He’d lost everything, as I had. Neither of us had anything to go home to. We didn’t need to live a Sector life. The decision to stay at Viken United, to serve the new royal family, had been easy.
Rolf, on the other hand? I had no idea why Rolf did not return to Sector Three after we’d served our time in the Hive war. When Erik asked, Rolf shrugged and said he was afraid Erik and I would kill each other without him around to intervene. And so he’d remained with us as part of the royal guard.
“Erik, where the fuck is she? Can’t you pull up her coordinates? Contact Earth. Surely they tracked her transport,” I demanded.
“Hold onto your balls, boys. They covered their tracks,” Erik insisted. I blinked slowly and held myself in check. Erik’s words were in jest, but Sophia was his mate, and I recognized the look in his eyes now.
Murderous. Which was a perfect reflection for the rage coursing through my veins.
“They?” I asked.
“Who is they?” the King asked. “Have you confirmed it’s the VSS?”
I cursed and resumed pacing as Leah and the baby moved to stand beside Lev once more. Clearly shaken, she reached to him for comfort, for strength. The sight made me burn with rage.
Somewhere out there, my mate was scared. Alone. Afraid.
And I couldn’t reach her.
“Fuck this, Erik. Find her. Now.”
Rolf grunted in agreement as Lev watched Erik’s hands fly over the complex controls. Danger lurked in every shadow of late. For two thousand years before Lev’s family had united the planet, the three sectors had been governed by whomever was the most powerful, the most ruthless. The Viken Sector Separatists preferred the old ways, the old system. They’d started the civil war three decades ago that killed our King and left the triplet princes orphans. Now that the brothers were united as one, and their young daughter, Allayna, was the recognized heir and ruler of the entire planet, the VSS had redoubled their efforts to eliminate the entire royal family once more.
Without the three kings, without Princess Allayna, there would be no clear line of ascension to the throne. It would be chaos. War.
Which was exactly what these bastards wanted.
The young princess’s approaching first birthday celebration served as a blatant reminder of all those powerful families had lost. The enthusiastic outpouring of love from the entire planet’s population for the adorable little princess had increased the separatists’ recruitment efforts, for the princess was the true unifier of Viken. Every day new protests arose in one of the sectors, clashes between Viken United warriors and those still loyal to the individual sector leaders. Most of their loyalty bought with coin, or paid for in blood.
The three kings of Viken, each raised in one of the sectors after being orphaned as young boys, had begun the process of uniting the planet. The birth of their daughter had solidified their hold on the throne even more. But those unwilling to give up power hid like monsters in the dark, waiting to strike.
As royal guards on Viken United, Rolf, Erik and I served the royal family with utmost loyalty. So far, the royal guard had managed to avert every attack on the royal family.
Until today.
Today, they’d tried to take the Queen, but stolen my mate instead.
“I’ve got her coordinates. Sophia did, indeed, arrive on Viken.” Erik lifted his gaze to mine and I barely suppressed a growl. I did not know our Sophia, had yet to hold her, touch her, fuck her. But she was mine. And no one fucked with what belonged to me. I focused on my anger. If I thought about our little mate alone and scared, or worse, suffering, I’d lose my fucking mind.
“Where is she?” My voice was as cold as the pale metal of the sword on Rolf’s back.
Erik raised his head, his blue eyes so dark they looked black. “The wilds.”
“The wilds?” I ran my hand over the back of my neck.
Queen Leah gasped. “But, there’s no transport pad in the wilds. The VSS destroyed it months ago.”
Rolf looked around the frantic technician at Erik. “Well, he’s right.” He pointed at the glowing display. “These coordinates are in the wilds.”
“Are you fucking telling me that the separatists kidnapped our mate, mid-transport?” This was a new security threat more serious than any previously faced.
Lev growled at the technician. “Get your fucking commander down here and figure out how they did it.”
“Yes, sir.” The technician opened communication to someone we could not see, but I ignored him.
“Get me there, Erik. Now.”
