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  Grabbing a fistful of my shirt, the vicious warlord lifts me bodily off the floor, kneeing me hard in the stomach before shoving me back onto a large bench attached to the wall.

  “Do you know how many of my men you killed, bitch?” he snarls. “You should have stayed with the other women. Being a slave would be a pleasure compared to what I’m going to do to you. I’m going to make you pay before I kill you, and I’m going to enjoy every second of it.”

  He grasps my arms, yanking them above my head, and my blood turns to ice as I realize why he put me on this large, slab-like bench. There are restraints at each of its four corners, and he quickly clamps them around my wrists and ankles, holding me spread-eagled on the bench, locked firmly in place. I can’t move, not even an inch, and fear races through me like poison.

  What will he do to me?

  “You’ll wait here.” Djool straightens above me. His bare chest is scratched and bruised from his struggle to escape the pull of the vacuum in the corridor, and the furs he wears draped over his body are askew. Pure rage flashes in his eyes as his lips curl back. “I must investigate the damage. When I come back… your punishment will begin. And for every one of my men who died because of your actions, your pain will increase tenfold.”

  His gaze rakes over me, and I shudder at the hatred that emanates from him.

  Then he turns on his heel and stalks from the room. The door slides shut behind him as cold terror washes over me.

  Fuck. Oh, fuck.

  I thought I was frightened when Tordax brought me into that med bay room to have the multi-language implant put in, but in that case, I at least suspected he had some decent intent. I’m not entirely sure what Djool plans to do to me, but I know it won’t be pleasant.

  In fact, I know he plans to make it as horrific as possible before I die.

  But as terrified as I am, I can’t find it in myself to regret what I did. Tordax and his men will live. The other women will live.

  The Kalixians know now that mates can be found among other species—perhaps there will be other compatible mates for his men among the other women on the ship, or they will be able to seek my kind out, now that they know. Maybe it’s not just me and my fierce warrior who could bond in that way. Maybe there’s still hope for his people, even without me.

  My chest aches as I think of Tordax, and I picture his face clearly in my mind’s eye, trying to keep him close to me.

  As insane as it is, as much as I would never have believed it a few weeks ago, I wish he and I could have had a “forever.” I wish I could’ve seen Kalix with him. I wish I could’ve had the chance to go to sleep with him in a bed in his own home and let him show me the beauty of the city he told me so much about. I wish…

  I wish I could have carried his child.

  My worries about motherhood were real, but now that the possibility is lost, I realize how much I wanted it. How much I would have loved to see the look in my mate’s eyes as he met his son or daughter for the first time. How much I would’ve loved to meet that child, a little Tordax, a composite of him and me, alive and thriving.

  I could have had a life—a real life, with a man who loved me. But even if that’s no longer in the cards for me, at least I got to experience it for a little while. I got to feel what it’s like to be treasured and desired, to have someone wholly devoted to me. I know it’s possible.

  I know it’s real.

  There’s no way for me to know what’s happening on the other half of the ship as it speeds away through the inky blackness of space, but I close my eyes and try to imagine a good outcome for everyone on board.

  I hope they got away—that Djool doesn’t go after them again.

  But even if he tried, most of his crew is gone now. He only has half of a ship, and it’s the ass end, which can’t be as good as the front end, right? I can’t imagine he’s stupid enough to walk into a fight he’s sure to lose.

  He might regroup and attack again—after all, Tordax said the Orkun warlords have been doing this for years upon years—but this will slow him down yet again. It will give Tordax and the rest of the Alpha Force a chance to make a plan. Maybe even to reach Kalix and reinforcements.

  I don’t know how long I drift in my thoughts, trying to hold on to happy memories. But when the door slides open again, I jerk against my restraints, fresh terror washing over me.

  Djool stands in the doorway, and I see the promise of the horrors to come in his face. But in a strange way, I’m glad to see him, because that means he hasn’t caught the others. They’ve gotten away, and he’s here to make me pay for it.

