TANE

HELL SQUAD #20

ANNA HACKETT

Tane

Published by Anna Hackett

Copyright 2020 by Anna Hackett

Cover by Melody Simmons of BookCoversCre8tive

Edits by Tanya Saari

ISBN (ebook): 978-1-922414-01-4

ISBN (paperback): 978-1-922414-02-1

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, events or places is coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form.

CONTENTS

What readers are saying about Anna’s romances

Anna Hackett Box Set

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Preview: Edge of Eon

Preview: Gladiator

Also by Anna Hackett

About the Author

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ANNA’S ROMANCES

Cyborg - PRISM Award Winner 2019

Edge of Eon and Mission: Her Protection - Romantic Book of the Year (Ruby) finalists 2019

Unfathomed and Unmapped - Romantic Book of the Year (Ruby) finalists 2018

Unexplored – Romantic Book of the Year (Ruby) Novella Winner 2017

Return to Dark Earth – One of Library Journal’s Best E-Original Books for 2015 and two-time SFR Galaxy Awards winner

At Star’s End – One of Library Journal’s Best E-Original Romances for 2014

The Phoenix Adventures – SFR Galaxy Award Winner for Most Fun New Series and “Why Isn’t This a Movie?” Series

Beneath a Trojan Moon – SFR Galaxy Award Winner and RWAus Ella Award Winner

Hell Squad – SFR Galaxy Award for best Post-Apocalypse for Readers who don’t like Post-Apocalypse

“Like Indiana Jones meets Star Wars. A treasure hunt with a steamy romance.” – SFF Dragon, review of Among Galactic Ruins

“Strap in, enjoy the heat of romance and the daring of this group of space travellers!” – Di, Top 500 Amazon Reviewer, review of At Star’s End

“Action, danger, aliens, romance – yup, it’s another great book from Anna Hackett!” – Book Gannet Reviews, review of Hell Squad: Marcus

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CHAPTER ONE

“Hold,” Tane Rahia said into his earpiece. “Hold.”

He stood, watching the top of the small hill in front of him. Wind rustled the leaves in the nearby trees, and the long grass washed around his knees.

Standing here in this pretty, sun-drenched field, it was easy to believe that aliens hadn’t invaded the Earth.

Decimated it.

Destroyed it.

Annihilated it.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. For almost two years, the Gizzida had ravaged the planet, trying to turn the remaining human survivors into aliens.

But not all of the world was gone.

Behind him, hidden in the long grass, was his squad. Tough men who risked their lives daily to fight back. That included his brother.

And just to the west, Hell Squad waited among the trees. More ex-military badasses ready to spill Gizzida blood.

Tane gripped his carbine. They all fought to protect what was left of humanity. That included the Enclave—a secret, underground base less than one klick to the south of where he stood. He was fighting to protect it, and its residents.

And yeah, he would fight. It was what he was best at. Before the invasion, he’d spent years as a mercenary, had honed his special set of skills and abilities. He would wade into the muck and kill, so that others never had to suffer that nightmare.

“Indy?” he murmured.

“Drone team picked them up,” his squad’s sassy comms officer replied. “I hope you’re ready to kick some scaly alien ass.”

“Always, babe,” Griff Callan murmured across the comm line.

Indy laughed—rich and deep. “Get some for me, baby. But don’t get hurt. That sexy bod belongs to me, Griff Callan.”

“Tane.” Marcus Steele’s gritty voice. “We have a visual.”

Hell Squad’s leader would have a better view than Tane’s squad at the bottom of the hill. “Acknowledged. Stick to the plan.”

Lifting his carbine with practiced ease, Tane drew in a slow breath. The aliens had been attacking the Enclave surrounds more regularly over the last two weeks. He knew the tactics. Keep the humans scared and on high alert, and too busy defending themselves to be offensive.

If they were busy, they had no time to find a way to defeat the aliens’ endgame.

The thought of the three world-ending bombs made his gut clench.

But he had no time to think any more about them because the first raptor crested the hill.

Tane strode into the open, giving the aliens a focal point.

“Tane,” his brother, Hemi, hissed. “Get the fuck down!”

“Stick to the plan.” More raptors appeared on the hill.

The alien soldiers were big. Humanoid, and over six-and-a-half feet tall, they had muscular bodies covered in thick, scaly, mottled-gray skin. Large, hairless heads possessed heavy, elongated jaws full of teeth. Their red eyes glowed, making them look like demons out of some twisted horror movie.

The raptors lifted their ugly, scaled weapons and opened fire. As they started advancing, they sprayed poison across the field.

“Now!” Tane roared, diving into the grass and rolling.

His squad opened fire and the whine of lasers filled the air.

Tane came up on one knee and swiveled, firing his weapon. Then he swung his carbine up on his shoulder and pulled his sleek, new weapon off the holster strapped to his thigh. This one was loaded with cineole bullets. They’d recently discovered that the oil was something the raptors were allergic to, and it made them bleed.

As he fired, he saw a raptor jolt and go down, writhing. The crack of a sniper rifle echoed across the valley. That would be Hell Squad’s sniper Shaw Baird who performed magic with his weapon.

They all kept firing and the raptors dropped into the grass. Tane smiled grimly. Yeah, you don’t like that, do you?

Then he spotted the canids.

The Gizzida hunting dogs had powerful bodies, with a row of wicked spikes along their backs. Their mouths were full of fangs, drool dripping from them.

Fuck, not just canids. He stared at the glowing, red bellies of some of the alien hunting dogs. Hellions.

“Hell Squad,” he said.

“On it,” came the smooth voice of Hell Squad’s second, Cruz Ramos.

“Oh yeah, light them up,” Hemi rumbled.

Tane watched several lines of flames run through the grass, right in front of the aliens. Several raptors hesitated, but the canids kept coming.

Boom.

The rows of explosives that Hell Squad had set earlier detonated.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Raptors, canids, and hellions were tossed into the air, along with clods of dirt and grass.

“Lia, you’re up,” Tane said into his earpiece.

“We’re coming,” the head of the drone team responded.

A second later, several drones—black-bodied with four rotors on top—whizzed overhead. Each one was holding a cineole grenade.

The drones dipped low and dropped their cargo directly on top of the aliens.

The grenades exploded. The guttural roars of the Gizzida filled the air.

Tane stared impassively. He had no sympathy for the monsters. These aliens had ravaged and killed, and were trying hard to turn the rest of humanity into aliens. Hell Squad waded into the fight. Marcus and Cruz worked side-by-side, spraying cineole bullets around.

Gabe Jackson, who towered over them all, fought with hard, powerful hits. Working alongside him was Reed MacKinnon. the former Coalition Navy SEAL was wielding a sharp combat knife.

At the rear, Tane saw Claudia Frost—the woman was a wild and wicked fighter. She rammed a hard, front kick into a raptor’s gut and once it was down, she lifted her carbine.

“Leave some for me, Frost.” Sniper Shaw arrived, his tawny hair glinting in the sunlight.

Claudia grinned at her lover. “Then you’d better move faster, Baird.”

“Look out!” someone yelled.

Tensing, Tane swiveled and looked at the top of the ridge. Several large creatures came into view.

Ah, hell, creepers.

His lip curled. The spider-like creatures were the size of a car, with orange-red pods on their underbellies. They had six sharp legs and a huge sucker mouth on their head. One had eaten Hemi once. Tane started sprinting up the hill. That wasn’t going to happen again.

“Tane!” Hemi yelled. “Wait.”

Unlike Hemi, and the rest of his squad and Hell Squad, Tane didn’t have a lover or partner waiting for him back at the Enclave. There was no one whose heart would break if he was injured or killed. He could take risks that the others couldn’t.

