Mated to the Warriors (2 page)

“Oh, no, dear,” the warden commented. “That was the recorded mating ritual of another human bride. That recording is several years old and belonged to a bride I sent there in the early days of the program.” Warden Egara’s face held a hint of a smile, the first I’d seen from her since entering the building for processing several days ago. She was very dedicated to her job. Very thoughtful, as if she had a personal interest in the happiness of every unmated warrior in the galaxy.

“You mean… I? That was… what?” What was I trying to say? “That was real?”

“Oh, yes. The Neuroprocessing Units used by the matching system will be embedded in your body during final processing for transport. Not only does the NPU help you understand and speak their language, it has been preprogrammed to record your own mating ceremony so it can be properly documented and used to assist other brides in their own matching. Just like the other woman’s experience was used to help match you.”

I shuddered and wished she’d left me there, in that dreamland, for a few more minutes. I wanted more. Craved it. “Will my mate be like that?” Like what, I wasn’t sure. I never got to see a face, but I knew. I
knew
I wanted him. Or them.

But two men? That was why I was confused.

“There were two men. Was I matched to two men?”

She shook her head. “No. You are only matched to one male. And your primary mate will be a warrior, but it will not be
that
warrior.”

What did
primary mate
mean?

I shuddered and tried to imagine what might happen to me in the future. Would my mate be as big? As strong? Would I feel what that other bride felt? Would my mate want to include a second man in our mating ceremony? Would I want him to? What I had just experienced had gone beyond eagerness to total trust. Raw, mindless lust. Would I be as happy to be claimed as she had been?

I had never imagined being spanked before. I’d only thought of it as punishment, so I never would have volunteered for
that.
Truth be told, I didn’t want to be matched to an alien mate at all. But, here I was, strapped to this freaking table in the processing center and it was my own fault. I’d volunteered for the Interstellar Bride Program to help get my brother out of debt with some very nasty people. He had three kids and a wife and if he didn’t come up with a large sum of cash, they were all going to be on the streets. Or worse. Much worse.

My job as a preschool teacher barely paid me enough to survive on my own. I didn’t have any extra money to give my brother. But I could do this.

Until this moment, I hadn’t really believed there would be anything enjoyable in the matching process for me. I had doubted the bride program’s ability to find a suitable match. I mean, really? How could a stupid computer program know which man in the entire galaxy would be perfect for me? I’d never found the right guy on Earth, so how could they find an alien match for me on a distant planet? The quivering pleasure I’d just experienced made me hopeful.
Very
hopeful. It was the first time in the past few weeks that I’d felt
maybe
things would be all right. Maybe volunteering for the Interstellar Bride Program hadn’t been the biggest mistake of my life.

Mistake or not, family was family. This was the only way I could help my brother. My body and my life were all I had left of value. I wasn’t rich, but I was young and fertile and unattached. Hell, uninspired was more like it. I’d had three lovers in five years, and none of them had made me come as hard as I just had… from a neural simulation. From another woman’s memories.

Oh, God. I wanted one of those big, deep voices behind me. I wanted a huge hand wrapped and resting on my throat with a hot tongue stroking my clit. I wanted to be held in place as someone fucked me from behind.
I wanted
…

My monitor beeped and I blushed, knowing it was reading the increase in my heart rate as I relived everything that had just happened to me. No, it hadn’t happened to me, but to her. The other woman. The one Warden Egara had sent to Prillon. The one who had been claimed by a warrior. A big, strong warrior with a huge cock. Her
primary mate.
Whatever that meant.

“So, is that where I’ve been matched? To that woman’s planet?”

Warden Egara nodded curtly. “Yes. To a warrior of Prillon Prime.”

Prillon Prime? I’d been matched to Prillon Prime? The planet inhabited by the hulking warrior race? The program’s brochures had said that Prillon warriors actually requested brides while still in active military service. They were one of only three races that kept their brides with them on battleships. In space. On the front lines of the war between the biological races and the Hive, the artificial lifeforms and cyborg races trying to take over the universe. That war had finally come to Earth, and the coalition had accepted Earth under their protection, on one very strict condition.

