Consumed By The Cyborg

Alyse Anders

Consumed by the Cyborg

Copyright 2020 Alyse Anders

ISBN: 978-0-9937319-9-0

All Rights Are Reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this story are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

First edition: January 2020

Cover Art by Amanda @ Razzle Dazzle Designs

Created with Vellum Created with Vellum

Contents

The War

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Acknowledgments

About the Author

The War

The Sholle came without warning.

Their planet long ago stripped of resources, they searched the universe for resource-rich worlds to strip bare, leaving a wake of destruction behind them. Their ships attacked in waves – first small, then ever increasing, until their victims were worn down, unable to resist the inevitable.

Zarlan was the next planet in line, marked for attack.

The Grus sent an army forward to protect their people, evacuating their civilians up to Grus Prime, the space station that orbited Zarlan. The battle was hard-fought, but despite their will to win, the odds were stacked against them.

Until a lone scientist discovered a new weapon, their last hope to save their world.

A cybernetic matrix was implanted into the brain of the dead Grus soldiers – The Fallen – bringing them back to life. Their bodies were cybernetically enhanced, their emotions stripped, leaving them as the perfect killing machines.

The Sholle quickly became the hunted.

The Fallen destroyed the remnants of the Sholle, capturing who they could, killing those who wouldn’t surrender, and driving the rest from their solar system. The Grus were the first race to lead such a defeat over the Sholle, their survival legendary. Joy reigned across Zarlan and Grus Prime, even as their world was left damaged. The deeper fracture came between the now split people – Grus and Fallen.

The Grus high council refused to let these walking weapons reintegrate back with the Grus, terrified of their abilities and enhancements. They were instead given Zarlan to live upon while the Grrs would remain orbiting on Grus Prime. Regions were divided, leaders appointed, and the new state of the world was created.

And there they stayed; a people divided for fifty years. The Grus and the Fallen. The living and the re-born.

That was, until a ship appeared far away in the night’s sky…

Chapter One

Rykal stepped onto the shuttle that would take him directly to the Grus Prime station, ignoring the warry looks of the flight crew. Cyborgs rarely left Zarlan, let alone spent any time on the station with the Grus. The memories of war and sacrifices made were too much for either side to handle with simple casual mingling. But Rykal was the designated leader of the cyborgs, and if something needed addressing with the Grus, then it fell on his shoulders to leave the planet and coordinate their handling with the Grus.

Normally.

Today he wasn’t being summoned by Aidric, the high council, or anyone else. As far as he knew, no one was even aware he would be arriving. Rykal had a personal problem, something so minor that Aidric would no doubt call him foolish, but if Rykal didn’t get a solution there was a strong possibility he’d murder someone. The last time a cyborg went on a killing spree, the Sholle were chased from the planet and out of their solar system.

The pilot and co-pilot kept casting glances back his way and talking softly between themselves. Rykal knew there wasn’t an official request for his presence on file, but they still had to do as he told them if they wanted to stay on Aidric’s good side. Rykal recognized the pilot, but the co-pilot was new, young, probably hadn’t even been born until after the war. No doubt he thought of Rykal and all cyborgs as murderous ghouls who couldn’t be trusted.

Boo.

“Please secure yourself, sir.” The pilot called back, his voice somewhat familiar. “We’ll be pushing off momentarily.”

Rykal nodded but didn’t move to comply. It didn’t matter if he was injured; he couldn’t be hurt from something as simple as a shuttle accident. His cybernetic implants and regenerative functions made that next to impossible.

Then again, maybe there was something wrong with them and that was why the itching in the back of his brain was getting worse. Why he’d become so fixated on a sector in space that he couldn’t see beyond it. Aidric would know, and if he didn’t, then at the very least, Rykal would make the bastard do something to fix it.

The lights on the shuttle dimmed, which made the transition from the planet’s atmosphere to the inky blackness of space easier for the Grus pilots. The engines roared to life as the shuttle’s fission reactors turned on, rattling the ship for a moment before the stabilizers kicked in and pushed them free of the ground and straight up into the sky. The shuttle pitched and rolled as the high atmospheric winds slammed against them, sending the small crew off to secure themselves with their restraints. The co-pilot cast a wary glance Rykal’s way, no doubt terrified that he’d get hurt and the young man would be to blame.

These young Grus didn’t understand the basics of what it was like to live life as an enhanced. His cybernetics evened everything out for him – no changes in vision, no equilibrium imbalances, no hunger, little pain. While he hadn’t been manufactured in a factory, there were times when he felt that he might as well have been. The man he’d been before the war with the Sholle was dead, and all that remained was this odd mishmash of circuits and tendons, metal, and skin.

He might as well be dead.

“Business on the station, sir?”

Noting the young co-pilot’s half-smiling face, Rykel quickly reviewed the facial recognition files in his memory storage. The man was barely old enough to have completed the training program, and there was no way he’d experienced any trauma beyond what he’d see in a simulator. Rykal had no patience for a child. He said nothing, merely leveled a hard glance on the co-pilot.

The young man’s face paled as he snapped around to stare at the controls.

The pilot snorted and muttered a soft that will teach you.

Gods, Rykal felt like an asshole, but there was no point in pretending to be nice when he was the farthest thing from nice.

Not to mention the itch in the back of his brain was driving him insane.

Growling, he did his best to distract himself and instead focused on his internal systems. Maybe he needed to run another diagnostic, or he’d missed an errant bug that was causing him problems. Code flickered through his consciousness, the numbers and commands that ruled his life, that made him the leader of the Fallen. The thing that saved him, even as it killed who he’d once been.

Nothing was out of the ordinary. Every line of code was the same as it had been since he’d last run a diagnostic. And yet, that bloody itch was still there, growing more prominent the higher the shuttle rose into the sky. A rising crescendo of noise and vibrations, until the roar of the engines died away as the shuttle rattled and thrust its way past the planet’s atmosphere and slipped into the silence of space.

Rykal got to his feet and stared out the port window. Normally, he’d look, taking stock of the large and small satellites that whizzed past, noting any changes in their velocity or trajectory. But not today. He leaned closer to the shuttle window and stared at the spot in space that had drawn his attention for days now. He’d used every method possible on the planet to see if there was something present, something that was coming closer to their home, but nothing was able to pierce through the planet’s storm clouds on the southern hemisphere. That was where he knew something was coming, though Rykal couldn’t figure out why or how he’d become aware of this presence.

There was a chance his cybernetics were finally malfunctioning, which would put Aidric in the uncomfortable position of having to permanently deactivate him.

Unfortunate for them both.

“We’re only ten minutes from the station.” The pilot didn’t look at Rykal as he spoke, focused on the shuttle controls. “Who would you like me to inform of your arrival?”

“Commander Aidric.” Rykal could hear the bitterness in his voice, but there was no way he could hide it. Not today.

The pilots shared a glance that Rykal ignored. He turned his attention from the spot in space and instead took stock of the station that he’d once called home, long ago. The bioluminescent black metal exterior panels gave the station a prophetic look and feel, giving the hull an imposing personality that Rykal despised. The energy shield was visible to him, the power cycling shimmer of the barrier registering as a blip in his field of vision. That had been one of the few things that had saved the station when the Sholle had attacked, sending their planet into chaos. Rykal watched as the pilots communicated with the station, and after receiving the code, the shield flickered off, allowing them to pass through harmlessly.

It had been months since he’d given in to the urge to return to the Grus Prime. Ghosts of his past lived there that often left him angry for the course his life had taken. He’d been a soldier working his way through his mandatory service, hoping one day to return back to Zarlan’s surface where he could live out his days building a family. He’d been on Grus Prime when the Sholle attacked them, killing untold thousands of Grus before they’d been able to launch a counter attack.

These days Rykal would take shuttle trips into space to fly around the sector, ensuring that their enemies were well and truly gone. It was all he’d normally need to settle the restlessness that occasionally built inside him. But not this time.

Rykal took his seat once more, knowing once the shuttle landed, things would get out of hand until he was able to speak with Aidric alone. As he grew closer to the docking bay and his cybernetics slipped into range of the station’s systems, his internal protocols kicked in.

Attention cyborg. You are now approaching Grus Prime Station. You are prohibited from connecting your systems to the central mainframe. Failure to comply will result in immediate decommission. Acknowledge.

He blinked slowly, waiting for the last possible moment to send his communication. Affirmative.

The station sent an additional flurry of commands, demands, and requirements, all of which Rykal let wash past him with little notice. The bloody itching was stronger up here and seemed to be growing more prominent with each passing moment he spent in space. Gods, what was wrong with him?

The station’s tractor beam caught the shuttle and would take care of the rest of the landing procedures. The crew kept their faces forward, their hands resting on the command console. At least the young pilot knew that much. The shuttled lurched as the tractor beam dropped it to the floor with a thud. Rykal set his hands on his legs, palms up and opened, and waited.

The shuttle doors slid open, allowing a flurry of security personnel to rush inside, blasters up, and shouting commands at him. Rykal didn’t move, said nothing, thankful that his cybernetics were able to regulate the volume, making their cries little more than a buzzing.

When the chaos subsided, he turned to look at the closest security officer. “Take me to, Aidric.”

“On your feet.” The Grus officer sneered at him and kept his blaster trained on Rykal’s face.

Rykal wouldn’t let the hate in the officer’s voice demean or degrade him. With pride, he rose to his feet, taking pleasure in the way the six fully armed officers stepped backward to keep their distance from him. They should be afraid. Their weapons and body armor would do nothing to stop him if he wanted to tear them apart. Not that they needed to know that bit of information; it was best to leave them with their illusions.

“Thank you for the transportation.” He nodded to the pilots but kept his tone cold.

The security officers surrounded him as they made their way through the station toward wherever Aidric had indicated their meeting would occur. It had been over a year since their last face-to-face conversation, and nearly a decade since they’d last spoken of anything beyond the security of his people or the station. They’d been close once, inseparable for many years, and Rykal couldn’t help but wonder if Aidric wished things had turned out differently. A lot had happened between those days and now – fifty years, an entire war, and the bloody fallout later – most of which had destroyed their relationship.

The hallways that they were leading him down had been cleared of personnel, giving the station an abandoned feeling. The data washed over him as they moved, allowing him to store the details for later analysis. He recognized the corridor as one that led to a secure conference room where Aidric often held his interrogations. Not a complete surprise, even if the lack of trust was another barb added to the wounds Aidric had inflicted on him.

The door slid open as they approached, and the security guards slipped to the side, with one stepping behind Rykal. “Inside – wait for the Commander.”

It took every ounce of his resolve to not turn around and punch the man. Rykal did as he was told and waited for the doors to lock behind him before he allowed himself a moment to ease the tension from his muscles. The room was sterile – white walls, black stone flooring, and brown utility furniture – the least hospitable place on the station. Typical.

Rykal could have sat, but there was no point because he knew Aidric was watching him. The moment he’d let his guard down, the commander would arrive, and the mood would change yet again. No, it was better to keep his barriers firmly in place. Thankfully, it was only a matter of minutes before the doors slid open once again, revealing the square jaw grimace and steely-eyed glare of Aidric.

Aidric’s green eyes narrowed on Rykal the moment he entered. His pale green skin starkly contrasted against his grey uniform, making him appear as detached from his surroundings as Rykal knew him to be. Aidric was almost as cold and reserved as any of the Fallen on the planet below; his intellect only rivaled by his need for control. Rykal didn’t move, didn’t back down from the silent posturing, the inevitable dance for dominance they’d undergo whenever they came face-to-face.

“Hello, big brother.” Aidric had a way of announcing their familial relationship in such a way that it sounded like a curse rather than a greeting. Perhaps to him, it was.

Rykal waited for his cybernetics to regulate the rush of adrenaline that surged through his body. “Aidric.” The door was closed, leaving the two of them with a bit of privacy. No doubt, they were being monitored somehow, but Rykal cared not. “I have a problem.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

Ah, there was the hate Rykal had come to love and cherish. “There’s a problem with my code. Another flaw. Seeing as you’re the one who created it, you must be the one who can fix it.”

Aidric lifted his chin and stared directly into Rykal’s eyes. That got his attention. “What’s wrong? Have you started attacking your kind? Running rampant and causing upheaval wherever you go?”

“No.” Rage curled in his chest, threatening to explode out. “Why would you ask that?”

“It’s happened with your kind before.” Aidric held his gaze, making the statement even more painful. “A defect with no solution but to deactivate the cyborg.”

“Would you enjoy doing that to me?” Rykal took a breath as his code frantically worked to keep his rage in check. “The Fallen are the same as you.”

“You were once, but not any longer.”

They stared at one another, and for a moment Rykal believed Aidric would send him back to the shuttle and the planet below without even listening to his problem, no longer caring about him or the fallout of what Aidric’s meddling had transformed him into. Finally, Aidric pointed to the chair closest to him. “Sit, and I’ll take a look at you.”

Gods, things would never be the same between them ever again. He looked to where Aidric indicated, a spot close to the computer console where he’d be able to run diagnostics. It didn’t matter that Rykal knew this was the best and only way to handle things, now faced with the prospect of having his insides inspected, it was difficult to make himself move. Checking the cybernetic code wasn’t as simple as plugging a cable into the back of his head and running a scan; Rykal had to mentally release the security protocols that prevented someone from hacking into his command center and using him as a weapon without consent. He was allowing Aidric access to his very essence, exposing his thoughts and emotions.

“I promise to only review the relevant codebases. I have no interest in meddling where I’m not wanted.” Aidric’s back was to him, but his tone had softened. “Sit.”

The itching in the back of his mind was still there and getting stronger by the second. Best to get this over with. The sooner he had Aidric look at the code and figure out what was wrong, the sooner he’d be able to get back to his life on Zarlan. Opening the fastening of his shirt, he pulled it off, leaving his body exposed and cybernetics accessible.

He hated this, being reduced to little more than his component parts rather than the sum of who he was as a man. To the Grus, he wasn’t anything other than a weapon; something to be feared or controlled. The other cyborgs who’d been condemned to spend the rest of their lives on the remnants of their planet either took pride in their augmentations, or were constantly comparing who was the strongest, smartest, most cunning. Those who thought they were lacking would continue to augment until there was little left of who they’d once been.

Aidric tilted Rykal’s head forward and connected the data cable to the port in the back of Rykal’s neck. “What are your symptoms?”

Gods, this was going to sound ridiculous. “I have a constant itching in the back of my brain.”

Aidric paused briefly but continued connecting Rykal to the computer. “What else?”

The normal urge to argue evaporated as worry shifted up to the surface of his consciousness. “There’s a sector in space that keeps drawing my attention. I don’t know why, but I believe there’s something approaching.”

