What logic I had left wondered if she was truly my last chance at survival?
The beast within said no. He didn’t want her. Didn’t like anything about her. It never had.
And yet, the beast still raged, still demanded his mate.
I dropped down onto the bed, my head in my hands. The beast pressed at my mind like a tidal wave rushing toward the shore to wipe out what remained of my sanity.
My mate would not come, and I would die.
* * *
Tiffani
“Execution?” I pulled on the restraints that held me to the table in the processing room in a futile act of panic. “No. They can’t kill him.”
Warden Egara’s smile was sad. “I’m afraid that is the Atlan way. Once a male is lost to the mating fever, there is no redemption.”
“But he has a mate! Me! I can redeem him, save him. Whatever,” I pleaded with her. There had to be some kind of mistake. This couldn’t be happening. I had a guy who wanted me and he was set to be executed? I think not. “Send me there. The protocol matched us. Officially, by alien law, he’s mine. Isn’t that correct? I am already his mate. Doesn’t that grant me some kind of rights? I have the right to see him. I demand to see him.”
Her eyebrows lifted into severe arcs as she considered me long and hard. She looked over her shoulder and spoke. “Can you hear her, Sarah?” The warden nodded her head, listening. She was having a conversation with someone on the far side of the universe. If I wasn’t in a processing center, I’d think she was crazy. Especially since I couldn’t understand a thing the woman was saying. Her voice was too faint, and all I could hear was the pounding of my rage in my ears. “And what if something goes wrong?”
A deep, rumbling voice came through the speaker then, much louder and more commanding. It reminded me of the voice from my vision and a shiver of rekindled need raced across my skin. “There’s no room for mistakes. If she comes to us, she must have the courage to see it through. Should she fail, he dies,” the voice boomed, startling me.
Warden Egara turned to me and I hardened my resolve. No one, and I mean no one, was stealing this from me. “I won’t fail. He’s mine.”
The warden nodded, turning back to the screen, to the large Atlan male I could hear but not see. “I believe her, Warlord. I think we should give her a chance to save him.”
“Very well. I’m not prepared to give up on the commander. Send her to us. We will get her in to see him.”
Warden Egara actually bowed her head before responding, as if she were speaking to royalty or something. “As you wish, Warlord Dax. If you have transport codes, I will initiate her transport now.”
“They should be arriving at any moment.”
Even as he spoke, the bright blue lights behind me began to flash and brighten and my chair jerked into motion. “What’s happening?”
“Received. Thank you. The commander’s mate is on her way.” Warden Egara ended her call and walked toward me with a sad smile on her face. “Good luck, Tiffani. I am sending you to Warlord Dax and his mate, Sarah. She is from Earth and recently matched. They will help you break in to see your mate.”
That didn’t sound good. Unlawful. Dangerous.
“Break in? Why would I have to break in?”
“He’s in Atlan prison, dear. On death row, as we call it. And you are not an Atlan female, or a member of his family.”
That made no sense. He’d committed no crime other than having his own genetic nature take its course. But I would be committing a crime to see him? I was the one who would be breaking the laws?
“But I’m his mate. And you said I would be a citizen of Atlan now, no longer a citizen of Earth. I should be allowed to see him. I shouldn’t have to break in anywhere.”
She nodded. “Very true, but rules are rules. And only Atlan females are allowed into the containment facilities. Good luck. I hope your attempts are enough to save you both.” She checked her tablet once more and I had a flash of déjà vu as she lifted her head and spoke. “When you wake, you will be on Atlan. Your processing will begin in three… two…”
I tensed, waiting for that last word and wondering what the hell I had just gotten myself into. Breaking into prison? Death row? Beast mode? Holy shit.
“One.”
The blue light flashed and I was lowered into the pale blue water. I felt like I was inside an egg as the door to the examination room slid closed, locking me within. I closed my eyes and waited, terrified of what would happen next, but the longer I was in the water, the more relaxed I felt.
Were they freaking drugging me? The idea of breaking in to a prison didn’t seem quite so bad. Nor did a mate who was part beast. I felt… relaxed.