A Minx for Ryek & Holden : A Sci Fi Alien Romance (Tallean Mercenaries Book 5)

by Lynnea Lee

  Angie took another sip of the joulka before putting down the cup and tilting the screen of her PPC to a better angle. Unlike her apartment, which had curtains, Holden’s windows only relied on the electronically tinted surface to block the sun. To her surprise, it no longer reacted to her verbal commands, and she had deleted the code to control it from her comm when she moved out years ago.

  “Thank you! We appreciate it.” It made Angie feel better to know that they had the Defiant and its crew fighting for them as well. They were good people and even better allies. “Are you enjoying life with Vore up on the Defiant?”

  “Yes! It’s amazing. He’s amazing!” A dreamy look crossed her friend’s face. “Thanks for encouraging me to give him a chance. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

  “I’m glad you found your mate.” And again, Angie prayed Holden and Ryek would be her mates one day. Real mates, not pretend mates or partnerships of convenience. She wanted the big, strong, doting Tallean males to form proper, indelible mate bonds with her. Forever after was her goal, and she loathed to settle for anything less.

  “Are things still complicated with Holden?” Lettie made air quotes with her fingers around the word “complicated.”

  Back when Lettie still lived on Reka 5, Angie had told her friend about her impasse with the protective Tallean guard and how they had settled with just being friends with benefits.

  “About that, things got even more complicated. We are back to pretending we are mates.” She paused to take a sip of her drink. “I thought we were past this. I was so sick of wasting my time. I keep promising myself I wouldn’t sleep with him again. But after he and Ryek rescued me from the traitor, things changes again. And now we are back to pretending.”

  “Maybe there really is something there,” Lettie suggested. “You know how the mate bond pulls a couple together, again and again, no matter how hard they resist? Maybe it’s like that? Maybe you do have a bond, but Holden just hasn’t realized it yet.”

  “There’s more.” She fidgeted, not sure how to broach the topic.

  “Uh, oh. This sounds juicy.” Lettie leaned in closer to the screen. “Spill it, Angie! Inquiring minds need to know!”

  “So, I’m not just playing mates with Holden. Ryek started calling me his, too.” She rushed on, feeling like she needed to explain herself. “And with the Dominion on its way, I didn’t correct him. He said it was his last wish, should these be our last days. They both did.” She wrung her hands. “How could I deny them? Their last wish, Lettie? That’s huge.” That last bit came out a bit of a wail, but Angie didn’t care.

  Lettie whistled. “That’s a tough situation. Do they know about each other?”

  “Yeah, they do. They’ve actually been throwing me at each other, and it's kind of strange. I don’t know if they know about the whole ‘let’s pretend to be mates’ thing, though, since it happened separately. But they talk so much that I’d be surprised if they don’t. I don’t want to give them any more stress than they already have. And what if these are our last days. I want to die happy, believing I have two mates who love me. Is that selfish?”

  “Oh, shush!” Lettie admonished. “That is not selfish. And you’re not going to die! Reka 5 is strong. And the Dominion’s army was scattered on Vosthea so that only a small portion is heading your way. And with all the mercenary crews Ryek hired to help, the Dominion will be running with their tails tucked.”

  “I sure hope you are right.” Angie really wanted to believe it was true.

  “Of course, I am!” Then Lettie changed the topic. “But back to you and your two pretend mates. Are they happy?”

  “I think they are. As happy as pretend mates could be.”

  “We are spoiled by these Tallean males who can form mate bonds with us. Remember, we are humans, and humans don’t form mate bonds at all. And yet, people speak of love conquering all.”

  “I guess.” Lettie had a point. “But what if this ruins their friendship? In the past, the males we had fun with weren’t close to Holden like Ryek is. And Holden always got jealous after. What if that happens again, and I fuck up their friendship?”

  “Hmm, that does make things more difficult.” Lettie tapped at her chin as she thought. “Have they spent time with you together yet?”

