Rebel Mate

by Grace Goodwin

  I’d transport to Trion and hunt down Bertok. Kill him.

  Then I’d go home. I didn’t care what the law was. The Coalition and their Brides Program could go to hell. I was not staying out here. I was going to make sure Bertok could never hurt anyone else, ever again, and then I was going home.

  Life sucked everywhere. At least on Earth, I knew the rules and how to break them without getting killed.

  4

  Isaak

  * * *

  “Fark. Stubborn female,” I muttered.

  Tangling with the human had done irreparable damage to my equilibrium. I had not been this frustrated since I’d left Trion behind.

  Her eyes spit fire, and all I wanted to do was accept the challenge, push her up against the wall, drive my cock deep and make her scream with pleasure. Which was completely opposite of every Trion female. Ever. I wanted a docile female. Meek. Submissive. Yet the Gods had set this wild Earthling in my path.

  Nothing she had done was as expected. She did not tremble with fear after nearly being taken by a huge blue alien from Cerberus legion. She did not cry. She had stolen Jirghogis’ titan stick and threatened him with it like a cornered animal.

  Like a wild animal.

  Untamed.

  I wondered what it would take to tame her in my bed.

  My cock swelled to uncomfortable weight, and I cursed again. No. I would not become involved in this drama. I had offered her escape, a meeting with Ivy, a female from her own planet. I had wrecked my business alliance as well as cost myself a farking fortune already. I was not going to follow that female. I was not going to protect her from her own stubborn, reckless courage. She was not mine.

  “Not mine.” I would have chanted the words to myself if I’d been able to get the vision of her eyes lit from within by cold rage. By challenge. She had not trembled, even when I’d touched her, when the lure of her soft skin had become too powerful to resist. No, she’d stood her ground and verbally sparred with me. She was like a charged ion blast waiting to go off.

  Everything she said was a surprise. I hadn’t known what to expect out of such a tiny human, but...sass wasn’t one of them. Spunk. Fire. Passion.

  My ship wasn’t far. I could be off this rock—without my ion cannon—in no time at all and leave her to her dangerous and insane plans for revenge.

  “Fark.” My feet stopped moving of their own volition. Gods be damned. I couldn’t farking do it. I couldn’t walk away. Seemed I had some small shred of decency left. And it would, no doubt, damn me to a painful end. Over a female who wasn’t even mine.

  Perhaps it was cosmic justice. So be it.

  Expecting to see her behind me, I looked back and… she’d walked away from me. She was leaving me intentionally to make her own way with only a titan stick for protection. And she was nearly out of sight.

  Damn stubborn female. She did not know what she was dealing with here. This was Sector Zero, for fark’s sake! No female was left unattended. She was too valuable, too precious… too beautiful. Anyone would want her. Claim her. Own her. Whether she consented or not.

  Hadn’t she learned that? If some alien found her, he’d keep her. It was as simple and lawless as that.

  It wasn’t my job to protect her. Besides, she didn’t want my protection. Zara was free. She was choosing to go after Bertok. Alone. She was an Interstellar Bride. If the Coalition had any fighters in this sector, they would protect her, without question.

  But we weren’t in Coalition space. Hell, there hadn’t been a Coalition fighter in this sector for over a hundred years. Odds were not good that one had taken a wrong turn back to his battlegroup. That he would make his way here and arrive just in time to save the beautiful female from a terrible fate.

  “Fark.”

  The lawless factions here were probably already searching for her. She was perfect. Soft, creamy skin. The long, curled hair. The defiance in her eyes. She could have passed for a Trionite, if pushed, especially with the gold collar and the outline of the chain I’d seen dangling between her nipples. Fark if that didn’t make me hard. But no, there was too much defiance in her gaze for Trion to have been her home. The women of Viken and my home world of Trion were submissive and soft. Fragile creatures that needed to be both pampered and protected. They loved to show off their bond, proud to have their mate’s medallion dangling upon a chain. Everyone could look upon her beauty—even in the throes of passion. Our females often enjoyed knowing they were coveted by others but could not be touched by any but their mate.

