It was like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed it. I’d been tortured, my Prillon body parts replaced by Hive technology. I’d been held against my will and I could not tolerate seeing our mate a prisoner. I knew pain, knew my body, but I’d never felt like this. It was as if a part of me, a part of my body I’d never known had been missing, was found.
I was, for once, whole. It didn’t matter that I had an optical implant or cellular enhancements in all major muscle groups. I was finally at peace. No bars could separate us from what was ours. Rachel Pierce was mine. Yes, I would share her with Maxim, and glad I was to have such a strong and noble warrior to help me care for her. I was honored to be chosen as his second. But as I looked at Rachel, with her shining brown hair and creamy skin, her lovely face and full lips, her body so curved and soft and perfect for fucking, I had no interest in technicalities.
My only interest was getting her out of this fucking prison uniform and filling her with my cock. She would be pampered and fed. I would bathe her and feed her, protect her and learn all of her secrets. She was mine.
My reaction shocked me. And I was not the warrior she’d been matched to. I could not begin to imagine the depths of Maxim’s response to her. And so, I took my place as his second and let him reach for her.
If he suffered from her nearness, as I did, he most likely would be crawling out of his own skin to touch her, to make contact. Maxim reached for her even as I positioned myself between him and the corridor—and the human guards I could hear running toward our position. It was time to get the fuck out of here.
“Do not fear us. Never fear us.” Maxim’s tone was one I’d never heard before. I’d heard him bellow commands on the battlefield, argue politics at meetings on base, and scream with rage and pain when tortured. I’d heard him laugh and tease fellow soldiers.
I’d never heard him whisper with such blatant longing.
Gods. I was miserable with wanting her. Maxim? I wasn’t sure how he maintained control, how he resisted the urge to throw this small female over his shoulder and take away her choice.
Relief flooded me when Rachel placed her small hand in Maxim’s, her first show of trust, of accepting our claim. I didn’t hesitate, contacting Warden Egara as soon as Maxim had our mate secure. “Contact made. Transport now.”
I could not blame her for her caution. I would have doubted, as Rachel did, if someone came from another planet and broke into a prison to take me away.
I kept my eye on the prison bars, guarding against any potential threat until the transport beacons in our uniforms activated and I felt the strange twisting tug of the transport pull us into the in-between, the darkness where one ceased to exist for those few moments before reemerging on the other side.
When we arrived at the transport center, our mate was stuttering, her legs shaky.
Our little mate seemed to be a force all her own, strong and stubborn and a little wild. But now, seeing her vulnerable, her eyes haunted, her small body weak, every protective instinct I had roared to life. She was small, so much smaller than Maxim or myself. And, technically, we had just kidnapped a human female. The humans’ courts would no doubt not listen to our reasoning. To a human, kidnapping. To me and Maxim, a rescue mission.
And yet, now, standing in the processing center, away from the guards and any chance of being caught a thousand Earth miles away, there were still barricades between me, Maxim and our mate. Not physical bars any longer, but the stubborn spirit of a confused female.
We couldn’t take her to the Colony with us unless she agreed. Voluntarily, and not by coercion. We could pull her from a prison for her safety, but we could not transport her off Earth without consent.
We would have it, for I wasn’t leaving without her. My heart wouldn’t accept anything less and neither would my cock. And I was just her second. Glancing away from Rachel Pierce and at my brother-in-arms, I couldn’t tell what Maxim’s thoughts might be. He gave nothing away, a skill learned in years of battle, forged during torture by the Hive, and put to use as Governor of Base 3.
“Rachel, it is good to see you again,” Warden Egara said, stepping between us and taking her hand.
Maxim growled and she stepped back. She didn’t look afraid, but probably remembered the protocols with Prillon warriors. No one came between a warrior and his mate.
Perhaps it was the transport, but Rachel Pierce’s eyes did not look clear. “Are you all right?” I asked, leaning close as Maxim held her up. I wanted to claim her full lips, to taste her, but now was not the time. Her brown eyes, a shade lighter than Maxim’s, studied my face, moving over my features slowly, as if she were having trouble processing what she was seeing.
For a moment, I worried our appearances would frighten her. We were not human. We did not look like the men she was used to.
Would she deny us?
I pulled back, alarmed at the thought. But Maxim’s gentle hold at her waist did not falter, and she did not push him away. The worry faded from my mind. She’d been matched to Maxim. A matched mate. Even if our appearance unsettled her, all we needed was time. Time to win her over. Touch her. Kiss her. Bring her pleasure.
I didn’t dare touch her now, for while I was to be her second, she was not my mate until the collar was about her neck. I wore one, as did Maxim, but until she did, I feared Maxim may have trouble controlling the mating instinct that must be raging through his blood. Once our mate accepted her collar, we three would be linked, the psychic bond would allow us to learn our mate, to read her emotions and her desires. We wouldn’t be able to read her thoughts, but she would not be able to hide the truth from us. We would know if she was aroused or angry, hurting or confused. The collars would bond us as a family, help us learn how to please our mate, how to make her happy.
How to make her stay.
Maxim moved then, one hand running up and down her back, the other, wrapped around her arm, is if she needed help to stand.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice shaky.
“Warden Egara sent for us,” Maxim said. “You are in danger.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Rachel held up her hand and stepped back. While I knew Maxim could keep her from moving, he allowed her retreat. She wasn’t going anywhere without us ever again.
“May I speak?” Warden Egara asked.
Maxim stepped back and our mate drew in a deep, shuddering breath and rubbed at her temples.