Havoc joined in too. “Not ugly, my brother. Terrifying.”
Vengeance grinned. “That’s better.” Then he spun on his heel and sprinted toward the ship.
Risk called out, “What happened to slow?”
He knew the answer to that question. Vengeance happened. “You know what he’s like. If we don’t hurry, he’ll try to claim every female he finds.” Havoc left therest unsaid. Their clan-brother would try to claim a female and likely terrify anyone at the downed ship in the process.
Risk pulled out a bolo from his pack as he raced after Vengeance. Havoc gripped his short spear in one hand and held a knife in the other. Vengeance had already drawn his largest blade and now ran with it extended in front of him.
Very subtle.
They were still some distance away when the evening breeze shifted and the tantalizing scent of food hit his nostrils. It was well-cooked, which made it less appealing, but his stomach rumbled anyway.
The aroma was too complex to be from a single meal, which meant several beings were in the area. Mercenaries wouldn’t bother making a camp of any kind. Havoc’s mind whirled as he considered the variables and came to a surprising conclusion. This was most likely another group of survivors from the ship that crashed.
He sighed, though he wasn’t sure if it was out of relief or resignation. Whatever happened next would change everything.
All of this passed through his mind as the three of them spread out. Vengeance took the lead, of course, with Havoc covering Vengeance’s flank. Risk moved to cover their rear.
Havoc waited patiently while Risk got into position. Unsurprisingly, Vengeance couldn’t wait that long andstormed into the camp before their brother was ready. One day, Vengeance’s foolhardy levels of courage would get him killed. If the females didn’t react well to his unexpected appearance, it might be today.
Vengeance was drawn up short by a blaster bolt slamming into the dirt by his feet.
“That’s far enough,” a female voice stated in a steady, firm tone.
Havoc smiled and chuckled softly. Maybe not all the females were as soft and gentle as Hope appeared to be.
Havoc let go of his blades and lifted his hands away from his body. When nothing was said, he moved closer to the center of the camp so he could get a better understanding of the situation.
The shuttle’s main passenger door was open, and two females filled the opening. One had short hair the color of clouds and stood with most of her body tucked out of sight behind the bulkhead. She was the one who had fired at Vengeance. The other female lay on the deck at the gray-haired female’s feet. She held a blaster in steady hands, the weapon pointed at Risk. Her expression was of grim determination. Strangely, the dark-haired female wore a silver band on her brow. It seemed oddly formal to wear such a decoration given the current circumstances. Did it have some kind of cultural significance? He didn’t know, and for now, the puzzle was irrelevant. Something else was at play here.
The two females were guarding the shuttle’s door. It wasn’t the worst position they could have chosen, but itwas not the best one either. Were they defending the shuttle or something else?
He sniffed the air while Vengeance drew the female’s attention. The big male stood his ground, his blade still in his hand, grinning as he bantered with the silver-haired female.
The fucking idiot was determined to end this day either mated or dead.
He might have continued to silently curse his clan-brother, but his attention was drawn to a new smell. Mingled with the campfire smoke, the food, and the distinct scents of the two visible females was the answer to his question.
The two in the doorway weren’t protecting the shuttle. They were guarding the third female hidden inside.
Three females. He drew in another breath to confirm it. No one else was around.
One for each of us.The thought intruded without warning, and he shoved it aside before it could take hold. Hope had warned them not to make assumptions. The females were free to make their own choices… and so was he.
He thought about the identical marks both Menace and Hope now wore and questioned his thinking. Something else was at play here. Biology maybe? And if that was so, how much of what his brothers had experienced was a deliberate choice, and how much was a random act of chemistry?
CHAPTER 5
Maddison’snew life wasn’t going at all the way she’d envisioned. Her business was in literal ruins, and she was stranded on an unexplored world full of hostile wildlife. If that wasn’t bad enough, their evening meal had been interrupted when a group approached their camp.
The three of them were inside the shuttle now, with Loris and Joy both armed and ready to defend themselves. Maddison was crouched in a corner of the cockpit. Her aversion to violence meant she was useless in this situation. Loris understood her reasons, but she’d still seen the flash of frustration and worry in her friend’s eyes when she’d told Maddison to hide until the crisis was over.
She hated this. Nothing about their current situation felt right. What if the strangers were here to help? Why was aggression the default reaction? Even Joy hadpicked up a blaster without hesitation. Joy, the passenger liaison officer who never stopped smiling and always had a kind word for everyone. It didn’t make sense.
Her thoughts whipped around inside her skull like a tornado, shredding logic and twisting her emotions. She might have lingered in that mental limbo, but the sizzle of a blaster firing caught her attention and snapped her back to awareness.
The maelstrom fell away, leaving her clear-headed and shaking.
