by Alyse Anders
“Ina, why don’t you join Tara and let her know that Zee will be ready to meet with her soon.” He gave her a look that clearly held extra meaning. “He’s going to need a few minutes to prepare.”
She nodded as she reached up and placed her hand on Hallam’s cybernetic arm. “I’ll see you soon.”
A tremble passed through Zee’s body at the sight of the intimate contact between the couple. He’d never wanted such a relationship for himself, but now that he was standing here witnessing it with one of his brethren, it was becoming increasingly difficult to deny the pull, especially when he was faced with the results. He could only stand there watching, fighting the urge to let his rage and desires explode and take control. With difficulty, Zee closed his eyes and focused on his matrix and the internal controls that were designed to keep his systems in check.
Relax, Zee. Hallam’s voice came through their cybernetic link. Focus on external factors. The wind, temperature, pollution levels. Give your matrix time to adjust to the external stimuli.
Did that help you when you were faced with your mate?
No. But different Fallen have responded differently to our mates. Darrick nearly self-decommissioned, while Eagan was able to maintain control for a time.
Eagan isn’t like the rest of us.
Truth.
The short back and forth conversation gave Zee the opportunity to steady his controls and reset parts of his matrix code. It wasn’t a lot, but with luck it would be enough to get through his talk with Tara before he’d need to leave. Take me to Tara.
Hallam nodded and led Zee into the medical facility. “She’s been confused as to what’s been going on, but Ina and the other humans have been telling her their experiences and it appears to have helped. These women are resilient and far stronger than many Grus would be in a similar situation.”
The gray corridors and crumbling walls were markedly different from the clean, nearly sterile environment of the prison. Logically, their states should have been reversed, and yet the reality was Hallam’s patients weren’t trying to escape their care. It didn’t matter if the cracks showed past trauma, when they were here trying not to die.
The room Hallam led him to wasn’t too far into the facility from the main entrance. He knew it was likely as far away from where the human women were kept in their stasis tubes, but with each step he took further into the building the itching in the back of his brain increased. Zee tried to reinforce his mental protections, firm up the firewall around his matrix in the hopes of keeping a firm grasp on his control. What he wasn’t anticipating was the incessant pull coming from somewhere below him, tugging at his attention. The silent demand to ignore whoever was in that room and come down to her. She was more important, she was the one he really wanted to be with. Why won’t you come down and find me, Zee? I’m all alone, cold, sleeping, waiting for you to wake me up so I can be with you forever.
Zee pressed his hand hard against the wall, needing assistance to keep from falling.
Hallam moved beside him but didn’t touch. “You okay?”
“I can…hear her. She’s calling me?” No, that wasn’t quite right, but he was at a loss to describe what his mind was processing.
“Yes. It’s…unnerving.” Hallam let out a huff before looking between Zee and the door. “Can you proceed with this? I can tell Tara what she needs to hear.”
He was here for a reason; he’d been warned as to the challenges that he’d need to face in order to accomplish his task and needed to persevere. Straightening, he gave himself a moment to calm himself before nodding. “I will speak with her.”
“I can do it – ”
“No.” Everything that had to do with Rennick was Zee’s responsibility, including the woman who was his mate. “Open the doors.”
“Do you want me to come in?”
“Two of us might be more than she’d want to be faced with.”
“I’ll wait here then.” Hallam opened the doors before he moved to allow Zee access. “Keep things brief.”
Zee stepped in, his gaze immediately snapping to the woman pacing around the back of the room. Her short black hair hung in straight lines that kissed her jaw line, accenting her angular face. Her gaze snapped to him and he was able to see great intelligence in her brown eyes. She froze, her lips tightened into a line as her body tensed, as though she were about to bolt. Her gaze snapped to the cybernetics that covered the side of his head and neck. He’d never considered how alien he might look to another species until this moment when fear was so clearly etched on her face.
“Are you the man who’s supposed to be my mate?”
“No.” He couldn’t explain it, but he knew instantly that this woman was destined to be with another, with Rennick. “My name is Zee.”
Her body relaxed slightly at that revelation. “I’m Tara.” She reached up and touched the side of her neck where there was a small bruise. “I’m still adjusting to this world. Apparently, my stasis tube malfunctioned, and they had to wake me up a bit more aggressively than normal.”
“You’re start on our planet hasn’t been the easiest.” He pointed to the chairs on either side of the table. “If you’d like.”
He waited to see if she’d sit before moving to join her. This was civilized, the way a conversation was supposed to be. Not exactly how Zee was used to conversing with people at the prison. “I wanted to meet you myself. Tell you about your mate.”
I’m all alone, Zee. Come and find me. Wake me up and take me to bed. I’m so close to you. Why won’t you come and save me?
He gave his head a shake before pulling in a deep breath. Tara frowned and braced her hands against the edge of the table. “You okay?”
“Did they explain to you what happens to those of us who have mates?” The itching had grown exponentially, to the point where it was becoming difficult for Zee to think. “It’s difficult for us to resist.”
