Mated to the Beast

by Grace Goodwin

  Her commander sighed and continued to ignore me. “I can’t sanction a rescue mission to an integration center for one coalition fighter. Things are precarious enough around here, captain, as it is. I can’t risk warriors for a mission that is most likely doomed to failure. We’re holding this sector by sheer force of will. I can’t risk the lives of good, strong fighters on a suicide run for a man who is probably already lost.”

  And there it was, the truth my mate didn’t want to hear. I could see the mix of fury and sadness flicker across her face, but she disguised it well. “I have to try. He’s my brother.”

  Her pain made me ache to pull her to me and hold her close. The strength of the urge to hug an alien female, to soothe her emotions, only confirmed that I was at the mercy of the mating connection. I studied her now, at my leisure, as she stood before her commander and tried to hide her hurt with a fierce pride I admired. She looked so much more vibrant and beautiful than the image I’d seen on the doctor’s tablet. That image had been flat, without her fire or the stubborn tilt of her jaw. In reality, she looked like so much… more.

  She wore the familiar uniform of a coalition fighter, the body armor easily disguising every one of her curves. Perhaps it was because she was my mate, or because she was so damn attractive, but I wanted her with a ferocity I’d never experienced before. I had to focus to listen to her conversation with the commander as visions of ripping her armor to shreds and exploring her curves with my tongue nearly overwhelmed me. She was all woman, and she was mine. Her dark hair was pulled back in some kind of snug ball at the back of her neck. I had to wonder what it would feel like tangled in my fingers as I tugged her head back for a kiss. Her skin was pale, so much fairer than mine or anyone else’s on Atlan. I doubted she reached more than my chin, but she was large for a female. She wasn’t delicate or dainty, but obviously brash and bold and sassy as hell. My inner beast loved all that fire and my cock wanted to taste it. The beast in me clawed to come out, toss her over my shoulder, and carry her away.

  I knew any man who looked at her would be instantly attracted and I fought the primal urge to mark her with my scent, rub my skin and my seed all over her flesh to make sure every male who came close to her knew exactly who she belonged to. She was mine and I needed everyone to know it, including the stubborn female who, even now, was trying to figure out a way to rid herself of me. All I could think about was burying my cock inside her, and all she wanted was to force me to leave her side.

  The challenge riled my beast in a way I had not anticipated, and I felt myself eager to taste her teeth and claws in the bedroom. How she’d ended up unmated until now was beyond me. How was it possible no male on Earth had desired her, or claimed her? It made me think that there was something wrong with that species of males. Human men must be idiots.

  “I’m aware that he is your relation.” Commander Karter held up his hand as she was about to speak again. “I’m also aware that two of your brothers already died at the hands of the Hive. I’m sorry for your loss, but there is nothing I can do.”

  Two brothers died at the hands of the Hive? That explained quite a bit. How many more brothers did she have? Were Earth families close like they were on Atlan? Was there a kinship, a love, between siblings that drove her need to rescue him? If this was the case, I understood, for I had one brother as well. If he were captured, I too would try to rescue him. But she was female and my mate. If she needed to know her brother was safe, I would take care of it for her.

  I grumbled and both she and her commander turned to me.

  “I will go after her brother. It was my interference that led to his capture.”

  I shouldn’t be impressed by her warrior abilities, the tactical skill I’d witnessed on that freighter. Females didn’t fight. They placated, soothed, nurtured. They weren’t stupid; in fact, quite the opposite. A female was the only one who could tame her mate’s inner beast and that took keen intelligence. The initial mating fever was depleted by the bonding, but the beast’s unpredictable rage never truly went away. Our mates knew how to soothe the angst that raged within, often silently. I had never known such a level of anger and rage as when she was in grave danger.

  I wanted to protect her, fuck her, care for her. But Sarah Mills didn’t want a mate and she didn’t seem like much of a soother. So, I would win her heart the only way I could, by getting her brother back for her.

