The Commander's Fated Mate

by Lily Anton

  She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch as Ezon’s hand now cupped her cheek. The warmth of it spread through her, dispelling her fears and anxiety, replacing it with a soft desire to just be with him, in this moment.

  He was her port in the storm, guiding her to safety, calling to her with a song only they could hear.

  “Why do I feel this way?”, she whispered.

  “Leila…” he murmured, his lips grazing over the curve of her ear. “Leila, look at me…”

  Daring to open her eyes, she watched him pull away from her, but only just enough so they could observe one another. She searched his face as if she would find the answers, a gentle smile curling his lips as they now brushed against hers.

  “We Call to one another. Can you not hear it? It sings to both of us…”

  She did hear it. It had been a constant since they had locked gazes; him from the water looking like some sort of merman, and her, standing there on dry land utterly entranced.

  “Ezon, I…” her eyes fluttered shut as he kissed her tenderly.

  His lips made time stop. There was nothing for her but this moment, here with him. And it was all she needed. All she wanted.

  “Wake up…”

  Her brow furrowed as she felt him take a step away from her, yet the warmth of his hand on her face remained.

  “Leila, you must wake up…”

  Why did he keep saying that?

  “I don’t want to...I want to stay here. Why can’t we just stay…?

  Leila stirred, blinking away sleep as she nuzzled against the warmth on her face.

  Where was she?

  She groaned as a kink in her neck made itself known, along with some sort of alarm clock in the background.

  Had she set an alarm? If she had, it didn’t sound like one she’d ever used before.

  “Leila, I am sorry, but you must wake.”

  That voice…

  “Wha--” she grumbled, her eyes finally focusing.

  It was properly dark outside now, the sun having long since set, the only lightsource now being from all the buttons within the vehicle that were backlit in blue.

  How long had she been asleep?

  “Leila…”

  She finally forced herself up so that she was sitting upright, turning her towards the sound of her name.

  The man from her dreams was next to her, his eyes a dull shade of yellow.

  His thumb caressed her face and she nuzzled into his palm before reality hit her full force, jerking her back as if a bucket of water had been poured over her.

  Embarrassment and fear had her backing away, as she took in her surroundings.

  An alarm still blared in the background, and a look out the window revealed an infinite number of stars that shouldn’t have been possible.

  Any thought of remaining calm had now evaporated. He’d fucking kidnapped her!

  “Where am I? What did you do?!” she panicked. There was nowhere for her to go.

  He moved beside her, making her flinch back and try to curl in on herself.

  “I am sorry you are frightened,” his voice was low and measured, and the way he spoke to her like he was trying to calm a wounded animal rankled her. “There has been a confirmed security threat and our shuttle implemented lockdown protocols. I can not override it.”

  “What the fuck does mean?” she challenged. “I’m in fucking space right now. You’re telling me you didn’t plan this?!”

  Her anger allowed her to feel braver, her eyes widening as she truly looked outside.

  They were in space...they were in fucking space! How the hell did she sleep through that?

  “Did you drug me?” she asked, thinking it was a valid question all things considered.

  “I--” he opened his mouth to respond, only to growl when a chirp echoed around them, followed by a voice.

  She couldn’t make heads or tails of their language, but knowing that it was usually melodical and fluid sounding, whatever was being announced sounded very serious.

  Ezon responded in kind, his voice steady but firm as he replied.

  The unintelligible conversation lasted only half a minute before a chirp signalled its end. Thankfully, the alarm also stopped as well, although it now filled the space with eerie silence.

  Leila was used to the typical sounds of travel...the sound tires on the road, the loud white noise of jet engines from planes…

  None of that existed now.

  Obviously he didn’t feel the need to share with her what the conversation had been about, and if he thought she was going to be submissive and quiet, locked in this shuttle with him, then he had another thing coming.

  “I have a right to know where you’re taking me.”

  Her eyes followed his chest as he took a deep breath. He didn’t have a right to be annoyed with her, of all people.

  “As I said, there has been a confirmed--”

  “Security threat,” she snapped, still not liking his soft tone. “Yes, I understood that part. What the fuck does it have to do with me?”

  She saw him grit his teeth and frankly, took it as a victory. She wasn’t some shy fragile china doll that would be cowed. Not now, not when she had no other option but to stand her ground.

  “The shuttle has been called back.”

  “Called back to where?”

