It was Sylvie who interrupted the flow of commands issuing forth. "Where are the others?"

"On their way." Kyele answered her but his gaze landed on Joni again.

Nerves tickled, and Joni busied herself with putting her knives back into the thin straps on her thighs she used as a sheath. The burning heat of Kyele's stare stayed on her the entire time. When she glanced back up, she wished she hadn't.

He didn't look pleased. Far from it. Her lips parted to say something but Kyele turned his back on her. He pressed his finger to the black disc in his ear and bowed his head, staring at the floor. "Jaron, this is Kyele."

A pause. Joni didn't pretend not to listen and a quick look showed the other women doing the same.

"Yes." Kyele glanced back. "They are good."

He listened and after a grunt she couldn't decipher, ended his call. His green eyes met hers briefly then turned to Faye. Joni bit her bottom lip sensing undercurrents but unable to put her finger on it.

"The teams will arrive shortly."

Lissi winced. "Team Three as well?"

"Yes."

That couldn't be good. If Joni remembered correctly Team Three wasn't due back for days. She leaned back against the wall, knowing there was nothing more to say. She kept her attention on Kyele, who crossed his arms over his chest and stood sentry. When the other members of Team Two returned from their check outside, his gaze shifted to them.

Creed nodded. "Clear."

Joni absorbed the expression on the men's faces now that her fear had dialed back. Creed, Savi, Stefin and Markus appeared one step from losing it.

Lissi cleared her throat. "I am glad you returned so quickly, Kyele."

His dark brow lifted, but his expression remained unchanged.

"We did good though, right?"

Sylvie's chirpy voice caused Joni to wince. She waited for Kyele to snap something rude except he gave her friend a simple nod.

The next thirty minutes dragged by and Kyele along with the Team Two members didn't let them move from the small alcove near the rear door. Any attempts to leave were met with dark glares.

"How much longer before they get back?" Faye asked from her corner where she'd taken up residence.

"We are here now," a low voice snarled.

Torkel stormed in, bee-lining for Faye and burying his face in her hair when he reached her. One hand cupped the back of her head as he held her to him and the other rested on her flat belly. The other men of Team One and Team Three came barreling in next. It was like a stampede with the large men forcing there way through the single doorway. Arak shoved everyone to the side in his efforts to grab Sylvie from beside Joni.

"Don't do that ever again," Arak growled.

Joni almost didn't understand his guttural words. He bared his fangs as he glared at his mate. Sylvie showed true bravery by curling into Arak's arms. He might only be half-cat shifter but no way could you miss his animal side.

Torkel glanced up from hugging Faye, though from the wince on her face he didn't loosen his arms. "What happened? The outer perimeter alarms were turned off."

Since he stared her way, Joni answered. "Men came out of nowhere and rushed us. At least four or five."

Her memory fuzzed on the number.

"How did they get in?" The question came out low and reasonable but Kyele's green eyes flickered with rage. He stepped toward Joni and she braced her feet to keep from moving back. His gaze narrowed, turned assessing.

"They didn't get in." Her words trembled. Joni inhaled and tried to calm her racing heart. She craved the security if only fleeting of being held in strong arms. Kyele's arms. "We were outside having a picnic then they dropped from the trees and rushed us."

Arak's rumbling growl broke through the silence following her words.

"What is a picnic?" Jaron asked, cool gaze lighting with a brief glimpse of humor.

Joni chewed her bottom lip, checking the expressions on her friends' faces. In hindsight turning off the alarms had been the first mistake. She tipped her chin up and accepted responsibility. They'd discover the truth anyway. "It's a meal eaten outside. On the ground. We do it for fun on Earth."

"You are not on Earth."

Kyele's biting tone was anything but calm. Joni flinched. A layer of anger danced through his usually bland words. Tension tightened her shoulders until they hunched about her ears. She attempted a brave front in the face of the stares turned in her direction but the moment she met those orbs blasting green fury, she jerked her gaze away.

The odd two-step between Kyele and her couldn't be defined. Sylvie said it best once: they both wanted one another but refused to act. Joni kept him back with one imaginary hand while mentally drowning from the desire she didn't want to acknowledge.

And Kyele respected those boundaries for whatever private reasons he had. Sure he stared, smoldering her with his dark and sexy looks. Looks that made promises he didn't move on. Thank goodness for that. Joni wasn't sure how she'd react if he pressed the growing need connecting them.

She risked another glance at him and swallowed past the thickness in her throat. But never in all their dealings had Kyele ever been truly angry toward her as he was now.

"No, I'm not on Earth any more, am I?" Joni's mouth twisted up. She battled back her grief. "Not exactly by choice how I ended up here though. Right, hot shot?"