  The commander leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his massive chest. Were I human, I may have been intimidated, but I was Atlan, and even larger than the Prillon warrior glaring at me now. I welcomed his ire, happy to redirect his irritation away from my mate. “You are another problem entirely, Warlord Dax. What the hell are you doing in my sector without authorization?”

  “I came for my mate.”

  “I’m a warrior, not a mate. I told the bride program that. I’m sorry you didn’t get the memo.” She looked at the commander. “Can you assign me to a squadron that is perhaps at least fighting in an area around their closest integration center?”

  “Do you want to be captured and turned into a cyborg?” I asked, my voice loud in the small room. She refused to relent and I refused to leave without her. I couldn’t. While the cuffs were not on her wrists—yet—I would not abandon my mate. She was mine and I would protect her—even from herself—with my life.

  She rolled her eyes. “No, but I have to save my brother.”

  “No, you do not. I shall retrieve him for you.”

  She opened her mouth, her gaze spitting fire, but the commander rose from his seat and slammed his hand down on his desk. “Neither one of you is going into Hive territory to rescue a dead man. Captain Mills, your brother is dead. If they didn’t kill him outright, he’s been integrated into their Hive mind, his body altered with synthetic technology we will be unable to remove. He is dead. I’m sorry. The answer is no.”

  The commander turned to me. “And you, Warlord Dax, will get back to the transport room and leave my ship. From what I heard of your actions, I don’t need you to go into berserker mode and be put down. Get to Atlan and find a new mate.”

  “My mate is here. If I leave this ship, she is coming with me.”

  Although it was true, I preferred my mate accept our match, forced bonding was possible. Sometimes, it was the only way to save a warrior’s life. I would not force her to accept the bond, but simply being in her presence soothed my beast. I would seduce her, make her come over and over until she thought of nothing but pleasing me, fucking me, soothing me.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. I knew she would not like to be commanded, but I would carry her off if necessary.

  I didn’t need a full bond to hold off the beast for now, I just needed to be near her. Forced bonding was dishonorable, a desperate act by a desperate man, and something I would not do. Forcing the link between us boded poorly for the union long term. If I was going to be mated with this Earth female for the remainder of our lives, I wanted her to at least like me. I wanted to fuck her, coddle her, cherish her—and fuck her some more, but I would not take an unwilling female.

  I’d rather die.

  However, seduction was a game I was eager to play.

  “She isn’t leaving with you, warlord, because she hasn’t accepted your match. She’s not a coalition bride, she’s Captain Mills of Recon Unit 7.” The commander was equally adamant. “Right now, she’s mine. Prillon warriors do not force females into mating bonds they do not want.”

  Sarah grinned then and my cock swelled. There was no question she was even more lovely when she wasn’t all stiff and proper. She felt victorious and powerful with the commander backing her, but that wasn’t going to get her what she needed to be happy and it was time to remind her of that.

  I pointed at the commander, but turned to face her. “He won’t let you go get your brother.”

  Her gaze darted from my face to her commander. “What can I do?”

  “Go back to your unit and follow orders until your two
years is up.” When her shoulders stiffened at the commander’s direct words, he added. “You’re one of the best recon leaders we have. You’re smart, fast, and don’t panic under fire. The men trust you. You could do a lot of good here, captain. We need officers like you.”

  I growled again; the thought of my mate going back into battle without me by her side was more than my beast could tolerate. Just thinking of the firefight I’d witnessed, ion blasts darting over her head, made my beast begin to pace. The commander would know my displeasure at his words. For a Prillon, he was big, but I was bigger. “She is not going back to battle.”

  “Go home to Atlan, warlord,” he countered. “Find another mate.”

  “I want no other.”

  Sarah’s shoulders tensed at my vow and her gaze darted to my face as if she did not believe my words.

  “Then wait for her two years of service to be up,” the commander ordered.

  “Like hell,” I growled. “I’ll be dead by then.”

  Her eyebrows went up.

  The commander looked me over. “Mating fever? How much time do you have?”

  “Not much.” I offered him the brief response while I stared at Sarah.

