Storm of Eon (Eon Warriors Book 7)

by Anna Hackett

  “You’re fine, Eve,” Thane proclaimed. “You just need a little more rest.”

  Davion let out a gusty sigh. “My mate isn’t good at sitting still.” He slid his arm around her.

  “Your baby is healthy,” Thane said.

  The couple smiled at each other, then Davion pressed a kiss to Eve’s lips.

  Kaira moved away to give the couple some privacy. She skirted the metal sculpture and Thane followed her.

  “We haven’t been introduced. I’m Medical Commander Thane Kann-Eon.”

  “Commander Kaira Chand. Australia Air Force and head of Woomera Security.”

  “I’m friends with Sabin. He told me you were excellent to work with.”

  “That’s high praise.” She held out her hand.

  Thane took it.

  As soon as their fingers touched, electricity skated up her arm.

  She gasped.

  He jolted.

  Instant desire flooded Kaira. The green strands in Thane’s eyes glowed.

  “What the hell?” she breathed. Their fingers twined together.

  “Kaira.” His voice was deep, guttural. He pulled her close and their bodies collided.

  Heat. She felt like flames were licking her. “What’s going on?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know.” Thane lowered his head, his hands tightening on her skin. “Can I kiss you, Kaira?”

  Her belly clenched. It was what she wanted. More than anything. “Yes.”

  Then his mouth was on hers firm, hard, and demanding.

  The kiss exploded. As their tongues tangled, he pulled her off her feet and she wrapped her legs around his waist. They devoured each other.

  “God. God.” She bit his bottom lip.

  He growled and they writhed against each other. She felt a very sizable bulge rub against her. Mmm. Kaira wanted to strip her clothes off, and feel this big warrior move inside her.

  “What’s happening to us?” she panted.

  Suddenly, his black-scale armor flowed over his skin.

  “Thane?” She lifted her hands.

  He frowned. “I’m not controlling it.”

  Then, without warning, the scales flowed onto Kaira. Her mouth dropped open.

  The armor covered them both.

  Their gazes met.

  Thane looked shocked. “Instant mating is unheard of.”

  “Mating?” A crazy mix of emotions churned inside her. “No. No way.”

  Then, without warning, a Kantos soldier burst out of the darkness.

  Hurriedly, Thane set Kaira down and they spun.

  A second and third soldier appeared.

  Even with the new armor on, it hadn’t covered her holstered blaster. She grabbed it and fired.

  “Davion, Kantos!” Thane yelled. “Get Eve inside.” A long sword formed on Thane’s arm.

  Kaira and Thane attacked. She fired on the Kantos soldiers, and Thane’s sword slammed against another’s sharp arms.

  Suddenly, something hit Kaira, wrapping around her.

  She fell, struggling against the bindings. It was some sort of net made from a sticky brown substance.

  “Kaira!”

  Thane slashed with his sword and knocked a Kantos back. He ran toward her.

  She saw another net hit him. He managed to stay upright, but his sword was trapped against his body. He fought the bindings.

  Then the Kantos soldiers were on him. They hit him and Kaira felt a pulse of pain through her body. No.

  Thane went down. They held up some black substance and slapped it over his wrist. Her scale armor dissolved, and so did his.

  A Kantos stepped in front of her, blocking her view. She took in its hard, jointed legs. Then she was lifted and hefted over the alien soldier’s shoulder.

  She tried to fight, but it was too strong.

  The last thing she saw before the Kantos marched into the darkness, were two soldiers carrying a trussed-up and horribly still Thane between them.

  Fucking hell. They’d just been abducted by the alien enemy.

  Finley paced the span of her lab, chewing on a nail and waiting for news.

  She reached for her elastic band and realized she wasn’t wearing it. She hadn’t been since she and Sabin had been abducted. She straightened.

  The celebration party had ended abruptly, with the base being locked down. Sabin and the other warriors, along with the security team, had gone to deal with the Kantos.