Brides. A thousand a year. Most of Earth’s brides came from the criminal justice system. Earth’s politicians were not opposed to sacrificing
criminals
to fill the alien bride quota, but here I was, a volunteer hoping I hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of my life.

I remembered reading that the Prillon males were supremely confident in their warriors’ abilities to care for their mates. Anywhere. Prillon warriors never shied away from battle and were the most feared race in the Interstellar Coalition. They were on the front lines of the war, and their commanders were in charge of the entire interstellar fleet.

Holy shit. I wasn’t going to a planet! I was going to go live on a spaceship in the middle of nowhere where they actually fought other spaceships? Or cyborgs. Or whatever! The heart rate monitor began beeping once again and this time it wasn’t arousal I was feeling. It was panic.

I shook my head. Once, twice. “No. There must be some mistake.”

“No mistake.” She scowled at me. “Your match is estimated at ninety-nine percent compatibility.”

“But…” I wanted to go to Forsia, or to the twin worlds of Ania and Axion, where they lived in cities surrounded by restaurants, parties, and opulence. I didn’t want to go to a warship in
space
.

“Quiet.” The word was bitten off as she hissed at me like an irritated cat. “It is done, the match complete. You already signed. Your family has been compensated, as you requested. Unless you wish to return the funds, you will honor your legal obligation to the program. You chose the matching protocol. You must abide by the results.”

Warden Egara was nice enough, in her twenties and even pretty, if a bit brusque. I understood. The woman at the front desk told me that they didn’t get many volunteers. Most of the women Warden Egara processed were convicted criminals
whose only two choices were either enter the Interstellar Bride Program or serve hard time in prison.

“Hmm. I believe I will add this outburst to your bride data. Your new mate should be warned of your impertinence.”

My eyes widened and my mouth fell open.

“Just a minute! I never agreed to that.” Impatient, I yanked at a couple of sticky pads attached to my temples and grimaced as they snagged on my long black hair. I handed them to the assistant, who finished unhooking me from the rest of it and left the room. Warden Egara must have realized that I was about to shove that tablet up her ass, for she held out her hand in a placating gesture.

“All right, Miss Johnson. I will delete that from your profile.” She tapped the screen again and frowned. Her long hair was pulled into a tight bun and the strain on her skin made her look even more severe. “Now, for the record, state your name.”

I took a deep breath, let it out. “Hannah Johnson.”

“Miss Johnson, are you now, or have you ever been married?”

“No.”

“Do you have any biological offspring?”

“No.” I rolled my eyes. They’d already asked me this. I’d signed this shit in triplicate and I was sure it was listed on her tablet.

“Excellent.” She tapped her screen a few times without looking at me. “I am required to inform you, Miss Johnson, that you will have thirty days to accept or reject the mate chosen for you by our matching protocols.” She lifted her head and actually grinned at me. “Judging by these scores, however, I think that is highly unlikely.”

I wasn’t as confident in the computer program they used to match brides to their mates, but I was reassured that the ultimate decision was mine. “Okay.”

“Regardless of your choice, there will be no return to Earth. If your new mate is unacceptable, you may request a new primary mate after thirty days… on Prillon Prime. You may continue this process until you find a mate who is acceptable.”

“Warden, I just want to know…”

She sighed. “You have already signed the documents, Miss Johnson, but I also feel obligated to remind you that as of this moment, you are no longer a citizen of Earth, but a warrior bride of Prillon Prime, and, as such, you shall be bound by the laws and customs of your new world.”

“But—”

“You have been matched, Hannah, to one of the fiercest warriors from that world. You should be proud. Serve him well.” I wasn’t sure if Warden Egara’s command was meant to encourage me or frighten me, but I didn’t have long to wonder. I had no idea that she knew anything personal about the alien males she matched. Apparently, she knew more than I did. Perhaps she liked me more than I imagined. If I were a crazy serial killer, would she still send me to this fierce warrior? Did she tell all women some lie about how fantastic their match was to make them eager to leave Earth?

