Assigned a Mate (16 page)

Something had to be done. I had to get back to Tark and I knew just the person to talk to.

* * *

“Enter.”

At my shout, the flap opened and Mara and Davish were escorted into my tent. Mara looked returned to health. Her cheeks were full of color, her hair a long mane down her back. Her shift dress was free of blood and the modest robe she wore over it shielded most of her body from my gaze.

Not that it was needed. Nothing about the woman appealed to me. She was attractive enough and she was Davish’s mate, but I didn’t like her lithe build, her small breasts, the usual dour expression. I wanted Eva.

It had only been a day since she had literally slipped through my fingers, transported back to Earth. I felt empty and hollow, as if a part of me had been yanked and taken with her across the vast expanse of space that separated us.

“High councilor, we came to bid your mate many thanks.” Davish looked about the room for her. If he’d taken Mara from the harem, he knew Eva was not there.

“You are both well?” I asked.

“Yes, high councilor,” Mara whispered as Davish nodded.

“Good. While your visit is appreciated, my mate is not here.”

They both frowned in confusion.

“She was transported back to Earth.”

Mara looked shocked. “Was it because of me? I was… unkind to her.” She looked embarrassed about it, ashamed even. “I made her angry, which upset you. Your denial of her is my fault.”

She lowered herself to her knees and dipped her head.

I looked to Davish, who clenched his jaw at the news, which was obviously a surprise to him. I was not happy to learn that Mara had been hurtful to Eva, but it was not my place to punish her.

“Rise,” I said. She did, but kept her head down. “She was not transported at my wishes. Quite the contrary. Her testimony was needed to send a man to prison.”

“She was not a murderer?” Davish asked.

I shook my head.

Something akin to admiration lit his eyes. “Your mate is honorable,” Davish remarked. “Her actions yesterday were one example. Leaving a mate because of duty is another. I will tell the council.”

Mara squeezed her hands together. “She saved my life and I will be forever grateful.”

The couple left without more comment, the tent empty once again. I saw the ceremonial stand in the corner, the bed with the blankets that still held Eva’s scent. I dropped my head into my hands and relived the conversation I’d had a few hours ago. I had successfully contacted the Interstellar Bride Program liaison for Trion and was coldly informed that if my mate had chosen to leave me, there was nothing they could do. It was my fault for not enticing her, for not pleasing her. My name would be placed back on the register of available males from Trion, at the bottom of the list, since I could not satisfy a female.

I wanted to leap through the communication screen and strangle the female officer with my bare hands. She implied that I was not worthy. That Eva left me because I was not good enough to deserve her.

Perhaps that bitch was correct. Eva was gone. If I’d been a better mate, I would have questioned Eva earlier, I would have had time to prevent the transport from taking her back without me. If I’d acted on my instincts, the instincts that insisted she was not a murderer, I could have forced the truth from her lips and made arrangements to protect her on her trip to Earth and keep her at my side.

I’d failed as her mate, but her brief presence in my life haunted me. Memories of her taunted me everywhere I looked, but she was gone. Forever.

I tossed a bowl filled with fruit against the wall, but it did nothing to make me feel better.

Chapter Ten

I was once again in the small room at the processing center, although this time I wasn’t wearing the prison garb and I wasn’t strapped in. Warden Egara stood next to my processing chair and glared at the FBI agent who sat in a small plastic chair in the corner of the room. Today her suit was navy blue, the insignia on her chest was still red, almost as red as her cheeks. Warden Egara was clearly furious with Agent Davidson.

“Is this DNA scan correct?” She raised her eyebrows and scowled at the FBI agent. “This woman’s DNA sample is already on file in our system. She is not supposed to be on Earth. According to our records, she is, at this very moment, on Trion, with her mate. And her name is not Eva Daily, it’s Evelyn Day.”

“Yes, the DNA is correct. But her real name is Eva Daily.” He had the good sense to sound contrite.

