Page 6 of Guardian’s Destiny (Space Guardian’s Mate #3)

VRAAX

"What the frygg," Noodar exclaimed. His eyes riveted to the screen.

"What?"

"Trouble," he answered, rising and reaching for his blaster.

My training set in instantly, and I copied his moves, following him out of the breakroom and down into the cargo hold. He neither gave me warning nor time before he pulled the hatch open, and I stared astonished at our group pointing blasters at GTU soldiers and vice versa.

I barely had time to get my bearings when my eyes fell on what, or better who, Zaarek was carrying. The most beautiful human female I had ever seen. Red hair surrounded a diamond-shaped face set in a stern expression, and green, intelligent eyes assessed the situation she found herself in. Not in fear, but determination. It was a look I recognized: a threat assessment. She was figuring out how to fight.

Just then, our eyes met, and the first agonizing jolt of pain shot through me. Oh frygg, no , my mind reeled.

Zaarek was already on the move. As he rushed by us, the female's bare leg brushed against my arm, and another jolt ran through me, this one not of pain but the most intense pleasure I had ever known.

My blaster shook in my hand as I tried to keep it upright. The voices around me faded, and I shook my head to keep my focus on the potential fight. This wasn't a moment for weakness.

Thankfully, it seemed the threat was deescalating, as the other females, Zoe, Hannah, and Nova, also rushed by me, followed by Raasla and Tharaax.

Noodar and I retreated into the cargo hold as soon as everyone from our group was safely inside, and Noodar slammed the hatch shut. What happened next was fuzzy; voices faded in and out of my head. It felt as if I was carried, but I wasn't sure. All I knew was that at some point, I collapsed on the breakroom's floor.

The first words that reached back into my mind were Raasla's, "If I didn't know what the bastard is going through, this would be funny."

Followed by Zaarek yelling at Nova, "You have some explaining to do."

"Oh, keep your pants on," Nova shot back.

Since they were discussing the female—the reason for my agony—I forced myself to stay conscious and follow their conversation. I had thousands of questions, but my mind had barely enough energy to listen, and I couldn't muster any more to voice my questions. Besides, the others were already asking most of them for me.

"Well?" Tharaax demanded from his mate.

"There's not much to say. We ran into her in the restroom, and she asked us for help," Zoe answered, shrugged, "end of story."

It was a good thing I had already spent enough time with this group to recognize their voices because my eyes kept shutting through the waves of pain searing through my arm, hip, and leg. Frygg, nobody had told me how painful this was going to be.

I hadn't been exactly jealous of the others' marks, but part of me had felt left out. It was hard not to when there were couples all around you. The only other single person in our group was Nock. And Nock was… well, Nock was Nock. I wasn't exactly keen on commiserating with him on our single status. He probably would have streamed the entire conversation. I could already see it: Lonely Space Guardian seeks love or something equally stupid. No, thank you.

Still, having that kind of relationship the other males were having with their mates looked inviting. Having sex whenever you felt like it? I liked that idea even more, especially from what I had seen of my mate so far. I grinned despite the pain. My mate. Hah. I liked that idea.

Yes, I had listened to the others' stories about how they had fought the mate bond at first, blablabla. This was different, though. They hadn't known what was happening to them. Her and me, we would know. Besides, I was an expert in pursuing females. They always flocked to me. Some told me that I had a devastating smile. I would send that a few times at the human female, and I was sure by the next night we would be sharing a bed and enjoying having wild, out-of-this-world sex.

Their mating marks had made the others into a brotherhood, one I was fairly confident I was about to join. At least I hadn't been as unprepared for the mating marks as the others had been. They all had to try and figure out what was happening to their bodies on their own. I knew the pain was coming from the mating marks carving themselves into my flesh.

Raasla sounded furious, "Not much to tell? Who the frygg is she?"

"She's a human female who needs our help." I blinked my eyes open at the sound of Nova's voice and watched her get into Raasla's face. Not many people dared to do that. I had seen Zoe, his mate, do it, but nobody else. Making Nova's absolute fearlessness clear.

