With his mate and daughter safely in his arms, Lev’s attention turned to me. His jaw was tense, his eyes fierce. “What the fuck is going on here, Gunnar?”
I slowly shook my head, not cowed by the King’s harsh tone. “We don’t know, sir. We gathered to await the arrival of our mate from Earth.”
Lev looked around, his arm tightening about his lovely mate’s waist. I doubted he would let her go anytime soon. Leah clung to him with complete trust. But even Lev, a ruler of our planet, had not been able to keep his mate safe in something as simple as a transport. She could have been sent anywhere.
“VSS?” Lev looked to the transport technician when he spoke. “And did you confirm transport from Earth?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then where is their mate?” The King’s tone was clipped, but the younger man shrugged.
“I don’t know, sir. We’ll have to run detailed analysis of the system signals. This type of mid-transport coordinate shift is impossible.”
“Erik. Find out what the fuck is going on.” I ordered my friend to take over transport control without a second thought. Erik had a special gift for technology, for puzzles. If we faced an enemy, I preferred a head-to-head confrontation. Rolf, the trickster, always talking, would try to manipulate or confuse his enemy before a strike. But Erik excelled at solving unsolvable puzzles, and for understanding our technology in a way I never could. His ability to rebuild communication pods and weapons had saved all our lives on more than one mission on the front line of the Interstellar Coalition’s war with the Hive.
Erik frowned, his long dark hair pulled back and tied behind his head like a shadow. His fingers raced over the control panels as he ran an analysis with the much younger, less-experienced transport technician watching with dawning awe. “I don’t know, Gunnar. It looks like the transport beams crossed and both of the women were redirected.”
“Was Sophia sent to Sector Three in the Queen’s place?” Rolf asked, his tone tense. He was always so calm, but now, he had the dark, commanding look usually reserved for Erik or myself. His fair coloring and easy manner fooled so many, hiding the pain he carried inside.
I paced as Erik made contact with Sector Three’s transport, eager to know our mate was safe.
Our mate. Sophia. I’d lied to my brothers-in-arms when telling them I had not studied her profile. I had, in fact, memorized every detail. I knew the exact curve of her cheek, the golden flecks of color that made her right eye slightly lighter than her left. I’d read her entire application data log. Knew she was too small, too fragile, too fucking pure for a man like me. But none of that mattered. Now that I’d seen her, knew she was mine, I wanted to taste her, to sink my cock into her body and watch her eyes cloud with need. I’d agreed to the bride program’s match, agreed to be her mate for life. I’d even agreed to the royal family’s request that I share her with Rolf and Erik.
I’d vowed to care for her, protect her, and give her everything she needed. But I could not love her. Love would be left to Erik and Rolf. Love, for me, would be an impossible feat—but that did not mean I wanted harm to come to her. Not like Loren. The woman from Sector Two who I'd loved so long ago.
I'd loved her too much, allowed her every indulgence and she'd died for it. Drowned in a lake late one night with her friends. They hadn't watched her closely enough, lost her in the darkness. If I'd been there, she would have been protected, watched over. But no.
With Sophia, I would protect her with my life. Dominate her if need be, but not love. No, I couldn't love again. And yet, Sophia was mine. Just like Rolf and Erik were mine. Just like the three Kings and their lovely mate, Leah, were mine. Little Allayna, with her bouncing red curls and big blue eyes. Mine. I protected what was mine. Whoever had threatened our mate would die by my hand.
The transport technician looked to us as Erik cursed, shaking his head. “Their transport room confirmed no transport occurred. Sophia Antonelli is missing.”
Lev moved to stand directly beside Erik and watched his fingers move over the display. If Lev knew how to use the machinery, he would have pushed the big warrior out of the way and done it himself. He had to stand by, like I did, helpless to find my mate.
“Were there any other transports occurring?” the King asked.
The technician frowned, his hands moving over the control station at a frantic pace. “Yes. One other.”
Erik stood on the other side of the technician, his eyes narrowing as he, too, read the reports. Erik’s eyes were serious, the color of storm clouds. Erik did not play the lighthearted Viken, as Rolf did. Nor did he feel the weight of the darkness as I. He walked in a cloud of gray, apathetic and detached from the world. I knew he’d lost his family, every single one of them, in a brutal attack. He’d never offered details, not in the ten years I’d fought by his side in the Hive war. He kept his dark secrets even when buried balls deep in a willing woman or neck deep in his cups, too drunk to stand.