That got his brother’s attention. “What sector?” Aidric moved to stand directly in front of him. “Why didn’t you notify us of an impending attack?”

“Because I couldn’t detect anything from the planet. As far as I could see on the scans, there’s nothing there. But I know, know that there’s something on approach. This means there’s either something wrong with my programming or someone is coming through with stealth technology we haven’t encountered before now.”

“And you decided you were the problem and not the sensors.” Aidric turned to the console and began his scans. “This will take a moment to sift through the code and check for irregularities.”

The moment the station’s computer connected with Rykal’s matrix, the normal chatter of code that would buzz in his mind jumped to a roar.

Systems…analyzing…reviewed…testing…analyzing…

Emotional control check…analyzing…reviewed…testing…analyzing…

Error…analyzing…expected outcome…testing…analyzing…

The itching in his brain continued to grow. “Have you found anything?”

“No. But your code has expanded greatly since our last scan of your matrix.” Aidric’s eyes reviewed the lines of code nearly as quickly as they whizzed past Rykal’s mind. “It’s surprising how much data you’ve collected.”

“It’s been fifty years. Of course I’ve collected more data.” It felt like a lifetime had passed since the day he’d faced the Sholle on the battlefield, giving everything of himself in order to keep his people safe.

Anger bubbled up as the code scans increased in speed, and the itching increased. He found it difficult to sit still, wanting nothing more than to get up, to move, to slam his fist into and through the closest wall to ease whatever this insanity was building up inside him.

“Rykal?”

Gods, all he’d ever wanted was to do his duty, find a mate to settle down with and live his life. He’d never wanted to be a leader, let alone a leader of a new, manufactured race of cyborgs. Why the hells had he been the one to die that day, to have his brother turn him into a machine that could kill with the slightest touch.

“Rykal, look at me.”

He grabbed his head in his hands and squeezed hard, digging his nails into his flesh – didn’t matter, he’d heal himself, nothing mattered – until he bled.

“Rykal!”

His gaze snapped over to look at Aidric, now squatted in front of him with his hand on a blaster. “There’s something coming.”

Aidric nodded. “I believe you.” Those simple words were more than enough to ease the panic that threatened to blow past his emotional controls. Rykal relaxed further when Aidric shifted his hand from the blaster butt to his thigh, squeezing him gently. “I’m going to disconnect you, and we’ll go to station control. We’ll run the scans to see what’s out there.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“Don’t move. This will hurt.”

Rykal gasped as Aidric pulled the cable free from his port, turning his stomach and sending a jolt of pain through his normally tightly controlled body. “Gods!”

“This isn’t right. All the scans came back normal.” Aidric helped him to his feet, even handing him his shirt, though Rykal didn’t put it back on. “We better get to control in case what your system is picking up on is a prelude to war.”

This wasn’t like the Sholle attacks. Rykal couldn’t pinpoint their communications or determine their plan of attack from their data streams. It felt different, strange, and unsettling in a way that he’d only experienced once before; back when he’d first been cybernetically enhanced. He stumbled when he tried to take a step, forcing Aidric to grab his arm for support.

“Let go!” He jerked his arm, which sent him stumbling again.

Aidric stepped away immediately. “You fool. I was trying to help.”

“I’ve had enough of your help to last a lifetime.” He fought to regain control of his body. “Let’s get to control so we can determine what in the hells is going on so I can return to my home.”

The light in Aidric’s eyes dimmed. “Fine. Follow me. If you try anything while you’re outside of this room, you’ll be shot, and disabled immediately.”

I’d like to see you try. “Understood.”

The moment they stepped out into the corridor, Aidric pressed the communicator badge on his wrist. “Station command alert. We’re under attack.”

Chapter Two

Every muscle in Rykal’s body ached to do something, anything to relieve the rampant urge to run. Instead, he stood still, focused on an invisible point off in the distance of space that revealed nothing. “I’m telling you, that’s where you can find whatever it is. The closer it gets, the more I’m aware of its presence.”

Aidric glanced over at him from behind where the officer behind the system’s scanners sat. “We’ve checked the sensors three times now, and they’re showing nothing at all in that sector. And put your shirt on.”

Rykal growled and continued to ignore the request.

Every time he came up to station Grus Prime, the urge to rebel, to fight the enemy was nearly more than he could handle. The war was long over, and he’d been reduced to little more than a diplomat, a living shuttle of information between the planet and the Grus on the rare occasions when that was necessary. But now another potential threat was here, and despite them not being able to detect it yet, Rykal knew it was something fundamental, something that would change their lives forever.

All he needed to do was convince the others that he wasn’t losing his mind. “Check again.”

Aidric stared at him hard but gave no outward indication of annoyance. “Scan sector three point seven again. Check all sectors surrounding it as well. If we don’t see something this time, I authorize a shuttle to go out and visually scan the area.”

“Yes, sir.” The technician frowned at his screen but wasn’t foolish enough to disobey the station commander. Aidric might be little more than an administrator now, but no one would forget what he’d done to stop the Sholle when they’d threatened their homes. Even those too young to have been alive during the war knew Aidric’s name and his role in their success in driving off the enemy, and treated him with reverence.

The cold station air rolled across Rykal’s skin, helping to ease the tension building inside him. It had the unfortunate side effect of putting his cybernetics on full display of the Grus on the command deck. Rykal knew what he looked like – a manufactured monstrosity – but he also knew each and every one of the Grus here would run behind him for protection if they fell under attack.

The temptation to connect himself to the station’s mainframe and help enhance and direct the search was almost more than he could handle. It would mean his death, but it might just be worth it if that meant they were able to finally see what he knew to be out there in space. “Let me into the system.”

The gasp of surprise around the command deck was loud enough to be heard over the alert claxon that continued to blast over the intercom. Aidric straightened and faced him. “Why would I ever allow that?”

“Because I know exactly where whatever it is, can be located. I can feel the spot in the back of my brain. You’ll take forever to locate it this way, and by then it could be too late.”

Aidric pulled his blaster from his holster but left it by his side. “Come here.”

Rykal complied, ignoring everyone but his brother as he moved to stand beside the technician and the console. “It’s the fastest way to ensure everyone is safe.”

Despite how he and the other cyborgs were treated, the Grus were still theirs to protect and keep safe. Even when Aidric lifted the blaster to Rykal’s head, he knew this was the only way.

Aidric’s hand was steady, as was his gaze. “Do it. But if you attempt anything but direct the mainframe sensors to the location of the enemy, I’ll shoot.”

Rykal nodded even as he grabbed the data cable and slid it into the connection port in his arm. “I’d expect nothing less.”

He slipped into the code and waited for the station’s computer to recognize his presence.

Alert! Alert! Unauthorized cyborg infiltration!

“I need your approval.” His eyes were open, but he could no longer see Aidric or anyone else around him – only the code.

“Computer, cyborg entry authorized. Commander Aidric zero-beta-nine-nine.”

Authorization granted.

Despite the approval, Rykal could feel the computer’s AI keeping a close eye on where he was going. If you want to watch, fine with me. Keep up if you can.

I plan to.

Ignoring the AI’s presence as best he could, Rykal took control of the station’s scanner. It only took him three microns to redirect the scanners to the exact spot in space he knew there was a presence. “Scanning.”

Aidric’s breath washed across his neck. “Have you found anything?”

“No, wait. Yes.” The ship was so small it would have been easy for the most experienced technician to have missed. “Bringing it up on the screen now.”

His vision returned to his eyes as he removed the data cable, and stepped away from the computer console so he could finally see the presence that had been driving him insane for days now. The ship was small – either a cargo ship or one that couldn’t have contained more than the smallest of crews – and the slate grey ship’s walls hardly stood out from the inky blackness of space.

“Sir, I don’t recognize the ship’s registration, markings, or even their metallic composition.” The technician slid back into the spot that Rykal had abandoned. “If they’re here to attack us, then they have technology we’ve never encountered. There doesn’t appear to be any weapons or even shields. Of any kind.” The young man looked back at Aidric, frowning. “I don’t know how they survived out there.”

Rykal did. Somehow, he knew that it was a ship out there, populated with people. They’d slipped through space like a ghost, hiding in the radiation blind spots as they silently sailed past. He could feel the people on board, was somehow aware of their presence as they drew closer.

He knew she was there.

“Bring them here.” He turned to the technician. “Grab them in the tractor beam and pull them in. Now!”

His heartbeat had doubled, and the muscles in his chest tightened. She was out there all alone and unprotected, and he’d be fucking damned if he wouldn’t get her and pull her to him, back to safety. He looked down at the crew, but none of them were jumping to do what he’d said. “Why aren’t you getting them? They’re in danger.”

The technician looked over at Aidric, who still had his blaster drawn and pointed at Rykal. “Sir?”

No, he wasn’t going to let some inexperienced Grus boy be the reason she got away from him, not when she was this close. With a low growl, he pushed the technician away, sending him crashing to the floor as he leaned over the computer console. “I’ll do it myself.” The high-pitched whine of the blaster charging up didn’t force slow him down, but when Aidric pressed it to the back of Rykal’s head, he stopped. “What are you doing?”

“Stopping you from breaking the law and potentially forcing me to kill you in front of my crew.” Aidric leaned the blaster muzzle against his matrix hard. “Back away from the computer.”

Rykal gripped the edge of the console, his cybernetically enhanced strength cracking and denting the metal. “You have to get them, bring them to safety.”

“Who? Who’s out there, and what do they want?”

“I…” He blinked rapidly, unable to clear his mind of the overwhelming rush of desire and need. “I don’t know. But they’re hurt. They need us, and I…we have to get them.”

Aidric stepped in close, adding a hand to Rykal’s shoulder. “Brother, you need to stand down. Let me take care of this, to find out who is out there and what they want. They could be using your cybernetics against you to grant them access to this station, to hurt us.”

Gods, there was no way to explain it to Aidric without sounding as though his programming had been infected with some sort of virus. Rykal knew that she was out there, and she was his. If he had to back down so she could be brought to him, then so be it. He could be patient; he could wait until her arrival. He swallowed and nodded. “Hurry.”

As quickly as the tension on the command deck started, everything eased when Aidric put his blaster back in its holster and Rykal took three paces away from the now damaged console. Rykal could only watch as Aidric snapped commands at his crew, sending them scurrying to action.

“Rey, send out a shuttle to get a short range tractor beam on that ship. Gunny, get a security detail down to the docking bay and ready to board the ship the moment its been cleared of the possibility of explosives and bioagents. Notify medical that we may have wounded people of unknown planetary origins coming their way. Move people!”

Watching Aidric snap to action, it was easy to see why they’d eventually won the war over the Sholle. With his strategic mind maneuvering the troops from above, while Rykal and his kind destroyed the Sholle on the planet, they’d become an unstoppable force.

It didn’t take long for the shuttle to launch and reach the sector of Rykal’s fixation. They watched as the tractor beam secured the ship and jerked it out of its original path and toward the station. Rather than feel relief knowing that she was finally on her way to him, panic set in. He could feel her emotions, practically hear her words in his head. No, no, no this wasn’t right. Someone was after them and she had to try and keep her people safe. How had they been spotted? They had no weapons to protect themselves. Oh Gods, would everyone be okay?

Pain and fear cut through his head, making it nearly impossible to keep himself calm. Rykal pressed his hands to his ears, trying to block out the sudden onslaught of noise filling his head.

“What’s wrong? Are you under attack?” Aidric again, closer once more. The concern in his voice was so unlike him. “Do I need to blow this ship up?”

“No!” Rykal roared, jumping to his feet and shoving Aidric away as he ran for the docking bay. He needed to be there when she arrived. She needed to know that he was here and that he’d keep her safe.

The station’s claxon screamed once again as Rykal raced through the corridors. Security guards yelled at him, but he didn’t hesitate, shoving them aside with the sweep of his arm, sending them crashing to the ground as he ran. Nothing mattered except her, getting to her and making sure she was safe.

The docking bay doors were sealed shut, but he could feel the ship approaching. It wouldn’t be long now before she’d be here, and he could wrap her in his arms. No one would hurt her ever again. He was so focused on her that he nearly missed the sound of multiple blasters powering up behind him.

“Rykal?” Aidric’s voice. “What are you doing?”

“The ship’s almost here. She needs to know that no one’s going to hurt her.”

“You can’t make that promise. We don’t know who they are or what their intentions might be. I need to know that you’re in control of yourself. That you’re not going to go mad and kill us all if we need to take this crew into custody.”

Gods, the mere thought of someone other than him touching her sent a wave of rage through his body. “No one go near her. She’s mine.”

Another chorus of blasters powering up. “I need to know that you’re not going to hurt us.” Aidric again, sounding far too condescending for his own good. “Are you going to hurt us?”

He’d never harmed a Grus before, and he wasn’t about to start now. As long as they kept their distance from her, everything would be fine. “I need to know that she’s okay.”

“What’s the ship’s status?” Aidric called out to one of his subordinates, Rykal didn’t know who.

“Sir, the ship has cleared the docking bay and is undergoing scans. Things appear to be as we’d assumed. The ship has no weapons, no shields, and no bioagents that we can detect. The technology is basic, fission reactor for faster than light speed, but that’s all. I don’t believe they have the capability to hide anything from us. There are twenty-eight life signs on board, female. All but one are in what appears to be cryogenic sleep.”

All but one.

Her.

Rykal finally turned his face enough to see Aidric standing with a veritable army behind him. Given a moment, he could easily defeat them all. “Open the doors.”

“Quarantine protocols haven’t completed.” Aidric stood in front of his forces, his own weapon still holstered. “Once the ship has passed, I’ll allow you into the bay. But we will be coming with you, and you will do what I say.”

He didn’t bother to respond – to agree with the conditions would be a lie – and turned his attention back to the shuttle bay. She was there on the other side, scared yet determined to keep her people safe. Rykal didn’t know how he knew these things, but he did, and he wasn’t about to let some foolish Grus get in the way, or worse, hurt her.

If that happened, then they’d see what kind of weapon he could become.

Rykal reached out to the station’s AI to check the status of the quarantine.

Let me in!

Analyzing…unknown biology. Warning…unknown species.

I don’t give a frak. Open these Gods dammed doors!

Analyzing…species threat level zero percent…biology compatible.

Commence decontamination.

Analyzing…decontamination complete.

The doors began to open as Rykal raced through them the moment he was able to fit through. Ignoring the shouts from behind him, his focus was solely on the ship and the woman inside. He stopped short of where the ship’s ramp would be and waited. Come out. I know you’re in there. Come out to me.

