Duke Betrayed
Author: Amber Kell
Date: 2013-11-15 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science Fiction; M M Romance; Paranormal; Shapeshifters; Romance; Fantasy; Aliens; Futuristic; Gay; Lgbt
Description: Book Five in the The Thresl Chronicles series. When Duke Hellbur is accused of treason against his people, he bonds with medic Balaze to keep his human form and prove his innocence. When Duke Hellbur is accused of smuggling Thresls and selling them off to interested buyers, he undertakes a trip to prove his innocence. In order to retain his humanity, Hellbur bonds with a medic named Balaze…who didn’t exactly give his assent to the binding of their souls. Balaze admired the duke whenever he visited the castle, but finding someone attractive and wanting to be theirs for eternity aren’t the same
Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing

Table of Contents

Legal Page

Title Page

Book Description

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

New Excerpt

About the Author

Publisher Page

A Totally Bound Publication

Duke Betrayed

ISBN # 978-1-78184-840-1

©Copyright Amber Kell 2013

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright October 2013

Edited by Stacey Birkel

Totally Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2013 by Totally Bound Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN

Warning:

This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Totally Sizzling and a Sexometer of 2.

This story contains 93 pages, additionally there is also a free excerpt at the end of the book containing 6 pages.

Thresl Chronicles

DUKE BETRAYED

Amber Kell

Book Five in the Thresl Chronicles series

When Duke Hellbur is accused of treason against his people, he bonds with medic Balaze to keep his human form and prove his innocence.

When Duke Hellbur is accused of smuggling Thresls and selling them off to interested buyers, he undertakes a trip to prove his innocence. In order to retain his humanity, Hellbur bonds with a medic named Balaze…who didn’t exactly give his assent to the binding of their souls.

Balaze admired the duke whenever he visited the castle, but finding someone attractive and wanting to be theirs for eternity aren’t the same thing. After surviving the death of his first Thresl mate, Balaze isn’t exactly eager to go through that pain again. However, the duke doesn’t take no for an answer.

Those who are guilty will have to be uncovered if the two men ever plan on finding peace with each other. When Hellbur and Balaze go off on an interplanetary adventure, can they find common ground or will their enemies tear them apart?

Dedication

For Stormy Glenn, who loves my Thresl characters almost as much as me!

Chapter One

Dr Walter Balaze watched Duke Hellbur sleep. The duke’s stillness worried him more than anything. Thresls were difficult to kill, but not impossible. Hellbur had lost a lot of blood through the gash in his head, but no other symptoms of trauma were evident despite repeated scans. Head wounds tended to bleed more than other wounds, but the lack of movement and the duke’s faint pulse had Balaze more than a little worried.

The duke should’ve healed by now. The fact that it was taking Hellbur’s body so long to close a simple wound indicated a deeper issue not detected by the scanner. If Hellbur died on Balaze’s watch, he’d never forgive himself. It would break Balaze’s heart if he couldn’t save him.

“Find out if the duke has any known illnesses,” Balaze ordered the nurse hovering beside him. Information on the duke should be in the medical database. Balaze had studied most of the files on the royals but didn’t remember anything standing out about Hellbur. No warnings had popped up when they’d punched in his patient information.

The nurse grabbed an electronic research pad and typed in the duke’s name. It took a few minutes before she spoke again.

She shook her head. “No. Nothing.”

He looked over her shoulder at the screen. “Hmm. If he doesn’t bounce back I’ll have to look into a transfusion.”

He didn’t like the duke’s colour—too pale to be healthy.

The nurse exchanged a look with Balaze, acknowledging the strangeness of the situation without saying a word.

King-Mate Kreslan entered the room and dismissed the nurse with a tilt of his head. Balaze admired the speed with which the nurse departed, wishing he could go with her. Kreslan made him nervous. The King-Mate sent out vibes more feral than any wild Thresl he’d ever met.

Kreslan waited until the nurse had left before closing the door behind her.

“What can I help you with, Your Majesty?”

He tried to stay still beneath Kreslan’s intense gaze, but the urge to fidget had his feet moving back and forth in an uneven rhythm as he waited for the King-Mate to speak.

“We suspect the duke might have been taking medication to suppress his Thresl half. Unregistered medication. We’re looking for a sample to bring you, but we haven’t been able to dig any up. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to keep this information to yourself.”

“Why would he do that?” Horror twisted Balaze’s stomach. He couldn’t even imagine how toxic the chemicals had to be to sustain Hellbur’s human form for a prolonged time.

“Because he’s the backbone of the kingdom. Only his contacts and research kept the problems from escalating while Vohne was missing. If he hadn’t helped combat the Purgers, we might still be fighting them.” Kreslan’s swept a cold gaze across the duke. “He might not be my favourite person, but we still need him alive.”

Balaze held back his smirk. Everyone knew Kreslan resented the Duke’s attraction to the king. He wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised if the King-Mate had accidentally forgotten to get the duke help. No one stood between Kreslan and his mate.

“How long has he been suppressing?” Balaze checked the duke’s vitals again. Hellbur’s low heart rate concerned Balaze more than anything. Almost as if the duke’s body had decided to shut down without the stimulus of whatever medication he’d been on. Now that he knew Hellbur had been taking suppressors it changed things.

Kres shrugged. “Possibly decades.”

A chill ran down Balaze’s back. With the death of his mate, the duke should’ve either gone into shock or turned back to his cat form. If whatever drug he’d been taking kept him human and on his feet, it had to be pretty strong. The immense shock to the duke’s system probably had his Thresl nature fighting to take control back. Balaze didn’t reveal to the King-Mate that he doubted the duke would make it through the night. Sudden withdrawal from such a long addiction could easily be fatal.

“I’ll do everything I can to take care of him.” Balaze didn’t know what he could do other than keep watch and try to prevent the duke from dying owing to the stress on his system.

“Good. He’s a pain in the ass, but necessary.” With that blunt statement, Kres turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

Balaze pulled up a stool to sit beside the duke. Whoever had been the Hellbur’s old mate had had an eye for beauty. Balaze ran one finger along the duke’s cheek then quickly jerked his hand back when he realised what he was doing. “I hope you pull through this, Your Grace. Kreslan won’t take it well if you don’t recover.”

Hellbur took in a deep breath. Balaze inhaled with him before he realised what he was doing. He let out his breath and waited a moment, but the duke didn’t do anything more.

“I guess it’s too much to hope you’ll wake up all better, isn’t it? I’d best leave the planet if you don’t make it, huh?”

The duke didn’t open his eyes and answer Balaze’s questions. Balaze ruthlessly squelched his disappointment. Until today he’d only caught glimpses of the duke a dozen times or so, but that didn’t stop his heart from beating a little faster whenever he spotted the familiar blond head. In general, Thresls didn’t have a lot to do with medics unless their human mates were injured, so he’d never exchanged any words with the gorgeous duke.

He knew he shouldn’t be drooling over an injured unconscious royal, but the duke pulled at him—a tug of attraction Balaze hadn’t felt since the death of his own mate. Ten years ago he’d bonded with a Thresl and lost Mills after only three years together. Mills had died in a senseless skirmish during a routine guard duty. The attacker had shoved a sword through the soldier’s heart. Even a Thresl couldn’t survive that.

Balaze might be a healer and dedicated to saving lives, but he’d felt no remorse when he’d severed the head of his mate’s killer with surgical precision then tossed his remains into the marsh to decompose.

The memory still brought a smile to his face. Unfortunately it didn’t bring his mate back into the world of the living.

Now, watching the duke sleep, attraction stirred a part of Balaze that he’d thought long dead.

“What was your mate like? Did he make you smile?” Mills had been the bright light of Balaze’s life. At his death, Balaze had lost most of his joy. Not that he never smiled or laughed at a friend’s joke, but his essential spark had been doused.

Balaze snatched a monitoring bracelet out of the side drawer. With a bit of manoeuvring he slid it onto the duke’s wrist. A slow, steady beep soothed some of Balaze’s concerns. At least it picked up the duke’s heartbeat. “Keep on breathing, or I’ll have Kreslan back in here ready to strangle me.”

As if on cue, the duke’s monitor let out a piercing scream. Convulsions shook Hellbur’s body, slamming him repeatedly against the thin mattress.

“Oh, crap, you’re going into withdrawal.”

As soon as Kreslan had told him of the duke’s drug use, he should’ve been prepared. He’d erroneously thought the worst had passed. Balaze rushed to the cabinet, pulled out an injection wand then raced back to the duke.

Holding Hellbur down, he punched the needle into the duke’s arm. Immediately the tremors stopped. Balaze let out a relieved breath. “You scared me there, buddy.”

Hellbur remained unconscious, but his monitor returned to a steady beeping. Balaze sat back down and watched the duke breathe. Eventually the long day that had started before the sun reached the horizon began to catch up with him. Balaze’s eyes drifted shut.

* * * *

Hellbur floated on a sea of fog. The last time he’d been so content—he couldn’t remember. Someone hovered nearby. Whoever it was smelt divine.

Yum.

He had to pounce, capture it and keep his find.

His!

“Oh, whoa, you’re awake and in kitty form.” The voice, lush and alluring, pulled him from his relaxing half-sleep.

A warm hand stroked his head as if offering comfort. Why would he need soothing? The soft fog didn’t bother him. He wallowed in the speaker’s nearness until a twinge of pain fired through him, quickly followed by searing agony as if his body were trying to turn inside out. Hell whimpered. Clenching his teeth, he held back the scream aching to get out.

“Shh, it’ll be all right.” The deliciously rich voice rolled across him in a velvety caress.

Would it? Hell doubted he’d ever be all right again. Everything was crashing down around him. The king would arrest him soon for treason, if the pain didn’t kill him first.

That wonderful scent filled his nose again. He sniffed, hoping to inhale more. The fragrance soothed him. The pain receded as he breathed in the lush smell of the man beside him.

“That’s it. Open your pretty eyes.”

Hell almost snorted. The speaker was acting as if he was trying to lure a shy virgin out of his shell. Hell hadn’t been a virgin in centuries, and he’d never been shy.

Still, the man’s voice appealed to Hell. He could barely remember the last time he’d been intrigued by anyone. Since the death of his mate by Purgers, he hadn’t made much time for romance. Hidden agendas usually lurked behind a pair of come-hither eyes.

The drugs helped play a part to lower Hell’s libido. While the pills kept him in his human form, the continuous struggle against his instinct to bond took its toll on his sex drive. Constant pain churned his stomach, twisted his muscles in knots and ached deep in his bones.

Hell hadn’t rested in years. This peaceful fog was probably the best sleep he’d had in a long while. Why would he want to leave?

“Come on, Your Grace, you need to wake up and change back. Kreslan is going to have my ass if he finds you like this.”

Worry wormed through Hell’s conscious. He couldn’t have the kind, soothing man getting into trouble, especially with the King-Mate. Hell opened his eyes.

Wow!

The man leaning over him had the brightest blue eyes Hell had ever seen. Salt and pepper hair, cropped short, framed a handsome face with a mouth tempting enough to make him growl.

Growling?

Oh, fuck!

Instead of hands, he had paws. How long had he been sleeping? Apparently long enough for the suppression medication to fade and for him to return to his Thresl form. It could’ve been worse. He could’ve gone into shock and been put into the deep freeze to keep him safe.

Without the drugs blocking his urge to mate, Hell’s cat-half zeroed in on the gorgeous creature that smelt so tempting.

“Mine!” The word echoed inside Hell’s head as if his subconscious had decided to speak on its own.

“I don’t mean you any harm. I’m trying to heal you.” The medic raised his hands in a defensive gesture. “Wait, what do you mean mine? What’s yours?”

Hell swiped his tongue across the medic’s cheek. The pretty man must be his mate.

“No, you can’t charm me with a kitty kiss. Shift back to being a man so we can talk.”

“Can’t.” Hell projected his thought at the medic. Growling, he set his head on his front paws. His deepest fear had come true. He was trapped in his Thresl form, unable to help the kingdom. The people who depended on him to stay safe were now going to be in the clutches of whoever had betrayed him. Without his human form, he couldn’t do his job running the king’s information network.

“Don’t give up now.” The medic’s coaxing tone had Hell giving the gorgeous man all his attention. “You can do it, Your Grace. I know inside you your human shape is aching to get out. Imagine your hands and feet, fingers and toes. Think of arms and legs. You’re strong. You can do this. Change back and you can be a powerful duke bossing everyone around again, and I can go heal someone else.”

Hell breathed in the medic’s scent. The delicious smell sent a spiral of possessiveness through him. He growled. He didn’t like the idea of the medic touching anyone else.

“Mate!”

Surely the human knew he belonged to Hell? He could feel his humanity slipping away as his Thresl mindset took over. Fortunately, both halves were in synch. They wanted the medic. Hell leapt at the pretty man taking him to the floor. Pleased at the lack of fear in his mate’s scent, Hell purred. He lashed his tail side to side while pinning the medic to the ground.

“Um, hello. Aren’t you a beautiful kitty? Why don’t you show me what a pretty man you are? I saw you when you first came in. You went into withdrawal, which is probably why you shifted—to speed your healing. Why don’t you return to human and we can talk?”

Hell snorted. The medic was obviously used to people being easily led. Not to mention that if he thought he was going to dump Hell and run, he was in for a big surprise.

“What’s your name?” It took most of his remaining ability to gather his thoughts enough to ask that question.

“I’m Dr Walter Balaze. I go by Balaze—don’t even think of calling me Wally or Walter,” the medic warned, scowling.

Hell would call Balaze whatever he wanted as long as he called Hell his mate.

“Mate.”

Balaze frowned. “You just woke up from a bad accident. You aren’t in any condition to be claiming a mate. When you’re feeling better, we can take you to the mating centre to check out your options. I’m sure we can find someone there you’ll like.”

Hell growled. He didn’t know why Balaze blathered on. If he worked in the medical wing he should know about Thresls. Some Thresls bonded with anyone who could make them a match. Hell refused to consider anyone who didn’t scream mate to his beast half. After his mate’s death, he refused to accept just anyone. After a while, the medication had made it impossible for him to spot anyone who might be a potential mate. Now, free of the drugs, he knew Balaze would be the perfect match for him.

“Easy now. We’ll find you someone. I promise.”

Hell didn’t need a possible mate. He’d found the one he wanted. The idea of the medic considering someone else for his mate caused fury to burn in his stomach. If Balaze found someone else for Hell, did the medic think he’d be free to pick someone else?

No way would he let that happen. Balaze was his!

He purred at Balaze, letting him know he was perfectly happy with his current choice. Deciding to add to his claiming, Hell licked Balaze’s cheek once before chomping down on Balaze’s shoulder. His incisors slid easily through Balaze’s clothes like scissors cutting through paper.

“Oh, fuck,” Balaze shouted. He gripped Hell’s fur coat, whether to jerk him away or pull him closer Hell didn’t know. Hell bit down harder, eager to mark his mate, forcing Balaze to go still. He didn’t want his new mate to yank away and cause an enormous scar. Hell would leave a mark, but he didn’t want to rip his mate’s shoulder open. The connection between them hummed and settled into place. After he was certain they’d bonded, Hell opened his mouth and released Balaze. Bright crimson bled through the white medic coat, but he knew the wound itself would heal quickly.

Balaze blinked up at him, his blue eyes glazed with shock. “Why would you do that? I would’ve found you someone. You didn’t have to bite me.”

Hell snorted at Balaze’s misunderstanding of the situation. If the medic thought Hell was going to let Balaze wander around without his mark, he was sadly mistaken about the entire situation. The sexy medic belonged to Hell. Now that he’d claimed Balaze, his anxiety settled and his tension eased. Pain he’d carried for years to suppress his bonding urge evaporated beneath the connection sliding between them.

So good.

“Now can you change? We need to talk.”

That was never a phrase any man wanted to hear. Hell puffed an air of disdain over the thought of a conversation. What did they need to discuss? Balaze belonged to him and Hell had claimed him. They were now mates. End of story.

Balaze raised an eyebrow at him.

Fine.

If nothing else, Hell needed to warn Balaze that he would be in danger. Someone had it out for Hell and having his mate vulnerable to attack didn’t sit well with him. Although he’d make sure Balaze had guards, he didn’t want the man to run around unaware of any possible danger. Balaze would be a prime candidate for abduction.

Closing his eyes, Hell let his mind relax. He followed Balaze’s advice and concentrated on his humanity. Imagining his human form, he pulled at his inner self. Remembering his image from years of observing it in a mirror, Hell tried to assemble his body from memory.

Oh, crap!

His bones melted then reshaped in a fire of agonising pain. He should’ve remembered this amount of suffering no matter how many years it had been since he’d changed last. The constant ache he’d experienced from holding back the shift was nothing compared to actually changing. Panting and groaning, Hell lay on the floor trying to remember the pattern to breathing. When had oxygen become a luxury?

“Hey, relax. It’s all right—we’ll get through this. I don’t know what you were thinking bonding with me like that.” A combination of scolding and soothing came from Balaze’s mouth. “You’re going to regret this when you get back to your old self.”

“Never.” Damn, his throat burned and his mouth tasted foul. He’d bitten his cheek when he’d shifted, erasing Balaze’s delicious taste with the coppery flavour of his own blood, not even a fraction as appealing.

“Come on—let’s get you back on the bed,” Balaze said.

Hell bit back the whimpers he longed to make. He had to appear strong before his new mate.

Memories drifted through his head. He hadn’t been alone before his injury. “Friln. Nelrin?” If either of the bonded pair had died in the bombing, he’d make sure they received a nice memorial. Friln had always impressed Hell with his professionalism even when confronted with unusual circumstances.

“They are both fine. Banged up a little but nothing serious. They were in much better condition than you.”

“Good.” Neither man deserved to be hurt because of him. He thought he’d covered his ass, but apparently someone out there wanted it in a sling with possibly a noose around his throat before they blew him up. He fidgeted on the medic cot, ready to dress and get out of there now that he’d reverted back to human. He’d take Balaze with him back home. The medic’s smooth golden skin would look luscious against Hell’s red sheets.

“Stay still so I can examine you.” Balaze went about scanning Hell’s vitals with his handheld device. Balaze waved a small box over Hell’s body then made some noises.

“Am I all right?” He suspected his bones had actually been ground into powder during transition, but maybe the medic had a pill for that or something. Surely Hell wouldn’t hurt this badly if everything were as it was supposed to be?

“You’ll be fine now. I was more worried when you didn’t wake up when you should have.”

“What happened?” He remembered an explosion, but that was the last thing he recalled clearly.

“A bomb took out your vehicle. They haven’t captured the people who did it yet. You’ll have to talk to the king or Kreslan to know more. They didn’t share the details with me.”

Apparently Friln and his mate’s appearance had triggered the suspicion of whoever was setting Hell up. Someone in his own household must be at least partially responsible. He had to figure out a way to pin down the guilty party without alerting them to his investigation. Maybe the drugs had marred his thinking more than he’d suspected because not a single idea came forward in his foggy mind.

Hell watched Balaze work while the medic avoided Hell’s eyes. “I’m not sorry for marking you. You smelt like mine.”

He refused to feel guilty for claiming the man as his own. Balaze was meant to be his.

“You will be.” Balaze gave a sad smile.

“Why?”

“Because I’m just your medic and you aren’t in a right frame of mind to be making those kinds of decisions. But don’t worry—we can go to the king and have it revoked.”

The soothing reassurance in Balaze’s tone revealed that the medic sincerely thought he could get out of their mating. A growl rolled up Hell’s throat. Apparently turning human hadn’t taken all of his animal instincts away. “You will not go to the king. You will remain my mate and get used to the idea. I’ve waited decades to bond again. I’ll not lose you to some manoeuvring by the royal.”

If he lost Balaze, Hell wouldn’t survive. He couldn’t go back on the drugs. Now that his system had purged the medication, he felt better than he had in years.

“You just came off a strong addiction. You aren’t thinking clearly.” Balaze met Hell’s gaze, his expression determined.

Hell wondered if Balaze was going to ask about Hell’s drug use. He’d been on the pills so long, his body had probably been a toxic pit. Scientists instead of doctors had used him as their trial subject in order for him to stay in his human form. The fate of the kingdom had depended on him. He’d lost his first mate to the Purgers. He refused to lose his second owing to negligence. He’d known Vohne would resurface eventually and Hell had planned on going into the cryo units at that time. However, when the king had returned home, Vohne still hadn’t recognised Hell, so he’d turned once again to medication to keep him human. He’d hoped he and the king could form a partnership, but Kreslan had a human’s jealousy and didn’t like Hell so close to his man.

