Bound: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance (Tribute Brides of the Drexian Warriors Book 6)

by Tana Stone

  “Sorry we left you, Cerise,” she said. “We were—”

  Cereise waved a tiny hand over her head. “You don’t have to explain to me. I spent the past three years in a pleasure house, remember?”

  “Right.” Shreya motioned for him to pull up his pants, her gaze lingering for a moment on his cock, still slick with her juices, and her cheeks coloring.

  “I wouldn’t bother you two, but I think we might have a tail.”

  Vox pushed his cock down to get it inside his pants before he fastened them. “A tail?”

  “Another ship following us.”

  He took long steps, striding past Cerise and heading for the cockpit. When he lowered himself into the pilot’s chair and scanned the readouts, he saw what she was talking about. It was far away, but there was a ship’s signature on an intercept course.

  He tapped a few buttons on the console. It was too far away for him to determine if the course was a coincidence, or if the ship was actually trying to intercept them. He also couldn’t get a clear signature reading from the vessel. It could be a ship from Lymora III, although he doubted it, or it could be the Kronock coming after him to ensure he followed their orders. That was more likely…and more worrying.

  He glanced back at Shreya as she entered the cockpit and joined him at the console. Her hair fell wild around her shoulders and her shoulder straps were tied unevenly, making it all but obvious she’d just been fucked. She lowered herself gently into the chair, and he knew it was because she was sore from his cock.

  Vox felt a rush of protectiveness. Before, he’d felt she was his. Now that he had claimed her, he knew it with every fiber of his being. Shreya was his mate to protect, even with his life.

  “It is probably nothing.” He gave what he hoped was a reassuring nod, as he changed their course to see if the other ship would follow.

  After a minute, the other ship altered course to match theirs, and increased its speed.

  “Grek.” He knew he could not outrun a Kronock ship, especially if it was a newer one. The ship they were in—the one he’d commandeered when he’d taken Shreya away from the Kronock research outpost—was little more than a glorified transport ship. It wasn’t designed for speed, or battles, or even for stealth.

  “What?” Shreya asked.

  “It might be the Kronock,” he admitted. He didn’t want to lie to her. “They might have found us, even without the ship’s tracker.”

  Shreya glanced over at him, her eyes resting on his cybernetic implant. “There’s one tracker you can’t get rid of.”

  His fingers went to the metal implant over his eye, and a pain shot through his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the urge to scream.

  She was right. He’d been a fool to think the Kronock weren’t tracking him and monitoring his every move. They’d put too much into him to let him go, and General Krav would have installed fail-safes and backup ways to monitor him. Why hadn’t he realized it before? He was never going to get away from the aliens who’d tortured him, destroying who he’d been and leaving a part-cyborg monster in his place. He would never get to be with his mate. Not unless it was observing her in a lab while she grew hybrid babies for the Kronock.

  “Vox?” Her hand touched his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  He jerked away. This was all his fault. He’d taken her, and now they were going to take her from him. His mind flashed back to the feeling of being inside her and the feeling of holding her. He leapt up, ignoring the look of shock and hurt on Shreya’s face.

  He wasn’t going to let them have her. Shreya was his. She would always be his, even if he was gone.

  Stomping out of the cockpit and passing an open-mouthed Cerise, he headed for the back of the ship. There was only one option. He had to leave the ship so they couldn’t track it any longer. With him gone, the two women had a chance of escaping.

  He walked down one of the spokes that extended off the main compartment of the ship until he reached the escape pods. There were two of the bullet-shaped pods, but he only needed one.

  He took a shuddering breath. The pods were designed to be jettisoned toward a planet, but there was no nearby planet for him to land on. No, he’d just be floating in space until the Kronock found him. He pushed aside the fear of drifting alone with limited oxygen. It was only way Shreya would have a chance of being free, even if it meant never seeing her again.

  He doubted he’d live long once the Kronock ascertained his treason. Or if they did let him live, he knew he would pay for his duplicity in almost unbearable torture. Clenching his teeth, he leaned one hand on the cool, gray scale-like hull of the escape pod and snapped open the lid. If he could save Shreya, it would be worth it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Shreya exchanged a glance with Cerise once Vox had stormed out of the cockpit. “You have more experience with alien races than I do. Are they all so dramatic?”

  Cerise giggled, her iridescent skin glowing faintly blue in the lights of the console. “This one likes to be loud.” She gave Shreya a side-eye glance. “Although I wouldn’t say you’re quiet.”

  A flush crawled up Shreya’s neck to her face. “I don’t know what got into me.”

  “I think it was fairly obvious what was in—”

  Shreya cut her off. “I mean, I can’t believe I actually did that. In the middle of the ship. Up against a wall. With the cyborg hybrid who abducted me.”

  Cerise twitched one of her shoulders up. “Why not? As you said, I’ve seen a lot of aliens, and he’s one of the best-looking ones I’ve ever laid eyes on. Why wouldn’t you want to have a ride?”

  Shreya gave a shake of her head. “I’ve never thought about it like that.”

  “Like what?” Cerise cocked her head, and her wig slipped an inch or two down the side of her head.