  As if in response to anger, the shuttle vibrated, her hands immediately seeking to brace themselves. One of which landed on Ezon’s forearm.

  “We have been cleared to dock,” he explained curtly, eying her hand where she had gripped him.

  Leila snatched her hand back as if burned.

  “Close your eyes.”

  “Why?” she challenged, just as she was blinded by an explosion of light, lifting her arm to block it out.

  When it died down, Leila lowered her arm, blinking the dots out of her vision, and then blinking some more as a massive space-ship came into view.

  They were moving towards it at a high rate of speed, along with countless other shuttles.

  ‘Okay, so he probably wasn’t lying about the emergency.’

  The closer they got, the larger the ship appeared to be: like a giant floating city.

  It was pearlescent white, all curves and gentle bends, streamlined yet sloped in areas, and matched what she remembered of the embassy’s design.

  A minute later and they were heading to what was some sort of docking station along with many other shuttles.

  Ezon said nothing else to her, even as the shuttle slowed to a stop in a designated spot, and Leila really didn’t know how she felt about that.

  When the shuttle doors finally opened, she was immediately unbuckling herself and going to stand, only to find he had somehow already made it around to her.

  He extended a hand, only to have her refuse it as she stubbornly stood up, only to have a clear case of sea legs.

  “Shit!”

  He caught her as her legs buckled, and she ignored the rush of heat between her legs as his hand settled on her hip.

  She did her best to ignore it, not wanting to admit that she’d needed his help, and took a look around her.

  Shuttles were still coming in, and the entire area was a bustle of activity, with several humans mixed in although most looked spooked, heads jerking around as if trying to make sense of things.

  A tan colored Debir was standing nearby, hands held out in front of two human women in a placating gesture. “Please try and remain calm…”

  “Are you fucking serious right now? You just beamed us to your fucking spaceship!.” The blonde looked to be in her mid to late 20s, her arm wrapped around another woman of the same age, her pin straight black hair curtaining her face as she sobbed quietly.

  The hand around her hip intensified its grip, immediately forcing her to follow.

  She could walk just fine now, thank you very much and glared at the Debir beside her.

  “Let go of me.” Leila attempted to jerk out of his hold, only for him to pull her
closer.

  The faint scent of pine and something...more...greeted her nose as she forced herself to keep up with his determined pace, leading her further and further into the ship until she was the only human evident, the Debir around them straightening up in attention as they passed.

  Risking a brief glance up at Ezon, she saw him acknowledging the occasional Debir with a curt nod. They did not stop once, ignoring the curious looks that were clearly directed at her.

  Even when they made their way onto an elevator-type platform, he stayed silent, his grip unyielding but not painful. The fact that she glued herself to his side as they climbed higher and higher was only because she was scared of heights and had nothing to do with how good he smelled.

  Or how much she enjoyed the feel of her body pressed into his.

  The corridor she now found herself in as they stepped off the platform was less business-like; plants lining the area between doorways.

  At the very end were a set of double doors, and they pulled to a stop in front of them as a light appeared above them, a line of green scanning his frame up and down before something slid out by the side of the doors.

  Ezon placed his free hand over it, a chirp sounding before there was a pneumatic hiss and he pushed the doors open.

  It was a large suite, with floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the vastness of space.

  A sunken living room was off to the side, and Leila spotted an open kitchen across from it.

  Considering there was probably at least one bedroom and one bathroom in here, Leila figured it was probably at least five times the size of her apartment.

  He stepped away from her then, his hand around her gone, leaving her feeling adrift...and a little alone.

  “Stay here.”

  It felt like ages since she had heard his voice, yet his commanding tone did not make it a welcome sound. Before she even formulated a response, he was already back by the door.

  “For how long?”

  Being forced to stay here indefinitely became a very real fear. Worst still, he was now ignoring her.

  “I’m talking to you, goddammit!,” she yelled, her rarely-displayed temper flaring.

  In the blink of an eye he was looming over her, his hands wrapped around her arms, pinning her in place as he actually fucking growled at her, a hint of sharp teeth catching in the light. “You will do as instructed. I have no time to humor you.”

  She would have flinched if she wasn’t so pissed off. “Humor me? Humor me?! You’ve taken me away from my planet, my home! You’re an asshole!”

  “Enough!”