But there was no movement at all. Rykal’s frustration grew as much as the itching in his brain was quickly becoming a throbbing. The doors needed to open right now so he could get inside and get her. He paced back and forth in front of the door and he could feel her there, waiting confusedly for something to happen. There was no reason to be confused, there wasn’t a reason not to come out so he could finally be with her.

Frack it.

He pushed past someone who’d come up beside him and grabbed the panel that protected what looked to be a manual release latch. The metal was old and damaged from radiation and space debris battering against it, making it next to impossible for it to open the way it should. Thankfully, Rykal was far from a normal person. Engaging his cybernetics, he grabbed the lever and braced his feet. With a roar he slammed the entirety of his weight and strength behind him and forced the metal to move. Inch by inch the stubborn metal squealed under the pressure as it moved open slowly.

“Rykal stand back and let us help.” Aidric’s voice.

He wasn’t about to stop, not when he was so very close to the person he needed.

Another burst of adrenaline raced through him and with one additional mighty twist, the door unlocked, and the hiss of atmosphere raced out of the ship to fill the docking bay. The door chugged open revealing a woman standing on the other side, a breathing mask pressed to her mouth.

All he could see was the mass of red hair pulled back behind her ears, her skin pale and her limbs long. There was recognition in her eyes as she finally looked up into his; she knew they belonged together every bit as much as he did. Rykal took a step closer and lowered his chin while he held her gaze.

“Mine.”

Chapter Three

The last thing Lena thought she’d be faced with when she came out of cryo sleep was a half-naked cybernetic alien who clearly thought she’d understand what the hell he was saying. Not to mention the army of unenhanced aliens standing behind him, clearly uncertain if they should be pointing their blasters at her or at him.

Not the least bit reassuring.

And yet, there was something about him, the way he was looking at her that made her think that he wasn’t a threat to her or to the passengers still resting. Well, not yet at least.

Their skin was a light tint of olive, dark hair and bodies that all appeared to be many inches taller and broader than the average human. Unlike her human passengers, there didn’t appear to be a wide difference in their physical appearances. Muscular builds, steel gazes and all looking ready to fight.

She did have a weapon of her own, but she hadn’t had time to run a scan to see if it was even going to work after the years of sitting around while they floated toward their destination. The details about what they were going to find once they got into the sector hadn’t been particularly clear, but their other options would have been far more dangerous than setting the autopilot and going to sleep for a half century.

The ship should have woken her from cryo sleep weeks before they entered their destination sector. Instead, she’d only had hours to get her feet under her, shake the dullness from her mind and figure out what the hell was going on. The tractor beam and the station were completely unexpected, and more than a little overwhelming given her current state.

If these people turned out to be as bad as some of the factions back on Earth, there was little chance she’d be able to get her wards out of here safely.

The cyborg man was still talking.

Lena held up her hands, hoping everyone would realize that she wasn’t the least bit of a threat to them. “Ah, hi there.”

Everyone’s gaze snapped to her.

Shit. That wasn’t good, was it?

“I’m Captain Lena McGovern of the ship The Kraken. I guess we’re refugees from a planet called Earth and I’m really hoping you folks are the friendly type. Because we’re pretty much screwed if you’re not.”

The cyborg man cocked his head to the side, and his enhancements pulsed with some sort of light. Another man, someone who looked remarkably similar to the cyborg but lacking enhancements himself stepped up beside him. He held up his hand to her but turned to speak to the cyborg in a language Lena didn’t understand.

She knew there was no chance that any alien race they’d come across would understand any of their Earth’s languages, but she’d hoped that at the very least they’d have a someone on board who’d be able to decipher what she was saying given enough time. Earth standard was easy enough to learn and with any luck whatever they spoke would be something Carys, the closest person they had to a linguist, would be able to figure out. Unfortunately, she was still sound asleep in her cryo stasis tube back in the Kraken’s loading bay.

Whatever conversation they were having was becoming far more heated than Lena anticipated. The cyborg rounded on the other man, which drew the attention of every person with a blaster. The cyborg was angry, shouting words as his cybernetics glowed brighter, occasionally pointing at her.

Yeah, this wasn’t going how she would have liked. And without knowing exactly what was being said, she couldn’t risk the lives of the people still sleeping on the Kraken. Her blaster was tucked neatly against her back in her rear holster. Whether these aliens didn’t see her as a threat or not, she had no choice but to play things safe. Reaching behind her, she pulled her blaster in a somewhat rusty manner and trained it on the cyborg.

For exactly one second.

She then slid her attention to the alien and leveled her sight on him. The soft whine of her blaster powering up drew everyone’s attention, even if no one moved to cover her. Which was odd given she was armed, but the others clearly didn’t see her as more of a threat than the cyborg.

“Okay, let’s try this again.” She licked her lips as her gaze bounced between cyborg and alien, trying to determine who posed the larger threat. “My name Captain Lena McGovern of the ship The Kraken. We’re refugees from Earth. I have twenty-eight women in cryo sleep on board. I won’t allow anything bad to happen to them. Let us leave and we’ll go about our business.”

Her body was still very weak from having the cryogenic reversal process forced through faster than would have been ideal. She had to fight to keep her arms up and her blaster locked on the alien, not wanting anyone ot think that she’d be easily overpowered.

Despite the fact that a toddler would be able to take her down in that moment.

The alien shot a glance at her as he continued to speak to the cyborg. Did he understand what she was saying? No way Earth standard had made it this far out into space. And yet, he turned to her once more, holding up his empty hands. He nodded toward her weapon and mimicked putting it back in her holster. Then he brushed his hands in an odd manner, as though he was trying to show that he held nothing that would hurt her

“You’re not a threat to us?” She wasn’t sure, but it kind of made sense based on his actions.

He nodded.

“Wait, you understand what I’m saying?”

He nodded once more, even as the cyborg let out a low growl and took a step closer to her. Lena couldn’t help but stare at him, feeling oddly unconcerned about his display of anger. There was no way she should trust him – shit, trust any of these people – but she knew deep down in her gut that there was no way he’d do anything to hurt them. Which was completely screwed up because her track record with a man of any species wasn’t exactly stellar. If anything, she should be running far away from him. They hadn’t come all this way to simply give in to another potential threat.

Even if he was kind of attractive.

Still, when he said something to the other alien who looked a bit like him, who in turn said something to everyone with the blasters that had them lower their weapons, Lena felt her gut instinct might be justified. The cyborg mimicked the hands up posture of the other alien, but there was something about the way he looked at her that sent a shiver through her body.

He took a step forward before pointing to his naked chest and then at her.

Okay Lena. Time to put into practice all those diplomacy courses they forced you to endure back at the academy.

“You want to come closer to me?”

He nodded before pointing to his ear and then to her.

“You understand what I’m saying even if I can’t understand you.”

He nodded, smiling softly, even as she retrained her blaster on his face. The other alien behind him said something and another person handed him a small device that he quickly handed over to the cyborg. Turning his attention back to her, he held it up to the place behind his ear and mimicked pressing it against his skin before pointing to his ear.

“So, if I let you inject me with something, you’re telling me that I’m going to understand what it is you’re saying?” He nodded again and took another step closer.

Yeah, this wasn’t exactly the best idea she could be presented with, but she didn’t have many other options. The chances of her getting the door shut and getting the ship out of this docking bay while somehow avoiding their tractor beam was firmly fixed somewhere between slim and none. It could be poison, or a tracking device, and if Carys was awake she’d be informing her that this was a horrible idea. And yet, they could have killed her several times over by now if that’s what they’d wanted. She also got the distinct impression that their technology was far superior to what she’d managed to cobble together before they’d fled Earth.

Unknown injection it was.

Lena held up her blaster as a sign of submission before tucking it back into her rear holster. “I’m trusting that you’re not going to do something to hurt me here.” While she was willing to put her own life at risk, she wasn’t going to do anything that would jeopardize her passengers. “Let me come down.”

The aliens all moved back, but the cyborg did not. He held her gaze as she jumped to the floor, his crystal blue eyes monitoring her every move. What no one seemed to expect was her ship’s response to her leaving the safety of its hold. As she straightened from jumping down, the inner emergency door behind her closed and locked with a slam that echoed in the docking bay. Those blasters were up and on her once again, with the lead alien looking more than a little annoyed.

“What? I must keep my people safe. Besides, he brute forced his way in there once, I’m sure he could do it again.” Lena was surprised that the safety mechanism had worked given what the cyborg here had done to it.

Be thankful for small blessings.

And now for the real test. “So you’re going to press that thing to my neck and then I’m going to understand what you’re saying. And nothing else is going to happen to me?”

He nodded before shrugging.

“Very reassuring.” She let out a small huff and turned her head so he could better see behind her ear. “Have at me.”

He didn’t move at first, which made Lena feel awkward and vulnerable. That was until he did move, and she realized exactly how large his body was. Heat seemed to radiate from him to the point it was nearly overwhelming. When he reached out to move her hair from her neck, Lena shivered once again, surprised at how intimate that simple act was. Shit, it really had been far too long since she’d spent any time with a man, let alone someone who treated her this tenderly.

When he pressed the device to her neck the bite of the injection had her yelp and attempt to pull away. His hand gripped her shoulder and held her still, keeping her in place as whatever it was flowed from the device directly into her brain.

That’s when the pain started. The sudden throb of a headache morphed into a full-blown migraine in seconds, as Lena reached up and gripped her head. “Fuck!”

He didn’t let go, and she had no choice but to use his strength to help keep her upright as her brain was attacked. It took her a moment to realize that he was speaking to her, saying words that she didn’t understand but in such a way that she couldn’t help but be comforted. There was something about his tone, possessive but reassuring, that helped her relax.

“Sa reh crencha, te letta. Met kama sat el sana like that. Letta te your body. Yes, like that. The nanobots are reh kama your brain. It won’t be much longer before you start to understand us.”

Lena blinked rapidly trying to clear the sudden blurriness from her vision and shake the weird ringing from her ears. Nearly as sudden as everything began, she was able to look up into the cyborg’s eyes and realize that she now understood exactly what he was saying. “Whoa.”

He nodded. “You understand me now. Good. My name is Rykal. I’m the leader of the Fallen, cyborg people who inhabit Zarlan, the planet below this space station. These people are the Grus and you are now mine.”

“Oh good, that’s good to…” She shook her head. “I think there’s a problem with those nanobots. I thought you said that I was yours?”

The other alien stepped closer. “I’m Aidric, commander of Grus Prime, and liaison between the Fallen and the Grus. Rykal you need to step away from the woman now. We need to take her to medical to ensure her and her people don’t carry any diseases that could infect us, or something we’re unable to contain.”

The next few moments happened so unbelievably fast that Lena wasn’t entirely sure the exact order of events. One moment she was standing looking at the cyborg – Rykal – trying to figure out what they’d done to him. Then the next he’d picked her up in his arms, threw her over his shoulder, and ran from the docking bay as he dodged blaster fire.

“What the fuck! Let me go!”

He didn’t respond, leaving her watching Aidric and the remaining Grus scrambling to follow them before a door slid shut behind, blocking her view of their pursuers. Rykal’s grip on her was vice-like, making it impossible for her to break free. She tried to reach up and grab her blaster, but she couldn’t quite reach. Escape seemed to be impossible, nor did she know where she was or their intended destination. The twists and turns of the station became difficult for her to keep track of, especially with her head bouncing upside down.

“Let me go, please!”

“Stop!” He tightened his grip on her. “We’re nearly there.”

The there turned out to be an escape pod that was barely large enough for one cyborg, let alone both of them. But like everything in the last few minutes, he didn’t give her a chance to protest, dropping her inside before following and shutting the door. He didn’t reach out to type any commands, instead closing his eyes. “The station’s AI won’t allow me to take a shuttle due to safety protocols, but there are no such restrictions on the escape pods.”

“Where are we going?”

He opened his eyes and lowered his face so his lips where only a few inches from hers. “I told you, you’re mine. I’m taking you home.”

Lena should be shaking with panic, fear, anger, just about anything than the rush of lust that suddenly heated her groin and made her nipples hard. “Home?”

“The planet.” He cupped her face with is large hand, rubbing his thumb across her lips. “I will keep you safe there.”

Safe? That was a state of being that Lena hadn’t experienced in years. “Where I’m from, nothing comes without a price.”

Rykal frowned and she was able to see that the crystal blue of his eyes was a result of cybernetic enhancements. “There is no cost. I have no need of currency.”

“That’s not what I meant.” She couldn’t look away from his mouth, nor could she shake the urge to lean up and kiss him.

Shit, this wasn’t like her at all; while she’d had sex in the past with the occasional partner, not once had she experienced this all-encompassing desire to be with a man she’d only just met – and met not under the best of circumstances. Everything about him drew her in – his smell, the heat from his body, the feel of his too hard muscles beneath her hands. With Rykal she knew he’d keep her safe, even if he demanded she give him everything.

Rykal lowered his head until it was nearly impossible for Lena to keep her eyes open. “I want to taste you.”

If his people had any concept of consent when it came to sex, he didn’t seem to show it. He leaned in and captured her mouth with his, his tongue thrusting against hers as he reached up and cupped her breast with his hand.

Shit, I totally consent if that’s how he kisses. Lena moaned, not sure if she wanted to back away or press hard against him. Rykal pinched her nipple as he maneuvered his knee between her legs, the shift making her form-fitting space suit pull hard across her swelling clit. She gasped as the pressure increased and he continued to suck and lick at her mouth, only to shift those kisses along the side of her neck down to the spot just above where her space suit started.

“I want you naked. I want to mark you as my own.” He nipped at the exposed skin hard enough to pull a gasp from her.

“I…” But the rest of her thought fled her mind as the escape pod shuddered violently, sending her stumbling. “What the hell?”

Rykal reached over and pressed a few buttons on the pod’s control panel. “We’re entering the planet’s atmosphere. Right through a stormfront.”

Fuck. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“There’s a strong possibility it might tear the pod apart.”

Lena’s heartbeat surged once more. “What? No!”

Another violent shudder had her slammed back against the wall. Rykal wrapped his body around hers, the evidence of his arousal still there and now pressed against her hip. “If we die, at least it will be together.”

“Dying? I’m not planning on dying.”

The escape pod dropped fast as the running lights blinked out. Rykal chuckled. “I’m not either. Hold on.”

Lena did and for once in her life, said a prayer to the universe that she’d get out of this alive.

Mostly so she could kill Rykal.

