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“Some of us are better at it than others,” Kyle said. “Two of our members can’t refract light at all.”

“Then what makes them Shadows?”

“Other skills,” Isaac stressed, making it obvious he had no intention of elaborating.

“Okay, let’s talk about your skills,” she countered, feeling a bit feisty. “Are you telepathic?”

All three of us can slip our thoughts into the minds of others, but interactive mind-speak usually requires a link.

Isaac’s deep, commanding voice sounded inside her head and a shiver dropped down her spine. “You said you can retrieve images. What else are you able to do?” She was almost afraid to ask. Imagining someone with paranormal abilities and meeting one—or three—was a very different experience.

Desire flared within Isaac’s green eyes, and he motioned her toward him. “Slide over here and I’ll show you.”

Heat spread across her cheeks as she boldly met his gaze. “We’ll get to that shortly, but I’d like to know more about you first.”

“Fair enough,” Isaac grumbled, but he didn’t sound pleased by the delay.

“Where’d you grow up? Were you and your family close? Have you ever been in a serious relationship?”

“We’re being interviewed,” Kyle observed with a smirk. “Make your answers good or she’ll reject our claim.”

The playful mockery in his tone fueled Tara’s feistiness. “You’re next, so think seriously about what you intend to tell me.”

He laughed and saluted her. “Yes, General.”

Shifting her attention back to Isaac, Tara asked, “Do you mind talking about your background? If it’s painful I can focus on something else.”

“It’s not painful as much as immaterial. We’ve all changed so much since our years on Earth that it doesn’t seem real anymore.”

Off-world communication was forbidden, so there was no way for anyone on Rydaria to maintain a relationship with anyone they’d left behind.

Four years was a long time and every person on Rydaria had been ripped from their old life against their will.

The hybrids had been changed, literally transformed into another species.

It was probably less painful to disassociate from the past and focus on the future.

“My last apartment was in Colorado Springs,” Kyle volunteered, “but I’ve lived all over Earth-controlled space.”

Kyle was the most personable of her potential mates, so it wasn’t surprising that he was willing to share.

Still, she appreciated the openness. “Did you move around by choice or did your occupation require it?” Military service was the most common reason for frequent moves, so she asked, “Were you an army brat?”

“Guilty as charged. I had three brothers and a much younger sister. All my male relatives and half of my female relatives served in the military in one capacity or another,” Kyle explained.

“It never occurred to me to consider any other occupation. We never had a lot of money, but family was everything to us.”

She smiled wistfully. Her childhood hadn’t been that different from Kyle’s. All her memories centered on family. But her sister’s death had changed that forever. Her parents divorced and her brother broke off contact. Even her mother, who had been the life of any party, became sad and withdrawn.

“Which branch of the military did you join?” she asked, trying to stay focused on Kyle.

“Space Force. That’s where I met Isaac. And I’ll spare you the trouble of asking the next set of questions.

We were stationed at the Mars Annex when our entire unit was kidnapped by Nuevo Biotech.

We were tested and four of us were assigned to the Shadow Program.

We were their prisoner for six years and every minute of it was utter hell.

Now I’m here.” He spread his arms, indicating the cabin.

With six years in captivity and four years here, it had been a full decade since any of them had participated in their old lives. No wonder Isaac said it was immaterial.

“We weren’t kidnapped. We were sold to Nuevo,” Isaac muttered bitterly. “The military filled their laboratories for decades and everyone just turned a blind eye.”

“I’m sorry. The added betrayal makes it even worse.” She wasn’t surprised by the revelation, but nothing like that had come out during the trials. All the accusations, all the blame, had been focused on Nuevo Biotech and their employees.

The public outcry had been terrible. A list of names and personal ident codes had been released online, so Tara and many others received death threats.

She’d had things thrown at her and she’d been called every obscene name in the book.

The worst part was that she hadn’t deserved the abuse.

She’d trusted the wrong people and failed to ask enough questions, but she honestly hadn’t known anything about the Griffin Project while she worked for Nuevo.

She shoved the memories aside and looked at Jon. “Were you part of Isaac’s unit as well?”

Jon shook his head, but said nothing.

“Were you in another branch of the military?”

One corner of his mouth quirked as he said, “Depends who you ask.”

What the hell did that mean? It was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about this, but she couldn’t consider them as serious suitors until she understood the forces that shaped them. “That sounds intriguing. Will you please explain?”

“My team had a codename, but officially we didn’t exist,” he told her. “My skillset has been augmented, but being a Shadow isn’t that different from what I did on Earth.”

“I see.” Did he only gather information or was he some sort of assassin? A chill tingled down her spine and Tara shivered. It was all too easy to picture Jon slipping a blade between someone’s ribs or wrapping his hands around their throat. The male exuded danger like no one she’d ever met.

Before she could think of a clever way of digging deeper, Jon asked, “What did you do for Nuevo?”

“I was an executive assistant for the CFO. I had nothing to do with the experiments.” It was important to her that they knew that.

Performing medical experiments on a person without their permission was beyond reprehensible.

“I was in the admin building on the other side of the complex from the labs. I had no reason to interact with any of the medical personnel.”

Jon accepted her statement with a subtle nod. “Santa Rosa, California.”

It took her a second to realize why he’d offered the location. “That’s where you grew up?”

“It’s where I lived the longest. I was born in Sacramento.”

“Kyle is from all over, Jon is from California.” She looked at Isaac and arched her brows. “Are you still refusing to participate?”

