Chapter 16

16

B reanna

When I could breathe again, Mikos's swollen cock finally settled down enough to slip out of me and I reached for my pants—still around my knees because he'd been in such a hurry to get inside me—and pulled them back into place.

Being with Mikos was literally going to kill me. My heart threatened to pound out of my chest. I should be angry about the things he said. Threatening to kill Commander Karter? He was insane.

Worse, I believed him.

Worse than worse, his bossy, possessive, violent nature turned me on.

I'd never had anyone choose me over everything else. Everyone else. Not my mother when she went into her depression, then started cheating on my daddy because she was lonely, not when her new husband took her on fancy vacations and left me home.

Not my real father. That was for damn sure. He chose his military service. The men in his unit were closer than brothers. I understood now that I'd served. I understood him in a way I hadn't when I was a child. Didn't make being left behind easier to feel.

This thing between me and Mikos? It was dangerous. Obsessive. Probably not healthy in a thousand mental health-ish ways, and I didn't care. I wanted him like this, growly, possessive, bossy, brutal, protective, obsessed. Especially obsessed. The thought of him wanting another woman, looking at another woman, touching another woman, was enough to make me ready to claw the imaginary woman's eyes from her skull, throw her eyeballs on the floor, and stomp them under my boot heels.

Maybe Mikos was making me crazy, too. Or maybe I'd always been like this and I never let it out, hid who I really was from myself and the rest of the world. Robbie always told me he wanted a feminine wife. So when we dated, then became engaged, I'd played that part, too. Gun and badge all day, lipstick and high heels if we went out at night. He'd spent a small fortune on lingerie and, even when I wore it for him, he still made comments about how muscular my back was, how big my hands. He loved me enough to propose, but I always knew he wished I was different. More petite. Feminine.

There was nothing I could do to satisfy him in that way. I was almost six feet tall and I worked out almost every day of my life. Being delicate and fragile didn't make sense when I went from the military to law enforcement. I didn't like feeling weak.

Having a taste for fine wine and a master's degree hadn't saved him from being tortured and killed by the cartel. Robbie had been intelligent, educated, and cultured. He knew what fork to use at the fancy restaurants, and what wine tasted best with an entrée. He was also physically fit, a great shot, and had good instincts. None of it had saved him. In the end, he'd been broken.

Losing him had nearly broken me. I'd vowed never to fall in love again, never care that much. It was too big of a risk.

So why was I so content in Mikos's arms? So unafraid?

Because Mikos was unbreakable.

I'd seen him in chains, bloody and cut to pieces, tortured by the Hive. Even after everything they'd done to him, he'd still been strong enough to save my life. No one was going to take him by surprise. He wasn't going to follow any stupid rules, laws, or protocols that gave the bad guys the advantage and would just get him killed.

Mikos didn't follow the rules. He didn't care about laws. He would do what needed to be done to survive, to protect me. Keep me. Love me.

Did he love me? Did it matter? He wasn't human, he was an alien, and he chose me.

Fuck the Coalition. I was choosing him back. If he could be an outlaw, I could, too. Sure, I would try to figure out a legal way to get out of the rest of my time with the Coalition Fleet. But if Karter said no? Well, tough shit. I was out. Mikos was mine.

"The guard will be back soon." I straightened my clothes and forced myself to do the one thing in the world I hated to do, give up. Let him take control. Trust. Trust that he would take care of whoever this child-torturing alien asshole's brother was without being executed tomorrow. Trust that he'd figure out a way to get me out of the rest of my Coalition Fleet contract. Trust him to kill whoever needed killing and come home to me.

I knew he didn't believe he was a good man. He told me so himself.

He was wrong. He protected the people he cared about. Everyone I met in Astra Legion worshiped the ground he walked on. Even Barek and Astra, who seemed like the two leaders of the whole group, talked about him like he was family.

I wanted to be his family. I wanted to be someone's— his— everything.

When we were both dressed, I crawled onto his lap and let him hold me. "What now?"

"You will go back to Astra territory with Barek, and I will take care of things tomorrow." His matter-of-fact tone, his confidence, earned him a kiss, and acceptance. This was his world, not mine. Either I trusted him, or I lost my mind.

"Promise me you won't let them kill you."

His chuckle made me smile, despite the fact that there was probably two hundred billion tons of moon rock over our heads. I'd been so distracted and worried about Mikos, I hadn't noticed I was underground until now. With his arms around me, the fear faded to background noise. Unimportant.

"I will not die tomorrow, mate."