  “Damn it, female,” I called, letting my head fall back, I stared up at the dome. “Stop. Do you want to be a slave? Tortured? Raped? Used?”

  She turned on her heel to face me and placed her hands on her hips in a defiant gesture that made my cock harden with lust and my dominant nature rise to accept her challenge.

  Perhaps this was why I had yet to be interested in mating a female. All the females I had met on Trion were meek, raised to be submissive, in bed and out. Mild. Tame.

  This human was the opposite. How the fark had she been matched to Trion? It made no sense because here was a female worthy of being tamed. Claimed. Her submission would be hard won and worth the effort.

  “You don’t even know where you are.”

  “Enlighten me then,” she countered.

  I took a deep breath, let it out and closed the distance between us. “Sector Zero. This outpost survives on a large planet called Occeron. It used to be full of life. But now, there’s no atmosphere. Battle with the Hive destroyed the planet’s magnetic field. The only thing that survives does so underground or sealed inside protective domes like the one above our heads.”

  Her eyes lifted skyward. At least she was listening.

  “This place is called Omega Dome. It was designed to hold three thousand inhabitants. This one shields five times that. While some might live here, all they do is survive.”

  “Why are you here then?”

  “Business.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s my business to transport out of this snow globe and hunt down Bertok.”

  “And how are you going to do that?” I didn’t ask what a snow globe was. I understood her intent.

  “I’ll ask the slimy one.” She tapped the titan stick on the ground for emphasis, indicating exactly who she intended to make him talk.

  Ah. So, she did intend to go after Jirghogis as well as the Trion Councilor. “That slime is poisonous,” I warned.

  Her mouth fell open. “Then I’ll interrogate him without touching him, which I preferred to do anyway. He smells like a dead horse.” She shivered in what I guessed was revulsion as I had no idea what a horse was. I didn’t blame her. Jirghoghis was repulsive. “After that, I’m going to go to Trion and kill Bertok. Then I’m going home.”

  Yes, my cock hardened at her daring plan. It was the intent behind it that made my balls ache. The surety of it. It was as if these kinds of obstacles were not hard for her. As if she’d survived similar dark challenges on her home planet.

  “No, you will do none of those things. They are too dangerous.” I stepped even closer, moving at a steady speed, not wanting to scare her.

  “I don’t belong to you.” The female stood barefoot yet defiant. The rings in her nipples only had a plain chain strung between them… I was sure of it. No medallion hung pressed to the fabric covering her, none that I could see. I hoped suddenly that she was unadorned. Unclaimed.

  She claimed her mate was dead, but what if she were mistaken? What if there was a male back on Trion looking for her?

  I looked closely, uncaring if she noticed my interest. There was nothing that indicated a family medallion had been included in her adornments. Fark, I could even see the outline of a chain, the rings on her nipples. But no family medallion. No proper adornments. Nothing that would protect her. No claim by a mate.

  Strangely, I could see the outline of something piercing her navel as well. This was not Trion custom.

  So why did she have
it? From what I knew of human females from Ivy, piercing was not a normal custom on Earth, and I doubted a pierced navel offered any kind of sexual satisfaction.

  Perhaps she liked to be adorned. Liked the glide of metal over her soft skin. Perhaps, she would also enjoy metal binding her wrists and ankles as I filled her from behind.

  The thought burst across my mind like a comet, and my casual inspection turned to lust. Perhaps she was matched to Trion because she needed to submit, to surrender to her lover. Perhaps her outspoken and independent side longed for an outlet, a place to feel safe, cared for. Protected. Perhaps, underneath the bluster lived a female with a truly submissive nature. Perhaps she wasn’t even aware of what she needed.

  Not perhaps. She wasn’t aware. I’d bet my Spectra IV on that.

  The realization made me smile. Fark. She would welcome my dominant nature. My need to control her pleasure. She would surrender control.

