And hoped for a reprieve, for a bit of life to enter our lives.
For a mate.
“This feels like a death sentence.” Warlord Rezzer growled and I saw the beginning of his transformation to beast in his face as the bones seemed to melt and elongate, then return to normal. “They should have left me in that cave to die.”
“I’m sorry.” I motioned to the warriors standing at attention along the walls. “We all felt the same way when we arrived.” The room was large enough to hold at least fifty fully armored fighters. With eleven, it felt like an empty cave echoing back our isolation. “But it gets easier. And the Colony has begun receiving mates from the Interstellar Brides Program. As soon as you’re settled, you can be tested for a match.”
“No.” The Altan rose, his shoulders increasing in size as he snarled at me.
“Calm your beast, Rezz.” The Prillon warrior dispassionately seated in the chair next to him, Captain Marz, was about my size, and, like me, his hair, skin and eyes were golden, a pale hue associated with the colder regions of our home world, Prillon Prime. That was, until the Hive took him. Now his left eye was a strange, shimmering silver, the Hive tech implanted in his skin turned the flesh a pale silver as well. The color surrounded his affected eye, wrapped around his temple and disappeared beneath his hair. It was like looking in a mirror, and a bit unnerving. I had his file open and knew he had more under his uniform, more Hive scars. We all did. Even scars that weren’t physical. That was why we were here.
Rezz rotated his head on his neck, making a series of cracking and popping noises in his spine as he sat back down. From the corner of my eye, I watched Tyran settle back against the wall and we all took a deep breath in relief. Fucking Atlans and their beasts were unpredictable bastards. We’d be lost without them on the ground in the war, but they didn’t really belong inside, sitting calmly and talking politics. Not when their beasts were on the edge of losing control either from anger or mating fever. With Rezz, I suspected both.
“Captain Marz. I have assigned the four of you to work together in Section 9. Prime Nial has ordered us to increase fortifications around all Colony bases and prepare of expansion.” I focused my attention on the Prillon captain. I’d seen this before. Knew exactly what happened to these warriors. They may not have known each other before their capture, but somewhere in the agony, Captain Marz had been the one to take control, to hold them together. To keep them sane. And now, the Warlord and the other Prillon seated across from me, Lieutenant Perro, depended on Marz. He’d become their group leader. Which was good. These guys were going to need all the friends they could get. Friends, and a sense of purpose. “We need more men to help engineer and fortify the walls there.”
Captain Marz nodded and we both ignored Warlord Rezzer who was slowly regaining control.
The Hunter, Kiel, watched and waited like the predator I knew he was. He hadn’t spoken, not a single word, but I had no doubt he knew the position of every one of my security forces in the room, including what weapons they carried and how attentive they were being to the meeting. He wasn’t part of Captain Marz’s group, but I needed to change that. Even a lone hunter needed somewhere to belong, a reason to get out of bed in the morning. And he was the only Everian on Base 3. As far as I knew, he was the only Hunter ever to survive Hive capture.
Silent until now, the other Prillon warrior, Lieutenant Perro, crossed his arms over his chest. His arms were bare of Hive implants, the soft brown of his skin uninterrupted. I’d looked at his file as well. His implants were mostly in the neck and spine, a few in his brain tissue. Should the Hive ever break through here, his brain would probably leak out his ears. But for now, his eyes were clear and sharp, a copper that matched his hair. “What, exactly, are we supposed to do for the next sixty or seventy years? Build walls? I’m a pilot, and a damn good one.”
Yes, he was. And insubordinate, and a bit wild. Which was probably what had led to his capture…and ultimately his suffering on the Hive Integration Unit’s surgical table.
“I am aware of all your qualifications. Every new arrival spends time building. It helps work out some stress and allows you time to get to know the others. This isn’t a place where you can go it alone. During your acclimation, you will be processed and considered for other duties as well.
“We do run ships to the other bases, and we need pilots for those. But most transfer of goods or personnel is done using the transport pads. If the doctors clear you for flight, you may be assigned to an air patrol crew that monitors the planet’s outer atmosphere. But, as you are new here, you need time to adjust. Time to heal. You may not agree with that, but for now, you have no choice. None of you will be assigned to critical areas until you’ve been here for several weeks.”
