3013: CLAIMED (3013: The Series)

by Roma, Laurie

  Serra had used the silk robe left for her and had been surprised when a woman had been waiting with Donna and Mya back in the bedroom. The woman did Serra’s make-up with minimal fuss, and then Mya and Donna had presented her with the gown that had been altered for her.

  “I ran your measurements through my data unit and made the alterations myself, so I think it should fit you perfectly,” Mya had informed her. “I went with this seafoam green because of your eye color and skin tone. I hope you like it.”

  “Like it? I absolutely love it. Thank you.”

  A smile shone from eyes the same steel-gray as Jax’s as Mya met Serra’s gaze in the mirror. “I was right. The dress is perfect on you.”

  Donna’s eyes had a sheen of tears in them as she smiled at Serra. “You are so lovely, Serra. I want to give you this, as your first gift as one of our family.”

  She opened a large velvet box and Serra let out a gasp as she saw the most beautiful diamond necklace she had ever seen. It was made of small diamonds in a scrolling design set around larger stones in the shape of stars, and a larger star-shaped diamond hung down from the center. Donna removed the necklace from the box and draped it around Serra’s neck. The necklace fit snuggly around her throat, and shimmered like pure starlight.

  Serra’s hand came up to stroke over the stones as she stared at it in awe. “I can’t take this. It’s too much!”

  “Ian’s mother gave this to me on the day that I bonded with him and Jack, and someday you will gift it to the woman your first-born son chooses.” Donna leaned in and pressed a kiss to Serra’s cheek. “I wish you the very best with your bonded…I know you will keep those two in line.”

  Serra thanked her again, and Donna wiped at a stray tear that she’d lost the battle to hold back. “Enough of that now. I’m going to head downstairs and make sure everything is ready.”

  Watching as Donna hurried out of the room, Serra couldn’t help but wonder how different the moment would be if her own mother had been in attendance. Tania would have found something unkind to say about the way Serra looked or she would have caused some other sort of drama since the event didn’t revolve around her. It was safer this way—and to be honest—Serra didn’t want her there.

  The door to the room clicked open again, and Serra smiled as she saw Skylar Aris slip into the room. Skylar was a beautiful woman, with long, wavy black hair and ice-blue eyes that could unnerve someone just as easily as entice. Serra had met Skylar when they had been in the Academy together. They had become friends since they were both considered outcasts. While Serra was labeled with genius status, Skylar had been tagged with a Class-A Conduit classification. Conduits were the rarest of all the enhanced elites. They were individuals who could basically read other peoples energy, and if they were strong enough, could use that energy for their own purposes by manipulating it.

  “Wow, you look absolutely gorgeous!” Skylar beamed at Serra as she hurried forward to give her friend a hug, then she hugged Mya. “Hi, Mya.”

  “Sky! I’m so happy to see you. I can’t believe you’re here!”

  “Archer contacted me a little while ago. Stars, Serra. I thought if anyone would be safe from being claimed, it would be you. Not that Archer or Jax gave you much say, I’m sure. They’ve had their eyes on you since we joined the Academy.”

  Serra laughed. “They did, but I had my eye on them right back.”

  “I talked to Alexis when I was in transpo on the way over here. She wanted to be here, but they are too far away right now. She said to tell you congrats and that she will see you soon.” Skylar pouted for a moment. “Now who is going to be my date for the Freedom Day Gala? Damn it all, who am I going to cause trouble with now that you’re shackled with those two hulking beasts?”

  Mya perked up at that. “I could attend with you. That way I won’t have ten guards trailing after my ass wherever I go. I’d be safe with you.”

  A slow smile spread over Skylar’s face. “Very true. I could just zap whatever idiot was stupid enough to touch you. That’s a deal, Mya.”

  Serra laughed again. “You both could go with real dates.”

