Guardian’s Heart (Space Guardian’s Mate #1)

1. ZAAREK

ZAAREK

By the Dark Abyss, I loathed coming to this place. Morrakbarr was one of the worst planets in the entire universe. Whatever scum the universe had to offer, it was here. I could have apprehended several wanted criminals at once. The moment I stepped into the auction house, my eyes landed on three males, each with bounties worth millions of credits on their heads. My minders would not have been satisfied with such measly amounts, but my entire being craved to bring these males to justice.

All of my inner alarm bells went off like they always did in the company of evil. I didn't bother pulling up my hood; with my face exposed, the questionable patrons of this event gave me a wide birth—a courtesy they would not have extended toward a regular law enforcement officer—leaving a path for me to walk through instead of being shoved like the others. My right hand rested on the butt of my blaster, making it clear I was ready to take on whoever dared step in my way. Space Guardians were feared throughout the universe. We went where no one else dared to go—for a price. Highly trained and more lethal than any blaster, nobody in their right mind would fuck with us. Not even in situations like this, when I was alone in the midst of the greatest cesspool of depravity.

The frown on my face allowed me another few paces of distance between the cramped bodies. I didn't want to be here. I despised being here. Every step I took made that perfectly clear. Only an idiot would dare approach me in this mood.

An idiot or Nock. I despised him even more than being here. The slimy little Kred was the bane of my existence. How someone this short and painfully slim could be such a pain in the ass was beyond me. I probably weighed four times as much as him. He was forced to crane his neck to look at me since he barely reached above my hip.

"I should have expected to find you here, Zaarek," he announced in his usual aggravating, nerve-grinding chirpiness. "Have you come to kill another sentient being?"

I ground my jaws until my molars hurt, unsure why I even engaged with the frygging holostreamer. I thought I had learned from our last interaction that he was nothing but bad news for me. Still, I couldn't help defending my position as a Space Guardian. We cleaned the universe of the worst criminals who had ever roamed the galaxies and exterminated the ones who thought themselves untouchable. "Sentient implies intelligence, sensitivity, and empathy, traits none of which my targets possess." I had no sympathy for my targets. None of them had ever met an end they didn't deserve—except that it was usually delivered too swiftly.

"By that logic, you should terminate yourself," Nock braved.

"If I'm that incapable of emotions, you should probably take a step back and not challenge me," I snarled. The left side of my nostril pulsed in irritation; a look normal, intelligent beings recoiled from. It was usually enough warning of my flaring temper, giving my expression an even more menacing appearance—or so I had been told.

"You wouldn't dare kill me." Nock proved once more that not one adroit brain cell occupied his oversized head. "I'm not only livecasting, but there are hundreds of witnesses around." He pointed at the small lens attached to his ear.

I couldn't believe the stupid little cretin was actually livecasting inside a highly illegal auction house. It was probably thanks to his small stature that nobody had noticed it yet. I looked around, thinking he must have brought some bodyguards, but again, he proved his ignorance when I didn't see anybody.

Last time we met, he livecasted me as I brought a well-known criminal down. Admittingly, it hadn't been my finest hour since it involved a lot of destruction at a marketplace, but the male had managed to send me on a merry chase that had flared my temper. So much so that I didn't see Nock and realize he had caught the entire mess on his Holostream until he approached me. My minder was furious about Nock streaming the entire incident, demanding why I hadn't killed the little Kred. The truth was that as much as I would have liked to wring his scrawny little neck, I simply wasn't capable of hurting the innocent. Despite Nock's hatred of Space Guardians, he wasn't a criminal, which I explained to my fuming minder.

Inhaling deeply now, to keep my composure, I resisted the urge to swipe the holocaster off his ear.

"You are aware that your witnesses are all participating in a highly illegal activity?" I pointed out, destroying his argument of being safe. None of the guests at this auction would appreciate being on Nock's show while participating in a highly illegal slave trade.

Just to prove my point, a Pronex shouted right then, alerting others, "Hey, is that a holocaster? That warped Kred is livecasting?"

Pronex, as a race, were known for their evil temper, zero conscience, and muscular build. Most of the times, seeing their ugly form was enough to make one run in the opposite direction, not Nock though. No, Nock turned his camera right at him. "Smile."

