Chapter 7

Lavender, The Fighting Pit, Two Hours Later

“There they are.”Rachel pointed to a pair of Prillon warriors walking out into the middle of the sand-filled arena. About the size of a basketball court, the fighting pit was nothing more than an empty area for crazy alien males to beat the crap out of each other. At least, that’s all I’d seen so far. This was worse than boxing or MMA. There appeared to be no rules what-so-ever. Well, except no killing, as these were supposed to be friendly competitions to help the males sent to The Colony blow off some steam.

I sat next to Rachel, her mate on her opposite side. All around us, males from all the various planets shouted, stomped and roared their encouragement. There were a handful of Atlans, some others who looked human but Rachel told me were Everian Hunters, fighters from Viken, Alera, Trion, Earth and a few other places I’d never heard of. Mostly, they were Prillon warriors of every color from pale, pastel yellow, to copper, to dark brown.

The two Prillons who just walked into the center of the pit were clearly crowd favorites as every Prillon in the stands jumped to their feet.

“Who are they?” I asked.

“The darker one is Captain Trax. His fighting partner is Captain Marz.”

I leaned forward to get a better look. Fascinating. Trax’s eyes were a brilliant amber in stark contrast to his dark brown complexion. Marz, however, was closer to Ryston’s golden coloring. I wondered if all Prillon duos were such a contrast. Was that instinct? To choose a second so different from oneself? Or were there Prillon pairs out there with two golden, or two dark warriors, sharing a mate? I filed that away to ask later as their opponent walked out onto the sand.

“Oh, god. He has to fight two of them? How is that fair?” I leaped to my feet. My heart pounded as the crowd roared their approval, at least two hundred male voices shouting as loudly as they could manage. “They’re going to kill him.”

My mate raised his arms in the air to encourage the spectators. They responded in kind and raised the volume. Hand splayed over my chest, I couldn’t tear my attention away from the warlord whose gaze locked on me. Tazo placed a fist over his heart and bowed to me.

His action must have shocked them all. The crowd went silent. I heard rumblings, the word ‘mate’. I turned my head left, then right. Every male in the crowd stared at me.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I lifted a hand and gave a little wave. “Hi? I’m Lavender. Nice to meet you all.”

Every single male in the arena, including Trax and Marz, down in the fighting pit, clasped a hand over their heart and gave me a little bow. It was like they’d rehearsed it, their movements in perfect unison.

Shocked, I sought out my mate and found him staring up at me, pride obvious in his gaze. He raised his voice so everyone would hear him. “If you are all finished ogling my beautiful mate, I’d like to finish this fight and take her back to our quarters to celebrate.”

The cacophony resumed and I sank back into my seat. I had to be bright pink. Did Tazo just tell everyone here he couldn’t wait to take me back to our quarters and have sex with me? “Oh, my god. How embarrassing.”

Next to me, Rachel laughed. “You’ll get used to it. They know what they want and they show us off every chance they get.”

I grinned at her. “I guess boys will be boys no matter what planet they’re on.” Still. Two against one? Not fair. Sure, Atlans were big, but so were those damn Prillons. “Why does Tazo have to fight two of them?” I’d watched two previous matches. Both had been two against two, four Prillons in the pit.

Governor Maxim leaned around his mate to answer me. “You have never seen a beast in battle.”

“Yes, I have. Kai killed three of those Hive things in my living room, right in front of me.”

“And the Hive? What species were they, prior to their integration?” he asked.

“Prillon.” Big warriors, too.

“And there were three?”

“Yes.”

“And what happened to those three, fully integrated, Prillon warriors?”

“They’re dead.”

Maxim turned to look down on the three combatants. “Hive integrations make us stronger, faster. Sometimes they enhance our vision or other senses. Everyone on The Colony was captured and integrated with Hive technology. Everyone, including your beast. As powerful as the warlords were on the battlefield prior to their capture by the Hive, they are more terrifying now. Your mate, my lady, has only ever been bested by one male on this planet, and his integrations are so complete, every cell in his body was enhanced, every part of him, blood, flesh and bone.”

“Tyran?” I asked. “Is that who you were talking about?” (I don’t remember, but has she met Tyran?)

Tazo and the two Prillon warriors began to circle one another. I focused on my mate as Rachel answered. “Yes.”

“Why doesn’t he fight anymore?” If he was the champion, I wondered why he quit.

Ryston, Rachel’s golden haired second mate, appeared out of nowhere and sat down on my right. Tazo glanced up immediately and gave the Prillon a slight nod. Ryston inclined his head to my mate even as he spoke to me. “Tyran has two small children and a third on the way. He goes half mad when his mate, Kristin, is pregnant. Can’t tolerate being away from her.”

Rachel snorted. “Like you can talk, love. You two were almost as bad.”

Ryston grinned at me, completely unrepentant. “Someone had to stand at attention next to the S-Gen machine for her ice-cream emergencies.”

I laughed. “Ice cream is its own food group. Didn’t you know that?”

He snorted. “I shall inform your warlord to be prepared.”

Prepared? For what? For me to want ice cream? Because I was pregnant?

Oh, god. Could I be pregnant already? I wasn’t on birth control. I wasn’t dating anyone back home and the pill made me feel like shit, so I just didn’t take it. The rare occasions I’d been with someone, we used a condom. Had I been so out of my mind I’d let Tazo fuck me, not once but multiple times, without protection?

