Chapter Eleven
Bryn
If Astra had wanted me dead, I’d be long gone already.
Instead, she paced the floor before me and let the air heave in and out of my lungs, let me bleed. The cuts weren’t deep, and I figured out by the way all of her people kept sniffing at the air that my blood had a purpose.
Bait. I was bait.
And these Hyperion hybrids could scent me as easily as I could smell them. Perhaps even more so. I didn’t know much about the animalistic barbarians on the planet below, but I knew the legions on Rogue 5 were strong, intelligent and lethal. They operated in a pack mentality that was as instinctive as it was resilient. Their people survived, thrived, were a formidable force.
“Styx is approaching.” One of the scouts shouted down from the rafters in the ceiling where he was perched like a bird watching out a small window.
Astra crossed her arms. “Is he alone?”
“No.”
“Of course not.” Resignation marked her brow but she nodded at one of her minions to open the double doors.
Working to get my hands free, the pain had slowed my progress often enough so it had taken some time, I used the distraction to break the final bond holding me but kept my hands down. Waiting. They knew less of Everian Hunter strength than I expected. The restraints I had used on Katie in play would have kept me secure, the metal harvested from deep beneath the surface of Everis. But the rope? Child’s play for an uninjured Hunter.
Astra stepped forward until her frame was highlighted by the bright light streaming from outside the building. She stood alone in the center and waited for her enemy.
All eyes were on Styx and his group as they approached. Eight strong, I saw more strung out behind them, at least forty fully armed guards. She hadn’t called in that many to guard me. No, she felt Styx was a powerful and strong enemy to require the reinforcements. I had to hope that meant he was skilled enough to keep Katie safe.
“He brought the whole fucking army.” One of the men to my right complained. “He’ll attack us.”
“No. He won’t.” Astra was unmoved and her calm seemed to settle the others.
I had no interest in what appeared to be an internal war. None. Until I saw who walked on Styx’s right. Fuck.
Dressed like a Styx soldier in black armor, wearing a silver band on her arm, Katie was a stranger. Her eyes were hard. Cold. She was armed with both knife and ion blaster prominently displayed in warning. Her stance confident. She looked like one of them.
Like a killer. Holy fuck. Had Styx bit Katie? Made her his? This made me want to forget about being subtle and just attack.
The two Astra soldiers guarding me at the back of the small building—it was not much bigger than my shuttle—stepped up to flank their commander, ignoring me completely now that death itself had stepped up to their doors. I was obviously considered weak, no threat to them in comparison to Styx.
I tore the loosened ropes away and leapt up into the rafters. My injuries had not affected my strength or speed. I reached Astra’s guard dog silently and with surprise, ripped his weapon from his hands and threw him to the ground below with a loud thud.
By the time Astra looked up in my direction, I had the blaster pointed at her head. “Don’t move.”
“You are not my concern, Hunter.” She rolled her eyes and turned away from me.
I wanted to shoot her, but something stopped me.
She wasn’t my Hunt. And I’d never shot anyone in the back. I wouldn’t start now. Something strange was going on between Astra and Styx, and apparently I was going to let it play out. I had no choice, especially with Katie standing before me. No, before Astra. “Touch my mate and you all die.” It was the only warning I would give her.
“Understood.” She waved me off and I settled back to provide cover for this strange…meeting. In this moment, I didn’t know who the true danger was. All I knew was that I had to keep Katie safe.
Styx stopped just out of my sight so I moved along the braces in the ceiling until I was behind Astra and could look outside. Watch Styx. See Katie. Protect her.
“Astra.” Styx greeted her.
“Styx.” She stood her ground, arms at her sides. “Is Garvos dead?”
“Of course.” Styx dipped his chin as if insulted by her question. Yet he played the diplomat. “Thank you.”
“A traitor is bad for all of us,” she said.
“Agreed.”
“And now you owe me a favor.”
He paused, as if deliberating. “Agreed.”