  “Naw, whoever I went with would inevitably annoy me, then I’d have to ditch them or end up shocking them unconscious. But it will be a shame not being able to irritate Jax and Archer after the Gala this year, though.” Skylar sighed. “Those were good times.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, just that every year after we go to the Gala together, I usually get pulled into a meeting with them. They ask me what we did, who we were with, and whatnot.”

  Serra’s eyes went wide. “They did not!”

  “Oh, they certainly did. And I usually tell them the same thing…to mind their own damn business. Respectfully, since they are my commanders, but still. It never goes over well, but we both know they had spies watching you anyways.”

  “Not spies, guards,” Mya corrected.

  “Same shit,” Skylar said, then looked back at Serra. “Holy jump drives, that’s some necklace! I guess the guys are pulling out the stops to impress you.”

  Serra explained how Jax’s mother gifted it to her, then had to explain why her own mother wasn’t there, careful to leave out any classified data Mya shouldn’t know about. It still hurt explaining what Tania had done to her all those years ago, but the pain lessened knowing she was now bonded to the two men who meant the world to her.

  “Next time I see Tania, I’m going to zap her dry,” Skylar promised darkly.

  “She’ll be taken care of,” Serra replied. She exchanged a look with Skylar that told her friend she would explain more in detail later. Turning back to the mirror, she ran a hand down her dress. “I’m so nervous. I don’t know why I’m so nervous when I’m already claimed.”

  “It’s your big day. I’ve always wanted a sister. I’m so glad they finally claimed you. Speaking of, we should head downstairs now,” Mya said when a knock sounded on the door. “Everything should be ready.”

  The three women left the room and made their way down to the foyer of the main floor to find Jax and Archer waiting for them. Both men were wearing black pants and a button down black shirt with a silver scrolling design on the left side over their muscular chests.

  “Aren’t you two supposed to be waiting in the room?” Mya asked her brother as she shoved at his arm.

  Jax didn’t look at his little sister, unable to take his gaze away from the vision that was his chosen. He and Archer had spent the last few hours getting things ready for the ceremony, going along with the plans outlines by his mother, but one thing they would not bend on was coming to collect her personally.

  Archer stepped forward, cupping Serra’s face in his hands and laid his lips on hers, saying everything he was feeling in the simple gesture. “You are glorious,” he said softly when he pulled back. He allowed Jax to steal her from him to wink at Mya before turning to Skylar. “Sky, you may want to avoid Director Stryker and Ambassador V’Dir while you’re here. They’re a little pissed at you for putting two more of their officers in medical.”

  Skylar cursed. “It’s not my fault their officers are assholes. I have exempt status. I’m not going to feel sorry they got hurt trying to claim me against my will. Stupid men…”

  She stomped off, muttering to herself as Mya flashed him a grin. “She’s like, my hero.”

  “Stars, save us.”

  Mya hurried after Skylar, leaving Serra alone with him and Jax. Archer couldn’t help but reach out to stroke his hand down Serra’s bare arm after Jax stopped kissing her. She looked breathtaking in her dress, with diamonds glittering from around her neck.

  “The device you’ll use to place the bonding mark on both of us is waiting where the ceremony will be held. It’s already been programmed with the tattoo we created, using your initials, along with ours to make up the scroll design,” Jax explained. “The tattoo will cover the left side of our torso, neck, shoulder and chest, and it will mark us as yours.”

  “
I like that part.”

  Archer smiled at her. “I know that we’ve rushed you into all of this, but you’ve been ours since we were young. I think it’s time you get to show the world that we belong to you.”

  Serra felt a brief moment of sadness as they walked over to a set of closed double doors, leading to the back of the house. It should have been her fathers walking with her to her claiming ceremony, handing her over to her bonded, but that was not to be. As if knowing something was bothering her, both Jax and Sully squeezed her hands as they paused in front of the closed doors.

  “Ready?”

  She nodded, then sucked in a breath as they opened the doors.

  ***

  Chapter Eight

  Pure shock had Serra freezing in place.