  It’s worth it, Rose, I think desperately as he advances on me. It’s all worth it.

  The fear is all-consuming, making every part of me cold and bloodless. I can feel my face going pale as his gaze fixes on mine. Never looking away, he throws his fur cloak to the floor.

  “Can’t have my best furs getting bloody,” he snarls with a harsh, humorless laugh as his hand settles on the glinting knife at his belt.

  I close my eyes and try to think of Tordax.

  24

  Tordax

  The blast is what jolts me out of my stupor.

  As the ship rocks from side to side, I feel my numbed muscles starting to come to life again. The Orkun’s weapons systems are more advanced than ours, which is the only thing that allowed them to defeat us in the first place. I’m lucky that second jolt of electricity didn’t kill me, but I couldn’t allow those invaders to hurt Rose.

  Rose.

  My Rose.

  Where is she?

  My body screams in protest as I haul myself up to stand. Beside me, Malav is doing the same, but before he gets to his feet, another blast shakes the floor beneath our feet. My heart thuds unevenly in my chest, but I force myself to remain calm and analytical. I need to figure out what the krax is going on.

  There are shouts in the corridor outside our barren holding cell, and a second later, the door bursts open.

  An Orkun guard dashes inside, his weapon raised.

  “Malav!”

  My cry isn’t a warning, it’s a call to arms, and my second-in-command understands my meaning immediately. Without hesitation, we throw ourselves at the guard. My muscles feel sluggish and weak, but I refuse to let them fail me as my friend and I bring the guard down. Malav goes for his gun while I lunge for a second Orkun who entered just behind the first.

  A few other members of our force were left in this holding cell with us, and I’m vaguely aware of them scrambling to their feet as I fight the guard. Tycran comes to my aid while Vrexen and Harkan help Malav.

  Within minutes, the two guards who came to subdue us lie dead on the floor.

  I brace for more guards to pour through the door, but none come.

  Why not? Where are the others?

  Surely the Orkun force who retook this ship must’ve been large. Djool is behind this, I’m sure of it, and he wouldn’t come if he didn’t think he had enough men to back him up. He’s a coward, and no true leader.

  I’m not sure what change of fortune has left us with two dead guards and the door to our cell open, but I’m not going to waste time questioning it. Leaping over the body of the Orkun I killed, I burst out into the hallway, bellowing a war cry.

  As we race down the corridor, M’Xelni activates the doors of the other holding cells, freeing our brothers in arms. I don’t have time to account for every one of my men until I know the threat is gone, but from the looks of it, the Orkun didn’t have a chance to execute anyone yet.

  Thank the gods.

  The sound of our people’s battle cry grows louder as more voices join with mine, and soon, I’m leading my entire force through the corridors of the ship. I’m side by side with Malav, my body flooding with adrenaline as anger urges me onward as we finally meet our enemies.

  Twenty or so Orkun charge us, but they are nothing compared to the force of our wrath. Even the lower-level warlords who remain are easy pickings, falling beside their guards
in pools of blood.

  My men and I are furious, and nothing compares to a Kalixian when his blood is up. Not even an Orkun, the only race that could ever hope to defeat us. But not in single combat. They need tricks in order to win.

  Finally, when the hallway is littered with bodies and blood, I look around, my chest rising and falling.

  “Rose,” I murmur, my thoughts going instantly to my mate. The Orkun are dead, but that will mean little if my Irisa is too.

  She can’t be. She must live. I need her too much.

  “The women are held in the mess hall,” Malav says. “I heard them being taken there.”

  “Let’s go.” I’m moving before the words are even past my lips.

  Malav was right. The women have been gathered in the mess hall. Two more Orkun guards are stationed outside, but they’re easily dispatched.

  Why are there so few guards? And where is Djool?

  I know he wasn’t among those I killed just now. I would’ve recognized him. So where is he?

  As we stride into the large, open room, my gaze swings from side to side. The women all look terrified, and my men spread out among them, reassuring them that the threat has passed.

