Tyran. Kiel. How could I have forgotten?
I turned and watched with growing horror as Tyran fired an ion blaster into the Scout who’d been walking a few paces behind him when they first entered the cavern. Tyran kept firing, but the Hive kept coming. Perro kept coming.
Shaking my head, I lifted my blaster to my knee, braced my arm there and fired, hoping to hit him from the side.
My aim was true, but he didn’t even notice, like the shot I landed on his hip was no more than a bee sting.
“Worthless piece of shit,” I muttered, scolding the only weapon I had at hand. Captain Marz finished off his Hive and was standing guard at the tunnel entrance where our surprise visitors had appeared. I looked around to see the beast, Rezz, moving toward Kiel.
And Hunt? Hunt was standing over me like an avenging angel. Protecting me. And as much as I loved him for it, I couldn’t stay down. That wasn’t my style.
I shoved the worthless ion blaster back into my thigh holster and stood up, moving toward Tyran and the Hive who now had its hands around my mate’s neck.
Oh, no. Hell no.
I was ready to charge in, but Hunt grabbed me by the arms and pulled me back against his chest. “He’s fine, mate. Trust me. Watch.”
As if Tyran had just been waiting for Hunt’s words, he lifted the Hive over his head and threw him nearly ten feet through the air, the Hive’s body slamming into the rock wall with a loud crash. My mate stalked over, grabbed him by the head and squeezed his head into pulp between his palms. I turned away as the Hive’s head literally popped, the top half of his skull gone, the bones that had once been his face crumpled like aluminum foil in Tyran’s grip.
And that was disgusting. Nausea rose, but I’d won that battle dozens of times in the past and I ignored it, turning away as a shudder passed through me. Hunt pulled me to his chest and I let him, wrapping my arms around his waist as I watched Kiel back the Hive Integration Unit into a corner.
Kiel and the Hive were facing off, circling each other like boxers with Kiel caging him in. What the hell was the Hunter doing? “Kill him, Kiel!” I yelled.
“No. We need him alive.”
Right. Krael got away. We needed at least one of them for questioning. From the corner of my vision Tyran appeared, walked straight up to the Hive and lifted him off his feet, pinning him to the wall like a bug.
“Don’t kill him!” Kiel commanded. “I need him alive,” he repeated.
Tyran growled but his gaze turned to focus on me and Hunt. He looked like the rest of us, covered in gore, rattled. Angry.
I held his gaze and I let him feel me through the collar. I wasn’t scared. Well, I was shaken up a bit, but that was all. And next time I came to a gunfight, I was bringing a bigger fucking gun.
The Integration Unit squirmed, but Tyran ignored him completely, the kicks and twists of the Hive’s body not even making him flinch.
“How long can you hold him?” Kiel asked.
Tyran shrugged. “As long as it takes.”
Captain Marz shouted and Hunt and I both turned to face him.
He nodded in the direction of the cave. “Governor’s coming.”
Rezz’s deep rumble filled the cavern. “Too late. All dead.”
“Not all of them,” I said, and I turned back to find Kiel watching me. Our gazes locked and I knew we were both thinking the same thing. This creature, the monster Tyran held pinned to the wall, was going to talk. He had to.
Seconds later, Rachel’s mates, Maxim and Ryston, charged into the cave with my new BFF a few feet behind. Surrounded by about twenty guards, of course. How she’d talked them into allowing her to come along, I had no idea.
The governor took everything in at a glance. “How many escaped?”
“One,” I said. A sense of complete failure weighed me down for a few seconds, but Hunt’s arm wrapped around my waist and I took a deep breath. “One. And it was Krael.”
Maxim’s gaze moved to Rezz, who stood at the entrance of the tunnel that the traitor had used to make his escape. “You got your beast under control, Warlord?”
“Yes.”
I watched, amazed as the Atlan shrank before my eyes, his armor automatically shrinking to adjust to his normal size. He shook his shoulders as if shrugging off a heavy coat. “I’m fine. But the bastard went that way.” He tilted his head toward the darkness. “We should pursue.”
