Page 14 of Lorrd: Intergalactic Dating Agency (Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides Book 8)

They were officially mated.

Lorrd could scarcely contain his joy as he held a slumbering Wren in his arms. She looked so tranquil in sleep, and so enchantingly beautiful, that he thought he might stay up all night just to watch her.

Because watching her sleep so serenely brought him a sense of peace unlike anything he’d ever known.

She gave a gentle sigh and shifted, causing a strand of hair to fall across her face. He brushed it behind her ear, then pressed a kiss to her cheek. She sighed again, and this time it was a sigh of utter contentment. He was sure of it.

Yes, he could happily stay up all night holding her while he memorized the softness of her features.

His mate.

His precious female.

He pondered the virus that was affecting his ship and suppressed a growl. He would have to spend some time away from her as he worked to repair the many systems that were still damaged.

But the idea of parting with her so soon after their first mating session… he couldn’t bear to leave her side. Not yet.

He resolved to hold her for a while longer, then he would spend some time working to vanquish the virus and repair the damage it had caused. He hoped to have the ship fully operational within three days.

He’d deployed several drones to the surrounding towns, which had allowed him to analyze the combat strategies and calculate the remaining firepower of the different warring factions—the rebels, the US army, and a local militia.

After studying the data, he’d determined that they were all evenly matched, and he suspected it would take at least a week or more before the fighting spread to Hillsboro.

Unless there was a surprise development, which was always a possibility.

He sighed and resumed stroking Wren’s dark hair. It was silky soft compared to Vaxxlian hair, which was typically much coarser, and he couldn’t stop touching it.

How curious that only days ago he’d been hesitant to submit his VAMOB application.

Yet now he couldn’t imagine life without Wren.

The peace settling over him deepened, and it wasn’t long before sleep began to tug at him.

His eyes grew heavy, and he eventually nodded off…

only to awake moments later to a strange sound.

Wren tensed in his arms. Whatever it was, it had woken her as well.

He winced. The high-pitched sound filled the air, and fury gripped him when his mate covered her ears and her face twisted with pain. Whatever—whoever—was causing the painful noise would pay with their life.

He tucked Wren closer and lifted his wrist comm, then issued a command for the technology to reveal the footage from the drones that were currently monitoring Hillsboro, as well as the street the bakery was on.

But he saw nothing. No hint of encroaching danger. The streets were empty. At this late hour, most of Hillsboro was likely asleep.

He issued numerous verbal commands to the main computer, and finally an answer was provided—the high-pitched noise was the result of an unauthorized transmissions being blocked, however, as the individual sending the transmissions kept attempting workarounds, this created a feedback loop that resulted in the agonizing noise.

Wren shot him a worried look, though she didn’t say anything.

She simply watched as he hurriedly donned a fresh warrior’s uniform, then rushed to a small command console he’d recently installed in his quarters.

He hated to leave her side, but he needed to further assess the transmissions.

His fingers danced over the console and the screens.

Fluxx . It was Poseidon.

There was now no doubt in his mind that the original transmissions from the planetary broadcast system had been intentional.

He peered over his shoulder briefly, giving Wren a reassuring look. “Don’t worry, little star. I’ll have this matter sorted out quickly, and I’ll do my best to stop that awful sound,” he called out. “Don’t be afraid.”

Seated in the middle of the bed, wearing nothing but his discarded black warrior uniform shirt from earlier, she dug her fingers into her ears and nodded in understanding.

He reminded himself that even though the noise might be uncomfortable to her, just as it was to him, it would not cause her any permanent damage. Any potential damage to her ear drums would be fixed by the nanobots coursing through her bloodstream, and it would be the same for him.

But Star God, how he wished he could take away her discomfort.

He spun in his seat and focused on isolating the rotating frequencies of the unsanctioned transmissions. He couldn’t yet tell if the new transmissions contained another virus, but he didn’t want to take any chances, and he created several kill command codes just in case.

At last, he managed to stop the incoming transmissions—and the noise—by masking the Kerrla’s unique signature and then remotely installing it on one of the drones that currently monitored the skies of Hillsboro.

He waited at the console until he was certain the tactic had worked, and he nearly released a cry of triumph when it did. The transmissions now kept hitting the drone, while the drone mimicked the responses of his ship. It was the perfect strategy.

Indeed, the new transmissions contained a virus, but at least it was affecting the drone rather than the Kerrla . If he worked fast, he could still have his vessel repaired and ready for launch in three days. Possibly two.

“What’s happening, Lorrd?” Wren’s worried voice reached him, and he turned to face her, then rose from the console chair and rushed to her side.