Apparently there wasn’t any statute of limitations on kissing a king even if Kres hadn’t been bonded to Vohne at the time. Now with the king and his mate back in power, it took even more intelligence to catch the smugglers. A lot of the Purgers had gone into hiding after their side lost the war. Hell had made it his duty to watch out for anyone undermining Vohne’s orders. Sadly, he must’ve done a poor job of it if he was now under suspicion. He had no doubt that Vohne could eventually be convinced of his innocence, but he wondered if Kres would have him thrown him in jail first just for fun.

As it was, he’d failed badly enough that someone had been able to run a smuggling operation under his nose to export Thresls off planet for unsavoury purposes. Apparently he wasn’t the kick-ass spymaster his reputation claimed.

Hell sighed as Balaze moved him this way then that to check out his health. He sat up and obediently breathed when asked.

“I think I’m healthy enough to be released, mate. I can’t stay here anyway. Someone wants me dead and I’d prefer not to be where they can easily find me.” He had plans he needed to make. Some of them included pinning Balaze to the wall and finishing their bonding with hours of sexual antics. Hot sex with the gorgeous medic would be a great way to strengthen their connection.

Balaze gripped Hell’s wrists. “You’re coming down from an addiction to a powerful drug. You need to take it easy and let your body heal. We can worry about bonding or not bonding later.”

The medic’s expression didn’t judge. Instead he spoke as if there was nothing wrong with helping a titled lord get over a drug dependency. Hell had no doubt that Balaze handled addicts with the same calm he used to deal with everything else. Balaze’s apparent serenity would serve him well when dealing with Hell as his mate.

“We will be bonding. Don’t even think of that as an option. You are mine.” He could tell from the scent of desire wafting from Balaze that he didn’t find Hell distasteful. If he’d sensed fear or dislike, Hell would’ve backed off. However, Balaze smelt of need and sunshine and everything good in the fucking world. Hell yearned to bite him again to make sure others knew he was taken.

“I know you need to stay human to help your people, but we can transfer the bond to someone else.”

“We could. But we won’t. I need you. I need your help to save my planet.”

Balaze opened his mouth and shut it again as if he couldn’t find the right words. Hell knew he was fighting dirty, but right now Thresls were targets for slavers and warlords who thought to use them as cannon fodder. He couldn’t afford to waste time finding another to bond with when the perfect person already carried his mark.

“I wasn’t saying I’m not willing. I just don’t think you’re as clear-headed as you think you are.”

Hell smiled. “I haven’t been myself for years. This is the first time I can honestly say I feel great. Mating with you wasn’t a last ditch effort to become human. Your scent called to me and not just because I can smell again.”

For so long his scent had been suppressed by drugs. If a Thresl couldn’t smell his mate, he couldn’t claim him. He hadn’t realised how much it had probably handicapped him from being able to detect the scent of deception as well.

Balaze squeezed Hell’s knee. “Hey, I’m not saying you did anything wrong. I’m not here to judge my patients. I’m here to help.”

“I’m not your patient.” Hell growled. “I’m your mate, and I’m still not going to apologise for biting you.”

Balaze rolled his eyes. “Did I ask you to apologise? And we might be mated, but you’re my patient too. It’s up to me to ensure your health.”

Hell bit his lip. His first instinct was to argue, but he held back the words. Better not to make things worse at the beginning of their relationship. They were starting out shakily enough. Hell hoped it wasn’t an indication of their future. He needed Balaze a lot more than the medic needed him. Balaze leant forward to examine Hell’s eyes, and the scent of his mate overwhelmed him.

“What are you doing?” Balaze’s throat moved enticingly as he swallowed.

“I’m going to find out how good you taste.” Without giving his mate a chance to speak, Hell grabbed the medic and kissed him.

Oh, yes. Perfection.

Balaze relaxed against Hell, ceding control with a seductive ease. Hell tightened his grip, irrationally worried that if he opened his hands, Balaze would slip through and vanish from his life. A soft groan vibrated his lips.

Balaze pulled back, lifting his mouth to speak. “Are you all right? What do you need?” Balaze should’ve been terrified by Hell’s intensity, but the medic’s scent remained free of fear. Desire gripped Hell in its greedy fist.

“I need you,” Hell confessed sliding his nose along Balaze’s neck to absorb his mate’s essence. The urge to bite again rode him hard, but he didn’t want to scare Balaze off. Right now the medic appeared more concerned for Hell’s health than their mating.

“I’m not mate material,” Balaze said. “I already lost one Thresl. I don’t know if I can survive another.”

Hell kissed Balaze, a soft brush of lips in support. “I know what it’s like to lose a mate. Death might have stolen our mates before, but we both survived. We’re strong enough to mate again.”

He didn’t know which of them he was trying to convince, but the softening of Balaze’s expression told Hell he’d struck a chord. Maybe they could get through this together. They might not be madly in love, but they were fated to be partners in life. Surely if the fates wanted them bound, they would also help them be happy. Hell hadn’t loved Devon, but they’d been compatible. He’d learned long ago that he wasn’t the type to have softer emotions over other people. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t take care of his mate and make sure Balaze never lacked for anything.

“B-but we just met.” Balaze frowned as if their short acquaintance had any bearing on the situation.

“How long did you know your first mate?” Hell barely held back the growl from even contemplating someone else touching Balaze. He didn’t really want to hear about another man holding Balaze’s heart, but he couldn’t pretend the medic was coming to him untouched. They both had emotional baggage to contend with. Avoiding their past wouldn’t help them move forward.

“I knew Mills for two months before we mated.” Balaze smiled at some memory. “I was working at a remote village and he’d follow me from the clinic home every day. I wasn’t sure what he wanted at first, but once he indicated his wish to bond with me I agreed.”

“You had a good relationship?” He could tell from Balaze’s glowing eyes that his mate had been his world. A pang of envy twisted inside him despite reminding himself that they would have a different bond.

A dark shadow crossed Balaze’s face. “He was murdered by a thug looking to steal his ring. He was on a routine guard duty and hadn’t expected any trouble. There was a fight that broke out in one of the outer regions. When he was distracted, someone beat him across the back of the head, stripped him of his valuables and left him for dead. The authorities never found his killer.”

“Oh, mate, I’m sorry.” Hell wrapped the medic in his arms. He was sorry that Balaze had been traumatised by the event, not that his mate had died. A mate attached to the beautiful medic would’ve been inconvenient.

Instincts had him clamouring to keep the medic close to him. His Thresl half wanted to pounce on Balaze again except this time with the purpose to mate in the human way.

Balaze sighed. “If you’re certain, I won’t fight the mating. I’m not sure how it will work out for us, but I won’t deny you.”

At least that was a start. He hated the idea of taking a reluctant mate to the king and asking for a dissolution of their bonding. A request to have a bond broken rarely happened and was usually only granted because of abuse. Hell had enough problems with his reputation without his mate demanding a break.

Hell gripped Balaze’s jacket and yanked the medic closer. He waited for Balaze to take the final step. After a long moment, Balaze shuffled closer then slowly tilted his head to the side. Hell struck before he had time to think twice. He plunged his canines into Balaze’s neck and made his mark. He needed this man claimed so thoroughly that no one would think of trying to take him for his own. This bite would show even with a high collar, Hell would make sure of it.

Mine!

Hell slipped off the bed until their bodies aligned.

“Oh, fuck,” Balaze whispered. The medic’s hips bucked and his clothed erection rubbed against Hell’s naked cock.

Deep inside, his Thresl half purred. Hell opened his mouth and licked the wound. “You are mine now. You will be mine from now until death claims you.”

Relief surged through Hell. It had been so long since his inner beast didn’t pace inside him like a caged animal. He almost came from pure relief. Hell took a deep breath and pulled at the tattered corners of his resolve.

He released Balaze. He slid his hands down the medic’s back, unable to resist one final touch.

Balaze stared at him, licking his lips. “Why are we stopping there?”

“I’m not going to have sex with you in the medic ward. I waited too long to find another mate.” It took all his resolve not to pounce and screw Balaze against the wall. His mate deserved a better environment for their first time.

Balaze stepped back and appeared to gather his composure. “I need to go find you some clothes. I’ll be right back.”

The medic fled the room. Hell climbed back on the bed and tried not to worry that Balaze had run away. He hoped his mate returned on his own—Hell would hate to have to hunt the man down.

A low growl rolled up his chest as he contemplated Balaze making a run for it. Without the sexual bonding, Hell couldn’t mentally connect with the medic and check on his welfare. He hopped off the bed then began pacing. His nudity didn’t bother him. Anyone who would walk into his room would be medical personnel. He didn’t have any equipment they hadn’t seen before.

He’d just about decided to march the halls naked when Balaze returned. Hell let out the breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. “Took you long enough.” He longed to snatch back the words as soon as they had left his mouth. He hadn’t meant to sound like a shrew.

Balaze remained calm and fixed Hell with a knowing look. “Did you think I’d run off?”

Hell shrugged. “We barely know each other, it could be a possibility.”

“I can’t say the thought didn’t occur to me, but I wouldn’t do that to you. I agreed to be your mate. If I changed my mind, I would tell you.”

“Thank you.” Balaze’s confession that he wouldn’t run off did more for Hell’s composure than anything else. If he didn’t have to worry about a runaway mate, he could concentrate on more important things like who wanted him dead and how long it would take to get his mate in a private enough location to fuck him. He accepted the clothes Balaze handed over, watching as the medic set a pair of shoes on the floor. A quick assessment convinced him they should fit just fine.

His erection returned at the sight of Balaze bending over. Images of a naked medic flashed through his head like a private porn show. He had to use his imagination since he didn’t know what his mate was hiding beneath all those clothes. Hell gritted his teeth as he pulled on his pants and tucked himself away. Beneath Balaze’s interested gaze, he reluctantly put on a shirt. There would be better times and locations in their future.

“I could’ve helped you with that.” Balaze pointed at Hell’s crotch.

“Not here. Not now,” Hell said. He tried to sound firm instead of desperate. He doubted that he had pulled it off.

A knock on the doorframe turned their attention to a visitor.

“Hello, Your Grace,” Friln said.

“Come in.” Hell’s heart sank. Going by the soldier’s expression, things weren’t working out well.

Friln cast a glance towards Balaze. “Hey, Doc, can I speak to your patient alone for a moment?”

Hell could see Balaze wanted to protest.

“It will be fine.” Hell gave Balaze a pointed look. Now wasn’t the time to announce their mating. The longer they could keep it secret, the better. Luckily Friln hadn’t brought his Thresl mate and the human’s sense of smell couldn’t detect their newly mated status.

“You can’t remove him without a medic’s clearance.” Balaze’s lush mouth firmed into a straight, disapproving line.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Friln replied.

With a nod, Balaze left the room.

Hell silently vowed to make it up to Balaze. His mate deserved to be involved with anything that had to do with the two of them. However, right now secrecy was the better part of valour. They needed to use stealth against Hell’s enemies before they discovered Hell had a brand new weakness.

Friln waited until Balaze left before speaking. He walked over and closed the door behind the medic. Hell’s inner Thresl didn’t like the separation between him and Balaze.

“How are you doing, Your Grace?”

Hell crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m doing well, but I’m guessing that isn’t going to last. Are you and your mate all right?”

Friln nodded. “We’re fine. You were the only one injured, but you’re looking well enough to leave now.”

Hell had a bad feeling about this. “That’s up to my doctor. Where do you think I’m going?” Best find out the worst before he left the medic bay.

“Eventually, to prison.” Friln scowled as if he didn’t like the idea any more than Hell did.

“I need to speak to the king.” Vohne could straighten this entire mess out with little difficulty.

Instead of responding, Friln set a small electronic blocker on the table. He pressed a button to start the device. It glowed green, indicating no listening devices in the area.

“The king has decided to prosecute you for smuggling Thresls off planet and for conspiring to overthrow the monarchy.”

Hell’s stomach churned. “What? Why? I thought he believed in my innocence.” If Vohne didn’t believe in his innocence, things were becoming increasingly dire. “I bet it’s Kreslan’s fault. He’s always had it in for me.” What hurt the most was the king not even coming to talk to Hell himself after all they’d gone through together over the centuries.

Friln’s wry smile didn’t reassure him. “Kres offered to throw you in jail and conveniently lose the key. The king believes, like I do, that you’re being set up. In order to flush out the people who are truly in charge, he wants them to think they’ve succeeded. We don’t have any leads. Your assistant was careful to set the trap well.”

“You don’t think he was working alone, do you?” Hell knew the answer before the question left his mouth. No way could one person pull so much off alone, not to mention that his assistant’s death would’ve ended the smuggling entirely if he’d been solely responsible. So far that hadn’t proved true.

Friln shook his head. “I think we’ve barely scratched the surface of this conspiracy. Despite making it appear like you were the leader, I think your setup was a minor event in this entire situation. A fall back if they were discovered.”

It didn’t feel so minor to Hell. If Vohne had Hell arrested and charged with treason, all of Hell’s land and property would be remanded to the throne. He might not have children to leave anything to, but he’d fight fang and nail before he allowed them to take a penny from his mate. Newly bonded or not, Hell’s animal instincts screamed at him to protect his own. He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, forcing his beast down deep.

“Crap.” Hell closed his eyes. “It has to be someone I trust in order to fool so many.” He’d thought his assistant was the leak, but the bombing had proved that someone else in his household was involved. “If they killed me, they could lay the groundwork for their own escape. After all a dead man can’t defend himself.”

The thought of one of his trusted advisors lying and sneaking behind Hell’s back made him ill. Someone close to him had betrayed the trust of the Thresl and used Hell’s name to do it.

“That’s what the king thinks too,” Friln agreed. The soldier bit his lips and Hell could smell anxiety colouring his scent.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Hell braced for the worse.

“The king’s plan is to put you in jail and see who comes up to kill you.” Friln’s apologetic tone had Hellbur clenching his jaw to hold back the hard words aching to get out. It wasn’t Friln’s fault he’d been given the task of delivering bad news.

“So I’ll be a sitting duck waiting for my assassination? You can’t tell me Kreslan didn’t come up with that plan.”

Friln cleared his throat. “He might have had some input.”

Hellbur sighed. “I knew I shouldn’t have teased him about Vohne. When does this farce begin?”

It didn’t matter because he wouldn’t leave Balaze unprotected. His mate would be an easy target for the psychopaths trying to kill Hell.

“As soon as you’re well enough according to your doctor.”

“I’d best talk to Balaze then. I’ll have him inform the king when I am able to be jailed appropriately.” Hellbur hoped his voice sounded even and calm. Friln didn’t give him any suspicious looks so he figured he must’ve pulled it off. Better to pretend to go along with their idiotic plan than to fight it and have Friln put him in protective custody. Hell didn’t have time for posturing. He needed to get his mate out of town and hunt down those guilty himself.

“I’m sorry about this, Your Grace. I hope you know I have never doubted your innocence. You’ve always been a man of honour in my book.”

“Thank you, Friln. I appreciate the support.” Friln’s earnestness made Hell almost feel bad for deceiving the young man. Almost.

“I’ll be back in a few hours to take you into custody. The king will clear things with Balaze.”

Hell nodded. Vohne overestimated Balaze’s cooperation if he thought the medic would clear Hell for jail time before the next century.

“Thanks.”

Friln shook his head. “Don’t thank me. We’ll get through this and find the guilty ones.”

The soldier turned off the electronic blocker and slipped it back into his pocket.

“I’ll see you later, Your Grace.”

Hell waited until Friln had left before he slipped off the bed. Balaze entered the room as if on cue.

“I saw Friln leave. Where are you going?” Even with an annoyed expression across his classic features, the man was adorable. Hell’s cock rose at the sight. Damn he had a gorgeous mate.

“I’m getting out of here before the king arrests me for treason.” He wiggled his feet into the slip-on shoes Balaze had placed on the floor.

Balaze’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. “Why would he do that? What did you do?”

Hell laughed without humour. Why he’d expected his mate to immediately proclaim Hell’s innocence he didn’t know. They barely knew each other and the king didn’t have a reputation for aimlessly arresting people. “I didn’t do anything. It’s what someone made it appear I did that’s the problem. Listen, it’s too complicated to explain, but we need to get out of here.”

“Where are we going?” Balaze didn’t appear overly concerned with that announcement. He accepted everything with the same calm air, which probably served him well in medical emergencies.

“Out of here. We need to gather information to prove my innocence.”

“How are you feeling? I’m sure I can delay the king a bit so you can heal.”

“Are you delaying the king or our departure?”

Balaze laughed. “That depends on how you feel.”

Chapter Two

Hell took a moment to take a careful inventory of how he truly felt. The aching, burning, horrible sensation of crawling pain across his body had vanished. Without his instinct to seek out his mate screaming through him, or the drug burning through his veins, he had peace for the first time in centuries.

A long slow breath didn’t bring any more pain, and hunger twisted his stomach.

“I’m hungry.” He couldn’t stop the surprise from leaking into his voice. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d truly wanted to eat. With agony waking him up every day and preventing him from sleeping every night, it had been longer than he could remember since eating had been enjoyable rather than a forced event in order to stay alive.

Balaze’s warm laugh pulled his attention back to his mate. “I’m sure you are. It’s been hours since you’ve eaten.”

Damn, he could wallow in the joy of Balaze’s essence. The medic all but oozed a peaceful aura. Hell hadn’t experienced much calm in his life. If he could lap it off the medic’s skin, he’d strip him naked and cover every inch with his tongue.

He might not be in his cat shape any longer, but his inner Thresl still urged him to wallow in his mate’s scent. Years ago he’d enjoyed Devon’s smell, but Hell was older and wiser now. No one would get their hands on Balaze. He would be safe even if Hell had to drag him across the universe by his side. “I haven’t been hungry for centuries,” Hell confessed.

If he hadn’t been watching Balaze carefully, he might have missed the appalled expression in the medic’s eyes.

“How long have you been on those drugs?”

“A long, long time. But you freed me from them. If I’d known you were here, I would’ve come to the medic ward a long time ago. We could’ve been mated this entire time.”

Memories of years wasted bit at him like sand fleas, sharp and irritating.

Balaze frowned. “I thought you took the drugs because you didn’t want another mate.”

Hell opened his mouth to refute that statement but found he couldn’t. “I took the drugs at first because my mate died and I couldn’t go into cryo. I had too many things to do. Too many people depended on me.”

Unsaid was the fact that revenge couldn’t be meted out while he was a frozen Duke-cicle. The people who’d killed Devon had died screaming his name and each and every one of them had been fully aware of the error of their ways when they’d finally succumbed to death. Hell had no guilt over how his mate’s murderers had died. Some days he wished he could bring them back to kill them all over again. Hell might have the polished gloss of a royal over his human form, but deep down lurked his animal half that didn’t worry itself over little things like morality. His Thresl nature only cared about personal justice and the taste of his enemies’ blood on his tongue.

“What are we going to do now?”

“We’re going to get out of here before they come to arrest me.”

“You think they will?” Balaze bit his bottom lip. His apprehensive expression had Hell walking over to pull him back into his arms. He didn’t like causing his mate distress.

“I know they will. The king doesn’t believe I’m guilty, but he has to make sure to not show favouritism. If the others think I’m being allowed to run free while there is evidence showing I’m responsible, it will reflect poorly on the Crown.” He didn’t add the part where they wanted him to be bait.

“How would anyone find out about the evidence if they didn’t tell?”

Hell smiled at the medic’s naïveté.

“Whoever set me up isn’t going to let Vohne get away with ignoring the situation. They want me out of the way. They would let the information leak out that I’m guilty of treason against our people and that Vohne knew about it, setting the people against the king. This is the sort of situation that can get ugly quick.” A beloved king quickly could be changed to an impossible dictator if the facts were twisted around enough.

Balaze paled. “Can’t they just arrest whoever starts the rumour?”

Hell wondered what it was like to live in a perfect black and white world where the bad guys were easily identified and quickly dealt with. “Unfortunately, rumours are difficult to pin down and it is almost impossible to identify their source. The better solution is to find out who set me up by following the money. I suspect the funds didn’t come from a Thresl owned company. If I can uncover the money trail, I can discover who betrayed me.”

“Are there a lot of candidates?”

Hell shook his head. “I can only think of a handful of people. But if I accuse any of them without proof, things could go poorly for me.” Not to mention if the guilty parties discovered Hell suspected them, they could escape before he uncovered their entire network.

