Page 23

She could be the one. She could be our Fated Mate.

Gods, let it be true!

I won’t say it out loud, though. It’s an Aurelian superstition not to discuss your Fated Mate too early – as if the words could twist or change the path of fate itself; as if merely imagining that which is most important to every Aurelian could crush the chance of it ever occurring.

But, for centuries, we have searched.

As all Aurelian triads do, Otho, Lazar and I have traveled with but one true hope and desire in our hearts; to find our Fated Mate.

And in all those centuries, never before have I tasted a scent so pure. Carani’s daughter – she’s untouched. She’s unclaimed by another man, and that drives me even more wild with desire.

I ache to be the first to claim her innocence. I ache to be the one that makes hermine.

Lazar clears his throat. I know he felt the heat of my emotions through the Bond – but he returns to the business at hand.

“To investigate and secure Orb-Material for the Empire,” he repeats, “by anylegalmeans possible.”

Otho has been pacing up and down, but he stops in his tracks when he hears that. Wheeling around to face Lazar, Otho’s aura flares with anger.

“When we strong-armed that fucking prospector on Lanatur? Wasthatlegal?”

The heat of his anger – his guilt – scalds me through our Bond.

“What about the things we did on Persinal-6?” Otho continues. “What was it we all said? What Queen Jasmine and Emperor Raegan don’t know won’t hurt them? Right?”

Lazar stays in his seat, not rising to our battle-brother’s anger.

“That was different, Otho. What is being suggested tonight – that crosses a line we can never come back from.”

It’s hard to think. I keep rememberingher.

I’m the leader of my triad. Mine must be the final decision.

Yet, how can I lead when my thoughts are so twisted? How can I lead when every muscle in my body tells me to takeher, to makehermine?

As if the Orb deposits don’t exist. As if the only treasure in the universe is Carani’s virginal daughter.

Otho snarls.

“There’s a storm brewing,” he warns. “Even that fucking human knew it. Why do you think Queen Jasmine is pushing so hard to secure Orb-Material? She might be human, but I don’t fall for her little act of being meek and submissive.She’sthe true power behind the Empire – and she feels it coming, too.”

A storm is brewing.

The worst part is that Otho is right. We’ve all felt it.

The priests are speaking of the end of times, now – of a great hero who will plunge the universe into war and save our species from extermination.

But what does that mean?

It’s true that the trend of human planets overruling Aurelian rule – allowed by Queen Jasmine’s policies of Independence – weaken our Empire at the very core. Just as human planets are throwing off the yolk of Aurelian protection, so too are Aurelians leaving the Empire to go Rogue – following the Old Ways of our people’s culture, when we took women as property.

Why? Because a new age of Bonding is upon us.

Aurelians blame Queen Jasmine for ruining everything; but it is not her human-focused rules and regulations that have altered our culture. It’sher.

Ever since a humble human female, Jasmine, was discovered to be Bonded to Raegan and his triad, the existence of an Aurelian’s Fated Mate was confirmed – and now finding their own is on the minds of all Aurelians.

It’s driven many to turn Rogue – unable to stop themselves from claiming every human woman they can; any woman who has even thewhiffof being their potential Mate.