by Laurie Roma
It didn’t happen often that he was pushed to that point. Dom could make an officer quake in fear by simply frowning at them, and he could cause a suspect to break out in cold sweat by nothing more than leveling his black eyes on them during interview. As the director of the largest unit of interrogators in the Alliance, his command over the division was exemplary. People often remarked over his incredible control and his ruthlessly methodical way of picking apart problems as well as people.
That was, until he’d met Skylar.
Since she had transferred into his division, Dom’s usually unshakable control had been pushed to the breaking point time and time again.
But those situations hadn’t been her fault...not really.
Besides her beauty, Skylar had something else that set her apart from other women. She had been classified as a Class-A Conduit, one of the rarest classifications of special status within the Alliance. Conduits were very rare individuals who could basically read other peoples energy, and if they were strong enough, could use that energy for their own purposes. Put in plain terms, Skylar could manipulate the energy around her, creating an electrical charge she could use against someone, or by making her own body a weapon. She could even draw out the energy from another person...making her a viable threat to anyone who challenged her.
With her power, she could shock the shit out of someone...or even kill them.
On record, only five other individuals had ever been classified as Class-A like she was. Two of them had died before she was even born, and the other three were men that made use of their talents out in the field. Over the years, she had been tested and studied, and for that reason she hated people watching her. She knew some men just wanted to claim her because she was a fertile female, but others wanted her for the weapon she was.
Which was exactly why she had been granted special status.
In her own unit the men knew better than to bother her, and had even come to accept her as one of them. Her reputation within the Capital had spread, and she was mostly left alone. It was only when she met men who didn’t know her that she ran into a problem. A week didn’t go by without a pair of men trying to claim her just because they liked how she looked. Usually, she was able to cut them down with her sharp tongue, but it was the ones who were more persistent that pushed her to take action.
Dom lost control every time Skylar took down one of the men that attacked her. She had every right to defend herself, but she knew that Command was getting sick and tired of dealing with the complaints that came in every time she put a man in the medical unit. It wasn’t like they didn’t deserve it. They damn well did. But she was tired of getting pulled into Dom’s office and getting her ass chewed out whenever she shocked the shit out of men stupid enough to try and take her by force.
Recently, she hadn’t even had the chance to defend herself.
Not with Dom and Arik around.
Somehow they had become her constant shadows, and it was slowly driving her fucking crazy. Arik had a way of simply appearing between her and men before she even knew he was there, while Dom took a more direct approach. He had verbally bitch-slapped a few of the men back into the ice age, but there had also been a few times when he had actually gotten physical with a few of the soldiers that were too stupid to back down.
She knew that both Dom and Arik wanted her, but as she had told Reva, the situation was too complicated. No matter how much sexual attraction there was between them, Skylar wasn’t willing to risk what being with them would cost her.
Her freedom was far too important to her.
“What about you?” Skylar asked Reva, wanting to take the attention away from herself. “Why aren’t you happily mated?”
Reva rolled her eyes. “I will not take companions unless I find males I would like to life-lock with, and so far I have found no one that I want to keep with me beyond one night of pleasure.”
“I know what you mean. Sex is so much more simple than relationships, but even that has gotten too complicated to deal with.”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t been with anyone since you are worried of being claimed!” Reva gasped, looking horrified. “Sex is natural and everyone needs the release.”
Skylar laughed at the look on her friend’s face. “There is someone back on Earth I used to hook up with whenever the mood struck. His name is Zack Keller. He’s a general, but I haven’t seen him since I moved over to the Security and Interrogation Division and he was transferred to Zion as head of one of the Security Strike Force units.”
“Why did you not bond with him?”
“ZK is a good guy, who has no desire to claim a chosen, so he was safe. He’s damn good at what he does, and they certainly need him in Zion—with that city basically being a mix of Alliance, citizens and rebels all living together in one giant clusterfuck. I miss having him around sometimes, but I was really happy for him when he got the promotion.”
Reva opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. She wondered if Skylar had ever taken note of the timing her lover had been transferred out of her life. Smiling at the thought, Reva decided Skylar didn’t realize it, or she wouldn’t have been so calm speaking of it.
Skylar’s wrist unit signaled, and she sighed as she noted it was a priority call from High Commander Spartan. “Sorry, Reva. I have to take this. It’s Spartan.”
“Go ahead. I’ll just sit here and finish this awful drink you talked me into getting.”
Skylar was smiling as she answered the call and High Commander Jax Spartan’s face appeared on the small screen. His piercing gray eyes had her unconsciously sitting straighter in her chair and sobering. “Sir.”
“Officer Aris. I know you had time off, but I need you back on duty. We’re meeting in the conference room in thirty minutes.”
“Sorry, sir. It’s going to take us at least a couple of hours to get back to New Vega.”
“Where are you?”
“Reva and I came to X7 for the day.”
“Head back. We have a new lead on the xili case we need to discuss.”
“Affirmative. We’ll head back now.”