The King held up a hand to stall me. “You don’t know what you’re transporting into. Let’s summon more warriors to accompany you.” He looked me up and down, quickly doing the same to both Rolf and Erik. His brow arched as he noticed the light armor we wore. We were expecting to greet a beautiful new mate, not go into battle. “You need armor and weapons. And more warriors.”
“I’m not waiting. Our mate is out there, alone and scared. Don’t ask me to wait.”
The King scowled, but it was Queen Leah who won him to our side. “Lev. Let Gunnar handle it. Please. What would you do if it were me and Allayna out there in the wilds?” Queen Leah placed her hand over his heart and leaned into him.
I saw the moment he changed his mind. “All right. But they were after the Queen. I know you want to gut them, but we need them alive for questioning.” He looked down at his mate and lifted his hand to lightly run his fingers over the soft, downy curls of his infant daughter. “It’s time to force these bastards out of hiding.”
“Understood.” I wanted to kill the men who’d dared threaten what was mine, but I agreed. I’d take them alive, if I could, and let the interrogators have them.
Leah tugged at the King’s hand and carried the princess onto the transport pad with her mate following behind. “We have to attend the peace negotiations, Lev. We must go. If you don’t show up, the Sectors will start talking. They’ll use it against us.”
Lev gently kissed the top of her head, but his body vibrated with anger and frustration at unanswered questions. His female had been in danger—still could be—and he could not resolve it himself.
“You’re right.” Our King lifted his gaze to mine, one warrior from Sector Two demanding full vengeance from another. “Take care of this. Find your mate. Claim her. Make her safe.”
“We will.”
“And bring these spineless cowards to me,” he said.
The princess tugged on her father’s shirt with her chubby fingers and the gentleness of his touch belied the violence of his words.
“Yes, sir.” I’d hunt down every single Viken who was involved in the kidnapping, not only because our King demanded it, and not because they’d threatened the Queen’s life, but because they’d taken what was mine. My mate.
Lev ordered the technician to transport them back to Sector Three. The King, Queen and Allayna disappeared moments later, the silence in the transporter room deafening.
“Confirm their arrival at the Sector transport center,” Rolf commanded.
The technician swiped the display a few times, then we heard Lev’s voice. “We arrived safely. Find your mate.”
He ended the connection without signing off. What more was there for him to say? We could not delay. While the Queen and princess were safe, the same could not be said for our mate. She was in the fucking wilds. Alone. No protection.
Erik and Rolf both turned to me. I was the highest-ranking officer among us, and more, I needed to be in control like I needed to breathe. The need to command was like an infection in my blood. “If our mate is in the wilds, then the transport pad has not been destroyed. The separatists put out false information,” I said.
The technician looked confused.
“As soon as we’re gone, find out who signed the fucking report.”
“Yes, sir.” I saw realization dawn in the young man’s eyes and behind it, rage. Good. He was young, but loyal. He would take the threat to his Queen a
nd the princess very seriously.
Erik nodded. “The transport station at those coordinates is still operational and receiving.”
“Are you both fully armed?” I asked, inspecting my friends and fellow warriors.
Erik scoffed at me, as if the question were idiotic. It was. We never went anywhere these days without our weapons.
I nodded at them and we stepped up onto the transport pad. “Let’s go get our mate.”
***
Sophia
I had no idea how long I walked through the woods. At first, I’d run. Then I’d stumbled over the rough undergrowth and tripped over the stupid dress. I hadn’t heard anyone following me and so I slowed. Besides, the stitch in my side wasn’t going away and it only reminded me that I rarely hit the gym. Animals were around. I could hear them, see a few small ones scurry off.
With the thick forest cover, there was no direct sunlight. Or suns? How many did Viken have? It wasn’t cold, in fact, I was sweating in my heavy dress. I came to a stream and knelt beside it, cupped the cool water in my hands and drank. I’d probably get some kind of funky parasite, but I wasn’t going to die of thirst. And thank God, the water tasted like…well…water. The knees of my dress became damp and stuck to me, clinging to my legs and weighing me down when I stood.