Or longer. Especially if the rest of the warriors didn’t like or trust one of them. But I didn’t say that. To give them some of that damn hope, I added, “After that, everything is open for consideration.”
Captain Marz nodded. “Fine. I assume we’ve all been assigned quarters in the same area as well.”
Thank the gods, this was almost over and Marz was going to take it from here. I saw it in his eyes, the need to make sure his men were protected and taken care of. At least one of them understood the changes they had to accept. If one was willing to try, then he could talk the others around better than I ever could.
I liked Marz instantly, and made a mental note to move him through the process quickly. With the recent Hive attack, and the defection of one of our own, a medical officer named Krael, I needed men I could trust. Men who had honor. Not that the others didn’t. The other three had stellar records and survived the worst of the Hive. If they adjusted well, acclimated to their new lives, they’d be put into positions of importance. We valued everyone on the Colony, if they wanted to give their all.
Still, traitors surfaced. Krael brought a Hive transmitter onto Base 3, the poisonous frequencies led to many taking ill, including our own Governor, and had led to Captain Brooks’ death. He’d been a warrior from Earth who’d been carefree and liked to laugh, even considering what the Hive had done to him. He’d been my friend, and I wanted nothing more than to catch the bastard traitor who’d killed him. Who’d destroyed him from the inside.
I turned to the Hunter, Kiel. Perhaps I had a good use of the Hunter’s skills after all. “You have been assigned the same duties and region.”
“Of course.” His voice was even and unperturbed, like talking to a corpse. I wanted him to argue with me, to break through that damn cool reserve. He’d never deal with his pain, his new reality, if he kept everything sealed up tight.
I stood and rolled my shoulders, the tension there making my head ache. Again. I’d never suffered from headaches before—before the Hive put their needles and microscopic implants into me. Now, they were a constant plague, a reminder that I’d never be what I was before. “Very well. This is Phin, a member of my security team.” I angled my head toward the guard. “He’ll lead you to your quarters and take you on a tour of Base 3. You report for your first work shift in eighteen hours.”
Captain Marz stood, Perro, the Atlan and the Hunter following behind as four of my team led the way down the corridors to the private quarters. The men had arrived with nothing, so it wouldn’t take long for them to settle and explore the base. We didn’t have many Atlans, and Kiel was our first Hunter. They would, no doubt, draw a crowd and many challenges in the challenge pits.
I watched Tyran size up Warlord Rezzer as he passed and knew my second was thinking the same. Tyran was currently the reigning champion in hand-to-hand combat on Base 3. A position I was sure the Atlan Warlord would enjoy taking from him. If the newcomer could prevail. Tyran wouldn’t make it easy for him to do so.
I followed the group to the door, stopping next to Tyran as the new arrivals and their heavily armed escort moved on. “He’s going to break you, friend. Like a stick.”
Chapter Three
Hunt
Tyran
grinned, the bright light of a challenge accepted in his dark brown eyes. He was my opposite in many ways, his darker skin and hair a stark contrast to my own. His love of organized violence understandable, but sometimes he couldn’t stop, took things too far. Ever since our capture, he’d never been the same. But then, none of us were. Tyran, more than any warrior I knew, looked forward to the organized fights. “How long do you think I have?”
I considered. The Atlan would hear about the fighting pits by dinner tonight. By tomorrow, he’d want to knock Tyran from his place as champion. “A day. Maybe two.”
“Excellent.” Tyran put his weapons away and fell into step beside me as I walked down the hall. Our boots should have been loud on the hard floors, but we had learned to move quietly on our feet. Even Tyran, dressed in full combat armor, moved silently as a shadow beside me. In comparison to my second, I was considered the personable one. I had to be with my job. I couldn’t have the new arrivals scared on their first day. Tyran had an aura of darkness about him. We’d been friends before our capture, but after? After, Tyran’s silence grew and I had no idea how to fill it. All I could do was hope our mate would heal him from the inside out.