I took a deep, fortifying breath and let go. Trust was fucking hard. "Okay." Heavy footsteps sounded from down the corridor. "But if you do, I'm going to hunt you down in hell and kill you again myself."

He laughed as the same guard from earlier appeared. "Time's up."

Mikos set me on my feet then stepped around me, placing himself between me and the guard.

"Where is Barek?" Mikos walked to the bars and wrapped his big hands around them. I couldn't take my eyes off those hands, couldn't stop thinking about how they felt on my skin, inside my body, everywhere.

"Here, Mikos." Barek moved into view and the knot in my gut loosened. This guard was a creep. I wouldn't leave Mikos's side if it meant being alone with this alien asshole who could attack me.

The guard opened the door for me to walk through, then slammed the door as soon as I stood next to him. He locked Mikos on the other side. Away from me.

I met my mate's gaze, unwilling to leave him. "I could stay."

Mikos shook his head. "No. My mate will not sleep in this prison. I will see you tomorrow, mate. After."

"After." I would wait. I would trust him. Maybe because I was punch drunk on orgasms. Maybe because I'd decided to stay with him no matter what. Maybe because I knew he was mine.

"Let's go." The guard reached for my elbow as if to escort me out, but Mikos's growl stopped him.

"Touch her and die."

The guard shrugged and took a step back, pointing me in the direction he wanted me to go. When I didn't move, the guard slammed his hands against the bars in a staccato beat to hurry me along. "Let's go. I don't have all night."

Jerk. Whatever he just did, I heard a strange buzzing sound coming from the bars, almost like there was a forcefield in addition to the bars.

Mikos moved his mouth, but no sound escaped his cell. Guess the guard did turn on some kind of energy shield, just to be a jerk.

Since Mikos couldn't hear me anyway, and I didn't know what else to say, I blew him a kiss. The smile on my face reflected the warm, fuzzy thoughts chasing themselves around inside my head.

He lied. I was his mate. He did want me. I wasn't sure exactly why he'd made the decision to keep it from me, but every part of me was relieved, heart, body and soul, because I wanted to keep him. He was mine, my mate, my everything, and I never wanted to give him up. He made me feel safe. He made me feel beautiful. Adored. Protected. Perfect. His bite was like a shockwave of pleasure roaring through my system.

The mind-blowing orgasms weren't bad either.

Tomorrow Mikos would figure out a way to get out of this mess so we could be together. I'd have to talk to Astra when Barek and I got back to their territory. She'd offered me a really nice room in her fortress of a mansion—space criminals on a moon base had mansions. Who knew? So, I'd get back there, sit down with her and the rest of the Forsians, who obviously thought of Mikos as family, and we'd figure out a way to set him free and take out this Drakdak asshole who wanted to kill my man for dispensing justice to an alien who sounded like an evil, vile piece of shit.

I followed Barak back the way we'd come earlier, toward the entrance. It was a good quarter mile walk, if I had to guess. Apparently, the tunnels under the surface of Rogue 5 were extensive and ran deep. I didn't mind the quiet time. My pussy was deliciously sore. The insides of my pant legs were wet and sticky with his cum. I altered my steps a bit, trying to hold more of him inside me. Not that I could win against gravity—which was about the same as Earth's, far as I could tell. Greedy bitch, gravity. But I wasn't giving up so easily. Everything Mikos had was mine.

When did I turn into this wanton creature? This naughty heathen trying to hold his cum inside me? A few weeks ago, the idea would have sent me straight to the shower for a full body, antibacterial scrubbing.

The first time he fucked me. That's when. Since then I couldn't get enough.

We rounded a corner, then another, as we made our way back out of the underground facility. We were getting close now. One thing about all the ReCon missions I'd been on, I automatically memorized every route I walked, just in case I needed to run for my life. Not knowing the way out of a place could be a death sentence.

I lifted my head as a large male appeared ahead of us.

My feelings of contentment faded the moment an unfamiliar face came into view in the dim light. He moved to block Barek's path and sneered at both of us. His bald head looked like an egg-shaped, stainless-steel pan, like a normal male from mid-forehead down, but with a robot's metal skull. He had to be one of the Silver Scion guys. There was no colored band around his arm. Not Legion.

Not good.

I reached for my weapon. My hand closed around empty air where my blaster should have been inside the holster. Shit. The guard made me leave my weapons at the checkpoint outside when I came in with Barek. I would have protested, but Barek handed over his weapons as well, said it was standard operating procedure.