Chapter Four

The impact could have been a lot worse than it turned out to be. Rykal had been able to link his mind with the escape pod controls and took control of the navigation system, steering them to land in the ocean. He managed to bounce them across the water with his nanosecond changes to the thrusters, like a skipping stone until they lost enough velocity to come to a stop. This made their landing far safer than their original trajectory, with a touchdown location in the western desert. Both locations were far away from Cimacha, the main city where his kind had made their home, which meant they’d need to make their way to the closest observation post and contact someone to come rescue them.

This would give him time to be with Lena, to make her understand that she was now his and he was hers. He could feel the confusion of her thoughts, the mix of anger, fear and lust that comprised her current emotional state. She was still recovering from having been in cryogenic sleep for he didn’t know how long, which meant she was still weaker than she would normally be. She’d quickly find her strength once more, and he’d be able to show her how good he could make things for her on Zarlan. It would only be a matter of time before she’d come to accept her new reality and the new life he’d be able to offer her.

Aidric would no doubt try to stop him, unwilling to understand that Rykal and his people deserved happiness after all they’d sacrificed for their planet. He’d make his brother recognize that all of the Fallen needed to have something in their lives that went beyond waiting for the next fight, or keeping their enemies safely locked up in the prison at the southern pole. If Aidric didn’t, Rykal knew he wouldn’t be able to stop the uprising of the Fallen against the Grus; a battle that would benefit no one.

Lena had lost consciousness when the escape pod hit the upper atmosphere, requiring him to keep her secure while they plummeted down. It was disconcerting being able to feel her slip away, knowing that this tangle of emotions and impressions was coming from her. How he’d become connected with a woman who wasn’t of his kind and who’s home planet he’d never heard of was a mystery he’d solve at a later time.

The shuttle pitched sharply to the side, as the computer alarm sounded. “Warning. Escape pod buoyancy controls damaged. Submersion imminent. Warning.”

Frak.

“Lena? You must wake up.” He caressed the side of her face, but there was no sign of her returning consciousness. “Lena?”

The pod pitched and bobbed as the waves sloshed over the top of them. Rykal knew it would only be a matter of time before they’d start to sink below the surface. He needed to get Lena out of the pod and to the shore quickly.

The escape hatch hissed open once he sent the release protocol with his mind, giving him the extra space he needed to climb out. With effort, he reached down and gently pulled Lena’s unconscious body up and over his shoulder as the buoyancy of the pod sunk dangerously low. Lena moaned and he could feel her start to wake up. He dropped to a squat and shifted her so she was now in his arms. Her lips parted and she let out a soft sigh when he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Wake up.”

She opened her eyes, blinking rapidly before squinting. “You didn’t kill me.”

“I did not. You’re safe and I need you to be with me so we can swim to shore.”

“Swim?” She pushed away from him and looked around. “That’s a lot of water.”

“We’re not far from land, which is good because our pod is sinking.” As if on cue, the escape pod bobbed lower as a wave slashed over them. “We need to swim to shore and we can get help from there.”

“Right. Yeah, that seems like a good idea.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “We do have a small problem in that I don’t know how to swim.”

Rykal nodded. “I’ll carry you then.”

“I’d always wanted to learn how, but most of the water on Earth isn’t exactly safe for us to submerge our bodies in. Not since the wars.”

As much as he wanted to learn all he could about her and her people, they didn’t have time to linger. “Jump on my back and don’t let go. I’ll get us to shore.” He could see that she wasn’t exactly certain what to do, so he turned around and squatted. “Up.”

“I’m not a child.” She leaned forward and pressed her body hard against his before wrapping her arms around his neck. “Is this okay, or am I hurting you?”

“Hold on.” He stood, pleasantly pleased with the squeal of surprise that erupted from her and jumped into the ocean.

Water covered his face and head, as Lena’s hands dug into his throat hard. With a few kicks he got them to the surface where she sucked in a huge gasp of air. “Asshole.”

He then took a breath, put his face in the water and began to swim as quickly as he could to shore. He needed to slow his oxygen exchange conversion down to nearly nothing so he could keep his head beneath the surface and make it easier for Lena to stay above water. The temperature was cold, and he could feel her shivering as he cut through the waves. After several long minutes, he finally made it to shallow water and they were able to walk the rest of the way to shore, where Lena fell in a heap on the hard sand.

“How are you not exhausted? Or dead because I didn’t see you take a single breath.” Her breath came out in gasps as she shivered hard. “Shit, you don’t even have a shirt on. Aren’t you freezing?”

“My cybernetics regulate my body and effect any necessary repairs to my biological systems.”

She nodded. “I’d assumed you were a cyborg, or at least an enhanced version of your people. How much of you is artificial?”

Her space suit was dripping wet and her red hair plastered against her face as wet rivulets of water trickled down her neck. He ran a weather scan, noting that the temperature would drop within the next hour. There was also a stormfront off to the west that would cause them harm if they didn’t seek shelter quickly.

“A stormfront is approaching. We need to get to the communications outpost before that hits.”

She frowned. “Are you ignoring my question?”

“No. I will answer it and everything else once we’ve reached shelter.” Not waiting for her to respond, he reached down and pulled her up. “Can you walk?”

“Stop that. I’m perfectly capable.” She yanked her arm away and glared at him. “I don’t know why you think you’re in control of me, but you’re not. I didn’t ask to have my ship pulled into your space station, nor did I ask for you to kidnap me and bring me down to this planet. I need to get back to my passengers to make sure they’re safe.”

“Aidric will ensure no harm comes to your people. They will be safe and looked after.” His life was the one that might be in jeopardy. “You can express your displeasure with me as we walk toward that outpost in the distance. If we move quickly, we should get there just ahead of the storm.”

Lena threw her hands up in the air, but turned and marched in the direction he’d indicated. While she might be a stubborn woman, she certainly wasn’t foolish; something Rykal appreciated.

They walked in silence, even though he was able to feel her mixed emotions bleeding off her. Confusion and anger would shift to concern and back again with every few passing minutes. What he couldn’t detect was the arousal and attraction toward himself that had been there when they’d first entered the escape pod. He wanted those feelings to return, wanted to have the warmth they generated back in her mind so they washed over him and eased the coldness that had long existed inside his core.

He wanted to feel her naked body against his, to understand what made her feel pleasure and pain, what made her emotions sing with joy. He wanted to mark and consume her so no one else ever came near her and tried to take her from him.

Rykal wanted Lena forever.

But even with the oppressive need for her spiking inside him, his underlying safety protocols had snapped into place. Survival took precedent; getting her to shelter where nothing and no one would be able to get to her was paramount. Then and only then would he let his guard down and give in to his baser desires.

The wind was blowing hard from the south, which sent Lena’s hair whipping around her face like a firebrand. She’d wrapped her arms around her chest, and was still visibly shaking. “How much longer before we get to this place?”

“Another twenty minutes at this pace.”

She began to walk faster. “I hope there are blankets and a heater. I’m not sure what kind of diseases your people have on this planet, but the last thing I want to get is a cold after having been stuck in cryo sleep for over half a century.”

“I promise you there are no airborne bacteria you should be concerned with. The Sholle obliterated nearly all lifeforms on the planet when they attacked us.”

“The Sholle?” She shook her head. “I’m going to hold you to the history lesson once we’re safe.”

It didn’t take long for the wind to get so strong it became impossible for them to converse at all. Lena struggled to maintain her pace, and Rykal had to help keep her moving forward. The outpost was close enough now that he was able to connect his cyber link to the computer, turn on the heat, and send out a distress beacon. His second in command Darrick would no doubt be the first one to pickup the signal and send a shuttle the moment he could. The timing would most likely be delayed due to the storms, so they would be stuck together in the shelter for some time.

“How much farther?” Lena’s words were consumed by the roaring winds.

Rykal lowered his face and pressed his mouth to her ear. “A hundred paces.”

He felt her nod, even as her legs began to buckle under the strain. Being this close to her made it easy for him to pick up on her mood, to feel the waves of determination flowing from her in the face of adversity. This woman had more focus than most of the Grus he’d fought with during the war; she had a sense of purpose that was normally born out of strife. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her the last few paces to the shelter, where they waited for the system to scan them before opening the doors to safety.

The moment the doors slid closed and the screaming wind was locked out behind them, Rykal released Lena and let her move away from him. Her relief was obvious on her face, but so was the realization that they were now completely alone and stuck in a building together.

“This is cozy.” She looked around the room, her gaze not resting on any one thing for very long. “Will your people be able to find us?”

“I’ve already sent out an alert. The moment they can send a shuttle through the storm they will.”

She stopped moving, and slowly turned to face him. Her red hair had come completely unbound and hung in tangled waves across her shoulders and down her back. Her cheeks were flushed red and her bright hazel eyes relayed an intelligence he wanted to get to know. Then she shivered, a full body tremble that launched him into action.

“You’re wet.” He crossed the room in two paces and began to pull at her space suit. “You need to take this off so we can dry you and get you warm.”

“I’m fine.” She stepped away, shivering again. “I just need a blanket or something.”

The urge to protect her, to warm her with his own body was nearly too much for his controls to handle. Nothing in the world was as important to him as her health and safety. Nothing more valuable than knowing she was happy and cared for.

He wanted to strip her naked and worship every inch of her body. To fit thoughts of her into the empty places in his mind knowing they would perfectly fill the gaps. His body surged with lust, the need to taste and touch her, to consume everything about her until the universe knew that she was his and no one else’s.

“Rykal?”

Looking up at her, he realized that he’d lost awareness of what was going on around him. His body shook nearly as much as hers, though the reasons for his reaction were different. “You need to take the clothing off and get warm. You need to.”

She cocked her head to the side and nodded. “You’re worried that something is going to happen to me?”

Was that what this was? Worry? He’d never had concern for anyone since his transformation into a cyborg. Possibly not even before. “You need to get warm and stay safe.”

“Okay.” She turned her back to him and slowly began to peel the wet layers from her body, letting them fall to the floor with a sucking-slop. “Can you get me the blanket that you mentioned?”

Yes. The blanket will help her, will get her warm.

He knew where it was, knew where everything was in these shelters. They were standard buildings designed to offer protection to any cyborg who might require aid. The Grus never came to Zarlan’s surface any longer, but his people still ensured the shelters had the items necessary for the Grus as well.

Some habits were hard to break.

Rykal grabbed the blanket as well as some food rations and brought them back to a now naked and shivering Lena. “Thank you.” She took the blanket and covered her body easily due to its size.

Still, he knew it would take more. He wanted more.

Lena’s face was still flushed, but he could tell from the bio readings coming off her that it was no longer from the wind; this was an internal reaction. She licked her lips. “Do you need to dry off too?”

The cold and wet would do nothing to his biological systems; there was little that could hurt him outside of a blaster shot to the head or sinking to the bottom of the ocean. But his body betrayed him – the desire to be naked and press his flesh against hers was overwhelming. He said nothing, but with purposeful motions, pulled his wet clothing off until he stood naked before her.

“They’ll dry faster this way.” Yet he made no move to pick the clothing up and deposit them someplace where that would happen.

His cock was hard and stood like a brand between them. His rondella, the sensitive patch of flesh on his inner thigh that helped prepare his body to mate, filled with blood in the first time since his rebirth. Rykal didn’t know if they were sexually compatible – sex wasn’t a thing he’d even considered since his cybernetic conversion – but based on the look she was giving him they must not be too different in that regard.

He reached down and grabbed his cock in his hand, giving it a stroke. “I want to mate with you.”

She shivered again. “I can see that.”

Rykal took a step closer. “You’re mine. I knew you were out there in space; I could feel your presence. You’re meant for me and I you.”

Lena’s eyes widened. “I…shit. I’ve just fled a planet where women aren’t exactly respected for their independence. I’ve been in cryo sleep for over half a century, woke up to find my ship captured by an alien tractor beam, and then kidnapped by a cyborg. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on here.”

Her gaze moved from his cock to the glowing cybernetic implants that had been inserted into his body. He stepped closer, knowing she wanted to touch them but was too afraid to ask. “They don’t hurt.”

“That’s amazing. We have cybernetic enhanced people on Earth, but it’s not as sophisticated as these.” Her fingers slid out from beneath the blanket and she traced a path around where the circuitry met skin. “They’re warm.”

He could feel that her fingers were still cold, the circulation not fully reaching her extremities. “They can warm you.”

The look in her eyes changed from curiosity to desire. “How is it possible that we’re from different planets light years away and physically compatible?”

“I’ve given everything to my people, it’s only fair that the universe has given me something in return.” What little restraint he had remaining was about to snap. “I’m going to claim you now. I’m going to make you mine.”

She hesitated for a moment, before flattening her hand on his naked chest. “Yes.”

Rykal took her head between his hands and kissed her.

Chapter Five

The moment Rykal’s mouth claimed hers, Lena knew she was done for. She didn’t understand the how’s or why’s of what this thing between them was, but she knew this was now inevitable. Her body was primed in a way she hadn’t felt in ages before leaving Earth; her pussy wet and her nipples hard. She wanted to feel his long, thick cock slide into her body just to see the heights of pleasure he’d be able to take her to.

Kissing her the way he was, holding her face with such reverence and desire, she knew their lovemaking would be nothing short of explosive.

She wanted him now.

Lena let the blanket fall to the floor and stepped against Rykal’s large frame. His cock was trapped between their bodies, hard and leaking from his need, a promise of the joy that was to come. “You’re so big.”

He shoved his hand in her hair and tugged her head back until her throat was fully exposed to him. There was just enough pain to send a jolt of pleasure through her body that made her tremble. Lowering his mouth, he licked and kissed her much the same way he’d done on the escape pod, but now there was nothing to stop him from devouring her the way she knew he wanted. The point between her neck and shoulder became a focal point for him, and he lowered his mouth to the spot and with a growl bit down.

“Fuck!” It hurt, but she could tell he hadn’t broken the skin. “Rykal?”

“You’re mine.” He licked at the spot before biting down again, no doubt leaving a bruise in the process. “I want the universe to know. If any fool touches you, I’ll kill them.”

The words should have terrified her; to have a man she didn’t know act in such a way and lay such a claim on her without her consent was wrong.

And yet, Lena knew it was right. She wanted to be possessed by this man, knew that despite everything she’d left behind, she’d somehow traveled across the dark vastness of space to find him.

She closed her eyes and widened her legs. “Yes.”

Lena could tell that he’d been holding back, careful not to hurt her to this point. But that restraint was gone with her assent and Rykal went mad with lust.

Roaring, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, marching over to a cot that was pressed against the side of the wall. It looked to be too small for his frame but was more than big enough for Lena to stretch out comfortably. With little gentleness, he dropped her onto the bed only to stand over her staring.