  “I don’t know.” Shreya turned her attention to the narrow view out the front of the ship, as stars became streaks of light shooting by. “As something that wasn’t a big deal.”

  “It doesn’t have to be a big deal, although I can tell you it’s a big deal to him.”

  Shreya swung her head back around to look at the woman. “Why do you say that?”

  Cerise laughed. “Don’t you see the way he looks at you? No male looks at a female that way if he’s just in it for the fun. Trust me. I see aliens who want only fun every day. This one wants more. And if I’m right, a lot more.”

  “He keeps saying I’m his mate for life.”

  Cerise let out a low whistle. “That would be more.”

  “But I can’t be his mate for life. As amazing as the sex was—and it was amazing—he’s still a Kronock hybrid who wants me to create the next generation of human-Kronocks so they can destroy the Drexians and my home planet.”

  Cerise drummed her stubby fingers on the stiff ruffles of her skirt. “That does put a damper on things.” Her gaze went to Shreya’s stomach. “So if he just impregnated you, the Kronock are going to take the baby?”

  Shreya’s hands flew to her midriff. “I can’t be… He wouldn’t let them do that.”

  Cerise didn’t respond. Shreya had been too caught up in the moment to give a second thought to the possibility that she could get pregnant. Of course she knew it was possible. She wasn’t clueless. Just stupid, she thought. And incredibly horny.

  Her stomach tightened into a ball. Even if she had gotten pregnant from the first time with Vox, he’d never let the Kronock take her or the baby. Would he? Would he have a choice? If it really was a Kronock ship after them, would they stand a chance fighting them off?

  Shreya knew he was becoming more and more Drexian as the Kronock DNA was denigrating, but he’d still been brainwashed. He’d never said exactly what they’d done to him, but she suspected it had been intense. Would he be able to fight it enough to protect her, or had she fallen victim to his long game?

  She balled one hand into a fist. No. She refused to believe Vox was conning her. Hadn’t Cerise said it
was clear how he felt about her? And she felt it, too. She knew she’d become more than a captive to him. She swallowed hard. And bloody hell if he hadn’t become more than her cyborg captor. Much more.

  “Idiot,” she whispered to herself. How had she allowed herself to fall for him? This complicated everything.

  Glancing down at the star chart displayed on the console, she could see the blinking dot of the other ship closing the distance between them. She stood quickly, and Cerise glanced up at her.

  “I need to find Vox,” she said, stomping out of the cockpit almost as forcefully as he had.

  She didn’t believe he was working for the Kronock anymore, and she felt fairly confident he wouldn’t let them take her, but none of that mattered if he was a living, breathing beacon who would lead the enemy to her every time. And even if they ran from this Kronock ship, there would be others. She’d learned enough about the violent aliens to know they’d never give up.

  It didn’t matter how many Drexian memories or feelings returned to Vox. As long as he had that implant, he was controllable by the Kronock, and she was in danger. Her fingers reflexively touched her stomach. And she might not be the only one.

  She stormed down the corridor and into the circular center of the ship, her gaze resting briefly on the wall she’d recently been pressed against. There was a rush of heat between her legs that made her lose a step. Focus, Shreya.

  She paused and scanned the spokes extending from the center. When she finally heard movement coming from one, she hurried down. What was Vox doing down there while the enemy was closing in on them?

  When she spotted him standing in front of an open pod, it took her a moment to figure out what it was and what was going on. When she put it all together, she wanted to punch him.

  “You’re abandoning us?”

  He flinched but didn’t turn. “I’m giving you and Cerise a chance. You and I both know they can keep tracking me no matter how many devices I rip out of ships. If I leave, they’ll track me and you two can get away.”

  “So that’s it? You were going to launch yourself out an escape pod without even telling me? After what we just…” Her voice cracked. “After everything?”

  He turned slowly, and she saw that his face was contorted in pain. “It’s the only way I know to keep you safe. I have to protect you, even from myself.”

  Her gaze went to the small pod. “How would you even navigate in there?”

  “It’s not designed for navigation. It’s designed for retrieval.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “So the Kronock would retrieve you and then what? They shoot you full of their DNA again, and you go back to being one of their automatons? You go back to your master plan? If I get away, will they have to kidnap another human for you to impregnate?”

  He shook his head, but she thought it was more to convince himself than to convince her. “There is no one for me but you.”

  “I doubt your scaly friends feel the same way.”

  “But you will be safe.” Now his voice cracked as he closed the distance between them and touched a hand to her face. “That is what matters, keeping you from them.”

  “You matter, too.”

  His hand twitched against her cheek. “I am lost. There is nothing I can do about what they’ve done to me, but I can keep them from doing anything to you.”

  She shook her head hard. “I don’t accept that. You aren’t lost. I’ve seen who you really are beneath the implant and the brainwashing and the torture. There’s still a Drexian under there.”

  He cupped her face and stroked his thumb across her jaw. “It doesn’t matter. They made me one of them. They will always come for me, and anyone who is near me will be hurt. I would rather die than let them hurt you, Shreya.” He leaned down and kissed her softly. “You need to let me go.”