“Where will you go?”

Hell frowned. “You mean where are we going? We are one now. I’m not going anywhere without you.”

“But I have my practice.” Balaze scowled at Hell as if he’d purposely ruined his life.

“You can come back to it once we keep me out of jail. Deal?” Hell doubted Balaze would want to be a medic once he’d seen the universe. Why would Balaze limit himself to one location when there was so much left to see? Not to mention a duke’s mate had a lot of responsibilities. However, if Balaze had his mind set on remaining a medic, Hell would make sure it happened.

“What about my other patients?”

“Can’t you assign them to other medics?” Hell scowled at Balaze. “I’m not leaving you here. Deal with it.”

Balaze sighed. “Fine.”

He grabbed an electronic tablet and began typing. Hell waited impatiently as Balaze tapped incessantly on the device. After several minutes, the medic set down the info screen. “All better. I spread them among the other medics. What do we do now?”

Hell smiled at the frustration in Balaze’s voice. So many humans would love to be in the medic’s shoes as the mate of a duke. Apparently Hell’s medic found the entire situation more annoying than anyone.

“Come on. We need to get out of the castle.” He grabbed Balaze by the wrist and headed for the door.

“But I have got to stop at home and get my stuff and we have to get you some food.”

“I’ll buy you new stuff and we can eat on the run.” He had enough money stashed, he could replace Balaze’s entire apartment if he needed to—anything to get them on their way. He’d never met a more stubborn man.

Balaze dug in his heels. “I’m not leaving my dog to starve.”

Hell stopped. He turned around to face his mate. “What are you talking about? What’s a dog?”

Balaze sighed. “A dog is a small animal originating from Earth. A patient gave him to me a few months ago to pay for my services.”

“I thought the king pays for your services?”

“The king pays for my work at the palace, but I sometimes go on sabbatical to other planets and the natives there often give me presents as a thank you. Sometimes they’re really insistent. One of the patients at the last place I went to insisted I had to have a dog. I think he just wanted to palm the animal off, but I’ve become very attached to him.”

“Fine, we’ll go to your place first.” Hell tried not to be impatient, but he needed to get out of there before the soldiers returned.

Hell knew he’d be turning Balaze’s life upside down. He didn’t need to be responsible for killing his pet too. Besides, if it made Balaze more agreeable about their future it would be worth picking up his creature.

“Thank you.”

Balaze jerked his wrist out of Hell’s grip. Without another word, he marched out of the medic ward.

Damn, he had a prickly mate. On the other hand, Balaze’s flare of temper brought out the sparks of gold in his blue eyes. Hell contemplated Balaze’s family roots along with the beauty of his mate’s fine ass.

“Stop staring at my butt,” Balaze flung over his shoulder.

“Nope.” This mating could work out better than he’d planned. Maybe they could take a moment to get to know each other a bit before heading off to the gritty corners of the galaxy.

Balaze’s strangled laughter made Hell smile. Bantering with a mate was unfamiliar territory. He’d liked Devon, but he’d lacked a sense of humour. The dour nature of his first mate made an interesting contrast to the smiling medic. They said that in a true mating you received the mate you deserved. Maybe it was time for Hell to experience the lighter side of life.

No one stopped to challenge them as they walked down the halls. Hell doubted that anyone had been informed yet to detain him. Friln still expected Hell to call him when he was ready to go to prison. Too bad he wasn’t as civilised as he pretended. They’d have to drag him away from his mate kicking and screaming, a sight that would certainly leave the castle buzzing with gossip. If they could convert gossip to energy they could power the entire planet just from the palace courtiers alone.

After several twists and turns, they stopped in front of a wooden door. It had Balaze’s name engraved on the door’s surface. Balaze pulled a key out of his pocket.

“You use an actual key?”

Balaze nodded.

“Why?” Hell waved a hand towards the handprint pad hanging on the wall beside the door.

“I don’t trust those. They can be hacked.”

“Your door can be smashed,” Hell pointed out.

“But I can tell if a door is smashed in.”

Hell smiled. “I didn’t know I’d mated with someone even more paranoid than me.”

Balaze unlocked his door. “I’m not paranoid. I’ve had problems in the past. An ex turned stalkerish.”

Anger burned through Hell. He gripped Balaze’s arm, preventing him from entering. “What happened?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s over and he’s been gone for a long time. I just learned my lesson from that.” Balaze pushed open the door.

“If anyone else tries anything you tell me. I won’t tolerate people making your life difficult.” If anyone bothered Balaze, ever, Hell would take care of it. Everything about Balaze was Hell’s problem. Why didn’t his mate see that?

As if reading his mind, Balaze responded. “We’re new mates. You aren’t responsible for everything that has ever happened to me in my past.”

Hell followed Balaze into his suite. The medic had a smallish unit, but he’d used a lot of colour. A strange noise preceded the appearance of a little mop of hair that continued to make weird growling sounds.

“What’s that?”

“It’s Fido, my dog.”

“Why does it have three legs?”

Balaze shrugged. “He was in some sort of accident before I got him. He’s super sweet, though.”

“The growling and show of tiny incisors don’t exactly convey a sweet personality. What’s that noise he’s making?” Hell didn’t know if he should pick up the dog or punt it with one swift kick. It continued to yip and hop in little wobbly circles around Hell. He wondered if the tiny beast could even see him through the shaggy hair covering its eyes.

“He’s barking. He’s trying to warn you off his territory.”

“He knows I can boot him into the next room, right?” Hell tilted his head as he examined the hairy creature.

Balaze snatched up the dog and cradled him to his chest. “Don’t you dare! Fido is a good dog.”

For a brief moment his mate’s eyes flared bright gold.

“Whoa, you are Thresl.” Excitement made him shout. He’d never hoped to find someone with Thresl blood to bond with.

Balaze snorted. “Not hardly. There’s a bit of Thresl blood in my family tree, but I’m a long way from being a Thresl.”

Even a drop made a difference. Thresls had more strength and better survival skills. Hell’s mate needed any advantage he could scrape together.

“Do you ever get sick?”

“No. I’m exposed to so much crap, I’m pretty much immune to regular illnesses. But I’ve had serious health issues in the past.”

“Hmm.” Hell let the matter drop even though he wanted to ask about Balaze’s health. They could exchange medical histories later but right now they needed to get going. Besides, Balaze was obviously happy in his denial. Hell didn’t need to rock the boat yet, not while they were still in the getting to know each other stage.

“How long do you think we’ll be gone?” Balaze asked.

Hell shrugged. He had no way of judging how this entire thing would go down. “Only bring enough to fit in one bag. We can’t haul a bunch of stuff with us.” Hell tried not to let impatience creep into his tone, but he knew he must’ve failed when Balaze began snatching items off shelves with one hand and making a pile on his couch, while cuddling the dog with his other. Balaze grabbed a med kit on his first go through. Hell almost told him to leave it behind, but since he didn’t know where they’d end up, he bit back the words. “I don’t think we should take your dog with us. I’m not sure where we’ll end up.”

Balaze nodded. A sad expression crossed his face, but he didn’t argue. “I have a friend I can probably leave him with.” Balaze rubbed his cheek against the dog’s head.

Hell’s heart ached at the sorrow on Balaze’s face.

“Hey, we’ll be back soon.” Hell rubbed Balaze’s back in a show of comfort. He wished he could let Balaze keep his dog, but they wouldn’t be able to watch out for the animal while they were on the run.

“I’m going to go next door to see if Fran can watch him. Why don’t you grab something to eat from the kitchen to tide you over?”

Hell nodded. He should’ve expected that his medic would have a strong caretaking streak. After Balaze had rushed out with his tiny mongrel, Hell wandered to the kitchen. The small food prep area didn’t have a speck of dirt anywhere, probably the work of the maids since Hell didn’t see any signs that his mate actually used his kitchen much. He found some supplement bars in a cupboard and grabbed a glass of milk. That would tide him over until they could get some real food. He didn’t have time to have a leisurely meal now with the soldiers on their way and with them still needing to seal their bond.

Hell sighed. Freshly mated and his new man already had to give up things to be with him. He hoped it turned out to be worth it. Not only was he taking Balaze out of his comfort zone, but he was also putting his mate’s life in danger.

Polishing off his food, Hell sat on the couch and waited for Balaze to return. He ignored the temptation to pack Balaze’s things for him. He didn’t know what the medic considered a necessity and he refused to be the one who forgot something. Devon had been a right bastard whenever they’d gone on a trip and something was missing.

“I thought we were in a hurry,” Balaze commented as he walked back into the suite.

“I was waiting for you to return before I helped.” He set his glass in the dish cleaner and returned to Balaze’s side. “Let’s get packing, shall we? We need to hurry this up so I can claim you before we go.”

“What?” Balaze’s eyes went wide with shock.

Hell contained his smile, barely. “I’m going to have to be inside you before we leave. I can’t stand the thought of not marking you before I take you out in public.”

The places they would be travelling might not acknowledge Hell’s mate rights if Balaze smelt untouched. Hell needed to claim his man.

“I thought we were in a hurry?” Balaze asked.

That wasn’t a no.

A sliver of desire knifed through Hell. It had been so long since he’d wanted someone. The urge to grab Balaze tight and never let go had him clenching his fists and digging his nails into his palms. He had no doubt that when he opened his hands he’d have half-moon imprints on them.

“We are in a hurry, but I have to claim you. You know what it’s like for Thresls.” For a man who worked with the species almost every day, Balaze should know their quirks. Hell’s Thresl half chafed and growled at the delay in their mating. It wanted to bite and mark Balaze with his saliva and seed until anyone, human or Thresl, would see Balaze and know he belonged to Hell.

It took a moment before comprehension dawned in Balaze’s eyes. “You want me wearing your scent.”

“Yes.” He let his expression tell of his need. Hell wouldn’t beg anyone, not even his mate, but a small bit of him would die if Balaze denied him now.

Balaze hesitated for a moment before nodding. “If you think it will help. Come this way.”

Balaze led Hell through an open door into his bedroom. The soothing greens and blues of the walls and bedding calmed Hell. Here was a refuge from the world. His inner cat peered around him with glee as if understanding the significance of being invited into Balaze’s inner sanctum. Maybe once life returned to normal, Balaze could help decorate Hell’s manor. It could use updating. It had been years since anything had been touched with an eye to redecorating.

“This is nice,” Nice, a bland, plain word, didn’t do justice to the cool oasis of Balaze’s home.

“Thanks.” He was treated to a stunning smile then Balaze took off his top, and Hell forgot how to breathe. A scar bisected Balaze’s muscled chest from collarbone to sternum.

Hell had to swallow back the bile rising in his throat before he could speak. Someone had carved Balaze into two.

“What the fuck happened to you?” He wished he could take back the words as soon as they had come out. Somehow the sweet gentle man before him stripped Hell of all his poise.

“Not so pretty now, am I?” The sarcasm in Balaze’s voice didn’t mask the insecurity in his eyes.

“You’re still beautiful, but that doesn’t tell me what happened.”

“Heart surgery. I was born with a defective heart. It’s one of the reasons I became a doctor. My parents were missionaries on a low technology planet when I was born and the doctors there had to operate to keep me alive. A physician saved my life and I’ve wanted to be a doctor ever since.”

He might never have met Balaze. Terror gripped Hell in a tight, vicious fist. This beautiful man’s life could’ve been snuffed out when he was just a child.

Hell swallowed repeatedly before he could dredge up the words to speak. “I’ve never been so grateful for anything in my life. But you’re fine now, right?”

Please say you’re fine. To drag a mate across the world was one thing—to drag a sickly one, another thing altogether. It would kill Hell to leave Balaze alone, but he wouldn’t endanger his health.

Balaze smiled. “I’ve been fine for many, many years. I had a transplant when I was a teen. I’ve never had so much as a cold since.”

“Good.” Hell’s own heart pattered double time in sympathy. He couldn’t imagine the terror of being a teenager and having your chest cut open. He stepped closer. Sliding his nose along Balaze’s neck, he breathed in deeply, bringing his mate’s essence into his body.

A low growl poured out of his mouth.

“Oh, fuck,” Balaze moaned.

Hell stripped off his shirt in one swift motion. He tossed the clothing over his shoulder, unwilling to tear his attention from his mate for a second longer than necessary. Without hesitation he helped Balaze out of his pants and underwear. He gave Balaze’s bobbing cock a friendly lick on the way back up.

The hitch in Balaze’s breathing did wonders for Hell’s confidence. It had been so long since he’d had sex, he hoped he’d be able to last.

“You are gorgeous,” Balaze whispered as Hell straightened. The medic slid his hands along Hell’s back. Hell shivered, almost overwhelmed by the sensation. Balaze’s gentle touch catapulted Hell to the edge of orgasm with breathtaking speed.

“Keep that up and it will be over before I’m inside you.”

Balaze laughed against Hell’s lips. “Think you can wait until we make it to the bed?”

Hell closed his eyes for a brief moment to savour the texture of his lover’s bare chest against his.

“If I don’t kiss you right now, I’m going to die,” Hell confessed.

“We can’t have that.” Balaze’s mouth crashed down on his. The combination of heat and need had him hard and wanting almost desperately. He changed his mind. For this mate, he would beg.

Hell had desired Devon with a warm, wanton fire. He craved Balaze like a narcotic. If he didn’t have the blue-eyed medic beneath him in the next two minutes, something inside him would break free, never to be reclaimed again.

“I need you,” Hell whispered against Balaze’s lips.

No need to hide his desires. Balaze could handle Hell. The man had survived heart surgery and had Thresl blood. He wouldn’t be quick to fade or fall apart. Balaze had gone through life’s fires, he would be a proper mate. A pair of rings caught the overhead light and flashed at him.

“What are those?”

Balaze looked down. “Mine and Mills’ rings.”

“May I?” Hell wrapped his hands around the chain. “I don’t want these between us.”

Balaze hesitated. Indecision flickered in his eyes for a brief moment before he nodded his assent.

It wasn’t until Hell removed them that it struck him. “I thought your mate’s attacker hadn’t been found?”

“I said the authorities didn’t find him.” A feral light added more gold to Balaze’s expression.

Hell grinned. His sweet medic wasn’t so gentle after all. Realising that Balaze had more Thresl temperament than he’d suspected revved up Hell’s libido. “I think you just got sexier.”

“It was a one-time thing—don’t think I’ll go out of my way to avenge your death.” Balaze scowled.

“Then I have something to work towards, don’t I?” When they were done bonding, Hell would prove he was a mate worthy of revenge.

“You are a strange man,” Balaze muttered.

Hell set the rings on Balaze’s side table. “Get on the bed so I can ravish you properly.”

Balaze obeyed, but his cautious expression warned Hell to take it slowly. The guards might show up at the ward, but as of yet nothing connected Hell to the medic. It would take them a bit to make the connection and by then they’d both be long gone.

Hell dragged his fingers along the wide scar marring Balaze’s smooth skin. “You are gorgeous.”

The words came out rough as lust choked him.

An innocent man had limited appeal, but a scarred mate who had withstood the fires of fate and come out on top—that was sexier than anything. There was so much more to Balaze than Hell had anticipated. He couldn’t wait until they could start a real life together to find out what other surprises Balaze might have for him.

Tension flowed out of Balaze as if he were still waiting for rejection. “It’s been a long time since I did this,” Balaze warned.

Hell froze. “How long?”

“Why does it matter?” He scowled at Hell as if he’d asked an impertinent question.

Hell crawled over Balaze, his knees straddling Balaze’s hips. That position had their erections sliding together. Hell moaned at the contact. “It doesn’t.”

Hell kissed Balaze, savouring the taste and flavour of the one he planned to make his own. Trust glowed in Balaze’s eyes. Hell would cut off his arm before he broke that trust.

“Lube is in the table.”

It took a moment for the words to seep in. Hell reached over and slid open the small drawer and grabbed a respectably large bottle of lubricant. He raised an eyebrow at Balaze.

Balaze shrugged, his expression unashamed. “I said it had been a while. I didn’t say I never masturbate.”

Hell laughed. “Fair enough.” Desire, long suppressed, surged through him like a lightning strike. Hell fumbled as he tried to open the lube.

Balaze took the container from him and opened it with a pop. “Here you go. Want me to slick myself up?”

“Please.” He didn’t even want to think of the damage his shaking hands could do to his beautiful medic.

Spit dried in his throat as Balaze turned over, and with his ass in the air, proceeded to push his slick, wet fingers into his tight, puckered hole.

A strangled groan rolled up Hell’s throat. The sound transformed to a soft whimper the longer Balaze continued to add fingers to prepare for Hell’s entrance.

Finally, when Hell thought he’d come from the porn show on the bed, Balaze spun around. “Come here and I’ll get you ready.”

Hell didn’t know if he could handle Balaze’s touch. Not now, when he could spill his seed from the hot gaze of his lover alone. Still, unable to resist the lure of his mate, Hell moved closer, crawling until his cock bobbed before Balaze like an offering.

Balaze wrapped his wet hand around Hell’s erection. Gasping, Hell pushed into his mate’s touch. “That feels so good.”

His voice, barely above a whisper, took all his energy to use.

“I want to make you feel even better.” Sometime during prep, Balaze had gathered his sexual courage. His mate’s heated gaze burned at Hell, a greedy fire. He couldn’t wait to be burned.

With Balaze tugging on his cock, Hell scooted closer. Balaze released him so he could roll over again. Hell nipped at his mate’s ass, pleased by the teeth marks he left behind.

“Careful. I might have to sit on that later.”

“Good.” Hell smiled at the thought of Balaze remembering their encounter whenever he sat down. The slight sting should keep him aware of whom he belonged to. He silently vowed to keep a mark on his lover at all times.

Hell scooted behind Balaze who had settled into a sexy pose, his weight on his elbows and knees and his ass in the air. He gripped Balaze’s hips, lined himself up then pushed inside.

Twin groans greeted that action. Hell laughed. Damn, had sex with Devon been this good? He couldn’t remember.

“I didn’t think my ass was so entertaining,” Balaze said.

Hell kissed the back of Balaze’s neck. “Then you were wrong. It’s like an amusement park and I’ve found my favourite ride.”

Hell slid out a fraction only to push back inside. He needed this to be good for Balaze. No, he needed it to be amazing. Bonding sex only happened once, and if he ruined it, he might never form a proper connection to his mate. Hell refused to consider failure as an option.

With slow and careful movements, he slid back and forth, in and out of Balaze’s ass.

“I’m not a doll. I’m not going to break. Fuck me!” Balaze growled as beautifully as any Thresl.

Taking his mate at his word, Hell broke free of his self-restraint and fucked Balaze as if screwing was his job and he was going for a raise.

At that speed and intensity he knew he wouldn’t last long. Hell grabbed Balaze’s erection, gripping him in a firm hold. Balaze pumped his hips, fucking himself against Hell’s fist until he came.

The bonding snapped into place. Their joined pleasure ricocheted back and forth in a cycle of pleasure. Hell shuddered as he spilled his seed inside his mate, marking him from the inside. His Thresl half growled its agreement of the claiming.

“You’re mine now,” he declared unnecessarily. The bond humming between them was testament enough of their connection. Unsaid, but a silent presence in the room, was the knowledge that now there could be no escape. Only death could part them now.

Chapter Three

Balaze’s feet slowed the closer they came to the bar. The derelict building barely remained upright. Balaze suspected a good gust of air could blow it over. Despite his hunger, his thirst and the raw patch his bag strap was wearing into his left shoulder, Balaze was reluctant to enter the pub.

How had he let his mate talk him into this? Apparently he was a sucker for whatever Hell proposed they do right after the best sex of his life. Balaze could barely feel his feet after their sexual bout—a point he’d like to return to after their long trek. It might have been a while since Hell had had sex, but he definitely remembered what to do with a man’s body.

Balaze shivered deliciously from the memory.

“Come on.” Hell scowled at Balaze over his shoulder. So much for sex making a man happy. Hell had been cranky ever since they’d left the castle, even though none of the king’s men had tried to stop them from leaving. Apparently orders hadn’t gone out yet to detain the duke.

Balaze adjusted the bag on his back again.

“Need me to carry that?” Hell asked at least every fifteen minutes, as if Balaze couldn’t carry anything without assistance.

Balaze vowed to discover more about Hell’s dead mate. Maybe the man had been fragile and had needed constant help.

“No. I’m fine.” Balaze scowled back. He might have a sore shoulder, but it wasn’t like the bag was strapped to his ass, which ached as if he’d ridden a Balteen beast twenty miles without a saddle.

