Maybe I was being paranoid, but I felt like an outsider. Unwelcome and unwanted. And Mauve’s guards? They were just doing their job, protecting their charge from a possible threat. Me.
Gage was different. Maybe Lexi and Katie, too, but they were also from primitive Earth. The undercurrent of tension was because Gage was with me.
For him, I’d endure. I didn’t feel any tension from him. Did he even notice how uncomfortable this whole meet-and-greet was? Or was this normal for him?
“We will use the coronation ball to announce that I have found and fully claimed my Marked Mate. That will turn the tide of public interest away from the kidnapping, and perhaps, give us time to discover who was behind the attack.” Gage’s comment wasn’t really one at all, it was a command, and everyone in the room knew it.
“Very well.” His mother inclined her head to me, but there was no warmth in her eyes. It was as if a cold breeze had blown through an open window.
I suddenly felt sorry for my mate. His sister was warm and friendly, but whoa. His mother was a regular viper. And she had her sights set on me. “Welcome to the family, Danielle.”
Oh yes, I was so not welcome. The witch.
But then, he had warned me about her.
“Thank you.” Whatever. Gage was mine and we were one virginity away from making it completely and totally official. Not that having Gage’s cock in my pussy was going to change anything between us now. The mark proved a bond much deeper than the ridiculous claiming custom. Oh, I wanted Gage’s cock in my pussy, fucking me hard and deep. I squeezed my thighs together at the thought, but I didn’t feel the need to do it just so some archaic rule could be met. I just wanted him. Every way I could have him. Since Mauve probably wouldn’t appreciate that sentiment and dislike me all the more for corrupting her son with my primitive sexual needs, I said nothing. Instead, I smiled at her, a real smile, with just one thought running on repeat in my head. I win. I win. I win.
Gage seemed oblivious, but when I turned my head to Katie and Lexi, their raised brows and subtle roll of the eyes let me know they were with me. They saw it. Felt the…freeze from Mauve. God, it was nice to have friends. Real friends.
“Until we find the traitor who tried to kill me, Von, Bryn and his men will be in charge of my personal security.” Gage angled his head toward Bryn, sure of the Hunter and the plan.
“Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?” Mauve asked. “We don’t know these men. We can’t let strangers into our home.”
Yet she was amongst them now. She had some serious balls to insinuate they were a threat while she was a guest in her son’s home, under his protection.
“I know them.” I spoke up and stepped away from Gage’s warmth. If this woman and I were going to do this dance for the rest of our lives, I wasn’t going to let her think I was an easy target. Better for her to learn now how things were going to go. She was no longer the female in Gage’s life. While Gage didn’t think that at all, it was obvious she did.
“I trust Von and Bryn,” I said. “I don’t trust your men. They allowed your son to be taken out from under your nose. My friends won’t.”
Mauve’s nostrils flared and the stick up her ass went a tad deeper. Yeah, she was never going to like me.
All of Von’s men weren’t, technically, my friends, but they all puffed out their chests and straightened their shoulders, so I figured they didn’t mind being claimed by a future princess.
Shaking her head in resignation, Mauve rose. “Very well, if you think this is best. I have work to do to move the ascension and the ball.”
What a spiteful, little—Gage’s hand settled on my shoulder. The touch instantly soothed me, for now. I hated passive aggressiveness. I much preferred aggressive-aggressive.
She left, all but three of her guards trailing after her. I recognized the men from the news feed earlier. One was the man Gage had pointed out as Rayla’s chosen mate. Elon. He and two others were glued in place, waiting for Rayla to accompany them. They were Rayla’s guards. Her protection.
Rayla, however, wasn’t in a hurry. The moment the door closed behind Mauve and her guards, Rayla let out a huge sigh. All the tension left the room with the evil step-monster. Gage laughed. “I see she hasn’t changed.”
How was he laughing? Was he used to her? Did he not see she hated my guts?
