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  As Wulf and Melina made their way out of the room, he felt the dagger-like stare of his enemy aimed at his back. “Well, at least, we’ve confirmed who the real enemy is.”

  “But we can do nothing until we can get to the root of the fanatics who follow him.”

  Mel smiled at her uncle, Tor Maren, who’d come to stand with Wulf’s brothers as they waited by the ballroom’s main doors. “Cutting off the head does not necessarily kill the treasonous roots—there are always others who’ll step forward in the name of fanaticism.

  Your greedy relatives might’ve used the Pure Blood faction to further their own ends, but my gut tells me the reactionaries have spread roots of their own.”

  “I don’t doubt that, my Melina. The fight has just begun.”

  Neither one of them mentioned they were afraid the next battle might’ve already begun on the planetoid Tarn.

  Chapter 3

  Cejuru Tarn

  After finishing planting early warning alarms along the mountain pathways and cliffs leading to their sanctuary, Nadia and A’tem had also done some careful scouting around the military facility, gathering intel. They now entered the cave fortification. She was tired, hurting, and worried. They hadn’t come across the missing six crew members. She feared her missing people were captured or, worse, dead. She also had even bigger worries after what she and A’tem had seen on their information-gathering mission.

  Whoever the enemy was, they had bigger plans than killing off her training team.

  But she had a plan to stop them.

  “There you are!” Dr. Lia Morgan accosted them. She was followed closely by Joen, who had appointed himself the comely doctor’s protector.

  Yeah, something’s going on between those two.

  “Nadia, your wound needs more attention. Now! No putting it off. Do you want an infection?”

  The diminutive doctor didn’t let Nadia get a word in edgewise and took her arm and pulled her along the path toward the smaller cave Lia had appropriated for her patients.

  Joen followed closely on their heels. A slight quirk to his lips indicated he found Lia’s take-charge attitude amusing.

  Nadia entered the cave. The most seriously injured lay about the small room, lying quietly on blankets found in the stores in the cave. The less injured helped by feeding or providing liquids to their brethren. The air reeked of blood and sweat brought on by fevers. The emotional atmosphere was one of stoic fortitude.

  Anger surged through Nadia’s tired body, giving her an extra boost of adrenaline.

  She practically vibrated she was so mad. These people, her responsibility, were injured on her watch. Hell yeah, that plan she’d concocted was an absolute go in her book. No one would talk her out of it—or take it away from her. Her people needed more care than Lia could provide here, and she would see they got that help and sooner rather than later.

  “Lia, I’m fine.” She shook off the strong emotions threatening to erupt. She would maintain her calm as an example to her soldiers. “Has the missing team checked in?”

  “No.” Joen frowned. “We’ll continue to ping them over the emergency frequency.”

  “Damn. A’tem and I didn’t see them either. We’ll send out another search team.”

  Joen nodded.

  She glanced at the still forms of the three most severely injured soldiers. “How are they, Lia?”

  The doctor sighed and tears formed in her silver-colored eyes. “They aren’t doing well. I need three regen beds ASAP.”

  Lia paused and glanced toward the doorway where Joen stood guard. Outwardly he appeared calm, but Nadia’s empathic abilities had grown stronger since meeting the Prime or more specifically since meeting Huw. She read Joen’s emotions as explosive.

  Then Lia smiled at Joen, whose expression lightened somewhat, and continued, “Joen has done his best to get our off-planet communications back up and running as has Aeron. But they haven’t managed it yet. So, I’ll make do with what I have and keep the three severely injured men in an induced coma and alive for as long as I can.” She pointed to a stone seat built into the room’s perimeter. “Sit, Nadia—at least I can treat your laser burn. You don’t want it to scar.”

  “Scarring is the least of my concerns.” Nadia sat where Lia indicated and sighed at the relief of getting off her feet. The gear she wore was heavy, and she and A’tem had covered a vast amount of territory on their last outing. Her feet needed a short break, as did the rest of her.

