“Where the fuck are we?” A Prillon asked, probably noticing it was a Coalition transport pad he’d arrived on.
“Latiri 4. I’ll explain more later. Get the Atlan onto the pad. We’re getting out of here,” she ordered.
She was already ignoring me, expecting me to do as I was told as her fingers flew over the controls. Damn the woman, I wanted her, and I wanted to bend her to my will, conquer her body and soul. This wasn’t the time or place to argue, however. And, she was right.
I took an electronic key from the nearest dead integrated Viken’s hip and motioned for the four prisoners to come to me. They did, without delay, and I released their bonds. The nearest, a fierce looking Prillon warrior the others seemed to defer to, motioned the other three toward the Atlan.
“You have your orders, get this Atlan onto the transport pad.”
The female behind the controls glanced up at the sound of his voice. “Good to see you, Prax. It’s been a long time.”
The Prillon captain, Prax, grinned at her. She grinned back, the expression a new one, and not directed at me. I blinked, trying not to stare. Gods, she was fucking gorgeous. And who was she that this Prillon knew who she was and followed her orders without question? The Prillon wore a captain’s markings on his uniform, and I didn’t doubt his assessment of the situation. The two obviously knew one another, but how?
And did she belong to him? Was she his mate? Had he made a claim on my female?
My female. The thought raced through my head even as I handed the unknown Prillon captain my spare blaster and helped tug the giant Atlan onto the transport pad.
We worked as a team to hoist him up to the platform. Even five strong fighters struggled with the beast. Once we had him where he’d be transported with us, I handed off my weapon to another of the fighters and moved to the female’s side. I took her spare as well, tossed it to a third warrior and lifted the small ion pistol from where she had placed it within reach on top of the control panel.
The warriors settled into a defensive position around the unconscious Atlan and I moved between my female and the open door. I could hear the Hive coming, knew the prisoners would fight to the death, more than happy to shoot any Hive who fucked with us now.
“Can you get us out of here?” I asked her. She had been at the controls for what felt like hours, working those small hands with quick, deft movements.
“Yes. But I’m locking down the entire base first.”
What did she just say?
I turned to face her. “How?”
She didn’t even look at me, speaking instead to the control panel. “Initiate Lockdown Protocol. Command Code…” She rattled off a few words in the home language of Prillon Prime and waited. Something beeped and her shoulders sagged in relief. “They didn’t get into the main system. My command codes still work.”
What just happened? No one could lock down an entire base. It wasn’t conceivable. “That’s impossible.”
“I have Level Two command codes, Hunter. No one will get in or out of this base without my permission. Not anymore.” She glanced at me as she moved away from the control panel, toward the Prillon captain. I retreated from the door, moving closer as much because I didn’t like her being so close to the warrior as because it was time to transport out of this hell.
Level Two command codes?
Level One was Prime Nial himself, leader of the entire Coalition Fleet, ruler of the Coalition of Planets. He controlled everything. If what she said was true, only the Prime himself could override her lockdown of this base.
Battleship commanders, like Commander Karter, only had Level Four codes. Mine were Level Five.
Fuck. Exactly who was she?
“Let’s go.” Captain Prax shifted on his feet. “I need to check on the rest of my men.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him they were probably already locked down in cells deeper inside the base, being integrated. Destroyed.
The female jumped onto the transport pad and the Prillon captain positioned himself between her and the corridor in a protective stance, not just that of a warrior protecting a helpless female. There was too much knowledge in his eyes. Respect.
Who was she? I.C.? I didn’t know any fighters with command codes. Unless she was just the victim of an accident and a transport tech had accidentally sent her to the wrong place.
Yeah, no. She was too intelligent, too quick and keen for something as ridiculous as that. And if something that random had brought her to me, that transport tech was most likely headed for a Coalition brig.
I felt the vibrations, heard the hum.
“Everyone ready?” she asked, glancing up at the six of us on the transport pad. It had been about a minute since the prisoners arrived, and they were being sent right back out of here. They were lucky.
So fucking lucky. The Atlan who was dead weight at their feet, too.
“Fuck, yes,” I said. The others shouted and growled their agreement. They’d been defeated, but their fight was back. We were getting the fuck out of here.
I heard the pounding of feet with my Hunter senses. “Incoming,” I said.
She nodded, either she believed me or could hear them, too. It wasn’t time to wonder which.
“Five seconds,” she said.
I moved with speed to stand beside her. I tipped up her chin so she’d look at me. Made her take one of those five seconds to focus on me.
“Who are you?” I asked. The hairs on my body stood on end from the impending transport.
Three seconds.
Two seconds. The team of Hive ran into the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw their weapons raised. The other warriors fired at them, but I ignored it all. I could only see her. See the female who’d saved my life. The lives of six warriors.
“I’m your mate.”
One second.
And we were gone. Transporting out of the Hive hell and to safety. With my…
Mate.
4
Niobe, Battleship Karter, Sector 437
I really hadn’t meant to spring it on him like that.
I’m your mate.
Not exactly me at my most brilliant. I hadn’t even told him my name.
