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  Unable to speak the words, he nodded.

  “Were you—”

  “No. We were tortured, horribly abused, but never raped.”

  “Then why did Alonov remind you of the past?” she asked carefully.

  A lump formed in his throat, making it hard to speak. “The Ektovians had been spotted in the area, so this passenger convoy hired us to escort them. The Ektovians ambushed us, descending like locust on the unarmed ships. I’d never seen anything like it before or since.”

  “Did they murder all those people?” She pressed her hand to her upper chest, clearly dreading what he’d say next.

  “Worse. They rounded everyone up and loaded us onto their ships.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, encouraging him to move on.

  She might not want to hear the details, but he needed to talk about it, needed to purge his mind of the festering pain. “The civilian males were sold immediately, but the Ektovians held on to us. They figured they could make more by ransoming us back to the RPDF. My team was chained right across from the cell where they kept the young females.” He gritted his teeth and fought against the hate. The emotion was pointless. There was nothing he could have done then and there was nothing he could do now. “They were to be sold as breeders on planets even more barbaric than Ektovia. They were careful not to get them pregnant, but they saw no reason not to ‘try them out’. I’ve never felt so godsdamn useless in my life.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

  “We all went crazy the first time. Screamed and yelled, kicked and jerked on our chains until we were bloody. Jorton broke his own thumbs to get free of the chains, but it didn’t help. He couldn’t get past the force field in front of their cell. The angrier we got, the better those bastards liked it.” He paused to lick his lips, nearly finished with the purge. “Sometimes they forced us to watch, restrained us to chairs and taped our eyes open.”

  “Oh my God.” She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body close.

  “You’d think you’d get numb after a while, but it went on for months and I never went numb.” He took a deep breath and blew it out through his mouth. There were no secrets from mates. If he hadn’t told her, she might have stumbled across the images, and he refused to subject her to that.

  She hasn’t agreed to bond with you yet, his inner voice reminded, and his hands closed into fists.

  “Why did it take so long for the RPDF to ransom you?” she whispered after a long pause.

  “It’s their policy never to negotiate with terrorists. There are no exceptions.”

  “Then how did you finally escape?”

  “We didn’t escape. General Paytor—this was before his promotion—defied orders and launched a rescue mission. We were under his command, and General Paytor refused to abandon us. It took him some time, but I don’t think I’d be alive today if it weren’t for that male.”

  “No wonder betraying him hurt so badly.” She said nothing else for another few minutes, just stroked his chest and soothed him with her nearness. Then she stressed, “You got there in time to spare Heather. I know that’s small consolation, but—”

  “I’ll take it.” He kissed the top of her head and willed his body to relax. This was supposed to be a celebration of their success, not a morbid trip through the past. “I wanted you to know about this, so you’d understand why I found the overlord’s decision to kidnap potential mates so objectionable. I don’t care how he justifies it. Taking you away from your home world without permission was wrong.”

  She raised up again and looked into his eyes. “You never told me that before.”

  “I didn’t want you to think I was just saying what you wanted to hear in order to endear myself to you. But I want to be perfectly clear. You have to want this as much as I do, or I won’t claim you.”

  She smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. “That just moved you closer than you’ve ever been before.”

  He pulled her down and kissed her mouth, savoring rather than plundering. Now that his demons were exorcised he was hungry for tenderness.

  After long moments of slow, deep kisses, she pushed him flat and swung one of her legs over his hips. She settled on her knees, straddling his groin, eyes gleaming with desire. “Would you like to know what I’ve been thinking about all evening?”

  “You were with the overlord so it better not have been this.” He grabbed her hips and arched, rubbing his erection against her slick folds.

  She reached down and guided him to her entrance, then slowly sank onto him as she said, “I was comparing this life to the one I left behind.”

  “Were you now?” He rested his hands on her hips but let her move, content to watch her, fascinated by her mood.

  Her breasts swayed as she rolled her hips, dragging her body up and down his shaft. “My life wasn’t terrible before. I enjoyed my job and love my family. I thought that was enough for me.”

  “And now.” Unable to remain passive, he reached up and carefully pinched her nipples.

  She gasped, then shivered, moving her hips a little faster. “I didn’t count on you.” Her inner muscles tightened around him, caressing him with her wet heat. “You’re too damn good to be true.”

  He sat up and wrapped her legs around his waist, then carefully rolled her beneath him. “I’m nothing special. There are thousands out there just like me.” He pulled nearly out, then slowly filled her as they stared into each other’s eyes. “I finally opened the message about my potential mates. You’re my one and only match. You are the only female in the galaxy that can make my dreams come true.” Her lips began to tremble and tears escaped the corners of her eyes. “Why are you crying?”

  “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. How can I help but love you when you act like this?”

  He froze, his cock deep inside her. “You...love me?”

  She laughed and kicked him in the ass with both feet. “I did while you were moving. Now I’m not so sure.”

  He laughed, joy bubbling up within his soul. She loved him! She took one of the darkest moments of his life and eclipsed it with her light. “I love you too.” He kissed her, saturating her mind with tender affection. “You have no idea how much.”

