“Very well. I’m not prepared to give up on the commander. Send her to us. We will get her in to see him.”
Warden Egara actually bowed her head before responding, as if she were speaking to royalty or something. “As you wish, Warlord Dax. If you have transport codes, I will initiate her transport now.”
“They should be arriving at any moment.”
Even as he spoke, the bright blue lights behind me began to flash and brighten and my chair jerked into motion. “What’s happening?”
“Received. Thank you. The commander’s mate is on her way.” Warden Egara ended her call and walked toward me with a sad smile on her face. “Good luck, Tiffani. I am sending you to Warlord Dax and his mate, Sarah. She is from Earth and recently matched. They will help you break in to see your mate.”
That didn’t sound good. Unlawful. Dangerous.
“Break in? Why would I have to break in?”
“He’s in Atlan prison, dear. On death row, as we call it. And you are not an Atlan female, or a member of his family.”
That made no sense. He’d committed no crime other than having his own genetic nature take its course. But I would be committing a crime to see him? I was the one who would be breaking the laws?
“But I’m his mate. And you said I would be a citizen of Atlan now, no longer a citizen of Earth. I should be allowed to see him. I shouldn’t have to break in anywhere.”
She nodded. “Very true, but rules are rules. And only Atlan females are allowed into the containment facilities. Good luck. I hope your attempts are enough to save you both.” She checked her tablet once more and I had a flash of déjà vu as she lifted her head and spoke. “When you wake, you will be on Atlan. Your processing will begin in three… two…”
I tensed, waiting for that last word and wondering what the hell I had just gotten myself into. Breaking into prison? Death row? Beast
mode? Holy shit.
“One.”
The blue light flashed and I was lowered into the pale blue water. I felt like I was inside an egg as the door to the examination room slid closed, locking me within. I closed my eyes and waited, terrified of what would happen next, but the longer I was in the water, the more relaxed I felt.
Were they freaking drugging me? The idea of breaking in to a prison didn’t seem quite so bad. Nor did a mate who was part beast. I felt… relaxed.
When my eyelids drifted closed with an irresistible urge to sleep I realized, yes, they absolutely were pumping me full of some kind of feel-good, either in the water or in the air, and I simply didn’t care.
Chapter Three
Tiffani, Planet Atlan, Warlord Dax’s Fortress
I awoke on a soft bed that made my king-sized mattress at home look like a twin. A fabric as soft as silk cushioned my cheek and I stroked the soft, cream-colored fabric as I looked around the room. I had landed in the middle of a freaking fairytale castle. The room was larger than my one-bedroom apartment back home, the walls looked like pale blue and gray marble. Plush rugs with scenes of oddly colored birds and trees littered the floor and a huge canopy draped the bed, making me feel like I was in a secret clubhouse.
Elaborate designs decorated white crown molding with swirls of gold and pewter gray that looked strangely similar to the cuffs I’d worn in my dream. And everything, from the couch and chair across the room, to the pillows, was bigger than I’d ever seen before. I wondered just how big these Atlan warriors truly were. And how big were their women? A human child would need a small ladder to get up on that couch.
“You’re awake.” The voice was friendly, female and spoke in English. I rolled over to see a petite brunette smiling at me. She was dressed like a princess in a flowing green-and-gold gown, her hair piled on top of her head in an elaborate up-do I could never hope to master. Her eyes were a warm brown, and full of sympathy as they looked at me. “How’s your head? Those NPUs can be brutal for the first few days.”
“NPU?” I blinked and tried to sit. With the movement, a flash of pain, like an icepick in my temple, made me groan.
“Yep, that’s what I thought.” She grinned and leaned forward with a glowing blue stick of some sort, which she waved around near my face. “Hold still. The ReGen wand will help with the headache.”
“Thanks.” I held still, but my eyes followed the wand back and forth, wondering what the hell she was doing. But it seemed to help and the headache faded. With it went the nausea. And a few moments later, blessedly, the room stopped spinning. I needed one of those.
“The NPU is a translator. While I obviously speak English, the Atlans don’t. It allows you to understand all languages. Better?” she asked.
I nodded and I didn’t feel a hint of pain.
She pulled the ReGen wand back and turned if off somehow, setting it on a decorative, gold-flecked nightstand next to the bed before holding out her right hand. “I’m Sarah.”
“Tiffani.”
“Nice to meet you.” She shook my hand, her grip warm but firm and I noticed the elegantly carved gold bands on her wrists.