Tia and Theo, two more Human-Prillon children of nearly identical ages, screeched with glee and chased after their two friends as their mother, Kristin, shouted encouragement. Kristin, I’d learned, had been in the FBI back home and was now part of Marz’s security team.
I was shocked that her mates allowed her to do what sounded like dangerous work, but then, she didn’t seem the type to give them much choice. She was tough, which was probably why she looked at Rachel the moment she sat down, her words direct and to the point. “What’s the plan?”
Rachel tilted her head and glanced around the circle of woman before seeking me out. Her gaze locked with mine. “Marz is going to lead the team. Vance is going to fly them into the heart of the storm. They are waiting for the tech team to make sure their equipment is ready.”
“Both of them are going?” Kristin glanced from Rachel to me with a look of disbelief on her face.
“Yes,” Rachel confirmed. “They are.”
Was that supposed to upset me? My mates had told me the basics. Apparently, the wild lightning and violent skies outside the dome were not normal. The small window of time during which I’d arrived the only time they’d been able to use the transport system in several days. So far, our location, Base 3—apparently there were other bases on The Colony, most underground mining operations—had not suffered as we had. The storms were the worst above us, but they were spreading and would soon pose a risk to the entire planet. I was proud that my mates were integral to solving the problem. And worried.
Angela cleared her throat, her smile tight as she tried to reassure me. “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
As I’d seen her do in the dining hall, Rachel leaned down and tickled one of Angela’s twin girls, Arya and Maya, who crawled contentedly around their mother’s feet. The twins were part Warlord. Their father, Warlord Braun, stood near the entrance to the garden speaking to another Warlord, Caroline’s mate, Rezzer. They, too, had twins, CJ and RJ, a girl and a boy—Caroline Junior and Rezzer Junior, which I thought was hysterical. Apparently, Rezzer had chosen their names and wasinsistent. They were a little younger than Max, but just as big. They chased after the older children as Lyndsey’s human son, Wyatt, led the group—including his two younger half siblings, Kyra and Weston—in a game of hide and seek. He was the eldest child on The Colony and acted as both commander and protector of all the children.
He was a handsome young man, and I was proud of him for proving a man didn’t need to be an alien to act like a protective big brother. His adopted father, an Elite Hunter from Everis, sat with him at every meal and obviously deeply loved all three of his children.
My mates were large males. I couldn’t imagine carrying twins for a Warlord, but the ladies looked none the worse for wear. In fact, they looked like they’d never had children at all, and I wondered if their impressive recoveries were due to the ReGen pods I’d been hearing about. Pop a kid, go lay down in the ReGen pod for a few hours. Wham, bam, everything’s healed and you’re as good as new.Thatsounded awesome. Assuming I stayed long enough to have children with my mates. The birth control I’d requested during the processing was designed to last until I decided to reverse it. Watching the other mates interact with their little ones, I knew that if I stayed, I would definitely be making that request. Before I’d volunteered, I’d resented being forced to make the choice between life in space or prison. Now, I wanted the fairy tale ending.
And I’d be damned if I was going to let my stubborn, secret keeping mates ruin it for me. I’d go on a sex strike if I had to, pry the truth out of them.
Yeah, right.Like I could resist. I melted into a puddle of pre-orgasmic goo the moment they eventhoughtabout touching me. Damn collars.
I took a deep breath and waited for the discussion to continue. The air was warm and heavy, carrying a faint scent ofwildflowers mixed with the metallic tang of the lightning storms that had been plaguing the area. Even the filters could not completely hide the strange smell. As the other women chatted around me, I found it hard to concentrate. My thoughts kept drifting back to last night, to the feel of Marz’s hands on my skin, his breath hot against my neck. Vance’s mouth on my nipples, lower. The way they worked together to drive me out of my mind. They were my mates. My husbands, really. Two husbands.
It still felt strange to think of them that way, but at the same time, it felt so right. Their eyes burned with desire when they looked at me, as if I was the only woman in the universe. I’d never felt so treasured, so completely possessed. I shook the thought away, trying to focus on the present. I wished I could help, but I wasn’t a storm specialist. My degree dealt with rock and stone and earth—the ground beneath our feet forged over millions of years—not the volatile flow of energy in the skies.
