Page 21 of The Ozar Triad

Rujali picked out three who not only enslaved their females, but sold them to other species as though they were worthless.

“May those males be cursed for eternity. Riley will learn her place at our side. Coming from such a barbaric species, she will grow to love her new life.” Protective instincts rose within him. The possessiveness that coursed through him were the stirrings of the mate-sync, he knew, but even if Riley was not their mate, he would do anything and everything he could to keep her safe, simply because she was female, and that was what honorable males did.

Setzan paused again. “What if she doesn’t? She is an unknown species and she gave us quite a fight. She is not without skills. If she is what she said she is, and I have no doubt to her truth, then how are we to know she will love the life we are taking her to? Our females do, but they are gentle and not interested in fighting. Fighting is what Riley knows. The transition could be quite difficult for her.”

The concept was foreign, but Setzan was right. Apart from the fact she was their mate, there was little else they knew about her, other than the fact that his blood heated and his cock hardened with the mere thought of her. Rujali adjusted his position in his seat to alleviate the seam of his leathers inhibiting his erection.

However, the thought of sending her out to fight, simply because that was what she did on her planet, did not sit well with him. His mate would neverhaveto fight again. She would know a life of pleasure at their hands. She would be coveted, protected, and loved. That was all there was to it.

“Brother, we need to get her to our Homeland where we know she will be safe. But we owe it to our countrymen to find the crystal so they can share the same joy. If we don’t return the crystal, no one will find their mates. Can you locate it?”

Setzan set the chip on the tracker he’d built into the control console of the bridge and adjusted the controls. It was a small, black, shiny screen that he’d coded to track the frequency of energy from the Ozar Crystal. Using the chip as the energy source, the tracker matched the energy frequency. It was fortunate that the crystal was entirely unique to that of anything else in the universe. The viewscreen changed from the spaceport to a schematic of the entire planet ofIsildur. A light blipped.

Setzan focused the coordinates on the light and a topical view of the landscape formed above the tracker in a holographic display of three dimensional lines of bright light. “It’s coming from one of the cave systems just south of here.”

Rujali cursed. No one ventured far into the cave systems. No one knew what actually lived underground, and no one was willing to take the chance to find out. Beings that went in were never heard from again. Life was hard enough on this planet and many did not take up the challenge of cave exploration.

“It seems to be stationary,” Setzan said.

Rujali’s sixth sense pricked up. Like the spaceport they were in, there was something not quite right going on out there. Beings scurried back and forth, but every so often one would glance up at them, as though cataloguing information about their craft and who was aboard it before darting away. It also seemed to be much busier earlier on, while now only certain species wandered past. It seemed to be a staged, controlled surveillance. “We will need to be careful. It seems strange that we’ve chased the crystal from one end of the galaxy and back, yet the moment we find our mate, it remains stationary on a planet such as this.”

“It does sound strange, but at least it’s within our reach for the first time in ten years. Maybe we’re just overthinking things. Maybe this was where the species that stole it intended it to come, and finding our mate is just coincidence,” Setzan said.

“Bit too much of a coincidence,” Rujali murmured. Yet still, it was their first chance to retrieve their crystal. The whys and hows could be established after they had it. One thing he had promised himself was that the thief or thieves responsible would pay—dearly. “We will need to be very careful with our attack. We’ll have one chance and one chance only to get it back. At the same time, we will need to keep our mate safe.”

“We’ll do it. For the first time in a long time, I look forward to our future.” Setzan offered one of his quick smiles.

“Let’s talk to Klaej. Devise a plan. We’ll attack before dawn. But first, I want to check our mate and see that she is resting.” Rujali rose from the seat and paused. “Did you administer the Corrective?”

“I told Klaej do to it after she was asleep. Judging by her reaction to us, I thought it prudent if she rested without sustaining herself further injuries,” Setzan said.

Rujali nodded. “I didn’t like giving it to her to begin with. It’s not a nice feeling, not being in control of your body.”

“She was understandably frantic. We had to do something. She was certainly angry enough.” Setzan frowned. “Do you think that’s possible she’s never heard about us before? She was extremely confused. Frightened. It’s hard to believe she’s never seen a different species before.”

Rujali pressed his lips together. “My thoughts exactly. I’ve never seen another being remotely like her before either.”

“But there have been no new planet discoveries for centuries. Our universe has all been explored. All populated worlds are well known.” Setzan shifted, looking as uncomfortable as Rujali felt, voicing words that didn’t sound untrue. “But what if, somehow, her planet was never discovered before now? You remember your history lessons about primitive worlds. If her planet is archaic enough to send females to war, then it may be first contact for her.”

Rujali nodded. “I’ve also never seen those scaled ones before either. We will have to question her, and if it is true, assure her that we are nothing like them. She may have a lot to learn. Come, let us find our mate.”

Setzan grabbed Rujali’s shoulder as he went to exit the cabin. “What if this is all too much for her and she can’t cope and wants to go home?”

He hated the reality, but there was more at stake than the wants of their mate. More than even their wants and needs.

Rujali drew in a deep breath. “Then we will do everything in our power to make sure she never wants to return to her planet, because one thing is clear—she is never going home. Our future depends too much on it for her to ever go back to such a backward planet.”

He tried to ignore the hard knot that weighed down the pit of his stomach as he made his way to his quarters, but it didn’t move an inch. As he approached his quarters, the filaments retracted to allow him entry. Setzan followed as Klaej leaned over their mate and administering the Corrective. She was bundled in the covers up to her chin, her eyes closed and relaxed. Klaej had done a good job at making her comfortable.

“She is asleep?” Rujali spoke quietly so as not to disturb her.

Klaej nodded. “She fought it, but it didn’t take long once I settled her here. She was obviously exhausted, physically and mentally. How she got here, what she went through, was clearly overwhelming for her.”

“How is her shoulder wound?” Rujali asked, his brows drawing together.

“By the time she wakes, it will be almost healed,” Klaej said.

“She looks so peaceful.” Setzan stepped closer to the bed and brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. Even though she had no horns, she was the most beautiful female he’d even laid eyes on. Her lack of horns, as well as other differences in their species, only made her more exotic.

---