How long have the Ulep been watching the Sarkarnii? It seems like they know too much.
“This is good for you, isn’t it?” the voice says in my ear. “Now all you need is your mate and something to eat. That’s all Sarkarnii require for a comfortable life.”
A slot opens in the wall, meat dropping onto the floor. I stare at it for a while, my entire body throbbing as the collar continues to spear me.
“Hello, Deus.” A voice I’d long forgotten has me lifting my eyes from the food on the floor.
“Lydia?” I blink.
“Oh, it is the human you want,” the Ulep says. “Then you shall have her.”
Lydia stands in front of me.
“No,” I growl. “You do not get to have her.”
“You will produce the mix or she will die,” the Ulep says. “If that’s what you want.”
I stand, fall back against the platform, and then try again, wanting to take Lydia into my arms. Only she is not there. There is nothing there. Nothing but emptiness.
Without Lydia, I am nothing. A bag of flesh and bone.
And mating mix.
I close my eyes. If the Ulep have her, then I have no option.
Get to her or die trying.
Dying doesn’t look too bad today.
LYDIA
“You’ll have to banish me,” I respond to Dalox, who is leaning over me as I glare up at him. “Because I don’t know where he went.”
“He is your mate,” Dalox growls.
I swallow back my retort. Deus doesn’t know who his mate is, and it may well not be me. If I say it out loud, it might just be true. The last thing I want.
My emotions churn. I feel like I’m on a spin cycle ready to be wrung out and put out to dry. My skin feels tight, my stomach like I want to throw up, and my head like it wants to explode.
“He was doing as you asked.” I say, eventually. “He had no reason to leave.”
“And yet you are here,” Driok says.
Maggie gives me one of her looks.
“We needed some time apart,” I say. “I needed some time away from him. I’ve…not mated before…and it’s all very new to me.”
Both warlords narrow their eyes.
“I’ve told you about Lydia before,” Maggie interjects. “You know what I’ve said.” She transfers herlookfrom me to Driok, who visibly wilts.
“What have you told him about me?” I ask, suddenly angry.
“I have told him you are a delicate little flower who needs gentle handling,” Maggie growls. “Which istrue, isn’t it, Lydia?”
She glares at me, her back to Dalox.
“Er, yes?” I reply. “I mean, yes. I’m not an easy female to be with. I was badly treated when I was taken from Earth.”