Tara made no move to relax. “Is this what’s happening to my…mate?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t he come here with you?” She licked her lips and her gaze dropped to the table for a moment. “Did he not want to meet me?”
There was no delicate way to break the truth to her, and Zee had never been known for his diplomacy. “Rennick is a prisoner at my facility. He was convicted of killing five Grus before he’d been reborn into Fallen. That’s what we call our people, those of us who’d been transformed into cyborgs.”
Tara’s gasp was so soft, normal Grus ears would never have detected it. “My mate is a murderer? Who did he kill?”
“Me.” His throat tightened, and it became difficult for him to swallow. “He was like a brother to me and moments before a battle, he pulled out a gun and killed me. Even if he’s your mate, you will never be allowed to be with him. It’s too…dangerous.”
Zee groaned as a wave of blinding need slammed into him, blasting away any other thoughts in his head. The itching was now a burning that ripped through what meager barriers he’d erected. Trying to control his need to move, to find her – find Mags – was a fool’s task. He shoved the chair backward as he stood, vaguely aware of it as it fell to the floor and the horrified expression on Tara’s face. She didn’t matter, nothing did. Without thinking, he turned back to face the door, trying to focus his vision on a spot in the middle of it.
“You’ll never be with him. Stay away.” His voice didn’t sound like himself; it was as if he was a stranger watching his body move from the outside. Zee knew he stumbled toward the door but was unable to stop it. “Stay away.”
Hallam had been standing with his back to the wall, but the moment Zee stumbled through the door, his friend pushed away and took a cautious step closer. “Zee?”
He was past being able to speak, not sure how to form words at all, let alone ones that would make any sense. All he could do was glare at Hallam – stay away from her, she’s not yours, I’ll kill you – briefly before turning to run deep into the building.
Zee was barely aware of Hallam’s shouts, or even him trying to connect to Zee through their cybernetic link. All he could focus on was her being somewhere close and needed to get to her. There were others he passed, but Zee couldn’t focus on their faces. The burning in his head was spreading down his neck, through his cybernetics that were directly connected to his matrix and lower, through what remained of his biological self.
The burning was a homing beacon to him, the stronger it grew the closer to her he knew he was. Doors opened, transportation tubes carried him deeper into the facility, and all the while he could feel her unconsciousness calling out to him. Come find me, Zee. I’m here alone and cold. Save me from this sleep.
When he stepped out of the transportation tube and into the corridor, he knew she was just ahead at the end of the hallway. There was someone else there, another cyborg standing by the door. Zee was beyond being able to contact him, even as he started to run down the hallway. He only realized that it was Rykal a moment before slamming into him to push past him and into the room where he knew she was.
Where Mags was.
“Enough!” Rykal roared in both in Zee’s ear and in his head. The dual assault was enough to snap him temporarily out of his instinctual haze. “You need to calm yourself.”
“She’s in there.” Gods, why hadn’t he listened to Hallam more? He’d known this was going to happen, and Zee had assumed he was strong enough to overcome the pull. “Let me in.”
“I will. Once you get yourself under control. You don’t want to hurt or scare her. Or anyone else who will need to help wake her up.”
Hallam and Tara exited the transportation tube and cautiously approached. Hallam joined Rykal and only once he’d gotten close enough, did he pull out a scanner. “I’m going to take some readings. I need to see what’s happening inside your matrix so I can determine if there’s something I can do to help you and others. We can’t go through this every time.”
Zee pulled in deep, billowing gasps of air trying to push past the need to move forward. “Hurry.”
Hallam ran his scanner across Zee’s head, paying special attention to his matrix. “I’m going to give you a sedative. It won’t be enough to render you unconscious, but it might help your focus.”
The press of the injector against his neck barely registered, but within a few moments Zee felt his body relax and the burning eased back into an intense itch. It wasn’t a lot, but the brief reprieve helped him enough to let him see clearly once again.
“This is…more than I’d anticipated.” Zee looked briefly up at Rykal. “Was it like this for you?”
“The urge to run? Yes. I kidnapped Lena from Grus Prime and brought her to the planet.” There was understanding shining back at Zee. “It’s overwhelming.”
“Perhaps more so for Zee.” Hallam pressed another injector to Zee’s neck. “I believe the nature of his cybernetics, the amount of work they must do to compensate for the damage done, is compounding matters. We’ll need to move quickly before he loses control again.”
Rykal nodded before looking over his shoulder at the room behind him. “Everyone, give Zee space. Do no approach him.” He waited another moment before stepping aside. “Go to her.”
Zee didn’t hesitate. Even with the double dose of sedative running through his body, he could feel his control begin to slip already. The burning was coming back, as was the blinding desire to find Mags, to pull her into his arms and keep her safe. He marched past the other stasis tubes, knowing instinctively where she was. Toward the middle of that row over…there!
With each step closer to her stasis tube, Zee found it increasingly difficult to breathe. His vision began to blur, and the burning raced from his matrix down his spine. Reaching out, his fingers brushed along the side of the tube as he fell to his knees. I’m here.
