The Earth authorities requested their presence. No doubt a pair of clan-less Mahdfel warriors asking after a missing female caught their attention.
Havik shivered at the artificially cooled air inside the building. Earth was a terrible place, and he could not wait to leave once he found his lost mate. He gave his name to the Terran at the front desk and was admitted through a series of locked doors and down a long corridor. Eventually, the escort waved a key card above a sensor and opened the final door.
A Rolusdrean male waited in the room. Large, his complexion a deep red, he seemed to occupy the entire room, despite standing in the far corner. He gave Havik an assessing look. Despite the shrewd gaze, Havik’s spirits lifted at the presence of another Mahdfel from his planet.
“Son of a warlord come to make his path. You have Kaos’ stubborn jaw,” the male said. “I hope that is all you share with him.”
“You know my father?”
“I’ve had the displeasure.”
“Then you will understand me when I say that male is no father to me,” Havik said.
“And the other one,” the male said, turning his attention to Ren.
Ren glanced at Havik and whispered, “Was that supposed to intimidate me?”
The male waved toward the tiny, Terran-sized chairs at the table. “Sit. It is not easy being the son of a warlord, but I suspect I know how Kaos drove away his only son.”
“And the other one,” Ren added. He leaned over to Havik and dramatically whispered, “I’m helping.”
“You are not,” Havik said, irritation creeping into his voice. He needed to be taken seriously by the Earth authorities. The older warrior standing opposite them already knew their reputations, hinted that he knew why they left their clan and planet, and probably judged them to be immature youths. Ren’s banter only reinforced the perception of immaturity.
The other male folded his arms behind his back and waited.
“My mate—” The words dried up on his tongue. He had rehearsed this speech so often over the long journey, his plea to retrieve his lost mate, but now it seemed inadequate. The male’s assessing attitude made Havik feel as if he stood on shifting sands.
Havik placed his hands flat on the table and leaned forward. “I suspect you already know. My mate was the only thing that was truly mine, and Kaos sent her back to Earth without my knowledge.”
“And the female is missing.”
“Yes.” Havik leaned back in the inadequately small chair. He ran a hand absently down his long braid of hair and flipped it over his shoulder. “I find Terran information systems to be highly frustrating. How can anyone navigate such empty noise?”
The door opened. A Terran female strode through, holding a tablet, and sat opposite him at the table. She did not acknowledge the male standing behind her, but their body language made it clear they had a connection. “It’d be easier if you had good information: friends, family, the usual.”
“I had good information,” he said.
“You had a name and not much else.” The female flipped through screens on the tablet. “I’m Agent Novak, by the way. You’ve met my mate, Vadi Kol.”
The male nodded at Havik, resting a far-from-subtle hand on Agent Novak’s shoulder.
Ren sat up straight in his chair. Havik did not have to ask if his friend recognized the male’s name, because Havik recognized it himself. His father had ranted often enough about the disgraceful son of a rival warlord, the one who mated a Terran and remained on Earth. While he had never believed the malicious statements his father said, Havik wondered how many of those were true.
Agent Novak focused on Ren. “I ran a search for Lorene Ball. She was matched.”
Ren’s shoulders slumped. “I am too late.”
“Too late for what?” Havik asked. Who was Lorene Ball?
“Can you tell me who her mate is? What clan?”
“Privacy regulations will not let me,” she said, then turned her attention to Havik. “You also lost your mate.”
Havik shared a glance with Ren. He had so many questions. Ren lost a mate and never told him? “My warlord lied to me and claimed she had died.”
The agent nodded. Her curly hair had been gathered behind her ear, but a few strands escaped and framed her face. “And she filed for divorce.”
“That I do not understand. How can my mate no longer be my mate if I did not agree to dissolve our mating?” That had puzzled him for months now.
“Ex-mate and it’s called a default divorce. It’s a provision in the Earth-Mahdfel Treaty.” She returned her attention to the tablet.
“I did not agree to the divorce.”
“You agreed to abide by the treaty when you took your mate, so tough nuts, but that’s not why we’re here. Your ex-mate is missing.”
“I said that,” Havik groused.
“No, what you actually said was your mate was your property and she was returned to Earth without your permission, and you don’t like Earth much. Sound about right?” She tilted her head to one side and gave him an exaggerated frown. She continued, without waiting for his reply. “We believe your ex-mate is no longer on Earth. We have records of her arrival and processing, including medical evaluation—”
“Her health—” He needed to know what the evaluation said.
“Alive.” Agent Novak gave him a flat, bored look. “I’m restricted by law from divulging private medical information.”
“She is my mate.”
“Ex-mate,” Ren whispered.
“This is helpful. Let’s talk about restrictions.” She set the tablet computer down and rested her elbows on the table. “Your ex-mate is no longer on Earth, and we believe she may have been taken against her will. We have records of your ex-mate enrolling in a university and attending
