Page 120 of Trove’s Purpose

“He sent you to me as a challenge. You mated me for a prize.”

“Technically, we aren’t mated yet,” she pointed out.

The growl from the chair told her that he didn’t care about the technicality. She had still lied to him and had built their relationship under false pretenses.

That reminder to herself made her let out a long breath, her hands relaxing again.

“I’m sorry. You’re right.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, in the beginning, I didn’t like you.” She winced. “I’m sorry. But it is true. When Hyde first told me about you all, he gave me information about everyone. He said it wouldn’t be right sending me in without knowing the full truth. And meeting you honestly didn’t make you seem any better. You frequented prostitutes, you were careless. The idea of us being a thing was ridiculous.”

Trove growled, shoving himself to his feet. But he didn’t come towards her. He paced up and down on his side of the light beam.

“But that was before!” She said quickly, taking a step his way. “I didn’t know who you were yet! I didn’t trust this whole mating thing. I thought Hyde was sending me on some wild goose chase. I thought this was all going to be a wash. I thought he was wrong and nothing would happen so it wouldn’t matter. And if it wasn’t happening, I wouldn’t want to get your hopes up or lie to you by telling you that we might be mates.”

He just continued pacing. Chee followed him with her eyes, tracking as he stalked from one side of the room to the other. Understandably angry.

She genuinely hadn’t thought this would be real, that any of this would work, so what would telling him at the beginning accomplish?

But then when she realized it was real, that something was working…

Well, by then, it was just hard to bring up. And that was a terrible excuse, but she hadn’t thought to even try until it was too late and they were going to meet Hyde.

Biting her lip, fingers twisting together, she looked at the ground in shame.

“I’m sorry,” she said again, hating that she hurt him.

Chapter 39

Trove

His mate had been traded to him like chattel!

The rage was burning up in his belly, licking like fire in his chest, making him simultaneously sick and furious. He wanted to rage. He wanted to destroy something. But the only things around him were hers and he wouldn’t break her things even if he was angry.

Maybe the emotions were heightened because, for the first time, he understood the meaning of sex and how special it could be. How intimate and precious.

And Hyde had treated her like a commodity.

He hated it. He felt like he had used her. Like he had treated her like the prostitutes – who at least had chosen to live that kind of life. There was no way that his mate, who treated sex as something personal and wonderful, would give it away.

Not unless what she was getting meant more to her than what she was giving away.

Trove had seen the way the Imperium worked. He understood them now. They knew how to make people do things for them. And if it were something as simple as credz, then they had all of them they needed to make a person move.

But they weren’t that simple with it. They held the thing you really wanted over your head.

To make them accept the job to get that stupid cup, they didn’t just offer credz, but the cord they needed for Alred. Something they would normally not be able to obtain. Something that no amount of credz would have gotten them.

And now, to keep them here, to make them work for them again, they were offering more. They hadn’t specified what yet, but Trove already knew it wasn’t just credz.

So, what was he holding over Chee?

His mate was looking down at the floor. Her shoulders hunched, her fingers curling together. Like she was ashamed of herself. Like she might have done something wrong.

“What did they offer you?” Trove snarled.