Chapter 13

13

B reanna

"Put your weapons away, little human." Shade's gaze locked with mine as he gave the order. I considered my options. I could shoot him, but I had no idea what the rest of the guys would do if I did. I thought Ruk and the Atlans were on my side, and therefore, by default, on Mikos's side as well. What if I was wrong?

I'd been wrong once before, horribly wrong, and it cost Robbie his life.

"Someone better tell me what the hell is going on." I lowered the ion pistols but didn't put them away.

Mikos stepped between me and Shade, effectively blocking any shot I could hope to take. "There is a substantial bounty on my head."

"I know that."

"And I need the money." Shade's deep voice echoed through the room. "So, I'm taking him in. Once I collect the bounty, I'll set him free, so he can finish what he started."

"Finish? I don't understand." This was insane. "What if they execute you before they pay Shade? Have you thought about that? Who is after you, anyway? You never told me anything." I hadn't pushed because I wasn't his mate. It wasn't my business. Right? I shouldn't care what happened once I received the antidote. But I did care. A lot.

"The Silver Scions."

Oh, shit. They were the psychopaths that traded Hive tech on the black market. The shit they sold was outlawed in the Coalition, but that didn't stop desperate—or power hungry—people from buying it anyway. Need a new spine? Stronger muscles? Cyborg eyes that could see in infrared? The Silver Scions would implant you with whatever tech you wanted, for the right price. Slang on Battleship Karter for the people who took that option was ‘Hived-Up.' The fighters on my battle group talked about those who chose that option like they were lepers, or worse.

I'd heard the Silver Scions sold spaceships and weapons as well, but that wasn't what freaked me out. I'd fought Hive tech, Hive ships, Hive blasters. That was one thing. Paying their so-called doctors to implant one's body with Hive technology when the entire Coalition Fleet fought every damn day to make sure that didn't happen to free people in the universe? That felt so wrong. "Why? What did you do?"

Mikos stood tall, shoulders back. There was no remorse in him. "Killed one of them that needed killing."

Shade strode toward the door, his hand tapping something in his neck. "Lucky for me, you murdered a male with the wealthiest brother in the Scions, and he wants your head on a silver platter."

"He sold and tortured children." Mikos stated the fact like he was speaking of the weather.

"I know." Shade pressed his forefinger into the flesh at the base of his neck. Hard. What the hell was he doing? "They're here and they're impatient. I'm taking you off this ship before they do something rash and send an attack. You want Breanna in the middle of that?"

"I do not." Mikos spoke slowly, his deep voice made me shiver.

"I can take care of myself." My protest was weak, and a lie. Surrounded by my ReCon team, fully armed and healthy? We held our own. Together. But one human female against even one of these males, or one Silver Scion in a frontal assault? I'd be dead so fast I wouldn't even know what hit me.

Shade glared at me. "An hour ago, you could barely walk, female."

Jeez. Did he need to rub my nose in it?

"Do not make me kill you." Mikos lifted his arms, cuffs and all, and shoved Shade away from me.

Shade stepped away but didn't appear worried. "You're out of time, Mikos. You want your shot at Drakdak or not?"

"I do."

"Ruk will make sure Breanna gets the antidote. You, don't kill that fucker until I have my money."

Nope. No way. This was not happening. I glared at Shade. "Take those off him. I'm not going anywhere with you." I settled for using my words when what I really wanted to do was kick him in the balls. Wouldn't Ms. Halifax, my kindergarten teacher, be proud?

Ruk cleared his throat, so I risked taking my eyes off my new enemy to look at the giant male I'd mistakenly believed was my friend. "Lady Breanna, I will accompany you to Astra Legion. The ReGen pod bought you a few hours, but if you don't receive the antidote soon, your symptoms will return tenfold and there will be nothing we can do."

Mikos leaned down and touched his forehead to mine. "Prince Ruk speaks the truth. Go with him, Breanna. The Scions will not kill me this day. Drakdak will want to make an example of me. Nothing will happen until tomorrow, after he's had time to attract an audience."

I stared into his eyes and shook my head as much as I could without losing our skin-to-skin contact. "No. I don't like this plan. What if you're wrong and he doesn't wait? What if Shade takes you in and they slit your throat, or cut off your head? You don't know what this Drak guy is going to do. You're guessing."

"Trust me. I know him. I knew his brother. He will wait." He placed a chaste kiss on my lips and left me to join Shade near the door. The Siren Legion asshole pulled a blaster that looked eerily similar to a sawed-off shotgun off his shoulder and shoved it into Mikos's back. "Let's go. Remember, you fuck this up for me and I'll kill you myself."