There was an injured raptor down on one knee in front of him and Tane pressed a boot to the raptor’s chest, leaping over him.

Tane dodged around a bounding canid and, as he straightened, a creeper skittered closer to him.

Come on, asshole. Tane yanked a grenade off his belt, primed it.

The creeper let out a screech and ran toward him, its sucker mouth opening and closing.

Tane threw the grenade.

It hit the sucker mouth, circled there for a second like a basketball on the edge of the hoop, then it was sucked inside.

The creeper paused, skidded sideways.

Then it exploded.

Tane ducked his head and was splattered with gore. Around him, the squads were still firing, and the field was filled with smoke.

“Tane, look out!” Indy shouted on the comm line.

The hellion came out of the haze—all claws, fangs, wicked spikes, and a glowing, red belly.

Fuck.

Tane dropped to his knees and the alien dog brushed over the top of his head.

Rolling, he watched as the creature landed, spun with a snarl, and rushed at him.

He yanked out his combat knife. As the hellion attacked, he dodged and plunged the knife into the creature’s red belly.

Red poison sizzled as it leaked out. The hellion yelped.

Tane rose and kicked it. It rolled onto its side, the wicked spikes on its back landing in the red goo. He watched impassively as it writhed, several of the spikes melting off.

The hellion growled and leaped up. It rushed at him and Tane jumped onto its back, dodging the spikes. He landed right where the spikes had been burned off, and hoped to hell his armor could withstand any residual poison.

The alien dog bucked, but Tane leaned forward and, resolute, stabbed his knife into the base of the hellion’s skull.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, the hellion collapsed to the ground.

Tane leaped off into a crouch, sucking in some deep breaths. He rose.

The field around him was clogged with smoke, the scent of burning flesh, and littered with dead and dying aliens.

“What the fuck?” Hemi stormed out of the smoke and shoved Tane in the shoulder. “Do you have a death wish? You just strode out there like you were protected by your badassness.”

The rest of his squad appeared, carbines resting up on their shoulders.

“Is badassness a word?” Ash Connors asked his fellow berserker, Dom Santora. The dark-haired man shrugged.

“I’m fine,” Tane said.

Hemi kicked the ground, sending dirt up in the air. “I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“I’m more worried about Tane’s dick,” another berserker, Levi King drawled. “Way you jumped on that hellion, close to those damn spikes.” The former biker winced.

Hemi snorted. “I’ve been more worried about the fact that his dick’s had no action and is gonna turn blue.”

Tane growled. “I don’t need any of you thinking about my dick, let alone discussing it.”

There was no one for him. No warm body to snuggle up with at night. No woman to hold in his arms. He’d lost the right to that a long time ago.

The image of large, green eyes filtered through his head and he squelched it.

He strode toward the nearest entrance into the Enclave.

As his squad followed behind him, bickering, Hell Squad crossed the grass to join them.

Marcus fell into step with Tane.

“They’re just worried about you,” the man said.

“I’m fine.” Tane was getting sick of repeating the words.

“You think you’re expendable, and you’re not.”

Tane glanced up and met Marcus’ green eyes, set in his scarred face.

Marcus shook his head. “Shit, you remind me of me when I was fighting the pull of Elle. Thought I didn’t deserve her. Thought I didn’t deserve any light in my life.”

Tane’s chest tightened and he remained silent.

“Best risk I ever took.” Marcus’ smile softened his rugged face. “And now we have a baby on the way.”

“I’m happy for you, Marcus.”

“You let her in, it’ll be the best damn thing you’ve ever done.”

Tane swiveled to look straight ahead. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”

SELENA WATCHED Camryn McNab pace the corridor.

The woman had really long legs, and it didn’t take her very long to get to the end. Cam was tall, with beautiful, dark skin and dark hair that Selena envied.

Cam was the total opposite of Selena.

Selena lifted her hand—pale skin, and she had pale, silver-white hair, as well. Humans came in so many interesting colors, unlike her species.

Although, she had picked up some color since she’d come to Earth. Not quite a tan, but she wasn’t quite so white anymore.

Selena swallowed. She remembered with perfect clarity the day she’d been abducted from a forest moon orbiting her planet, Florum. She still relived it in her nightmares, although they came less frequently now. A Gizzida patrol had ambushed her while she’d been out doing some of her biology work in the field. They’d dragged her, kicking and screaming, to their ship.

She’d been terrified. She’d been trapped on a Gizzida ship, and then found herself far from home and everything she’d ever known, on a distant planet called Earth.

She also remembered the day that she’d met Claudia Frost. The Hell Squad soldier had also been taken prisoner by the Gizzida. They’d been chained together in a cell. Selena had been in captivity for months by then, barely talking, barely eating. She’d been disconnected from the energies of her planet, kept in the dark when she needed the sun and nature.

They’d become friends.

They’d been each other’s lifeline during the dark brutality of their captivity.

Then Hell Squad had rescued them, and everything had changed.

Cam paced past again.

Selena had been shell-shocked and overwhelmed when she’d first joined this little enclave of humanity, but she’d been given a new home. She wasn’t shell-shocked anymore.

And now, she wanted to help protect it.

“What’s taking them so damn long?” Cam threw a hand in the air. “Mow down some raptors, done.”

The ground shook, and Selena felt energy run through the Earth. Her species was connected to a planet’s energy flow—its natural systems, flora, fauna. On Florum, every child was born entwined with the planet’s ecosystem.

Over time, Selena had slowly adapted to the Earth’s energies. It gave her some abilities that were far stronger than she’d ever experienced on her homeworld.

“Hemi will be fine,” Selena said.

The big, brash berserker didn’t let anything get in his way. He certainly hadn’t let Cam—or the fight the woman had put up—stop him from claiming her.

Cam made an unhappy sound.

There was another vibration, and Selena sucked in a breath.

Like the Squad Nine soldier, she wanted to be out there, too. She wanted to help fight and protect the Enclave, protect her friends.

Okay, and there was one dark, dangerous man she wanted to protect most of all.

Suddenly, the external door beeped and clunked open.

Both Cam and Selena spun. Hemi Rahia’s stocky body came through the doorway, the black ink on his muscular arms streaked with soot and grime. The man spotted Cam and his bearded face lit up.

“Babe, we kicked ass out there!”

Despite the gore splattered over the man’s armor, Cam ran and leaped. Hemi caught her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. With a laugh, Hemi kissed his woman.

Selena couldn’t look away. They kissed each other like they needed each other to breathe.

So much life.

So much love.

Selena swallowed. On Florum, they didn’t have a concept of romantic love. Everything was interconnected, no one thing belonged solely to another. When people decided to procreate, it was a rational decision, and they often mated with different people over their lifetime. Her people had emotions, they felt arousal, but it was a muted, tempered sensation.

Except on Earth, Selena’s emotions had grown and been enhanced. She felt more—fear, happiness, sadness, excitement—than she’d ever felt before.

Her world was orderly, sedate, quiet. In the pursuit of scientific and academic excellence, she now wondered if they’d forgotten to live somewhere along the way.

What she loved about Earth and its people was all the life, color, variety. And love. The way two people could fit together and need each other so much. She licked her lips. It fascinated her.

The rest of the berserkers and Hell Squad moved inside in a jumble of voices and low laughter. They brought the scent of blood and sweat with them.

Then Selena saw him.

Her chest hitched. Like Hemi, Tane was covered in raptor blood. He was all coiled muscle and dark intensity. Tane rarely smiled, his dark eyes always unreadable. His dark brown hair was long and in dreadlocks that he kept tied back when he was on a mission.

