Chapter 18

Rohn:

He never told his mate that he loved her. The thought consumed him. She said it frequently, whispered tenderly when their bodies were intertwined, or when they shared a meal. She said it with a smile when she stretched her lovely, strong legs across his lap and nudged his tablet with her foot, disturbing his reading. She gave her affection so freely and not once had he told her the depths of his regard.

He had loved her in some form since they first met all those years ago, as a vulnerable who needed protection, as a friend, and finally as his mate with a fierce competitive streak.

He had to find her, had to reach her in time and tell her all the things in his heart.

Rohn had never abused his position before but as he commandeered a ship, literally pulling the pilot from the cockpit, he did not consider his actions abuse so much as a perk of the job. He identified the shuttle Levin used and had an idea of where it landed on the moon below. He’d get a specific location once he entered the atmosphere.

This was his fault. If he had attended the medical appointment with Nakia, if he had not judged his work more important than his mate, she would be safe. He made a choice and chose his duty over his mate. He regretted that choice and would give his other horn to rectify it.

In short order, he traced the shuttle’s path. Levin landed not far from the main settlement, near where the bulk of the Judgment’s forces were at the fringes of the settlement. He could not get a closer location.

He tore back off the safety harness and breathing mask the moment the ship touched the ground. Once his boots landed on the moon, he realized the amount of area he would need to search. Vel Mori may have been considered a small moon, but it was too much for one male. If the wind favored him, he would be able to track Nakia’s scent and the jasmine soap she used, but Rohn knew he was not a lucky male. Misfortune ruled him.

Grasping for anything, Rohn breathed in the air, trying to find anything beyond the smoke and the raw dirt smell of the moon.

Familiar voices drifted over. “Antomas has made his challenge. He is waiting for you.”

“Then he can find me. We must secure the colony before I indulge his ego,” Paax said.

The warlord and Mylomon rounded a corner. Paax carried twin blades with him, the same blades he used to end the last warlord.

“Are you coming to witness the challenge?” Mylomon asked.

“I do not care,” Rohn said. He did not intend to utter those words be he did not regret them or their truth.

He had always supported the clan with all his entire being. This clan had taken him in when he had to leave Earth. He had given it years of his life, but he could not give it one more second of time.

“My mate is missing. Levin took her,” he said.

The warlord cocked his head to one side. “And she is here?”

“I followed Levin’s trail. She is here.” Somewhere. If Rohn did not leave the moon with Nakia in his arms, he would not leave it.

“Do what you must,” Paax said. “Take as many males as you need.”

Rohn nodded. He knew exactly who would help him.

Locating Jaxar took no time. He explained the situation and they were off. Jaxar had a team of males searching the outlying buildings. Rohn headed toward the mines. The minutes crawled by, his heart in his throat; all the while, the hour vanished far too quickly. He shouted. He cried in rage. He listened patiently like a hunter. He searched for any clue as to Nakia’s whereabouts. The sun dipped low in the sky. Finally, a trace of jasmine drifted on the breeze.

His communication unit lit up with a received message.

A photo of Nakia, hands bound, and her mouth taped closed, filled the screen, followed by coordinates. Levin had also sent the same message to the Suhlik. The location was close but not close enough for Rohn to reach before the Suhlik arrived.

Rohn howled with frustration, running with all his might. Levin toyed with him, thought to break his spirit, but the medic had no idea what lengths a desperate man would sink to. If the medic expected Rohn to be honorable, to call him out in a fair challenge, to look him in the eye before he sank his blade into him, then he was wrong. So wrong.

Rohn had tried to settle the debt between them honorably. He submitted to ritual combat, only to have the medic cheat and poison his blades. Rohn learned his lesson and would not give the male any quarter. At the first opportunity, he would slice the male’s throat and let him bleed out on the dusty moon. Then, when Levin was on the ground, Rohn would stomp on his horns, shatter them, and take his eye.