"Enough," Torkel said. He leaned away from Faye, reluctance in his step as he put his Chosen back to confront them. "We need to get the females settled. Did the intruders escape?"

"They are dead," Kyele said through clenched teeth. He crossed the hall and carefully moved to the side so as not to brush against Joni as he shoved the door to the back open. "Creed counted six on the premises."

Torkel pointed to the blond brothers Geile and Gregir. "Follow him and find out what happened here."

"Markus has the listening trackers we discovered out front," Kyele tossed over his shoulder, not bothering to wait for the men to accompany him.

Joni let out a soft sigh once the potency of his presence dimmed with his exit.

The men hugged the special women in their lives and Joni stood aside. Alone. Trust came so hard these days, but she pushed for it. If for no other reason than she deserved to get past her abduction and anything less meant the Marenians won. Those bastards wouldn't take anything else from her. And yet there was no one to hold her in this moment.

Rydak stepped away from Lissi and his children. He grasped Joni's fingers lightly in his gloved hands. The gray of his eyes darkened with thunderous intent, but his voice was kind as he spoke. "Lissi told me what you did. She and our children are all the blood family I have left. I can not repay you for that."

Uncomfortable with the attention, Joni tried to brush it off. "It's not a big deal."

His lips tightened and not even that annoyed expression could detract from his gorgeous features. Blond hair pulled back in a sleek tail, smooth golden brows above gray eyes held her riveted to the spot. He was a serious contender for most beautiful man in the world. "It is a very big deal as you say to me."

He squeezed her fingers once, then let go and nodded. "Anything you need, Joni."

"Um...yes, well I did what anyone else would have done." It never crossed her mind not to fight when the attackers burst from the trees and charged forward.

Lissi came over and slid an arm around her Chosen's waist. Joni couldn't miss how his weight shifted naturally to embrace her. Almost an absent gesture he was long used to making.

"You saved my life, Joni. Our children too." She peeked up at Rydak. "Maybe I should start training in combat."

Rydak whirled her around in his arms, one hand gripping the back of her head, burying his fingers in the tousled blonde waves as he pressed his forehead to hers. "I wish I could tell if you were joking with me."

"Maybe." Lissi's retort contained a sassiness Joni totally approved. Rydak's tortured groan dragged a smile from her as well.

Chapter 10.

"What's gotten into you?" Geile asked Kyele as he hefted a body and threw it to the growing pile they'd started.

Kyele paused after checking the pockets of the fourth man. They'd removed the masks of each one, but their faces offered no clue to their identities. Random mercenaries. "Why would you think something is wrong with me?"

"Because you were short with Joni and as scary as you are to the rest of us, it hasn't been missed that you watch that female as if you want to make a meal of her."

"You're wrong." The lie slipped easily off Kyele's tongue as he met Gregir's look without blinking.

Geile snorted, adding the last body. Six men, all in black. A syringe depresser with an attached vial rolled onto the grass. Frowning, Kyele leaned forward and picked it up. Empty. Like the trackers, none of it made sense. He slipped it into his pockets.

"Keep telling yourself that," Gregir said as he stretched his arms over head and arched his back.

Kyele stood and brushed his palms against his pants. At least they no longer shook. Control alone had kept him from reaching for Joni upon his arrival as if she belonged to him. Seeing her safe had almost driven him to his knees. Then anger replaced the relief and he wanted to yell at her for putting herself in harm's way. But she'd been afraid of him. He'd caught the minute flash of it in her eyes before it faded. The sight gave him pause enough to hold back on the crushing need to touch her.

Everything in her had called to him as she stood shoulders back, chin up and wearing a green dress that left little to the imagination. The skimpy material clung to her in all the right places, a jagged tear on one side revealing a reddening blemish on the golden skin at her waist. Bits of grass and dirt crusted on her knees, her strappy sandals damaged. She'd looked like a fierce worn soldier.

Mine.

Kyele flinched away from the claim. He'd wanted to run his hands over her body, touch every inch in gratitude at finding her whole and unhurt. But he couldn't do that. He didn't have the right to touch her. Instead he'd had to throttle back the level of his emotions, catching the dart of need in her amber gold eyes. The small spark compelled even as he fought his ever growing desire.

The brothers were off the mark though. Nothing came close to describing what he'd felt facing Joni as she explained she'd deliberately turned off the perimeter alarms. For a picnic. His nostrils flared despite not fully comprehending the Earth custom. When Jaron had called, he'd felt powerless. Weak. If the females hadn't fought back they would have been taken. He would have been too late.

For the first time since becoming a Jutak warrior, Kyele thought he'd failed a mission. He'd given himself one assignment to take precedence over all else. Joni was never to be hurt. Not on his watch.