  There before her, waiting on the back terrace were her two fathers, dressed in their formal black uniforms. Cade Lysander and Andrew Dobbs were handsome men, their dark hair marred with a scattering of gray that only made them look more distinguished. She was so caught off guard at the sight of them, she barely noticed the large white tent in the center of the back yard.

  “Serra?” Cade Lysander took a tentative step forward, his light-green eyes shining with emotion.

  “Dads.” Her voice sounded formal, even cold to her own ears, but she couldn’t seem to get over the shock enough to react any other way. She watched as both of her fathered flinched, and she clung to Jax and Sully’s hands like lifelines as confusion, guilt and pain swamped her. “I’m…shocked to see you here.”

  “We deserve that,” Andrew said, his own brown eyes filled with sorrow. “Oh, baby. We’re so very sorry. All this time…”

  “When Commander Spartan and Archer contacted us and demanded our presence today, we took the shuttle they sent and arrived, not knowing what to think.” Cade’s face hardened until it was like stone. “When they told us what your mother did…we never knew. I swear it, Serra. All these years, we’ve begged you to come home and visit, but after we got your last letter, we wanted to respect your wishes. Now, we know it was all a lie to keep you from us. A vicious, hateful lie.”

  “What letter?” Serra’s head was swimming as she tried to understand.

  “We received a letter from you two years ago, telling us not to contact you again. That you were happy and there was no place for us in your life anymore. Since you’ve rarely answered any of our other communications over the years, we thought it was what you wanted.”

  “I never sent anything like that…” Her throat grew thick with pain. “I did send you a letter two years ago, asking if I could come visit, asking to come home, but your response said you had no place for me and you were too busy. That it wasn’t my home anymore.”

  “We never said that!” Cade whispered harshly. “No matter what has happened over the years, nothing has been more important to us than you.”

  “You thought I was a freak.”

  “Never! You were our little girl! Our genius! We were, are, so damn proud of you, but we knew you needed so much more than we could give you. Your mother,” Andrew spat out. “That bloody bitch lied and kept you from us. We saved every message, every letter telling us that you were too busy to speak to us or visit. I swear it on my life, Serra. If we knew you wanted us, nothing could have stopped us from coming for you.”

  A single tear escaped to trail down her pale cheek as she turned to look up at Archer with shattered eyes. “How could she do this to me? To us?”

  “I don’t know, baby,” Archer said softly as he reached out to wipe the tear away. “But they are telling the truth. They both allowed Arik to mind scan them after we told them what your mother had done. In fact, they insisted on it.”

  “We’ll make her pay,” Jax vowed.

  “Leave Tania to us,” Andrew said with deadly conviction. “We have so damn much to pay her back for.”

  Jax shook his head. “It’s not that simple. She broke several Alliance laws by taking Serra to Tartarus, not to mention we need to find out her contact for the drug she used.”

  “We want in on the investigation.”

  “Done, but we have to keep your involvement quiet for the time being.”

  Andrew cleared his throat as he looked back at Serra. “I know we have a lot to talk about and work through, but we would be honored to escort you in to your claiming ceremony right now. It’s a day we’ve dreamed about for a very long time.”

  “Our baby,” Cade said softly as he took another hesitant step forward. “You are so beautiful. I’ve missed so much watching you grow…”

  Serra released Jax and Sully hands to race toward her fathers. Cade met her, sweeping her off her feet as he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her neck. Andrew hugged her from behind, so she was surrounded by their love. “Don’t cry, baby. You’re breaking my heart,” Cade whispered, his voice hoarse with his own tears.

  “Enough of this for now,” Andrew said gruffly as he pulled back and wiped at his own eyes with his sleeves. Turning to Jax and Archer, he nodded to them. “Go inside. We’ll bring our girl to you.”

  Archer nodded, but Jax waited until Serra turned her drenched eyes to him. “Is that alright with you, sweetheart?”