“We’re all Rydarian now,” he countered stubbornly. “Our childhood homes are irrelevant.”

“He’s from Chicago,” Kyle provided, waving dismissively. “He’s one of four kids, all boys. Jon was an only child until his mom married husband number two and then he had three stepsiblings. What about you? If we’re going to compare childhoods, you need to play too.”

“I grew up in Santa Fe with a sister and a baby brother. I was in my twenties when I moved to Phoenix. That’s where I was living when… that was the last place I lived on Earth.”

“Why’d you apply to Nuevo?” Isaac wanted to know. “There are all sorts of executive assistant jobs on Earth.”

Emotions surged through her mind, subdued yet familiar.

She’d lost her sister seven years ago. Why did it still have the power to affect her?

Stupid question. It would always have the power to affect her.

That sort of loss never disappeared entirely.

She had just learned to manage the pain.

How often had she taught the people she counseled similar strategies?

“I desperately needed a change of scenery after my sister died.” Talking about Jessica with Akari had been necessary. She really didn’t want to get into it all over again.

A long, tense pause followed so Tara thought they’d let it go. Then Kyle asked, “How did she die?”

Tara sighed. She had probed into their pasts. It was only natural for them to be curious about hers. “Suicide.”

“Jesus,” he muttered. “I’m so sorry.”

“Tell us what happened.” As usual, Jon’s autocratic tone made it sound like a command.

“Jessica was raped during her junior year at college, and the counselor she was assigned by the university was utterly incompetent. Jess fell into a deep depression and never recovered. My parents and I were powerless to help her. We tried everything we could, everything the idiot counselor suggested, but none of it worked. Jessica took her life five months after the attack.”

“Oh, my God.” Isaac scooted closer and reached for her hand. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

Tara had heard the words so often through the years that they had become meaningless.

She didn’t blame Isaac for responding automatically.

No one knew how to react to another person’s grief, especially someone they’d just met.

Instead, she continued, “Jess and I had always been incredibly close, so I didn’t deal well with her death.

After the fiasco at the University, my parents refused to trust my care to anyone else.

They searched for and found a therapist that specialized in victim recovery.

She was wonderful. Her name is Dr. Korstan and she runs a crisis prevention center.

Working there, helping survivors rebuild their lives, was good for me. ”

“Then why leave Earth?” Kyle asked carefully.

“There were a couple of reasons, but primarily everything I did, everywhere I went reminded me of Jessica. I had to get away.”

“This is why Zion asked you to work with Akari,” Isaac realized.

Tara nodded. “I’m not a licensed psychologist, but sometimes all people need is an objective listener.

In fact, that’s how I’d like to spend my time once I choose a coalition.

Everyone in this village, everyone on this planet, has suffered significant loss and been subjected to all sorts of trauma. I want to help as many as I can.”

Isaac scoffed. “If word spreads that an unmated female is willing to meet alone with males, half the village will line up for sessions.”

She glared at him. “Zion already made it clear that it won’t be allowed until after I’ve been claimed.”

“Good,” Jon reinforced. “Meeting alone with any male is an open invitation.”

“Meaning this is an ‘open invitation’?” Affronted, she stood up and moved toward him. “I made it clear when I agreed to come here that all I was inviting was conversation.”

Jon stood as well, closing the space between them. “Then why are you challenging me?”

“I’m not challenging you. And I sure as hell don’t want—” The rest of her argument was silenced by his mouth.

His long fingers tangled in the back of her hair and his lips urged hers to part.

She closed her eyes and braced for the sensual attack promised by his gleaming dark eyes.

His arm wrapped around her, pressing her firmly against his body and trapping her arms at her sides.

She expected the bold thrust of his tongue, but he teased her instead.

Anchoring her head with his grip on her hair, he nipped and licked at her lips, leaving her no option but to stand there and let him.

His teeth caught her lower lip, biting just hard enough to make her gasp, then he went back to exploring her mouth.

She could feel his hard cock pressed against her belly, making it obvious what he wanted.

What she wanted too if she were honest with herself.

Desire washed over her in scalding waves.

He was right. This is what she came here for, what she lay awake at night imagining.

She panted softly and blinked her eyes open as he finally released her lips.

“You got wet as soon as you saw us, little liar.” His lips brushed over hers as he spoke and then he gave her bottom lip a final nip. “You want our hands all over you.”

“That’s not why I came here.” Maybe not in the beginning, but it was what she wanted now.

“I punish liars,” he warned. “Do not lie to me again.”

Tara licked her lips, heart thudding wildly.

Her core ached and she had no doubt her panties were soaked, but she wasn’t ready to admit how much she wanted them.

“I’m interested in you, but I didn’t come here hoping you would put your hands—” A startled gasp replaced her words as Jon suddenly sat back down.

He maneuvered her as if she weighed nothing, positioning her face down over his lap.

“I warned you.” With staggering efficiency, he unfastened her jeans and pulled them down to her knees. “I don’t tolerate lies. What happened this morning should have taught you that.”

“Stop it! You do not have permission to spank me.” She kicked and squirmed, but it did no good. He was bigger and much stronger. She couldn’t stop this even if she wanted to, which she didn’t. Discipline was part of a Rydarian courtship. Everyone knew that.

“You came here of your own free will.” Jon slowly tugged her panties down, baring her upturned bottom. His fingertips stroked over her cheeks, his thumb teasing the valley between. “I will do anything I want with this lovely ass. Would you like to know why?”

She shook her head and glared at him over her shoulder.

“Because you’re no longer in control.”