Blayde nodded. “That’s why we’re on our way to Leeria. He has some kind of hangout there—a bar of some kind. It’s fairly near Jayron, as a matter of fact.” Kyle knew that out-of-the-way planets like these were often used as the Rogers’ bases of operation, and this sector in particular was being used more and more by the Rogers in this star system.

“The Leerians have been trying to buy a shipment of Lycan bauxite ore for a while now, but no one wants to risk a delivery. Of course, you remember what happened on Jayron with Nikolai.”

Kyle remembered only too well. He’d been the one piloting the ship when his brother Nikolai went down to arrange the payment and delivery. The next thing Kyle knew, Nikolai had pressed a panic device he wore on his clothing, and using safeguards already in place, Kyle had taken off immediately, leaving his brother on the planet’s surface. It had almost killed him to do it, but he was following strict protocol. That fiasco had been due to Jolly Rogers, too, and though it had worked out well enough—Nikolai had found his mate in the Jayronian prince, the exotic and beautiful Jagger—it wasn’t an experience Kyle ever wanted to repeat.

“So you think they’ll attack and try to steal our shipment, like they did on Jayron?”

Blayde shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s a distinct possibility, and we have to be ready for that. But I think the Leerians won’t allow it. They’re already having trouble finding anyone willing to trade with them. An attack on our ship would likely end trade for them altogether. They’ve made extravagant promises about safe passage for the ship, so I think we’ll be okay on that score.”

“Then how will we find Bonnet?”

“I have information on this hangout of his on Leeria. It’s a bar he either frequents or owns, and he’s supposed to be there most evenings he’s on the planet. It’s on the seaside, near the docks and called Blood in the Water, after the rust-colored water in the Leerian oceans.”

“I can’t say I like that name too much, considering,” Kyle said. “So what’s your exit plan? No way we can just march in there and pick him up.”

“No, but he’s all Tygerian in one way, at least. He likes good-looking men. So you being the aforementioned pretty one and all…”

“Oh no! You’re not using me as bait!”

“I prefer to think of it as a strategic ploy to entice him outside.”

“Balls! Which, by the way, I have no intention of risking on your behalf. Now I’m beginning to see why you left Ryan at home. Too dangerous for your boy, so hey, let’s call Kyle. He’ll do it. Well, not this time.”

“Oh c’mon Kyle, give me a break. There’s very little risk—probably. I’ll be right outside, and the minute you step out with him, I’ll be ready with a tranquilizer gun. He’ll never know what hit him, and he’ll wake up back on board our ship in a holding cell.”

“Seems to me you’re skipping a whole lot of steps. You just told me the man’s not stupid. How the hells am I going to get him to follow me outside to some dark alley? Then even if I do manage to get him outside and we tranq him, how do we get him back on the ship? He’s not exactly small, you know, if he’s a typical Tygerian. And what are his men doing all this time we’re luring him outside, knocking him out and toting him to the ship? The idea’s crazy!”

“Okay, valid points. So maybe I didn’t think it through so well. What if I offer to sell you to them? We’ll set up one of those sting operation like in some of those Earth vids that Ryan watches. I could say you’re having an affair with my mate behind my back or something, and I found out and want to get rid of you. I could ask for a meet and then we grab Bonnet—hold a gun on him, force whoever comes with him off the ship, and take off.”

“That could work, I guess. Despite the fact that, once again, my ass is on the line.” Kyle angled a wry look at Blayde.

“Okay, then you make the offer to sell me. Say that I’ve been after your mate or whatever.”

“They won’t know I don’t have a mate?”

“How would they know that, Kyle? It’ll work. They’re all disloyal bastards and think everybody else is too. Bonnet will totally buy into the story, because it’s probably the kind of thing he would do.”

“How do we set up a meeting with him?”

“We know his hangout. After we deliver our shipment, we’ll go there for a drink and scope it out. Then we play it by ear, and try to find a way to speak to him. If you can get close enough, you can set something up.”

“I still think we should have brought more men with us.”

“Everyone was busy. And Lucas has the new baby.”

“And his new mate. Thank the gods I haven’t been trapped with the curse yet. Larsson and I are the only hold-outs.”

