Viken Command: Interstellar Brides® Program: Book 18

by Goodwin, Grace

  “Don’t be alarmed. It is the NPU that will allow you to process other languages.”

  I winced as the oversized needle pierced my skin, then all I felt was a slight tingling at the injection site. A sense of lethargy and contentment made my body go limp as I was lowered into a bath of warm blue liquid. I was so warm, so numb…

  “Just try to relax, Miss Mason.” Her finger swiped her tablet, and her voice drifted to me as if from far, far away. “Your processing will begin in three… two… one…”

  2

  Captain Alarr, Trixon Pleasure Resort, Planet Viken

  I watched the other two pace and crack their knuckles in anger just outside of Doctor Helion’s view. His face filled my comm screen, and his scowl was ever-present, even from thousands of light-years away. I’d contacted him the moment I’d received word of my match, and we’d been speaking in circles for the past few minutes. Doctor Helion was our commander on this mission and our only I.C. contact. He also had absolutely no sympathy and no respect for the sacred right of a male to protect his mate and family.

  None.

  Fuck.

  “Listen, Helion—” I began, trying to get it through his hard head that I wasn’t going to risk my mate, and she hadn’t even arrived yet. But she would. Soon. My perfect, matched mate would arrive at this remote location by transport today. I didn’t even know her name, yet I was ruthlessly protective. So were Oran and Teig, which was exactly why I’d chosen them to help me care for her.

  “Commander or Doctor, Captain Alarr,” Helion said, cutting me off.

  He was all business, and that usually worked well when we were on a mission, especially like the one the three of us were on now, on our home world of Viken. We’d arrived months ago and were embedded so deeply undercover that it took the arrival of my Interstellar Bride to help us remember that we were supposed to be the good guys.

  “Viken may be in another solar system, but you are still under my command,” Doctor Helion continued. “As are your companions, Oran and Teig.”

  He assumed they were listening. Of course, he did. And he wasn’t wrong. He rarely was.

  “You all belong to me. Sworn in and signed. A bride’s arrival is… untimely, but you have a mission to complete. I don’t care if the goddess herself shows up on Viken, you will do your jobs and report back to me when it’s done.”

  Gritting my teeth, I remained seated, staring down the Prillon warrior on the other side of the comm screen. I only had a few minutes to state my case, to make him understand. Word had arrived that I’d been matched through the testing program less than an hour ago. I’d had to track down Oran and Teig and get to our quarters to make this secret comms call.

  Maintaining the comm connection for much longer would risk revealing ourselves to the enemy, risk them potentially tracking this communication back to Intelligence Core Command, and learning we weren’t just part of the resort’s security force. And then we’d all be dead. Me. Oran. Teig.

  And my mate.

  Our mate. It would be impossible for me to carry out my role in our mission and protect the female alone, so I’d asked them to join me in the new Viken custom of a male from each Viken sector sharing a female, as done by the three kings.

  I was from Sector One. Oran, Sector Two. Teig, Sector Three.

  Neither Oran nor Teig had protested. In fact, they’d agreed instantly, as eager to get a hot, willing female to claim for their own as I. If either one of them had received word they’d been matched through the Bride Testing program instead of me, the roles would have been the same. We were all now mated, just awaiting our female’s arrival.

  “She’s an innocent, Doctor.” Commander simply refused to roll off my tongue in my current state of mind. “A volunteer from the Interstellar Brides Program on Earth. She’s mine. Truly mine. A Prillon like yourself should understand, I cannot allow her to be here, in danger, while we complete this mission.”

