by Regine Abel
“You are my soulmate, Ayana,” Legion said, an intense expression on his face. “Even though we are not bond-mated yet, I wish to give you all of me. If you aren’t ready or willing, speak now.”
I felt faint by both the honor and the enormity of his pledge. A Xian Warrior’s sperm lay dormant until he deliberately made it active. They only reproduced with their lifemates—bonded-mates as they called them; the woman whose lifespan they would expand and to whom they would commit until their last breath. We wouldn’t have daughters, though, only sons that would be full Xian Warriors.
My stomach flip-flopped at the thought of a miniature version of Legion cradled in my arms.
“Yes,” I breathed out, my throat tightened by emotion. “I am yours, and I want all of you.”
“My mate,” Legion whispered against my lips, carefully pushing himself inside of me.
While my core ached with anticipation, my inner walls resisted the intrusion at first. I’d seen Legion’s cock once before as our kissing and cuddling over the last couple of weeks had gone into heavier petting and fondling. Similar to a human’s, it was thick and long, the same burnished golden color as some of his darker scales. I’d known it would be a tight fit, but didn’t expect it to be this tight. Relaxing my pelvic area, I met each of his shallow thrusts, the pleasure of his mind wrapped around mine, muting the pain of his possession.
Once I’d adjusted to his girth, Legion’s slow movements accelerated, each stroke fanning the flames consuming me from the inside out. The bone spurs along his spine and the curves of his shoulders extruded further. Throwing his head back with a hiss of pleasure, Legion pounded into me, the double-fangs I knew he possessed but had never seen before, protruding. His beast was taking over, claiming me. Fear, pleasure, and excitement coursed through me as I gave myself over to him.
His mating song resuming sent me over the edge. I detonated. Legion didn’t relent, pursuing his passionate assault mercilessly. His mouth devouring mine, his skin against mine, his thick length filling me to the brim, hitting my sweet spot with each stroke, every sensation multiplied a thousand fold. I tumbled into a whirlwind, shattering from one climax after another. Just when I thought my mind would break, Legion stiffened, buried deep. Holding me with almost bruising strength, he roared his release, the burning stream of his seed exploding within me.
Boneless beneath him, I felt his body tremble with tremors of ecstasy. Still sheathed inside me, Legion flipped us over. My head resting on his chest, I listened to the rolling thunder of his hearts pounding, and then I knew no more.
CHAPTER 7
Legion
Driven by pain and anger, I finalized the transport and rotation arrangements for Xenon’s parents to come to Khepri for his funeral. Sarah, an Operator at the Coalition HQ, was bond-mated to Onyx, currently patrolling the Rings of Kathra where intense Kryptid activity had been noted.
We’d never sustained so many losses, so quickly, outside a battlefield. If we didn’t root out the traitor in our midst, the entire Vanguard program would fall apart. Xian Warriors didn’t have many children. A couple could hope for one to three offspring at the most. Warriors only resulted from the union of bonded-mates. As it took twenty-five years for the child to reach the required psychic maturity for soulcatching, not to mention the rigorous, intense combat and military training, each soul lost constituted a severe blow to the Vanguard. For this reason, we were actively encouraged to seek our soulmate.
Ayana.
Thoughts of my woman partially soothed me. Nothing had ever been as hard as tearing myself away from her arms. The feel of her! I’d almost sunk my fangs into her and bound her to me, but she wasn’t quite ready. A physical bond with Ayana would never be enough. I wanted a full-bond with her, body and soul, once she dropped the last walls shielding her mind. As it would likely take a while before my seed took root inside her, we’d have time to complete the bond before then. But should we be blessed with an early conception, I would still be able to provide our son with what he needed until the bond could be completed.
Picturing my beautiful Ayana swelling with our child left me reeling. Every time I thought she couldn’t mesmerize me any further, she’d accomplish something else that would blow my mind. Bringing Chaos and Raven into their new Shells as their souls unraveled, light years away from us, represented an impossible feat that she’d nevertheless accomplished.