  She nipped his bottom lip. “Enough with the mushy talk. If you want me to believe you, show me.”

  He was happy to oblige.

  A THUNDEROUS POUNDING on her workroom door snapped Isolaund’s attention toward the portal. “Go away. I’m busy!”

  “Open this door right now or I’ll kick it in,” Alonov’s deep voice boomed through the barrier.

  She wiped her hands on the towel tucked into her waistband. The formula she used to trigger the armor mutation in her karrons required meticulous attention. One drop of the wrong chemical and the formula could turn lethal. She would have to start over once she got rid of this buffoon.

  Throwing open the door with an impatient sigh, she leaned her arm against the jam and muttered, “Make it quick. I have important things to do.”

  His huge hand grasped her throat and squeezed.

  Holy fuck, had he lost his mind? She clawed at his forearm and bared her teeth as she frantically fought for breath. He always managed to confront her when Certice was not around. He just glared into her eyes. His grip was tight enough to panic her, without rendering her unconscious.

  “Do I have your attention now?”

  She awkwardly nodded and he slowly decreased the pressure on her throat. He didn’t let go.

  “Where is your handmaiden?”

  “Why?” She licked her lips and blinked back the excess moisture in her eyes. She would never make the mistake of being without one of her cats again!

  “When’s the last time you saw her?”

  “Let. Go.” She shoved into his mind, triggering a sharp burst of pain.

  He gasped and stumbled back, his hand finally leaving her throat. “Spare me your witchery. This is important.”

  “What d
oes Arrista have to do with anything? Get to the point.”

  He shoved her into the workroom, then slammed the door behind them.

  A shiver of fear skittered down Isolaund’s back. Her mother could have incapacitated him with a thought, but Isolaund only inherited a faint echo of her mother’s power. This brute could easily kill her if that was his intent.

  “I found your little hostage, and was in the process of moving her somewhere safe when Arrista interfered.”

  He was lying. She could see it all over his face. “Heather was perfectly safe where she was. We both know what you were doing if you found her hiding place.”

  “Fine,” he snarled. “Well, the bitch must have called for assistance because three of the Outcasts showed up and now Arrista is nowhere to be found.”

  Isolaund just stared at him, mouth hanging open.

  “My reaction exactly. How the hells did they deactivate the cloaking shield? And how did they find the grotto so damn fast?”

  She gave herself a firm metal shake and sorted through what he’d just told her. “Arrista has been taking Heather food. Are you sure she didn’t just stumble upon you?”

  “And the Outcasts just happened to pick that exact moment to rescue Heather? I don’t believe in coincidences. Your pretty little servant is a spy.”

  She didn’t bother to argue, but it didn’t make sense. Arrista was faultlessly loyal. One of Isolaund’s most powerful spells made sure of it. “Then this visit is about containment?”

  He nodded. “The council can never know that those creatures breached our defenses. It would mean my position, and if I go down, so do you.”

  “No one will believe a traumatized human,” Isolaund said dismissively, “but Arrista is a problem. If the council questions her, she’ll answer honestly. That’s her nature.”

  “Then she dies. It’s as simple as that.”

  Isolaund glared at him. It would take years to train another handmaiden. Arrista was smarter than any other Niffal Isolaund had ever met. As well as an obedient servant, Arrista was skilled with the karrons, and had an aptitude for healing. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “How?” he persisted. “If the Outcasts are protecting her, you won’t even be able to get near her.”

  She hated revealing her secrets, especially to someone like Alonov. But like it or not, they were allies. At least for the time being. “I have a Shadow among the Outcasts. If all else fails, I’ll activate the lenitas and take control.”

  “How in all the gods’ names did you get Shadow lenitas into one of the Outcasts?”

  She smiled, proud of her ingenuity. “Certice injected them with her bite. It was a simple procedure.”

  “But wouldn’t the Outcast healers detect them when they treated the bite?”

  “They’re Shadow lenitas. They’re undetectable to scans.”

  “All right.” His gaze swept the length of her body. “I’m impressed.”

  She nodded once, acknowledging his praise.

  “Take care of it quickly. I don’t want this hanging over my head.”

  “Of course.” She didn’t exhale until he left, then her breath rushed out in a telling hiss. What a cluster! If the Outcasts had Arrista, she was doubtlessly another hostage. There was no way she would have left the Underground of her own free will. Mainly because she didn’t have free will.

  So, how could Isolaund twist this to her own advantage? Alonov was a pain in the ass. He was one of the few beings alive that she feared. He wasn’t afraid of her, like everyone else. That in itself was a problem.

  She paced the tiny workroom, tapping her fingernail against her lips. If she told the council Alonov was directly responsible for a breach in security, would they— No, it had to be something worse, something they couldn’t tolerate. What about rape? Well, she didn’t know that he’d actually raped Heather. It sounded more like Arrista had interrupted his fun. Of course, the council didn’t need to know that.

  A thought occurred to her suddenly. She’d given Arrista a pendant and compelled her to wear it continually. Unbeknown to her servant, the pendant recorded whatever Arrista did and said, and everything that transpired in her presence. Isolaund only checked the feed when she had reason to be concerned, and Arrista seldom gave her reason. Had the feed caught any of Alonov’s attack on Heather?

