Grace Goodwin's Blog - Posts Tagged "sci-fi"

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ELITE STARFIGHTER
© 2021 Grace Goodwin

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CHAPTER ONE

Darius, Moon Base Arturri, in orbit around Planet Velerion

I stood in the entrance to our newly assigned private quarters and watched Lily Wilson of Earth open one of the heavy cases she’d insisted we bring along. My pair-bonded female had been prepared and waiting for my arrival on Earth with five large cases stacked and waiting to go. Thinking I would need to introduce myself, explain about the training protocols, and seduce her, if necessary, to convince her to come back to Velerion with me, I’d been shocked when she’d opened her door, said my name, and shoved one of the cases toward me.

No argument. No questions. She’d simply said, “Darius. About time. Let’s go.”

Not exactly the welcome I’d been hoping for. No gasp of surprise. No inspection or questions. No touching or locked gazes. No kissing. Taking. Claiming.

Nothing to give away her thoughts or her mood. She was like a wall of ice, and I had yet to find a single crack in her composure.

“What are you doing? The general said to rest. Jamie and Mia cannot meet with you until tomorrow.” General Aryk had been the highest-ranking official on the base when I’d arrived with Lily. In fact, he was the highest ranking Velerion military officer we had and was head of the Galactic Alliance. He’d insisted we rest and informed us they were still cleaning up after a large operation to take back the planet Xenon and its moon base from Queen Raya and the Dark Fleet. They’d been successful, but there were still pockets of resistance on the surface keeping everyone busy. Including Lily’s friends, Mia and Jamie, the two additional Earth females who had earned Elite Starfighter ranks.

Lily glanced up at my question, looked from the bed to me, and hastily averted her gaze. “I’m not tired. And I want to unpack.”

Watching her now, I held back a groan as she leaned forward, the curves of her breasts taunting me where her clothing dipped low. Lily was softness and curves. Golden-brown hair, green and gold eyes. She was supposed to be mine. To fight beside me. To care about our war with the Xandraxians and Queen Raya. I hoped she would be eager to climb inside the Elite Starfighter Titan in which she would battle. Yet here she was, in the Vega Star System, twenty-five light-years from her former life, and she had not touched me. Had spoken my name only once. In fact, she only seemed to care about finding her two human friends.

To say I was confused would be an understatement. During our training simulations, Lily had been savage in battle, cursing in more languages than I could recall as she pounded enemies into dust.

I had expected Lily to be raw, fearless, her emotions and needs exposed. Instead I could not read her at all. She was like a wild animal hiding behind fortified walls. Watching me. Waiting. But for what? I had no experience with human females except her. And she was not behaving as I had expected. Perhaps I needed to try another tactic.

“What is in those cases? Stones?”

“Books.”

“What are books?” Lily’s body had successfully accepted the cipher implant injection, and we had been conversing, if awkwardly, the entire trip from Earth. Still, I did not know this term.

She opened the case, and I crouched to inspect the strange rectangular objects layered four or five deep inside. They appeared to be oddly thin sheets of parchment or canvas stacked and wrapped in thicker bits that covered the outside. They were made of many different colors and what I assumed were human names on the outside. The labels indicated topics ranging from war to philosophy to animals. One in particular caught my eye as it appeared to have a human pair bond engaged in some sort of mating ritual on the cover.

I grabbed the book, barely evading her attempt to swat my hand away. Now I was extremely interested in the contents. Holding the image this way and that to inspect it, I rose and walked over to lean my shoulder against the wall, giving her a bit of distance. She was jumpy. Nervous. Always on edge.

Her anxiety made me want to wrap my arms around her and hold her until she melted in my arms. Until she was mine.

“What are these books?” I asked again. “And why did you bring so many?”

She sighed and began removing the remaining books, placing them in stacks on the floor beside her, sorting them in some mysterious way only she understood.

“They’re stories written by people and immortalized on paper. Some of these are hundreds of years old.”

That was the most Lily had said to me since I’d stood before her and told her who I was. I thumbed through the parchment I held. “This will burn quite easily. How does this make the story immortal?”

Rubbing her palms over her blue jean–covered thighs, she then tugged the sleeve of her hoodie—which was decorated with the logo of her favorite university team—higher on her arm. Earth clothing appeared to be soft and not very functional, and those were all words I had learned in the last few hours. She looked up at me with a plea in her eyes and held out her hand. “It doesn’t matter. Just give that back, please.”