  “What do you mean you’ll be dead? You’re sick?” she asked me. I saw concern fight for space in her heart, right next to her anger. Perhaps there was hope for us after all.

  “Commander, may I please speak with my mate… in private?”

  The Prillon glanced between the two of us. When Sarah nodded, he walked out without another word, the door sliding shut behind him.

  Seeing her worry gave me some measure of hope.

  “Mating fever,” I told her. “Atlan males have it, although when it strikes is unique to each individual. It lasts for several weeks, slowly building until it is all consuming. I’m older than most who get the fever, but that is irrelevant. When it takes over, it overpowers logic and reasoning and turns the male—me—into what we call a berserker.” I held up my stained hands. “My body transforms into more beast than man. Rage fills me until there is no reason left, only pure animal instinct. I can rip the heads off the Hive without blinking, but I won’t want to stop. The only thing that can control an Atlan berserker is his mate. The only way to calm the beast is to be soothed and accepted by our mates, to fuck.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “And if you don’t… fuck, you die? That doesn’t make sense.” she said, surprised. Just hearing the word fuck from her lips made me groan.

  “It is called mating fever for a reason. It is meant to ensure that all Atlan males are appropriately matched and mated, allowing for the continuation of the species. If a male doesn’t mate, he dies.”

  “Like survival of the fittest,” she replied.

  “I do not know that term.”

  She held up her hand. “It doesn’t matter, but I understand… the concept. If you have to fuck someone, then go find a space prostitute or something,” she countered, waving a hand in the air. “You don’t need me. Any vagina will do.”

  Anger swelled at her last statement. “Not anyone will do,” I growled, then took a deep breath. Of course, a short while ago I’d thought differently, but now she was in front of me. Now I knew, deep down to my soul, that this Earth woman was mine. I didn’t need a matching program for verification. “It’s the mating fever. This means that it can only end by fucking a mate. In my case, this means you.”

  When she remained silent, I pushed on. Stepping closer, I said, “Do you know what I see when I look at you?”

  She shook her head.

  “The palest of skin I want to touch. I wonder how soft it is. Are you soft everywhere? Your breasts, you try to hide them beneath your body armor, but they are round and full. Easily a handful. I want to cup them and feel their weight. I want to watch as your nipples tighten when I stroke my thumbs over them. That plump lower lip, I wonder how it will feel when I nibble on it. And your pussy—”

  She held up a hand, most likely to push me away, but her hand settled on my chest. I covered her hand with mine and walked her backward until she bumped into the wall. I didn’t give her space—that wasn’t what she needed—and I pressed one of my legs between hers. Because of the height difference, she practically rode my thigh.

  I watched as her pupils dilated, her mouth fell open. Good, she wasn’t thinking now. If there was a female who needed to stop thinking, it was this one. She needed someone else to watch out for her, to take care of her for a change. Starting right now.

  “You are mine, Sarah, and I will not give you up.”

  “I have to fuck you and then you’ll be cured? You won’t die?” She looked me over in a very heated way and I let her look, let her see the desire in my eyes, feel the heat of my body close to hers. “Fine. I’ll fuck you once—a one-night stand—and then we can go our own separate ways. It’s been a while and I’m sure you’re… probably… an interesting lover.”

  While I found her agreement appealing, I shook my head, for she still didn’t understand. “There is no own separate ways. We mate for life. And, getting back to the mating fever, it’s not just once. We will have to fuck again and again…” I leaned closer, nudging her cheek with my nose, breathing in her sweet scent, “…until the fever is soothed, until it has passed.”

  She lifted both hands to my chest and I grabbed her wrists, pinning them over her head as I continued my exploration of her neck, then buried my nose behind her ear to smell her hair. Her breathing became ragged as she whispered in my ear, “And if I won’t fuck you again and again until the fever is soothed?”

  “I die.”

  “You want me to be your mate so you don’t die?” she asked. I lifted my head and looked her in the eye, our lips apart. My respect for her grew when she held my gaze, didn’t retreat. That was a good indication her dislike for me had lessened. When she licked her lips, I knew she was mine.

