Page 37 of Surprise Mates

“The ship was destroyed,” Ander said.

Destroyed?

“I… I want those clothes now,” I said, needing a minute, unable to process what they were telling me—or rather, not telling me. At least not with words. The grim look on Ander’s face made my chest ache and the backs of my eyelids burn with denial.

Jessica nodded and stood, going to my closet as Ander spun on his heel, faced away to give me some privacy. She returned with a sweatshirt and yoga pants, the ones that Nik said he liked. I climbed from the bed and tugged them on as my brain processed.

The ship was destroyed? But Ander is here. He was on the ship, too. Right? So where are Nik and Sam?

I pulled my long hair from the neckline of my sweatshirt as I said, “What do you mean, it was destroyed? Blown up? Crashed? What?”

Ander darted a glance over his shoulder, then seeing me dressed, turned around. I stood so small before him in my rattiest of clothes while Jessica was dressed in her gorgeous Prillon finery, ever the queen.

I kept talking. “Where are Nik and Sam? Are they hurt? You’ve got blood on you. You went to the meeting, too, didn’t you? Are you injured?”

Ander glanced down. “No injuries a ReGen wand won’t fix.”

Meaning he had been hurt but came here, to speak to me, before treating his injury.

“Then take me to Sam and Nik.” If they were hurt, I wanted to see them.

Ander shook his head, his fists clenched at his sides. “While the collar about your neck is not Lorvar blue and you are not officially Lord Niklas’s mate, it is my duty to be the bearer of bad news.”

My heart began to beat frantically, and I became light-headed. I had an idea of what he was going to say, yet I held my breath.

“As general in the Coalition, it is with great sadness that I share with you that this morning Niklas Lorvar and Sambor Treval were both believed killed in action when the cargo carrier they were on was attacked by multiple Hive Scout ships. External scanners on Battleship Karter registered an explosion, after which, they lost contact with the ship.”

My knees gave out, and I dropped onto the bed. Stared up at Ander.

“What do you mean, they lost contact?” No. Just no. My brain refused to process the words. “You were there. What happened to them? You came back. Why didn’t they come with you?”

His lips pressed into a thin line. “They insisted I leave first, placing my safety above their own.”

God, that sounded exactly like something Nik and Sam would do. Damn them.

I felt a sob well up, but I fought it down with cold, hard logic. “What about escape pods? Maybe the ship crashed somewhere and they’re still alive. Did they send anyone out to search for them?”

Ander bowed his head, and Jessica sat next to me, taking my hand as Ander answered my questions and more.

“The Karter sent out multiple probes to look for wreckage. They looked for hours, but there were no life signs, no comm signals. All they could find were—”

He stopped and I wanted to kick him. “Finish that sentence. What did they find?”

“Pieces of the ship. Wreckage.” He shuddered and Jessica quickly wiped a tear from her cheek and I realized they were sharing emotions through their mating collars. Of course they were. The pain on Jessica’s face made this all too real.

“They can’t be dead.” I licked my suddenly dry lips. “They were just here.” I pointed at the bed.

Jessica settled closer and leaned her head against mine. Her hand squeezed my fingers, and either hers were warm or mine cold. “Honey, I know. I’m so sorry.”

“Why? Why were you there? Why did they have to go? What was so damn important?” Rage built in me, and I clung to it, used it to bury the pain piercing my skull like an ice pick.

“They weren’t after us,” Ander explained. “We set up a meeting with a human female who has unique Hive implants. She and her mate agreed to meet with us.”

“Gwen. You’re talking about Gwen.” I had heard of the famous human woman who had tracked and killed a Hive Nexus unit in the tunnels beneath The Colony. She’d fought like a demon in the fighting pits, too. Governor Maxim had forced her to take a mate because she had been causing so much trouble.

I’d heard the stories during my time on The Colony, and I’d secretly admired her. She sounded awesome. Like a real badass. She was the reason my guys were dead? Nothing made sense.

“If the Hive wanted Gwen, why did they blow the ship up?” I asked.

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