Freed

by Elin Wyn

  But now all I wanted was to focus on the man seated in front of me, the feel of his skin under my hands, the softness of his hair,

  "I'd never have the skill to charge for a haircut, but it's better." I ran my fingers through his curls again, until not a single snarl caught.

  I moved to work on the side and stopped. His hands clenched the arms of the chair, knuckles white.

  "Ronan? Everything all right?" His eyes snapped to mine and he nodded.

  I brushed over his ears. The slightly pointed tips were easier to see now that his hair was shorter. His breathing hitched.

  "Do they bother you?" he rumbled.

  "No," I stroked the sides again, fascinated at his reaction. This time he rewarded me with a low groan.

  "I feel like I should be asking if it bothers you."

  He shook his head. "Not the way you mean."

  I finished in silence and put the scissors on the shelf behind me.

  Neither of us moved, until I couldn’t take it. “Ronan, I’m not good at this. Between school and the clinic, I didn’t date much. I don’t know much how men act, outside of a clinic.”

  No response. Well, that was stupid.

  The decision might have been made, but now I couldn’t get the words out. “Never mind. You asked me to stay in Loree’s room. I’ll go keep her company.”

  Time to retreat, and never speak of this again. I backed away, but his hand shot out, imprisoned my wrist. “Wait. What are you saying?”

  I covered my eyes with my free hand, unable to face the mess I’d made. “I’m not good at reading between the lines. Not when it’s something like this. I thought maybe you…” I twitched the side of my skirt, “but I was wrong. I should go.”

  He drew me back until I was on his lap, caged me with his arms. “Nadira, are you asking if I’m attracted to you?”

  Shame burned through me and I looked away. “This isn’t the time, and it was a stupid question. You’ve got other things on your mind.”

  A snarl ripped through him. “You’re the only thing on my mind, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

  Oh.

  “I do.” Leaning forward, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his mouth close to mine. “Kiss me,” I whispered.

  His arms shook, but still he resisted. “You saw back there, in the engine room. My control is so thin. If I touch you, I’ll break. I’m not safe for you.”

  “I’ll take that risk.” And since he wouldn’t move that last micron, I did.

  At the first gentle kiss, he froze. And when I teased my tongue across the seam of his lips, he boiled over, crushing me to his chest with one hand while the other hand tangled in my hair, pulling my head back, arching me against him.

  He plundered my mouth, leaving me gasping as he switched his attention to the side of my neck, licking and biting a path up to my ear.

  “Tell me to stop. I probably can, still. I will, just tell me.” His hot breath tickled my earlobe.

  I squirmed in his lap, grinding against the hard length I could feel digging into my hip. “More.”

  His teeth latched on to my throat and I moaned at the sudden pressure.

  “Mine,” he growled, then pushed me away, and I staggered to my feet, mind reeling. Surely we weren’t done now?

  “Clothes. Off. Now.”

  There might be times for a slow striptease. By the burning in his eyes, this wasn’t one of them. Not if I wanted to keep my clothes intact.

  As the last layer hit the floor, he swept me up, kicking the table out of the way, until my back was in the corner of the room, legs splayed wide over his shoulders, and I gripped his hair for purchase.

  “Ronan,” I stuttered, but he didn’t hear me, just drove on, alternating broad sweeps of his tongue across my folds with nips at my inner thighs, until I couldn’t tell what to expect, lost in the heat.

  I cried out as he finally pierced me, then circled and sucked my clit relentlessly.

  The wave of sensations spiraled through my belly until a final spike tore through me, left me screaming in shock.

  Before I’d caught my breath, he lifted me off his shoulders, cradling me in his arms.

  He nuzzled my hair as I clung to him. “More?”

  A demand, a question, I couldn’t tell. I just wanted him.

  “More,” I begged.

  His arm swept across the table, clearing it with a crash, and he spun me away from him, one broad hand pushing my shoulders down while he pulled my hips towards him.

  Thick fingers cupped my mound, and I quivered as he curved them, gliding between my slick heat.