  Her knees almost buckled as her entire body buzzed from his touch. “No way,” she whispered when he pulled away. “I don’t know exactly what this is.” She waved a hand between them. “But I know I’ve never felt anything close to it before, and I’m not giving up on it. I’m not giving up on you.”

  His brow creased into deep furrows. “If I stay here, they’ll capture us all.”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m not going to let that happen. I’m a scientist. I was on that ship you took me from because I’d been studying you and what the Kronock did to you. I think I can help.”

  He stepped away from her and dropped his hand from her face, his expression stunned.

  Chapter Twenty

  “You are a scientist?” Vox stared at her. She was a scientist and she’d been studying him?

  Shreya nodded.

  He shook his head, as if trying to loosen something. “I did not know human females were scientists.”

  “Not all of us are. Actually, not all that many are, especially not on the Boat. I know I’m the only microbiologist.”

  He worked the word over in his mind—microbiologist. His mate was a microbiologist? “And you have been studying me? How?”

  She let out a breath. “The Drexians got their hands on a bunch of Kronock records detailing what they did to you to make you…” she hesitated “…more like them.”

  “And?”

  “And I discovered your body is rejecting the Kronock DNA, which is causing your original DNA to degenerate. I was on the rescue ship so I could help stabilize you.”

  He scowled. “So I am becoming less Kronock?”

  “I think,” she said. “Even though at first, the Kronock DNA was dominant and your body started changing, after a certain point it started to be less and less effective. I suspect they’ve been giving you injections to keep you stable.”

  Vox flinched. “Yes. Many injections and procedures.” He rubbed his arms, his hands bumping over the scaly patches. “So if I do not get more injections. . .?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but I think your body will degrade to a point that your organs may start shutting down.”

  He nodded and cleared his throat. “So I must return to the Kronock for more procedures and more Kronock DNA, or I will die.”

  “Or we could go to the Drexian space station.” She reached a hand out to touch his arm. “I have a lab, and I could stabilize you using Drexian DNA, instead.”

  He cringed, pulling his arm away from her. “To them, I am a criminal. A traitor.”

  Shreya shook her head insistently. “No, you’re not. They know you were captured and tortured. The Drexians don’t blame you for being brainwashed.”

  “They will blame me for taking you.” His gaze met hers. “Or trying to force you. For attempting to make you part of the Kronock plan to destroy them.”

  She stepped closer. “But you didn’t force me. Your Drexian side wouldn’t let you. And you were about to jettison yourself into space to keep me safe from the Kronock.”

  Vox shook his head slowly. “I have done too much. I have betrayed my own kind and worked for the enemy. For a Drexian, there is nothing worse than that.”

  “It wasn’t your fault you were brainwashed.” Her voice got louder. “You didn’t ask to be taken captive or to have that thing put in your head. I promise they won’t punish you for those things. I won’t let them.”

  He cocked any eyebrow. “They will listen to you? Are you very important on the Boat?”

  Her eyes flickered. “Important enough to make them understand.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “You have to trust me, Vox.”

  He looked into her brown eyes. He wanted to believe her, to trust her, but she’d been hiding such a big secret from him. She’d known all along why he was getting blinding pains, and she hadn’t told him. She hadn’t helped him. The realization was a punch to the gut.

  If she’d been keeping such a big part of herself from him, how much more was she hiding? Was anything she’d told him true, or had she done everything only to get away from him? She’d staged an elaborate game just so she could drug him and escape with Cerise. Sure, she’d
come with him to the ship, but had she really had a choice after she’d almost been torn apart by the Xakden? And now she was claiming she could help him by taking him to the Drexians? How could he be sure this wasn’t another trick?

  But did he really blame her for not trusting him and trying to escape? He had abducted her and tied her up to a bed with the purpose of forcing her to mate with him. Would he have wanted to help someone who did that to him? Probably not, he admitted to himself.

  “Even if I agree to go back to the Boat with you, we still can’t escape from the Kronock,” he said, tapping his implant. “They’re tracking me.”

  She glanced up at his cybernetic eye. “I think I might be able to disable that.”

  One hand rose to touch the cool metal. “How?”

  “By removing it,” she said.

  “Microbiologists work with cybernetics?”

  “Well, no.” She dropped her eyes. “I have observed a lot of surgeries. I didn’t know if I wanted to be a doctor or go into microbiology for a while, so I shadowed a friend who was a resident in a hospital.”

  He stared at her. “You have only observed surgeries?”

  “Yes, but I’m a really quick learner.”

  “Did any of these surgeries involve implants?” Vox asked.

  “Not exactly,” she said. “At least not the kind you have. Earth hasn’t developed that type of technology yet, at least not that they use on people.”

  He gaped at her. “This is how you convince me?”

  “I’m trying to be honest,” Shreya said. “I’m not saying it’s the best option, but it seems better to me than you being taken by the Kronock again, or all of us being captured by them.”

  He supposed she was right about that, but he still was not sure if she was being completely honest with him. More than anything, Vox wanted to believe she was doing all this to help him, but how much did he really know about her? Not much, it turned out. She wasn’t just a pretty human. She was a scientist who’d been studying him. She’d been on a mission to capture him, and now she was trying to convince him to surrender to the Drexians.