I slid into the tiny enclosure and felt the sting of the needle first on one side of my temple, then the other. I was quite sure that the strange and very strong buzzing sensation I now felt on both sides of my head would give me a migraine from hell. Resigned to suffer the effects of the NPU, I was lowered into a heated bath of some sort. Blue light surrounded me.
“When you wake, Hannah Johnson, your body will have been prepared for Prillon Prime’s matching customs and your mate’s requirements. He will be waiting for you.”
Holy shit. “Now? Right now?” I struggled against the cuffs that held my wrists to the table. “I haven’t even said goodbye to my brother! Wait!”
For some reason, my anger and frustration just disappeared, as if the warm bath washed it away. What the heck was in the water? I felt so relaxed, so happy.
So numb.
Warden Egara’s clipped voice was the last thing I heard above the quiet humming of electrical equipment and lights. “Your processing will begin in three… two… one…”
Everything faded to black.
Chapter Two
Commander Zane Deston, Prillon Warship, Sector 764
The bitter taste of protocol weighed down my tongue as I listened to the warriors gathered around the table. We were lucky enough to have soundly defeated the enemy, the Hive, in this sector more than a month ago, and unlucky enough to now have the honor of hosting Prillon Prime’s heir, Prince Nial, on board my warship. The young prince was to be mated when he returned to our home world, and he was delaying the inevitable for as long as possible. He was a highly skilled pilot, but he was untested. He wanted a taste of combat, not the pampered palace existence he’d experienced his entire life.
The Battleship Deston, named after its commander, was the only place in the universe he could hide from the Prime, his father, the king of our world. This ship was the only place immune from the Prime’s powerful reach.
This ship was mine. As a commander with royal blood, not even the royal house could take it from me. Not only was I the Prime’s cousin, but I’d proven myself in many battles. Allies and enemies alike whispered my name in fear.
Despite my reputation across the entire interstellar fleet, I was forced to remain in this sector. Waiting. A woman, my new mate, the mate I didn’t want or need here screwing up my life or my routines, was to be transported and we had to remain stationary to receive her. I hadn’t even made the request of the Interstellar Bride Program myself. My mother had done that without my knowledge or permission. I’d been forced to accept a bride and name a second. If I had refused, I would have dishonored my entire family.
The fact that my mate was unwanted was my secret, my burden to bear. The crew aboard my warship was happy for the delay in our return to the frontier, and eager to meet their new matriarch. My second, Dare, was eager to claim a female and share her with me as true warriors did. Both the primary and secondary males shared the pleasures and responsibilities of the female and her offspring. We lost too many warriors in battle and the custom of sharing a mate ensured that no mated female was ever left all alone. Two warriors from a family line were pledged to every female’s life, body, and honor. If one died, a new second was named.
I had named my second. I had participated in the matching process. And now all I could do was pretend to
be pleased at the match and accept whatever bride was sent to me. I simply hoped she would be intelligent enough not to be a hindrance, and strong enough to accept my nature. Prillon brides were rare, and powerful in their own right. My bride would wield much power, if she were worthy enough for me to give it to her. I wanted a mate who would submit to my every need, but my very base, dominant needs had frightened more than one female from my world. I couldn’t imagine a fragile female from Earth would fare better. I knew I would need to maintain control of myself, keep my true nature contained, if I didn’t want a terrified bride.
“I’m sure your bride will arrive any time, commander. The transport was to be initiated today.”
“I’m sure her hair will be like spun gold and her eyes a dark shade of amber.” Harbart spoke from his place of honor standing at Prince Nial’s right shoulder. Harbart was a pompous little ass, a stooped old man and a creature devoted not to the sacred act of war, but to the distasteful duties of politics, in particular the rise of his daughter as Prince Nial’s betrothed.
Thank the gods for that. If not for Harbart’s interest in my cousin, Nial, the poisonous old man would have most likely set his sights on mating his daughter to me. Currently, I was third in line to the throne. I needed Nial to claim a bride and start producing offspring as quickly as possible.
“Thank you, Harbart.” I accepted his good wishes and leaned back in my command chair. The table in the meeting room seated six of my captains—all formidable warriors with the dark golden hair and yellow eyes common to our people—and the prince. For three hours we had reviewed reports and battle preparations. All ship sections had reported in. All repairs had been made after our last battle with the Hive. Now, an entire battle group, five thousand warriors and ten ships, were stranded in space waiting on a female. My female.
Dread filled my gut at the very idea.
Harbart opened his mouth to speak and I caught the gaze of my first officer, who rolled his eyes as the communications beacon dinged. My medical officer’s voice filled the small meeting room. “Commander, we have taken your mate to medical station one. She arrived a few minutes ago, unconscious, but stable.”
Regardless of my disinterest in a bride, I was curious about the woman matched to me. Every muscle in my body went taut with the need to rush to the medical section and inspect her. I could not do so, not now. If I did, every male in the room would demand to accompany me. I would rot in the tar pits on Prillon Prime before I allowed the sniveling politician, Harbart, to see my bride’s naked form. I might not have requested the woman, but that did not make her any less mine. Mine to see, mine to care for, and mine to fuck.
The claiming ceremony was sacred and private; only my closest warriors, those I trusted with both my life and hers, would be allowed to bear witness to the claiming. In bearing witness, they vowed to honor and protect my new mate as a sacred part of me, as half of my body, half of my flesh. They pledged their lives to her protection. And before that ceremony could begin, I needed to ensure she accepted me and my second, and that she was committed to our match. Prillon brides were never forced to accept a mate. I frowned. If I couldn’t tame my new bride in the next thirty days without scaring her away, I didn’t deserve to keep her.
Regardless of the timing, I’d slit Harbart’s throat before I allowed him to witness that blessed rite.
“Very well, doctor,” I replied, my voice calm and even. “No one is to see her but me. I will come to her after my meeting with the engineers.”
“Yes, commander.”
The communication unit went quiet and so did the room as the men stared at me in disbelief.
“Why do you not rush to her side, commander?” Harbart’s outraged question confirmed that I had made the correct decision. The vile male couldn’t wait to set his lecherous eyes on my mate.
His obvious jealousy made possessiveness flare. To my surprise, desire for an unseen woman heated my blood and I fought back the urge to rush to her, to see her, to taste her flesh and claim her body with my own. She was matched to me out of every other male in the universe. Her desires were matched to mine and I was eager to test the program’s success. Perhaps my mother had been right to force the issue. Knowing my mate was onboard the ship caused my mind to shift. Logic insisted I did not require a bride, but with her so near, my body had other ideas.