by Anna Hackett
So wild and fierce. And his.
Rillian
Rillian handed Dayna a drink. She accepted it with a smile.
She was wearing a sleek column of gold, her hair swept up in a style that left her long neck bare. He was a man with more wealth than he could count, who could buy and sell anything he wanted, but as always, he was thankful this woman was his.
“You are so handsome,” she murmured.
He touched his lips to hers. “And you are so beautiful. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Rillian felt the warmth move through him, amplified by the alien symbiont pulsing along his spine. He felt a tingle of answering energy from Dayna’s symbiont.
His woman was so incredibly tough. She’d survived things that should have killed her, and had still come up ready to embrace life.
He wrapped an arm around her, scanning the party. His gaze fell on Galen and Sam. He watched the imperator tuck a strand of Sam’s hair back behind her ear. The pair was lost in each other, oblivious to the party going on around them.
“I’m happy for him,” Rillian said. “For them both.”
“I’m happy for all of us,” Dayna said. “Our abduction could have turned out very differently.” She cupped Rillian’s cheek. “I consider myself very lucky.”
Everyone hated the Thraxians and all they’d done, but Rillian knew that the aliens had done one good thing—they’d brought these people from Earth into their lives. He was well aware that his entire existence was better because of Dayna.
She leaned into him. “Want to go home and get naked?”
Rillian smiled. “Always.”
Magnus
Magnus held the sleeping child in the crook of his arm. His child.
Ever pressed into his side, and he was once again blindsided by how his life had changed. Changed beyond his wildest imaginings.
One day, he’d been an unfeeling cyborg imperator, and the next, a father with the woman he loved next to him.
He’d never believed that he could feel this much. Love this much.
Ever had changed everything. And baby Asha had changed it even more.
He counted Asha’s eyelashes resting on her cheek. Then he listened to her quiet breaths. Drak, he was the father of this tiny little girl.
“You okay?” Ever stroked a hand down his arm.
“I love you.”
Her lips quirked. “I know.”
“I love her. I will do everything in my power to give you both everything you need.”
A sweet look crossed her face. “We just need you to love us, Magnus. Everything else will fall into place.”
He pressed his cheek to her dark hair, his baby a sweet weight in his arms. “I do. With everything I am.”
“Imperator.”
The voice of one of his elite cyborgs broke through the moment. Magnus focused on Toren, standing to attention beside them. “Yes, Toren?”
“Sorry to interrupt. Jax sent me with a priority message for you from an informant. I thought you’d want to see it.”
Magnus had left his second-in-command, Jaxxer, in charge of the House of Rone for the evening. His cyborg best friend had always felt more deeply, and hadn’t been happy to miss a party. Still, Magnus knew it wouldn’t stop the man doing his job to the best of his ability.
Taking the paper, Magnus flicked it open. He read it and frowned. “Is it confirmed?”
“No. Just a rumor.”
“Probability it is correct?”
“By my calculations, twenty-six-point-five percent.”
Not high, but high enough that it couldn’t be ignored. “Thank you, Toren. Please inform Jax to investigate this fully.”
Toren nodded.
“And then get yourself a drink.”
Toren blinked slowly. “A drink?”
“Yes, and join the party.”
Magnus knew he would have had the same blank-faced expression as Toren’s just a few months ago. As the cyborg turned to find himself a drink, Magnus saw Ever trying not to laugh. But when her gaze moved across his face, her smile faded.
“What’s wrong?”
“Maybe nothing. I need to speak to Galen.”
She nodded and took the sleeping baby out of his arms. “Go do your imperator thing.” She pressed her cheek to his arm. “We’ll be waiting.”
A glow blossomed in his chest. Magnus felt the truth of her words and her love. She would always be there, waiting for him.
Galen sat on a chair, the party revolving around him, and Sam in his lap.
He was content and happy. Drak, it felt good. He nuzzled her neck, right where he’d bitten her. One day, if she allowed him, he’d mark her skin with ink to show his commitment.
“I want to help out with training the new gladiator recruits,” Sam said.
Galen smiled. “They’re your recruits.”
She frowned. “What do you mean, they’re my recruits?”
“Sam, you’re mine. I love you.”
Her gaze softened. “I know, boss-man.”
“That means that what’s mine is yours. The House of Galen is yours too.”
She blinked. “Uh, wow. Okay.” She tilted her head. “Does that mean I can be called Imperatoress?”
Galen laughed. “Only when you’re in bed with me.”
“I think I might like to fight in the arena, too. When I’m ready.”
He stroked a hand down her arm. “Whatever you want.” He loved watching her fight.
For the first time ever, Galen looked to the future with pure excitement. Not just to ensuring Raiden had what he needed, or that his people were safe and cared for, or that the innocent were rescued. For the first time, he considered all the things he wanted for himself, and they all revolved around the woman in his arms.
“Galen.”
He looked up at Magnus and frowned. “Magnus. Problem?” He felt Sam stiffen.
“Probably nothing.” The cyborg sat in a chair beside them. “I have an unconfirmed rumor to inform you about.” He held up a folded note.
