Page 5 of Protector (Alpha Ties)

FIVE

AX2

Dr. Green finds him still kneeling on the concrete some long hours later. Morning, AX2 surmises, from the coffee-scented Styrofoam cup in the beta’s hand.

Dr. Green stops in his tracks when he spots the alpha on the floor, his eyebrows high on his forehead. “Don’t tell me Adelaide is playing hooky because of some sex game gone wrong.”

Sex. The word pounds through his brain, shadowy talons raking his marrow. If he could, he’d shudder in response. He has gotten used to his body responding on someone else’s command, but last night… Last night was different. And nothing like the times his flesh has reacted against his will to the gentle touch of her examinations, or the smell of her shampoo.

He could have killed her.

It would have killed him too, and what sweet relief that would have been. Yet when his fingers constricted around her throat, his body refused to complete the command. His body. Not his brain.

Not the chip.

The betrayal is still hot at the back of his throat. He had a chance to finally be free of this nightmare, free of her. And he didn’t take it.

“AX2? Did Dr. Thompson get you to sleep with her last night?” Dr. Green asks.

“No, sir.” The words come out monotone, the chip ensuring immediate compliance.

The beta eyes him as he takes a sip of his cup. “Did she try to?”

“No, sir.”

“Hmm.” Dr Green tilts his head, the corner of his mouth quirking up a couple of millimeters. “Did you want to fuck her?”

“Yes, sir.” And there it is, the truth still making his insides tight with horror. Her throat under his fingers, the taste of her tears on his tongue, and the smell of her… His body had yearned for her, and not because he was starved for touch and so lonely he couldn’t bear it. No. It’d been something far more primal, far more… intimate.

The beta male huffs a small laugh before he sips another mouthful of coffee. “Guess the general is right about you lot being more men than machines. Lock an alpha up for long enough, and he’ll fuck anything with tits, eh? All right, let’s get you sorted out, AX2. Dr. Thompson called in sick, so you’re with me for the day. Engage autonomy mode.”

AX2’s muscles relax out of his artificially controlled posture the instant the chip releases its hold. Slowly, stretching organic flesh stiff from the many hours forced to hold still, he gets to his feet.

“Grab a shower. Jerk off, if you need to. Then get into some fresh trousers and come back to me,” Dr. Green says, setting the Styrofoam cup down next to a computer as he begins clacking away at the attached keyboard. “No need for a shirt; I’ll just have to remove it again for the electrodes. We’re gonna run some tests, see if your wiring’s still in balance after the socializing yesterday. And if I were you, I’d cross everything that it is. Seems you’re way overdue for what the general’s got planned next.”

It’s three days before AX2 learns what those plans are. Three days without her —the most she’s ever been absent, outside of her five scheduled days every month—and no missions to offer his mind anything else to focus on.

He never thought he’d wish for those cursed assignments, but in between solitary meals and his five hours of daily exercise, there is nothing for him to do but think. And all his brain seems capable of focusing on is her.

When will she return to hurt him for what he did? Why didn’t she complete his punishment that night? He knows all too well that she is capable of far more torment than she inflicted on him then. Why did she run?

Dr. Green comes to collect him an hour after breakfast, and he assumes he is to perform his daily exercises until they turn left at the branch of corridors leading away from where his training room is located.

The beta takes him to the same room where he met the others of the AX class earlier in the week. His pulse picks up speed as the doctor swipes his access card.

The others.

He hasn’t thought much about them these past days. Every time he tries to recall the relief of knowing he isn’t alone, his memories take him straight back to what happened later that night. To her.

The door swings open, and Dr. Green ushers him inside.

Three other AX soldiers are already there—Jack, Dwayne, and Simon. They are standing at attention at a pile of blankets each, faces blank. But when he catches Jack’s crystal-blue eyes, the alpha gives him a faint smile.

Warmth spreads in AX2’s chest, an unexpected bloom of something close to happiness. His kin.

“That’s your nest,” Dr. Green says, gesturing to a heap of blankets at the far corner. “Go wait while I fetch AX9. I’ll give you instructions when you’re all here.”

AX2 does as ordered, the door slamming shut behind the doctor’s back before he reaches the blankets. He glances down at them. There are several, all neatly folded and in the same shade of gray, along with a few pillows. The fabric looks scratchy.

“Nest?” he asks no one in particular.

“You know, the bed-thing some girls make when they get broody,” Dwayne says, a smile in his voice. “Don’t tell me they took those memories from you too.”

“My money’s on horny lady cyborgs in heat,” Simon says. “And we’re the only ones who can sate them.”

“Jesus Christ, you really have been here too long,” Jack laughs. The sound is a warm rumble. “I bet it’s just some form of team-building activity. And if you don’t get rid of that hard-on, Lady Doc’s gonna zap your balls the moment she steps foot in here.”

AX2 looks up in time to see Simon grimace and reach into his pants to adjust himself.

“Swear to god, whatever it is, it better involve whores,” Dwayne mutters. “One afternoon with human contact, and I’ve been fucking dying for a woman.”

No one gets to respond. The door swings open, revealing Dr. Green and Sean. AX2’s eyes light up at the sight of them.

