Chaos (Xian Warriors Book 5)

by Regine Abel

  “Step aside,” Victoria said, swatting me with the back of her hand before turning to my mate. “Apply this cream where it itches the most. There are no side effects so you can be generous with it. Give it a week at the most, and you should be done. You’re only getting it worse and longer than the rest of us because the antidote slowed the development of your scales. But now, you officially have a clean bill of health. And don’t ever scare us like that again.”

  Sabra gave the doctor a sheepish grin.

  “I promise you, I have no intentions of cozying up with that freak any time soon,” Sabra said. “I’ll be more than happy to let the ‘scaly heads’ do all the up close and personal encounters with the bugs.”

  “Hey!” I exclaimed.

  “Someone’s been hanging out with my son’s Soulcatcher,” Victoria said teasingly.

  “I resumed training with Raven, and Sonia is always lurking around, causing mischief. That girl is a riot,” Sabra said with an unrepentant grin.

  “We’ve only been back on Khepri for two days,” I mumbled. “Should she be training already after such a close brush with death?” I asked Victoria.

  “Hey! I’m right here,” Sabra snarled. “And that was twelve days ago. It was a ten-day flight to get back here.”

  “Three of which you spent in stasis so the poison wouldn’t spread, and the next seven being zonked out from all the medication and antidotes they gave you,” I countered. “I had to carry you home after we landed.”

  “I could have walked. You carried me because you wanted to act like a chest-thumping Neanderthal,” Sabra said, lifting her chin defiantly.

  “I am no Neanderthal,” I said in a growly voice. “But I’m about to be.”

  “Ooooookay. This is my cue to leave… or rather to kick you out of my Infirmary,” Victoria said, raising both her palms in an arresting gesture. “I do not need these types of visuals involving one of my brothers.”

  I chuckled and whisked my mate in my arms, silencing her protests with a kiss. On my way out, I winked at Victoria, who shook her head in amusement, her fiery mane bouncing around her beautiful, freckled face.

  Ignoring Sabra’s embarrassed pleading and the amused stares of my brothers, our psychic women, and visiting alien dignitaries, I carried her from the medical clinic to the main HQ building at the top of which my penthouse was located. But as we approached the elevator, we found Legion, Doom, Wrath, and Bane standing there, apparently waiting for me with shit-eating grins plastered on their faces.

  “I am busy,” I snarled, to my mate’s utter mortification.

  “I’m afraid you’re going to have to unbusy yourself, my brother,” Legion said, looking almost sorry. “We’ve received word from Shuria,” he added telepathically.

  I groaned inwardly and pinched my lips.

  “It’s okay. I can walk,” Sabra said in a small voice.

  I glared at my woman and tightened my grip around her. “I’ll meet you in five minutes after I’ve gotten my mate home.”

  Doom made a flourishing gesture for me to enter the elevator while Bane made no effort to hide his amusement. I brought my mate to my penthouse, which she’d already started to ‘fix out of its barren state’ as she put it. I carefully laid her on my bed and bent down to give her a long, searing kiss.

  “Stay right where you are. I’ll be back soon,” I said in a voice full of promises.

  My mate’s eyes smoldered, and she licked her bottom lip in a provocative fashion, that had me growling in frustration.

  Forcing myself away from her, I marched out of my apartment, and took the lift down to the board room. I barged in, ready to give my brothers a piece of my mind but, despite the somewhat teasing expressions lingering on their features, I knew them too well not to recognize the underlying seriousness of their demeanors.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, taking a seat next to Doom and across from Bane.

  “I’ve received word from Shuria,” Bane said without preamble.

  “The Workers?” I asked.

  “They kept their word,” Bane answered, guessing my meaning. “Shuria is on Kryptor with them, but they are in hiding, building the rebellion, and raising new Generals and Queens.”

  “How long will that take?” I asked.

