take Zara back to Rogue 5.” Isaak rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Ivy, you know I don’t qualify to be tested. And no bride would want my ship as her home.”
“Gwen likes a spaceship for a home just fine,” Ivy replied. She looked to me to elaborate. “Gwen’s human like you and me. She got matched to The Colony, and now she and her mate, Mak, roam the galaxy. Fighting evil and all that shit.”
“Space pirates?” I asked, and Ivy laughed.
“More badass.”
Isaak frowned. “What is this space pirate reference you keep saying?”
“On Earth, living in space is just a fantasy, even though we know of the Hive and the Coalition,” Ivy explained to the guys. “It’s not… real. Space pirates roam the galaxy to steal from the rich to give to the poor. They’re infamous. Ruthless. Cunning. They kill bad guys and upset kingdoms. And do it all from a spaceship.”
Isaak’s hand settled on my thigh beneath the table. The heat from it warmed me in all kinds of places. “You think I am cunning and ruthless?”
I rolled my eyes when his chest puffed up with pride. “I’ll admit, you’ve got skills.”
He leaned in, and his breath fanned my ear. “At many things.”
My pussy clenched remembering some of these things.
Weird music came from somewhere. Laughter came from a table behind me. No one was paying us any attention. For once.
“You are in trouble if Cerberus hunts you,” Zenos said, bringing the conversation full circle. He crossed his arms over his massive chest. He wore the same black clothing as the bad guys at the Omega Dome, even down to the arm band, except his was a dark green instead of red. “Good thing we were close.”
I shrugged, not sure what they were doing around here. I doubted errands. “I’ve had some problems,” I said, simplifying the clusterfuck of my current situation.
Isaak laughed. “Problems? Trouble follows her. We even had a Spectra Five ship, tagged as from Cerberus, attack us more than fourteen hours out from Omega Dome.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be annoyed by his comment about trouble following me or admit he spoke the truth.
“Human females and trouble go hand in hand,” Zenos intoned like a wise old sage.
“Hey!” Ivy countered, grinning. I had to assume she gave Zenos a run for his money.
“Who delivered you to Jirghogis?” Zenos asked.
All humor slipped from Isaak’s face. “Bertok. A Councilor from Trion. He waited for Zara to transport from Earth, murdered her mate in front of her, chained her up, and when she woke up, she was on Omega Dome. What we can’t figure out is why.”
I was thankful he gave them the rundown of what had happened to me, so I didn’t have to. I’d told him everything after the space attack, everything I knew. Everything I could remember or speculate. Both Ivy and Zenos remained quiet the entire time Isaak gave them a complete—well not complete—rundown of the last couple days. Ivy’s pale brows winged up a few times, and Zenos’ jaw clenched tight.
“Your mate was killed. This Trion Councilor Bertok brought you to Omega Dome?” Ivy asked.
I nodded. “To a slimy guy that smelled like swamp gas.”
Ivy cringed. “I’ve heard about that guy, believe me. He’s bad news, but there’s worse out here. You have to be careful.”
“Rumors from Rogue 5 are that Cerberus himself wants an Interstellar Bride,” Zenos said. “And the only way he could get one would be to steal the female. He is not worthy.”
Ivy agreed. “I guess we should have tried harder to kill him. Maybe we’ll have to take it up with Astra next time we go back to Rogue 5.”
“You live on Rogue 5?” I asked, trying to keep the disgust out of my voice. I knew Zenos had on the arm band, but still, I hadn’t made the connection.
Ivy shifted in her seat and took my hand across the table. “Rogue 5 is broken into multiple legions. They are all run like small kingdoms. Cerberus and Siren CONFIRM are vile. The rest do what they have to do to survive out here, but they aren’t evil. We’re with Astra legion. Mak, Gwen’s mate, was part of Kronos legion. There’s another human woman out here mated to the leader of Styx legion. And Cerberus hates Styx. I can see him wanting a human mate just because Styx has one. The asshole. God forbid you ended up in his bed.”