“It’s settled. I’m staying.”
My sholani cups my cheeks and stares into my face with eyes so blue she could be zyanthan. But she’s not. She’s human. These humans have a fierceness—and stubbornness—to them I don’t often see. Before she speaks, I know she’s going to tell me to leave.
“Nikkov, I can’t have you here now that you know who I am.”
“I will not reveal your identity.”
“I just can’t have you here.” Her lips seize mine one last time. The passion remains, but the kiss ends too soon. “You need to go. Now. I promise, I will be fine.”
My horns rise on their own, as they often do when someone lies to me. It’s an instinct I trust more than words. She claims to be an Earth Intelligence agent and not part of the Brotherhood. I want to believe her, believe that my sholani is not part of a network of traitors. But the pieces don’t fit. If she truly is part of Earth Intelligence, why refuse my help? Why push me away when we share the same enemy?
The answer hits me hard and cold. The reason Earth Intelligence never informed Galactic Intelligence of this operation is because it doesn’t exist. Her claims of being from Earth Intelligence are the lie, one she spun to keep me from arresting her and her contacts.
My stomach sours. Not only is my sholani my enemy, but she feels no bond, no connection to me. For if she did, she would not use me. Would not lie to me.
I have no sholani, only the ghost of one…
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NIKKOV
“You are my sholani.” It’s all I can think to say, the only truth I know in this moment, even if she doesn’t understand what that means. As a human, she cannot. They form and disband relationships, many over a lifetime, similar to how zyanthans take pleasure mates. But once we find our heartmate, there is no other for us. Ever.
Noelle takes three steps back, draws a gun from her purse, and points it at me. “I’m sorry, Nikkov. I had hoped to drive you away earlier, so it didn’t come to this. Falling into bed with you was a mistake. I should have forced you out of here when I had the chance, but fuck, you’ve become a weakness to me, and I don’t even understand why.”
“Noelle?” a male voice pierces the air.
Her face fills with regret, but she’s not lowering her gun. “In the office, J.T.” she calls over her shoulder.
A male my size enters, tapping a blaster against his side, while a shorter male positions himself behind me. “My enforcerwas right,” says the taller male. “You have a zyanthan warrior here. Why didn’t you let Zach take care of the alien for you?”
“You mean that bald thug you sent in here to get a pulse rod? He didn’t strike me as the brightest. Killing a Galactic Intelligence agent is a bit more complicated than picking up a blaster part. I didn’t trust him to take care of the job properly.”
“Dead is dead.”
“Dead is a whole lot of trouble unless it looks like an accident.”
“Kill the blue scum now. By the time Galactic Intelligence realizes he hasn’t checked in with them, we’ll all be gone.”
Noelle arches a brow. “You’ll be gone, but this is my town. I’m not leaving. But now that you’ve exposed all of us to the alien, I don’t have a choice but to take care of him myself.”
“Want my blaster? No way to trace it back to you.”
“Using a blaster, any blaster, will call attention to the existence of the Brotherhood in the area. A knife is better.” With no hesitation, Noelle, my sweet sholani, slides a three-inch blade from a hidden seam in her pants, one I never noticed. “We can dump the body in Bloomfield, make it look like he confronted a gang.”
I’ve let my excitement over having found my sholani override my training as a warrior. Disbelief and horror fill every part of my being. Even if she weren’t my sholani, I thought I understood the type of person Noelle is. Caring, hopeful… my future.
I was wrong.
“You should have listened to me when I said to leave,” Noelle says to me. “Then again, your people are nothing but controlling animals who deserve what they get.”
My heart races as I’m left with no choice but to reach for my blaster.
The male behind me strikes the back of my head, dazing me, then pins my arms. All that remains are my horns, which pitch forward at my approaching sholani.
I cannot harm her. With all my focus, I force my horns away from her and toward my captor. I’d rather impale him than risk harming Noelle.
“It’s a shame. You really did make a fun Santa for the kids.”