This changed everything.
The Operators at the Vanguard HQ possessed the longest psychic range, although none even began to rival my Ayana’s, but still… If the other black and brown-skinned Operators also proved to be Portals like my mate, it would give us an insane advantage. Raven had done a phenomenal job getting them all to work on their sparks. All of them had developed a vortex—Portal as we now called them—giving us every reason to believe they would be able to as well. Starting tomorrow morning, all of them would test for it, and if successful, go into intense training. Following last night’s experience with Ayana, we would ensure from now on that every woman was familiar with as many Warriors’ soul signatures as possible. Without the delay of helping her establish a connection with Chaos and Xenon, we might have avoided a death.
As much as I would have loved for Raven to spearhead that effort, we had a far more important mission ahead of us. His Soulcatcher Sonia still lived. Tabitha as well. I would accompany both him and Chaos on a rescue mission. We couldn’t say for sure what had become of Xenon’s Soulcatcher, Bridget. With his last words to Ayana asking to save the girls, we could only assume that it included her.
“We’re coming in.”
Chaos’ voice snapped me out of my musings. Unlike my mate who continued to show reluctance at just entering my quarters, Chaos never hesitated to do so, although he always gave me a heads up, seconds prior, in case I found myself in a compromising position. I looked up as the door to my office opened. He walked in followed by Raven. They nodded at me in greeting before settling in my sitting area. Rising to my feet, I went straight for my usual spot, leaning against the front edge of my desk, my palms resting on its surface.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, going straight to the point.
“As good as new,” Raven said, leaning back against the couch and crossing his ankle over his knee. “Within an hour of rebirth, I was back to 100%, confirmed by my mother’s endless tests yesterday and this morning.”
I couldn’t help a smile. Victoria had immediately liked Ayana and even told me she’d hoped Raven and her would hook up. After last night, she’d put her on a pedestal for saving her only son. His recovery time had indeed been incredible. Rebirth from a Soulcatcher was a slower process, taking up to three days for the Warrior to be in full control of his faculties again.
“It was touch and go for me in the first few hours,” Chaos said, his forearms leaning on his knees. “By the time I went to bed, things had significantly improved. Now, I’m back to my old self.” He shook his head in disbelief and awe. “What your woman did… We were two men dying, four parsecs away, at more than double the farthest distance ever achieved by an Operator. And yet, Ayana not only made contact but brought us home. Half of my soul had eroded, and still she saved me. It’s beyond miraculous. It changes everything.”
My chest and hearts swelled with pride with each of his words.
“Those were my exact thoughts moments before you two arrived,” I said, crossing my feet and leaning more heavily against the desk. “Hares will start testing the Operators in the morning.”
“Why not today?” Raven asked.
I smiled at him. Like Chaos, he had a bit of an impulsive side mostly driven by the impatience of youth. “Because he needs time to organize this both here at the Vanguard HQ and at the Coalition HQ. That’s hundreds of girls and Warriors that will need to be given precise guidelines on how to proceed. Remember how Ayana messed me up the first time, when she shoved me right back into my body?”
Raven smiled and nodded. “Fair enough.”
; “We need to go get our own girls,” Chaos said, his voice taking a somber tone. “We were betrayed, and I believe Blujek is behind it.”
I shook my head. “It can’t be.” Chaos opened his mouth to argue, but I continued quickly before he could. “We communicated with him as soon as Raven made first contact with Ayana. I told him something had gone wrong at the safe house. He said that couldn’t be because none of you ever went to the safe house.”
“What?!” Raven exclaimed, uncrossing his legs, his back straightening in outrage.
Chaos shot up to his feet, his features twisted by anger. “That’s a lie!” he shouted. “He escorted us personally to the safe house, along with our girls, as per the plan.”