Lena had never felt so exposed in her life; stretched out naked and cold, on an alien planet with a cyborg who wanted to claim her for himself. But it was also the most liberated she’d ever felt in her life. There were no rules she had to follow, no society to dictate what her role was and what she needed to do with her life. There was no provisional Earth government to force her into labour that would wear her down to nothing and lead to an early death.

Her escape from Earth had been risky, but had led her to a freedom she’d never anticipated.

She opened her legs wide, loving how Rykal’s gaze snapped to her pussy. He dropped to his knees on the edge of the bed and grabbed her inner thighs with his hands and pulled them apart even further. “You have hair.”

Lena couldn’t help but giggle. “Yes. As red as what’s on top of my head.”

She’d always been considered a genetic oddity back home. There were so few people with red hair and hazel eyes any longer, it had brought her the type of unwanted attention she’d been desperate to avoid. No man had ever looked at her with the same reverence as Rykal; flattering and arousing all at once.

He lowered his face to her pussy and pulled in a long, slow inhale. “The sweetest scent I’ve ever faced.”

Lena gripped the thin blanket on the mattress as her body was half lifted into the air. She squeezed her eyes shut before gasping when he licked a swipe across her pussy, teasing her clit as he went. “Shit.”

“I don’t know how exactly, but I knew you would like that. That you wanted me to put my mouth there.”

“Yes.” She couldn’t help but to strain against the now empty air. “More.”

His mouth returned as he flexed his fingers against the skin of her thighs. Rykal’s tongue was as equally large as everything else about him. The hot flesh teased her, igniting arousal that snaked through her body, setting her nerves alight. She moved her hips in rhythm with his teasing tongue, gasping with each caress against her clit, silently willing him to do even more. Whatever this connection between them was, he picked up on her desires and lowered her to the mattress so he could slide his long finger into her pussy.

“Oh God.” She rolled her head back and forth against the pillow, knowing it wasn’t going to take her long to fall over the edge of pleasure and into blessed oblivion.

Rykal fucked her body with his hand, her juices coating his fingers as he moved inside her. His finger was thicker than some men she’d had sex with in the past – which wasn’t saying much for her previous lovers – and he knew to curl it in such a way to press against that secret spot deep inside her that would push her over the edge.

Her body shook and she lost the ability to hold back; she moaned and sighed, gasping for air as though she were close to death. Her nipples were hard, and the cold air of the room made them electric with their sensitivity. It was too much and not enough; she wanted more than she knew her body could handle, and yet didn’t want things to be so much that she wouldn’t remember.

Rykal groaned against her pussy and moved his hand in such a way that she couldn’t stop the burst of pleasure as her orgasm ripped through her. She screamed as she grabbed at his head, trying to push him away as she pulled him closer; the waves of release burned her even as they sated her desire.

Finally, he pulled away, letting her legs fall to the bed with a dull thud. It took her a moment to find the energy to open her eyes once again, but when she did, Lena was granted with the vision of Rykal kneeling over her, his cock as hard as ever and his blue gaze locked on her face.

“I’m going to mate with you now.”

Lena couldn’t have stopped him even if she’d wanted. And she most definitely did not want him to stop.

Instead of sliding his cock inside her and taking his pleasure. Rykal reached down and turned her around. “On your hands and knees.”

She nodded, though it took effort to make her body comply, wanting nothing more than to give in to her exhaustion and lie there while he fucked her. Once she moved, widening her stance so he could find her opening from behind, she found another tremble of desire roll through her. Shit, maybe there’s something in the water here that makes a woman extra horny.

He grabbed her hips with his large hands and squeezed her hard as he lined up his cock and thrust forward. Lena gasped when he filled her as far as he could go, her pussy clenching around his shaft. Rykal wasn’t gentle with her, but there was still a worship about him whenever he placed his hands on her body. He flexed his grip on her once more as he pulled back. “I’m going to make you mine.”

“Yes, okay.”

He thrust forward hard enough to jolt her body. “You’re mine. Say it.”

“I’m…” She’d never given herself to a man like this before – cyborg, alien or human – and she couldn’t help but hold back.

Rykal let out a sound that could have been a roar or a growl. “Say it. Lena, say it.”

He punctuated each word with a thrust hard and deep into her pussy. Each time he fully connected, her clit jolted and the pleasure began to grow more. She didn’t want to give him what he wanted, scared that it would end things too quickly, that she’d be lying to him or give something that she’d never be able to get back. A part of her soul that she’d need to continue living out here on the edge of the galaxy.

Instead, she closed her eyes and pressed her cheek to the mattress as he continued to fuck her from behind. Her breasts swung, grazing her nipples against the rough material of the blanket. Her body was still sensitive from her previous orgasm, and coupled with Rykal’s raging desire, Lena knew it wouldn’t take much for her to come a second time. What she wasn’t expecting was for Rykal to reach down and hook his arms beneath her shoulder, to then pull her up into a sitting position on his lap. He had the strength to continue to fuck her hard, thrusting up into her willing body as he grabbed her breasts and teased her nipples.

“Fucking say it.” He bit the spot on her neck again, harder this time, marking her. “You’re mine.”

Lena groaned, letting her head fall back against him and giving her body over to him. “Yes.”

“Say it.”

“I’m yours.”

He pinched her nipples, and she bucked down not sure if she was trying to escape his touch or get more of it. “Again.”

“I’m yours.” She sobbed, the pleasure and pain mixing in her to the point where she couldn’t tell one from the other. “Please.”

Shifting his hand, he slid it down her body to her pussy. “Is this what you want?”

Her voice failed her, and all Lena could do was nod and pray that he understood.

“I want to feel your release. I want to smell and hear you. I want you to know that it was me who brought you to this place.”

Oh, him and his filthy mouth. “Yes, yes.”

He pressed his finger to her clit as he sucked on the wound on her neck and thrust up into her. It was all too much and Lena cried out. If her previous orgasm was a wave, then this was a fucking tsunami. Her voice abandoned her, leaving her lips parted in a voiceless scream. Her pussy clamped down hard on his cock as he pounded into her. His hands moved back to her breasts as he shifted her so he could press his forehead against the back of her shoulder.

She felt his cock pulse inside her before he tilted his head back and roared. His body shook, his thrusting became stuttered and ragged. His seed filled her, easing his thrusts until they finally stopped.

They sat there, clinging to each other, breathing hard and ragged as the storm raged outside. Lena’s heart still raced, and she didn’t know what her world would now be like. But one thing was certain; she really did belong to Rykal.

All she needed to do was figure out exactly what that meant.

Chapter Six

Rykal couldn’t let her go even as her body went limp from the intensity of her release. Lena was in his arms shivering – this time from pleasure – as her heartrate dropped closer to normal. He was becoming familiar with all her bio scans, realizing that somehow this was how he was aware of her moods, her very presence. It should have been impossible for him to have detected her across the vastness of their sector, and yet there was no way he’d be able to not know how she was feeling from this point forward.

She was engrained into his very psyche.

Sliding his hand across her slick, naked breast, he let his systems note every rhythm her body kicked off, needing to remember her like this – happy and sexually sated. He pressed his mouth to the spot he’d bit earlier and licked it softly with his tongue. “More.”

The whimper that slipped from her was endearing. “Not sure I can handle more.”

“You can.” Reaching out with his sensors, he used the data he’d collected to begin to arouse her once again. “I know your body better than you know yourself.”

Avoiding her pussy and her nipples, he began to stroke her sides, the smooth skin of her inner thighs. She was so unlike his kind down here; no rondollo, the female equivalent of his body that would help drive her arousal, but she had hair between her legs. He shifted her in his arms so she lay stretched out across his lap, her body bowed across him, open and exposed. The hair between her legs was curled and damp from her release, making it a joy to slide his fingers through, teasing everyplace except the one spot he knew she’d want him to touch.

“I can see your arousal growing.” He ran his other hand along the swell of her belly. “I can see heat blooming across you as I do this.” He cupped her breast but still left the nipple alone. “And this.” He circled her clit without touching.

Lena arched up, trying to shift into his moving touch with little luck. “Rykal.”

“Not yet. You have to trust that I know how to take care of you. To give you what you need to be happy.”

She sighed and let her head roll to the side as he continued to tease and stroke her side. Time ticked on in his head, as he manipulated her body perfectly to the point where she was enflamed with desire. Her pussy was wet once again and it would take no effort to slide his cock into her willing body.

Instead, Rykal stood, taking her with him.

Lena let out a surprised squeak, struggling to catch her balance even though there was no way he’d let her fall. “I’ve got you.”

Her surprise turned into a low chuckle. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.”

What he wanted to do was fuck her hard and fast so that she’d never want to be with another man – Grus, human or cyborg – ever again. Setting her on her feet in front of the computer console, he placed her hands on the flat surface and bent over her. “Don’t move.”

She held her breath for a moment before nodding her head once. With her standing the way that he was, Rykal had the perfect view of her naked body. Her limbs were long and her red hair even longer as it reached halfway down her back. That flowing, fiery mane was quickly becoming an obsession with him. Wrapping his hand around the strands, Rykal pulled her head backward as he thrust his cock into her waiting pussy. Now he could feel her muscles around his shaft as he looked down at the possessive bite mark on her neck. It consumed him, knowing that he’d done that to her, that she was his and that he’d do anything in the galaxy to keep her safe.

“Rykal.” She moaned as she began to thrust her hips back against him. “Fuck me.”

Yes.

Yes.

Gone was any semblance of restraint; he knew that they were both long past that point. He fucked her with hard, fast thrusts, each one making his body ache for release. But he wouldn’t come, not until she did first. He tugged her hair harder as he squeezed her hips; he wanted to press his fingers to her clit, to force the pleasure onto her, but knew it would be too much. No, he needed to let her body take control, to drive her pleasure to the peak before he’d be able to push her over the edge. Rykal tugged and fucked her until sweat pooled on her lower back and her skin puckered with bumps.

“Please, please, I’m so fucking close.” Her words were so softly spoken, he wasn’t sure she was even aware she said them out loud. “Yes, yes, just like that.”

He swivelled his hips, but knew it wasn’t going to be enough for her. Instead, he leaned over her body and pressed his mouth to the bruise on her shoulder. “You’re mine. This will always be here as a reminder to anyone who might think otherwise. Mine forever. You will do what I want, what I tell you to do. Right now. I want you to fucking come right now and then I’m going to pull out and come all over your back. Mine forever.”

Lena’s body went tight as a wire, before her pussy clamped down on his shaft and she came with a scream. Rykal groaned and pulled back, knowing he wouldn’t have long to do exactly what he’d told her he would. The muscles of her pussy milked his shaft for what felt like an eternity before she finally went limp. It was only then that he pulled his cock from her, and jerked off until streams of his come exploded from him to coat her back in ropey spurts.

Pleasure overrode his internal restraints, and for one blissful moment he felt like the man he’d been before the war, before his life had been stolen from him. There was no fear, dread, or growing coldness that occupied the spaces in his chest; all that was blown away by the warmth of having and needing this human woman from across the void of space.

He came back to his awareness when he felt Lena’s legs shaking to hold herself up beneath the added weight of his body draped across her. Carefully, he stood up and turned her in his arms to hold her in an embrace. “Thank you, little one.”

Her hands felt so small against his chest, as she placed them against his cybernetics. She seemed fascinated by them, no doubt not having seen something quite like them. “Why placed here? It feels like a panel over your heart?”

The memory of the blaster ripping through his chest and into his skin was perfectly preserved. The pain was as fresh today as it had been then, as was the fear that spread within him when he realized he was about to die.

He’d failed his people, his brother, his fellow soldiers. One careless action was all it had taken and it was nearly the undoing of his people in their fight against the Sholle. If Aidric hadn’t been prepared, hadn’t been willing to sacrifice both their souls to save their people, matters would have been far worse.

“Rykal?”

He realized that he hadn’t answered her. “It was necessary.” She frowned for a moment before it morphed into a yawn. “Let me take you to bed.”

Her eyes widened. “I don’t think I could come again if I tried.”

“To rest. You will need your sleep, for once the storm is over, we’ll need to leave quickly and return to my people before the Grus find us.”

Ignoring her confused expression, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. Her eyes were closed, and she sighed softly as sleep immediately overcame her. He tucked the blanket around her, letting his gaze roam over her body. She was so unlike any of the Grus women he’d been with in the past, and yet every inch of her skin was perfectly familiar to him. Lena of Earth was the woman who could fix him in a way he hadn’t realized was broken. For the first time since his rebirth, Rykal felt right with the universe.

The communication console crackled to life, indicating that a transmission was incoming. “About fracking time, Darrick.”

He pressed in his code and the screen flared to life. Instead of Darrick’s expected presence, he was now faced with the stern, heartless eyes of Aidric. “You fool. What have you done?”

Rykal couldn’t stop his teeth from grinding together. “What I needed to make sure she was safe.”

“You know nothing about her or her people. They could have been sent by the Sholle to infiltrate our planet.” Aidric leaned forward, moving his face closer to the screen. “You’re putting us all at risk.”

The mere thought of Lena being an operative of the Sholle nearly sent Rykal’s systems into overload. “She and all her people are from Earth. They’re escaping their own wars and chose to come here to find peace.”

Aidric closed his eyes briefly, the only indication Rykal had that his brother was barely controlling his rage. “If that’s the truth, then we would have discovered it after talking with her.”

“You mean interrogation.”

“It’s the same thing.” Aidric straightened once more. “You’ve now made a peaceful investigation impossible. I might be commander of this station, but the high council are the leaders of our people. They are the ones who determine who can and cannot stay on the station, and which actions against us are mandated as detrimental and worthy of attack. You’ve been flagged as being rogue and dangerous. The order to decommission you is the next step.”

It shouldn’t have surprised him, and yet Rykal had to fight to stop himself from stepping away from the screen and ending the conversation immediately. “Why?”

“Why do you think? You kidnapped an alien, injured security personnel and stole a fracking escape pod. You’ve been marked for destruction and the human for imprisonment.”

Rykal glanced over at where Lena lay sleeping, oblivious to the horrors that were coming for them. “I won’t let you take her.”

The mask that Aidric so carefully wore to keep his emotions hidden from the world slipped ever so slightly. His lips turned down and Rykal could hear a quiver of distress in his voice. “Why this woman? You’ve never responded to anyone like this before. Past or present. Brother, why is she worth throwing your second chance at life away?”

“A life I never asked for. One that you forced on me.”

“Please, ‘Kal.” Aidric swallowed, using the nickname he’d given him when they were children. “This goes against everything in your code, everything you were programmed to do.”

