Andie had never felt anything like it in her entire life. Hell, she hadn’t even felt anything like it in the past forty-eight hours, and that was really saying something.

In that tunnel, after the explosion, after Kragen and Prince Rhazian had taken out all of those other Leonids, when Kragen pinned her against the wall…

She would have given in. She would have submitted unconditionally in that moment. She had needed it, more than she’d needed her next breath.

It was raw, and hot, and elemental. The bond between them had been so strong that she’d felt what he felt, and it had nearly knocked her to the floor. The weight of that desire, of that drive—she’d become a mindless animal. She’d needed him, and she hadn’t cared about the consequences. She hadn’t cared about anything at all beyond finding relief in his cock.

And then Kragen had pulled away.

Andie still didn’t understand how. Now they were walking, quickly, through a secret emergency tunnel, escorted by the Royal Guard and the queen herself, to the royal chambers, where…something would happen. Andie would make her pitch to save Kragen and Rune, basically. And then…who knew what would happen next?

She tried to focus, but the sudden rupture between her and Kragen had left her feeling cold and injured. It had been like losing, briefly, a part of herself. And now the bond was still there, but duller, and she knew that he was somehow blocking it.

What she’d felt in the tunnel…did he feel that all the time? How did he live with it?

And if he’d claimed her, like that…well, she didn’t want him to claim her because they were drunk with the hunger. She’d never know if it was real. Maybe it was childish, but she wanted to know that Kragen had chosen her.

He’s not choosing you. He’s made that very clear.

But before Andie could give herself that particular pep talk for the millionth time, the Royal Guard ahead of them came to a sudden stop.

The other Leonids, including even the queen, gave her a wide berth, even in the small space of the tunnel. Kragen was next to her, as he always was. Protective. Hulking. Andie could feel waves of hunger and desire and just maleness radiating off of him, and it made her weak every time she took a breath.

“We have arrived,” the queen announced behind her. “The guard will clear the royal chambers, and we will proceed.”

Andie snuck a glance up at the Leonid queen. Her name was Vana, and she was freaking gorgeous. And ageless. And well over six feet tall. She was a lighter shade of purple than her son, Prince Rhazian, but with the same silver hair. And the queen’s eyes were a dazzling, brilliant green.

Andie had no real justification for feeling this way, but somehow, knowing that the Leonids were led by a queen—and this queen—made her feel better about the whole Leonid Dominance thing. So they weren’t entirely space cavemen, and they weren’t like the dominant men she’d known on Earth.

Remember he’s not claiming you…

She shook her head, and followed Kragen into the center of what turned out to be a huge, beautifully decorated room. The room itself was oval, with a domed ceiling, and was lit by actual floating lights that swarmed along the walls, shifting colors, undulating, coming together and breaking apart. It was beautiful. So beautiful that, for a moment, Andie was transfixed.

And then she felt Kragen near her.

She looked up at him, even though she was afraid, every time she did, that she’d fall back into that animal state. God. He was so handsome. Had he always been this handsome? Andie was always so transfixed by those hypnotic silver eyes, and the things he said, and the things he did, but…

He wasn’t too bad to look at, either. Strong jaw, hard defined cheekbones, heavy brow.

Just looking at him, even with the dulled bond, she felt so much better. Andie sighed, and stepped a little closer. His presence wasn’t just comforting; it was somehow strengthening her. Even through the wall he’d put up between them since the tunnel, she could feel him.

And she understood now. Now that she’d felt that, back in the tunnel. She understood why he wanted to protect her, all this time. Because if she could feel all that, what would she feel if they executed him?

She shuddered.

Kragen noticed. He looked down, his eyes scanning her for harm, for worry. He couldn’t turn it off entirely, either.

Andie looked straight ahead, at the throne that the queen was now occupying. There was another throne next to hers, and Andie got the sense it hadn’t been empty for that long. So there was a king, somewhere. That was good to know. She took note, and filed it away for possible use. Because she was about to have to sell the Queen of the Leonids on an impossible ask.

