Fighting For Their Mate

by Grace Goodwin

  “Go back to the Intelligence Core.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?” she asked.

  I tilted my chin indicating her tablet. “It doesn’t say on there I can’t go back?”

  She looked down and scanned farther, moving her finger over the tablet several times. Reading the fine print, I guess. I’d never seen my own file. “Ah yes. It says you suffered injuries that make you ineligible for service. But it doesn’t say what those injuries were.” She raised a brow, waiting for me to clue her in.

  “I was hurt on my last mission. I healed eventually, but I don’t want to ride a desk.” That was all I could give her. It was the truth. There was no need to tell her that I wasn’t allowed to return. They gave me the choice, retire or be forced out. They never expected me to want to go back.

  I never expected to want to go back.

  Maybe that head injury was worse than I thought. Maybe I was crazy for wanting to go back out into space. But, I wasn’t going back. At least, not to the same life. I knew the odds, and there wasn’t a chance I’d be matched and mated to Bruvan or anyone else I once worked with.

  I didn’t like them enough.

  But who was I matched to? I’d interacted with most of the alien races. Atlan. Prillon. Trion. I’d only met one Hunter from Everis, but he was sexy as hell. Any of them would be fine with me. And with that matching dream, two lovers, I was pretty sure I was headed to Prillon Prime. I needed to know. The curiosity was killing me. “Was I matched?”

  Warden Egara stood, went around the table, slid into the metal chair. “You have been matched. And it’s a first for me.”

  “Oh?”

  “You’ve been matched to a human. A man from Earth.” She glanced at her tablet again. “It’s a ninety-nine percent match.”

  I climbed from the chair, put my hands on my hips. “What? I’m not staying here.” I was here being tested so I could leave this planet, not to end up stuck here.

  She shook her head. “No. You won’t stay here. You’re matched to an Earth Coalition fighter. He’s the captain of a ReCon Unit serving in a Coalition Battlegroup.”

  “What sector?” I was still reeling from something, my feelings a jumble about this. A man. A human man. I liked men—humans—just fine. But after that hot dream, I’d been hoping for two, huge Prillon hunks to totally blow my mind.

  “437. Battlegroup Karter.”

  “Are you serious?” Sector 437 was a known hotbed of Hive activity. I’d heard of Battlegroup Karter. Some very high level tech had been taken from that sector. The first Hive Nexus unit had been trapped there and eliminated by another human woman I’d served with in the Intelligence Core. Meghan Simmons. She’d been a friend, until she’d mated that Atlan Warlord, Nyko, and moved into civilian life on Atlan. I was happy for her, but I’d been alone out there with a whole lot of testosterone after she left.

  And then the ship I was on blew up. Bruvan laid the blame at my feet. That had been fun, and earned me a trip home.

  But I didn’t belong here anymore. I felt like a stranger in my own town. I couldn’t relate to anyone. I couldn’t talk about what I’d done for the Coalition. I got up, went to work, fed the neighbor’s cat. Day after day.

  I thought of the dream that was quickly fading. Two guys. Not one. Definitely not human. No guy I’d met was that skilled. Or maybe I just hadn’t met the right guy. “So, you’re sure I’m not making a huge mistake?”

  “Very sure. If you accept the match, you’ll be transported to his location.”

  I began to pace and lifted my arm to tuck a strand of long black hair behind my ear. I got the dark locks from my Vietnamese grandmother and I wished with everything in me that she was still alive. That any of them were. But other than a few cousins I saw once or twice a decade, I was on my own. “What if I don’t like him?”

  “You have thirty days to decline the match and be reassigned.”

  “You sure I’m matched to a human?”

  “Yes. Why do you ask?” Her brows rose with more than idle curiosity and I wondered just how much she knew about the kinky fantasies she’d sent into my head in that testing chair.

