“What have you done, brother?”
“We should discuss this later after your bonding ceremony. And you shouldn’t speak to your elders like that,” he ordered arrogantly.
Lyrica rolled her eyes. “You are only older by a few minutes, and don’t use that Vesere tone with me.”
She kept poking him until he slapped her hand away. Or he would have if Gabriel hadn’t reached out and pulled her hand away first.
Her sexy mate had some fast moves.
“I heard that,” Gabriel said, laughing through their bond. “I take it Lynx is the firstborn twin?”
“Yes, and he thinks that somehow gives him permission to boss me around.”
“The only person who can boss you around is me,” Gabriel growled playfully.
“So, you’re just going to ignore me now?”
She shot her brother a glare of sheer annoyance. “I was speaking to my mate.”
Lynx’s eyes glittered with interest. “Right! I forgot you two could communicate telepathically. Can you speak at all distances or—”
“We can talk about that later. Don’t change the subject.” Propping her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes on her brother. “What are you up to?”
“I brought a contingent of guards that will be staying with you, and I don’t want to hear any arguments about it.”
“Your brother is as arrogant as Alden,” Gabriel grumbled. What was with these Xenon males thinking he couldn’t protect his mate? “She doesn’t need guards. She has me.”
“The guards will be protecting you both,” Lynx explained. “Like it or not, you are mated to a Vesera. That comes with added responsibilities and dangers for both of you.”
Gabriel wanted to argue, but he grudgingly had to admit that Lyrica’s brother had a point. “How many of them are you leaving here?”
“Six.”
“We’d be happy to have them stay here with us,” Lyrica hurried to say before Gabriel could protest again. “It’s not like we don’t have room for them here. We have about a hundred bedchambers in this place.”
She wasn’t exaggerating by much. He still wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but if she wanted them there, the guards could stay. Gabriel figured he could just make Alden deal with their new houseguests. “I guess six guards isn’t that bad.”
“That number is probably going to increase soon,” Lynx admitted, then winced a little when Gabriel scowled at him.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Don’t blame me. This is all Lyrica’s fault. Word has spread that you and Alden both found your mates as soon as you arrived on Earth. I know you were coming here to learn more about mating bonds, but there is a rumor going around that you already knew your mate was here. Now, people think that you have some sort of mate-matching magic, and they want your help finding theirs.”
“I have no such magic! This is madness.”
When she sagged against him, Gabriel laughed and wrapped his arm around her. “I don’t know about that. You did find me pretty easily. And didn’t you say you wished that Alden would find his mate while you were on your way here?”
“It was fate, not me. Jael and Xi Moonmist both met their mates here on Earth without my involvement. See? That proves it wasn’t me.”
A female Xenon guard stepped forward. “That might not be completely accurate.”
“Syrie!” Lyrica cried out as she hugged her, and the female awkwardly patted her on the back in return. “Gabriel, this is Syrie Moonmist. Her sister, Jael, is mated to your friend, Lucas.”
“Did Luke come back with you?”
Syrie shook her head. “They are still on Xenthian.” She sent Lyrica an apologetic smile. “You might recall that you encouraged Jael to take the assignment on Earth.”
“That’s because you and your brothers were giving her such a hard time about going. Besides, Kai was the one who had initially requested that she help the humans. That’s why she…I didn’t really do anything…” Lyrica’s words trailed off, and she cast a worried look over at Gabriel. “Did I?”
Pulling her into his arms, he leaned down to kiss the frown off her lips. “Don’t worry, princess. Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t. Fate could be using you as a conduit. You did say you thought a lot of Xenon might have missed out on meeting their mates while your planet was closed off. If fate is trying to make up for lost time, perhaps you are a catalyst to help make that happen.”
“Like people hang around me and then, poof, they suddenly find their soulmate?”
He smiled and shrugged. “It could happen.”
Looking slightly alarmed, Syrie took a step back. “I’m going to…go.”
As they watched her hurry away, Lyrica groaned. “See, that proves this is going to be a disaster. People are either going to start following me around hoping I might lead them to their mates, or they will avoid me like I have some dreadful illness they don’t want to catch.”
Lynx snorted out a laugh. “Which is why I’m leaving here as soon as possible. I don’t want to catch whatever it is you have.”
He danced out of reach when she tried to slap him, and her eyes narrowed. “If I do have mate-matching magic, I’d use it on you next!”
“Excuse me, Lyrica,” Nina Hale said after she hurried over to join them. “I apologize for interrupting, but I just wanted to let you know that everything is ready.”
No one had been more surprised than Gabriel was when his mate and his former assistant had become fast friends. When Gabriel and Harris had informed Nina that they were resigning, she had requested to come work for them. While she was interested in working on Lyrica’s project, she also needed their protection.
As their assistant, she had been shielded from being claimed by any
