Hunted. Grace Goodwin
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a Coalition mate would expect out of a bride. I might have a uterus, but it wasn’t open for any kind of business. Not a chance.
“I know,” I replied, running my hands down my uniform, smoothing wrinkles that didn’t exist. They hadn’t forced me to be tested, but I’d done so without any excitement. Who would I get? I was half-Human, half-Everian. I had never fit in on Earth growing up and I was the Earth-chick on Everis. I was, as usual, odd. I didn’t like to be out of sorts, out of control, and all I felt was ruffled, sweaty and mussed as if I’d just had sex. But I hadn’t. God, who was that couple I’d dreamed about? That had been a relationship. Intense. The connection had been incredible. But the way the female had submitted to her mate? Yeah, that didn’t work for me. I submitted to no one. I was a vice admiral in charge of the entire Coalition Academy. I didn’t need a male to boss me around.
I could certainly use his cock, though. That could definitely boss me around, especially the way the guy in the dream had given it to her. God, yes. But a cock without a male was just a dildo, and I had plenty of those.
“You’re not required to make babies,” Kira reminded, as if she’d been able to read my mind. Or she’d listened to my constant grumbling about why I shouldn’t be a bride ever since she and Rachel suggested it.
“You both did,” I countered, looking between the women. I didn’t have tons of friends because at the Academy, I had to remain separate from the students and most of the staff. I was in charge and I couldn’t just pal around.
These two women had taken me under their wing during my visit, even when I hadn’t been too thrilled about it. They knew I was prickly and often times annoying by my ability to solely see things in black and white—not literally but figuratively. But they were from Earth and it had been great to talk Earth things. Hair dryers. Real ice cream made with dairy from a cow, an animal that existed only on Earth. I hadn’t felt quite so… different.
Somehow, they’d cornered me about remaining single all this time. I was six Coalition deployments past the time to be tested and mated. I was an old maid and I’d been fine with that.
“We’re not you,” Kira replied. “We wanted to make babies.”
Duh.
“Dr. Surnen, tell the vice admiral how she’s not required to birth lots of alien babies for her mate,” Kira said.
The doctor, who moved to sit in a wheeled chair, glanced my way. “The vice admiral doesn’t need this repeated,” he said. “I won’t insult her intelligence.”
Smart Prillon.
I smiled and nodded at the male.
“Fine,” Kira grumbled. “Then I will. You’re smart, but you’ve got your head up your ass about this. The testing matches you to your perfect mate. That means if you don’t want a baby, then the testing knows that. It won’t match you to a guy who wants twelve kids. It’s your perfect match.”
I glanced at the doctor, who nodded.
“Well, it’s not like a match happens right away,” I said, heading for the door to the testing room that was part of the medical unit. “I’ll go back to the Academy and I can wait. I’ve heard from some of the warriors here that they’ve been waiting for years.”
The doctor cleared his throat and we all looked his way. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Vice Admiral, but you’ve been matched.”
My mouth fell open. My heart dropped into my stomach. “What?”
Kristen and Rachel both giggled and clapped their hands like cheerleaders at a pep rally. Why did I like them?
“You’ve been matched.”
“I heard you the first time,” I grumbled at the doctor. “What does that mean?”
“It means you’ve been matched to Everis and to an Elite Hunter.”
“Of course, you’re matched to Everis,” Kristen said. “Makes sense since you’re half Everian and you’ve got a mark.”
I flipped my hand over and stared at the mark on my palm. Growing up on Earth, I’d thought it was just a birthmark. But when I’d gone to Everis, I’d known it was so much more. To others. To me, it didn’t mean anything. I wasn’t holding out hope for a marked mate, obviously, since I’d just been tested. And matched. “I didn’t even know I was half-Everian until those Hunters found me on Earth when I was fourteen. To me, having my mark awaken would be like magic, and I don’t believe in that. No, I’m not a romantic holding out for that kind of stuff. I’m… realistic.”
Rachel cocked her head to the side and gave me a soft look. “Realistic? I’ll say. I’ve seen you in the Pit.”
I’d gone with them to watch the fighting matches, but had volunteered to participate. It wasn’t often they had Hunters fight. And a female.
“Please, I can only imagine what people in high school said. Varsity track, right?”
I hadn’t been lying when I said I hadn’t known I wasn’t all human. I’d just thought I was odd. So did everyone else where I’d grown up in Minnesota, especially after my mother died and I’d ended up in foster care. The orphan who did normally impossible things. When I was little, I could hear conversations I wasn’t supposed to, and that had gotten me in lots of trouble. I thought back to that not-so-fun time of my life when I was older, after I’d learned to hear but keep quiet, when I’d been ridiculously fast, crazy ruthless and never knew why.
All of a sudden, I felt everything I had back then. Alienation, insecurity, anger. I’d been the rebel, like the goth chick who wore tons of black eyeliner just to piss people off. I hadn’t worn any eyeliner, but I’d known how she felt. I’d been the star athlete at a huge school, because I’d broken all state track and field and cross-country records, making me a hero at school. I could have won nationals, easily, but I held myself back because I’d been barely winded. My heart rate had hardly gone up, even after a five-mile run. I hadn’t wanted the glory. I didn’t want track scholarships to college, where I would have to try to figure out just how much I could show of my abilities without drawing too much attention. I didn’t care about Ivy League schools or the Olympics. I missed my mom. I don’t remember much of her, her smile, her scent, her voice, but I missed the feel of her. God, her hugs. I was alone in the world, and the only one who accepted me was dead.
I didn’t want attention. I wanted answers. I’d wanted to know why I was a freak.
I knew now. I had Everian blood in me. I had no idea how my mother had gotten it on with an Everian in Minnesota, but she had. Had my sperm donor gone back to Everis after a quick fuck on Earth? Had he been killed? I’d never know. Hell, if those Everians hadn’t been on Earth to hunt and read about my championship running win, I’d probably still be on Earth. It wasn’t as if they’d given me a choice to remain once they saw my mark, saw me run like the wind. I’d been forced to return with them to Everis, to be Everian. Which, while in my DNA, wasn’t easy. Talk about culture shock.
“There’s no way I’m going to Everis now to live happily ever after with my mate,” I told them, and glanced at the doctor to make sure he knew I was serious. “My duty is to the Academy. I have no plans to retire.”
“You don’t have to, but you do have to go to him,” he said. “You two can work out the details after…”
I arched a brow and crossed my arms over my chest. “I have to go to him? I’m headed back to the Academy tomorrow. He can transport and meet me there.”
“It’s tradition. I’m sorry. The bride who is tested is always transported to the male. You would dishonor him if you refused.”
I frowned. “I’m not going to get into the reasons why that tradition should be changed.”
“Do you wish to reject your match? Dishonor him?”
Damn