But our ferocity had not scared her. The opposite, in fact. The wilder we were, the wetter her pussy, the harder she wanted to fuck. Deeper. Just…more.
A fact that I often took advantage of.
The footage from the Kronos cargo ship had been seen by everyone on Rogue 5. Silver, the sneaky female, had kept her recording device on when we went into the command deck. She’d edited the content to show me ripping out the Kronos soldier’s throat, my warning, and then an image of Blade ripping the enforcer’s head off as I stood by with a look of cold disinterest on my face.
It had the desired effect across the moon base.
Styx was more powerful than ever. Kronos legion was quiet, licking their wounds and watching their backs.
The other legion leaders helped me keep tabs on them, keeping them in check and would do so for the foreseeable future.
There were no Prillon warriors, no Atlans, no Doctor Mervan on Silver’s video. She was smart. She knew that Styx legion needed to be perceived as vicious. Merciless. Strong.
And Harper?
We kept the footage from her. She knew she was mated to rogues, but I wanted her protected from the ruthlessness that came with my leadership. I would not have her witness to such darkness. It was a difficult task, but everyone knew she had to be protected. Perhaps she herself knew this and didn’t fight us on it. Avoided the footage even.
We’d claimed her, and she glowed. The serum certainly made her eager for us, but it hadn’t been necessary. She’d been eager from the first moment I saw her in that canteen on Zenith. Our people loved her. After her selfless service at the mating feast, where she’d saved the lives of enforcers and captains from the other legions as tirelessly as she’d helped Styx, she’d become something of a celebrity.
Everyone loved my mate. Everyone wanted her. A touch. A hello. A kiss for their little ones. A smile.
While I garnered respect, she got their affection. I didn’t know anyone on the moon belt who liked me.
It was driving me fucking insane. I knew the political gift this was, the leverage I would have over the other legions, the pull I’d have with their people. I knew, and still I hated sharing her.
We were protective and possessive assholes.
Blade was worse. He was her shadow, ever on the lookout for an attack.
But that fierce protectiveness was the only reason I could breathe when she was out of sight. I knew when she was not with me, she was with him.
Gods. Who knew falling in love would be such a fucking mess?
Silver walked slowly, her uniform crisp, new. Her hair was in an elaborate braid I’d rarely seen her bother with.
“What’s going on, little sister?” Blade’s voice was curious, but content. He smiled more now that we had Harper. Hell, so did I.
“It’s a surprise. Just shut up and play along.”
Play along? I never did that. I had to know what was happening. Be prepared. Plan. Lead.
“I don’t like surprises, Silver.” My voice was neither content nor curious, but irritated. She’d interrupted us when we’d been in bed. Harper splayed over my chest, skin to skin. Heart to heart. Cock settled deep inside her, my seed slipping out because there was always too much for her tight channel. My favorite way to hold her. Silver’s knock on the door cost me precious moments with my mate.
As she continued down the corridor, Silver laughed and opened the door to the largest gathering room we had in Styx territory.
We followed her in and Harper’s eyes went wide. My throat grew thick, achy. So heavy I knew I would not be able to speak. I squeezed Harper’s hand.
“By the gods.” Blade’s awed tone said it all.
The entire legion was gathered. Three thousand strong. Children ran around, laughing and screaming and playing like this was the annual festival of gifts. They didn’t know the weight of the moment, but they would someday.
The crowd parted for us as we passed, creating a clear path to a raised platform where Scribe stood with Khon, Cormac and Ivar.
“Silver?” Her name was a question, to which she laughed and ignored me.
What the fuck was going on here? I sensed no danger, only heavy emotion.
We followed Silver up onto the stage and everyone just…stopped. Even the babies seemed to be holding their breaths. The silence was so heavy Scribe didn’t even need to raise his voice to be heard.
“Welcome Styx legion.”
They erupted in loud cheers, which lasted until Scribe raised his hand to silence them.
“We have gathered to honor our new lady and her mates. Our blood. Our heart. Our strength.”
Cheers. Louder. The room seemed to rock with the sound and Harper’s chest rose and fell in rapid waves, her hand choking the blood from mine in her tight grip. While she might heal, she hated to be the center of attention.
Blade leaned around her to look at me. “Do you know what the fuck is going on?”
I shook my head and scanned the screaming crowd. It was not often we saw everyone so damned happy. “No fucking idea.”
“Shut up, both of you.” Harper’s smile was wobbly and her eyes filled with tears. She knew. Damn female intuition.
Blade’s confusion turned to alpha protection mode when he saw her crying. “What is wrong? Are you hurt? Why are you crying?” His voice boomed, and he pulled her to him, checking her over.
She laughed and pushed him away. We both relaxed. “You two can be really dense.”
“Dense? What does that mean?” I asked. Sometimes, her Earth vernacular required more translation than the NPUs could provide.
Scribe stepped to the side and swept his hand out toward our enforcers, who had moved and organized at the front. They stepped forward and stripped their shirts from their bodies. The men stood bare chested and Silver remained covered in only a thin band that contained her breasts for battle.