“Never,” Rayla commented. She held out her hand and Elon walked to her side, such love and tenderness in his eyes that I had to look away. Did Gage look at me like that? “Big brother, I’d like you to meet Elon.”
Gage smiled and held out his hand. “An honor.”
Elon took Gage’s hand and bowed slightly. “The honor is mine that Rayla chose me.”
“Agreed,” Gage replied. “But she has, and I trust you will honor and protect her as a true mate should.”
“Always,” Elon insisted, his arm going around her waist.
“Do we have your blessing, Gage?” she asked, her eyes alight with hope. “Officially? I want to announce our mating at the coronation ball.” Rayla’s gaze darted from Gage to me, a touch of worry showing. “If that’s all right with you, Danielle? I don’t want to take anything away from you.”
Rayla was everything her mother was not, and I knew we were going to be great friends. “Please, both of you, call me Dani. And I can’t wait to see the look on your mother’s face when you do.”
Gage
I’d never wanted to be a prince less in my life. Every other Hunter on the planet who’d found their Marked Mate didn’t have their focus divided between her and the duties of being one of the Seven. The complicated, archaic formality to officially become my father’s successor; I had an ascension ceremony. No, I was the ascension. Without me, it wouldn’t happen. There would be no reason for it.
There was someone who wanted me dead, who’d gone to great lengths to make that happen, and he’d almost succeeded. He just hadn’t taken Dani’s innate Hunter skills that saved me into account. Thank fuck.
I sighed. If that wasn’t enough, I had a mother who wanted me to mate my stepsister, even after introducing both of them to my Marked Mate. It wasn’t as if I’d dragged some random Everian female off the street to claim. Dani was my fucking Marked Mate. How many times did I have to tell Mauve that? Prove it to her?
None. No more. I didn’t give a shit what Mauve thought. The ascension ceremony would happen tomorrow. I had guards, loyal to me, keeping me and Dani safe. Friends, too, in Bryn and Von. They knew to watch all our backs.
I had everything I wanted, except Dani beneath me, my cock buried deep in her tight pussy. I wanted that last virginity, wanted to claim it, and her, as mine forever. I wanted no one, nothing to separate us. To prove to the entire planet that she was my love.
“Is there anything else you need?” I all but growled, impatient, frustrated and horny as hell.
I looked to Bryn and Von. In a day, I’d laid my life—and Dani’s—in their hands. Therefore, they were the closest and my most trusted advisors. More so than the other members of the Seven, of the royal guard. Of even my family.
“Not at this time,” Von replied. “We’ve continued the search. My best Hunters—”
“He means me,” said Bryn.
Katie laughed but Von ignored him completely. “My best Hunters, one of whom is Bryn, have not been able to uncover any new leads, Gage. Whoever betrayed you seems to have disappeared without a trace.”
“Sounds like one of us,” Elon commented, and I turned to him and the two Hunters who were often at his side, Geoffrey and Thomar. I had known them for years, Geoffrey having served my father before his death. They were good men. Trusted men. Obviously, Elon felt the same, for he had his beloved, my sister, under their protection.
“Yes, I agree,” I replied with a decisive nod. “Which means our enemy is well trained and extremely dangerous. I am trusting you will see to Rayla.” I didn’t form the words as a question, for it wasn’t one. He’d said he’d protect my sister with his l
ife and I believed him. Believed the affection between them. Now, I just wanted them gone. Safe, but elsewhere.
Elon nodded, took the hint and led Rayla away, Geoffrey and Thomar turning and following on their heels, their gazes ever watchful.
I glanced about at those who remained. “If no one needs us, then my mate and I will be in our quarters. We don’t wish to be disturbed.”
“But she needs a dress!” Katie all but shouted. Bryn wrapped an arm about her, keeping her from coming our way.
“Love, let them be,” he murmured in her ear. She sagged against him and angled her head so he could kiss her neck.
“But they need—” she began.
“Privacy,” he clarified.
“Oh!” Katie said, a smile spreading across her face. “Right. The dress can totally wait.”