  I thought about the dream. There were two men touching me. Making me melt and want and burn. But I’d never considered that before, so I could adapt. One man was enough. I could love one man just fine. My perfect match. A human. At least he wouldn’t have tentacles or anything weird. Bulging bug eyes. A forked tongue. Scales. Claws. Ugh. I shivered. “Can he be sent back to Earth when he’s done his service?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?” I fired off the questions like bullets.

  “Because no matched mates can live on Earth. Once he accepted the testing, he is no longer allowed to return to Earth, the same rule as you.”

  “Then we’ll live on a space ship the rest of our lives?”

  The warden sighed.

  “Commander, sit down. Please.”

  She used my Coalition rank and that softened me. She saw me as someone from space more than just an Earth female. I did as she requested.

  “Just like your time in service, not all answers are known. I can tell you this. Again. The testing is ninety-nine percent accurate. I can confidently say that you will be satisfied with your mate.”

  I thought of just how satisfied the men in the dream had made me. I thought of that for a moment, then a specific detail about what she said. “The only way you can be confident this works is because you’ve been to space.”

  She nodded.

  “Yet you’re back.”

  “I was matched to two Prillon warriors. They died in battle. I chose to remain a citizen of Prillon Prime, but I serve the Coalition as a warden here on Earth. Someday, when I’m ready, I’ll be matched again.”

  I felt for her. I could see the loss in her eyes, the pain of losing not just one mate, but two. Did testing other women to be brides fulfill her or make feel her loss even more keenly?

  She didn’t give me time to ask her these questions, for she stood, the chair scraping along the floor.

  “State your name for the record.”

  “Chloe Phan.”

  “Are you currently married?”

  “No.”

  “Do you have biological offspring? Or adopted children?”

  “No.”

  “You have been assigned to a mate per testing protocols and will be transported off-planet, never to return to Earth. Is this correct?”

  Never to return to Earth. Exactly what I wanted. “You mean I’ll leave Earth behind and be transported to Battleship Karter?”

  “Yes, Chloe. That is exactly what I mean.”

  I looked at the wall over her shoulder. I wanted off Earth. I wanted to fit in again. To be where I belonged and a battleship was very familiar to me. Maybe the testing was good.

  What the hell. I’d find out soon enough.

  “I accept.”

  Warden Egara looked down at her tablet, swiped her fingers. “Good. Hands back on the arm rests. Yes, thank you. Don’t mind the restraints, they are required so you’ll remain still for preparation and transport.”

  Preparation? Transport? I’d never transported in a chair before. Never in a hospital gown. I tested the restraints, but it was more practical than panic—like preparing for battle.

  She swiped her screen again and to my shock, the chair slid toward the wall where a large opening appeared. The examination chair moved, as if on a track, right into the newly revealed space on the other side of the wall. The tiny room was small, and glowing with a series of bright blue lights. The chair lurched to a stop and a robotic arm with a large needle slid silently up to my neck but paused, one of the lights turning red.

  “What?” The Warden was looking down at her screen with a frown, so I saved her a few minutes of confusion, telling her what I could.

  “I don’t need an NPU. I already have one—sort of.” The thing implanted in my skull wasn’t the standard issue NPU, but I wasn’t allowed to tel
l her that either.

  She lifted her gray eyes to mine, curiosity and calculation in her gaze. “And why, exactly, is it not showing up in my scanners?”

  I shrugged. “I really couldn’t say.”

  “Of course, not.” She looked annoyed now, and I grinned at her to ease the sting. My NPU translated all the languages in the Coalition Fleet, just like everyone else’s, but it was…more. Doctor Helion, the Intelligence Core’s specialist on neural implants, told me the experimental Neural Processing Unit was coated in a specialized material meant to evade detection by Hive Integration Units in the event I was captured.

  Thank God that had never happened.

  “Fine, Ms. Phan. Good luck out there.”

  A sense of lethargy and contentment made my body go limp as I was lowered into a bath of warm blue liquid. I was so warm, so numb…

  “Just relax, Chloe.” Her finger touched the display in her hand and her voice drifted to me as if from far, far away. “Your processing will begin in three… two… one…”

  Chapter 4

  Dorian, Battleship Karter, Transport Room

  * * *

  When I woke up this morning, I’d expected to potentially die in battle fighting the Hive, not be claiming a mate. Holy fuck.