Katie shifted on her feet, impatient, but I waited until she looked up at me, caught her eye. The mark on my palm burned with heat and I grinned at her as she rubbed her hand on her thigh, feeling the pull between us. The fire. She did not belong to Styx. She was still mine. Whatever was going on here would be over soon and then she would be mine. Mine to claim. Forever. To fuck and fill with my seed. To hold as I slept. To see grow round with my child. To protect and admire and love.
I loved her. Not just her body, or the mark on her hand, but the pain of her past, the determination, the fearlessness in her gaze right now. She was not from here, not even from this side of the galaxy, and yet she stood tall and proud, facing an adversary she didn’t even know. For me. She was innocent and fierce, intelligent and beautiful. And she was mine.
“You know what I want, Styx.” Astra’s demand interrupted my musing.
“It could bring war to the legions.” Styx didn’t sound worried about the possibility. He could have been talking about the crops or the weather or the color of his shoes. But every one of his people was poised to strike, the tension between the two leaders thick enough to taste on the air.
“Tell me his name.” Who? All this was about someone else?
“If I don’t?”
“We fight. We die. Here and now. It’s your choice.”
With a sigh, Styx stepped forward and while the guards on both sides remained at tense attention, he was able to whisper into Astra’s ear. A name. A name I couldn’t hear.
When he was done, Astra stepped back and waved her arm for her people to leave the area. She walked past Styx without looking at him again and her people fell in line behind her like puppets. Obedient. Wary. Her soldiers eyed the Styx guards as they passed, watching for any hint of movement or aggression, but did nothing. Astra ignored them all, a queen ignoring the chattel.
Less than a minute later Styx’s people were alone at the entrance, and I was staring down an ion blaster’s sight straight into my mate’s glistening eyes.
“You look like death warmed over.” Styx called up to me.
I jumped down to the ground, landing on the balls of my feet without making a sound. “Scratches. Astra had no interest in me. I was a pawn.”
“Yes. I should have anticipated this when I offered to allow you to hunt in my territory.”
Katie ran, leaping into my arms and I buried my nose in her hair, wrapped my free arm around her, grateful to feel her pressed to me once more. Home. She was my home. “Will you drop the knife before you stab me?” I asked.
I heard the clatter of the blade hit the ground.
“And the ion pistol, please hand it to Styx.”
Without taking her eyes off of me, she reached her arm out, Styx unarming my mate. It was only then that I sighed, felt her hands run over me. She was safe.
I looked up at Styx through my lashes, unwilling to distance myself from Katie in even the smallest way. “What was that all about?”
Styx looked at me. “Are you planning on pledging yourself to the legion, Hunter?”
“No.” Hell no. Not now. Not ever. I would never walk away from my duty to Everis, from my mate. She would live with peace and comfort, surrounded by soft things. Beautiful things. Children and laughter and all the innocence and light I could provide. And I would begin with the children as soon as I had her naked beneath me, safe within the thick walls of the Touchstone.
“Then you do no
t need to know.”
Katie clung to me and I slipped the ion blaster into my thigh holster—it had been the Astra guard’s weapon, but I would claim it as my own—so I could wrap both arms around her. “Is Garvos truly dead?” I asked Styx.
“Yes,” he replied.
A sniffle from my mate, a soft hiccup of distress. “Styx pulled him off me and broke his neck.”
I was snarling before I could process what she said. “Pulled him off you?” If I hadn’t been holding my mate, I would have jumped at the Styx leader. He was to protect her. “You placed my mate in danger?”
Katie punched me lightly in the side. “Stop it, Bryn. It was all part of the plan. We had to lure him out into the open. To be caught. To be killed.”
Gods! I felt my eyes blaze with Hunter’s instinct, knew Styx felt the danger as he shifted his stance, ready to counter my attack. “You used my mate as bait?” I was sure my roar could be heard half a mile away. Katie stiffened in my arms and I could feel her hands sliding over me, as if to soothe, but it was not working.
Styx raised his brow and backed away. Grinning. The fucker was smiling at me. “She insisted. You’re welcome.” He turned, rounding up his people. It seemed the conversation about Garvos was over, but with his next words, I realized not quite yet. “The bounty on his head is still mine, Hunter.”