Rachel was talking about the storms, her voice filled with the kind of practiced calm that only someone used to handling crises could muster. “Maxim’s concerned,” she said. “According to the latest readings, the lightning isn’t natural. It’s too frequent, and too targeted near our base. They’re all worried it could be some kind of attack.”
Kristin, the security officer, frowned. “An attack? By whom? We had no indication of Hive presence. At least none that I know of.”
“It could be the Hive.” Rachel’s brow furrowed. “Or it could be someone else entirely. We’re still investigating.”
The conversation continued, the women speculating on possible causes while I kept quiet. I was still new here, after all. The newest arrival from Earth. I hadn’t even been on The Colony for a week, and they were comparing the current conditions to the past few years, analyzing mysterious weather patterns and potential dangers they’d never faced before. I felt a pangof anxiety at the thought of Marz—or Vance—being in danger because of it.
My mates were warriors, used to threats and combat. They had brushed it off, told me it was nothing they couldn’t handle. But that didn’t stop the knot of worry from forming in my stomach. I knew they were strong, knew they could take care of themselves, but the love I felt for them was already so overwhelming that the thought of either of them being hurt twisted something deep inside me.
I shook myself back to the conversation just as Lyndsay, who handled public relations for the base and was likely the reason for the huge surge in the number of volunteer brides from Earth—thanks to her brainchildBachelor Beasttelevision show—sighed wistfully. “Wyatt’s been having nightmares. Weston and Kyra, too. I try to soothe them back to sleep, but Wyatt, especially, spends a lot of time with the warriors. He knows what’s going on, and he’s worried.”
Kristin sighed. “Tia’s been crying in her room at night. Then she wakes up Theo, and before I know it, it’s almost time to get up and none of us has had a wink of sleep.”
Larkspur and Lavender—the sisters were mated to two Atlan Warlords, and the newest arrivals before me—both tilted their heads in the exact same manner. They weren’t twins, but I could understand the mistaken identity that had caused Warlord Kai to kidnap the wrong sister back on Earth. In fact, I still had trouble telling them apart. So, I wasn’t sure which one of them was speaking. “We should do something fun for the kiddos. Create a distraction. Maybe throw a party?” They both glanced at Rachel, two heads moving as one. “Do you do that up here?”
Rachel shook her head. “We haven’t, but that doesn’t mean we can’t.”
I bit my lower lip, then let the idea fly. Why the hell not? “It’s almost Christmas.” I waited for that information to sink in.“Back on Earth, we’d be putting up decorations, shopping for presents, planning big dinners with family. Not talking about evacuation plans or Hive attacks.”
Lyndsay leaned back with a loud sigh. “I loved Christmas.” The nostalgia in her voice was echoed by the others, a soft murmur of agreement.
Mikki, the professional surfer who was mated to two Prillon warriors of her own, Doctor Surnen and Captain Trax, spoke up. “It doesn’t feel right, though, celebrating Christmas here. Not with everything going on.”
“It doesn’t have to be exactly like we would do on Earth,” Caroline said, her tone practical yet warm. Her four-year-old twins, CJ and RJ, were running around the garden like maniacs, arms out like zombies, chasing the other children as her mate, Warlord Rezzer watched, and laughed. “But we could do something special for the kids. Make it feel like a real Christmas.”
The idea sparked to life among us, our worries temporarily forgotten. There was a wave of excited murmurs as we began to discuss decorating the garden and the base for the holidays. “We could put up lights,” Kristin suggested. “Even if we have to rig something up ourselves.”
“And a tree,” Mikki added. “We’ll find a way to make a Christmas tree, even if we have to build it from scratch.”
“And don’t forget about Santa,” Caroline said with a chuckle, nodding toward the massive her massive Atlan mate who was standing a short distance away next to Braun, who also smiled at the children’s antics. “Maybe I could convince Rezz to dress up. He’s already got the build for it.”
