She was beginning to believe. I saw it in the way her breath steadied, the way her body softened the tiniest fraction against me. As though she began to understand that I wouldn’t let her go, that she was not about to be cast out or forsaken.
Foolish female. She had no idea of the storm that raged within me. To mark her. Fuck her. Claim her. Keep her forever.
I carried our mate out the door, down the corridor toward my private quarters. Vance immediately fell into step at my side, no doubt just as eager to taste our female as I.
5
Lieutenant Vance
I should not needto wrestle with the urge to attack Marz and steal Rowan from his arms.
Yet, I did.
Every step he took, I marched beside him. He’d asked me to be his second and I’d agreed. Rowan was mine now, as much as she was his. That truth was the only thing that held me in check.
Fuck. I had no business making a vow to Marz with the Hive demons I battled constantly seething in my head. Since the storms began, their voices had grown louder, more insistent. For years I’d held them at bay, limited to an annoyance, nothing more. Why now? Why did Marz offer me a miracle when I was on the brink of defeat, of losing myself inside the chaos of the Hive mind?
The moment I saw her standing there, vulnerable, feminine, so fucking beautiful, something inside me shifted. I’d agreed to be Marz’s second because he was a worthy male. Honorable. I respected him and considered him a friend. I could not refusewithout explanation. I could not explain without losing my one and only chance to claim a mate.
After Perro’s death, I had offered to be Marz’s second. To have the chance to fill that role and claim a mate was an honor I never envisioned. I was not fool enough to deny myself a mate. I’d gone to the transport room believing that meeting our mate would be little more than a formality. That my presence and purpose would be to calm his nerves and offer our female my protection. If I lost the battle with the Hive, Marz would choose another, and the mating dance would continue, as it had for centuries.
But then she appeared in that swirl of light, and a force stronger than any blast I’d felt on the battlefield slammed into me. Fuck. The moment I saw her, Iwanted.
Rowan.Her name echoed in my mind, weaving itself into the incessant buzz of the Hive, growing louder with every passing second. The hum grew insistent, its chaotic rhythm clawing at my thoughts. I couldn’t help but wonder if my desire for her would finally tip me over the edge.
She wasn’t what I’d expected. None of the women who came to the Colony were weak or timid. But her beauty shocked me. As with the other brides, completely out of place on this barren world. The way she gripped the blanket, as if it were the only thing holding her together, made me ache to give her assurances I should not speak. The Hive whispered in the cracks inside my mind, filled the empty spaces, their voices growing sharper, clearer. Their constant threat a reminder that they would attempt to twist my thoughts, seize control of my body, and turn me into a weapon to be used against the very people I tried to protect. Against Rowan. Against Marz.
NO!
The thought froze the blood in my veins. I stepped closer and my shoulder brushed Marz’s. A bitter taste crept up the back ofmy throat. I wanted to reach out and wrap her in my arms, to shield her from everything I could no longer trust about myself. But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t allow her to see the struggle in my eyes, could not allow Marz to see it either. Not when I’d hidden it for months, battling the Hive in silence as it chipped away at my sanity. I had to keep the mask in place, had to stay steady, if only for one more day.
She was here. Our mate. A gods damned miracle. I would fight the pull of the Hive mind. Die before I admitted defeat. For her.
“Rowan,” I said, keeping my voice as calm and steady as I could manage, though my pulse quickened as I spoke her name. “You’re safe here. I know it’s overwhelming, but you don’t have to be afraid.” I tried to catch her gaze, to hold her attention, but her eyes kept darting back to Marz. It shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did. It twisted at something deep inside, as though even now, with the Hive’s grip tightening around my thoughts, I couldn’t bear the idea of being overlooked. As if I feared that the moment she favored Marz, ignored me, I would lose the last bit of myself that still belonged to me. If she deemed me unworthy, rejected me, I would end this charade. Eliminate the biggest threat to her that existed on this fucking planet.
Me.
“I don’t know what I am, but I’m not afraid of you.” Her quiet admission soothed the monster clawing at my mind, and I wondered if sinking my cock into her warm, welcoming body would heal me even more. Did I dare accept the psychic link of the mating collar? She would feel my emotions, as would Marz. They would know something wasn’t right.
I watched the way Marz held her, possessive, as if already staking his claim. He was a good male, a friend, someone who deserved happiness after everything he’d been through. But seeing him with Rowan, I couldn’t stop the surge of jealousytightening in my chest. It twisted like a blade in my gut. For a second, I hated him for matching with her, for having what I suddenly realized I wanted. Needed. But then the shame surged in, darker and colder, because I knew that if he ever learned the truth, if he knew how close I was to losing control, he’d never trust me near her. He’d have every reason to keep me away.
I could take care of her. Hell, I could give her more than Marz could. He still battled the memories of his time as a captive, the nanobots that ran through his veins, making him more machine than man. He had nightmares. Had confessed to me that when his former second, Perro, betrayed him, Marz believed he should have died with his friend, had failed everyone by not seeing the signs of Perro’s corrupted mind.
Here I was, forcing him to unknowingly make the same mistake again.
But I—I would give her everything she needed. I would keep her safe. If I could just maintain control… if I could just silence the Hive.
Marz carried her into his personal quarters, and I followed them inside. He paused, as if unsure how to proceed.
I knew what he wanted, for I needed the same. To touch her. Taste her. Claim her. Now.
She glanced my way, just for a heartbeat, and I allowed desire to show in my eyes. Maybe she saw the need clawing at me. Maybe she did not. But I knew right then that I would never give up so easily. I’d find a way to perform my role as her second, make her mine. One way or another.
I stepped toward Rowan, my boots echoing softly against the hard floor. There were no warm rugs here. No warmth. These were a warrior’s quarters, not a female’s. We would need to move to a larger space, now that we were mated. I would gladly abandon my lonely room on the unmated males’ side of the base and sleep next to her every night.
I fixed my gaze on her face, on the way her breath came in quick, shallow pulls. She still clutched the blanket around herself, her knuckles whitening from the effort. Her eyes darted back and forth between Marz and me, as if struggling to understand how she’d crossed from her world to this one, where two males—strangers—stared at her like she was the most precious thing they’d ever seen. And all the while, the Hive buzzed and hummed at the edges of my consciousness, whispering dark promises, taunting me with how easily I could fail. How easily I could betray them both.
Without thinking, I took another step forward and dropped to one knee in front of her. The floor’s coldness seeped through my uniform, but I didn’t care. I reached out, hesitated, then gently placed my hand over hers, where she held the blanket closed. Her skin was cold, but the contact jolted through me like a live current. I looked up into her wide blue eyes, struggled to breathe, to speak past the tightness in my throat.