Hell raised his hands defensively. “Just asking.”

Balaze chewed on his bottom lip, returning his attention to the lopsided building. A sign crookedly mounted proclaimed it ‘The Fisherman’s Net’. The painted name hung as drunkenly as the patrons undoubtedly inside.

His stomach churned as he realised what he was doing. Throwing away his career for a man. Letting Hell claim Balaze then drag him away from everything he knew might not have been his brightest choice ever.

Hell reached back and entwined his left hand with Balaze’s right. “It will all be fine, mate. I can feel your anxiety and I promise to take care of you.”

“Sorry.” Balaze didn’t even comment on the caretaking aspect. He’d been more than capable of handling his own life for many years. He didn’t need his big, strong mate to swoop in and run it for him.

“Your concern is understandable. You don’t know me yet. If you like, I can keep our contact in the future to the minimum needed to keep our mating comfortable.”

Hell must’ve taken Balaze’s silence as regret over their mating.

“Don’t be an ass,” Balaze muttered. “If we’re going to be mates, we’ll do it right. I don’t need a martyr in my bed. You can be my full mate or you can kill me now and go back to a life as a kitty.”

Hell laughed. “I knew I liked you.”

“That’s a start.” Balaze worried that he had more invested in their relationship than Hell. If his mate never considered them properly mated, there was little he could do to convince the duke otherwise. Balaze had spent his life in the service of others—was it too much to want something for himself again?

Hell smacked a kiss onto Balaze’s cheek. “One day at a time, mate. Let’s try to get my name cleared then we can work on our romance.”

“Deal.” Balaze squeezed their entangled fingers. He was glad Hell hadn’t completely ruled out a relationship between them.

Reluctantly he let Hell drag him into the inn. The building was everything the outside had promised. The combined smells of stale beer, vomit and unwashed bodies had Balaze swallowing rapidly to avoid adding to the stench.

“Breathe through your mouth,” Hell advised as they headed to the back of the room towards the bartender.

Balaze didn’t know if he should follow that advice—he had a feeling a scent that strong came with a flavour he didn’t want coating his tongue.

At this time of the day there weren’t many occupants. A man sat slumped in the corner, his head resting against the wall as if it was holding him up or maybe he was supporting the building. Balaze didn’t want to place any bets on the inn’s solidity.

“What are you doing here?” a booming voice shouted from the back.

Balaze yanked his attention from the unconscious man to focus on the speaker. The man behind the long counter had a body wider than Balaze and Hell put together. Pockmarks covered his face and a wide, thick scar crossed one cheek, as bumpy and jagged as a country road.

“I’m here for my box.” Hell slapped a key on the counter.

Where he had got the key, Balaze didn’t know. He’d been with the duke the entire time and hadn’t seen the duke pick anything up.

The bartender grunted but said nothing else. He grabbed the duke’s key and leant down. The sound of a lock snapping open was followed by the screech of unoiled hinges.

“It hasn’t been touched, so you don’t need to look at me like that,” the bartender growled.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. But you’re easily bribed and you completely lack morals,” Hell explained almost apologetically.

The bartender grinned, exposing a mouth containing more holes than teeth. “You don’t have to sweet talk me. I’ve got your box.”

He dropped a small metal strongbox on the wooden bar. From the sound of it, the container had made a dent on the counter. Balaze doubted that the bartender would ever notice.

With a few clicks and snaps, Hell opened the metal safe and scooped out a small backpack that made a metallic noise as if containing money. He pointed at the safe. “I’m done with this, you can do what you like with it now.”

The bartender examined the strongbox carefully. “Thanks.”

For one brief, happy moment, Balaze thought they’d escape without any kind of confrontation. That was until they turned away from the bar and found one of the king’s soldiers standing there with a bucket in one hand and a mop in the other.

Spotting the duke, he threw the items down and ran at Hell.

“Stop, Your Grace. I have orders to arrest you.”

Hell snorted. He didn’t hesitate. Walking right up to the soldier, he punched him in the nose. Hell’s face showed no emotion as the soldier toppled unconscious to the ground.

“Let’s go.” Hell grabbed Balaze’s wrist and dragged him along with the hand not holding the bag.

Balaze didn’t stop to ask questions. He knew to pick his time. Without a word he followed the duke out of the building. He’d never been so happy to leave a place in his life. It wasn’t even the downtrodden air of the bar or the stink of depression all but oozing from the walls but the sense of urgency coming from his mate.

The sounds of boots had Hell wrapping an arm around Balaze’s waist and yanking him around the corner. Two soldiers rushed past. Balaze sucked in a quick breath, afraid of giving away their location. If they were caught, he doubted the soldiers would do much more than jail the duke. What they would do to him, he didn’t know and didn’t plan on finding out. He was an accessory at the minimum.

“Let’s go this way.” Hell led Balaze to a manhole.

“Please don’t tell me we’re going underground,” he pleaded. Balaze liked to think he was a grown man, but thoughts of crawling around in a dark, enclosed space had his palms sweating and panic squeezing his heart.

“Only a short distance. You can do that, can’t you, my mate?” Hell cupped Balaze’s cheeks and turned his head until their eyes met. The confidence in Hell’s eyes that he had no doubt his mate could do anything had Balaze nodding his agreement. He couldn’t let his mate down.

“S-sure I can.”

Hell gave him a quick kiss before yanking off the metal cover and setting it to one side. The stench was slightly less disgusting than the inn.

Balaze bit his lip to stop from shouting when Hell dropped down into the dark hole, disappearing without another word. Footsteps sounded nearby. Afraid they’d be discovered Balaze climbed after his mate, carefully pulling the cover back into place. It would do no good to put himself in this situation if he was just going to reveal where they’d gone.

“This way.” A soft glow appeared. The duke had a small light in his hand. “It was in my bag.”

“Oh.” Of course it was. Hell appeared to have thought of everything. “What’s the deal with that anyway? Why did you need a separate hideaway? Isn’t your mansion big enough to hide a little cash?”

For a royal, Hell sure knew some people in questionable parts of town.

Hell shrugged. “I always suspected one day I would need to escape for one reason or another. I created this security backup when Vohne went missing. I was worried I might have to leave the planet in a hurry so I made a deal with the bartender. In exchange for a tidy sum he keeps my goods for me.”

“Huh.” He wondered if the duke had a bit of far-seeing in him. Even the most paranoid individual couldn’t possible guess he’d be accused of smuggling years later.

“We need to go south to the spaceport. This way.”

Balaze nodded.

Since he was already trudging along the sewer, what was a little more filth between mates?

* * * *

It took them hours of crawling around in the dark before they found the right exit.

Balaze almost screamed in frustration every time they found the wrong manhole and had to adjust their path.

“Shh, we’re almost there,” Hell said again. The duke must’ve used the same words a dozen times while they crawled around in the darkness and the muck.

“That’s what you keep saying,” Balaze snapped. He knew his tone had become sharper with each wrong exit, but nerves buzzed along his body and his fear of the dark and enclosed places was beginning to fray his composure around the edges.

“I never would’ve dragged you down here if I knew you were claustrophobic. Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because the alternative was letting them capture you.” Balaze tried not to vent his frustration, but he was getting out at the next exit whether it was the right one or not.

“Here. I think it’s this one.”

They emerged from the darkness and into the dim evening light. Balaze blinked several times trying to regain his vision. He could see the tarmac and the outline of the spaceport.

“Careful, we can’t be spotted,” Hell warned.

“Yeah, I got that when I was crawling through refuse.”

Hell’s white smile glowed even in the darkness. “You drag a man through a bit of sewer water and he gets all cranky. Sorry this isn’t the honeymoon of your dreams. I promise as soon as we aren’t in a life threatening situation, we can snuggle.”

Balaze gripped the strap on his bag tightly so he wouldn’t give in to the urge to bash his mate.

“Let’s go.” He stepped past the duke and hid behind a tall stack of cargo boxes. The bustling spaceport was a mass of people, cargo and ships scattered around the place like a room full of child’s toys where there was no way of telling where a wrong step could result in an accident.

Hell grabbed Balaze’s arm. “I’m sorry I’m acting like an ass.”

Balaze could see the worry in the duke’s eyes. “Hey, it’s okay, we’ll figure things out. You’re right, we need to have priorities.”

He thought he saw a flash of disappointment in Hell’s eyes, but that couldn’t be right. Why would the duke be upset?

“There it is. Let’s go.”

Hell pointed at a small luxury ship. Balaze didn’t know what he thought they were going to do with it, but he followed obediently as he had more or less since this entire thing started.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” he muttered under his breath.

“That makes two of us, kitten,” Hell said.

Kitten?

Shaking his head, Balaze followed his mate across the tarmac. The duke didn’t look left or right, or acknowledge any of the people who rushed out of his way. He just walked.

Balaze kept close to Hell’s heels, not wanting anyone or anything to separate them. When they reached the ship Hell had indicated, the duke placed his hand on the palm plate and the entry door slid open with a soft metallic ping.

“Welcome aboard, Captain.” The computer’s robotic tone lent an eerie feel to the entire situation.

“Captain? This is your ship?”

“Yeah, I bought it a few years ago when I wanted to go on jaunts that required me to keep a low profile.”

Balaze looked around at the expensive machinery and obviously high-end materials.

“This is low profile?”

“What do you think would bring less notice? A run-down ship sliding in and out of ports looking suspicious, or a gentleman of leisure visiting a planet for a little vacation?”

“I guess you have a point,” Balaze admitted reluctantly.

He settled into the seat Hell indicated.

“Strap in.”

Balaze set his bag behind a strap system that would prevent it from tumbling out when they took off. Then he snapped himself into the co-pilot’s seat and waited.

Hell dropped into the pilot’s seat beside him and buckled in. With quick motions that spoke of a familiarity with flying, he efficiently activated the ship and started the engine.

“Won’t they try to detain us?”

“I’ve got a fake clearance code. The computer thinks we’re someone else.”

“Of course it does.” The duke had apparently thought of everything. Balaze silently debated asking where they were going, but he wasn’t certain he really wanted to know.

Balaze closed his eyes as Hell exchanged codes with the control tower before taking off. Exhaustion pulled him down, and in no time he had fallen asleep.

Chapter Four

Hell set the ship on autopilot before turning to watch Balaze sleep. The sharp features, so bright and lively while awake, faded to a softer cast when the medic had his eyes closed. Confident that his mate was sleeping, Hell looked his fill.

“What have I done to you?” Regret tasted like ash on his tongue.

He’d taken a man happy taking care of others and turned him into a fugitive. Then he’d been surly and rude the entire time they’d been on the run. Now that they were on their way, he let his tension fade a bit. Maybe he could salvage this relationship. He’d never been good at showing his feelings in the past. Devon and Hell’s relationship hadn’t been filled with tender moments and cuddly times. Balaze needed a softer touch. Despite his revenge on his mate’s killer, Hell could tell Balaze had a gentler nature. The medic preferred healing people to hurting them.

Hell would make sure Balaze knew their mating wasn’t a relationship of convenience. Hell wanted Balaze’s affection. He didn’t know if he could return it, but he’d make certain Balaze never lacked anything. If Hell could learn to defuse a bomb, he could learn to soothe his lover’s feelings.

Balaze had been amazingly calm during the entire ordeal so far. If Hell had to pick someone to go on the run with he could’ve chosen a great deal worse than his pretty medic.

“I lucked out with you,” Hell whispered.

Devon had quietly waited for Hell’s attention as if he were unworthy of their mating. Hell had always secretly wondered if they would’ve lasted as a solid bond in the long run. Balaze was the type to be upfront and demand that his mate give him the attention he deserved. Hell had discovered over the few hours that they’d been together that he preferred his new mate’s upfront style. He didn’t have to wonder what was bothering Balaze—his mate told him.

Hell set their course for the Fenwe galaxy. Hopefully they could meet up with his greatest informant. If he could locate the source of the funding, he might be able to discover who was betraying the Thresl. More than one person had to be responsible for this fiasco.

Hell stood, then stretched. He pressed a kiss to Balaze’s forehead. Balaze opened his eyes and smiled. Hell’s heart pin-wheeled in his chest, spinning with emotion.

“Let’s go to bed.”

Balaze nodded. Hell disengaged Balaze’s harness, then slid an arm around him and helped him to his feet. Balaze wasn’t completely awake even with his eyes wide open. He snuggled close to Hell as they travelled down the hall to the one stateroom. It was a tiny ship—luxurious, but tiny.

The door slid open when they approached.

“Nice bed.”

“Thanks.”

The bed took up most of the space. There was just enough room around the edges to climb inside. Hell figured if he was going to travel, he might as well be comfortable when he slept. Despite his plans, Hell usually ended up sleeping on the bridge on a cot he had added, because he enjoyed watching the stars while he flew through the universe. However, lying next to Balaze beat any joy of watching planets whiz by, hands down.

He pulled Balaze’s shirt over his head, tossing it behind him. “We’re going to clean up before I let you between my sheets.”

No way would they sleep on the bed stinking of sewer and who knew what else. He carefully removed all of their clothing. Balaze was still too tired to help much.

“That’s it, love. This way.”

He guided his mate to the shower. The pulsing jets and citrus soap erased their stench. The ship had a water system because Hell enjoyed the sensual slide of heated liquid across his skin. He spun them so that Balaze stood beneath the stream of water.

“Oh, that feels good.” Balaze sighed, leaning completely against Hell like a floppy doll.

“Want me to scrub you?”

Balaze enthusiastically nodded his agreement. “Yes, please.”

His mate’s slick cock sliding against him had Hell’s erection hardening in no time. He pressed his nose against the nape of Balaze’s neck. “Even under all that sewer stench you smell divine.”

“Really, you’re horny? Now?” Balaze sounded more amused than appalled.

Hell could work with amused. He plastered a kiss against Balaze’s mouth.

A low moan greeted his efforts. Balaze gripped Hell’s hips and yanked him closer.

“I could get used to this,” Balaze murmured against Hell’s lips.

Hell lathered his hands. He was too tired for anything fancy. Grabbing their cocks together with his soap-slicked hand, he quickly pumped their hard erections together until their loud moans of completion echoed against the bathroom walls.

Panting, Hell collapsed against his mate. Luckily the bathroom was larger than the usual ship head with plenty of room for both of them. Hell couldn’t stand tiny shower stalls and he refused to put them in any of his ships, even the ones meant for a quick getaway. There was no reason he couldn’t run away in style. The fact that he got to take his mate with him was icing on the cake.

After rinsing his hands off, Hell washed Balaze’s hair and if the seductive noises his mate let out were any indication, Balaze really enjoyed having his hair washed.

“Damn, I’ll scrub you any time if you keep those noises up,” he vowed.

“It’s a deal.” Balaze kissed Hell.

Exhaustion dragged Hell down despite the energising presence of his mate. “Let’s dry off and try to get some sleep.”

He had no idea what they’d find at their destination, but he knew he needed rest before he faced anything more.

* * * *

Balaze sighed. He patted the empty space beside him. He hadn’t expected Hell to be there when he woke up, but it would’ve been nice. Disappointment knifed through his chest, sharper than a surgeon’s laser. How would their mating last? Could a spy master and a doctor find common ground to live their lives together?

“Hungry?”

Hell appeared in the doorway holding a bowl in each hand.

“Yeah, thanks.” Balaze slid out of bed and grabbed the dish. The smell of broth reached him. The chill of the ship’s cooling unit sent shivers through his body. He set down the bowl of soup and grabbed his clothes.

“Shame to ruin the view,” Hell murmured.

Balaze smiled. At least he didn’t have to worry about his mate finding him attractive. He quickly dressed before picking up his food again. “Where are we heading?” Better to ignore Hell’s comments if he hoped to discover anything. Too easily could he be coaxed back into bed for another sexy encounter. He knew it was the rush of a new mating that made him insatiable, but he couldn’t resist sliding his gaze across his mate’s strong body as he settled back on the bed.

“Fenwe galaxy. I know an information trader on Rinley who might know something. He has his fingers in everything. I can’t contact him directly because of security risks and I don’t have time for the indirect route. I need to figure out who drew the big X on my back.”

Balaze took a bite of the stew. Deciding he liked the flavour, he took another one. “This is good.”

“I had a chef prepare it and put it in the freezing chamber. It’ll stay fresh for about twelve years undisturbed.”

“Huh. It’s delicious.” He should’ve known the duke wouldn’t be popping open tinned food.

“Thanks.”

They ate in silence. With each bite Balaze felt that much further away from his mate. He tried to pull Hell back into conversation. He could tell that the duke’s worries weighed heavily on the royal. “Why do you think it’s someone close to you who’s doing this?”

“The way everything went down. Only someone with access to my private computer could’ve made it appear that I sent those orders. That means they had to know my password or know enough about me to make an educated guess.”

“Any suspects?

“A few.” Hell didn’t say anything else and Balaze could tell that the duke didn’t want to discuss it further.

“Why did you bring me? I mean besides the obvious.” Balaze waved a hand to the bed. “I want to help if I can.”

A tender smile curled Hell’s lips. He cupped Balaze’s face. “I know you do. And I appreciate that, but you don’t know these people like I do. I need to keep you close but out of the line of fire. You’re my mate, you know what that means.”

“Apparently it means you wrap me in cotton and set me on a shelf.” Balaze didn’t try to hide his disdain for that idea.

“Or you could look at it that I need you safe in order to save my sanity.”

Balaze sighed. “I want to help.”

“You just being here with me is a great help. I need you. It would kill me if something happened to you.”

“I appreciate that, I do. But I’m not useless. I want to be a partner.” He had to do something other than be baggage Hell dragged around. He might not be a kick ass fighter, but he wasn’t going to stand there and let Hell take care of everything either.

Hell frowned. “You know it really will kill me if anything happens to you. I don’t think I can survive another addiction to those drugs and I can’t go into cryo, not with everything hanging over my head.”

Balaze marched past Hell, his bowl gripped in a tight hold. If he stayed in that room with the duke he might be tempted to throw it at him. Hellbur didn’t really care for him. He only cared if Balaze’s death would incapacitate him. Despite his tenderness towards Balaze, Hell obviously only saw him as a means to reaching his goal.

Balaze stomped back to the small galley. He poured the remainder of his food into the waste receptacle. He couldn’t eat now. If he put anything else in his stomach it would be coming back up to visit him soon.

“What’s wrong?” Hell asked behind him.

Balaze took a deep breath as he washed his bowl in the sink. He set it in the small rack to let it dry. “Nothing. I…” How could he explain that he’d set his expectations too high? That he’d wanted them to have a real relationship, instead of the shallow box that framed their bond? “Nothing.”

Maybe if he said it enough times it would become true.

Hell set his bowl in the sink and turned Balaze to face him. “Listen, I might not have been in a relationship in a while, but even I know if my mate says nothing is wrong it means I fucked up.”

Balaze laughed. It wasn’t funny really, but the chagrin in Hell’s voice made him smile. He wondered if Hell’s first mate had kept the duke on his toes.

“That’s better.” Hell wrapped Balaze tightly in his arms and rested his cheek on Balaze’s hair. “I know we’ve had a rocky start, but we’ve got years to figure out how to mesh. It might not be the passionate romance you were hoping for, but I think we can manage well together.”

“Yeah. It’ll be fine.” Balaze had never thought he’d be in a marriage of convenience, but that was essentially what this was. Barring the convenience on Balaze’s side. It was all about inconvenience for him. He relaxed against Hell, wallowing in the Thresl’s scent.

After a moment, he reluctantly pulled away. “How long do you think it’ll be before we get to our destination?”

“A few more hours.”

“Okay. I’m going to try to get a little more sleep.”

Depression sapped his energy. Maybe things would look better after a nap.

Hell kissed Balaze’s forehead. “Get some rest.”

Balaze nodded but couldn’t force himself to speak. Turning around, he headed back to the bedroom. It wasn’t as if he could fly a spaceship. He didn’t really have much use outside of his med ward.

After climbing back into bed, Balaze blanked out all his worries. Maybe they’d find common ground or maybe this was his new life. Hot sex with a gorgeous Thresl and nothing more. If he could keep his emotions to himself, he would be fine.

Balaze lay his head down and ignored the tears dripping onto his pillow.

Chapter Five

Hell didn’t know where he’d gone wrong in his relationship with Balaze, but the medic’s sorrow slid down their connection and twisted him up inside. What had he done? Whatever it was, he’d make it up to his mate later. Hell stared sightlessly through the big window. He usually enjoyed the quiet of space, but right now his heart and mind were focused on Balaze sleeping in the other room.

