Page 6 of Keeping Freya
“What do we do now?” One of the other humans asks my mate.
“I don’t know,” she sighs. “Did they fight you? This guy just put his hands up in the air and did everything I said.”
“Only once, female.” I cannot help but needle her a bit.
She turns her attention to me. “Shut up, you are not part of this conversation.”
D’Var lifts an eyebrow, and O’Rec smirks.
“What is this between the two of you?”O’Rec asks.
I sigh.“She is my Zarra.”Zarra is a special name for Mate. We, the Warriors of Arracate, have one predestined mate. We are meant to be the defenders of the Galaxy, protectors of the weak, champions of the suppressed. It is a role given to us by the stars. And as a reward, we are given a mate specially created for us, with a bond that goes beyond the physical. The Chief of the First Warriors found his mate on the planet of Arracate, which later became our home. Her name was Zarra, and over time, Zarra became equal to mate. It is not a word we use lightly. D’Var and O’Rec know the significance the moment I tell them. They are also looking at me like they have seen a ghost —and they burst out in laughter.
“What’s happening? Why are you laughing?” My mate bites out, making D’Var laugh even harder.
“My apologies, it is just… I understand now.”
“Understand what?” She raises the gun and points it at D’Var again. I step in front of him.
“Put that gun away, we are not the enemy.”
O’Rec, always the diplomat, scrapes his throat. “Please, hear us out. My name is O’Rec, and I am a Warrior of Arracate. Have you ever heard of us?”
Three faces stare at us, and I sigh.
“Do not interfere,”O’Rec sends me, and I growl but step back.
“We really mean you no harm, you are traveling in a Sternotheri Ship. The Sternotheri are our sworn enemies, and we are hunting down their leader, the High Commander. Was he by any chance on this ship? And may I ask what happened here?”
When the women look at each other, it is clear that my mate is their leader, which pleases me immensely.
“Why do you want him?” she asks.
I growl. “To kill him.” Grief clouds my senses when it comes to the High Commander. Once, our race thrived and we were plentiful, until the day we rescued a colony of Zhurgards from a Sternotheri oppression.
We killed the High Commander’s son that day, and he swore vengeance. And vengeance he got, because he destroyed our entire planet, killing thousands of innocent people. That was not enough for him, though, because he continued to hunt us in the years after. All of that came to an end when they kidnapped O’Rec, our King, and we went after them. We rescued O’Rec, but the High Commander killed my brother and five other Warriors. Rage boils in my blood at the thought.
He needs to die.
“Well, that sounds like a party,” she deadpans. “We have to talk amongst ourselves. We uh... we will be back.”
“Wait!” O’Rec shouts. “We have human mates, they are still on our ship. Can one of us go to them and get them? Maybe it will help if you talk to them?”
“We will take that into consideration,” my mate says as they walk away.
“Did she just take what I think she did?” D’Var stares at the door in horror.
“Yes, they cut off a hand to open the door. I also think they have stashed dead bodies somewhere because it reeks in here.”
My mate is back before we can finish our conversation, and she points the gun at O’Rec. “You, you can come. No funny business.”
She warily opens the door to the cell and quickly closes it after O’Rec steps out. He gently walks in front of her, and I smirk at D’Var when they round the corner.
“My mate is fierce.”
“It does not seem like she likes you, though,” he says, but I shrug. She will eventually.
CHAPTER 4
