Page 16 of Guardian's Soul (Space Guardian's Mate #2)

THARAAX

I only walked a few steps before I realized why she sent me away from the bridge and trudged back.

"You could have just reminded me," I accused, rubbing my arm.

"Probably," she agreed. "This was more fun, though."

I didn't have the energy to argue with her. I let my head fall into my hands and rubbed my fingers over my face. I felt more tired than I had after a nonstop three-day hunt for a criminal.

"I'm not going to live on Astrionis," I stated. Because I wasn't and I knew that was what she was thinking.

"I'm not much of a colonist either," she agreed, surprising me.

"Great, just frygging great," I cursed.

"Yap. Looks to me like we're in this together, tough guy. So you better teach me some more about the Ohrurs and the whole thing and come up with a plan for how we can capture Poseidon."

"Possedion," I corrected automatically, too distracted by her use of the word we , to really care or realize she had thrown this out just as a bait .

The idea of putting her in danger didn't sit well with me. Unfortunately, the hard truth was that Possedion was holed up inside one of the universe's most secure mansions. An army of Space Guardians surrounded him and his brethren, all just as well trained as me or in the middle of their training. To get to him, I needed all the help I could get. Unfortunately, that meant Hannah would have to be involved.

I could keep the risk to her at a minimum, but it was still a hazard. Adding to it, the fact that we couldn't be more than ten or twenty paces apart from one another made this entire enterprise… challenging.

A grin spread over my face. Challenge was what I thrived on. For the first time in a very long time, excitement built inside me. This would be hard but not impossible.

I should have felt regret or some emotion of loss after realizing that my days as a Space Guardian had come to an abrupt end, but I didn't. Instead… was that relief blossoming inside my chest? How long had my resentment for my employers been growing?

"All right." I faced Hannah to give her a crash course about the Ohrurs. "The Ohrurs have been our minders for thousands of years. They're the most successful merchants in the universe. Their power and resources are nearly infinite. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has ever messed with them. Even the pirates won't attack their ships or outposts. The Ohrurs would just send a fleet of Space Guardians after them until they are eliminated."

"How many Space Guardians are there?" Hannah asked, frowning as she seemed to realize our task's near impossibility.

"A thousand," I answered automatically. At least, that was what I'd always been told. For all I knew, there could be more or less. "The Ohrurs are run by four families. Their system is built on an oligarchy, but they might as well be royalty. Everything is family-oriented and tightly controlled. Lesser family members— nieces, cousins, third cousins twice removed—handle the groundwork, running their businesses and managing day-to-day operations. But the closer you are to the core family, the more authority and influence you're given.

"Their most powerful and successful branch, us Space Guardians, are overseen by those higher up in the family hierarchy, ensuring direct control and absolute loyalty. It's not just a business to them—it's their pride, their most visible display of dominance.

I don't know much about Possedion, but my former minder, Kalleog, always bragged about being married to one of Kasseion's nieces. I imagine Possedion has a similar claim. The Ohrurs like to keep every position of power under strict family control, making sure that no one outside their bloodline has access to real influence or the kind of information that could threaten their hold on power."

"Do you know where Possedion lives?" Hannah yawned and reclined in her chair.

"Not exactly, not yet." I would find out, though, through other networks. Possedion might have locked me out of the Ohrur network, but there were others I could access. Starting with the Galactic Treaty Union's—GTU.

Her eyelids drooped. She was tired, so I suggested, "Let's talk about this more in the morning. You had a long day."

Her quick nod told me how sleepy she was. She didn't even protest when I lifted her out of her chair to carry her to our quarters. Our quarters , I mused. When had this started to sound good? Or when had I started enjoying carrying the little human? Previously, it had always been because of a need. This time, it had been an instinctive choice. She felt good in my arms as if she belonged there.

A spell of dizziness overcame me, and I closed my eyes for a moment as a memory flushed through me. So quick, it was barely there, too fast to hold on to, but an emotion deeply ingrained itself into me. I had done this before. I had carried a female like this before. But somewhere else.

My head started to hurt as I tried to recall the surroundings of where this had happened, so much so that I had to stop.

I knew I had never carried a female before. There had never been any need. In all my over twenty years as a Space Guardian, I knew with absolute certainty every event that had taken place, but try as I might, I had no recollection of a before.

