The commander turned to me. “And you, Warlord Dax, will get back to the transport room and leave my ship. From what I heard of your actions, I don’t need you to go into berserker mode and be put down. Get to Atlan and find a new mate.”
“My mate is here. If I leave this ship, she is coming with me.”
Although it was true, I preferred my mate accept our match, forced bonding was possible. Sometimes, it was the only way to save a warrior’s life. I would not force her to accept the bond, but simply being in her presence soothed my beast. I would seduce her, make her come over and over until she thought of nothing but pleasing me, fucking me, soothing me.
I crossed my arms over my chest. I knew she would not like to be commanded, but I would carry her off if necessary.
I didn’t need a full bond to hold off the beast for now, I just needed to be near her. Forced bonding was dishonorable, a desperate act by a desperate man, and something I would not do. Forcing the link between us boded poorly for the union long term. If I was going to be mated with this Earth female for the remainder of our lives, I wanted her to at least like me. I wanted to fuck her, coddle her, cherish her—and fuck her some more, but I would not take an unwilling female.
I’d rather die.
However, seduction was a game I was eager to play.
“She isn’t leaving with you, warlord, because she hasn’t accepted your match. She’s not a coalition bride, she’s Captain Mills of Recon Unit 7.” The commander was equally adamant. “Right now, she’s mine. Prillon warriors do not force females into mating bonds they do not want.”
Sarah grinned then and my cock swelled. There was no question she was even more lovely when she wasn’t all stiff and proper. She felt victorious and powerful with the commander backing her, but that wasn’t going to get her what she needed to be happy and it was time to remind her of that.
I pointed at the commander, but turned to face her. “He won’t let you go get your brother.”
Her gaze darted from my face to her commander. “What can I do?”
“Go back to your unit and follow orders until your two years is up.” When her shoulders stiffened at the commander’s direct words, he added. “You’re one of the best recon leaders we have. You’re smart, fast, and don’t panic under fire. The men trust you. You could do a lot of good here, captain. We need officers like you.”
I growled again; the thought of my mate going back into battle without me by her side was more than my beast could tolerate. Just thinking of the firefight I’d witnessed, ion blasts darting over her head, made my beast begin to pace. The commander would know my displeasure at his words. For a Prillon, he was big, but I was bigger. “She is not going back to battle.”
“Go home to Atlan, warlord,” he countered. “Find another mate.”
“I want no other.”
Sarah’s shoulders tensed at my vow and her gaze darted to my face as if she did not believe my words.
“Then wait for her two years of service to be up,” the commander ordered.
“Like hell,” I growled. “I’ll be dead by then.”
Her eyebrows went up.
The commander looked me over. “Mating fever? How much time do you have?”
“Not much.” I offered him the brief response while I stared at Sarah.
“What do you mean you’ll be dead? You’re sick?” she asked me. I saw concern fight for space in her heart, right next to her anger. Perhaps there was hope for us after all.
“Commander, may I please speak with my mate… in private?”
The Prillon glanced between the two of us. When Sarah nodded, he walked out without another word, the door sliding shut behind him.
Seeing her worry gave me some measure of hope.
“Mating fever,” I told her. “Atlan males have it, although when it strikes is unique to each individual. It lasts for several weeks, slowly building until it is all consuming. I’m older than most who get the fever, but that is irrelevant. When it takes over, it overpowers logic and reasoning and turns the male—me—into what we call a berserker.” I held up my stained hands. “My body transforms into more beast than man. Rage fills me until there is no reason left, only pure animal instinct. I can rip the heads off the Hive without blinking, but I won’t want to stop. The only thing that can control an Atlan berserker is his mate. The only way to calm the beast is to be soothed and accepted by our mates, to fuck.”
Her eyes widened.
“And if you don’t… fuck, you die? That doesn’t make sense.” she said, surprised. Just hearing the word fuck from her lips made me groan.