Please? Had she just said please?

Unable to deny her, I walked to her and placed the book in her outstretched hand. She took the item and twisted to place it behind her on the floor as I lifted another, similar looking book from the case, surprised to note there were six or seven more stacked beneath this one. All with the same name on the books’ sides.

“Darius!” Lily’s cheeks turned an interesting shade of pink.

“Yes?” Interesting indeed. This book had a human name at the bottom of the thick cover. “Grace Goodwin. Her Cyborg Beast? The Colony?” I turned the rectangle over and absorbed the meaning of the words that covered the back side. I considered the ideas, wondering if my cipher implant was malfunctioning. “Mated means pair bonded? For life?”

“Yes.” Lily lifted her hand to her face and covered her eyes. “Just give that back. Don’t worry about it.”

“Interstellar Brides? A colony? I did not know Earth had entered into any treaties or trade agreements with other worlds.” Was Velerion intelligence wrong about the small blue planet? Had Earth’s people made pacts we were unaware of?

“We haven’t. It’s fiction, okay? Make-believe.”

“Make me believe what, exactly?”

“It’s just a story. Imagination. None of it is true. It’s for entertainment. That’s all.”

“Interesting.”

“Not really. Just give it back.”

“Not yet.” I very much wanted to open this book and discover what human stories said of pair bonds and mating rituals.

With an irritated grumble, Lily apparently decided her best course of action was to ignore me and devote her undivided attention to unpacking her cases and cases of books.

Which left me time to wonder at the entertainment I held in my hand. Lily appeared to be entertained by large males with bulging muscles and biosynthetic implants just below the skin. On the outside covering of the book, the male’s expression was serious and the words on the back spoke of war and torture. A beast of some kind.

Hoping to understand Lily a bit, I opened the book to a random page and began to read. The time I had spent in training simulations with Lily had accustomed my cipher implant to reading in her language. However, the words shocked me. Made my body react with need. Lust. Desire. Everything I’d been fighting diligently to control since the moment I met Lily came roaring to life as the Beast man in the story boldly told his human female exactly what he would do to her body. The ways he would claim her. Fill her with his seed. Make her body writhe with pleasure. Pound his hard cock into her wet heat and make her come over and over…

The book fell from my hands and landed with a soft thud on the floor.

Fuck. This was what Lily had brought with her from Earth? Not clothing. Sentimental items. Jewelry. No.

Lily had books full of hot, naked sex? Dominant males seducing their pair-bonded females? Fucking. Tasting. Claiming them for all time. The story had been told in the female’s perspective as her mate had filled her body with his cock. Pumped into her. Touched her. Kissed her. The lust burning from the pages had me struggling to breathe.

“Lily?”

“Yes?” Her clipped tone held little to no interest in my presence. She had moved on from organizing her books on the floor to placing them in groups inside the cabinets along the bedroom wall. As she’d done from the moment her wide eyes had landed on me back on Earth, when I’d arrived at her living quarters, she appeared to be doing anything and everything she could to ignore me.

This human female had already wrecked my carefully laid plan. Ruined everything. Nothing she did was expected. I had no idea what to say to her or how to approach her.

How to get her naked.

She’d barely spoken to me, but fuck all that was holy, she was humming, her soft, lilting voice going straight to my hard cock.

“Is that what you desire?”

“What are you talking about?” Her movements were quick. Stilted. The humming became louder, as if she intended to drown out any answer I might give.

“The beast man in that story of yours. He took his female and held her against the wall, filled her with his cock. Made her scream with release.”

“Oh, bloody hell,” she whispered under her breath but would not look at me.

“Lily? Answer me. Is. That. What. You. Want?” Because I was fully capable, eager, to take her against the wall and make her scream. But the only name she would be calling out would be mine.

My name. Over and over. Until she knew exactly who had claimed her.

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Two honorable warriors with nothing left to lose...until they find her.

Prillon warrior Thomar Arcas is the royal heir to his ancestor’s legacy of dishonor, betrayal and death. When he was captured by the Hive, some on his home world cheered. Some sighed with relief. None shed a tear.