He gathered her close and inwardly cursed whoever was responsible for the repeated attacks on his ship—on his ship, on him, and most of all, on his mate. Murderous impulses seized him, but he forced in some deep breaths and strived to remain calm. He didn’t want to scare Wren with his rage.

He would solve this problem. He would fix his ship and get Wren to safety. He would take Wren back to New Vaxx, where a planetary shield protected the entire world from enemy attack.

But if he took Wren to safety at the first opportunity, would he miss out on the chance to make the culprits pay? In his mind, whoever had sent the transmissions deserved to die, and if someone had paid them to send the transmissions, then they deserved to die as well.

“It will be all right, little star.” He smoothed a hand through her hair. “Are you okay? Do your ears still hurt?” He withdrew slightly from the embrace and peered down at her, wanting to verify her wellbeing, even though logically he knew the nanobots would take care of any bodily matters.

“I am fine, Lorrd, but thank you for your concern.” She exhaled a shuddering breath. “It would seem you have an enemy, or perhaps someone wants to keep you from leaving Earth.”

“Unfortunately, I think you might be right,” he replied, but the situation still confounded him. Because he’d never visited Earth before, nor had he had many interactions with humans during trading missions to outposts as he’d helped collect supplies for New Vaxx.

The only possibility that made sense was… Wren.

Harmony. The guards in the street, including her brother.

The fluxxing Prophet.

Perhaps Harmony possessed resources—including galactic credits—that Wren wasn’t aware of. It would make sense that regular citizens of the compound wouldn’t know much about the Prophet’s activities.

“Wren, I’m afraid I must ask you a few more questions about the compound,” he said.

Her eyes flared with surprise. “Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you, but I still don’t think Harmony could have anything to do with this. The Prophet doesn’t like working with the outside world. He only sends guards out when runaways need to be tracked down, or supplies are needed.”

“Supplies from the outside world?” Lorrd continued stroking her hair, hoping to provide her with comfort as he questioned her about the repressive place she’d fled. “How does Harmony pay for these supplies?”

Wren appeared pensive. “I asked my brother about this once, since he was sometimes sent to the towns for supplies, and he wouldn’t give me a straight answer.

He changed the subject quickly, and I was afraid to ask him again.

If I’d appeared too curious about the outside world, it could’ve tipped him off that I was thinking about leaving. ”

“I don’t fault you for being careful and not questioning your brother further, little star.

” He lifted her and set her directly upon his lap, then he wrapped his arms around her, guiding her to rest her head against his chest. He commenced running his hands up and down her back.

How brave she was to have escaped a place like Harmony.

He'd sent drones toward the town earlier, of course, after privately asking Myles where it was located. The images transmitted back to the Kerrla had showed a small, enclosed town that contained over a thousand tiny houses—most of them dilapidated—and a few larger buildings as well. Lorrd supposed one of those larger buildings served as the Prophet’s home, but after studying the images from the drones, he hadn’t been able to figure out which one.

There was also a tall watchtower in the center of the compound, which several armed guards had occupied.

Though the images sent by the drones hadn’t revealed any indications of wealth, there was no telling how much money the Prophet possessed.

He likely didn’t keep old-fashioned paper money or even gold on hand, the type of physical money humans had used before most of Earth transitioned to galactic credits.

He might have secret accounts that contained vast amounts of galactic credits, credits he might’ve used to pay off a corporation like Poseidon.

An idea struck Lorrd, and he rose from the bed with Wren in his arms and took a seat at the console in his quarters again. She sat quietly on his lap, watching as his fingers bounced over the console.

At last, after a bit of hacking, he found what he was looking for—evidence that Poseidon recently received a deposit of one hundred thousand galactic credits from a private account based right here in Virginia.

Well, he was now more suspicious of the Prophet than ever.

“Wren, little star, have you ever heard the name ‘Amos Stanley Elrod?”

“No, never,” she said with a shake of her head.

“I believe that’s the so-called Prophet’s name, and I’ve found evidence that he sent a substantial sum to Poseidon very recently. One hundred thousand galactic credits to be exact.”

Her brow furrowed. “That doesn’t make sense. Even if Harmony, or the Prophet himself, possessed that sort of money, I don’t understand why they would use it to try to keep you—or rather, me —grounded on Earth.”

“The evidence is there on the screen,” he said with a nod at the console. “Someone from Harmony wants to keep you from leaving. But please don’t worry, my sweet mate. Whatever it takes, I will keep you safe. Anyone who dares to try to take you away from me will pay with their life.”