His dark gaze met hers for a brief second. Selena felt like she’d been seared by something hot.

He nodded and turned away.

Need vibrated through her body. She’d made a life here, and she saw attraction, love, and connection all around her. She looked at the still-kissing Hemi and Cam. Levi smacked Hemi on the back and Ash wolf-whistled as the men passed.

Selena didn’t just want to protect her new life, she wanted to experience everything it had to offer.

She glanced back at Tane. He was talking with Marcus.

She was so hungry for him. He was the only man who seemed to make her blood run hot. The only man who tempted her.

But she had no idea how to begin to attract a man like Tane Rahia.

CHAPTER TWO

Leaving the group, Tane swung his carbine onto his shoulder and headed down the quiet corridor.

He needed a beer.

He needed a shower, and possibly a trip to the infirmary, since one of the aliens had managed to get a claw under his armor and gouge his abdomen.

In the heat of the fight, he hadn’t even felt it. He was feeling the burning now, though. Screw it. He was still having a beer first.

“Tane.”

Ah, fuck.

Selena’s melodious voice made his steps slow. He knew he should keep walking. Instead, he stopped and turned.

She was wearing fitted cargo pants and a black T-shirt. The thought hit him that she should be wearing color, and not hand-me-down clothes from the base’s stores.

Her large green eyes—a shade bigger than a human’s—were narrowed with concern.

“Are you on your way to the infirmary?” she asked.

He ran his tongue over his teeth. “No. I need a beer.”

Those extraordinary eyes narrowed further. “I can smell fresh blood.”

Shit. “It’s fine. A scratch. I’ll see Doc Emerson later.”

Selena made a sound of disbelief. “Let me see.”

Her hands reached for him and he stepped back. He didn’t usually like being touched, but with Selena, he suspected he’d like it too much.

She hesitated. “Please, let me help you.”

Dammit. He couldn’t make himself say no to her. “Fine, just hurry up.”

Her hands expertly removed the carbon fiber armor plate off his abdomen. She lifted the hem of his sweat-soaked T-shirt and gasped. “Tane.”

Okay, a little more than a scratch. He had two ugly, red gashes across his abs.

Slim fingers stroked his skin and he felt a pain of a different kind. Her scent swamped him—fresh, with some pretty touch of flowers that he knew was no perfume, just Selena. He was hyperaware of her, the rise and fall of her chest, the stroke of her soft fingers. Her skin touching his.

He looked at her platinum hair. Strands in it looked like pure silver. She only came up to his chin. So freaking tiny.

She lifted her head and their gazes locked.

Then she pressed her palm to his stomach, and he felt a flare of heat.

He groaned. It didn’t hurt, but he felt the contact not only where he was hurt, but in his hardening cock. Hell, he felt any interaction with this alien woman in his cock.

“There,” she murmured.

He glanced down. There was still blood smeared on his brown skin, but the ugly gashes were completely gone. Healed.

Just one of many of Selena’s abilities.

She didn’t move her hand, and alarm bells started ringing in his head.

When Selena first arrived here, she’d been shy, quiet, and withdrawn. But she’d come into her own lately. Now, she was confident, smiling, courageous. She’d even been out in the field on some missions, which had not sat well with him. But there was no arguing with the fact that the woman had a lot of power packed into her body. She could do some amazing things.

But she wasn’t for him.

She was still vulnerable, ripped from her own planet and people, and he never let himself forget that she was warmth and light.

And he was darkness.

Not. For. Him.

“Tane,” she murmured.

Fuck, the soft way she said his name reverberated through him. He felt frozen, couldn’t step away.

She touched her other hand to his chest.

“Don’t.” His voice sounded like gravel.

“Why?” she whispered.

He dredged up some strength from somewhere. He’d spent a lifetime digging deep for the strength to do what needed to be done, to do what was right, even when what was right hurt like hell.

He stepped back.

Disappointment crossed her face.

Suddenly, voices and footsteps sounded in the corridor. His squad and Hell Squad had caught up to them.

“Come on.” Hemi strode over and slung an arm across Tane’s shoulders. “Beers are on me.”

Tane snatched up his discarded armor plate. “Beer is exactly what I want.”

He saw Selena give the tiniest flinch and felt like an asshole. He forced himself to look away.

He didn’t feel like a beer now. It wasn’t even close to what he wanted, but it was all he’d allow himself.

THE NEXT DAY, Selena slipped into the back of the busy Command Center. It was packed with staff, comms officers, squad soldiers, and members of the tech team.

Someone bumped into her.

“Sorry, sorry.”

Doctor Emerson Green wore her usual white lab coat, her blonde hair—looking a little longer than she usually wore it —brushing her shoulders.

“I’m all kinds of clumsy these days.” The doctor rested a hand on her round belly.

“How’s your pregnancy?” Selena asked.

“Great, except for one brooding, overprotective baby daddy.” She smiled, searching the room for Gabe.

Selena found Gabe big and a little scary, but Emerson appeared to love the man.

“Here.” The woman grabbed Selena’s hand and pressed it to her stomach.

Energy flowed through Selena. She detected Emerson’s strong heartbeat. And two smaller pulses of life.

She smiled. “Your twins are strong and healthy.”

A smile bloomed on the doctor’s face. “You can tell?”

Selena nodded.

“Everyone, if I can have your attention,” a deep, authoritative voice said.

Emerson squeezed Selena’s hand, then moved into the crowd.

Selena turned and saw General Adam Holmes at the front of the room.

The general was standing in front of a bank of computer screens. It didn’t matter what Adam Holmes wore, he always looked neatly pressed and in charge. He had a strong face and a dash of silver hair at his temples. Beside him stood darkly handsome Niko Ivanov, the civilian leader of the Enclave.

“We are just waiting to link up with Groom Lake Base and Setermoen,” the general said.

Two large screens on the wall were currently blank. Selena spotted Elle Steele—Marcus’ wife and Hell Squad’s comms officer—tapping at a comp station. She was no doubt linking the calls with the two other survivor bases.

“We’ll have the feeds momentarily,” Elle said.

Murmurs moved through the crowd. Selena glanced around and her gaze snagged on Tane.

She stilled. He was talking with Roth Masters—the leader of Squad Nine.

He looked recovered from yesterday. She remembered that moment in the corridor in great detail. She’d replayed it over and over again when she’d been trying to sleep last night. Touching his warm, brown skin, and the smell of male sweat, blood, and the masculine scent of Tane in her senses. The way her skin had flushed, which it did again now just from the memory.

She’d really wanted to kiss him, touch more of him

She licked her lips. On her world, people procreated, but sex was just considered a biological necessity. It was quick and efficient. On Florum, everyone was more interested in academic and scientific pursuits.

They weren’t interested in hot, pleasurable sex.

But here, Selena heard the women talk. A lot. She’d blushed frequently at first, but now she had a fire inside her, and she wanted to get burned.

Tane’s head turned and their gazes met. Her pulse jumped.

He didn’t acknowledge her, his face impassive. There was something so solitary about him, even when he was surrounded by his squad.

The big screens on the wall flickered, and on one, an older woman with dark skin and dark hair in a bob appeared. Beside her was a tanned man in fatigues.

“Major General Marshall,” Holmes said. “And Captain Vaughn. Good to see you.”

Major General Michaela Marshall nodded. “Hello, General.” The woman was in charge of the largest survivor base in North America—the Groom Lake Base in the United States—once part of the United Coalition of Countries.

Beside her, Dak Vaughn—her head of security—nodded as well.

