I wasn’t sure if I should be annoyed by his comment about trouble following me or admit he spoke the truth.
“Human females and trouble go hand in hand,” Zenos intoned like a wise old sage.
“Hey!” Ivy countered, grinning. I had to assume she gave Zenos a run for his money.
“Who delivered you to Jirghogis?” Zenos asked.
All humor slipped from Isaak’s face. “Bertok. A Councilor from Trion. He waited for Zara to transport from Earth, murdered her mate in front of her, chained her up, and when she woke up, she was on Omega Dome. What we can’t figure out is why.”
I was thankful he gave them the rundown of what had happened to me, so I didn’t have to. I’d told him everything after the space attack, everything I knew. Everything I could remember or speculate. Both Ivy and Zenos remained quiet the entire time Isaak gave them a complete—well not complete—rundown of the last couple days. Ivy’s pale brows winged up a few times, and Zenos’ jaw clenched tight.
“Your mate was killed. This Trion Councilor Bertok brought you to Omega Dome?” Ivy asked.
I nodded. “To a slimy guy that smelled like swamp gas.”
Ivy cringed. “I’ve heard about that guy, believe me. He’s bad news, but there’s worse out here. You have to be careful.”
“Rumors from Rogue 5 are that Cerberus himself wants an Interstellar Bride,” Zenos said. “And the only way he could get one would be to steal the female. He is not worthy.”
Ivy agreed. “I guess we should have tried harder to kill him. Maybe we’ll have to take it up with Astra next time we go back to Rogue 5.”
“You live on Rogue 5?” I asked, trying to keep the disgust out of my voice. I knew Zenos had on the arm band, but still, I hadn’t made the connection.
Ivy shifted in her seat and took my hand across the table. “Rogue 5 is broken into multiple legions. They are all run like small kingdoms. Cerberus and Siren CONFIRM are vile. The rest do what they have to do to survive out here, but they aren’t evil. We’re with Astra legion. Mak, Gwen’s mate, was part of Kronos legion. There’s another human woman out here mated to the leader of Styx legion. And Cerberus hates Styx. I can s
ee him wanting a human mate just because Styx has one. The asshole. God forbid you ended up in his bed.”
I didn’t even want to know…
“That explains Ulza’s interest,” Isaak added.
“Just confirming. Ulza is the blue lady, right?”
Isaak nodded. “She must have been the delivery person,” he continued. “Cerberus wouldn’t leave the moon base no matter how much he wants Zara. He would be too exposed.”
Ivy and Zenos looked at each other.
“What?”
Ivy looked to me, licked her lips. “I’ve had a run in with Cerberus myself.”
“You dealt with this guy?” I asked.
She gave a slight shrug. “It’s a long story, but Cerberus hates my guts.”
Zenos focused his attention on me, and all traces of teddy bear were gone. Like, scary gone. “Since Cerberus legion was after you, the rumor must be true. It would make sense he wants an Earth female like you and Ivy—” He looked to his mate. “—for his own.” Zenos pulled Ivy in for a swift, fierce kiss.
I flicked my gaze at Isaak, but he didn’t seem surprised. Nor did he appear inclined to kiss me. Darn it. Not that I wanted Isaak to claim me like that. Right? In front of the whole canteen? Like I was his? Zenos was definitely claiming Ivy in front of everyone, and if Cerberus were here, he’d know exactly who Ivy belonged to. And who he would have to kill to get to her.
Ivy had to be one of the safest females in the universe. I envied the hell out of her. I didn’t know what it felt like to be safe. Not on Earth. Not out here in space. I’d felt safe for all of five minutes when I was with Isaak, but then we’d been attacked, and the illusion I’d been allowing myself had shattered into a million pieces. I wasn’t safe. I would never be safe.
Better make peace with that shit and stop wanting to cry like a baby. “Okay, so Cerberus has a hard-on for an Earth girl. Why didn’t Bertok deliver me directly to him?” I wondered.
When Zenos looked my way, his gaze was full of defiant rage but not directed at me. “No outsider goes to Rogue 5 alone. Not if they want to survive the trip. We make sure of it.”
Ivy laughed. “Trust me on that one. We go home, get inside Astra territory, and we are snug as a bug in a rug.”
I nodded, totally envious.