Page 12

NATALIE

S hell shocked, I stared in the mirror at my reflection, my eyes locked on the mating mark Kroktl left on my shoulder.

Rolling my shoulder forward and twisting so I could see it more clearly, I traced the discoloration with a trembling finger.

Red diamonds were etched and chiseled into my skin, though I couldn’t feel indentations or raised spots.

Instead of torn skin or bruises, my shoulder was completely smooth.

I couldn’t even tell he’d broken the skin—except for the glittering spots.

What the fuck were they? Scales? Skin cells that somehow changed color? I had no idea.

The light brush of my fingertips over those marks made something twist inside me. Claws dragging up my spine. Wires—or tentacles—coiling around my intestines. Intense and strange—but not hurting. Not exactly. Just shocking. Weird.

Alien.

Movie images flickered through my mind. Chestbursters exploding out of my ribcage. Fly and human DNA mixing into some horrid creature. Goopy werewolves with cracking bones and spurting coarse hairs. Rotting zombies falling apart before my very eyes.

Kroktl stood behind me, hovering but not touching me. “That’s not going to happen.”

By the tone of his voice, he was desperately trying not to laugh for fear of hurting my feelings. “What does it do?”

Lightly, he gathered up my hair, gently smoothing and pulling the tousled mess together over my opposite shoulder. “Nothing, by itself. It’s a mark to other dyni. We’re a mated pair. See?”

He flexed his thick pectoral, deliberately drawing my gaze to the glittering ring of tooth marks in his chest.

I’d bitten him so hard I left a mark in his chest too.

Not a bruised bite or scar—but the same shiny red spots, though their shapes matched my teeth.

It wasn’t a perfect dental imprint, but two half-moons from my incisors on top and the matching pair below were cut into his skin.

A feat indeed—because his skin wasn’t thin like mine.

Against the mottled gray, the marks flashed like rubies embedded in his flesh.

Flat lines and rounder shapes from the incisors, almost like vampire marks connected with dashes. Or morse code.

A nervous, slightly hysterical giggle escaped.

“It’s red because of my designation.” The thick heat in his voice drew my gaze up to his in the mirror. “Just having you look at your mark turns me on. If you touch it, I’m guaranteed to coat you in cum, whether I’m in heat or not.”

“So it’s like a… brand? Or in humans, a wedding ring? Something to announce we’re both taken?”

“It’s more than something you wear as a signal. Maybe Snryx can explain better.”

The medic immediately appeared in the doorway though he didn’t step into the bathroom. When I’d first seen the luxurious ensuite, I’d been impressed by its size, especially the giant tub. Now, even with just me and Kroktl standing in front of the vanity, the room felt crowded.

Because Kroktl was fucking huge.

The realization startled me, making me do a double take. He’d always been bigger than a normal human, but now, he looked like the Incredible Hulk. Towering over me, he had to practically bend in half to lean down and brush his lips over his mark in my shoulder. I looked like a tiny, fragile?—

My eyes rolled back in my head and a choked gasp tore out of my throat.

Pleasure pulsed through me, the rhythmic squeezes of my pussy turning my knees to water.

I came so hard, so suddenly, I bit the shit out of my bottom lip.

I would’ve been on the floor without his steadying hands on my hips, his arms wrapping me close.

When I finally had two brain cells to rub together enough to meet his gaze in the mirror again, the smug, slumberous look in his eyes made aftershocks crash through me.

“Great,” I muttered, trying to calm my libido down. “I already come at a touch according to Axxol. The last thing I need is this mark setting me off every time you look at me.”

“For once, he’s not wrong,” Snryx said. “And yes, increased sensitivity between mated dyni is only one benefit of a mark.”

:I’m never fucking wrong and you know it,: Axxol retorted on the grid.

Without saying a word, I simply thought about the cramped, dark cave after I’d had to drag my wounded self over to the corner to relieve myself. Mysteriously, our alpha went dead silent.

“The real benefit is the co-mingling of DNA through the blood bond,” Snryx continued. “You both already carried bits of each other’s DNA but blood seals the bonding by setting off a new round of evolution and replication in the Sirian cells.”

