Bella didn’t wait for a reply, for she knew the answer.
“You are Evon’s father and have three other children. Your name is Bywen Alixor Tyrell. You were born in Sector 2 to a widow name Janza, your father Alix having died in the Hive wars serving Battleship Zakar, Sector 17, before you were born. You broke your left ring finger when you were twelve and this is why you only purchased a ring for your mate when you claimed her, never acquiring one for yourself.” Bella kept her eyes on the tablet as she spoke. “Ah, that’s so sweet. Earth marriages have rings, too. Let’s see…your residence in Viken United has had deliveries for some kind of food item I’ve never heard of. Pornice? Is that it?”
Whispers came from the panel and I saw that the commander’s face was turning a ruddy red. She was learning more than she should while proving her point. Pornice was a rich delicacy imported from Prillon Prime. It was fattening and famously expensive. Only rich snobs requested it on Viken. But Bella wouldn’t know that and pointing it out now would only come across as obnoxious.
“Let’s see. That’s all very interesting, but let’s dig a little deeper.” Her fingers flew over the tablet, almost faster than I could see, her eyes darting rapidly, analyzing and adapting to what she saw. I was in awe. Her mind was working faster than any I’d ever seen. When a sly grin tilted the corner of her lip, I braced myself for worse than Pornice. “I see you are a member of a club called Trinity in Central City, which isn’t far from here. You’ve been a Master there for twenty years and are marked with a three-headed serpent on the inside of your wrist. Your commanding officer made note of it in your file, but next to it he wrote something about the habit not affecting your combat skills? Whatever this ‘habit’ is?” She shrugged, her fingers, flying over the pad again. “Your mate also belongs to the club. Her name is—”
“Enough!” It wasn’t the commander who shouted, but Dravon.
Evon had paled, his face unmoving, hard as granite. Trinity was a members-only sex establishment in the largest city on the northern continent. That meant that Evon’s father was a Master-level Dominant with years of training. I hid a grin. Seemed our Evon came by the tendency quite naturally.
Nothing Bella had said was a matter of planet-wide security, but the commander was embarrassed. As a Master Dominant, he would have participated in a wide variety of sex acts, hopefully with Evon’s mother, although it was known that members often swapped sexual partners.
Bella lifted her head then. “I can go on. Give me access to a fully functional communications station here, and I bet I can hack the security access codes of every member of this station.” Her head tilted to the side, and I realized she was talking more to herself than anyone else in the room. “Or swap them. If no one knows who’s who, a switch might be easier than a full hack.”
“It appears my mate has proven her point.” Liam’s crisp words were spoken quickly, to keep the panel and everyone off the tidbits learned about one of Viken’s highest leaders. “I am quite sure the private personnel file of our esteemed commander was not without protection.”
The Sector 1 panel member spoke. “It does seem as if the information your mate has shared was confidential enough for me to have reasonable doubt as to the use of your access code.” She looked to the others. “Do you agree?”
Three of them nodded and she waited for Commander Tyrell’s ruling. While his was not necessary; if he disagreed, he would still be outnumbered four to one in favor of Liam’s release.
He stared at Bella, then Evon. My friend put a hand on her shoulder.
“I am convinced we need to investigate this matter further,” the commander said. “Release him, but he is not to leave the station.”
“Yes, sir.” The guard nearest Liam removed the manacles from his wrists, as Bella took a small hop in her excitement and pulled me into her in celebration. I was proud of our new mate, and knew Evon was as well. His arms came around her, here, on full display of his family. But Evon’s brother rose, icy anger settled over him like a cloud, making his eyes cold, hard points glittering in his flushed face.
“How dare you?” He was walking toward us, toward Evon. “How dare you do this, brother?”
Evon turned and pushed Bella behind him before turning to face his brother. Face-to-face, they were nearly mirror images of one another. Same golden hair, same height and build, but Dravon was five years younger and spoiled. Hot-headed. He’d not been hardened by battle as Evon had. As I had. He was, in my mind, still a child. An impulsive, rude little boy who needed his ass kicked.
“Careful, Dravon.”
“Or what?” Dravon pushed Evon in the chest, going nose to nose with his older brother. “A few hours with your cock buried in your mate’s wet pussy and you lose your mind? We all know Liam is guilty. His family bleeds for the VSS, always has. I can’t believe you’re so stupid as to believe him.” Dravon glanced at me, at Bella, then back at Evon. “He’s a liar and a murderer, and I’m going to make sure he pays for what he did.”
The young fool pushed Evon again, but I knew my friend, knew he would never dishonor his family as Dravon did now. The little bastard needed to be put in his place, but Evon would not be the one to do it.
I, however, had no such inhibitions. And I didn’t like him talking about Bella. She was mine. And her hot, wet pussy? That was fucking mine, too.
Liam shouted at me to stop, but it was too late.
/>
With a shout of laughter, I pulled back and then punched the cocky little bastard right in the face.
He flew back, dead weight when he hit the floor. Hard.
Not hard enough.
“Gods be damned, Rager!” Liam yelled at me, but I was watching Dravon twist and roll on the floor, coming back to himself. The commander shouted at the guards to take me down, but I didn’t care. No, I wanted to strike him again for his disrespect of both my friend and my mate.
“Stay down, you arrogant little ass. How dare you speak to Evon that way?” I bellowed the last. “And never speak of my mate again or I will pound you into dust.”
I took a step toward him, but small, soft hands wrapped around my elbow, pulling me back.
“Rager! Stop!” Bella’s voice was like a chime in my mind, waking me up. I glanced around to see four guards with ion blasters pointed at my chest.
Chapter Eight