3013: MATED (3013: The Series)

by Roma, Laurie

  Draven and Cristof had been different. Their combined lust had blinded her from their true intentions every time they were together, and she hadn’t realized it until it had been too late. She still remembered the day they’d broken her heart with acute clarity. They had just made love, the three of them basking in the afterglow when Draven had casually declared that they were set to claim a chosen woman the following week. Alexis’ shock had been extreme. She had wanted to believe it was simply a mistake until Cristof had laughed.

  “Did you really think we would bond with you, Alex? You’re flawed, and we want children.”

  The pain Cristof’s words had caused was like a stab to the heart. She had wanted to throw up when Draven had run a hand over her leg and she had scrambled out of his reach.

  “We still want you, Alex. I think we always will. We just don’t want to form a bonded unit with you,” Draven had said, truly perplexed by her reaction.

  Alexis had stumbled from their bed, fleeing as fast as her feet would carry her. It had been two weeks later when she finally saw them again. That was when they had approached her with the offer to become their mistress. Their shock at her refusal had baffled her, and so had their anger. Luckily, she had just completed her assignment and a few days later she’d transferred to the Capital.

  To her surprise, a month later she learned that Draven and Cristof had also requested a transfer to the Capital. When she next saw them, both men had been furious at her for leaving without telling them. She’d told them she was didn’t want anything to do with them anymore, yet they’d continued to harass her. She had considered reporting them, but pride held her back. It was one thing for them to have rejected her so cruelly, but it was another to have everyone know what had happened.

  It had been several months now, and although she’d done her best to avoid them, they still continued to pursue her. She had hooked up with a couple men here and there when the loneliness had become too much bear, but both times she had tried to start dating someone new, Draven and Cristof had ruined it for her. Fed up, Alexis promised herself that she would report them the next time they tried something, but she silently prayed they would simply lose interest and leave her alone.

  All bonded units were not the happy relationships girls dreamed of when they were young. The fact was, most fertile females were claimed more for alliances than anything else. Basically, the system sucked for all women. Those that weren’t fertile were overlooked, but those who were then became a prize to be won with little say about who claimed them.

  Once a fertile female came of age, she was then declared claimable. Only females with powerful families or connections were safe from being randomly chosen by men who wanted them. And once the men had their initials tattooed on the face of their chosen, there was little anyone could do to help the woman escape her bonded unit.

  Personally, Alexis thought the entire pairing system sucked, even if it was put in place to help rebuild the human race. But those who were actually chosen for love all but glowed with the radiance of happiness that they felt, and that was what Alexis wanted more than anything.

  To be that happy and complete.

  Pushing those depressing thoughts aside, she watched the vehicles flying in straight lines in the sky while others that chose to take ground routes drove down the streets as she used her wrist unit to make a call to Commander Jax Spartan.

  Commander Spartan was one of Earth’s greatest leaders and ran the Capital with an iron fist, all be it a fair one. He was a man very few people were stupid enough to challenge, and he used his authority to ensure that both members of the Alliance and citizens were protected. He was always thoughtful and deliberate in his decisions, and reported directly to the Alliance Council of Regents. The Regents were made up of retired military commanders from all of the territories, and acted as the governing body of the Alliance. The Regents looked at Commander Spartan as the epitome of what an elite soldier should be, and he took their faith in him very seriously.

  Alexis trusted and respected him, but she also knew Jax on a different level. When she had gone through testing after she turned ten, her fathers had disowned her upon hearing she was infertile, claiming she was now useless. Her mother had died while giving birth to her, and her fathers had never forgiven her for that. Left in the care of the Alliance, she was sent to a one of the training facilities that catered to others like her who had been given the enhancements. Even at a young age they had to begin learning how to use their gifts.

  The training was rigorous in many disciplines. Not only were they regularly tested for physical strength and endurance, they were all tested in a multitude of mental assessments that helped place them for service when they were older. The training facilities were run sort of like boarding schools, only for people like Alexis, they had nowhere to go when they were given leave.

  Jax was one of the older members at the training facility, and upon arriving it had been clear to Alexis that he was a natural born leader. There was ten years separating them, but she had looked up to Jax as if he were the older brother she had never had. At that point, Jax had been a junior commander in the Academy. He had been tasked with looking out for the new recruits, and everyone at that facility followed him without hesitation.

  Born an empath, the enhancements had only made Alexis’ natural abilities stronger. At first she’d had a very hard time learning how to control her gift, but after a while it became second nature. More than that, Alexis had honed her gift to the point she basically became a walking lie-detector, and as a liaison officer it came in handy when she was asked to feel out the true intentions of any visitors. Jax had helped her become the officer she was today, and had always been there for her when she needed him…just like family.

  “Spartan.” Jax’s deep voice was clipped as it sounded through the comm link, and his scowling face on the small video screen made Alexis smile.

  “Commander.”

  “Hey, Lex,” Jax’s voice softened slightly with affection as soon as he saw it was her calling. “What can I do for you?”

  “I need to speak to you, Commander Spartan.”

