Mated to the Warrior King: Rulers of the Gok'han Empire, #2

By Veronica Dean

He is supposed to be my fated mate, but all I can see is a blood-thirsty warlord.

I have been sent to this planet all on my own. All I know is that I am to be mated to the greatest warrior the Gok'han empire has ever seen. He is savagely handsome and intimidatingly smart, but I think he might be going crazy.

It's my job to convince him to stop the killing, but I can barely stop him from taking me. I think I may have bitten off a little more then I can chew but — there is no way out.
 

I was sent here to be mated, but this planet might become my grave.

 

Mated to the Warrior King is the second book in the new series: Rulers of the Gok'han empire. Each installment contains sassy, strong-willed heroines and brooding, possessive aliens bound together by exhilarating action and steamy romance. Each book is standalone, but they are best enjoyed when read in order.

No cliffhangers. No cheating. Happy ending guaranteed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Incidentally Quirky
• Release date: Jan 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224073689

Book preview

Chapter One

I stare out of the window at Thuhea, the place that has been my new home for the last two months, and I’m unable to stop myself from crying. The thought of going to De’aria is both exciting and terrifying. I don’t think that the old Sierra would have jumped at the chance to be mated to an alien warrior king, but I guess this is what I’ve become.

I see how happy Elya and Miska are together, despite having the rockiest start you could possibly imagine. She was literally bought by him at auction, and they now live together in a castle, awaiting their first child. It’s not like I’ve ever needed a man to be happy, but I have to admit that my first 26 years of life have been spent mostly alone, and I’ve always felt that I was missing out on something. Watching Elya find happiness so far from Earth, I’ve begun to wonder whether there could be someone in the wider universe who’s right for me. Thus, I’ve made the decision to offer myself to the king, who could have any number of flaws but will definitely not be like the men from Earth, at the very least. It may not be the soundest logic, but in this new world where nothing makes sense, it feels like as good a plan as any.

This choice comes with a degree of uncertainty, given that I know basically nothing about the situation on De’aria. I’ve only been told that the planet is the latest conquest of the Gok’han empire, and that it’s supposedly very beautiful there. However, beauty doesn’t offer me much consolation, since I also happen to know that the planet is being ravaged by war. I don’t exactly understand why the Gok’hans bother with war at all. I think they have bigger things to worry about; like, for starters, maybe they should address the virus that’s killing off all of their women.

I may know next to nothing about the planet I’m heading to, but I was able to squeeze some information out of Miska about my future husband (or fated one, as I guess they’re called around here). Apparently, he is the fiercest warrior that their race has seen in a hundred years. I’ve seen what Miska can do on the battlefield and can attest that he’s no pussy, and even he admits that King Konsta O’rvo is something else. He apparently took rule of Thuhea when he was only 20 years old, defeating the former king in a duel. He was the youngest ever challenger for the throne, and has now been the respected ruler for more than a decade. No one has ever challenged his rule because, in addition to being a terrifyingly skilled fighter, he is also very smart. His policies of free land for citizens of Thuhea and every man’s rights, which are the equivalent to our basic human rights but cover much more, have seen him become more popular than ever. For better or worse, they’ve also allowed him to pursue his passion for war more freely. The only thing he has going against him is the situation with the virus and their females, but now, thanks to Miska, even that might become a problem of the past. I have to say that I don’t envy Jada in the slightest. I cannot see humans reacting well to the proposition about to be presented to them. ‘Hi guys, could we just get a few thousand of your females to come over and fuck our alien warriors and have their babies?’ It makes me laugh just thinking about it.

I’ve been given my own room for the two-month journey, but apparently most of the crew will be going into cryogenic stasis for the duration of the voyage to De’aria. Cryogenic stasis — as the menacing captain of the ship called it — is, essentially, the process of getting into a glass tomb which is then pumped full of ice-cold liquid that allows you to drift off to sleep. Then, poof, you wake up a couple of months later ready for whatever the universe has to throw at you (but not without first enduring some horrible nausea, apparently). The crew won’t be going under until later in the day, and I have some time to decide whether or not I want to join them in sleep or stay alert for the entire journey. Cryogenic stasis sounds quite scary, and it is completely optional for me, but I do see the perks. Most of the soldiers on the ship have to do trips like these quite often, so they prefer to not age while they are just waiting around for battle, which I totally get. I would rather arrive on Thuhea looking fresh, too.

I yank myself out of my thoughts, and decide that I should quit being asocial and go talk to the soldiers. I slide open the door to my room by pushing a little button next to the door. I will never get used to how cool these doors are; they’re just one of a million high-tech novelties that I’ve delighted in since leaving Earth. I walk down the torch-lit hallway, which makes me feel like I’m in a medieval novel rather than on a space ship. That’s the odd thing about space technology and design; it combines very old and very modern aesthetics, making you feel like you’ve simultaneously jumped 2000 years both forward and backward in time. At the end of the old-fashioned corridor, I reach another one of those cool wooshy doors. I press the button to open it and walk into what the Gok’hans call their leisure quarters, although I think in their language it sounds much less clunky.

