Page 29 of Hunted

why I hadn’t seen anyone else once they’d walked past my cell from the transport pad. Why only I knew of the other Hunters’ deaths.

Zan didn’t know why they’d separated us from the other prisoners, and I didn’t either. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know. I did, however, hope the blue bastard was trapped down there—because my mate had locked the place down before we transported out—with the rest of them. He had tortured me, effectively murdered my friends. If I understood the latest Coalition reports correctly, the Nexus were believed to be the elite leaders of the Hive, their commanders and organizers. The brains that ran their entire operation. They were a unique species, conquering and integrating the rest of us to use in their war.

One had even tried to create a female mate for himself. Or so I’d heard. That rumor hadn’t been in any official reports, but I had contacts on Rogue 5, and according to them, the female in question—a human like my mate—had not only escaped a Nexus unit, but managed to set a trap and kill him. The very idea made me want to go rip heads off like an Atlan beast.

When that specific Hive Nexus had died, thousands of integrated warriors had dropped dead on the battlefield in several nearby sectors of space. The scientists on Rogue 5 believed that most of the fallen had died from the shock of such an abrupt mental separation, but some had blinked, looked around and woken as if from a nightmare.

I’d asked around, within the Coalition, but the Intelligence Core was tight-lipped about the Nexus units and what they did—or didn’t—know about the Hive leadership. They didn’t share information, because the Nexus had spies as well.

My mate was tracing her finger along the map projected onto the table, laying out priorities for extraction.

The first was to save any warriors currently inside the medical labs where the integrations were installed. That area was closest to the transport room, and next to where they’d held me. That transport station was on the third level, deep underground. Before Niobe’s arrival, it had not been well defended.

We had no idea what we’d be dealing with this time around, which was why an entire attack force was going to hit the base at the surface in a full-frontal assault. Fighting ships, Atlan and Prillon units on the ground, charging the landing bays and exterior doors.

ReCon teams, led by Commander Chloe Phan’s primary mate, Captain Seth Mills, would transport directly inside Level One and attack from the inside.

Chloe sat between her mates, Seth, the human, who would lead the ReCon teams. Her other mate, a Prillon warrior named Dorian, would be on the outside leading a squadron of fighters providing aerial cover, in case the Hive attacked.

“Dora and Christopher will remain here with me,” Lady Karter said. The commander’s mate sat at the far end of the table and held Chloe’s gaze as the two women shared a look I understood well. A vow, Erica to Chloe, to care for Chloe’s children should all three of them fall.

“Thank you, Erica.” Chloe blinked hard. Based on what I knew of human females, I assumed she was fighting tears. Her mate, Seth, placed a hand on her arm, just for a moment. The touch didn’t linger and I understood. Like me, he could not afford to undermine his mate’s authority in front of the others, but he also could not ignore her pain. I knew how their collars worked, connecting them emotionally. Chloe was a commander, equal in rank to Commander Karter himself, though her rank came from the I.C., and not the Coalition Fleet’s traditional—and bloody—selection process.

She was no less respected for not bleeding in an arena.

In the seat on Erica’s right sat a Prillon warrior I’d never seen before, but the insignia on his collar made his rank that of commander as well.

By the gods, I doubted there had been this much rank in one room outside of Prillon Prime’s war room in years. Three commanders, an Elite Hunter and a vice admiral?

The Prillon was inspecting my female, his gaze intense. Interested.

“Why do you not simply supply your transport codes to us, Vice Admiral?” The Prillon’s question was nearly a growl.

“Who are you?” I asked. If I needed to, I could have his throat slit before he’d leaned back in his chair, one of the perks of being Hunter swift. Unlike an Atlan, I was subtle, fast and deadly.

“I am Commander Zeus.”

Chloe, Erica and Niobe all turned as one, the look on their faces one of confusion. “Zeus?” My mate’s voice held more interest than I liked. “How did you come by that name?”

The commander dipped his chin toward my female. “My second father is human, from a place on Earth called Greece. He named me after a human god who threw thunderbolts at his enemies.”

Niobe grinned, as did Chloe. “Fascinating. Is your father’s name Kronos?”

Zeus frowned. So did I.

“Is your father still alive?” she asked. “I’d love to meet him.”

“He is not. My mother, alone, survives. She is on Prillon Prime, protected and cared for in my absence.”

Enough. “Commander Zeus, why are you here?” I asked.

Commander Karter cleared his throat. “Commander Zeus has taken command of Sector 438.”

“Battleship Zeus has replaced the Varsten.” Chloe supplied the information to my mate as if Niobe would know what she was speaking about. I had no doubt that she did. The Varsten had been destroyed by a Hive stealth ship and its destruction was still under investigation. We hadn’t been able to track down the remaining Hive ships.

That’s why my unit of Elite Hunters had been requested. I’d been on more Hive controlled planets, inside more caves and abandoned ships than I cared to remember. And nothing had been found. No plans. No rumors. No hint of where the new technology came from or where the Hive planned to deploy another stealth ship. No clues about when or where the next deadly attack might come. When the next battleship would be blown into space dust.

My only job in coming to Battleship Karter, and then transporting down to Latiri 4, had been to track that threat. Find out more information. Hunt down the source so the Fleet could eliminate the new Hive weapon.

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