No. Rager was fucking Thalia.
So who was the woman on the side? Her? Or me?
Pulling back silently, I left them to it and ran on tip-toes to the door. Thankfully, Viken doors slid open and closed silently and Rager—and his fuck buddy—hadn’t known I’d even been there. I had no idea where I was going, just…away.
Stumbling down the hall in a daze, I shivered and wrapped my arms around my stomach as nausea rose to choke me. God, I was such an idiot. I’d fallen in love with these men, totally bought into the lie of the perfect match, the one true mate who would fulfill all of my subconscious desires. A mate, or mates, who would want me as I was. Accept me for who I was.
Love me.
They were supposed to love me. Put me first. Take care of me forever. We were supposed to be a team, a family, an unbreakable unit with an unbreakable bond.
We were matched, for fuck’s sake.
The strangled laughter that erupted from my body held no hint of humor. Pain roared through me like a lion camped out in my brain, rattling my bones from the inside until it felt like even my eyes trembled. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t focus. All I could do was feel, and the self-hatred was getting pretty heavy, weighing me down until I rounded my back and hunched my shoulders like an eighty-year-old woman.
Stupid. I was a freaking genius, right? Could hack almost any system, write complex code in my sleep, and I’d fallen for the oldest trick in the book. They’d used me, used my body, made me believe they cared about me.
I’d fallen in love with them, and that was the worst pain of all. I’d given them everything, heart and body and soul. And the whole time they’d been lying.
Evon chose his family over the truth, and ultimately over me. He’d acknowledged my abilities, but turned his back on them. He’d turned his back on me. I couldn’t live with a mate who denied the truth. Hid it to protect others. It was the very reason I’d traveled all the way across the damn universe, to avoid just this scenario. But no. Stupid shit and petty people were everywhere.
And that included Rager. I ran my hand over my face, tugged on my hair as I walked. Two warriors moved out of my way as I passed. God, Rager!
He was the sweetest one, the gentle one. At least with me. I never knew anyone so patient. If I hadn’t come so quickly, I had no doubt he would have kept his head between my thighs for hours to get me off. He had a quick smile and a hard cock. I’d thought they were both just for me, for his fucking matched mate, but no.
How long had this thing with Thalia been going on? I wasn’t a virgin, and while they hadn’t said it outright, there was no way Evon, Rager or Liam were virgins either. They’d fucked before and obviously Rager had fucked Thalia. Was still fucking her.
It had been a day. A damn day and he couldn’t keep his hands off her. They’d taken me twice in twenty-four hours, and that wasn’t enough for him?
“Such bullshit.” Enough. Two out of three of my mates were assholes.
Wait. I stopped in my tracks, a huge lightbulb going off. Evon was protecting Thalia. Rager was fucking Thalia. Did that mean they were in on the scheme to frame Liam? Were they helping Thalia? Were they both working with her? Were they transporting stolen goods? I hadn’t seen the footage where the poor guard they’d mentioned was murdered, but had Rager or Evon been the ones to do it? Oh god. Was I mated to murderers?
What about Liam? He was being framed for all this, and if the truth didn’t come out, he was going to be executed. But Evon had made me turn off the monitors, walked away from the truth. When it was before him in full color, he turned his back.
But what about my other mate? Liam was innocent, being set up by his two closest friends. Close enough that they decided to share a mate. So far, Liam was perfect. Perfect for me.
Shaking my head, I ran my fingers along the smooth wall as I walked. I’d thought the other two perfect as well, but look where that got me. Wandering the damn halls.
No. I wasn’t going to wander any longer. I didn’t need to. I didn’t need these mates. I had thirty days. Or twenty-nine, now. Whatever. By Interstellar Brides rules, I could refuse the m
ates they’d matched me to and I’d be matched to someone new.
It took me less than a day to be matched and transported halfway across the galaxy. I could be somewhere else on Viken before dinner.
Good. I stood still, looked around, trying to remember the layout of this station on the maps I’d seen earlier. My mind settled and the image of the grids of rooms and hallways, sections and stations appeared like magic.
At least my brain was still working. My heart hurt, had trusted this alien mating system, had thrown years of caution to the wind and believed.
No more. I figured out where the testing center was in relation to where I wandered and tried to keep my pace steady and measured as I made my way there.
The door slid open and a Viken man wearing the same burgundy and dark gray I’d seen on Warden Egara looked up from where he sat at his desk. He was older, perhaps sixty. The Interstellar Brides Program logo was on his chest and his eyes were kind. He reminded me of an old country doctor, the kind that held his patient’s hands and gave lollipops to toddlers. He had a mild demeanor and a kind smile. I had to imagine he was good at making nervous warriors comfortable.
“I’m Warden Vora. You are the mate from Earth, arrived yesterday. Isabella Martinez.” He stood up and bowed at the waist as he greeted me. “How may I assist you?”
The Viken was of similar size to my mates—no, they weren’t my mates anymore. Looking around, I spotted the testing chair, identical to the one I’d sat in on Earth.
“I am here to exert my rights as a new bride. It hasn’t been thirty days yet and I’d like new mates.”