The second screen came to life, and a handsome, blond man appeared. He looked very similar to the Enclave’s best Hawk pilot and Selena’s friend, Finn Erickson. Selena knew they were brothers. Alexander, a marine engineer, ran a small base of survivors in northern Norway.

Both bases had located Gizzida bombs in their jurisdiction.

As had the Enclave.

Selena’s belly curdled. The three octagon bombs were all the talk of the base. Everyone was horribly aware that the Gizzida were planning the bombs to be the final piece of their invasion.

She glanced to the side, looking at a pretty, young woman standing with her back pressed against a big, rugged man.

Ari Matthews and Nate Caldwell had been rescued recently from the Blue Mountains. Ari had been held in captivity by the aliens and had seen the third Gizzida bomb. The aliens were keeping it in the ruins of the humans’ old stronghold, Blue Mountain Base.

“All right,” Holmes said. “We’re here to discuss the three bombs. We now know that they’re filled with Gizzada genetic material. We suspect the entire time the aliens have been here, they’re been experimenting with and fine-tuning a way to infect us all with their DNA.”

Horrified tension filled the room. Selena felt it, could almost touch it. The Gizzida didn’t procreate like humans. Instead, they assimilated other species and turned them into Gizzida. They invaded a planet, then experimented on the local inhabitants until they could turn every single living thing into Gizzida. On Earth, they’d had labs, put humans in tanks, created hybrid creatures, all on the path to creating these bombs.

Holmes continued, “We believe that the combination of the design and location of the bombs means a cloud of this material will spread across the Earth.”

Niko put his hands behind his back, his face grim. “The cloud will change any remaining survivors on the planet into Gizzida.” His accent was deeper than usual.

Unhappy grumbles filled the room.

“We have to find a way to neutralize the bombs,” Holmes said.

“We can’t attack the facilities holding these devices,” Dak Vaughn said. “Our bomb is stored in the Hoover Dam, so it would be difficult to get to anyway, but even if we could, it would likely set the bomb off.”

Selena raised a brow at the man’s wonderful, liquid voice. It was completely at odds with his rugged face.

“And if we dismantle the casing or the detonators,” Alexander said. “They’ll just build more.”

“We need to find a way to neutralize the genetic fluid.” This came from a tall man with long, black hair brushing his shoulders. Noah Kim was the head of the Enclave’s tech team. Emerson moved up beside him, nodding.

“We’re already running tests on the Gizzida samples we have—” the doctor held her hands out “—and I wish I could tell you we have some promising results, but we don’t have anything useful yet.” Emerson tucked some of her blonde hair behind her ear. “It might help if we had samples of the actual fluid in the bomb.”

A buzz of conversation broke out. Everyone knew getting a sample would be dangerous. The bombs were heavily protected, and if the Gizzida caught anyone near the bombs…

Selena chewed her lip. They were running out of time. Once the bombs were ready, the Gizzida would set them off.

Her stomach rolled, making her feel sick.

She might be able to help.

She looked at photos of the bombs on a nearby screen. They were large and octagonal shaped, made of a matte-black metal. In some images, the top was open.

In order to help though, she needed to see the bomb in real life. She needed to touch it, smell it, feel it.

She dragged in a deep breath, icy fear pooling in her belly. To have any chance at saving her new home and family, she needed to head into the heart of alien territory.

CHAPTER THREE

Tane pushed open the door to the armory and firing range. Instantly, he was assaulted with the noise of carbines and other weapons firing.

The armory team did a great job of keeping the weapons maintained, as well as coming up with new designs. It was all headed up by Tane’s big brother.

He strode in, taking in some of the squad members in the lanes, firing different weapons. Then he turned toward the office. Manu was easy to spot—he was tall, black polo shirt biting into his big biceps, black ink down one arm, and his black hair curled at his collar. He’d been a berserker until he’d lost a leg on a shitty mission.

Tane’s gut tightened. He hated remembering those horrible, bloody moments. They’d come so close to losing Manu, and after they’d already lost their family—their ma, stepfather, and lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins—in New Zealand during the invasion, Tane hadn’t wanted to lose his brother as well.

But Manu was made of grit and steel. He’d pulled through, and with a new prosthetic leg, he hadn’t slowed down much. Now, he ran the armory and range with a firm hand, and did a brilliant job at it.

Right now, Manu’s lips were locked with those of a fit-looking brunette—his tough, new wife Kate, head of Enclave Security.

The pair broke apart, smiling at each other. Manu toyed with his woman’s hair, both of them whispering to each other. So fucking happy. So in love.

Tane was glad. Manu was built to cherish a woman.

The boom of a large gun from a firing lane made Tane jolt. It was an old-fashioned, combat shotgun. He hadn’t heard one fired for years.

They’d been used far too often in the jungle. In an instant, he was back in the humid, stinking South American wilderness—shouts, screams, and gunfire echoing in his ears. The hot smell of blood in his nostrils.

He closed his eyes and breathed deep. The place never left him—the things he’d seen nor things he’d done were ever forgotten. Even aliens invading hadn’t changed that.

“Hi, Tane.”

He opened his eyes and saw Kate walking toward him.

He nodded. “Kate.”

“You okay?” his sister-in-law asked.

He lifted his chin.

She nodded. “Good. Stay safe. Your brother worries about you.”

He grunted. “No need.”

“Hey,” Manu drawled from behind Tane.

When he turned, Manu had joined them and was smiling.

“Let my woman get to work or she’ll be late.”

“You two have fun.” Kate left with a small smile and a wave.

Manu and Tane hugged each other, slapping each other’s backs.

“Came to see if you wanted to share a beer,” Tane said.

“Sure.” Manu turned. “Alex, keep an eye on things. I’m clocking off.”

“Sure thing, Manu,” a young man called out.

They headed out into the corridor.

“Day off?” Manu asked.

Tane nodded. Not that he’d wanted the day off. He preferred to be in the field, but he wasn’t given a choice. Holmes was pedantic about the squads having time to recuperate and recharge.

“Where are the guys?”

Tane stared straight ahead. “Locked up with their women.”

Manu laughed. “Place will be overflowing with babies by the time we beat the aliens.”

“You think we will? Beat them?”

Manu’s dark brows drew together. “Hell, yeah. You don’t?”

“I only think of my current mission. Who knows if you’ll be alive for the next one?”

His brother’s scowl deepened. “You were always an intense kid, Tane. Focused, serious, determined, and coming up with contingency plans for if things went bad. But you used to smile, too. I hate what those years as a merc did to you.”

Fuck. “I did my job.”

“I know. You saved abducted oil execs, rescued villages from local criminals. Hell, you took down a dangerous drug cartel almost singlehandedly.”

Tane grunted.

“I wish you could believe that what you had to do in order to save all those people was worth it.”

He’d done it because he was good at it. End of story. He was good at stalking, hunting, and killing. He’d known from a young age that he’d never be able to wear a suit, sit at a fucking desk, or make goddamn small talk.

This was a conversation Tane didn’t want to have. Thankfully, at that moment, they reached the rec room. As they entered, he saw that the place wasn’t too busy, but despite the talking and laughter, there was a low-level tension running through the room.

Manu frowned. “Everyone’s edgy. Talking about the bombs.”

Tane grunted. “Not much else to talk about right now.”

They grabbed two homebrews and found some empty stools.

“Any news on the bombs?” his brother asked.

Tane shifted a shoulder. “Geek squad is trying to find a way to defuse them. It’s not easy.”

It was even harder for his squad. It sucked when you knew where the bombs were, but you couldn’t do anything about them. He hated just sitting on his ass.

