Page 47 of The Hive

I took a hesitant step toward where he leaned with his hands flat on the table’s surface, head bowed. “I’m certainly glad you didn’t. He might be a stranger to you, but he isn’t to me. You are the strangers, not him. He’s been with me through everything.” I heaved out a breath, sad and resigned. “If you want to have any chance of being with me, you’re going to have to find a way, because I won’t give Grey up. And you expect me to share. What’s the difference? I saw you with Valyx, but that only made me love you both that much more. I don’t want to lose any of you. I want us all to be together.”

“I’m doing the best I can.” He stood and turned to look at me again. “This isn’t easy for me. I’ve dreamed of a mate of my own. Valyx complicates things, but I never thought I’d have to share. It’s done in other places, but I’ve never seen it on Verden. I don’t have much experience with this. Omegas are rare. If an omega is born on Verden, they’re sent away for their safety. On top of that, I barely remember anyone having a true mate, just your parents. It was a fantasy. And then I found you and I knew.”

The door opened and Shadow stuck his head in. “We’ve got company. It might be best if you come up before Ax tries to kill someone.”

Lex’s bruised fist clench and his jaw ticked. “Fine. But this conversation isn’t over.”

“No, of course not.” My gaze dropped to the floor so that he couldn’t see my dejection as he strode out the door.

Lex made his way down the hall at a fast clip, but Shadow lagged behind, matching my slower pace. His scowl hung over me like a gloomy cloud, but I mustered a smile and slipped my hand into his. His fingers laced between mine and squeezed gently. The furrow between his brows eased and his stride turned more fluid.

The most subtle reaction spoke a thousand words that he would never say. I slowed to a stop when we got to the stairs, not letting go of his hold. He stopped and looked down at me, a question in his eyes.

Stars, he was tall. I maneuvered around him and climbed up two steps while he stayed at the bottom. It put a bit of distance between us but now was on his eye level.

“You know…” I dragged out the word, unsure of how to continue. “You know, I didn’t pick him over you, right? I need each one of you. Even you. My darkness. My shadow.” I paused, letting that sink in. “Please, don’t ever doubt how much I care about you. I’ll try to be better at communicating. They never allowed me to make my own choices. Everything was decided for me, so this has been hard for me. I’m sorry.”

He reached out, tracing my lips with his thumb softer than the last time. They tingled in response and heat rushed to my cheeks as he leaned in and pressed a soft, lingering kiss, taking the place of his thumb’s caress.

When he finally pulled back, he said, “I know,” his voice gravely and quiet.

We walked the rest of the way in companionable silence, his arm around my shoulder and mine around his waist.

Chapter Forty-Six

Saphyra

Before we even made it up the stairs, I heard bickering. Grey was standing in the doorway to the bridge and Lex and Ghost were in front of a screen where a gorgeous blond-haired alpha in a darkened cockpit gestured wildly.

His pleasant, silky voice crackled through the comms. “I should shoot you down, you crazy asshole. What am I supposed to do? You’re going to get me court-martialed. I can’t just… I don’t… What the fuck am I supposed to do with you?”

“Arkyn, calm the fuck down. I’m done arguing with you. No one is going to court-martial you. Escort us in. We have the proper codes and clearance. No one will even know the difference unless you tell them.” Ghost’s voice carried a murderous edge while clinging to a shred of civility.

Something about this Arkyn fellow rubbed my alpha the wrong way.

“They’re going to fucking know as soon as you get off the ship! And then—then—it’ll be my ass on the line.” Arkyn shifted uncomfortably on the other side of the comms display.

Ghost shared a look with Lex, who picked up the conversation. “Stop being so dramatic. Nothing will happen to you. You’re the best pilot they’ve ever had. That’s why they bribed you to defect. You could always just come home with us, asshole.”

“Okay, okay, but you have to admit, the perks are pretty nice. They have nicer ships, bigger beds, more women. I’m only helping you out of familial obligation and if they try to throw me in the brig, you better bust me out. Or, you know. You could probably outrun me in that thing and I can pretend I never saw you?” The smile he gave to the screen reminded me a lot of Ghost when he was up to something.

Ghost was the first to respond by saying, “In this ship, or any other, I could still out fly you, little brother.”

Oh my Stars, Ghost had a hot brother.

Lex cut in, halting the siblings’ dick-measuring contest. “We need to talk to the king with as few people knowing we are here as possible.”

“You should have brought a less flashy ship if you wanted that, but I think I know a way. Follow me.” The glint in Arkyn’s bright blue eyes told me he was up to mischief, but it sounded like his neck was on the line right alongside ours. There was something about him that made me want to trust him. It might have been his resemblance to Ghost, but I thought there might be more to it.

The comms screen went blank and the endless starscape beyond came back into view. A tiny blip of silver flashed as a starfighter flipped around ahead of us and headed in the direction of the largest and bluest of the three planets looming in the distance.

The smaller ship escorted us toward the ever-growing planet of blue. It was so different from what I was used to. The Hive orbited Altaira, a mecca of civilization covered in ever-expanding rings of light and industry. Arden shimmered cerulean from horizon to horizon, broken between swaths of towering silver skyscrapers and gleaming arched bridges.

I was so busy watching the ocean swelling around the massive structures that I almost fell when we darted behind a building.

“We don’t want the patrols to see this ship if possible. They know Ark is escorting a political delegation because he had to call it in, but they don’t know who, and I’d like to keep it that way,” Ghost said.

I gave him a smile and turned my attention back to the view as we sliced through the air between buildings. The erratic flying was understandable, but my nerves ran rampant.

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