Rizan added, :In gaming terms, you’re both leveling up, achieving new levels we never thought possible.:

“Of course, this is mostly theoretical since we haven’t had a chance to study mated dyni before, and what Lohr and I have access to for research is redacted to protect DSC’s proprietary property.”

Chills raced down my arms, and I leaned back more into Kroktl’s engulfing heat. “They’re going to want their property back.”

He let out a short, sharp barky sound, almost like a cough. “We’re not their property any longer.”

Snryx’s implements rattled together like swords.

“On one hand, you’re correct. The Sirian programming you came to Earth with has been modified so much it’s unrecognizable.

If they had to present evidence to the syndicate, they’d be hard pressed to prove said ownership.

However, we all know the syndicate won’t care about proof or legalities when there’s a profit to be made. ”

:And you’re fucking priceless,: Axxol said in a grim tone that had nothing to do with admiring my stunning looks or personality.

I might only be a puny human in his opinion with inferior genetics, but I’d managed to carry a healthy dynos-human baby to full term. If I was fucking priceless…

What price would they put on my baby girl’s head?

My stomach rolled with dread. I whirled around and placed my hands on Kroktl’s chest, pushing slightly to keep us separated when he would have pulled me into his arms for comfort. “You have to keep her safe and free. Whatever happens. Even if they get me?—”

“They won’t,” he retorted. His eyes flashed red laser rings around the room, bouncing off the mirror and white walls of the bathroom.

“If something happens to me, I need to know she’s safe.

Promise me.” His jaw set, his lips in a harsh slant.

He didn’t like the idea of losing me, certainly, but it was my doubt in the squad he hated the most. “I don’t doubt you.

That’s why I want you to promise me you’ll keep her safe no matter what. Promise me!”

He sighed a long, endless breath, his shoulders softening. He cupped my cheek, his thumb gently rubbing against my bottom lip. “I promise to keep you both safe. No matter what.”

SNRYX

She had no idea how fucking phenomenal she was.

Facing off against a prime Tri-R more alpha rex than raptor.

Her eyes intent and fierce with determination.

Her luxurious hair wild and free about her shoulders.

Naked. Fearless. Standing toe to toe with her mate.

Her breasts leaking milk for his youngling, her body strong and ripe with pheromones despite only recently giving birth.

I couldn’t have stopped drinking in my fill of such a vision if my life depended on it. The mating mark on her shoulder wasn’t mine, but my gaze kept wandering back to it. Wondering if she would consider marking me. Or allow me to mark her.

Foolishness.

She was Kroktl’s mate, first and foremost. No one doubted their close bond, even our alpha.

If anyone else were to mark her, surely it’d be Axxol.

He probably wouldn’t even ask her primary mate, though I’d amuse myself by imagining it.

Asking for anything, especially permission, would stick in his craw and choke him for days.

Her head whipped around, and she pinned me with a challenging gaze. “If anyone in our squad wants a mark, all they have to do is ask.”

Kroktl snapped his teeth together in a fierce grin. “Nicely.”

Shock sizzled through me, sending my implements into a nest of snakes to match her hair. “I want. Please.” Immediately, I winced at the harsh, desperate tone in my voice. The lack of intelligence and elegance I usually took great pride in.

Though she smiled softly and nodded.

:Me too,: Rizan said immediately. :Please, please, please!:

:I would wear your mark proudly,: Lohr added. :Please, mate of our squad, mark me as you wish.:

No one was surprised that Axxol remained silent, at least for now.

“Snryx will be next since he asked first. Though I’m going to take a shower and do something to tame my nest of snakes first.”

Shame turned my core into a frozen glacier. I hadn’t meant to mock or ridicule her hair in any way. “I love your hair, Natalie. We all do. Please forgive any perceived disparagement to your unparalleled beauty.”

Kroktl moved toward the shower to start the water, and she walked closer to me. Then closer. Touching me. Her cheek pressed to my chest. One hand lightly stroked up to my nape and shoulder, while her other touched my implements. Willingly. Touching me. Them.

I was so rattled by her willingness to mark me—us—I hadn’t even noticed that I’d clamped them back into a thick, stiff bundle down my back.