The sensors beeped, alerting him to their location. They were getting close to their destination.

He waited until they’d cleared planetary security and the ship was beginning its self-landing process before he disturbed Balaze.

The tear tracks on his mate’s face had him clenching his fists. Whatever had gone wrong between them couldn’t last. He’d make sure his mate had anything he needed. He might not have consciously picked Balaze, but his Thresl half had claimed the man and had no intention of letting him go.

“Hey, lovely.” He traced one perfectly carved cheekbone, sighing over the slightly damp skin.

Balaze woke and for a brief moment the medic smiled. The expression quickly morphed into a guarded gaze as if a wall had dropped down between them. “Hey. What’s up?”

“We’re here. I thought I’d come tell you.”

Balaze cleared his throat. “Um…thanks.” He slid out of bed fully clothed. Balaze stood and straightened his shirt then ran his fingers through his hair.

“You’re gorgeous.” He couldn’t keep the words back.

He received a shy smile for his comment.

“I’m glad you think so.”

Hell cupped Balaze’s cheek. “We’ll get through this, then work on us. Okay?”

Some of the sorrow eating away at him through their link faded. “All right.”

Hell kissed Balaze, trying to show his affection through touch. Hell had never needed kind words and gentle handling for a mate before. Devon had been a fighter and if they exchanged more than five words of affection their entire mating it would’ve been surprising.

Balaze was a healer, a caretaker personality who made his living fixing the broken and damaged. Balaze wouldn’t be the type to rush out and battle enemies, he would be behind the lines doing equally important work.

Balaze needed to know Hell valued him as a mate. Balaze needed the words.

Hell would have to find them.

The ship landed with a soft click as the planetary landing system docked them. Hell popped open a secret panel and pulled out a pistol. He tucked the old-fashioned weapon in his right boot. The weapon scanners searched for the electronic triggers of modern weapons. It ignored ancient weapons that used bullets.

“Are you planning on shooting someone?” Balaze asked.

“You never know. Stick close to me and never get between me and anyone else. If I have to shoot someone, I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

Balaze nodded his understanding.

Hell slid a knife in his other boot. “Can you use any weapons?”

“A bit, but I’m afraid I’m rather useless in a real fight.” Balaze’s wry smile cut Hell to the quick.

Hell cupped Balaze’s face between his palms. “You’re not useless. I’m going to count on you to patch me back together if I get injured.”

“I can do that.” Balaze leant forward to take his kiss.

Hell melted beneath the gentle brush of Balaze’s mouth against his. He deepened the kiss for a moment before lifting his lips. “Now, stay close to me. I don’t want to lose you.”

Hell clasped Balaze’s right hand with his left, needing the contact.

“You don’t have to hold my hand.”

“If I hold onto you, I know where you are.” To Hell it made perfect sense, but a twinge of disappointment trembled across their connection. He added quickly. “And I like holding your hand.”

“I like holding yours too,” Balaze agreed.

He smiled at the rush of pleasure. Balaze must not experience the link as deeply as Hell. He had no indication that the medic could feel Hell’s emotions.

“Can you feel me?” He’d thought it wouldn’t matter, but it did.

Balaze tightened their clasped hands. “Yes.”

“I mean emotionally. Can you sense our connection?”

Balaze remained silent for a long moment. “Sometimes I think I can feel you, but it’s not very strong yet.”

“It will grow.” He hoped it did. Hell needed Balaze’s feedback to remain sane.

Hell let go of Balaze’s hand long enough to grab his bag full of cash and necessary fake IDs in various pockets. Before Balaze could move away, he recaptured his mate’s hand.

“I won’t escape,” Balaze said calmly.

“I know.”

Giddy pleasure filtered over to him. Hell hid his smile. Balaze didn’t need to know how strongly Hell could feel him. Not yet. Not until the bonding had strengthened between them.

Hell cast a careful look around the busy port, but no one appeared to be paying them any mind as they disembarked.

Noise echoed through the spaceport as busy travellers, announcements and the loud take-off of spaceships added layer after layer of sound. Hell let out a sigh of relief when they exited the large building and followed the path out to the street. Here, hawkers were almost quiet compared to the noisy landing area.

“Where are we going?”

“South. I need to pay an old friend a visit.”

“This isn’t going to end up with a sewer swim like the last time we visited someone together, is it?”

Hell snorted. “I hope not.”

“That’s not very reassuring,” Balaze said in a dry tone.

“Sorry.”

Hell didn’t bother trying to speak as they worked their way through the busy crowds. He came to a stop before an inn. This one was in slightly better condition than the last one.

“You take me to the nicest places,” Balaze commented, his eyes roving across the large building.

“I do what I can.” He ran an experienced eye over the area. Nothing appeared out of place right up to the drunk leaning against a pile of crates to the right of the building.

Pulling Balaze after him, he approached the lone man. “Hey, Menwin.”

Menwin’s clear eyes had a surprisingly sober stare. “Hell, what brings you here?”

“I need information.”

Menwin’s spine straightened and he looked left and right in rapid motions like a predator checking the terrain for prey. Hell knew Menwin was checking to see if they were being followed. “What kind of information?”

“The kind that tells me who is trying to set me up.”

He needed to know why they’d framed him. The more information he could collect, the larger the case he could build in his defence.

“You’d best go inside. Durhan will want to talk to you.”

Hell knew Durhan would see him. The question was, would he need to shoot the bastard or not? His relationship with the information broker didn’t always go smoothly. Taking a deep breath, Hell braced himself for the inevitable confrontation.

“Stay behind me.” If he had to use his weapon, he didn’t want Balaze to get hurt.

He kept his grip on Balaze’s hand and dragged his mate inside. Letting go of Balaze in a place like this one wasn’t an option.

The stench of stale cigars and ale threatened to overwhelm his enhanced sense of smell. Balaze coughed beside him. A quick glance at his mate reassured him that Balaze would be fine.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” a snide voice said in the quiet of the dark room. Durhan might create the illusion of a business in front, but back here he didn’t even try to fool anyone. If a person was allowed to pass inside, they were cleared to know Durhan’s business.

Hell blinked in the dim lighting. Durhan’s sensitive sight kept the room in relative darkness. Only the glow from multiple computer monitors broke the pitch-black interior.

Dozens of screens covered one wall with everything playing from intergalactic news to the latest video game.

“I need some information.”

Durhan turned slowly. His silvery grey eyes glowed in the shadowy room and the light from the monitors highlighted the white blond hair cropped close to his skull. He smiled when he caught sight of Balaze. “I see you brought me a present.”

“Touch him and it’ll be the last thing you do.” He didn’t care if they sent him to jail—he wouldn’t share his mate for anything.

Durhan’s tongue flicked out, forked like a snake. He scented the air. “I didn’t know he was your mate, Hellbur, forgive me.”

The apologetic tone went a long way to soothing the irritated beast inside Hell. Durhan might be a snarky piece of work, but he wasn’t that bad either.

“Forgiven.”

“Does your beauty have a name?”

“I’m Balaze,” the medic offered.

Durhan closed his eyes. “Whatever you want to ask, have your pretty ask it. I haven’t heard a voice like his for centuries.”

Hell wondered what Durhan heard in Balaze’s voice. The Torwinian had some snake blood that made him sensitive to vibrations. Hell whispered in Balaze’s ear, “Ask him what he knows of Thresls being smuggled off planet.”

Balaze repeated the question.

Durhan took so long to reply, Hell almost asked again.

“I know nothing and everything,” Durhan said.

“I don’t have time for this prophet crap. I need to know who is setting me up. Otherwise I’ll end up having to be a fugitive and leave my people in the hands of whoever is manipulating them.” Hell had fought too hard for too long to let the bastard win.

Durhan sighed. “I don’t mean to be difficult. You have to know that. I just don’t have much in the way of facts and too much in the way of visions.”

“Tell us what you can,” Balaze said.

“Very well, beauty.” Durhan offered a rare smile to Balaze.

In the twenty years Hell had worked with Durhan, he’d never seen the information broker smile. “He’s right. Anything you can tell us will get us one step closer to discovering the insider.”

“You won’t be happy to learn it’s someone close, but I’m sure you’ve already figured that out.”

“Yeah.”

“From the files I’ve been tracking, most Thresl traffic has halted for now.”

Hell nodded. “The king stopped incoming traffic except for Thresl. First, because the human military decided to be idiots then because the king located some of the outlets where they were shipping Thresls off planet. We don’t have them all, though. I think if we follow the money we can catch the bastards.”

“Do you know about the Thresl fights?”

“Yes. We’re aware of a floating group that kidnaps Thresls and forces them to fight. If I can find out who runs that, I can hopefully discover more about their sources.”

“Well, I can help you with that.” Durhan tapped a few keys on one of the three keyboards he had before him.

Balaze squirmed beside him. Hell squeezed his fingers reassuringly.

“It looks like they are on Reistad. Ooh, it looks like they’ve got a heavy hitter right now—big bets are going on that their new champion will take out any newcomers.”

“Yeah? What’s his name?”

“Saint. What kind of fuck name is Saint?”

Cold foreboding swept through Balaze. “The kind that screams trouble.”

Chapter Six

Balaze sighed as he stared at the endless sea of stars laid out before him.

“I thought it would be more exciting.”

Hell looked up from the navigating screen. “What would?”

“Being on the lam. Running from the authorities. Hiding from the king. The biggest danger we’ve encountered so far was dying from boredom or too much sex.”

Balaze hadn’t mean to complain, but frankly if he became any more bored he was going to start taking apart the ship to see how it worked and since he wasn’t mechanical there was no way that could end well.

“I’m sorry if running for our lives hasn’t ended up being the thrillfest you were hoping for. You did get that lovely trip through the sewer.”

Balaze smiled. “True. What are we going to do when we find Saint?”

“I don’t know yet.” Hell tapped his fingers on the monitor. “I guess it depends on why Saint is in a fighting ring. I can only imagine he’s there of his own volition. I mean, he’s really powerful. I doubt he’d let anyone put him in there unless he agreed, whether they’re drugging him or not.”

Balaze nodded. “That’s sort of what I was thinking too.”

So far he’d ended up being completely useless on this trip. Back home he would’ve saved three lives and responded to endless emergencies by now.

“I’m sure I can think of something to entertain you.” Hell trailed a finger down the placket of Balaze’s pants.

“I think if I have sex with you one more time today, my cock is going to fall off.” Balaze couldn’t keep the wry tone out of his voice. He’d never thought he’d get to the point where he’d had too much sex, but with the combination of his mate’s insatiable need and his own, everything he had felt raw.

Hell dropped his hand. “Thank the gods, I thought it was just me.”

Balaze threw back his head and laughed. “At least we are on the same page there. Do you have any cards?”

“Yeah I might have a deck around here somewhere.” Hell stood to go in search of them when a shrieking alarm pierced the air with its scream.

“What the fuck is that?”

“The excitement you were looking for.” Hell scrambled back to his seat. “Strap in.” Without sparing Balaze another look he began to push buttons on the control panel before him.

Balaze sat down and quickly buckled the seat harness with shaking hands. Damn, when would he learn to keep his mouth shut? He should’ve been happy with the bliss of boredom. He just had to poke fate in the eye and dare her to give him some excitement.

A large fighter ship appeared on their screen.

The whine of an incoming transmission had them both freezing with fear. Hell accepted the call.

“This is Admiral Cill of the Reistad military. What are you doing in our airspace?”

“Greetings, Admiral, I’m Drein Hillmer. I’m simply a tourist. Me and my mate are here for a vacation. I didn’t know I’d crossed into your military zone.”

“You are well armed for tourism, sir,” the admiral commented.

“As you know, Admiral, there are pirates in the skies. I don’t like to be unprotected,” Hell replied smoothly.

“Wise of you. Please proceed with your landing.”

“Thank you.”

Balaze didn’t let out the breath he was holding until the admiral disconnected. “Do you think he would’ve shot us out of the sky?”

“If he’d thought I planned to attack he would’ve. As it was he knew he had me outgunned.”

“That’s good, I guess.” Balaze couldn’t stop shivering from the bit of foreboding wiggling down his spine. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“What do you mean?” Hell glanced over his shoulder at Balaze.

“I don’t know.” Balaze shrugged. “It’s just a feeling.”

A sensation he couldn’t quite break free from.

“Hmmm, we have to see what Saint is up to. He wasn’t out of his entombment long enough to be the source of anything, but the way he disappeared has always bugged me.”

“Why? Maybe he just needed to see the world?”

“Maybe. But he couldn’t have said goodbye first?” Hell shrugged. “Why would a powerful Thresl leave his home world after being imprisoned for so long?”

Balaze shrugged. “Maybe after being there for so long he needed a break.”

“Possibly.”

Hell armed himself again and grabbed Balaze’s hand. “Come on, love, let’s go chat with Saint.”

Balaze doubted Hell meant anything by the endearment. For all he knew the duke said that to everyone. He did go to court a lot in order to pass information to the king. Still, his heart gave a small patter at the idea that they might eventually fall in love. He’d always hoped to find love again, but at this point they were both still working their way into establishing their mate bond. Sometimes he received sensations down their shared connection, but often it fell silent between them. Balaze remembered that his connection with Mills had been immediate. Maybe it wasn’t as strong the second time.

What did he say to a man who bonded with him, fucked him then wavered on an emotional commitment?

He followed Hell outside only to stop short. Soldiers surrounded the dock. None of them had pulled their weapons, but Balaze could see they were all well-armed.

“Duke Hellbur, you are under arrest.”

So much for flying under the radar of official notice.

“For what?”

“Treason. I have permission from your king to detain you until a representative arrives.”

“And who might that be?”

The soldier shrugged. “They don’t tell us that stuff.”

Hell carefully continued down the gangplank pulling Balaze after him.

“Sorry, sir, but we have no orders to take in your companion.”

“What?” Balaze stared at the soldier who looked anywhere but at him.

“We were only told to bring in the duke.”

For a moment, Balaze thought Hell would object. After all, the duke had been adamant about them not separating before.

Hell turned to face Balaze. “You stick to the plan and find Saint.” Hell pulled some money out of his bag and handed it all over to Balaze. “Keep out of trouble.”

“But…” Nothing about this situation settled well with Balaze. Inside he screamed a protest, but outwardly he couldn’t say anything. He didn’t want it reported that the duke had a disrespectful mate. Right now Hell might be in trouble with his king, but when this was all cleared up, Balaze didn’t want the only thing remembered to be his poor behaviour.

Hell kissed his forehead. “Be careful.”

Balaze nodded. He knew Hell hoped that whoever came to get him would be the guilty party, but Balaze thought that was too easy. The people behind this hadn’t kept their secret for so long by making rash moves. More than likely they would send another sucker to try to kill Hell off. Balaze bit his lip as he contemplated how to save his mate from himself.

Balaze turned his attention to the guards. “Where will he be kept?”

“If you want to visit, he’ll be in the West Tower where we keep political prisoners.” The guard gave Balaze a friendly smile. “We’ll take good care of him. I promise.”

Balaze let out the breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. “Thank you.”

“Find me after you find Saint.” Hell sent the words telepathically.

Balaze had to force himself not to react to this first telepathic conversation. “I will.”

Hell hadn’t used a mind connection when they were in the ship so Balaze had no idea if his reply had been heard. Balaze kissed Hell on the cheek and forced his feet to move away. He didn’t like leaving Hell with strange soldiers, but none of them seemed overly concerned about the situation. Once he had discovered what he could from Saint, he’d have to stage the grand break-out. The idea of scaling a tower might sound romantic, but Balaze had a feeling it would be a bitch to implement.

Balaze tried to remember the directions Durhan had given them regarding the fight club location. By the time he’d traversed the marketplace three times and finally spotted the bouncer blocking a discreetly hidden door, his feet hurt.

“Hi.” He gave the bouncer his best smile.

The man appeared unmoved by Balaze’s appeal. “What can I do for you, sir?”

At least he was a polite behemoth.

Balaze glanced left then right. “I’m here for the fight.”

“What fight?”

“Oh, come on. Saint’s my favourite fighter. I have to see this fight.” He pulled a coin out of his pocket and offered it to the bouncer.

The bouncer took the metal circle and grunted. It had been a good bribe. “Go inside. If anyone asks, you snuck in.”

“Thanks.”

Balaze didn’t care how he got in as long as he was allowed to pass. He suspected that Saint could shed information on the operation’s backers. He wondered briefly why the Thresl stooped to fighting when he probably could’ve just lifted the information from one of the managers’ minds.

The room stank of sweat and if greed had a scent, Balaze was certain the place would reek of it too. People sat on bleacher style seats surrounding a fighting pit on three sides. The crowd shouted at the two combatants battling. Snarls, growls and the occasional yelp of pain pierced through the loud screaming of the crowd. Balaze winced as he moved closer to the action. He couldn’t give up because it was too noisy.

Balaze recognised one of the Thresl fighters as Saint. The other poor soul Balaze didn’t know, but he doubted he’d last much longer. Saint raked his claws across his opponent as if the Thresl’s insides were made of gold and he needed the funds.

It took no time for the Thresl to fall beneath Saint’s power and when they finally dragged the injured Thresl out of the ring, Saint pranced around like a warrior after a battle, proud and victorious. Balaze made it to the front, pushing and shoving through the crowd. Politeness wouldn’t get him where he needed to go. Hell was depending on him to find out the truth and Balaze refused to leave until he got it.

Saint’s head snapped around as if sensing Balaze’s presence. The giant Thresl trotted in Balaze’s direction.

“Hello, Balaze.” The voice in his head, spoke more intimately than a lover and not half as welcome.

“Saint, good to see you.” No way would he initiate a mind link with the other Thresl. He barely talked to his own mate telepathically—to communicate like that with a Thresl he barely knew almost felt like cheating on Hell.

If a cat could smirk, Saint carried it off. The Thresl narrowed his feline gaze as if satisfied with his intimidation tactics before walking closer. When he was only a few feet away, Saint picked up their conversation again.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for you.”

“Why?” Confusion coloured the Thresl’s words.

A twinge of sadness flickered through Balaze. No one should wander the universe without at least one person caring about where they went, and if they were doing well.

Balaze looked around. They were the focus of too many eyes. “Can we go somewhere more private to talk?”

Saint turned around and flicked his tail as he walked off. Balaze took that as agreement. Nerves swirled his stomach. Balaze focused on trying not to throw up the small meal he’d eaten earlier. Worry over Hell’s treatment in jail had him jittery and unsettled. What if something happened to him while Balaze was wandering around chatting with Saint? He needed to get back to Hell as soon as possible.

Balaze tried to push his concerns out of his mind as he followed the large Thresl through the crowd.

When they reached a locker room, Saint sat and waited for Balaze. Relieved at the new quiet, Balaze shut the door behind him. Now that he had the Thresl alone he didn’t know what to do. He’d hoped that Saint would help him find the people responsible for setting up Hell, but the longer the cat shifter stared at him the faster his thread of hope unravelled.

“You wanted to talk to me, so talk.”

Balaze ran his fingers through his hair. “They arrested Duke Hellbur. Someone framed him for smuggling Thresls. I want to find out who did that and stop the operation. I’m hoping you know something.”

“Why would I help?”

Saint appeared more indifferent than offended. Balaze realised this would be harder than he’d thought. “Don’t you care about your people? Hell is trying to discover who is stealing Thresls and selling them on the black market. These people have set Hell up so he appears to be the guilty party. Right now he’s under arrest and I’ve come to see what I can do to get him out of there and catch the real criminal.”

The large Thresl continued to watch Balaze with his deep gold eyes as if trying to peer into Balaze’s soul. “You are a great Thresl mate. Too bad you already have a partner.”

“Thank you.” Balaze took a deep breath. “Can you tell me anything?”

“I believe the person the duke needs to look at is his manservant Enret. He’s been with the duke long enough that he knows most of His Grace’s secrets. I’ve heard his name bandied about here and there. If he’s the one, Hellbur needs to be extremely careful. Enret has forged ties with the military by promising them Thresls he can’t deliver. If he blames the duke, the higher ups may come to apply pressure on him.”

Chills of premonitions shivered up Balaze’s back. “I think they’re here.”

Saint’s eyes glowed brighter than the overhead lighting. “Why do you think that?”

“A feeling.”

“Ah, I suspected you might be more than you appear.”

