She had everything she could want. Armlin would handle Red. Katan had informed her that the xechelln hides her mates had given her, along with the rest of the treasures they’d packed for her, would sell for a fortune in the resort. Natla had agreed. Mandy could go far away from Earth and live out a fulfilling life.
With her baby.
She had to make a choice.
Nearby, Arghet stood guard. Despite her deluxe accommodations and a lack of danger, both men preferred to remain on guard, one in the suite, the other out here on the patio overlooking another large pool surrounding a tranquil fountain.
“Arghet, what’s going to happen to Zehn and Lore?”
Handsome, strong, and powerful, Arghet reminded her too much of her mates to stare at him for too long. His dark hair blew in the breeze, and every now and then his chest tattoos swirled with black markings. He seemed to sniff the air a lot, frowning.
“Arghet?”
“My apologies.” He shook his head, as if shaking free of his distraction. “Your mates will perform the tasks assigned to our newly trained warriors. They’ll also cover extra patrols. It’s a most lenient form of punishment.” He smiled. “Talzec went easy on them. No doubt pitying them because their pregnant mate means for them to suffer.”
She gaped. “I do not.”
“Oh? You carry their young. They are not here, protecting you. Do you have any idea how difficult it must be for them, not to be able to have you close, to know you’re safe?” He shook his head. “Sad for our males to be treated this way.”
“Sad? Hey, I never asked for a baby, buddy. And I certainly never had any choices about where I lived or what I did. I’ve been dictated to for most of my life. Why is it wrong to want to be in charge of myself?”
“You are not wrong. But you are running. You do not listen to your heart. What does it say?”
That was the problem. It told her to go back to the men who loved and treasured her. To a place where the villagers looked after one another and took care of the world around them. And speaking of those caring villagers… “What ever happened to Watta?”
He snorted. “That one is now clanless. What she did is an offense punishable by death, to collude with the enemy. But Talzec took mercy on her. She is a female, after all.” Mandy didn’t care for his tone. “She, along with the last Nasuhl we have found, will go before the Cloud leadership for direction.”
“And Skehl? What about him? He helped me, and he fought against his own people.” She had a soft spot for the giant.
An odd look crossed Arghet’s face. “The male is a mystery. He says little and does what he’s told. Talzec has not yet decided what to do with him. He would make a fierce fighter if we could trust him. Our alpha will decide.”
At least Skehl wasn’t in any danger. One good thing to focus on.
“Mandy, what is it that holds you back from your mates? Do you not feel the need to be with them?”
“Yes.” She felt miserable.
“So go.”
“But what if I want to leave at some point? Can I go back with my mates, then decide later I want to see Venus 4?”
“Our people have never left before. Why would you want to go when we have paradise right here? Do you not feel the joy in Ussed, even now, away from our glorious lands?” He cringed at the sight of artificial light from the suite. “The tech stings, but Ussed continues to breathe life into the world around us, in us. She is truth. Why would you leave this?”
Why indeed.
“A good point. But I need to have answers. To know about me before I can be a part of them.”
He shook his head. “You are an odd female. Most pleasing,” he said hurriedly, as if to not offend, “but strange. You are an offworlder for certain.”
She frowned at him.
He snorted. “Me? I’m never mating. Females are nothing but problems.”
She opened her mouth to retort, but something inside her pinged in warning.
At the same time, Arghet grabbed her and raced inside. He shoved her to Katan, who caught her and pushed her behind him. She heard shots fired. Arghet fell into the suite, crashing through a glass table. He rolled and threw a dagger back at his attacker, knocking the gun from the stranger’s hand.
But the damage had been done. Arghet panted, bleeding from a wound in his thigh and another in his side. “Mother night. I hate alien tech,” he growled.
