“I’m going to kill you.” It was all I had, and it bore repeating.
“We’ll see, Hunter. We’ll see.”
Blood boiling as I watched him leave, I prayed to every god on every world that Styx kept his word and kept Katie safe. It was all I could do because Astra shoved an injector into my shoulder and everything went black.
Chapter Nine
Katie
The image of Bryn falling, of the boot on his chest, of the way his body jerked as that final shot was fired. It wouldn’t go away. Time would pass, but the footage of Bryn being murdered would be forever etched in my brain. I didn’t regret seeing it for myself. I’d had to see it, to know for certain that he was gone. Dead. I was grateful that Styx hadn’t tried to protect me or argue when the video was sent to his quarters. I wasn’t a hothouse orchid in need of protecting.
I was street. Reality. Truth. Even when it hurt.
I needed to know what happened to my mate. Exactly what happened. Who I needed to hunt. Who I needed to kill.
And now Bryn’s last moments were on instant replay, slow-motion rewind in my mind. Over and over. It didn’t matter if my eyes were open or closed, the room was light or dark, the unchanged images haunted me. The busy street, the dark night. The predatory pace of Garvos. I’d never seen him before, but I knew him now, deep in my bones. I knew his face. The color of his hair. The way he walked, the way he moved his hands. And I would never forget.
His face would haunt me as would the look on Bryn’s when he knew he was about to die.
I’d traveled across the galaxy to get away from life on the streets, from the MC connection, the killing. I’d gone to a new world to save myself. All for nothing. This place had destroyed me just the same.
Bryn was dead.
Breathe in.
My Marked Mate.
Breathe out.
Time had passed. I wasn’t sure how much, but I was in some kind of surveillance room. I had no idea what it was all called on Rogue 5, but three walls were covered with various feeds from cameras around the moon base, Styx’s territory, the docking bays, the core—as Styx had called it. About ten people sat at workstations viewing and analyzing everything that came in. It was a cross between what I’d seen in movies for a missile command center and a mall’s security room. There were no TV monitors; the live footage was somehow displaying inside the walls. The room’s lighting was set to half brightness—Styx had ordered it when we’d come in—and the clip of Bryn being shot with what Styx called an ion pistol and falling off of some kind of tower was brought up to fill the main wall. They’d zoomed in until Bryn was even larger than life. Everything was full size and the detail was impressive.
I saw the look of surprise on Bryn’s face when he realized he was surrounded, the etchings of intense pain as the first shots struck him. The bloom of blood at his side. I couldn’t miss the scar on Garvos’s face or the wicked smile just before he lifted the blaster and shot Bryn. Point blank.
I watched the thirty-second loop three times before Styx grabbed my shoulder and spun me about, shouting to someone to return the wall to S-S mode, whatever that meant. “That’s enough, Katie.”
“I’ve seen what I needed to see.” And I had. I knew Garvos’s face. Knew the faces of every member of the team that took down my mate. Their faces were clearly on display as if the act itself were a challenge—not to me—to the man beside me and his legion.
The video disappeared, replaced by a current feed from the area. It looked so peaceful. Empty. Tree-like towers, grass and a dark stain on the ground where my mate had bled. Bryn was dead. His blood staining the ground out there as a reminder.
Breathe in.
It was still there in my mind. Bryn’s face. The moment his eyes went blank. When the fight left him. When the life left him.
Breathe out.
Why was I numb? I wasn’t sad. I was beyond that. Bryn was supposed to be my future. I’d been matched to him. Not just by the Interstellar Brides Program transporting me to Everis and the Touchstone, but by the mark. I’d been born with it, which meant he was mine from my first heartbeat. He was born to be mine. And Garvos took him from me. Those bastards wearing green took him from me.
I rubbed my fingers over my palm. The mark still ached, pulsed, but no longer with a heat so intense it should have hurt. I felt the mark still, the thickness in my skin, the strange swirls in my flesh, I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel my mate. Something was missing where he should have been in my soul, an empty space.
