on the other side of the table. The alien—I assumed he was an alien by the sheer size of him and the dark green band on his arm—stood until the woman had taken her seat. Once she settled, he pulled his chair back and positioned it, so he could watch almost the entire room at once.
Isaak lifted his glass. “Zara, this is Ivy and Zenos.”
Ivy smiled at me, and I about burst into tears. Shit. “Hi. You’re from Earth?”
“Yes.”
“Me too. Few years in the military on Earth. Then I volunteered to fight out here. Got assigned to a ReCon unit.”
“You fought with them?” I motioned to the various sized giant aliens moving around the canteen.
Her grin turned into a laugh. “Yes. For a while. Then I lost my entire unit to a bad drug deal. I got out, got a bounty hunter’s license from Prillon Prime, met Isaak here—” She pointed at the fidgeting male seated next to me. “Got some Hive tech, so I could fight the good fight and met Zenos on my way to Rogue 5.”
“Hive tech?”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “Big business out here on the fringes. Anything you want. Bionic eyes. Arms. Legs. Hearing. I look human, but I’m not anymore. Not really.”
I was not going to ask. “They let women fight in the Coalition?” I could totally see her wearing the black and gray armor, toting a space gun. She looked like a female Viking. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a braid down her back. She was anything but dainty. Where she was fair, Zenos was dark. He looked… ruthless, but when his gaze was upon his mate, as it was now, it was surprisingly tender.
She shrugged. “It’s a planet by planet rule. Most of the Coalition worlds want their women safe at home. But Earth girls are tougher than we look.”
That made me smile. “Yes, we are.”
“Besides, all these alien hotties are huge, but they’re really just big teddy bears.”
Zenos, who was twice the size of the largest human I’d ever met grumbled, and his skin actually turned hot pink. “I am not a bear. I tell you this, mate, repeatedly.”
Her hand moved to rest on his thigh with a familiarity I envied. “And I’ve told you, repeatedly, that I can take care of myself.” She gestured to the patrons lurking in dark spaces around the canteen. “Not one of these guys could take me.”
He leaned in close. “Not one will get close enough to try.”
She smiled at him, and I swear he melted. He had to be one of the Forsians Isaak had told me about. He was massive. And he melted. Doe eyes full of adoration for Ivy. Love. Clear as day.
Turning to me, she shrugged. “See? Teddy bears. Big ones.” That fast, she was my new best friend. God, I had no idea how much seeing a familiar face—and human qualified as familiar out here—would affect me.
I really liked Ivy and her teddy bear mate, but this wasn’t a local pub on a Friday night. And we weren’t on a double date. While Isaak was the most intense and impressive lover I’d ever had—not that the list was long—he wasn’t the dating type. Hell, all we’d done since we’d met besides the bout of sweaty, bossy sex had been to stay alive.
Didn’t seem that Isaak was a date kind of guy. I never fell for romance and flowers myself.
Isaak spoke, finally. “You are much taller than Zara. Do females not have a standard size on Earth?”
I choked on my nutrient drink. Seriously? The first thing out of his mouth is comparing me—me, an average height, average everything—to a tall, willowy Nordic goddess?
Ivy raised her eyebrows. “I ate my veggies.” She had to be close to six feet tall, and the guy she was with nearly two feet more. She leaned forward and rested her forearms on the table. “So, Zara from Boston, in his comm call, Isaak said you were an Interstellar Bride. He forgot to mention that you are his.” Her pale eyes shifted to Isaak then back to me.
“I’m not Isaak’s mate. My matched mate was murdered as soon as I transported to Trion.”
Silence stretched, and I wondered if Ivy was in shock.
A group of rowdy males in Coalition uniform came into the place, went to the bar and ordered drinks. Isaak cleared his throat.
“I helped her escape Jirghogis on Omega Dome. He was supposed to hand her over to Cerberus. Ulza herself was there to