out. Vision blurry, legs shaky, I clung to him, desperate to regain my bearings.
His mind touched mine, and I felt my walls close all around it in instinctive defense. I didn’t want to shut him out, but had no control over this. Yet, I loved the feel of him all around me, his essence sliding over the slick shield of my mind in a gentle caress.
“What you’re feeling is only a sliver of what it will be like between us when we are bonded. But first, you must lower your walls and let me in.”
“I can’t. I don’t know how.”
“You will.”
That last thought from him felt almost like a kiss goodbye before he withdrew from my mind.
Still feeling unsteady on my legs, I was grateful for his help sitting on one of the bar stools by the counter. The subtonal melody had stopped, and my senses stabilized, but the cinnamon scent lingered.
“What was all that?” I asked.
“You mean the pheromones and the mating song?”
I couldn’t quite decide if his expression was smug, teasing, or a mix of both. Regardless, I felt the sudden urge to throw something at him. A heavy pillow straight in the face would take him down a notch. He’d turned me into a puddle and knew it all too well.
“Yes,” I said with a frown. The throbbing between my thighs had not receded, and my nipples still ached. “That feels like some rather underhanded tactics.”
Legion chuckled, showing no shame whatsoever. “I’ll admit that they are quite effective and nearly impossible to resist. But, they wouldn’t be half as effective if we weren’t mutually attracted to each other, and even less if you weren’t consenting.”
I didn’t know about that. Yes, I wanted Legion something fierce, but that didn’t mean I wanted to jump into bed with him on our first date—okay, my body did but that’s why my mind made the decisions.
“Don’t give me that look,” Legion said, a taunting glimmer in his inky eyes as he resumed preparing our supper. “In truth, you have no one but yourself to blame.”
“What?!”
He laughed at my outrage. “These reactions are triggered by the female. While far more subtle, humans also emit pheromones. As mates, we are mutually more sensitive to each other’s scents. When you get aroused, it sends my own system into overdrive to fill your needs.”
“Pfft, of course! Blame it on me, why don’t you!” I exclaimed, really wishing I had that pillow handy.
“I just did,” he said, grinning, while dropping a piece of meat on the hot plate like one drops a mic.
I made a face at him. “I don’t think I like you after all.”
“Lies,” he said, adding a second thick slice of meat. “Soon, you will love me.”
Throwing my head back, I laughed at his arrogance. “Someone is a little cocksure.”
He shrugged and then winked without denying, which had me shaking my head at him.
Reaching for a piece of fruit that the culinary robot had cut, he walked towards me. “Actually, my Sweetling, it’s more that I’m sure of us being meant for each other.”
He raised the fruit to my lips, and I opened to receive the offering, playfully biting his fingers before sucking the fruit out of his grasp. I couldn’t believe my own boldness. I’d dreamt for so long of flirting, cuddling, and doing all kinds of inappropriate things with Legion that everything about this moment felt surreal. His eyes smoldered, and he brushed his lips against mine before walking back to the hot plate where the steaks were sizzling.
“I’m confused,” I said, watching him deftly juggle cooking the meat and preparing the accompanying salad. “Why now? If you ‘knew’ since my test back on Earth, why did you keep your distance since my arrival until now?”
Legion smiled, checked again on the meat, and turned towards the cupboards to pull out the dishes.
“Because I wanted to give you a chance to settle in and focus on your training. I hadn’t planned on wooing you until it was completed, but the past two weeks have convinced me to start sooner.”
“Why?” I asked. Pointing at the plates in his hand, I said, “Let me help. I can set the table.”
Legion tsked me. “In case you haven’t noticed, Sweetling, I’m currently in full seduction mode. Don’t worry your pretty self about helping. I won’t allow it. Step one, is showing you that I’m house trained.”
I burst out laughing again. This unexpected side of Legion delighted me. Never in a million years would I have imagined the leader of the Vanguard waiting on me hand and foot.
I can definitely get used to this.
If he wanted to claim me, he’d get no challenge; I couldn’t be more willing.
CHAPTER 5
Legion
I watched Chaos pace the room. The anger etched on his face reflected the one burning in my gut. Two days after the failed assassination attempt, we’d received the first report of Warriors going missing or getting killed during a mission. In the week since, at least two to four more such reports reached us every day, for a total of nineteen lost units, each comprised of three Warriors and their Soulcatchers.
The Coalition was going berserk over this, with good reasons. We had a spy among us leaking sensitive information about the location of our units. The problem was the complete absence of alarm from the missing troops. Most of them had communicated with Central Command less than a couple of hours before dropping off the radar, not signaling any problem or threat.
Every Vanguard ship came equipped with an advanced artificial intelligence and a smart beacon that would instantly send a distress signal to our nearest allies on encrypted channels, as well as transfer the ship’s latest logs to help us understand what had befallen the crew if tr
ouble arose. This included something as simple as non-authorized personnel taking control of the ship. Biometric locks prevented most hackers from bypassing its defenses. So how the fuck were they making our people disappear without a trace?
“I’m going to Jaylon on a stealth mission,” Chaos said, stopping in the middle of my office. “I’ll take a couple of Warriors with me, and we’ll keep this off the records. If only you and our Soulcatchers are aware of this, the traitor will be none the wiser.”
I shifted from the edge of my desk I was leaning against. Unfolding my arms which were crossed over my chest, I rested my palms on the round, sculpted borders of the dark wood desk.
“What for?” I asked. “Our contacts confirmed the ship is gone and the amount of blood in the safe house leaves no doubt about the unit’s fate.”
“Because I believe we can still recover their remains before they get further defiled,” Chaos said between clenched teeth.
A nerve ticked beneath the scales of his temple. Tiny lights sparkled in the black sea of his eyes like lightning in a moonless night; a telltale sign of extreme emotion for a Xian Warrior. My own were shaken by the implications of his last statement.
“A Breeding Swamp?” I asked, my voice filled with the horror twisting my insides.
“Yes. Xenon noticed a familiar pattern as with the Arpetia colony.”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his com device and tapped some commands on it, then turned towards the large monitor mounted on the right wall next to my desk.
“Monitor on,” I said, guessing his intentions.
As soon as the monitor lit up, Chaos flicked his finger over his com device, projecting its display onto the giant screen. It showed a world map of Jaylon.
The small planet had been terraformed by a coalition of species and religious groups that wished to live a life close to nature, stripped of most trappings of science and technology. As such, most species and religious groups had formed their own cities, and in some cases countries, but all had a seat in their Planetary Council which kept basic contacts with the Intergalactic Coalition. In spite of their primitive lifestyles, the inhabitants thrived and multiplied, making them—and other similar planets—an ideal breeding ground for the Kryptids.