Thomar and his second, Varin, break free and destroy an enemy base, barely escaping with their lives. They transport to The Colony, the last refuge for contaminated males. Upon arrival they suffer in agony, their cyborg implants fighting for control of the powerful warriors.

Defeat is not in their blood. Not in their history. Not in their souls. Unable to sever their ties to the Hive integrations, they suffer relentless pain. Unwilling to force others to suffer, Thomar has chosen an honorable death over further disgrace; until they are matched to a human female from Earth who will do anything, and sacrifice anyone, to save them.

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Claimed by the Cyborgs
Interstellar Brides® Program: The Colony, 9

EXCERPT:

Danika, The Colony

Naked? Really? Before I opened my eyes the hum of a cold platform chilled my skin and rattled my bones. I was lying on my side. Good thing, because I was dizzy and felt like I was about to lose anything unlucky enough to be in my stomach.

Blinking slowly, I squinted at the lights until my eyes adjusted and I saw an alien, a freaking huge alien, kneeling next to me.

“Are you hurt?” His voice was deep and rough, like I imagined a giant would sound with gravel in the back of his throat.

“I don’t think so.” I was about to complain about the whole naked thing, but he draped a soft black sheet over me. The fabric covered me from neck to toes with plenty of extra left over. Even better, it was thick, soft and warm. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure. It is my duty to care for you.”

Alarm bells went off in my head and I forced my eyes open to take stock of where I was and who I was with. He was massive, bigger than any professional athlete I’d ever seen in real life. His features were not human, his cheekbones sharper, the angles of his cheekbones and chin leaner and more defined. And his eyes. Gold rimmed with silver. Shimmering. Glowing. Like expensive jewelry.

“Are you my mate?” I asked.

Those glorious eyes closed slowly, as if he were in pain. “No. I was meant to be your second. I am Captain Varin Mordin.”

“Danika.” I sat up and wrapped the black fabric around me like a blanket as I studied him some more. He remained next to me, unmoving, allowing me to look my fill.

His skin was dark, no color I’d seen before but a dark, golden bronze. I reached out with one hand to touch the bared forearm and hand nearest me. They were covered in geometric designs, the color of the patterns matched the shining silver that rimmed his eyes.

He was strange. Exotic. Sexy as hell.

Memories flooded me from the testing dream and I imagined that the male behind me, my second lover, had been him. His deep voice pledging to care for me, protect me, love me. Forever. My second mate.

I’d never really imagined having two men in my life before, but now that I had, I discovered the naughty little vixen in me wanted exactly that. Badly.

“Wait. Did you say was? What does that mean? If you are my second, where is my mate? The Warden said he would be here—” I stopped before I said to claim me. My body knew what I’d been about to say. My breasts grew heavy, my core wet and eager for this alien, Varin, to shove me up against the wall and make me scream.

He sighed and stood, then reached a hand down to assist me to my feet. His touch was careful. Minimal. Not at all what I wanted. I wanted him to wrap his arms around me, pull me into his arms and promise me everything was going to be okay.

But then, I’d never been that lucky.

“I will take you to speak to your matched mate, Thomar, as well as Doctor Surnen. They will explain things to you better than I.”

“Doctor? I’m fine. I had a physical on Earth.”

He released my hand and stepped back the moment I was steady on my feet. Why was my mate not here to claim me?

I knew it! I knew those Wardens had been lying. Knew their stupid promises and that testing dream had been too good to be true. Damn it.

So why were my eyes burning? My chest should not feel like it was collapsing in on itself. I should have been prepared.
“You will be protected and cared for, if not by your matched mate, then by another honorable warrior. I vow it is so.”

I turned away. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I didn’t believe him.

I sighed and looked up at him—way up. “I knew this was going to happen.”

“What are you implying, female? Did they tell you Prillon males were without honor?”

“No. In fact, they told me how amazing this match was going to be. Ninety-nine percent. The Warden told me my mate was going to be perfect for me. Perfect.” I wiped the one stubborn tear from my cheek, irritated that I’d shown even that small weakness. “I’m just mad at myself for believing them.”

Varin growled and stepped closer, his large hand cupping the side of my face with a strength and gentleness that made even more tears fall. What the hell was wrong with me? Well, other than transporting to another planet, naked, and being rejected by the sexiest alien I’d ever seen? Sure, mental toughness was important, but I was still human. Lonely. Tired of surviving on my own.

