Page 38 of Bought and Shared

O ren

“How could this have happened?” I demand, shock waves detonating through my body.

“The cameras were checked, Sir,” Crom explains, a tick in his jaw. “An unidentified man entered the women’s restroom just after Aurora did. There’s no footage of anyone coming back out.”

I glance at the tablet the Lieutenant shows me. The reel shows a man entering the ladies’ room moments after my mate. Though his face is partially covered, the human is familiar to me. I read about him when Aurora told me about his phone call. It’s her former fiancé, Micah Sanders.

Taking back the tablet, Crom snaps it shut. “That’s all the footage we have on the event, Sir. When Rollins went in to check on Aurora, he found every stall empty.”

“What about the other cameras on base?” I press, desperate for more information. “They couldn’t have just disappeared!”

“They’re being reviewed as we speak, Colonel. I have my team reviewing the parking lot footage first,” the Lieutenant tells me. “We’re running all plate numbers through the DMV and the list should be available within the hour.”

Since I’ve no doubt who kidnapped my mate, I know where they’re taking her: the compound where so much discontent has been fomenting against the Voltan.

We know where these people live, but we’ve been playing nice diplomatically with the human government by not raiding it.

But, as soon as those license plate numbers come back to someone at that compound, we’re kicking every mother-fucking door wide open until she’s located.

Hell, I’m not even bothering to wait. I’m calling Knox and assembling a team as fast as possible.

I’ll deal with the consequences later. My mate needs me now.

Picking up my comm device, I message Knox who’s taking care of business off base today and let him know to fly back to the base ASAP. I give him a quick run-down of what has happened, and he calls no more than a minute after the message is patched through.

“I’m going to kill him,” he growls as his introduction.

I smile, knowing I’ve picked the best possible squad mate there is.

His protectiveness is unrivaled, and he’d do anything to safeguard those he loves.

And I have no doubt that he loves our mate.

He might not have said the words out loud yet, but it’s written all over his face whenever she’s in the room.

“No,” I say, reaching into the desk and extracting my hardware. Strapping it to my waist, I emphasize, “ We’re going to kill him. Get here as fast as you can. We’re storming that compound together, warrant be damned.”

The emphatic click on the other line lets me know that Knox approves of my decision and is probably halfway to his ship by now. Calling my secretary, I let him know to prepare my own ship for immediate takeoff.

Knox

My muscles are tight and locked in a semi-permanent state of aggression as I climb out of my ship. It takes me less than a minute to jog over to Oren’s and climb aboard. We’re ascending into the air before I even fasten my seat restraints completely.

“Did the warrant come through?” I ask my squad mate out of curiosity, nothing more.

It makes no difference to me one way or the other.

I’m willing to act right now, in the interest of rescuing my mate.

She must be terrified. If I look inward, I can feel a small blip of fear nestled deep within my chest. While it might just be my burning concern for losing the woman I love, I instinctively know it belongs to her. My materi.

“As far as I’m concerned, it has,” Oren says, his intense, blue gaze slipping from the horizon over to mine.

I know this bold move could cost Oren his career. I respect him even more than I already did for his willingness to risk it all to protect Aurora.

“I’ve contacted a few friends of mine to meet us just outside the compound. I’ve also got a man on the inside. He hasn’t seen or heard about a woman being kept captive, but he’s going to look into it and get back to me ASAP.”

“Is this contact of yours human or Voltan?” Oren asks.

“He’s one of us,” I reveal, a smirk caressing my lips.

“Good,” Oren says with a sigh. “At least one thing has gone right today.”

Aurora

I’m left tied to my bed for another hour before an unfamiliar man enters the room.

Since Micah has revealed himself to be a despicable wolf in sheep’s clothing, I’m in a state of shock.

I can’t stop thinking about what he did when we were alone and I’m as jittery and nervous as a newborn colt as I await his next move.

The stranger who has entered my room looks like he’s lived most of his life in the military. Short hair that’s buzzed on the sides, squared away clothes, a rigid stance, and eye contact so direct and intense it makes me squirm in place.