“All right, go stand by the free nest, AX9,” Dr Green says with a nod in the direction of the remaining pile of blankets. When the alpha obeys him, he gives them a small smile. “Following the preliminary stages of your new training, there have been… a few incidents, shall we say. Occurrences which have made it clear that we need to alter the stimulus we provide in order to engage of your more human traits.”

AX2 glances to his side, catching Dwayne’s eyes. The doctors rarely bother explaining their procedures, let alone their reasons. This is new.

Tension coils in his back.

“General Thompson feels the best way to help you adjust to the tasks ahead is to provide you with an, ah, outlet. This morning, you will each be granted two hours with a companion.” Green’s smile slips off his face, his expression turning stern. “You are not allowed to discuss anything related to your abilities, your past missions, or the location of these premises. Do not do anything that will make me regret agreeing to this arrangement. That is a command.”

The chip zings the tissue of AX2’s brain, encoding the order. He blinks, still not quite sure he’s heard the doctor right.

“Any questions before we proceed?”

“Companions, sir?” Dwayne croaks. The urgency in his voice resonates in AX2’s gut. Loneliness. “Are they… women?”

The beta nods, his lips quirking up in another small smile. “Yes, AX6. They are female.”

Simon chokes out a half-strangled sound. No one else says a word, but the tension in the room suddenly feels like a physical entity.

“If that is all… I will be back momentarily.” Dr. Green says, raising both eyebrows as he looks over the five of them. “And remember—best behavior, hmm?”

There is only silence as they wait. No one moves. No one speaks. The bitter scent of aggression tinges the air, alpha pheromones thick in AX2’s nostrils.

He breathes slowly, evenly, instincts keeping him still so as to not trigger a fight. These men with him, they may be his newly discovered kin, but this? This is a harsh test for their freshly forged loyalties. If it comes to a fight for these companions, it will be bloody.

Females. Outside of missions, he remembers only one such creature.

A shiver travels up his spine, and he grits his teeth against the image of her that flickers through his mind. Her panting breath. The drum of her pulse beneath his fingers…

The metallic clang of the door opening breaks through his spiraling thoughts, and he looks up in time to see Dr. Green step through, followed by five strangers.

One of the other soldiers inhales sharply. Sean tightens his hands into fists by his side.

They are clad in colorful fabrics that leave much of their skin exposed—tanned, pale, dark. They are a smorgasbord of femininity—overspilling cleavages, lushly rounded hips, softly curved arms. And the smell of them… Sweet perfumes intermingling over a warm, primal scent AX2’s body recognizes as woman before his mind catches up. It cloys at his nostrils and lingers at the back of his throat, overriding the increasing stench of alpha aggression.

One of them giggles, the pearling sound entirely alien. “Ooh, they didn’t say anything about how handsome you’d be! Aren’t we lucky, girls?”

The others join in, filling the room with noises and smells his brain struggles to process as they spill in.

Dwayne, apparently much faster to work through the onslaught of new impressions, steps forward and grabs the nearest girl by the wrist.

“Oh!” She startles at the touch, then breaks into another giggle when he pulls her back to his pile of blankets, slips his arms around her soft body, and proceeds to bury his nose in her hair. “My, they weren’t kidding when they said you’d been without women for a while, huh? Don’t you worry, soldier. I’ll take excellent care of you. Oh, that tickles!”

Awakened by Dwayne’s conquest, the others move forward, snatching laughing women by the waists and hands and pulling them back to their corners. It is all so… easy. Warm.

New.

AX2 remains frozen by his blankets, his muscles tight around the sense of dread mounting in his chest. He should want this. He knows he should—but their scents overwhelm his senses, the colors of their clothes too bright when all he knows is searing white slashed with gray and darkness. Their voices ring too… loud. Too cheerful.

One girl remains alone, hovering by Dr. Green’s side. She clasps her wrist with one hand and darts her gaze around the room, finally zeroing in on him. Her smile is immediate and wide. She casts a quick glance at the beta by her side, and encouraged by his nod, crosses the floor until she stops in front of AX2.

“Hi,” she says, her long lashes lowering in mock shyness, even as her eyes rake over him with enough heat to prickle his skin. “I’m Candi.”

She’s got pretty dark eyes and painted lips, and black hair that shines like silk in the fluorescent light. A wide leather collar decorates her slim neck.

When he doesn’t reply, the corners of her mouth quirk higher, and without being invited, she places both hands on his T-shirt-clad chest. “Shy, huh? That’s okay. We can take it slow.”

The shock of her touch rocks through him, a blaze of heat, even though she doesn’t touch his skin. She smells like vanilla and female, but as she skims her small hands over his chest, his brain conjures up the uninvited memory of angry gray eyes.

Shit. He grits his teeth, banishing any and all thoughts of the monster who rules his life to focus on the girl in front of him. This is the only good thing they have granted him these past three years, and he’ll be damned if he lets her ruin it.

“Do you want to sit down?” Candi tilts her head, indicating the pile of fabric. “Get a bit more comfortable, maybe?”