  To me.

  She held my gaze far longer than I thought possible for a fragile female, even when I placed my hand over my ion blaster to test her resolve. That move did inspire movement but not what I had in mind.

  “Spare me the drama.” She waved a hand in the air. “If you were an asshole, you would have shot me already. I know a thug when I see one.” She turned away from me again. Dismissed me.

  “You will not return to the market to search for Jirghogis,” I ordered. “They’ll capture you, and you will never be free of their shackles. You’ve shamed him and Ulza.”

  “Bye!” She yelled the single word and waved the titan stick up over her head, the crackling sound loud in the enclosed space as she activated the weapon once more, tapping the electrified end on the bracing bars that held up the ceiling in this section of the dome. A loud buzz and crackle were accompanied by a shower of sparks that fell behind her like small fires before they hit the floor and died out.

  I stood, undecided, as she disappeared around a corner.

  I should allow her to go. She’d made her choice. I had done what I had to in order to save her. My conscience was clear.

  “Fark.” That was a lie. She was going to get herself killed. I couldn’t allow that, and I had to know what it would be like to feel all that energy, all that angst, come from her in passion instead of rage. I could be that outlet for her. The conduit to her ultimate release.

  If I could get us both out of Omega Dome alive.

  5

  Zara

  * * *

  I had no idea where I was going. I thought I was headed back toward the place where the slimy guy’d held me… waiting for what, I had no idea. But now I was lost. This was like an inner- city slum with no escape. There was literally a bubble over the place—the only way out, I assumed, was either by transport or a spaceship. I knew more than I wanted about transport, like the fact that it hurt like being blasted all over with ice, that transporting from Earth to Trion had worn me out, and that I had absolutely no idea how to operate one of the transport things, even if I could find one. That was one too many obstacles, even for me.

  That blue lady was probably pissed I’d gotten away and was searching for me. Transport would be the last place I’d go. I knew nothing about space ships except what I saw on TV. It wasn’t like I could steal one and fly out of here. If I could find the ignition, I’d probably crash before I got twenty feet off the ground. And if I miraculously made it out of the bubble… I assumed there was some kind of hatch or something… I had no idea where I was going. Did they take gas? Were there refill stations in space?

  Maybe I could find a nice space pirate and pay him—or her—to get me out of here.

  But with what? I didn’t have space money. And I wasn’t interested in selling myself. I’d managed to avoid that life growing up surrounded by addicts so desperate they would sell their soul for a hit. But I wasn’t that desperate. At least not yet.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I was so screwed.

  I stopped, groaned, tugged on my hair. Maybe the hottie was right. If I went after slimy guy, I’d be walking right back into something I’d fought my way out of. Yes, I was mad, hurt, lost. But I wasn’t stupid. And I would be an idiot to go back to slime-tail looking for a fight. It was important to know when to retreat and live to fight another day.

  A hand gripped my arm, and I jumped a foot, then instinct kicked in. I dropped my shoulders, leaned forward and bent my elbow up and back. Hard.

  “Fark!” The hold disappeared, and I tried to run, my heart rate going faster than my feet. “Zara, wait.”

  I stopped, practically skidding to a halt. Turning on my heel, there was Isaak holding his nose. Exhaling, I tried to let the adrenaline bleed out. “Don’t grab me like that,” I snapped, walking back to him. “You’re lucky I didn’t go for your balls instead.”

  He dropped his hands and frowned. “Where did you learn to defend yourself like that?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Earth.”

  His frown only grew. “Why does a female need to know such things?”

  Narrowing my gaze, I glared. I wasn’t going to tell him that protecting myself had become second nature. “You snuck up on me to ask me questions about Earth?”

  He sighed. “You can’t get away from Sector Zero without a ship. Transport is—”

  “Not an option,” I finished.

  Nodding, he continued. “Ulza knows me. She knows I helped you. The first place she’s going to go is the transport pad. The second is the landing bay. I’m headed there now to get away from Sector Zero. You have five seconds to decide if you are coming with me or staying here.”