The Pronex growled in response, a good indication that his already flaring temper was reaching the fury level. Even for a Pronex, this guy was massive, his bare, green chest was filled with scars. I had never seen a Pronex who could be described as good-looking, but this one looked like he stepped straight out of a nightmare. His long nose was broken in several places. One of his fangs had been replaced with a metallic one, and out of his four eyes, he had only one left.

I closed my eyes, prayed for patience to the gods I didn't believe in, and put on my most menacing grimace as I stepped forward. His eye moved from my head to toe as he took in my unique uniform and the silver skin that marked me as a Space Guardian. His one eye, dark orange, pulsed with resentment. He was primed for a fight, and I cursed Nock for putting me into this position. I never shied away from a good fight, but I was on a mission, and the idiotic Kred was putting it in danger.

Slowly, I shook my head at the Pronex, willing him to back down. He was a good head taller than me and could have given me a good fight, but in the end, his survival instincts kicked in. Knowing full well who the better fighter was. Not only that, on the off chance of him beating me, the entire Space Guardian force would come after him and anybody else here tonight. An attack on one of us was an attack on all.

The Pronex sent a resentful glare at Nock and me, but finally, he retreated into another corner.

"You don't have much brain matter, Nock, do you?" I stared at the much smaller Kred, whose gray skin had turned a few shades lighter.

"Enough to say thank you?" His gratitude, phrased as a question, made me question my sanity for endangering my mission and saving his ungrateful little life.

Space Protector , I mused. I supposed, that implied saving others from themselves as well as eliminating threats to them. Funny, at the very bottom of Kred's stupidity, he actually had a point. The Ohrurs had given us our names, but it was more of a psychological trick than anything because, in reality, we were Space Assassins . The people we eliminated were criminals, but the vast majority of them had never been convicted, not in a tribunal or council. This was one of the many reasons why criminals and many civilians were afraid of us. We might be hailed as heroes, but only thanks to the Ohrurs’ relentless, unwavering campaigns to call us that—not because we rescued people. Unless, you counted all the males and females who would have fallen victim to the criminals we terminated. But this was exactly why Nock's little holostream had made my minder so furious. It had been bad publicity.

"Does that mean you would not oppose to me terminating him?" I couldn't resist rattling him.

"Is he your target?" Fascination turned his skin back to his usual gray sickly looking coloring.

"What if he were? Would you condemn me?"

"Ah, I see, you're posing an ethical question." He seemed to ponder my question for a moment. Normally, I would have enjoyed watching him squirm when questioned about his morals, but a loud siren announced the event to begin. I walked away from Nock to find a better spot further down, leaning against a wall, from where I had a free view of the stage.

"Don't tell me you're here to buy slaves?" Nock followed me.

"Are you?" I threw his question right back at him.

"I'm here to report on the darkest underground activity—"

"Darkest?" I arched a cynical eyebrow at him. If slave trade was as dark as it got in the universe, he needed to up his investigative skills.

"I never heard of a Space Guardian buying slaves… so, in conclusion, you're here to—"

Was he actually giving me the benefit of the doubt? I didn't have time or the curiosity to ponder this. Instead, I directed my gaze at him, and he finally shut up.

"Got it, on a mission."

He was close to the truth. I had to admit the little annoyance was quick-witted. In extension to terminating criminals, Space Guardians sometimes acted as bodyguards or extracted hostages. Neither of which was my current mission. My current mission was quite laughable, or would have been had it not been so humiliating. My new minder had tasked me with freeing as many humans as possible and taking them to Astrionis, where a safe haven was being built for them.

One of the largest forces in the GTU, the Pandraxian Empire, had taken it upon itself to become the champions for an, until now, unknown species called humans.

The human's home planet, Earth, had been attacked by the Cryons, and in a twist of fate, the Pandraxians realized that humans were not only compatible with them but capable of reawakening the long lost mekarry bond—soulmate bond. One human female had even become the new Empress of the Pandraxian Empire. Now, Emperor Daryus had decided to fund the credits to round up and save as many humans scattered throughout the universe, hiring the Ohrurs and, by extension, me. Thus turning me into a glorified babysitter. So yes, I resented this mission and everything about it.

A hum of excitement weaved through the large hall as the partition hiding the stage lifted, exposing Monrag, the universe's most successful slave trader. I had long dreamed about terminating the bastard. He was a Pandraxian, but there was none of the moral compass the Pandraxians were known for left in the shell of a male. Pandraxians' skin normally held a metallic sheen to it, but this one's had dulled and looked more rusty than anything. Used up, like the rest of his body. Overindulgence in anything and everything oozed from his pores. An evil spirit emanated from him that I could feel even from several paces away. I didn't need any proof to know this male was a criminal; even had he not stood there on the stage, announcing his intent, I felt his soul's need to be set free, to be taken from this fermented body.