But then again, I had transported into the middle of a Hive Integration base—an unknown Integration Base that was supposed to be one of ours—and been forced to fight for my life, and his, as soon as I’d had time to blink. Good thing I didn’t travel without my weapon. Good thing my instincts and reflexes hadn’t gotten rusty running the Academy. My I.C. commander would laugh at the very thought.
All in all, my years on a battleship ReCon team had paid off in a big way. The old training had kicked back in instantly, like I’d never been gone, let alone spent the last few years sitting behind a desk, or training new Coalition cadets.
I wasn’t surprised by the shocked expression of the transport officer on Commander Karter’s ship when seven fighters transported without prior approval or planning. I had input an override protocol that placed us deep inside the nearest battleship, as far from the Hive as I could get us in the shortest amount of time.
I could have transported us anywhere. The Academy. Everis. Prillon Prime. None of those made sense considering where we’d been. What we knew.
The Karter was the perfect choice. Not only was it in the same sector as the hidden Hive base, but it was the only battleship close enough to mount an assault on the Hive there. They were using our base to torture and kill our warriors, right under our noses, and the faster we took care of the problem, the more warriors we could save.
The fact that the Coalition hadn’t known the base had been overrun by the enemy enraged me. I knew Commander Karter, the tough as nails Prillon Commander. I’d worked with him on numerous I.C. missions with Commander Chloe Phan. I was confident Commander Karter would act quickly, would show no mercy.
I’d locked that secret base down and trapped any remaining Hive like rats in a barrel. The transport codes would prevent a
ny movement in or out, unless I personally authorized the transport—or Prime Nial himself chose to override my codes. No. Nothing was getting into or out of that base until we had enough warriors to go in there and clean house, save our people, and take care of this mess.
Quinn hadn’t known how many others were still down there, alive and trapped with the Hive. How could he know an exact count when he’d been in a cell behind an energy barrier and the Hive were a bunch of ruthless assholes? We had to go back. I wouldn’t risk any fighter’s life to that hellhole. He wouldn’t either, considering what the Hive had probably put him through. Who knew what integrations he had, or what tortures he’d survived.
The warrior behind the transport control panel looked up at us, his jaw gaping for a moment before he regained control of himself. The vibrations ceased, my hair stopped crackling. “Who are you?” he asked. Stunned. Definitely confused. “You are not on my transport list.” He glanced at the Prillon captain behind me, a cadet I’d trained several years ago. A good warrior and an honorable male. “Captain Prax? Is that you? You were reported missing on Latiri 7. How did you end up here?”
Prax growled as the Atlan at our feet began to stir, his ion blaster pointed at the warrior who’d resumed his normal form, which was still about three hundred pounds and a solid seven feet. The beast was gone now. We didn’t know the extent of his integrations. Hell, we didn’t even know if he could be saved.
I stepped off the pad, down the platform’s steps. “I’m Vice Admiral Niobe. I need to see Commander Karter and Commander Phan immediately.”
The male’s hand moved swiftly to verify my identity, as was protocol. I waited impatiently, my booted foot tapping on the floor of the transport room as the screen behind him mirrored what he was seeing on the control panel. An image of my face appeared, along with my service record and a large emblem in the upper corner confirming I was a vice admiral—not that he could miss that rank by looking at my uniform—and my status as a member of the I.C. The male glanced at me, then down, then back up. “At once, Vice Admiral. I will inform the commanders of your arrival.”
“Good.” I nodded, trying to ignore the Hunter behind me, my mate, who was moving in close. Too close, like an alpha male. A very protective one. I shifted a few steps away because I needed to stay in control. Breathing in his scent, feeling the heat coming from his body, the look in his gaze… it was distracting. And nipple hardening.
“Alert medical.” I tipped my head toward the platform. “I have an integrated Atlan here, and four rescued prisoners from a Hive Integration facility. They were new arrivals there and have no new integrations that I am aware of, but they need a thorough medical exam just in case.”
The tech nodded. “Yes, Vice Admiral.”
He stood, staring at all of us for another few seconds, taking in the battle worn prisoners, the Everian Hunter, the unconscious Atlan full of Hive tech, and me.
I raised my eyebrows. I didn’t have time for this kind of nonsense. “Now.”
He jumped as if stung by a bee and a few seconds later a medical team in green raced into the transport room. The Atlan was injected with what I assumed was a strong sedative as the others were led out of the room to the medical station. Captain Prax nodded his head, either in thanks or goodbye or any other possibility. I was just glad he was safe. Whole.
I lifted a hand, signaled one doctor to remain. He nodded slightly and waited for my orders. There was one very stubborn Everian I knew who needed to be tended. I also knew he wasn’t going to allow it, not until he’d spoken to me. To tell him I was his mate then transport to a battleship? Yeah, probably not the way it was usually done.
I turned on my heel. I knew Quinn hadn’t gone with the others. I felt him watching me, devouring me with his gaze. Intense. Sensual. Needy.
“How long were you a prisoner?” I asked. I didn’t want to know, and I did. My heart, which hadn’t even known he existed just a short time ago, ached for him now. While I’d been on The Colony with Kira and Angh and the others there, he’d been tortured.