  He bent over me, his free hand wrapping around my chest, kneading my breast, pinching my tight nipple.

  Desperate at his onslaught, I squirmed, but he trapped me, snared me as tight as any bond, holding me fast, leaving me no way to escape the burning sensation pulsing through my core.

  “Mine,” he whispered behind my ear, and I whimpered as he impaled me with two thick fingers.

  “Mine,” he thrust again, and I rocked against him, sobbing for more.

  “Mine.” A third finger joined, and he twisted them against me as I shattered, pumping me until I finally lay quiet, heaving beneath his chest.

  Boneless, I slumped over his shoulder as he carried me to bed. When he slid in beside me, I realized he’d lost his pants along the way.

  I rolled to lie on his shoulder, his warmth enfolding me as his arm held me close.

  My hand stroked his chest.

  “Yours?”

  “Mine.”

  I stroked lower.

  “So you’re mine, too?”

  His breath hissed out as I stroked the broad head of his cock.

  “Always.”

  I wiggled out from his arm to dot kisses down his chest.

  “Stop.”

  He pulled me back up to his shoulder and wrapped his arm around me tightly enough that there was no escape.

  “But you said…”

  “When I spill, it’s going to be in you, while you’re screaming my name. And before that, I want you rested. You’ll need it.”

  A shudder ran through me at the heat of his words. He rolled to his side, pulling me into the curve of his body. Surrounded, exhausted, and satisfied, I dropped into a dreamless sleep.

  Until I jolted awake, bolt upright, hit by knowledge that made no sense, but had to be true.

  Ronan sprang up, instantly alert, searching for threats. “What is it? Loree?”

  “The tanks.” My awake mind struggled to catch up with the clues my subconscious had left me.

  “What?” He frowned, baffled.

  “Your brothers.” I stared at him.

  “They’re not dead.”

  Ronan

  Not dead. Nadira’s words stabbed at me.

  "Come on." She scampered out of bed, throwing her clothes on.

  “You probably want to dress, right? No reason to scare Loree."

  By the time I dressed and grabbed my knives, she was already in Loree’s room, sorting through vials and tossing them into the pillowcase.

  "When we get out of here, I'm always going to carry one of these. Who knew how useful it would be?"

  Loree looked at me, my shock mirrored on her face. "Do you know what's going on?" she mouthed.

  I shook my head. Nadira couldn’t be right. I'd been so worried about my own tenuous grasp on sanity, had I missed signs of her spiraling out of control? I put my hand on her arm as she reached for the injector.

  "What's that for?" I tried to keep my voice light but wasn’t sure it would've mattered. Her focus was all-consuming.

  "I really need another one of these. Next time we’re in the storage closet, let’s see if we can find a second. Or maybe in the cargo bay. I don't like leaving Loree without one.” She whirled. "Do you need a top up?"

  Loree shook her head. "I'm good. I, umm, checked over those earpieces you left while you were... occupied."

  I glanced at her, then shrugged. We
hadn't made much of an attempt to be quiet and it wasn't really her business. But she was Nadira’s friend, so I was glad there wouldn't be complications on that front.

  Loree held the case out to me. "They work the way you thought. They're connected to each other and the relay unit is in the case itself. They’re charged up now.”

  Nadira grabbed one, stared at it. “How does it work?”

  I took it from her and slid it in my ear. “Just like that. But why do we need one now?”

  She cocked her head at me like I had obviously missed something. “Because we need to go to your brothers’ tanks. I'm telling you, they're alive in there.”

  “That's not possible.”

  Her jaw set. “You have two options. One: they’re alive and waiting for you to rescue them. Two: they’re dead.”

  I flinched at the steel in her voice. The difference between the clear-eyed, driven doctor and the soft woman I'd held as she shattered in my arms took my brain a minute to wrap around.

  “If I'm right, and they’re alive, you'll have them back. Isn't that what you want?”