He nods stiffly and steps back to reach for them, but she is already kneeling, shaking out blankets and fluffing pillows until they are spread out around her in an oblong circle. A nest.

She gives him a slanted smile that suggests she knows exactly what the sight of a woman kneeling amid a such an arrangement of fabric is supposed to do to an alpha. He feels it too, somewhere deep in the parts of him not ruled by engineering: the excitement heating his blood and hardening his cock. But it is… muted. Like he’s looking at this pretty little thing through opaque glass, all her bright colors distorted.

“Come.” She reaches for him.

He hesitates, then takes it. The shock of touch rolls through him again, pulling him down to her. She’s still smiling.

AX2 drags his gaze from her painted lips down to her hand, so small and delicate in his. This is what he’s longed for for so many endless months. Human connection. Warmth. Touch.

He flicks his eyes back up her, pausing at the collar around her neck. Metal clasps wind through a delicate locking mechanism. It looks like something you’d put on a pet. Or a slave.

“You’re here voluntarily?” He moves his hand from hers to skim a couple of fingers over the leather.

Her smile tightens as she lowers her lashes. “Mmhm. Unless you’d like to pretend otherwise?”

Something sick and dark twists in his gut and rises like acid up his esophagus. “No.”

“A lot of alphas do. I don’t mind.” Candi teases a fingertip over his where it rests against her collar. He jerks back from the touch without meaning to, making her giggle. “You haven’t been with a whore before? The collar’s to ensure you don’t end up with an accidental mate. We all wear them when we’re going to be with an alpha.”

A mate.

This time, the horror in his gut is enough to kill the remainders of his erection. He stares down at Candi—at her delicate features and soft body—and imagines what it would be like to be tied to someone so breakable. In all the ways he’s been broken, his mind could not withstand that . He knows it in the marrow of his bones.

“Why are you here?” It comes out gruffer than he means to. “Offering yourself to me? You could be hurt.” She could hurt her.

Candi shrugs, her smile fading some. “This is a pretty safe gig. I’ve been to military bases before—granted, not blindfolded for three hours while driving there, but they’re always well-supervised. And the money’s good. Better than normal.” She flicks her eyes up to his, the muscles in her face twitching as if she realizes she’s let the facade slip. Placing her palm on his chest, she smiles again and says, “Besides… I like the knot. A lot.”

She doesn’t. He sees the lie in her dark eyes even as she lowers her lashes again and gives him that coy smile expertly crafted to lure him in. He doesn’t know her story, but he doesn’t need to; three years of forced servitude lets him recognize the desperation that has brought this girl to him. It has nothing to do with desire.

Another flash of the same cursed memory flickers through his mind—a slim neck in his grip, a heavy pulse under his fingers. That haunting moment before he realized the truth of his body’s betrayal and allowed her scent to roll over his tongue and deep into his lungs. Allowed her to take root in the core of his DNA.

There is no dark undertow to Candi. She’s delicate and deliciously curvy, and it would be easy to ignore what’s underneath her pretty smiles and take what she’s offering. He needs this. Touch. Relief.

He grits his teeth and hauls her onto his lap. She giggles, her body pliant as he drapes her over his thighs and crotch. Alive.

“Ooh, you’re so strong,” she whispers, leaning in against him to press her breasts against his chest. Her breath ghosts over his throat, followed by a flick of her tongue on his Adam’s apple that makes him shiver. Slim arms wrap around the back of his neck as she buries her nose against the hollow, inhaling deeply. “Mmm, and you smell good.”

She rocks her hips, a slow grind back and forth. Back and forth. Around them, gasps of breath, female whimpers and the sounds of wet flesh speak with all clarity that the other soldiers have had no hesitations in taking what’s offered. He shouldn’t, either. There is very little light in his existence—precious few moments without despair.

Candi rubs her fingertips against his nape and raises higher until her soft lips press against his ear. “I want your knot, alpha. Please. Make me take it.”

No doubt she has been trained to say those words—has learned how to coax an alpha to give in to desire and part with his coin. It doesn’t matter.

AX2 groans and tightens his arms around her, burying his nose in her hair and succumbing to the instinctive urge to inhale her pheromones.

A strong scent of vanilla fills his nostrils, layered with peach and a musky hit of pussy—perfume crafted to entice an alpha—but he feels nothing as it fills his lungs.

Slowly, forcing down memories he still refuses to fully acknowledge, he pulls back.

“Is something wrong?” Candi asks, a flicker of genuine concern in her dark eyes.

“No.”

She tilts her head, gaze searching. “It’s okay if you’d rather just talk. Sometimes that can feel just as good.”

He very much doubts that. Even if Dr. Green would allow such a thing.

“Just let me hold you,” he says, more softly than he means to.

If she finds the request odd, she doesn’t let on. Likely she has encountered far more unusual propositions in her line of work. She sits quietly on his lap, her arms looped loosely around his neck as she watches the other women perform their duties on the scratchy gray blankets.

She feels solid in his arms. Real. AX2 empties his mind and allows himself to simply enjoy the sensation of a woman in his embrace. Of no longer being alone, at least for a little while.

When he closes his eyes, he can almost imagine the scent of floral shampoo in her silky hair.