There was a pause before he said, “I’m surprised I wasn’t informed you weren’t on New Vega for the day.”
“Sir?”
His face remained expressionless, but his eyes sparkled with amusement for a moment. “Cut the formal crap, Sky. My sources told me you were at the spa here on New Vega.”
Her lips twitched as she fought back a grin. “Your sources were wrong.”
Jax let out a little chuckle. “Apparently, they were. I also wanted to tell you that we need to—”
Skylar was distracted as she noticed the two generals had gotten tired of waiting, and rose from their table to start over to where she sat. “Oh, hell...”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry, sir. Can you hold on for a minute? I need to deal with something stupid. Two somethings, as a matter of fact.”
Intrigued, Jax said, “No problem.”
Skylar looked up as the two men swaggered over to their table. Before they could say a word, she glared at them and spoke coolly. “No, I am not interested. And no, you can’t claim me.”
One of the men’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t get to decide that. You’re unclaimed with no one here to protect you.”
Reva bristled at their remark and growled at them. Skylar watched with satisfaction as both men paled slightly at the sound, but it wasn’t enough to make the men give up, even if they did back up a step. “I have exempt status, and I should warn you neither of us needs protection. We are quite capable of handling any unwanted advances on our own.”
The two men looked at each other, then grinned at her. “We run this station, sweetheart. Exempt status or not, we want you.”
“You run this station? What about the commander in charge here?” Reva asked.
One of the generals scoffed. “Everyone knows Commander Hale doesn’t run shit here. We do. Whatever we say goes, and we say you
are coming with us.”
Skylar leaned back in her chair, casually keeping her arm with her wrist unit on the table so High Commander Spartan could hear every word of the conversation. She shot a look over to Reva, whose eyes had narrowed dangerously on the two generals.
“Did you hear that, Reva? It sounds like they don’t follow Alliance rules out here.”
Reva caught the mischievous look in Skylar’s eyes and cast a quick glance down at her wrist unit, then slowly smiled. “Sounds like it to me. Perhaps that also includes the rule of Helios shifting inside a bar.”
“Don’t even try it,” one of the generals snapped. “We’ll have you in irons if you do.”
“Try it and I’ll tear you in half,” Reva promised, her voice changing to a harsh growl.
The other general straightened to his full height and glared at Skylar. “The only rules that apply out here are the ones we make. Now, get up. You’re coming with us.”
“No. I’m not going anywhere with you.” Skylar sighed as she fought to keep the wicked glee out of her voice when she continued. “This is all pretty upsetting to hear. I don’t think my commander would appreciate your attitudes.”
One general reached for her arm as he sneered. “I don’t really care what your commander says.”
“Is that fucking so?”
She couldn’t hold back the grin as Jax Spartan’s cold voice boomed out from her wrist unit.
“Who is that?” one of the generals demanded, confused to hear the male voice.
“Well, this should be entertaining,” Reva murmured as she settled back in her chair to watch the show. She grinned widely, showing off her sharp canine teeth.
Skylar turned the screen of her wrist unit so Jax could see the two men. “High Commander Spartan, perhaps you would like to explain things to these two generals, before I...create another disturbance.”
Sitting back, Skylar listened to High Commander Spartan rip into the two generals. It wasn’t as satisfying as shocking the two stupid men unconscious.
But she had to admit, it was still pretty damn entertaining.
***
Chapter Two
The palatial vessel known as New Vega was like a standalone city that slowly traveled the expanse of Alliance protected space. Although the large ship was made of a sleek, black metal, it stood out like a jewel in the inky darkness, highlighted by the many lights that were beacons of welcome for visitors.
Run by three Krytos brothers that had created the floating pleasure palace, New Vega was a world unlike any other. It was a haven for many different races. Although it adhered to the general guidelines of Alliance rules and regulations, they pushed the boundaries of propriety, making it a luxurious destination where one could satiate a number of vices all in one central location. No expense had been spared to outfit the vessel with defenses, as well as powerful weapons, making it an almost impenetrable fortress that kept its clientele safe.
As a race that had lost their home world when the Zyphir attacked and destroyed their planet almost a century ago, the Krytos had scattered across the stars, seeking to find new places to call home. For the three Adaro brothers, living under someone else’s rule didn’t appeal to them, so they had created New Vega.
It was their world, where their word was law.
And God help anyone who crossed them.
Skylar has witnessed the brutal savagery that the three owners of New Vega were capable of after she had been kidnapped from their vessel. The lapse in security that had allowed Reva, Serra and Skylar to be taken had been meticulously eradicated, and those who had aided the kidnappers—even unknowingly—had paid for their mistakes.
Even though the three males who own New Vega had polished veneers, there was something untamed about the Krytos that nothing could hide. With black eyes, pronounced canine fangs, and large, muscular bodies, the Krytos were an intimidating lot. But that was nothing compared to their battle forms. They were a shifter race, but unlike the Helios that could transform completely into their animal form, the Krytos changed into a hybrid beast, growing sharp, lethal claws and longer fangs ideal for combat. When in a rage, their black eyes turned red and their voices deepened into an animalistic rumble.