Ruthlessness, precision. Tyran had an accuracy to his movements, to his fighting that men tried for decades to achieve. This had a price. An introverted spirit, an intensity that made others afraid. Especially since he was a Prillon warrior. But I would have no other as my second. I would trust no one else to keep my mate safe.
“Did you meet with the governor this morning?” Tyran asked.
“Yes.”
“Any word on Krael?”
My blood chilled as I thought of the Prillon warrior who’d betrayed us all. My fists clenched at the thought of his lack of honor. He’d been a traitor for a long time and we hadn’t known it. It set us all on edge. While we had rules to follow on the Colony to keep things civilized, the entire population was made up of veterans, former fighters, and we’d all assumed that honor prevailed. We learned the hard way this was not the case and now we watched one another closely, with greater scrutiny, with a sense of suspicion I had grown to hate. It was hard enough keeping the men here sane without this added concern of traitors walking among us.
“No one can find him. And there are no transport records. He’s either still on the planet, or he used a ship to escape.”
“The governor put a price on his head.”
“It’s not enough.” I knew all about it. There was an even larger bounty off planet, courtesy of Prince Nial of Prillon Prime. But it wasn’t sufficient. If it were, we’d have Krael in custody. No one outside of the Colony knew why we wanted the bastard, but everyone in the universe knew we wanted him alive.
Tyran agreed as we made our way toward the center of Base 3. Our home had changed much the last few weeks. Between the Prime’s mate, Lady Deston’s, visits, the presence of two mothers who’d relocated to the colony to live near their sons, and Lady Rone’s arrival as the first Colony mate, the Colony had begun to come to life. The Governor’s mate, in particular, enjoyed the gardens and had insisted that more be done to make them welcoming. Trees and flowers had been transported in from all Coalition planets with seating scattered throughout. Vines grew everywhere unchecked, lending the place a somewhat wild feel. I’d scoffed for a time, but now the quiet solitude of the area, with its new water fountains and domesticated birds, drew me in and brought me some measure of peace.
Seeing things from their home worlds growing and coming to life here was uplifting. The Colony wasn’t a dead planet. We were alive. We just had to remember hot to live again.
As if I’d conjured her, I looked up to find Lady Rone and the governor walking toward us, both of them looking pleased.
“Captain Hunt! Tyran! It’s time. Come quickly!” Lady Rone reached for each of our hands, all but dragging us in the opposite direction. She was one of the only people on the Colony we’d allow to lead us around in this manner, despite the fact that she was tiny in comparison to our Prillon size. If we did not wish to move, nothing would force us, except perhaps an Atlan in full beast mode.
“My lady, what are you doing?” I looked to her Primary Male, Governor Maxim and he, too smiled. A look I’d rarely seen, but with more frequency now that he and his second, Ryston, had been matched through the Interstellar Brides Program.
“Your mate has arrived.”
“My mate?” I stopped dead in my tracks, stunned, as my heart raced. My matched mate? She was here? Lady Rone still tugged, then gave up, pulling solely on Tyran. “What? Why didn’t anyone tell me I’d been matched or that she was due to arrive?” Normally, we knew in advance, at least a few hours. Not that I would complain, but shock made every word from my lips ripe with idiocy.
Tyran ignored me and walked with Lady Rone’s hand wrapped around his elbow as he escorted her toward the transport station, all but leaving me behind. He glanced over his shoulder and I saw something in his gaze I hadn’t seen in a long, long time. It wasn’t just hope.
It was eagerness.
Maxim slapped me on the back, pulling me from my thoughts. “She’s not your matched mate, Hunt. She’s Captain Tyran’s.” He called ahead to Tyran. “I assume Hunt is your choice of second?”
Tyran looked stunned, as shocked as I felt, but he answered quickly. “Of course.” Tyran’s confirmation reached me, and my world, while still upended, settled. Things might be different than I’d expected, but we would adapt. I would adapt. I had no choice now.
We had a mate. That was the only thing that mattered now.
