“I will not leave Earth without my mate,” I said, my beast emerging. There was no fucking way I was being expelled from the planet.
Three other humans were in the room, and they stopped what they were doing to stare at me in wide-eyed surprise.
“No, Warlord,” the warden said, holding up a hand as if to stop me. “That is not my intention in bringing you here. Please, calm your beast, and I will tell you what I know.”
Tane set his hand on my shoulder. “Listen,” he murmured.
I nodded, willed my beast back.
“I have heard of the disappearance of your mate. I understand the police are focusing their search on a human named Jeff Randall.”
“That is correct, Warden,” Tane said for me.
I was trying to remain calm and I wasn’t sure how my voice would sound so I just gave a stifled growl in agreement.
“I believe the search is inaccurate.” She looked to a transport tech and nodded. The screen on the wall went black, and then data appeared. “So far today we have transported two females to their mates. One to Viken, the other to Atlan. You can see on the screen that those transports were scheduled.” She pointed to the display. “We have not sent anyone else since. There have been no incoming or outgoing transports, to the Brides Program or through the Coalition Fleet’s military processing center.”
I knew what she was saying. My beast understood. Processed. It was what she wasn’t saying that had me troubled. “Go on.”
“At three twenty-seven this afternoon, there was an unscheduled transport into Earth’s atmosphere.”
“I assume from your tone that the transport did not arrive here or at one of the other transport centers around the world?”
She glanced at Tane as he asked the question. She shook her head but said, “Negative.”
There was only one other possibility.
“A transport beacon,” I replied. I felt like I had just graduated from the Academy and was on my first mission. The feeling of fear. Dread. Panic.
“Correct. I believe someone transported to Earth using one. It has never been allowed, but after the latest diplomatic issues, using one is especially forbidden.”
“You didn’t bring me here because you believe something, Warden.”
She tipped up her chin. “The coordinates for the transport were the exact location of the building where you have been residing. It could have been seen as any one of the Atlans who were in your group. Perhaps someone joining you.”
Both Tane and I said, “No,” at the same time.
She crossed her arms and nodded. “As I thought. It does not indicate where in the building the transport ultimately arrived, but I believe it was on your mate’s floor.” She cleared her throat. “There was a record of a second transport, leaving Earth, seven minutes later.”
I looked to Tane, whose jaw was clenched. He was thinking the same thing. “Someone came to Earth and kidnapped my mate.”
Tane’s eyes narrowed. This wasn’t some meddling human we had to find and destroy. This wasn’t a human problem. This was my problem. My enemy, not Quinn’s.
There was a long list of them. Working for the IC, the Hive wasn’t the only enemy I had killed.
“Yes.”
“Is there a record of where the transport originated?”
“Transport Station Zenith.”
“Did they return to the same location?”
“Yes.”
Gods, Zenith was a gathering place for every kind of criminal imaginable. Rogue 5 factions had a shaky agreement with the Coalition that allowed everyone to pass through the station most of the time. The only enforced rule was no killing while on the station. However, shoving someone out an airlock technically did not count, as the body was in space.
If Quinn had been transported there, she could have been taken by Cerberus or one of the other legions, by gun runners, smugglers. The list was long, and none of the possibilities were good.
I tugged at my hair, paced the small space; then I spun and faced the warden.
“Open a comms call to IC. I want to speak with Helion directly. Now.”
She nodded, then waved a hand in one of the tech’s direction.
Behind her, the Prillon warrior and Intelligence Core Commander, Dr. Helion, appeared on the screen.
“What can I do for you, Warden?” He wasn’t even looking up as he spoke, instead shuffling data files on the large tablet in his hands.
“You can get your fucking ass out of that chair and help me.” My voice was deep, the beast speaking to the commander.
Helion lifted his head to actually look at his comm screen. He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he squinted to see me, I assumed, on another screen behind Warden Egara. “Well, this is unusual.” He lifted a brow as if he were not amused. I had rarely seen him wear any other expression.
“I found my mate,” I told him. “She is human. She has been abducted and taken to Transport Station Zenith.”
“I see.” Helion set the tablet aside and leaned forward. “Is Cerberus behind the abduction?”
I gritted my teeth. “I don’t know, and I don’t fucking care. Call in the Hunters and meet me on Zenith. You have ten minutes or I’m going to tear that fucking station apart.”
Dr. Helion actually sighed. “Very well. Do not engage before we arrive. Understood?”
Fuck that. If he was one minute late, I was not waiting. “Ten minutes. Starting now.”
I nodded at Warden Egara to end the comm call, which she did immediately. Her quick action made me think she approved of my handling of the doctor. He was difficult to deal with on a good day, and today was not a good day.
“I am ready.” I stepped up onto the transport pad. “Send me—”
“Us,” Tane corrected, moving to stand on the raised platform beside me. I nodded in thanks. He was a fine fighter, a cyborg. A warlord. I would not dishonor him by refusing his offer of help.
“To Transport Station Zenith.”
She nodded and went to stand beside the transport tech. “The