He and Manu fell into easy conversation—about the firing range, the squad’s latest missions, weapons Manu was working on, and their favorite subject, rugby. God, Tane missed rugby with his cousins.

Soon their beers were empty.

“Want another?” Tane asked.

“Why not? We’ve got to take the small pleasures where we can.”

Tane headed to the self-service bar and set the empties in a recycling bucket before he grabbed two new bottles from the cooler. The homebrew wasn’t bad, but damn, he missed real beer.

As he looked at the bottle of his homebrew, he wondered if he’d ever have real beer again. Would this alien apocalypse really end? Could they really fight the Gizzida off for good? The one thing he did know, though, whatever happened—he glanced at Manu—Tane would fight to the very end. For his brothers, for the women they loved, for the people he couldn’t save in the past, and for the people he’d killed.

A flash of white caught his eye.

Selena. His chest tightened, beer bottles in his hands clinking together.

She was wearing a pair of dark, tight jeans, and a green T-shirt the same color as her eyes. Her platinum hair was loose, and she looked like a fairy who’d escaped some garden paradise. She leaned over the bar on the other side of the room where the non-alcoholic drinks were kept. He had the perfect view of denim cupping her sweet, little ass and his teeth clicked together.

She was small, but perfectly put together.

Straightening, she turned her head and their gazes met.

It felt like the sound in the room faded away, as though someone had turned a volume dial. It was just the two of them.

Those large, green eyes widened. Damn, he was fascinated by those eyes.

Suddenly, someone stepped in front of him, blocking his view of Selena.

“Hi there, Tane.”

The woman was tall and slim, with long legs she showed off in a short skirt. Brown curls tumbled around her shoulders.

He wracked his brain for a name. Nicole? Naomi?

“Nina,” she purred. She put a hand on his forearm, stroking his tattoo.

He remembered now. She was a former model who worked in the Enclave kitchens, and complained about it a lot.

He lifted his chin. “Yeah.”

She stepped closer, and a cloud of perfume hit him—strong and musky.

“All the other Rahia brothers are taken now. I wanted to see if you’re up for a hot, sweaty fuck.” She lowered her voice. “I’m open to all options.”

Behind Nina, he saw Selena walk away, heading toward where Hawk pilot Finn and his woman Lia sat.

Selena shot him a quick look over her shoulder, then looked at Nina, and then she glanced away.

“Tane?” Nina frowned at him.

“Not interested.” Part of him wanted to follow Selena and—

And nothing. He circled Nina and headed back toward Manu.

“Are you turning me down?” Nina’s voice held a thread of incredulousness.

“Appreciate the offer.” He did appreciate when people were upfront. He hated games. “But I’m not interested.”

She huffed out a breath. “Fine. Don’t expect me to offer again.”

He leveled her with a stare, and her breath hitched. She spun and hurried away.

Reaching Manu, he handed his brother his beer.

“What was that about?” Manu asked.

“Nothing interesting.” Tane sat down.

“You need a woman. She’s got great legs.”

Tane rolled his eyes. “Don’t you start.” He glanced surreptitiously across the rec room. Selena was gone. He sank back in his chair and took a long sip of his beer.

“Scratch that,” Manu said slowly. “I think what you need is an alien.”

Tane froze with the bottle near his mouth. “Manu—”

“If you think I don’t see the way you watch her, then you aren’t as sharp as I thought.”

Tane swirled his beer. “She’s been traumatized enough. She’s alone, vulnerable—”

“She was. She’s not anymore. Open your eyes, bro.”

A uniformed soldier stopped beside them, standing to attention. Damn, the boy was young. He looked like he was about to salute, or genuflect, or something.

Tane shared an amused glance with Manu. “Yes, soldier?”

“General Holmes sent me from the Command Center,” the young man said. “He requested you meet him ASAP.”

Tane straightened and set his beer down on the table with a click.

“Got to go, Manu.”

His brother nodded. “Sure thing.”

Something was up.

SELENA TRIED NOT to fidget as she sat on the edge of a chair in front of General Holmes’ desk.

He was standing, talking with Santha Ramos, head of the Intel team, and Devlin Gray, Santha’s second-in-command.

The office door opened, and Marcus Steele strode in.

The rugged man nodded at her before leaning against the wall. A second later, Roth Masters entered. He nodded at the others and gave Selena a faint smile. He sat down in a chair close to hers.

The door opened again and every muscle in her body tensed.

Tane strode in like a Florum hunting cat. He spotted her, paused, then frowned.

She wished he would get some other expressions on his face whenever he looked at her.

She’d seen him with that woman. A beautiful woman. She’d been tall, with dark hair, and they’d looked good together. A matching set.

And Selena had felt the uncharacteristic urge to do harm, and scratch the woman’s eyes out.

“Tane, take a seat,” Holmes said.

Instead, Tane crossed his arms and stood against the wall beside Marcus.

Holmes didn’t sit, either. He pressed his hands to his desk and leaned forward.

“I’m authorizing a very small team to infiltrate Blue Mountain Base.”

The squad leaders all tensed, and Selena felt energy pumping off them.

“Emerson and Noah need samples of the fluid,” Holmes continued.

“Damn,” Roth muttered. “Won’t be easy.”

Holmes blew out a breath. “No, it won’t.”

“Why is Selena here?” Tane’s deep voice did not sound happy.

She stiffened her spine.

“Selena came to discuss some things with me.” Holmes nodded at her encouragingly.

Selena turned in her chair. “I may be able to find a way to neutralize the bombs.” She swallowed. “I’m not making any promises, but I need to see the bomb in person—”

“What?” Tane barked. “No.”

She met furious brown eyes so dark they looked black.

“I use all my senses more deeply than humans,” she said. “A photograph tells me very little.” She needed to smell, touch, and feel the energy coming from it. “I need to see the bomb, touch it—”

“General.” Tane sounded like he was talking through closed teeth. “This is a very bad idea—”

“We’re out of options, Tane. I don’t want to risk Selena either, but we’re all a part of this fight. And if we don’t find a way to defuse these bombs, we’re all dead anyway.”

“She’s been through too much,” Tane said.

Selena shot to her feet. Did he see her as weak, damaged?

“I’m not broken. Maybe I was when you first found me, but you, all of you, put me back together. You gave me a home, and I want to fight for it too.”

Tane’s jaw hardened.

“I’ve discussed this with Santha and Devlin,” Holmes said. “A small team, three or four people, have the best chance of getting in without being detected. Selena, Santha, Devlin—”

“I’m going.” Tane’s voice was clipped and unyielding. “You need firepower.”

Holmes released a breath. “Fine. I was going to ask for a squad volunteer.” The general sat in his chair. “The four of you will infiltrate Blue Mountain Base. Do not engage the Gizzida. Get the samples and let Selena see the bomb, and then get out.”

Tane’s burning gaze met hers. He was so angry and the emotion filled the room. She made herself hold his stare.

“You cannot get caught,” Holmes went on. “You’ll go in with illusion armor. If they spot you…”

The general didn’t finish his thought. They all knew. If the aliens discovered that they were in there, looking at the bomb, they could move it, or worse, detonate it.

“You’ll have no comms support once you’re inside,” Holmes added. “The base is too reinforced.”

“We’ll go in tonight,” Santha said. “It gives us the rest of the afternoon to prep.”

A map appeared on the screen on the general’s desk. It was an image showing the heavily forested Blue Mountains, and Selena knew it was the area close to the old Blue Mountain Base.

“The Hawk will drop us here.” Santha pointed. “We’ll hike in and use an old entrance. The drone team have been watching, and the aliens don’t appear to be using it.”