Styx legion roared approval, and I felt my body go numb. For the first time, I was caught by surprise and had no idea what to do about it.
This was impossible. No outsider had ever—no.
Silver stepped up first and knelt with her bare shoulder before Scribe. “Her name is Harper, Scribe. And she is mine.”
The room was tense as Scribe leaned down and inked Harper’s name into Silver’s flesh. The buzz from the needle was the only sound that filled the room.
Cormac, Ivar and Khon followed suit and Harper swayed between us. We closed in, surrounded her with our heat and strength, our love as the time dragged on.
My enforcers were followed by the captains.
They were followed by the civilian leaders of every sector.
My enforcers stood at attention in respect until the final ink was placed. When the last bit of ink was finished, we turned to face the legion. They kneeled, every man and woman pulling the neck of their shirt to the side to reveal the freshly healed placement of their new marks. Harper’s name had been added to everyone, the dedication and declaration of the entire Styx legion as one. She was our mate, but she belonged to our people as well.
Harper broke free from our hold and walked toward Scribe, wiping tears from her eyes.
She pulled her own shirt from her head and knelt at his feet.
Without thought, I moved to block her, to shield her from view of everyone. She wore just a bra and while it was black and plain, she was sharing more skin than I wanted. Her body was for my eyes—and Blade’s—only. Grabbing the shirt from her fingers, I covered her with it, although it didn’t do much good.
She ignored my efforts and said, “I claim them all.”
The responding sound that came from the gathering now made the previous roar sound like a baby’s weak wailings.
Blade leaped forward as Scribe raised the needle to her flesh, stopping him by holding his wrist. “No!” He turned to me, panic in his eyes at the pain Harper would endure.
Harper’s green gaze lifted to mine, the love and devotion there humbled me, and I dropped to kneel before her.
She nodded. “I’m sure.”
I looked at the scars on either side of her neck. They’d healed well, only slightly pink still in contrast to her pale skin. But no one would question her loyalty with those marks. The double bites. That wasn’t enough for her. She wanted more. She wanted to be like us. I kept a hand on her back, holding the shirt over her bare skin, offering a little bit of modesty.
While she might not be modest, I was for her.
Blade loomed over both of us, blocking out the legion. He nodded once.
I looked to Harper who waited. She was willing to accept my answer, but it was probably because she knew I would give in. She knew this was important to the people. To her. Surprisingly, even to me.
“One name should suffice, Scribe,” I said.
He grinned, tilted his head slightly. “I agree.”
While I kept my mate as covered as possible and Blade remained our protective eyes, “Styx” was inked into our mate’s flesh. Blade placed a steadying hand on her bare shoulder as the needle pierced her skin over and over.
I watched her face closely for any signs of discomfort. Half my body was covered in ink; I knew how it felt, but I would stop it if it were too much for Harper. While her cheeks colored and she breathed steadily through parted lips, she remained motionless. Stoic.
A young one crawled out of her mother’s arms and onto the stage. She was a babe, not yet able to walk, but she made her way to my mate and crawled into her lap.
Everyone went silent, waiting to see what my mate would do.
I already knew.
When Harper smiled down at the babe and kissed her on one soft, tiny cheek, the room roared back to life.
Harper held the child as the mark of our legion was inked into her flesh, right above her heart.
She looked out over the crowd, up at Blade, down at the babe in her arms, then up at me.
“I want one of these,” she said. “And you’re going to give it to me.”
My heart nearly ruptured. “Bossy, aren’t you?”
“You haven’t figured that out by now?”
I grinned. My cock pressed painfully against my uniform pants at the thought of filling her with our seed, it taking root and Harper swelling with our child. A little girl, with her pretty hair and green eyes. Or a boy, rough and tumble, but generous and caring, too. A mixture of Harper and her mates.
“Yes.”
“Yes, you’ve figured it out?”
“Yes, to the baby.”
I glanced at Blade. “You could be with child now,” he reminded.
Shaking her head, our mate looked sad. “No, Coalition fighters and volunteers all have birth control. Mine is to last until the end of my two years.”
She brushed her cheek over the top of the baby’s soft head, then handed her back to her mother. Scribe stood, his work done, and I turned her shoulders to face me, so I could see my name over her breast.
I groaned at the sight.
Blade squatted down on his haunches. “Once we are finished here, we will go to the med unit and reverse it.” Ever the protector. We didn’t want her upset, even in this. I should laugh. Two rogue leaders brought to their knees by a woman from Earth.
“Think of all the times we fucked as practice,” I added.
She smiled then, brilliantly, but her hand came up to her reddened flesh. I knew she would not want a ReGen wand on the tender skin now, but as soon as we were away from the legion and in the med unit, we would see her fully healed. Especially if we were going to put a baby in her.
“I love you, you know. I love you both.”
I pulled her into my arms, and I kissed her. Hard. Deep. Claiming her in front of the entire legion as she shifted to wrap her arms around my neck.