  But Rose isn’t here.

  I look around wildly, my heart racing with fear as the urge to protect her surges within me.

  Desh, I was supposed to save her. I stepped in front of her to shield her. And I might have saved her life… but there’s no sign of her now. No sign of my mate, my Irisa.

  “She asked to go to Djool.”

  I turn my head and see a tall, pretty woman with an arrogant expression looking at me. Her name is Harper, I believe.

  “What?” I take a step closer to her.

  “When they brought her here. She requested to be taken back to Djool as his bride, according to the former arrangement.”

  I narrow my eyes. “No. She wouldn’t do that.”

  Of course she wouldn’t. She’s mine, my mate. I have felt what exists between us, and I know she has too. It’s impossible to hide, impossible to fake.

  Harper rolls her eyes. “Ugh. Fucking men. You’re all the same. She was playing him, you fool. She knew she couldn’t do shit stuck in here with us. She was braver than any of us. In fact, I’d bet she’s the one who separated the ship and saved all our asses.”

  This woman has a mouth on her. I glare at her, but I can hear the truth in her words. And I can believe it.

  If anyone could do just that, it would be Rose.

  But now she’s missing. And that can only mean one thing.

  “Malav!” I call out his name, and he’s there the moment I turn around. A single-minded determination rises in me. I have to find Rose. She’s my last hope for the salvation of my people—and more than that, she’s the other half of myself, the true match to my soul.

  I love her.

  The knowledge fills me, flooding me as I look at the man I trust more than anyone else in the universe, the man who is all but my brother.

  “I’m placing you in charge until I return. If I don’t return…” I take a deep breath, fixing my gaze squarely on him. “Get our men back to Kalix. When our people are safe, when you have reinforcements, make arrangements for the women who wish it to go back to Terra. And then do what you can to continue our purpose. Let Prince Khrelan know the mate bonds have returned, that it is possible to find them among women of other species. Try to find them if you can. That is your new purpose. Not only the extermination of the Orkun, but the continuation of our race.”

  I expect my friend to argue, but he only nods. “Find her,” is all he says, clapping me on the shoulder.

  I plan on it. Or I will die drying.

  As he turns to command the men, I race down the hallway toward the escape pods, grabbing a blade from our weapons storage on the way. Only one thought resonates in my mind—I have to get to Rose before Djool can harm her. I have no way of knowing if he’s still on the other half of the ship that separated from this one, or if any Orkun are with him. But I can’t leave Rose in their hands for even a second longer than necessary. Every moment that passes increases the danger of her being hurt or killed.

  No. Krax, no. I’ll rescue her, no matter what.

  And if I die in the attempt? Well, that thought is easier to accept than the idea of living without her.

  The escape pod is small and not well-equipped to attack a larger ship, but it’s my only option, so I strap in and eject from the docking station. I can see the back half of the ship floating listlessly in the distance, and a knot forms in my stomach. I fly toward it at top speed, ready to perform evasive maneuvers if someone fires on me.

  Rage fills me at the thought of Rose being hurt, of her being afraid, but it’s mixed with pride—pride that she was so brave, that she fought back, and that she outwitted the Orkun. I’m amazed and humbled by her unselfishness, by her willingness to sacrifice herself for all of us.

  This woman is my mate.

  She is a warrior in her own right.

  No attack comes from the detached back half of the Orkun ship, which makes me certain that their remaining force must be small. They’re disorganized, their numbers decimated. They’re probably hoping to retreat and lick their wounds before launching another attack with greater reinforcements.

  But I can’t let Djool get away. Not while he has my mate.

  The moment I land, I move with swift, calculated precision. As I exit the small, unattended docking bay, my focus narrows and sharpens like that of a hunter.

  After stalking quietly down several corridors, my footsteps finally slow outside a large cargo bay. I hear Orkun milling inside, what few are left. I smell them, and the musky scent of their leathery skin inflames my warrior instincts.

