Casey's Warriors (Bondmates) by Ann Mayburn Read Free Book Online Page A

chuckled and whispered. “This is all wonderful, but we’ve been informed by our best scientists that the wormhole will be open for one Kadothian cycle, at most. That is not enough time to follow the sacred courting rights, especially if the brides are resistant to our ways.”
    Gripping her hands into fists, Lady Yanush stood fairly shook with anger. “We must at least try!”
    “Try to do what? Break our sacred oath, our covenant with the planets of our galaxy? How dare you even to suggest it.”
    “How dare you-”
    A harsh male voice rang out from the crowd. “My Ladies, if I may?”
    The audience turned as one to look at Commander Trenzent as he stood outside the circle of the High Congress. While most men would have never dared to interrupt the High Congress, Commander Trenzent had both the political clout and the experience to back him up. Dressed in the form-fitting black armor of the Warrior class, he exuded danger even standing still. Unlike most Kadothian males, Commander Trenzent kept his silver-streaked black hair short, making his already scarred face even more foreboding. Lorn had fought beside him many times and considered the man a good friend and a deadly foe.
    He really hoped his mother didn’t do anything to piss him off.
    “Proceed,” Lady Elsin said with a sour twist to her lips.
    Commander Trenzent made his way to stand next to the Scouts, the lights gleaming over the metallic prostheses, the result of his capture and subsequent torture by the Hive. While he could have undergone surgery to make cyborg elements blend seamlessly with his skin, he chose instead to keep the damage as a visible reminder of the very real threat the Hive posed against all living creatures. Many of the people on Kadothia who moved here from different home planets that never experienced the Hive tended to dismiss them as a threat used by the High Congress to keep itself in power. But there was no denying the prosthetic left arm and the metallic glint of the portion of his left lower jaw that had been crushed beyond repair. The fact that he remained sane and survived the torture he’d been put through long enough to be rescued made him a living legend among the Kadothian Warriors—someone not even the High Congress could ignore.
    He was a big man, imposing, and when he faced off against the High Congress it was without an ounce of fear.
    “I have a proposal for the High Congress regarding the females of Earth,” he said with absolutely no expression showing on his scarred face, and determination radiating from his soul.
    “And when did you have time to formulate a proposal, Commander Trenzent?” Lady Yanush asked in a dry voice. “As far as I was aware all information about Earth is strictly classified.”
    “I’ve learned to think on my feet,” he answered, a thread of amusement mingling with the determination.
    Lorn knew for a fact Commander Trenzent had spies pretty much everywhere. The Commander trusted no one and liked to keep himself aware of the myriad political and personal conflicts within the Kadothian Empire. It was, however, surprising to see him speak so boldly about such classified information, even in a roundabout way. Then again, Commander Trenzent was two hundred cycles older than Lorn and not fully bonded as well. No matter how strong a man was, the madness was inevitable, and he wondered if the Commander would try to find a Matriarch among the Earth women. Lorn couldn’t imagine what kind of bride would be the general’s soul mate. A rather hideous image of a beast of a female with the psychic signature of an angry venan bull came to mind.
    Lorn’s sire barely hid a smirk. “What is it that you propose, Commander?”
    The mockery left the Commander’s face as he grew serious. “We all know the sacred courting rights were mandated to help our Matriarchs become accustomed to their mates, but the rights were made for the women of our galaxy who were aware of both their own psychic powers