“I agree, and thank you for the offer,” Ram said cordially, adding, “although I would have preferred to deal with this nasty business first.”
“Some key individuals can’t join us until later. Be patient, we’ll get to it soon enough.”
As they reached the outskirts of town, and stopped to allow pedestrians to pass at an intersection, Cierra, who was enjoying the breeze, began to babble that her new game had ended. Smiling, Kerr reached out and trailed the backs of his fingers down her downy-soft cheek. “She really is beautiful, Eryn.”
“Thank you, sir,” she murmured as she leaned forward to watch her baby girl.
“It’s Kerr. As Ram’s mate, you are family. No need for formality amongst us.” Kerr chuckled as Cierra, who seemed to agree, batted both arms and laughed, displaying the dimple in her chubby, baby cheek, the mirror image of her daddy’s. “You certainly cannot deny her, cousin.”
Ram, who had a protective arm around their daughter, twisted enough to meet her gaze, pride gleaming in his golden eyes, “Never. There will be no denials in the Master Warrior’s family.”
She felt the heat of a blush rise to her cheeks, and the Princep declared with a grin as he started them forward again, “Now that’s what I like to hear.”
* * *
A gracious hostess, Eva appeared happy, glowing under her mate’s attention as she held her son, Kellan, on her lap. A golden-eyed cheerful baby, he looked like a miniature of his father except for the shock of blonde hair which matched his mother’s.
As she took in the small family, casually relaxing in the informal part of their residence which occupied the entire top floor of what was essentially Primaria’s White House. She had to admire their closeness. Kerr’s arm around her shoulders as she leaned into his side, both smiling at their jabbering, laughing son.
Only a few days separated the new cousins, one fair, the other dark, as were most Primarians. A thought occurred to her. “Has there ever been a fair-haired Primarian warrior?” Eryn asked.
“No, and there won’t be.” Eva stressed her point with a definitive nod. “He can be a scientist or a scholar, sticking close to home.” She cooed down at the gurgling baby in her arms. “Isn’t that right, my sweet prince?”
“He isn’t a prince, Sprite. He is, however, the Primmum Ectus and will be whatever he chooses when he comes of age.”
Obviously, a running argument between the two, their eyes met, Eva’s rolling with Kerr’s brow arching in response.
“Whatever he grows up to be,” Eryn interjected, carefully staying neutral, “he is a beautiful baby, and I know you are both thrilled.”
“Yes, and Cierra is a cutie.” She tilted her head, considering Eryn. “And you, Chief? Do you miss being a badass security specialist, kicking butt and taking names, or have you found a maternal side you didn’t know you had, like me.”
“It’s funny. I don’t miss it at all. Besides, I still train and stay fit enough to kick frogman ass and warrior butt on occasion.”
“What’s this?” Kerr asked, looking to Ram in question.
“You’ll have to ask Rollin,” was all the explanation he would give, although he grinned at her, while shaking his head.
“I know him.” Eva grinned. “Seven feet of muscle, sporting a near-permanent scowl and a mouth that makes you want to take him out at the knees.”
“I took him to his knees, except my aim was about two feet higher.”
Eva gasped. “You didn’t?” Then she shook her head. “What am I saying? Of course, you did. I bet you did it with a bo staff, didn’t you?”
Eryn shrugged, letting that be her answer, but then couldn’t resist winking at her friend.
“You shouldn’t gloat over a warrior’s defeat, little one,” Ram put in with a gentle scold. “I believe we’ve had a few discussions about this.”
“For beating a warrior twice her size, she should gloat,” Eva declared in her defense. “If we’re lucky, it brought him down a peg and curbed his arrogant tongue.”
“Seems to be the consensus,” Eryn muttered.
Kerr glanced at Ram, cocking a brow at him for verification.
“It’s true.” Ram grinned, pride in his tone when he added, “And only took her about two minutes.”
The Princep looked at her with new respect.