  “If you refuse me, Sarah, I will leave this ship with my honor intact. If you refuse me, I will die.” I bent my knee and lifted her body off the floor so she rode my leg, her clit and pussy rubbing my thigh through our uniforms. “But death means nothing to me. I’ve been fighting the Hive for ten years, woman. I’m not afraid to die.”

  She shook her head slightly, as if trying to clear a lust-filled haze. “I don’t understand why you are here. Can’t you go find a woman on Atlan who actually wants a mate?” With her arms over her head and her hot core pressed to my thigh, she was spread before me like an offering, but I would not take her, not yet.

  “You are my mate. I want you. I want you because you are the one for me. I feel it. The first time I saw you I wanted to throw you over my shoulder and carry you away.”

  “Because a woman can’t fight,” she bickered.

  “Obviously a woman can fight. I just believe they shouldn’t. It’s not that. I wanted to carry you away because I wanted to press you up against the nearest wall and fuck you. Something like this.” I nudged her core with my thigh. “And preferably without clothing or your team watching.”

  Her mouth fell open and her eyes dilated. The rise and fall of her breasts sped up as she fought her body’s craving, her need of me, fought the call between matched mates.

  “Do not deny your desire for me as well.”

  She sputtered, looked at my chest, the floor. Anywhere but at me. “I don’t even know you.”

  “Your body knows me. Your soul knows me as well. In time, your heart and mind will catch up. That’s what’s special about mates. Our connection, it’s visceral. It’s so deep, so permanent, that it defies logic. There is no room for doubt, for we know we are meant for each other.”

  She shook her head, her eyes closing as I tensed my thigh muscles, rubbing her core with my heat and strength.

  “Do you deny the… connection?” I asked.

  She shook her head, her hair rubbing against the wall. “You know I can’t.”

  “Can’t what?” I asked, running my lips along the delicate curve of her jaw, the sw
irl of her ear, the rapid pulse thrumming in her neck. I could smell her. Sweat, definitely, but something musky and feminine that soothed and aroused the beast inside.

  “Can’t deny you.” My heart leapt at her words, words I had feared would never fall from her lips.

  “Ah, Sarah. Such an admission was hard for you. I will keep it safe, guard it as I will you. Do not fear… our bond. While I need to fuck you to survive, there is time. I will honor your need for time, at least for now. I will not take you until you allow it, until you beg my cock to fill you.”

  She moaned and I pressed my advantage.

  “But now, I want to kiss you, Sarah. I need to taste you.”

  She opened her eyes and the anger, the resistance was gone from her gaze. My beast wanted to howl at the submission I saw in her soft gaze. My Sarah, she fought so hard to be tough, to be a warrior. She was strong, yes. But she didn’t have to be, not all the time. I was here for her now, to share her burden, to take on her troubles. Protect her from danger. She was also mine, mine to fuck, mine to tame, and mine to protect… she just didn’t understand it yet.

  Chapter Six

  Dax

  I waited, our breaths mingling, her lush thighs squeezing mine.

  Instead of replying, she tilted her chin and her mouth met mine.

  In that moment, that instant, the beast came out. He took over the kiss, one hand tangling in her hair, cupping her head and tilting her just the right way to take the kiss deep and hard. My tongue filled her mouth, finding hers and tangling, tasting, licking. Her flavor only enhanced my need and I pressed my thigh into her more, hoping she’d use it, to ride my leg and find her pleasure. She didn’t deny me this, for she squirmed and pushed off with her toes to move herself against me as I kissed her and kissed her.

  Her lower lip was as plush and decadent as I’d suspected. Her body was soft, even beneath the body armor, and a perfect fit for mine. My beast raged for more, not wanting to stop at just this wild kiss. Even though my body craved more, this was not the time or place and I held the beast back. Lifting my head, I took in Sarah’s closed eyes, flushed cheeks, swollen, red lips. A growl rumbled in my chest and her eyes opened, cloudy with desire.