  “It takes a year to enhance a larva into a mature General able to impregnate a Queen,” Bane explained. “They had already been secretly working on a few of them, but since our little adventure on the Moon of Melibos, Khutu has been trying to track down the remaining rebels on Kryptor. They don’t know if those young Generals and new Queens will make it. Which is why they are raising a few more in new locations as backup.”

  “Khutu cannot be certain they have survived or that they have returned to Kryptor,” Wrath said. “Naturally, they want to keep it that way.”

  “Naturally,” I echoed. “So, what do they want?”

  “For us to honor our pledge as peacekeepers of the galaxy and, in one year’s time, to answer their call for assistance against a genocidal maniac,” Legion said.

  I whistled through my teeth. “Talk about ironic. But a lot of things can happen in one year. The General will attempt to replenish his ranks, develop new technologies and weapons.”

  “Weapons that are all created by the Workers,” Doom said with a smirk. “And troops that are raised by them as well in the nurseries. Accidents happen, and research sometimes flounders.”

  I snorted. “So, sit back, and do nothing for a year, then come with guns blazing?”

  “Almost,” Legion said. “Shuria wants us to send her back her sisters, Serida and Lanam.”

  “WHAT?” I exclaimed, looking at each of my brothers in disbelief, expecting one of them to tell me I had misunderstood.

  “You heard him right,” Wrath said.

  “They’re too dangerous and uncontrollable,” I argued. “Even after one year deprogramming them, they’re still a long way from being free of Khutu’s indoctrination.”

  “You are right,” Bane conceded. “But Shuria says the Workers designed the indoctrination program and, therefore, know how to undo it. If they are to remain undercover and accomplish everything they want to, they will need the aid of the other two modified Mimics.”

  “Why not Herina or Deisha instead?” I asked. “They have both proven to be stable and trustworthy.”

  “Because they are not combatants,” Bane explained. “That’s why Shuria sent Herina back here with us and the mutants. Neither is Deisha. Her being wounded by the mutant was just an extra reason to send her back with us from Fobos. Serida and Lanam helped Shuria kill the other Generals after Zekuro. They know Kryptor very well and how to blend among its people. We need to give them all the aid they require to build the rebellion from within. This could be the key to the end of the war.”

  I sighed heavily, not really sold on the idea. Glancing around the room, I made eye contact with each of my brothers. All of them expressed their assent.

  “All right. But we cannot impose our will on the Mimics,” I cautioned. “We promised Silzi their people would look after their modified sisters.”

  “Indeed. I will discuss it with the Mimics Council as soon as we’re all in agreement here,” Bane said.

  “We are,” I confirmed.

  “Liena has been studying the images I recorded in the secret passage,” Wrath said. “She concurs that Khutu was getting surgeries and enhancements performed on himself over there. Sadly, she couldn’t recognize half of the creatures and body parts in the vats and containers from one of the labs. I wish I’d taken the time to grab some samples, it might have given us a better insight as to what kind of enhancements we’re dealing with.”

  “I’ve put Liena in communication with all of my scientific contacts in the Outer Rings,” Doom said. “Hopefully, they will be able to help her learn more about some of the more obscure fauna in their sector. Either way, it will be a slow and painstaking process.”

  “Agreed. But it sounds like we have a year unt
il that confrontation,” Legion said. “Let’s make sure we’re all as ready as possible. And Bane, I’m counting on you to keep close tabs on Shuria and the rebellion, and especially for any signs of foul play.”

  “Understood,” Bane responded with a nod.

  “Now, if we’re all done, I’d like to go back to my mate,” I said, sounding grumpier than I intended.

  Wrath chuckled. “Those newlyweds, always in a hurry.”

  He rolled his eyes with a long-suffering sigh that made the others laugh.

  “Bite me,” I said, rising to my feet and walking out of the boardroom.

  But even as I did, my hearts ached for Wrath. Of us six, close-knit group of the first successfully born Xian Warriors, he was the only one still without a mate. Although he showed none of it, I could only guess at the kind of pain and loneliness that gnawed at him. But if after all these years I’d managed to find my Sabra at long last, I had no doubt his special woman would soon cross his path.

