Rogue Cyborg. Grace Goodwin
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My sight was perfect. My body buzzing with energy. It was my mind that was in turmoil, my heart that was breaking.
And I hadn’t thought there were any pieces left big enough to break. I’d been wrong.
“We don’t want to hurt you,” one brave male said.
“We won’t fight a female.” That was Tane. The Atlan. Friend of Makarios. He seemed decent enough, but nothing was going to make up for the fact that I simply did not want him. I didn’t want any of these overeager alpha males. The fact that they thought I was a prize to be won automatically eliminated them in my eyes.
If they’d been paying attention to a damn word I’d said the last few weeks, they would have known that.
But then, this wasn’t about me. This was about them. Who’s the biggest? The strongest? Who had muscles on muscles and the audacity to tell me who I had to give my body to?
I looked to Tane, narrowed my eyes. “Oh, you’ll fight over me like a bunch of little boys with a new toy? You’ll fuck me, mate me, but you won’t fight me?” I’d die before I’d let one of them touch me now, and I was pretty sure that opinion was blazing from my eyes when I spoke to the Atlan. He shrunk away from me, as if I’d hurt him, then nodded, bowing at the waist.
Too late for that, big jerk.
“You are a very desirable female. We honor you with this battle for the right to court you.”
It was unbelievable how different the customs were on the other planets. This wasn’t Earth. I tried to use that knowledge to cool my rage. He thought they were being courteous, chivalrous. Respectful.
“I don’t get any say then? No say in whether or not I can fight? Or whom I get to fuck? Or whom I mate? No choice at all? Because the winner of this”—I motioned with my finger pointed around the circle of four that remained standing—“is how you all treat your females? No choice. No desire. Not even dinner and a conversation? Straight to ownership of her body, and she doesn’t have any say in the matter?” My voice was quiet, cold. I let the cyborg parts keep me calm and hoped I sounded more like a machine than the heart-broken romantic that was slowly bleeding to death inside. Now I wasn’t just a freak who could never go home to Earth. Now I was just a piece of meat to be fought over.
“My lady—”
I spun about, looked to the male who’d called me that. “Don’t call me—”
“Enough!” The governor’s voice cut me off. Governor Maxim Rone walked with the air of a man used to being obeyed. Rachel was walking with him, nearly jogging to keep up with her mate’s angry stride as he moved from the edge of the arena to the center. He was dressed in the loose clothing of someone who spent more time in meetings than in the field, the copper collar around his neck an exact match to the one Rachel wore. The connection between them all the more irritating to me at the moment. Maxim might sit at a desk, but he was still a Prillon warrior with years of battle experience. He was a force to be reckoned with, well-respected and elected to his post as the ruler of Base 3. The other males deferred to his judgment.
But I was not a male. And I did not belong on this planet.
I glared at Rachel.
“I only needed ten more minutes to finish them off.”
She smiled, offered me a sheepish shrug. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
I rolled my eyes at that remote possibility but stayed quiet.
“The males showed you great respect in refusing to fight you.” Unfortunately, Maxim’s voice carried well because the other males seated around the arena stomped and clapped in agreement at his words. The governor crossed his arms and stared down at me. He was big, almost seven feet tall, his copper colored skin, dark hair and dark brown eyes reminded me of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Of course, I would never tell him that. Or Rachel. And he wasn’t exactly being candy-sweet at the moment either.
God, I missed chocolate.
“I’m stronger than they are. I’m a soldier, a member of the Coalition Fleet,” I countered. “I’ve seen as much or more combat than every male here.”
He gave a decisive nod. “You are all of those things, but you are still female. We do not hurt females, not even in play. If you fight, you fight your enemies. We are not your enemies. You ask these males to dishonor themselves and their families when you ask them to fight you.”
I huffed and glanced at Tane. The Atlan was beginning to look smug again, which added fuel to my fire. “That is such a double standard.”
“It is no such thing. Coming from Earth, you are not as familiar with the ways of Atlan, Prillon and even Trion males. Other planets, too. Females are sacred. Respected. To hurt a female or a child is to betray everything we fought for, everything we continue to sacrifice to protect.”
“Why am I the one in trouble here?” I waved my arm around as I spoke. “They’re the ones who got it into their Neanderthal heads that the last one standing was going to claim me.”
All of the men nodded, not the least bit contrite. Bloodied, sweaty and wearing torn clothing, they didn’t deny their actions.
“The idea isn’t a bad one.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I shouted, completely aggravated. I tugged at my hair, paced in circles. I couldn’t fight. What could I do? I was trapped on this planet. Caged like a wild animal.
“You’re running wild here, Lieutenant.”
“I’m not wild, Governor, I’m caged. Trapped.” I walked until I stood nearly toe-to-toe with him and looked up, way up into his eyes. The resignation I saw there made my heart jolt with panic. He was going to do something here that I was not going to like. I could see it in that calm regret, hear it in the deep sigh that came rumbling out of his chest. “No. Not this. Just let me go on some missions. Let me go wild on a bunch of Hive instead of on these guys,” I said, pointing at the four who had fought each other for me, but refused to fight me.
The governor slowly shook his head. “I cannot allow someone so close to losing control go on a mission. While I admit, these men taking it upon themselves to decide your fate was not the ideal solution, they aren’t wrong. You need a mate.”
“I’ll fight to the death before I agree to this.”
“And I’ll put you in the brig until you calm down.” He held up his fingers and nearly touched them to my lips when I drew another deep breath to argue. The shock of that almost touch made me pause as he continued. “It’s not just you, but the males as well. They’re practically feral over their desire to claim you. This base is starting to unravel, years of work and discipline are coming apart at the seams, and all because of one unmated female. The first and only mission I allowed you to take ended in disaster. Do you forget so easily?”
“No.” I hadn’t forgotten a single moment of that fiasco. Two Prillon warriors decided they were going to claim me while we were gone. The Atlan and two other Prillon warriors on the mission refused to allow them to approach me. A massive fight had broken out, the Atlan going into beast mode and destroying two small cruisers in the hangar before enough males arrived to break up the fight. And that had nothing to do with the actual fighting we’d been sent off to do. “Just order them to leave me alone.”
“They are not human, Gwendolyn. You cannot expect them to behave as human men would on Earth. They are Coalition warriors, and they are losing control at the idea of you wandering the base unclaimed and unprotected. It goes against our very natures. I won’t have it any longer. I can’t.” He added the last with some finality.
“So you’re just going to let them fight over me? Winner take all?” I asked, stunned.
My stomach turned at the thought. While all four of the males before me were handsome, impressive male specimens, none were the one I would even consider. And he was in the stands. I’d