Chapter 33

LEONA

A stern-faced human security officer enters the cell. I lift my chin, trying to be brave, but inside I'm trembling. Today is the day we'll be handed over to the Darrvasons. Prisoners for life. At least that's how I view it.

The officer holds up a tablet and starts reading off the names of the younger women, those who will be included in the group of one hundred. Those who will be claimed as mates. My heart goes out to them. God, I hope they'll be okay.

"If you just heard your name," the officer says, "exit the cell and you'll be escorted to the docking bay."

The young women reluctantly file out of the cell. A group of guards is waiting in the corridor to provide an escort. Once they're gone, the security officer peers at us intently. "The five of you have each been assigned to a Darrvason male."

"As slaves?" a woman asks in a fearful tone.

"As mates ," the security officer clarifies. "Apparently, Emperor Radakk himself made the assignments. From what I hear, he wished to reward some of the older Darrvason males he believes are deserving of a mate." He steps toward the cell door. "Follow me."

Shock fills me. I've been assigned a mate. And the emperor made the assignments to reward specific Darrvason males who live on the Haxxal . I don't dare let myself hope I'll be assigned to Zahhn. Oh God, what will happen? Will I be forced to mate with a strange alien I don't know despite the intimacies I've shared with Zahhn?

With a heavy heart, I follow the security officer outside the cell. A second group of guards escorts us to Jansonna's docking bay. As we step into the huge area, which I've never visited before, I almost back away. I consider running. Then I look at the empty shuttles and wonder if I could possibly steal one. Not that I have any idea how to pilot one…

I glance around the docking bay. This is it. One hundred human women are being given to the Darrvasons in exchange for their assistance in repairing the Jansonna . One hundred plus five, that is.

Trepidation skitters through me when I notice the assembly of Darrvason males. They're all standing around various shuttles, expectant looks on their faces. My heart lodges in my throat and I exchange worried glances with the other four women in my group.

I'm shocked to my core when I see Officer Brute escorting Jenny toward a vessel. She's alive! I almost run over to her, but I quickly stop myself. Later. I will talk to her later and discover how she survived her ordeal. I still can't believe Angelo used a recording of her in an attempt to incite a rebellion.

Angelo… He's gone. Dead. He and his mother took their own lives before they could be arrested, or so a friendly guard recently whispered to me through the cell door. The guard also informed me that Angelo was one of five wealthy Founders who paid the Grozznolan mercenaries to attack the fleet. I sigh and push thoughts of him from my mind. His betrayal and the loss of him is simply too painful to contemplate right now.

I refocus my attention on Jenny, and I notice glowing green markings on her arms. Hm. The markings are similar in appearance to the blue markings that cover Zahhn's chest. How very strange. I can't help but wonder if she got those Darrvason-style tattoos willingly, or if Officer Brute forced her.

My stomach drops. Will my assigned mate force me to get tattoos on my arms? Is it considered a mark of ownership?

I watch as Jenny boards a small vessel with Officer Brute, then I notice an older woman following her inside. Her mother, Margo. Whoa. It appears her mother has a mate as well, and I can't help but wonder how that happened. An older engineer I've seen in the mess hall a few times escorts Margo onto the ship, and to my surprise they look… happy. Joyful, even.

As I'm pondering how this situation came about, I glimpse a familiar face in the docking bay. Zahhn . He's disembarking a Darrvason vessel. When our eyes meet, he releases what sounds like a triumphant growl.

I freeze in place, my knees so weak I can't take another step. My anxiety intensifies, because what if he's not my assigned mate? He's not exactly my friend, but he's not my enemy. We share a connection, and he saved my life as well as the lives of my cellmates. If I'm to belong to anyone, I want it to be him.

He strides up to me and takes my hands in his. I peer at him in question, my throat too clogged with emotion to speak.

Leona , he says down the bond. He releases one of my hands and reaches for my cheek. I lean into his touch, soaking up his nearness. Leona, I fear I have some terrible news to deliver.

