“An incident? Is that why a new meeting has been added to my schedule tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Ander provided no additional details, so I waited for Niklas to do the clever thing and get some answers out of the male.
“The meeting appeared on my schedule, but there is no location listed.”
“Helion and Nial agreed not to register the location in any official records.”
Fuck. Only Ander could get away with calling the prime by his given name. Well, Ander and the queen. No doubt she could call Prime Nial by any name she wished. As Lucy could summon me…
Something in Ander’s tone caught Niklas’s attention. “What? Why? Exactly where are we going tomorrow?”
Ander checked his own weapon, and I realized he was wearing armor, not the tunic he would wear if this were a political meeting. “We will be transporting to Sector 437.”
Fuck. “Battlegroup Karter’s sector?” That area was a hotbed of Hive activity. “I need more weapons.”
That made Ander chuckle. “No. You don’t. We’re having a private meeting on a cargo ship in Commander Karter’s sector.”
“With whom?” Niklas did not like surprises. He was used to knowing everything about everyone.
“A human female and her mate.”
Lord Ander took out three more ion blasters, checked their charges before putting them away and adjusted the thigh-length blade strapped to his right side. I didn’t ask. It wasn’t my place. And Niklas was apparently too distracted by mention of a secret meeting with a human female to ask on my behalf. But Ander’s concern heightened mine. Exactly what kind of incident had the Nexus unit caused?
Between one heartbeat and the next I dismissed the question from my mind. I did not care. I cared about one thing right now. One. And she had red hair, green eyes and liked to sleep between us.
The transport pad buzzed with building energy, and I leaned in close to make sure Niklas could hear me over the noise.
I was much more interested in what would happen when we returned from this errand than in pestering Ander for answers he clearly had no intention of providing. The idea of including Lucy in our future made my heart race and my cock harden. “This is no time for misunderstanding, Niklas. If you don’t want Lucy, I will claim her and ask another to be my second. She is perfect. I will not give her up.” She was bold, passionate, affectionate—she’d curled around me and clung for hours as she slept—loyal to her friends, admired by one of the most famous Warlords in the war, trusted by Governor Maxim of The Colony, beautiful, and alone.
Just like we were.
“No need to threaten me, Sambor. She is ours. Tonight she will know our intentions.”
“Tonight we will be at IC Command and every Prillon warrior in the palace will be pursuing our mate.”
“No. I have made arrangements to return early. We will not leave our mate unclaimed.”
“Excellent.” I nodded, not for the first time relieved that he’d thought ten steps ahead, as usual. “Tonight.” I was pleased to know I was fighting for more than just the Coalition now, that I would be protecting more than just Niklas. I was fighting for a mate. Her name was Lucy. She was ours. She didn’t know it yet, but I looked forward to seeing her face when she found out.
Preferably with my cock buried deep and her gasps of pleasure filling the room along with her surprise.
With that, the hum of the transport and the electrical zing pulled us from Prillon Prime and sent us to IC Command headquarters to tangle with an uncooperative Nexus unit. I hated this place. Hated war and killi
ng, if I was being honest. But my father had told me when I was just a child that a warrior didn’t choose this life, it chose him. I’d never doubted his words, but today was the first I arrived on this rock with a smile on my face.
Fuck Dr. Helion, the vice admiral and her Elite Hunter mate, Quinn, who awaited us. Fuck the Hive Nexus unit buried in a holding cell somewhere deep in the rock beneath our feet. I didn’t want to worry about the Nexus unit, Dr. Helion, or what the fuck we were going to do if we couldn’t stop the Hive expansion into Coalition space. All that analysis and worry? That was Niklas’s job. I’d watch his back and I’d think of the warm, pliant female who now slept, sated and filled with our cum. Her body knew she was ours. It was time for her mind to accept that fact.
Next time we fucked our female, we would know every emotion, every desire, every want and need and fear coursing through her head. The collars would bind us three into one and make clear to every male on Prillon Prime that she was under our protection. Our care.
That we had claimed her and would kill for the right to court her.
Once our collar was around her neck, we could begin to win her heart. Her trust. I wanted to see more in her eyes than lust. I wanted… more. I wanted it so badly I didn’t dare think the word.
By the gods, the collars would be next.
5
Lucy, The Palace, Prillon Prime