I looked away from the screen and to the human warrior seated at the flight control station. He was highly intelligent and well liked here on the Colony. He was the only human in the room who might make sense of this madness. “Trevor?”
Trevor looked from the warden’s worried face to Ryston’s angry one to me. I had no idea what he saw there. “She’s right. Earth laws are crazy as fuck, more politics than justice, I’m afraid.” He looked to the screen. “Who did she get tangled up with? The Feds?”
The warden shook her head. “No. GloboPharma and the FDA.”
“Fuck me.” Trevor whistled low and my blood boiled. Trevor met my gaze without flinching. “She’s screwed.”
I did not know what screwed meant, but it didn’t sound positive.
“That was my assessment as well.” Warden Egara’s uniform was a dark gray and hugged her curves. The insignia on her chest marked her as an official Warden of the Brides Program. She held one of the most highly respected and revered titles in all the Coalition Fleet. The warriors who fought to defend the universe against the Hive held close the promise of a perfectly matched female. Many cold, dark nights on the battlefield, I’d dreamed of such a match. When the Hive captured our unit, when Ryston’s screams echoed my own, when the brave warriors around us died or were swallowed whole by the Hive’s twisted reality, I dreamed of a mate. Dreamed of soft skin and a hot, wet pussy. Of her cries of pleasure as I filled her while Ryston played with her body. Hope kept me alive through those bleak days. Hope for a matched mate.
And yet, this human bride denied her place in the universe. Denied her importance to the hearts and minds of the warriors who had suffered the most. Denied her matched mate?
Cold fury chilled my body and pulsed through my veins like sluggish ice on a river in winter. This human woman had no idea what she was doing. It seemed she fought a battle against an enemy, knowing she could not win. I did not doubt her courage, just her intelligence. She would rather sacrifice herself than accept her matched mate? The very first bride matched to a Colony warrior, and she refused him?
Another rejection would hurt the warriors here more than having no match at all. And that was completely unacceptable. “Tell me how we can help you, Warden. A refusal will demoralize the entire planet.”
“I know. But she has pinned her hopes on the court system here, on a new trial. She claims that she is innocent of the crime and refuses to be forced into transport.”
So, she did not want to be a bride at all. “Do you believe her innocence?”
“Yes. I do. And her determination to seek justice is admirable, but it doesn’t matter.” Warden Egara returned to the screen, her face on the display once again, completely filling the floor-to-ceiling monitor, her projection nearly as tall as my body. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you have to come to Earth. You’re going to have to break her out of prison.”
“How are we to accomplish this? Will the human authorities cooperate?” Ryston asked. Of course, he asked and used the word we. He knew I was going, and I never went into battle alone.
“No. They won’t, but it doesn’t matter. We have to get her out of there. I received a call today from her attorney. He’s a decent guy, but she won’t listen to him either. She’s been safe in solitary confinement. Until now. The judge denied the attorney’s petition to keep her out of general population.”
“General population?” Trevor cursed. “If she’s truly an innocent, they’ll eat her alive.”
The warden did not look amused. “It’s worse than that. She’s a whistleblower and she’s got evidence that could bring down a lot of people in Washington. If we don’t get her out of there in the next three days, when she’s scheduled to be moved, there’s no question that they’ll have someone on the inside waiting to kill her.”
I looked to Trevor for translation. While the NPU in my head allowed me to understand the Warden’s English perfectly, she spoke with some slang that did not compute.
He seemed to understand my confusion. “On Earth, some prisoners are kept isolated for their safety during a trial. Jails are like a community behind thick walls and razor wire. It is a dangerous place. Someone on the outside can order, or pay another criminal, someone locked up in jail, to harm another prisoner. Kill them.”
My jaw tensed and I could see Ryston stiffen.
“When someone is already serving a life sentence, committing another murder won’t change their sentence. But having money and connections on the outside can make their lives better on the inside.”
As it was for the warriors here. Some, like me, were lucky enough to remain in contact with our families on Prillon. My mother sent supplies and treats via transport, communication and images of my family. Messages. But others received nothing but silence, no support, no communication. It was like they didn’t exist. Serving a life sentence was something every warrior on the Colony understood.
Trevor shifted in his seat. “Once she goes into general population, she won’t be protected. She’ll be living with murderers and hardened criminals. Anyone who wants her dead will be able to reach her. She won’t survive more than a few days.”
His clarification helped and I did not need more details. One glance at Ryston and he nodded his chin in agreement. We would go, and we would go now. “We will come directly to your transport room, Warden. Please initiate the transport codes for us.”
“I will. Thank you.”
She reached forward to disconnect our comm, but I held up my hand to stop her, needing one final detail.
“Warden Egara, if I may, whose mate is she?”
The Warden’s smile was full of pity.
“I’m so sorry, Maxim. She’s yours.”
Chapter Three
Rachel, Carswell Penitentiary, Solitary Confinement
I sat on the bed, the only reasonably soft surface in my cell, my scratchy wool blanket wrapped around me. My knees were tucked up to my chest and my back pressed into the corner. I was alone, the silence of the space almost deafening. Even with one of the four walls being bars that opened to a long, main hallway, all was quiet. The painted cinderblock walls and gray sealed floor offered nothing of interest to look at. The single tiny window to the outside world was so high up that I couldn’t look out even if I stood on top of the bed. I knew, I’d tried. I could see the sky, know if it was clear or cloudy, but no ground. I didn’t even know what direction I faced.
