Panic flooded Dex. He had not felt panic like this since…since Zoey had given birth.

What was she thinking by leaving the safety of the palace?

Had she left because she was angry at him for telling her that she would be returning home tomorrow?

He had only been thinking of her safety.

And had completely disregarded her feelings. Dealing with human female feelings, even after all this time, was still a struggle.

“We are nearly there,” Rohan said.

Dex nodded as they sped through the streets and alleys in one of Rohan’s personal shuttles. They had been waiting for his cousins to meet with them when he had received an emergency alert from Boris, asking him to collect them.

He reached for Zoey through their bond once more, coming up against the block she’d firmly erected. Stars!

When he caught up to her, he would…he would hold her safely in his arms and thank the stars that she was all right.

Then he would yell at her.

At least she had the good sense to take Boris with her. Although what the other male was thinking, taking two females into the city at night he did not know.

He had failed her. All she had wanted was some time with him. Just the two of them and he hadn’t even managed that. At the first bit of trouble, he had decided to send her away. And she had obviously taken it as a rejection rather than what it was meant to be.

Him keeping her safe because she meant everything to him.

“Why would she come to this area of the city?” he wondered. Rohan didn’t answer, but then he didn’t expect him to. His old friend had done more than enough after all the issues they had created. He had set up a meeting between Dex and his cousins, not that they had bothered to turn up. And he’d been surprisingly gracious about the earlier incident at the Royal Guardsmen headquarters. And now he was helping chase Zoey and her friend halfway across the city.

The shuttle came to a stop. Dex waited impatiently for Rohan to exit. The other man paused for a moment, seemingly searching the dark alley.

“Well?” Dex asked, unable to keep the impatience from his voice.

“Just checking for any problems,” Rohan replied.

Dex gave him a sharp look. Shouldn’t his guards do that? But then Rohan strode forward and Dex had to move quickly to catch up.

“This is the place.” Rohan gestured at a rough building. Dex eyed it with consternation.

Zoey was here?

He checked his communicator for the location Boris had sent him. “Boris said they were waiting in the backroom.”

“Probably best we go around the back then. If we step into this place then we will create a big disturbance.”

Dex hurriedly nodded, uncertain why Rohan was moving so slowly, but perhaps it just seemed that way to him.

He needed to see Zoey. Now.

As they moved into the back alleyway, a loud groan made Rohan freeze. His guards stepped up next to him. Dex gestured to his warriors to follow him as he moved towards where the groans were coming from. He froze as he spotted Zillion sprawled behind a large dumpster.

“Zillion? What the stars are you doing here?” he demanded as Racar knelt next to the other warrior, checking him over.

“Emperor?” Zillion asked with confusion, blinking up at him.

“Get some light on him,” Dex snapped. “Racar, check him over. Torex, check the rest of the alley. Jaxan, with me.”

“I will come with you also,” Rohan stated.

At the moment, Dex did not care what he did. That tightness in his stomach was growing and it became a full-fledged burn by the time he turned the backroom of the drinking establishment upside down.

No Zoey.

And no Nassir or Boris either.

Dex reached for Zoey again. This time there wasn’t just a block—there was nothing. He did not like to think what that meant.

“Could they have returned to the palace?” Rohan suggested.

“Not without telling me.” He returned to Zillion who was now resting back against the building.

“Zillion. What happened?” Dex asked without preamble. He didn’t have time for niceties. He needed to locate his mate.

Zillion winced. “They are gone?”

“Yes.” He resisted the urge to snap at the other male while Racar tended his wound.

“They must have stunned me and left me behind,” he said. “I suppose they thought I would bleed to death before I was found.”

“Who?”

“I do not know,” Zillion said.

Dex held onto his patience by the merest thread but Zillion must have sensed how close to the edge he was, because he spoke hurriedly. “The one in charge was short, thin. The female called him Tazan. There were others as well, but their faces were in shadow. They were large. They seemed to be there for Nassir. They said something about returning her to her uncle.”

Dex stilled. “Why did they take Zoey and Boris?”

Zillion winced. “The Empress was not going to let them take her. I do not know why, but she seems to feel some loyalty to that woman. Boris should have quieted her.”

Dex knew why. Because Zoey considered Nassir a friend, and she was extremely loyal to her friends. It was one of the qualities he loved most about her. And while it occasionally got her into trouble he would have her act no other way.

And Boris would never silence Zoey. Dex knew Zoey didn’t see Boris as her guard. He was her friend. And it went both ways.

“Boris jumped in front of the females and was stunned. Then this male, Tazan, stunned me.”

“Boris cares about Nassir,” Jaxan said quietly.

Dex looked at him in surprise. He did?

“He is very protective of her,” Racar added. “He was furious with me when he thought I was scaring her.”

Dex nodded then looked at Zillion. “How were you injured?”

“I was fighting a Teagan in the drinking establishment after the fighting erupted. I would have won had Boris not snatched me away.”

“There was a fight?”

Zillion hissed as Racar pressed on his leg. “Yes. It broke out when this purple creature dared to touch the Empress.”

Dex let out a deep breath, trying to control the rage burning inside him. Losing his temper would help no one, least of all Zoey.

“Do you know why she was there?” He fully expected to hear how she was upset with him. How he had disappointed her.

“I do not. It was only coincidence that I was passing by and saw them enter this establishment.”

No answers there then. Why had he not paid more attention to Nassir, questioned her further? He had made the mistake of thinking her harmless because she was female.

“We must find out who Nassir is.”

“Why would someone wish to take her?” Rohan queried.

“Last time we met her she was on the run from the bounty hunter, Tazan. Her uncle hired him.”

“The bounty hunter called her princess,” Zillion said with a groan. “Perhaps that will help.”

“Racar, take him back to the palace, get him to a regen chamber and then all return to our ship. We will be leaving soon. Torex, go with them.”

Torex nodded and picked Zillion up, placing him over his shoulder. “What have you been eating? You weigh more than an ellie beast.”

“Boris had no issue with carrying me. Have you perhaps grown weaker in your old age?” Zillion griped back.

Dex tuned them out, turning to Rohan.

“How will you find out who Nassir is?”

“Easy. I will check the bounty hunter sites for wanted lists. She must be on there somewhere.”