“I would give my life to protect you. I want you, more than you can comprehend.”

“I don’t understand.”

His thumb traced my bottom lip and I leaned into his touch despite every intention not to. He was so big. So strong. And the way he was looking at me made me want to believe him. So badly.

“The doctor will explain Thomar’s condition. Then you will understand why we cannot claim you.” He removed his hand from my face and left me bereft.

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Now is the time to try something new by Grace Goodwin!

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Available July 28!!

Cormac of Styx Legion knows his value to his people. He is an enforcer, a weapon to be wielded. Nothing more. He is accepted but not loved. Feared but not welcomed. He is brutal, efficient and utterly alone.

When he receives a coded message claiming he has been matched with an Interstellar Bride, he knows the match must be a terrible miscalculation. When his bride turns out to be a young, innocent human, there is nothing he can do but protect her until the error can be corrected. Rogue 5 is no place for a naïve female, especially one as beautiful, sensitive and completely WRONG for him as Abigail Gregg.

Cormac vows to protect her. Shelter her. Hide his darkness. Make sure she is mated to a worthy male, not a killer. But gods help him, she won’t leave him the F#CK alone. She won’t stop tempting him to touch her. To tame her. To give in and take what he wants.

When Cormac—her ‘perfect’ matched mate—claims she’s a mistake, Abigail Gregg has had enough bullsh!t from men on every planet. If Cormac doesn’t want her, she’ll find someone she wants. A male with mountains of muscle, scars, tattoos, a rebel attitude, and fangs. God, yes please. A male with fangs who’s not afraid to bite.

"Styx Legion, Enforcer, Hyperion/Hunter/Prillon hybrid... One of the Legion's top 5 people. He’s as bad as they come." - GG

READ CHAPTER ONE NOW!!

Abigail “Abby” Gregg, Interstellar Brides Processing Center, Miami, Florida

The slow, heavy movement of a large—make that huge—cock pumping in and out of my body made me gasp and reach for my mate.
I groaned with pleasure as the male fucking me took my hands and shoved them over my head, his heat enveloping me as he fucked me harder. Deeper. Faster.
“Bite me,” I begged. The voice was desperate, female, but definitely not mine. My
body was too big, too tall, my legs too long. I’d had sex against the wall before, and I
knew my legs were not long enough to wrap around a man whose hips were this big. He
was big all over. Massive chest lined with sculpted muscle. Thighs as thick as a football
player’s. Even his hands were bigger than anything I’d ever seen before, easily trapping
my wrists between his fingers as he held me in place for his attention.
He thrust deeper, my—her—pussy stretching as our lover tilted his hips, lifting her—me—higher off the ground.
“Patience, mate.” His voice was a deep rumble, one this body recognized. Every
cell in this body reacted to the sound with anticipation. Heat. My—her—pussy tight. So
fucking tight. Ready to explode.
“Now. Please, do it now.” The words seemed to drive the male a bit mad as his cock
actually swelled inside me, getting bigger. Harder.
Hands over my head, my back was pressed to a hard surface as he shifted his hips, moving in a circular motion until the body I was inhabiting moaned in surrender. I was right there, on the edge with her. I wanted to come. Needed to come. We were soooo close, but I—she—knew we were missing something. Something fucking spectacular.
And she wanted it. Badly.
Now.
“Please.”