Selena sucked her bottom lip into her mouth.

This was going to be dangerous and she was afraid. Being the Gizzida’s captive had been the most horrible experience of her life. She never, ever wanted to go back there.

But she’d do her bit to give her new friends and family a chance at life.

She thought of Finn and Lia, Claudia and Shaw, Elle and Marcus, her rescued pet bird, Fluffy. Tane.

She wasn’t weak or hurt anymore. The Earth had amped up her natural-born abilities, so she wasn’t defenseless.

And she wouldn’t be alone. Santha and Devlin snuck in and out of alien territory all the time.

She glanced at Tane again. And Tane never lost a fight.

“Okay, go and prepare,” Holmes said. “Good luck.”

Tane moved across the office in two long strides and grabbed Selena’s arm. He pulled her out of her chair.

“Private discussion. Now.” As he dragged her out of the room, she saw Holmes raise his gaze to the ceiling, Santha smiling, and the other men all looking highly amused.

CHAPTER FOUR

Tane held on to his temper by the thinnest edge.

He towed Selena out of the Command Center and down the hall. She had to jog to keep up with him.

“Tane—”

He pulled her into an empty side tunnel and spun her around.

“You want to be back in Gizzida hands? Be their prisoner again?”

She sucked in a sharp breath.

He was an asshole to make her afraid, but he couldn’t stop himself. He needed to get through to her.

“No.” She straightened, her green gaze direct. “I’m not going to be their prisoner. I’ll be with Santha and Devlin, and with you. And I’m not helpless, Tane. Not anymore.”

Emotion burned through his chest and he punched his fist into the wall above her head.

She flinched, then her slim fingers circled his forearm, right over his tattoo. He felt that small touch burn through to the bone. He couldn’t look away from the contrast of her pale, pale skin on his browner skin and its black ink.

“I know you’ll keep me safe. I need to see that bomb, Tane. I have to help keep this place and its people safe. If those bombs go off…”

They’d all be Gizzida.

Tane lowered his head, wants and needs pulling at him. Her eyes widened, her chest hitched, and her gaze dropped to his lips.

He fought back all those urges. He ran his nose along hers and heard her pull in a long breath.

“You have to stay safe.” His voice was deep and gritty.

“You do, too,” she whispered. “Sometimes I think you forget how many people care about you.”

That was all the contact he dared allow himself. Gritting his teeth, he stepped back. He was still pissed about this mission. He needed some time to clear his head.

“I’ll see you in the Hawk hangar. Be ready.”

As he strode away, he flexed his hands. He felt her watching him. He could still feel the touch of her fingers in every cell of his body.

Moments later, he slammed into his squad’s locker room.

Someone had taped a hand-drawn caricature to his locker. It showed a big, muscled soldier in armor with dreadlocks and a dark scowl. In his arms, the soldier was holding a pretty, tiny woman with large eyes who looked up at him adoringly.

He ripped the picture off the metal.

“Told you he’d be in a bad mood.”

Levi’s voice. Tane looked over his shoulder. His squad was all lined up in the locker room.

Shit. He’d been so preoccupied thinking about Selena that he hadn’t even noticed them.

He yanked open his locker. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Heard you’re going on a mission,” Hemi said. “Without us.”

Tane turned. Hemi had his brawny arms crossed over his chest and was scowling. Ash and Levi lounged on the benches. Dom leaned against the wall, playing with a switchblade. The ex-Mafia enforcer liked knives. Griff sat on another bench, his knees apart, his hands dangling between them. He was studying Tane, his considering gaze reminding Tane that Griff had once been a cop.

“A small recon mission only. We’re going into Blue Mountain Base with Santha and Devlin.”

“And Selena,” Griff added.

Damn grapevine was alive and well at the Enclave. Tane gave a single nod. “She says she needs to see the bomb.”

“You sound pissed, bro,” Hemi said.

Tane ground his teeth together. That was an understatement.

“You like her,” Hemi said. “We all see that. She’s a sweet, sexy little thing—”

Tane growled.

That made Hemi grin. “Stop fighting so hard.”

“She’s been torn from her family, her planet. The Gizzida had her imprisoned for months. She went through hell.”

“She’s better now, man,” Ash said. “She’s stronger, safe—”

There was admiration in the former biker’s voice. Selena had used her healing ability to save Ash’s woman, Marin, from dying. He had a mile-wide soft spot for Selena.

“I want to keep her feeling that way, not take her back to the fucking aliens,” Tane said.

“So keep her safe.” Hemi stepped forward. “She’s safest right beside you. And she’s full of surprises. She might even save your ass.”

“And when you get back, you should claim her sweet ass,” Levi suggested.

Tane growled again. “Don’t talk about her ass.”

They all watched him for a long moment, and he finally let out a breath. They were his brothers, and he knew they meant well.

“I understand.” Dom’s voice was deep, colored with his Italian accent. “I know what it’s like to believe that you don’t deserve the light and beauty of a woman. To know your hands are stained, and you shouldn’t sully her with them.”

“That’s bullshit,” Hemi said. “You and Arden are in love. You make her happy.” Hemi’s dark brows lowered. “And Tane isn’t stained or fucking dirty. You deserve a woman who cares about you, who lights you up.”

Tane yanked his armor out of his locker and slammed it into place on his chest. “I have a mission to prep for.”

“Stubborn ass,” Hemi muttered.

“We’ll gang up on him when he gets back,” Griff said. “We’re berserkers. We always win.”

Fastening his armor, Tane ignored them.

“Yeah, we’ll be fucking matchmakers,” Levi said. “We’ll push our cute little alien at him so much, he won’t be able to resist her.”

With a sigh, Tane turned to look at them. “Get out.”

Levi pointed at him and grinned. “You’re going down, Rahia.”

“Out,” he barked.

They filed out with laughs and waves.

Hemi was the last to leave. “Be careful out there.”

Tane lifted his chin.

“Tane?”

He looked at his brother.

“You’re the best damn man I know.” With that, Hemi was gone.

SELENA FINISHED FASTENING HER ARMOR. Her hair was in a tight braid, and she was ready.

She released a deep breath. Okay, not totally ready. Her nerves were jangling, and her stomach felt sick.

She didn’t want to get close to any raptors, and she definitely didn’t want to be right in the middle of their base.

Closing her eyes, old memories battered her mind—being chained, being hit, the Gizzida scientists touching her. She blew out a breath. That’s the past, Selena. It didn’t matter that she was afraid.

But she needed to see that bomb.

She headed down the hall toward the Hawk hangar.

A part of her was sorry that Tane was mad, but she was also a little angry. She wasn’t a child. Her belly contracted. Dammit. She’d slowly picked up a few human curse words, and she liked them. Her language was far too complicated and complex to use, and the Florum didn’t have curse words.

Dammit, did Tane think of her like a child? She knew she was a little smaller than most humans.

Selena licked her lips. No, she might not have loads of experience with the opposite sex, but she was pretty sure he didn’t look at her like she was a child.

“Hey there. Selena, right?”

She looked up to see a man blocking her way.

He was tall and not unattractive. He had a pleasant face, with brown hair and a nice smile.

“Hi,” she said.

“I’m John. I work on the Enclave maintenance crew.”

She nodded. “I’m in a bit of a rush, John.”

He looked at her armor and nodded, then his gaze dropped to her hands. He stared at them in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.

“I wanted to see if you’d like to grab a drink sometime. Hang out.”

She gave him a polite smile. She really didn’t have time for this. “I don’t think so.”

He stepped closer. “I’d like to get to know you.” Then his voice lowered to a purr. “Is your skin that pale all over?”

