“Lady Rone is not here. Go. Leave us.”
My heart sank a bit as I worried Thomar would scare them off. “I called her. They’re here for me.” I approached Thomar slowly and placed my hand on the back of his shoulder. “It’s okay. I wanted to meet the other Earth girls.”
Thomar’s entire body was tense, and I felt the anger, the chaos in his mind.
Varin moved from where he’d been reclined in bed to stand on his other side. “Thomar, stand down. They are friends.”
“They will take our mate.” A shiver raced over his body, and I winced in pain as a flash of agony, of rage stabbed into my mind through the collars. I had not felt this when we were alone, when Thomar was relaxed.
The two Prillon warriors took a step back and brought their weapons forward, not that the weapons would stop Thomar. They looked like baby-sized ray guns from a bad sci-fi movie.
Their motion sent Thomar another step closer to the edge, his reaction like boiling water inside my head. I gasped in pain, my fingers clawing into his back as I wobbled on my feet. God. How did he live with this?
Moving slowly, I clung to him as I shifted under his arm, along his side, to stand in front of him, between the other Prillons and my very angry, very volatile mate. “Thomar, it’s okay. I promise. I’m okay.” I wrapped one arm around his waist and squeezed as close as I could, pressing my body against him. With my free hand, I reached up to grab his chin. Gently, I tugged. “Look at me.”
He lowered his gaze, the chaos still churning in his mind. When our gazes locked, I saw the despair there, the shame. He could not control himself. Found his lack unforgivable. I knew this because his emotions came through the collar as clear as bells ringing in the wind.
“Thomar, give yourself time. I am going to meet the other women from Earth. Hopefully I can make some friends. I am perfectly safe with her guards. Okay? I’ll be back.”
“Two hours. Then I come for you.”
It was a start, and I didn’t want to push him. I knew he was fighting himself to let me out of his sight at all. The doctor and Varin had not exaggerated the level of his Hive implants or his mental and emotional struggles. “Okay. Two hours.”
“I shall set my comm. She won’t be late.” Lady Rone stepped forward from somewhere behind the guards. She’d been standing back, probably waiting to see what would happen with Thomar and his…condition. “I give you my word of honor that she will be safe. My mates do not allow females on The Colony to be in danger.”
“As proper warriors should not. If anything happens, I will come for them.”
“Thomar!” Had he seriously just threatened to kill the leaders of this place?
Lady Rone grinned at him, her complete lack of concern the only thing preventing me from having a stroke on the spot. “I’ll let them know.”
“Do so. Two hours.”
I stepped back to go with the guards, but Thomar grabbed me and kissed me. Hard. Deep. Like he couldn’t live without me, like the gods themselves demanded he claim me. He was totally dominant, aggressive, possessive. Everything inside me went nuclear, and I had wrapped my arms around him before I realized I had lost track of where I was standing.
I heard a woman clear her throat.
Oh shit.
Fighting for air, I broke contact and stared up into Thomar’s fierce gaze. “I’ll be back in two hours. I’ll be fine. I want to go meet the other women from Earth. It will make me happy.”
He shuddered, but I knew through the collars that he had control of himself now. “Go. Do not be late.”
“You’re really bossy, you know that?”
His smile was feral. Wild. I stepped back and smiled at Lady Rone. She held out her hand, and I shook it.
“Forget that.” She pulled me into a hug, and I hugged her back. Hard. “Welcome to The Colony, Danika. We’ve been dying to meet you.” She glanced over her shoulder, back at Thomar, as she led me away with an arm around my shoulder. “Had to wait because your mates kept you locked in your room.” Her words were overly loud and intended for ears other than my own.
I glanced back to gauge Thomar’s reaction. I shouldn’t have looked.
Arms crossed, his massive body covered in geometric designs, his cock full and free and pointing at me as if he wanted to follow me down the hallway. There wasn’t an ounce of embarrassment in his body. I knew because I could feel him. And Varin, who was behind him, flooded with relief. Hope. Exhaustion. He was tired. So tired of struggling, of feeling Thomar’s pain. Of absorbing so much pain as his own so Thomar could survive another day. Another hour.
I had to help them both. Varin with his loyal, loving heart. He was solid as a rock, strong, Thomar’s anchor and now, my new family’s foundation. And Thomar, who fought for control over his aggressive nature, his warrior’s instincts, turned up to the maximum and beyond by Hive integrations and two years of torture.
How had they survived?
Thomar was still watching me, so I grinned and shouted back down the corridor, “Stop showing off, Thomar. Get some clothes on. I don’t want the other women going after my man.”