  Yet the hairs on my body raised from the familiar electrical pull of the transporter signaling her arrival. Her arrival. I glanced at Seth, who, while completely calm of face, was holding onto his control by a thread. His hands were in fists by his sides. Not to punch someone, but perhaps the only outward way of showing his fear, his anxiousness, his worry at what a mate would mean, and what would become of her were he to be killed in battle.

  After he explained to me why he never wanted that damned Christmas gift—his exact words—from his sister, Sarah, his nerves made a hell of a lot of sense. Completely paranoid, but reasonable, considering our duties in this war. Even more for Seth, for what he’d been through when he’d been captured and tortured by the Hive.

  I hadn’t been with him on the mission where he’d been taken, but I knew he’d been fucking lucky he hadn’t been killed, or worse, integrated.

  He was whole. Lucky. Completely free of any cyborg enhancements. But he hadn’t seen it that way.

  He saw it as a preview of the inevitable. He couldn’t have a mate for fear of leaving her, or any children they made, alone and defenseless. His views were nearly identical to a Prillon warrior’s despite the fact that Seth was from Earth, and had that planet’s odd perspective on a proper warrior’s mating. One male for a female. As Prillon, there were always two warriors for an Interstellar Bride. Two to protect, cherish, love and hell, fuck their mate into complete happiness.

  I shifted my stance, my cock swelling at just the thought of claiming the female who was going to be mine. Mine and Seth’s. A female to share between us.

  And when I woke up this morning, I definitely hadn’t thought I’d be getting a mate in bed, between me and my best friend. We were going to fuck her senseless, bring her so much pleasure she wouldn’t remember what planet she came from.

  Cocky? Gods, yes. I’d waited my whole life for a mate, never considered it possible after my cousin’s death. I hadn’t been tested, hadn’t earned the right.

  But Seth had been to hell and back. He’d earned a mate. Deserved one. Needed one.

  “Incoming.” The transport technician’s voice broke through my thoughts.

  Seth’s spine stiffened.

  The sizzle and hum of the transport came to a peak, then silenced as a female form materialized on the metal floor of the pad. She looked like an unconscious escapee from the med unit, her small body garbed in a familiar gown, but the wording repeated on it as a pattern was unfamiliar. English. Seth spoke English and while I could understand perfectly the language when he spoke, the NPU didn’t work for the written word without a bit of practice.

  Was she injured? Had she been hurt before transport? Seth rushed to her side, dropped to his knees before her.

  “Call the med unit!” he shouted, not paying any attention to whether his command was being obeyed.

  I was. With a narrowed gaze, I watched the two technicians closely to ensure a doctor would come immediately. This female was my mate and I wasn’t risking anything, even a delay because someone was sloppy in their job, when it came to her. I hadn’t even seen her face yet. Only that she was tiny in comparison to me. The thin gown covered her torso and down to her knees, but the slit in it—up the back—exposed the slim line of one thigh. Her skin was darker than Seth’s, but lighter than my golden tone. Her hair was black as never-ending space and when Seth scooped her up into his arms, swung long down her back and over Seth’s chest in a silky wave.

  He stroked her hair back from her face as his gaze raked over every inch of her. “She’s breathing.”

  I hadn’t realized how tense I’d become until a pent-up breath escaped. My shoulders sagged with relief. Breathing meant she had a heartbeat. She wasn’t dead. When she whimpered, a soft little sound, Seth groaned, pulled her in even closer to him.

  I gave in and touched her, gently clasped her ankle, felt the heat of her skin, the softness of it. Felt the pulse in the valley between her small bones.

  I met Seth’s gaze and his expression was unlike any I’d ever seen before.

  Awe.

  Surprise.

  Possessiveness.

