Van lifted the girl into his arms, ignoring the fighting going on around them. He rushed toward the dome, afraid he wouldn't get her treated in time. "Medic!" he yelled, panic in his tone. Finding his mate in the middle of a battle was not ideal. He feared that Niki's blade had killed her. He knew he needed to get her to the medic...and quick.

As he waited just outside the dome's gate, the sound of the ominous clicks of the sisters' bladed staffs extending echoed through the area. It made him shiver. He heard that sound during the challenge. He wasn't sure why, but the sound scared him.

As he waited at the dome's gate, Vorik stepped in front of him. "If you let her inside the dome, it will put us in danger," he stated evenly.

"Sir," Van swallowed. "She's my mate." His voice was shaky; the need to get her treated was overwhelming.

Council Leader Vorik sighed, understanding crossing his features. "You will go with a heavy guard, and the medic will have her stripped of her clothing and weapons and put into a gown. That is my condition."

Van nodded, "Yes, Sir. I understand." Only a small amount of relief washed through him. He still had to get her to the med bay. It felt like a long way away, even though it was only half a street's distance away.

Four guards came up to him, flanking him on each side as they escorted him to the clinic. When they got there, the medic quickly removed her clothing and took her weapons, securing them in a cabinet, except for the one in her chest. The medic explained it wasn't safe to take the dagger out yet because it could cause her to bleed to death.

Van nodded. "The dagger is Niki's," he said evenly. He knew her aim was flawless. He had to wonder if she had noticed what had happened between the girl and him. If she did, it was only to make sure she couldn't continue fighting without her people getting involved. He wasn't sure, though.

Carefully, a long gown that resembled a Renaissance underdress was placed on her, but leaving the area around the dagger uncovered so it could be removed when they were able and the area cleaned.

The medic pulled out an injector, quickly injecting her. Her slightly open eyes closed as she quickly fell unconscious. The liquid in the injector was a strong sedative that rendered the individual unconscious until the serum was removed. There was no chance of her waking until that happened.

All Van could do was watch and wait.

Van's comm link went off. "We need you out here. Now!" Council Leader Vorik ordered through the comm link.

The medic looked at him. "She will remain unconscious until we take her out of it," he informed.

"Yes, Sir," Van told Vorik through the comm link, then, before heading back out, he turned to the Medic. "If she dies, I will kill you."

The medic ignored him as he continued to work. It was commonplace to have a patient's mate threaten if their mate died. He was used to it.

Van headed back to the East Guard station, where the battle was taking place.

When he got there, the two sisters had the bulk of the men cornered. Their bladed staffs gleamed in the afternoon sun. Vorik and many of the soldiers had the attacker's military weapons neutralized as they struggled to fight off those who tried to prevent it.

The Leader looked at Van as he came out to fight; his teeth gritted as he took out a gun and aimed. "Where is she? Where is Sasha?" the human demanded. His eyes were bulging in anger.

Van, trying his best to ignore the weapon pointed at him, looked at the man. "Sasha, if that is the girl I took inside, she is with the medic who is treating her," he growled. "It never would have happened if you hadn't come here looking for a fight."

One fighter who stood closest to their leader when they arrived walked up to him and glanced at him from head to toe, and then looked at their leader. "I think he's her mate. They are very protective of their mates. This one is protective of Sasha. I can see it."

"Oh, come on, Dan. Don't tell me you're buying into that crap," the leader told his friend. It was a mix of rage and sarcasm. It was something only a psychopath could pull off.

"Travis," he started, keeping his tone neutral. "I saw how they looked at each other when we first arrived, the moment they made eye contact. It was obvious how they both felt whatever bond they have between them. Both of them. I even saw how Sasha tried to ignore it, letting her anger overshadow it. But it was strong. She was having trouble. I think the bond they talk about is real."

The leader, Travis, as the other man, Dan, called him, scanned his people, then yelled. "We're leaving!" he sneered, giving Dan a death glare that made him flinch.

All of Travis's people backed away, watching for any attack. None came as they went into their vehicles and then drove away. Van watched as Dan made eye contact with him through the mirror. Dan had a funny look on his face. It was like he was seeing something for the first time.

Once they were all gone, Van surveyed the area. He noticed Vorik was doing the same. There were three of their kind and five humans who were found crumpled on the packed ground.

Van went to each one of the humans; four of the five were dead. There was one left alive. He was merely unconscious.

Council Leader Vorik walked up to Van, who was standing over the unconscious human. "In the old days, I would have killed the enemy, but I have reservations these days. I think he should go to the medic instead. They will strip him like the other one. I want to minimize issues."

Vorik had ordered a medic out into the field. When the medic showed up, he injected the unconscious human male with the injector that was filled with the sedative that kept him unconscious until the sedative was taken out of the bloodstream by the medic. It was one that bonded to the body and didn't release like the other contaminants. It stayed in the body as long as you needed it to. It was the same sedative that was used on Sasha.

Vorik studied Van. "She really is your mate?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir. I felt it when we made eye contact," he explained.

Nodding, Vorik looked at the disappearing human army. There was something calm in his stance. "The bond changes people. You can only fight it for so long. It is possible that your bond with the girl might stop more bloodshed. I heard what she said about following bad orders. I was the one who followed them. Something I shouldn't have done. I am going to have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life."

Van looked at his leader. "You are a good leader, Vorik. Niki was right when she asked you to take her place or find someone worthy. You are worthy. I had known that since before Niki killed Tosh. I knew the moment your decision was made to stop killing the people of this planet. You chose to save our mates. I think that decision not only saved the remaining humans, but our own race as well. All you have to do is look at all the mated pairs with a pregnant female. We didn't have that back on our planet. We were a dying race, unable to reproduce because of the lack of mates. Now look at us. Because of you, our race will continue."

Vorik studied Van. "I don't feel worthy. All I do is try to protect our people and the people of my mate. Finding out that we have a strong mating bond with them changed everything. I wish we had discovered that before killing off most of the population. It was the excuse I needed to stop killing the people on this planet. I was relieved when you and Rask gave me a reason. The entire invasion never sat well with me. I followed my orders, but inside, I always questioned them."

"Once you knew about the mating bond, you changed everything," Van pointed out.

Vorik smiled. "If you and Rask hadn't agreed to a public interrogation, there would have been no reason to stop destroying the life of this plant. It is you and Rask that I thank for that."

Van thought about it a moment, then smiled. "Then we both had a hand in stopping the invasion and saving our mates," he said, smiling widely.

The medic's team came out with a stretcher for the unconscious human male. Once they loaded him onto the stretcher, they took him away and toward the clinic. Van hoped that either the male would find his mate or decide to stop fighting against them for the sake of the humans who were living in the dome and those mated to his kind.

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