"Thank you for coming here today. I promise you won't be disappointed. I am Monrag, your host," he announced without fanfare. He didn't need to; the crowd broke out into ear-shattering applause, hoots, and yelling.

"Are you here for him?" Nock yelled over the noise.

I contemplated hitting him over the head to shut him up, but the large hall turned silent as Monrag dramatically marched his tall Pandraxian frame to the first cage. The walls were set to dark mode, like all the others lined up. No noise, no glimpse could be gleaned from inside, not even now, as the crowd had fallen deathly silent.

"Today, I have brought you the most exclusive articles ever brought together during an auction. I have traveled far to all the corners of the universe, worked tirelessly, bartered, and haggled for you."

What he meant was that he had plundered several planets and stolen their inhabitants. Of all the criminal acts I had witnessed and ended lives over, for me, the ultimate immoral act was that of enslaving another person. Taking away their free will and their rights. Turning them into shadows of themselves. Slavers and sex traders were the worst of the worst for me, and I was never happier than when I ended one of their miserable existences.

How I wished Nock was right and Monrag was my assignment. I would have enjoyed taking the bastard out. My orders, though, were explicit: no killing unless my life or that of innocent bystanders was at stake. My mind worked hard on how I could make the case that innocent bystanders had been at risk when I took Monrag out, but even I realized that the repercussions would be ugly. Nobody wanted to put a tag on Monrag. Simply because every elitist in the GTU bought from him at one time or another. Making him far too valuable to be touchable.

"Today's first object!" Monrag yelled, and the crowd went wild even before the cage slowly turned translucent, revealing a couple of ethereal Faysars. I didn't believe in gods, never had, but if any species had ever been created in the image of a god, it would be Faysars. Their ethereal beauty got even to me.

"By the gods," Nock cursed.

The two genderless Faysars clung to one another, their translucent wings flapping in agitation.

"The bidding begins at two million credits. As you all know, they have to stay together."

"Figure out who buys them and report it," I snarled at Nock.

"No worries, they'll be free in no time," Nock assured me. He might have been a short little frygg, but he had connections.

A loud bidding war broke out, ending in the obscene sum of ten million credits.

"He won't enjoy his purchase," Nock promised, speaking agitatedly into his comm.

Next on sale was a grouping of Kallamants, one lone, beautiful Syguilla, and a Thoo-Thoo, followed by the big finale.

I straightened myself.

"And now what we have all been waiting for. Most of you have never laid eyes on this new species—"

Monrag broke off when I strode forward, straight at him. He visibly swallowed at the sight of a Space Guardian making his way to him. Good, he should be scared.

Your orders are to free all captives and punish their captors , my minder's words echoed through my head. Punish, punish, punish , ran on repeat. As sure as a supernova exploded, I wanted to do just that: punish that frygging Pandraxian into oblivion. Unfortunately, I had been raised to think beyond clear orders and to prioritize them.

"You can't touch us." Monrag raised his palms in defense.

I punched him straight in the face, breaking his nose. "I just did," I snarled into his face as I lifted his six-and-a-half-foot frame off the ground, fisting his shirt.

"Those"—I jerked my head at the still-blackened cage—"are mine. Any objections?"

A cry moved through the ranks of the spectators.

"Go ahead, shoot me, and have the wrath of the Space Guardians on you," I challenged the hundreds of potential buyers. These males and a few females weren’t cowards, but they all had one trade in common: they were all unscrupulous cutthroats at heart who would never do anything to endanger themselves. They enjoyed outdoing each other by owning the most exclusive slaves or by abusing somebody weaker. Most of them were in the company of their bodyguards, but even though those males and females were paid to risk their lives for their employer, they weren't about to take on a Space Guardian. They might have outnumbered me, but they all knew that the Ohrurs took any injury to their precious Space Guardian seriously—retaliations were not limited to the individual.

"Get them out," I instructed Monrag.

"You are costing me millions of credits," he whined.

"It'll cost your life if you don't comply," I informed him.

The impenetrable black walls of the cage slowly dissolved, giving me a view of eight huddled figures and a ninth standing away from the group. I barely had time to register hair in the color of a black abyss before she came flying at me.