  “You must,” he countered, not caring about my arguments. At this moment, he might be Prillon, but he was speaking as a commander. “We have been tracking the illegal shipments of Coalition weapons for months, and we know their transfer is happening on Viken at the Trixon resort. If you blow your cover now, all that work will be lost, and thousands more will die. Do you know how hard it was to find three I.C. operatives from Viken, and from each of the three sectors to ensure you could infiltrate all social groups among the employees and staff? It was damn near impossible. I am not going to start over, and you three are not going to fuck this up over a female.” He sliced his hand through the air. “There are no others. Just you and Oran and Teig. We cannot send an Atlan to replace you and pass him off as a Viken from Sector One. Do not become idiots because your cocks are hard and eager for your bride.”

  He had a point. I glanced at Teig and Oran. We were perfect for this job because we were Viken. We were from the three sectors we were representing in our undercover work. We were qualified to be on the security detail for the high-end pleasure resort known worldwide as the most exclusive, expensive, and pleasurable destination. Viken mates from all over the planet came to Trixon for vacation. A hedonistic trip where every sexual need and fantasy were met, regardless of sector residence. There were instructors to assist in the sensual arts, whether it was Sector One’s need for public sex, or the deep trust and bond found in anal play, Sector Two’s desire for submission and bondage, and Sector Three’s talent for oral pleasure. Anything mates desired, whether it was a single male and female or the newer custom of three males, one from each sector, with one female, no need was unmet.

  And as part of the elite security detail, we ensured the guests’ visits were carefree and memorable. And safe. Above all, safe.

  Now we faced the possibility that we would endanger our own mate. I closed my eyes, unwilling to accept the truth just yet. Helion was right. Fuck him, but he was right. Telling our mate the truth would put her in more danger. Refusing her would put us all at risk. No simple security guard would refuse an Interstellar Bride. Fuck, the three kings had accepted their bride, and their daughter had united the planet for the first time in decades. Helion’s voice had me opening my eyes in resignation.

  “Weapons will continue to make their way into the wrong hands, Captain, and your mate, while important, is not as valuable as the lives of thousands of other innocents. You will complete your mission there at Trixon, or I will see you rot in the brig for the next twenty years for treason. Do you understand me?”

  “Fucking bastard,” Teig whispered the words loudly enough that Oran and I would hear, but Doctor Helion would not. I raised my hand in silent warning. Doctor Helion was already annoyed with me, I did not need to get myself arrested for treason. I would be unable to do anything to protect my new family from a prison cell. A new family I very much desired, despite the fact that I had yet to meet my mate. My cock stirred at the thought of her arrival. Soon.

  She was from Earth. She was mine. She would transport to me within the hour. That was all I needed to know. I knew nothing about her, but I was already feeling possessive and overly protective. Gods help her when I actually had her in my arms. I’d never let her go. Never let her out of our sight. One of us would be with her always. Keeping her safe.

  I looked up at each of my chosen fighters and held Teig’s gaze. His nod was fierce, no hint of his usual playful nature. This was life or death for our female, and we all had to understand and accept the risks.

  With Teig’s agreement, I turned to face Oran. His fair gaze narrowed, his need to control burning from his eyes and turning his light skin a darker shade in contrast to his golden hair. But he, too, knew the risks, and what it would mean if we walked away from either our mate—or our commander. He clenched his fists but nodded. We were in agreement.

  Our mate would arrive. We would keep her safe—and innocent of our mission—until it was over. We would protect her, finish our job, and get the fuck off this planet and back to work.

  “I understand, Doct
or.”

  I cleared my throat and knew the fair skin that accompanied the fire-red hair on my head had heated with anger as we spoke. The doctor was not a stupid male. He would take one look at me and know I meant what I said. I was not a new recruit, fresh from the Coalition Academy. Neither were Oran or Teig. We were I.C. operatives recently assigned to the Battlegroup Zeus. From there, we were sent out on missions as ordered. None of those assignments had taken us to Viken, until now.

  I was an I.C. captain with over a decade of fighting experience in this war. This side trip to our home planet to track down some weapons smugglers was temporary. And while we would find the source of the weapons, I would also be mated for life. It was time to remind him of that.

