Chapter Four
Rezzer
We reached the transport room and the doors slid wide, the Prillon transport officer looking up as if he was expecting us. He was. A set of Atlan mating cuffs was waiting for me as well. He handed the cuffs to me, and I had no choice but to accept them, pinning them to my waist even though I knew I would not have the opportunity to use them.
“Governor.” The transport officer nodded at Maxim first, then the doctor, Ryston and me. “Lady Rone.” Inclining his head, he bowed to Rachel whose hand rested gently on top of her round, baby bulge. All three of them, the governor, Rachel and Ryston wore matching copper colored collars, identifying them as a mated set. A twinge of envy shot through me at what those warriors shared. A female who loved them. A child. They were a family despite everything that had happened to them during the war. I had no doubt Kristin, Tyran’s and Hunt’s mate and a member of my security team, would be with us if she were able. But the human woman was on bed rest, the Prillon child she carried about to burst from her body.
Lady Rone smiled at the transport officer, and he stood taller, straighter, his shoulders back.
“We're expecting a transport from Earth,” she said.
“Yes, my lady.” He looked down at his controls. “A bride from the Interstellar Brides processing center in Miami, Florida, should be arriving any moment.”
“Miami?” Rachel asked, her eyes practically glowing. She took a step closer to me again, ignoring Maxim’s warning growl. She even shooed him away with her hand. “Oh, behave. Just because I’m wearing your collar doesn’t mean you can constantly act like a Neanderthal.”
He raised his brows. “What, exactly, is a Neanderthal, mate?”
Rachel laughed. “Knock it off, Maxim.” She took my arm, ignoring her mates completely. “Miami. That means she’s from the US. Like me.”
I knew she expected a response, but I didn’t have one to give her. It wasn’t like I knew what the US was. Where my bride came from, what she looked like, the very essence of her, was all irrelevant because she wasn’t going to be mine. The moment I saw her and my beast remained dormant, I was a dead man. We all knew it, but Rachel was the one who remained upbeat. She had a life growing within her; she was the optimistic sort.
She and the doctor hoped for a miracle. I knew that, but I did not hold such fanciful notions. If the rage that I carried, my hatred for the Hive and what they had done to me had not been enough to trigger the beast, the sight of a beautiful female, a stranger, would do nothing more.
A buzzing energy filled the air as the transport pad came to life. Maxim pulled Rachel backward, her back to his chest, his arms coming around her possessively as Ryston took a step in front of her, blocking her view of the transport pad.
“Get out of the way,” she hissed at Ryston’s back.
He crossed his arms but did not move. “Not until we know that a bride is the only thing arriving on this transport.”
The doctor raised his brow, but Rachel only sighed. “You guys are ridiculous. You do know that, right?”
The governor, Maxim, lowered his head and nuzzled the side of her neck. “It is our job to be ridiculous where your safety is concerned. And that of our baby.”
I ignored the byplay, surprised to find that I was actually curious about the woman taking shape on the transport pad. This was really happening. I’d really been matched to a female who was perfect for me. And she was here.
Once the transport began, she materialized quickly, lying on the hard surface. While most transports occurred while one was conscious, the distance from planet to planet, from Earth to the Colony was too great to remain awake.
She arrived wearing an Atlan gown, a dark burnished gold. It shimmered in the bright light. Her hair was long and straight. Sheer black silk so dark it appeared blue when the light reflected off the strands. Her skin was slightly darker in hue than Rachel’s or Kristin’s, but looked soft. Fragile.
My hand curled into a fist at my side as I fought the impulse to touch her. Her curves were generous, her breasts large. I could tell that she was tall, much taller than the other Earth women who had arrived here. I found that pleased me. For though the Prillon warriors were large, I was half a head taller.
I waited impatiently for her to open her eyes, for her to wake. I knew the Prillon brides usually arrived naked, as was the custom on their home world, Prillon Prime. On Atlan, however, our brides arrived in gowns that hugged their bodies like silk. The material was feminine, soft and inviting, clinging to her curves, so that the Warlord who claimed her, could properly admire them.
Rachel shoved at Ryston’s arm, forcing him to the side, not because she was strong enough to move him, but because he allowed it. “Oh, Rezzer, she’s beautiful,” Rachel said.
The human was right. My mate’s face was delicate, with arched black brows and a pouting pink mouth that looked ripe for exploration.
The doctor knelt near her, lifted a wand and did a quick scan. He looked to me, seemingly satisfied as to her health, nodded, then cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should leave Rezzer to his mate.”
“Oh, but I want to meet her,” Rachel insisted. “She’s from home.”
Maxim lifted her in his arms, swinging her and her pregnant belly up into his hold as he strode toward the door, Ryston on his heels. “This is your home now, mate. I can see we need to remind you.”
“No, really.” Rachel laughed and threw her arms around his neck. “I know this is home. But she’s from Earth.”
Ryston followed them out the door, his eyes heating with a look so filled with desire and expectation that I turned away. I could not stare. I could not stand to look at him. Not when I knew the desire driving him would never be mine.
The doctor looked at me. “Would you like me to stay, perhaps document your reaction?”