I told her the truth, but it didn’t mean I would bite her. Ever.
“How is it that you can breathe this air?” I asked, changing the subject. No one should be able to do that. Even the Hive she’d killed had been wearing helmets.
“I’m not exactly human anymore, in case you didn’t notice.”
I looked her over, taking my time, making sure she would see the desire building in my eyes. “I don’t care what color your skin is, mate. Blue or orange, red or purple, makes no difference to me. You are beautiful. And you’re mine. I’m not letting you go.”
Footsteps sounded behind me, but I ignored the two Prillon as they approached. Gwen, however, was not as lucky, flinching at their words.
“By the gods.”
“What the fuck?”
Scowling, I turned and snapped my fangs at the two males. “Do you dare insult my mate? And get your fucking comms units turned off,” I growled, not wanting them to capture any of this for others to know about.
Marz put his hands to his helmet, then in front of him, palms out. “Done,” he said. “And insult your mate? No. Never. But what the hell happened to you, Gwen? Are you all right? Why are you blue? Where’s your armor? Do we need to call medical? We can have you back to the surface and in a med station in no time.”
“I’m fine.”
Vance walked around me and whistled low, taking in the dead Hive bodies lying on the ground a small distance away. “You do this, Mak?”
“No. I did not. And you insult my mate by considering me first.”
“Holy fuck.” Marz joined Vance, looking around. He bent over to inspect one of the bodies, blatantly ignoring the fact that Gwen was naked. As if this were a normal occurrence on a mission. “Remind me not to piss you off again, Lieutenant.”
Gwen’s burst of laughter was music to my ears. She sounded like herself again. Better than that, she relaxed in my arms, content to allow me to hold her. Even though she was still blue, she was still mine.
Would always be mine.
I looked down into her eyes. “Now that the team is here, tell us what the plan is.”
“There is no us, Mak,” she replied.
“The hell there’s not.” Marz’s tone was full command mode. He outranked both of us, and he was not shy about reminding Gwen of that fact. “Talk to me, Lieutenant. Tell me exactly what the fuck is going on here. And why the fuck are you naked?”
With a sigh I knew was surrender, I wrapped my arms around her body the best I could to cover her. Thankfully, Marz and Vance both had the good sense not to look anywhere but at Gwen’s face, which saved me from the need to bash in their skulls.
She recounted everything she’d learned from the Hive she’d killed, including the part where she could talk to them telepathically, which was fucking insane. I’d seen the integrations the Hive had made, up close and personal, but we were all now learning the sheer extent of what they’d done to her. More than any of us ever even imagined. Probably so much more than the intake doctor had even known. She was fucking blue. When she was finished, we all stood in silence. Shocked.
Numb.
And deep within, the Hyperion beast paced in his cage, biding his time. Waiting to kill.
Vance was seated on a rock, tapping his ion blaster against his thigh. “Shouldn’t we tell the governor? At least let him know what we’re going to do?”
My mate fought my hold and I let her stand, let her pace before us, glorious, beautiful, and naked. She had no modesty, no shame, and so I sat back and admired what was mine. When I suggested she cover up, put her armor back on, the scowl she’d given me shut me down instantly. “It’s covered in blood, Mak.”
I didn’t like the idea of Marz or Vance seeing her, but unless I wrestled her to the ground and covered her up forcefully—which wouldn’t get me anywhere with her—I’d just have to resign myself to the fact that those males could look, but would never, ever touch.
She was fierce and I had no hope of controlling her. Each sway of her hips, every rock she crumbled to dust with her bare hand, was a reminder of that. A trail of dust clung to her feet from the rocks she’d pulverized as she paced. Thinking.
Gods, she was strong. Stronger than anyone I’d ever seen. Man. Beast. Atlan or Hive.
And she’d given herself to me. Let me hold her down. Fuck her. Fill her with my seed. Eat her pussy. Conquer her body. Let me. Because if she hadn’t really wanted me, there would have been no way for me to do any of it. She was too powerful in her own right. And yet…
Mine.
I ached to toss her over my shoulder, carry her to the nearest boulder large enough to bend her over and fuck her. Hard.