Pardon Kragen. Pardon Rune. Save them both.

And since Kragen didn’t want her, if Andie was lucky, they could find a way to painlessly sever the mating bond. And then…

Andie didn’t want to think about what was next. She thought about Gramzy instead. And Gramzy would tell her to put one foot in front of the other until it was time to kick ass.

So she did it.

Andie argued with a freaking queen.

At one point she even touched Kragen, just to prove beyond a doubt that they were mates, even if he hadn’t claimed her yet. She hated having to do it, knowing that Kragen would feel it so much more intensely than she did while he dulled the bond between them. But she found she had complete faith in his self-control. He was a true Dom, after all. And she had needed to prove it to the whole room.

No one else needed to know that he didn’t really want her. That he didn’t think she knew enough, or was enough, or freaking something.

It was like an out-of-body experience. Andie watched herself argue and work some freaking magic that her grandmother would have been damn proud of, and the whole time she was feeling the bond with Kragen, feeling the strength she got from it.

Feeling it as though at any minute, she might lose it forever.

And then the queen’s voice cut through to her like the sharpest, deadliest blade.

“But you have not prepared to be a Leonid mate,” the queen said, her eyebrow arched. “How can you possibly know whether this is what you want?”

And Andie got pissed off.

She didn’t totally remember what she said. But she remembered yelling.

And then suddenly Kragen was roaring.

* * *

The entire room went silent as Kragen erupted from his self-imposed waking slumber. He had been mostly silent this whole time, and Andie knew it was because he was fighting the hunger with all of his might. But now he exploded with silvery light, glowing with heat. With the hunger.

His eyes locked on Andie, and she shivered.

“Well, that is more like it,” the queen said dryly from her throne. “I think, Andromeda Knowles, you better finish what you were saying, and you better do it very, very quickly.”

Andie swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. Right. No pressure. For a moment, Andie froze. And then she remembered her grandmother.

Trust your heart.

“I know no one thinks I’m capable of understanding mating bonds and the risks and the consequences of being Kragen’s mate, or whatever,” Andie said, “but I now know more about it than any human female alive. I know Kragen sacrificed for me. I know a consummated bond would mean I’d feel his pain as well as his joy. And I know…none of you know. None of you know what I’ve felt, through that bond. I know. I know him. I understand. And…”

Andie swallowed, unable to say it. Because she wanted him. She wanted to submit to the Dom who’d made her come so hard she’d blacked out. She wanted to go on more adventures with the warrior who’d protected her. And she wanted to share her life with the soul she’d felt through that bond.

She wanted it all. And she wasn’t going to get it. So she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

But Kragen could.

“Leave us,” he shouted, his voice booming through out the oval room. “Now.”

His command was meant for everyone but Andie. But his eyes were fixed on her. He took a deep breath, his massive chest expanding, and while the Royal Guard scurried in her peripheral vision, he began to walk toward her.

Andie was rooted to the spot, unable to look away, unable to move. Only her heart moved, beating hard in her chest as the bond between them began to open.

Her eyes fluttered as the hunger flooded through her.

“Your Majesty, you cannot possible consider—”

Andie didn’t know where the objection came from until Kragen raised a casual hand and a hulking Leonid suddenly flew backwards into the curved wall behind him.

“Your impertinence will be dealt with later, Lieutenant,” the queen said from somewhere to Andie’s left. She found she couldn’t look at anything but Kragen.

Who was still walking toward her.

“I will require a report tomorrow, and we will deal with Runevok and the particulars,” the queen said, from farther away now. Everyone was leaving. They were really leaving, just because Kragen had ordered it.

“And Commander,” the queen went on, a smile in her voice, “feel free to use the royal claiming bench. It seems a fitting place for the first human mate to be claimed.”

Andie would have blinked, if she could. She couldn’t. Kragen’s eyes still held her fast and immobile as he crossed the room. Her brain was still sort of working though.