Gruesome thoughts spurred him on and helped him ignore the burning in his lungs and thighs.

Nakia:

Nakia honestly expected Levin to have more of a plan. He tied her up like a Christmas goose and sent a message to the Suhlik, basically writing, “Good eats! Come and get it.” Now they waited—and waiting while wrestling with mind-numbing panic was incredibly boring. Sure, she cataloged all the ways she was going to die, but after that, what was there?

Gun to the head. Dead. Knife to the gut. Dead. Gassed. Strangled. Drowned. Sliced open for dissection like a frog in high school. Dead. Dead. Dead. In the end, it didn’t matter. She couldn’t do anything to avoid it. The most she could do was speed things along.

Now, imagining the way Levin was going to die? Super satisfying. If she had a choice, she’d ask Rohn to slice off his fingers and stuff them down his throat. She was genuinely interested in discovering if Levin would bleed out first or choke on his own fingers.

She wasn’t even surprised by her own bloodlust, because lawyer, duh. She had always gotten a bit giddy at finding a loophole in a contract or really screwing the other party in negotiations. She just hoped she lived long enough to see Levin get his just desserts.

Gah, did she really think that? Just desserts. How melodramatic. Still, when the Suhlik arrived, they’d eliminate him and maybe take her. Or kill her. It was a real toss-up with those guys. She hoped they killed her quickly. She had survived a lot of shit, so she felt the universe owed her at least a quick death.

“Do not stare at me. Terran eyes are weird,” Levin said. He waved the gun at her.

Nakia continued to stare, wanting to transmit every bad thing she imagined happening to him.

He turned his back to her, focusing on the lantern on the ground. No, not a lantern. A beacon. It glowed with a soft amber light, casting a long shadow behind Levin. His shoulders slumped and briefly Nakia saw a man in pain, rather than a maniac. Pain warped people. Some bent but bounced back. Others were forever misshapen, desperate to spread their anguish, as if that could ease their burden. Nakia wondered if that might have been her. If Rohn hadn’t held her hand when she was scared. If her parents hadn’t given her their total devotion and encouragement.

In the distance, something exploded. The boom of detonation echoed through the air but the ground did not shake. For a moment, Nakia was transported back to the Invasion, back to be being a helpless kid trapped under a building, listening to the world end.

Her breath caught in her throat and she hated this. Well, the kidnapping and looming death—obviously—but the situation in general. It wore on her, living on the battlecruiser, always ready for conflict, with Rohn working all hours to keep the fleet of ships prepared to deploy, and the endless worry if Rohn would ever leave the ship on a mission, like Carrie worrying over her husband. At first she didn’t even notice, but all the Mahdfel were prepared to fight. They were made to fight.

She refused to live that way, never knowing if the day would be peaceful or violent. If she survived this—she would—she wanted to visit Rohn’s ocean-front house, the one he was too busy to spend any time at. It would be selfish of her, she knew, to insist that Rohn put her first, before his duty to his clan, but she was very likely going to die. If she didn’t, she’d be a total diva with her requests. She was pregnant and needed to be spoiled at least as much as he spoiled the dang cat.

Determination settled over her like a mantle. She couldn’t give up. Too many people needed her. The baby needed her. Rohn and even the cat needed her. Her parents. She refused to allow herself to be murdered by some maniac murderer on a dusty moon. Not today. Not ever.

Nakia twisted her wrists, trying to work the cords loose. Every time Levin turned his back, she pulled and twisted. No joy yet, if she didn’t mind dislocating a thumb. Actually, at this point, she’d take it. The paralytic had worn off and she felt confident in her ability to run. Not as fast as Levin. She’d need a distraction or injure him.

She scanned the area for potential weapons. A rock? Maybe if she hit him in a sensitive spot, like the base of his horns.

Levin jumped up and growled.

