Page 41 of Viken Command

“Worse than that,” Oran added. “We used her, like her father did.”

“That’s right,” King Drogan said. “She came to you in good faith, determined to start a new life, to allow herself to love you.”

I was going to be sick.

“We asked Leah to speak with her, to try to explain.” King Lev cleared his throat. “But Whitney refuses to see reason. She is hurting, in large part due to all that busy work you were doing.”

I let my head drop. I stared at the sleek metal floor. “Fuck.”

“Exactly,” King Tor said.

We’d wronged Whitney in so many ways. Used her mind, her body… and her heart against her. We’d lied. Deceived. Used. Yes, we’d been following orders, but that did not lessen Whitney’s pain. We should have trusted her, as she had trusted us. From the first day, the first moment. Trusted the match. She would not be matched to me if she were anything less than honorable. Courageous. Worthy in every way to be mine.

I took a deep breath, let it out. “I would allow you shoot us all now for our stupidity, but we must at least apologize to her first.”

I glanced to Oran and Teig, who nodded in agreement.

“Shooting you would be the easy way out,” King Tor said. “You are honorable Vikens. I’ve known you for years, all three of you. You are also newly mated, which means you’ve been thinking not with your brains, but with your cocks. Your hearts.”

“That’s right,” King Drogan added. “You were protecting her from the danger of your mission. We understand, as would any male in the Coalition. But you were not mated to a Coalition fighter. Your mate was Whitney, and she does not see events that way. Hers is the only viewpoint that should be important to you now.”

King Tor agreed. “Your mate is all that matters. How she feels. How she thinks. How she loves.”

I couldn’t have agreed more. That was why we were trying to see her. “Take us to her.”

“We cannot. A Viken female scorned is a she-devil. An Earth woman scorned?” King Tor said, shaking his head slowly. “You may wish we shot you dead right now.”

“Perhaps Leah’s Earth god will help them,” King Lev grumbled, and I wasn’t sure if the words were spoken in jest or in earnest.

I knew they were right. We’d gone on many missions, for the Coalition and for the I.C. We’d trained, we’d practiced. We’d fought. Survived. Those trials had meant nothing compared to this.

We were in for a fight with Whitney. A fight for our match, for our future. For love.

This was one battle we would not lose, for the only heart that was worth protecting was Whitney’s. We’d see it whole, w

hether that included us or not.

I looked at each king in turn, making my intention clear. “Take us to our mate.”

Again King Tor shook his head in denial but it was King Drogan who spoke. “She will be informed of your arrival but she is currently in the garden with her new mates.”

“What?” Oran walked toward the door, but a line of royal guards filled the space. We would stay here, or we would have to fight our way out.

That option was suicide, and would not get Whitney back.

King Lev stepped up to stand by his brothers and the three males were formidable when shoulder to shoulder. “You will not leave this room. She must choose to come to you.”

11

Whitney

The gardens around the palace were lovely. The food was delicious, of what I ate of it. The three mates who sat with me were handsome and attentive. Leah had been the chaperone, the one to make conversation and ask questions. Without her, I’d have sat there like a lump.

When she rose to leave, Kayson, Geros and Mal stood and bowed to their queen, I grabbed her hand.

“Where are you going?” I asked desperately, as if these guys were here to kill me, not make me blissfully happy.

“My kings need me,” she replied. Her shrewd gaze flicked to the guys. “You don’t.”

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