3013: MATED (3013: The Series) (2 page)

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That was the nickname given for
the fertile women who were lucky enough to be chosen by two men. Even if she
couldn’t give a man a child, there was still a small chance that Alexis would
find two men to join her life with, but she wasn’t holding her breath.

A few years ago, Alexis thought
she had been one of the lucky ones to have found an elite pair of men that
could love her despite her shortcomings. She had naively believed the sweet
words Draven and Cristof had given her, soaking up the attention they had
bestowed upon her like a flower did the rays of the sun.

But it had all been a ruse just
to get her in bed.

Both of the elite soldiers had
just been biding their time until they were ready to claim a fertile woman to
be their chosen. Even more insulting, now that the men had formed a bonded
unit, they still offered to keep Alexis as their mistress.

And that was something she would
rather die than agree to.

Once men joined the Alliance, it
was common for them to quickly pair up, knowing that they would one day bond
with the same woman. It was extremely rare for a single man and woman to be
together, at least not in the cities where the elites reigned supreme. Even
when Alexis took her first lovers, they had been a pair of men she had been in
training with while still in the Academy. It had been right after they had
graduated, and all three of them had known it would never go further than a
brief relationship.

Draven and Cristof had been
different. Their combined lust had blinded her from their true intentions every
time they were together, and she hadn’t realized it until it had been too late.
She still remembered the day they’d broken her heart with acute clarity. They
had just made love, the three of them basking in the afterglow when Draven had
casually declared that they were set to claim a chosen woman the following
week. Alexis’ shock had been extreme. She had wanted to believe it was simply a
mistake until Cristof had laughed.

“Did you really think we would
bond with you, Alex? You’re flawed, and we want children.”

The pain Cristof’s words had
caused was like a stab to the heart. She had wanted to throw up when Draven had
run a hand over her leg and she had scrambled out of his reach.

“We still want you, Alex. I think
we always will. We just don’t want to form a bonded unit with you,” Draven had
said, truly perplexed by her reaction.

Alexis had stumbled from their
bed, fleeing as fast as her feet would carry her. It had been two weeks later
when she finally saw them again. That was when they had approached her with the
offer to become their mistress. Their shock at her refusal had baffled her, and
so had their anger. Luckily, she had just completed her assignment and a few
days later she’d transferred to the Capital.

To her surprise, a month later
she learned that Draven and Cristof had also requested a transfer to the
Capital. When she next saw them, both men had been furious at her for leaving
without telling them. She’d told them she was didn’t want anything to do with
them anymore, yet they’d continued to harass her. She had considered reporting
them, but pride held her back. It was one thing for them to have rejected her
so cruelly, but it was another to have everyone know what had happened.

It had been several months now,
and although she’d done her best to avoid them, they still continued to pursue
her. She had hooked up with a couple men here and there when the loneliness had
become too much bear, but both times she had tried to start dating someone new,
Draven and Cristof had ruined it for her. Fed up, Alexis promised herself that
she would report them the next time they tried something, but she silently
prayed they would simply lose interest and leave her alone.

All bonded units were not the
happy relationships girls dreamed of when they were young. The fact was, most
fertile females were claimed more for alliances than anything else. Basically,
the system sucked for all women. Those that weren’t fertile were overlooked,
but those who were then became a prize to be won with little say about who
claimed them.

Once a fertile female came of
age, she was then declared claimable. Only females with powerful families or
connections were safe from being randomly chosen by men who wanted them. And
once the men had their initials tattooed on the face of their chosen, there was
little anyone could do to help the woman escape her bonded unit.

Personally, Alexis thought the
entire pairing system sucked, even if it was put in place to help rebuild the
human race. But those who were actually chosen for love all but glowed with the
radiance of happiness that they felt, and that was what Alexis wanted more than
anything.

To be that happy and complete.

Pushing those depressing thoughts
aside, she watched the vehicles flying in straight lines in the sky while
others that chose to take ground routes drove down the streets as she used her
wrist unit to make a call to Commander Jax Spartan.

Commander Spartan was one of
Earth’s greatest leaders and ran the Capital with an iron fist, all be it a
fair one. He was a man very few people were stupid enough to challenge, and he
used his authority to ensure that both members of the Alliance and citizens
were protected. He was always thoughtful and deliberate in his decisions, and
reported directly to the Alliance Council of Regents. The Regents were made up
of retired military commanders from all of the territories, and acted as the
governing body of the Alliance. The Regents looked at Commander Spartan as the
epitome of what an elite soldier should be, and he took their faith in him very
seriously.

Alexis trusted and respected him,
but she also knew Jax on a different level. When she had gone through testing
after she turned ten, her fathers had disowned her upon hearing she was
infertile, claiming she was now useless. Her mother had died while giving birth
to her, and her fathers had never forgiven her for that. Left in the care of
the Alliance, she was sent to a one of the training facilities that catered to
others like her who had been given the enhancements. Even at a young age they
had to begin learning how to use their gifts.