Two more steel heads appeared, blocking our path, massive blaster rifles aimed not at me, at Barek.

Should have hidden a knife in my boot. Or shot the damn guards and forced our way into the facility. There had only been two of them, one at the entrance and one guard inside. We could have done it. Broken Mikos out of here.

I'd suggested it, but Barek said Astra would not give the order. Said we would cause trouble for the Legion and maybe even start a conflict of some kind between Astra Legion and Shade's Legion, Siren. Said a lot of females and children could die.

Looked like someone didn't care about any of that.

Barek snarled at the armed intruders and used one arm to shove me behind him so that he stood between me and the three large males. "Slomak, you kill me, and you will have war with Astra Legion. Fucking idiots. This is neutral territory."

The metal head in front, Slomak, shook his head. "We aren't after you, Barek. Step aside."

Barek's fists clenched at his sides. "No one breaks the code."

"No one fucked with the Trach family before." Their leader's tone sounded partially synthesized, like he was speaking through electronic speakers. The effect of his deep voice and strange, alien language coming through my NPU instantly made me shiver. This is what I imagined a real demon would sound like. The spirit of pure evil with a physical voice.

"I delivered. Where's my reward?" The guard's voice came from behind me. I looked over my shoulder in time to see him snatch a small bag out of midair and tuck it away, out of sight. One of the metal heads must have thrown it to him.

I faced forward as the metal-headed minion on Slomak's right spoke next. "Mikos will be made an example of, Barek, and so will his mate."

My sexed-up euphoria crashed in a bucket of ice-cold reality. My thoughts raced. What did he just say? They wanted me because they thought I was Mikos's mate? No one knew the truth. Mikos had just told me that I was his mate mere moments ago. Mikos made no public declarations. We hadn't gotten married or had any weird alien ceremony. There was no way they could know what Mikos had just whispered in my ear. I was his mate. That was true. But these jerks didn't know that. He'd even denied it to Commander Karter, Sebastion and all the Atlans who escorted us here.

"I'm not his mate." I dared a peak around Barek's elbow to voice my protest. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you people." If they believed me, maybe I could at least get Barek and me out of this mess and safely back to Astra territory. We could get help there. Decide what to do.

Slomak laughed, the sound condescending and cruel. Didn't need the NPU to translate that. "Stupid female. A Hyperion male cannot bite any female but their mate. It's not physically possible."

What?

His evil villain snigger made my blood turn to cold mud in my veins. Every thump of my pulse became painful as my aching heart tried to move sludge.

Mikos knew I was his mate the whole time? From the very first time we met on that Hive ship? If he hadn't already known I was his mate, he wouldn't have been able to bite me at all? Wouldn't have been able to save my life? His fangs would only inject his essence into his mate? No one else?

Did he only bite me to save me? Did he know, that day, that I was his, and decide he didn't want me? Didn't want a mate?

The chill in my bones transformed to leaden weight as I realized that was exactly what happened. Mikos must have decided to ignore the fact that I was his mate. After we saved him and transported him to the Karter, he would have convinced my ReCon team, and Commander Karter, to release him, and he would have gone about his business, his life. Without me. Without a mate.

He didn't want a mate. He didn't want me.

He hadn't chosen me at all. The Hive who'd stabbed me through the heart had forced his hand. He didn't actually want to be with me, he was just too honorable to let me die when he knew his bite could save my life. I'd been a mercy bite. Then I'd been a fuck buddy for the trip to Rogue 5, because why not? He'd already bitten me, so we could have some fun without the risk that I'd be poisoned, or that I'd expect a commitment.

That's why he didn't tell me I was his mate. His plan had been to fuck me, use me, bite me, get maximum pleasure for himself, while he could. Once I had the antidote, he was going to send me on my foolish, trusting, na?ve way, none the wiser.

I would have never known he didn't want me. I'd believed him, too.

Guess this asshole was right. I really was a stupid, foolish female. Because I loved him. I fell in love with an alien who didn't really want a mate at all.

"I'm guessing he uses his mating fist when he fucks you, too. Mikos has Forsian ancestors, after all. Bet you love that big, swollen cock locked inside you."

I refused to answer. I did, in fact, love it. Now, I also hated it. None of his business.

"I'm not his mate." Liar, liar, pants on fire. "Ask anyone."

The guard who'd let me into Mikos's cell cleared his throat. "Not what you said an hour ago."

Oh, shit. I forgot about that. I'd lied—or thought I was lying—to the guard so he would allow me into the cell with Mikos. Damn it. Couldn't catch a break.

