Tamed by the Beast(48)

“Commander. My name is Rygor.” He angled his head toward the other man. “This is Westar. Warlord Dax sent us to accompany you from your cell.”

I assessed the warriors with my experienced eye. They were both my size, and fully dressed in battle armor, but Rygor’s intense gaze reeked of impatience, rage even.

“Why isn’t Dax here? And where is my mate?”

The guards looked at each other, then at me, but could barely hold my gaze. It was as if they expected an outburst from me. Well, if they didn’t start fucking answering my questions, that was what they would get. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at them in the way that had new recruits pissing themselves.

Rygor cleared his throat. Instead of replying, he handed me a warrior’s tote. I opened it to see a full set of armor and a weapon.

“What the hell is going on, Rygor? Start talking. Now.” I wasn’t wearing much; I’d stripped the dress shirt off at the doctor’s request, and the pants and soft slippers on my feet were party attire. What Rygor gave me made me feel as if we were heading into battle. Familiar territory.

“Your mate had a reaction to the drug as well. Warlord Dax and Sarah were with her. When she was tested, they discovered the presence of Rush in her system.”

I paused in the middle of pulling on the armor, eyed the senior guard. “Is my mate safe? Was she harmed?” The beast threatened to break through as I waited for his answer.

“Be calm, Commander. She is well.” He cleared his throat again and his gaze met Westar’s, briefly, before darting back to me. “At least, she was when we left your home.”

I pulled the armor on over my chest, quickly settling everything in place. I felt at home in the warrior gear. It was bulky, but familiar. Comfortable even, and it helped me get into the proper mindset for what lay ahead. If Dax was delivering my armor to me, I was headed into a mission. I had to assume it involved my mate, so I was primed to kill. This time, it wasn’t the Hive that was the enemy.

“What the fuck does that mean, ’she was’? And why is she not under Warlord Dax’s protection?”

Westar finally broke his silence as he handed me a small ion blaster. “She wouldn’t allow it, Commander.”

A growl erupted and I felt my face tighten, my eyes begin to change as the beast rushed forward. I would protect Tiffani from all danger, even if it came from herself. I held him back, barely, but my voice had changed as well. My words were a deep rumble. “Explain. Now.”

Rygor handed me a pair of boots. “Put these on. We’ll tell you everything on the way. The longer this takes, the longer it’ll be before you can ask her yourself.”

I had to agree with the man.

Westar snorted. “It will all be over by then.”

I slammed first one foot, then the other into the boots. “What will be over?”

Rygor bowed slightly. “Your mate is confronting your enemy, Commander. She is under guard, but she insisted on meeting him alone.”

“My mate is confronting the enemy alone?” My question echoed off the corridor walls.

I was going to spank her ass until she couldn’t sit for a week. “Who the fuck is she confronting? Who drugged me?”

Rygor took off at a brisk pace, Westar and I falling in behind him with ease. By his steady rhythm and pacing, the way he stood up to my angry beast, I knew he’d been on the front lines, seen the enemy and survived. A warrior in the Coalition Fleet. I wondered why he did not have a mate of his own, why he would continue to serve Warlord Dax when he could have his own home, a mate to tame him.

“I’m afraid to tell you, sir, but it was your cousin.”

My steps slowed, but didn’t stop. “I don’t believe you. Tia would never fucking betray me.”

Westar shook his head, our booted feet making a steady, pounding beat as we hurried down the corridors. “Not Tia, her father. Engel Steen.”

Rygor looked back over his shoulder, worry in his eyes. “Councilor Steen.”

Those two words made my blood run cold. With a body free of Rush, with my mind finally clear, it made complete sense. And that made me run even faster.

My mate was out there, taking on one of the most powerful people on my planet, a man so well connected, so formidable, that two full crates of illegal weapons hadn’t been enough to earn him the most basic punishment. Not even a hearing.

Engel Steen was untouchable, and my stubborn, courageous little mate was trying to take him down.

Alone.





Chapter Fourteen



Tiffani



Engel Steen was an ass. A pompous, self-righteous, misogynistic, narcissistic—the list went on and on—ass. He would fit in perfectly on Earth. Hadn’t males like him been the reason why I’d left Earth in the first place?