The training was rigorous in many
disciplines. Not only were they regularly tested for physical strength and
endurance, they were all tested in a multitude of mental assessments that
helped place them for service when they were older. The training facilities
were run sort of like boarding schools, only for people like Alexis, they had
nowhere to go when they were given leave.

Jax was one of the older members
at the training facility, and upon arriving it had been clear to Alexis that he
was a natural born leader. There was ten years separating them, but she had
looked up to Jax as if he were the older brother she had never had. At that
point, Jax had been a junior commander in the Academy. He had been tasked with
looking out for the new recruits, and everyone at that facility followed him
without hesitation.

Born an empath, the enhancements
had only made Alexis’ natural abilities stronger. At first she’d had a very
hard time learning how to control her gift, but after a while it became second
nature. More than that, Alexis had honed her gift to the point she basically
became a walking lie-detector, and as a liaison officer it came in handy when
she was asked to feel out the true intentions of any visitors. Jax had helped
her become the officer she was today, and had always been there for her when
she needed him…just like family.

“Spartan.” Jax’s deep voice was
clipped as it sounded through the comm link, and his scowling face on the small
video screen made Alexis smile.

“Commander.”

“Hey, Lex,” Jax’s voice softened
slightly with affection as soon as he saw it was her calling. “What can I do
for you?”

“I need to speak to you,
Commander Spartan.”

The official tone of her voice
had Jax’s eyes narrowing at her as he barked out, “I’m in the main landing bay.
Dock C. Meet me here. Now.”

She chuckled as he abruptly cut
off the call. She was glad she had contacted him rather than trekking all the
way to the command post building where Jax’s office was. Although most
commanders spent their time in cushy offices, with multiple staff members
running around doing their bidding, Jax was a hands-on leader. It exasperated
the generals that reported to him because he was always out in the field, so to
speak, since he couldn’t stand being cooped up in one place for long.

Alexis opted to take one of the
glides down, making her way to the main landing area in the open air instead of
one of the elevators or trekking thought the underground tunnels. It wasn’t far
and she could use the few extra minutes to figure out what she was going to say
to her commander about the incident. She knew she had to report it, but there
were other things to consider. She wondered just what the hell she was going to
do about her new assignment, but the most pressing issue was how she was going
to stop Jax from pulverizing Director Farris into bloody dust.

***

Chapter Two

The main landing bay was a bevy
of activity as Alexis entered the building.

Waving absently at a few officers
she knew, she headed straight for Dock C. When she arrived, Alexis wasn’t
surprised to see Jax Spartan glaring at a few officers who looked like they had
just swallowed razor blades.

Jax’s stance said it all. A
large, intimidating man, Jax stood at six foot eight. His thick, corded muscles
bulged under his uniform as he stood with his arms crossed over his impressive
chest. Feet braced apart, with a fierce frown on his face, he looked like he
was seconds away from ripping the heads off the two smaller men standing in
front of him.

“Commander Spartan.” Alexis stood
at attention and struck her fist over her heart as she waited for him to
acknowledge her. She saw the entourage that followed Jax wherever he went was
standing a safe distance away, out of firing range. She could feel the relief emanating
from the other officers that had been getting their asses chewed who were
grateful for the distraction, and she fought to hold back a smile.

Commander Jax Spartan really was
an ass-kicker.

Jax slowly turned his head,
focusing his intense gray eyes on her. She could see amusement flicker in his
steel-gray depths before his expression hardened and he turned back to the men.
“I want that report sent to me in one hour. Dismissed.”

The two officers saluted then
walked away as fast as they could without breaking into a run. Jax shook his
head and turned to look at her with a wry grin. “I wasn’t done reprimanding
them, but they’ll be forever grateful to you for being their savior.”

“Always glad to be of service.
So, what did they do to earn the wrath of Jax?” One of his brows lifted at
that, making her laugh. “Come on, Jax. Don’t you know all of the Alliance calls
it that when you get pissed? Actually, I think it was Archer who started it.”

“Damn it,” Jax growled, making
Alexis laugh.

Sullivan Archer was s
econd-in-command under Jax and his best friend. More
laid back than Jax, Archer had a wicked sense of humor, but was just as capable
of a commander in his own right. When they had reached elite status, they had
filed together for a pairing, knowing that they would one day share a chosen
woman together.

All
elite soldiers had to file their partnership on record before they could claim
a woman so she would know who the two men were in any bonding unit. Although it
had been years since both Jax and Archer had reached elite status, both men
were holding out for love before they claimed a woman.

Knowing
that just made Alexis respect them more.

