Sevan went to question this but stopped when Lorelei put her hands in the air and closed her eyes. Nina and Christian stiffened. Her breathing grew shallow as her lip began to tremble. She faced him fast. "No, he knows that offworlders are here. He fears this group for some reason," she said, staring at Sevan with wide eyes seeming to search for something. Her eyes flickered closed briefly and she gasped. "He believes that many mates for our people reside upon the vessel. He's not waiting for suns set to attack. He's doing it now."

A loud howling noise sounded all around them. Sevan watched as the women grabbed their sides, each one touching weapons that were slightly different from his own. He grabbed his sidearm, uneasy about how close the animal sounded. "What was that?"

Lorelei and Nina exchanged weary glances and Christian moved in closer. "Nina, do a full security sweep of the perimeter and I'll double check that the compound computer system is still in operation. I don't want a repeat of last time."

Nina looked towards the corridor junction and put her hand out. A small panel slid back, revealing controls. "All guards on full alert. This is not a drill. I repeat. This is not a drill."

Christian nodded before turning to leave.

"Christian, wait," Lorelei said, taking a step closer to him. Sevan wanted to sweep her up in his arms and take her as far away from the blond Adonis as he could but he held back. He didn't expect to compete with a man who looked to be cast from stone. Sure, he was fit. In fact, he was rather bulky in the way of muscles too, but nowhere near Christian's size. "I'll check the computers. You know who you need to protect. Jacquelyn needs you near. I'll be fine and you know I can do it. Or at least get them all to spit blue sparks at me." She laughed softly and rubbed her cheek where the mark had been.

Nina stopped dead in her tracks, and spun around to face Lorelei. "Do you think that's wise, Lorelei?" There was an edge to her voice that told Sevan she knew d.a.m.n well that it wasn't wise, but wasn't about to call her sister out on it in front of the group.

Red lights flashed in the hallway and an alarm went off. Nina shook her head. "We have a security breech."

"Capitain Janelle, this is Until Leader Essen. I have three injured and one missing. We're in the fourteenth sector along back climate control boosters. We don't have a visual but they're near us," a voice said over the compound sound system.

"UL Essen, I'm on my way." Nina glanced at Christian and then Lorelei. "If they've made it that far they could make it to the education facility."

Lorelei gasped. "The children are still in session."

Nina nodded. "Christian and I will head to section fourteen. Lorelei, you'll need to check on the computer system.

We'll cover the children." She lifted her hand toward the open panel. It was then that Sevan noticed the slight buzz in the air. "Jacquelyn, I know you're listening. Lock down your room and allow no one to enter until you are told otherwise."

Christian pushed past Nina and grabbed Lorelei's arm. "Promise that you'll be careful. You know what he's after and what he will do to get to you."

Sevan saw the array of emotions move over Lorelei's face and knew that whatever came out of her mouth would be a lie. He felt so connected with her and he didn't even know her. It was unnerving to say the least. "I promise. Be careful."

The large man ran off in the other direction and Sevan noticed that Nina had left as well. He looked at his brother and found him staring off in the direction Nina had gone. "Stay here and supervise the repairs and our men."

"What are you going to do?" Jordan asked.

Sevan met Lorelei's gaze and smiled. "I'm planning on going with her to check the compound's computer systems and see to the children's safety."

"Right. Then I'm going with Nina and Christian," Jordan replied.

Chapter Five

Lorelei ran down the corridor, followed closely by Sevan. Why she'd let the outsider follow her was still unclear. She should have ordered them off the planet, or never allowed them to dock in the first place. Her instincts had been right.

This was no place for them. It wasn't a place for anyone.

"How much farther?" Sevan yelled over the sound of the alarm.

She slowed her pace and let him catch up to her. Reaching out, she touched his arm lightly. The compulsion to just feel his skin had been on her since she'd first laid eyes on him. Part of her still couldn't believe that the man she'd dreamt of for the last six months was real, the other part wanted to test just how real he truly was.

Sevan moved in closer to her, dwarfing her frame. At five foot six, she wasn't short but he seemed to tower over her. His mouth twitched and it took everything in her not to touch his full lips. She wasn't used to men like him, men who ran around in full officer fatigues and who didn't have hair as long as hers. Christian hardly ever wore a s.h.i.+rt, more often than not opting only for a vest for warmth. Her people tried to wear the least amount of clothes, leaving their protective markings free to do what they were created to do-heal, guard, and draw power from the land.