It didn’t matter anymore. The mark. It had led me to Bryn, but with him…with him dead, it was irrelevant. It was no longer a guide. A touchstone.
I laughed then. The name of the building where I’d found him. Where I was supposed to be waiting for him. Naked and in his bed.
If I’d stayed back on Everis like a dutiful little woman he would have disappeared, told me nothing, and never come home. I would have waited. Agonized. Worried. I never would have felt his hard body draped over mine as he claimed my ass. I would have been lonely and cold and empty and I would have waited, dying a little each day when he didn’t return. A slow death.
But I was here. On Rogue 5. Bryn was gone, cut from me with a surgical precision that left me bleeding, but finished. It was done. I was surrounded by people I understood, who would understand me. No more hiding. No more play-acting at being pure. Sweet. Loving.
That side of me was only for Bryn. And his killer was still out there.
Happily ever after with Bryn was no longer possible. But I could avenge him. I could stop pretending to be something I wasn’t and embrace the suck, accept what I was. Poor. Tough. Scarred. Mean when I had to be. I could bleed, but I survived. I always survived.
Finding Bryn—losing him—felt like a dark and twisted destiny. Fate. Bryn hadn’t expected to find me, he’d said it was rare for an Everian to find their Marked Mate. Had it been Fate that he’d been sent to the Touchstone to patrol and to protect the new brides. He’d been assigned to the detail when I’d transported there, as if our meeting were meant to be.
He could have already been here, on Rogue 5, when the brides arrived. If I’d spent even one more day on Earth, we’d have never made the connection because he would have been outside the Area of Proximity. My mark wouldn’t have heated, we wouldn’t have dream shared. I never would have known him.
But we’d found each other. And he’d claimed me. Twice.
This numbness, the emptiness I felt was hard enough with the few days we’d spent together. He’d been right. If he’d claimed me fully, I couldn’t imagine the anguish I’d be in.
Better to be numb than hurting. Better to be ice than fire.
“Katie,” Styx said, slicing through the silence.
I looked away from the dark spread of Bryn’s blood on the ground and stared up at him, saw his gaze was narrowed, his jaw clenched.
Styx, and beside him, Blade. Formidable aliens. Powerful. Demanding. Commanding.
But not Bryn.
I was in a room full of people, but I’d never felt more alone. I’d tried to get away from the ruthless life, but it was impossible. I was destined for this life. Fairy tales and fantasies were for other girls. This was home now. I never should have tried to escape it.
Rogue 5.
I belonged here. It had been instantly familiar to me, their rules, societal values, everything, because I was one of them.
Bryn might have been my Marked Mate, but living on Rogue 5 seemed to be my damned destiny.
Why fight it? Why continue to resist what some inner voice had been telling me all along.
This is what you deserve. This is who you are. This is your life.
“Did you set him up?” I asked. We’d come here, asked permission, but that hadn’t, perhaps, been enough.
Styx’s eyes widened slightly, but I saw the tendons in his neck tighten, his hand on my shoulder clench. “We made an agreement. I live by my word.”
Blinking slowly, I dipped my ch
in to acknowledge his truth. His sigh fell on deaf ears. I knew my eyes were empty. I asked simply because I needed to know if I needed to kill him, too.
Styx took a moment, let his words sink in. He might be wild and ruthless, but he had honor. At least in this. “You saw Garvos. He’s Everian. An Elite Hunter. You saw the similarities to Bryn. How fast they moved. The camera couldn’t keep up with his pace. Everything we watched had to be slowed down, otherwise all we would have seen were shadows. No Hyperion can move like that.”
I nodded. Knew the words to be true. Remembered how Von had fought for Lexi, moving so quickly I’d been just a few feet away but couldn’t keep track of his movements with the naked eye. Fast. Freakishly fast.
I couldn’t outrun Garvos. I couldn’t overpower him with strength. I was a woman. Human. Slow. Weak.
But I was patient. And I knew how to set a trap.
I’d never killed anyone before. Never even considered it—not even after I heard about my brother’s death at the hands of a rival MC. But the granite inside my chest where my heart used to be wanted blood and didn’t much care what it cost me. Even my soul. Bryn had been my soul—so I figured it was lost anyway.