* * *
Captain Tyran Zakar, The Colony, Base 3
My mate. Holy hell. My mate. Not Hunt’s, as I’d first thought. Yes, I’d been disappointed, hope dying a slow death by starvation when weeks, then months passed and not one new mate arrived on the Colony. We’d gone to the testing center, went through the process, but neither of us came out with a match. That was three months ago. Until now, we’d heard nothing further about it. I knew Hunt had held onto his hope these long weeks. I’d given that up long ago.
All I remembered of the event was an amazing yet vague sex dream and that I’d left with a cock so hard I worried it was going to puncture through my armor. Fortunately, I’d been able to return to my quarters and take myself in hand, ease the discomfort I knew would only truly be lessened by sinking into my mate.
And now, I was going to have one. I wouldn’t be a second, but the matched mate, the Primary Male. I tried to suppress my grin, but it was almost impossible. I felt…gods, I felt good. Elated. Thrilled. Something pretty damn close to happy. There was a female out there in the universe that was perfect for me.
I’d assumed with my dark ways, my darker sexual needs, that there would be no one similarly inclined. What female would want to be bound and fucked? Blindfolded and helped to her knees? To cry out with pleasure because of a little bite of pain? To be dominated and not simply want, but need her mate to take control?
If Hunt had been the matched mate, I knew he would take his time and seduce our mate. I had been prepared to accept that, to give a mate what she needed and not worry about anything else. Mild, not wild. Tame, not tawdry. Sensual, not sultry.
But this female was mine. Mine. Which meant she wanted exactly what I wanted. She must need what I could give her. We would not have been matched otherwise.
My heart stuttered, thinking she’d reject me as soon as she saw my eye, saw what the Hive had done to me. But then, with Lady Rone on my arm at this very moment, her hand wrapped around my elbow and a happy smile on her face, I remembered that love was blind. She never seemed to notice or even care that her two warriors had been contaminated by the Hive. My mate must be the same because the match had been made after I was ruined by the Hive. The testing matched me, cyborg parts and all, to a female. That meant she would want me just as I was.
Right?
Right?
Next to me, Lady Rone had a noticeable skip in her step, reminding me of a happy chi
ld. I allowed her happiness to wash over me. I wouldn’t worry now. I’d enjoy the moment. They were rare. Elusive. Unfamiliar.
“You must be so excited,” Lady Rone told me as we walked toward the transport room. “I can’t wait to meet her. I wonder where she’s from.”
No one would use the term excited with me. I was the quiet one, the watcher. The brooding asshole in the corner. And yet I’d been the one matched.
I knew Maxim and Hunt followed a few steps behind. What was Hunt thinking? He was now my second. We were friends. The same rank. Equals. Yet he was a leader, outspoken and bold, while I was content to remain in the shadows. That didn’t mean I was any less fierce. In fact, I was perhaps more ruthless and cunning than Hunt. I blended in, quiet, an attack was unexpected.
And with a female? It had been a long time since I’d had my way, but I knew my nature. I would take over, watch her, analyze the smallest response. A woman was a puzzle I was all too eager to solve. There was nothing I enjoyed more than discerning her secrets so I could give her everything she wanted, everything she needed, even when she didn’t know it, or would not admit her needs to herself.
I’d just assumed it would be Hunt matched, that he would be the Primary Male and I would be his second. I’d hoped for a mate of my own, assumed that my darker needs would be tamed or hidden entirely, but I hadn’t considered it a possibility that there could be a woman in the universe perfect for me. Not when Maxim said a match had been made.
Only when he’d said she was mine.
“Excited? No. I hope to be worthy of the honor,” I admitted to Lady Rone. I stopped and she looked up at me in surprise. I didn’t speak of my doubts, my worries that Hunt might not be able to accept his new role. For years, he’d been the one in the lead, always shouting orders. I’d obeyed, followed, not because I could not lead on my own, but because he was my brother-in-arms, and I trusted no one else to ensure his safety.
Mated To The Cyborgs (Interstellar Brides: The Colony Book 2) Page 3