  I rush in, cutting them down as if they’re made of air. I turn and slash and spin, slicing through limbs and bodies, their grunts and cries hardly even noticed as I leave them in my wake.

  I don’t know how long the fight lasts, but when it’s over, I’m the only one still standing. My blade is covered in blood, and the stench of dying Orkun burns my nostrils. None of that matters though. I’m already moving again, striding through the ship as I search for any sign of Djool and my mate.

  He has her. What the krax is he doing with her?

  My mind shuts down rather than contemplate any answers to that question, and I head toward the cells that I know are at the far end of the ship.

  At the very end of the long corridor, one door stands open. I can hear Djool inside, snarling like an animal. And underneath the harsh, rasping sound of his voice, I hear Rose. Her soft cry of terror cuts through every other noise, and blind rage overtakes me. I see red and feel the blood pumping in my ears, pounding in my head.

  I will kill him before he touches her. I will make him pay for every terrible thing he’s ever done. I will make him suffer and die slowly if he has harmed a single hair on my Irisa’s head..

  When I burst into the room, my heart nearly stops. Rose is pinioned on a bench in front of the wall, held in shackles, her clothes torn. Djool is holding an electric rod and advancing toward her, naked, his furs and loincloth in a pile by the floor.

  It takes only one glimpse to know what he has planned for her, and I bellow, the Kalixian battle cry filling the air. Rose’s eyes go wide in the instant before I leap forward, wrenching the rod from Djool with one hand as I impale him on my blade with the other.

  My weapon goes through his body, skewering him, and as he screams, turning haphazardly toward me, I thrust out the buzzing electric rod, shoving it directly through his right eye.

  He crumples to the floor, his body twitching and jerking in its death throes.

  “Tordax…”

  Rose whimpers, and my gaze snaps from the dying warlord to her.

  “Irisa!” I rush forward, heart slamming against my ribs.

  My hands shake as I quickly release her shackles, unable to bear the sight of her like this for another moment. As soon as she’s free, I wrap her
in my arms, lifting her up and kissing her. I press my hand to the back of her head, clutching her tightly to me as I breathe her in.

  She’s here.

  She’s alive.

  She’s mine again.

  It’s the only thing that matters to me in this moment.

  “You could have been killed,” I gasp as I kiss her again, setting her down and running my hands over her face, her hair, looking down at her to be sure she’s uninjured.

  “But I wasn’t.” Rose’s voice is breathy and shaky as she clings to me like she’ll never let me go. “And I saved you. That’s all I cared about. Is everyone else—they were all on the other half, right?”

  “Yes,” I tell her, my gut twisting with the remembered horror of waking up to discover she was gone. “I can’t believe… no one else would have been brave enough to do what you did. You’re a match for any one of my warriors, Rose.”

  “No way. Not in fighting.” She laughs softly, although her eyes are haunted. “But I thought if I couldn’t outmatch them, maybe I could outwit them.”

  “And so you did. You’re a woman worthy of a Kalixian warrior,” I declare, crushing her small body to mine once again.

  “And you’re a warrior worthy of me,” she whispers, melting against me.

  “I’m so grateful you’re alive.” I stroke her soft, pale hair, pressing my lips against the top of her head. “But we’ve got to go, quickly, before the rest of the ship gets any further away.”

  I take her to a fresh pod, and the moment I’ve set the coordinates and we’re heading back to the main ship, I turn to her again.

  “Rose…” I start to say, but she shakes her head.

  “Tordax.” She reaches up and touches one of my horns, her fingers sliding over the curve of it as I shiver slightly and lean into her caress. Her hand trails over my hair, down to my cheek, and she smiles softly at me.

  “When you fell… I realized I’d waited too long to make up my mind. I’d waited too long to tell you. Where I come from…” she hesitates. “There’s danger there for sure, but for someone like me, life isn’t so… immediate. You can go forever and never say the things you need to say, because it feels like you have it. But you’re different. Your way of life is different. Being here is different. I see that now. So I’m going to tell you, before anything else happens…” She takes a deep breath.