I undid the buttons and shrugged off the heavy, cumbersome garment. Beneath, I wore a simple white slip that fell to just above my knees. It wasn’t any more revealing than a short sundress on Earth. Tugging at the scooped neckline, I peeked beneath and saw that I wore something halfway between a corset and a bra. My girls were well contained and didn’t bounce around, so I was thankful. Leaving the dress behind, I continued walking, following the edge of the stream. The shoes I wore were simple and flat. I didn’t know what would happen to them if they got wet, so I stuck to the dry bank and didn’t feel the need to cross.
The sun did not seem to set in Viken, nor move across the sky. It felt like hours since I’d killed that man, miles I’d walked from the transport building and I had seen no one, heard no one other than the little tree creatures. I felt like fucking Snow White walking through the forest, waiting for the woodsman to come cut out my heart.
Did anyone even know I was here? That I’d gone missing? Or been rerouted. Or whatever the hell had happened.
My legs ached, the muscles shaking and I was hungry. The last thing I’d eaten on Earth had been hours before my testing at the bride center. Who knew how long ago that was? My stomach thought it had been days and days, the ache sharp as a knife. I’d been told that Earth was light years away from this planet, so I was allowed to grumble about wanting a hamburger and french fries. I’d earned a damn double-fudge milkshake with whipped cream and little chocolate chips, even if it would stick to my ass.
Nauseous and dizzy, I couldn’t keep going. I needed to rest. Moving away from the stream, I turned back into the woods until I found a large tree and began to climb, wedging myself into a seat of sorts made where three large branches intersected. Pulling my knees up beside me, I leaned my head against the smooth bark and slowed my breathing. Glad that it wasn’t cold, I rested for several minutes as the noise of the forest resumed around me. Birds sang songs I did not recognize. A strange, fuzzy black creature hopped from branch to branch like a squirrel back home. Odd insects flew in the air around me, but most left me alone. One or two landed on me, but I quickly waved them away, wishing I’d kept the blue dress for a blanket or bug net.
At least I hadn’t tripped over it for the past few miles.
“Sophia!”
The loud cry caused me to stiffen, but I did not respond as three large Viken males entered the woods directly below me. The man who’d cried out was tall and blond, his eyes too far away to see clearly, I suspected they were green. He was big and muscular, his large frame covered in a dark green uniform with a red band around his arm. His face was handsome enough to cause my heart to race with more than fear.
“Sophia!” A second man walked a few paces behind the blond and called out to me as well. He turned his head from side to side, looking for me. He was thicker of chest and a few inches shorter than his companion. But he looked like my favorite actor, his long brown hair tied at the base of his skull to flow midway down his back. He wore a brown uniform with the same red band around his arm and carried a strange-looking weapon he used to push aside foliage in his search for me.
Allowing them to pass, I sat in silence for long minutes and considered coming down from the tree as they wandered farther and farther away from my position. I’d begun to think I should climb down and take my chances that they weren’t here to kill me. That was, until I saw the third man.
He did not speak as he followed at least a quarter mile behind them. He moved through the woods on silent feet, his dark gaze searching everything.
Of the three, he was the only one to look up.
Shrinking back behind the huge tree’s main trunk, I hid completely and peeked down at him through a full spray of emerald green leaves. He wore black from head to toe with the same red armband. He had dark black hair, cut short and dark eyes. His face reminded me of the hottest Greek or Italian model ever to grace the pages of a magazine, but his skin was darker, the color of my favorite mocha latte. He was beautiful, but hard. It was his eyes that held me frozen in place. They were cold, unemotional and calculating as he followed the others through the woods.
So, the first two were meant to flush me out for the hunter following behind.
I might be a city girl, but I wasn’t stupid. I’d seen this scenario played out on the streets back home. Send a couple guys around to knock on doors and stir up trouble. And, just when everyone thought it was safe, the real enforcer showed up and knocked someone’s teeth in.