Sevan looked down at her hand on his arm and ran his finger, lightly over the first of her faint markings. "Did it hurt?" He asked, taking yet another step closer to her. "Getting these tattoos ... did it hurt?"

She knew what tattoos were. She'd studied enough about the human culture and Earth to understand, and her markings weren't tattoos. "They aren't what you think they are."

"You're beautiful ... errr ... I mean they're beautiful."

Smiling, Lorelei studied Sevan closely, not wanting to feel anything for him but failing miserably. Too many nights he'd come in the form of dreams and had taken her to levels of ecstasy that she couldn't just turn a blind eye.

"Thank you. We're all born with them. Each person's means something else. Some declare their owner to be a warrior.

Others mean scholar, healer, leader and so on. The list is endless. Many of the markings are forms of protection or good wishes. They come from the Shamenian side of my ancestry."

"What do yours mean?" Sevan asked, moving closer to her.

"A number of things. These," she pointed at her upper arm, "are for my status. These announce that I am supposedly wise although the burn on my cheek would likely state otherwise. The ones on my torso are blessings for fertility and pleasure."

Sevan's breath caught. "So, the marks are some form of population control, too?"

Lorelei couldn't help but smile. "Trust an outsider to simplify it for us."

"So, I'm right?"

Shrugging, Lorelei lifted her tiny vest a bit, revealing even more of her faint markings. "In a way. My markings in particular tell that the G.o.ds and spirits of the land will offer the blessing of children when the pairing is with my mate.

In short, if they up and decide I found Mr. Right there is no means of population control that will prevent me from conceiving a child."

He took a step back as though she were contagious. "Oh."

"Relax. I'm not any different than a full blooded human female. I can't get pregnant by breathing the same air as you. Coupling is no different for my people than yours. Though we know fairly quickly when we are with child. The marks either disappear or change significantly."

Something moved over Sevan's face. His eyes narrowed. "Would anything else make them disappear?"

"I honestly don't know. It changes with each individual. I've seen some people's fade when they meet their significant other and then completely disappear when they conceive a child. They do return in some fas.h.i.+on, be it a tiny mark on a thigh to a full blown return." Lorelei took a moment to laugh softly at Sevan's facial expression. He appeared so caught up in their discussion that she worried his forehead would remain permanently crinkled. "Don't quote me on any of this. Like I said, everyone is different. Take me for instance. Six months ago my markings were several shades darker. One morning I woke up to find them faded to what you see before you now."

"Six months ago?" Sevan asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"I understand that to you they may appear a bit off-putting but to our people they're not only important but a thing of beauty. In my eyes, it's odd to not see the markings on you. Here, when a man bears no markings declaring him a Shamenian he is considered the enemy until he proves otherwise."

"Lorelei, they are anything but off-putting. They're captivating." His warm thumb ran over the circular sign for power near her wrist and she felt her magic rise up. Knowing that not all outsiders possessed the same gifts as her people, she tried to pull her arm away, but it was too late. The power within her surged forth.

Images from the reoccurring dreams she had poured forth along with pictures of things that were altogether new.

Lorelei's body jerked with each vivid picture of Sevan thrusting himself into her, his hand cupping the back of her neck as she rode him. Her p.u.s.s.y quaked with need and dampened as her mind shot to images of him nibbling on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, taking each nipple in his mouth and spending equal time teasing them. Her knees went out from under her as yet another image hit her, this one of him buried deep within her, releasing his seed.

Strong arms wrapped around her, keeping her from hitting the floor. She blinked, the visions finally fading away and found herself staring into intense green eyes.

Sevan looked down at her. "What...?"

Lorelei tried to regain her footing, but her inner thighs still twitched as though from the o.r.g.a.s.m the vision brought on. "I'm sorry. I think I might be coming down with something."

"Something that involved us f.u.c.king?" Sevan shook his head as though he were trying to absorb all that was going on. "The dreams were real weren't they? You had them too. Didn't you?"