  “Yes, but nothing serious, though we’ve fooled around. We’ve been so busy getting ready for the big fight that we’ve been exhausted.” Angie remembered how Holden had fallen asleep almost immediately after his head hit the pillows the other night.

  “If you don’t try, how would you ever know? If the two of them initiated it, it must mean they’ve considered the possibility of things not working out and chose to try it anyway. It’s not like you are forcing them to spend time with you together at gunpoint. It takes two, or in this case, three, to tango.”

  Angie giggled at the mental image of herself doing the tango with both Holden and Ryek simultaneously, with one of them dipping her low before turning abruptly and twirling her to the other. “You’re right. If they are willing to take the risk, who am I to deny them? And they are both awfully persistent. I don’t think I could resist them for long.” Angie doubted she could resist them at all.

  “Then don’t!” Lettie grinned at her. “I’ve had some time to look up the whole mating bond thing since being stuck in space on the Defiant. I learned about triads fated to mate in groups of three, usually two males to one female. And the mating bond doesn’t form until they are all together. Vore had once thought that he and Arus would end up in a triad, but that didn’t happen. Maybe that’s what’s been missing.”

  “But those are rare and tend to run in certain family lines. They believe that it was because their ancestors lived in dangerous areas and needed two males to protect the females.” Angie had heard of them before.

  “Yup! And it tends to be atavistic, as in it reverts back occasionally, especially if the males believe the female is in danger or needs extra protection. Didn’t you just get kidnapped? And you and Holden head out to the amberberry harvest yearly. His brain probably thinks you need extra protection from all the dragus and coilbeasts he’s had to kill to keep you alive.”

  That was probably true. The amberberry harvests were dangerous, but it was also Angie favorite time of the year. Holden had slain many monsters and beasts to keep her safe. He probably did subconsciously believe that she needed more protection.

  “Maybe by the time the Defiant lands at Reka 5, you will have two mates for real!” Lettie had a delighted look on her face. “I need to find a dress to wear to your wedding.”

  “Whoa! Whoa! Hold your horses!” Angie laughed. Usually, Angie was the more enthusiastic one, and Lettie was slightly more reserved, but just slightly. Clearly, spending time with her mate, Vore, had been good for her. “We don’t even know if that’s truly the case with Ryek and Holden. What are the chances I’d be so lucky?”

  “Well, have you asked? Maybe one of them came from that area of Tal.”

  “No, I haven’t asked. Holden never talks about his life before Reka 5. I’ve never pushed him for information because I understand that a person is not their past. The few times I’ve asked, he would steer the conversation to the future he wished to build with me.”

  “And Ryek?”

  “Ryek—we haven’t had the chance to talk much. He used to hang out with us a lot when Holden and I were officially dating. But there was always some sexual tension, and I avoided him because I didn’t want to mess up their friendship.”

  “Well, it’s been years, and from what I hear, that tension is still there, and you are back in the same place with Holden. Maybe it’s time to give both of them a go, together. I just want to see you happy too!” Then Lettie brightened. “Remember the chocolate Vore told us about? Well, the next time I see you, I come bearing chocolate. A golden box with a red satin bow.”

  “I don’t think I even remember how chocolate tastes. It’s been so long.” Angie tried to
remember what the confection tasted like. She thought she knew, but she couldn’t be sure.

  Angie hadn’t had chocolate in years. Her memory of it was probably far removed from the real thing. Similarly, Natalia’s Special probably didn’t taste like real potato and leek soup, and only their memory of it. Just as foulka had replaced coffee, the local sweets and delicacies had replaced her favorite Earth delights, and her taste buds had forgotten the old flavors.

  “Oh, you poor thing! Don’t worry. You’ll remember the second you taste it. No one ever forgets chocolate.”

  “Thank you, Lettie. I can’t wait.”