I’d heard this section of the facility had been designed that way. We’d come in through an underground tunnel, turning several times before stopping. The path from the converted prison bus to this confinement wing provided several additional turns with no windows. It was impossible to keep any bearings. No ground to look at.
If I didn’t win my appeal, I would not see anything more of the world other than a few clouds for the next twenty-five years. That idea drove many to insanity, or to take their own life. What was a life with nothing in it? The clothes were drab, the cell drab, the food even more drab. There was nothing left.
But I had hope. God, I clung to that hope by my chewed-to-the-quick fingernails. What else was there?
The evidence my lawyer had would set me free. It proved my innocence. That one thumb drive was everything that stood between me and a life in hell. Until then, I waited. Day after day of nothing.
I ran my hand over my face, trying to think of something… anything besides my case, my tiny cell, my new life. It was easy to think about the testing dream, for it had been perfect. I’d been free, no bars or concrete walls. I’d had two men who wanted me with desperation. I’d felt wanted. God, had I needed. And the things they did to me!
I was no prude. I knew where my clit was and ensured my lovers did, too. Lovers, but not two at once like the dream. It had been a fantasy of mine. What woman didn’t dream about two men who knew exactly what they were doing? And they hadn’t had the Brides Program testing dream like I’d had.
Holy hell, that had been hot. Twice as hot.
My nipples
The dream lingered in my blood and I wanted to touch myself, knowing I was wet. The ache there had my hands slipping down between my thighs. Remembering that there were guards watching, I pulled my hand away. I wouldn’t taint the dream by touching myself and having the guards watch. I’d touch myself at night, when they turned the lights out. Again and again.
God, even my orgasms were controlled. And bland. Even if I used my fingers to circle my clit and slip inside my pussy, it wouldn’t be anything like what those men in the dream made me feel. For twenty-five years I’d have in-the-dark, masturbation delivered orgasms. Nothing else.
And just that fast, I was back to feeling sorry for myself.
Maybe I should just call that Warden Egara and leave. Leave all of it behind. The lawyers and prison guards. The guilt.
Strangely, the hair on my arms rose as if lightning had struck mere seconds before I heard voices. They were tipped low, but deep. It wasn’t lunchtime and I hadn’t heard the loud buzzer indicating the floor’s locked entry door was opening. There was no squeaky wheel from the food cart. No footsteps, until now. Someone, or two someones, were walking along the hall quickly.
“How will we know who she is?”
I jumped to my feet, curious. Nothing different from the monotonous routine ever occurred.
“Warden Egara says we’ll just know.”
The voices became louder. I could hear others down the line of cells calling out to them. From walking past, there were four cells between mine and the main door, and two after.
“No. No. No.” It sounded as if they were playing Duck, Duck, Goose.
When the big men walked up to my bars, they stilled. Their eyes were on me, roving over every single inch. I felt it, their gazes, as if there weren’t bars between us and their hands were on me.
“She is the one,” the taller man said to the other. They held guns in their hands, guns unlike anything I’d ever seen. Smaller than a tiny pistol, they were very shiny metal and no competition for the rifles strapped over some of the prison guards’ shoulders.
To call the other man short would have been humorous, for they were large. Very, very large. The shorter one was easily a few inches over six feet. They were like lumberjacks and Highlanders combined. They weren’t wearing plaid, but form-fitting armor of some kind that made them look like gladiators wearing armor molded to define every muscle. The strange black armor was mottled with browns and greens, almost like military camouflage but more like the swirls found in decorative marble.
One had dark, deep coppery brown hair and dark skin, the other was golden and light, his hair and skin both a pale yellow. And Terminator parts. But I wouldn't consider them now. The dark one had eyes like milk chocolate, the light one’s eyes were amber. But neither was human. The angular lines of their cheekbones and oddly shaped eyes made them look just strange enough to make my heart race in panic. But their massive frames and muscular bodies made my pussy cry out in welcome. I knew those features, those huge hands. This was the race of alien warrior I’d seen in my dream at the Brides Processing center. And thanks to the warden and her brain games, all I could think about as they approached was the size of their cocks…and what it might feel like to be sandwiched between them.
My body reacted viscerally. Yes, they were handsome. Yes, they met every single one of my checkboxes for what I considered to be a hot guy. Times two. My palms were damp and my heart literally skipped a beat, but I felt a connection as if there were a thread between us. It was more than just the processing center dream, it was instinctive. Deeper.
I felt like I knew them.
“Rachel Pierce of Earth. I am Maxim and this is Ryston. We are your mates from the planet Prillon Prime.”
Oh. My. God. They were mine? My mates from the match.
I couldn’t move. My feet felt as if they were anchored into the concrete just like my bed and the stool.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered. I craned my neck, twisting in an attempt to look past them, knowing the guards would be coming. How had they gotten past security?
