Page 7 of Human Reclaimed (Cyborg Planet Alpha #2)

SEVEN

TALIA

Rune took another deep breath, and something in his expression shifted. The perpetual commander mask slipped, revealing a glimpse of the man beneath.

What the hell was I doing? Less than twenty-four hours ago, this man had orchestrated my kidnapping.

Now I was voluntarily following him into the jungle?

Every tactical instinct screamed against this decision, yet here I was, trailing behind his broad shoulders as we left the settlement’s perimeter.

“Most colonists don’t venture this far west,” Rune explained, his deep voice cutting through the alien jungle sounds. “The eastern sections have more accessible resources.”

“And you prefer isolation?” I asked, ducking under a low-hanging vine with iridescent purple flowers.

“I prefer… peace.”

The path he followed didn’t seem to exist until he moved through it—a testament to how few visitors this area received.

Vibrant foliage brushed against my arms, leaving behind a sparkling residue that evaporated seconds later.

The alien jungle pulsed with life around us—chirping, buzzing, and rustling—creating a symphony utterly foreign to Earth’s forests.

“How much farther?” I asked, swiping a bead of sweat from my temple.

Rune glanced back, his blue eyes glinting with something like amusement. “Impatient, Captain?”

“Just better calculating my escape route,” I quipped.

His laugh—low and rich—caught me off guard. “Fair enough.”

We hiked for nearly two miles through increasingly dense vegetation.

Strange fruit-bearing trees with spiral trunks gave way to enormous ferns with translucent fronds that glowed faintly in the shadowed areas.

Just when the humid heat became nearly unbearable, the sound hit me—water rushing over rocks.

Rune pushed aside a curtain of luminescent vines and gestured for me to go ahead. “After you.”

I stepped through and froze, my breath caught in my throat.

Before me stretched the most perfect hidden oasis I’d ever seen.

A waterfall—not massive, but majestic in its symmetry—cascaded over amber-hued rocks into a crystal-clear pool below.

The water shimmered with flecks of something like sapphire dust, creating dancing patterns across the surface.

Flowering plants I couldn’t name ringed the pond, their petals unfurling toward the sunlight that streamed through a break in the canopy.

“This is…” I couldn’t find the words.

“My sanctuary,” Rune finished, moving to stand beside me. “No one else knows about it.”

The intimacy of that admission wasn’t lost on me. He’d shared something precious and private—an unexpected human-like gesture to gain my trust.

“It’s incredible,” I whispered, feeling suddenly, inexplicably alive. The weight I’d carried since Travis and Meredith died seemed to lift slightly, allowing me to breathe deeper than I had in three years.

Without overthinking it—a first for a military strategist like me—I toed off my combat boots and peeled off my socks.

“What are you doing?” Rune asked, surprise evident in his voice.

“What does it look like?” I pulled my white T-shirt over my head, leaving me in just my simple white bra and beige tactical pants. “When presented with paradise, only a fool would just look at it.”

I unzipped my pants and shimmied out of them, acutely aware of Rune’s eyes tracking my every movement. Standing in just my underwear, I felt strangely more powerful than exposed. His appreciation was evident—not leering but admiring. Like I was a work of art he wanted to memorize.

“Join me?” I asked and then immediately turned to jump into the pool before I could see his response.

The water embraced me—warm, silky, and somehow buoyant. I surfaced with a laugh that burst from somewhere deep inside me, some place I’d thought had died with my friends in those mountains.

“You coming in, Commander? Or do you cyborgs rust?” I teased.

Rune’s expression was priceless—a mixture of shock and unmistakable desire. He shook his head slowly.

“You are nothing like I expected, Talia Reed.”

“Good,” I replied, watching as he hesitantly began to remove his fitted black T-shirt.

And holy hell, the sight nearly drowned me.

His torso was a masterpiece of muscle and strength, ridged with abs that looked carved from marble.

Scars crisscrossed his chest and arms—not flaws but testaments to battles survived.

