“That is a very large female,” Quinn replied. I understood her confusion. Ulza had been large, muscled, and rumored to be a merciless fighter.
“Yes. Mother of five sons.” Styx looked at Blade. “We are free to hunt Ulza’s sons without repercussions. I have made my own deal with Jillela.”
Blade looked pleased. “Her eldest attempted to purchase the human female from Trion? At Omega Dome?”
“Yes.”
Blade scowled. “Our mate will not like that.”
Styx chuckled. “No, she will demand his head on a platter.”
“Then we shall deliver.”
“Always underestimate you two, do I not?” Helion asked.
I ignored them all and carried my mate out into the corridor and back to our suite. I was done with all of them. The only one who mattered to me now was in my arms. And I was never going to let her go.
14
Bahre, Three Weeks Later, Earth
My mate looked around our new home with huge, round eyes.
“Bahre? Is this a joke?”
“Do you disapprove? I was told by Ellen and Linda that you would like these quarters.”
She walked around the large house I had purchased as a gift for her, and tears came to her eyes. “This is too much.”
Gods be damned. I’d made her cry. This was not the reaction I had been hoping for. I’d asked my Atlan brothers to find quarters worthy of my mate and near her work. Tane, Iven, and Egon had enlisted the aid of Quinn’s friends, two females she worked with, Ellen and Linda. I had contacted the ruling council on Atlan, asked Dr. Helion to make things happen, and within days my wealth had been transferred to Earth and converted to human money. I would give it all to her. Every credit.
“This house is huge. How can you afford this?” She turned to look at me, her high-heeled shoes a dark blue, her dress soft and clingy and the same color with almost imperceptible white stripes. She looked like a queen with her hair piled high on her head and the new Atlan choker I’d ordered delivered. The choker was thick and matched the mating cuffs exactly. I had requested dangling items for her ears as well, as she seemed to like those. She loved to be adorned, and I would see to it she remained that way. I liked the adornments upon her, especially when she wore nothing else.
She looked regal. Beautiful. And confused.
“I am sorry, mate. We can choose another home. Whatever you want is yours.” Was my voice shaking? Fuck.
Fear. I was afraid, terrified that this beautiful, perfect female would wake up, come to her senses, and now that she was back on Earth, run. I was no young, innocent male. I was a killer. A warrior. She’d seen what my missions had been like. Endured one. She’d witnessed the execution of a Rogue 5 leader. Met Elite Hunters in the thick of a conquest. She even knew the leader of the Coalition’s IC personally.
My body bore the scars of battle, as did my soul. She knew I was marked by death inside and out. And Quinn? She was beauty and compassion. Acceptance and light, the laughter and hope my broken soul thirsted for.
She was perfect. Brave. Intelligent. Perhaps my lovely mate did not need me at all. She may wear my cuffs, but what if she wished to remove them?
She had not wanted to remain in space. I didn’t blame her for wanting to be away from Transport Station Zenith, but she did not want to go to Atlan or The Colony either. Her time on the transport station had seen to that. The knowledge that Rogue 5 factions existed, that the Intelligence Core existed, that evil like the now-dead leader of Cerberus existed? She had wanted to feel safe and be on familiar ground.
She’d wanted to go home. And where my mate wanted to be, I would go as well. She was my home.
Warden Egara had contacted the Interstellar Brides Processing Center administration, and they had approved my transfer to the security team here in Miami within the hour. I was going to live on Earth. Permanently.
Unless this stupid house I’d bought for my female drove her away from me.
“Bahre?”
I blinked down at her, lost in my worry. “Yes, love?”
“You’re a soldier. How can you afford this house? I don’t understand.”
I shook my head. “I am not a soldier. I am a warlord with over a decade of Coalition service. I was a commander in the Intelligence Core.”
She walked to me and took my hands in hers. I lifted them to my lips, kissed her knuckles.
“Our soldiers don’t make this kind of money.”
I was not familiar with the value of human credits. The house was what she deserved, but clearly expensive.
“Are you telling me, this is all from serving in the war?”
I nodded. “Yes. Many Atlans do not return from the front lines. We are always first on the ground, first to fight. Those the Hive doesn’t kill on the battlefield are usually lost to mating fever. I survived. Those who survive are rewarded by their people.”
She frowned, her smooth forehead marred with her confusion. “You didn’t die, so now you’re rich?”
When she put it that way, it did sound odd. I shrugged. “Yes. The human bank Ellen took me to see was ecstatic when the transfers came through. The manager said I was a billionaire.”
Her mouth fell open as if I’d shocked her. “What?”
It was my turn to frown. “Is that bad? I can give the credits away or send the funds back to Atlan.”
She was laughing now, her head thrown back and the sound coming from her throat pure joy. “Oh, no you don’t! We can give some away to those in need, of course, but after you come to understand your value.” She leaped into my arms and kissed me, hard, on the mouth. “I cannot believe this house. I can’t believe you. This is