  Yeah, I recognized all of that because I felt it, too. Every single one of those emotions. But as a Prillon, I also felt pride in knowing Seth held our mate, that he would protect her with his life as I would with mine.

  “Where the hell’s the doctor?” I asked.

  The technician paled and swallowed hard at my barked question.

  “Sir, she’s on her way.”

  “She’s waking up,” Seth said, his voice holding a tinge of hope and…amazement.

  Shifting on my knees, I settled on her other side so while she was still on Seth’s lap, she was between us.

  Her eyes fluttered open and I felt a kick to the gut. It was like being hit by an ion blaster set to stun. Her big eyes were green. I’d only seen a few people with eyes that color, and definitely a trait of those from Earth. But with her black hair and medium-toned skin, they almost sparkled.

  I watched her narrow throat work as she swallowed, as her pink tongue flicked out to lick her plump lower lip. All at once, she came to, surprising me—and Seth. She stiffened, sat upright, hitting the top of her head against Seth’s chin. His jaw clacked shut and she scooted back, falling onto the hard floor.

  “Easy,” Seth soothed, holding his hands out, then sliding one up and down her arm.

  “I’m fine,” she said, her voice firm but soft. Everything about her was soft, small. Gentle. She looked…breakable.

  How the hell was I not going to snap a bone or jar her teeth as I fucked her? I wasn’t small, nor was I gentle. Carefully, I reached out and lifted her up, settled her somewhat awkwardly over my thighs since I was on my knees. I didn’t want her on the hard floor. I wanted her wrapped in comfort. She deserved it.

  Why? Because she was my mate. No other reason was needed.

  “Yes, you’re very much fine, but take a minute,” I said. “You’ve come a long way.”

  She stilled then, her head turned to look at Seth.

  While I didn’t hear the transport room door open, I heard hasty footsteps before I saw the doctor’s legs just before she squatted down beside us.

  “You look well,” she commented to our mate.

  I’d met the doctor before. Atlan. Proficient. Efficient.

  Our mate shifted out of my hold, used my arm to push herself up to standing. One hand grabbed the back of her odd gown to cover the gap in the material. Seth stood hastily and went around to stand behind her.

  Good. Her bare skin wouldn’t be seen by the transport techs. Not going to happen. If Seth hadn’t blocked her modesty, I would have. Instead, I knelt before her, making the differences in our sizes so much more obvious. W
hile Seth was human, he still hovered over her by a good foot. I knew I’d add another six inches to that and I didn’t want her scared.

  Not of me. Never of me.

  “I’m fine,” our mate repeated. “Just a little headache.”

  “Hmm,” the doctor replied, studying her from head to toe with a capable and professional eye. “Let’s start with the basics. What’s your name?”

  “Chloe Phan.”

  Chloe.

  “Where are you from?”

  “Earth. Texas.” Chloe sighed. “Look, I just need a ReGen wand for the headache and I’ll be fine. I always get one after I transport.”

  The doctor tilted her head to the side, but didn’t comment. Seth did.

  “You always get one after you transport? How many times have you done it?” He gripped the back of her gown and scrunched it up in his fist as he shifted to look her in the eye.

  She shimmied her shoulders to work out of his hold, but reached back, took over keeping her sad garment closed. I wanted her in something that didn’t look like a droopy sack. Hell, I wanted her in nothing at all—but only once we were back in Seth’s quarters. New mated quarters.

  Chloe looked thoughtful for a moment. “Too many to count.”

  The doctor was fiddling with the tablet in her hand, watching the display. “Spell Phan, please.”

  Chloe did.

  The doctor froze.

  “Is she sick?” I asked, noticing when the doctor stilled as she stared at her screen. My heart stilled, so did my breathing as I waited for the answer.

  Instead of replying, she unhooked the ReGen wand from her belt and handed it over to our mate.

  Chloe didn’t fiddle with it as if it were a new thing for her. Instead, she flipped it on immediately, the blue light glowing as she waved it back and forth close to her head. She closed her eyes, let the wand do its work.