Space Invaders (7 page)

As much as he cared how Vohne was doing, the man-cat looked more drugged than injured, and Kres had an objective to fulfil.

“Where are you going?” Zander asked, bouncing down the hallway behind him. If there was one thing that screamed Zander wasn’t a soldier, it was the way he walked. Soldiers didn’t bounce. However, despite their differences, Kres still liked him. Zander was one of those people everyone liked. Kres thought he’d do very well in the diplomatic corps.

“I’m going to find that damned book.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t you hear him? I’m supposed to rule by his side.”

“Well, yeah.”

Kres spun around, pinning Zander with his stare. “You knew about this?”

Zander held up his hands in self-defence. “You really don’t know anything, do you?”

“How many times do I have to tell everyone that I didn’t plan for a Thresl? I wasn’t supposed to get one. I didn’t do any planning or training or anything. All I did was stop him from killing an idiot, and we bonded.”

A smile crossed Zander’s face. “You don’t even know what you have. Come back to my room. I can tell you everything you need to know. Besides, I’ve got the good brandy. It’s one advantage of growing up in a diplomatic family. You know where to procure the fine liquor.”

“Deal.” It would probably be easier for Zander to explain it anyway. Kres wasn’t book smart. Give him a weapon and some action and he could take care of himself, but words always looked jumbled on a page when he tried to focus, and when he finally got them together to form a sentence, they inevitably didn’t make any sense. He’d barely scraped by his studies with the help of a good tutor. Luckily, his combat skills balanced it all out.

Zander’s room was a far cry from the sterile cube that comprised Kres’ lodging. Thick rugs covered the floor, the walls were tinted a soft blue and the furnishings screamed money. It was also three times the size of Kres’ room. Zander gave a self-deprecating shrug. “Did I mention my father is best friends with the station master?”

“It must be good to have connections,” Kres commented.

Zander smiled. “That’s what the diplomatic corps is all about. Now, come sit down.” He pointed towards a well-padded chair by a table that looked like honest-to-god real wood.

Ignoring Kres’ stare, Zander grabbed two crystal glasses and a full decanter. He filled one glass halfway and the other almost to the top. He slid the full one towards Kres.

“You might need this while I describe how it is going to go with you and the Thresl who will be king.”

Kres felt his heart stop.

“What?”

“When the commander told you your Thresl was an alpha, he didn’t tell you the entire story.” He motioned to the glass of brandy. “Drink up.”

Kres took a tentative sip. The liquor burned all the way down to his toes, filling his body with warmth and a tingling sensation. “Wow.” A few sips later he decided he really liked the feeling. Halfway through the glass he set it down. “Now that you have me feeling good, what are you trying to not tell me?”

Zander gave him a sheepish look. “Obviously I need to work on my poker face if I’m going to make it as a politician. Here’s the gist of it. True alpha Thresls are extremely rare. One hasn’t been born in over a hundred years. It’s one thing to be alpha of our class but another to be a real alpha Thresl. Vohne is the latter. An alpha is priceless to Thresl hunters, which is why there was an attack on the station. To control Vohne is to control the entire kingdom of Thresls. They would’ve come and gotten you next so they could blackmail him into doing whatever they wanted.”

Kres brushed off concern for himself. He needed to figure out what the hell was going on. “But why are they so special?”

“Because they are the strongest of their kind. Thresls are shape-shifters who can bond so well with their mates that they essentially enhance the other person. When you went after those guys earlier, how did you feel?”

Kres rolled the memory around in his mind before he answered. “Strong. Powerful. I don’t remember ever feeling like that before, like I could take on anyone.”

“That is your Thresl effect.” Zander took a sip of the liquor before speaking. “Thresls don’t just become the very heart of their owner, they strengthen them. Alphas are the kings of Thresl kind. Vohne is obligated to go back to the Thresl home planet and take his seat on the throne. He will be making decisions for the fate of his kingdom. If he says a planet isn’t granted a Thresl from his people, they won’t be. Thresls are the most desired commodity anywhere, and Vohne will have total control. He is also the only creature who can dissolve a Thresl bond.”

“I thought they couldn’t be broken.” This entire bonding thing bothered Kres. He didn’t like things being taken out of his hands.

“They couldn’t before. The last Thresl alpha died a hundred years ago. Only the alpha is born with the ability to break connections. You didn’t just bond with a strong creature that can make you a better soldier. You bonded with the king of Thresls. You are now, in essence, one of the most powerful men in the entire galaxy, my friend. And until another alpha is born, your Thresl is the king of an entire planet.”

Kres grabbed his glass of liquor and downed the rest of the contents in one final gulp. He’d thought his life was screwed before. Now what was he going to do?

* * * *

Kres was lying on the bed when Vohne returned to their room. He examined every inch of his human, checking for injuries. He’d yearned for Kres while in his drug-induced haze. Everything he had longed to merge with this man but he hadn’t wanted Kres to see him injured. A Thresl always wanted to appear strong and able to take care of his mate.

The look he got in return was less than promising.

“Aren’t you happy to see me?”

Kres flipped a page in a book Vohne recognised as the one the commander had given his mate. “Thrilled, Your Highness.” He flipped another page.

Uh-oh.

Kres definitely didn’t look pleased. Obviously someone had filled him in on who Vohne must be.

Vohne decided it was best not to let his mate think too much on it. Marching over to the bed, he slid his fingers through Kres’ hair and tilted his chin. “I’m happy to see you too.” Without giving his mate a chance to answer, Vohne dropped to his knees on the floor and covered Kres’ mouth with his own. Heat poured through him at the mouth-to-mouth connection, and all the fine hairs across his body stood on end at the electric jolt of kissing his mate.

Yum!