Blayde settled himself beside Kyle in one of the two chairs on the comm deck. “You’ve just been lucky so far. When the curse hits you, it hits hard and you can’t resist it. You just wait—you’ll see,” he warned, though Kyle only smiled at him. It was true the curse hadn’t struck him yet, though it had taken its toll on his brother, Nikolai, and three of his cousins, Blayde, Lucas, and Konnor. Only he and his youngest cousin, Larsson, had remained unscathed.

Until the curse struck Blayde, they’d thought it was an old legend and put little credence in it, though their elders declared it was all true. According to the legend, Kyle’s great-grandfather, Gunnar, had seen a beautiful human woman on a voyage to Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, and had kidnapped her. The inhabitants of the moons of Jupiter had long been rumored to practice witchcraft, but Gunnar was wild and more than a little crazy. He wasn’t interested in the woman for himself—his preference was for handsome males, but the female Lycan who was his mate liked other females.

He took the woman to give to his mate as a companion, to help her raise their children. Sometimes Lycans took these “companions” as lovers. In fact, Gunnar lay with the woman at the same time he impregnated his mate, so that both produced sons at around the same time. The human female produced a son, red-haired and handsome, half Lycan and half human. And though she eventually grew to love her Lycan mistress, the human female never made a secret of her utter hatred for Gunnar.

Gunnar made a second trip to Europa and kidnapped the companion’s handsome twin brother to be his own concubine. Not only was Gunnar intrigued by his beauty, but since his mate was now really more interested in her lovely human, he was free to indulge his own needs. He thought he would make an excellent love slave. He had no idea that the man was also a powerful warlock.

The male, whose name was Ivan, was furious with Gunnar, but also fiercely attracted almost against his will. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt Gunnar, it was said, though his sister urged him to. He eventually decided to curse all of Gunnar’s descendants, not in a hurtful way, but one that would ensure all of them would be males and all alphas. It was well-known that alphas had great difficulty living together in harmony, so he had, in effect, ensured that all of Gunnar’s offspring would be at each other’s throats. In addition, and maybe because Gunnar left him alone so often to voyage around the galaxies, Ivan cursed them to fall madly, irrevocably in love while still young, and never be able to be without their mates again.

No, Kyle had been lucky so far, and he intended to do everything in his power to keep it that way. He was still young and looked forward to playing the field for many years to come. He glanced down into the by-now blank screen of the compnet at his reflection there. Blayde said he was the prettiest of them, and he was vain enough to wonder if it was true, though the word pretty made him cringe a little. Surely he was far too masculine for such a word. It was true he wore his dark hair a little longer than the rest of his cousins, but mainly because he couldn’t be bothered to have it cut most of the time.

His eyelashes were a bit too long and curled up almost like a female’s, and he’d always hated it. His eyes were the deep red of all the Lycans, though his were so dark as to be almost black, and this drew a lot of attention to his eyes. He snapped the cover closed and sat back in his chair—attractive, perhaps, but definitely not pretty.

* * * *

Tarr Bonnet saw the Lycans the moment they entered the bar. His usual table was in the corner, tucked away in the shadows, and so far neither of the bastards had so much as glanced his way, but his senses went on high alert immediately. He fucking hated Lycans, and most especially since his twin brother had been captured by them.

His brother, Taz, had been a passenger on board a freighter carrying a shipment of diamonds to one of their Nilanium allies when they were attacked by Alliance ships. The shipment was stolen and his brother taken prisoner. He had been sent to the prison on the planet Lycanus, because it was theorized that only Lycans stood any chance of keeping Tygerians contained without resorting to strong drugs.

Since there had already been fatalities among Tygerian prisoners due to these powerful drugs, the Alliance decided it might be cruel and unusual punishment to drug them constantly to keep them from shifting. Lycan wolves were the only thing that came close to matching them in power and strength.

Tarr had managed to attack the Lycan prison ship as his brother was being moved to a larger facility on Lycanus 2, and freed him after an intense and bloody battle that cost him two of his best men. He retrieved his brother, but he owed the bastards payback, and he thought he might know how to get it for both his brother and himself.

He gaze swept over these Lycans now, assessing whether or not they posed any threat if he went through with his idea. They were both muscular and well built, though one was a bit larger than the other. Both were handsome, too, even if they were Lycan. The larger one might have been a couple of years older, dark-haired, with those strange red eyes all the Lycans had, giving him what Tarr thought of as a devilish look. The Tygerian religion warned of devils who were seductively handsome despite their red hair and eyes.