Page 27 of Guardians

“Took you long enough,” Diego grumbled an hour and a half later as Malik strolled into the dining area. He looked so fucking pleased with himself that Diego wanted to punch him in the face. They all knew they’d have to share Lexie when Kane suggested they claim her, but Diego hadn’t realized howprovokingit would be to have a female in the house. And he hadn’t realized how much he would want her. Lexie was amazing. Brave and compassionate, spirited yet eager or at least willing to submit to him. In his wildest imaginings, he hadn’t dared to picture a female as perfect as their mate.

“I wanted to make sure she was asleep,” Malik said as he joined Diego and Kane at the table.

“It sounded like she enjoyed herself,” Kane commented with a smirk.

That was an understatement. Her moans, gasps, and cries had been torture for Diego. He was solitary by nature. It had taken him many months before sharing a cabin with other hybrids hadfelt natural. He wasn’t sure he would ever adjust to sharing a female.

Malik picked up the glass ofiollathat Kane slid across the table to him. “I know sharing her is the only thing that makes sense, but it’s going to take some getting used to.”

Diego nodded, glad he wasn’t the only one struggling with the concept. He absently stroked the tabletop. He could still see Lexie bent over this table, legs spread, hips raised as Kane drove into her wet pussy. Watching another man fuck her had made Diego painfully hard. The only thing that kept him from shifting and ripping Kane’s throat out was the knowledge that she had agreed to give him access to her supple body as well. “If I don’t think about something other than sex for a while, our mate isn’t going to be able to walk in the morning.”

Kane chuckled. “Fair enough. Until more coalitions claim mates, Lexie must be guarded. How do we protect her without neglecting our responsibilities?”

“We guard her in shifts and Zion just deals with our absence. He has twelve guardians. She has three,” Diego said, feeling particularly combative. He desperately wanted to walk back into that bedroom, bury himself in her welcoming body, and stay there for the rest of the night.

“Speaking of absences, what’s going on with you and the Shadows?” Kane asked. “You’ve been spending more time with them than with the guardians lately.”

“I’m their leader,” Diego objected. “I have no choice.”

Malik’s brow arched and his head tilted as he said, “Zion told you to train them and organize their missions, not accompany them each time they leave the village.”

“I have skills the others don’t,” Diego insisted. “It’s that simple.”

Kane crossed his arms over his chest and studied Diego. “Can you tell us what all these secret missions have been about? Not knowing what the hell you’re up to is seriously annoying.”

“Feeling left out?” Diego teased.

“Frankly, yes. We’re a coalition,” Kane stressed unapologetically. “We should have no secrets from each other.”

Kane had a point. The purpose of a coalition was to support each other and provide companionship. The support part was impossible if the others had no idea what he was doing. “It’s likely the mission will fail. It’s a long shot at best so Zion doesn’t want to give anyone false hope.”

“False hope about what?” Malik lifted both hands, his frustration obvious. “Now you have to tell us.”

Diego considered his options. Kane and Malik were guardians, privy to Zion’s most confidential decisions. Was there really any harm in explaining? “Travis, the wolf I’ve been working with, found one of the shuttles left behind when they dropped off the humans.”

“The rest had been disabled. Was this one functional?” Malik’s eyes widened and his face lit up with anticipation.

Diego shook his head. “This is why I didn’t tell anyone. You’re already getting your hopes up.”

“Sorry.” His expression calmed and his voice grew expressionless as he added, “Go on.”

“The shuttle has been disabled, but whoever sabotaged it didn’t know what they were doing, or had been paid off, or who knows what. They did a shitty job of destroying the vital systems.”

“Are communications operational?” Kane asked, clearly trying to appear less excited than he felt.

Diego shook his head. “The entire component was removed. We can’t use it as a relay. However, much of the damage required only minor repairs so me and Travis took it on. We managed to drag it into a cave with a team ofdorrenso we could tackle the more complicated problems. But navigation needs to be completely reengineered and there’s only one person on Rydaria with the skills to even attempt it.”

“Gabriel,” Kane and Malik said in unison.

The dislike in their tones made Diego smile. Gabriel was one of the brothers who ran the raptor village and he could be a real pain in the ass. Unfortunately, he was also an aerospace engineer with a strong background in spaceship mechanics.

“Did he agree to help you?” Kane asked.

Diego tensed, staring off into the distance. “We’re still negotiating.”

“You shouldn’t need to negotiate. Getting off this fucking planet benefits the raptors just as much as it benefits us.”

Diego nodded, but Kane’s vehemence didn’t change the situation. “Nothing is ever that easy with Gabriel. But I’ll keep working on him.”

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