Balaze laughed. “Hardly. I am just what I look like. A medic out of his depth.”

“Come, medic. Let’s go free your mate.”

“Why would you help me?” He had the impression from Saint’s words that the Thresl had no plans to help more than he needed to.

“I need a ride off the planet. I help you. You help me. Deal?”

“Deal.” Balaze didn’t think Hell would care if they gained a passenger. The duke had wanted to talk to Saint anyway. “Now I just have to figure out how to get him out of jail.”

“I can take care of that,” Saint purred.

“How?” Balaze might be willing to let Saint come along, but he was a long way away from trusting the ancient Thresl.

“We walk in the front door.”

Saint’s tone, so calm and soothing, had Balaze nodding until the words sank in. “What do you mean? They probably won’t arrest me, but they won’t let me leave with Hell either.”

“You get us in and I’ll get us out,” Saint promised.

“Okay.” Balaze wondered if he’d made a deal with evil incarnate. Saint didn’t strike Balaze as the sort to do things altruistically, but he needed help and at this point he would take it from anyone.

“Good.” Saint flicked his tail and let out a yowl of approval. “Let’s get going then.”

Chapter Seven

Hell examined his surroundings for the hundredth time. Pacing back and forth across hand-loomed rugs, he narrowly avoided wiping out a priceless vase when he swung around again. He didn’t like being caged, even in this luxurious room. He wondered how many people had been put in this same suite waiting to talk to Mixton, the Prime Ruler. Hell knew from his own contacts that Mixton could be bribed, but the ruler had obviously decided to let Hell cool his heels a while. Returning to his mate’s side was the only important thing at the moment.

Despite his impatience, Hell would pull out his own teeth before he admitted to anyone that he liked to have Balaze where he could see and touch him at all times. To admit to his dependence on Balaze would give his enemies too much knowledge of his one weakness. What if someone captured Balaze to use against Hell? Damn, why had he sent his beautiful man to wander the streets alone?

Idiot!

Hell puffed out a breath in frustration before closing his eyes. He concentrated on the connection between them to feel out Balaze’s location. Surely his mate hadn’t gone far. Hell doubted that the people who ran the fights had to hide their actions. The politicians here were handily corrupt.

Hell bit his lip as he cast out another psychic net. His lack of practice showed. It had been a long time since he’d tried to mentally track a mate, and Devon hadn’t been sensitive to Hell’s mental connections so they’d rarely spoken through their mind link. He could tell from Balaze’s connection that they wouldn’t have the same issues.

Maybe it was Balaze’s Thresl blood, but Hell found it surprisingly easy to communicate to his other half without words.

“Mate!”

“Here.”

Hell almost jumped at the clarity of Balaze’s voice. He sneaked a self-conscious look around the room. “Where are you?”

“With Saint.”

Relief took away his breath for a moment. At least Balaze had found the ancient Thresl. Saint would protect Balaze. Damn, he hoped he would. “Does he have any information?”

Hell waited impatiently for Balaze’s response.

“He thinks your manservant Enret is responsible.”

Hell laughed, his first reaction to the ridiculousness of that statement. Enret had been with Hell for ten years—a more loyal servant he didn’t have. Why after all this time would a dedicated worker change his mind?

Hell thought back over Enret’s behaviour lately and tendrils of unease filtered through him. Enret had been giving him indications that he would be interested in being Hell’s new mate. Had turning down the man pushed him over the edge? Hell hadn’t thought Enret had been serious. The manservant hadn’t shown any romantic interest in Hell until then.

“Is he certain?”

A long pause had Hell biting his lip as he waited.

“Yes.”

“Crap.” He’d known it was someone close to him, but he hadn’t thought it was someone that near him. For years he’d employed his bodyguard/manservant to watch his back and keep him alive. To discover that Enret had been plotting Hell’s downfall cut him to the quick and made him wonder about his own judgement. Had he overlooked suspicious activity before because of his fondness for the guilty?

“It looks like I’ll have to clean house when I get back home.” Anger burned in his chest. He’d make Enret pay for his betrayal.

“Hang on, I’m coming to get you.”

Hell held back his instinctive response. He didn’t want Balaze near to the guards, but he did need help escaping. Hanging around until Mixton decided to meet with him could be a fatal mistake. If there truly was a conspiracy to blame him for everything, they wouldn’t let Hell stay alive long enough to prove his innocence. No, Hell needed out of there and he needed out now! Besides if Saint were with Balaze the medic couldn’t be safer.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Surprise and pride filtered through their connection. Balaze hadn’t expected that response. He’d probably thought Hell would go with his first instinct to keep his mate as far away from the tower as possible. Unfortunately Hell couldn’t indulge his protective half. Not with his life on the line.

Hell smiled as a wave of affection poured through him along their link.

Just when he’d been about to lose his patience, the door to his room opened. Hell braced himself as a soldier entered. Hell recognised him as one of the original men who had escorted him inside. None of them had patted Hell down for weapons, an oversight he would’ve punished his own soldiers over.

“Your mate is here to visit.”

The guard smirked but didn’t say anything else. Hell resisted the urge to punch him.

To Hell’s surprise, Balaze entered with Saint. The soldier didn’t mention the giant Thresl accompanying his mate. It took Hell a moment to realise the soldier didn’t see Saint.

Neat trick.

“You have fifteen minutes so I expect you to keep your clothes on.” The soldier turned and left without another word.

“He’s a friendly guy.” Balaze nodded towards the departing man.

“Yeah, a bundle of joy.” Hell grabbed Balaze and kissed him, trying to convey all of his relief over his mate’s return in that one touch. The separation only highlighted how much he craved his mate close to him.

Balaze melted against him.

“Are you two quite finished? I’m pretty sure we still need to break out of here.”

“Oh, sorry.” Balaze blushed. A hint of colour highlighted his cheekbones making Hell struggle not to lick Balaze’s skin to feel the heated flesh beneath his tongue. Damn, he could look at his mate all day.

“Let’s go!” Saint’s order crackled across Hell’s mind like spikes of electricity.

“Okay, okay!”

He slid his fingers through Balaze’s hair, smiling as pleasure vibrated down through their link. They might not be perfectly matched yet, but he liked where their relationship was heading. Give them a few more weeks and they might have the solid bond a Thresl should have with his mate. The bond he’d never truly established with Devon before his death.

“How are we going to get out of here?” Balaze asked Saint.

Hell smothered his irritation over his mate asking someone else for help. He couldn’t blame Balaze, he was looking to Saint for an answer too.

“Stay close. They’ll never remember we were here.”

Saint’s confidence soothed Hell’s worries. The ancient Thresl made even the stupidest statement sound like an irrefutable fact. He almost asked Saint how he thought to manage such a feat when ozone perfumed the air and Hell’s hair stood on end as if static electricity had taken over his body. A quick glance showed Balaze experiencing the same thing.

They didn’t speak as they followed Saint out of the room. The guard standing by the door didn’t so much as blink to acknowledge their passing. Hell had a new respect for the older shifter. Saint had some serious abilities. He hoped the ancient Thresl never fought Vohne for power—he doubted the king could win against such a force. After all, Vohne’s relatives had imprisoned Saint in order to keep him and his magic suppressed.

Carefully descending the tower steps, they passed several soldiers who glanced past them as if they were transparent.

“This must be what being a ghost is like,” Balaze said into Hell’s mind.

Hell nodded. Neither of them wanted to challenge whether talking out loud would break Saint’s power. They needed to get out of there and back to the ship. Balaze had to return home and take care of a certain manservant. If Enret was lucky, there would be enough of him for Vohne to throw in jail when Hell was finished.

“Where’s the ship?” Balaze asked.

“This way.” Hell had paid attention to the path the soldiers took to get from the space station. Luckily it was within walking distance.

No one made any move to stop them as they walked across the spaceport. Either Saint’s power was still in effect or none of them recognised Hell.

He barely breathed until they were all safe on the ship and he was starting up the engine.

“How are we going to get them to clear us for departure?” Balaze frowned.

Hell squeezed Balaze’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, mate. I have several escape codes. Most towers don’t do a visual inventory anymore except on incoming ships. All I need to do is punch in one of my false codes and we fly on out of here.” He tried to project confidence in his plan even as he inwardly crossed his fingers.

“Where should I sit?”

Hell turned his attention to the giant Thresl squatting behind the co-pilot seat.

“I only have two real seats, but you can sit on the jump cot if you’d like.” Hell had put in a folding bunk that a person could be strapped into during flight in case of turbulence. At the time he’d installed it, he’d thought it would be good for transporting injured people or napping when he wanted to stay close to the controls, but right now it would work in a pinch for Saint.

Hell unfastened the straps and pulled the cot down.

“Thank you.” Saint jumped onto the ledge and quickly lay down.

Once he was situated Hell strapped him in.

Luckily the station had automatically filled up Hell’s vehicle so they didn’t have to barter to have their ship fuelled. One fewer person they had to deal with. “You gotta love computers.” Hell grinned as he noted that his oil had been changed too.

Balaze clicked his harness into place.

“Ready, mate?” Hell asked.

“I’m ready as I’m going to get.” Balaze radiated excitement instead of apprehension.

“We’ll get through this, love.”

“I know.”

Satisfied that he’d reassured Balaze as well as he could at the moment, Hell started the ship. The codes he’d paid dearly for proved to be worth every bit of money. They were quickly cleared for passage and left the planet’s orbit with little fanfare. No one came rushing after them and no alerts blared across the ship claiming they were under arrest.

“Looks like we’re safe. That was the easiest part of our trip so far.”

Saint climbed out of his cot and flopped down beside Hell.

“I need a favour.”

He should’ve known his escape would come with a price tag. Since he knew the Thresl could control minds, he should probably be happy Saint was asking instead of simply taking over.

“I save that for emergencies,” Saint said, not even trying to hide the fact that he could read Hell’s mind.

Hell tried not to show his fear, but he had no doubt that Saint knew exactly how he felt. If Saint could read minds, picking up emotions probably wouldn’t prove much of a challenge. “What can I do for you?” His tone had a nice cool edge.

“I have a ship I need you to catch up to. I was waiting for them to come pick me up at the fight club but since I left to help Balaze I lost my chance.”

Put like that Hell couldn’t refuse. After all it was his fault Saint had left to take care of Balaze and free Hell.

“Fair enough. Where do we need to go?”

“I’m tracking a ship captain named Mars.”

It took Hell a moment to pinpoint where he’d heard that name before. “Zander’s friend?”

Hell didn’t know the entire story, but he’d heard that Zander had run into an old lover during his hunt to find his mate. A lover who saved Thresls from bad situations then sold them to better homes. Hell had mixed feelings about the captain’s actions, but he could hardly judge. He knew as well as anyone that not everything was black and white.

Saint snarled, the first sign of aggression Hell had seen since he had picked him up.

“What?”

“He’s my mate.”

“How do you know?”

“I smelt him on Leo.”

Hell could’ve gone into how Saint needed to meet his mate before knowing for sure, but for all he knew Saint could detect his mate across the galaxy.

“Where is he?”

“Not far from here. Head towards home, we should intersect on the way.”

“Why is he going towards our home world?”

“I don’t know that he is, but it’s the easiest way to tell you where to go.”

Hell couldn’t argue about that. Saint had a good point. Since he’d already planned on heading in that direction, it didn’t take much calculation to put in the proper coordinates. Enret didn’t know Hell was on to him. He doubted the servant would leave before Hell returned to confront him. Enret wasn’t the type to go into hiding.

“What are you going to do if Mars is your mate?” Balaze asked.

“Claim him.” Saint’s feral smile had Hell a bit worried for the spaceship captain.

Hell hoped that Mars wanted to be claimed.

Saint might not be completely open to hearing an opposing viewpoint. After spending centuries literally buried beneath a broken-down palace, it was generally believed that the powerful Thresl might not be entirely sane. Saint hadn’t done anything to make Hell doubt his sanity, but then Hell didn’t want to be the one to tell him no either.

He had a feeling that Saint didn’t take rejection very well or receive it very often.

* * * *

It took two days before they spotted a ship close to them.

“That might be Mars’ ship.” Hell pointed at the small dot on the monitor. This area of space had a lot of physical interference, making long distance detection difficult. Although he could tell the ship’s location, any more details were hard to pinpoint.

Chunks of meteors floated around them, debris from a nearby wormhole. Luckily Hell’s small ship had a powerful disruptor that made it almost impossible to be sucked in by a gravitational pull.

They were too far from any planet for it to be one of the king’s scouts. Hell hoped it wasn’t an enemy of the Crown. He’d hate to have to shoot someone. That wouldn’t stop him from doing it to protect his mate, but he wouldn’t enjoy it. He never enjoyed killing. Hell preferred a more delicate touch for bringing down his enemies. There were a lot of better ways to destroy someone without taking their life. Making enemies wish they were dead always gave him more satisfaction.

The communicator buzzed. Hell had reached over to activate the screen when a loud siren pierced the air.

“What’s that?” Balaze’s eyes widened.

Hell’s stomach twisted with fear.

No!

He swallowed the bile in his throat to answer his mate. “Meteor.”

“Can we avoid it?” Balaze’s shaky tone hardened Hell’s resolve. No matter what, he needed to make sure his mate survived. Balaze was mostly human, he could survive Hell’s death.

Hell quickly calculated their collision course. They were trapped between a small moon and a meteor belt. They couldn’t avoid the rock hurtling towards them completely.

“Saint, get back in the cot.”

Saint jumped back onto the narrow bed. Hell’s hands shook as he struggled with the fastenings. Hell took a deep breath and focused. He couldn’t fall apart right now. Balaze was counting on him.

“Everyone hold on.”

He heard the scrape of Saint clawing at the cot, digging in his nails for purchase.

A quick glance at Balaze had his heart aching. Sweat beaded along Balaze’s forehead. The medic’s eyes were wide with fear.

“Hey, we’ll get out of this.”

He spun the ship so that the impact would hit his side of craft. If the rock hit Balaze, he could die instantly. With Hell’s Thresl DNA he could survive more damage. His mate had to live.

He’d barely moved into position before the meteor slammed them against their seats. Lights flashed and sirens screamed until his head rang from both the collision and the visual overload. The wall beside him crumpled inward. Everything hurt and a river of wet stickiness let him know he hadn’t escaped unscathed.

“Hell!” Balaze’s shout caught his attention. His voice wouldn’t answer his demands. He distantly noted that he might have broken his neck.

The world went white. He reached towards Balaze with his mind, but he couldn’t focus enough to make the connection. Balaze sobbed beside him. Hell tried to reach out and let him know everything would be all right but before he could gather the words everything went dark.

Chapter Eight

Balaze woke up in a room entirely made up of white, the walls, the floor, the crisp linen covering him—all white.

Medic ward. The band on his wrist flashed a green pulsing light. Balaze sat up to look around but saw nobody else. What had happened? Where was he?

It took him a moment, but eventually fragments of memories began to surface. The crumple of metal around him and blood pouring from his mate stuck out starkly in his mind.

“Hell!”

Balaze tried to mentally connect with his mate.

Nothing.

That didn’t necessarily mean Hell wasn’t here. If Hell were unconscious, Balaze might not be able to sense him. Deciding it would be easier to find Hell in person, Balaze swung his legs around. Someone had thoughtfully set a change of clothes on the guest chair. Balaze quickly dressed and left his room to hunt down his mate.

“I want my mate, now!” The angry shout tipped Balaze off to Hell’s location, as did the sound of running. A slim guy dressed in a blue jumpsuit skidded to a stop in front of Balaze.

“Oh, good, you’re awake. Come with me.”

Confident that the man was leading him towards his mate, Balaze happily followed.

He found Hell struggling against two other crew members who were trying to hold him down. “Where’s my mate!”

“Hey, I’m right here. You need to calm down.” Balaze slid in front of one of the crewmen, pushing him back.

Hell’s wild gold eyes zeroed in on Balaze. “You’re okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Hell closed his eyes. “Okay, good. I couldn’t sense you.”

“Probably because you were panicking.” Balaze pushed happy vibes down their shared link. “How’s that?”

A smile curved Hell’s lips. “Much better. I don’t like it when you aren’t there inside my head. It’s lonely.”

Balaze turned a surprised gaze to the onlookers.

“Drugged,” the female confirmed.

“Ah.” He turned his attention back to Hell. ”I’m right here. I won’t go anywhere without you.”

Hell grabbed Balaze’s wrist in a surprisingly firm grip. “Don’t let them do anything without you watching.”

“I won’t.” Balaze figured a man with as many enemies as the duke had good reason to not want people doing things to him while he was unconscious.

He waited a moment until Hell’s grip relaxed before he stepped away. “How is he doing?”

“We don’t know for sure. Our doctor left us a few months ago. According to the machine, he has a broken leg and a slight concussion. He got scratched up but most of those wounds quickly healed. Other than that he appears fine. We were worried about the gouge in his neck, but it healed on its own.”

“No permanent head trauma?”

The crewmember shrugged. “Not that we could tell.”

“Did you get our stuff off the ship?”

“No, but your craft is sitting in our dock. I can send someone to get your bags if you like.”

“There are only two. One of them has my medical kit inside.”

Balaze snatched the scanner from the crewmember. “I’ll examine him.”

“Okay.”

They stepped back. They paused as if they were worried he might jump at them or something. Balaze turned his back on them and re-ran the scans.

“My fierce protector,” Hell said, a smile playing along his lips. “What would I do without you?”

“Keep a broken leg. I’m going to fix you up right as soon as they bring me my stuff.”

Hell slid a finger along Balaze’s cheek. “You are so pretty, did I ever tell you that?”

Balaze snorted. “How much medication did they give you?”

“Not much,” one of the crew offered.

Balaze examined Hell’s pupils. “I think they’re right, you definitely have a concussion.”

“My head hurts.” Hell closed his eyes. Apparently the duke didn’t like admitting to weakness. Balaze couldn’t blame him. Hell probably had a lot of people willing to jump on him at the least break in his tough composure.

“I’m surprised I wasn’t injured more,” Balaze admitted.

“He moved the ship so his side took the brunt of the collision,” a new voice spoke from behind Balaze.

Balaze turned around to see a tall man with wide shoulders and eyes that sparkled with gold. Thresl. Not full Thresl, but, like Balaze, this man had some Thresl blood in him. A lot of Thresl blood if the waves of power pouring off him were any indication.

“I’m sorry, did you say he turned the ship?”

“Yes. He took most of the impact on the pilot side. You must be mates.”

Balaze nodded. “I’m Dr Balaze.” He didn’t offer his hand. He wouldn’t allow another man’s scent on him, not with Hell injured on the bed.

“I’m Captain Marsley Jacks, but everyone calls me Mars.” The captain narrowed his eyes as he examined Balaze. “You are aboard my ship.”

“Thank you, Mars. And thank you for rescuing us.”

“Who’s your friend?”

“This is Duke Hellbur.” As soon as he had said the words, he wished he could take them back. He didn’t know much about the captain. Letting him know that Hell was a royal might have been a strategic mistake.

“Then that makes you Duke-Mate Hellbur.” The captain’s eyes sparkled with amusement as if he knew something no one else had figured out and was waiting for the slower group to catch up.

Balaze shrugged. “I suppose I am. I haven’t had much chance to use the title.” He might never get that opportunity if they didn’t get Hell’s situation settled when they returned home.

“Yes, I heard it was a new mating. Word is buzzing about Duke Hellbur picking a commoner as his mate, although I’m not sure why people are so surprised—his first mate was a soldier.”

Balaze shrugged. “People just like to chatter.” He filed the news of Hell’s first mating to think about later. It could be one of the reasons Hell worried about Balaze being able to protect himself. He wasn’t exactly the poster boy for tough and capable.

“Now that we’ve made the intros, maybe you can tell me why you felt it so important to see me that you went through a meteor field.”

“Saint insisted.”

“And Saint is?”

“The Thresl we were travelling with.”

Mars frowned. “There were only the two of you on the ship.”

“Are you sure? Saint has the ability to make sure no one sees him. He could be lurking about.”

“I…I’ve never heard of that.” Mars paled as if he found the idea of an invisible Thresl frightening.

Balaze almost hated to give Mars the rest of the news. “He also thinks he’s your mate.”

“He what?” Mars stood up straighter. “That’s insane.”

“Sorry to tell you, but he’s not exactly known for being rational.” Or sane, but he thought he wouldn’t tell Mars that part. It might be too much information to give the captain at one time.