"Words are irrelevant." Slomak watched me as he spoke. "Biology betrays you, female. If you were not truly his mate, he wouldn't have fucked you so many times I can smell both his essence in your blood and his disgusting cum coating your pussy right now."

He leaned in and sniffed the air, as if to prove his point. "Although, I must admit, I do enjoy the smell of a juicy, human pussy. Very valuable on Occeron." He straightened to his full height and looked down at me. "Maybe I won't kill you. Maybe I'll take you to auction in the Omega Dome. That seems a more fitting punishment for Mikos. I'll make sure he knows my plans for you before I kill him."

God damn it. I was really tired of these alien criminals and their bloodhound level sense of smell. Tired of the arrogance. The technology. The lies. They all lied, even Mikos.

I had to get back to the Coalition. At least there I knew the rules, and those rules were enforced. Prime Nial, the leader of Prillon Prime, and the big general in charge of the entire Coalition Fleet, made sure his military followed rules, orders, laws. Life on Battleship Karter was lonely, but it made sense. And I was lucky enough to pop a few Integration Units in the head every now and then.

I'd love to ‘double tap' this asshole into oblivion.

Barek's hands clenched into fists. "Enough, Slomak! Hurt one hair on her head and Astra Legion will hunt you down. She is one of us. Mikos claimed her. Hurt her and there will be nowhere you can hide."

In response, Slomak raised his ion blaster and shot Barek, point blank, in the chest.

Barek roared in pain but didn't go down. He shoved me to the side and I lost my balance, stumbling over my own two feet until my shoulder slammed into the rock wall. The scent of stone, of dirt, filled my head, adding to my rising panic. We were in danger. Underground. Were they going to lock me down here?

Memories of being trapped flooded my mind. My body responded as if I were entombed in rock, right now. Buried alive under a mountain of stone and dirt. Hungry. Thirsty. Dying. Lost. Alone.

I couldn't move. My body had completely disconnected from my brain.

Shit! I had to do something. Help Barek. I had to help Barek! I was a fucking soldier.

I practiced one of the breathing techniques I'd learned and fought to rein in my full-blown panic attack as Barek charged one of our attackers, knocking him to the ground.

Barek rolled through it and came to his feet, ready to face off with a second male.

Breathe, woman. Just fucking breathe. Move. Move. Move. I had to move.

Dark thoughts played like a ticker tape inside my head as the pragmatic, logical side of me assessed the situation.

They were going to kill Barek. It was four on one. Not that Barek wasn't huge and scary, but so were the three metal heads and the guard. Maybe, after they murdered Barek, they would put me back in the cell with Mikos. Maybe Slomak would change his mind and let me go. Maybe I could figure out how to escape. Maybe I could figure out a way to kill him. He was wearing armor of some kind, and his skull was metal, which left me with his neck and his eyes as potential points of attack. Not great, but better than nothing.

I didn't really care if I died. If it was my time, so be it. Whatever happened, I'd be okay as long as Mikos survived. So what if Mikos didn't really want me? Maybe he never intended to claim me as his mate. So fucking what? I'd had my heart broken before. I'd survive. But damn it, I loved him. He needed to live. The universe needed his strength a lot more than it needed me, panicked, weak, scared, and paralyzed by memories I couldn't seem to overcome no matter how many hypnotherapy sessions I listened to, or breathing techniques I learned. One whiff of danger and dirt and I was helpless.

I couldn't risk this happening on ReCon. If I got out of here, I'd have to turn myself in to medical for a full psych evaluation. It was time to stop pretending I was okay.

I was so not okay, and my failing was going to get Barek killed. One of my ReCon teammates killed. I was the weak link.

I'm sorry, Barek.

The aliens fought with a ferocity I'd seen before, on ReCon missions when we had Everian Hunters, or a few Prillons along, and we stumbled into a fully operational Hive base. Didn't happen often, but when the hand-to-hand fighting started, humans were screwed. Being human and female?

Might as well be a guppie swimming with sharks.

I tried to make myself as small as possible against the wall, out of Barek's way. His bellow of rage made my ears ring as he grabbed one of Slomak's minions and ripped his throat out. Not just the breathing tube in front, the trachea—if that's what aliens called it—but most of his neck. The bad guy's head wobbled side to side like a helium balloon tied to a string. Blood spurted through the air, completely coating Barek so it looked like he'd dipped his arm in a tub of the stuff.

Gross.

Blood had a distinct smell. Metallic. Rich. The Scion's blood had a unique tinge I'd never encountered before. Reminded me of raw mushrooms. I hated mushrooms.

