Chapter 12

12

Zanyr flew in ever-ascending circles over Jenna's house but didn't leave the area. Something wasn't right with their mahaya , and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

He'd sensed it the moment she left the bed, and he rolled over so he could watch his mate go about her day. The fact she was naked was simply a side benefit.

Jenna's behavior had been odd. She may have tried to be quiet so as not to wake him, but he felt it was more than that. She seemed to be sneaking around her room, even going into her closet to retrieve something that looked like a comm unit. Only her comm was on the dresser. When she'd returned, she didn't have the item with her.

By itself, that incident hadn't been more than a point of interest—something to address at a later time or if it happened again. Then she'd lied to him about what she planned to do today. She'd asked them for honesty, and this was how she behaved? It made no sense. Was she meeting a lover to tell them it was over? That didn't feel like the right answer, but what else could it be? Unless she was another spy recruited by the Shadow Men.

No. She couldn't be. Jenna was no more capable of betraying the colony than of sprouting wings and taking flight. Still considering everything, he decided it was time to let Torren know their mate was up to something.

He gave his anrik the details over their link, keeping everything as clinical and brief as he could.

"We need to follow her and find out what she's doing. If she's endangering herself, we'll put a stop to it," Torren replied after several seconds of increasingly creative cursing.

"And if she's a danger to the colony?"

"I don't believe she is. But if I'm wrong, we've got a problem. Do we turn in our mate? What would that do to us? We haven't completed the claiming. If they imprison her somewhere off-world, do we go with her or risk staying here?"

"She's our mate. We go where she goes." This wasn't up for debate as far as he was concerned.

"So where is she right now?" Torren asked.

"Still at home. I'm watching the house. No one in or out." He hated how easy it was to fall back into the old ways. It felt too much like one of their missions. Observing, reporting, and then taking action.

"I'll be there shortly. Keep me updated."

Five minutes later, she left the house. Once again, she was dressed in muted colors with a cream-colored top and dark pants—simple, unadorned, and unremarkable. Now he wondered if her choices were due to personal preference or because she was deliberately trying to avoid notice.

He let Torren know she was on the move.

She didn't move far. Only a few meters from her house, she met up with a Vardarian male. They were too far away to make out details, but he thought the male looked familiar. Maybe someone he'd seen at the tavern? No. The palace? Maybe. He couldn't be sure.

Did Jenna know him? Was this who she was meeting? He got his answer quickly. After a few words of greeting, the male nodded, picked something from one of the fruit trees nearby and offered it to Jenna.

She took it, waved, and went on her way. Just an interaction between neighbors. Nothing of import. He continued to follow her, careful to stay high enough she wouldn't be able to spot him.

After a few minutes, he had a good idea where she was headed, and once she crossed the bridge, he was certain. He let Torren know where to meet him and made his descent. The tree cover would make it impossible to follow her from the air, so they'd go overland from here.

Why the fraxx was Jenna headed back to the human camp? No one was there now. The place would be empty until the next batch of colonists arrived. Nothing about this felt good.

They'd follow her and find out what she was doing. Then, the three of them would have a long talk about honesty, trust, and other fun topics.

Jenna munched on the fruit Sanjin had given her. She didn't know its name, but she would have to find out. It was delicious. Tart and crisp, it reminded her a little of an apple, only it was a mottled green and more square than round.

She enjoyed the opportunity to wander through Haven, even if today's walk had an important purpose.

As she walked, she let her mind wander. She was glad that at least one of her neighbors was friendly. Tani would probably be thrilled that Jenna was moving out to live with Torren and Zanyr. Or not, given the female's reaction to seeing her with them.

Sanjin had welcomed her the first day she moved in. He'd gifted her with a basket of fruits and vegetables from his own garden and pointed out the nearest shops and restaurants. She'd often run into him during her morning walks, and they always exchanged greetings. His anrik worked on the orbital platform, and Sanjin kept hinting he'd like to invite her over for dinner the next time he returned to the planet. She got the feeling that dinner was code for a lot more than just a meal, so she'd politely declined. Now she was glad she had. This situation was strange enough without involving anyone else in her sudden change in marital status.