Why was I only thinking about this now? Panicking about this now?

Because I was almost killed, then kidnapped, fought over by two Atlan beasts, carted off over Tazo’s shoulder and then… he’d held my body in mid-air to devour my pussy like a man possessed. I’d been so turned on, so out of my mind, I didn’t even think about the fact that an alien could get me pregnant.

Shit. Did I want to be pregnant? I’d always wanted kids, but did I want one now?

Rachel wiggled her hand under my elbow and linked our arms. “I knew we would be the best of friends. Anyone who doesn’t like ice cream needs their head examined.”

I agreed as I settled one palm over my abdomen and wondered if there was a child growing inside me. The possibility made my pulse race, but not with fear. I had a mate who would never leave me, never cheat on me. A new job doing something I would love. Did I want a baby?

Yes. Take away the worry about buying groceries and paying the bills and yes. I very much would love to have a child.

“Who am I?” How had my life changed so much in just a couple days?

Rachel must have heard my whisper. She leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Finding your true mate changes everything. You’ll get used to it.”

My true mate. I watched my true mate remove his tunic, his bare chest every bit as big, muscled and freaking perfect as I remembered. Shining in the light from the dome over our heads, his integrations were clearly visible and reminded me of everything the governor had just said. Those things in his skin, whatever they were, made him stronger and faster. They also, apparently, made him an outcast.

The Prillon he faced had much more obvious integrations. One of Marz’s eyes was completely silver, like liquid mercury. All around that eye and wrapping around his head to his temple, additional silver metal replaced flesh. They were all part machine. Every male sent to The Colony was a cyborg. Fascinating.

Not one of them was as smoking hot and sexy as my cyborg. I’d bet on that.

A loud chime sounded and I lost all track of time and space as my mate transformed into his beast and charged the two Prillon warriors.

The fight was brutal. They moved so quickly I had trouble keeping track. When the sound of breaking bone, accompanied by a roar of pain, filled the arena I put my face down in my hands and couldn’t watch. I didn’t think that breaking sound was from Tazo, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. He was bleeding. I’d seen that. So were the other two. They pummeled one another. Kicked. Tossed their opponents around like sacks of potatoes. Ripped at each other’s skin. Rolled and wrestled and choked each other.

“This is insane.” When it had been four Prillon warriors, I’d watched it all. I’d even cheered along with the rest of the crowd.

But this wasn’t four random strangers. This was my mate. My warlord. Tazo. My heart was out there being beaten bloody, growling and roaring in pain. I couldn’t watch. Couldn’t bear it. The sight of him suffering was literally making me ill. I was going to vomit all over my new dress.

Holy shit. Was I in love with him? Already? Was that even possible?

“Are you all right?” Rachel asked.

“No. I can’t watch this. I watch him get hurt. I can’t. It’s making me sick.”

Rachel wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “It’s okay.”

“I feel like a wimp.”

“You’re not a wimp. You’re a big softie in love with her mate, but definitely not a wimp.” She held onto me as the fight continued. I judged how things were going by the volume of the crowd. The excitement rose to a crescendo and I dared a peak through split fingers.

Tazo stood over the two Prillon warriors, both of whom appeared to be barely conscious. Blood from dozens of cuts ran over his face, body and arms as he held them over his head in victory.

He was all right. Hurt. Bleeding. A mess, but not seriously injured. At least not that I could see from here.

I had to go to him. I couldn’t tolerate seeing him hurt. In pain.

I stood and shoved my way to the edge of the seating area. All around me, massive warriors jostled and celebrated. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t go up or down the rows. Couldn’t walk forward or back. I was stuck in the crowd of huge males. If one of them accidentally stepped on me, I’d be so done.

Out of nowhere, a beast’s hands wrapped around my waist and lifted me off my feet.

I squealed in shock until I realized the hands belonged to Tazo. He lifted me over the railing and set me on the ground. My soft boots sank into the sand as I looked up at him.

For once, I didn’t want to be standing on my own two feet. I wanted to be in his arms, pressed against his strength. Safe. Protected. Loved. I looked up into the face of my beast and held out my arms.

He reacted instantly, lifting me off my feet. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. When I was confident he knew exactly how badly I wanted him, I pulled back and pressed my forehead to his. “Are you all right? I’m sorry I couldn’t watch. I can’t stand to see you hurt.”

My beast stroked my back with a gentleness no creature his size should be able to manage, yet he did. “Mate.”

The one word sent a flood of warmth through me. “Mate. You’re mine. Okay? Mine forever.”

“Mine.” I’d heard the beast say it many times, but none had felt like this. This time I knew—and accepted—what that word meant. Pleasure. Protection. Respect. Love.

Home. Tazo was my home now.

Tazo lifted me so that I sat on his shoulder and the crowd cheered. I smiled and waved, proud that my mate had just kicked the shit out of two huge, scary Prillon warriors who were, at this very moment, being attended to by medical staff wearing green uniforms, waving their little magic wands.

Maybe, next time, I could force myself to watch.

No. I doubted I’d ever be able to watch anyone hurt him.

In a couple weeks, that would be me wearing green, training to be one of them. I’d see my sister, soon. She was safe, here, on The Colony, with her own beast. I had no doubt Warlord Kai would win her heart as easily as Tazo had stolen mine. Until then?

I looked down into the eyes of the beast I adored and thanked god, or fate, or the freaking Hive for bringing him into my life.

He. Was. Mine.