  At six feet two inches tall, she was now at eye level with the much shorter Lia. The doctor ripped off the remnants of Nadia’s laser-shredded uniform top. The wound on her arm was raw and seeping. She winced when Lia tweezed some stubborn bandage remnants out of the burned skin and swabbed it with something that made Nadia’s eyes water.

  “Dammit, Lia. That hurt.” Nadia blew at the wound in an attempt to calm the antiseptic down.

  “Stop being a baby.” Lia applied a soothing ointment and then wrapped the wound with gauze.

  Nadia snorted and looked down at her torso. Shit, she was showing way too much skin for her comfort level. Good thing she’d worn a tank top underneath her uniform top instead of a bra or the crew members in the makeshift sick bay would’ve seen more of her than she’d like.

  Even with the mostly adequate covering, Joen and a couple of the less severely injured soldiers had zeroed in on her full breasts. The Prime males showed their appreciation by the golden glow in their gazes. The last Prime male whose eyes had heated at the sight of her 36-Cs had been Huw Caradoc—and he’d seen them totally naked.

  Her nipples tightened at the memory of Huw’s arm touching the lower curve of her naked breasts as he’d held her nude body protectively against his. That had been two weeks ago, and she still felt the heat of his touch and his emotional aura. She’d relived the moments in his arms every night since then in torrid dreams. Unfortunately, Huw had treated her as just another crew member and with exaggerated courtesy ever since that day. He purposely kept her at arm’s length when they were in the same room, but more often than not, he avoided her. The man’s middle name had to be “denial” since whatever this connection was, the feelings between them were strong. And she knew he felt them also because the heat between them was as intense as a star going supernova.

  No, she couldn’t think of him now. It made her heart hurt and was a distraction. She had her crew to protect—that was the only thing she should be thinking of. Good luck with that.

  Nadia raised a brow at Joen, whose gaze was still fixed on her breasts. He flushed slightly and shifted his focus to her face. “What is blocking our signals off planet, Joen?”

  He entered the room more fully and took a seat beside her. “The jamming is definitely originating on the planetoid itself and not from any ship in orbit. Aeron and I can only conclude the enemy has taken over the communication control center at the Tarn military facility.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “This shouldn’t have happened. The communications center is manned at all times by highly trained Prime Elite soldiers. It is a secure, impregnable, and self-contained room within the facility. At the first signs of a breach, the men would’ve sealed themselves inside. It would take someone on the inside to let the enemy in and with the knowledge on how to shut off all communications. I can’t believe any of the soldiers stationed on this planet are in bed with the rebels.”

  Nadia understood Joen’s shock and disbelief, but facts were facts. “It would only take one or two well-placed traitors to let in the mercenaries. Much like what happened when the pirates took over the Galanti.”

  The previous treachery had occurred before the merger of Prime crews into Gold.

  The Galanti, then a Prime star ship under Wulf Caradoc’s command, had been escorting the new Prime ambassador and his party to finalize the Prime joining the Alliance. This had also been before Wulf had met and fully bonded with Mel, who hadn’t known she was a Lost One.

  Nadia winced in pain as Lia wielded the cold laser to a l
aceration on her shoulder she must’ve gotten while climbing. “No matter how it happened, Joen, the enemy has taken over the military compound and is in control of the communications center and the weapons systems.”

  “How do you know this?” Joen asked.

  “A’tem and I did a little extra scouting while we were out.” Nadia winced at the low, rumbling snarl Joen emitted. “My call, soldier. My call.”

  Joen nodded. “What did you see?” The resigned expression on his face indicated he was prepared for the worst.

  “Lots of armed guards now surround the facility.” They hadn’t been there that morning, but that was because the enemy had been in the hills harrying her scouting teams. “Only a few wore Prime uniforms, but they didn’t look to be Prime. I spotted several Terrans and even an Erian. Definitely mercs. We concluded the facility’s soldiers, if they’re still alive, are being held prisoner in the underground barracks.”