With a grunt, the male before me smiled. I couldn’t quite make out his face, his
features a bit of a blur. Dark hair? Thick lips? Maybe. What I could see were fangs.
Long. Sharp. Dripping with some kind of…venom?
In a panic, I tried to pull back, but the body I was in did the opposite, dropping
her—our—head to one side to give this freak better access.
He was going to bite me! And this body wanted him to. Holy shit. What the actual hell was happening right now? I tried to shout out in protest as the male lowered his head toward my—her—neck.
He scraped the sharp points over her sensitive skin, the slight sting making
my—her—pussy clench in anticipation. The first shocking stirring of an orgasm rocketed
through me in a single spasm. Stopped.
Her moan of protest matched what I was feeling. The orgasm rode me, teased me,
wouldn’t quite come for a visit. Damn it.
“I want them deep. Fuck me. Bite me. I need you.” The female voice sobbed with
need. She was desperate. Shameless. I would never beg like that.
Never.
The male fucking me shuddered at her words, his fangs returning to press along the
curve of her neck. “You are mine. My mate. I will kill anyone who touches you.”
“Yes,” she begged, his words, his threat of violence, making her body spin out of
control. She was dizzy. Which meant I was dizzy. I felt like I was falling. Spinning. Lost.
“Mine.”
Fangs sank deep, the shock wave of heat, the momentary flash of pain followed by
intense bliss as hot liquid—the best fucking drug I had ever even dreamed
existed—flooded my body. My mind. Love exploded inside my—her—body as her mate
claimed her, filled her with his essence.
I had no idea how I knew what was happening, but she knew. He was giving her everything. His body. His life. His loyalty. His soul was in that bite. And she took it like the greedy bitch she was—took it all. Leaving nothing for me.
Her body exploded, the orgasm making her wail in a long, drawn-out scream of
pleasure that I felt with every cell in my body.

Fuck. Me. My body rocked up off the table as the strange sound of my own voice filled my ears and the male, his bite, the complete and utter bliss I’d been feeling, faded away like a dream.
“No!” I tried to get him back. I wasn’t finished. She wasn’t finished. We wanted more. I knew she was going to get more. A lot more.
“Miss Gregg? Can you hear me?”
“No.”
A soft huff of laughter answered my denial. “Glad you are back in the land of the
living. Your testing is complete.”
“Send me back.” I rolled my head from side to side, testing the hardness of the
strange indentation my skull rested between. And then I remembered all of it. The
Interstellar Brides testing center. The chair that looked like my worst nightmare from too
many visits to the dentist’s office—I had a rather terrible sweet tooth when I was young
and too many cavities to count. I remembered, too, that my two best friends in the world
were gone, really gone. No longer on Earth, gone. Which was just one more layer to the
reasoning behind my decision to volunteer as a bride.
That, and I wanted an Atlan warlord like Tane for my very own. Or Bahre. Hell, I
wasn’t picky. Any warlord would do as long as he looked at me the way Tane looked at
my friend Elena. Lucky, lucky Elena. But…Atlans didn’t bite. Did they?
I opened my eyes to see a kind but not smiling Warden Egara looking at me with
her lips tight and her head tilted at an angle as she studied me. “Are you all right?”
Was I? Well, my body was still pulsing with the aftershocks from an orgasm that
hadn’t really been mine. I’d been bitten by some kind of freak alien with fangs and loved
it. Wanted more. My wrists were in restraints so I wouldn’t fall off the chair as I writhed
and begged some unknown alien to pump his cock into me, bite me, and make me
scream. And I had no idea what the hell I’d just seen. I’d signed up to get matched to an
Atlan. Not…that. Whatever that alien creature had been.
“I don’t like vampires. You know that, right?” The thought of sucking blood had
always made me nauseous. Gross. Just gross.
Warden Egara raised her perfectly arched brow. “There are no vampires in the
Coalition Fleet.”

“Then what’s with the fangs?”
She glanced down at the tablet screen she held in her hands. “You have been
matched to the moon base Rogue 5. The people there are hybrid descendants of a
native race of fanged creatures who lived on the planet Hyperion.”
“All of them? They all have fangs?”
“Yes.” She studied me for long, silent seconds. “Did you find the bite
uncomfortable?”
I couldn’t lie. I wanted to, but I couldn’t make myself do it. “No.”
“Excellent.” She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as she ran through a series of
rapid-fire questions. Was I married? Did I have children? Was I legally responsible for
any children here on Earth? I would have thirty days to reject the match. Blah. Blah.
Blah. I’d already read everything, checked every box, and answered all these questions
more than once. I barely listened. I couldn’t stop thinking about those fangs. That
orgasm. That feeling of being blissed out.
That kind of pleasure would be addictive. I’d be eager. Desperate. Needy. I hated
that. What if he said no? What if he got her—me—all hot and bothered and needy and
then refused to bite me? I would not be like that woman in my dream. I would not beg.
Would. Not.
“Why do they bite? What’s in that venom?”
“It’s not venom, my dear. It’s a special enzyme complex that promotes healing and
helps the males bond with their mates. It also encourages the female body to prepare
for pregnancy.” She grinned at me. “To be honest, I’m not exactly sure how it works. I
haven’t studied it in detail as you are the first bride I am sending to them.”
“What?”
“Well, technically, they are not part of the Coalition Fleet. However, some members
of their legions have helped us, so those males qualify for a bride on a case-by-case
basis. And this is a very good match. Very good.”
“What does that mean?”
“Ninety-eight percent compatible. Nearly perfect.”