Curious about something ever since the challenge, Eryn asked her mate, “What did you say to Rollin that day?”
“I told him he needed to work on his technique to let a little thing like you beat him so easily, and, if he ever swung anything at your head or any other part of your body again, it would be his last swing.”
Eryn sighed then repeated an old protest. “You have to stop threatening to kill everyone who peeks at me sideways. It was a fair match. I had safety gear on. He might have rung my bell if he connected, but it wouldn’t have been the first time.”
“It will be the last time,” Ram stated tersely. “They have orders to be on defense only if you spar again. Like I was.”
“Like you were?” Eva’s blonde eyebrows rose.
“Yes, she forgot to mention the part where I pinned her.”
“What?” she gaped in surprise. “But you were undefeated.”
“Give me a break. Look at him.”
She did. With Ram both larger and taller than Kerr, who was a big man, she also nodded in understanding.
“Besides,” Eryn went on to say, “I couldn’t take him out like I did Rollin and ruin our chances for future little warriors and badasses.”
Eva laughed. After a moment, Kerr joined in, as did Ram, although he hauled her close and whispered in her ear. “We’ll see who brings who to their knees tonight, little rebel.”
She tingled all over, her face flushing, but the arrival of dinner spared her from further temptation.
An informal meal among the four of them, Janus had the care of the babies. According to Eva, Kerr’s chamberlain jumped at the chance when offered. The major domo was like a personal assistant, managing Kerr’s appointments and screened the visitors constantly lined up at their door.
“Without him,” she affirmed, “we’d never have a moment’s peace. And he adores Kellan.”
Dinner conversation focused on the progress at the new colony and the integration. One thousand mate applicants had arrived on Primaria, and the people were practically euphoric. Kerr expressed concern over the increasing violence on Earth at the prospect of the two-species mating, but left it at that, keeping the meal light and casual.
Afterward, they made their way downstairs to the large conference room on the first floor where the others had already gathered.
It looked much like Ram’s command center with a communication console and wall mounted vid-screen, except twice the size. In the middle of the room sat a long table with high-back chairs, all in white. What was it with Primarian’s and white?
Seated around the table were Kerr’s leaders, Trask was present, along with Jarlan the lead physic, Roth had joined via satellite relay from Earth, Maggie and Ellar joining him. Ram, of course, and two of the elders, Mordrun and Aylan, were sitting in. Eva had accompanied Kerr to provide her input, having been a victim of at least one of the evil schemes, and lastly, Juna rounded out the group.
The Princep remained standing when he began. “I’ve called this meeting to discuss a disturbing trend Trask and Ram have brought to my attention. Although most of the Purists have been identified, we continue to have incidents of sabotage cropping up.”
“Sabotage?” Eva repeated, her hand flying to her chest in alarm.
Kerr placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Eva and I were first, as you all know, the efforts to separate us almost turned deadly. The Purist faction has become known since then, and the jealous woman who shot her has been disciplined and mated to a strong man. We have had no further incidents from her.”
“Except I still must endure Zalina’s presence in the market every week, which serves as a painful reminder,” Eva mutt
ered.
Zalina had hopes of a match with Kerr and of becoming Prima herself, determined to let nothing and no one stand in her way. Eva’s hand held her side where the woman had blasted her, the physical wound long since healed, but still festering deep—she’d almost lost her mate and the father of her child from the woman’s malicious intent. Kerr moved his hand to her nape, his thumb stroking the side in a tender, comforting gesture. She offered him a smile after a moment, rested her cheek against his side.
“Maggie and Roth weren’t immune from the scheming,” Kerr noted. “The poisoner has never been found, and now we have Eryn and Ram. It seems the culprit or culprits are getting more desperate, although we still have no inkling who might be perpetrating these plots.”
Eryn sat up straighter upon hearing this, shoulders tense. “Wait, what plots?”