I buried my hands in Katie’s hair and tugged on the twisted mess she’d made of it. I wanted it free. Flowing over my flesh like the softest silk. “Garvos is dead. That is all I need from him. To me, dead is better than alive and in prison.”
“Excellent. Then we can still be friends.” Styx walked away and Katie finally pulled back enough to look up at me.
“I thought you were dead,” she said, her voice rough with emotion.
“I’m sorry. It’s all over now. I’m so sorry.” I lowered my head and kissed her softly, over and over, a thousand words of apology in every touch of my lips.
She slammed her palms to my temples and pulled me to her. Hot. Hard. Demanding. When she let me up for air, we were both breathless. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
A tear streamed from her eye and I kissed it away. “It’s all right now, Katie. This was my last Hunt. I promise you. No more. Never again.”
One tear became two. Then ten. But she held my gaze. “I love you, you know. If you get yourself killed I’m going to be really, really mad.”
“I love you, too. You’re mine. Forever. I’m never letting you go.”
“Good.”
Styx’s second in command, the silver haired Blade, stood waiting for us at the open doors. We were the only ones left.
“Let’s go,” he said, his tone impatient. “Unless you two want to fight your way past four legions to get out of the core and off this rock alive.”
Katie glanced at him, blushed—which was something I would have to ask about later—and laughed. Remain here? While the feel of her lush body in my arms only brought on my mating instinct, I knew this was the last place in the universe I wanted to claim her. It was time to leave, as he said. I was not going to argue, or delay, or put anyone else at risk. “I’m done fighting. I want to be boring for a while.” I lowered Katie to her feet. She took my hand and pulled me toward Blade and the last remaining vehicle. “Come on mate. Let’s go home.”
Home. Everis. Pride rushed through me at the one syllable.
I expected them to take us back to Styx’s base, but Blade drove us straight to the docking bay where we’d arrived. They were loading Garvos’s coffin into the cargo area and Blade motioned us to get onboard. He followed.
Katie waved to the silver-haired woman standing on the docks watching us take off. Blade and two others crowded into the small control room, guns close.
It was like someone had flipped a switch. They were all business now. No smiles. No friendship. No history. And the pace was swift. If I hadn’t been in a rush to get Katie back to the Touchstone, I might have been offended. And when I caught Blade inspecting Katie’s curves?
I growled. He shrugged as if he simply could not help himself. He settled himself into one of the seats, pulled on the safety harness. “Take us to the other side of the asteroid field. You will both transport from there.”
“What about my ship?” I asked. He had no intention of having us fly all the way back to Everis. I didn’t know why. Fuck, at this point, I didn’t care. Styx’s problems continued, but they were his, just as he’d said. Unless I wanted to stick around, it was none of my business. But I was sure they would linger for the legion leader. His people. Rogue 5. But that was not my story.
At my question, Blade’s smile was pure mercenary.
Chapter Twelve
Bryn
I never expected to laugh with Blade’s ion blaster shoved at my chest. But when he and two of his men insisted my shuttle had been commandeered? When he informed me that Styx was keeping the shuttle as a bonus payment on Garvos’s bounty? That Katie and I were being transported back to Everis the moment we were clear of the magnetic asteroid belt? I readily agreed. He would get no argument from me. In fact, I could have kissed him for it. Instead, I shook the Hyperion’s hand and bade him good luck with the shuttle before wrapping my arm about my mate’s waist and holding her close as the technician locked in the coordinates into the mobile transport unit and banished us from Hyperion space.
When I opened my eyes, saw the familiar, yet utilitarian, transport station at the Touchstone, I sighed. When the coffin containing Garvos’s remains appeared a few moments later, I tugged Katie even tighter to me and scowled as the security team whisked the dark object out of sight. I never wanted to think about him again, about what he’d nearly cost me.
“Katie!” Lexi shouted.
