the back of the room. “Weapons ready!”
“Braun’s interested,” Olivia said, smiling at her mate’s antics. He was a good father, a good role model for the boys. Emma chased after them, tugging on Wulf’s arm until he grinned and lifted her up to sit on the back of his neck where she squealed, pointed and screamed, “Go!”
“Wulf threatened to beat him bloody in the pit if he even breathed near me,” I reminded.
“He still talked with you… when Wulf wasn’t around.” She rubbed her arms as if the topic made her as uncomfortable as it was making me. “He would worship you. You know he would. You may not be the one for each other, but you could be happy.”
I sighed. “Braun’s sweet, Liv. You know that. He’s a nice guy, but I’m not for him. God, he’s like a big brother. I know it, and I think he knows it, too. That Atlan is a looker, and I’m sure he’ll claim some female in that hot up-against-the-wall sort of way. It just won’t be me.”
Olivia fanned herself, probably remembering the time Wulf carried her out of the Bachelor Beast studio… on live TV.
“I think Braun feels stuck, like me,” I admitted.
“You’re not stuck. You’ve got big plans.”
Shaking my head, I looked at my lap. “I did everyone’s hair and makeup for the party. It was so much fun. Sure, I cut hair for Rachel, you and the others, but there’s less than ten women on the planet. I can’t run a spa for ten women.”
Olivia laughed, tugged on one of my curls. “I’d come every day.”
I rolled my eyes, thought of Sam and how he’d found my hair… wild. “Whatever. No women, no spa.”
She scrunched up her face, then smiled when Emma came running over. She climbed into Olivia’s lap as the boys continued to play with Wulf.
“Think you want to go back to Earth, then? You’re the only one of us who has that choice.”
That was a good question. Did I? Unlike Olivia, I was able to go back. I could start up a spa like I wanted. I knew how it should be done. How to get a business license and a loan and everything. There, I could do it. But after being in space, I wasn’t sure if it was for me.
“I’m different, Liv. Two nights with two guys and I had everything. I’d say yes to being claimed. I was willing to leave here, leave you for two hot studs.”
“For two hot studs, I’d leave me, too.”
I sighed, her joke falling flat. “I’m serious. I’d say yes to them. To all of it.”
Olivia’s eyes widened at my vehemence.
“Now it’s not going to happen.” I pushed myself out of the beanbag chair, looked down at Olivia with Emma, who was sucking her thumb. “I’m going back to bed. I’m okay. I just need time.”
I felt like I had tons of it. I had no real job, no real prospects. No Nik and Sam. Braun was going to be a problem because I had a feeling his mating fever was pushing him toward me. I just didn’t want to break his heart, because I knew exactly what walking around with a broken heart felt like.
Empty.
13
Sambor, The Colony
I’d never been to The Colony before. Niklas had said he’d been once, but that had been before I’d become his guard. Seeing the barren landscape through the windows, it reminded me of the planet we’d just escaped. Except here, there were no Hive—I hoped—and we’d arrived intentionally. Crash-landing was something I wanted to experience only once.
Governor Maxim had met us in the transport room. Alone.
Disappointment coursed through me at not having Lucy waiting for us. We’d flown the fucking Hive craft into Coalition-controlled space, and all four of us initiated our comms to let them know we were friendly. The last thing we’d wanted to do was be shot out of the sky a second time. We’d had the medical station connect with Bahre’s comm so they could transport him directly to the unit for emergency medical treatment. At the time we’d had no idea of his chances for survival. He’d been without care for four days, but we’d learned since that time in a ReGen pod had healed his injuries, although he’d be scarred physically for life.
As for the rest of us, we’d flown the Hive ship to Battleship Karter, since it was the closest ship in the sector, and the Hive craft would be kept and studied for