Instincts firing, Galen took the paper and opened it.
“What is it?” Sam peered at the alien script, but he knew she couldn’t read it.
The words made Galen’s fingers clench on the paper. “An unconfirmed rumor that the Thraxians had a small scout ship with them when they attacked Fortuna Station.”
Sam sucked in a breath, her gaze zeroing in on his face. “And?”
“The main Thraxian ship was already almost at capacity when they attacked Fortuna. That’s why so few of you were taken.”
Sam waited, her dark eyes intense.
“But the scout ship had space. There may be more abducted humans who were taken.”
Her jaw tightened. “And they’re here on Carthago? In captivity?”
“At this time, it’s just a rumor,” Magnus said. “We’ve calculated a twenty-six-point-five percent probability that it’s correct.”
Galen looked at his fellow imperator. “We all read the Thraxian manifest. Every single one of the humans listed in there is standing right here in the House of Galen.”
Magnus nodded. “I am aware. However, I’ve already instructed Jaxxer to track this down and corroborate.”
“You’ll keep us informed,” Galen demanded.
Magnus inclined his head. “Of course.”
“Thank you, Magnus,” Sam said.
As the cyborg walked away, Galen wrapped his arms around Sam. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I don’t want to borrow trouble or worry the others. This might be nothing.”
“Let’s agree to wait and see what Magnus’ cyborgs uncover.”
“I pray it isn’t true.”
Suddenly, fireworks exploded into the sky. The partygoers cheered. Galen recognized Lore’s handiwork when he saw it.
“But if there are more humans out there…” Sam’s voice drifted off.
“We won’t abandon them.” He made a vow to himself that
together they’d help find any other humans who might be out there. If they existed.
She smiled. “For honor and freedom, my noble imperator.”
“For honor and freedom, my gorgeous partner, lover, champion.”
He leaned down, pressing his mouth to hers, drinking deeply. As love filled him, his tattoos glowed, and he kept kissing her as more fireworks exploded overhead.
I hope you enjoyed Galen and Sam’s story!
We haven’t seen the last of Carthago and the House of Galen gladiators yet. Stay tuned for a novella set on the Corsair Caravan as part of the Pets in Space Anthology in October, starring Corsair’s right-hands Mersi and Bren.
And look out for more in 2019:
AND I have other exciting news for sci-fi romance lovers…I’ll have the first book in a brand-new series coming at the end of 2018. Keep an eye out for Eon Warriors and the first book, Edge of Eon, where a wrongly-imprisoned space marine’s only chance at freedom depends on her abducting a fearsome alien war commander.
For more action-packed romance, read on for a preview of the first chapter of Marcus, the first book in my best-selling Hell Squad series.
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Preview - Hell Squad: Marcus
Her team was under attack.
Elle Milton pressed her fingers to her small earpiece. “Squad Six, you have seven more raptors inbound from the east.” Her other hand gripped the edge of her comp screen, showing the enhanced drone feed.
She watched, her belly tight, as seven glowing red dots converged on the blue ones huddled together in the burned-out ruin of an office building in downtown Sydney. Each blue dot was a squad member and one of them was their leader.
“Marcus? Do you copy?” Elle fought to keep her voice calm. No way she’d let them hear her alarm.
“Roger that, Elle.” Marcus’ gravelly voice filled her ear. Along with the roar of laser fire. “We see them.”
She sagged back in her chair. This was the worst part. Just sitting there knowing that Marcus and the others were fighting for their lives. In the six months she’d been comms officer for the squad, she’d worked hard to learn the ropes. But there were days she wished she was out there, aiming a gun and taking out as many alien raptors as she could.
You’re not a soldier, Ellianna. No, she was a useless party-girl-turned-survivor. She watched as a red dot disappeared off the screen, then another, and another. She finally drew a breath. Marcus and his team were the experienced soldiers. She’d just be a big fat liability in the field.
But she was a damn good comms officer.
Just then, a new cluster of red dots appeared near the team. She tapped the screen, took a measurement. “Marcus! More raptors are en route. They’re about one kilometer away. North.” God, would these invading aliens ever leave them alone?
“Shit,” Marcus bit out. Then he went silent.
She didn’t know if he was thinking or fighting. She pictured his rugged, scarred face creased in thought as he formulated a plan.
Then his deep, rasping voice was back. “Elle, we need an escape route and an evac now. Shaw’s been hit in the leg, Cruz is carrying him. We can’t engage more raptors.”
She tapped the screen rapidly, pulling up drone images and archived maps. Escape route, escape route. Her mind clicked through the options. She knew Shaw was taller and heavier than Cruz, but the armor they wore had slim-line exoskeletons built into them allowing the soldiers to lift heavier loads and run faster and longer than normal. She tapped the screen again. Come on. She needed somewhere safe for a Hawk quadcopter to set down and pick them up.
“Elle? We need it now!”
Just then her comp beeped. She looked at the image and saw a hazy patch of red appear in the broken shell of a nearby building. The heat sensor had detected something else down there. Something big.