Despite
Jax’s brusque demeanor, he was a thoughtful and kind man. When they had been in
the training facility together, Jax had been horrified when he discovered
several of the female trainees had been abandoned by their families when they
had been declared infertile. After that, he had made it a regular occurrence to
take whoever was left without somewhere else to go home with him when they had
leave. Jax’s mother and two fathers had welcomed Alexis and the others with
open arms, and for the first time she had discovered what a real family was
like.

Still,
she knew that any woman who took Jax and Sullivan on would need to be able to
stand up to their over-the-top alpha attitudes.

Alexis sobered as she noticed the
glances being cast their way. Although both Jax and Archer thought of Alexis as
their sister, she had never flaunted her connection to them in front of other
soldiers, or at least she tried not to. She cleared her throat. “Jax…Commander,
there is something I have to report to you.”

His eyes narrowed on her and she
fought not to squirm. “Spit it out, Lex.”

She held up her wrist unit,
fighting back the embarrassment that stained her cheeks pink as she re-played
the conversation she’d had with Director Farris back for Jax. She watched with
increasing trepidation as Jax’s jaw clenched and rage flared to life in his
eyes.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,”
he said softly.

Uh oh.

“Umm, I don’t think that—”

Jax leveled a glare at one of his
minions that snapped to attention. “Barker! Get Director Reginald Farris in my
office. Now!”

“Yes, sir. What should I tell him
this is regarding?”

“You don’t tell him shit. Just
get his ass in a chair and make sure he doesn’t move till I get there,” Jax
ordered harshly.

“Sir!”

Jax turned back to stare at
Alexis as the other man ran off like the hounds of hell were at his heels. “How
many other women are in your department?”

She sighed. “There are six total,
well five now. Two are in bonded units who work exclusively with their men.
Then there is Chloe, Morgan and I. And as you know, Skylar just got transferred
out. The rest are all men.”

Jax grunted. He had been the one
to make Skylar’s transfer happen. Where Alexis was considered a Class-A Empath,
her friend Skylar Aris was a Class-A Conduit. An empath could feel the emotions
of others, and had to work to keep from being swamped with those feelings so
they couldn’t be used in interrogation and other dangerous divisions.

Not like a conduit could.

Conduits were very rare
individuals who could basically read other peoples energy, and if they were
strong enough, could use that energy for their own purposes. After years of
requests that had been refused by her commanding officers, Alexis had quietly
brought Skylar’s latest request directly to Jax. Upon seeing her credentials
and ratings, he had personally granted her transfer to the interrogation unit.

“I’m not worried about Morgan.
She would skin any man who came at her wrong, but you and Chloe are too nice
for your own good.”

Alexis jaw dropped at that. Her
friends Chloe and Morgan were also infertile females, but all three of them
were equally capable of taking care of themselves. Well, Morgan did have a
pretty nasty temper if pushed too far.

Jax frowned at her. “You know
what I mean. I’ll have Director Farris replaced by tomorrow. I don’t know what
the hell he was thinking assigning this to you, considering it’s against
regulations for a single female liaison to be matched up with four male
visitors.”

“It’s not against regulations,
it’s just highly unlikely that one of the directors would be stupid enough to
arrange it. I think Farris was hoping I turned down the assignment and took him
up on his other offer,” Alexis said wryly.

 “I’ll take care of that son of a
bitch,” Jax swore then turned as another one of his aides that were forever following
him called out his name. Officer Ryans panted for breath as he came to stop in
front of them, his boots practically skidding on the concrete.

“Commander, sir! The Dragon
Warrior visitors have arrived early and are waiting for permission to enter the
shield.”

Jax heaved out a sigh. “Shit,
they’re early. Ryans, open the shield and give them the coordinates over the
Capital where they can enter our airspace. Have them land here in Dock C.”

“Right away, Commander Spartan.”

Officer Ryans relayed the information
into his comms as he typed frantically on the tablet he held in his hand.

“Well, it looks like I’ll be
acting as liaison after all,” Alexis said nervously. She’d thought she would
have a few days to sort out the assignment, but it didn’t seem like that was an
option anymore. Even though she was a little worried, a part of her was excited
to spend some time with visitors from Arcadia. She’d studied the Dragon
Warriors, but had never actually met one in person.

Suck it up, she told herself.
Shaking off her nerves, she straightened to her full height. She was a
top-level officer for god’s sake.

She could…would handle this
assignment.

Jax crossed his arms over his
chest as his eyes narrowed. “I still don’t like this, Lex. I never thought
Farris would be stupid enough to assign one of our female officers for this
visit. You don’t have to take this assignment if you’re uncomfortable with it.
I can order a replacement. Taking care of four men would be difficult for
anyone.”

“I believe she will be more than
capable.”