“I lost count of the days. A week. Maybe longer.”
I could only imagine. The base was underground. No windows. No light. No space to use to get one’s bearings. He stepped closer, lifted a hand to my face, traced my cheek with his fingertips. For a Hunter, and I knew he was an Elite, his touch was gentle, the motion slow.
“Is what you said true? Are you mine?” he asked, his voice soft.
“Yes.” There was no reason to deny our match. “And you are mine.” I wanted to get that out there from the beginning. I was not a soft, submissive female. I would demand as much as I gave. Perhaps more.
“By the gods.” He leaned in close, nuzzled the side of my neck as I motioned the doctor in closer. “What is your name?”
“Niobe.”
He repeated the name, breathed me in. His hands came to rest on my hips and I swayed, the adrenaline from battle and his nearness combining to overwhelm me for a few seconds. But no more. He’d been tortured. Integrated. He was hurt. Too thin. The circles under his eyes spoke of long days without sleep. The lines around his mouth reflections of pain. And I could only imagine the mental hardships he’d endured. “You need to go to medical, Quinn.”
“I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I need you, not a doctor.”
I laughed, I couldn’t help myself, the sound a surprise even to me. He was feisty, my mate. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
That got his attention and he lifted his head to stare into my eyes. “Niobe.”
“Quinn.”
“I want to kiss you.”
God yes. Kiss me. I nodded at the doctor behind him. “Alright. And then you go to medical.”
“Then I make you mine,” he growled.
Before I could reply to that, his lips crushed mine, stealing my breath, my sanity. His touch made my body burn, and I had to use every ounce of discipline I had to raise a hand from his back and signal the doctor to get in close, inject him, knock him out.
I knew the moment it was done, for Quinn sagged against me, our lips still touching. As his knees buckled, his eyes opened and he held my gaze. A hand covered the injection spot on his neck. “You’re going to get a spanking for this.”
I laughed again. God help me, he was charming. And that was fucking hot. No one had spanked me—not as a child for punishment—or as an adult for play. Ever. But the idea of Quinn doing it? My panties were ruined.
First, he needed a thorough medical exam, some time in a ReGen pod. He needed to heal, and if he were like any other male alien in the universe when discovering he had a mate, he wasn’t going to be distracted. He was mine, and I was going to take care of him whether he wanted me to or not. Whether I got a spanking for it or not.
I smiled as the doctor caught him from behind and the transport officer came around to help carry my mate to the medical station. He grinned at me, awake but sedated, his body collapsing before his mind. He stared, and those amber eyes were filled with a dark vow.
I couldn’t help myself, couldn’t stop the naughty side of me from taunting him.
“Promises, promises, mate.”
He kept smiling as they carried him away. I was grinning like an idiot, replaying the entire scene in my mind, when Commander Karter entered the transport room.
“Vice Admiral.” His voice boomed. “What the fuck is going on? And how did you get on my battleship?”
* * *
Two hours later
Quinn – Medical Unit
Even before I opened my eyes, I knew where I was, the all too familiar scent of the interior of a ReGen pod filling my head with dozens of memories I had no desire to relive. Still, it was better than that underground prison I’d been trapped in. I was naked, but the stench of the Nexus and his torments were gone. I had no doubt the doctor had examined every molecule in my body, searching for Hive technology, trying to assess the danger I might present to the crew.
And I was different. The buzzing in
my mind was gone, but my body felt hyper-aware, every pressure point on the healing bed acutely present in my senses. The scent of the cleansing solution used on Coalition ships. The feminine allure of my mate somewhere close.
This was far from the first time I’d awakened inside a ReGen pod, but this time was unique. This time she was here. I felt her, heard her heartbeat, her voice as she and Commander Karter spoke intensely on the other side of the pod.
The fact that she’d remained by my side made my heart race. My mate was no ordinary female. She was a vice admiral in the Coalition Fleet and far outranked me. Based on her movements and her speech, I assumed she was human, from Earth… and yet that did not feel quite right.
Her scent reminded me of home, of Everis, and I wondered if she was from my world instead. Perhaps she had spent time hunting on Earth and picked up their customs and language. Everian Hunters were masters at blending in, mimicking accents, mannerisms, the multitude of indescribable details that made one stand out as other.
If she were Everian, and not human, then I wondered which Elite Hunter had sired her. Was her father a legend on my home world, or an unknown?
Not that I cared about her history. I couldn’t care less where she had been in the past, as long as she was with me now. But I was a predator with an insatiable curiosity, a curiosity that she stirred more strongly than anything ever had before. I wanted to know everything about her. Every. Single. Detail. From birth to this moment.
She was mine.
The clear lid lifted automatically and both my mate and Commander Karter came over. I sat up, wiped a hand over my face.
“How do you feel?” the commander asked.
My mate’s gaze raked over my body. Every bare inch. And, of course, that made me hard.
“Get this man a sheet,” the commander shouted, waving his arm. He’d seen that my cock hadn’t been injured and probably wasn’t thrilled to have a conversation with me with it right out there.
I couldn’t help it. My mate was before me. Unclaimed.
Hunted: Interstellar Brides® Program- Book 17 Page 4