  “While we are here at Trixon, you will ensure that my female and all three of her Viken mates have proper accommodations awaiting our return to Battleship Zeus. As soon as the mission is complete, we will transport back to our battlegroup. And, from now on, only two of us will be assigned to a mission at any one time. We will not leave our mate unprotected.”

  While I kept my gaze on Helion on screen, I saw Teig and Oran nod their heads in agreement.

  Helion waved his hand at me as if I were an idiot or a child. “Of course. As you said, I am Prillon. I understand the need to protect your mate, Captain. Perhaps my faith in you is misplaced if three I.C. assets are so poorly trained they cannot manage to protect one innocent female at a vacation resort.”

  Was he baiting me? “We will protect her at all costs.”

  “Of course, you will, which is why this discussion is over.” The doctor continued, and I held my tongue. “But there are three of you on Viken, and your covers place you as part of the elite security detail. However, your access to the more… sensual areas is limited. Perhaps you can keep your mate safe… and use her to accomplish the mission. A win-win.”

  I had an idea where this was going, and I didn’t like it.

  “You, Captain Alarr, are in the perfect place to welcome a new bride. The training huts of Viken are well known for their sensual arts, especially the vacation resort of Trixon.” He leaned closer and grinned at me the way only a Prillon could, his sharp features not quite able to make his mouth curve in a true smile. He looked like a snarling monster, but I was not about to tell him that.

  “Use her, gentlemen. I know all three of you are listening to me. This is your mission, and the arrival of a new mate is the perfect distraction, the break we need. Being elite security is one thing but being mates with a new bride will allow you access to every hut. Every meeting. Every club. I have no doubt the resort will allow you to partake of the offerings during your personal time. And if Commander Clive is behind this, as I suspect, he will not think twice of you gaining access to these new… areas.”

  Rarely had I wanted to punch a superior officer. This was one of those times. Commander Clive ran security at Trixon. We had absolutely zero proof that he was part of the smuggling operation, but Helion insisted. Said he’d met the man and didn’t like him.

  Instinct.

  Whatever. I preferred proof before I condemned a fellow fighter. Logic.

  And every logical bone in my body was screaming at me to take my mate and run. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.

  Helion was still talking. “Pleasure her as you go but use her presence to our advantage and find the ship, find the supplier and plant that tracking beacon on the delivery vessel before it leaves Viken air space.” He leaned back and smiled. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he had manipulated the Interstellar Brides testing match just so he could use this scenario to his advantage.

  He made it sound so simple. Find the smugglers here, track them to a delivery of weapons and then place a tracking beacon on the delivery vessel so that when it returned to Coalition space, the I.C. could track it down and their suppliers within the Coalition Fleet.

  Simple. Easy. Right? We’d already spent months following the illegal weapons supply to Viken, to this very resort, but we still had no idea who was behind the shipments.

  But we did have a good idea of when the next delivery shuttle would arrive. All we had to do was pleasure our mate, keep her oblivious to our mission, track down the smugglers, sneak into the delivery area, place a tracking beacon on a Coalition shuttle without being detected, and then take our mate to Battleship Zeus to live happily ever after.

  “What a fucking mess.”

  Doctor Helion pretended not to hear my complaint. “Since you have already discovered where they are storing the weapons prior to delivery, you cannot afford to lose track of them now. They must be monitored at all times. After you discover who is running the smuggling operation, and you have placed the trackers inside those crates, and verified that the crates have been loaded onto the delivery vessel, only then may you go back to Battleship Zeus and return to your previous mission, hunting for the Hive stealth ships. I’m sure you will have no trouble ensuring that one of you is able to remain with your mate at all times. But until then, I need you on your home world. On Viken. At Trixon. Doing what you need to do to protect the other Coalition worlds. Keep track of those weapons. We’re too close to give up now. Mate, or no mate.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  “I don’t care. Do your job. Are we clear?” he snapped.