  Chapter 12

  Ryek resisted the urge to reassure Angie as she chewed her nails on the other side of the comms office. She’d asked again to be placed at a fence to help protect the colony, but Ryek had stressed that her job was by his side. Every time he looked at her, it gave him a reason to fight harder. When this was all over, Holden and Ryek would claim her together, and she would finally be theirs.

  He knew she pretended to be theirs now only to make them happy, to give them something to fight for. They were going to convince her that she was truly their mate. And they didn’t plan on failing. Angie was theirs, and Ryek knew it.

  The screen showed a grim picture. Dominion shuttles littered the skies, and the fight was finally at their doorstep. Above their planet, hired mercenary crews took down as many of their opponents' shuttles as they could, before they made it into the atmosphere. The shuttles that did make it through were now his targets. They needed to come down, especially the ones close to the settlement.

  They had limited missiles, and he had to use them strategically.

  “That one. Take that cluster down. And then move over to this side.” Ryek pointed at the blips on the screen, each other representing a Dominion shuttle filled with troops. The goal was to take down every shuttle possible before they landed, and scatter the remaining forces so that they would need to attack separately or spend time regrouping before their ground attack. The further the troops landed from each other, the longer it would take for them to regroup.

  One by one, the missiles launched. And while they all reached their marks, there were always more shuttles than missiles, even with the Defiant and the Second Chance picking them off before they entered the atmosphere. Soon, Ryek watched as the last projectile hit its mark and sent the shuttle that it hit careening to the ground.

  None of the shuttles landed within a day’s travel from the colony. This meant that they had time to send teams out to the closest fallen shuttles to search for weapons and make sure there were no survivors. They had achieved their objective, but it was not yet time to celebrate.

  Despite putting much of their budget on weapons, they hadn’t been able to arm every colonist as Ryek had wanted. They had been training with shared weapons, and Ryek had relied on precisely this maneuver to arm the rest of their people.

  Ryek made the call to send the groups out to clean up the closest shuttle messes and retrieve their new weapons. They had eyes in the sky in the form of drones as well as strategically placed cameras in the trees monitoring the major routes into the colony. With the location of the enemies that had landed being tracked, they would call back each team before they got too close.

  His personal comm buzzed, and he fished it out of his pocket. Holden’s face showed up.

  “I just commed our little female, but she didn’t pick up.” Ryek looked over to Angie, who was still chewing at her nails.

  “She must have it on silent. Angie’s here with me.”

  “I wanted to see her before we go take care of the mess.”

  Ryek understood. He called Angie over and stood her in front of his body, holding his comm out for both of them.

  “My favorite people in the universe.” Holden grinned at them.

  Angie smiled, her first smile in hours. “I thought you said I was Trouble.”

  “You are. But I happen to love Trouble.”

  “Oh, stop it.” But a tiny smile continued to play at the corner of her lips. Their female enjoyed the teasing. “You stay safe.”

  “I will now that I know when all this is over, I get to go home and be surrounded by those who mean the most to me.”

  “Good hunting, Holden. I wish I could come hunt with you. But we will be here for you when you get back.” Ryek nodded at his friend before ending the comm.

  Ryek guided their female to one of the monitoring stations and sat her down. This was another reason he needed her here.

  “This is the area right outside of zone one, Holden’s zone.” He gestured to the screen. It showed the general landscape, and every warm body was represented by a red dot, courtesy of the cameras and sensors they had invested in at the perimeter fences. “You will see our teams heading in from here.” He pointed to the lower part of the map. “If you see anyone coming from any other direction, you comm Holden and tell him to head back. This button here is a direct line to his comm so we won’t lose time punching in the code.”

  She nodded.

  Ryek called up two more screens, showing zone two and three. “These three sections are yours to monitor. As with section one, the red dots coming from the bottom are ours. Warn the group leaders if you see any other dots coming in.” He pointed to the respective buttons to each group’s leader’s comm. “Keep your eyes out and alert them as soon as you see anything.”

  “Will do. Thank you for letting me help.” She smiled back at him.

