Free Thorn's Bondmate (Zarronian Warriors Book 2) by Mardi Maxwell

Where had she met him?
    She screamed at him to stop. "I've told you, again and again. Nobody helped me."
    "Before the end of this day you will reveal his name." He summoned the guard and ordered him to find Aulunson. While they waited he paged through her notebook.
    Aulunson entered and Thorn stood up. "This is your last chance to tell me the name of your accomplice."
    Daria shook her head.
    He frowned. "Aulunson, get the name of the warrior who helped her and ask about the identity of this female Penelope." Thorn sent her one last glance before he left the room.
    Aulunson sat down at the table in a relaxed sprawl. "I want the name of your accomplice."
    "I can't give you the name of someone who doesn't exist."
    He smiled at her, then removed a small black box from his vest pocket. "Last chance."
    She glared at him. He fiddled with the black box for a moment and a tingling sensation began in her ankles and flooded upwards through her body. It lasted a few seconds then stopped.
    "Give me his name."
    She refused and the tingling began again but it was more painful and lasted longer. He continued asking questions and torturing her until the sensation grew so bad that it forced her to her knees. She hugged her legs to her chest in an effort to stop the trembling of her body and swore to herself that she wouldn't tell him that Thorn's sons had helped her.
    "Give me his name."
    "No. "
    He activated it again.
    When he stopped there were tears on her cheeks and her hands shook as she brushed them away. "I won't tell you no matter what you do."
    "Yes. Soon, you will tell me." He activated the control box again and this time he left it on for a long time.
     
    # # #
     
    Thorn paced his quarters while he waited for Aulunson to join him. He'd bonded with Daria but he didn't dare tell her she was his bondmate or explain what that meant. Knowing that another warrior was using the bands on her was nearly driving him insane. It took every gram of his control to stay away from the interrogation room.
    He couldn't help but compare the weak mating he'd had with Naline to the bonding he'd experienced with Daria. Two totally different experiences but both with females who'd betrayed him. Enraged, he wanted to claim her then make her suffer as he would when word of this second betrayal was known.
    He cursed himself. If he hadn't had so much wine before he went to the fourth level he would've remembered that those quarters were vacant. He fisted his hands and resisted the urge to put one through the wall of his office. The fates had dropped his True Mate at his feet and now he had to deal with her and his rising fever.
    Since Naline's death he'd been able to control his fever but he could already feel his fever rising. The Council had taken a no tolerance stance on the issue of spying and he didn't know what would happen if the Council executed Daria for spying. If she died would their bond be broken? He paced back to his desk, glanced at the doors he'd left open in anticipation of Aulunson's arrival and wondered what was taking so long? Surely, she'd told him the truth by now. It had been over thirty micro-units since he'd left her with him.
    He flung himself into the chair behind his deck and waited. According to the scientists the fever of a level five bonding couldn't be controlled with the use of ZL3 and meditation. Only being together and sharing sex would control it. That meant he'd have to figure out some way to handle their fever without her discovering the Zarronian's secrets. The simplest solution would be to move her into the quarters next to him so he could go to her without his warriors knowing what was going on.
    He began pacing again then stopped when Aulunson appeared in the doorway. "Aulunson, what did you discover?"
    "There is no Penelope. That is her middle name."
    "So she lied about her reason for sneaking onto the Invincible. What about the warrior who helped her get onto the Invincible?"
    "She got onto the starship herself but