  The official tone of her voice had Jax’s eyes narrowing at her as he barked out, “I’m in the main landing bay. Dock C. Meet me here. Now.”

  She chuckled as he abruptly cut off the call. She was glad she had contacted him rather than trekking all the way to the command post building where Jax’s office was. Although most commanders spent their time in cushy offices, with multiple staff members running around doing their bidding, Jax was a hands-on leader. It exasperated the generals that reported to him because he was always out in the field, so to speak, since he couldn’t stand being cooped up in one place for long.

  Alexis opted to take one of the glides down, making her way to the main landing area in the open air instead of one of the elevators or trekking thought the underground tunnels. It wasn’t far and she could use the few extra minutes to figure out what she was going to say to her commander about the incident. She knew she had to report it, but there were other things to consider. She wondered just what the hell she was going to do about her new assignment, but the most pressing issue was how she was going to stop Jax from pulverizing Director Farris into bloody dust.

  ***

  Chapter Two

  The main landing bay was a bevy of activity as Alexis entered the building.

  Waving absently at a few officers she knew, she headed straight for Dock C. When she arrived, Alexis wasn’t surprised to see Jax Spartan glaring at a few officers who looked like they had just swallowed razor blades.

  Jax’s stance said it all. A large, intimidating man, Jax stood at six foot eight. His thick, corded muscles bulged under his uniform as he stood with his arms crossed over his impressive chest. Feet braced apart, with a fierce frown on his face, he looked like he was seconds away from ripping the heads off the two smaller men standing in front of him.

  “Commander Spartan.” Alexis stood at attention and struck h
er fist over her heart as she waited for him to acknowledge her. She saw the entourage that followed Jax wherever he went was standing a safe distance away, out of firing range. She could feel the relief emanating from the other officers that had been getting their asses chewed who were grateful for the distraction, and she fought to hold back a smile.

  Commander Jax Spartan really was an ass-kicker.

  Jax slowly turned his head, focusing his intense gray eyes on her. She could see amusement flicker in his steel-gray depths before his expression hardened and he turned back to the men. “I want that report sent to me in one hour. Dismissed.”

  The two officers saluted then walked away as fast as they could without breaking into a run. Jax shook his head and turned to look at her with a wry grin. “I wasn’t done reprimanding them, but they’ll be forever grateful to you for being their savior.”

  “Always glad to be of service. So, what did they do to earn the wrath of Jax?” One of his brows lifted at that, making her laugh. “Come on, Jax. Don’t you know all of the Alliance calls it that when you get pissed? Actually, I think it was Archer who started it.”

  “Damn it,” Jax growled, making Alexis laugh.

  Sullivan Archer was second-in-command under Jax and his best friend. More laid back than Jax, Archer had a wicked sense of humor, but was just as capable of a commander in his own right. When they had reached elite status, they had filed together for a pairing, knowing that they would one day share a chosen woman together.

  All elite soldiers had to file their partnership on record before they could claim a woman so she would know who the two men were in any bonding unit. Although it had been years since both Jax and Archer had reached elite status, both men were holding out for love before they claimed a woman.

  Knowing that just made Alexis respect them more.

  Despite Jax’s brusque demeanor, he was a thoughtful and kind man. When they had been in the training facility together, Jax had been horrified when he discovered several of the female trainees had been abandoned by their families when they had been declared infertile. After that, he had made it a regular occurrence to take whoever was left without somewhere else to go home with him when they had leave. Jax’s mother and two fathers had welcomed Alexis and the others with open arms, and for the first time she had discovered what a real family was like.

  Still, she knew that any woman who took Jax and Sullivan on would need to be able to stand up to their over-the-top alpha attitudes.

  Alexis sobered as she noticed the glances being cast their way. Although both Jax and Archer thought of Alexis as their sister, she had never flaunted her connection to them in front of other soldiers, or at least she tried not to. She cleared her throat. “Jax…Commander, there is something I have to report to you.”

  His eyes narrowed on her and she fought not to squirm. “Spit it out, Lex.”

  She held up her wrist unit, fighting back the embarrassment that stained her cheeks pink as she re-played the conversation she’d had with Director Farris back for Jax. She watched with increasing trepidation as Jax’s jaw clenched and rage flared to life in his eyes.

  “I’m going to fucking kill him,” he said softly.

  Uh oh.

  “Umm, I don’t think that—”

  Jax leveled a glare at one of his minions that snapped to attention. “Barker! Get Director Reginald Farris in my office. Now!”

  “Yes, sir. What should I tell him this is regarding?”

  “You don’t tell him shit. Just get his ass in a chair and make sure he doesn’t move till I get there,” Jax ordered harshly.

  “Sir!”

  Jax turned back to stare at Alexis as the other man ran off like the hounds of hell were at his heels. “How many other women are in your department?”

  She sighed. “There are six total, well five now. Two are in bonded units who work exclusively with their men. Then there is Chloe, Morgan and I. And as you know, Skylar just got transferred out. The rest are all men.”