He didn’t have an answer, not one that his far too emotionally distant brother would understand. “She fills a void in me that I hadn’t realized was there.”

A beeping off screen grabbed Aidric’s attention. “We’re scanning for your communication feed. It won’t be long before they’re able to determine the location you’re broadcasting from.”

That was why Aidric had been so talkative. Without saying another word, Rykal ended the communication, reached down and yanked the coms control center from the panel, destroying the machine. Lena was still blissfully asleep, which meant he still had time to reach out to Darrick and move her before the Grus security forces found them. He folded her space suit and placed in on the console and found an old Grus uniform that looked like it might fit her. They wouldn’t have a lot of time once he contacted Darrick. He should wake her, tell her what was happening and get her ready to go. But one look at her sleeping face and he couldn’t do it. Not yet at least. Better for her to sleep because he didn’t know when they’d have time to rest again.

Grabbing his pants and boots, he stepped out into the raging storm in search of a secondary and secure communication network. Because he’d rather die again that let anything bad happen to Lena. Even if that meant killing his own brother in the process.

Chapter Seven

Lena woke to find herself alone in the bed with the blanket covering her body and her feet tucked in. It took her a moment to reorient herself, temporarily forgetting what had happened to her since the Kraken woke her up. The late resuscitation protocols, the Grus, being kidnapped and then having the best sex of her life – all of it had happened in such rapid sucession she had no idea how long it had been since those first moments when she opened her eyes. Checking the small chromometer on her wrist, she gave it a shake when the time she saw didn’t initially register in her brain.

Shit, had it only been hours?

Things had changed so rapidly in such a short period of time they could hardly be real. She hadn’t even had the chance to reconcile the fact that they’d actually made it out of Earth’s solar system and to their destination without getting attacked or having suffered some sort of computer malfunction. Lena rolled onto her back and chuckled softly. God, everyone back on Earth wouldn’t believe it either, that was if any of them were still alive. Maybe things had improved in the years since she’d put her passengers into cryo sleep and they’d left.

Doubtful, but she’d always been accused of being an optimist.

Now they had an opportunity at a new life with new people and a planet that sure, wasn’t necessarily the easiest to live on at first glance, but it was a far sight better than the political insanity they’d left behind. At least she hoped it was.

Turning her head, she looked to see where Rykal was in the room, but she couldn’t find him. Strange, given how small the place was. The winds were still howling outside and the temperature of the room had dropped by a few degrees, but it wasn’t bad seeing as how she was cocooned in the blanket. Her body was still sensitive from the raw sex they’d had; achy in that wow you got fucked hard kind of way that the simple memory had the ability to curl her toes. Rykal seemed to know exactly where to touch her, how to make her body heat with desire. It shouldn’t be possible given they’d only just met and weren’t even the same species.

The universe giveth…

Lena sat up in bed and looked around the room to see if there was any indication of where he would have gone. “Rykal?”

Nothing.

Her space suit was sitting on top of the computer console folded neatly and clearly far dryer than it had been when she’d taken it off. Beside it was another set of clothing – dark green with what looked to be brown patches on the sleeves – clearly meant for her to try on. Getting up and shivering when her feet hit the cold floor, she walked over and held up what appeared to be a uniform. It was going to be big on her, but the cloth appeared flexible and would make moving around on the planet easier than walking in her tight-fitting space suit.

“When on Earth, dress like an Earthling.”

It only took her a few minutes to put the uniform on, and as she’d suspected it was a bit large on her frame. She did keep her space suit jacket, hoping the extra layer would give her some additional protection. It felt odd and yet comforting to know that he’d thought of her, and went in search of fresh clothes for her to wear.

The door opened, startling Lena as Rykal marched inside from the storm. Unlike her, he was still mostly naked, having only put on his pants and a pair of boots. His bare torso was as broad and muscular as she’d remembered. He looked at her and nodded as the door locked shut behind him. “They fit.”

“Thank you, yes.” She couldn’t stop from biting down on her bottom lip. “You don’t have any clothing yourself?”

“My body doesn’t damage the way yours would.” He crossed over to her, reached up and kissed her hard. “You need to be protected.”

Lena ignored the way her chest tightened, and her heart fluttered. “I’m more than capable of looking after myself and others.” With difficulty, she stepped back needing the space so she could think straight. “What is happening here?”

Rykal winced, but made no move to close the distance between them. “The communication array…isn’t working. I had to go outside to effect repairs to the backup. Darrick has now received my message and will send a shuttle the moment the storm eases.”

“Darrick is a friend of yours?”

“Another cyborg. My second in command during the war, though we hold no such ranks currently.”

She looked at his body once more, noting that many of his cybernetics related to strength; enhanced arms and chest and clearly the ability to heal himself from minor damage. She reached out and placed her hand once more on the ridge where his skin disappeared into circuitry. “Did you choose these or were they provided to you?”

His gaze slipped away from hers. “I was the first of my people to receive them.”

Oh, she didn’t like the sound of that. “What does that mean? Did you volunteer?”

“I died.”

Lena’s hand fell away. “What do you mean you died? You’re standing right in front of me, clearly not dead.”

The spark of passion that had been in his gaze before she’d fallen asleep was gone. “The Sholle have been the enemy of the Grus for as long as our two people have been alive. They’ve consumed all the natural resources on their planet and it didn’t take long for them to set their sights on ours. The last great war between our people saw our forces fall and the Sholle invaded our world. They used their machines to strip the soil, to pull all life from it to be transformed into energy for their ships.”

Lena’s heart ached for a people she barely knew. “Earth is like that, though we can’t blame outside forces for the damage done to our world. We’re more than capable of being our own monsters.”

“We were dying. But my brother had one final idea that if it worked could save us all. Reanimating the dead, bringing us back to life with cybernetics and coding that allowed us to coordinate attacks. We were stronger, less prone to harm. We had no fear of dying because that was something we’d already experienced.” He moved her hand to the center of the cybernetic implant on his chest. “I was shot here. The killing blow that ended one life and gave me another.”

Lena looked up into the crystal blue cybernetic eyes of the man who’d brought such passion to her only hours before. “You’re the most alive man I’ve ever met. No matter what happened to you in the past, or the changes they made to you then, you’re here now. Here with me.”

His mouth trembled, before he reached up and took her hand in his. “We’ll have to discuss these things later.”

She couldn’t explain why, but she knew something terrible had happened while she’d rested. “What’s wrong?”

“Aidric and the Grus soldiers are on their way for us. I’ve had to destroy our communications array here and use a secondary beacon to reach Darrick. He’s flying a shuttle to get us now, though we’ll have to walk out in the storm to find a place where he’ll be able to set down safely.”

“You destroyed the array?” She gave her head a shake. “You told me it wasn’t working.”

He ran his thumb across her cheek before pulling back. “I didn’t want to worry you needlessly.”

“I’m the captain of a ship that’s traveled across the galaxy. I’m more than capable of determining what I should and shouldn’t worry about.” Lena’s stomach bottomed out on her. “Is my ship still safe? Are my passengers? I need to get back there to check on them.”

“You can’t.” He grabbed her by the shoulders when she tried to bolt for the door. “Lena, you have to trust me.”

“Trust you? I don’t even know you. You kidnapped me and now the lives of everyone on my ship are in danger because you felt the need to possess me?” God, she’d never been this much of a fool, putting her own desires ahead of everyone else. “I can’t believe this.”

He squeezed her shoulders hard enough to force her to look him in the eyes. “I know my brother. He won’t do anything to your ship or your people while I’m out here causing him problems. He’ll leave them alone and come for us. The longer it takes for that to happen, the safer they will be.”

Lena didn’t know if she wanted to slap Rykal or kiss him. “Fine. But the minute I’m able to get back to the station and get my people free, then I’m going to take it.”

He let go and stepped away from with in a single motion. The spark she’d gotten used to seeing in his eyes dulled ever so slightly. “As you wish. We need to leave now.” He turned and marched to the door.

Lena’s chest tightened and she knew she’d screwed that up, but things had been happening far to quickly for her. Between the hangover from the cryo sleep and the fucking amazing sex, she didn’t exactly have a lot of time to get everything set in her brain while making sure not to hurt the feelings of the cyborg who’d kidnapped her. She pulled her jacket tighter around her and realized that he was still standing there half naked. Turning from him, she found his clothing still in the pile on the floor where he’d left it and picked up his shirt.

“If we’re going to be on the run from your brother, then I think at the very least you should have a shirt to wear. We wouldn’t want you to get cold while we’re out there.”

With great care, she reached up and held out his shirt, waiting for him to take it from her. Instead, he ducked his head and let her slide it over and onto his shoulders. It shouldn’t feel as easy or right doing these domestic kindnesses for him, and yet Lena couldn’t deny that they did.

With his cybernetics covered, Rykal looked similar to many of the human men she’d left behind. Maybe two people from different planets really could be meant for one another.

All they had to do was survive.

Chapter Eight

The storm had begun to ease as Rykal led Lena over the hill toward the clearing where Darrick would land and shuttle them off to safety. The city that the cyborgs had built wasn’t as grand as what life had been before the Sholle attacked and destroyed everything, but it was the best they could manage with the few resources the Grus provided them. But the break in the weather meant it would be easier for Aidric to find them as well.

Time was of the essence.

Rykal was running a beacon on the cyborg network that he and the others had created during the war, a means of stealth communication that had helped them win. Darrick would pick it up the moment he came into range, but it was modified so that it would be difficult for Aidric to track their precise location. Their window of opportunity was small, but Rykal had trust in his brethren that once they made it to the city, they’d be safe.

Then he’d be able to set about the task of winning Lena’s heart.

She was far stronger now, surer footed since their walk to the shelter. Lena kept pace with him, and he was able to see the strong woman who’d managed to keep her passengers safe while she flew blind across space in a ship that had little business being in space. This Lena was the leader, the captain that brought women to safety. She would be good in a fight, if it ever came to that.

The gods better help Aidric if any harm comes to her. Brother or not, Rykal would snap his neck.

“Is it much farther?” Lena’s words were whipped around by the wind. “Have you made contact?”

Rykal sent another burst communication, and this time he received Darrick’s response. “He’ll be on the ground by the time we clear that hill.”

“Thank God.”

True to his word, the shuttle was already there and waiting by the time Rykal crested the hill. Looking back at Lena, he couldn’t miss the relief on her face. Her muscles would still be weak from being in cryogenic sleep and he’d put her through much in the short time since waking up. He paused long enough to scoop her up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way down the hill. She really must have been tired, because she didn’t protest at all.

The shuttle door lowered, giving them access to the ramp and the safety that waited inside. Rykal set Lena down and let her walk, not wanting her to feel incapable of managing on her own.

“Rykal?” Darrick stood just inside the small shuttle, his gaze locked on Lena, who in turn hadn’t moved far beyond the ramp. “Who’s this?”

As large as Rykal was, Darrick was taller and broader. His cybernetic eyes shone green in the low light of the shuttle, casting odd shadows across his cheeks. His brown hair was cut so short hardly any showed, giving him a menacing look that had often played to their advantage out on the battlefield. Darrick’s cybernetics comprised half of his neck and left shoulder, repairing the damage he’d taken when he’d jumped in front of blaster fire that would have killed a fellow soldier. Rykal had made sure his friend was the second person to receive Aidric’s implants, a thing Rykal had spent the following years trying to make up for.

Lena stood still even as Rykal retracted the ramp and closed the door. “This is Lena. She’s a human from a distant planet called Earth who traveled here in a ship with other women. They’re refugees and are looking for a new home. She’s also my mate and I’ll kill you if you hurt her.”

Darrick cocked a single eyebrow in a manner that spoke volumes. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Lena nodded, her eyes widened as she looked between them. “Likewise.”

“We’ll have to carry on this conversation in the air. Aidric is trying to track us and if we don’t get back to the city quickly, we’re all going to have a very bad day.”

“Right.” Darrick reclaimed his seat and set about starting the shuttle. “You’re going to need the restraints. The shuttle’s stabilizers can only do so much in this weather.”

Lena looked away from Rykal long enough to secure herself in the passenger chair, only to stare at him once more. He could feel her confusion and more than a little trepidation at his declaration; he couldn’t exactly blame her though, even if it was the truth. She was now a part of his life, a vital part. If anything happened to her, he knew deep down in what remained of his soul that he’d go insane. His life would be over and so would the lives of anyone who’d hurt her.

He slid into the seat beside Darrick and checked the co-pilot command center. “We have a window opening up in the storm.”

“I see it.” Darrick pressed the control drive. “Hold on.”

Rykal focused his attention on the storm, on the shuttle and getting them all to safety, even if what he really wanted was to move to the back of the ship and pull Lena into his arms to reassure her that everything would be alright. She’d be safe and cared for, her people would be released and provided for, and Aidric would eventually leave them all to go about their lives. But he knew he would never be able to outright lie to her, so he focused on what he could control.

Stage one – getting her back to the city.

The opening in the weather didn’t last for long, but it was enough to allow them to fly full throttle to Cimacha, the city that the surviving cyborgs had claimed as their home. The moment they got into range Rykal felt Darrick reach out to him through their cybernetic link.

What’s going on with this human?

Rykal didn’t want to have to explain everything, but he knew if they were going to have a chance of stopping Aidric from escalating this into a full-blown war, he’d need Darrick and everyone else on his side. I don’t know why, but I was aware of her the moment she entered the sector. She fills a gap in my brain, and my soul that I never thought would be whole again.

Darrick kept his gaze on the controls, but Rykal could tell something that he’d said had struck a nerve with his friend. Darrick’s hand balled into a fist for a moment before he stretched it out flat. Was it like an itching in the back of your brain?

Yes. Rage flared inside him. She’s not yours.

No, she isn’t. She’s not the source, but it feels close. I thought my cybernetics were failing.

If Darrick was experiencing the same things, then there was a chance that another human back on Lena’s shuttle was meant for him. Perhaps all the humans had cyborg mates waiting for them here. The implications of that were far too great for him to dwell on right now.

My friend, we’ll find her for you. As soon as I put Aidric in his place.

Darrick snorted. Easier said than done.

“Are the two of you carrying on some sort of conversation? Because it’s more than a little rude to ignore another person in the room like that.”

They both looked back at Lena, who seemed far more annoyed at them than concerned about the weather or escaping Aidric’s soldiers. She had a core of mettle to her, a natural leader who would fit perfectly into their world.

Darrick snorted again. “Apologies.” You’re going to have your hands full with this one.

A problem I’ll happily live with for the rest of my life. “We have the ability communicate in short range through a cyborg neuronet. We’re not used to caring about the others around us and what they can hear.”