His shoulders were broad enough to carry the weight of an entire colony’s safety, tapering down to a narrow waist.

“Enjoying the view, Captain?” he asked, a rare smirk playing on his lips as he stepped out of his tactical pants.

“Just assessing the immediate threat,” I shot back jokingly, treading water.

In just his black boxer briefs, Rune looked like some ancient god stepped out of mythology—powerful, primal, and entirely too attractive for my peace of mind.

He dove in with surprising grace for such a large man, barely creating a splash. When he surfaced next to me, water sluicing down his face and droplets clinging to his long eyelashes, my heart skipped a beat.

“You’re right,” he said softly, so close to my face that I could see the flecks of silver in his blue eyes. “This feels… necessary.”

The sapphire-tinted pool magnified the intensity of his blue eyes, which held mine with an unexpected warmth that made my skin prickle despite the comfortable temperature of the water.

The energy between us shifted—something primal and electric charging the narrow space separating our bodies.

We treaded water just inches apart, and I suddenly found it difficult to remember how to breathe.

My military training had prepared me for ambushes, interrogations, and battlefield chaos, but nothing had prepared me for the disarming effect of this man’s proximity.

This man. Not this cyborg. Not this kidnapper. Just… Rune.

He was nothing like the vacant-eyed killing machines I’d encountered during the war. Those had been weapons with human faces—emotionless and deadly. But Rune… a depth in his expressions, uncertainty in his gestures, and a distinctly human quality to his rare smiles fascinated me.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, swimming a lazy circle around me.

I turned to track his movement, trying to organize my scrambled thoughts. “How different you are from what I knew.”

His eyebrow quirked up. “Different good or different concerning?”

“Just… different.” I splashed water toward him, needing to break the intensity between us. “The cyborgs I encountered during the war weren’t exactly known for having private swimming holes or sharing them with kidnapped strategists.”

Something flashed across his face—regret, perhaps? “I didn’t want to take you from your life on Earth.”

“Some life,” I said, more bitterly than intended. “Hiding from CyberEvolution’s possible retaliation, babysitting my nightmares, and watching veterans struggle with the same demons that haunt me.”

I floated onto my back, staring up at the alien sky through the break in the jungle canopy. The water cradled me, making me feel weightless for the first time in years. On Earth, I’d carried the heavy weight of Travis and Meredith’s deaths like stones in my pockets, constantly pulling me under.

“What demons haunt you, Talia Reed?” Rune’s question came softly from beside me.

I closed my eyes. “The usual war souvenirs. Survivor’s guilt. Betrayal. The knowledge that I lived while better people died.”

The water rippled as he moved closer. “No one is better or worse at deserving life.”

“You sound like my therapist.”

“Did your therapist do this?”

A splash of water hit my face, startling me upright. Rune’s expression had transformed into something playful and mischievous—so unexpectedly youthful and human that I laughed out loud.

“No, my therapist definitely didn’t do that.” I sent a retaliatory wave in his direction, catching him mid-smile.

His eyes widened in mock offense. “A declaration of war against your host?”

“You started it, Commander.” I dove beneath the surface, using my smaller size to dart around him underwater.

When I surfaced behind him, I leapt onto his broad shoulders, attempting to dunk him under. It was like trying to submerge a boulder. He barely budged but reached back and easily lifted me over his head, holding me suspended above the water.

“Is this what Earth’s celebrated military strategist calls a tactical advantage?” His eyes crinkled with amusement as I squirmed in his powerful grip.

“Put me down!” I demanded, laughing despite myself.

“As you wish.” With astonishing gentleness, he lowered me into the water directly in front of him.

We were chest to chest now, my feet barely touching the stone bottom of the pool. His hands lingered on my waist, steadying me. The playfulness receded, replaced by something deeper and more urgent.

“I can take you back,” he said suddenly, his voice rough with emotion. “To Earth. If that’s truly what you want.”

The offer hung between us—sincere and unexpected. I searched his face, finding no deception, only conflict. He meant it, even though it would compromise everything he was working to build here.

