Chapter 11

11

B reanna, Rogue 5, Three Days Later

"Never tire of that view." The Siren Legion's Enforcer, Shade, sat in one of the control room's chairs as if he hadn't a care in the world. Never mind that both his hands and legs were secured to the chair's supports, and that he was being held prisoner by twelve of the biggest, scariest aliens I'd ever known. Didn't seem to bother him one bit. Then again, Shade's presence didn't seem to be of much concern to the scary squad either. Apparently, no one but an active Hive could try to take control of the ship, and to do that, he would still have to fight his way through my escorts.

Good luck with that.

"It's beautiful," I agreed. No sense lying. Staring out at what appeared to be a window, but was undoubtedly just a display screen, I watched as the moon I'd heard so much about, Rogue 5, came into view. Behind it, the planet Hyperion loomed like an over-protective mother.

I'd never seen anything like Hyperion before. The swirling blue and green atmosphere seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy, like the planet itself was alive and breathing. The oceans below us were a fascinating teal. The white clouds were tinged with a faint lavender hue some places, a soothing coral in others. Beautiful didn't begin to describe it.

The moon orbiting it was another matter entirely, its jagged surface covered with domes and glinting metal structures that stretched for miles across its barren landscape. The contrast between the vibrant planet and its industrialized satellite felt wrong, somehow. Glancing between Mikos and Ruk, between a cold, calculating space pirate with ionic blasters strapped to his armor, and a male who was more animal than man, with claws and a skin so tough it might as well be steel, the odd pairing also made a twisted kind of sense.

That was Prince Ruk's homeworld, the planet where a Coalition ship had crashed hundreds of years ago. Where the survivors of that crash lived and bred with the native species, creating the hybrids who built the moon base on Rogue 5 and established the Legions. The criminal masterminds had expanded their lawless empires across the known universe. They were rich. Merciless. Deadly.

And I was in love with one of them. A criminal. A liar. A killer. A male with age on his face, suffering in his eyes, and hands that worked my body like a master. He was probably old enough to be my father. I wasn't sure, and I didn't ask. Didn't care. I liked the fact that he wasn't an impetuous braggart fueled by testosterone and controlled by his dick. His presence soothed me. Made me feel safe.

I would enjoy my time with him, and then I would leave. I would never have to watch him suffer or die. He would live forever in my perfect memories of him. Safe there. Protected. Alive.

Mikos stood next to me, his face a blank mask. How long had it been since he'd seen his home? Was he excited? Apprehensive? I had no idea what he was thinking or feeling.

Something had changed over the last few days. In the deepest, darkest parts of my heart, hope spun her web like a black widow spider, just waiting to devour me. Hope that he would fall in love with me. Hope he would want me to stay with him forever. Hope he'd claim me for real, and I would actually be forced to make the difficult choice between going back to my ReCon team, my old life, and choosing to stay with a criminal I'd been foolish enough to fall for. The sick and twisted irony was, I didn't want to choose. For once in my life, I wanted someone bigger and tougher than me to take away the stress and just fucking take care of me.

Maybe that was stupid. Maybe these feelings were caused by Mikos's essence floating around in my blood, infecting my cells—and apparently my brain—with idiotic thoughts that went against everything I'd ever believed. Maybe the poison he spoke of did more than just kill the women the Forsian hybrids injected with their essence. Maybe it drove the women crazy first. Because I was losing my shit.

I wanted to be with him. Always. Next to him. I wanted to be touching him, hear his voice, know he was near. I couldn't sleep if he wasn't curled around me, holding me close. We'd rarely come out of our makeshift bedroom, and when we did, I obsessed about getting him alone. Naked. Inside me. It's like I was an addict, and he was my drug of choice.

Other than the dining area the guys had retrofit into the Hive ship, complete with tables, chairs and S-Gen machines that would make anything I could dream up to eat, I hadn't seen much of our escorts' ship before now.

Didn't need to. I wasn't curious. I'd been on them before. But when the sexiest alien alive turned your fuck-room into a cozy bedroom space with an S-Gen created mattress, pillows, warm blankets, and laid claim to one of the few bathing rooms on the ship for his woman's personal use? I didn't need to be anywhere but in that room with him. Not when the sex was so good it ruined me forever for any other partner, human or alien. I only wanted him .

