Warden Egara stood, went around the table, slid into the metal chair. “You have been matched. And it’s a first for me.”
“Oh?”
“You’ve been matched to a human. A man from Earth.” She glanced at her tablet again. “It’s a ninety-nine percent match.”
I climbed from the chair, put my hands on my hips. “What? I’m not staying here.” I was here being tested so I could leave this planet, not to end up stuck here.
She shook her head. “No. You won’t stay here. You’re matched to an Earth Coalition fighter. He’s the captain of a ReCon Unit serving in a Coalition Battlegroup.”
“What sector?” I was still reeling from something, my feelings a jumble about this. A man. A human man. I liked men—humans—just fine. But after that hot dream, I’d been hoping for two, huge Prillon hunks to totally blow my mind.
“437. Battlegroup Karter.”
“Are you serious?” Sector 437 was a known hotbed of Hive activity. I’d heard of Battlegroup Karter. Some very high level tech had been taken from that sector. The first Hive Nexus unit had been trapped there and eliminated by another human woman I’d served with in the Intelligence Core. Meghan Simmons. She’d been a friend, until she’d mated that Atlan Warlord, Nyko, and moved into civilian life on Atlan. I was happy for her, but I’d been alone out there with a whole lot of testosterone after she left.
And then the ship I was on blew up. Bruvan laid the blame at my feet. That had been fun, and earned me a trip home.
But I didn’t belong here anymore. I felt like a stranger in my own town. I couldn’t relate to anyone. I couldn’t talk about what I’d done for the Coalition. I got up, went to work, fed the neighbor’s cat. Day after day.
I thought of the dream that was quickly fading. Two guys. Not one. Definitely not human. No guy I’d met was that skilled. Or maybe I just hadn’t met the right guy. “So, you’re sure I’m not making a huge mistake?”
“Very sure. If you accept the match, you’ll be transported to his location.”
I began to pace and lifted my arm to tuck a strand of long black hair behind my ear. I got the dark locks from my Vietnamese grandmother and I wished with everything in me that she was still alive. That any of them were. But other than a few cousins I saw once or twice a decade, I was on my own. “What if I don’t like him?”
“You have thirty days to decline the match and be reassigned.”
“You sure I’m matched to a human?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?” Her brows rose with more than idle curiosity and I wondered just how much she knew about the kinky fantasies she’d sent into my head in that testing chair.
I thought about the dream. There were two men touching me. Making me melt and want and burn. But I’d never considered that before, so I could adapt. One man was enough. I could love one man just fine. My perfect match. A human. At least he wouldn’t have tentacles or anything weird. Bulging bug eyes. A forked tongue. Scales. Claws. Ugh. I shivered. “Can he be sent back to Earth when he’s done his service?”
“No.”
“Why not?” I fired off the questions like bullets.
“Because no matched mates can live on Earth. Once he accepted the testing, he is no longer allowed to return to Earth, the same rule as you.”
“Then we’ll live on a space ship the rest of our lives?”
The warden sighed.
“Commander, sit down. Please.”
She used my Coalition rank and that softened me. She saw me as someone from space more than just an Earth female. I did as she requested.
“Just like your time in service, not all answers are known. I can tell you this. Again. The testing is ninety-nine percent accurate. I can confidently say that you will be satisfied with your mate.”
I thought of just how satisfied the men in the dream had made me. I thought of that for a moment, then a specific detail about what she said. “The only way you can be confident this works is because you’ve been to space.”
She nodded.
“Yet you’re back.”
“I was matched to two Prillon warriors. They died in battle. I chose to remain a citizen of Prillon Prime, but I serve the Coalition as a warden here on Earth. Someday, when I’m ready, I’ll be matched again.”
I felt for her. I could see the loss in her eyes, the pain of losing not just one mate, but two. Did testing other women to be brides fulfill her or make feel her loss even more keenly?