Heat spread in my chest that had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with the softness, the genuine worry I saw in her eyes. If she loved my brothers, surely there was also room in her heart for me.
“Don’t argue with me. Have faith, love. They are warriors, not pompous politicians who grew up wearing robes.” I smiled down at her, amazed by her strength of spirit. “Be silent. They are trusting me to keep you safe, Leah. Don’t argue.”
She nodded and didn’t fight me again as I shifted her into a more comfortable position in my arms. She didn’t cry out as I carried her away and I was amazed by the calm set of her beautiful face. One minute she was asleep between us, the next she was under attack, learning that the Viken regent had been murdered for personal and political gain… and she was next. She was truly the only person on Viken who could waylay Gyndar’s plans. If my brothers and I were dead, the child she carried was the man’s only completion for power. Sure, Drogan, Lev, and I could unite forces and lead, but the various sectors wouldn’t stand united as we desired—as the regent had wanted—without the future leader that was the physical embodiment of all three sectors. The one true heir.
My daughter. Our daughter.
With Leah better settled in my hold I was able to sure-foot it over fallen logs, rocks, and stumps and veer toward the water’s edge. Lev wouldn’t be the only one who doled out spankings in this family. When it came to her safety, she obeyed. No doubt she would listen better after her ass was turned a bright shade of pink.
Her fear was not unfounded and I worried for my brothers. They were outnumbered. I’d seen Drogan about to tackle Gyndar to the ground when I carried Leah away. To her innocent eyes, it looked as if two of her mates were surely going to die. While I didn’t know my brothers much better than she did, I knew how they were raised, how they could fight and what they were fighting for. They would survive and Gyndar would be annihilated.
In the meantime, I would get her to Viken United, to neutral ground, to the home that stood empty and waiting for us.
* * *
Leah
It seemed that Tor was just as skilled at paddling as his brother. I was carefully placed in a small boat, one similar to the one I arrived in, and Tor took us back to Viken United. Once we were out on the open water and he was sure we weren’t followed, he told me of our destination. I fretted the entire time over Drogan and Lev, the doctor, and seeing Gyndar—the man I recognized from when I transported—in a completely different light. He wasn’t the second-in-command any longer. He wasn’t a wallflower. He was intent on stealing my child and killing me, eliminating all of us.
Yet my mates were taking him on. As worried as I was for them, I was also proud of my warriors. They were the true rulers of Viken, and when faced with a deadly threat, they had united and fought as one. For me. For our child.
While Tor assured me of his brothers’ wellbeing, I fretted quietly for hours until the stress of the day wore me down and I fell asleep. I didn’t remember anything after that—arriving back in Viken United, being carried to Tor’s parents’ palace, or being put into a giant bed. I awoke to an empty bed, but when I sat up I saw Tor writing at a large desk. He put his work aside and came over to me. While I was very much naked, he was freshly clothed.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his hands raking over my body. While his touch was far from sexual, I couldn’t help but react. My nipples pebbled and my skin flushed warmly.
“Better now. I… I worry for Lev and Drogan.”
He tucked my long hair behind my ear, eyed me intently. “Th
ey are here, unharmed.”
I looked over his shoulder, but they were not in the room.
Tor smiled. “They are eating their morning meal and bathing. They promised they would come to you as soon as—”
The door opened, halting Tor mid-sentence. In strode my other men, clean, smiling and whole.
I scrambled off the bed, uncaring of my nakedness, and ran over to them. Lev scooped me up in his arms and held me close. I breathed in his familiar scent as Drogan came to stand behind me. I felt his hard body down the length of my back.
“Miss us, mate?”
“You know I did.” Relief washed over me as I knew they were well and safe. “Gyndar?”
“You do not need to worry about him any longer.” Drogan’s voice was a deep growl by my ear. I spun around and he pulled me into a hug. “We will announce to the planet later today that you are our mate and that you carry the rightful heir to the Viken throne.”
I felt skeptical. “That’s all? You just have to tell the people and they will follow along? Aren’t there more doubters like Gyndar out in the sectors?”
Drogan loosened his hold and I stood between him and Lev. Tor came up beside me and I was surrounded. Sheltered. Protected.
“Probably,” Lev said. “This is our parents’ home. The home that has been ours all this time, waiting for our return. Regent Bard had the right of it. The three of us should have come together sooner to unify the planet.”
“Our parents died trying to unite the sectors and it is our turn now to return the planet to the old ways. We will stop training our men to fight each other and send them out to battle the Hive for the Interstellar Coalition, to protect us all.” Drogan said. “Our actions this day will speak far louder than any words. Gyndar’s betrayal will be broadcast to the entire planet along with our message. None will dare oppose us, for we each have staunch allies in the sectors, people we trust. The planet will thrive again, and all because of you, mate.”
Tor’s hand wrapped around my waist to cup my slightly rounded belly. Our child was growing quickly. “They will see your body round with our child and know that our words ring true, that this child, this daughter of ours, will be the new ruler in her time, with three powerful sector leaders to guide her and teach her what is right.”
“You will tell all of Viken about our daughter now?” I asked.
All three men shook their heads. “Not now. Later.”