  “Yes. My fathers will walk me in.” She gave a light laugh. “Just give me a few minutes to fix my make-up.”

  Jax walked forward until he was standing right in front of her. Tilting her chin up with his fist, he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “You are, and always will be, the most beautiful woman in the universe.”

  He stepped back then shot Cade and Andrew a severe look as Archer kissed her as well. “Guard her well. Even if it is for only a few minutes.” With that, Jax turned and walked down the few steps heading toward the white tent with Archer.

  “Your bonded are very intense men,” Andrew said.

  “They are,” she agreed with a little chuckle.

  Cade and Andrew shared a look over her head, then smiled down at her. “We will never really let you go, Serra. Never. We’ve loved you all your life, and we will continue to love you until the day we die. You’ll always be our little girl.”

  A mischievous gleam sparkled in Andrews eyes. “And we aren’t losing a daughter. They are gaining two more fathers to deal with.”

  She was still laughing when the escorted her down to the front of the white tent. The sky was a brilliant cascade of colors as the sun began sinking into the horizon, turning the water into sparkling red and gold glass. She took a moment to remember spending time down on the beach when she visited during her breaks from the Academy.

  The memory made her smile.

  “Are you ready, Serra?” Cade asked.

  “I am.” Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm the riot of emotions swirling around inside of her belly before they lifted the opening and walked inside.

  The interior of the tent was dark, but the glow of a thousand candles filled the space with a soft, amber light, giving it an almost magical feel. There were dozens of people inside, all sitting in chairs fashioned into a large circle around a raised platform in the center. She knew they had tried to keep the celebration small—so Serra’s mother wouldn’t hear about the claiming—but that didn’t seem to stop Jax’s mother from putting together a top-tier list of guests.

  Among the crowd, she could see several formal red uniforms worn by the members of the Council of Regents, along with the white uniforms of two high commanders. Serra also saw her friends Troy and Skylar, as well as Officers Meyers and Rhine, her two guards that had been cleared of suspicion.

  Serra held onto her fathers’ arms as they guided her forward to the center of the room, where Jax and Sully were waiting for her. Her gaze locked with theirs, and she felt her nerves disappear as her love for them washed through her. She went to them, with the scent of spring kissing her skin and warmth in her heart. When she was standing in front of them, she placed her hands in theirs, smiling up into their serious faces. She barely heard Regent Ian Spartan and Jack Rollins as t
hey spoke to the crowd, welcoming everyone and thanking them for coming to celebrate with them. Donna stepped forward and handed the marking device to Serra.

  “Welcome to our family,” Donna whispered as she squeezed Serra’s hand, then the older woman took Ian and Jack’s hands and they left the platform.

  Serra looked down at the device in her hand then back up at her men as they stripped off their shirts, displaying their bare muscular chests. The moment felt so solemn, so enormous with what it meant for them. Don’t screw this up, she told herself.

  “Serra Spartan-Archer, we have claimed you as our chosen,” Jax said in a loud, clear voice. “We pledge ourselves to you, and ask to wear your mark to show the world we are a bonded unit. Serra, I loved you as a boy, and now I love you as a man. As you wear my mark, I will wear yours. There will never be another for me. I promise to honor, love and care for you, until I take my very last breath.”

  Tears stung her eyes at his words. Jax was such a tough, commanding man, but had spoken from his heart, not hesitating to tell the entire room what she meant to him. He was her warrior, and he was her shield. Jax would always stand in front of her if she were in danger, but he would stand by her side and be her partner, too. There was passion and fire between them, but there was also love. She took a step toward him, and he held his arms slightly away from his body to allow her to run the device along his neck and torso. He’s mine, she thought after the mercurial black design covered the left side of his body.

  Serra gasped as Jax gripped her by the back of the neck and hauled her close enough for his mouth to capture hers. His kiss was deep, hot and possessive, instantly setting her body on fire as lust slammed into her.