  Everybody knew that Thane and Kaira had been attacked.

  Eve sat in a chair nearby, her hand slowly rubbing her belly.

  “Are you okay?” Finley asked.

  “I’m fine. Dammit, at any other time I could have fought them off.” There was frustration in her voice.

  “Protecting your child is your number one priority right now.”

  Eve nodded, but still looked annoyed.

  The door opened, and Sabin and Davion entered.

  Finley stepped forward. “Kaira? Thane?”

  Sabin shook his head. “No sign of them. A small Kantos strike team snatched them and ran.”

  “Why?” Finley said. “Why take them?”

  Davion hugged Eve close. “I suspect they were after me and Eve.”

  “What?” Eve looked up at him.

  “There’s some Kantos chatter about them planning to target you.”

  “And you didn’t tell me? The baby.” She rested her hand protectively over her belly. “They want our baby.”

  Davion put his hand over hers. “That’s not ever going to happen.” He lifted his head. “We spoke with King Gayel. The Desteron has been tasked with retrieving Commander Chand and Medical Commander Kann-Eon.”

  “God.” Finley went to Sabin, and he hugged her tightly.

  “We’ll get them back,” he said.

  “Eve, we need to get back to the Desteron, and you need to rest,” Davion said. “I want you safe aboard the warship.”

  She nodded. “Finley, it was a pleasure to meet you. I’m sure we’ll see you again soon. We’ll keep you updated on your friends.”

  “Thank you, Eve. Take care.”

  Sabin and Davion clasped arms, then the couple left.

  “Damn the Kantos to hell.” Finley kicked her workbench.

  “We’ll get Kaira and Thane back. For now, we have to focus on the positives. The StarStorm is operational.”

  “I can’t celebrate knowing that the Kantos have Kaira and Thane.” Finley spun away. “Now that the StarStorm is working, I need to focus on detection. We need to figure out a way to stop the small Kantos teams from sneaking onto Earth.”

  He moved to her and pushed her hair back. “I know that you’ll come up with something.” He paused. “The Rengard is due to leave tomorrow.”

  Her stomach clenched, like she’d been punched. “You’re leaving.” Pain stole her breath. She had to be strong. She stared at his chest, blinking back tears.

  There was already a hole growing inside her.

  “Finley. Finley, look at me.”

  She did. He touched her cheek, wiping away a tear. Then he gripped her waist and lifted her onto the bench. “I’m not leaving.”

  “Sabin—” She tried to sort through her feelings. “You’re an Eon warrior. How can you stay?”

  He gripped her chin. “Because you’re my mate. I don’t ever want to be without you.”

  She kissed him, grabbing his shoulders.

  “You’re mine, Finley Delgado.” He bit her bottom lip. “Now and forever.”

  “I love you, Sabin. To me, you’re perfect. You’re my everything.”

  He smiled. “Earlier, I spoke with King Gayel.”

  Finley swallowed.

  “I’ve been assigned as an Eon ambassador to Earth.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “I’ll work closely with Space Corps. I’ll also work closely with my mate to assist her on her projects. I can help upgrade your weapons. And you and I can be together every day.”

  “Sabin.” Love bu
rst through her. “Won’t you miss your warship?”

  “Maybe. And perhaps one day, we might spend time aboard the Rengard. I’d like to take you to meet my family.” His hands sank into her hair. “There will be lots of opportunities, and as long as we’re together, I’m happy.”

  “Me, too.”

  They kissed again and he slid a hand down her body. “You know, I had a few fantasies about you in this lab.”

  “Really?” She leaned back, basking in the glow of his love. “Why don’t you show me?”

  He leaned over her. “It will be my pleasure, my sweet Terran mate.”

  I hope you enjoyed Finley and Sabin’s story!

  If you’re eager to find out the fate of Medical Commander Thane Kann-Eon and Commander Kaira Chand, then you don’t have to wait long. Eon Warriors continues with Soul of Eon, releasing next month, February 2021!

