Page 88 of Ren: Warlord Brides
“The audacity of you,” she said, grinning, and stretched up for another kiss.
Slow and sweet, he savored the feel of her against him. They fit well together; a female made just for her male. A male who wanted only to bring his female delight. Daily. Twice daily, stars willing.
She pushed gently, and he took a step back. “What Gemma said, I believe her.”
“Suhlik. It is possible. This would be a new pattern.” He ran a hand through his hair, tugging in thought. So much of the last year had been reacting to new patterns.
“What does it mean?” she asked.
“Nothing good.”
Chapter 22
Ren
By dawn, Councilor Pashaal had been apprehended. His mate updated him about Pashaal’s desperate attempt to intimidate her and retrieve the chip.
“I understand her desperation,” he said. They sat in uncomfortable chairs in Gemma’s room, pushed side by side. Emmarae slumped against him, her head on his shoulder. “The chip has extensive financial transactions and communications that implicate her and another in funding the illicit research.”
“What was the research? You never said,” Emmarae said, yawning between words.
“Experiments on Suhlik eggs. A research vessel was on the fringes of Sangrin territory, hiding, but the Suhlik found them and destroyed everything.” He had not been there, but he read the report. Lorran might exaggerate, but Mylomon was not one to pad words or dramatize events.
Emmarae shivered. “That’s horrible. That’s—”
“A war crime,” he said.
“I worked for her for months. I knew she was shady, butthat?” She pulled the thin blanket tighter around her. “I definitely should have poisoned her.”
Shortly after the sun rose, the medics deemed Gemma fit enough to leave. Other warriors had arrived to process the rescued females and deliver them safely to a destination of their choice.
Overnight, Havik had moved the ship closer to the hospital. Within an hour, they were ready to leave Tholla and return to theJudgment.
“You are nervous. Stop it,” Havik said, fastening his safety harness.
“Your piloting always makes me nervous.”
He snorted, which was as close to a laugh as Havik got. “You are perspiring, and it is not about my skills. You worry about the warlord.”
He did but was loath to admit it. Paax was a reasonable male, though part of him worriedwhat if?The warlord knew about Emmarae. Ren had stated facts plainly that one day he would win his mate back.
What if the warlord decided Emmarae was flawed?
Impossible. Emmarae had no flaws.
What if the warlord determined the clan could no longer support all their mates? Some warriors would have to choose between their mates or the clan. All the old fears and worries came back, swirling inside him.
No. Paax was not Kaos.
“Paax is a reasonable male,” he said. And if he were not reasonable, Ren knew he would always choose his mate. It was no choice at all.
* * *
“The female cannot stay,”Paax said.
“What? No!” Emmarae and Gemmarae exclaimed at the same time.
The warlord, and apparently every available officer plus the warlord’s mate, waited in the hangar for their arrival. Quite the crowd had gathered to greet them. Ren flattered himself that the warlord wanted to congratulate his team on a successful mission of both securing the evidence that led to the arrest of Councilor Pashaal and rescuing nine females from sentient being traffickers.