She stepped forward and shoved on the side of my medical chair. With a small jolt, a bright blue opening appeared in the side of the wall. Still strapped securely, I could do nothing as a long, very large needle appeared. The needle was attached to a long metallic arm in the wall. I tried to pull back and she raised her voice so I could hear her over the bubbling of the strange blue liquid below me.

“Do not fight it, Hannah. That device will simply implant your permanent NPUs. Nothing to fear.” Her smile was forced and her lips thin, but at least she was trying to reassure me. I got the feeling she didn’t do this kind of warm and fuzzy thing often.

I slid into the tiny enclosure and felt the sting of the needle first on one side of my temple, then the other. I was quite sure that the strange and very strong buzzing sensation I now felt on both sides of my head would give me a migraine from hell. Resigned to suffer the effects of the NPU, I was lowered into a heated bath of some sort. Blue light surrounded me.

“When you wake, Hannah Johnson, your body will have been prepared for Prillon Prime’s matching customs and your mate’s requirements. He will be waiting for you.”

Holy shit. “Now? Right now?” I struggled against the cuffs that held my wrists to the table. “I haven’t even said goodbye to my brother! Wait!”

For some reason, my anger and frustration just disappeared, as if the warm bath washed it away. What the heck was in the water? I felt so relaxed, so happy.

So numb.

Warden Egara’s clipped voice was the last thing I heard above the quiet humming of electrical equipment and lights. “Your processing will begin in three… two… one…”

Everything faded to black.

Chapter Two

Commander Zane Deston, Prillon Warship, Sector 764

The bitter taste of protocol weighed down my tongue as I listened to the warriors gathered around the table. We were lucky enough to have soundly defeated the enemy, the Hive, in this sector more than a month ago, and unlucky enough to now have the honor of hosting Prillon Prime’s heir, Prince Nial, on board my warship. The young prince was to be mated when he returned to our home world, and he was delaying the inevitable for as long as possible. He was a highly skilled pilot, but he was untested. He wanted a taste of combat, not the pampered palace existence he’d experienced his entire life.

The Battleship Deston, named after its commander, was the only place in the universe he could hide from the Prime, his father, the king of our world. This ship was the only place immune from the Prime’s powerful reach.

This ship was
mine
. As a commander with royal blood, not even the royal house could take it from me. Not only was I the Prime’s cousin, but I’d proven myself in many battles. Allies and enemies alike whispered my name in fear.

Despite my reputation across the entire interstellar fleet, I was forced to remain in this sector. Waiting. A woman, my new mate, the mate I didn’t want or need here screwing up my life or my routines, was to be transported and we had to remain stationary to receive her. I hadn’t even made the request of the Interstellar Bride Program myself. My mother had done that without my knowledge or permission. I’d been forced to accept a bride and name a second. If I had refused, I would have dishonored my entire family.

The fact that my mate was unwanted was my secret, my burden to bear. The crew aboard my warship was happy for the delay in our return to the frontier, and eager to meet their new matriarch. My second, Dare, was eager to claim a female and share her with me as true warriors did. Both the primary and secondary males shared the pleasures and responsibilities of the female and her offspring. We lost too many warriors in battle and the custom of sharing a mate ensured that no mated female was ever left all alone. Two warriors from a family line were pledged to every female’s life, body, and honor. If one died, a new second was named.

I had named my second. I had participated in the matching process. And now all I could do was pretend to be pleased at the match and accept whatever bride was sent to me. I simply hoped she would be intelligent enough not to be a hindrance, and strong enough to accept my nature. Prillon brides were rare, and powerful in their own right. My bride would wield much power, if she were worthy enough for me to give it to her. I wanted a mate who would submit to my every need, but my very base, dominant needs had frightened more than one female from my world. I couldn’t imagine a fragile female from Earth would fare better. I knew I would need to maintain control of myself, keep my true nature contained, if I didn’t want a terrified bride.