“But those surrounding him.” Styx paused, let me replay in my mind Bryn’s murder. I tried to bring their faces to mind, but couldn’t. It was as if they’d faded to black as soon as the video ended. All I could see now was Garvos. And Bryn. “I don’t remember them. Let me see the clip again.”
Blade shook his head, his silver braid twisting over his shoulder with the force of his action. “No fucking way. You shouldn’t have seen it to begin with. The others involved in the attack are from Astra’s legion. They are Hyperion. They are our problem.”
“You mean Garvos had help,” I said, the words thick and heavy on my tongue.
“No,” Styx replied. “I mean Garvos betrayed me. That cannot go unanswered. We will bring him to justice, Katie, and those who helped him. And you will go home.”
“It’s not enough.” Nothing was ever going to be enough.
“Justice is all I can offer you.” Styx tilted his head slightly, waiting.
Blade was tensed to strike, wound so tight I was afraid if I jumped at him he’d explode in rage. “Garvos was under my command. I can promise you my justice will be bloody.”
If they were expecting a reaction, they didn’t get one. I was all out of energy for responding to male posturing and bullshit. “I’m not leaving. I’m not going home like a good little girl while you stay here and hunt.”
“I am at war,” Styx said, as if that changed a damn thing.
“We are at war,” I countered.
Styx lifted my chin with his fingers so I looked at him. Waited until I actually saw his dark eyes, made sure I was focusing on him. “Your mate is dead. You will be transported back to Everis to select a new mate.”
“No.”
“You were matched to the planet by the Interstellar Brides Program. You will find another mate.”
I stepped back, and his hands dropped away from me. I crossed my arms over my chest, over the silky dress that now felt like a travesty sliding over my sensitive skin. “No. I’m not going back. I’m here for a reason. Bryn may have been my Marked Mate, but this is my future. Here, on Rogue 5. I am like you. I was raised for this, groomed to be a Styx.” Neither Blade nor Styx spoke, but every one of the warriors in the room listened as well. I could have heard a pin drop. “Astra helped kill Bryn. Garvos is still breathing. I will finish Bryn’s mission and help you bring down their legion.”
“You are not one of us,” Styx said. “You will not fight our battles.”
“This isn’t your battle,” I said, my voice rising with each word. “It’s mine.”
“You are not Styx.”
“You can fix that.” Grabbing the collar of my shirt, I tugged it to the side, baring my neck and most of my shoulder. “Claim me. Bite me.”
Again, neither spoke, Blade’s mouth falling open and Styx’s hands going to his hips.
“What?” Styx finally asked.
“You wanted me before. Now nothing—or no one—stands in your way. I belong here. Claim me. Then I’ll be a Styx.” I tugged more on the collar, but I realized if both of them were to claim me together as they’d said, then they both had to bite me. Skin. They needed skin.
Grabbing the hem of my dress, I lifted it over my head, let it drop to the floor. I lifted my chin, met Blade’s gaze, then Styx’s. I refused to look away. They weren’t going to steal vengeance from me. Bryn deserved that much at least.
Every male in the room was frozen in place, as if afraid to move. I stood before him, oddly calm, refusing to feel anything despite the fact that I stood half naked in just my bra and panties—and boots, for kicking ass. Which it appeared I now would get the chance to do.
“Out!” Styx shouted. Everyone but Blade cleared the space with quiet speed.
Neither men’s gazes dropped to my chest and for that alone, I was impressed.
Styx bent down, grabbed my dress from the floor, held it out for me. “Cover yourself.”
I stepped closer. Ignored the fabric. “Bite me,” I repeated. “You wanted me. I’m giving myself to you. You know I’m a virgin, untried.”
Blade closed his eyes and groaned while Styx was unmoving.
I held myself still. Defiant.