“You haven’t told her?” Kerr asked.
“New evidence seems to be cropping up every day,” Ram explained, “and we’ve had some distractions.”
Feeling like she’d walked in halfway through a movie and missed half of the storyline, she turned to him with her next question. “What new evidence?”
“We have confirmed someone accessed our database and altered your initial compatibility report,” Jarlan told her.
“It goes as far back as that?” Eva gasped.
“Yes,” Eryn replied, “but that isn’t news. The corrected report was sent to Ram months ago.”
“No,” Jarlan stated. “The report you saw was a fake, in fact. We have no record of it. Although, when I reviewed the document, it is an excellent facsimile of one of ours, it did not come from us. We ran a second test to be sure and got the same result. Instead of the accurate rating of 99.43 percent, the report Ram received indicated only—”
“Forty-three percent.” She shifted her gaze to Ram. “Because of that fake score, I was convinced we weren’t mates and never could be, and because of it, I was led to believe Cierra couldn’t be your child.”
“Little rebel…”
“My actions were based on lies.”
“Eryn, despite all of this scheming, we found our way back to each other. It is our fate.”
“Yes, and at 99.43 percent, there is an excellent chance you are fated mates,” Kerr suggested quietly.
“But I don’t have Ram’s marking,” Eryn countered. “Have you ever known a fated female not to be marked?”
“No, that would be unusual,” Jarlan put in. “However, as ill as you became after less than two days apart is telling.”
“Kerr was the same way.” Eva’s hand visibly tightened around her mate’s. “A few more days and he would have been dead. If Trask hadn’t brought me back in time, we both would be.”
“Sometimes, there is a delay in the marking’s appearance.” Roth’s deep voice came over the speaker as if he was in the room. “Maggie didn’t acquire mine until well after the breaching.”
“So it could still happen? Even after nine months?”
“It could,” Jarlan stated, although he looked doubtful.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ram insisted. “We are mates, fated or not, forever.”
She leaned into him, and his hand slid over hers where it lay on the table.
“There is more to this than altered reports,” Juna announced into the heavy silence. “Three pregnancy tests which produced a false negative response, to start.”
“Three is unusual, isn’t it?” Eva’s scientific side inquired. “If they came from the same lot, maybe all of them were defective?”
“No,” Juna answered with confidence. “I checked. Two different manufacturers, and the ones from the same maker had different lot numbers.”
Ram interrupted the low grumble of displeasure from the others. “One is a fluke. Two is questionable. Three is a trend in need of investigation. And there was another serious incident we learned of during Eryn’s illness.” His eyes met and held hers. “I didn’t tell you this, thinking it was a defect, and Juna and I saw no sense in upsetting you during your recovery. With these new developments, however—”
“What happened?”
“There was a hole in your breathing tube, Eryn,” Juna stated without hesitation.
“A hole!”
“One large enough to prevent you from getting the oxygen you needed and I believe is the reason you didn’t improve. I was horrified, although relieved to have an explanation of what had been confounding me the entire time.”
“If the hole was made deliberately, this is attempted murder,” Trask exclaimed with alarm.
“I examined it, and it appeared to have been cut,” Ellar stated.
“But why?” Eryn clutched Ram’s forearm, her fingers digging into his skin. “To harm me, or do you think they meant to harm Cierra?”
“The problem with your oxygen levels began after you delivered,” Juna explained.
“Which means I was the target.” She sat back, stunned. “And the Denastrians showing up when I happen to be on one of hundreds of shuttle trips isn’t a coincidence either, is it?”
“Add the bogus summons from the council making it possible for them to take you is too much for chance, galita.”
“Let’s narrow it down if we can,” Trask suggested shrewdly. “Who had access to her hospital room?”
“She had many visitors, although one of us stayed around the clock: Maggie, Lana, or myself. Roth sat with her several times as well.”
Her eyes shifted to the screen and the image of the commander looking on. “I didn’t know that.”