Claiming bench??

Right here? Right now?

The thought overwhelmed her, and she gushed between her legs, her body already screaming for Kragen’s touch. He stood just a few feet in front of her now, his eyes glowing down at her, illuminating the rough outlines of his features, the muscular planes of his neck, his chest, his shoulders. The raw power there was enough to take her breath away. The mating mark—her mating mark—seemed to swirl on his chest, glowing with that mother-of-pearl light she’d come to know so well.

But it was the intensity of his eyes that undid her. She still couldn’t look away. And the longer she looked into Kragen’s eyes, the more she could feel him. Even through the walls he’d put up to shield her from the worst of his hunger.

With a low growl, he dropped the walls and let the mating bond flare freely between them.

Andie gasped.

It was like having the shades ripped away from her eyes while she stood on the surface of the sun. She felt it, all at once, so strong it nearly brought her to her knees. The hunger clawed at her, setting trails of desire all over her body, making her ache. Her breasts felt full and heavy, her pussy swollen and aching. Someone snarled, and Andie realized it was her.

Kragen smiled only slightly, and outwardly, there was no change. But inwardly…

Andie felt the full force of his domination flow through the bond. It flooded her, overwhelmed her, obliterated her thoughts until all that was left was feeling.

And then, just as quickly, he pulled back. Andie was left gasping, staring at this Leonid who would be her mate. Who had just showed her what he endured, and who turned it on and off as easily as she might lift a single finger. She could see through the silvery glow of his eyes again to the warmth underneath.

This wasn’t just the hunger. This was Kragen.

The sound of a door closing echoed through out the oval chamber, and Andie knew they were suddenly alone. She still couldn’t look at anything but him. She still had so many unanswered questions. She still didn’t know…

Kragen interrupted her thoughts. He somehow seemed like both a caged bull, a force of nature that was barely contained, and like nothing in the universe could make him lose control. He inhaled deeply, his lip curling over his fangs as he looked down at her.

“I will hear it from you, Andromeda,” he growled.

Andie swallowed. She didn’t know what to do, what to say. Especially when she knew that at any moment, Kragen could release his control on the bond, and she would be swept away in the storm that he weathered for both of them.

Trust your heart.

“What I want hasn’t changed,” she said, finally. “I don’t want to be some sort of…slave.”

Close, Knowles. That wasn’t quite the truth, though, was it?

Kragen smiled slightly, and she couldn’t help but notice the tips of his fangs protruding over his bottom lip. Then he took another step forward, and she couldn’t notice anything at all. She could only feel.

His breath on her neck.

His body, nearly touching hers.

His eyes—everywhere.

Kragen lifted his huge hand and tilted her chin up to him, holding her eyes with his. The contact sent little sparks racing up and down her spine, and her hips squirmed as she tried to contain the pressure building inside her.

“A slave cannot truly submit,” Kragen said. “Where it is coerced, submission is worthless. Your mind will always be your own, lubcha. But your body already belongs to me.”

And then, as if to prove his point, he fisted his hand in her hair, bared her neck, and hovered his hand over her breast. Instantly, she felt it—she felt the warmth, the pressure, the teasing sensation where his hand should have been. Her back arched as her body curled towards the place where he was not touching her. As Andie watched with wide eyes, he moved his hand lower, passing it close to her body, and she felt the caress. She bit her lip and moaned as the sensation sparked down her ribcage, her belly, her hip.

Kragen smiled viciously then. He raised his hand, and curled his finger.

Andie bucked as she felt it inside her, bringing her to the brink of orgasm before mercilessly pulling back.

“How…” she breathed. “How is that possible?”

Kragen didn’t answer immediately, preferring to bend his head down close, so that his lips hovered over hers. Andie knew he was waiting for her to submit. Waiting for her to say it. In this one moment, she had the power. And she didn’t know if she was strong enough to wield it.

“Because you are mine to love, lubcha,” he growled. “Mine to mark. Mine to claim. And I will hear you say it.”