Viken Command. Grace Goodwin
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which was exactly why I’d chosen them to help me care for her.
“Commander or Doctor, Captain Alarr,” Helion said, cutting me off.
He was all business, and that usually worked well when we were on a mission, especially like the one the three of us were on now, on our home world of Viken. We’d arrived months ago and were embedded so deeply undercover that it took the arrival of my Interstellar Bride to help us remember that we were supposed to be the good guys.
“Viken may be in another solar system, but you are still under my command,” Doctor Helion continued. “As are your companions, Oran and Teig.”
He assumed they were listening. Of course, he did. And he wasn’t wrong. He rarely was.
“You all belong to me. Sworn in and signed. A bride’s arrival is… untimely, but you have a mission to complete. I don’t care if the goddess herself shows up on Viken, you will do your jobs and report back to me when it’s done.”
Gritting my teeth, I remained seated, staring down the Prillon warrior on the other side of the comm screen. I only had a few minutes to state my case, to make him understand. Word had arrived that I’d been matched through the testing program less than an hour ago. I’d had to track down Oran and Teig and get to our quarters to make this secret comms call.
Maintaining the comm connection for much longer would risk revealing ourselves to the enemy, risk them potentially tracking this communication back to Intelligence Core Command, and learning we weren’t just part of the resort’s security force. And then we’d all be dead. Me. Oran. Teig.
And my mate.
Our mate. It would be impossible for me to carry out my role in our mission and protect the female alone, so I’d asked them to join me in the new Viken custom of a male from each Viken sector sharing a female, as done by the three kings.
I was from Sector One. Oran, Sector Two. Teig, Sector Three.
Neither Oran nor Teig had protested. In fact, they’d agreed instantly, as eager to get a hot, willing female to claim for their own as I. If either one of them had received word they’d been matched through the Bride Testing program instead of me, the roles would have been the same. We were all now mated, just awaiting our female’s arrival.
“She’s an innocent, Doctor.” Commander simply refused to roll off my tongue in my current state of mind. “A volunteer from the Interstellar Brides Program on Earth. She’s mine. Truly mine. A Prillon like yourself should understand, I cannot allow her to be here, in danger, while we complete this mission.”
“You must,” he countered, not caring about my arguments. At this moment, he might be Prillon, but he was speaking as a commander. “We have been tracking the illegal shipments of Coalition weapons for months, and we know their transfer is happening on Viken at the Trixon resort. If you blow your cover now, all that work will be lost, and thousands more will die. Do you know how hard it was to find three I.C. operatives from Viken, and from each of the three sectors to ensure you could infiltrate all social groups among the employees and staff? It was damn near impossible. I am not going to start over, and you three are not going to fuck this up over a female.” He sliced his hand through the air. “There are no others. Just you and Oran and Teig. We cannot send an Atlan to replace you and pass him off as a Viken from Sector One. Do not become idiots because your cocks are hard and eager for your bride.”
He had a point. I glanced at Teig and Oran. We were perfect for this job because we were Viken. We were from the three sectors we were representing in our undercover work. We were qualified to be on the security detail for the high-end pleasure resort known worldwide as the most exclusive, expensive, and pleasurable destination. Viken mates from all over the planet came to Trixon for vacation. A hedonistic trip where every sexual need and fantasy were met, regardless of sector residence. There were instructors to assist in the sensual arts, whether it was Sector One’s need for public sex, or the deep trust and bond found in anal play, Sector Two’s desire for submission and bondage, and Sector Three’s talent for oral pleasure. Anything mates desired, whether it was a single male and female or the newer custom of three males, one from each sector, with one female, no need was unmet.
And as part of the elite security detail, we ensured the guests’ visits were carefree and memorable. And safe. Above all, safe.
Now we faced the possibility that we would endanger our own mate. I closed my eyes, unwilling to accept the truth just yet. Helion was right. Fuck him, but he was right. Telling our mate the truth would put her in more danger. Refusing her would put us all at risk. No simple security guard would refuse an Interstellar Bride. Fuck, the three kings had accepted their bride, and their daughter had united the planet for the first time in decades. Helion’s voice had me opening my eyes in resignation.
“Weapons will continue to make their way into the wrong hands, Captain, and your mate, while important, is not as valuable as the lives of thousands of other innocents. You will complete your mission there at Trixon, or I will see you rot in the brig for the next twenty years for treason. Do you understand me?”
“Fucking bastard,” Teig whispered the words loudly enough that Oran and I would hear, but Doctor Helion would not. I raised my hand in silent warning. Doctor Helion was already annoyed with me, I did not need to get myself arrested for treason. I would be unable to do anything to protect my new family from a prison cell. A new family I very much desired, despite the fact that I had yet to meet my mate. My cock stirred at the thought of her arrival. Soon.
She was from Earth. She was mine. She would transport to me within the hour. That was all I needed to know. I knew nothing about her, but I was already feeling possessive and overly protective. Gods help her when I actually had her in my arms. I’d never let her go. Never let her out of our sight. One of us would be with her always. Keeping her safe.
I looked up at each of my chosen fighters and held Teig’s gaze. His nod was fierce, no hint of his usual playful nature. This was life or death for our female, and we all had to understand and accept the risks.
With Teig’s agreement, I turned to face Oran. His fair gaze narrowed, his need to control burning from his eyes and turning his light skin a darker shade in contrast to his golden hair. But he, too, knew the risks, and what it would mean if we walked away from either our mate—or our commander. He clenched his fists but nodded. We were in agreement.
Our mate would arrive. We would keep her safe—and innocent of our mission—until it was over. We would protect her, finish our job, and get the fuck off this planet and back to work.
“I understand, Doctor.”
I cleared my throat and knew the fair skin that accompanied the fire-red hair on my head had heated with anger as we spoke. The doctor was not a stupid male. He would take one look at me and know I meant what I said. I was not a new recruit, fresh from the Coalition Academy. Neither were Oran or Teig. We were I.C. operatives recently assigned to the Battlegroup Zeus. From there, we were sent out on missions as ordered. None of those assignments had taken us to Viken, until now.
I was an I.C. captain with over a decade of fighting experience in this war. This side trip to our home planet to track down some weapons smugglers was temporary. And while we would find the source of the weapons, I would also be mated for life. It was time to remind him of that.
“While we are here at Trixon, you will ensure that my female and all three of her Viken mates have proper accommodations awaiting our return to Battleship Zeus. As soon as the mission is complete, we will transport back to our battlegroup. And, from now on, only two of us will be assigned to a mission at any one time. We will not leave our mate unprotected.”
While I kept my gaze on Helion on screen, I saw Teig and Oran nod their heads in agreement.
Helion waved his hand at me as if I were an idiot or a child. “Of course. As you said, I am Prillon. I understand the need to protect your mate, Captain. Perhaps my faith in you is misplaced if three I.C. assets are so poorly trained they cannot manage to protect one innocent female at a vacation resort.”