  There wasn’t much choice. In fact, there was no choice.

  “You’ll take me with you? But where are you going?”

  “Three, two—”

  “I’m going with you.” I didn’t care much where we went. I’d take my chances with Isaak one-on-one. Even if he turned out to be a bad guy, I’d rather deal with just one than an entire dome full of criminals hunting me.

  He nodded, then took my hand and started running. I had to sprint to keep up with his long legs, careful to keep the titan stick up and away from my feet. I kept it turned on. Well, I had no idea how to turn it off. It wasn’t like a toy light saber with a button that I could find. Every once in a while, it would hit the wall and sparks would fly.

  “Stop doing that,” he snapped over his shoulder. “You’ll draw too much attention.”

  I looked around. We were sprinting through corridors lined with people. Some held more than others, but still. “We’re running. People are already looking at us.”

  “People run. Nothing new. But there’s only one titan stick on this rock, and everyone knows exactly who it belongs to. And it’s not you.” He was barely breathing hard, and I had to admire his stamina. My adrenaline rush was on the downward spiral, and I was running on fumes.

  “Shit.” So, I’d stolen slimy-tail’s famous weapon? And it was one of a kind?

  I couldn’t help the grin, the smile growing to a full-blown cheek buster the more I thought about it. Good. I hoped the thing cost a fortune. But I did make sure not to strike any more walls.

  We ran for what felt like forever but was probably only a few minutes. I was gasping by the time we reached what looked like a huge ship holding area. There was one gigantic exit that seemed to be closed in with a forcefield of some kind. Very SciFi Channel. Beyond that, I saw nothing but blackness. And stars. No blue sky and mountains. No trees. Nothing but barren rocks and… space.

  I froze in awe. I was really and truly in outer space. Like, walk on the moon, go to Mars, go to Trion, outer freaking space. “Holy shit.”

  “Fark.” Isaak pulled me to one side, hard enough that I stumbled into him.

  “Hey! What—”

  He cut me off with a kiss. Um, what? His mouth was on mine.

  On. Mine.

  Holy hell, did he know how to kiss! After the day I’d had, I sank into it, let myself enjoy the heat of him pressed to my body, the feel of his han
d burning into my hip. The other cradled the back of my head like I was treasured. His heat seeped into me, and I realized this place was cold. Scary and horrible and cold. And I very much needed to be warm.

  Long moments passed, and I kissed him back, not even taking time to wonder why he was kissing me here, now. I rolled the taste of him around on my tongue. His flavor was like exotic whiskey and man. I wondered what he’d been drinking to make him so… delicious or if it was just him.

  I melted. My mind screamed at me that this was insane, but my body and my soul had taken enough for the day. Both needed one good moment to rest. To heal. To not be scared out of our collective fucking mind because within two minutes of transporting off of Earth, life had been one hell after another.

  “Gara.” Isaak tore his mouth from mine, and I would have slumped into the wall next to me if not for his hands still wrapped around me. “Fark.” His dark eyes roved over my face, rested on my lips as if he wanted to go back for seconds. And thirds. “I should not have done that.”

  I blinked. Tried to think. Found the task to be extremely difficult while drowning in his stare. I licked my lips, trying to get more of his taste. “Why did you?”

  “We are being hunted.” He used his gaze to motion over my shoulder, and I turned my head as far as his grip in my hair would allow to see two frighteningly massive aliens wearing red arm bands, waving weapons around and yelling at a small group of people. “They are looking for a couple fleeing, not kissing.”

  I blinked, tried to clear my muzzy head. “These are the people who work for Cerberus,” I said, trying to understand.

  He nodded. “Cerberus is the leader of the Cerberus legion on Rogue 5. To you, it means nothing. To the rest of the galaxy, it means trouble. Big trouble. The red arm band signifies their allegiance to him, to the legion and to all they stand for, none of it good.”