My stomach plummets to the floor. What is it? I hold my breath, waiting for his response.

His eyes twinkle, and he steps closer. You are my assigned mate.

I exhale quickly. You ass , I send down the bond, not caring if he punishes me for it later. That wasn't funny.

A mix of relief, shock, and trepidation fills me.

I'm going to belong to Zahhn. He's my assigned mate.

He wraps an arm around my shoulders and guides me toward the craft he just disembarked. We're the first couple to board the shuttle.

What happens now? I ask.

He helps me into a seat and fastens the buckle. His gaze bores into mine with so much intensity that I almost look away. Power emanates from him, the aura of dominance that always surrounds him seeming larger than ever. He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear and leans close. Now I take you back to the Haxxal and rut you until you're sore between your thighs and dripping with my seed. I claim you over and over until a heartbond forms between us. And I train you to be an obedient mate.

My hands tremble in my lap, and the trepidation I'd felt earlier starts to return. Heartbond? I ask.

A permanent bond that links our hearts and souls , he answers, and his response renders me lightheaded. I believe it is already starting to form between us. That is why we can hear one another's thoughts sometimes. But the heartbond is not complete until we experience the mating fever, during which time we'll be consumed with lust for one another. Mating fever typically lasts for five days, though sometimes it's shorter, sometimes longer. Darrvason-human heartbonds seem to form atypically, so there is no telling exactly how long it will take. Once the heartbond has finished forming, my ancestral markings will have appeared on your arms, marking you as mine forever.

A heartbond. Permanent. Mating fever. Ancestral markings. It's almost too much information to take in, and the gravity of his statement leaves me reeling with uncertainty. For someone who never planned to marry, the idea of a heartbond is frightening indeed.

Another couple boards the vessel, and Zahhn moves out of their way and sits next to me. As I process the significance of a heartbond, I keep one eye on the newcomers.

Other Darrvason-human pairs board the vessel, and Zahhn keeps a proprietary hand on my thigh. Whenever another male walks by our seats, he glares at them and appears on edge, never mind that they're escorting females of their own. Possessive, much?

I felt possessive of you the moment I first saw you, Leona . His voice reverberates in my head, a deep comforting rumble that makes me want to lean closer to him.

Stop reading my thoughts. I give him a sharp look.

I cannot help it, human female. He squeezes my thigh. I am so curious about you that I find I'm always listening. Always hoping for a stray thought or feeling from you. You belong to me, and I want to know everything about you.

He's curious about me? Why does that make me flush with warmth? I inhale a shaky breath, and I try to suppress the sudden achiness that's building in my core. But I can't help it. It's hitting me that in mere minutes, we'll be alone together in his quarters. I'll be at his mercy. He'll be able to do whatever he wants to me, and I won't be able to stop him.

The hatch closes, and a slight shudder runs through the vessel as the engines activate.

I'm leaving the Jansonna .

A brief moment of panic strikes me. I was born on the human worldship, and I've never even set foot on a trading outpost in space, let alone visited an alien spaceship or a planet. In a few months, three to be exact, we'll be settling on a planet known as 58-Zallnanis. It's a lot of change to come to terms with, especially when I take Zahhn into consideration.

I'll be his mate, and he's made it no secret that he expects my obedience. Will I have any freedoms? Or will he keep me locked away in his quarters?

He releases a dramatic sigh. Yes, I will keep you locked up for a while. But only until the heartbond forms between us. Once the bond is fully formed, and you're drenched in my scent, and you're wearing my ancestral markings on your arms, I will allow you some freedoms.

But why? I turn to face him. Why must I remain locked in your quarters until the heartbond is fully formed?

His nostrils flare, and his eyes take on a fierce glow. Because I do not want to risk another male attempting to claim you. There are thousands of unmated Darrvason males on the Haxxal that are eager for a female of their own. I will not risk any harm coming to you, and I will not risk the chance you'll be stolen from me. You're mine, Leona. Mine.