As I enter, the heads of all four soldiers turn around rapidly. Two of the warriors are sitting on the long wooden table that could easily fit a whole company, while the other two are in the corner by the roaring marble fireplace, playing some sort of game. One throws little knives at a large wooden board hanging on the wall, while the other player stands in front of the board. I have no idea what the aim of the game could be, but I get the fright of my life as the warrior hurls his knife at the board and the one standing in front of it catches it with lightning reflexes before it strikes the wood behind him. These guys are fucking insane.

Gok’han warriors tend to look, dress, and act alike, and these ones are no different from the others I’ve encountered. I still haven’t learned to tell them apart properly, unless they have noticeably different hairstyles. I’ve worked out that long ponytails tend to signify higher status. So I guess my king will have hair down to his lower back, at the very least. Based on this analysis, I can deduce that these four dudes are just basic soldiers.

I visibly gulp as I walk in and say, Hey guys, how’s it hangin?

They just stare at me silently and I fight to hide my cringe. What made me think that good old American hospitality would work on theses hardened alien soldiers? I might as well have impersonated a chicken - not that they would know what that was.

After what feels like 10 years, one of the soldiers from the table gets up and signals for me to sit down with them. I am pathetically grateful for his gesture and quickly obey. It suddenly occurs to me that these guys might not actually understand what I am saying. Elya explained to me how the whole language download thing works for them. Apparently, they have technology that can essentially read our brainwaves, and once they have a few hour’s worth of data they are basically able to upload our language on to one of their computers and then download it into the brain of whoever needs to speak it. That is how Miska and O’kko were able to freak us out so quickly, they just read our brainwaves while we were in the cell and hooked each other up to some super computer and, voilà. The Rosetta Stone has nothing on alien translation tech. However, I do not know who among these guys has undergone the download. My worries are put to rest as my social savior asks, in perfect English, So, what brings you down here? I am always shocked when these massive aliens speak in my language. It’s something you never get used to.

I just thought I would come out and see if you guys know any more about where we’re headed than I do, I say with a nervous chuckle. The other two (who were playing the dangerous game) come over and sit down on the same side of the table as me. I can now see that the one who caught the knife is slightly more handsome than his compatriots, with short, light-brown hair and big green eyes. It is this handsome soldier who responds to my question, sending chills down my spine. What? They haven’t told you?

I turn my head and look at him, Told me what? I know there’s a war there, but nothing else.

The other four look at each other and I being to get a little nervous. What is it? I repeat, with another one of my timid chuckles.

It is fucking crazy over there, the handsome one answers, finally.

Crazy? Crazy how? I ask.

Come on guys, you don’t have to scare her like this, says the nice one who saved me from embarrassment moments ago. He gives me a kind smile and adds, You are going to be absolutely fine, you are under the protection of King Konsta O’rvo, meaning that you are the most protected being in the galaxy. I don’t exactly believe him, but I get that he’s just trying to make me feel better about the situation, which I appreciate. However, I cannot let go of what the handsome one just said.

Thanks, umm, the nice one cuts in and says, My name is Mikko, and the others here are Jaakko, Jerka, and that asshole trying to scare you is Vilka.

Nice to meet you, Vilka says and pulls out his massive hand for me to shake, which I do.

Thank you, Mikko, and I appreciate your concern, but I would really like an honest description of what I am walking — flying — into. I heard that De’aria is beautiful, have I been misinformed?

No, no, it’s beautiful alright, Vilka says, but the beings that live there, not so much.

Mikko gives Vilka an angry look and says, You don’t have to worry about that, you are not a soldier, just leave that up to us. I’m sure you’ll be very comfortable there.

I stay silent for a moment, wondering what they could mean. If these hulking warriors consider the beings down there to be scary, then they’ll probably be fucking terrifying to me. I’m almost scared to ask for any more information about the place. If they tell me something else that sends chills down my spine, I might freak out and pull the emergency brake on this space ship or something.

Look what you’ve done, you asshole, you’ve scared her, Mikko says, as I realize I have been lost in thought for a little too long. I quickly shake my head, hoping to appear unfazed.

No, no, it’s fine, I’m just wondering what it is down there that’s so scary? All four of them pause, as if trying to decide how best to phrase bad news. I sense that they are just about to answer when the door whooshes open and the menacing captain of the ship strides in. The guys all stand up with a start, and the captain begins giving them orders in Gok’han. Mental note: I must start learning that language at some point. After he is done talking, they all rush off in a flash. The captain then turns to me with his intense eyes and scarred face. He definitely looks like he has been in a couple of wars before this one, but the look in his eyes suggests that he’ll happily fight many more.

Have you decided whether you would like to go into cryogenic stasis yet, human? he barks. I consider for a moment and answer, Yes, I think I would. No point getting older for no reason, right? The captain does not return my smile and simply says, Very well. Please accompany me to the lab and we will get you ready.

This takes me aback. I thought that stasis wouldn’t be initiated until this evening?

The schedule has been pushed up, we are needed on De’aria as soon as possible. This is another red flag, but I do not pay much attention to it, and simply follow the captain’s lead into the lab.