Page 23 of Guardian’s Heart (Space Guardian’s Mate #1)

ZAAREK

I had heard enough. Did these humans really think I wouldn't spy on them? That I would just put my trust in them as my passengers? Their little ploy of wanting to escape was laughable at best. What hurt, though, was overhearing Nova pointing out the flaws in their plan. I wanted to believe that she wasn't involved. That she wouldn't partake in this mutiny, but my ire grew with every question she raised. It wouldn't have been the first time that she tried to escape me.

I wanted to believe that we had gained a certain rapport with each other, but obviously, I had been mistaken. That angered me.

I went into the breakroom with the intent to stop their little conspiracy, but seeing Nova there, feeling her closeness, only brought my irritation to the boiling point, and I decided it would be better to remove myself. The humans had no idea that I was on to them, and I wanted to keep it that way. Those puny creatures would not get the better of me. The entire idea was laughable.

When Nova cried my name and " Hold up ," I stopped and turned right in time to watch her hit the ground. I was still too angry to offer more than my hand, but the moment our flesh made contact, all anger left me, instead only leaving a deep desire to be alone with her. The need to claim her again, to remind her of that mysterious bond that enveloped us every time we were near each other.

"He's got the same tattoos as her," a female cried out, standing up from her seat and pointing at Nova and me.

"What the hell?" A burly male got up, too.

"I knew it," a darker female stated with a self-satisfied grim expression on her face. "I told you not to involve her."

"It's now or never," the burly male yelled, giving me just enough time to pull Nova to her feet and behind me before all three males rushed me.

The burly male was in the lead, coming straight at me like an enraged Moggadesh with his arms swinging. I didn't wish to harm or kill them; my mission was to rescue them, but I wasn't going to let them harm Nova or me either.

I ducked under his swinging arms, ignoring the whoosh of air above my head. I pivoted to the side and allowed his momentum to carry him forward. A quick kick into his back propelled him head-first through the open entrance into the hallway.

In the meantime, the other two reached me. My fist connected with one of their chins, and he hit the ground. Nova, my brave little human—how could I have ever doubted her?—kicked at one of the male's knees hard enough to make it pop.

A plate flew by my head. The dark-haired female by the table was throwing plates at me like missiles. Worried one might hit Nova, I caught the second in midair, using it to bang it over the head of a blonde male.

The burly male had recovered and came roaring back from the hallway, going straight for Nova. I pushed her to the side and took the brunt of the attack. He was stronger than I had anticipated and off-balanced me long enough for one of the other males to land a blow against my back. That actually hurt because it hit one of the wounds the giant Mmuhr'Rhong had left. I kicked at one of the three standing males, bringing him down, while Nova tackled the female who was still throwing the oval, metallic dishes at us.

I caught a fist coming for me in midair, squeezing it between my fingers until the male yelled in pain. Knuckles cracked, and fingers broke. Something hit me in the back of the head. Letting go of the male with the broken fingers, I turned and caught the metallic plate coming for me again. I wrenched it out of the male's hand and hit him sideways in the head with it.

Now, it was only the burly male and me, while across the room, Nova was still grappling with the dark-haired female on the ground.

The burly male moved cautiously on his heels, watching me with his hands clenched into fists. He swung out, but I moved my head out of the way. His other fist landed on my side, robbing me momentarily of my breath. Just then, more plates hit me in my back, reopening the claw wounds. I didn't allow the pain to distract me or the objects another female was slinging at me. I had to take out the burly male first. Done playing games, I grabbed him by the waist, ignoring his fists, hitting my head, and slammed him into the wall so hard that he passed out the moment the back of his head made contact with the wall.

The female who had been slinging dishes at me squealed and jumped on the table, screaming, "Don't touch me."

Nova was on top of the dark-haired female who was pulling at her hair while she had her thumbs pressed in the other female's closed eyes. I was impressed. Nova might not have known how to fight, but she put whatever she had into it, using every dirty trick in the book.

"Enough," I yelled over the screeching females. "Stop."

Nova's hand retreated from the other female's eyes when she let go of Nova's hair. For the second time in the span of a few moments, I pulled Nova to her feet. Her eyes were wild as she looked around, ready to tackle any other threats.

Remembering who was bunking with whom, I grabbed the burly male off the ground first and pointed at the dark-haired female. "Move."

"Don't hurt him," she pleaded, following, wringing her hands.

I threw the male into the room, followed by his wailing mate. I closed the door and locked it. Then proceeded to the next one and the next until they were all locked up.

"Wow, now what?" Nova took a deep breath.

"You were talking to them," I accused. "I should lock you up too."She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I was only trying to figure out what they were up to, and then worried they wouldn’t let me leave."

I nodded curtly at her, accepting her explanation.

"Aren't you going to say thank you?" she demanded, digging her fists into her hips.

"For what?" I asked, honestly puzzled.

She threw her arms into the air. "For trying to figure out what they were up to so I could warn you. For fighting at your side."

"Would you have joined their group?" I didn't like the idea of her leaving me.

Perplexed, she shook her head. "No."

"So you were on my side?" I clarified.

"Duh, that's what I just said." She looked honestly taken aback by the mere suggestion that she might have betrayed me or by me believing so.

"Then I don't need to thank you."

