Damn. That fucking hurt. I glared at my cousin. “What the fuck did you do that for?”
“Because you are an idiot. She’s beautiful and without protection. You obviously want her. Make your claim.”
“I cannot. Not yet. If I move too quickly, she will refuse me.” The lady—no, she didn’t want to be called that.Willowwas not ready for a mate. Even now, the smile she gave one of the Atlan acrobats before her did not reach her eyes. Her golden hair was pulled away from her face into one of her strange weaves, the look too contained for her. I wanted to march over there, loosen the hair from her braid, and kiss her until she begged for more.
Did no one else see the truth in her eyes as she watched their farce of a training session? The pain?
The longing?
Longing for what?
Gods be damned, I hoped that look wasn’t for Helion. Did she desire one of the Atlans? Had she already chosen another?
Her attention shifted to a variety of practice weapons laid out for use.
Did she want to pick up one of the blasters?
I looked closer. Her hands were in tight fists where they rested atop her thighs.
Did she want to fire the weapons? Could she do so? The strange, wistful look on her face made me believe, perhaps, she could indeed. But that didn’t make sense either. Everything about her was delicate and feminine. The obsessive need to protect her even more a fire in my blood because of her apparent vulnerability.
Perhaps it was her softness that had made her a match for Helion.
And perhaps it was the look I saw on her face now, the wildness she kept hidden, that caused her to end that match.
“By the gods, you are hopeless.” Bastion walked to stand beside me as I rubbed my jaw. He turned to observe the Atlans making fools of themselves to gain her attention. “I know the timing is bad, and she’s already been through hell. But if you don’t claim her, someone else will. You’re lucky one of those beasts didn’t decide she belonged to him already.”
That was the fucking truth. Once a beast decided an eligible female was his mate, he didn’t listen to reason, and he didn’t fucking share.
Me? I welcomed another male to ensure the happiness and safety of a mate, as long as he was honorable, and a brutally efficient killer. No one would ever hurt Willow again. When she’d told me she’d been a Hive prisoner, just like Amalia, I’d seen the darkness behind her eyes, the pain. No one would ever so much as insult her. If she were mine. Which she was not.
Bastion elbowed me in the ribs and reached into his pocket. He pulled out two mating collars and held them out to me. “Go. Claim her.”
“Not yet. She rejected her matched mate and removed herself from the brides’ database. She does not want a mate.”
“Fine, but I think you’re making a mistake.” He held out the mating collars, both black. “At least offer her the protection of the Arcas family. She’s going to cause a riot soon if you don’t do something. She has no one else. Unless she is under the protection of our family, we won’t be able to stop anyone else from taking advantage of her. If you don’t take care of it, I will. You know as well as I do that an unprotected female is fair game for every male who is looking for a mate.”
Fuck. I knew he was right. Had I not just been thinking the same thing?
I looked around the training room with new eyes and noticed the area was abnormally busy, especially for a ship this small. Every single training space was full to bursting with warriors, most bare from the waist up, showing off for the only available female on the ship, hoping to gain her interest.
Fuck that. It was only a matter of time before one of them made a move and claimed the right to woo her for thirty days. Kiss her. Touch her. Care for her. Hold her. Seduce her.
If one of them did, I would be helpless to stop them. Not fucking happening. She’d been through enough. I’d pledged my life to her, a life debt, for setting me free. I was worthless as a protector if I didn’t stop what I knew was an impending disaster.
Beyond that, I couldn’t bear to see her with another male. She was mine. I would wait until she was ready, but no one else would touch her. By offering her the protection of the Arcas family, I could care for her, watch over her. Seduce her. With our family safeguarding her, I would have all the time I needed to woo her and earn her trust.
“Thank you.” I took the collars from Bastion’s hand and tucked one into my pocket. The other belonged around Willow’s neck.
“No problem. Danika loves her, which means Thomar will have both our heads if anything happens to that female and he has to deal with a distraught mate.” Bastion chuckled but I knew his words were true. Thomar and Varin were both possessive, protective males. As they should be.
With a nod, Bastion left me standing alone, staring.
At her.
Would she despise me for this? Would her anger at Helion push her to make a foolish decision? If she did not accept the protection of the family, I would be forced to push the matter and make a claim now. I did not want to force her hand, but I wanted my collar around her neck, not for the family. For myself.
Fuck.