“So what you’re telling me is a Thresl who could be virtually invisible is out to claim me.”

“Pretty much.”

“Is there anything you can tell me that won’t result in me wishing I’d left you on your crumpled ship?”

“Um…no.” Balaze didn’t know what to tell him.

“Did you say you were a doctor?”

The crewmember returned as if on cue with their bags. “Thanks.” He snatched up his brown satchel and set Hell’s by the side of his bed. Balaze retrieved his med kit then placed his bag beside Hell’s. He might not have brought much, but he had got the important stuff. He pulled out his personal scanner, turned it on then adjusted the sensors before scanning Hell’s body. He found the break the crewmember had mentioned. Hell’s head had a fine fissure in his skull, but no permanent damage appeared.

Balaze returned the scanner to his kit and snatched up his bone healer device. They probably had one on board, but he knew the quirks of his machines and not necessarily the style of others. Better to stick with what he knew when his mate’s health was on the line.

So fixated on healing Hell, he completely forgot the captain was there. After Balaze set the bone healer on Hell’s leg, he turned around. Balaze barely held back the shout of surprise on the tip of his tongue.

Mars smiled. “Forgot about me, hmm?”

Balaze shrugged.

“I have a proposition for you.”

“Yeah?”

“Where were you planning on heading to after you met with me?”

“Back to our home world. The duke has some issues he needs to deal with and I need to get back to my practice.”

Mars’ wide smile didn’t reassure him in any way. “Excellent. If you do me a small favour, I will take the two of you home.”

Balaze barely resisted the urge to ask what he would do if Balaze refused. After all, they were on Mars’ ship with nothing around them but space. He didn’t think refusal was actually an option.

“What about Saint?” The Thresl had helped Balaze. He didn’t feel right about abandoning him even if it had been Saint’s idea to find Mars’ ship.

“If he doesn’t show up, I can’t do anything with him. If you see him, you can tell him he’s welcome to go with you. I have no need or wish for a mate.”

Poor Mars. He had a big surprise coming if he thought he could control Saint in any way. Balaze rubbed his forehead. He could feel a tension headache building. The captain had no idea who he was messing with and Balaze almost felt bad for wanting a front row seat to watch the sparks that were inevitable between the two strong beings. If he were a betting man, Balaze would put his money on Saint.

“What do you need me to do?” Balaze would at least like to know what Mars needed him for. Without options and stranded on a ship didn’t leave him with tons of plan Bs, but he would stall as long as he could until his mate was well enough to plan with him.

“I’m going to stop at an outpost nearby to deliver some supplies. These people don’t have money or the resources for a doctor. The doctor I had planned to take them left us to chase some tail and get a proper city job. If you’d consent to look at the worst of them, and help them as well as you can with your limited supplies, I’ll happily re-route my path afterward and take you home.”

“Deal.” Balaze snatched up the offer. He enjoyed helping others.

His expression must’ve given something away because Mars gave him a wry grin. “Damn, you’re one of those do-gooders who would’ve helped for free, aren’t you?”

Balaze smiled. “I’ll never tell.”

Mars shook his head. “I don’t run into people like you often. Most people want something for their time and skills. I appreciate your willingness to help.”

“It’s why I became a doctor.” Balaze couldn’t speak for others, but part of the joy he received as a healer was in helping others.

Mars patted him on the shoulder. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Doc. I can’t honestly say that about most people. Take care of your mate. I’ll let you know when we get close to landing.”

Balaze nodded before returning his attention to Hell. He resisted the urge to warn Mars against the vagrant Thresl walking the halls. Saint had survived the collision, Balaze had no doubt in his mind. The ancient Thresl was too tough to kill easily. Not to mention that if Saint had died, they would’ve found his body.

After verifying that the machine was properly knitting Hell’s leg, Balaze sat in the chair beside his mate’s bed. He didn’t have anywhere to go until they arrived wherever Mars was taking them and he wouldn’t leave Hell’s side before he had to.

* * * *

When Hell woke again the smile he gave Balaze lightened his heart. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

Hell brushed Balaze’s cheek with the tips of his fingers as if he were trying to map Balaze’s cheeks with his touch.

“I’m not hurt. You had a broken leg and a concussion, but we’ve been healing them. You should be good in a few hours.”

“Where’s Saint?” Hell glanced around as if in hope of spotting the Thresl.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him and I didn’t want to leave you to check.”

Hell smiled. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know. Someplace where they have difficulty finding medical care. I promised to help out in return for a ride home.”

Hell sat up, groaning. “Mars better not put you in danger. I’ll go with you when we land. I don’t want you going into an unknown situation by yourself.”

“I’m sure it will be fine.” He didn’t want to add more to the stress sliding down their connection. “I have worked in less than ideal conditions before.”

“I’ll come watch out for him,” Saint offered, entering the room. The large Thresl examined the room around them carefully as if looking for hidden dangers.

“Hey, Saint. The captain is looking for you.”

Saint flashed a fang. “I’m sure he is.”

Balaze bit his lip to hold back his laughter. Apparently Mars was going to have a Thresl wandering his halls for a bit longer.

“What’s your game plan with Mars?”

Saint purred. “I’m going to use the element of surprise.”

Hell laughed. “Oh, fuck, that hurt.”

“No laughing. You still have a concussion,” Balaze reminded him.

Saint sat down and thrashed his tail back and forth. “I’m getting him used to my presence.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you let him see you?”

“Maybe.”

Despite what he said, Balaze had no doubt that Saint would do things in his own time frame. The Thresl probably had some sort of master plan that Balaze had no grasp of.

“I’ll go with you to visit this place and watch your back. The more people to protect you, the better off you will be. We don’t know what will be out there.”

“I don’t think Mars would send me out someplace that is truly dangerous.”

“You don’t know that,” Saint scolded. “You are naïve to think he wouldn’t endanger you because he needs your services. What he considers dangerous might not be the same standard that you use.”

Balaze was tired of everyone thinking they knew what was best for him. He’d been an adult for a long time and had done just fine taking care of himself even in dangerous areas where he operated in war zones. If he told them half of his adventures, Hell would probably never let him off planet again. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, but I appreciate your help.”

He didn’t really, but he also didn’t want to appear ungrateful.”

The moon wasn’t one Balaze had ever visited before. “I didn’t even know this place was here.”

“Few people do, that’s why it’s the perfect place to hide,” Mars said staring out the window.

Balaze wanted to ask who was hiding on such a faraway place, but the captain didn’t appear open to talking. Mars’ entire attention was focused on landing the ship. When they finally touched down, Balaze’s curiosity was eating him up.

Who would live on a moon this far from everything?

He held back his questions until they were walking down the ramp. A crowd of people met them at the bottom. Balaze froze mid-step.

Mars pushed him forward with a gentle shove. “Come on, Doc. You have patients.”

Hell growled. “Don’t touch him.”

“I was just encouraging,” Mars replied.

The duke still limped a bit, but he refused to let Balaze go among strangers alone.

Balaze noticed that the people waiting had various injuries. Forgetting about the ship, the captain and all other worries, he headed down to check out the people. He clutched his med kit in a tight fist.

“Doctor Balaze will help people over at the main meeting room.”

The captain’s crew was unloading boxes as he spoke. From the markings on the side, they were provisions.

Balaze let Mars lead him to where he wanted him to set up. It only took a few patients before Balaze noticed a pattern. All the injured had war wounds or were young people with diseases they should’ve been inoculated against when they were younger.

“Hi, Doc.” A blond human sat down on the visitor’s bench. “I’m Jared.”

Hell sat quietly across the room. Balaze made him keep his distance for patient privacy.

“Hi, Jared, what can I help you with?”

“My stomach’s been hurting.”

“Take off your shirt, please.”

A low growl greeted that statement. “This is Farl, my mate.”

“Hello, Farl. I need to touch Jared in order to see if I can heal him. Are you going to be okay with that?”

He saw Farl purposely hold back another growl. “I’ll try.”

Saint walked over and sat beside Hell. Apparently they both thought being a doctor needed extra security.

“Is that your mate?”

“No. He is.” Balaze pointed to Hell.

“Nice,” Jared said, grinning at Balaze as if he’d done a great job in picking his partner. Balaze resisted the urge to tell him he’d had nothing to do with the match.

Farl shook his head at his mate’s antics. Balaze swallowed back the lump in his throat at the love in Farl’s eyes.

“Take a deep breath.” Balaze pressed gently on Jared’s stomach. Using his scanner he found the issue was a simple stomach virus. He gave Jared some pills and sent him on his way with his hovering mate at his side.

Sadly, Jared turned out to be the easiest patient of the day. During the next few hours, Thresls and their human mates shared horrible tales of being forced to fight or having their families threatened. Mates and their children were used against each other to persuade the Thresl partner to fight. They were hiding on the moon to keep out of the hands of the human military.

“We are disposable soldiers to them,” one Thresl explained while Balaze tried not to cry.

Balaze stitched up his arm to help it heal better. Most of the Thresls would recover with little help, but it was their partners he worried about. He helped deliver one baby and gave a bunch of others inoculations. Luckily he had brought his perpetual injector. At the end of his patient line he could barely stand from crouching over for so long.

He let Hell wrap an arm around him and help him back to the ship.

* * * *

“How did it go?” Mars asked when they returned.

Balaze didn’t know how the captain had spent his day. He had only caught sight of Mars once or twice and the captain had always had a little crowd of followers surrounding him.

“Something has to be done. They were all victims of the human military.”

“I’ve been trying to figure out exactly who’s responsible for the treatment of Thresls. So far I haven’t had any luck. Maybe the two of you can use your contacts and figure it out,” Mars said.

“We need to tell Vohne about this,” Hell said, a scowl on his handsome face. Balaze could tell the situation with the Thresls had bothered him too. Their people deserved better.

“How are you going to tell him without getting arrested?” Balaze bit his lip. He couldn’t leave his mate to be thrown in jail.

“If I let Vohne take me into custody, he’ll have to talk to me before he charges me with anything. I can use that time to tell him about this place,” Hell said practically.

“Good. These Thresls need to come home. They shouldn’t be forced to live in these conditions. I’ve seen backwater towns that are a step up from this place,” Balaze protested.

He’d make sure the king listened to Hell.

“Were you able to help them?” Mars asked.

“Most of them. Some of them I couldn’t help much without proper medical facilities. These people need a full hospital for the humans who’ve suffered from war injuries. They probably could use some therapy too.” Indignation for the abandoned people made Balaze’s words crisp and hard. “I can’t believe no one noticed what was going on.”

Mars shrugged. “For some people it’s easier to look the other way. I’ve tried to do what I can, but I’m no leader. Get some rest. We’ll leave tomorrow.”

They said their goodnights, then headed to the room assigned to them. It consisted of a bed and little else. Mars apparently didn’t get a lot of visitors on his big ship or he didn’t want them to feel very welcome.

Their bags sat against one wall. Hell dug into Balaze’s bag and pulled out the lube. Balaze had packed it when he’d shoved a bunch of other stuff in his bag.

“I’m tired.” As much as he enjoyed the sexual side of Hell, he’d just spent the entire day working and every muscle he had hurt.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.” Hell’s deep voice, low and sensual, perked up Balaze in more ways than one. He could lie in bed and just listen to Hell speak. The duke’s tone had the crisp enunciation of someone used to being obeyed.

More than happy to leave Hell in charge of their sex life, Balaze stripped down to skin then slid across the mattress with a contented sigh.

“Damn, you’re beautiful.”

Balaze laughed. He certainly didn’t shine like his mate. His dark hair didn’t have the brightness of the duke’s blond locks and his eyes didn’t gleam like glittering amber, but he was happy Hell liked what he saw. If the duke wanted to think of Balaze as attractive, who was he to try to change his mind?

Balaze opened his eyes when Hell took his hand and smoothed a thumb over Balaze’s palm. A motion he’d learned was as much about comfort as it was about connecting physically with him.

“I know you’re stressed about all those people. We’ll do what we can for them when we get home,” Hell said.

“Thank you.” Hell kissed him. The immediate sizzle and sparkle of their attraction made his erection press against his zipper. He moaned at the contact. Scooting back, he forced more space between them. He couldn’t think this close to Hell.

“Where are you going?” Hell grabbed Balaze’s upper arms to yank him back.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on your leg. You’re not completely healed yet.”

“I’m healed enough.”

Balaze thought about his lover’s health for a minute but didn’t have much time for reflection before Hell kissed him stupid. All thoughts vanished out of his head with his mate’s mouth on his.

Chapter Nine

Hell ached to move and pin Balaze to the bed. Watching Balaze work and his compassion towards the injured only made Hell want his mate more. Balaze melted Hell’s hard heart. The desire to be a better man, to make Balaze proud of him, urged Hell to offer to do what he could for the injured Thresls. On his own he might never have shown the same level of compassion.

Now the burn of desire in Balaze’s eyes heated Hell’s spine and his erection hardened just from his mate’s expression. “Come here, sexy.”

Balaze was everything Hell could ever want in a mate and he’d do anything to keep him. If Balaze wanted to save a colony of Thresls, Hell would save them. He’d have them shuttled to wherever they wanted to go just so Balaze would think good things about him.

Balaze lapped at Hell’s cock. He tried to keep his hips still and not buck into Balaze’s mouth. He didn’t want the medic to choke. Not when he was sweetly taking care of Hell’s needs. When they’d first bonded, he hadn’t been able to stop comparing Balaze to his first mate. Now he knew he’d met Balaze when he needed him. A hardened soldier wouldn’t be a good match for the person Hell had become. He preferred his gentle medic with his soulful eyes and his heart as big as the solar system.

Hell moaned as Balaze licked and sucked him with expert precision. He slid his fingers through Balaze’s hair, enjoying the contact without taking control.

Wet suction pulled him forward and had him closing his eyes from the sensation. It didn’t take long before he spilled into Balaze’s eager mouth.

Balaze licked his lips. Hell grabbed his mate by his shoulders and tugged him closer. “Kiss me.”

Balaze devoured him with his mouth, sliding his wet, slick lips slid across Hell’s. Hell clenched his fists in Balaze’s hair, holding him still while he tangled their tongues together.

“More,” he demanded, unwilling to separate in order to speak.

“Anything,” Balaze responded. “Anything you want.”

Sincerity slid along their connection giving Hell a warm glow. Balaze didn’t hold anything back as if it never occurred to him to keep his emotions to himself. After working as spy master for so long, his mate’s honesty was a refreshing surprise.

He broke away when they both needed oxygen more than sex. “I want to be inside you.”

“Rest first. I’ll ride you after a nap. I’m tired.”

Hell lifted his arm to invite Balaze closer. His mate took the hint and snuggled in beside him. “I missed you today. I could see you, but I couldn’t touch you. Stupid, isn’t it?” Balaze confessed with his head on Hell’s shoulder.

“No. I missed you too. You know it’s common among mates to need to be touching constantly.”

“I know, but the connection wasn’t as strong with Mills. I enjoyed his company, don’t get me wrong, but I never had a compulsion to always be within arm’s reach.”

Hell had a spurt of sympathy for the dead mate, but it was quickly followed by a sense of satisfaction that Balaze had bonded tighter with Hell. Not all matings were created equal. Some took better than others. Hell knew his connection with Balaze was stronger than his connection had been with Devon. How that would affect their own behaviours or Hell’s appearance would be interesting to see. Right now they only had each other and questions could wait.

Inhaling the subtle scents that made up Balaze soothed Hell’s possessive half. Balaze smelt like the desert after a hard rain, a mixture of dust, dampness and the underlying sweet scent of flowers. Hell knew he’d never smell another storm without thinking of that moment.

“We have to help them,” Balaze said, his voice slower as sleep dragged him down.

“I told you I would.” Hell rubbed a hand down Balaze’s back coaxing him even closer. He repositioned his mate until Balaze rested half on top of Hell with his head tucked neatly in the crook of his chest.

Balaze sighed, his warm breath sliding across Hell’s skin in a delicious torture. His cock began to harden again, but he ignored his erection. Cuddling Balaze was more important than anything else in that one moment in time. His inner Thresl curled up inside, purring. They both relished the comfort of holding the one they loved.

Chapter Ten

They had barely touched down in the spaceport before soldiers came to collect them. Of course, announcing who they were and what they wanted hadn’t exactly been a stealth landing. Saint had elected to stay on the ship with Mars. Hell didn’t know if the captain was aware of that fact—he hadn’t had a chance to warn him before they disembarked.

Balaze could’ve kicked up a fuss and abandoned Hell at the spaceport. The soldiers would’ve let him go, but Hell kept a tight grip on him. He refused to let them be separated again.

“I don’t want you where someone can get hold of you,” he explained at Balaze’s raised eyebrow.

If his enemies knew of Balaze’s bond they would be quick to use his mate to their advantage. Hell would give up everything to keep Balaze safe, but he certainly didn’t want everyone to know it.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you two,” Friln scolded.

“Did you search poorly run, backwards planets?” Hell asked.

Friln growled, which was funny since he wasn’t the Thresl in his bonded pairing.

“I don’t want to lose you two because some trigger-happy soldier thought to bring you in.”

Hell frowned. “What happened to the guy who tried to capture us?”

“Kres took care of him.” Friln’s tight mouth told Hell more than a thousand words that the soldier hadn’t got off lightly. Kres didn’t take failure well.

King Vohne and Kres were waiting for them when they were ushered into a large meeting room. Kres dismissed the escort with a nod of his head.

“I’d like Friln to stay,” Hell said. Friln deserved an explanation. He didn’t want the soldier to have a bad impression of Hell. He’d worked with Friln several times and the young man’s opinion of him mattered.

“If you’re certain,” Vohne replied. “Friln, you can stay.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Friln stayed by the door at parade rest. His mate Nelrin positioned himself on the other side. Hell didn’t know Friln’s mate as well, but he knew better than to try to separate mates.

He seated Balaze before taking his own seat beside him.

Kres slapped an electronic blocker on the table and turned it on. It glowed red then green.

“Why did it change colour?” He’d never seen that before.

Kres grinned. “One of our scientists came up with a new version that zaps the bugs with a sound wave.”

“I don’t suppose you’d sell me a few—”

“Consider it done,” Vohne interrupted.

He had a feeling Kres would’ve denied him owing to his personal dislike of Hell.

Kres frowned but didn’t counter his mate’s statement.

“Tell us what happened.”

Hell told the king everything he knew, not holding back any of the details. He spoke of his servant’s betrayal, of the fighting rink and, finally, of the moon with the abandoned and injured Thresls.

“You have to help them,” Balaze said, urgently.

Kres nodded. “Yes, it’s wrong that they’ve been abused and still don’t feel they can come home. We need to make sure they can return here safely and not worry about being kidnapped or transported elsewhere. Who else do you think could be involved, Hell?”

“What do you mean?”

“A manservant wouldn’t have the contacts to carry off such a far-reaching conspiracy. There has to be someone with direct access to the military.”

Hell rubbed his chin. “I have a cousin, Svin, who might be involved. He has sort of kept a low profile since the Great Purge. His mate survived but was severely injured. I don’t think Svin’s mate ever got out of his coma.”

“You don’t know?” Balaze frowned at Hell, his medic’s soft heart aching for a person he’d never met.

Hell shrugged. “We’ve never been close and frankly he’s a bit of an asshole.”

“But he would be in a position to possibly do some harm?” Vohne asked.

“Maybe. I don’t know why I didn’t think of him before. I’ve kept a watch on him over the years, but he never seems to be up to much.”

“Maybe that’s just what he wants you to think,” Kres said.

Hell acknowledged that the King-Mate could be speaking the truth.

“I need to talk to Enret first and discover what I can about his motivation. I have a hard time understanding why a man who has been by my side, loyal for years, suddenly decided to turn on me.”

“People have strange motives,” Balaze offered, rubbing Hell’s arm.

“True, but they generally have motives,” Hell responded.

“If I arrest you, people will think you are guilty whether you’ve done something wrong or not.”

“You could release him into his mate’s care and tell people we are investigating his crimes,” Kres replied.

“I think most people expect you to keep me,” Hell said.

“Which is why they won’t be expecting you home,” Kres said.

Hell had to admit that the King-Mate had a good point. No one would expect Kres to let him go.

“I think we need to discover why Enret betrayed you so you can move on,” Balaze said.

Hell smiled at his lover. “I think you’re right.

* * * *

Hell marched down the halls of his manor. Balaze’s reassuring presence by his side helped relieve some of his tension. Without his mate’s support, Hell didn’t know if he could confront his servant with any composure.