I cringed as another strange, stabbing pain shot through my gut before slowly fading. They'd been getting worse over the last few hours, odd, random moments when I felt like I was being stabbed with an ice pick. Mostly in my head or stomach, but that last one had been in my heart. Maybe his essence was killing me already. Or maybe my heart grieved what both heart and head knew I was going to lose as soon as I got the stupid antidote. Him . I was going to lose him.

I definitely needed the treatment. I'd begged him to bite me, more than once. I'd begged, pleaded and demanded he use the incredible mating fist at the base of his cock.

He'd given in. Of course he had. What red-blooded man could resist when a woman was begging him to do exactly what he already wanted to do? No guilt. No shame. No need to apologize. I wanted everything he had to give me. We were only going to be together for a few days, so I wanted it all.

I'd spent years of my life in the military, fighting for what I'd believed, at the time, was right. When that na?ve illusion burst, I'd changed direction by joining federal law enforcement, fighting drug lords and arms dealers. Doing the right thing.

That led to learning too much about corrupt politicians, police, federal agents and the death by torture of the only man I'd dared to love since my father died. The cartel dragged Robbie's dead body out like a prize and dumped him at my feet, face unrecognizable, still wearing the gold cross pendant I'd given him on his birthday. His faith hadn't saved him. His God hadn't saved him.

I hadn't been able to save him either.

The tracker I wore that day led the rest of my team straight to me. I made sure everyone who'd laid a hand on Robbie was either dead or rotting in prison, and then I'd done the only thing that made sense.

I ran. From grief. From bad memories. From my past. From every mistake and every decision. From my childhood, my absent, then dead father. From the mother who buried her grief in work. From a stepfather who, at best, tolerated me so he could be with my mother. From myself, my guilt. My failures. I ran as far away as I could go, across the universe.

Now here I was, in love with a criminal, dreading the moment the strange pains stopped, dreading the antidote because it would mean I had to leave him.

I couldn't stay with him on Rogue 5. That was so not an option. He told me himself, he was a killer. There was, apparently, a bounty on his head large enough that Prince Ruk claimed he could buy his own space station with the reward.

I had no idea how much that was, but it had to be huge.

What kind of crime had Mikos committed? What was so horrible that bringing him in was worth so much?

Curiosity churned in my gut, made everything I ate taste like ashes in my mouth, but I couldn't ask. Would not ask.

I didn't want to know. If I knew the details, I'd have to judge him, decide if what he did was bad enough that I couldn't allow him to touch me, that I couldn't allow my heart to feel the way it felt.

Ignorance was bliss and he was a dream, a pleasant interlude in a life of struggle and suffering. I'd rather just take the antidote, have another round of hot, goodbye sex, and never know.

He didn't want a mate. Wasn't going to keep me. He'd said so himself. So why torment myself with things that didn't matter in the end, things I couldn't control?

As if he somehow knew the direction of my dark thoughts, a warm hand settled against the small of my back. I leaned into him. No use pretending we weren't banging like horny rabbits. Everyone on the ship was well aware of our current relationship. We'd spent every minute together. Every single one. Mikos even accompanied me into the shower.

I'd considered protesting but decided against it when he used those big hands to wash and massage every inch of my body, then lifted me off the floor and fucked me against the wall. Which, of course, led to more washing. More massaging. More everything.

I knew his touch. Knew the way he smelled, the cadence of his footsteps on the ship's hard floors. "Welcome to Rogue 5, Breanna."

"Thanks." I pointed to a section of the screen where what should have been the darkness of space shimmered and seemed to be moving. "Is that why we had to go around?" We were supposed to arrive at Rogue 5 yesterday, not that I was going to complain about an extra, all night sex-a-thon.

"Yes." He leaned down and rested his head on top of mine. I was tall. No one I'd ever dated had been able to do that, make me feel small and feminine. Protected. No one had ever made me feel safer. Which seemed weird, as he was a criminal. A bad guy. "The asteroid belt is made of highly magnetic rock. They interfere with communication and transport capabilities when Hyperion is this close."

"It's amazing." It was true. I'd seen a few planets since coming to outer space. Not a lot, since we were usually boarding enemy ships and not landing on other planets. Earth was beautiful. I still hadn't seen another planet I thought was prettier than my own blue and white marble, but Hyperion was close.