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. The thought of him sharing one of her visions and her dreams was absurd. Not even Christian could do that and he was the greatest Shaman they'd ever had.

Sevan brought his mouth to her neck and let his hot breath move over her skin as he spoke. "Is that really what it feels like to be inside you? I gotta tell you, baby, you are all that I think about. Tell me that I'm not the only one having the dreams."

Lorelei averted her gaze. "You're not."

The feel of his warm lips on her neck made her sigh as her b.r.e.a.s.t.s heaved upwards. "What's happening to me? Is it your doing? Did you invade my head so I'd come here and help you?"

"No," Lorelei said fast, hurt that Sevan would suggest such a thing. She tried to pull away but he held tight to her. "Let go. None of this was my doing. I would never lure anyone into this situation. Especially not someone that I....".

"That you let sample every inch of your body? That you let f.u.c.k you so many ways that I lost count? Is that it, Lorelei?"

"Stop it." She pushed lightly on him, not wanting to harm him in any way but hating his accusations. Knowing it was for the best, Lorelei focused on putting a wall between them, hardening herself to him so she could send Sevan on his way and not die of a broken heart. Finding out he was real only to have to send him away already ripped at her gut. Letting him love her in the flesh would kill her. "Get away from me. They were just dreams. They meant nothing.

I need to see to it my people are safe. Go back to your own kind, fix your s.h.i.+p and leave."

"Don't," he whispered, brus.h.i.+ng his lips over her neck. "I'm not sure what to think. My s.h.i.+p, which has pa.s.sed every inspection with flying colors, suddenly has more problems than I can count when we're pa.s.sing by your planet.

I radio for a.s.sistance only to find the woman who has invaded my dreams staring back at me. Now, I'm told that I might be used by some madman to hurt her. This is too much for any one person to absorb. Don't pull away from me just because I questioned it aloud. I need to understand what's going on."

Lorelei shook her head slightly, still needing to put distance between them. "How can I give you answers to things I don't even understand? All I know is that he believes your vessel contains our mates or potential mates." She glanced towards the gray wall not wanting to reveal it all to him but finding it hard to leave important pieces of information out. "Stegian believes you are my mate. He made sure to leak that to me when he was scanning the facility to pinpoint our location. That means he will either attack you to draw me out or use you to attack me."

Sevan snorted. "I won't hurt you." He didn't go into detail on the subject of her being his mate and that scared her. Did he not mean his vows? Did he want to take his claim back? He was human, so he could. And why would the fates give her a human mate? Why not a supernatural to match her strength and speed?

Lorelei closed her eyes and thought hard about all of the human customs, words and phrases she'd been taught of as a child. "Umm, he thinks you're my soul mate. I can't change that and trust me, Sevan. If he decides to use you to hurt me there will be nothing you can do to stop him."

"What? Some insane guy believes there is this one perfect person for everyone and that I'm yours?" Disbelief laced his voice, causing Lorelei's heart to feel heavy. "That's it. I'm heading back to my s.h.i.+p. This is a little too convenient for my taste. You show up out of the blue. Invade my dreams. Let me claim you and make me fall in love with you.

Whatever game you're playing ends here, baby."

He loves me? He really does?

Lorelei took a moment to collect herself knowing she had to send Sevan away for his own good. "Wonderful, go.

I'm almost sorry that you aren't here to loot us. At least then I'd have started out with low expectations."

"I'm out of here," he said, turning to head in the other direction.

Something howled loudly, signifying just how close it truly was to them. The compound walls were thick. That meant it was just outside of it. The second Sevan stopped dead in his tracks, Lorelei's body tensed. "Go. You're sick of my game and I'm sick of you. I'm glad the nightmares of you have ended." It was harsh and a lie but she needed him to go for his own safety.

Sevan glanced back over his shoulder at her, his eyes betraying his words. He was worried and her powers allowed her to sense that his concern was for her. As heartwarming as that was, he couldn't be allowed to stay.

Aiming her weapon directly at him, Lorelei drew in a deep breath as she stared down the barrel. "Captain, you are to report back to your vessel immediately. I hereby revoke your status of honorable guest. You are no longer permitted to roam freely. Do as I say or...."