  Looking for more action-packed science-fiction romance? Read on for a preview of Gladiator, the first book in Galactic Gladiators.

  Don’t miss out! For updates about new releases, action romance info, free books, and other fun stuff, sign up for my VIP mailing list and get your free box set containing three action-packed romances.

  Visit here to get started: www.annahackett.com

  Preview: Gladiator

  Just another day at the office.

  Harper Adams pulled herself along the outside of the space station module. She could hear her quiet breathing inside her spacesuit, and she easily pulled her weightless body along the slick, white surface of the module. She stopped to check a security panel, ensuring all the systems were running smoothly.

  Check. Same as it had been yesterday, and the day before that. But Harper never ever let herself forget that they were six hundred million kilometers away from Earth. That meant they were dependent only on themselves. She tapped some buttons on the security panel before closing the reinforced plastic cover. She liked to dot all her Is and cross all her Ts. She never left anything to chance.

  She grabbed the handholds and started pulling herself up over the cylindrical pod to check the panels on the other side. Glancing back behind herself, she caught a beautiful view of the planet below.

  Harper stopped and made herself take it all in. The orange, white, and cream bands of Jupiter could take your breath away. Today, she could even see the famous superstorm of the Great Red Spot. She’d been on the Fortuna Research Station for almost eighteen months. That meant, despite the amazing view, she really didn’t see it anymore.

  She turned her head and looked down the length of the space station. At the end was the giant circular donut that housed the main living quarters and offices. The main ring rotated to provide artificial gravity for the residents. Lying off the center of the ring was the long cylinder of the research facility, and off that cylinder were several modules that housed various scientific labs and storage. At the far end of the station was the docking area for the supply ships that came from Earth every few months.

  “Lieutenant Adams? Have you finished those checks?”

  Harper heard the calm voice of her fellow space marine and boss, Captain Samantha Santos, through the comm system in her helmet.

  “Almost done,” Harper answered.

  “Take a good look at the botany module. The computer’s showing some strange energy spikes, but the scientists in there said everything looks fine. Must be a system malfunction.”

  Which meant the geek squad engineers were going to have to come in and do some maintenance. “On it.”

  Harper swung her body around, and went feet-first down the other side of the module. She knew the rest of the security team—all made up of United Nations Space Marines—would be running similar checks on the other modules across the station. They had a great team to ensure the safety of the hundreds of scientists aboard the station. There was also a dedicated team of engineers that kept the guts of the station running.

  She passed a large, solid window into the module, and could see various scientists floating around benches filled with all kinds of plants. They all wore matching gray jumpsuits accented with bright-blue at the collars, that indicated science team. There was a vast mix of scientists and disciplines aboard—biologists, botanists, chemists, astronomers, physicists, medical experts, and the list went on. All of them were conducting experiments, and some were searching for alien life beyond the edge of the solar system. It seemed like every other week, more probes were being sent out to hunt for radio signals or collect samples.

  Since humans had perfected large solar sails as a way to safely and quickly propel spacecraft, getting around the solar system had become a lot easier. With radiation pressure exerted by sunlight onto the mirrored sails, they could travel from Earth to Fortuna Station orbiting Jupiter in just a few months. And many of the scientists aboard the station were looking beyond the solar system, planning manned expeditions farther and farther away. Harper wasn’t sure they were quite ready for that.

  She quickly checked the adjacent control panel. Among all the green lights, she spotted one that was blinking red, and she frowned. They definitely had a problem with the locking system on the exterior door at the end of the module. She activated the small propulsion pack on her spacesuit, and circled around the module. She slowed down as she passed the large, round exterior door at the end of the cylindrical module.

  It was all locked into place and looked secure.

  As she moved back to the module, she grabbed a handhold and then tapped the small tablet attached to the forearm of her suit. She keyed in a request for maintenance to come and check it.