Unconsciousness washed over his field of vision and pulled him into darkness.
Chapter Four
The first thing Mags was aware of was how bloody cold her feet were. She’d put on the warmest pair of socks she’d had back on Earth before climbing into the stasis tube, knowing full well she’d feel the chill when she eventually woke up.
Well, if she woke up. There’d been a part of her that had assumed surviving the whole trip across space wasn’t exactly going to happen. The whole idea of what they were committing to was ridiculous at best and the very definition of insane at worst. And yet, Mags happily bounced up the ramp of the Kraken, smiled at Lena as she forked over what little money she had to help pay for the various supplies they’d need to even make this attempt, slipped on her socks and got into her stasis tube.
Waking up was a relief, even if she was cold. The top of the tube hadn’t fully opened so she was still relying on the oxygen being circulated inside. It was difficult to hear what was going on, but there was something. A commotion, shouting, people running around doing…things. She was a patient person and not particularly claustrophobic, so she didn’t mind waiting for her turn. Maybe one of the other women passengers was having a problem adjusting and Lena, or the doctors, or whomever was trying to help them.
Mags closed her eyes and let her mind drift. She’d been doing her best to practice meditation back on Earth, though given all the struggle, hate and crime they’d been bombarded with daily, that had proven challenging. But in this moment, there was little else she could do while she waited for the others to let her out.
Big breath in. One, two, three, four, five.
Hold it. Two, three, four, five.
Then slowly out. Two, three, four, five.
She went through the cycle several times and was only a little startled when the loud thunk of the stasis tube cover being removed reverberated in her ears. Blinking several times, she cringed as the bright light assaulted her eyes. “We’re alive.”
“We are.” Lena’s smiling face filled the space above Mags. “Sorry for the delay. We have a bit of a medical emergency on our hands.”
Lena helped her sit up in time for Mags to see a large man being carried over to a bed not too far away. Her eyes went wide as she saw the size of the men and women moving around, clearly not human. “Where the hell did we end up?”
“The planet we’re on is called Zarlan. They’re cyborgs known as the Fallen. The aliens in the space station in orbit are called Grus and that’s your fifteen second overview.” Lena held out her hand for Mags to take. “There’s a lot more to tell you, but I find it’s better to do that once you’re on your feet.”
There was more shouting in a language Mags didn’t understand, which only served to pique her interest. “Holy shit, we really made it.”
“We did.” Lena looked over at the group, frowning. “They have nanobots I can inject into you that will help with language translation. It hurts, but I think we’re going to need you up to speed quickly given the situation.”
Mags wasn’t sure how she was involved with any situation given the fact she’d just woken up, but she wasn’t about to argue. “Okay. I can handle the pain.”
One of the cyborgs shouted something over at Lena who nodded. “Yeah, I mean it’s really going to hurt. But it should pass within a minute or two. I recommend sitting on the floor, so you won’t collapse. Because I also have some big stuff to lay on you.”
Mags sat down, hated the chill that passed through her when her ass hit the cold floor. She let Lena turn her head and press the injector to her neck, and immediately regretted her blasé attitude. “Fuck me.”
Pain washed through her head, which in turn tightened her chest and soured her stomach. She was only vaguely aware of Lena’s hand on her shoulder and the comforting noises coming from her. Mags did her best to breathe through the pain, even though it didn’t help all that much. But Lena hadn’t lied when she said it would only last a few minutes, and slowly she realized that what had previously been little more than incoherent noise coming from the group, was now making sense to her.
“He’s not responding to the simulant.” A man with long
black hair was running some sort of scanner over the head of a man lying prone on the floor. “We might have to move him into the medical bay.”
Mags looked back at Lena, who was frowning. “What’s wrong with him?”
“So, this is the rest of what I need to tell you.” Lena took her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “There are twenty-eight of us who boarded the Kraken. There are also twenty-eight cyborgs who were first created to help the Grus people win a war. They’re linked to us. We’re their mates and yes, we’re certain. We still don’t know how or why, but it’s true. You’re the fifth woman to be brought out of stasis and it’s had a similar impact on each of the cyborgs. Though it’s looking like your mate is having a way harder time than the others.”
The entire revelation should have shocked her, worried or confused her at the very least. Instead, the entire concept slotted somewhere in her brain, like a puzzle piece she’d been missing and had finally found. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t freaked out by some of the implications of having an alien cyborg as a mate, but it was at least a problem that she was willing to deal with. More importantly, she wanted to make sure that he was going to live long enough for her to at least have an opportunity to say hello.
With careful precision, Mags slowly got to her feet and gingerly padded across the room in her sock feet toward where the group were working on the man. She was shocked to see that the side of his head was covered in a cybernetic plate that went down along part of his neck. His eyes were closed, but she swore she could see a gray light shining up through the lids. There were fine lines across his olive skin, but she couldn’t tell how old he might be. Older than her for certain.
“Is he okay?” Her voice was still shaky from the pain of nanobots. She cleared her throat and inched closer. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
