“She’s my mate,” I repeated, my voice deep, slow, as if that would help them understand. “I want to take care of her, not control her.” She was brave and fierce and perfect. I didn’t want to change her, I just wanted her to allow me to take care of her, body and soul. She needed release. She needed to let go. She needed a safe place to surrender to the world… to me.
“So you say. And as her mate, you see a part of her that no one else does.”
Karter was recently mated to Erica, along with his second, Ronan. Seth and Dorian were mated to Chloe. Both Earth women. Both quite a bit like Niobe because of their shared culture.
“Your mate remains here on the battleship with you. She’s not a fighter.”
Karter shook his head, lowered his weapon to rest on his thigh, but he didn’t slip it back in his holster. “No, she’s not in the Coalition in the same way everyone at this table is. Or your mate. But she is Lady Karter now. She is responsible for everyone in the battlegroup not fighting. She’s the highest ranking civilian officer in the battlegroup, and she takes care of me.”
A large task full of responsibility. Full of people to take care of. Women, children.
The commander.
“You want Niobe to remain by your side where you can keep her safe,” Seth said to me. He glanced to Karter, then reached for his glass on the table, ensuring he wasn’t going to get shot by doing so. “You want her to be with you, within sight, so you can protect her.”
“Of course.” I looked to all of the males. “You can’t blame me. It’s in our very nature to protect.”
“No, Quinn. It’s in our nature to control.” Everyone glanced at Dorian who sat across the table. “Our mate is a commander. Chloe works for I.C. Do you think it’s easy to let her go off on missions, leaving not only us, but two children behind?”
“Then how do you handle it?” I asked. “Chloe was at the briefing before the mission. She was in control then, just like Niobe. You two were there, allowed it. You allowed her to go into battle with the Hive.”
He grinned, looked to Seth. “We didn’t allow her to be at the briefing. We didn’t allow her to go into battle. Her superiors require it. Her job requires it. Your mate outranks everyone here. Hell, she outranks everyone in the entire battlegroup.”
Seth sighed and shook his head. “We’re both captains. Chloe’s a commander. Like your mate, she outranks us. She might be ours, but she also belongs to the Coalition. And the I.C.”
“They don’t fuck her.”
“Watch it,” Karter warned.
Seth held up his hand. “No, it’s okay. I understand what he’s getting at.” He looked to me. “And you’re exactly right. The Coalition and the I.C. own Commander Phan outside of our quarters. But within? She’s ours, and she knows it. She needs us to take command.”
“You have the collars. Of course, she knows what you want.”
Dorian slowly shook his head. “When she drops to her knees for us, when she shudders with pleasure every time we give her a command, we don’t need collars to know she’s giving us control.”
“Or that her surrender brings all three of us pleasure.” Seth tugged at his collar, then stood. “Time to go see our mate.”
Dorian grinned. “Damn straight.”
They left without another word. They weren’t Hunters and didn’t move quickly, but they were hustling. No doubt our conversation had them eager to see their mate.
“I’m unmated,” Zan said. “I tested recently and am waiting. My mate is out there. Somewhere. I am possessive of her now, even though I don’t know who she is, or where. I understand your concern.” He set his supersized forearms on the table. “My beast doesn’t, for he wants to go search the galaxy for her right now. But like I said, look at me. I doubt I will be matched now.” He paused, moved the conversation back to me. “You were tested?”
I nodded.
“Remember, the testing gives each of you the mate you need, not the mate you think you want,” he said.
A member of the engineering staff approached the table, handed Karter a tablet. This seemed to be a consistent occurrence for the leader. “Not three. Only two.”
The engineer agreed on whatever the topic was, then took the tablet and left.
Karter couldn’t get a break long enough to enjoy a single drink in the canteen. But his female, Erica, accepted him anyway. Loved him. Belonged to him.
There was no question Niobe was my mate. I thought of the instant connection. The heat. The way her body came alive beneath my hands, how her mind went quiet when I took control. Perfection.
“She was doing her job,” Karter said, finally tucking his pistol away and taking a big swig of his drink. “She didn’t take the Nexus from you just to be hurtful. It was her job. Having him in the hands of I.C. scientists could mean hundreds… thousands of Coalition fighters might be saved. Her decisions aren’t personal. They’re instrumental. Complicated. Difficult.”
“She hasn’t reached out to me. For seven fucking days.”