The group headed out of the tunnels and toward the waiting shuttle. All the men surrounded Rask's mate in a protective stance. Their faces were pale, shellshocked at all they had witnessed and learned that day.

They didn't know what the pilot or co-pilot would do when they saw the human female come up to the shuttle with them. All of them mentally prepared themselves for a confrontation.

The pilot came to the bay door and watched them approach. His eyes locked on the human girl, Niki.

"You brought a human prisoner," he mused.

"No, she is no prisoner; she is Rask's mate," one man stated. Rask and Van looked over at him in shock as he defended Niki. They didn't expect that. Their bodies tensed as they watched for the pilot's reaction. Preparing to defend Niki's life.

The pilot looked at the girl with disgust. "That's fake. They're faking. Council Leader Tosh told us it was all a lie."

The same man spoke again. "There were zombies in the tunnel. We saw it for ourselves. We also witnessed how she and Rask realized she was his mate. There is no way they could deny it. It was obvious. If you want to see the dead zombies, we will show you so you can see that they're real for yourselves."

The pilot's face paled. "Show me!" he demanded. He needed to see it for himself.

The co-pilot came from behind the pilot. "I want to see too."

They took them down into the tunnels and showed them the bodies of the two zombies that Niki had killed. "There are more zombie bodies farther down the tunnel. Do you need to see them, too?" The man asked the pilot and the co-pilot. Their faces were pale as they both shook their heads. They had seen enough. Just one body was enough to prove that zombies were not a lie.

Rask and Van stood with Niki between them. Three of the four continued to stand protectively around her. The only one that didn't shield her was the one who led the way to show them the zombie bodies.

The pilot and copilot looked at Rask and Niki. "Council Leader Tosh said it was all a lie. Why would he lie to us?" The pilot asked.

Van spoke. "Tosh doesn't like the fact that we're mixing with the remaining humans. He had burned the tunnels out in an attempt to kill all the mated pairs hiding in the tunnels. All the females down there at the time were also pregnant. Including Fleet Commander Vorik's human mate. Rumer has it; she was pregnant with twins."

"We can't take her into the city; someone will see her," the co-pilot stated. His face was pale, his eyes wide.

"We have to. There is no other safe place for her to go," Van argued. "Besides, her sister is there."

"There are humans in the dome?" the pilot questioned.

"No. Tosh's attempt to kill all the mated pairs failed. They are still in the hidden city. We just don't know where it is. It was part of the plan. We don't know where it is, so we wouldn't be able to tell anyone under the influence of truth serum," Van told them. "We don't even know who knows where it is."

"So they're all alive?" The pilot asked.

"Yes. Are any of you going to tell Tosh that, or anyone else, for that matter? As far as anyone knows, they incinerated it when Council Leader Tosh ordered the chemical burnout of the tunnel system." Van stated. "As far as anyone knows, they're all dead. We need to keep it that way."

"I won't say anything to anyone," the pilot stated. His face was still pale from all he had just learned.

"I won't either," the co-pilot stated. "If I run into my mate, I would want her to stay safe, too. It may be the only safe place for her. I think you're right."

Van studied the men. All of them. "It only stays safe as long as no one finds out about it. There are a lot of spies in the dome, so you can tell no one."

The four men, the co-pilot, and the pilot all nodded in agreement.

Van watched the men while they made their way back through the tunnels and toward the shuttle. He could see no evidence that any of them were going to rat them out for being solely loyal to Fleet Commander Vorik rather than Tosh. He also saw no evidence that they would say anything regarding Rask's mate, and the hidden city that was still safe and full of mated pairs with pregnant females.

Despite everyone present seeming to agree about not telling anyone, He could only hope that no one would actually say anything.

They all reentered the shuttle. Rask pulled his new mate with him, setting her on his lap and nuzzling her gently as the others watched. There were no extra seats, so Rask had no choice but to put her there; she did not protest. She seemed content with the situation.

Van watched as his friend nuzzled his mate and how she seemed to like it as she pressed closer to him. He also noticed the pilot and co-pilot looked back at them, hope of finding their own mates in their eyes.

It was the same look the other four had when Rask and Niki first found each other. Van wanted the same thing. He wanted to find his mate. He had to keep all the remaining humans safe if he could.

It felt like all of them were supposed to be mated to one of his own kind. He hoped his mate was still out there. The fear that she wasn't out there was always at the back of his mind.

His people had decimated the bulk of the planet's population. It was possible that she was already gone. The thought scared him. The only survivors they knew of were those who had found shelter in the ground or in tunnel systems and caves that the sensors didn't pick up.

The shuttle flew smoothly toward the plasma dome. When it arrived, the pilot called for it to open so that they could land.

Once landed on the ground, the shuttle went through its normal sequence before the shuttle bay doors opened. They all waited in silence. The moment they left the shuttle, their safety would be forfeited.

With Van in the lead, they ascended down the ramp, forming a tight group, keeping Niki between them, hoping no one would notice they had a human girl with them. None of them knew who was spying for Council Leader Tosh. They knew there were some, but they just didn't know who and how many.

"Where are we going?" the pilot whispered. "We need to shield her all the way there."

"I'm taking her home for now," Rask stated, moving toward his own home, with Niki staying close to him.

Across the walkway, Fleet Commander Vorik and Pilot Merrick were heading toward them.

Van noted the way they scanned the area before approaching them.

Commander Vorik stood in front of the group, eyeing Van and Rask, then the group. Seeing through the mass of bodies, he looked at the girl. He sucked in a breath, not expecting to see a human brought into the dome. "You need to get her to the tunnels before the wrong person sees her."

Merrick did the unexpected. He took out a comm link and called Jamie. "Jamie, we have a girl who's going to the tunnel. We need blindfolds and an escort."

Jamie's voice came back. "How many blindfolds?"

Merrick looked at the group. "Who is going down there?" he asked, then got a good look at the girl. "Why does she look like my mate?"

"Your mate's name is Aleigha. This is Niki, her sister." Van spoke for them. "I'll stay behind. You take Rask, Niki, Commander Vorik, and yourself," Van told him.

"We need four blindfolds," Merrick stated into his comm link.

"Will do," Jamie's voice came back.

The pilot, co-pilot, and the four men looked at Fleet Commander Vorik. The same one that seemed to always speak for them spoke to Vorik. "I believe I can speak for all of us. I am sorry for believing Council Leader Tosh about the zombies and the mating bond being fake. We have witnessed enough today to see that it was all true." He told him. All the men made the gesture of respect to the Fleet Commander. "We will not speak of the city in the tunnels, nor the human we found today."

Fleet Commander Vorik studied them for a moment. "Thank you. You should remember that if you are lucky enough to find your mate, they will also need to go down there. It isn't safe for them right now.

They all nodded in agreement. "Yes, Sir," they all spoke in unison.

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