“Whoever escorted you wasn’t Blujek,” I said in a calm voice. “According to him, Sonia contacted him shortly before your arrival to inform him that his services wouldn’t be required. So he attended a meeting with the Coalition Council instead. More than twenty witnesses confirmed it.”
Raven and Chaos exchanged a baffled look.
“Why the fuck would my Soulcatcher do that?” Raven asked, raising his palms in a questioning gesture. “I touched her mind a couple of times after we left them at the safe house to update her on our progress. There was no deception or fear coming from her.”
Chaos blinked, his eyes flicking from side to side as he recollected the events. “Same. There was no deception from Tabitha. But now that you mention it, Blujek’s behavior had struck me as a little odd.” He glanced at Raven as if seeking confirmation. “For a religious man, he’s always been far more laid back than the average follower of Aznar. With us, he usually seizes the opportunity to use what his people would consider foul language. But this time, he was oddly proper.”
Raven nodded. “You’re right. He did act overly formal and more quiet than usual. I assumed it was due to stress with some of the latest conflicts between a couple of religious clans.”
Straightening up as well, I ran my fingers through my hair. “When Zemun died, the hybrid in the video hinted that we had a traitor among us. Any chance it could be Sonia?”
“No!” Raven said, shaking his head with conviction. “She’s a sweet girl. I refuse to believe it. Someone must have passed herself off as Sonia.”
My gaze flicked to Chaos, who also shook his head.
“Tabitha has her issues, and her attitude can give the wrong impression, but she’s loyal to the Vanguard,” Chaos said with the same conviction as Raven.
I huffed, the same old frustration making my blood boil. We couldn’t exclude the possibility that one of those women could be the culprit, but I didn’t believe it either. They’d gone to hell and back with us far too many times to go rogue. But then who? We’d upped the security to ridiculous levels here at HQ with still no indication whatsoever of who the assassin could have been.
“Do we need to call in the Coalition?” I asked.
They exchanged another look. Raven shook his head, the gesture subtle. I turned to Chaos.
“No,” he said. “I don’t think we need the Coalition. They might hinder us more than help. They are indeed building Breeding Swamps, but they’re still at a very early stage. Barely a tenth of the larvae had hatched. Raven, Xenon, and I were able to take out a couple of Swamps before we fell into their trap. They believed we all died with whatever secrets we discovered, so they won’t bother changing them. Except this time, we’ll know what to look out for.”
“Another three-man stealth mission, then?” I asked
“No,” Raven said. “Four, split in teams of two so we can wipe multiple swamps simultaneously. I’m thinking Wrath and—”
“Me,” I interrupted.
They both frowned at me.
“You’re the face of the Vanguard,” Raven said. “With all the shit going on, if anything happens to you, we may never recover.”
“Like you said, I’m the face, not the Vanguard. Even if I fall, someone else will pick up and carry on. Contingencies are already in place for that. Too many Warriors have died on my watch. I’m not sending anyone else while hiding safely at the HQ.”
Chaos looked at Raven and shrugged. “He won’t let his woman come with us without him present, anyway.”
My head jerked towards him. “What? She doesn’t need to go to Jaylon. She is perfectly capable of rescuing us from here.”
“And we’ll be reborn back here, requiring another two-day flight back to Jaylon,” Chaos replied, with the no-nonsense tone I usually used. “She can remain on board the ship, safely docked in the Capital City. Assuming we go through rebirth, we can be back on the field within a couple of hours, judging by how quickly Raven recovered—less even, considering his soul had already started unraveling when she got him out.”
Teeth clenched, I walked to my window and looked out at the garden. His arguments were valid, but I hated the thought of putting my mate in harm’s way. I wouldn’t have hesitated to bring Myriam. Refusing to bring Ayana would not only be illogical and irresponsible, it would also be disrespectful to her. She’d worked hard to earn her place within the Vanguard, performing above and beyond expectations. That didn’t make it any easier, especially not after last night.