  Jax grunted. He had been the one to make Skylar’s transfer happen. Where Alexis was considered a Class-A Empath, her friend Skylar Aris was a Class-A Conduit. An empath could feel the emotions of others, and had to work to keep from being swamped with those feelings so they couldn’t be used in interrogation and other dangerous divisions.

  Not like a conduit could.

  Conduits were very rare individuals who could basically read other peoples energy, and if they were strong enough, could use that energy for their own purposes. After years of requests that had been refused by her commanding officers, Alexis had quietly brought Skylar’s latest request directly to Jax. Upon seeing her credentials and ratings, he had personally granted her transfer to the interrogation unit.

  “I’m not worried about Morgan. She would skin any man who came at her wrong, but you and Chloe are too nice for your own good.”

  Alexis jaw dropped at that. Her friends Chloe and Morgan were also infertile females, but all three of them were equally capable of taking care of themselves. Well, Morgan did have a pretty nasty temper if pushed too far.

  Jax frowned at her. “You know what I mean. I’ll have Director Farris replaced by tomorrow. I don’t know what the hell he was thinking assigning this to you, considering it’s against regulations for a single female liaison to be matched up with four male visitors.”

  “It’s not against regulations, it’s just highly unlikely that one of the directors would be stupid enough to arrange it. I think Farris was hoping I turned down the assignment and took him up on his other offer,” Alexis said wryly.

  “I’ll take care of that son of a bitch,” Jax swore then turned as another one of his aides that were forever following him called out his name. Officer Ryans panted for breath as he came to stop in front of them, his boots practically skidding on the concrete.

  “Commander, sir! The Dragon Warrior visitors have arrived early and are waiting for permission to enter the shield.”

  Jax heaved out a sigh. “Shit, they’re early. Ryans, open the shield and give them the coordinates over the Capital where they can enter our airspace. Have them land here in Dock C.”

  “Right away, Commander Spartan.”

  Officer Ryans relayed the information into his comms as he typed frantically on the tablet he held in his hand.

  “Well, it looks like I’ll be acting as liaison after all,” Alexis said nervously. She’d thought she would have a few days to sort out the assignment, but it didn’t seem like that was an option anymore. Even though she was a little worried, a part of her was excited to spend some time with visitors from Arcadia. She’d studied the Dragon Warriors, but had never actually met one in person.

  Suck it up, she told herself. Shaking off her nerves, she straightened to her full height. She was a top-level officer for god’s sake.

  She could…would handle this assignment.

  Jax crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes narrowed. “I still don’t like this, Lex. I never thought Farris would be stupid enough to assign one of our female officers for this visit. You don’t have to take this assignment if you’re uncomfortable with it. I can order a replacement. Taking care of four men would be difficult for anyone.”

  “I believe she will be more than capable.”

  The deep voice that sounded out right behind her had Alexis spinning around, one hand on the hilt of the blaster at her hip. No one could have snuck up on both her and Jax without making a sound, not with their training.

  But someone had.

  Oh, my stars…

  Her eyes widened at the sight of the four giant warriors that seemed to appear right out of one of her wildest, sex-starved fantasies. Standing at well over seven feet tall, far bigger than any of the elite soldiers she was used to being around, the four men towered over her with their powerfully built frames.

  They each wore black leather pants paired with matching soft leather vests that left their muscular arms bare, except for the dark gold and silver tribal-looking tatt
oos that started on their shoulders and covered their skin down to their wrists. The marking were similar to the tattoos wore by the elite soldiers that had formed a bonding unit with a claimed woman, except the Dragon Warriors’ were more far more elaborate in detail.

  Obviously two sets of brothers, the first pair of warriors had long black hair that flowed loose around their broad shoulders while the other two males had dark brown hair. Each of the males had two small braids fashioned at the sides of their temples, framing strong, perfectly sculpted faces. They had powerful, chiseled jaws, high cheekbones, and lush, sensual lips that she couldn’t help but wonder how they would feel pressed against hers.

  Alexis’ breath caught as four pairs of glowing eyes focused directly on her. The two warriors with black hair stared at her with eyes that glowed a bright silver, while the other two had iridescent golden eyes. It was like looking at the sun and moon, and those glowing eyes seemed to pierce straight into her soul.

  The alien warriors ignored the elite soldiers converged in a circle around them, and continued watching her with some sort of intense scrutiny she didn’t understand. It was a struggle, but Alexis tore her gaze away from them, finally able to take a deep breath now that she had broken the thrall they seemed to have over her.

  She frowned as she looked around at the soldiers training their weapons on the newcomers. It wasn’t often that alien visitors had the ability to transport themselves right onto the Earth’s surface, but when they did it made most soldiers nervous. Officer Ryans stared at the alien warriors in awe, as did many of the other soldiers. Hell, Alexis had to admit she was still staring at them herself.

  They were truly an impressive sight.

  She looked back up at the giant warriors and saw what could only be described as amusement on the face of the male with golden eyes standing on the far right, while the male with silver eyes on the far left surveyed the soldiers with narrowed eyes. No matter the relaxed stances the visitors had taken, Alexis could sense that they were prepared for anything. It was in their tightly coiled muscles and their watchful gazes.