  I nodded, and she continued, relentless. “And if you're right, then we've just wasted a trip. Isn't the chance worth the trouble?”

  I leaned against the door frame. If they were alive...

  She came up, her eyes softer now. “You have to understand. I don't know what was done to them. I don't know if I can save all of them.”

  I forced my voice to work. “But you think some of them?”

  She nodded. “I do. Let's go.”

  I headed for the hallway, then stopped. "We can't. The Hunters are out."

  Nadira drummed her fingers on the wall. "Can we avoid them? We don't know how much time we have. Either until we reach the compound, or until we get an answer from our distress signal.”

  I could avoid them, but the thought of taking her out there while the Hunters were on the prowl turned my blood to ice.

  She slipped her hand into mine, the pillow sack slung over her shoulder. “I'll do whatever you say, and I'll try not to hit you with a clothes rod.”

  Loree laughed from the bed. “You have so many things to tell me about, girl.”

  Nadira looked over her shoulder and winked.

  “Eeww. Not those kinds of things." Loree slipped one of the other commlinks into her ear and nodded. “Let me know what you find out there. I'll keep an eye out for a response to the call.”

  We stayed silent as we ghosted through the corridors. Twice I caught the scent of Hunters, and we waited in the shadows until they passed.

  The urge to spring out, to destroy every last one of them burned through my veins. But Nadira needed me to keep her safe. And if she was right…

  Once we reached the chamber that held my brothers’ bodies, I broke silence.

  “How are you sure they’re alive?”

  “Look.” She pointed to the slow movement of Sander’s arm as it floated in the blue gel.

  “It’s not just floating, that gel is circulating. The noise even I can hear is a pump. That’s why these tanks are different than the others.”

  She laid out her small supplies and circled the tanks. “I think these are stasis chambers, just different than anything I’ve seen before.”

  I thought of the failed experiments we’d stumbled across. I hadn’t looked at those cylinders, hadn’t wanted to. But she was right, these were different.

  “Do it. Wake them up.”

  Nadira put her hands on my chest. “Ronan, I’ll try, but you need to understand. I don’t know how this tech works. I’m sure it’s not original to the ship, so Loree can’t help.” She swallowed. “It might not go well, especially for the first one.”

  Void. Another choice.

  Having them fight alongside me, knowing I wasn’t the last of Doc’s vision, the last of our Pack.

  But first, I’d have to choose. Who lived, and who possibly died for real.

  I walked down the row, let myself remember who they’d been before the attack.

  “Aeden. Xander. Lorcan. Quinn. Geir. Hakon.”

  All worth saving. None worth risking, even if a few of them had been a pain in my ass.

  “Just start. It’s worth it.”

  She nodded. “It might take a while.”

  “I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.”

  I prowled the room, watching helplessly as she studied the containers until I couldn’t stand it anymore. "What are you doing?"

  “Trying to get them out of this alive. Look, I can answer questions, or I can focus. Pick.”

  Fair enough. I didn't ask for her opinions when I was fighting.

  I went back to my patrol. I’d checked the length of the hallway four times before I heard her satisfied hum.

  "There we go." As she hit the keys, with a gurgling sound the gel drained from Xander’s tank.

  “Open, open.” She mashed the other buttons, swearing. “I need in.”

  I tore across the room, ready to rip the lid off, when slowly the cover rose.

  "Can you take him out for me?”

  I dragged his limp body to the floor, grimly aware there was no life under my hands. Her bet had been wrong, but maybe it was better for them to be out of the tanks, anyway.

  "Scoot!" I jumped back as she jabbed the injector into his arm, reloaded it with a different vial and hit him again.

  “Come on, come on,” she muttered.

  Then, with a wracking cough, Xander shuddered, hacking out a glob of the blue gel. Nadira pounded his back while I stared in shock.

  He was alive.

  They were all alive.

  Xander started to push away from Nadira, but, whatever had been done to him, his muscles were still weak.

  I knelt next to her, my heart shaking in my chest.