  “The fuck it is!,” she countered. She was scared and tired; anger was the only thing she could hang on to. It felt good, even if it wouldn’t help her in the long run. “I have a right to know wha-”

  His lips smashed against hers, jarring in its intensity as she took a step back under the weight of it, only to have an arm grab hold of her ass and hold her to him while the other cradled her head.

  She froze in shock before struggling against him, ignoring her lips reacting in response to his, or how his muscular leg wedged between hers, the friction against her clit making her desperate for more.

  She shouldn’t want this; she didn’t want to want this even though her body had other ideas.

  Whining in frustration gave him the opening to deepen the kiss, his tongue immediately seeking hers as she pushed with all her strength against him.

  Ezon’s tongue teased and taunted mercilessly until suddenly it was gone, along with his hold on her.

  A soft whimper escaped her at the loss, completely disoriented as he abruptly left the room, the doors hissing closed behind him.

  Leila brought a trembling hand to her lips, trying in vain to ignore the haunting melody in her mind pleading with him to return all the while wondering how the fuck she had just experienced the best kiss of her life.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ezon

  Every step he took away from her as he left his quarters was agony.

  The Calling was relentless now, demanding he go back, that he take her and claim her before anyone else could.

  She had tested his patience, even though she had not been beyond reason in her concern for what was happening. But he had no time to explain, and agreement was not required for compliance.

  Kissing her had been impulsive and selfish, especially when she had been unwilling.

  But had she really?

  Her perfect little mouth had opened for him, her tongue not shying away from his as her whole body had eventually melted against him. He had felt the heat between her legs against his thigh, the scent of her arousal hitting his nose with such potency that he had forced himself to let her go, lest he strip her naked and take her right there on the floor.

  He had locked her inside his quarters for her own good, needing to assess the current situation that had caused emergency protocols to deploy.

  She was a distraction he could ill afford to have right now, and he spent the entire walk to the command deck trying to forget the feel of her ass in his hand as he’d pressed her close.

  Various security officers acknowledged him along the way, the five Lapis tridents on each of his epaulets denoting his rank aboard this ship.

  The command center was flurry of activity when he stepped inside. A large circular table was the center point of the space, various holos projected onto it that changed every few seconds.

  “Report,” he ordered, catching a few military personnel off guard as they watched him stride up to a Debir on the far side of the room who turned around to acknowledge him.

  “Commander Ezon, good to have you back.”

  He nodded at the snowy white Debir with glacier blue eyes. “Captain Raillar.”

  The Captain’s four Lapis tridents on his uniform had been well-earned. He had a mind for strategy and uncanny forethought when it came to anticipating enemy tactics.

  Despite losing his huerta in a Baza ambush countless moons ago, he remained level-headed and determined, refusing to recuse his position, as was tradition, despite the agonizing loss. Many found him to be cold and calculating, even unfeeling since the passing of his bondmate, but Ezon found him to be effective and respected by many.

  Despite close bonds being a key tenet in Debir culture, both Ezon and Raillar were of the mind that one did not necessarily need to be well-liked in order to do one's job.

  He had been a good choice to leave as Acting Commander while Ezon had been tasked with overseeing Earth.

  “Defense systems detected a long-range weapon deployment directed at this quadrant. With no other habitable planets in this area, Earth was deemed its likely target. The Embassy and all satellite offices on Earth were thus evacuated.”

  “Baza?” Ezon could not think of any other race that would attempt such an aggressive and seemingly irrational move.

  Debiraan had claimed this quadrant, much to the Baza’s frustration.

  “Unknown. The weapon deployed does not yet register as being of Baza technology, and the projectile is still too far away to identify exactly what it is.”

  Ezon went to stand beside him, looking over the data pouring over the screen with a critical eye.

  “Earth’s defenses?”

  “In place and ready to deploy. We are waiting for the last of the shuttles and Captain Nelo to confirm all are aboard.”

  He ignored the concern for his brother, pushing it aside like he had done countless times before when faced with dangerous situations. Still, it should have been Ezon’s job to have remained behind to oversee the evacuation.

  “This would invalidate any accusations from the Baza about populating the planet if they are the ones responsible for this situation.”

  There was a difference in the Committees’ eyes between claiming a planet under its protection and settling one, and the Debir had walked a fine line up until now.

  The chirp of a comm link being established paused Raillar in his report.

  “Cap
tain Raillar, this is Captain Nelo. All shuttles have docked and are accounted for.”

  “Affirmative, Captain Nelo. Activating the defense shield around the planet now.”

  “Has my brother-”