“He’s mine. I don’t care what he is. I was matched to the way his is now. You’re both mine, and I’m not giving either of you up.”
“While I remember what happened to me, I don’t let it rule me. I have accepted the change. Some cannot and they kill themselves. Some become aggressive. Others acclimate over time, their anger diminishing as the months pass. Tyran, well, his failure haunts him more than most.”
“Why?” Was that the only word I could speak today?
“He’s a Zakar.”
I opened my mouth to give him the two-year-old’s favorite question one more time, but he cut me off.
“The Zakar family is a very important family on Prillon Prime. They have commanded the Fleet in Sector 17 for more than six hundred years. His cousin, Grigg, was made commander of the battlegroup a few years ago, the youngest commander in over a century.”
The lights were coming on in my mind, slowly. “What does that have to do with Tyran?”
Hunt sighed. “My family is not of the elite class, so I don’t feel the pressure Tyran does. His family is—difficult. Full of warriors who served, who fought for many, many years. Even their women are ruthless and cold. His family cut off all contact when he was taken by the Hive. His lands and wealth were given to his sister. He is dead to them.”
Dead to them? My whole body clenched with pain. “What assholes.”
Hunt held my gaze. “Now you begin to understand. Coalition fighters are captured and contaminated. Should we survive Hive torture, we are sent here to live out our lives. We were denied mates, denied family, our wealth gone. Our homes, gone.”
“But I’m here.”
He stroked my cheek. “Yes. Thank the gods, our new Prime is one of us. He understands and is trying to help. But hope is fragile, Kristin. You are only the second mate to arrive to the Colony even though our warriors began testing nearly six months ago. Your arrival is a miracle. And the fact that you will be a bride of Zakar—here—” He cut himself off as if he didn’t know how to finish that sentence.
“So, Tyran doesn’t want a mate?”
“He wants you so badly it is destroying him. When he is in pain, he just gets… quiet.”
Quiet? Was that what they were calling it these days?
“Don’t you mean highly sexual and extremely dominant?”
Hunt shrugged. “It is one way he copes. He lost control when he was at the mercy of the Hive, so it’s understandable that someone like him would become even more tempered. He preferred to be in control before he was captured, but he needs it even more now. You help with that, giving him an environment where he can wield power.”
“Sex, you mean.”
“Exactly. By submitting, you give back his strength. It’s beautiful to watch.”
“If it’s so beautiful and helpful, why is he not here? Why can’t I feel him? Why did he walk away?” I raised my free hand and touched the collar. “I don’t care about his family. Like I said, they sound like assholes.”
“When he’s working through something in his mind, he works. He hasn’t come back to our quarters. Maybe he regrets what he did with you, how he acted. Maybe he’s just taking time to think. It doesn’t matter, Kristin. He’ll figure things out. I know you’re good for him. For us.”
I wrapped my arms around him and melted into his embrace, the sheet completely forgotten. I looked up at him, my chin resting on his chest. “I’m glad I’m here.”
He kissed me then, slow and sweet. When he pulled back, I grinned. I felt our shared amusement through the collar. “I’m not sweet, mate. Do not forget this very important fact.”
I grinned. “Our little secret.”
“I want you,” he admitted, his hands running slow, seductive strokes up and down my bare back. “There are no rules against a second taking his mate and giving her pleasure, but you need to bathe and eat. And I want Tyran here with us when I take you again.”
I understood. We were still too new, too raw. We needed to be three together. “Yes. Should we go find him?”
“Let’s get you some clothes from the S-Gen and I will take you on a tour. I have no doubt word will get back to Tyran about where you are.” He looked me over, his eyes lingering in places that made me tingle. “You go take a shower and then we’ll go meet the others.”
“The others?”
He leaned forward until our foreheads met. “Yes. Remember I said you are only the second bride to arrive on the Colony? Meeting you will give many of the other warriors hope. They will see you glowing with happiness, because of our mad fucking abilities.”
I rolled my eyes, playfully punched him in the chest, but it was as hard as the wall behind us. I opened my mouth to debate his point, but found I could not. Yes. I was happy, and it had been because of them. For the first time in a long, long while, I was happy, without a care in the world. I wasn’t worried about some thirteen-year-old girl who’d gone missing, dealing with scared parents, the good-old-boys club or evil criminals. It was just me and my mates. And I knew Tyran was mine. Hunt was mine. They weren’t going anywhere and neither was I. We’d figure it out. “Yes. I am happy.”
He pulled back and looked me over once more, the grin on his face full of mischief. “I guess we’d better make sure you’re wearing blue.”
I blinked slowly, trying to connect the dots. “Why?”
Hunt pulled me along and I followed as he led me to the bathing room. “Because blue is Tyran’s family color. He’d lose his mind if he saw you wearing something else in a room full of unmated warriors.”