  She looked up and realized she was right near another window. Through the reinforced glass, a pretty, curvy blonde woman looked up and spotted Harper. She smiled and waved. Harper couldn’t help but smile and lifted her gloved hand in greeting.

  Dr. Regan Forrest was a botanist and a few years younger than Harper. The young woman was so open and friendly, and had befriended Harper from her first day on the station. Harper had never had a lot of friends—mainly because she’d been too busy raising her younger sister and working. She’d never had time for girly nights out or gossip.

  But Regan was friendly, smart, and had the heart of a steamroller under her pretty exterior. Harper always had trouble saying no to her. Maybe the woman reminded her a little of Brianna. At the thought of her sister, something twisted painfully in Harper’s chest.

  Regan floated over to the window and held up a small tablet. She’d typed in some words.

  Cards tonight?

  Harper had been teaching Regan how to play poker. The woman was terrible at it, and Harper beat her all the time. But Regan never gave up.

  Harper nodded and held up two fingers to indicate a couple of hours. She was off-shift shortly, and then she had a sparring match with Regan’s cousin, Rory—one of the station engineers—in the gym. Aurora “Call me Rory or I’ll hit you” Fraser had been trained in mixed martial arts, and Harper found the female engineer a hell of a sparring partner. Rory was teaching Harper some martial arts moves and Harper was showing the woman some basic sword moves. Since she was little, Harper had been a keen fencer.

  Regan grinned back and nodded. Then the woman’s wide smile disappeared. She spun around, and through the glass Harper could see the other scientists all looking around, concerned. One scientist was spinning around, green plants floating in the air around him, along with fat droplets of water and some other green fluid. He’d clearly screwed up and let his experiment get free.

  “Lieutenant Adams?” The captain’s voice came through her helmet again. “Harper?”

  There was a sense of urgency that made Harper’s belly tighten. “Go ahead, Captain.”

  “We have an alarm sounding in the botany module. The computer says there is a risk of decompression.”

  Dammit. “I just checked the security panels. The locking mechanism on the exterior door is showing red. I did a visual inspection and it’s closed up tight.”

  “Okay,
we talked with the scientist in charge. Looks like one of her team let something loose in there. It isn’t dangerous, but it must be messing with the alarm sensors. System’s locked them all in there.” She made an annoyed sound. “Idiots will have to stay there until engineering can get down there and free them.”

  Harper studied the room through the glass again. Some of the green liquid had floated over to another bench that contained various frothing cylinders on it. A second later, the cylinders shattered, their contents bubbling upward.

  The scientists all moved to the back exit of the module, banging on the locked door. Damn. They were trapped.

  Harper met Regan’s gaze. Her friend’s face was pale, and wisps of her blonde hair had escaped her ponytail, floating around her face.

  “Captain,” Harper said. “Something’s wrong. The experiments have overflowed their containment.” She could see the scientists were all coughing.

  “Engineering is on the way,” the captain said.

  Harper pushed herself off, flying over the surface of the module. She reached the control panel and saw that several other lights had turned red. They needed to get this under control and they needed to do it now.

  “Harper!” The captain’s panicked voice. “Decompression in progress!”

  What the hell? The module jerked beneath Harper. She looked up and saw the exterior door blow off, flying away from the station.

  Her heart stopped. That meant all the scientists were exposed to the vacuum of space.

  Fuck. Harper pushed off again, sending herself flying toward the end of the module. She put her arms by her sides to help increase her speed. Through the window, she saw that most of the scientists had grabbed on to whatever they could hold on to. A few were pulling emergency breathers over their heads.

  She reached the end of the pod and saw the damage. There was torn metal where the door had been ripped off. Inside the door, she knew there would be a temporary repair kit containing a sheet of high-tech nano fabric that could be stretched across the opening to reestablish pressure. But it needed to be put in place manually. Harper reached for the latch to release the repair kit.