  "Stay down, kid,” I ordered, my voice gruff even to my own ears. “She's like Doc but maybe a little less cranky. Don't cross her.”

  I rocked back onto my heels, watching as she checked his vitals.

  Satisfied that he was stable, she moved to the next chamber, when a scream rang in my ear.

  “Loree, report,” I snapped.

  Nadira whirled from the tank, her face pale. “What is it?”

  I waved her to silence, straining to listen.

  “The Hunters, they found us. I think they--” and then Loree broke off.

  Nadira leaned against the next tank, hands shaking, waiting to hear what had happened.

  Xander sprawled on the floor, his breathing already becoming even, regular. The other tanks lay waiting.

  “I think the Hunters decided to test that door.”

  Nadira ran across the room. “I'll take care of them, go!”

  I crushed her to me, kissed her, and then ran like a man with hope behind and hell before him.

  Nadira

  I checked the man on the floor again. He’d stabilized, so it was safe to start on the next. Safer, now that I knew the correct combination of buttons.

  I thought of Loree, trapped in the room, then shoved it aside.

  Ronan would deal with it. I’d have to trust him to take care of her.

  The gel drained from the next chamber and, as the lid opened, I heard movement behind me.

  I spun around to find the man, Xander, behind me.

  “Rescuing Aeden, too?”

  He lowered the second body to the floor, then flopped to the deck next to me. “Sorry, weaker than I thought.”

  “Not surprised,” I snapped. “That was stupid. But thank you. Easier than me climbing in.”

  He leaned back, watched me working. “Ronan was here, right?”

  “Yes. He’ll be back as soon as he can.” My vision blurred, and I fumbled the next vial of stims. “I think we’re under attack.”

  “What?” He struggled to his feet. “Where?”

  My mind stuttered to a halt, trying to figure directions.

  “Never mind, I can track him.”

  “You’re not ready to fight. I don’t even k
now what was done to you.”

  “Does it matter?”

  Staunchly, I resisted the urge to throw one of the empty vials at him. One of Lyall’s Wolves as a patient had been impossible. Six more? “No. But if you get yourself killed, he’ll be pissed.”

  He laughed. “You sound like Doc. But you smell like Ronan.”

  Blushing, I kept working on the second patient.

  “Sorry, that was stupid. The others think I’m an idiot, but I’m not usually this bad.”

  “I’ll make up my own mind about that.”

  Finally, the second patient finished coughing out the majority of the blue gel.

  Xander crouched next to me. “Hey, Aeden. No idea what’s going on, but this lady is Ronan’s. He’s fighting, and I’m headed out. Do what she says, okay?”

  Patient two, Aeden, blinked. “Fuck you.”

  Xander stood, his movements already stronger, sure. “Yeah, he’ll be fine.” And with a quick salute, he was gone.

  By the time Aedan was able to sit up, I had a plan.

  “Let me know when you can help with the next guy, give him the overview, then go help Ronan, alright? Until I know what’s going on, I want as many of you on your feet as possible.”

  His eyes narrowed, calculating. “You’re not afraid of us at all, are you?”

  “Should I be?”

  “Probably not.” He hacked the last bit of gel out and sat up. “If you can handle Ronan, we probably should be afraid of you.”

  Like a responsible adult, I didn’t roll my eyes, just prepped the next set of vials.

  “Whatever. I don’t want him fighting alone.”

  “Well, Xander isn’t going to be much help. But you’re right. Alone isn’t any good for us. We’re meant to be a pack.”

  “Maybe that explains Erich,” I wondered.

  I didn’t realize I’d spoken aloud until Aeden sat straighter. “Erich is here? No worries, then. He and Ronan kick ass as a team. Should have known. Where you see one, you’ll find the other.”

  Given what I suspected about Erich, that didn’t make me feel any better.

  Ronan

  I burst out onto our deck to see my worst fears realized. The hatch, still flashing its warning, swung open. A crowd of Hunters pressed through, intent on exploring whatever had drawn them here.