Page 6 of Her Alien Cyborgs (The Drift: Haven Colony #10)

Kalan bared his fangs and glared at the beings outside the bars. If any of them tried to hurt her , he’d kill them in the most violent, painful ways he could think of. It didn’t matter that she was a stranger. This female was his .

She said her name was Hezza. That was all he knew, and it was enough. At least for now. Soon, he’d want to know more. More about her and about this thing she called the sharhal .

Was this really his mate? Their mate? It had to be something like that because he was almost out of his mind with the need to touch her.

“ Do you feel this same madness ?” he asked Fyr’enth.

“ Yes, but I don’t understand it . I know her. Need her. ”

“ And would die to keep her safe .” He finished the thought. They’d been linked like this from the beginning. It wasn’t telepathy, but sometimes it felt like it.

Kalan drew in another breath, letting the scent of the female—their female—flow into his mouth and nose. She smelled sweet, like the candy one of the techs had snuck to him as a present once. He wondered if she’d taste like that illicit treat, too.

“Ahem.” Someone made an annoying sound that tore Kalan’s attention away from Hezza. A human male stood in front of the others with his chest puffed out as if he were trying to make himself look bigger.

“I am Commander Barrios. As the commanding officer of this task force, I am taking control of this situation. You will release the civilian woman immediately. Both of you will then move to the back of your cell and place your hands on the wall at shoulder height or higher. Do you understand?”

“No,” Kalan said.

The little man spluttered. “No? No, what? Do you need me to use smaller words, or are you disregarding my orders?”

Hezza spoke up. “The only ones under your command are your soldiers. Unless they signed up while I wasn’t looking, these two don’t need to follow your orders.”

“They are my prisoners. Of course, they have to follow orders.” The leader glared at Hezza.

Kalan glared back, and a soft growl of warning rose from his throat.

“It’s okay, sunshine.” Hezza patted the top of his wing. “He’s not going to hurt me.”

Her touch soothed him, but he didn’t let it show. Everyone here was a potential threat, and he would not show weakness.

“If I could make a suggestion?” Another male spoke. This one had gray hair and carried himself with quiet authority. Not like the other one.

“Yes, yes. Of course you have an opinion, Mister Archer.”

Kalan didn’t understand why, but the first word sounded like an insult.

The one called Archer nodded. “Thank you, Commander Barrios. Given the situation, it might be best if you sent your people off to continue clearing this level. Their presence is complicating the situation. I can assure you that Hezza is in no danger.”

“Are you insane? One of them is holding her hostage!”

Kalan snarled. “I am holding her, yes. As a hostage? No. I am protecting her from all of you .”

A female spoke up. She had silver-white hair and a sardonic smile.

“Do you understand what the sharhal is, Commander? Because I do. Hezza is quite safe. It’s the rest of us you should be worried about.

They will protect their mahaya from any threat, and right now?

You’re the ones pointing weapons at her. ”

Mahaya ? It sounded like a word he should know, but he’d never heard it before. Nor was it in his language files. He didn’t recognize the word sharhal either. How many other words and concepts had their creators hidden from them?

“What is this word?” he demanded.

Hezza turned to look at him, and he noticed her eyes for the first time. They were deep green with flecks of brown and gold near the center. “It means mate.”

That he understood. “You want to mate with us?”

She laughed at that. “It’s more complicated than that, but let’s hold off on explanations until we can be alone.” She turned to glare at Barrios. “Because this situation is none of the IAF’s fraxxing business.”

The male huffed and stiffened his spine.

“That is your opinion. I see this matter differently. You were instructed to wait in a safe location while the station was cleared. Your refusal to follow directions has resulted in a hostage situation. Since your judgment is obviously flawed, I will be making the decisions from now on. The two males will be secured and taken to the Bright Arrow for medical assessment and debriefing. All civilians will be escorted off the base and back to their ships.”

Archer slashed his hand through the air and moved to stand in front of Barrios, deliberately blocking his view.

“Commander Barrios, you lead the military component of this task force, but not the civilians. That’s my responsibility.

We’re here to do a job, and as far as I can tell, you are actively preventing us from accomplishing our mission. ”

He lowered his voice to a gentler tone but continued without letting Barrios reply.

“I’ve seen the sharhal before, Commander.

That particular event resulted in chaos, disorder, and the Dynamex corporation losing an entire planet to the Vardarians.

I imagine you would not want a repeat of that situation to play out here. ”

Kalan might not be able to see the officer, but the male’s waspish tone told him everything he needed to know. “You’re the expert. Of course, I will consider your recommendations. I will also remind you that I am responsible for the safety of the entire task force, including you and your group.”