Prince Ruk, who'd been speaking to someone on the ship's comm system, walked over to stand next to us. "Yes, Hyperion is a very beautiful cage."

Surprised at his words, I turned my head to study the severe expression on his face. He wasn't joking. "Why do you think it's a cage?"

Ruk sighed. "My people are fierce, but primitive. They have no interest in exploring life beyond their world."

"We have people like that, too. They just want a simple life." I shrugged, pleased with the way my shoulders rubbed against Mikos's chest. I liked feeling him. All the time. Everywhere. I could envision enjoying a simple existence with Mikos. We could get a little house by a river or on a beach. All I'd need to be happy was an S-Gen machine, an oversized bathtub, a big, comfy bed, and him.

But that wasn't to be. I had just signed on for an additional two years on my Coalition service contract. Two more years of fighting. Commander Karter gave me thirty days of leave, which meant he expected me to come back, rejoin my team, complete my service. I thought I was doing the right thing when I volunteered. Wanted to be useful, helpful, protect Earth and make the universe a better place to live.

Staring at Hyperion and Rogue 5, I wondered if I had spent my entire life exchanging one cage for the next. My parents' home, while not cruel, had not been happy. Then years of my childhood sitting behind an uncomfortable desk memorizing data for tests I didn't care to take. Then college. The military. The DEA. The Coalition.

When had my life ever been my own? When had I ever been truly free? Was anyone ever free to choose the life they wanted? If so, I'd never met them. We were all born into circumstances beyond our control, shoved into a system beyond our control, dictated to by rules, laws, and expectations beyond our control.

Earth was a cage, just like Hyperion. Beautiful, but still a prison.

I'd left Earth, but I'd taken the prison mentality with me. Rules. Orders. Laws.

Maybe the criminals had it right.

No. I couldn't accept that. No matter how badly my greedy little pussy wanted me to. There was no future for me with Mikos. None that I could live with. Civilization and laws were meant to protect the weak, the children, those who could not protect themselves. I'd believed that my entire life, fought for it, watched friends and lovers die for it. I couldn't turn my back on that conviction now for a few orgasms.

Mikos wrapped his arms around me and pulled me roughly back into his hard body. "When we arrive, we must go directly to Astra controlled territory. If we are lucky, we can slip through undetected."

Shade scoffed. "With this crew? No. Even if they didn't look like a walking army, everyone on Rogue 5 already knows you're heading home with a female." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, his fangs resting on top of his bottom lip like a horror movie vampire. With jet-black hair that fell to his shoulders, black eyes and golden skin, he looked like a true monster sent to devour virgins. A gorgeous monster.

Although, if his bite was as pleasurable as Mikos's, especially without the poison bit, I wouldn't blame a girl for trying. Didn't know what mix of alien species he was, exactly, but not the same as my man.

He was hot, in a mafia, dark lord, I'm gonna make your enemies bleed kind of way. I'd bet no female would turn him down, virgin or not.

Hell, I'd begged Mikos to bite me more than once, even though I knew that if I couldn't get the antidote, every bite would hasten my death.

Worth it. I was dying anyway. Might as well enjoy the ri?—

An invisible fire dagger sliced through my midsection, leaving a trail of agony in my body before slowly fading to a dull ache.

Fuck. I gasped, would have fallen to the floor had Mikos not been holding me up.

Mikos picked me up and cradled me against his chest. I rested my cheek on his shoulder and tried not to panic. That hurt. Over the years, I'd been shot, cut, punched and stabbed. This was worse. Whatever was happening to me, I felt like I was slowly burning alive from the inside out.

"Where is the ReGen pod located on this ship?" Mikos glared at Ruk first, then Sebastion. It was one of the Atlans who answered, Enzo.

"Follow me." The warlord's heavy boots made a stomping sound like I imagined a giant's would as he walked to the exit. Everyone on board the ship was in this room, and every pair of male eyes was completely focused on me as Mikos carried me from the room.

Mikos followed him to what was once a supply room. In the center of the room, two ReGen pods waited, empty and silent. "I should have brought you here before. You did not tell me you were in pain."

"We were kinda busy."

His frown made me want to kiss the anger away from the corners of his eyes. "You will be punished, female, for keeping this secret from me."