Oddly, she hadn't flushed or felt awkward when she'd spoken to Sanjin today. He was attractive enough that she'd always felt flustered around him before. Was this another aspect of the sharhal ? Maybe. She knew the bonding process ensured that no Vardarian ever desired anyone besides their mates. So far, all the human females involved with the other species had reacted the same way.

It didn't take her long to weave through the shoppers on the bridge. A few vehicles eased their way through the crowd, but all of them were headed into town, not out toward the camp.

Haven had expanded since the first arrivals, and now a number of homes and businesses populated what the locals still called the far side of the river. No one noticed as she made her way past the various buildings. Her feet marched to the steady beat of a hammer that rang out from the yard behind a shop that specialized in weapons. Anya's mates owned and ran the place, which was why it was so close to the tavern. Her daily commute only took a few minutes.

Thoughts of commutes and how she'd get from the farm to the education center occupied her mind for the remainder of the trip. She approached the designated building and knocked sharply in a four-beat pattern.

The door opened immediately.

"Come on in." Shadow gestured her inside.

The interior was dim, and the air smelled faintly of dust, despite the fact the place had only been empty for a short time.

"Hello, Jenna," another voice greeted her. Female. Friendly.

Shadow pointed into a distant corner, where she spotted another figure. "This is Skye. I've been acting as a go-between for the two of you since it would be a bit obvious if you were to start having regular meetings with a member of the prince's security staff.

Skye. She put the name and face together quickly. "You're mated to Yardan. The prince's spymaster."

"I am." The woman moved out of the shadows. Both women were cyborgs, with more strength and power than Jenna could imagine. "And speaking of mates, congratulations to you! I actually bet Shadow a dinner out that you would show up with at least one of your new mates in tow. How did you convince them to let you come alone?"

"Please, share your secret. I've had to threaten mine with bodily harm on occasion. It turns out that Torskis are almost as possessive and overprotective as Vardarians."

"They're busy getting things ready at the farm. They want me to stay with them for a few days, and Zan said they'd need time to get ready." She cocked her head. "And they don't know I'm here. I haven't told them anything. I didn't think it was safe to do that until I'd spoken to Shadow."

"You didn't tell them?" Shadow smacked her forehead lightly. "Of course you didn't because we made it clear that you couldn't tell anyone. I'm sorry, Jenna. That couldn't have been an easy choice."

"It wasn't. So, does this mean I can tell them? There's no reason not to? I mean, they're not a risk or anything?"

"Zan and Torren are good males," Shadow reassured her. "And they are lucky to have found a mate as wonderful as you are."

"I did a background check on both of them as soon as I heard," Skye said. "You can tell them. They'll get incredibly protective. Which is good. You'll be safer with them than anywhere outside the palace walls. Those two are some of the most dangerous males in the colony."

Jenna scowled. "But we'll be outside the main colony. How is that safer? I mean, they are obviously warriors, big, scary ones. But Zan is just a farmer and Torren is a teacher. How dangerous can they be?"

Skye looked at Shadow, who had a confused expression on her face, too. "Oh fraxx . You don't know.

"Know what?" Jenna demanded.

Skye held up a finger as her gaze when distant.

"Incoming message," Shadow explained and tapped her temple.

After what felt like forever, Shadow sighed and dropped her hand. "You can ask them yourself. They followed you here."

Jenna was stunned. She'd been followed? She hadn't noticed. And why had they done that?

Because she'd lied to them. That's why. The answer was so obvious she winced a little.

Shadow came over and patted her shoulder in sympathy. "You did nothing wrong. Stand tall and don't take any crap from them. If they're anything like mine, they're bound to say or do something annoying. Just remember, they might act like idiots. But they are your idiots."

"And everything they do is because they care about you," Skye added. "Repeat as many times as needed. Oh, and welcome to the club. We meet on Tuesdays."

"We should be ashamed of ourselves," Zanyr muttered out of the side of his mouth.