What did I want? The question echoed in my mind as I stared into his eyes.

The lonely condo in Buffalo? The veterans’ facility?

The constant looking over my shoulder for CyberEvolution operatives?

Or this—a new purpose, a cause worth fighting for, and the inexplicable pull toward the complicated man before me?

“Ask me tomorrow,” I whispered. “For now, I just want to forget everything else.”

I splashed him again and darted away, my heart racing with something that felt dangerously like joy. Thirty minutes passed quickly as Rune and I chased each other around the pool in his private oasis.

He stilled abruptly. “I think we should head back,” Rune said, his reluctance evident in the way his eyes lingered on the sapphire-tinged water.

I sighed. “Already? I was just getting used to paradise.”

“The colony will notice our absence soon. And Sage will want to give you the security briefing as soon as possible.”

I splashed to the edge of the pool, pulling myself up onto the smooth stone. Water cascaded down my body as I stood, and I caught Rune’s appreciative gaze before he politely averted his eyes.

“Like what you see, Commander?” I teased, reaching for my discarded clothes.

A flush crept up his neck. “I’m not blind, Captain.”

We dressed in comfortable silence, the wet fabric of my undergarments making my clothes cling uncomfortably to my skin.

I shook out my blonde hair, finger-combing the tangles as Rune reattached his wrist communicator.

I bent to retrieve my datapad from beside my boots, brushing off a few luminescent leaves that had settled on the screen.

“Ready?” Rune asked, his voice deeper than usual.

I nodded, surprised by the pang of disappointment that shot through me. This hidden oasis had become a sanctuary from reality—a place where I wasn’t a kidnapped military strategist, and he wasn’t my captor. We were just two people enjoying a perfect afternoon.

“Will we come back here?” I asked, unable to hide the hope in my voice.

Rune paused at the threshold of vines, his broad shoulders framed by the gleaming foliage. “If you’d like to.”

“I would.” The words escaped before I could analyze them.

As we trekked back through the dense jungle, I found myself studying Rune’s back—the way his muscles shifted beneath his fitted black T-shirt and how confidently he navigated the unmarked path.

Sixteen hours ago, I’d seen him as the enemy.

Now? I wasn’t sure what to label the strange warmth that bloomed in my chest whenever he glanced back to make sure I was keeping up.

“You should feel special that you were the first person I’ve shown that place to,” he said suddenly, holding a large frond aside for me to pass.

“Why me?” I asked, genuinely curious.

He considered this, his brow furrowing slightly. “I’m not entirely sure. It felt… right.”

That simple admission touched something deep within me. For a man who clearly calculated every move, admitting uncertainty revealed more vulnerability than any emotional declaration could have.

“Well, I’m honored,” I said softly. “And for what it’s worth, I needed that more than I realized.”

His eyes met mine, intense and searching. “I’m guessing the past three years have been difficult for you.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“And I made it worse by bringing you here against your will.”

I shrugged, surprising myself with my next words. “Your strategy worked. Didn’t it? I’m here, and I’m starting to understand why.”

A slight smile tugged at his lips. “Are you calling me a master strategist, Captain Reed?”

“Don’t let it go to your head, Commander.”

We emerged from the jungle’s edge into the settlement.

The contrast was jarring—from primal wilderness to the organized bustle of the colony.

Colonists moved purposefully along stone pathways that wound between structures of metal and composite materials.

Some nodded respectfully to Rune as we passed, curiosity evident in their glances toward me.

Rune led me toward the security center. Before we entered, he paused, his hand hesitating near but not touching my arm.

“Talia, I…” He stopped, seeming to wrestle with unfamiliar emotions.

“Yes?”

“Thank you for trusting me enough to swim with me today.”

I smiled up at him, suddenly aware of how much I wanted to see more of this side of him.

I realized I was already planning our next escape to the oasis and already looking forward to seeing him relaxed and playful again.

The thought should have terrified me. Instead, it felt like the first hopeful thing I’d experienced in years.