Right next to the team.
She touched her ear. “Rex! Marcus, a rex has just woken up in the building beside you.”
“Fuck! Get us out of here. Now.”
Oh, God. Elle swallowed back bile. Images of rexes, with their huge, dinosaur-like bodies and mouths full of teeth, flashed in her head.
More laser fire ripped through her earpiece and she heard the wild roar of the awakening beast.
Block it out. She focused on the screen. Marcus needed her. The team needed her.
“Run past the rex.” One hand curled into a tight fist, her nails cutting into her skin. “Go through its hiding place.”
“Through its nest?” Marcus’ voice was incredulous. “You know how territorial they are.”
“It’s the best way out. On the other side you’ll find a railway tunnel. Head south along it about eight hundred meters, and you’ll find an emergency exit ladder that you can take to the surface. I’ll have a Hawk pick you up there.”
A harsh expulsion of breath. “Okay, Elle. You’ve gotten us out of too many tight spots for me to doubt you now.”
His words had heat creeping into her cheeks. His praise…it left her giddy. In her life BAI—before alien invasion—no one had valued her opinions. Her father, her mother, even her almost-fiancé, they’d all thought her nothing more than a pretty ornament. Hell, she had been a silly, pretty party girl.
And because she’d been inept, her parents were dead. Elle swallowed. A year had passed since that horrible night during the first wave of the alien attack, when their giant ships had appeared in the skies. Her parents had died that night, along with most of the world.
“Hell Squad, ready to go to hell?” Marcus called out.
“Hell, yeah!” the team responded. “The devil needs an ass-kicking!”
“Woo-hoo!” Another voice blasted through her headset, pulling her from the past. “Ellie, baby, this dirty alien’s nest stinks like Cruz’s socks. You should be here.”
A smile tugged at Elle’s lips. Shaw Baird always knew how to ease the tension of a life-or-death situation.
“Oh, yeah, Hell Squad gets the best missions,” Shaw added.
Elle watched the screen, her smile slipping. Everyone called Squad Six the Hell Squad. She was never quite sure if it was because they were hellions, or because they got sent into hell to do the toughest, dirtiest missions.
There was no doubt they were a bunch of rebels. Marcus had a rep for not following orders. Just the previous week, he’d led the squad in to destroy a raptor outpost but had detoured to rescue survivors huddled in an abandoned hospital that was under attack. At the debrief, the general’s yelling had echoed through the entire base. Marcus, as always, had been silent.
“Shut up, Shaw, you moron.” The deep female voice carried an edge.
Elle had decided there were two words that best described the only female soldier on Hell Squad—loner and tough. Claudia Frost was everything Elle wasn’t. Elle cleared her throat. “Just get yourselves back to base.”
As she listened to the team fight their way through the rex nest, she tapped in the command for one of the Hawk quadcopters to pick them up.
The line crackled. “Okay, Elle, we’re through. Heading to the evac point.”
Marcus’ deep voice flowed over her and the tense muscles in her shoulders relaxed a fraction. They’d be back soon. They were okay. He was okay.
She pressed a finger to the blue dot leading the team. “The bird’s en route, Marcus.”
“Thanks. See you soon.”
She watched on the screen as the large, black shadow of the Hawk hovered above the ground and the team boarded. The rex was headed in their direction, but they were already in the air.
Elle stood and ran her hands down her trousers. She shot a wry smile at the camouflage fabric. It felt like a dream to think that she’d ever owned a very expensive, designer wardrobe. And heels—God,
how long had it been since she’d worn heels? These days, fatigues were all that hung in her closet. Well-worn ones, at that.
As she headed through the tunnels of the underground base toward the landing pads, she forced herself not to run. She’d see him—them—soon enough. She rounded a corner and almost collided with someone.
“General. Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“No problem, Elle.” General Adam Holmes had a military-straight bearing he’d developed in the United Coalition Army and a head of dark hair with a brush of distinguished gray at his temples. He was classically handsome, and his eyes were a piercing blue. He was the top man in this last little outpost of humanity. “Squad Six on their way back?”
“Yes, sir.” They fell into step.
“And they secured the map?”
God, Elle had almost forgotten about the map. “Ah, yes. They got images of it just before they came under attack by raptors.”
“Well, let’s go welcome them home. That map might just be the key to the fate of mankind.”
They stepped into the landing areas. Staff in various military uniforms and civilian clothes raced around. After the raptors had attacked, bringing all manner of vicious creatures with them to take over the Earth, what was left of mankind had banded together.
Whoever had survived now lived here in an underground base in the Blue Mountains, just west of Sydney, or in the other, similar outposts scattered across the planet. All arms of the United Coalition’s military had been decimated. In the early days, many of the surviving soldiers had fought amongst themselves, trying to work out who outranked whom. But it didn’t take long before General Holmes had unified everyone against the aliens. Most squads were a mix of ranks and experience, but the teams eventually worked themselves out. Most didn’t even bother with titles and rank anymore.