Mated To The Vikens (Interstellar Brides Book 8)(16)

But knowing that our Sophia was lost in the fucking wilds made Gunnar frantic in his own, quiet way. His calm was deceiving to many an enemy, causing them to relax a fraction of a second before Gunnar went for the kill. But now, in the wilds, Gunnar didn’t even seem concerned for our mate.

Gunnar sat on the ground, his back leaning against the tree and his ion blaster across his lap. He nodded at Erik and me. “You two, set up a perimeter around me while we wait for the Queen.”

I caught Erik’s eye, who shrugged and moved to Gunnar’s left, farther up the trail we’d been following, but remaining in sight. For a minute or two, I stood, confused. What the hell was going on?

“Gunnar, we should keep moving,” I advised. “I know you didn’t want a mate, but this is not the time…”

“Of course, I want her.” Gunnar practically barked at me, his calm façade cracking. But this was the first time I’d ever heard such a statement from him. His odd behavior concerned me, for the three of us were her mates together. We’d all been matched to her. Without Gunnar, the match would not be complete.

Gunnar used his blaster to indicate I should head to his left, opposite Erik, and set up a true perimeter guard around him and the damn tree.

I arched a brow and squatted down before him to argue. His dark eyes met mine. Held. Then shifted up.

I’d been blind to what my friend wasn’t saying.

My shoulders relaxed. Sophia was here. Above us. Gunnar hadn’t given up, he was protecting her. What Earth woman, who’d transported into fuck-knows-what, been attacked and forced to kill a man before running off, alone, into the woods, would come out of hiding for three Viken hulks like us? If Gunnar pulled her from the tree, she’d be afraid of us, terrified even, and wouldn’t be calm enough to sense our connection. Our bond.

If she was afraid of us, we’d never be able to make her truly ours.

And so we’d go about it another way. We were more blast-and-grab or shock-and-awe kinds of warriors. This calm approach was almost unnerving, but our quarry had never been a mated female before. Our mate.

“Erik, call the kings,” I said. “Get Queen Leah here. She’s from Earth. Our mate will trust her.”

Erik’s eyebrows winged up at my agreement with Gunnar, but he only nodded and spoke into the InterCom on his wrist, coordinating with Lev and offering our exact coordinates for them to travel to after transport. “Bring guards with you, the transport center is not secure,” he said before signing off.

We were the only ones out here, but there was a dead man outside the transport center to prove that evil lurked.

“I estimate twenty minutes until their arrival,” Erik said.

We had walked quite a distance tracking Sophia, but we’d turned several times and ended up parallel to the transport station. With the coordinates in advance, the others would take the direct route we had not.

“Our mate, I believe she will be a handful,” Gunnar commented, looking down at his fingernails.

Erik frowned and I walked a few feet in the opposite direction to watch the trail behind us. “Oh? She looked beautiful in the testing image, not difficult,” I countered. “Her hair looked soft to touch. Her skin smooth. I, for one, can’t wait to find her, difficult or not.”

“Not difficult,” Gunnar clarified. “A handful. Courageous. Fierce. Determined. Passionate. If she is matched to us, she will not be meek.” He grunted. “I do not want meek.”

No, I knew he didn’t. However, submissive was quite different. “I doubt she’ll be meek, Gunnar. She was convicted of smuggling, after all. Our lady is a pirate.”

Erik laughed. “Oh yes. According to her profile, she was very busy breaking Earth’s laws before her transport. I can’t wait to feel all that rebellious fire riding my cock.”

Gunnar raised a brow. “Her past is irrelevant. She’s ours now. If she believes she can get away with such rebellion here, she’ll earn a place over my knee.”

Erik’s humor erupted in rapid-fire speech. “You’ll take her over your knee regardless, Gunnar.” He lifted his weapon so the barrel rested against his shoulder, pointed to the sky.

Gunnar grinned at me. “No. Spanking her pretty little ass will be Erik’s pleasure.”

Fuck. My cock grew hard at the thought. I hoped she misbehaved, challenged us. Often. I knew Erik would pet her naked ass and plunge his fingers into her wet pussy as he made her bottom burn. If I were lucky, she’d have her mouth around my cock as he did it.

I watched Erik for a moment before laughing. “Well, since she’s been matched to all three of us, no doubt she’ll want it as much as he does.” And she’d want my dirty words filling her ears as he did it, as we took her, fucked her, filled her and made her ours forever.