"We? What's this we crap. I wasn't the one who gave away our position by sneezing at the worst possible moment," Torren shot back.

"You're the one who stirred up the dust when you landed. I've seen younglings on their first flight make better landings."

One of their captors coughed. "Actually, we just followed the sound of bickering, and there you were."

"Shut up, Edge," Zanyr snapped.

"You want to go for round two? I'm ready if you are." The dark-haired de facto leader of the cyborgs turned back to them, one fist raised. He was sporting a split lip, and his clothes were covered in dust and detritus from the forest ground.

"That depends. Are you going to throw a decent punch this time?" Zanyr smirked at Edge. The cyborg sat on the council with him, and while they weren't exactly friends, he had a deep respect for the male.

"Stop goading him," Kade interrupted them. "In fact, everyone, stop goading everyone. You're giving me a headache."

Edge rolled his eyes at the Vardarian walking beside him. "Stop being dramatic."

They all walked in silence for several seconds.

"So, can I ask where we're headed?" Zanyr asked as he tried to remove some of the dust and debris from the vest Torren had brought for him.

"You wanted to know what your mahaya was up to. You'll get the chance to ask her yourself."

Fraxx . "She knows we're here?" he asked.

"If she doesn't know yet, she will soon. She was attending a very important meeting. Or did you think we were out here guarding an empty camp for the fun of it?" Kade said.

"We didn't know you were here at all," Zanyr retorted. The admission cost him some pride, but it was the truth. They were out of practice.

"Who are you guarding? And why is Jenna involved?" Torren asked, his voice sharp.

Kade lifted one wing in a shrug. "I'm guarding my mate. Edge is with me because I asked him to come. The rest, you'll have learn from someone else because I have no idea."

"You don't know why your mate is out here having a secret meeting?" Zanyr stared at Kade. "Why not?"

Kade grinned back. "Because I've been mated long enough to learn a few things." He ticked off the points on his fingers. "Fact one, if I don't know, I can't get in trouble for repeating something to the wrong being at the wrong time. Fact two, my mate is a badass cyborg assassin who is quite capable of tearing my wings off if I annoy her too much. Fact three, I trust her. If I needed to know, she'd tell me."

Edge snickered. "This is one of the many reasons I'm glad I'm not mated. This relationship crap is complicated."

All three of them turned to look at Edge. "What?"

"Denial is not a good look for you," Kade said.

"I'm not denying anything. I'm. Not. Mated."

"I never said you were," Zanyr said.

"We just don't believe you're glad about it," Torren finished.

Edge flipped them off with both hands. "All of you can shut up now."

When the door opened, Jenna half expected her mates to storm in and start demanding answers. Instead, they were shoved through the doorway by two males—one cyborg and one Vardarian. All four of them were dirty, disheveled, and had a collection of scrapes, cuts, and bruises.

"Kade. What happened?" Shadow demanded before Jenna could.

"We caught these two sneaking around. They uh, resisted," Kade said.

"Resisted what? They're not strangers for fraxx sake. You know who they are."

Jenna stifled a giggle. So this was Shadow's mate.

Kade shrugged. "We got a little carried away."

Shadow threw up her hands. "Next time, I'm asking Denz to provide security. I told you it was just a precaution, and there was next to no chance of any trouble."

"When have you known any of us to walk away from a chance to spar?" the cyborg asked.

"Since never, which is why I was happy not to be mated to a cyborg. But now I see you're corrupting him."

Kade snorted. "I was corrupt before we even met. It's one of the things you love about me."

Jenna finally had enough and did something unusual. She raised her voice. "Excuse me. Hello? My turn to talk." She turned to look at her mates. "What are you doing here?"

Zanyr and Torren looked at each other and then at her. "You checked for messages on a secret comm unit and then lied about what you'd be doing this afternoon. We wanted to know why."

She groaned and buried her face in her hands. This had all gone wrong. "Fair enough," she spoke without removing her hands. "But then we need to have a conversation about who you are, and why Skye thinks you're two of the most dangerous males in the colony."