Punished? Was he serious? For not mentioning a few random aches and pains—that's all they'd been until today—and choosing to enjoy being with him instead? I'd do it again. ReGen pods were great, but every second inside one of the healing pods was time lost.

Then again, did punishment mean more spanking? Because… yes, please . I loved the fire of his hand on my ass. Loved the way he fucked me with his fingers and made me feel completely dominated. Controlled. Possessed. I didn't have to think when he bent me over and took control. I could just let go.

My pussy was wet and aching, but I moaned in pain when Mikos settled me on the soft pad, nearly burst into tears as the translucent lid slid closed, locking me inside, away from him. I pressed my palm flat against the clear covering and silently pleaded with him. I didn't want to lose consciousness. I didn't want to be alone.

I didn't want to dream. The last few nights, wrapped in his arms, I'd slept without the plague of nightmares that normally cursed my nights with terror, a racing heart, and sweat soaked sheets. My body relaxed when I was with him. I felt safe. Truly safe.

As if he could read my mind, Mikos said exactly what I wanted him to. "I will be right here, Breanna." He reached into the pocket of his pants and removed a strange looking object about the size of an almond. "And I will make sure no one can ever hide you from me."

I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded good. As the ReGen pod worked its magic, pulling me under, I almost believed him.

Mikos

Cursing myself for being so fucking selfish, I glared at the health readings on the ReGen pod as my mate lost consciousness. The cellular degradation in several of her organs approached critical levels. She had to be in excruciating pain.

Why had she said nothing? Not one complaint? Yet that look on her eyes as the ReGen pod closed over her nearly sent me to my knees. She was afraid.

Did she not trust me yet? Was my essence somehow affecting her nervous system, dulling the pain? Either way, this was my fault. I'd fucked her and sunk my fangs deep. I'd held her and kept her isolated and alone on this ship so I could have her to myself. For my pleasure. My selfish need to steal every moment I could.

I did what needed to be done, inserted the tracking device under her bottom rib, then stood guard, watching over my helpless mate, and prayed to the gods she would forgive me for the life I was about to force on her.

I could not let her go. I'd been foolish to drag her into this mess with Shade and the Silver Scions. Surrender was not in my nature, especially now that I had her. She was a light in the darkness. Love. Belonging. Hope. For her, I would fight and rage and battle to my bitter end. I didn't care how many Silver Scions Drakdak Trach would bring with him to Rogue 5. How many I would need to kill. It no longer mattered. Five or five hundred, they would all meet the same bloody fate.

Once this was done, there were places we could go, remote outposts where we could disappear and live a peaceful life. It would not be safe to remain on Rogue 5 with Drakdak's nephew, Slomak, still alive. I had planned to hunt him next. Now, that goal seemed like a waste of time. Fuck Slomak. Fuck every single member of the Trach family. They were irrelevant. I'd held my female as night terrors made her tremble, soothed her in her sleep. She fought mental demons of her own. Surely, she would be relieved to walk away from the war and build a new life.

If not? I would fuck her into blissful compliance. Spank her ass until she surrendered, accepted my guidance. She was human, from a small planet new to the Interstellar Coalition, new to the chaos that was the multitudes of species, worlds and governments grasping for power. This was my domain, and I would do what I thought best to protect her whether she liked it or not.

First, she needed the antidote from Astra. After I knew she would be healed, I'd speak to my leader, Astra, about leaving the Legion for good and starting a new life. Perhaps she could provide assistance, had connections on other worlds, people who would help us disappear.

The door to the storage room turned medical station slid open and Prince Ruk walked in.

"Here." He tossed two matching, Astra Legion sets of green and black armor, complete with dark green arm bands, on the floor at my feet. "Found these in the S-Gen program queue, and I agree; she needs to be wearing Astra colors when we arrive. I can provide some protection, but it won't be enough." He tossed two pairs of boots on top of the pile, one so small I struggled to believe my mate's feet actually fit inside them. She was so much smaller and more delicate than she seemed when she was awake, her eyes lit up with mischief or desire.

"Thank you." I'd not had many dealings with the Hyperion as he spent his limited time on Rogue 5 inside Styx Legion with one of their Enforcers, a brutal male named Cormac. I'd heard rumors that Cormac had claimed a human female as well.

"We dock in a few minutes, Mikos. What's the plan?"