“All of us were gravely concerned,” he told her.
She laid her free hand over her heart, touched by the affection in his lavender eyes, and smiled a silent thank you. “I think we can cross the four of you off the list of suspects.”
Everyone laughed quietly except Ram.
“The medical staff was in and out at all hours, like a revolving door,” he stated, his voice raw. “Any of them could have gotten to her. I should have protected her better.”
“Ram, don’t.”
“We had warriors guarding the floor,” he went on. “I should have had someone in your room.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
He moved her hand from his arm, interlacing their fingers as he met and held her gaze. “I should have been more cautious with you from the beginning. I won’t fail you again,” he murmured, repeating his earlier vow.
Someone cleared their throat. When she glanced up, Trask’s gaze had fixed on their joined hands, his face stricken. Gripping Ram’s hand more firmly, she shifted it to her lap, where he couldn’t see. Only then did he blink, his expression becoming neutral. The separation from Lana had left a stamp of grief all over him—he didn’t need any reminders.
“Why would someone target me?” She glanced at the rest of the group. “The Alliance was already established, the treaty signed. We’re bonding and having babies. No one, especially the Princep, will buy into this integration being a bad idea now.”
“To silence you, perhaps,” Maggie suggested. “To keep you from implicating those involved.”
“But I gave a statement before I left.” She turned to Ram. “You said Lorkin and Odo have been tried and found guilty of conspiracy and subversion. They are the only two who could have gained from my silence. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Someone must be worried you have more to tell, little rebel.”
She frowned. “I don’t know what that would be.”
“Whoever is behind this has threatened my mate bond, is responsible for the capture, abuse, and injury of my mate, almost killing her, and putting my child in jeopardy.” Ram looked at Kerr with determination. “I will demand capital justice from whoever is responsible.”
“What is that?” Eryn breathed beside him.
“A punishment reserved for the worst atrocities, and rarely invoked,” Trask replied without specifics. She suspected by the waves of intensity emanating from the man at her side, justice would be served,
and well matched in severity—akin to blowing someone to bits.
“Capital justice is your right for the terrible things perpetrated against you and your mate, Ram,” the Princep stated. “And you will have my support, but first we must find whoever is responsible.”
Ram squeezed Eryn’s cold fingers once more. “I need the names of all your contacts. Anyone you spoke to or met with, even if they were in the background when you were with Lorkin.”
“There was no one else. Only Lorkin, as I’ve told you. And Odo, except I think he was only dumb muscle. I’m surprised with his pea-sized brain he manages to tie his shoes every day. He doesn’t have the capacity to pull off something this involved, believe me.”
He glanced at her sharply. “Is there something you didn’t tell me about Odo, mate?”
“Other than he’s a xenophobic misogynist jerk and a ham-fisted buffoon to boot?”
“Ham-fisted?” he repeated, an angry bite in his tone. “Did he hurt you, Eryn?”
“His manhandling became annoying, but I disliked his racist manner most of all.”
“I’ll kill him.”
“Ram, you can’t,” she insisted, with a heavy sigh.
“Watch me!”
“Can we plan Odo’s death after we’re finished with our discussion?” Trask interjected.
“With pleasure,” her angry mate snapped. She had no doubt he envisioned the man’s throat in his hands.
“There will be no more talk of killing,” she proclaimed then turned to Kerr. “He was sentenced, correct?”
“Stripped of his warrior status and reassigned to the mid-south mine.”
“That’s bad?”
“The worst,” Trask assured her. “Unlike most underground caves which are cool, temperatures can reach one hundred ten degrees in mid-south. It won’t be pleasant.”
“What’s keeping him there?”
“A six-hundred-mile trek through barren desert, for one thing,” Roth supplied. “One of our orbiting ships does surveillance. No one has ever had a successful departure, I assure you.”
His Rebellious Mate (Primarian Mates Book 3) Page 38
