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15

Daccia

The guilt keeps welling up inside of her.

Is it guilt for what she did? Or for what she’s planning to do?

There’s only one thing that’s certain. The key to this wild woman’s heart is her little sister. I can’t imagine the pain of losing my Fated Mate. It must be similar to losing one’s own family.

What would it be like, to have someone who is your very blood and soul?

We Aurelians are spawned in cryo-chambers. Only those bonded to their Fated Mates can produce natural-born sons, and then produce brothers for them. For the likes of Kitos, Hadrian and I, we are the closest thing we have to brothers.

To berelatedto somebody – born from the same mother – might be a Bond more powerful than even the one my triad forged in battle. The only chance I’ll ever have of a blood relative is through Allie. The only chance I’ll ever have of feeling true, familial love is through our mate…

…but I don’t trust her.

Ican’t.

Yet, if restoring Allie’s hidden weapons takes us a step into the right direction, I’ll take it. She has no more reason to knock out our ship’s Orb-Drive. The lightning shock weapon in her right arm is enough to kill a fully-grown human male, but it would only stun an Aurelian briefly.

It might not be a good strategic move to arm her again – but strategy doesn’t matter when it comes to her safety. Now we’re Bonded, Allie will outlive us. We’ll be there by her side until the day we die, and when that day comes, we’ll die for her.

Maybe it’ll be in thousands of years from now, or maybe when the consequences of our crime catch up to us. One way or another, though, Allie might be left to battle through this universe alone. Aurelians don’t always last too long out in this dangerous universe.

We stand from the mess-hall table, and Allie follows me into the medical bay. I remember the first time we were in here. I’d nearly snapped. Seeing her naked, bound to the examination chair, triggered deep, lustful urges inside of me. I expended every ounce of self-control to keep my honor…

…albeit only for a short hour, before I abandoned everything to claim her.

But, in abandoning everything, I gained so much more.

“Are you going to make me strip again?”

Allie’s tone is light and flirting. She raises one perfect eyebrow. My cock surges in response to her question.

As I stand there, I breathe in her scent – and beneath all her anger and stress, the intoxicating scent of her arousal is unmistakable. She doesn’t have to fake wanting us to seduce us. She craves us just as much as my triad crave her.

It’s torture, though. Every moment spent in which my cock isn’t buried inside of her is pure torture. I’ve never put much faith in the Gods – but Allie must be living proof that they exist. Who else could have created such perfection, other than a divine being? She’s a powerful angel – a woman who could never be tamed or owned, only experienced.

If she strips right now, I know I’m not going to be able to hold back, but the last thing I need right now is for Allie to think I’m nothing but an uncontrollable beast – that I desire only to fuck her and breed her. She’ll never care for me if I lose control of myself. I must put her needs before my own.

"No,” I reluctantly instruct her. “That’s not necessary – not this time. Just roll up your sleeves."

"You're no fun today," Allie pouts – yet, although she says it in a flirty tone, she can't hide her pain. Bringing up the subject of her missing sister opened up an old wound. Through the Bond, I’ve come to realize that she’ll never feel truly whole again – not until she finds her sister, or at least learns what happened to her.

I won’t lie to her.

I told Allie the truth. If her sister is alive, wewillfind her. If not? We’ll find the man – or men –responsible for her death…

…and make thembegfor their own.

Women don’t last long in the sex trade – not out here in the cruel, cold universe. They last even less when they’re recruited as forced labor, in the asteroid mines on the edges of the settled universe. Whatever fate Allie’s sister faced, I fear it didn’t end well for her.

One thing is certain, though. I may no longer be an Aurelian Law Enforcement agent – but Iwillget to the bottom of it.

This is now the most important investigation I’ve ever been assigned to.

Back in the moment, I watch Allie roll up the sleeves of the cheap prison uniform I’d handed her. Even in that shapeless, poorly-tailored outfit, she still looks ravishing. I've come close to death so many times that Iknowhow breathing is a privilege, not a right…