“Agreed.” Maxim nodded to several of his men and they jogged over to the Atlan, the entire lot of them disappearing inside the dark tunnel seconds later, only their heavy footfall lingering.
“And Perro?” The governor asked.
“He’s dead,” Tyran said, his voice flat. He tipped his head to the side and the governor looked to where Perro’s crumpled body lay near a small rock formation. He wasn’t moving. “I gave him what he wanted.”
Yes, he was dead, but he was at peace. The Hive controlled him no more.
“Are there more? Did you find the others?” Ryston asked.
Hunt answered. “There are at least a dozen Hive in these caves. We found the others, but it’s too late for them.”
“Understood.” The big Prillon governor nodded to one of his men. “Shoot to kill. Bring me Krael alive.”
“Yes, sir.” A second set of four men peeled away from the main group, following Rezzer and the others down the dark tunnel.
Ryston moved with three more guards to assist Kiel and Tyran with the Hive warrior they still had trapped. Surrounded by so many warriors, the enemy stopped fighting.
“No! Get back!” Kiel shouted, but it was too late. The Hive’s eyes turned a deep black and he went limp in Tyran’s hold. My mate shook the creature, confusion evident in the wrinkled lines of his face as Kiel cursed and threw his weapon to the ground.
“Gods be damned! No!”
“What happened?” Tyran asked.
Kiel waved his hand in the air as if the answer were irrelevant now. “The Integration Units are different. If there is a statistical chance of escape, they will wait for the opportunity. If not, if they—or whoever the hell is controlling them—feel that capture is imminent, they are eliminated. Their brain basically melts inside their head.”
“Self-destruct mode?” Rachel whispered with something that sounded suspiciously like awe. Even with her voice so soft, the Hunter heard her clear across the room. That warrior had some seriously bionic ears.
“Yes. Exactly. With just Tyran and I near, the Hive considered it a statistical possibility it could escape. Once Ryston and the others arrived…” His voice faded away with disgust. Once the others arrived, the odds changed, and not in the Hive’s favor.
“My apologies,” Ryston spoke, bowing slightly at the waist to the Hunter. “I did not know.”
Tyran dropped the dead Hive unceremoniously to the ground and looked at Maxim. “We must take Perro with us, give him an honorable end.” He turned, pointed to the dead warrior. “After that, nothing but cleanup here.” His gaze drifted to me and held as he finished his statement, “But I have a disobedient mate to take care of.”
Rachel whirled on her heel, her eyes meeting mine. She was making the oh-boy-now-you’re-going-to-get-it face, but there was concern in her gaze as she looked me over. “Are you all right? Did you get hurt?”
I glanced down at my armor. I was covered in blood and guts, just like the rest of the team. And yes, I thought of us as a team now. Me, Kiel, Rez and Marz. They were mine, not the same way Tyran and Hunt were mine, but mine all the same.
I shrugged, unconcerned. “It’s not my blood.”
“Okay. Good.” She stepped closer, but tilted her chin. “But I’m not going to hug you.”
I laughed. “That’s okay. I wouldn’t touch me right now either.”
Tyran stepped right around her and buried his hand in my hair, tugging so I had to look up at him. “I would.”
With Hunt’s arm locked around my waist, and the entire room watching, Tyran kissed me. Hard.
Chapt
er Sixteen
Kristin
The governor saved me from embarrassing myself, his order loud, and brooking no argument. “Hunt. Tyran. No one is touching anyone until you two have clearance to be on Base from Doctor Surnen. You spent the last few hours under Hive control. You’re not going anywhere without an armed escort until the Doctor says you’re clear.”
Tyran ended the kiss to turn and scowl in Maxim’s general direction. I still couldn’t sense everything he was feeling, his iron control over his emotions sparing me the full impact of our connection through the collars. He’d all but knocked me off my knees once already. Hunt held back as well. I was running on adrenaline, using the rush to keep my feet under me. I knew the shock, the shaking, the nightmares would come later as my mind tried to process what I’d just seen. But this time, I’d have my mates to hold me. This time, I wouldn’t be facing the long dark nights alone.