He might not still have his tail, but his claws were just beneath the surface. With a low growl, he shredded his mate’s shirt.

“Hey!”

Kres’ outraged expression didn’t match the smell of passion rolling off his body.

“You wish to stop?” Vohne pressed his body closer to his mate’s, rubbing against him in the most delightful way. A purr rolled up his throat.

“Um, no.” Kres lifted his hips in a silent invitation to explore, an invitation Vohne was more than willing to accept. “Besides, you can unbind us if you want, right?”

Vohne froze. “What do you mean?” He didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Kres didn’t need to consider whether his mating could be unbound. They belonged together.

“Zander said kings can break Thresl bonds. You could unbind us if you needed to, couldn’t you?”

“No.” He made sure his tone left no room for doubt. He wasn’t going to give his human even a smidgen of hope that Kres could ever get away from their bond. “Once we bond, you will be mine forever.”

Kres tried to move away from under Vohne’s touch, but there was no place he could go with Vohne pinning him to the thin mattress. “Maybe we should wait. Make sure we’re compatible before we seal our fate.”

Vohne couldn’t stop the predatory smile he could feel crossing his face. “It was too late for you, gorgeous, when I first caught your scent. You are mine, and whether we have sex or not, you will always be mine.” He kissed Kres until he felt the fit, muscular body relax beneath him. Making sure he had a good hold on his mate, he said the words that sealed the first step of the final bonding process. “I, Vohne, named by my mate, Kreslan Piers, forever pledge my heart and body to protect and cherish the man who will be mine.”

He let out a sigh of relief as he felt the mating bonds twine between them like invisible strings, twisting their souls together until he couldn’t tell where one started and the other ended.

“What the hell was that?” Kres jerked beneath him, reminding Vohne that the man still wore pants.

“That was our bonding. We are now mated,” Vohne declared with satisfaction.

“Wait! I thought we had to have sex.”

Vohne smiled. “Don’t worry. That is only the first step. The rest are much more enjoyable.”

Kres’ throat convulsed. “How many steps are there?”

Vohne rubbed his nose against his mate’s in a Thresl sign of affection. “There can be as many as we want. After all, we are kings.”

Before his human could come up with any more excuses, Vohne used his claws to take care of those pesky trousers. He’d have to make sure to alert the castle staff they would need clothing stashed in every room. It felt good to be in a body again. He wondered how long he should wait to tell his nervous mate the truth about them.

This was always the fun part, getting to know his mate in each new incarnation. Two thousand years of being born, hunting down his mate and eventually dying, and he still found it exciting each time. It was too bad his mate never remembered his former lives. Of course, that always made the courtship that much more fun. This sexy, tough warrior version of his mate was one of the best yet. Vohne purred. His heart ached with the power of his love for Kres even as he watched Vohne with wary eyes.

The only glitch in this reunion was trying to figure out why it took so long to return this time. Kings couldn’t be identified until they bonded with their mates because memories didn’t return until they transformed. Vohne now remembered he always returned as the same human, even as his cat form differed each time. His body was identical because he always matched up with the same bonded. His soul mate. Kres might appear different in each of his reincarnations, but his soul always longed for the same Thresl at his side.

Something must have stopped Vohne’s previous reincarnation or there wouldn’t be such a gap between his last life and this one. Even as his memories returned, he could feel a big hole in his mind that told him a few incarnations passed where he hadn’t found his mate and had never shifted from his Thresl form. Once they reached Nillre, he’d have to investigate and see what had prevented his transformation. Nothing could stand between him and the safety of his mate. Anyone or anything that did would be eliminated.

Looking down at the man he’d loved through millenniums, Vohne pushed all the negativity away. By the time they headed for the castle, every Thresl ever born would know the king and his mate were back, and their enemies had better look out.

Kres put up a token resistance but gave it up as soon as Vohne nipped at his neck. It wasn’t the submission of a proper beta. His soldier didn’t have enough give in him for that. It was the acknowledgement of letting Vohne have his way because he’d
chosen
to give the Thresl the dominating role.

Vohne didn’t know how his mate could get any sexier, but the younger man lying beneath him made his heart swell just as much as he made his cock harden. He barely held back the words of love trying to escape. Kres was already nervous about their bond. Now wasn’t the time to tell him this wasn’t the first time they’d done this dance.

Vohne leant down and lapped at his lover’s neck, scraping his teeth lightly against Kres’ skin. Kres shivered, making Vohne smile.

“You are so responsive,” Vohne whispered against his throat.

“You are so dead if you don’t get on with it,” Kres growled.

“I am. I am. Don’t get your undies in a bunch.” Vohne purred. “Oh wait, you aren’t wearing any.”

He let his hands roam across the newly exposed skin as he relished the feel of flesh against flesh.
Touch starved
. The phrase danced across his mind.
No…Kres starved
. Not just anyone could soothe Vohne’s need for contact. Not just anyone could calm his restless soul—only this man. One special man in a sea of billions of souls.

“I missed you.” Vohne flinched as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

Kres gave him an amused smile. “We were only apart for a few hours.”

“What can I say? I’m needy.” Vohne stopped further comments with a kiss. Nothing was going to stop him from claiming his mate, and he knew Kres would have tons of questions if the truth were known. Vohne would confess everything
after
they completed the bond. Right now wasn’t the time to get into a metaphysical discussion.

At the touch of Kres’ mouth, Vohne’s body came alive. Moaning, he rubbed against his mate’s pebbled abs, searching for the perfect friction to end the uncontrollable yearning he felt for him.

Calloused hands gripped his hips, stilling his motion. A snarl burst from his lips.

“Stop it,” Kres commanded, his brown eyes firm.

“I need you.” Vohne’s voice was gravelly with desire, the words almost indistinguishable.