"Torkel wants us all in the meeting room." Jaron leaned out the doorway, his eyes on the bodies. "The Commander's sending a disposal team for pick up. Any clues?"

If only. Kyele gripped the back of his neck, feeling the knotted muscles. "No. Nothing although the one is possibly a Dorlan. An exam should confirm."

None of them spoke at they traversed back through the building. Kyele noted the empty alcove and his heart clenched. He rubbed at his chest as they took the elevator to the second floor.

Jaron leaned against the back wall, gaze on him and legs crossed at the ankle. "You good?"

He dropped his hand to his side and fondled the knife in his thigh sheath. His friends were far too observant. "Why wouldn't I be?"

The Team One Leader's smug grin tempted Kyele to punch him, but the telling reaction would be exactly what Jaron wished for. Kyele learned long ago not to give in to his natural impulses.

Hoping to send Jaron's mind in another direction, Kyele handed over the syringe he'd discovered. "Give this to Dr. Maku when you get the chance."

Jaron pocketed it while smirking. The doors chimed and Kyele bumped his shoulder as they exited the elevator. He ignored Jaron's snickers and headed for the meeting room where the others waited. Jaron broke off, going in the opposite direction toward the medical center to see Maku.

Geile and Gregir sat to the left of Kyele, while the other members of their Unit claimed the seats around the table with Torkel at the front and Rydak by the door. Everyone was here except Jaron and V'hor.

"Any ideas who would be behind this?" Torkel asked.

A round of shaking heads.

"Is there any way this is because the Marenians want Sylvie and Joni back?" A husky growl accompanied Arak's question as his displayed claws tapped the arms of his seat in agitation.

Kyele's fingers clenched on the edge of the table at the possibility. Torkel shoved his hands through his dark hair, disturbing the neat waves. "We are unsure. Joni reported that one of the males said he only needed one Chosen alive."

Rydak spoke from his position, shoulder propped on the wall. "They came wanting the Chosen of a Jutak. This was an attack aimed at our Unit specifically."

Kyele silently agreed, except Joni wasn't a Chosen. She didn't belong to any of them. His grip tightened until his knuckles turned white.

Torkel nodded. "Joni volunteered to let them take her to save the females and children."

Kyele's chair slammed to the floor as he pushed to his feet. Rage like never before tore through him and his lungs labored as he held back his shout of denial. All eyes landed on him but only the members of Team Three rose to their feet.

The already thick tension in the room inched up a notch. Did they think to hold him back? He allowed his lip to curl in warning. Bane took a step in his direction but Arak's low warning growl stopped the Ceraton in his tracks. White threads bled through Bane's black eyes but he backed off.

Torkel's gaze stayed unconcerned as he continued. "It is in our favor they were not successful in their attempt." His brown eyes darkened. "We owe Joni a debt we'll never be able to repay. Because of the training she demanded and quick thinking, she fended off the attack and gave Sylvie the courage to stand by her side and help."

Kyele's blood boiled, but he couldn't pinpoint why this information disturbed him to the point of wanting to fight. He resumed his seat and whipped out his knife, playing the blade through his fingers to calm down.

"What do we have on the listening trackers?" Rydak asked. His tone remained smooth and even but his gray eyes clouded like an incoming thunderstorm.

"Black market purchase. Untraceable." Jaron entered on that pronouncement. Annoyance pinched his brow as he claimed a vacant seat and slouched. "There was also an empty vial Kyele retrieved from one of the intruders. I gave it to Dr. Maku to run test on what it might have contained."

This time they all stared in confusion.

"Perhaps a sedative," Arak volunteered. "To make the abduction easier?"

It made sense. They could get off world easier with an unconscious female and less questions in such a circumstance.

"I don't like it," Khane from Team Three stated from his position at the end of the table, ruffling a hand through his blond waves. The gold bands on his wrists caught the play of light.

Torkel let out a harsh sigh. "Until we know further the reason behind this attempt, I want one team to stay behind at all times."

Kyele's head jerked up. If the Commander needed them they had to respond.

Jaron's jaw dropped before he spoke up. "Torkel, the Jutak cou-"

"Fuck the Jutak council," Torkel roared. He pressed his fists to the table and leaned forward. Muscles bunched and amped as his Marenian heritage responded to his emotions. Torkel's gaze met each of theirs. "I will not leave my Chosen vulnerable again unless we know what's going on. That means never again will all three teams in the Unit be away at the same time."

Rydak's eyes swirled with unchecked displeasure. Lissi and their children were everything to the Team Three leader. Take them out and no force on Enotia would be able to contain him. It didn't take long for Rydak to concur. Kyele wasn't surprised at his easy capitulation. "Agreed."

"Agreed." Jaron's voice coincided with Arak's.