Perfect? Except I did not like vampires. I’d watched a Dracula movie when I was
seven and never moved past it. Even the sparkling vampires that were so popular for a
while couldn’t erase that dark terror from my memories. “Helped how?”
She shrugged. “Spying, probably. Smuggling. The legions are, technically, criminal
organizations. They are run somewhat like our motorcycle gangs, or maybe like the
Mafia here on Earth. I’m not exactly sure. But whatever they do for us, I know the I.C.
doesn’t want their activities in the official records.”
“The I.C.?”
“The Intelligence Core. Kind of like the CIA.”
God. What had I gotten myself into? “And you’re telling me I’m matched to one of
these smuggler spy criminals?” Instead of an Atlan? I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t quite
get over the bliss of that bite. I was losing my mind and all good sense. Officially. Gone.
“Yes. You will be sent to Transport Station Zenith, where your mate will meet you
and create a cover story for you.”
“Cover story?”
“Outsiders are not allowed on Rogue 5. But don’t worry. There are at least two other
human women mated to members of the legions.”
“But not brides.”
“Correct. One met her mate at a bar, of all places.” Warden Egara laughed. “A
space bar called a canteen. She was a medical officer in the Fleet, and from what I
hear, they didn’t even make it to their room.”
Sex in a bar? In space? God. “And the other woman?”
“Oh, she was a fighter. She left the Coalition and infiltrated the legion to avenge her
ReCon unit. Her friends were all killed by an overdose of a drug one of the legions sold
to her friends.”
What? “Did she get them?”
“Her new mate did. Or rather, his legion. I’m not sure exactly what happened. I only
get bits and pieces sometimes. Earth is so very far away, after all.”
“Gossip will always find a way.” I knew that to be one hundred percent fact. Truth or
lies, nothing traveled faster than a juicy bit of gossip. What would my social media
followers think—all five million of them—if they knew I was going off to be married to a

space criminal? What did I think? This mate of mine didn’t sound like a big teddy bear
Atlan. Or even one of the uptight, rule-following Prillon guards I’d met at the Bachelor
Ball or at Chet’s house after. I was matched to a criminal? A bad guy?
No. A spy. Maybe like a double agent? Was he a good guy?
Had to be, right? On a case-by-case basis? He’d helped, earned a bride, so he had
to be good.
Shit. What if he wasn’t? Would I care? That bite had made me lose my mind. Would
I care what he did when he wasn’t making me sob with out-of-control orgasms?
Damn. Yes. The answer was yes. I would care. “What happens if I don’t like him?”
“You have thirty days to decide. If you find Cormac does not make you happy…”
Cormac. His name was Cormac.
“…report to Styx, the leader of his legion. He knows how to contact someone who
can get you out of there.”
“Okay.” At least I had an out. That made me feel better.
“Oh, one more thing. This is a special case. Normally, your mate would be waiting
for you with bells on, so to speak. If you were going anywhere else, I wouldn’t have
been able to tell you his name. In this case, the Styx legion’s involvement with the
Coalition Fleet is top secret. Revealing their connection to us could endanger multiple
lives. No one can know you are an Interstellar Bride.”
“But…how am I supposed to explain being there?”
“Cormac will take care of that, I’m sure. When you arrive, play along. Pretend you
know him, that you met him somewhere else. Be vague until you two get your story
straight. He will do the same.”
Great. Was she serious? I studied her facial features. Not one hint of a teasing grin.
No smile. She was deadly serious.
The warden’s fingers flew over her tablet, and she seemed to be making multiple
selections. “I do believe you are ready to go.”
“I—”
A line appeared in the wall next to me, and the chair I was sitting on jolted to the
side as it moved into the new space the retreating section of wall created. Beyond the
wall was a room bathed in blue light with a small pool in its center.