My fingers twitched on my weapons, but before I could do anything rash, Ruk stepped in front of me and blocked my view of their retreating backs. When the door slid closed behind them, I shoved my blasters back into their holsters with far more force than necessary, quite sure my eyes were spitting daggers at the huge Hyperion. "How did you let this happen? This is bullshit."

"You must trust Mikos. He knows what he is doing."

"Yeah, right." I'd heard that before. My mother said almost the exact same thing before my dad's last deployment, and he never came home.

"Come with me. Mikos sent word to Astra while you were in the ReGen pod. She is expecting us."

I followed him as he led the way off the ship. We exited in time for me to see Mikos surrounded, being led away by a bunch of bald assholes with shining silver heads. Eager to go after him, my muscles tensed. Ruk's hand came down on my shoulder, hard. "Go after him and you die. Your body is failing, Breanna."

As if his words summoned the poison, a blast of fiery agony seized my lungs. I doubled over, unable to take a breath for what seemed like forever, but was probably less than a minute. When the pain faded, I stood, shaking.

Fuck, that hurt.

"Come." Ruk stepped off the ship's loading ramp and I followed, surprised when Sebastion joined us. The moment his feet left the ramp, it retracted, and the ship closed up tight.

"They're not coming with us?" I don't know why, but I'd expected at least a few of the Atlans to come along. Which didn't make much sense, when I remembered they were still, technically, part of the Hive. But so was Sebastion. Right?

Sebastion shook his head. "No. I'm wearing Coalition armor and carry Coalition weapons. If anyone scans my armor, they can verify that I am an active officer in the Fleet. Mikos put you in Astra armor and colors. That will offer some protection in the neutral areas. His Royal Highness here is blood of their ancestors and can come and go as he pleases, as long as he doesn't start trouble. Am I right?"

Ruk nodded his agreement. "Sometimes, I start trouble anyway."

I ignored him. "But the Atlans?" I asked.

"Anyone scans them, they read as Hive Soldiers. Nothing else. Their Coalition chips were deactivated when the Hive captured them and, unlike me, they refused to have their Coalition chips reactivated. Last I checked, the Hive weren't welcome anywhere."

Ruk snorted. "The Silver Scions might want them."

"For dissection, maybe. Science experiments." Sebastion shrugged.

I craned my neck to watch as the silver headed assholes disappeared down a long corridor, Mikos with them. "Where are they taking him?"

Ruk scanned the gathering crowd. Now that Mikos was out of sight, far too many eyes were turning to us. "The neutral zone has underground holding cells. They'll take him there."

Underground? I couldn't stop the shudder that raced along my spine.

"We need to move." Ruk looked down at me. "Stay between us. Keep your head up, but don't make eye contact with anyone. Understood?"

"Yes. Let's go." The sooner I took the antidote, the faster I could figure out what to do about Mikos. No way I was going to sit idly by while the man I was in love with hoped the bad guys wouldn't execute him tonight. I needed that antidote. And then? I was going to figure out how to get Mikos off this stupid moon and back out in space where I could try to convince him to let me keep him.

The journey to Astra territory didn't take long. The moment we walked past a pair of dark green markers, we were surrounded by half a dozen huge males and one middle-aged female. The female had fangs, but other than that, she looked like she could be any middle-aged soccer mom with streaks of gray in her long, dark braid. Her eyes were ice blue. She assessed and dismissed me with those emotionless eyes between one breath and the next. The way she moved made me think of Earth's infamous Ninjas. I wasn't the type to read auras or any of that nonsense, but something about her was off. Not human.

Ruk immediately stopped walking and bowed his head. "Astra."

"Prince Rukzi." The woman snapped her fangs in irritation. "Where is Mikos?"

"Shade made a deal. The Scions were waiting for us when we docked."

"Greedy bastard." Astra's shocking blue gaze focused on me. "You must be Breanna Parks of Earth."

"I am." What was I supposed to say to the leader of Mikos's people? She wasn't at all what I expected a gang leader to look like. If something about her didn't raise every alarm bell I had, I would swear she looked like she could be baking chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen for a school bake sale. "Nice to meet you."

"What was Mikos thinking? Another human." Astra leaned back and twisted her head. "Is Ivy here? Did she make it?" I admired the long, artistic braid that covered Astra's head and fell more than halfway down her back. She wore the same armor as the huge males surrounding her, all six of them. I recognized the way they moved, their bone structure, the angles of their jaw.

Forsians. Like Mikos. Every single one of them had their gaze locked on Sebastion like they were deciding whether to eat him for lunch.

I glared at the nearest Forsian male as a woman approached from the corner of my eye. I'd deal with her in a minute. "Don't kill my friend."

The male's lip curved in a half-smile, and I sighed in relief. I knew that look, too. Mikos smiled the same way when he thought I was being cute.