She knew instantly what he was. She’d met a few like him. Men turned on by her alien differences.

“I need to go.”

His hand shot out and he grabbed her arm. “Hey, I’m being nice.”

That sparked her anger. “I said I need to go, and you’re detaining me. How is that nice?”

His smile vanished. “You’re different, weird. You don’t belong here. You should be happy I’m showing you some attention.”

Her anger swelled, causing her energy to spark. With a curse, he jerked and snatched his hand back.

Suddenly, someone brushed past her and shoved John against the wall.

“You don’t touch her. Ever.” Tane’s voice was as sharp as a combat knife. “And you never talk to her like that.”

John spluttered.

“Ever,” Tane repeated.

Oh, no. Selena grabbed Tane’s arm. She needed to defuse the situation. “It’s okay, Tane. Let him go.”

Tane’s big body vibrated. “You got me?”

John nodded rapidly.

Finally, Tane released the man. John took off down the corridor.

“You okay?” Tane glared at the retreating man.

“He’s not the first idiot I’ve dealt with.”

Now Tane’s dark gaze swiveled to her, and his scowl deepened.

“Um, we should get to the hangar,” she suggested.

Without a word, he took her hand and dragged her down the corridor. “How many guys like that have you had to deal with?”

“Tane, it’s fine.” She tugged on his hand. “I’m different, I get that. They’re curious. Besides, I can take care of myself.”

He spun, towering over her. “He was bigger than you.”

Well, Tane was much bigger than John, but she chose not to point that out. She studied his face and the tight line of his jaw. He seemed really upset.

She touched a hand to his chest, and even through the carbon fiber of his armor, she felt the flow of energy between them. A muscle at the corner of his eye twitched.

She couldn’t control it with him. It was like he made a part of her lose control.

“Like I said,” she said. “I can take care of myself.” She patted his chest, then circled around him and walked into the hangar.

Inside, there was a hive of activity. The maintenance team worked on the Hawks. One was being slowly pieced back together, and another was being painted.

Santha and Dev were in full armor, standing beside another Hawk that was being readied to leave.

Selena took two steps when all of a sudden, a storage closet built into the wall opened and a young woman burst out. Her hair—currently streaked with blue—was a wild mess and she had a smug look on her face.

“Oh, hey there, Selena.”

“Hi, Maddy.” With a wide smile, the young Hawk pilot bounced her way across the hangar.

A lanky man slid out of the closet, closing the door behind him, and Selena tried to hide her smile. Eric was one of Noah’s tech team members and he was a sweet, cute geek. His blond hair was seriously mussed, his glasses were askew, and his cheeks were flushed.

“You doing some tech work down here in the Hawk hangar, Eric?” Selena asked.

“Tech work…yeah, that’s…um, yes.” Turning, he pushed past Tane who’d just entered the hangar.

Selena kept smiling, happy for the young couple. She looked up and saw Tane staring at her mouth and her smile fled. Turning quickly, she headed for the Hawk.

When Santha saw her, the woman smiled. “All ready, Selena?” The woman tossed the end of her dark braid over her shoulder.

Selena nodded.

Finn appeared in the open side door of the quadcopter. “Good evening, folks, the night flight to the Blue Mountains is leaving soon. Please take your seats and stow your luggage.”

Tane grunted and climbed aboard. Selena climbed up, and Finn reached down and grabbed her hand. He smiled as he pulled her in.

“Is Fluffy with Lia?” Selena asked.

The pilot nodded and tweaked her nose.

The two of them had become good friends after Finn had rescued a tiny gyr chick on a mission. The bird’s mother had been taken by the Gizzida from Selena’s planet and experimented on. Fluffy was now a large bird of prey with a sweet tooth and who liked cuddling.

When he wasn’t with Selena, he stayed with Finn and Lia, who spoiled him rotten.

“I bet the two of them are snuggled up watching a movie.” Finn smiled, but then it faded. “I hate the thought of you out there.”

“This is important. And I won’t be alone.”

Finn’s gaze flicked to Tane, who was stowing his gear at the back of the quadcopter.

“No, you won’t.” Finn kissed her cheek. “Stay safe.” The pilot turned and headed toward the cockpit. “All right, let’s get this show on the road.”

Selena settled into one of the seats. As she buckled her belt, she heard sirens blare, followed by the clank of the overhead doors retracting.

Moments later, the Hawk smoothly lifted up. They cleared the rock walls, and then hovered in the night sky.

Down below, there was darkness as far as she could see.

She glanced at Tane, who was standing, scowling out the window. Santha and Dev sat in the seats in front of her, talking quietly.

Then the Hawk zoomed into the night, heading northwest toward the Blue Mountains.

CHAPTER FIVE

The Hawk lowered down into a small clearing in the trees. Branches brushed the side of the quadcopter. It was tight, and only a pilot with Finn’s skill could do this.

Tane released a slow breath, readying himself for the mission.

Beside him, Santha tightened the straps on her backpack. Her long, lean body was coiled and ready. She was a mother now—she and Cruz had an adopted daughter, and another baby that they’d had about a year ago. It hadn’t slowed Santha down.

She’d survived alone in the ruins of Sydney for a long time, before she’d crossed paths with Cruz and Hell Squad.

On the other side of Tane, Devlin checked his weapons. The guy had a face that all the women at the Enclave mooned over, and even in carbon fiber armor, he looked like he should be in a suit, cradling a glass of some expensive liquor. The former spy was an invaluable part of the Intel team. He’d also fallen for the tough, gorgeous Taylor Cates from Squad Nine.

Knowing that both of these people had loved ones back at the Enclave sharpened Tane’s nerves. People depended on them, and needed them back safely.

He glanced at Selena in the faint light. She was focused. Her armor looked a little too big for her, but she showed no fear. Although she was biting her lip, so he guessed she was nervous.

Without thinking, he reached out and touched her gloved hand. Her gaze flicked up to his and he squeezed her fingers. She gave him a small smile that he liked far too much.

“Good luck,” Finn called back from the cockpit. “Take care of Selena.”

“Selena can take care of herself,” she called back.

Tane opened the door, and cool, night air rushed in.

He jumped out, then turned and gripped Selena’s waist. As Santha and Devlin jumped out quietly, he lifted Selena down until her boots hit the ground.

“You should have a weapon,” he said.

“I don’t like them.” She wiggled her fingers. “And I don’t really need one.”

No, there was a lot of power packed into that small body.

The Hawk lifted up with a wash of air. Its illusion system clicked on and it vanished, pulling away and leaving them alone in the darkness.

“Okay, illusion armor on,” Santha said.

“And night-vision lenses too,” Tane added.

He watched everyone slide the night-vision lens over their left eyes. Then they activated the controls for their illusion armor. One by one, they blinked out of view. Tane touched the controls on his forearm. The illusion system was a smaller version of what kept the Hawks near-invisible in the sky. The technology bent and blurred light and muffled sounds, and would keep them hidden from alien eyes.

Santha stepped in close and reappeared. “Let’s go. Stay close.”

They moved off in single file through the trees. If they stood close enough to each other, they moved inside each other’s illusion field.

Selena was right in front of him, and he kept her in view. She was keeping up, but also looking around the night-drenched forest. She breathed deep, and touched some leaves as they passed a tree.

She loved nature, and he saw that she was soaking it in.

“We’re getting close to the entrance,” Santha murmured.

Finally, Santha stopped and nodded. Devlin opened a small toolkit and crouched near some rocks. He pushed a spot on the rock, and the rough, gray surface slid back to reveal a comp pad set into the stone.

Dev went to work on it.