All in all, they were pretty fucking scary when riled.
The Krytos lived in packs, lead by the strongest and most capable. The Adaro brothers were somewhat unusual, since Maddox, Daimon and Tavius Adaro could have each been pack leaders themselves. However, their bond was too strong for each brother to go it alone. They had refused to separate, choosing to follow the oldest brother, Maddox, while they ran New Vega together.
Skylar had never seen a Krytos shift into battle form. That is, she hadn’t until she had come back from her little adventure on the mercenaries’ ship and had witnessed Maddox almost rip a security officer’s head off after they had discovered he had taken a bribe to allow the mercenaries to dock their ship on New Vega off the record.
It wasn’t a sight she thought she’d ever forget.
While Maddox was the undisputed leader and Daimon was the organized one, the youngest, Tavius, was the natural born spokesman of the trio. He was just as dangerous as the others, but could lash out at someone with a smile on his face. It was somewhat jarring to see that same male dressed in a suit and smiling at her as Skylar walked off the shuttle that had brought her and Reva back to New Vega from their excursion to X7.
The stark gray of the loading dock did nothing to detract from Tavius’ harsh male beauty, and Skylar knew that his predatory eyes saw everything around him even though he was casually leaning up against the wall as he waited for them.
“Did you enjoy your trip?”
“Sure,” Skylar answered cautiously. She liked Tavius and found him very entertaining to be around since she had met him, but there was something about the mischievous gleam in his dark eyes that instantly put her on guard. Deciding not the dance around the subject, she stopped when she was in front of him and braced her hands on her waist. “Why are you here?”
His grin widened. “Now, is that anyway to greet your host?”
“You are up to something, Krytos,” Reva accused as she raised a brow. “Seeing that grin on your face makes me think whatever it is you have to say is something we do not want to hear.”
Tavius held a hand up to his heart and his face took on a mockingly hurt expression. “That wounds me, Reva.”
“Don’t tempt me, Krytos,” Reva replied with a quick grin of her own.
Tavius laughed, dropping the pretense of hurt feelings. “I imagine we would have a great time if I took you up on that challenge, but unfortunately, I’m here strictly as a messenger. The mission briefing with the high commander has been cancelled today and had been rescheduled for tomorrow morning. I’m sure he will contact you to inform you of the changes.”
“What? Damn it, then we didn’t have to come back,” Reva complained with a scowl of irritation.
“Actually, it’s good you’re back because your mother has been looking for you.”
Reva stiffened. “Is something wrong?”
“No, I believe she just wanted to discuss your involvement in this...issue that the humans are looking into.”
Skylar’s eyes narrowed. “And how is it that you know so much about this?”
“I know because we make it a priority to know everything that goes on here that is worth knowing.” His face darkened for a moment and his eyes burned a vibrant red before they settled back to normal and his expression cleared. “Obviously, we had some changes to make to our security measures, but that has been taken care of. Still, we have offered our aid, should it be needed in this matter.”
Tavius smiled again as he escorted them past the security checkpoint. He gestured for them to exit the loading dock in front of him when the doors automatically slid open as they drew near. They left the austere gray space behind and entered a world filled with color and life. The muffled sounds of voices and laughter filled air, growing louder as they
walked down the hallway to the opulent cream and gold lobby area of the main floor.
Reva turned to Skylar. “I’m going to go check in with my security team now that we’re back. I’ll find you later.”
“Sounds good,” Skylar said, then watched in amusement as people moved out of the way for her friend as she stalked her way through the crowd. She kept silent as a large group of tourists passed by them, laughing riotously about some show they had just attended at one of the strip joints on board. When they were alone, she looked up at Tavius, eyeing him suspiciously. “Okay, out with it. I know you have better things to do then play messenger, so something else has brought you down here. Spill it.”
Tavius sighed as he took her arm, tucking it through his as he guided her through the crowd. She stiffened slightly at the contact, but forced herself not to pull away. Like the crowd had parted for Reva, people hurried to get out of Tavius’ way. It was as if he exuded some sort of centrifugal force that warned people not to get in his path. Skylar would have been impressed if she wasn’t so nervous about what he had to say. She could feel there was something...some reason he had sought her out and she knew it wasn’t going to be good.
She could feel it in her gut.
“Sky, I like you. Perhaps it’s because of your snarly, suspicious nature. You wouldn’t have any Krytos blood in you, would you?”
“Nope. Not a drop.” No, she has something much darker running through her veins. It was something she didn’t like thinking about, so she ruthlessly pushed the thought out of her mind. “What do you want, Tav?”
“It’s not about what I want. I’m simply here to let you know that even though the meeting has been canceled, your commander would still like a word with you now that you are back safely on New Vega.” That wicked gleam was back in his eyes as he added, “I should probably mention that your director was looking for you earlier and he...wasn’t pleased with you when he discovered you had taken a day trip off this vessel.”