"Or what? You'll shoot me in the back?" he asked, his voice low, his eyes still locked on her. "Is that what you do to someone you've spent how many nights with? Is that what you do to a man you allowed to take you as his wife, even if it was only a dream? Is that how you return affection, Lorelei? The second we meet in the flesh you threaten to shoot me?"

Closing her eyes, Lorelei thought of all the nights they'd spent together. The memory of Sevan declaring his love for her, claiming her, had plagued her for two weeks straight. Every second of not being with him had chipped away at her heart. Now, as she held a weapon on him, shame filled her. She couldn't shoot him. Raising her weapon high, she let off the trigger and sighed. "Sevan."

"Was it all a lie, Lorelei?" His green eyes stayed locked on her. "I have to know."

"No," she said, shocked by her own admission.

A wolfish grin appeared on his face. It faded away quickly as another howl filled the air. Sevan moved to her quickly and pulled her behind him. "Stay close."

The thought of Sevan going up against an enemy such as the one waiting for them made her smile. "Excuse me, Captain, but I think it's you who had better stay close to me."

Lorelei didn't wait for his comeback. Putting the code in to open the exterior door, she shook her head. The door opened. Sevan tried to push in front of her, but she held her weapon out towards him and arched a brow. "Want to see if your charm works two times in a row? I should warn you that I have no problem setting my weapon to knock you out rather than watch you kill yourself by running head first into a situation you have not been briefed on."

He froze.

Smart man.

She handed the weapon to him b.u.t.t first and nodded. Shaking his head no, he touched his own sidearm. It was a cute thought, but unless he was packing ammunition with liquid silver nitrate in it, he might as well walk out unarmed. Her people had spent years synthesizing it for protective purposes since it had first arrived with the humans long ago. Lorelei thrust her weapon into his hand. He tried to hand it back to her. She growled. He smiled. Instantly, she caught the scent of a lion s.h.i.+fter as Sevan touched her arm lightly. It wasn't exuding a smell indicating dominance and danger it was more of a s.e.xual calling.

Confused, Lorelei's brow furrowed as she stared at Sevan. A slow lazy smile remained plastered to his handsome face. "Something the matter?"

Placing her finger to her lips to indicate the need for silence, Lorelei shook her head no and pulled her pant leg up.

Sevan gave her a suggestive look and glanced downward. When he caught sight of her backup weapon, he nodded his head and squeezed her arm gently. Tiny shockwaves of desire radiated from beneath his fingertips and Lorelei had to concentrate hard on listening to their surroundings. Something was close and if she didn't stop ogling the outsider, they'd be too dead to act on their mutual feelings.

Another howl sounded and Sevan attempted to push past her. Grabbing his arm, she pulled him back to her and nodded in the direction of the nearest line of black bark trees. The yellow leaves that draped down provided enough coverage to make it difficult to see very far beyond the first couple of rows. A shadowy figure moved around and Lorelei knew what it was. She could only guess how many of them had actually come to test the strength of their safeguards.

"There has been a breach in section twelve," Christian said over the intercom.

Sevan leaned down and moved in close to her. "Where's section twelve?"

Putting her mouth against his ear, she noticed how tiny flecks of white ran through his otherwise jet sandy blond. "You're standing in it."

Sensing the presence of something evil before she saw it, Lorelei grabbed her backup weapon from her ankle and spun around fast. She let off two shots. A large brown blur appeared out of nowhere and crashed down just outside of the doorway.

"It's a wolf!" Sevan shouted. He pulled on her shoulders as she headed towards the large creature. "It's the biggest d.a.m.n wolf I've ever seen. My G.o.ds, it's as big as me."

It was Lorelei's turn to give him a suggestive look and she did. His gaze met hers briefly, before she concentrated on the bulge in the front of his pants. Licking her lips, she brushed her hair out of her face and turned her attention back to the creature on the ground. The fact that it didn't s.h.i.+ft into human form told her that it was a hybrid-one of Stegian's new breeds of fighting 'machines'.

"Devi!" someone shouted.

Sevan spun around quickly with the weapon that Lorelei had equipped him with drawn. He centered it on the two men running towards Lorelei. Their eyes were wide as they caught a look at the scene before them.

"Are you hurt?" one asked, as they slowed their pace.