  I refused to bow to him again. He was my commander, but he was also being an asshole, and he knew it. Forcing us to use our mate, to pleasure her under the guise of infiltrating a weapons smuggling operation? The idea of using her like that made me want to punch something. Not someone. Him.

  Her pleasure should be pure, untainted by lies or Doctor Helion’s commands. But that was not to be. Not while we were on Viken. “We will transport with our female to Battleship Zeus when this is over, Doctor. Alarr out.” That was all the response he was going to get from me.

  Disconnecting the comm, I turned to judge the reactions of the two males who would share my mate and help me protect and pleasure her.

  Help me lie to her.

  Teig was dark of hair, the waves a ragged mess that fell just past his chin. He looked like a barbarian, broad-shouldered and heavily muscled, which was fitting as he was from Sector Three, the steel gray band on his arm indicating his allegiance to that sector, as well as advertising to any available females that he loved to feast on the wet heat between their thighs nearly as much as Oran loved to dominate and control his lover.

  Oran was from Sector Two and dressed from head to toe in their standard black. The color was a stark contrast to his pale blond hair, cut regulation short. But it was the steel will that had saved all of our lives more than once in the past that I would count on now. He would protect our mate fiercely.

  I could rely on both males and had many times in the past. This was not our first mission together, but the first time the I.C. had sent us all home to Viken. The homecoming was bittersweet, our time working at Trixon reinforcing to all of us that we had no mate. No female to protect or pleasure. Seeing the other males with their sated mates had made me long for things I had not dared dream of for years.

  Home. Family. Children. A reason to keep fighting. I needed that solace now more than ever. Ten years tracking the Hive had left scars so deep I knew they would never completely heal. And those emotional wounds had begun to ache of late, to wear me down. Never would I admit it to Teig or Oran, but I was breaking into pieces, and I needed our new mate to glue me back together somehow.

  She was a gift. One I wished to treasure, adore, pleasure. Protect. But Helion wanted us to use her. Lie to her. Give her pleasure as a ruse to assist us in our hunt.

  The idea made me burn with fury, and yet I knew I would obey his order. I knew that once I had my mate before me, I would not be able to resist making her come all over my cock. I imagined the cries of pleasure she would make as we brought her body to orgasm over and over again. Relentless, our Seed Power making her beg for more. Always more.

  I shifted my cock inside my dark uniform and gla
red at the now blank screen. “I can’t believe this.”

  “I am really beginning to hate that Prillon.” Oran paced in front of the door, back rigid, eyes darting in a continuous check of the perimeter and exits of our quarters.

  “He’s just doing his job,” Teig commented. “We do ours, and at the same time, we can give our mate so many orgasms she has no idea we’re here for any reason other than to take care of her. By the time we take her back to Battleship Zeus, she’ll never doubt our devotion. And we’ll keep her out of danger. Tell her this special bonding time was part of our plan. For her. A special, traditional Viken mating that we initiated just to ensure her happiness.” Teig was sprawled in a chair, one leg straight out in front of him and one hanging over the arm, foot swinging as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

  He was the trickster among us. Sweet-tongued with the ladies, but he’d slit an enemy’s throat before one realized his smile didn’t quite reach his dark eyes. He, too, would protect our mate well. And pleasure her with oral skills I did not possess. I was not bothered by the idea, for I would satisfy her in other ways.

  I ran my palms down the dark brown of my Sector One uniform and frowned. “I don’t like this. She’s our mate, not a pawn to be used in Helion’s game.”

  “We’re all pawns, Alarr. And we need to get those weapons out of circulation before there is another massacre.” Teig wasn’t wrong. Just a few months ago, dozens of innocents were slaughtered at an illegal trading station operating just outside of Coalition controlled space. But the weapons the aggressors had used? Ours. Coalition issue. And we’d spent the last few months tracking them to Viken. Once the I.C. had tracked them here, Doctor Helion had pulled us off Battleship Zeus and reassigned us to our home world.