Sorry I'm Mated To The Commander novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Antony, while not as overtly dramatic as Alexander, was just as perplexed.

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“Why would Prince Atlas come all the way out here? Is he planning to drill the new recruits himself?”

Atlas Zimmer was the most brilliant commander on Alpha Prime.

Though he was around the same age as the freshmen currently in training, he had already led the starfleet to repel numerous enemy invasions and even fend off the most vicious voidraiders.

No one in the military hierarchy dared to underestimate the young prince.

So, both Antony and Alexander headed to the port to welcome His Highness.

When Atlas stepped off the starship, his handsome face was a cold mask.

Initially, Atlas hadn’t wanted to get married at all. It was his mother who had used his optical computer to submit an application to the Genetic Pairing Program on his behalf.

Who could have possibly guessed that it would actually find a match?

And a one-hundred-percent match, at that.

He’d gone to the courthouse at the Central Nexus intending to explain to the woman that it was all a mistake, that he had no intention of marrying anyone.

Marriage?

Seeing his own mother’s perpetual unhappiness had made him want to keep his distance from the institution entirely.

But then his rut had hit, far too early. He didn’t even have his personalized serum with him.

And the woman’s pheromones… they were so damn alluring. From that point on, things had spiraled completely out of control.

His foul mood was causing his powerful psychic force to leak, putting everyone around him on edge. No one dared to speak.

They were all afraid the prince might just hop into a mech suit and start blowing things up.

As the base commander, Alexander stepped forward, forcing a smile. “Your Highness, to what do we owe the pleasure?”

“I’m looking for someone.”

“Who might that be?”

“Layla Sullivan.”

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Chapter 17

Alexander was utterly baffled. Who in the world was Layla Sullivan?

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It was Antony who remembered. “Your Highness, the students are currently on a cross-country run. If you’d like to wait in the lounge, I can have her report to you as soon as this first phase of the exercise is over.”

Atlas gave a slight nod.

That was probably for the best.

If he just showed up in front of her out of the blue, she’d probably freak out.

*****

Meanwhile, Layla had no idea that Atlas was on her trail.

She and Annie had made it past the halfway point, but now they faced their first real obstacle: the Black Marsh.

This was no ordinary swamp. It was teeming with ravenous gatorbeasts. As shifters, they wouldn’t get eaten alive, but a few bites would still hurt like hell.

Just a few minutes earlier, some unlucky recruit had gotten their leg torn off, and the rescue instructors had to be called in.

Annie’s face was pale, her cat ears flattened against her head. “What the hell? Is this military training or a suicide mission? Did they forget we’re just a bunch of freshmen?”

“Stellar rangers face life-threatening situations on every mission,” Layla said calmly. “We’re officer candidates. Think of this as the academy’s first real lesson.”

Not everyone was stuck, however. A few of the winged shifters simply spread their wings and flew across.

Annie muttered, “Suddenly, I’m really jealous of anyone with wings. Hey, Layla, what are you doing?”

She watched as Layla took several steps back, her body coiling like a spring, ready to launch.

“Holy crap!” Annie gasped. “You’re not actually going to try and jump it, are you? No way, this marsh is way too wide. It’s beyond what any of us can jump.”

“I can use the gatorbeasts as stepping stones,” Layla explained. “A second jump from one of them should get me to the other side.”

“That works in theory, but that’s insane in practice! You should show a little more respect for the vicious gatorbeasts.”

Before Annie could say another word, Layla shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

She soared high into the air, clearing half the marsh in an instant.

But as she began her descent two-thirds of the way across, a massive gatorbeast below opened its jaws, ready

for a snack.

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Chapter 17

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Layla’s foot connected sharply with its snout, forcing its mouth shut with a painful soap. A split second later. she stomped hard on its eye, using the rebound to launch herself into the air agar

She landed smoothly on the far side of the marsh

“Damn! That was insane!” Annie was fired up.

As a cat shifter, her jumping ability was far superior to any wolfs. There was no way she was going to be outdone.

She also backed up, preparing to copy Layla’s move.

It started well, but halfway across, a gatorbeast suddenly dove underwater. Just as Annie was about to tumble into the murky water near the bank, a whip shot out wrapped around her arm, and yanked her to safety.

Annie’s cat-like eyes went wide as she stared at the mechanical whip in Layla’s hand. This thing is awesome It’s retractable and has all these little gadgets on it. Where did you buy it?

“I made it.”

“How much? I’ll buy it’

Mech engineers didn’t just build mech suits: they could craft all sorts of other gadgets.

And with her master’s training. Layla had a whole arsenal of skills.

A slight smile played on her lips. “It’s a support weapon, but it has to be tailored to the user. I could build a custom weapon for you, but it’ll be expensive.”

Annie was unfazed. “Money is no object

“Okay. We can talk details back at the academy.”

‘Deal.”

On the other side of the marsh, the trapped students were inspired by Layla’s feat

One by one, the shifters with strong jumping abilities started to follow her example.

Leon also managed to cross with Caleb in tow. He let out a low whistle.

“That Layla is seriously impressive. I thought of the same method, but I didn’t have the guts to try it

Caleb’s expression soured. “I don’t remember you praising her this much before. What, you got a crush on her

now?”

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