Her fingers danced over the tense knot, loosening them one by one. Touching the horrible tentacles she’d found so alarming the first time she looked at me.

She tugged carefully on one implement, drawing my head down closer to hers so she could whisper in my ear. “Do you want to mark each other now?” Her voice dropped to a sultry slumbrous purr. “Or later in bed?”

Reflexively, the implement curled around her hand and down her arm.

I couldn’t make my brain connect to my mouth.

Not in words. Heat flooded me. Saliva filled my mouth.

Remembering the softness of her skin. The indescribable taste of her desire on my tongue.

I didn’t need to be inside her. As long as I could occasionally touch and taste her again.

“Okay,” she whispered, giving the implement another light, playful tug. Then she released me.

Though her tongue flicked across my skin, leaving a faint trail of moisture. I immediately absorbed it, including the traces of milk she’d smeared on me. A shudder rocked me back on my heels. The base of my spine burned and throbbed.

Okay? What did that mean?

As she stepped beneath the spraying water, she winked at me. “You’ve absorbed my blood before, haven’t you?”

A painful jolt jabbed from my spine through my entire abdomen, drawing a grunt from my lips. Pure, unadulterated lust.

:He has sampled your blood in a medical capacity,: Lohr explained for me, though his normal scientific demeanor had been replaced with wry amusement at my predicament. :Not for the indescribable pleasure of marking our mate.:

She massaged cleanser into her hair and rinsed it again before she spoke. “Axxol’s tasted my blood before too. He even bit me. Why didn’t that create a mark like this one?”

Kroktl let out an unhappy growl. “Injuring you because he fucking swallowed you whole doesn’t count as a mate mark.”

Turning slowly beneath the spray of water, she closed her eyes, seemingly relaxed, enjoying the simple human activity.

Though on the grid, her mind sparked and leaped from thought to thought.

Making connections faster than I could follow.

Granted, my entire body throbbed with lust, but her mental acuity had improved significantly.

She made a low sound of disgruntlement and rolled her eyes. “Don’t start commenting about my inferior human mind now.”

My core temperature dropped again, this time so quickly I swayed off balance. Appalled at insulting her yet again, I feared saying or thinking anything else. For the first time in my existence, I regretted the grid that connected the squad, exposing her to my careless thoughts.

“I’m not upset,” she chided lightly. “I’m glad I’m starting to understand more about how the grid works, especially if it gives me immediate access to all of you. I never even imagined a fraction of this was possible.”

She turned the water off and Kroktl wrapped her in a thick towel.

I thought she might retreat to the bedchamber, but she moved to the basin and began working a comb through her wet hair.

“I do want to understand exactly what made this mark happen, though. What makes it different so I can do it again for each of you. Right now, it feels more like magic. Ouch.” The comb hung up in her hair, making her wince.

“Stupid knots. I should just cut all of this mess off.”

Kroktl picked her up, sat her on the edge of the countertop, and took the comb from her. “Don’t you dare.”

She crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip. “Sn’s right. A tangled nest of snakes would be easier to deal with.”

A faint shudder rustled my implements together. I loved hearing my shortened name on her lips. “I like snakes.”

The tips of my ears burned even though my chilled blood felt sluggish in my veins. Such a stupid, ridiculous comment. When had I ever even seen a snake before coming to Earth?

:I believe you might be referencing our deployment to Alpha Crucis with the infestation of parasitic nematodes,: Lohr said. :Incredible specimens. Their blood is acidic enough to burn through dyni hide.:

: I’m surprised HQ didn’t scrub that mission from the database,: Rizan said. :We almost didn’t come back from that one.:

“That’s right.” Kroktl took the comb from her and began carefully detangling the larger knots.

“Someone ignored our xenobiologist’s recommendation to circumvent the den entirely and fell into a nest so dense neither Riz nor I could locate him.

Lohr had to go in after him, using his shell as a shield, while Snryx used his spines to pry the layers aside without damaging the worms.”

Axxol rattled the grid with a derisive huff. :Tentacle implements and dick tongue for the win.:

:Jealous?: I retorted back.

Our alpha went dead silent again, and I realized the truth.

He was absolutely one-hundred percent jealous. Of all of us. Even me.