“This is unheard of, Miss Nichols.” Her eyes weren’t sad anymore, but the look I saw there was worse. Pity. “You are giving up a chance at true happiness, Violet. I cannot send you to Trion. The matching protocols are very specific. Now that you’ve been matched, my hands are tied. I can’t send you to another planet knowing you’ll be unhappy.”
Turning, I narrowed my eyes at the woman. “Warden Egara, I’m not going to Viken.” I closed my mouth, gritted my teeth and spit out, “It’s Trion, with my sister, or nothing.”
“But—”
“Get me out of here, please. I’m going home.”
The warden just stared at me for a full minute, obviously thinking about what she was going to do. Didn’t women ever reject their matches? I would assume women said ‘No’ all the time. I mean, cold feet seemed reasonable at a time like this. Right?
Or was I the idiot here? Turning down a chance at true happiness? But no. There was no happiness without my sister. She was my other half. I didn’t need a man—or three—for that. I needed to know she was safe. Happy. I knew I’d never be happy until I knew she was all right. I swore taking care of her was in my DNA.
“If you don’t let me get up off this chair, I’m going to start screaming.”
She walked toward me and held my gaze. “You’re making a mistake, Violet.”
“No, I’m not. I can’t go to Viken.”
Her sigh was so deep I swore it rattled my bones, and definitely rattled my nerves. “Very well.”
The chair slid back into the main room, the weird doors sliding shut, the blue light disappearing. Then, the restraints retracted almost magically and I got up so fast I nearly ran her over, rubbing that sore spot behind my ear that now had a weird, painful lump. It wasn’t a mistake. I’d just have to find another way to get to Trion.
There had to be another way.
2
Calder, Planet Viken, Viken United, Transport Station #4b
She was coming. My mate. Gods, finally. My heart raced and I took deep breaths to calm my anticipation. Two years. Two fucking years of waiting for her. She’d been out there all this time, unknown to me, unknown to being matched to me. Ninety-seven percent perfect. The other three percent? We’d work it out. As soon as she arrived.
I stared at the empty transport pad, one in a long line of fifteen at this transport center. It was the largest in Viken United, the busiest as well. Fighters, guards, mates all came in and out of here, arriving from distant planets like my mate from Earth, others to a possible battlegroup. I looked down the line, saw a couple materialize side by side, holding hands. He wore the black uniform and arrow insignia of being from Sector Two, she the usual soft, simple dress of a Viken mate.
Envy coursed through me, swift and fierce. I wanted to hold my mate’s hand, be with her in every way. Know that she was beside me, safe and mine. Mine.
I tapped my toe with impatience. I’d been summoned three hours ago with the news I’d finally been matched. How long did it take for her to arrive? I knew Earth to be light years away, but didn’t the transport technicians know that every second I waited was like ripping out my heart? She was mine. It was official. She’d accepted and was coming. Mine.
Mine!
“Calder, good to see you.”
I turned at my name, saw a familiar face. “You as well. It’s Zed, right?” I asked. The tall male nodded, his short hair had a hint of curl and slid over his forehead as he did so.
“Yes, it’s been a long time. It was the mission to Sector Twenty-seven, I think.”
I thought back to when we’d met, when we’d fought together. “Three years or so. That was a fucking mess. Glad to be alive after that.” I didn’t want to think about the massacre we’d survived. A battlegroup had been caught by the Hive on all sides. We’d had to band together, squadrons of fighters as well as I.C. for over two weeks. The Hive had killed or integrated so many before the reinforcements finally came. We’d been pinned down and I’d gotten to know the others. Battle did that, created bonds that couldn’t be compared in any other setting.
His face was grim and I knew he, too, thought back to that time. “I retired six months after that.”
In his black uniform, it matched my memory of him, indicating he was from Sector Two. The red band around his arm matched the red adorning mine. I wore brown, to represent my sector, but I was part of the royal guard. The red bands only worn by those of us in direct service to the kings. But I hadn’t seen Zed around Viken United. I was part of the queen’s private guard, and completely enamored of the little princess, Allayna. I adored watching the three kings with their mate and daughter, but each day it became harder to bear. The loneliness pressing in on me like a poison. I needed my mate. Needed a family of my own to protect and cherish. Family was the only thing that mattered, and I had none. Until today.
My mate was due to arrive any moment and I was having a hard time keeping the stern look on my face. “It’s been two years for me since I retired from the Coalition. Stationed here in Viken United as a guard now. The VSS might flare up here and there, but they’re nothing like the Hive, thank fuck.”
I was content with a quieter life, the simple Viken life. Nature, land. I wasn’t fit for space, the home planet suited me much better. Ground beneath my feet, trees around, thick leaves overhead. Yes, peace. I’d done my time as a fighter and I’d earned the right to a bride. And finally, after waiting so long, my match was here. My mate was coming. I’d have everything I wanted.
He smiled at that. “Agreed.” He angled his head. “I’m up at the IQC.” The Interstellar Quantum Communications Array was on the far pole of the planet, covered in ice, snow and rock. It was a wasteland only the heartiest animals could survive. And the toughest warriors.
“Fucking freezing,” I commented. While I liked living in the more urban areas of Viken United, the IQC meant solitude. He wasn’t alone at the outpost, but it was fucking isolated. From his calm and quiet demeanor, he seemed to be content with that.
He shrugged. “You get used to it.” A slow smile spread across his face. “And it won’t be so bad when I have my mate to keep me warm at night.”