This time, she looked put out and adorable. I suppressed a grin. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," I explained with more patience than I realized I had, "we are on the same side; we fought for a common cause, so there is no need for me to thank you, just as you don’t need to thank me." Her lips opened and closed in quick succession. Finally, she didn’t know how to respond. I would have enjoyed my little victory a lot more if I hadn’t felt something dripping down my back.

"What's wrong?" Nova demanded, her eyes moving up and down my body. I tried to look over my shoulder, but I wasn't that flexible, no matter how much I strained.

"Let me see." Nova hadn't even finished her words before she circled me halfway. "Oh my God, is that from the Morlocks?"

“Morlocks?” I echoed.

“You know, those creatures who attacked us,” she explained while the tips of her fingers carefully danced over the uninjured parts of my back.

“Mmuhr'Rhongs,” I mumbled, distracted by the light brushes of her fingers dancing over my skin. I hoped she would never stop. The desire to feel her, be inside her, roared to life, nearly consuming me. It had been the same as when I left my room earlier to shower in the quarters I had assigned Nock. Like a coward, I had avoided seeing Nova from then on until she appeared on the screen. Now that I was next to her, though, I didn’t think I would be capable of restraining myself any longer.

"Mmmurh what?"

"Mmuhr'Rhongs."

"There you are." Nock appeared, yawning in the doorway. I should have been glad for him to interrupt the mysterious spell between Nova and me, but I wasn't. I wanted to growl at him.

"How long did you let me sleep in the hangar?" Nock wanted to know, making his way over to the beverage dispenser. He wasn't a tall male, but he had definitely grown after he got some sleep and was back to the same physique as when he had approached me what seemed to be an eternity ago.

He returned with a steaming cup of quan, a beverage the Kreds preferred on their waterless planet. "Oh, you found her."

"You don't remember?" If they got tired enough, Kreds could forget chunks of time, but I had never seen it. It surprised me when I remembered our escape last night, our interactions, and the way he had taken charge of the humans. If all that had been sorely based on instinct, then Nock was a brave male and grew in my estimation.

"Nope, I woke up in the hangar, thanks a lot for just leaving me there, by the way." His nose twitched in disapproval. "I have no idea how I got there or why."

Nova cleared her throat, and I remembered I hadn't introduced the two yet. Not officially. "Nock, this is Nova. Nova, Nock."

Nova held out her hand to shake and inadvertently exposed the dark lines on her arms. Nock's eyes narrowed. Instead of shaking her hand, he took her wrist to pull her arm closer to him. The reaction I experienced was nothing anything could have prepared me for. Possessiveness didn't even come close to describing the red-hot anger surging through me, originating from deep down in my belly. My hand shot forward, ready to encircle the Kred's throat.

I forced my instinct down enough so that Nock could grab my hand with his other to scrutinize our marks side by side.

"What is that?" he asked, astounded. "I had no idea you Space Guardians sprouted mating marks. What species are you anyway?"

Mating Marks ? My body hummed in response to the word; some deep-buried intuition resonated with it.

"Mating marks?" Nova asked, pulling her hand from Nock's grasp. Unconsciously, she rubbed the black lines.

"You didn't know?" Nock seemed perplexed. He looked from Nova to me and back to make sure we weren't fooling him.

I shook my head. "No idea."

"Interesting." Nock still held my arm in his hand; with the other, he pushed up my sleeve and studied the lines. "I must say, I have never seen such intricate marks before."

"How much do you know about them?"

"Given that I created nearly a hundred streams about mating marks in the universe, I would say quite a bit. But like I said, I’ve never seen anything like this. Do they go up all the way up your arm?"

"And sides and hips," Nova added.

The Kred's forehead moved up in clear astonishment. "I've seen many different mating marks. Usually, they're like a ring around the arm, or spots, sometimes lines, but nothing… and especially not… what species did you say you are?" He looked up at me.

"I'm a Space Guardian," I replied, irritated that he asked.

"I know that, but what species? What planet are you from?"

I opened my mouth to respond and closed it. "Ohrur?"

"You don't look like an Ohrur."

He was right about that. Ohrurs were nothing like us, from their smaller statures to their oversized heads.

"I…" Both Nock and Nova stared at me expectantly. "I don't know," I finally admitted when I realized that I truly didn't. Neither had it ever crossed my mind to inquire. I felt another headache coming on. Maybe I needed to use a full healing cylinder instead of just the wand. The headaches had been coming too often lately for my liking.

I trained on Ohrur with other Space Guardians until we were deemed ready to go out on missions. The Ohrurs equipped us with what we needed and provided us with missions we completed to fill their pockets… that was the life I knew and had never once questioned. I loved my life. I had been born to fight and was filled with a deep sense of justice, a sense I could often satisfy. Hunting down criminals and ridding the universe of them was everything I had ever strived for. I found release in taverns on space stations or planet side; there were always willing females to satisfy me. A good meal, a stiff drink, a quick fuck, those things had been the greatest gifts right next to the hunt. Protection missions like this were usually boring, and I viewed them more as a punishment for some misdeed I might have committed, like disrespecting my minder.

Now, I was rendered speechless by a simple question. What species was I ?

"Has nobody ever questioned it?" Nock wanted to know.

"You tell me, you're the holostreamer," I retorted.