  Isolaund pushed up her sleeve and triggered her subdermal control pad. She navigated through the holo-grind and activated Arrista’s surveillance feed. The current image was the inside of some sort of storeroom. Had they taken away her clothes and all her possessions? Arrista wouldn’t have given up the pendant without a fight. Concerned now, Isolaund rolled back the feed until two male images came into view. She continued backward until the start of their conversation. It hadn’t lasted long. One was dark with sharply angled features and a cutting stare. The other was light, though he too looked stern and forbidding.

  “Why’d you stop?” the light one asked. “We need to keep moving.”

  “Her pendant is bugged,” the dark one responded. Then he lifted the chain from around her neck and slipped the decorative disk into his pocket. The image went black, and the voices grew so muffled she could no longer discern their words.

  How in all the frozen hells had the Outcast known about the camera? It didn’t matter. Clearly spying on the Outcasts wasn’t going to happen.

  She dismissed it with a shrug and regressed the feed to where Arrista entered the grotto. Alonov had Heather pinned to the ground. He held her wrists with one hand while he tried to pull down her pants with the other. Arrista dropped her tray and ran toward the struggling human. “Let her up, you beast!” She threw herself on his back, hitting at his head and clawing at his arms. Isolaund couldn’t help but smile.

  Alonov snarled and batted her aside as if she were no more than a nuisance. “This has nothing to do with you. Be gone!”

  “You were told to leave her alone.” She picked herself up and went for him again. Isolaund’s smile broadened. She knew Arrista had spirt, but she’d never seen her this worked up before. Arrista kicked him in the side and slapped his face, until the general released Heather and went after her.

  “You want to take her place?”

  “This is wrong, and you know it.”

  “I know nothing of the kind. Fucking enemy females is part of war, and as long as they have my son, we are at war with the Outcasts!” He turned back toward Heather, who was now huddled against the wall.

  Arrista grabbed his arm, clinging to him like a long-limbed primate. “The council forbade this!” Arrista shouted, dangling from his arm.

  “Keep it up and you’re next!”

  Still, she didn’t release her hold, so Alonov punched her in the face. Arrista collapsed and the camera pointed toward the ceiling for several seconds. The dark-haired Outcast picked her up while sounds of a fight echoed in the background. She sped up the playback, skimming through the images to make sure there wasn’t anything the council couldn’t see.

  The attempted rape would infuriate the younger generation. And seeing him punch Arrista right in the face wouldn’t hurt Isolaund’s case either. But Alonov was right, however. The older set would shrug off his intolerable behavior as hazards of war. The council was split right down the middle, three young members and three old. Which meant the high councilor would decide the general’s fate. Her smile was cold and calculated. And it just so happened that the current high councilor was Indrex Farr, her brother. Indrex might disagree with her on, well, practically everything, but they both agreed that abusing females for sport was inexcusable. Once the council saw the slightly edited feed, Alonov’s days were numbered!

  Chapter Nine

  “I don’t know what to do with her.” Sara knelt beside the listless cub, gently stroking her dull dark brown fur. “It’s been three days and she still won’t eat. I can barely get her to lap water.”

  “She’s depressed.” Xorran knew he was stating the obvious, but he didn’t know what else to say. Sa
ra was tortured by the cub’s decline, and he was tortured by Sara’s helplessness.

  “She’s lonely.” Arrista stood on the other side of the fence, but she’d obviously heard their exchange. “Karrons live in groups, what you call prides. The cubs are reared together. They are never alone. This is terrifying for her.”

  That got Sara’s attention. She stood, quickly brushed off her knees as she walked over to the elf. “How do I get another cub, or two? What does Wenny need? I’ll do whatever I can to provide it.”

  “Can’t we just trap one?” Xorran asked, joining the females. “We see karrons all the time in the forest.”

  Arrista shook her head. “Wild karrons are very different than the ones hand raised by us. Being trained to be a ‘battle cat’ is a great honor.” She emphasized the phrase with finger quotes, a shockingly human motion. Clearly the other females had been tutoring her. “We need one of Wenny’s siblings.”

  “And how do we get one?” Sara asked, hope brightening her eyes.

  “Let me think about it.” Arrista gazed off into the distance. “It won’t be easy, but let me see what I can do.” She smiled and walked back toward the Wheel.

  “What is she going to do, sneak back into the Underground and stick one in a bag?” Xorran shook his head, confused by Arrista’s offer.

  “Unfortunately, I feel the same way, but she means well.”

  He reached down and took her hand threading his fingers through hers. “Let’s go eat while the food is still warm.” He’d arrived with a tray of food, but she refused to leave the enclosure. So he spread a blanket on the other side of the fence so they could have a picnic.

  With a long sigh of frustration, Sara nodded and allowed him to lead her out the gate.

  They sat on the blanket and he passed her a bowl of cyatta stew, but she just set it down beside her and stared at the cub. “What happens to me if she dies?” she whispered. “Isolaund said she’d come get me.”

  “This isn’t your fault, but her threats are part of the reason the overlord doesn’t want you out here at night.”