“Well if I’m going to be around for a little while, you damn well better get used to it.”

“I’ll be sure not to use this method while you’re present.” True to his word, he severed the link with Darrick.

“Thank you.” She narrowed her gaze on something behind him. “Is that where we’re heading?”

“Cimacha, is our capital.” Rykal turned and transmitted their security codes. “We’ll be there shortly.”

Rykal was able to see the docking field lights when the shuttle lurched sharply to the side. The alarms sounded as the shuttle was hit with another barrage of blaster fire, this time from the other side. Darrick turned off the alarm and quickly maneuvered the shuttle to avoid another attack. “We’ve got Grus ships on both flanks. They must have been waiting for us to arrive and popped up under my scanners.”

Rykal should have known better than to assume Aidric wouldn’t have a secondary plan to stop them. “Can we land?”

The shuttle shuddered under another hit, this time sending a cascade of sparks showering down over Lena. “I think that one penetrated your hull!”

The alarms sounded again, as Darrick scanned them. “She’s right. Hull breach on quadrant 327. We’re not going to be able to sustain many more of those.”

They were so close to the landing pad, Rykal knew the others in the city would be able to see the attack, which would only serve to ratchet up the tension between their peoples. He was about to tell Darrick to make a run for it, when the coms channel opened.

“Put the shuttle down, Rykal.”

Fracking Aidric.

Darrick opened coms. “By firing on us you’re declaring war on the cyborg population. That is not a war that the Grus want. You will not win.”

“Rykal declared war first when he attacked our people on the station, kidnapped an alien who we hadn’t cleared from quarantine and then stole an escape pod.”

Darrick looked at him, his eyebrow fully cocked. “Is that true?”

“It is.” Lena had left her seat to stand behind them. “And I’m not going to be the reason a war breaks out. Especially not when my people are still stuck in cryo sleep on my ship back on that station. We need to put the shuttle down and surrender.”

“No!” Rykal was on his feet and pressed against her. “I won’t put you in danger. I’ll kill them all first.”

Lena blinked several times as she stepped away from him. “You don’t get to control me. I didn’t fly halfway across this galaxy only to find myself in a worse position than the one I left. I’m the captain of the Kraken and have been trusted with the lives of every single person on it. I’m not going to let your arrogance put their lives or their futures in jeopardy because you’re thinking with your cock.”

Fear and anger radiated from Lena, though Rykal knew it wasn’t for her own safety. She was every bit as much willing to put her life on the line for others as he was, and he knew she’d willingly sacrifice herself to save her people. He would do the same.

“Rykal, put the shuttle down before you reach the landing pad and we’ll keep this matter between us. There’s no reason for things to escalate into a war. No reason for us to disturb the status quo.” Aidric’s voice was even, lacking passion despite his words.

He would kill them all, of that Rykal had no doubt.

“What do you want me to do?” Darrick kept his gaze outward, his hands hovering above the controls. “We can make it to the pad, just say the word and I’ll make a run for it.”

Lena shook her head but said nothing else. There was no way she’d be able to stop him from doing what he wanted and she no doubt knew that. Darrick had long ago proven that he’d die for Rykal given even the slightest indication. Everything came down to this, down to him.

Looking Lena in the eyes he realized that he would do anything for her, even if that meant risking losing everything. “Put the ship down. Stand down all weapons.”

“That was the smart move.” Aidric’s voice rang through the coms. “Prepare to be boarded and taken into custody.”

Rykal dropped to his knees and placed his hands behind his head the moment the shuttle touched down. Lena sat beside him, keeping her hands in her lap. “What do you think they’ll do with us?”

“They’ll place you back into quarantine and process you. They’ll want to know your history and why you came here. Our people aren’t exactly trusting of strangers.”

“And what about you?”

That was the real question. “I don’t know.”

Once Darrick finalized the landing protocol and released the ramp, he also dropped to his knees, flanking where Lena sat. “If we’re lucky, they’ll only deactivate us.”

“Not us.” The moment the soldiers boarded the ship, Rykal spoke. “Darrick was following orders and wasn’t aware of what had happened on the station. He is not to be blamed for this incident.”

The security leader barked orders at his subordinates. “We’re under orders from the commander himself to detain all beings on this shuttle and bring you back to Grus Prime. We have permission to shoot to kill if you even so much as flinch in the direction of escape. Is that clear?”

It took all Rykal’s control to keep from reaching out and snapping the man’s neck. “Crystal.” When they went to put Lena into restraints, Rykal growled. “Don’t put a hand on her.”

The guards looked at him, then her before turned back to their boss. The security leader was suddenly lacking in the bravado he’d shown only moments before. “She’s an alien to our two peoples, with unknown abilities. She needs to be restrained.”

“Rykal, it’s fine. They’re not going to hurt me, and I’ll be with you the whole way back to the station. Won’t I?” She said the last part to the security leader. “It would be beneficial to everyone if we tried our best to keep everyone happy and not let things get so bad that the two cyborgs on the ship get pissed off and kill everyone. Right?”

A collective sigh of relief seemed to roll through the security personnel when the leader nodded. “You’ll be placed in protective custody together in our ship. Get them secured and move!”

Rykal tried to keep his focus on the matter at hand, but whenever someone touched Lena, moved her, accidentally bumped into her, his anger grew, swelling to a level he’d never experienced before. But as quickly as it threatened to overwhelm him, she’d reach out and caress his hand, rub her thumb across the top of his thigh, or press her shoulder against his. Those simple points of contact were enough to help him maintain his composure.

Darrick said nothing else, but Rykal felt his friend watching their interactions and taking note. If there was another human on that ship who was destined to be with Darrick, Rykal had no doubt that he’d also want to find her as quickly as possible.

Their ship landed back on Grus Prime, the hiss of decompression sending a sliver of dread through him. Lena let out a soft sigh. “Back to where we started.”

“Physically yes. But a lot has changed since then.” If he was cautious, then perhaps he could maneuver events to play out in their favor. “I’ll deal with Aidric.”

He’d been expecting his brother to be waiting for them in the docking bay when they arrived, but he wasn’t there. In fact, there were hardly any security forces present when the detail from the ship led them down the ramp. “I don’t like this.”

“Stop there.” The security leader continued past them, leaving the trio out in the open. “The commander will be speaking with you all shortly.”

The last thing Rykal saw was Lena looking confused as a bolt of electricity surged through him, sending his cybernetic circuits into overload before shutting down.

Chapter Nine

Lena couldn’t sit still, instead choosing to pace in the small medical room she’d been placed in over an hour ago. She’d been quickly swept up by the security forces waiting to the side when they’d disabled both Rykal and Darrick. She’d fought as best she could with her arms fastened, but she was no match for the fully armed security forces. She didn’t know what had happened to Rykal, but she wasn’t able to sense his presence the way she’d been able to up to now.

It was strange, missing something that she’d only vaguely been aware of up to this point.

Doctors – well, people she’d assumed to be doctors – had been waiting for her as soon as she’d been brought into the room. They’d taken samples and scans, no doubt wanting to confirm that humans weren’t carrying some unknown illness that made cyborgs horny and go insane. At this point, she really wouldn’t be surprised if they’d actually found something.

But after they’d left, no one else came to speak with her, and that freaked her the fuck out. So, until someone showed up and conducted the alien equivalent of an interrogation, she’d pace the length and width of the room and hope like hell that things would turn out for the best.

Because as crazy as the past day had turned out to be, she didn’t think she’d be okay if something happened to Rykal. That constant awareness of him, the soft buzzing of his consciousness in her mind that gave her peace and comfort was a feeling she’d never once experienced back on Earth. No man or woman offered her that connection or sense of belonging before, and she’d quickly grown used to it.

It was more than a little addictive.

More time passed and the muscles in Lena’s legs began to protest the constant motion. She really wasn’t strong enough after the long cryo sleep for the level of activity she’d been subjected to since waking up, but she hadn’t had much of a choice either. She eventually had to give up and sat in the chair that had been thoughtfully placed to help her ease her burden. That act of kindness felt uncharacteristic for the people she’d met since her arrival, but one she was thankful for. The moment she sat down, the door slid open and a tall athletically built man stepped inside. It took her a moment to realize this was the man who’d been there with Rykal when she’d first emerged from the Kraken.

“Aidric. Right?” She tried to keep herself as relaxed as possible but couldn’t quite manage it. “Have you done anything to hurt my people?” Where’s Rykal? Is he okay? Did you kill him?

“No one has boarded your ship since your kidnapping, nor has there been any indication of movement inside. I assume your people are still in cryogenic sleep?”

He was painfully calm and cool; his blue eyes so similar to Rykal’s yet lacked the electric glow that relayed a feeling of energy. It didn’t take a genius to realize that Aidric was highly intelligent and far more dangerous than she’d initially given him credit. Lena was going to have to watch what she said around him. “Yes, the entirety of the crew and passengers went into cryo sleep once we got out of Earth’s solar system and began our journey. I was automatically woken when we reached this sector, though I should have been brought out sooner.” She snapped her mouth shut when she saw a spark of interest in his gaze.

“So you and your people chose this sector as your destination. Why?”

God, how the hell could she even begin to explain to an alien whose people had been attacked and nearly wiped out by another alien race that everyone on board the Kraken had undertaken this journey based on a hunch.

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.” She leaned back against the chair, the exhaustion of the past day catching up to her.

Aidric cocked his head to the side and narrowed his gaze. “You might be surprised what I’d believe. Especially after what has transpired today.”

Lena got to her feet and began to pace once more. “Life on Earth has gotten nearly impossible for those of us that haven’t been born into wealth. The colonies on Mars and Titian have highly restricted immigration policies, making a transfer to them difficult at best. I just had a…a feeling that if I got into a ship and headed out this way then I’d find someplace…safe.” She stopped and looked directly at him. “I know how that sounds and that it doesn’t make a lot of sense. But once I was able to buy my ship and put out a call for others who might want to come with me, it didn’t take long for me to fill up.”

Aidric nodded once, then again. “There’s something else you’re not telling me.”

“It’s going to sound insane. Or like I’m trying to scam you, but truthfully, I’m not.”

Aidric got to his feet and stood beside her. There was a small change in his expression, an old pain that seemed to slip out from beneath the mask he clearly wore. “When the Sholle first threatened us, I wasn’t the commander of this station. I wasn’t even on the ruling council of our people. I was a scientist whose sole purpose was to try and make the lives of the Grus people better. But when our planet was attacked, it became clear that our people were going to lose. I focused my research on lengthening the quality of Grus life, and turned it into a means to create soldiers. My own brother fought and died in the war, and I had to make a decision to utilize my cybernetic research on him.”

“He told me.” She could barely speak, her voice coming out of her at barely a whisper.

“What he doesn’t know, that no one knows, is that there was a flaw in my programming.” There was no masking his emotions now. Pain and regret were clear on his face as Aidric looked directly into her eyes. “I was never quite able to pinpoint where the bug came from, which meant I couldn’t effect repairs. But whenever we scan any of the people who’ve been changed into cyborgs, there is a gap in their matrix code. I once speculated it was where their emotions once existed.”

Lena couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. “Why are you telling me this?”

He hesitated, before reaching out and giving her arm a gentle squeeze. “I ran a complete diagnostic on Rykal once we got him into a secure holding. Darrick as well. The gap in Rykal’s programming has begun to fill. Somehow self-repairing in a way that I’ve never seen happen before in the years since his creation.”

Lena bit down on her bottom lip. “Darrick?”

“No. But there’s some unusual activity in his neuro cortex.”

She didn’t need him to say the words out loud for her to understand what he was implying. “You think that I’m the reason Rykal’s code has changed.”

“And that there’s another person on board your ship who might be affecting Darrick.”

Everything that had happened both here and back on Earth had been for a reason. Lena leaned against the wall and for the first time in what felt like her entire life, she relaxed. “Thank God.”

Aidric frowned. “What does that mean?”

There were so many things that she hadn’t understood back on Earth; it was as though there was a part of her mind that was being driven by some unseen force that wanted her to take a ship and go out into the dark reaches of space. Only the people on the Kraken understood her, because they’d all experienced similar feelings.

Explaining that to an alien though, well, that wasn’t going to be the easiest thing.

Lena turned so her back was fully pressed against the wall, suddenly needing the extra support. “The people of my planet have not had the best time in the past hundred years or so. Our ancestors had a technology that they didn’t understand, and the detrimental effects that it had on the environment until it was almost too late. When they realized that they had to fundamentally change their entire economic backbone to save the planet, it was difficult for them to make that switch.”

“Your people had other planets to live on?”

Lena snorted. “Not at the time, though they eventually moved out and colonized another planet and a moon in our sector. The Mars and Titan I mentioned. Regardless, the people left behind on Earth had a much harder time and we had to do anything we could to survive.”

She looked down at her hands, still able to see the ghosts of the blood and dirt that used to be caked beneath her fingernails. In many ways, she was as flawed as Rykal appeared to be.

“Did you steal your ship and take these people with you?” Aidric hadn’t moved, his calm demeanor a blessing.

“No, I earned that hunk of metal. I used the money that my father and mother had earned, and the funds that my grandparents and great-grandparents had passed down. I was the first member of my family to have the means to leave. But it was more than that. Ever since I was a child, I’ve had this fascination with this sector of space. I would sneak into the observatory and use a few minutes of time to look at this star. Over the years I met others, other women, who also were fascinated with this one shining star in the sky. When I bought my ship, I put the call out that I was heading a one-way trip here and anyone who wanted to come with me could come. There were twenty-eight of us in total, who all had that same focus. I didn’t want to leave any of them behind.”

Aidric stared at her, and she could almost see the gears of his mind grinding, trying to make sense of her story. None of it was logical, and yet, she couldn’t deny its truth. He finally turned his back to her and walked toward the door, before stopping midway. “Twenty-eight? Adults?”

“Yes. All women. When people came to me to book passage, I was surprised by that, but didn’t exactly have time to argue. We filled the stasis tubes and off we went.”

The lines around his eyes deepened. “Our people who fought and died, only to be brought back to fight again, gave more for our people than should ever have been asked of them. The cybernetic matrix program was initially flawed beyond what I’d first mentioned to you. The first group to be transformed are different from the rest. More aggressive with natural leadership abilities. The high council didn’t approve. I wasn’t sure why the cyborgs became programmed that way and had to find a workaround.”

“You did?” A tremor of excited trepidation ran through her.

“Yes, and it changed them all. I’m responsible for that and everything that followed. If there’s an opportunity for them to find some peace, to fill in the flaw in their programming, to ease the rage that simmers below the surface, who am I to stand in the way.”