I had dim memories of living in some kind of barracks with other males like me. Memories of training in fighting, how to fly ships, computers, things like that. But I couldn't not remember ever going out with the other trainees or any interaction with them.

Every part of me contracted, and my head threatened to implode from the pain as I questioned why a group of young males like us would not have gone out together? I saw them all the time. Young males finishing their training as GTU soldiers or members of the Pandraxian Superior Army or any of the many other forces, going to pleasure clubs, getting drunk, whoring. By the nebulas, I had done this many times, just not with my peers.

Why?

The Space Guardians were a brotherhood, right? So why didn't we go out to celebrate together? Get drunk together like the GTU or Imperial Soldiers? They had their brotherhoods as well, forged by just such nights and combat.

I took a deep breath. I needed answers.

When I stepped through into our quarters, I realized that my original train of thought had been diverted, and as soon as I had allowed it to happen, my head had stopped hurting.

Hannah let out a small sigh that moved through my body like an electrical current and a small wave of pleasure followed in its wake that made me instinctively cradle my precious bundle closer. Her soft breaths against my chest indicated that she had already fallen asleep. I could have just deposited her on the bed, but for some reason, I didn't want to lose our contact. I liked her presence, especially when she was quiet like this.

Carefully, I moved us to one of the padded chairs that automatically adjusted to my body, raising a foothold to make me comfortable while I was holding Hannah in my arms.

I relaxed instantly, so much so I didn't remember the last time I felt this free and peaceful. The softest of snores escaped her partially open lips, making me smile. So far, all I had seen in her was a nuisance. Now, though, I took a moment to take in her beauty. From her alabaster skin, so different from mine, to her dark hair. Her long eyelashes that slightly fluttered, creating shadows under her eyes, fascinated me for a long time. So long, that I lost all count of time. The lights had not only dimmed but gone all but out. Dipped in shadows, my eyes followed her sharp cheekbones, which indicated that she must have lost weight recently. I took the leisure to study her full lips. So still, for once. Not uttering challenges at me, they were alluring.

My eyes fell to the intricate tattoos on her arm, so similar to mine, and realized I didn't detest them anymore. At least not as much as I had yesterday. Strange.

Stranger yet, as I stared at them, a new emotion welled inside my chest. Pride. Followed by possessiveness. Her marks declared her as mine! I had raved and raged against them, against the chain they represented, but now I realized they weren't a chain at all. They were lines, pointing me in the direction I had been wondering about for a long time.

My origins.

Origins . With this thought, I drifted off to sleep, lulled by Hannah's warmth and gentle breathing.

The first thing I saw was a forest, one I had never seen before and yet was eerily familiar. A deep, red sun stood high in the sky, visible through the thick canopy of trees above us. I was running, looking behind me as if something was chasing me, but I didn't see anything. Fear raced through my mind, body, and heart. Not fear for myself, fear for the female I was carrying.

Suahaana, wake up , I yelled, out of breath. Suahaana. But the female didn't stir. Her eyes were closed, and she was so still. So incredibly still.

Had I hurt her? No, impossible.

A droning sound surrounded me, becoming louder and thicker; if sound can become thicker, this one did. As thick as a blanket, making my ears pulse. It was heavy, too. Heavier than a rock and my body began to bend under the weight.

Suahaana, please . I pleaded with her to wake up as my legs betrayed me and collapsed underneath me. I moved a few more paces forward on my knees, pressing Suahaana against me. I had sworn I would protect her, and I would die keeping that oath.

The pressure was becoming stronger. I couldn't move another pace. My arms betrayed me next, letting go of her . Suahaana . No! I screamed while blackness enveloped me from all sides, and the weight pressing down on me was getting heavier and heavier until my face hit the soft moss underneath me.

My breathing turned erratic. There was no one around us, and yet I could have sworn something heavy was sitting on me, pushing on me, until the very last of my breath left me.

She lay there, right in front of me, her face relaxed and peaceful as if she slept, but I knew better. Had known better from the moment I picked her off the ground to flee with her. My eyes moved to her outstretched arm. Filled with mating marks. Our mating marks. Immeasurable pain and misery consumed me as I watched them slowly fade both of us.

I cried out her name with my last breath, "Suahaana!"

She was the last thing I saw before my vision turned black.