"Her name is…" No matter how hard I focused, I couldn't hear her last words because Zaarek yelled, "Am I the only one who remembers that we're on a mission? We can't collect refugees on the way?—"

Nova boxed him in the arm, "Where's your compassion?"

"Compassion?" Had I not been in so much pain, it would have been amusing to watch Zaarek nearly choke on this one little word. "Compassion she asks when she just brought this female here, putting her in danger."

"Don't talk over my head," Nova hissed.

"Easy, kids, easy," Luph interrupted. "This might present a little bit of a challenge, but we're not leaving someone behind who asks for help. We'll figure out what to do with her once we talk to her."

Luph walked over to me, offering a vial. "This is a sleeping potion; it will ease your pain."

The offering was tempting, I might have, until Raasla scoffed, "Yeah, the youngling probably needs that, only real males can take this pain."

"You did not just say that," Zoe turned on him, her face red with anger. Whatever followed got lost as I as gently as possible refused Luph's concoction. I didn't need it. Since I joined this group, I had felt like the odd male out. First, I had been their prisoner, but then some of their words resonated with me, and I began to consider their points. Now I was fully invested in their quest of finding out who us Space Guardians as a species were, something our employers, the Ohrurs, had withheld from us.

Even though I had become invested in their quest, I had never fully felt as if I fit in with them. It might have been a Space Guardian thing, since we always liked to work alone, or it might have just been the fact that I was the only male not mated in this group.

Well, the only Space Guardian. There was still Nock.

Zaarek announcing that he and Zoe were going back to their quarters brought me back from my revelry. Before they could leave, I needed to know, "Wait, what's her name?"

"What's whose name? What's happening?" Nock entered, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"Sloane," Hannah said.

"Sloane," I repeated; it was a nice name. Strong. Fitting for a female like her. I leaned against the wall, pulled my knees up, and rested my head on them, closing my eyes. While I was slowly nodding off, or passing out, I listened, half aware of the other's conversation.

"Alright, will someone fill me in, please?" Nock demanded.

"The females picked up another human female at the space station and brought her here. As soon as Vraax saw her, the mating marks broke out." Noodar summarized. I missed the response but came fully to again when Hannah suggested, "Maybe we should help Vraax into Sloane's room. It might help with the distance thing."

Tharaax agreed, "Not a bad idea. Help me, Raasla?"

Raasla grunted his agreement the way he always did when words weren't absolutely necessary. Strong hands lifted me off the ground as the males helped me into Sloane's quarters. The pain was excruciating, but the prospect of seeing her again, being near her, made it a lot more tolerable.

Sloane was deep asleep on the bed when the males helped me into a padded chair. A quick discussion followed about whether they should leave me alone with the female, and I was glad when they finally decided that I wouldn't pounce on her.

The lights had already dimmed, announcing that nighttime was approaching. Most ships in outer space followed Galactic Standard Time—GST—but time in space is flexible. Typically, the ship's computer calculated the route—like ours from the space station to Darlam—while factoring in passengers' sleep needs and the time difference between the two points. This system determined day and night cycles for the journey, making it easier to adjust to Darlam's time once we arrived.

It was still light enough to take in her sleeping form. Her face was scrunched up, and her body seemed tense, even in her sleep, as the same pain that tormented me ravaged her body. I would have gladly taken her pain on had there been a choice.

I hadn't liked the idea of mating marks, or what Darlams called Soulweb Glyphs, as we found out. I was a male of action, and I worked independently. The very idea of having some higher power choose a mate for me hadn't sat right with me, despite the others looking happy about their fated mates. But seeing her now, I couldn't deny the pull toward her. She looked like the kind of female I would have chosen for myself.

I was absolutely certain that the moment Sloane opened her eyes and saw me, she would be utterly captivated by the idea of us as mates, completely enthralled with our destined bond. After all, no female had ever resisted me, and I had no doubt Sloane would be no exception. How could she not, I was everything females drooled over?