And I saw ghosts.
Every ounce of raw agony I’d suppressed the last couple of days erupted inside me like a bomb exploding, and my knees collapsed.
Even before I hit the ground, Nik was there, holding me. Sam moved in next to him, and I sobbed, touching them, feeling their faces, their shoulders, their hair. “Are you real?”
“Yes, mate. We are real.”
The floodgates opened, and their emotions filled me through the collars. Pain. Relief. Fear for me. Desire. Devotion. Love. God, the jumble scrambled my brain until all I could do was cry and cling to them.
Governor Maxim cleared his throat. “Hey, everyone, maybe we can all clear out and give these three a little privacy?”
Feet shuffled. I heard one of the twins ask, “Who’s that?”
Braun answered. “Those two Prillon warriors are your Aunt Woocy’s mates.”
“Aunt Woocy has mates?”
I giggled through my tears at little CJ’s confusion. I was confused, too.
“Yes, she does.” Braun sounded solemn but resigned, and I hoped he found the most amazing woman in the history of the universe to love him. He deserved it.
I lifted my head to watch the last of the crowd shuffle out the doors and saw Governor Maxim slap Braun on the back.
“Don't worry, Warlord. I have big plans for you.”
Braun turned his head. “What plans?”
The governor smiled. “You are going to be The Colony’s next representative on the Bachelor Beast television program on Earth.”
Rachel squealed and clapped her hands as the doors slid closed behind them, leaving me alone with my mates.
“Lucy?” Nik’s voice was strong, but the fear coming through his collar was going to keep me on my knees.
Rising to a kneeling position, I wrapped one arm around each of my mates and tackled them to the ground. “I love you. I love you both so much.”
I gave up trying to hide my emotions and allowed them to flood me—and them. Love. Relief. Gratitude that they were alive. Longing. Need. Pain. I gave them everything. Everything.
“Lucy.” Sam clutched at my back, ran his hand through my hair, stroked my hip, kissed every part of me he could reach. “Mate, I love you. I need you. Thank the gods.”
Nik clung. The
re was no other word for the fierceness of his hold or the rock-solid grip of his hands. He did not move, did not speak, simply held me like he’d never, ever let me go again. And love? God. His absolute devotion poured through the collars like pure heat, pure need.
“You are mine, mate. You are my heart and my soul and my life. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” I held on to them both and cried until I didn’t have any tears left. Then I cursed. “You let me cry but didn’t tell me what happened to you!”
They eyed me, jaws clenched. “It matters not. We are here, and we are not leaving you. Someday we will share what happened. Not now.”
It must have been awful, whatever they’d endured. They were right, and I felt their need to not relive it and share it with me but to move on. They were here. I was theirs. “This fucking collar needs to be blue, not black. Blue. You two are mine, understand? Mine. And I want you both to know it.”
They didn’t argue. Nik stood first. Sam followed and they lifted me to walk between them.
“Once again, mate, are you asking us to accompany you to your private quarters and see to your pleasure?” Nik asked.
I laughed with pure joy. “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m asking.”
“I do not have a problem with giving you pleasure,” Nik said. “Do you, Sambor?”