“Wait, mate,” Von called, grabbing the Earth woman’s hand and holding her back. “I will not have you accidentally transported.”
I saw the look of simple pleasure and relief in his eyes as I stepped down from the platform, bringing Katie with me. Only two steps off the platform and Lexi wrapped her friend in a tight hug. She got part of me as well since I refused to let go of Katie. It had been seconds since we were just outside the moon belt, Blade beside us. It would take some adjusting to know we were now truly safe. No hidden agendas, no invisible battle lines drawn.
“I was so worried! I thought you were sleeping in your room and when I went to check on you, you were gone.”
Yes, I imagined she would have been upset and I knew then that Katie hadn’t even told her closest friend about her plans to seduce me in my bed—or sneak aboard my shuttle to Rogue 5.
I looked over the mates’ heads at Von. His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed as he inspected me. I looked worse than I felt. Covered in small cuts and blood. I stood firm under his gaze and let him look. “You look like hell. But your mission was successful, I heard. Saw.” He angled his head in the direction Garvos’s coffin disappeared.
I grunted, not wishing to relive any of the time on the wild moon. “Yes. Garvos’s body has been returned and Styx legion collected the bounty. Did you confirm the Seven sent payment?”
Von nodded. “Yes. Styx has been paid. But you should have sent another on this hunt.” He didn’t say the words, that since I’d found my Marked Mate I should have stepped away from the mission. “But you wouldn’t.”
“No.” I cleared my throat.
“They sent the request to me.” Von guessed, correctly.
“You were already dream sharing.” I shrugged. “I was not.”
His gaze dropped to Katie. I finally released my hold. She glanced at me, but let herself be led to the far side of the room by Lexi. Their voices were tipped softly, but Lexi seemed to be doing most of the talking.
“When I discovered your mate had sneaked onto your shuttle, I prepared to have her transported back here, but you were too far into the moon belt.”
I felt reassured, knowing my Hunter friend planned to watch and protect my mate in my absence. I nodded once. “Thank you
for that. She is a stubborn one.” I ran my hand over my jaw, felt the whiskers and was reminded how long I’d been gone from civilization. Rogue 5, while well populated, was not civilized.
“If it were Lexi…” Von’s jaw clenched and he looked over his shoulder at his mate, as if making sure she was still nearby.
“Katie was well punished for her daring,” I countered, remembering the spanking. I’d definitely felt better watching Katie’s ass turn a fiery shade of red. But I’d also felt better knowing she was over my lap. Safe. And, of course, learning who was in charge.
But as we both gazed at our mates, I had that lesson coming into question. There was no doubt Von was truly under Lexi’s magical spell. She was like a sorceress, a witch, all but taming my friend. As I saw Katie, knew she was safe, that she’d helped rescue me from the Astra, I realized that I was under her spell as well.
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t punish her again. I had no doubt her ass would feel my palm again soon, or perhaps orgasm denial. Or one of those anal toys. Oh, I’d play, but perhaps let a plug linger within that tight hole as a reminder of her position. My mate. No, my fucking Marked Mate.
My palm heated and flared and she turned to look at me, her dark blue gaze warming as Lexi continued to chatter.
“She is not yet claimed,” Von said, eyes widening. He crossed his arms over his broad chest.
“I couldn’t. There was substantial risk I would not return.”
He was quiet as he contemplated my words. “And now?”
I glanced from Katie to Von. “I am retiring from the Hunt. If you’ll wrangle your mate away from mine, I will get the deed done.”
“All three?” Von asked. It was possible, claiming all three of a mate’s virginities in the same bedding, but it was quite a bit for a new mate to undertake. And Everian Hunters weren’t small. Anywhere.
“Just the final claiming,” I replied. My cock lengthened in my uniform pants in eagerness. Nothing stood in our way. No Hunt. No Hyperions. Only the distance from the transport room to my quarters. The cuts in my skin already mostly healed by my Elite Hunter’s stamina, the gifts of my race.
His Virgin Bride (Interstellar Brides: The Virgins) (Volume 2) Page 13