Page 3 of Keeping Freya (Warriors of Arracate #3)

T’Rak

I step forward. Of all the places I would have thought to find my mate, a Sternotheri Ship is not one of them. And instead of looking like she needs rescuing, she points a gun at me. “Stay back, buddy, I will not hesitate to shoot you.”

She looks anything but unsure, so I raise my hands.

“Be careful, these humans are armed,” I inform my crewmates D’Var and O’Rec through our psychic link, while I put my hands up in surrender.

“I am not here to hurt you, female.”

“Yeah, right,” she huffs. “That’s what they all say.” She gestures at me with the barrel of the gun. “Move. That way.”

I slowly turn around to start walking in the direction she’s pointing me in.

“In there,” she says as we come across another hallway. It reeks of Sternotheri in here, mixed with blood.

“Stop!” she shouts as we near a door. “Pick that up and open the door,” she commands, nodding toward a foul-smelling object lying on the floor.

I bent down and for a moment I hesitate, because she wants me to pick up a severed hand, which by the smell of it, has not been attached to its owner for a while.

“You cannot use this to open the doors much longer.”

“Quiet!” she shouts as she pushes the gun into my back. “Throw it down, over there.”

I gladly dispose of the heinous thing, and she pushes me towards a barred cell. She closes the door and then slumps against the wall. My protective instincts immediately go into overdrive.

“Are you well? Are you hurt?”

She blinks at me in confusion. “Why do you care?”

“Because you are my mate.”

“No, thank you,” she says gruffly. I just grin at her. We will see about that.

“We have encountered the humans,” D’Var comes through on our mental link.

“Let them imprison you. I am already in their holding cell.” Amusement rolls through our bond—a special connection Arracate crews can sometimes form.

“I will tell you when you get here, just cooperate.”

“What did you just do?” she asks, but I ignore her question.

“You really need to reprogram those key panels. It is a simple task D’Var can do for you.”

“I don’t need your help, I need answers,” she bites out, her agitation growing, and I smirk. It is very easy to get under her skin, and I am already enjoying it very much. I lean against the bars and cross my arms, determined to wait for the arrival of my crew.

I hear muffled chatting and shuffling footsteps long before they enter the prison area. Two humans enter, both pointing guns at my crew.

“Careful,” O’Rec sends through our link. “They know how to use the weapons and are not afraid to use them.”

Pride rises in my chest; my mate is fierce.

They shove D’Var and O’Rec into the cell with me, and they look at me expectantly. I shrug and wait to see what the humans are going to do.

“What do we do now?” One of the other humans asks my mate.

“I don’t know,” she sighs. “Did they fight you? This guy just put his hands up in the air and did everything I said.”

“Only once, female.” I cannot help but needle her a bit.

She turns her attention to me. “Shut up, you are not part of this conversation.”

D’Var lifts an eyebrow, and O’Rec smirks.

“What is this between the two of you?” O’Rec asks.

I sigh. “She is my Zarra.” Zarra is a special name for Mate.

We, the Warriors of Arracate, have one predestined mate.

We are meant to be the defenders of the Galaxy, protectors of the weak, champions of the suppressed.

It is a role given to us by the stars. And as a reward, we are given a mate specially created for us, with a bond that goes beyond the physical.

The Chief of the First Warriors found his mate on the planet of Arracate, which later became our home.

Her name was Zarra, and over time, Zarra became equal to mate.

It is not a word we use lightly. D’Var and O’Rec know the significance the moment I tell them.

They are also looking at me like they have seen a ghost —and they burst out in laughter.

“What’s happening? Why are you laughing?” My mate bites out, making D’Var laugh even harder.

“My apologies, it is just… I understand now.”

“Understand what?” She raises the gun and points it at D’Var again. I step in front of him.

“Put that gun away, we are not the enemy. ”

O’Rec, always the diplomat, scrapes his throat. “Please, hear us out. My name is O’Rec, and I am a Warrior of Arracate. Have you ever heard of us?”

Three faces stare at us, and I sigh.

“Do not interfere,” O’Rec sends me, and I growl but step back.

“We really mean you no harm, you are traveling in a Sternotheri Ship. The Sternotheri are our sworn enemies, and we are hunting down their leader, the High Commander. Was he by any chance on this ship? And may I ask what happened here?”

When the women look at each other, it is clear that my mate is their leader, which pleases me immensely.

“Why do you want him?” she asks.

I growl. “To kill him.” Grief clouds my senses when it comes to the High Commander. Once, our race thrived and we were plentiful, until the day we rescued a colony of Zhurgards from a Sternotheri oppression.

We killed the High Commander’s son that day, and he swore vengeance.

And vengeance he got, because he destroyed our entire planet, killing thousands of innocent people.

That was not enough for him, though, because he continued to hunt us in the years after.

All of that came to an end when they kidnapped O’Rec, our King, and we went after them.

We rescued O’Rec, but the High Commander killed my brother and five other Warriors. Rage boils in my blood at the thought.

He needs to die.

“Well, that sounds like a party,” she deadpans. “We have to talk amongst ourselves. We uh... we will be back.”

“Wait!” O’Rec shouts. “We have human mates, they are still on our ship. Can one of us go to them and get them? Maybe it will help if you talk to them? ”

“We will take that into consideration,” my mate says as they walk away.

“Did she just take what I think she did?” D’Var stares at the door in horror.

“Yes, they cut off a hand to open the door. I also think they have stashed dead bodies somewhere because it reeks in here.”

My mate is back before we can finish our conversation, and she points the gun at O’Rec. “You, you can come. No funny business.”

She warily opens the door to the cell and quickly closes it after O’Rec steps out. He gently walks in front of her, and I smirk at D’Var when they round the corner.

“My mate is fierce.”

“It does not seem like she likes you, though,” he says, but I shrug. She will eventually.