Enret’s betrayal had hit him hard. He’d thought of the man as part of his small trusted circle. To discover he hadn’t watched his circle as well as he should have had eroded some of his confidence.

“It’s not weak to trust someone.” Balaze’s reassurance slid across Hell’s mind.

“Thanks.”

Even with Balaze backing him, betrayal still tasted sour in his mouth. He opened his office door and found Enret sitting behind his desk. His manservant appeared more than comfortable sitting in the duke’s chair. Hell wondered how often Enret had pretended to take his place while he had put things in motion to ruin Hell.

“Good afternoon, Your Grace.” Enret’s face showed a flash of surprise before he carefully blanked his expression. He rose to his feet and stood at attention beside Hell’s chair as he had so many times before.

Memories of how long he’d depended on Enret to keep watch over him twisted the poisoned knife of betrayal in Hell’s chest.

“Sending more orders using my name? Or did you tire of that ploy and decide to take responsibility yourself since you hoped to see me dead?”

Enret dropped his pretence.

“I’m glad to see you survived your trip. Of course, I can’t say I approve of your choice of mate.” His curled his lip at Balaze as if he were something he would like to scrape off his shoe. “We should be the ones building a life together.”

The fierce determination on Enret’s face took Hell by surprise. “What are you talking about?”

“Me!” Enret pointed a finger at himself. “I could’ve been yours, but no! You insisted on keeping to yourself when we could’ve killed the king and ruled together. They told me if I helped, you could be mine, but they lied, didn’t they? You rebounded, and with that!”

“Hey!” Balaze growled.

Hell turned to see an expression of fury cross his mate’s face. He’d never seen Balaze truly angry before. His eyes turned pure gold and his fingers curled as if they were ready to change into claws at any moment. He waited, breathless to see if they would.

“You are nothing!” Enret scorned. “A useless medic who couldn’t keep a man like the duke unless you tricked him into mating. Once you are dead he’ll have to bond with me.”

Enret pulled out a weapon and pointed it at Balaze.

Hell knew he’d miscalculated. He should’ve cleared out the manor before confronting Enret and refused to bring his mate along. His shame and fury over being duped had led to poor decision making.

“If you shoot my mate, I’ll never bond with you. I’ll let myself die before I connect with someone who betrayed my people.”

“I didn’t betray them. I helped them find their destiny. The military needs more Thresls and we need more people trained as fighters. It’s a win, win situation. You were the fool who decided to find someone else. How could you leave me for this medic?” Enret said medic like other people said vermin, the word spat out as if it left a foul taste in his mouth.

“If sending the Thresls to the military was such a great idea, why didn’t they approach the king?” Hell asked, pulling Enret’s attention away from Balaze. “If they were doing something for the common good, why did they need your deception? Why couldn’t they talk to Vohne and Kres who’ve actually been connected to the military? If they were doing what was right, shouldn’t they be chatting with the people directly in charge?”

Confusion crossed Enret’s features. “No. They said King Vohne wouldn’t talk to them. That Kres poisoned his mind against them.”

“They lied. They are trapping Thresls into become military slaves. They capture Thresls, force them to bond with whatever mate they choose then make them fight their enemies. You aren’t freeing anyone, or giving them a new life. You are killing our people!”

“No! That can’t be true!” Enret’s eyes widened in shock as the truth sank in. “I’m saving them. They told me so. He said if you were bound to me I could help save the Thresls. He promised I could have you for my loyalty.”

Hell didn’t even try to hide his distaste of being passed along as an incentive to get someone to betray their people.

“I met an entire colony of the people you saved—missing arms, legs, two of them were blind. That is what you are sending our people to. You are sending them to be maimed or killed and the lucky ones get to have a lifelong bond with a partner they might come to hate. Which of my relatives convinced you this was a good idea? Was it Svin?”

He hoped against hope that his cousin wasn’t involved. He hated the idea of his own flesh and blood assisting the human military against their own people.

Enret sobbed. His shoulders shook and trembled under the loud cries. “They told me I was doing something good. They told me you’d be so proud.”

Hell’s heart ached for his friend who’d been deceived.

Before he could step forward, Enret put the gun to his temple. His hand shook as he held the muzzle up to his head. “I’m so sorry.”

“No!” The loud gunshot deafened Hell. Blood and brains splattered across the office. He flinched when a spray of goo splashed across his face. He emptied his stomach on the tile beside him. Tears dripped down his cheeks.

Enret had been a good friend, until this last bit of betrayal. Now there were pieces of him covering his office. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to work there again.

Maybe if he’d handled it differently, Enret would still be alive. A warm hand wrapped around his arm, soothing with its touch. “Come on, love. Let’s get you in the shower. We’ll send the servants to clean up this mess.”

Before he could agree or disagree, the doors swung open and Hell’s soldiers marched in.

“Take care of this,” Balaze ordered as he half carried Hell down the hall to his room.

“How did you know which one is mine?”

“I looked for the fanciest door,” Balaze said.

Hell laughed. It was a broken sound full of shock but a laugh nonetheless. “He’s gone.” The words were stupid, but he couldn’t get them to stop spilling out. Balaze had been there for the entire thing, he didn’t need a recap.

“I know, love.”

“I should’ve helped him. I should’ve known he was having problems and needed help. I knew he wanted me, I just hadn’t realised how much. How can I be in charge of collecting information for the king if I can’t even be certain about what’s going on in my own household?”

“You couldn’t give him what he truly wanted,” Balaze said. “He’d made up his mind. If he were a different sort of person he would’ve come to you. He was carefully manipulated. Your enemies are clever, but we’re narrowing in on them. Soon they will be uncovered and exposed for their sins. I want to be there when Kres finally catches up with them.”

That made Hell snort. “You have a new fierceness I never truly appreciated before.”

Balaze grinned. “Maybe it’s your influence.”

“Maybe,” Hell agreed. Mates did tend to change each other. Sometimes the changes were subtle, sometimes not.

He ran through Enret’s words in his head, wondering if he could’ve done things differently. No. He couldn’t have made Enret his mate. Balaze had already taken Hell’s heart and he had no intention of trying to get it back. Even before meeting Balaze he’d had no spark of attraction towards his manservant. Whether it had been the drugs or them together he didn’t know but they’d never clicked romantically, at least not on Hell’s side. Enret apparently had a different opinion. Now that Hell had Balaze, he knew it never would’ve worked between them.

Balaze stripped Hell down before removing his own clothes then he started the water before ushering Hell inside.

Hell let the shower wash away the gore from his skin and relaxed beneath his mate’s tender touch. “You know I love you, right?” The words spilled out, completely lacking his usual smooth presentation. Somehow when dealing with his sweet medic, Balaze stripped away all of Hell’s sophistication and turned him into an unsure adolescent.

Balaze’s hands froze on Hell’s skin. “I do now.”

Hell watched Balaze’s expression as his mate grabbed more soap to finish cleaning him off.

“I want you to know that I never would’ve bonded with Enret. I didn’t feel the pull despite what he said. It wasn’t only my cat form wanting anyone to bond with that made me pick you. It was your scent. Enret never smelt like mine.”

Balaze smiled, a slow, brilliant expression, warming Hell down to his toes. “I’m glad. I’m sorry you lost your friend, but at least now you know he didn’t do it maliciously. The government convinced him he was doing the right thing. You aren’t a bad judge of character, you are just oblivious when someone is in love with you.”

Hell tilted Balaze’s head up until the medic was forced to meet his eyes. “I’m not completely unaware of other people’s feelings. Tell me.”

Balaze’s snort of annoyance made Hell smile. “I love you, even if you are a bossy bastard.”

“Aww, those sweet words made it all worthwhile.”

Balaze laughed. “I’m glad you think so.”

“I know so. Tomorrow we need to go see Vohne and let him know what’s going on. We also need to get your dog back.”

“I’m sure the king will have more than a few words with the military.”

“I bet he will.”

Hell kissed Balaze, savouring the taste and texture of his mate’s mouth against his own. “Let’s go to bed. I want to spend the night in my mate’s arms.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Balaze agreed.

Hell dried them both off then led his mate back to the bedroom to show him how much he appreciated his support in the journey to save his life.

* * * *

“Here, kitty, kitty.” Mars prowled the halls looking for that damn Thresl. He didn’t know how the large animal had escaped, but Saint had left the hold and was prowling the ship somewhere.

Hell had told him that Saint had abilities the others didn’t, but he hadn’t heeded the duke’s warning. Now he realised how foolish he’d been to think he could handle this particular beast.

“I don’t want a mate. Why don’t you go find someone else?” He shouted the words hoping that Saint could hear them wherever he was hiding out. Mars had left Zander when they were young because he’d known he needed to stay free. To this day he still ached for that lost romance, even as Zander had moved on and Mars had had many other romantic encounters. Something about a first love remained a bittersweet memory.

Frustrated and more than a little annoyed, Mars returned to his room. Splayed out on his king-sized bed was an enormous dark-haired man with glowing gold eyes and not a single stitch covering his body.

“Hello, mate,” the intruder said in deep, velvety tones.

“May the gods have mercy,” Mars whispered.

Saint’s bright eyes gleamed with amusement. “Let’s hope they have some for you, because I certainly won’t.”

Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:

A Wizard’s Touch: Jaynell’s Wolf

Amber Kell

Excerpt

Chapter One

Jaynell Marley looked at the tall lions flanking the doors and let out the breath he’d been holding. Students ran up and down the stairs, rushing off to class or wherever busy students went. This was where his father had wanted him to be, the last request of a dead man who had given Jay everything, including his very life, in order for Jay to continue living. Despite not wanting to be here, Jay wouldn’t deny his father’s wishes. He couldn’t, even if the thought of attending school with a bunch of strangers sent shivers of apprehension down his spine.

Watching the ebb and flow of people, Jay closed his eyes for a moment to push back the slight panic attack threatening to overtake him. It had been only him and his father for so long he didn’t know if he was equipped to deal with so many people at once. The sheer volume of bodies rushing back and forth had him on edge, and the magic just beneath his skin was crackling, ready to strike out at the first sign of danger.

His nerves ricocheted like bullets around his body as he realised soon he would be one of these busy students running busily about. At twenty-five years old, Jay was older than a lot of the freshmen at the Mayell Wizard Academy, but life had kept him too busy to start formal training until this point. Maybe he could test out of some classes and graduate earlier than anticipated. He clung to that dream even as he searched for some sort of school directory to help him find the administration building.

“Are you lost?”

“Hmmm.” Stuck in his own thoughts, he’d missed the girl walking up to him. She had bright green eyes, blonde hair and a perky air about her. He wondered if wizard academies had cheerleaders.

“Are you lost?” she asked again. “You look like you’re not sure where to go.”

Jay didn’t know why she cared, but maybe she liked to help total strangers. “I’m looking for the headmaster’s office.”

“I can help you. I’m one of the freshman coordinators.” She pointed to a bright pink badge on her shirt that Jay hadn’t noticed, mostly because he hadn’t tried to stare at her breasts. “The school appointed some of us to help out incoming students who might not know where to go or what to do on their first day. I’m Lira—nice to meet you. Are you a transfer?”

Jay gave her proffered hand a quick shake. “I’m Jay. No, I didn’t transfer. I’m just starting late. Family illness.”

That was the story he would tell everyone. They didn’t need to know his family’s tragic past. Soon enough word would get around.

“Oh.” Her face reflected pity, but thankfully she didn’t comment further or ask any probing questions. “Come with me. I’ll take you to Headmaster Vreel. He’s really amazing. You’ll like him. He’s the most powerful wizard of his generation.”

Jay didn’t comment on Vreel’s power. Instead, he nodded and hoped he looked suitably impressed. He definitely didn’t want to get into a debate over magical power. Not when he had the energy of three wizards rushing through his veins.

He hoped Vreel was as nice as he’d always been told. His past tutors had spoken highly of Vreel, but Jay’s father had never met him so hadn’t been able to offer any opinion.

Listening to Lira chatter soothed some of his anxiety. He’d never had to deal with his peers before. He hoped more of them were like Lira—friendly and incurious.

Jay followed Lira up the long trail of stone steps to an enormous building. The tall structure stood at least three storeys and had an assortment of stone creatures decorating the front. Gargoyles squatted at each of the peaks, dragons twisted along the columns and a pair of marble lions guarded the entryway. About to go through the front door, Jay stopped to admire the lions. The big cats’ eyes glowed blue, an eerie light casting shadows on their marble faces.

“Why do they glow?” Jay asked, pointing at the lions. The light faded before Lira turned to look.

Lira frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Their eyes. They lit up.” Jay pointed at the beasts. No signs of illumination remained.

“I think you’re imagining things.” Lira dismissed Jay’s statement with a shake of her head.

Perhaps it was just one of those things only Jay saw. Wouldn’t be the first time.

“Maybe. Never mind.” Jay brushed it off even though he knew that wasn’t the case. He didn’t need to draw attention to his differences too early. Everyone would find out soon enough that he had little in common with the usual student.

Lira seemed happy enough with that explanation since she picked up her chatter again. She led him through the marble halls to a gleaming wooden door. The words ‘Headmaster’s Office’ were embossed on a brass plaque in big important letters.

“Here you go!” she announced unnecessarily, waving at the sign.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Jay didn’t want to think about how long he would’ve been wandering around campus before he’d found this place. His sense of direction was one skill his father could never seem to find a way to improve.

“You’re welcome! See ya.” With a quick wave, Lira ran off, probably to rescue some other lost idiot.

Jay shook his head at the perky girl as he opened the door. Entering the office brought him to an elaborate reception area with more marbled floors. It smelt a bit musty, like a good library, although Jay didn’t see any books.

A gnome sat behind an enormous wooden desk, looking even tinier in comparison to the huge furniture that all but swallowed her presence. Her grey skin gleamed dully beneath the natural sunlight streaming through the lead glass windows. Jay could tell she was a female gnome by the earring in her left ear. Males wore them in their right ear.

Jay gave a short bow to the receptionist before saying in perfect Gnome, “I have an appointment with your master.”

For the first time, he appreciated the long hours his father had insisted Jay spend learning various languages. At the time, he’d resented it since they didn’t have any personal house gnomes, and he had felt foolish learning a language no one around him used. Now his cultural and linguistic skills might be good for something after all.

Most people didn’t know gnomes only worked for their masters. Gnomes were forced by the magical community to live underground unless they were owned because of their rages. Their anger could only be controlled by the one who bonded with them. It was a high honor to belong to a master, and oddly, an owned gnome had more status in their tribe than a free one.

The gnome’s eyes sparkled when she spotted Jay. “Greetings. You must be Mr Marley. Someone has trained you well. You speak Gnome beautifully. I will tell my master that you can skip Gnome linguistics.”

One less class to take.

Inside, Jay did a happy backflip, but to the gnome, he gave another polite bow. “Your help is appreciated.”

Any class he could skip would be one more for which he wouldn’t have to waste his time. Although Jay didn’t have any clear plans for his future, he’d spent most of his life studying—he was ready to begin to live.

The little creature beamed, flashing her pointed teeth in a frighteningly sharp smile. “You are most welcome, gnome friend. Go right in.”

She must’ve telepathically told the headmaster he’d arrived. He’d forgotten they could speak mentally with their bonded.

Jay smiled at the receptionist and headed for the door the gnome pointed towards. He entered without knocking.

A tall, thin man with long white hair sat behind a silvery metallic desk. He gave Jay a nod as he approached.

“Good afternoon, Master Jaynell. It is nice to meet you. My secretary told me great things about your Gnome skills.”

Jay realised his entire interaction with the gnome had probably been relayed to the headmaster as it had happened. Damn, he hoped he’d passed their first test. “Thank you, Headmaster Vreel. She was very nice.” Not discreet, obviously, but nice.

“Indeed.” The wizard pierced Jay with a level stare. “She doesn’t like very many people so I’m always fascinated when she takes a shine to one. She’s been working for over two hundred years, and I can count on one hand the number of students she’s liked.”

Jay smiled but didn’t speak. The headmaster hadn’t asked him a question so Jay remained silent. His father had taught him to never offer information voluntarily.

“Now have a seat, and we’ll go over your schedule.” Vreel pointed at the guest chairs positioned across from his desk.

Jay perched on the edge of one of the straight-backed wooden chairs, his nerves swirling around his stomach like a tornado. He could do this. Surely the academics couldn’t be any more intense than the gruelling studies his tutors had put him through. Some of his tutors had been relentless in their goal to make Jay the most powerful wizard of all time.

Vreel shifted some papers around on his desk until he pulled out a file with a victorious shout. “Found it.”

Jay waited impatiently while Vreel reviewed his file. The number of thoughtful sounds the headmaster made had Jay reconsidering his first urge to flee the academy and go back to the safety of his family home. After a long pause, Vreel spoke.

“I see that you’ve been privately trained your whole life so we don’t have any of your talent scores available. You’ll have to meet with the testers to see where you have your greatest strengths. I’m sure you won’t have any problems with them—it appears you’ve had an excellent education. It looks like my secretary is one step ahead of me as usual and has scheduled your talent exams tomorrow at noon. Today, you can get settled in your room and familiarize yourself with campus. Do you have any questions?”

Jay wondered why he’d even had to stop at the wizard’s office. Surely they could’ve mailed him his schedule. When he met Vreel’s eyes, the question died in his throat. The cool examination in the headmaster’s expression told Jay everything. The wizard had wanted to assess Jay’s threat potential.

“I didn’t come here to make any trouble, Sir.”

“Good. Then we should get along just fine.” Vreel nodded as if they’d reached some sort of agreement. He stood and shook Jay’s hand.

Jay had obviously been dismissed. He began to leave but stopped at the door.

“I just have one question, Sir.” Curiosity had always been his greatest weakness.

“Yes?” Vreel looked up from his papers, a scowl wrinkling his forehead.

“The lions out front, why do their eyes glow?”

“Saw that, did you?” The headmaster gave him a companionable smile. “Security system.”

“Ah.” Jay nodded. “Thanks.”

He left without asking any more questions. No doubt his fellow students would be more forthcoming.

Jay accepted the folder the secretary held out and gave the gnome a respectful nod. He received another sharp-toothed smile in return. Gnomes might appear civilised, but Jay knew his history well enough to understand how much damage they could cause with those razor-sharp teeth.

Hiding his shudder, he left the building. Stopping at the foot of the steps, he looked down at the map the secretary had provided. Maps had always been a challenge for him. Hopefully, he’d figure out where he needed to be before tomorrow at noon.

Order your copy here

About the Author

Amber Kell is one of those quiet people they always tell you to watch out for. She lives in Dallas with her husband, two sons, two cats and one extremely stupid dog.

Email: amberkellwrites@gmail.com

Amber loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at www.totallybound.com.

Also by Amber Kell

Hellbourne

Back to Hell

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Switching Payne

Supernatural Mates: From Pack to Pride

Supernatural Mates: A Prideful Mate

Supernatural Mates: A Prideless Man

Supernatural Mates: Nothing To Do With Pride

Supernatural Mates: Talan’s Treasure

Supernatural Mates: More Than Pride

Supernatural Mates: Protecting His Pride

Cowboy Lovin’: Tyler’s Cowboy

Cowboy Lovin’: Robert’s Rancher

Dangerous Lovers: Catching Mr Right

Dangerous Lovers: Accounting for Luke

Yearning Love: Taking Care of Charlie

Yearning Love: Protecting Francis

Planetary Submissives: Chalice

Planetary Submissives: Orlin’s Fall

Planetary Submissives: Zall’s Captain

Magical Men: Keeping Dallas

The Under Wolves: A Gamma’s Choice

Mercenary Love: Tempting Sin

Mercenary Love: Testing Arthur

Mercenary Love: Teasing Jonathan

The Thresl Chronicles: Soldier Mine

The Thresl Chronicles: Prince Claimed

The Thresl Chronicles: Politician Won

The Thresl Chronicles: Bonded Broken

Hidden Magic: William’s House

Hidden Magic: Modelling Death

Hidden Magic: Magically His

A Wizard’s Touch: Jaynell’s Wolf

Heart Attack: My Subby Valentine

Scared Stiff: Protecting His Soul

Unconventional at Best: Convention Confusion

Unconventional in Atlanta: Blown Away

With RJ Scott

End Street Detective Agency: The Case of the Cupid Curse

End Street Detective Agency: The Case of the Wicked Wolf

End Street Detective Agency: The Case of the Dragon’s Dilemma

Totally Bound Publishing