I watched as Dani blushed, realizing my intent. Yes, my intent was to get her naked, wildly aroused and claimed. No one better dare stand in my way. I doubted my balls would survive.
“Have fun!” Lexi said, giving a little finger wave and winking.
While Dani was slightly mortified, I was far from it. I had a task to accomplish and my cock was in complete agreement. In fact, my cock was the brain making the decisions right about now.
I took Dani’s hand and led her out of the room. “Come, mate. Let’s get behind a locked door before anyone else needs me for something. The only thing I need to do now is get my cock into your pussy, stretch it open and mold it just for me.”
My pace quickened with the need to do just that.
“Gage,” Dani said, a little breathlessly.
“What?” I asked, my focus down the hall, my stride long and quick.
“You’re going too fast. I can’t keep up.”
I was practically running. “I am eager. And worried someone will come up with something else to keep me from my task.”
“Yes, but your haste is hurting my ankle,” she said.
I stopped abruptly and she bumped into my side. I spun about, my hands going to her shoulders, and I bent at the waist to look at her. I saw the wild, wide eyes, the pinch of pain about her lips. “What’s wrong with your ankle?”
“It’s my bad ankle,” she replied, as if that explained everything.
“We healed it with the ReGen wand,” I replied. I glanced down her body, but couldn’t see anything wrong because of her pants being in the way.
“You eased the swelling, yes. But it’s never going to be fully healed.”
I frowned. “What the hell do you mean ‘never fully healed’? Of course, it’s healed.”
She sighed. “Some wounds aren’t fixable and you have to live with them. I’ve lived with this for a while. It’s better since the surgery, but I pushed it too hard tracking you. I’m glad I did, don’t get me wrong. I just have to favor it for a few weeks until the swelling stops and the tightness lessens. But can you slow down?”
I stood to my full height. “Are you telling me you have been injured all this time and didn’t tell me?”
“Well…yes.” She shrugged with a nonchalance that pissed me off. “I’m used to it.”
“I’m not,” I countered. Horrified. “I won’t have you injured without telling me. I won’t have you hurting. Walking quickly should not be something you can’t do. I won’t allow it.”
She burst out laughing. “You won’t allow it? This isn’t something you can decree and be fixed just because you’re a prince.” She snapped her fingers.
I pressed a button on the comms unit on my wrist as I eyed my mate. “This is your prince. I am bringing my mate to the med center now. She has an injured ankle and it needs to be repaired immediately.”
“You’re mad,” she replied when I signed off. Her hands moved to her slender waist and she tapped her shoe on the floor.
I ran my hands through my hair. “Mate, I’m furious with you for keeping your pain a secret. Your burdens are mine. You must give them to me and I will fix them.”
“How are you going to fix this?”
“By taking you to the doctor. Most likely you will spend time in a ReGen pod.”
“But you have an ascension ceremony and a ball. I can’t be in the hospital with a bum ankle. And what the hell is a ReGen pod?”
Von and Bryn came down the hallway. “Why are you two out here arguing instead of in there fucking?” Bryn asked, pointing toward the door to my quarters.
I groaned. “My mate has an injured ankle.”
“From walking down the hall?” Von added.
Dani rolled her eyes at the men. “No, it’s from a wilderness trip in Montana. I was hiking in the backcountry with a group from Cincinnati and a rock gave out beneath me as I was crossing a stream. I rolled it and one of the bones snapped.”
“It was treated with primitive Earth medicine and needs to be healed,” I explained. I had no idea where Montana was or if Cincinnati was a country or a region or a mountaintop and I doubted the other two did either. But that wasn’t the point. She’d been injured on Earth and treated by Earth medicine.
“I told you,”—she began, her words coming out through gritted teeth—“it’s as good as it’s going to be. You just need to slow down.”
Von and Bryn’s eyebrows were up beneath their hair, then they grinned. Von even slapped me on the shoulder. “Gage, sir, welcome to the club. You join Bryn and I in the Hunters who have stubborn Earth women as mates.”