Hunt was the one to respond. “We’re fine. Untouched.”
Much to my surprise, Tyran disagreed. “You’re not fine. Your head’s a mess. You’ll probably end up in the Pod.”
Hunt grunted and I felt a glimmer of his pain through my collar. Yes, they were shielding me well. “And you? You haven’t come out of this without injury. You’ve got at least three broken fingers and a few broken ribs.”
“You’re all going,” Maxim insisted. “Ryston, Rachel, take four men and escort everyone back to medical.” He looked from his mate to his second and I recognized the calm, controlled façade that Hunt often wore. And though he was intimidating, Maxim didn’t scare me, which was never a good thing when I was thinking about running my mouth. Like now.
“Do you have a forensic team here?” I looked to Rachel, who raised her eyebrows in an I-have-no-idea look.
She turned to her mate, who looked to her with a question in his eyes. “Rachel?”
Rachel practically beamed, and then it hit me, she was the science geek. This was probably right up her alley. Her mate knew that and wanted her advice. He saw her as an equal, her skills valuable to him and the Colony. Let her join them in this mission once they were assured she would be safe. And for the first time since I’d met her, I was jealous. “I don’t think so, but I’ll have to ask Doctor Surnen.”
Ryston walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, his touch affectionate. “What is a forensic team?”
“A group of investigators, a team that uses scientific methods to solve crimes, like fingerprinting, DNA tests…”
I picked up where Rachel left off. “Blood spatter analysis, trace chemical analysis, crime scene reconstruction…”
“We have never had the need on the Colony,” Maxim stated. “We have such teams on Prillon Prime, as well as in the battlegroups, but we have never had problems with criminal activity here. Until now.”
“You’ve never had mates here before either,” Rachel insisted.
“Or Hive.” That was me, making everyone far from happy with the observation.
The governor’s gaze drifted from his mate’s face to mine, and his expression hardened. “Are you familiar with these forensic teams and what they do?”
“Yes. I’m not a scientist. Rachel will have to do the lab analysis. But I could put together a team and get what we need.” I’d seen enough crime scenes over the years to know what we should look for and where to start. I could collect samples like a pro and get them to Rachel or others for testing.
“I’ll help.” Rachel volunteered. “And so will Doctor Surnen.”
The governor nodded. “It’s settled.” He turned to the corner, to where Kiel knelt over the dead Hive, looking for something. I had no idea what he was doing. “Hunter.”
Kiel lifted his head and met the governor’s gaze. “Yes?”
“You will assist Lady Zakar. I am officially placing you two in charge of this investigation.”
Hunt’s arm tightened on my waist, but Tyran actually growled. “No.”
I gritted my teeth and turned to him. “Yes.”
“It’s too dangerous.” His expression had gone cold, distant, but I wasn’t backing down, not on this. It was too important.
“I’m a criminal investigator. It’s what I do. It’s my specialty.”
“No.”
I raised a brow and crossed my arms, stepping free of Hunt’s hold on my waist to stare down the giant man I loved. “I am who I am, Tyran. If you don’t like it, I guess you can find yourself another mate.”
I dropped that bomb, right in his lap and turned to follow Ryston and the others back to Base 3 where I could get this blood off me and find a nice warm bed. Alone. I was all out of energy for dealing with bullshit at the moment. Every ounce of fire and willpower I’d possessed had been focused on finding my mates. And we had. We’d saved them.
I’d saved them. With Kiel’s help. Kiel and Marz and that giant beast Rezz. I’d dragged them along, and they’d come looking for their friend. I felt bad for them, because we’d found Captain Perro, but he’d been lost. Transformed. Beyond saving and Tyran had given him the death he’d wanted. But at least now his friends knew what happened to him. They had closure. It was more than some people got.
I could deal with Kiel, work with him to figure this out. I actually liked their group, Kiel, Marz and Rezzer. They were my friends. Best of all, they’d respected me and my choice. Backed me in the fight. Done their jobs and let me do mine.
I refused to go back into the hothouse like a good little orchid.
I wasn’t a freaking orchid.