“We are claiming you,” the dark one said. “We are taking you with us. Now.”
“Taking me…you can’t be serious.” I looked at the bars and knew it wasn’t going to happen. The guards were not going to release me to go with these guys. No way. And I couldn’t decide if that made me happy or strangely disappointed.
“Transport.”
Transport? This was insane. Was I becoming delusional and hallucinating now that I’d been alone for so long? Was I dreaming again?
They seemed confident in their words. They didn’t look for the guards nor seem to worry that they would encounter them anytime soon.
“But, I said I wasn’t ready. I don’t want to be a bride. I… I refused the match.” Looking at these two had me wondering why I’d done so. If these were my mates, perhaps being sent off-planet wasn’t such a bad idea.
No. No! I had my name to clear, my life here on Earth. I wanted a choice, and this didn’t feel like one.
But neither was prison. That wasn’t my choice either.
“We will discuss this back at the transport center.” It was the dark one that spoke, Maxim. Only him. The other, the golden one named Ryston, remained stoic beside him. While it seemed he was not the leader, I didn’t doubt that he was a commanding figure all on his own.
“Transport center?” I was a scientist. I had two advanced degrees, and yet I was reduced to simple questions.
“Your life is in danger and we will not allow your innocent notions of justice to cost you your life. We are taking you with us for your own protection.”
I laughed then. “That’s noble of you, but you’re forgetting one thing.” I pointed to the bars that kept us separated. “I’m a prisoner here. They’re not going to let you take me.”
“You think ionized steel can keep us from you?”
“Well, yes,” I countered.
The dark one, Maxim, stepped up to the bars, took one in each hand and grinned at me as he pulled them apart like they were no more substantial than pieces of aluminum foil.
I stumbled back, bumped into the metal edge of the bed and sank down.
When the other, his second, joined his efforts, the bars were pulled apart within seconds, just like in a Superman movie.
If I had time to think about it, I’d find the action hotter than hell. But the odd sound of the steel bending wasn’t the only thing I heard. The buzzer at the end of the block indicated the entry door to the cellblock was opening. Another sound, one I hadn’t heard before, yet very obviously an alarm, blared. I winced at the loud noise, but was mesmerized by the men.
Maxim stepped through the opening they made followed by Ryston. The cell was small to begin with, but with them inside, looming over me, I felt like we were standing inside a thimble. I backed into the corner, afraid. It was one thing to have sexy fantasies about them, it was another to have them break into a jail cell to kidnap me and take me to another planet.
“Do not fear us. Never fear us,” Maxim said, reaching his hand out and grabbing my arm. His hold was gentle, yet he pulled me to stand on the mattress before him with ease.
“Contact made. Transport now,” Ryston said as the hurried sound of boots hitting concrete sped toward the cell. He spoke into some kind of unit on his wrist. The last thing I thought of, before a hum filled the space, my hair rose on my forearms again and the shouting of guards was heard over the shrill alarm, was that I’d been mated to two men from Star Trek.
***
Captain Ryston Rayall
This Earth female was our bride? It had been hard to move when we’d stopped at her prison cell. I’d asked Maxim how we’d know which female was ours within the cellblock. I’d quickly counted six cells when we transported in. It would have been easier to transport directly into our mate’s cell, but Warden Egara didn’t know which one held our female. So, instead of transporting into the wrong space, we’d walked along the hallway and found her by gut instinct alone.
Yet standing before us, wide eyed and clearly attracted to her mates, just as we were affected by her, she was afraid of us. Her eyes widened and her pulse raced at the base of her neck. The thin orange material she wore did nothing to disguise her sweet, feminine scent, nor the unmistakable scent of her arousal.
The bars between us, the humans who would keep her from us, the stubborn pride that our mate held onto like a shield, none of that would be allowed to keep her from us.
Apparently, Maxim felt the same for he wrapped his hands around the steel bars and pulled. I moved immediately to assist, eager to reach our female. The bars were no match for our enhanced cyborg strength. For once the Hive implants in our bodies were put to good use. Prillon warriors were known for their strength, but with Hive enhancements in every major muscle group, we were monsters, stronger even than an Atlan warrior in Beast mode.
Her trembling hands were all that prevented the deep growl from escaping my throat as we entered her cell. I could practically taste her in the air, the warm scent of her skin and her wet pussy made my cock rise to attention.
Mine. Mine. Mine. I’d never expected to have such a strong reaction to a female.
It was like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed it. I’d been tortured, my Prillon body parts replaced by Hive technology. I’d been held against my will and I could not tolerate seeing our mate a prisoner. I knew pain, knew my body, but I’d never felt like this. It was as if a part of me, a part of my body I’d never known had been missing, was found.
I was, for once, whole. It didn’t matter that I had an optical implant or cellular enhancements in all major muscle groups. I was finally at peace. No bars could separate us from what was ours. Rachel Pierce was mine. Yes, I would share her with Maxim, and glad I was to have such a strong and noble warrior to help me care for her. I was honored to be chosen as his second. But as I looked at Rachel, with her shining brown hair and creamy skin, her lovely face and full lips, her body so curved and soft and perfect for fucking, I had no interest in technicalities.
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