  Epilogue

  Sabra

  I waited by the door to ambush my man as soon as he walked in. Initially, I’d intended to just dim the lights, play some sensual music, and burn some rivani incense from my homeworld, Thirilia. However, the Xian Warriors perfect night vision defeated the semi-darkness, and the incense—which enhanced every sensation, just like Chaos’s mating song made my nerve endings hypersensitive—would affect me, too. But, as I wanted him to be the one falling apart under my every touch, I made him some rivani tea instead. It would be a little slower to kick in, but as I was planning on taking my sweet time having my way with him, that would work out just fine.

  Therefore, with only the sweet music playing, I felt my mate’s eagerness and anticipation as he walked down the corridor to our apartment, long before he reached the door. That excited me beyond words. As soon as it opened, I placed a blindfold over his eyes in lieu of greeting. He stiffened for a split second, then a naughty smile stretched his lips.

  “Not fair,” he whispered, his voice dipping to that growly, gravelly timber that always made me weak in the knees.

  “All is fair in love and war, my Warrior,” I said against his lips before nipping the bottom one then kissing it better.

  Chaos blindly closed the door behind him, and I led him carefully to our bedroom, stopping just a couple of feet from the bed. A fiendish smile settled on my face at the sight of the paraphernalia I had laid out on the nightstand. My poor mate had no idea what was about to befall him.

  I poured a steaming cup of rivani tea from the pot I had left on the dresser.

  “Careful, it’s hot,” I warned as I brought it to his lips.

  Chaos’s palms trustingly covered my hands holding the cup, and he carefully downed its contents. His curiosity and willingness to explore our sensuality without setting any boundaries or restrictions was a huge turn on for me. Although he was usually dominant in our encounters, I loved that he could surrender himself to me whenever I wanted to take charge.

  I put down the cup and kissed him, our tongues immediately demanding to mingle. His hands went straight under the short hem of my dress as I savored the lingering herbal taste of the tea on his breath. Chaos growled with approval at finding no underwear as his hands roamed over my bum then up my back. I shivered, loving the rough feel of his calloused hands on my skin, wetness pooling between my thighs as the delicious scent of his pheromones manifested itself.

  “Take it off me,” I whispered against his lips, raising my arms up to facilitate his task.

  Too eager to comply, Chaos removed my dress and reached to draw me into his embrace again. I stepped back out of the way, playfully swatting the back of his hand.

  “No touching!” I said backing a couple more steps to settle at the edge of the bed. “Strip for your woman, Warrior. Show me what’s mine.”

  Chaos chuckled then bowed his head in obedience. Swaying to the sensual music, he slowly ripped open his shirt from the bottom up, as if it was paper, his hands caressing his abs and his pecs—which he knew I particularly loved—before discarding the ruined garment. My mate kicked off his boots then started to remove his pants, his hips gyrating in the most provocative fashion.

  But even as he gave a performance worthy of the most talented male stripper, I could feel his underlying shyness and lack of confidence, further confirmed by the darkening of his scales around his neck and face. It would never cease to amaze me that this embodiment of male perfection could wonder at his appeal or at what a messy puddle he turned me into just by looking at me.

  “Do you have any idea how beautiful, how utterly perfect you are?” I whispered when he finally stepped out of his pants. “Perfect and mine. ALL mine.”

  The wave of possessiveness that surged within me seemed to come from the left field. No one had threatened my claim on my man and yet, I was feeling territorial and almost on the defensive, ready to battle any who would challenge me.

  “Yours, and only yours, my mate; body and soul,” Chaos said.

  The way he shifted uncomfortably on his feet spoke volumes about the tightness he was feeling behind his loin plate. But he would have to endure a short while longer. Getting up, I stood next to him, allowing my fingers to run down the slightly arched curve of his back down the rounded one of his perfect behind.

  “Lie down on your back in the middle of the bed,” I commanded, loving the sense of power I felt, ordering around this stunning male and lethal killing machine.

