“Definitely not gamer nerds,” he breathed.
“Not at all,” Indra muttered next to him. “They look like they eat other Lathar for breakfast.”
And they did, with matching hard expressions on their faces as they came to a stop in front of the small group from K’Vass. One of them, the leader from the aura of command and danger that wreathed him, raked them all with an assessing gaze. His eyes were pale blue and sent a shiver up Jay’s spine.
He’d met many men in his time and faced the grim reaper more times than he could count… even thought he’d bought it right there on that D’Corr ship. But this man? He’d rather face that torture chamber all over again. Something about his eyes said he’d kill them all easier than he would crushing a bug under his armored foot.
“I am War Commander Risyn B’Kaar,” he announced, and if possible, his voice was even harder than his gaze. “Who commands here?”
Nyek made a small movement as if to call attention to himself. “I am Commander Nyek—”
It worked. He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before the tall B’Kaar drew an ugly-looking handgun and aimed it right between the former paladin’s eyes.
“Who commands here?” Risyn demanded.
“Hey! Asshole!” Indra made to launch herself at the B’Kaar leader, only to be stopped by Nyek’s upraised hand. She glared at the armored alien. “He didn’t say he was in command. He was just introducing himself. So quit being a dick already.”
“For draanth’s sake, female,” Nyek hissed, trying to shove her behind him. “Keep your mouth shut!”
Jay sucked a breath in. The potential for violence hung in the air like a delicate perfume. Sure, the Lathar revered women… until they didn’t, like the assholes who had taken Indra and Gracie intending to breed them. If the B’Kaar turned out to be like that, people were about to die. Him included.
Risyn’s gaze flicked to Indra and he tilted his head, a strange expression crossing his features.
“You have females…”
His gaze dropped to where Nyek had his hand out protectively. It was no secret what he was looking for. The dark marks around Nyek’s wrist proclaimed the status of his relationship with Indra for every Lathar to see.
“And mating marks.”
Nyek lifted his chin, no surrender in any line of his body. “We do. We have three human females under our protection, as charged by the emperor himself.”
The B’Kaar studied him a moment longer and then slid the gun away with a practiced gesture. “Very well.”
“Wait… what?” The warrior standing to the side of Risyn started, his complaint uttered in a voice that was more landslide rumble than anything. “Risyn, are you sure this is wise?”
The speaker was dark-haired, his eyes nearly black as he glared at the small group. Unlike most Lathar, he sported a full-face beard, his teeth a white flash as he snarled. “They are K’Vass…”
“I am well aware of that, Berr,” Risyn replied, his voice dripping with icy warning. “But it appears we have a new alliance with the K’Vass. Don’t we, Commander?”
Both B’Kaar turned to look at Nyek, who, to his credit, gave them his normal glare in return. “I can only speak for my group, rather than the clan as a whole, but yes… we have a temporary alliance.”
“Excellent!” Instantly Risyn was all smiles. Seeing the switch from ice-cold warrior to someone Jay might have a drink with in the bar was disconcerting. No, he admitted to himself, it was downright scary.
“See, Berr?” Risyn thumped an armored fist against the chest plate of what Jay assumed was his second in command. “Nothing to worry about. We’re all friends here. Now, Commander, please, introduce us to your comrades and these… delightful females.”
Keris caught her breath as the huge B’Kaar leader swept a glance over their small group. Would he see something about her new body? Some minor, insignificant detail she’d missed that the sharp-eyed warrior would pick up and instantly know what she was—an AI hiding in a human body. A fake. A fraud.
“Of course,” Nyek conceded with a small bow in deference to Risyn’s rank. “May I introduce my mate, Lady Indra of Earth.”
Risyn’s attention moved to the dark-haired human woman with something akin to fascination. His icy gaze studied her for a moment, and then he smiled and offered a bow.
“My lady, it is a pleasure to meet you. And a comfort to know one of your kind can call mating marks from the skin of one of our warriors.”
Indra inclined her head, at that moment the most regal Keris had ever seen her. “I would say it was a pleasure to meet you as well, but human women dislike it when our mates are threatened.” She smiled, her teeth bared in something between welcome and threat. “We tend to get… annoyed.”
Risyn’s gaze flicked between Nyek and Indra, as though assessing Indra’s unspoken threat. The tall paladin shrugged.
“Human females are unlike the ones our fathers tell stories of,” he said mildly. “Many of them are accomplished warriors in their own right. My lady is one of them.”
Keris’s estimation of the intense but stoic warrior went up at the praise of his mate and the pride in his voice as he spoke about her. She moved a little closer to Jay. Would he ever talk about her like that?
Her movement caught the B’Kaar’s attention and he looked at them. Nyek and Indra stepped aside as he walked toward them, a small frown between his elegantly arched brows.
“And you are?” he demanded, looking Jay over. “You are not Lathar. At least, you are no kind of Lathar I have ever seen.”
Jay started in surprise, but Keris could see where the confusion lay. Jay might have been shorter than most warriors, but he carried an equal amount of muscle mass, and it was more than that. Something about the way he moved, and his expression sometimes, was eerily like the Lathar themselves.
“I’m not,” he confirmed, an edge in his voice as hard as the look he favored the B’Kaar leader with. “Major Stephens, Frontier Forces, Allied Marine Corps.”
“Human?” Risyn looked surprised. “I have never seen a male of your kind before. I thought you to be one of the smaller Lathar adaptations.”
“I will take that as a compliment.” Jay inclined his head, sending relief rolling through Keris. She’d been worried he’d do something Risyn would view as a challenge. Suited as the B’Kaar was, Jay didn’t stand a chance against him.
“As you wish.” Risyn turned his attention to her. “Is there any reason your heart rate is so elevated, my lovely?”
She couldn’t speak. Her mouth opened but no sound emerged. Risyn frowned, tilting his head curiously.
“She’s scared,” Jay growled, pulling her half behind him. “Her heart is pounding because you’re fucking scaring her, asshole. We rescued her from some sicko Lathar who wanted to use her for breeding.”
Risyn’s expression tightened and he looked contrite as he backed off a step, sweeping a low bow before Keris.
“My lady, I do apologize. No B’Kaar would bring you to harm. On that, you have my word.”