“And how did this woman return to Earth without permission from the Interstellar Bride Program?” She crossed her arms and I would swear she grew two inches taller as she towered over the seated man. When Agent Davidson didn’t respond, she put her hands on her hips.

“Are you aware, Agent Davidson, that in deceiving me, as an official representative of the interstellar coalition, and as head of this Interstellar Bride Program processing center, I could bring charges against you with the interstellar council? Fraud and impersonation are crimes on all worlds, agent.” Warden Egara looked ready to take his sidearm from him and shoot him dead on the spot. I jumped off the table to stand between them.

“Please, warden. The matching process was perfect. I’m sorry I lied to you. I didn’t have a choice. But now, I just want to go home.” I hoped the longing and sincerity of my request would convince her to help me. This strange, formidable woman literally held my future in her hands. She was the only one who had the power to send me back to the man I loved. “Please. Help me. I just want to go back to him.”

“You are aware that
this time
,
Miss Day, or Daily, or whatever name you are using this week,” Warden Egara gave the FBI agent a withering glance, “you will not be able to return to Earth.”

“Yes. I know. I don’t want to be here. I want to be on Trion, with my matched mate.”

Warden Egara’s eyes softened just a bit, and I caught a glimpse of the beauty she’d be if she ever smiled. “The matching process is truly miraculous, Eva. I have witnessed it many times. It’s why I protect my brides so fiercely. The warriors who protect us, who protect all life on coalition worlds, deserve to be loved. They deserve to find true happiness. And when someone fucks with my warriors, I am
not
amused.” This last she directed at Agent Davidson, who had the grace to blush.

“My apologies. I already told you, I swear, I’ll never use your program to hide a bride again. You have my word.” The FBI agent held his hands up in complete surrender. I’d called Agent Davidson two weeks ago and told him I wanted to go back to Trion. At first, he hadn’t understood why I would want to do that. I wasn’t a prisoner and I’d certainly given more of myself than any other witness he’d ever helped before. He didn’t understand the matching process and most likely never would. Even though I’d tried to explain the connection I felt to Tark, more than once, he’d forced me to wait two full weeks,
to think about it
, before he would fulfill my request.

They had been two very long weeks of waiting. Knowing he would help me get back to Trion, and to Tark, filled me with eager anticipation. This time, I knew where I was going. This time, I knew who I was going to be with. This time, I
wanted
to go. If Tark wanted to bend me over a ceremonial stand and fuck me for the entire council to see, I didn’t even mind. Well, maybe a little, but it would be a worthy price to pay to be back in his arms and his life.

“Please, Warden Egara. Send me home.” I whispered the words as butterflies danced in my stomach. I sat back down on the chair and waited impatiently for the woman to start the process.

“We do not need to complete the matching tests again as they have been done once. However, protocol demands I ask, do you wish to reject your match and be sent to a different warrior?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I choose to keep my match to High Councilor Tark of Trion, permanently.”

Agent Davidson angled his head and studied me. “You love him.” It wasn’t a question and he said it with a hint of awe.

Nodding, I replied, “I do. I can, for a fact, Warden Egara, say that your matching program is indeed very good.”

The woman puffed up with pride and I could see she was eager to ask me questions about my time on another world, but her job took precedence. “That is good to hear.” She looked down at the screen she held and swiped at it a few times. “You are ready to transport to Trion and are permanently matched to High Councilor Tark. There will be no changes allowed.”

I grinned and gripped the armrests of the chair. Anticipation unlike I’d ever known before coursed through my veins.
Come on, woman. Push the fucking button.
“No. There will be no changes allowed.”

“Goodbye, Eva.” Agent Davidson gave me a reassuring nod.

Warden Egara pushed the processing chair toward the wall, but this time I was excited to see the small room appear beside me. I welcomed the bite of the needle in my neck and the bright blue light that meant I was going back to Trion. I looked over and caught Warden Egara’s eye. “Thank you.”

She actually smiled. “Your transport will begin in three, two, one.”