I was not amused and I narrowed my eyes at them. Stubborn, yes, but their mates were fully claimed, their cocks satisfied. Their mates knew well and truly who they belonged to. Dani was not mine, not yet. Someone could challenge our match. Danielle, my beautiful, stubborn female, could change her mind. I needed to claim her; the primitive demand roaring through my Hunter’s blood with a fury I’d never felt before, not even on a hunt. But she was injured. Her health came first. She was mine to care for, and I would not allow her to hobble in pain when it was unnecessary and barbaric. “We are going to the med center at once.”
“I can’t be laid up for days,” Dani repeated. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
I sighed. “I’m trying to make you well so I can fuck you unconscious. And as for days, you will be healed within two hours.”
“Two hours?” she asked, sounding as if she found that unbelievable.
“Yes, two hours that I would rather spend in bed with you. But I will not claim you knowing you are injured.”
She grabbed my arm, gripped it tightly, looked up at me with eyes as desperate to fuck as I felt. “Claim me. Seriously, Gage. I’m fine. My stupid ankle is fine. I’ve been walking on it for months. I had surgery. A cast. Crutches. And I don’t need my ankle to…you know.” Her blush was charming but did not sway me. “Gage, we can go to the doctor later. After.”
“You will go now,” I said, my tone serious, even though my cock ached to fill her. Her arguments were not helping my growing anger at her inept Earth healers. Surgery? A cast? What in the name of the gods was a cast? “I will not have you in pain, mate. There will be no arguments, or I will place you over my knee and spank you like a disobedient child.”
“I’ll be in pain if you don’t claim me. If you don’t touch—”
I couldn’t let her finish the thought or I’d give in to her demands. I also had no interest in arguing further, especially in a fight I was absolutely going to win in the end. I leaned down and tossed her over my shoulder, Von and Bryn stepping out of the way. “Two hours, Hunters. Two hours and I will bring my mate back and then we will be in our quarters. Undisturbed.”
I heard their laughter as I carried my angry mate to the med center, the heated scent of her arousal making me growl and pick up my pace.
9
Dani
“I’m nervous,” I admitted. I was sitting on an exam table in the medical center. Gage had helped me change out of my clothes and into what looked like middle school gym clothes. A mint green t-shirt and a pair of loose similarly colored shorts. Gage had argued with a tec
h and refused a gown, stating that the princess needed more modest garb than that. The tech had argued pants wouldn’t work because it covered her ankle and they’d compromised on shorts.
Fortunately, that had distracted me, but only for a time.
I didn’t like doctors’ offices. Hospitals. Who did? It was very similar to an ER on Earth, but the gadgets and lights on the walls were more Star Trek than County General. It was sterile, white and chilly. But Gage stood beside me and ran his knuckles down my cheek. I wasn’t cold.
“The last time you said that, I made you come before I slid my cock into that gorgeous ass and claimed it. Do you want me to slip my hand into your pants and get you off before the doctor returns?”
I was equal parts turned on and petrified. I couldn’t help but squirm on the table, and the way his pants were tented told me he was as affected as me. I knew he was trying to distract me, but was also quite serious. If I needed to come to relax, he wouldn’t hesitate to make that happen.
“We can still come back,” I offered. “We don’t have to do this now. I’ve lived with my ankle this way for a while now.”
“And you have lived this long without being fucked. And both things will be resolved today. You are my mate and I will see to both.”
As if being his mate cleared it all up. While I was pleased he felt so deeply for my well-being, I was also very perturbed. I wanted sex. Now. Finally, finally we were going to do it and then my stupid ankle was what cock blocked him. Ridiculous. But nothing I said or did would sway him. So, I gave up. It didn’t mean I wasn’t scared of the unknown. Kind of like getting your wisdom teeth pulled. You had an idea of what it would be like, but it didn’t matter until it was your turn to have pliers in your mouth.
“I’m not familiar with your technology,” I said. “I know what a ReGen wand is; but what is a ReGen pod?”
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