My throat burned with unshed tears that I willed away from my eyes. I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t give in to the heartbreak of knowing my men didn’t give a flying fuck about what I could do. I needed to be a valuable member of society, not a mate sitting on a damn pedestal. I wasn’t going to be a sex toy and nothing else, no matter how mind-blowing the sex.
Hunt and Tyran followed behind me, but I ignored them, totally tuning them out. One of them, most likely Hunt, reached out from behind me to place a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged him off and increased my pace. I didn’t want them touching me. Not right now. Not when they felt the way they did. Maybe not ever again. They might want to fuck me, but that seemed to be all they wanted.
The tears that leaked from my eyes every few steps? I couldn’t stop them. Those were nothing. Must have gotten some dirt in my eyes.
* * *
Tyran, Two Hours Later, Medical Station
Doctor Surnen ran the ReGen wand over my hand and I used every ounce of control I possessed to hold still long enough for him to do his job. My armor was gone, replaced by plain blue tunic and pants. I wasn’t in battle, but I was more anxious than I’d been in that Hive cave.
Kristin was shutting me out. Shutting us out. I couldn’t feel anything from our collars but emptiness. Disappointment. Ice cold determination. Something was wrong. Kirstin was heat and fire, passion and joy. Not this dark void.
An hour ago, Hunt had emerged from the ReGen pod, his head healed. He was the only one still in his armor. He’d nearly collapsed when we arrived and they’d put him straight into the pod.
Governor Maxim had insisted we all go straight to the medical station and I hadn’t argued, needing to know that Kristin was well. I didn’t care about my damn fingers or my ribs. I cared about her, that she was whole. That she didn’t have one scratch on her after the battle.
Now that the danger was past, and Hunt was healed, I couldn’t take my eyes from our mate.
I wanted to fuck Kristin, to sink into her, into the pleasure that could only be found in her body. To forget our ordeal, to forget that she’d been in danger. That we could have lost her. I wanted to finally claim her, to make the worry of her being taken from us, of her belonging to another, go away. I wanted all the stress of life just to disappear. Hell, I wanted everything and everyone to disappear so that Hunt and I could be alone with our mate.
Once we’d been healed, my fingers no longer broken, Hunt’s head fully recovered, I assumed we�
��d get her between us. Yes, I wanted to fuck her, but I also wanted to punish her. Gods, she’d gone into danger and she needed to know that would not allowed.
I’d have rather died in that cave than have my beautiful mate suffer or be hurt. Or worse. Gods only knew what the Hive did to females.
Kristin was sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the medical station, arguing with the medical officer who was trying to run a ReGen wand over her.
“I’m fine.”
“Lady Zakar, I must insist.”
She rolled her eyes and sat motionless as the man did his job, the ReGen wand scanning through the cream colored pants and tunic she’d been given by the medical staff. We’d all been stripped, bathed, examined—all but Hunt. I wanted her in blue, my blue, but the tunic was better than the armor she’d been wearing, armor soaked in blood. Hive blood.
It could as easily have been hers.
The moment the wand indicated she was well, she pushed the medical officer away and hopped up out of the chair like she was in a big hurry to go somewhere. And she was. Away from me. From us.
She hurried into the outlying corridor, but there would be no escaping us. Hunt and I both had been cleared by the doctor, and we’d both been waiting for her. We were no more than two steps behind.
Once we walked through the door to our quarters, I did couldn’t hold my tongue for one more moment.
“I want to spank your ass until it’s a fiery shade of red.”
My voice was deep and dominant, but it lacked the usual conviction. I knew Kristin heard it because when she turned to face me, her eyes didn’t tip down in submission, but instead met mine in continued concern. I felt her persistent anger laced with confusion.
“Because I went to save you?” she asked.
“Because you risked your life for mine.”
“For ours,” Hunt added. He tugged his armor off over his head, let it drop to the floor. I felt his exhaustion and it weighed on mine.
“We’re supposed to protect each other,” she countered, hands on her hips.
Mated To The Cyborgs (Interstellar Brides: The Colony Book 2) Page 14