“All three of us?” I asked, glancing at the other two. It was obvious this was news to them as well. While the new kings of Viken had begun the trend of uniting the sectors by bringing three warriors together to claim a mate, I had not asked for, nor agreed to that arrangement, and from the looks on both Axon’s and Zed’s faces, neither had they. Family was everything to me. Everything. And these men, while fine warriors, were not my brothers, not even friends. They were competition for the woman destined to be mine.
“Check again,” Axon said, pointing at the work station.
The technician shrugged. “I can send a message to Earth, to Warden Egara who runs that facility, and tell her you refuse the match.”
“No!” We all answered him in unison, and although I was disappointed that the other two males didn’t back down from the challenge and leave my mate to me, I was also pleased that they were warriors of honor, willing to fight for her, as I was. I could not tolerate losing my mate to a warrior I deemed unworthy of her.
The technician quickly lowered his head and slid his fingers over the display, faster than before. After a minute, he bit his lip. “Well, um, sirs, there has been a change.”
I relaxed and I saw the others’ bodies settle a bit.
“She’s not coming. She refused transport.” The technician didn’t look up, clearly afraid of being killed by not one rejected mate, but three. And retired Coalition fighters as well. “The match was made. It clearly states she accepted the match, but she refuses the transport. Warden Egara made a notation that she has declined to be transported to Viken and departed the building.”
“To go where?” I asked and began to pace. Zed didn’t move a muscle. Axon went over to the wall and punched it, leaving a dent in the ionized metal.
The technician flinched as he answered me. “To her quarters? I don’t know, sir. I’m um…not familiar with life on Earth.”
She refused? She didn’t want me? Or us? That was ridiculous. We matched at ninety-seven percent. We were perfect for each other. But how was she perfect for the other two as well?
My male ego was definitely bruised. And I was angry. Irate. How dare she refuse something as precious as a match?
“I’m going to go get her,” I said, not realizing my intent before the words came from my mouth. “She’s mine. I will not allow her to reject the match. If she’s not coming to me, I will go to her, prove we are perfect for each other.” I walked up onto the transport pad and crossed my arms. “Technician, set reverse transport coordinates.”
“You’re not having her,” Axon said, storming up to me and getting in my face. He might have more anger in him, but I was no coward. I stood my ground, ready to fight him if need be.
“I am. She was matched to me.”
“She was also matched to me,” he replied. “If you’re going, so am I. She can choose her mate.” He turned, taking position on the transport pad next to me. I ignored Zed, hoping against hope that he would walk away. The Earth woman was mine. My mate. If she had truly been matched to Axon and Zed—which would have to be proven to me by this Interstellar Bride warden on Earth—then I would honor the protocols and allow her to choose.
But would there really be any choice? Our match was almost perfect. She would have me. Confident, I nodded. He was angry as well, but I was not intimidated nor afraid to accept the challenge his presence would present. I was no young fool without skill. I was battle-hardened, as he was. Fierce. Determined. And very skilled at bringing pleasure to a woman. Our mate would choose me. And if he tried to interfere? I’d rip his head off before he took her from me.
The transport pad began to hum, the electromagnetic charge making my skin tingle as Zed climbed the platform to stand on my opposite side. “She’s mine, my match. She will have to choose between the three of us. I will not allow you to go without me. The testing says she is matched to all of us. Therefore, I will have my turn in swaying her to me.”
Axon and I stared at Zed, then after a moment, Axon nodded.
“It’s ready, sirs. I have clearance from Earth to initiate transport to the Bride Processing Center in Miami. Warden Egara will be waiting to greet you and acclimate you to Earth’s requirements,” the technician called, clearly eager to send us as far away from him as possible.
“What requirements do you speak of?” I asked.
He frowned as the energy built, my hair beginning to float around my head. “Earth is a probationary member of the Coalition, sirs. Their world is primitive. No alien species are allowed to mingle with the general population. Warden Egara will explain the necessary precautions when you arrive.”
Axon turned to me and Zed. “Very well, we go together. But know this, our mate will be punished for rejecting us before she is allowed to experience pleasure. Once her ass is a pretty shade of red, only then will she choose her mate.”
“Absolutely,” Zed agreed. “We will punish her together.”
I looked between the two other Vikens. We’d been thrown together in this and were now in a new fight. A fight for a mate. One of us would win her heart, and I was confident it would be me. I would use every skill I had to seduce her. Woo her. Make her fall in love with me. Offer her comfort, protection and pleasure like she’d never known before. She was mine to care for. Mine to protect. Mine to seduce. Mine.
But Axon was right. She’d know the sting of our palms before the choice was made. Denying the match was unacceptable. Dishonorable. Coalition fighters fought long and hard in the Hive wars for the right to a perfect match. The mates sent to us were the ultimate reward, the ultimate gift. Our brides were treated with the highest respect and honor. Cherished. Adored. Protected.
Denying her mate without giving him the required thirty days to win her love, her trust? It was an insult to every warrior fighting to keep Earth and every other Coalition world safe.
If she didn’t want to be a bride, she should not have volunteered. Nor taken the test and accepted the match. Not have teased her new mate with a chance at happiness, a family and hope for a future, if her intent was to then cruel
ly deny him.
Me. Deny me.
Axon was right. Anger simmered just below the agony of her rejection. While she might be from Earth, so was our queen. Queen Leah had been an Interstellar Bride and she loved her mates, the three kings. Respected them. Loved Viken and all of her people.