I’m instantly wary of him and recoil against the headboard to protect myself the best I can the moment he sweeps into the room.

Glancing at me passively, the cocky man swaggers over to the edge of my bed. “It’s time to get up.”

Unfastening my restraints, he watches me cradle my wrists and rub the feeling back into them. Pins and needles sting my hands as I gnash my teeth against the blooming pain.

“Up and at ‘em,” the man prompts, and I gingerly get to my feet.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” I say, embarrassed that I have to confess this to a complete stranger.

Grabbing me by the elbow, he leads me over to the door. “I’ll take you down the hall where you can use the facilities and wash up. Your mother has clothes waiting for you there she wants you to change into.”

The man is brusque as we move, but at least he’s not lecherous. I appreciate that fact, as I’m fairly exposed in my skimpy silk gown.

After I freshen up and change clothes, I’m led downstairs where my mother is making the evening meal. As though I haven’t just been kidnapped and told I would be forced into a marriage I don’t want, she sets me to work.

Having done these tasks a thousand times before, my hands easily perform the familiar actions by rote. Before I know it, I’m sitting at the table with my family, the evening prayer being spoken aloud.

Bowman, the soldier who fetched me from my room earlier, is sitting to my left.

Across from me is Micah, eating his meal with great enthusiasm while talking to my father, who sits at the head of the table, about new potential revenue streams for the commune.

My mother, at the far end of the table, refuses to look at me, which makes it incredibly hard to try and solicit her help.

Halfway through our soup, a latecomer joins us. I’ve never seen him on the compound before and I know he isn’t human by his good looks, massive size, golden skin, and multicolored eyes. What is a Voltan doing here?

The Voltan man flicks his gaze in my direction before he greets the others at the table. “Sorry I’m late. I was just finishing up my chores and it took longer than expected.”

My mother smiles politely at him, stands, and prepares him a bowl of soup as he sits down at the table next to Micah.

Once served, the alien tucks into his meal with gusto.

Not able to help myself, I stare in his direction, wondering why he’s at my father’s table.

We’ve never hosted any Voltan at dinner before, as my people aren’t fond of them and lack basic trust for any outsiders.

When no further information is forthcoming about our unexpected guest, I return to staring off into space contemplating what my best possible escape routes are off this compound.

Unfortunately for me, I’m not allowed to go anywhere unescorted.

Bowman is my shadow, standing outside my bathroom door and sitting beside me throughout the meal.

He might not be anywhere as large or foreboding as our Voltan guest, but there’s no way I’m giving him the slip or outrunning him to freedom any time soon.

I eat my soup, but not much else. As dinner comes to a close, I grow incredibly drowsy. Unnaturally so. When I glimpse Micah staring at me with a smug expression, I know he’s done something to my food. I’m sluggish, overly warm, and moving as gracefully as a sloth.

When I nearly fall out of my chair as I’m shifting in my seat, Bowman catches me before I hit the floor. “I guess the drugs kicked in,” he says dryly.

He tries to sit me back in my seat, but I seem to have lost the ability to hold myself upright. My vision is fuzzy and there is a funny taste in my mouth that is only getting stronger with time.

“I think you might have given her too large a dose,” Bowman notes, as he stops me from listing to the left.

Micah shrugs. “I don’t want her to become a problem.”

Faintly, I hear my mother crying and my father soothing her as I try to maintain consciousness. Before I know what’s happening, I’m in the arms of our Voltan guest, and he’s carrying me from the room as I slip into unconsciousness.

Kal

The compound is vast and I’m not sure where they’re hiding Knox’s woman.

Trying to keep a low profile, as I’ve only just been invited to update their outdated technology they pretend not to have, I discreetly check all of the likely places but come up empty-handed.

That must mean she’s being hidden directly in Israel’s home.

Which doesn’t surprise me, as I’ve just learned the girl is his daughter.

However, to hear how the leader of the movement rails against the “Jezebels” who fornicate with the enemy, I’m shocked he’s allowing the girl to return home at all.

That’s the thing about convictions and hard lines; they always seem to be negotiable when our personal interests are concerned. And family is the very definition of self-interest.