  Advancing carefully with my guidance, he complied. As soon as he settled down, I reached for the magnetic shackles on the nightstand.

  “Hands above your head,” I said.

  Chaos frowned slightly, uncertainty and a sliver of worry emanating from him. But once more he complied. The mattress dipped as I kneeled next to him to close each independent ring around his wrists.

  “I’m not sure I’m loving where this is headed,” Chaos grumbled although he didn’t fight it.

  “Oh, you will,” I promised before kissing his lips.

  I repeated the process with his ankle before issuing a vocal command for the shackles to force his limbs into a spread-eagle position. My lips traced a path up the length of his right leg, stopping over his loin plate to cover it with kisses and give it one long lick on my way up to his navel. Chaos growled with need and pained frustration which made me chuckle as I teased his belly button.

  Scooting over closer to the nightstand, I picked up the set of metal finger claws I had acquired at the impressively well-stocked sex shop in the second tower of the Aspirants Residence. I intended to try quite a few of the interesting toys they had on offer, especially some of the alien ones—once I figured out what the heck they were supposed to do.

  “You may open,” I said, finally taking pity on him as I placed the ring of each claw around my fingertips.

  The look of relief on his face would have been comical if not for the scent of his pheromones slamming into me with greater potency, making me soaking wet as a dull throbbing began pulsating in my core. I had better get a move on before I became too wild with lust to be able to subject him to the exquisite torture I had in store for him.

  Leaning forward, I blew over his abs. Chaos’s violent shiver confirmed the effect of the tea had kicked in. Kneeling between his parted legs, I began to slowly scrape the pointy tips of the metal claws over the scales of his legs, from his ankles up to his inner thighs. My mate’s loud gasp, followed by a hiss of pleasure spurred me on. The Warriors loved getting their scales clawed; it was highly erogenous to them. I intended to give him the ultimate experience on that front.

  Teasing him endlessly, I clawed with varying intensities at the scales around his pelvic area, my lips and my tongue following in their wake while deliberately avoiding his shaft, painfully erect until his body began to tremble. When I finally licked his cock from base to head, the spicy flavor of cinnamon and ginger exploding on my taste buds, Chaos shouted my name and struggled against his restraints.

  The madness of his
lust, the depth of his need, and the intensity of his pleasure were driving me insane.

  “Ride me!” Chaos hissed through his teeth, in a menacingly commanding voice.

  There was no doubt in my mind that had he not been shackled, he already would have yanked me up and impaled me on his length before pounding away. I hesitated, not yet willing to yield power.

  “Sabra, get on my cock, now, or I won’t be responsible for what happens once I break those damn shackles.”

  My stomach flip-flopped at the threat and the searing heat of his gaze. A part of me wanted to dare him into doing it. I didn’t know if he actually could break free of magnetic shackles, and the idea of him unleashing his lustful rage on me had me thrumming in all the right places. But I was aching for him, too.

  Giving in, I straddled him. I barely had time to align his cock with my opening than he was already thrusting upwards. I yelped at the slight burn of his possession, greatly eased by how ridiculously wet I was. Chaos didn’t give me time to adjust to his girth, nor did I want him to. Grinding and gyrating, meeting him stroke for stroke, I rode my man with unbridled abandon. Within seconds, the searing heat of his seed shot up into me, but Chaos didn’t go soft. He had only released the excess build up from my previous teasing. Teeth bared, double fangs exposed, and veins bulging on his temple and his arms, my mate was topping from the bottom.

  And I was more than willing to yield the reins back to him.

  I’d no sooner given the verbal command to release the shackles than the room spun as Chaos flipped me onto my back. Before I could even blink, he had my legs over my shoulders and was repeatedly ramming himself home with such savagery, I thought he’d split me in half. A bright light exploded before my eyes as I cried out his name. Chaos crushed my lips with a possessive kiss without slowing his punishing pace while I rode my orgasm. The taste of iron filled my mouth as my tongue slightly scraped against his sharp fangs. For some reason that only turned me on further.