  “Yes, that makes sense. The underground barracks are completely defensible and an invader could easily hold a large number of hostages in them since there are few ways in and out.” Letting loose his anger and frustration, Joen snarled several ugly Prime epithets.

  The emotional display shocked her and caused Lia’s usually steady hand to shake as she worked on treating all Nadia’s bruises and lacerations.

  “Stand down, soldier,” Nadia said. “We’ll figure a way to get inside the military facility and see what’s happened. Besides needing to get off-planet communications back up, I don’t want the enemy shelling our position and forcing us to move. We have too many injured.” She turned toward the other side of the cave. “A’tem … please locate Commander Ard and bring him here.”

  A’tem, who’d been sitting with his injured cousin and having some lacerations of his own attended to, stood and left the small cave room.

  Joen’s rage continued to bubble and roil under the surface. Lia went to stand next to him, and with a touch, his anger cooled enough that Nadia didn’t feel like scratching the phantom itches on her skin.

  When A’tem and Aeron entered the medical area, she could tell A’tem had briefed her second-in-command about their reconnaissance and their conclusions.

  His first words confirmed it. “Your plan is sound, Nadia. But I will take a small team and infiltrate the facility, shut down whatever is blocking our communications signal and the weapons systems, and then free the loyal Prime soldiers imprisoned there.”

  Nadia glared at A’tem who returned her look with a blank one of his own. She’d have a talk with the Volusian later about loyalty and his misplaced overprotectiveness.

  “That isn’t your call, Commander Ard.” Nadia’s tone was harsh, but Aeron needed to understand—and trust—that she or any Alliance female, whether an officer or a soldier, could do this job. And he needed to back her decisions up or this clusterfuck would go even more tits up. “It’s mine.”

  When Aeron opened his mouth, anger in every line of his face and body, Nadia slashed the air between them with her hand. “Not one more word.”

  The atmosphere in the cave heated up, and every Prime male in the room who’d been conscious enough to overhear the loud confrontation growled. The sound reverberated off the stone walls. “All the growling, snarling, and rumbling will stop now. That’s an order.”

  Lia gasped, and Nadia looked over her shoulder at her friend. The good doctor wore a frown and radiated concern. Lia knew her well and had been present the last time Nadia had lost her temper. It didn’t happen often, but when it did—well, heads rolled and careers had been lost. Nadia didn’t appreciate when a male attempted to undermine her authority even when they did it with the best of intentions.

  When the men had quieted down, she continued, “I’ll take two men and lead them on this mission. Aeron…” she used his first name to soften her previous acerbity, “…as my second, you’ll remain here to defend our base and continue to direct the search for the missing team and to work on establishing off-planet communications from this end.”

  Nadia looked first at Aeron and then at Joen who’d opened his mouth, probably to protest. “This is my responsibility, gentlemen—and, I repeat, my call.”

  “But you…”

  She silenced Aeron with an icy glare. “Don’t say what you’re thinking. You don’t want to piss me off right now. I’ll have your respect and your cooperation.” She swept a glance around the room at the avid observers. “That goes for every man and woman on this team.”

  Aeron stood tall and inclined his head. “You have both. I have complete faith in your abilities.”

  “Thank you.” Nadia gave him a weak smile. “And I trust that if my team and I don’t achieve our objectives and something happens that we don’t return, you’ll do what is needed to protect our people. You know the planet and can evade the enemy more easily than I.”

  “I should be present on this mission,” Joen said. Lia’s pained gasp drew his gaze, and he shook his head slowly. “Lia, don’t. I’m the expert in communications. The enemy can block our off-planet communications for as long as they want. It’s crucial we get a message out to Alliance and Prime military commands.”

  Yes, there was definitely something more than mere attraction going on with these two. Nadia wondered if it was anything like what she felt for Huw Caradoc when they were in the same vicinity. God, she hoped not for Lia’s sake. If Joen held the same attitude about non-Prime women as Huw, Lia was due for a severe disappointment.

