She huffed at us, in adorable female annoyance. “No more sex until you two tell me what the hell is going on.”
No more sex?
Vance appeared in the small cargo area and pulled Rowan into his arms with a growl. “I thought I lost you.”
“Never. You’re mine.” She glanced from Vance to me as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. Love flowed through our mating bond, love for me. Love for him.
Fuck.
Her next words confirmed what I already knew, losing Vance would break her heart. “You’re both mine.”
Had she felt the darkness in Vance that I did? He’d hidden it well, for a while. But I could no longer pretend everything was all right. We needed to tell Rowan the truth, be honest about the risks, even if it tore our new family apart.
13
Rowan
It was hard to believe,standing here in the relative safety of the base, that everything could change so quickly.
I told Marz I loved him. I’d been mated less than a week, and I was in love.
He’d opened up, bared his soul. Even now I felt the change in him, the openness of our connection through the mating collars. He wasn’t hiding anymore, wasn’t holding anything back.
He was really mine. He knew the truth about me, too. The media back home had turned me into some kind of hero, the whistleblower who fought back and championed the people. The reality was harder to live with. I was a coward. The paycheck was spectacular, and I had been afraid to rock the boat, afraid I wouldn’t be able to pay rent, buy groceries, pay my car payment and overpriced, scam of the world, insurance premiums. I was a slave to the system, too scared to fight back and risk the little bit of comfort I’d managed to find for myself after almost thirty years. I’d known what was going on for months before I spoke up, before I sent the toxin reports to the reporter, before they’dtold the world I was some kind of savior. Maybe my parents had been right about me all along and I wasn’t a good person. Maybe I didn’t deserve either one of my mates.
I glanced at Vance, studied the lines of strain around his dark eyes.
Maybe I didn’t deserve a second chance, a new life. Didn’t matter if I deserved them or not. I loved him, too. Add fucking selfish and desperate to my list of sins, because I couldn’t give them up. But I also felt the strain between them, Marz’s concern and Vance’s defiance. My second was still concealing something, keeping secrets.
One Prillon warrior down, one to go.
I was still trying to get out of my armor when Kristin appeared, jogging down the corridor toward us, her hair damp with sweat and face flushed from exertion. "You made it," she said, relief etched in every line of her face. “You were right, Rowan! You picked the perfect spot to take the readings. You were there during an actual earthquake. Holy shit. You three are all insane.”
“Did we get enough data? There are large formations under the surface. They’re not natural. At least one of them was moving.” I needed to analyze the data and seismic patterns. Finish what I started. This planet was my home now. This war was personal. “What now? Tell me where to go so I can help figure this out.”
“They’re still downloading all the sensor data. It’s not ready yet.” She pulled me into a tight hug. “You scared the shit out of me.” Hunt and Tyran, her two mates, flanked her. Their large forms radiated a protective energy that seemed even more intense in the flickering emergency lighting.
“It was… intense.” I didn’t know what else to say. Terrifying and wonderful wouldn’t make sense to anyone but me. I ditchedthe last piece of armor and slipped my hand into Marz’s. My entire body relaxed when his hand gently curled around mine.
"What happened here? Why are we on emergency power?" Marz’s deep voice remained steady, despite the overwhelming urge he had to get me away from any danger. These mating collars were no joke. I focused on feeling safe and calm. Loved. Protected. Happy. He glanced down at me then, his gaze lingering as if to reassure himself that I wasn’t a mirage, or a dream. That I was at his side. Safe.
"Storm hit us pretty hard. Power’s out," Kristin straightened her spine and answered in a much more formal tone. I realized she’d been asked a question by her commanding officer. "The repair crews are already working on it, but we’re on backup systems only. It’s holding, but it’s not ideal. That’s part of the reason it’s taking so long to download and analyze all the information you brought back. We shut down power in the living areas and gathered everyone in the garden." She hesitated, her eyes meeting mine, her expression softening. "The kids are scared. They’ve never been without power, and it’s got them spooked. We’re trying to take their minds off the storm. Make it festive, like we talked about. So…Merry Christmas, I guess." She managed a small, tired smile. I could hear a faint echo of music drifting down the corridor, a nostalgic melody that seemed out of place in my current reality.
I loved Christmas, but I wasn’t sure anything would be able to distract the kids from the storm. With everything we’d seen out there, the way the planet seemed to be unraveling beneath us, maybe we should be evacuating, not singing. And yet, as we followed Kristin and her mates down the darkened corridors and into the heart of the base, I felt a flicker of hope. Maybe a little celebration, no matter how small, was exactly what we all needed—not just a distraction—a chance to remind ourselves that we were still alive, still capable of finding joy even as theworld around us seemed to crumble. A reminder that wealldeserved a second chance.
I stumbled to a halt when the garden came into view. “Wow. When did you do all this?”
My shock made Kristin smile. “It’s amazing, right?”
“Yes.” The central garden had been transformed into a glittering wonderland. Strings of handmade garlands hung everywhere, crafted from strips of fabric, dried flowers, pine boughs and bits of shiny foil that reflected the dim lighting, creating a shimmering cascade that danced with the slightest movement of air. Someone had set up a gigantic tree in the center, adorned with garlands made of metallic scraps, pieces of colored glass, and tiny, glowing orbs that pulsed like starlight. The sight of it stirred a mix of emotions in me—nostalgia, a bittersweet longing for the holidays back on Earth, and an ache for the little girl I used to be. The girl who’d stopped believing in love.
For the woman who’d found it.
The scent of pine filled the room, mingled with the sweet, spicy aroma of warm cider simmering on a portable heat source nearby. I hadn’t smelled anything like that in months, and it took me back to simpler times—before I went to prison. Before I’d ever heard of The Colony. Before I’d stepped into this strange life with its red rock landscapes and violent storms. Yet the thought of leaving now, of being anywhere but here with my mates, felt wrong. Unthinkable.
In the center of the space, a cluster of women huddled around a table where a box of candles was being passed around. The flickering lights danced on their faces, casting golden glows that softened their features and made them seem almost ethereal. The warm waxy smell of the candles brought memories of home, of holidays spent in the glow of a fireplace, the air filledwith laughter and the comforting scent of cinnamon and my grandmother’s gingerbread cookies.
Those were happy days. I’d been so young, so naïve and carefree. That life had crashed and burned in a matter of months. My grandmother passing. My parents’ divorce. My first Christmas with no visit from Santa. From that day to this, I’d felt alone.
