It was my turn to clear my throat.
A crisp knock on the door had the warden spinning on her rubber-soled heels.
In walked another woman in an identical uniform, but she wore it with much more confidence and a knowledgeable demeanor.
“Miss Mills, I am Warden Egara. I see you have finished your testing.” Warden Egara had dark brown hair, gray eyes, and the bearing and posture of a dancer. Her shoulders were straight, her body trim and upright. Everything about her screamed educated, confident, refined. The exact opposite of the neighborhood I’d grown up in. The warden glanced at the tablet she carried with her. I assumed the nod of her head indicated she was satisfied, but her expression was carefully schooled and gave nothing away.
I wished for half her restraint as I felt a fierce scowl cover my face. “Is there a reason I am shackled to this chair?”
The last thing I remembered was sitting across from the little mouse—who now practically cowered next to the confident warden—and taking a small pill from her hand. I washed it down with a paper cup full of water. I was now naked beneath my gown—I could feel my bare ass against the hard plastic—and restrained. If I were to be dressed in anything at all, it shouldn’t be this ridiculous medical gown, but a warrior’s uniform for my induction as a coalition fighter.
The warden glanced at me and offered an efficient smile. Everything about her seemed to be professional, unlike the mouse.
“Some women have strong reactions to the testing. The restraints are for your own safety.”
“Then you wouldn’t mind removing them now?”
I felt out of control with my arms pinned. If there was danger of some kind, I could kick an attacker since my legs were free, but they’d certainly get an eyeful when I lifted my leg.
“Not until we are finished. Per protocol,” she added, as if that would make a difference.
She took a seat at the table across from me, the mouse easing into a seat beside her.
“We have some standard questions in order to proceed, Miss Mills.”
I tried not to roll my eyes, but knew the military was a stickler for paperwork and organization. I shouldn’t be surprised that a military organization made up of over two hundred member planets had some hoops I would have to jump through. My induction into the U.S. Army had taken days of paperwork, and that was for a small country, on one small blue planet out of hundreds. Hell, I’d be lucky if the aliens’ coalition process didn’t take two months.
“All right,” I replied, eager to get this done. I had a brother to find and time was wasting. Every second I was stuck here on Earth was another second my crazy, hell-raising brother might do something stupid and get himself killed.
“Your name is Sarah Mills, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You are not married.”
“No.”
“No children?”
Now I did roll my eyes. I wouldn’t volunteer for active duty military service, in outer space, battling the terrifying Hive if I had kids. I was about to sign on the dotted line for a two-year deployment and would never leave children behind. Not even for the promise I’d made my father on his deathbed.
“No. I do not have any children.”
“Very well. You’ve been matched to the planet Atlan.”
I frowned. “That’s nowhere near the front lines.” I did know where the fighting was happening because my two brothers, John and Chris, had died out there in space and my youngest brother, Seth, was still fighting.
“That’s correct.” She looked over my shoulder and had a vague stare of someone who was thinking. “If my geography is correct, Atlan is about three lightyears away from the closest active Hive outpost.”
“Then why am I going there?”
It was the warden’s turn to frown, her gaze focused on my face. “Because that is where your matched mate will come from.”
My mouth fell open and I stared at the woman, my eyes so heavy with shock it felt like they were about to pop out of my head. “My mate? Why would I want a mate?”
Chapter Two
Sarah
My surprised tone and blatantly shocked expression were clearly new to the woman. She flicked a glance at the mouse, then back at me. “Well, um… because you are here for the Interstellar Bride Program processing and testing. Sometimes a woman takes longer to recover from the testing and can wake… confused. However, no woman has ever forgotten the reason she was here. I find your line of questioning worrisome. Miss Mills, are you feeling all right?” She turned to the mouse. “Call downstairs. I think she might need a repeat on the brain scan.”
“I do not need a scan.” I sat up then and fought the restraints, but I couldn’t move. My struggles had both women sitting up straight in their chairs as I continued. “I’m feeling fine. I think she—” I opened my fist and pointed at the mouse, who was now biting her lip and clenching the edge of the table, “—made a big mistake.”