like Niklas always had a plan, especially after a night like we’d had, when he’d allowed the lovely Lucy to be the aggressor. It was so unlike the dominant male Niklas was, but it appeared he’d been… amused by her boldness. It had certainly gotten my cock hard. More than once.
“She had her fun last night. It’s my turn to take charge next. To let her know what it will be like to be claimed by Prillon warriors.”
The image of Lucy, with hair the color of a sunset over a Trion desert, submitting to Niklas, of the two of us fucking her together, collars about our necks, made me puff up with pride. The thought of our cocks buried deep in her pussy and ass as the color of our collars changed from black to dark blue while we claimed her officially, made my heart race. Made me… hope. A mate had not been what I expected to find at a palace party.
Never would I dread such an event again.
“You will collect the collars before we return to the palace?” I asked. He had to claim them from his residence. He hadn’t expected to find a mate at the palace either.
Lord Ander moved to the front of the line to mount the platform. He turned to look back at us. “You two done mooning over that female? We have work to do.”
I checked my ion pistol on my thigh and followed Niklas onto the transport platform. When Ander’s personal guard did not follow, I looked to him for confirmation. “No personal guard?”
Ander shook his head. “No. Dr. Helion has called in an entire squadron of guards.”
“Why?” Niklas asked.
“There was an incident involving the Nexus unit last night.”
“An incident? Is that why a new meeting has been added to my schedule tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Ander provided no additional details, so I waited for Niklas to do the clever thing and get some answers out of the male.
“The meeting appeared on my schedule, but there is no location listed.”
“Helion and Nial agreed not to register the location in any official records.”
Fuck. Only Ander could get away with calling the prime by his given name. Well, Ander and the queen. No doubt she could call Prime Nial by any name she wished. As Lucy could summon me…
Something in Ander’s tone caught Niklas’s attention. “What? Why? Exactly where are we going tomorrow?”
Ander checked his own weapon, and I realized he was wearing armor, not the tunic he would wear if this were a political meeting. “We will be transporting to Sector 437.”
Fuck. “Battlegroup Karter’s sector?” That area was a hotbed of Hive activity. “I need more weapons.”
That made Ander chuckle. “No. You don’t. We’re having a private meeting on a cargo ship in Commander Karter’s sector.”
“With whom?” Niklas did not like surprises. He was used to knowing everything about everyone.
“A human female and her mate.”
Lord Ander took out three more ion blasters, checked their charges before putting them away and adjusted the thigh-length blade strapped to his right side. I didn’t ask. It wasn’t my place. And Niklas was apparently too distracted by mention of a secret meeting with a human female to ask on my behalf. But Ander’s concern heightened mine. Exactly what kind of incident had the Nexus unit caused?
Between one heartbeat and the next I dismissed the question from my mind. I did not care. I cared about one thing right now. One. And she had red hair, green eyes and liked to sleep between us.
The transport pad buzzed with building energy, and I leaned in close to make sure Niklas could hear me over the noise.
I was much more interested in what would happen when we returned from this errand than in pestering Ander for answers he clearly had no intention of providing. The idea of including Lucy in our future made my heart race and my cock harden. “This is no time for misunderstanding, Niklas. If you don’t want Lucy, I will claim her and ask another to be my second. She is perfect. I will not give her up.” She was bold, passionate, affectionate—she’d curled around me and clung for hours as she slept—loyal to her friends, admired by one of the most famous Warlords in the war, trusted by Governor Maxim of The Colony, beautiful, and alone.
Just like we were.
“No need to threaten me, Sambor. She is ours. Tonight she will know our intentions.”
“Tonight we will be at IC Command and every Prillon warrior in the palace will be