Bahre’s chuckle sounded like rumbling rocks in my head. “Made him worse, especially when it comes to protecting human females.”
Of course. Now that the notorious asshole commander of the Intelligence Core was mated to a human female, he was obsessed with protecting Earth. Didn’t seem to matter that he’d supposedly retired and relocated his mate to his home world of Prillon Prime. He was even more active—at least when it came to Earth—than ever.
He had his human mate. Time to claim mine.
“Larkspur Linton. Age twenty-three. Where are you?” The apartment number on her government issued identification was one-zero-seven.
“Stop stalling, Warlord. I’m going to think you’re afraid of a tiny human female.”
“Guess you should have come with me. Make sure I don’t fuck it up.”
Bahre burst into laughter. “Fuck no. The day a Warlord can’t handle three Scouts on his own is the day I walk away from Quinn. She’s waiting for me, so hurry the fuck up before my cock insists I leave you without backup on comms.”
My turn to chuckle. Quinn was one beautiful female. I couldn’t blame Bahre for his eagerness to be with his mate.
Speaking of mates....
Mine!
Yes. I know. Just a few more minutes.
No. Now.
My beast was tired of waiting. Frankly, so was I.
I checked the details on the scanner. Human female. Alone. She must have fallen asleep on her sofa. The apartment appeared to have two bedrooms, but the other rooms were unoccupied. My mate was alone.
What did she wear to bed? I inspected the thermal image of her sitting on her sofa. The flickering light of her television, or computer screen, flashed across her window. A strange shimmer appeared, then disappeared on my scans. I would need to get that glitch checked out once I was back on The Colony.
I stared at that curved, red outline and tried to imagine what it would be like to touch her. Other than the grainy image on her driver’s license—brown hair, brown eyes, slightly taller than average for a human, I had no idea what she looked like, sounded like, thought or needed. What if she refused to come with me?
Mine!
The beast didn’t give a fuck what she looked like. All females were beautiful and unique. The only thing that mattered was that she was mine. I knew the moment I caught her scent at the fight club that night, a sweet, feminine fragrance that haunted me every minute since. Taunting me. Daring me to find her.
“Eight minutes. Scouts inbound. Hurry the fuck up.”
Why was I not already inside? Was I nervous to meet her? Afraid she would take one look at the scars and integrations covering my body and find me unworthy? I’ve never feared anything in my life, not on the battlefield, not during my imprisonment with the Hive. Now I dreaded the reaction of a fragile human female?
Mine!
The beast had a one-track mind. The rock-hard cock rubbing against my armor was proof of that.
Moving quickly, I went to her door and raised my fist. My knock rattled the nearby window.
Inside me, the beast lunged, eager to break free.
Holding him back took every bit of self-control I possessed.
I braced my hands on either side of the door frame and waited. Knocked again. Nothing. No footsteps. No calling out. My mate’s apartment remained silent.
Fuck. I didn’t want to have to do it this way.
I kicked the door open and stepped inside. “Larkspur?” A tall, freestanding coat rack, and the variety of items hanging from the black, metallic hooks, blocked my view of the living area.
The narrow hall made it impossible for my shoulders to pass. I lifted the metal rack, coats, purses, umbrella and all, and walked forward. “Larkspur Linton? I’m Warlord Kai. I need to speak with you. You’re in danger.”
“It’s a trap! Get out!” A woman’s shout was cut short by the sound of something hitting flesh.
