Page 45 of Sloane

He told me yesterday that the smugglers probably won't know what they are, but even if they do, it's not uncommon for mated males to get them tattooed when a female allows him the honor of claiming her. If everything goes according to plan, the smugglers will never see me, so they won't know the one who put those bond marks on my Varons was me.

Phial, Holoth, and Essa will know what they are and that they aren't tattoos as soon as they see them, though. And that's an even scarier thought, because we don't know how the crew will react to finding out about the mating. I'm almost positive everyone will be happy, but Jovi and Alik don't trust Essa not to stab them a few times since they broke so many rules to claim me.

"Alik?" My voice feels so small as it leaves me.

I know this was always part of what I signed up for, but now that it's time, I'm starting to panic. Alik's eyes flash over to me, and then he's on his knees in front of me in an instant, pulling me close to him and cradling me.

The bedroom door opens, and Jovi peeks his head in. He sees us on the ground and joins us, one hand on my back, the other brushing through my hair in a soothing manner. He moves the sleeves of his shirt up, showing off his bond marks and reminding me of their presence.

"Nothing's going to happen to you, Sloane," Alik says with so much conviction that I can't help but trust him.

He helps me slide on a shirt he grabs off the floor. I don't have anything with a high neck to hide my bandaged bite marks, so I'm dressed in one of Alik's shirts and have the bottom arms wrapped around my abdomen and tied in the front.

"Alik scanned the ship already. They have one ship with three crew members, not including the single human they have on their ship. They're here to pick up a single human from us. They think we aren't major smugglers, just opportunists, which means they don't expect us to be prepared to take them down." Jovi repeats everything they told me yesterday when Alik finished his scan of their ship. "There are no other ships out there watching us, and they don't have a communication dead switch. Chances are these are small fish in the chain of this whole operation, and we just need their files to see who hired them."

"I'm safe?" I ask, looking between the two, whose faces have hardened.

"Nothing and no one will ever hurt you," Alik says, his words coming out as more of a snarl.

The bedroom door opens again. This time, Essa is the one sticking her head in. "Five minutes."

"We'll be right out," Jovi says, waving Essa away.

She gives me a concerned look as her jaw ticks back and forth. She doesn't leave like Jovi and Alik both want her to. No, she takes a step inside and pulls out one of her blasters from its holster. Alik and Jovi move to stand in front of me, unsure of what Essa's doing. She shakes her head, shooing them out of her way, and then offers the blaster to me.

"No blasters for the pleasure crew, but you are not pleasure crew right now." Essa gives me a soft smile, and I wrap my hand around the weapon.

She moves to my side and begins to explain how it works to me. I need to flick the safety off, point, and pull the trigger. It's easy enough to remember, but it doesn't stop the shaking in my bones when I'm holding it. Okay, so maybe I now regret ever wanting one of these things.

"You won't need to use it, but it's nice to feel like you can protect yourself, yes?" Essa stands back up to her full height, her tail tightening around my ankle. She looks at my two mates as we stand there in silence for a moment while I get used to holding the blaster.

I know exactly when she notices the black markings on Jovi's uncovered wrists. Her entire body goes rigid, and her face fills with rage. I can't even imagine having it pinned on me and not wilting.

My instincts are screaming for me to run, to hide. Jovi and Alik flinch as Essa's pupils constrict into thin lines, and her fangs sink lower. I have to look away, unable to look at Essa when she's like this without having fear stiffen my body. Jovi slaps a hand over his eyes, but Alik stares at her even as his fingers start shaking and his nose crinkles back in a snarl.

"We'll talk about this when lives are not at stake, yes?" Essa's voice is gentle and sweet as she turns away from all of us to face the doorway. It lessens the iciness of the fear coating my spine and limbs.

I really need to ask Essa how she does that. Preferably when I'm one hundred percent sure I'm not going to pee my pants.

"That was the plan," Alik says dryly. His hands fight to hide their shake, but I see the relief in his stature. "The only reason we're not showing them off was to keep you all focused on the mission."

"Let's go then," Essa says, her tail tightening on my ankle. She turns back around to show us that she's calmed down significantly.

"After you," Alik says, refusing to leave this room until it's just him and me.

He and Essa get into a staring contest for a moment until she relents and releases her tail from around my ankle. I can see her hands flexing as she walks out, and I'm almost positive I see her grab one of her daggers from the holster on her thigh.

I run to the door, grabbing Essa's hand with my free one and making her turn around to face me. "Please don't hurt them." She narrows her golden eyes at me, her anger palpable in the air. "I really, really like them, and I don't want you to hurt them."

Essa's jaw ticks once, twice, and then she sighs. "I won't hurt your mates," she says as she re-holsters the dagger. She looks behind me with a scowl. "Yet. I make no promises once we are done with this mission."

"Awe, Essa," Jovi taunts her as he throws an arm over my shoulder, "You called me her mate. That's so sweet of you."

Jovi's so deliberate and sneaky about getting me back in the room that I don't notice he's maneuvering me behind him until Alik grabs me from under his arm and guides me into the bathroom. Jovi keeps Essa occupied in the doorway as Alik gets me situated in the bathroom.

"You lock this door when I leave. You have your blaster. We have the knock. Is there anything you need?" Alik looks around frantically like he's forgotten something important and won'tremember it until he's indisposed with the mission. He pats my shoulders and down my arms and finally gives himself a last nod. "We'll be back soon."

"Be safe," I add, right before he leaves. "And tell Jovi to be safe, too."

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