Lena swallowed hard, knowing she had to ask the obvious question and not sure she wanted to. “How many of the initial cyborgs were there before you made the change?”

“Twenty-eight.” He held her gaze a moment longer, turned and left.

Lena’s heart was pounding so hard that she could hear the echo in her ears as she felt it throb in her throat. What did he mean by that? Was she going to be free to go? Would Rykal be okay despite all of the laws that he’d broken?

God, she hoped so.

She didn’t know why she’d flown across the galaxy, but now that she was here and she’d met Rykal, Lena knew this was where she was meant to be.

More time passed and she was about to give up hope, when the door finally slid open. Rykal stood there, dressed in a clean uniform, his black hair washed and brushed, his piercing blue eyes wide and locked onto her. He came fully into the room, crossing the distance in three steps, before wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her hard against him.

“Rykal?” That was all she was able to get out before he crushed her mouth in a kiss. His lips were warm, as his tongue flicked across her teeth as it went in search of hers. He continued to devour her, until her lungs screamed from lack of oxygen and she had to shove him back enough to breathe. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know what you said to Aidric, but he somehow convinced the Grus leadership not to decommission me.”

Relief raced through her, more addictive than any drug. “Oh, thank God.”

“More than that, he’s said that we will be free to go soon. He needs to first finalize a few details, but then we’ll be given a shuttle and be allowed to return to Cimacha.”

Lena closed her eyes and let her forehead tip forward to press against his chest. “What about the rest of my passengers?”

“He didn’t say, but knowing him the way I do, that is the matter he’s dealing with currently.” He put his hand beneath her chin and lifted it up until she was looking him in the eyes once more. “For now, he’s assigned us quarters to wait, rest and get nourishment.”

There was a glint in his eyes that told Lena that there was something else Rykal wanted that went beyond food and rest. It had only been half a day since they’d had sex, but Lena’s body was already craving him once more.

“Is there a bed in these quarters?” Her voice was low, husky in a way that was so unlike her. Seductive and teasing; two things she wasn’t normally.

“There is.” He ran his thumb down across her lip and she couldn’t help but tease the tip of it with her tongue.

“We better go then.” She smiled up at him, pleased by the feel of his cock against her stomach. “We can talk later.”

He grabbed her by the hand and yanked her out of the room.

Chapter Ten

Rykal was barely able to contain his raging lust for Lena as he led her through the corridors of the station toward the quarters Aidric had assigned to them. He didn’t know if he’d ever get used to the feelings of lust and fascination he had for Lena, and there was a large part of him that hoped he didn’t. For the first time since the war, since becoming a cyborg, Rykal felt alive and part of something much larger than himself. He had Lena to thank for that.

He also owed her thanks for somehow rekindling the relationship he had with his brother; something he’d never thought would happen again. Their conversation had been brief, but poignant; Aidric was convinced that the twenty-eight women on the Kraken were connected to the twenty-eight cyborgs who’d taken up leadership roles for the Fallen. He’d promised Rykal that he’d conduct some research on the possibility and would be in touch. Aidric even slipped again and used Rykal’s childhood nickname once more. That simple word was more than enough to give Rykal hope that there would be more for their future.

But Aidric wasn’t who he wanted to focus on just then. He tightened his hold on Lena, anticipating what was to come.

The moment they were alone, that they were tucked safely behind the door of their quarters, he was going to strip Lena naked and lick her body until she screamed with pleasure. His arousal was so high, he knew there was no hiding it from the Grus they passed on their way. It was oddly amusing to witness their double takes when they realized not only who he was, but that there was an alien woman being dragged alone behind him.

Speaking of whom…

He turned and scooped Lena up into his arms in one quick, smooth motion, continuing on their path before she realized he was now carrying her.

“You know I’m more than capable of walking on my own.” There was only mild annoyance in her voice.

“Your human legs are too short. You’re slow.”

“We have an expression back on Earth. Good things come to those who wait.”

“That’s a stupid expression.”

Thankfully, neither of them would have to wait any longer. He knew their quarters were just ahead and he wanted nothing to slow them down. He reached out to the station’s AI, sending the security clearance codes.

Security code…analyzing…received…analyzing…

Emotional control check…analyzing…reviewed…testing…analyzing…

Rykal growled. Open the fracking door!

Analyzing…cyborg impatient…

I’ll show you impatient.

There was a ruffle of something in his brain as they got to the room and the door slid opened. He couldn’t be sure, but he swore the AI found him amusing. But that was another question for another day.

Right now, the only thing he cared about was getting Lena naked.

The door closed behind him, and he continued over to the bed where he placed her down on the mattress. “Strip.”

She cocked her eyebrow at him and let out a soft chuckle. “Aren’t you going to say please first?”

He said nothing whatsoever, instead pulling his newly acquired uniform shirt off and tossing it to the floor somewhere behind him. Her gaze snapped to his chest, and she shifted toward the edge of the bed and sat up. “I’ve wanted to do this again, only this time I want to take my time and give you a ride.”

“We have all the time in the world.” But he wasn’t certain what she was planning to do to him.

Rykal’s sexual experience before his change had been varied, and he’d always enjoyed the time he’d spent with his partners. Human women clearly had different desires than Grus, and he was surprised when she pulled his pants down to expose his cock, and then leaned in to lick the head of his cock. He couldn’t help but shiver from the intensity of the touch, thankful that she continued, rather than leave him to suffer and beg for more.

Lena sucked the head of his cock deep into her mouth, swallowing as she used her hand to stroke his shaft. Unlike back on the planet, she used her free hand to massage the membrane along his inner thigh. He groaned as his knees buckled from the contact.

She pulled back and looked up at him with a frown. He could feel her confusion come off her in waves. “Did I hurt you?”

“Just the opposite.” He widened his stance, exposing the membrane for her to see. “Grus men have this rondella, on our bodies.”

“That word didn’t translate for me.”

The concept was different enough with humans that she had no frame of reference that the nanobots could use to assist. “An area of our body that produces sperm for fertilization. It also gives us great pleasure when we’re mating if it’s touched.”

“I didn’t notice that before.” She lowered her head to look at him, her breath washing across the too-sensitive skin. “It’s dark green. Way darker than your skin.”

“It fills as I’m aroused.”

“What happens if I do this?” She pressed her mouth to his thigh and licked a long swipe across it with her tongue.

Rykal’s world nearly blacked out on him as pleasure roared through him, making his cock twitch and his body shake. Every inch of his body tingled as he became hyper aware of his skin, his nerves, even the way the air touched him. It was an all-encompassing feeling that fired his blood and made him want to fuck her hard and fast. He hadn’t had a pre-orgasm since he was a young man, the stacking of pleasure as his seed was produced in preparation for release. He wasn’t going to last long if she continued to do that. He reached down and grabbed her hair, pulling her mouth away from his thigh and stretching her neck back so she was fully exposed to him.

Lena gasped as she licked her lips. “What did I just do to you? Did you just have an orgasm, or was that reaction something else?”

“Something else.” Stepping free of his pants, he was now naked and able to focus his attention on her. “Something that I’m going to get glorious revenge for.”

Human bodies seemed to lack some elements that Grus women had but made up for it with others. Her breasts were larger than a Grus woman, and she responded with a moan when he shoved his hand beneath her suit to capture her nipple between his fingers. She seemed to respond to tiny bits of pain, and he could feel it mix with pleasure inside her until she wasn’t sure where one response started and the other ended.

Lowering his mouth to her throat, he went in search for the mark he’d left upon her previously. The dark bruise stood in stark contrast against her pale skin, which gave him a pleasurable possessive shiver. He kept his gaze locked on it as he began to strip her with one hand, refusing to release her hair and the glorious tension that was building inside her. It took effort and required a bit of help from Lena, but they eventually got her stripped, so she was as naked as he.

And now the fun can begin.

Her nipples were hard and dark pink, beaded up and practically begging him to suck on them. There was no way he’d be able to resist them and lowered his mouth. He sucked hard, using his teeth and tongue to tease and torment the sensitive flesh, enjoying the sounds that came from Lena as she bucked and thrashed beneath him. He could smell her arousal, could feel the wetness between her legs as she moved against his thigh.

He made a point of rubbing his rondella against her, letting the pleasure build again, knowing the end result would bind the two of them together forever. He wanted this, needed this mating to happen so they’d both be forever happy. She was his and he was hers. She’d crossed space just to be here with him; she given up her home, her life, in search of him. Rykal couldn’t have guessed that another creature would do anything like that for him before.

Rykal shifted his body so his cock slid inside her pussy, and her clit pressed against him. He lifted his mouth from her nipple and instead moved to suck the bruise on her shoulder. “You’re mine.”

“Yes.” She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. “Yours.”

It was in that moment, as his orgasm grew to the point of tipping that Rykal realized she might not fully understand what he meant. This wasn’t some passing fancy or claim of his affections; no, he was about to bond with her in the Grus mating ritual, claiming her so no other man could. He desperately tried to hold his body back, knowing they wouldn’t have much time.

“I’ve marked you as mine.” He nipped at her shoulder but looked up again to stare into her eyes. “My rondella produces a chemical that will mark you as my mate. If I come this time, no other Grus or cyborg man will dare touch you. My scent will be on you forever.”

She reached up and cupped his cheeks. “As long as no other woman in this universe lays a hand on you. My scent better be all over you forever, because I’ll kill anyone else who tries to take you from me.”

That was all he needed to hear. She not only understood what was about to happen, but she wanted him the same way. Reaching between their bodies, he pressed his finger against the top of her swollen clit and rubbed it in circles as he thrust into her. Her juices eased his cock and he fucked into her body as hard and as fast as he’d dreamed he could.

He wanted to wait, to feel Lena’s muscles contract around him before he finally claimed her, but it was difficult to hold the wave of pleasure at bay. Rykal shifted so his weight rested on his elbows and knees, giving him the ability to use his hands better. He did his best to focus his attention on her; he alternated teasing her nipples and her clit with his fingers and shifted his mouth from her throat to her mouth. He kissed her hard, swallowing up the noises of pleasure as the slipped from her; drinking them down like a sweet nectar.

Lena’s eyes were squeezed shut and her body shook beneath him. “So close.”

It was as though she was trying to hard to find her pleasure. He shifted his mouth to her ear and flicked his tongue against her lobe. “I’m yours and you’re mine. Forever. I will bring you pleasure and love. And right now, I want you to come.”

Her body bowed beneath him as her pussy clamped down hard on his cock, and a scream ripped from her chest. That magnificent sound was all he needed to hear. Rykal closed his eyes and let the dam he’d built up, break. Pleasure roared from his body as he cried out; waves of his orgasm washed over him as he pumped his seed inside her.

His marking scent came with it as well, claiming her so no other could, so no other would dare. His pleasure overwhelmed his cybernetics, and for the briefest of moments he was Grus again; a man who would give his life for the woman whom he loved.

He felt alive.

And then he fell in a heap upon her body.

They stayed that way, a mess of arms and legs tangled together as their bodies cooled in the recycled station air. Unlike down on the planet, Rykal didn’t have the urge to run, to hide the darker side of his being from her, to keep her safe from a thing he couldn’t control. Lena didn’t care, and wanted him for who he was, expecting nothing more. He shifted so her head rested on the side of his chest that was still flesh, giving her the freedom to reach up and run her fingers along the seam of his cybernetics.

She placed a kiss to his chest. “That was…unbelievable.”

He’d been told that when a Grus finally mated, they felt different. He’d always assumed that the difference would be subtle, small but in a fundamental way. He hadn’t anticipated this all-encompassing shift in his outlook on the world. “I’m now yours until the end of our days. We’ve formed a bond that cannot be broken.”

Lena lifted her head just high enough so she could place her chin on his chest and look at his face. “I don’t understand why, but I knew. Before you said anything, shit before I even arrived on this station. I knew that you were the man I was destined to be with. You’re the reason I gave up everything back on Earth and came here on blind faith.”

“Cyborgs aren’t supposed to be able to mate. We died and our rondella was supposed to have died as well. Dried up so we couldn’t have a family of our own. You’ve proven that it’s possible for us to have lives, to have love.”

“The universe has worked a miracle that pulled our two people together.” She paused, her brow furrowed. “I…I think Darrick’s mate is in there. Its probably why he was able to sense her.”

“Darrick? How did you know?”

“He told Aidric that he felt someone, but I don’t know much more beyond that. Aidric left and then you showed up after that.” She ran her finger across his chest. “If there is another woman and she does turn out to be Darrick’s mate, then that means all of the women on board the Kraken are probably cyborg mates. Maybe.”

A whole ship full of people looking for happiness; a group of cyborgs down on the planet who didn’t know their lives were about to change. “Aidric will want to test that theory before he allows the rest of your passengers to be woken from their sleep.”

“And if it turns out that we’re right, that all those women are meant to be with a cyborg down on the planet, do you think he’ll let them go down there to look? Will we be able to form lives, have homes and families?”

The Grus leadership might take issue with the cyborgs having mates, might be fearful of what would happen if the Sholle ever returned and they were needed to go back and fight another war. “If they know what’s good for them and for my people, then they will give us all the resources we need to relocate your people planet side.”

Rykal sat up and brought Lena with him. Cupping her face, he kissed her gently on the nose. “I love you. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, to give you the life that you deserve. And all I ask for is to know that you’ll love me in return.”

She smiled and something deep inside him softened. “I loved you before I even knew you. But now that I’m here with you, I love you even more. I can’t wait to live the rest of my life with you.”

Rykal wrapped his arms around her and knew that he’d finally been rewarded for everything that he’d ever sacrificed. He’d been given the gift of true love.

Acknowledgments

Thank you everyone for reading, Consumed by the Cyborg! I hope you enjoyed spending time with Rykal and Lena and being introduced to their world. This is book 1 of my new and completed Cyborg Protector series, with new novellas following every month.

Book 2 – Saved by the Cyborg – will tell Darrick and Carys’ story, and will be out in February 2020. Please check for more books to come this year.

Cyborg Protector Series

Book 1 – Consumed by the Cyborg (January 6, 2020)

Book 2 – Mated to the Cyborg (February 3, 2020)

Book 3 – Saved by the Cyborg (March 2, 2020)

Book 4 – Healed by the Cyborg (April 6, 2020)

About the Author

Alyse Anders is author of the Cyborg Protector series of erotic sci-fi novellas. When she’s not sitting in front of her computer with her imagination stuck in a far away nebula, she’s at home with her husband and two dogs, usually eating far too much chocolate for her own good. Check out more of Alyse’s books on Amazon and KU or visit her website www.alyseanders.com.