Archer nodded. “Of course. Which is why I’m recommending we de-escalate this situation by having your soldiers leave the area.”

“This is all going in my report.”

Kalan smiled a little. He knew a surrender when he heard one. Archer had won this round.

Barrios ordered the others to leave, though he lingered near the still-open hatch.

“Close the door on your way out if you would?” Archer asked, his point as sharp as a well-honed blade.

The other female hid a smile behind her hand, but her eyes twinkled with amusement. That, more than anything else, made him open to the idea that these might be allies of a sort.

Maybe .

“It’s safe now. You don’t need to shield me anymore,” Hezza told him.

Her light tone and relaxed body language confirmed her words. She wasn’t concerned. Not even about him.

That was a first. Everyone on the station had treated their creations with wariness. Some refused to even look at them, and even those who had demanded certain intimate services had never been entirely at ease.

He retracted his wing through the bars but slipped an arm around her waist to ensure she stayed close to him. He wasn’t interested in letting her go. Not yet. Not while every cell in his body screamed with need.

It pleased him when she simply rested one warm hand on his forearm. She stroked him gently, her fingers tracing small, pleasurable patterns across his scales. The caress heated his blood and made it hard to think clearly.

“So, this got complicated,” she drawled. “Any suggestions?”

“Let us out of this cell,” Fyr’enth said.

Archer held up a hand. “We’ll do that, but first I need some information. Starting with your names and why you appear to be the only two subjects still on the station.”

“I’m Seven,” the answer came automatically. Then he remembered that the circumstances had changed. “At least, that’s what our captors called me. My chosen name is Kalan. What are your names?”

“I’m Scott Archer. That is Garrett Michaels, and this is our wife, Phylomenia.” Archer made introductions and then looked at Six, who had moved close enough to rest a possessive hand on Hezza’s shoulder. “And your name?”

“I was called Six. Now I would like to be called Fyr’enth.”

Hezza turned enough to be able to smile at both of them. “Hello, Fyr’enth and Kalan.”

Kalan went still and stared at her for several seconds. It was the first time in his life he’d heard his name spoken by someone else. They’d told each other their chosen names only once and never said them aloud again.

Not until today.

The one called Garrett ended the moment with another question. “Do either of you know why you were left behind?”

He tightened his grip around Hezza’s waist before answering. “They left us here because we have no value to them.”

Now she knew the truth, he expected Hezza to pull away. Instead, she leaned back against the bars that separated them as if offering him her silent support.

“No value?” Archer asked.

“We are failed experiments,” Fyr’enth explained. “If we’re the only ones left, the others were terminated. We thought as much, but we had no way to be certain.”

The three humans shared a knowing look with each other, but Phylomenia spoke first. “Let me guess. They wanted you to be completely obedient at all times with no free will. When you resisted, they deemed you failures.”

It was not a question, but Kalan replied anyway. “Yes. How did you know that?”

“Because that’s what always happens. These people—we call them Shadows—have tried this more than once. It never worked. I guess they decided to try it with a different species this time.”

“Is that why you were surprised by our appearance, Hezza? Were none of the other cyborgs based on Vardarian DNA?”

“The others are all based on human genetics,” she said. “As far as we know, you’re the first. The empress is going to shed her scales when she hears about this.”

“That’s a future problem,” Archer said. “Let’s focus on the issues facing us in the here and now.”

Hezza nodded. “Like how to get these two off the station and away from Barrios. He’s got his own agenda, and I don’t trust him.”

“Neither do we,” Phylomenia said.

“Nor us,” Fyr’enth stated with a hint of a growl. “He wants to separate us from Hezza. That will not happen.”

“It won’t,” Hezza reassured them. “You’re staying with me until we get this sharhal thing sorted out.

Archer nodded. “As much as it pains me, I agree. As for getting you off the station? I have an idea.”

Garrett chuckled. “You’ve been waiting for a chance to use that thing.”

“Smoke and mirrors?” Phylomenia asked.

He had no idea what they were talking about. Nor did he care so long as it meant they wouldn’t have to be here much longer. After years of waiting, it was finally time for action.

“ We’re really leaving ,” Fyr’enth said via their link.

“ We are .” He glanced down at the female still in his embrace. “ And the universe has provided us with a guide .”

“ I think she’s a great deal more than that, brother .”

“ I do, too .” He wanted to believe that, but when had the universe ever given them anything? If this was a gift, it had to come with strings.