"Hi. I'm Ivy." An average sized human woman with golden blond hair and friendly blue eyes held out her hand. I took it, fighting back tears that seemed to explode from the depths of my soul without warning. Why did it feel like I hadn't seen another human for months?

"Breanna."

"Welcome to Sherwood Forest." I was at a loss for words. How did she get out here? It wasn't like Rogue 5 was on the list for Interstellar Brides. And what was she talking about? Robin Hood and his Merry Men were half a galaxy away in a storybook.

"Sherwood Forest?"

Ivy laughed and the sound was contagious. I almost forgot that right now, Mikos could be tortured and killed, while I stood here making small talk with a cute little blonde woman who sounded like she was from Ohio. This situation was Robbie all over again. Me, cluelessly going on about my life while the man I loved suffered.

My stomach spasmed and I swallowed hard, determined not to vomit all over pretty Ivy's black boots.

"I like to think of Astra Legion as Robin Hood and his band of merry men. They lie, cheat and steal, but it's all for a good cause." Ivy released my hand and extended it behind her until one of the massive Forsian males stepped forward and wrapped her small hand in his. "This is my mate, Zenos."

The male was massive, and gorgeous. Put him in some tights and a cape and he could play Superman for any major Hollywood studio. They'd drool over him.

"Breanna. Mikos notified us of your arrival. It is an honor." He bowed his head as Ivy bounced on the balls of her feet like an excited toddler.

"You have no idea how excited I am to have another Earth girl in Astra. Harper and Abby are always over in Styx territory. They're going to be so jealous." She clapped her hands together like a cartoon villain.

"How did you get all the way out here?"

"ReCon gone wrong. You?"

I snorted, feeling instant kinship with her. "Same." Except maybe, mine was more ReCon gone right.

"I lost my whole team and came to Rogue 5 looking for revenge. What happened to you?" Ivy asked.

"Found Mikos on a Hive Integration ship. We were breaking him out and one of the Hive Soldiers stabbed me through the heart. Mikos bit me to save my life."

"Holy shit. I need the whole story."

"Another time, Ivy." Astra tilted her head and everyone around me responded at once, shifting positions to get moving. Ivy and I were as different as night and day, and she still felt more like home to me than anyone else I'd seen in months. Except Mikos, of course. But he wasn't human. Henry and the guys were great, but they weren't women. And they weren't mated to a Forsian. Ivy knew exactly what it felt like to have a Forsian mating fist locked in her pussy as her mate's fangs sank deep.

We were going to be besties; I had a strong feeling about it.

Ivy's mate stared at me but didn't say another word. Okay. If my gut wasn't on fire, I'd probably have the energy to be offended. Had I done something wrong? Or was he just playing the strong, silent type?

Sebastion, hands resting on his blasters, cleared his throat. "We appreciate the welcome, Astra, but we are short on time. Breanna just came out of the ReGen pod, but I assume you saw the readings Mikos sent you?"

Astra's gaze zeroed in on me. "Of course. Mikos's message was very clear."

"What did he say?" My vision blurred but I blinked until it cleared to find Astra watching me with a frown on her face.

"Zenos, carry her. She won't make it on her own."

"Yes, I—" Can. I can walk. Except, I couldn't. My knees buckled and a familiar, fiery agony made me feel like my intestines were trying to digest a hot welding torch.

Zenos lifted me off my feet, as Mikos had done so many times before, cradling me against his chest. But it wasn't the same. I wasn't comfortable. I didn't want him to hold me. He was too young, too volatile, and he smelled wrong. I wanted Mikos.

The muscles running up and down my spine chose that moment to seize. I cried out, my back arching as the muscles cramped, twisting into hard knots. My vision blurred again, and the fire spread to my lungs.

"Oh, dear. She's bad. How many days has it been?"

Was that Ivy's voice?

"Four." I gasped. Or was it five now? I wasn't sure.

Astra sighed. "How many times did he bite you, child?"

Every time I asked. Ten? Twenty? Honestly, I'd lost count. But I wasn't going to tell her that. It was no one's business what we'd done in bed. Or the shower. Or against the wall.

Astra must have realized I wasn't going to answer because she sighed, turned on her heel, and led us deeper into Astra territory as Mikos's fellow Forsians closed around us just like the Atlans had on Transport Station Zenith. I missed Mikos, but I wasn't afraid for myself.

These were his friends, his brothers-in-arms, his people. His family.

As ridiculous as it was, I felt like part of it. Like they were my family, too, even if it was only for a little while. Because Mikos was only mine for a little while.

Tears streaked my cheeks as a deep ache settled between my ribs. Let them think the tears were caused by the effects of the poison. That was far safer than admitting the truth.

Mikos felt like home. And, as usual, I wasn't going to be allowed to keep him.