“You came back,” Rachel countered. “Surely, other brides have come back.”
The warden’s face smoothed out, hiding all emotion. “Yes, I did. As have two others. Each incident was a very special case, nothing like yours. A woman matched to Trion returned recently, but her mate was believed dead and she was transported in the middle of a battle. She has since returned to Trion with her son. My mates were both killed by the Hive and I accepted reassignment to assist others in finding happiness. Your men are alive and no longer fighting on the front lines. There is peace on the Colony and your match is strong. You may choose to be matched to another, if these two fail to win you over, but you will not return.”
“Make your choice, Rachel,” the lawyer said. “You’re an escaped convict now and while I can smooth things over, the longer I take to respond, the worse it will be for you if you decide to go back to prison.”
Rachel’s agitation spiked and she ripped her hand from the warden’s to pace, her hands trembling. I ached to pull her into my arms, but I didn’t dare touch her. It seemed she would shatter with the slightest increase in pressure. And I also knew she would not be happy with what came next. Maxim stood, his face expressionless, as he waited for her decision. But the Prillon collar we’d brought for her hung limply in his palm. That collar would connect our mate to both of us in the most intimate bond possible. Her emotions would become ours. She would become acutely aware of exactly how badly I wanted her. Combined with what I knew Maxim must be feeling, I had no doubt our volatile little mate would be overwhelmed.
Tense silence stretched as Rachel rubbed her hands over her face and neck, through her hair in self-soothing gestures I longed to handle for her. The tenderness welling up within me was both welcome and completely unexpected. I’d been a hard fucking bastard for a long time. I’d believed myself incapable of such soft feelings. But that was the miracle of a mate and I prayed to the gods she would not refuse us.
“Fine. Fine! I’ll go.” She didn’t sound convinced, but that didn’t matter. She’d agreed. Once we had her on the Colony, we could show her how much we wanted her. Needed her. She would discover what it meant to be loved and protected by two ruthless Prillon warriors.
“Good luck, Rachel. I’ll keep the warden updated on this end,” the lawyer said. “But until she files her official report, this conversation never happened.”
“Agreed.” Warden Egara went to a table and picked up a tablet, slid her fingers over the screen, studied it. “Rachel Pierce, per Coalition protocol, I must ask you several questions. You have agreed to the match made by the Interstellar Brides Program testing that was saved to your profile. Is this correct?”
Rachel looked to Maxim, then me, lifting her chin in a gesture of resolve. “Yes, that is correct.”
“Are you now legally married?”
“No.”
“Do you have any offspring?”
“No.”
“Very good. Normally, you would be processed for your matching planet and then transported, however we are dealing with rather unusual circumstances. Your mate and his second are here. Therefore, I now strip you of your Earth citizenship. You are now an official citizen of Prillon Prime and their secondary planet, the Colony. You are now officially a Prillon bride.”
A little sound escaped Rachel’s throat, but she said nothing. Her new reality was upon her. She was officially—legally—ours.
“Thank you, Warden,” Maxim said. “Rachel, I give you my word, we will never harm you. You have nothing to fear from myself or from Ryston. It is our job to protect you, cherish you. Claim you.”
I watched her swallow, then nod, her eyes quite wide.
“You belong to me, to Ryston—” no one in the room could miss the way she was bothered by the word belong, her eyes narrowing to thin slits as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, “—and we must ensure your safety. You can’t transport to the Colony without this.”
He held up the collar, the one that would one day match the one about my neck, and the one about Maxim’s. It was a trinity collar and the circle would only be complete when she had hers about her neck.
She looked at it oddly. “What…what is it for?”
“This will mark you as a Prillon bride and alert all others that you have been claimed.” His voice was a deep growl, but she didn’t appear to be intimidated. Thank the gods. When Maxim used his commander voice, grown fucking men pissed themselves.
She looked at Warden Egara. “Like a wedding ring?”
The warden lifted a brow and gave a slight nod. “Kind of. As a visible sign that you have mates, yes. But it’s a bit more than that.”
“I don’t understand.” Rachel looked from Maxim’s neck to mine. Her gaze lingered as I answered her question.
“Without the collar, we would be challenged for you. There are very few women on the Colony. We are banished warriors, forgotten. You are the first Interstellar Bride sent to us. Without the collar around your neck, every warrior who sees you will try to claim you for his own.”
“No.” Her denial was instant and vehement.
“I share your sentiment, mate.” Maxim stepped closer and watched as her pulse raced. “You are mine. I will destroy any other who tries to take you from me.”
“I’ll help,” I added, and Rachel’s gaze darted between us, but it was not fear that clouded her vision now, but desire.
Her hand circled her throat in a sweet display of nerves and I wanted to secure her hands behind her back and kiss her, right there. But it was Maxim she addressed. “Caveman much?”
Warden Egara laughed. I did not know what my mate’s question meant, but was saved trying to answer by the warden. “They are intense, Rachel. But I promise you, they’ll treat you like a goddess. It’s in their DNA.” The warden indicated the collar with a lift of her chin. “The collar will connect you to your mates in a way that’s hard to explain. They will be able to sense your emotions, and you will know what they’re feeling when you are near one another.”