When she moaned and clung to me, I let her come up for air. The legion yelled and clapped and whistled their approval as Blade moved closer.
“I love you, Harper.”
Blade echoed my words and we turned to face our people.
Everyone had seen my name, the legion’s name, be inked on her skin. That was enough. They didn’t have to ogle. I would. Blade would. Gods, we’d fuck her so we could see the mark, kiss it, as we drove into her, knowing she was ours just as much by that as the scars on her neck.
Silver bowed low to our mate and spoke for everyone in the room. “Welcome home.”
The words were repeated by all. There was nothing else to do. They’d shown their allegiance and Harper had given hers in return. It was time to get on with living, for now, in peace. If our mate wanted a baby, it was our job to give it to her. Starting now. I stood, lifting Harper with me as I did so, tossing her over my shoulder. The crowd parted for me and Blade as I carried a surprised mate out of the room—to much applause—and to the med unit.
Within, the doctors looked up. Surprised. Worried.
“My mate wants a baby.” I placed a hand on her shoulder. Blade moved up, did the same with the other. “Make her fertile, and we will do the rest.”
With pink cheeks, she cried my name and looked up at me. “Bossy, much?”
I grinned. “With you? Absolutely. Get on with it, doctor,” I ordered.
One came up with a wand, one I’d never seen before.
“Yes, doctor,” Blade added. “We have a mate to fuck. A baby to make.”
“There’s a problem,” the doctor said. Tilting her head to the side, she looked at Harper.
I pulled my mate into my arms, held her tight. “A problem? Is she sick? Fix her. Heal her.”
The doctor laughed. In that moment, I wanted to rip her head from her shoulders. Didn’t she know I was in a panic?
“Styx,” she said, trying to calm my panic.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blade’s body go rigid.
“Styx,” she repeated. She waited patiently as my brain returned to focusing on her instead of all the possibilities that could be harming our mate.
“I can’t make her fertile.”
My heart skipped a beat, not realizing how painful those words were. I had no idea I wanted a child until now. And then have it yanked from me. Gods, Harper would be crushed. She would—
“I can’t make her fertile because she already is. She’s pregnant.”
Harper gasped, her hands dropping to her flat stomach.
“What?” All three of us said the word at the same time.
The doctor smiled, looked down at her wand. “It’s very early, but this sensor is accurate. You, mate of leader Styx, are pregnant. Congratulations.”
“But, but…” Harper went lax in my hold. “I was given birth control on Earth before I was transported. It was to last over two years.”
The doctor just shrugged. “I can run more tests, but no alarms come up from the basic readings. You are healthy. Come see me in a few weeks, or if you have any concerns.”
I was panicking. My heart rate was higher than during battle. My mate was safe. She wasn’t sick, and yet I was afraid. “I carried her over my shoulder.”
“I was rough when I fucked her earlier,” Blade added.
The doctor laughed. “While I don’t recommend carrying her over your shoulder for long, you have not harmed the baby. And as for intercourse, I assure you, there are no restrictions.”
I looked to Blade over Harper’s head. A grin spread across his face. “A father.”
“Yes,” I replied. I tilted Harper’s chin up, kissed her gently.
“Oh no, you’re not going to go all gentle on me now, are you? The doctor just said there are no restrictions.”
Blade scooped Harper up and carried her out of the med unit, calling his thanks over his shoulder as he went.
I followed, ensuring he didn’t drop her. I was being an idiot, but our mate was carrying our child. We’d put it there. All at once I felt virile. My cock pulsed, my balls ached with my very potent seed.
“Faster, Blade.
We have a mate to fuck.”
Harper glanced at me over Blade’s shoulder. “The baby’s in there already.”
“Yes, but we’ve been very thorough so far. It pays to continue.” I was being ridiculous, but I had a feeling I’d lost my mind along with my heart.
Not only did I have to worry about Harper, but a baby too. I was doomed. I would be the only pussy-whipped leader on the moon belt.
I grinned as we walked into my quarters, and Blade gently placed her on the bed.
I didn’t mind being pussy-whipped as long as it was Harper’s pussy.
“Strip,” I commanded.
I watched Harper’s eyes go blurry with desire as she pushed down her pants, and we could see her pussy.
Yes, we were whipped and we’d spend the rest of our lives enjoying every moment.
Books by Grace Goodwin
Interstellar Brides® Books
Mastered by Her Mates
Assigned a Mate
Mated to the Warriors
Claimed by Her Mates
Taken by Her Mates
Mated to the Beast
Tamed by the Beast
Mated to the Vikens
Her Mate’s Secret Baby
Mating Fever
Her Viken Mates
Interstellar Brides®: The Colony
Surrender to the Cyborgs
Mated to the Cyborgs
Cyborg Seduction
Interstellar Brides®: The Virgins
His Virgin Mate
His Virgin Bride
Other Books
Their Conquered Bride
The Alien’s Mate (Cowgirls & Aliens, Book 1)
Wild Wolf Claiming: A Howl’s Romance
Her Rogue Mates Page 15