When Styx finally stepped up to me, I wanted to retreat because he was that imposing, but I used every ounce of will to hold my ground. If I was to be his mate, I could show no fear. I knew how to behave. I just had to hope that what he’d said before was true. Once his bite serum was in my bloodstream, I’d be hot for them. Desperate to fuck. They were gorgeous, but I was too numb to care, my body completely dead inside. If they had some kind of magic formula that could make my body accept them, fine. I’d let them fuck me. I knew the price, knew the life I would have. I’d survive.
He lowered his head and I held my breath as he ran his nose along the side of my neck. His warm breath fanned my skin, goosebumps rose on my bare arms. His lips were soft as he kissed me, then licked the spot where my neck met my shoulder. “Careful, Katie.”
“Just do it.” Bryn was dead. If I hadn’t seen the video myself, the cold numbness of the mark in my palm would have been proof enough. He was gone. Where his soul once touched mine there was—nothing. Just nothing.
“You want to be my mate, accept my bite as claim of ownership? You will belong to me. Forever. There are no second chances.” His lips lingered, tracing a path back and forth over my shoulder as I held perfectly still under him, the center of his orbit. “And no one walks away from me.”
“Fine.” I licked my lips as he spoke against my shoulder. I held myself tense, waiting for the searing pain of his bite. Anything for Bryn. I owed him this. I had to avenge him. It was the only thing I could do for him. Become a member of Styx. Fight. Embrace the darkness that had plagued me my entire life. Running from it seemed stupid now. There was no escaping hell when I carried it around inside me.
Blade lowered his head to the other side of my neck, mimicked Styx. “And I will bite you here—” His teeth grazed my delicate skin and I shuddered, focused on a spot on the wall and waited.
I could feel their hair against the side of my face, the heat from their large bodies enveloped me until it was suffocating and I fought to stay calm, stay cool and focused and determined to go through with this. I didn’t want them, but I could accept their attention if it got me what I did want—revenge.
“Double the serum means double the urge. The urge to fuck, to mate, to be claimed. You won’t leave our bed for a week. And when you do, you’ll be desperate for us still.” Styx’s words were a challenge.
“And what about you?” I whispered, holding Styx’s gaze. “Do you want me or not?”
“Feel our cocks, they are hard for you. They always will be,” Styx said, his words came out almost as a vow. I didn’t doubt they were eager—they’d said as much all along—but I refuse
d to touch them.
“Styx cleared this room for you,” Blade added. “If we wish to fuck you, we will. Anytime. Anywhere.”
“Is this really what you want?” Styx asked. “There will be no going back. We bite you now, your virginity will be gone within a minute. You won’t be able to wait.” He tilted his chin. “You’ll want the nearest flat surface. There.”
I’d liked it rough and wild with Bryn. The idea of him being too desperate to delay before he fucked me had filled me with heat. But what Styx said, I felt…nothing.
They said nothing else. Neither did I.
Styx looked me in the eye and I waited. And waited.
With a sigh, Styx bent at the waist, tossed me over his shoulder. He carried me from the room as my clothing dangled from Blade’s fingers. I saw Styx’s legs, the perfect curve of his butt. Blade’s feet as he walked behind us. It seemed space aliens—Everians and Hyperions—liked to haul their woman around like Neanderthals.
So, it would be in a bed then. Perhaps it was a good thing, the biting serum. I would need the boost to participate in this and try to fool them. I had no interest in faking an orgasm, but I wasn’t much for killing either.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Maybe the serum would work. Maybe it would make me desire their touch. Make me want want them to fuck me. I had to hope it would make my nipples hard, my pussy wet. Make me ache for them. At least a little.
I heard a door slide open and I was flipped back to my feet. Styx and Blade stood before me, tall and foreboding.
“You give yourself to us, but not as a mate. You aren’t our female. You do not belong to us. You dishonor us with your offer, Katie.”
My mouth fell open. “But you just said—”
Styx shook his head, grabbed the dress from Blade and shook it out, draping it over me. “Our bite is sacred. And you are not yourself. Bryn is your mate.”
“But he’s dead!” I shouted and finally, finally I felt the pain.
His Virgin Bride (Interstellar Brides: The Virgins) (Volume 2) Page 11