Nope. Not falling for this bullshit.
Chapter Four
Sophia
The last man walked directly beneath me and I held my breath, not daring to make so much as a whisper of sound as he stopped moving. Heart pounding so loudly I feared he would hear it, I clutched at the tree and prayed he would just keep going. If he looked up, straight up, I’d be his.
The weapon in his hand, a larger version of the space gun I’d held earlier—the gun I’d used to kill—rested across his arm like a familiar friend. The dark black sleeves of his uniform inched up and I bit my lip to keep the scream trapped in my throat as I spotted the tattoo on the inside of his wrist.
The three-headed serpent.
Fuck.
That answered that. The transporter guy must have sent these three to finish me off.
I closed my eyes, the air I’d held trapped in my lungs burning like acid.
With a slow, controlled technique I’d learned in yoga class, I released a small trickle of air before filling my lungs in the same manner.
I counted to a hundred. Two hundred. Three. When I opened my eyes he was still there.
I wanted to scream at him to move on, to get the hell out of here.
The other two returned to join him, their calls increasing in volume as they came nearer.
“Gunnar? What are you doing? We have to keep moving.” The blond one spoke.
Gunnar. So, my tattooed hunter had a name.
Gunnar shook his head slowly and raised his hand to silence his companions. “She’s here. I can feel it.”
The man with long brown hair slung his gun across his back on a long strap and frowned. “Not this again.”
The blond laughed. “Shut up, Erik. We’ve already established that Gunnar’s instincts are solid. Saved your ass more than once.”
Erik shook his head, clearly impatient. “Come on, Gunnar. If she were here, she would have come out by now.”
No.
“No.” Gunnar said the word as I thought it. “She will be frightened and confused. You saw the dead man.”
“Fuck. You really think she killed him?” Erik asked.
Gunnar didn’t respond, his gaze wandering the woods. The trees. Getting too damn cl
ose. The guy was fucking intense, and scary as hell. And so gorgeous he should come with a warning label. The intense attraction I felt for him made me burn with rage. Was this how the Vikens played? Send an assassin to seduce you with intense good looks before he ripped your throat out?
I rolled my eyes at my own theatrics. But, seriously, these guys could give the Corellis a run for their money.
And really, who had lackeys this damn gorgeous? All three of them were walking, talking sex gods, their tight uniforms stretched over thick, muscled chests. How was I supposed to fight them once they found me? How was I going to survive? I didn’t know anyone on this planet. I had no food, no money, no weapons, no cell phone, and no one to call if I did.
And these men were huge, toting guns, and determined to find me. I was so screwed.
A great big case of feel-sorry-for-myself rolled through me and tears gathered in my eyes. I tilted my head to make sure they simply ran down my cheeks, rather than fall on one of the hunters’ heads. If I wanted to deal with this kind of stress, I could have stayed on Earth and tried to feel pretty in the bright orange prison jumpsuit.
But at least I’d be alive. I could sit in a cozy jail cell, read about a thousand books, and try not to get my ass kicked a couple times a week. For twenty-five years.
How sad that jail now seemed like it may have been the wiser choice. Because, as of right now, the odds of survival weren’t looking like they were in my favor.
Gunnar tilted his head to the side, as if he could hear me thinking. The man was freaking me out.
Erik looked at the blond. “Well, Rolf? What now? You know he’s not going to fucking move.”
Rolf studied both men in silence before offering his opinion. “If Gunnar’s right, then she’s hiding from us.”
Gunnar snorted. “Got a gift for deductive reasoning, there, genius?”
Rolf slung his own weapon across his back. And for some reason, the fact that only one man was still ready to shoot me on sight, instead of three, made my shoulders sag in relief. Gunnar was scary, but I’d met more than a few men like him. Cold. Hard. Ruthless. He wouldn’t be trigger happy, and he wouldn’t lose his cool. The other two seemed more like loose cannons.
Mated To The Vikens (Interstellar Brides Book 8) Page 4