I wanted them. I wanted what they were offering me. I wanted forever. And that fact scared the hell out of me.
Chapter Ten
Harper
Simply put, this wasn’t going to work. I was still Coalition. My contract not yet fulfilled. Technically, right now, for the entire past week, I’d been A.W.O.L. Missing. That hadn’t been brought up because I didn’t think Styx and Blade would alter their course. One thing I’d learned on Rogue 5 was that they made their own rules. They didn’t follow the Coalition’s. In fact, they seemed to all out avoid them. Which meant Styx didn’t give a shit that his mate was breaking a whole bunch of Coalition laws. They were considered outlaws and, now, so was I.
Since they didn’t seem to worry about pissing off an entire fleet of Interstellar Coalition warriors, I pushed the worry aside. I had bigger problems than being sent to prison for going A.W.O.L. At least I would be alive. My MedRec team might not be so lucky. They were out there somewhere, prisoners or worse. I couldn’t forget. I felt helpless trying to solve the mystery of the attack, or helping to bring back my missing crew. I knew nothing of this planet to know where to start a search. I couldn’t contact anyone within the Coalition. My hands were tied. I had to rely on others to find them. Styx and Blade assured me the Hunters were searching, that all I had to do was sit back and wait.
Easier said than done. Patience was not my thing. Not when people I cared about were hurting or in danger.
Still, I’d been here, on Rogue 5 getting my mind blown by two skilled, very attentive alien lovers while my team suffered somewhere at the hands of our enemies. I had no choice but to trust in Styx’s team, that they would do their job and do it well. If I were to remain here as their mate, it was something I would need to get used to.
In the meantime, Blade leaned in and placed a quick kiss on my lips. I turned from him when an odd sound reached my ears. Like a baseball dropped on hardwood. A thunk. The sound of rolling. I saw the object, metal and round, rolling across the floor. More the size of a softball, but shiny. I followed the path it came from, saw a man staring at me. I sucked in a breath, instantly recognizing him from the Latiri battlefield. Silver hair, pale eyes, empty, indifferent gaze. I’d only seen him for a matter of seconds, but I knew. I would never forget his face. Never.
Something bumped the side of my foot. The softball. When I glanced back up, I saw the grin on his face. Wicked. Menacing.
That was when I heard the beeping. Quiet. So quiet I could barely hear it.
“Styx!” Blade bellowed the warning, kicking the object away from me with the power of a pro-soccer player.
My gaze tore from the familiar face of the stranger, watched Blade’s motion. “What—”
Before I could finish my sentence, Styx lifted me and threw both of us to the side, his back to the room, his body curled around mine protectively as the world exploded. I landed hard on my hands and knees, felt Styx’s heavy weight against my back.
The boom shattered windows and made my ears ring with pain. Behind me, Styx grunted as the force of the blast hit him in the back.
No one screamed.
Not one fucking person screamed. Shouts came as soon as my hearing returned.
I smelled blood. Not quite human. No heavy metallic tinge of human blood. This was earthier, heavier.
It smelled like death.
I shoved at Styx’s hands where they held me to him, but he refused to release me as I heard movement. Scrambling. Orders given in harsh, rough voices by people who were used to fighting. Used to bleeding. Dying.
“Let me go!” I fought him with all my strength, but my muscles were no match for his. I felt the heat of him, the hard lines of his muscles, all taut and tense.
“No.” He curled around me even more tightly. I felt his breath on my neck, the hammering of his heart against my back. “Not until Blade gives the all clear.”
“Blade could be hurt, you big jerk. Let. Me. Go.” I slammed my closed fist into his forearm. Whether he released me or not, there would be no escaping his determination to protect me. “Now. Let me help. If something happens to Blade, I’ll never forgive you. Never.” It was a low blow; I knew it. But I was shocked to my core to realize it was also true. Blade was mine. He mattered. Not that the others in the room who were injured weren’t important, but I spoke the truth. If Blade died because Styx held me back, I’d never forgive him.
Hells bells, I was in love with him. In love with both of these dominant, protective aliens.
Styx’s arms loosened, and he rolled away from me. He was on his feet before I’d even turned around. Protecting me. Again.
I stood on shaky legs, ears still ringing, and had to look around Styx’s big frame to take in the room. What had happened. There was no fire, only black smoke that rolled toward the ceiling.
Bodies on the floor. Blood. Looks of shock and resignation and pain.
This was a world I knew well. My world for almost two years. Shoving at Styx’s shoulder, I pushed past him and yanked a pretty cloth from one of the table decorations. It was clean.
I handed it to Styx, coughed from the smoke. “Tear this into strips, and get me a ReGen wand. Get as many as you can. We’re going to need them.” I hopped down from the platform and searched for Blade. He groaned, but he was moving. His eyes opened, and he looked up at me from where he was prone on the floor.
“Blade!” I dropped to my knees next to him and ran my hands over every inch of his body with well-practiced efficiency. When he smiled and tried to pull me down for a kiss, I knew he was all right. Styx and Blade were okay.
I could breathe. The world flooded my senses once more, loud and stinking of smoke and chemicals and blood. But I was here. Present. I could think.