“High councilor, we came to bid your mate many thanks.” Davish looked about the room for her. If he’d taken Mara from the harem, he knew Eva was not there.
“You are both well?” I asked.
“Yes, high councilor,” Mara whispered as Davish nodded.
“Good. While your visit is appreciated, my mate is not here.”
They both frowned in confusion.
“She was transported back to Earth.”
Mara looked shocked. “Was it because of me? I was… unkind to her.” She looked embarrassed about it, ashamed even. “I made her angry, which upset you. Your denial of her is my fault.”
She lowered herself to her knees and dipped her head.
I looked to Davish, who clenched his jaw at the news, which was obviously a surprise to him. I was not happy to learn that Mara had been hurtful to Eva, but it was not my place to punish her.
“Rise,” I said. She did, but kept her head down. “She was not transported at my wishes. Quite the contrary. Her testimony was needed to send a man to prison.”
“She was not a murderer?” Davish asked.
I shook my head.
Something akin to admiration lit his eyes. “Your mate is honorable,” Davish remarked. “Her actions yesterday were one example. Leaving a mate because of duty is another. I will tell the council.”
Mara squeezed her hands together. “She saved my life and I will be forever grateful.”
The couple left without more comment, the tent empty once again. I saw the ceremonial stand in the corner, the bed with the blankets that still held Eva’s scent. I dropped my head into my hands and relived the conversation I’d had a few hours ago. I had successfully contacted the Interstellar Bride Program liaison for Trion and was coldly informed that if my mate had chosen to leave me, there was nothing they could do. It was my fault for not enticing her, for not pleasing her. My name would be placed back on the register of available males from Trion, at the bottom of the list, since I could not satisfy a female.
I wanted to leap through the communication screen and strangle the female officer with my bare hands. She implied that I was not worthy. That Eva left me because I was not good enough to deserve her.
Perhaps that bitch was correct. Eva was gone. If I’d been a better mate, I would have questioned Eva earlier, I would have had time to prevent the transport from taking her back without me. If I’d acted on my instincts, the instincts that insisted she was not a murderer, I could have forced the truth from her lips and made arrangements to protect her on her trip to Earth and keep her at my side.
I’d failed as her mate, but her brief presence in my life haunted me. Memories of her taunted me everywhere I looked, but she was gone. Forever.
I tossed a bowl filled with fruit against the wall, but it did nothing to make me feel better.
Chapter Ten
I was once again in the small room at the processing center, although this time I wasn’t wearing the prison garb and I wasn’t strapped in. Warden Egara stood next to my processing chair and glared at the FBI agent who sat in a small plastic chair in the corner of the room. Today her suit was navy blue, the insignia on her chest was still red, almost as red as her cheeks. Warden Egara was clearly furious with Agent Davidson.
“Is this DNA scan correct?” She raised her eyebrows and scowled at the FBI agent. “This woman’s DNA sample is already on file in our system. She is not supposed to be on Earth. According to our records, she is, at this very moment, on Trion, with her mate. And her name is not Eva Daily, it’s Evelyn Day.”
“Yes, the DNA is correct. But her real name is Eva Daily.” He had the good sense to sound contrite.
“And how did this woman return to Earth without permission from the Interstellar Bride Program?” She crossed her arms and I would swear she grew two inches taller as she towered over the seated man. When Agent Davidson didn’t respond, she put her hands on her hips.
“Are you aware, Agent Davidson, that in deceiving me, as an official representative of the interstellar coalition, and as head of this Interstellar Bride Program processing center, I could bring charges against you with the interstellar council? Fraud and impersonation are crimes on all worlds, agent.” Warden Egara looked ready to take his sidearm from him and shoot him dead on the spot. I jumped off the table to stand between them.
“Please, warden. The matching process was perfect. I’m sorry I lied to you. I didn’t have a choice. But now, I just want to go home.” I hoped the longing and sincerity of my request would convince her to help me. This strange, formidable woman literally held my future in her hands. She was the only one who had the power to send me back to the man I loved. “Please. Help me. I just want to go back to him.”