“Hold still, Abby. You need your NPU.”
I knew from dealing with the Atlan Warlords and from my own research that the
Neural Processing Unit was some kind of universal translator. I wouldn’t be able to
understand my new mate or anyone else in space without it. Holding perfectly still, I
waited as a slender robotic arm moved toward my head. The sharp tip settled just below
and behind my ear. I winced as it pierced my skin. This bite hurt a hell of a lot more than
the vampire man’s had in my dream. Vision? Memory?
“Wait! What does he look like?” I squirmed in the stupid hospital-style gown I was
wearing, my bare backside sticking to the seat, my thighs and bottom coated with my
arousal. I was very ready for some hot sex. Really hot sex. With a vampire criminal.
What the hell was going on here? Was there something wrong with me? Why didn’t
I get matched to an Atlan? I really, really wanted an Atlan warlord. Damn it.
I tried to use my arms to shift my weight on the seat but didn’t get far. My wrists
were restrained, supposedly so I wouldn’t fall off and injure myself while I was out of my
mind having sex on another planet—in someone else’s body. The thought made me
squirm even more. I had to stop moving before I got a rug burn. Seat burn. Whatever.
Warden Egara was watching me, and she hadn’t answered my question.
“Well?“ I insisted. “How am I supposed to know who he is?”
“Normally, I’m not allowed to show you. But this is a bit of an unusual match, so I
will. As I said, his name is Cormac. He is a member of Styx legion.” She moved her
hands even faster over the tablet. Seconds later, the wall before me turned into a large
screen.
And there he was. Holy crap. I didn’t know when they’d taken the picture, but he
didn’t look happy. His eyes were dark and narrowed as if he were annoyed. His hair
was so short it looked like a buzz cut the army gave new military recruits. I thought
maybe it was black as well, but it was nearly impossible to tell the color with it being so
short. His face was older. Somber. He looked like he had been to hell and back and
could teach a class on cruelty.
But his lips were full. His jaw was cut. He was handsome in a brutal way that made
my pussy clench and my nipples grow hard. He wouldn’t treat me like a porcelain doll

that might break at any moment. No. He looked like the kind of man—alien—who would
shove me up against a wall, bite me, and fuck my brains out.
I shuddered with anticipation, with a raw hunger I’d never before allowed myself to
feel, as I studied the barely visible tips of his fangs peaking at me from between his lips.
So this was my mate. My hard as nails, take no prisoners, no bullshit mate. Cormac.
Cormac with fangs.
I wanted him to bite me. Fill me with his cock and claim me. Like, now. Right
freaking now.
Maybe I didn’t need an Atlan warlord after all. I’d met several, and not one had
made me want to rip his clothes off and demand sex.
Warden Egara waved her hand at me as the chair lowered me, gown and all, into
the warm, blue water. I had to admit, the bath felt heavenly. Soothing. So relaxing.
“Good luck, Abby!”
I tried to smile, but I was suddenly so very tired. My eyelids were so heavy.
The last thing I remembered was Warden Egara’s voice.
“Your processing will begin in 3…2…1…”

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Cormac of Styx Legion knows his value to his people. He is an enforcer, a weapon to be wielded. Nothing more. He is accepted but not loved. Feared but not welcomed. He is brutal, efficient and utterly alone.

When he receives a coded message claiming he has been matched with an Interstellar Bride, he knows the match must be a terrible miscalculation. When his bride turns out to be a young, innocent human, there is nothing he can do but protect her until the error can be corrected. Rogue 5 is no place for a naïve female, especially one as beautiful, sensitive and completely WRONG for him as Abigail Gregg.

Cormac vows to protect her. Shelter her. Hide his darkness. Make sure she is mated to a worthy male, not a killer. But gods help him, she won’t leave him the F#CK alone. She won’t stop tempting him to touch her. To tame her. To give in and take what he wants.

When Cormac—her ‘perfect’ matched mate—claims she’s a mistake, Abigail Gregg has had enough bullsh!t from men on every planet. If Cormac doesn’t want her, she’ll find someone she wants. A male with mountains of muscle, scars, tattoos, a rebel attitude, and fangs. God, yes please. A male with fangs who’s not afraid to bite.

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Available Sept. 22, 2022

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Available for PRE-ORDER! Release Date 9/22/22!
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