  Prime males talked a good game about finding a non-Prime mate, but had very little follow-through. Men! Passive-aggressive assholes—no matter the race or culture.

  “No, Joen. If something happens and I fail to return, you and Aeron together have a better chance of rigging something to get an emergency call out.” Nadia looked at A’tem.

  “I’ll take A’tem and one of the other Prime soldiers from our crew.”

  She sent a sideways glance at Aeron. “Two big, strong men from warrior races should protect my little female ass, don’t you think?”

  Aeron had the grace to look embarrassed. “My offer to lead the … I never meant to imply you are … weak.”

  Nadia let out a snorting laugh. “Yes, you did. It’ll take a lot more than two weeks of team building for Prime males to accept that women can fight as well as a man.”

  She stood and rotated her treated shoulder. It twinged but moved smoothly and wouldn’t impede her if she had to fight. “Those bastards attacked our crew on my watch.

  They’ll learn that was a mistake.”

  She turned to A’tem. “Go with Aeron and find me a volunteer among our Prime crew members.”

  A’tem snorted, a smile in his startling blue eyes. “They’re standing in line, Nadia.”

  He angled his head at the one critically injured Prime male who’d pulled two injured female crew members out of the line of fire. The Prime soldier sustained multiple direct laser hits but had still managed to get the women to safety before succumbing to his wounds. She’d already entered into her log he should be awarded the Alliance Medal of Valor.

  “Every single Prime member of Gold is raging mad over what has happened. Prime turning on Prime is an act of treason,” A’tem said. “They want to find whoever perpetrated this atrocity—be they Prime traitors or hired killers—and kill them.”

  “The killing will have to wait until we know what we’re dealing with. We have no clue how many enemies are on the planet and where they’re positioned. Pick me a soldier who has some familiarity with the Prime facility and in particular the underground area where the communications and weapons systems are located.”

  Joen spoke up. “If I cannot go, then Crewman Bram Tilga is the one you want. He trained under me. We’ve manned the facilities here as a team for many war games.”

  Aeron nodded. “I concur with Joen’s suggestion. I’ll take A’tem to Bram. He is a loyal and fierce fighter. When do you leave, Nadia?”

  “Give A’tem and me a chance to eat something—and
I need to find another uniform top, one that is a little less airy.” She picked up her shredded top. “Give us thirty standard minutes.”

  Aeron inclined his head and left the room with A’tem on his heels. Nadia turned to Lia and angled her head toward the three most severely wounded. “Keep those soldiers alive.”

  The doctor nodded. “That’s the plan.”

  Nadia grinned at the insulted look on Lia’s face. “Once we gain control of Tarn’s communication system, Mel and Wulf will be here as soon as they can with all the medical facilities you require.”

  “If they aren’t already on their way.” Joen moved to stand behind Lia and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I think our co-captains would be worried that they hadn’t heard from us since we landed.”

  Joen’s manner toward Lia was possessive and protective. It struck her they had already begun an even more intimate relationship than she realized. Joen had fully embraced his attraction for Lia. Their auras meshed in the same way Mel and Wulf’s did.

  How that was possible was a question for another time and place.

  Nadia was happy for the couple. And for a split second, she was optimistic that maybe she and Huw could find the same oneness.

  Wanting what her two friends had, she reached for the intimate mind-to-mind link she had with Huw, the one that had made itself known two weeks ago on a Cejuru Prime mountainside as Huw’s touch and scent awakened her deeply buried libido.

  Unlike the last time she’d reached for Huw, the link was no longer buried in a deep well of blackness. But it was faint, still not strong enough to connect with him mind to mind or even read his emotions.

  Either she was getting stronger or he was getting closer.

  Why she reached for a man who continued to avoid her and deny this unique bond, she didn’t know. It seemed to be instinctive in times of stress or other strong emotions.

  Not once had Huw tried to reach her.

  What a glutton for punishment you are, Nadia. The man doesn’t want you. You aren’t Prime.