Rogue Cyborg. Grace Goodwin
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kind that roiled in your gut, churned and burned until there was nothing left.
Braun clapped me on the shoulder, breaking me from my thoughts. “Why are you not in the pit, my friend?”
“After you,” I quickly countered, raising my hand as if to direct him down to the central fighting area for his own turn.
The Atlans here had adopted me as one of their own, but even they didn’t know my secret, the truth behind why I wasn’t going down there to beat the shit out of those eight males. To claim what I wanted with an ache in the vicinity of my heart—and definitely my balls—that hadn’t gone away since I first laid eyes on her. Gwen.
But the truth wasn’t something easily understood. It was the reason I could never dare take a mate for my own. And true, my ancestral world of Forsia, and Braun’s planet, Atlan, were considered pseudo-cousins, orbiting in neighboring sectors of space, but I wasn’t truly—or completely—Forsian. No, I was born on Rogue 5, making me the ruthless combination of part Hyperion animal and Forsian warrior. I might look similar in size to Braun and other Atlans, but that was where the similarities ended. My Hyperion/Forsian bloodline was so rare that officially, my kind didn’t exist. As far as I knew, there were only three of us alive. All male. All unmated. All destined to die alone. Never father children. Which was a blessing. I would not wish my existence on an enemy, much less a son.
The last half-breed monster on Rogue 5 who’d tried to take a mate had accidentally killed her during their official claiming. The unique venom in our bite had entered her bloodstream and she’d died in his arms, unable to separate because his mating cock had grown within her and locked them together. Her body and her blood, infected by the poison unique to our rare mixed heritage, hadn’t been able to adapt. She’d died and he’d wasted away, destroyed from within by guilt and self-hatred.
Despair. He’d known the possibility of killing her existed, but the urge to bite, to claim… to mate, had been too strong. He’d taken a chance and lost everything.
No. I would never claim a mate. Never fit in. Never belong. Not on Rogue 5 among my legion, the Kronos. Not on Forsia, where I wasn’t wanted. Not here, on The Colony, among my exiled Atlan cousins. I was happier alone, on my trading vessel, wandering the stars as I’d done for most of my life.
Until the traitor caused my capture by the Coalition Fleet. My chest rumbled with the usual rage and heads turned my way. A quick, slicing glance had them turning away, eyes back on the pit.
Fucking traitor. When I found him…
If being handed over to the fucking Coalition hadn’t been enough, they’d had shit for deflection shields and the entire fucking ship had been captured by the Hive while I rotted in the brig. But the Hive didn’t care who was on board, Coalition fighters or Rogue 5 smugglers like me. We were all biological assets to be tortured and turned, assimilated into their war. Made into mindless drones. With me and a few others, they’d almost succeeded. Hell, with many, they had. We’d been the lucky ones to escape. Lucky ones to spend the rest of our existence here on The Colony, changed. Partially integrated and living in exile. Trapped. Trapped living on the same Colony base with the only female I’d ever wanted, but couldn’t have.
Braun chuckled, his rumbling laughter pulling me from the darkness of my thoughts. His massive frame shook with amusement. “They are fools. They are fighting over a human female, but they know nothing of how to win her heart.”
“And you do?” I asked.
Braun, Tane and I were the only survivors from that Coalition ship. Three out of over two hundred. Alive, but contaminated. Our torture and escape bonded us as brothers, despite the fact that we came from different worlds. Everyone on The Colony assumed I was just an over-sized Atlan who maintained ruthless control, never going into beast mode. I wasn’t an Atlan. I did not lose control or transform into a beast. No, my loss of control was more intimate, but every bit as life threatening to any female unlucky enough to ride my cock.
Braun and Tane had not felt the need to enlighten the rest of the warriors here about my true origins. Only the governor and the doctors knew that I wasn’t Atlan at all, which suited me just fine. The less they knew, hells, the more they believed I could turn into a huge, raving killer at any moment, the better.
Braun was smiling now, his look almost wistful. “I have watched the governor and Ryston with their mate, Rachel. I have watched Hunt and Tyran with Kristin. The Everian Hunter with the human female, Lindsey. Caroline with Rezz. I watch all of them with their human mates, and I learn.” Braun waved his hand at the eight warriors facing off in the arena, speaking among themselves, deciding on an order for battle. Rules. Ridiculous since they were all ready to kill each other for a female who had shown no interest in any male on the planet. “Gwendolyn will refuse them all. Even our brother, Tane. His victory will be empty.”
“Tane will not win,” I added, referring to the fight, not gaining Gwen’s hand. “They will attempt to cripple him with their rules, refuse him the right to fight as a beast.”
If a female was the prize, however, the rules would be forgotten the moment the challenge began. Apparently, Braun thought similarly and said, “A beast does not follow the rule of others. He will win.”
I leaned back, assessing the warriors before us in the dirt arena. None of them were fucking good enough for Gwen. Not one, not even Tane. I hoped Braun was right, that she would refuse them all, regardless of the victor, and hopefully before one of them died. She didn’t need to be haunted by a death match as well as the implants left in her body by the Hive.
“So, my friend, if you truly watch the human females, what have you learned?” Curiosity made me ask. That was all.
He gave a small grunt and I wasn’t sure if it was frustration or crankiness. “Human females like to believe they are independent. A mate must protect his Earth female without her realizing he does so.”
“Why?” I asked, confused. “It is a mate’s duty and right to protect his mate.”
He held up his hand. “To claim a human female, a warrior must be very careful, plan well ahead. They are fierce and fearless mates. They will charge into battle against the Hive if they feel the need to protect their mate or children. They are too brave for their small, soft bodies. Too fierce for their own good,” he practically growled. “They are fragile in body, but strong in will. They will risk too much, yet love completely. They are truly a mystery. Wild. Passionate. They need very strong, patient males to tame them.”
Yes, that was the word. Tame. Gwen needed someone to tame her. Soothe her. Fuck her into oblivion so all her worries were gone. “And you want to tame Gwendolyn?” I was afraid of his answer but knew the truth. All males on The Colony wanted her. Lusted after her. Craved her.
Braun nodded, his gaze on the first fight beginning below. “Who would not?” Braun’s smile was all hungry male. “She is magnificent. I will fuck her until she screams my name so many times, all other words have been forgotten.”
It seemed our thoughts were aligned on many things. I doubted he was the only other male to imagine fucking her. Claiming her. Filling her tight pussy with his seed so she was marked. His and his alone. If I did it, she would most likely die. For anyone else on The Colony, she would have nothing but pleasure.
Fuck. I could not deny my friend his desires.
“She’s a cyborg,” I said. “A warrior. She will not be like the other human mates, the perfectly matched Interstellar Brides who came directly from Earth through the testing center instead of a Hive prison. She will be different.” I pointed out the obvious, not because I thought her anything less than perfect, but because I didn’t dare admit my interest aloud.
Braun lifted a brow in disgust and looked at me. “Do you insult the female?” The growl of his beast was in his voice, the bones of his face shifting under the skin as he fought off beast mode.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Good. Do not.” He instantly calmed. Braun didn’t say, she’s mine, but