Double gross.

My stomach rolled, the delicious meal of meat and tart fruit that I'd shared with Astra Legion earlier threatened to spill all over my boots. That wasn't going to help anyone.

I risked closing my eyes for two seconds and forced air into my lungs so I wouldn't pass out. I opened my eyes to find the bad guys had maneuvered Barek so his back was against the opposite side of the corridor. He couldn't move forward, couldn't move at all, as they shot him, rapid fire. Hit after hit of blaster fire pinned his body in place.

Slomak pulled a smaller weapon from somewhere, the satisfied smirk on his face all I needed to know about what that little space gun might do to my new friend.

Move, Breanna Parks! Move it, soldier!

I stumbled, then ran toward Slomak, hoping to at least knock him off his feet, give Barek a break from the blasters, a chance to recover.

I didn't make it in time. Like watching a slow-motion replay on TV, I watched a strange silver dart shoot across the space and imbed itself in the side of Barek's neck.

He cursed before pulling it loose and dropping it on the ground.

I slid to a halt. What was that? Tranquilizer? Poison?

At least Barek wasn't dead.

The guard, and Slomak's remaining Scion buddy, kept blasting Barek in the center of his armored chest. He should have gone down by now. Instead, Barek's armor seemed to absorb and redirect the energy somehow. I'd never seen anything like it.

Barek sank to one knee. I pulled up short and turned, gauging the distance between me and Slomak, me and the wall, me and the exit. Options. I needed options.

I was close enough to jump on Slomak, but not na?ve enough to believe I could be any more effective against him than a kitten against a grizzly bear.

"Do not, female." Slomak's glare reinforced my decision to stop moving. I had to be smart here. Charging a nearly seven-foot tall, half metal-headed alien full of Hive tech—with just my bare hands—wasn't going to accomplish anything except get me hurt, knocked out, or dead.

None of which would help Barek or Mikos.

"Let Barek go, and I'll come with you."

"You're coming with me, regardless. Have you not figured that out yet? As I suspected, you are a stupid female." He smiled at me, and I wished he hadn't. I'd never get the sight of what looked like needle-sharp rows of pointed silver teeth out of my head. Like a piranha with broken pocketknives for teeth.

Except this guy was uglier than a fish. Evil. A piranha was hungry when it killed. This monster did it for sport.

Slomak's remaining steel-headed friend walked toward me. This one was about the size of a Prillon warrior, but his skin had an odd blue tint, and his features weren't hawkish like a Prillon's would be . His nose was too flat, his eyes a murky color that reminded me of bread mold. His smile was cruel, and there were no fangs in his mouth.

What species was he? I'd never seen anyone like him.

His eyes flashed silver. Whatever weird hypnosis had been holding me in place, broke.

I turned to run back toward Mikos. The alien moved so fast, I didn't see where he went. I lost track of his position. Before I could blink, he stood in front of me, next to the traitorous guard. Now there were two large enemies blocking my way back to Mikos and Slomak blocking the way forward, toward the exit. Barek still struggled, both knees on the ground, one hand bracing his torso as he leaned forward. His body swayed, clearly on the brink of collapse.

I'd never seen anyone but an Elite Hunter from Everis move as fast as Slomak's guy just did. Maybe not even one of them. Was Slomak's minion a mix of Everian and something else? Or did he move like that because of all the Hive tech in his body? Either way, there was no way I could outrun him unless I magically developed vampire speed in the next three seconds.

"Don't…touch…her…I'm…going…to…kill…you." Barek's vow made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

"Don't hurt him." Probably wasted air, but I had to say something. I stepped away from Slomak and pressed my back to the stone wall. Turning my head, I looked back and forth between Slomak and the other two. There was nowhere to go.

Slomak ignored me completely, his tone bored now that Barek was no longer a threat. "Clean him up and dump him in Astra territory where he'll be found. Not a scratch on him. Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Trach."

Trach? Same last name as the guy Mikos killed? The guy who put the huge bounty on my mate's head? The one Mikos promised me he would kill tomorrow? "Trach? Your name is Trach?"

"I am Slomak Trach, son of Tarduk, nephew of Drakdak. Your new master."

"No." I wasn't going anywhere with this piece of shit. He wanted to use me as a pawn to punish or control Mikos. Fuck that. I would find a way to escape. To kill him. Something .

Barek collapsed, the sound of his large frame hitting the ground like a sucker punch to my gut. I was in trouble here. Big fucking trouble.