I gave my assent with a stiff nod.
“When do we leave?” Chaos asked.
“Tonight.” I turned to Raven. “Have two Shells onboard for each of us. Better safe than sorry.”
“Damn, I’m going through mine like candy,” Raven said, frowning.
I gave him a sympathetic smile. “If you only knew how many I’ve gone through… Make sure you’ve provided enough fresh DNA samples to your incubators.”
“Oh, no need to worry about that. You seem to forget my mother is our doctor.” Although he rolled his eyes, looking annoyed, his love for his mother couldn’t be mistaken.
She was a mother figure to all of us originals who had been conceived in vitro to a human surrogate, then transferred to an incubator after four weeks.
“Poor mama’s boy,” I teased.
Raven made a face at me. “Careful, that mama would love your mate for her boy, and her boy tends to agree.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “She’s made no secret of it, but Ayana is off-limits. You’ll steer clear if you know what’s good for you.”
Raven smirked. “Soon enough, she’ll realize she’s dating an old man and seek the freshness of youth,” he said, gesturing at himself like a show host waving at a prize on display.
“Go take care of the Shells before this old man puts you across his knees,” I growled.
Chuckling, he winked at me and walked out.
“I’ll go tell Wrath,” Chaos said before taking his leave as well.
* * *
I entered the gym where the girls and their paired Warriors had begun warm-up exercises for the combat and self-defense training. Even after all this time, half of the girls, Aspirants and Veterans alike, continued to fan themselves whenever I entered a room. It boggled my mind. I knew we were attractive to human females; Dr. Xi had made sure of it because of the inevitable intimacy brought about by the interaction between a Warrior and his Soulcatcher. However, my brothers were just as attractive, if not more so in some cases. I didn’t hate the attention, but definitely could live without it. It had quickly gone from flattering to just plain awkward.
For all that, only one female held my interest. Statuesque in her skin-tight black tank-top and sport shorts, she stared at me, wide-eyed, under the amused gaze of Blade, her sparring partner. The loveliest pink crept onto her cheeks when she noticed the women had shifted their attention from me to her. Ayana had still been sleeping when I left this morning, so I didn’t doubt that part of the shyness also came from what had happened between us. Despite her timidity, I refused to hide our relationship. She was my lifemate and the future mother of my children.
Walking up to them, I took Ayana’s hand instead of wrapping an arm around her waist like I wanted to—not hiding didn’t mean flaunting.
“I
’m afraid there’s been a change of plans.” Although I addressed both of them, my eyes remained locked with the dark brown ones of my mate. “I’m kidnapping Ayana for the rest of the day.”
“Okay,” she said before casting an apologetic look at Blade.
“Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of other occasions to kick his butt,” I said with a mocking grin, then slapped Blade on the shoulder.
“She doesn’t kick my butt,” Blade mumbled as I led Ayana towards the exit.
Giggling, she looked over her shoulder at him. “Not yet, Blade, but soon enough!”
He harrumphed under the snickers of the others. I pretended not to see Shereen making exaggerated winks at Ayana. Although her ESP levels didn’t qualify her for a position at the Vanguard HQ, the mischievous female possessed phenomenal math and engineering skills. In light of the close friendship she’d developed with my woman, I’d see if I could secure a role for her here.
“Where are we going?” Ayana asked as we headed towards the secret bubble transport.
“To the Incubator. You’re going to spend the day tossing Warriors around.”
“Really?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Really,” I said, tapping the tip of her nose with my index finger instead of kissing it like I itched to. “We need to test the extent and limitations of your ability.”
Her expression sobered slightly. “How are the guys? They’re still okay?”
“Dr. Lashan has given them a clean bill of health, and you know how protective she is of her boy.”
Ayana giggled. I loved its musical quality and how it made her face light up.
“Tell me about it, although I can’t blame her. I’d probably be the same with my own son.”
I chuckled. “Then I’ll have to protect him and our other children from you.”