Page 113 of Stars in Halo

Four figures sat at the sprawling table of dark, textured altiphyte wood polished to a mirror sheen.

They were huddled around a holo display of spreadsheets.

At the sight of the newcomers, they knifed up and stared.

Xion’s lips quirked. ‘Brothers.’

Silence lingered.

All four men’s eyes tracked from Xion’s smug visage to his hand around Katya’s waist and then to her face.

Their eyes dilated even further when he leaned into her ear and whispered. ‘Wait for it.’

He added a lingering kiss to her temple, and that’s when the room exploded.

‘Fokk brother, too much!’

The hoarse rumble came from a hulking figure with a mass of short jet-black hair with blue streaks. He sported a bushy, inky beard, silver grey eyes, a stubborn chin, and a swathe of jagged scars down one side of his face. His massive feet were slung up and crossed on top of the table, and he swung them to the floor to lean in with surprise.

‘Kinais, meet Katya, my woman. Khaliya, that cursing man—ignore him, please—is Kage, call name Shadow. He once ran Sable Industries as our ship designer and tech head. Now, he runs circles around his kitchen, wife, and two kids while keeping a beady eye on our mini armada.’

She met the stare of the still-shocked man and gave him a slow smile. ‘Hi.’

‘Fokk, Xion, you’ve always been a show-off!’

This time, the exclamation came from a lean, towering, striking, and muscled man in an exquisite suit. He had dark, thick hair with silver highlights, a neat moustache, and a beard with piercing blue eyes. His elegant presence contrasted with his more casual-dressed companions. He nodded to Katya with a warm smile.

Xion winked at him. ‘Didn’t see this one coming, Zee, with all your psionic powers?’

‘Nada, but your accelerated meta velocity means you sometimes move too fast for me, kaka.’

Xion’s chest rumbled. ‘Zane, call name Phantom is our business and financial controller. He oversees our sales, logistics, private equity and finance divisions.’

‘Are you two the real deal? Or am I having a trippy fantasy?’ The man who drawled this time sported a magnificent sheathe of dead-straight ivory and silver hair. It fell to his back in an extended, smooth sheet with a braid over one shoulder.

His skin was pale, and so were his white irised eyes that he seemed a ghoul, albeit an exceedingly handsome one.

‘Riv, have I ever brought a woman up here before? Into our sanctuary ?’

‘Nada, you have not. You also avoid PDA like the plague, so this wades in the interesting-as-fokk territory.’

‘She’s here because she’s all that and more.’ Xion gave the silver-haired Rider a chin lift and turned to Katya. That kinai’s name is Riv, call name Wraith. He runs our armouries. He moonlights as the head of our secret surveillance ops and militia, and on his off days, he dallies as a bounty hunter.’

‘Pleased to meet you,’ Katya said.

‘Who are you? Really?’

The direct, clipped question came from the last man in the room, a colossal man. His long mane of dark locks whipped around his broad shoulders as he spoke. His tanned skin, from the broad neck to his upper arms and hands, was covered by gold and sapphire nebula tattoos.

The same iridescent azure, gold, and silver hues flashed on his beard, squared jaw, and full moustache. His forehead was a wall unto itself, and his ebony brows were thick and unyielding.

‘Ah last but not least Kainan. Pick your moniker: Papa Bear, khosi, flaming meta warrior king, commander of the united military forces of our System and Alliance army. He’s our self-appointed protector and leader. He growls but usually doesn’t bite unless provoked, and then he flames. Most times, he’s putty in the hands of his woman, Selene, and their babies.’

Kainan was undeterred by Xion’s wit, and he jerked his chin to her, his sapphire wildfire eyes raking her face.

These men were protective of their own, she thought. Tread with care.

She stepped out of Xion’s hold and gazed at her new acquaintances, meeting each of their cool stares with one of her own.

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