  He knew that Angie needed to be useful. She was never one to sit around and be coddled. She could help him and his males watch the screens. There were three others in the comm office with them, watching and tracking. But what Angie didn’t understand was that her most important job here was to give him hope.

  Ryek had more than a colony to fight for now, more than freedom. He had Angie and Holden, and the future they planned on making together.

  One of those little red blips on the screen was Holden. If Angie had to guess, it was probably the one leading all the other dots. She kept her eyes on the “Holden dot”, pleased to know that he was safe.

  She was glad to have something to do. Angie hated to sit and wait for an outcome, and her poor nails were chewed down to the quick. Earlier, she’d asked Ryek to let her help protect one of the sections of fencing, but Ryek had stressed that he wanted her with him. No, he needed her with him. It calmed him and helped him make decisions, he claimed.

  The group on the screen was nearing the first downed shuttle, which showed on the screen as a large blob of heated red and orange. The heat sensors' range didn’t extend too far from the fence, but Ryek had aimed to shoot down the shuttles closest to the colony. Many of the shuttles had crashed within range of their sensors, and the teams were instructed to only go after those on screen. Only one of the shuttles had crash-landed inside the colony walls, and that one had been taken care of already.

  Holden’s team was done with the first crash, and the group of little red dots headed towards the next and last ship on their screen.

  Out of the corner of her eyes, ominous red blips started piling in from the top on the screen, heading towards group two. Shit! She slammed her hand down on the bottom to comm the group’s leader.

  “You’ve got Dominion heading your way from the North.”

  “How many?” The low voice on the other end asked.

  She squinted at the jumble of red boogies inching towards the friendly dots. “Maybe half a dozen or so?”

  “We can take them. I took mostly strong males with me, and we are almost done our sweep.”

  Angie looked to Ryek, who nodded back from his screens just several feet away.

  “Yeah, take them out. I’ll alert you if more comes in. Stay safe.”

  Ryek reached over to give her shoulder a squeeze, and she leaned into the touch. She closed her eyes for just a second. When she looked back to the screen, she noticed the pile of red advancing on Holden’s posit
ion. She gasped.

  “Shit!” She’d been so busy with group two that she took her eyes off group one. She slammed her palm on the button. “Holden, the Dominion is heading your way. Quite a few too. They are not far off. I was warning group two and didn’t see this bunch.”

  “How many?” His voice was gruff.

  She tried counting the mess of red specks on the screen and failed. “They are all piled together, and I can’t count them.” Her voice raised a bit in panic, and Ryek was suddenly behind her, a calming palm wrapped possessively around the back of her neck.

  He said to Holden, “We have two choices, take this group out now so they couldn’t add to the numbers later, or retreat to the fence and deal with them with the main attack. If we do the first, we have the element of surprise. They are just northwest of your position.”

  “I will take a few of the stronger males and sneak up on them.”

  “Good. Be careful.”

  Angie bit her lips. Fighting dragus and coilbeasts was one thing. They were animals and none too bright. But these were soldiers. Holden was an exceptional fighter, one of the best, but she was suddenly nervous.

  “Little minx, you are worried for Holden.”

  She nodded. “I didn’t see the dots on time.”

  “You did fine. You saw the signals only a moment after they came on screen. That moment would have made no difference.” Ryek wrapped her up in his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Holden will be fine; he is a skilled fighter. And not just against the beasts in the forests. Has he told you about his life before coming here?”

  “No.” Holden never spoke about life before Reka 5.

  “He ran with a pirate crew.”

  A pirate? Her protective, fun-loving Holden a pirate? No way! She shook her head. Ryek must be pulling her leg.

  “You don’t believe me.”

  “Holden is much too nice. I can’t imagine him stealing and murdering.”

  “He didn’t enjoy it. That’s why he came here.” Ryek sat down behind her, legs on each side, straddling her body. He angled his monitors so that he could see all of them from his angle. They watched the screens together.