Page 68 of Their Marked Mate

“The what?” Avery asked, eyes wide with confusion.

Natalie looked almost as confused as Avery. “I read about the exotics, but I didn’t realize any of them survived the evacuation of Nuevo Biotech. There are exotic hybrids on Rydaria?”

“Oh, they’re alive and well and living in a place called Shadow City,” Luna told her. “I’ve never been down there, but they have technology more impressive than anything found topside.”

“You said down there and topside,” Avery pointed out. “Is Shadow City underground?”

Luna nodded. “The city was abandoned decades ago, and the exotics have fixed it up.”

“Just how ‘exotic’ are they?” Natalie sounded hesitant as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Luna made a helpless gesture. “I’ve only met one inhabitant and he looks completely normal. His name is Carlos and he’s the physician that’s helping me with the transformation program.”

Avery and Natalie looked at each other, then Natalie let out a frustrated sigh. “Sounds like I need to do some digging. If there’s a fourth village, I need to know more about it. Luna’s right, they might need to be included in the alliance.”

Avery dropped her head back and let out a sorrowful cry. “But I want to go home,” she whined playfully.

“You and me both, Senator. You and me both.”

Shannon’s image flared within Luna’s mind, and it gave her an idea. “I don’t know much about Shadow City, but I might know how to end the stalemate.”

Natalie and Avery both looked at her with rapt interest. “Do tell,” Natalie encouraged.

“The alphas love one thing even more than arguing.”

“Beating the shit out of each other?” Evelyn asked with a chuckle.

“Yes, but that’s not what I meant. Women,” Luna said firmly. “Unclaimed, ready to fuck females.”

Natalie’s eyes widened as she realized what Luna had in mind. “And I have sixty of them in the hold of my ship.”

“Exactly,” Luna enthused. “Your offer is theoretical right now. It’s not real to them. So, round up the flesh-and-blood females and march them over to the clubhouse. I bet that will shut the alphas’ mouths.”

Natalie studied her for a moment, eyes narrowed on her face. “You’ve got it almost right. I’ll provide the females, but the village alpha’s mate is going to lead the parade. If you walk into the clubhouse with sixty potential mates at your back, they won’t have a choice but to pay attention.”

“I’m game,” Luna assured her. “I love a parade.”

“Give me a few minutes. I need to make sure all the females are presentable.” She stood and walked across the room as she said, “Comm request for Commander Megoni. Emergency interrupt.”

Natalie stepped outside, so Luna didn’t hear the rest of the conversation.

“You said that Shannon is doing well,” Avery digressed once Luna returned her attention to the pretty senator. “Are you going to be able to prevent that sort of thing from happening in the future? It sounds like things got out of hand.”

“I’m going to tweak the formula, see if I can make the heat cycle less overwhelming,” Luna explained. “But the omega formula allows the female to maintain control over the bonding process, and control for a female is hard to come by on Rydaria.”

“Are females bonding with wolf shifters the only ones who need this transformation?” Avery asked.

A certain intensity in Avery’s expression made Luna laugh. “Is your interest strictly professional or has one of our males captured your attention?”

“More than one,” Avery admitted unabashedly. “That doesn’t mean I’ll volunteer, but damn. Some of these hybrids are fantasy worthy.” Her gaze suddenly shifted toward the door and she said, “The parade of volunteers is starting. Let’s go watch the alphas crumble.”

“Absolutely.” Luna and Evelyn followed Avery outside just in time to watch a stream of laughing women approach. The volunteers were all in their twenties or thirties, but that was the only similarity. They came in every shape and size, and a wide variety of ethnicities.

Natalie reached Luna and motioned her on ahead. “Lead the way, alpha female.”

Luna’s heart fluttered as she heard the title. She was the village alpha’s mate. She was the alpha female. The parade made their way to the clubhouse, but one of the guards stepped in front of the door as Luna climbed onto the railed porch.

“Open the door,” she ordered. “I have business inside.”