* * *

“This concludes the meeting of the council. We will meet again next year. During that time, safe travels and peace in your region.”

I stood, the men before me did as well. Even though we’d spent a week
together working through the agenda, councilors stood and chatted, milling about. All I wanted to do was get the
fark
out of Outpost Nine. It only held memories of Eva. I saw her everywhere I went. And, knowing that she was not a murderer but instead a healer, everyone stopped me to ask after her. I’d finally forced Goran to post a notice of Eva’s return to Earth so I did not have to repeat it again and again.

Warning squawks came from the guards’ communication units. Everyone froze in place, awaiting word of the danger.

“A transport, high councilor.” The lead guard approached me, then looked down at his unit. “Unscheduled.”

“Origin?” I asked. While the guards could defend against attackers on Trion, defending an outpost against transport attacks directly from other worlds was much more difficult.

“Earth.”

The man looked up at me and I knew his thoughts.

“Eva,” I murmured. “It has to be.”

“No matching has been recorded from that planet. I believe you are right.”

“How long?” I asked, already running to the lone transport pad on the outpost. It was close.

“Thirty seconds.” The guard ran beside me, the rest following behind.

I’d make it in ten. “Switch your weapons to stun. If it turns out to be my mate, I don’t want anyone to shoot her.”

The guard nodded and I glanced at the others.

“Stand back,” I boomed. “No one moves until we assess the transport.”

Hope swelled in my chest as I stopped inside the tent and watched the empty spot before me. Slowly, a body materialized and it was, indeed, Eva. Sprawled on the dark black transport pad she appeared to be asleep, she looked…
fark
,
she looked like the most amazing thing I’d ever seen.

The two guards who had entered behind me stood down and put their weapons away. I knelt beside her and scooped her up into my arms. She wore the slip dress and nothing else. With her pressed against my chest, I could feel the rings in her nipples and the gems I’d put there before she’d returned to Earth.

The soft feel of her, the scent of her skin, the silky feel of her hair,
fark
, it was hard to believe she was in my arms. I’d thought I’d never see her again and yet… how had she been able to return?

I carried her back to the main tent, eager to share the good news. I wasn’t sure what to expect from those gathered, but instead of disdain or hostility on the faces of the councilors, they all looked pleased and perhaps even amazed at her return.

Stroking her hair back from her face, I talked to her, whispering in her ear and waiting for her to wake. It had taken hours the last time so I had to assume—

“Tark?” she murmured, shifting in my arms.

“Shh,
gara
,
I’ve got you.”

Her eyes opened at the sound of my voice and she stared at me, her body stiffening. “Tark!” she repeated as she wrapped her arms around me and gripped me tightly.

Even though I could hear whispers all around us, my focus was solely on my mate.

“You came back,” I whispered into her ear.

She nodded against my chest.

“May I ensure she is well, high councilor?” Doctor Rahm asked, standing a respectable distance away.

“
Gara
,
will you let the doctor ensure you are well after your transport?”

She stiffened. “Not another probe.”

“No. No probes. I will hold you the entire time. You traveled across the galaxy not once for me, but twice.”

“All right.”

I gave a slight head nod and Doctor Rahm held up a sensor and moved it above her body. He didn’t touch her, didn’t even look at her, only at the display on the medical unit. His eyes widened, then did another pass, then turned it to face me. I read the display and my heart leapt into my throat. Pride filled me and my chest ached.

“
Gara
,” I growled.

“Hmm,” she murmured.

“You… you’re—” The words caught in my throat.

“Yes.”

I didn’t want this moment when I discovered my mate was carrying my child to be shared by anyone. There was a roomful of councilors to contend with first, and then I would have her to myself. The meetings were over. We would leave Outpost Nine as soon as she was well enough to travel. Now that she was with child, I wanted her safe in the palace more than ever.

“I am well, Tark. Please, let me stand.”

Carefully, I placed her on her feet, yet kept a possessive grip about her waist. She laid her head against my side and I forced myself to look away from her and at the others in the tent.