Nakia lunged for the rock, expecting to be struck again. She fell gracelessly to the ground, her knees taking the brunt of the impact, but she had the rock. Too small, it would have to do. She struggled to her feet, expecting to be pushed down. When nothing happened, she turned around, clutching her rock awkwardly.

Rohn grappled with Levin. He knocked the male down, his moves efficient and brutal. He struck out at the eyes, the nose, the horn, and the knees. From where she watched, Nakia had a sense that he was fighting dirty and she loved it.

The amber light flickered. The beacon. She smashed the rock down on the interface, cracking the screen. Hopefully that terminated the signal.

Using a shard of the broken display, she sawed at the cord binding her hands. The jagged edges cut her fingers, making the shard slippery as she bled.

“I will end you,” Rohn said. He did not shout. He spoke calmly, in the gravest voice, which made it more terrifying.

This was taking too long. She’d never get her hands free. Frustrated, she picked up the beacon. It had a decent heft, much better than the rock, and brought it down on the back of Levin’s head.

The medic staggered, the gun he held discharged. Rohn clutched his side but wasted no time, he drew his blade and made one clean motion across the male’s throat. Blood sprayed Rohn as he stood impassively while the man clutched at the gash. Levin fell to his knees, then he fell over, the light gone from his eyes.

Rohn took her in his arms. She didn’t even mind the body or the pool of blood spreading at their feet. Her shoes were ruined, but she’d only just broken them in to the point of being comfy. She wanted to laugh because who focused on ruined shoes at a time like this?

“Are you well?”

Was she well? He was shot. “I’m pregnant,” she blurted out.

He pulled back, hands still on her arms. “Truly?”

“Yes.” She touched her stomach, hoping the baby was well. “He dosed with me something; I’m guessing the same paralytic Kalen used on you. I don’t know what that will do to the baby.” Please be okay. Please be okay.

“We will find a medic.”

She flinched.

“A trusted medic.”

She had spent so much of life in hospitals and doctor offices. Not once had she doubted her doctor would ignore their oath to do no harm for a personal vendetta. “Only if you’re with me. You need a doctor, too. You were shot.”

He pulled her in tight. “I will always be with you. I have chosen you over the clan and it is a choice I will gladly make for the rest of my days. We are Team Rokia.”

Her heart thumped. “Damn right we are. But you were shot. You’re bleeding. Shouldn’t we get to a medic now?”

“Soon. After I tell the warlord of my intention to retire, there will be some things I need to arrange for my successor, but it should not be more than a month. Two at the most, or I start shoving males out the airlock.”

She should laugh at the dark joke, but she was standing in a literal pool of blood, so it seemed appropriate. “Wait, retire?”

“Yes. I will not miss another day, another hour, with you or our son.” His voiced warmed her and she wanted to believe him.

“But this is your purpose,” she said. He used those exact words. His purpose.

“You’ve given me a new purpose.” He placed a hand on her stomach.

Nakia’s heart fluttered, happy and scared and she didn’t know what else. “Don’t. If you’re doing it just for the baby, don’t.” After the novelty of fatherhood wore off, when it was dirty diapers and sleepless nights—what if their son cried all the time like Valle? —he’d grow to resent her.

“I had actually decided to retire some time ago,” he said, raising a hand to run it over his broken horn.

Now recognizing it as a sign not of thinking, as she first assumed, but of self-chastisement, she grabbed his hand and held it to her chest. “Tell me.”

“It was something the warlord said, about not getting the time he wanted or his mate and sons. He missed their first steps, did you know? And his sorrow was so obvious I thought, why doesn’t he retire?” Rohn shook his head. “It was like hitting myself in the face with a crowbar.” That painted a picture. “So this is me, taking my own advice, because I don’t want to miss a moment.”

“Are you sure?” Nakia searched his tawny eyes for any hint of doubt.

“I’ve given everything I have to my clan for a long time now. I think it’s time I took something for myself, like a greedy male.”

“I like the sound of that.”