The deep voice that sounded out
right behind her had Alexis spinning around, one hand on the hilt of the
blaster at her hip. No one could have snuck up on both her and Jax without
making a sound, not with their training.

But someone had.

Oh, my stars…

Her eyes widened at the sight of
the four giant warriors that seemed to appear right out of one of her wildest,
sex-starved fantasies. Standing at well over seven feet tall, far bigger than
any of the elite soldiers she was used to being around, the four men towered
over her with their powerfully built frames.

They each wore black leather
pants paired with matching soft leather vests that left their muscular arms
bare, except for the dark gold and silver tribal-looking tattoos that started
on their shoulders and covered their skin down to their wrists. The marking
were similar to the tattoos wore by the elite soldiers that had formed a
bonding unit with a claimed woman, except the Dragon Warriors’ were more far
more elaborate in detail.

Obviously two sets of brothers,
the first pair of warriors had long black hair that flowed loose around their
broad shoulders while the other two males had dark brown hair. Each of the
males had two small braids fashioned at the sides of their temples, framing
strong, perfectly sculpted faces. They had powerful, chiseled jaws, high
cheekbones, and lush, sensual lips that she couldn’t help but wonder how they
would feel pressed against hers.

Alexis’ breath caught as four
pairs of glowing eyes focused directly on her. The two warriors with black hair
stared at her with eyes that glowed a bright silver, while the other two had
iridescent golden eyes. It was like looking at the sun and moon, and those
glowing eyes seemed to pierce straight into her soul.

The alien warriors ignored the
elite soldiers converged in a circle around them, and continued watching her
with some sort of intense scrutiny she didn’t understand. It was a struggle,
but Alexis tore her gaze away from them, finally able to take a deep breath now
that she had broken the thrall they seemed to have over her.

She frowned as she looked around
at the soldiers training their weapons on the newcomers. It wasn’t often that
alien visitors had the ability to transport themselves right onto the Earth’s
surface, but when they did it made most soldiers nervous. Officer Ryans stared
at the alien warriors in awe, as did many of the other soldiers. Hell, Alexis
had to admit she was still staring at them herself.

They were truly an impressive
sight.

She looked back up at the giant
warriors and saw what could only be described as amusement on the face of the
male with golden eyes standing on the far right, while the male with silver
eyes on the far left surveyed the soldiers with narrowed eyes. No matter the
relaxed stances the visitors had taken, Alexis could sense that they were
prepared for anything. It was in their tightly coiled muscles and their watchful
gazes.

The two warriors in the middle
ignored their surroundings, never once looking away from her. Both of their
gazes were like a physical caress over her skin and her body heated in
response. The intensity of their focus made her feel vital and alive. Christ,
her reaction to them was completely inappropriate, but she couldn’t help but
imagine seeing their impressive bodies without clothing, sliding against hers.

Focus, Donovan.

“Perhaps we should say we come in
peace,” the golden-eyed brother on the right said with a sardonic smile.

Jax muttered a curse then called
out to the soldiers to stand down. His voice hardened with the whip of command
as he repeated the order then waited until the soldiers surrounding them warily
backed away. Alexis felt rather than saw Jax standing beside her. Always the
commander, Jax moved a few steps in front of her, putting himself in the
position to defend her if the need arose. She watched one of the giants in the
middle frown at Jax as he put a comforting hand on her arm.

“I am
Xavier of the house of
Tesera and this is my brother Galan,” the frowning warrior with black hair and
silver eyes said in a rich, deep voice. “And this is Thorn and Brydan of the
house of Volis. We are Dragon Warriors from Arcadia.”

All four of the giants struck a fist over their hearts
in greeting.

Jax repeated the gesture.
“Welcome to
Earth. I’m Commander Jax Spartan. We weren’t expecting you for another three or
four days.”

“We traveled faster than
expected,” Thorn said as he raised a brow in challenge. “This will not be a
problem, will it?”

“No, not at all,” Jax assured
them. “We’re very happy that you have come for a visit, and let me be the first
to officially welcome you to Earth. I apologize that this is a little less
formal than we usually greet our guests. We had a welcoming party arranged to
meet you upon your arrival.”

“We prefer this,” Galan assured
him. “Our visit should not cause you any trouble or any additional work.”

“No trouble at all,” Jax said,
playing the diplomat. It always amazed Alexis how well he could slip into the
role when she knew how much he hated it. Still, someone had to do it, and she
was glad he was with her to greet these imposing males.

“Is this your mate?” Xavier
asked, his voice a low rumble of sound.

Alexis stilled instantly.
Something about the tone of his voice carried a warning of some kind…something
that put her instantly on alert. Jax frowned at them and shook his head,
releasing her arm as he did so as if he had forgotten that he had been touching
her.