Tane lifted his carbine and scanned the green-tinged darkness. They didn’t need any unexpected alien visitors.

“Let’s hope there isn’t a raptor welcoming party on the other side of the door,” Santha murmured.

“This entrance is in a fairly distant part of the base,” Devlin said in his crisp British accent.

Selena shifted. “I’m not sensing any Gizzida nearby. They’re close, but not right here.”

Tane eyed her, wondering what other skills she had.

There was a quiet beep.

“Got it,” Dev said.

A door set in the rock slid open, uncovering a dark tunnel.

“I’ll go first.” Tane ducked his head and stepped inside, his weapon up.

The tunnel was dark and dank. No one had been here for a long time. It’d been a year since they’d been forced to abandon the base and rushed south to find the Enclave.

He scanned around. “It’s clear.”

The others moved inside, and the door clicked closed behind them.

“Stay close,” Tane said.

They moved together down the tunnel. He passed through some spiderwebs, and he had no idea if they’d been made by regular spiders, or alien-hybrid ones.

Tane spotted an abandoned shoe, a torn blanket, some old trash. Things that had been discarded during the attack.

They moved into another tunnel, making their way closer to the heart of the base. That was where Ari Matthews had said she’d seen the bomb.

A loud, guttural roar echoed off the walls, and they all froze.

“It didn’t sound close,” Santha said.

Tane wondered what kind of creatures the Gizzida were creating in here. They loved infecting native animals with their DNA. He also wondered if there were more human prisoners trapped somewhere in the maze of rooms and tunnels. He pressed his lips together. If there were, he couldn’t save them today, and the thought burned.

They continued on, but a few minutes later, they heard the thud of heavy boots approaching.

Shit. Tane pointed into a side tunnel. Santha and Devlin slid around the corner and crouched. Tane gripped Selena’s hand and tugged her into the tunnel. He pressed her against the wall, just as two raptors walked past.

A patrol. They murmured to each other in their guttural language, their scaled weapons in their clawed hands.

Tane waited for them to disappear into the darkness. He nodded. “Let’s move.”

They headed back down the tunnel. Doors were open, revealing old living quarters. In several rooms he spotted unmade beds and overturned tables.

“Wait.” Selena grabbed his arm.

They all tensed.

Tane cocked his head, but heard nothing but the drip of water. “What is—?”

The slithering sound of something moving over the concrete made his muscles tense even more.

He swiveled and saw a bug slide into view on the floor.

It moved like a snake, with a long body as thick as Tane’s wrist, but it had a large head with bug-like pincers on it, and a row of red eyes above.

It was one of the hybrid beasts the aliens liked cooking up.

Dammit, Tane couldn’t shoot it. They were too close to the raptors. One whine of his laser and they’d descend on them in a rush. He yanked his combat knife off his belt.

The bug stilled. It shouldn’t be able to see them, but it sensed them.

It coiled its sinuous body like a cobra. Then before Tane could come up with a plan, it launched off the ground and flew straight at him.

Shit.

SELENA SUCKED IN A SHARP BREATH.

The alien creature launched itself at Tane. From behind her, Dev muttered a low curse. Selena’s fingertips tingled with energy.

Tane’s knife flashed through the darkness. He moved fast, his deadly moves a near-blur.

The Gizzida creature hit his chest armor and he staggered into the wall. But he rammed the knife deep into the creature’s slimy body, while his other hand clenched just below the alien’s snapping pincers, holding it away from his face.

The alien let out a low sound, and its long tail whipped up, wrapping around Tane’s neck.

Selena gasped. He staggered again, almost tripping over, as he tried to pry the bug off his neck.

“Fuck,” Santha said.

Dev and Santha surged forward. The alien’s head whipped around, and its sharp pincers snapped at them.

Selena circled around from the other side, trying to think. How could she help Tane without hurting him?

Her fingers tingled again, but she couldn’t draw much power in here. All this concrete cut off her connection to the Earth.

Tane grunted, jerking against the creature. His face was strained as he struggled for air.

Screw this. Selena darted in. The alien swiveled its head, snapping at her, but she ducked. She reached around and touched its slimy body, right near where it was coiled around Tane’s neck.

The alien struck at her, its pinchers digging into her hand and tearing through her glove. She winced but ignored the pain.

She managed to pour a shot of electricity through the alien. She couldn’t avoid some of it leaking into Tane.

His big body jolted, but the creature shook wildly and released him. It slapped onto the floor, flopping around like a fish out of water.

Rubbing his neck, Tane lifted a boot and stomped on the creature.

Selena looked away.

“You all right, Tane?” Santha asked.

“Yeah.” He looked at Selena. “Thanks.”

Through the strange night-vision lens, she could see the ugly marks on his neck. It would bruise badly. She reached up to touch it.

He grabbed her wrist. “Save your energy until we get out of here.”

She desperately wanted to heal him, but he had a point. She nodded.

Then he turned her hand over and frowned. “You’re hurt.”

The alien had left an ugly gouge on her hand. It stung and was bleeding, but it was nothing major. Her blood glowed bright green through the night-vision lens.

“It’ll be okay,” she said.

Tane pulled something from his pocket, then wrapped some fabric around her hand. It carried his scent.

“Hold this until the bleeding stops.” He turned to the others. “Let’s go. We’re close.”

They crept through the tunnels. It was hard to imagine that the survivors had once called this base home. Selena followed Tane, trying to be as quiet as possible. They had to hide from another raptor patrol, but then they made it to the central area.

It was a part of the base that had collapsed in the alien attack. Selena gasped. They crouched by the open edge.

Several levels of the base had been blown apart and collapsed inward. It left a large cavernous central core with several levels opening into it.

Down below, the large, black, octagonal bomb sat in the middle of a hive of alien activity.

Lighting units had been set up, washing red light over the space. Several Gizzida computer stations with black screens and piles of black data cubes sat dotted around. Cables were strung between them—sinewy and organic. They pulsed gently.

But her gaze moved to the bomb.

She felt the ugly throb of energy from it. It felt…wrong.

“I need to get closer,” she whispered.

A muscle ticked in Tane’s jaw.

“And I need to get the samples,” Santha added.

“While you do that, I’ll try and collect some of the data cubes,” Dev said.

Santha nodded. “Go. Be careful.”

Devlin pulled back, disappearing into the shadows.

Tane tilted his head. “Follow me.”

They headed down some stairs and as they got close to the lower level, Santha hissed. “Raptors.”

Selena’s heart pounded in her chest. They had nowhere to hide. They pressed back against the wall and she hoped their illusion systems would hide them. Her heart was thumping so hard she was pretty sure the raptors would hear it.

The aliens got closer. Their bootsteps echoed off the tunnel walls and she stared at their ugly, scaled faces.

She tried to feel sorry for them. Once, they’d been stolen from their worlds and changed into Gizzida.

But whoever they’d been before, those people, those beings, were long gone. Now, they followed the mindless directive to consume and destroy.

Tane touched her arm and she drew in a calming breath.

The raptors moved past them.

“Now,” Tane murmured.

He pushed away from the wall and they followed him. They darted out into the large area, heading toward the bomb. They moved in behind a stack of Gizzida gear. They paused for a second, then Tane nodded. They darted out again, heading toward a stack of black crates.

“Hold.”

Ducking down behind a crate, she ignored the blinking red lights on it. Instead, she watched Tane’s face. He was so strong, so focused. That’s what she’d first noticed about him, his rock-steady core of strength. It made her feel safe.

He nodded and they crept closer. The bomb was ahead of them—big and imposing.

Selena pulled in the syrupy, organic scent that filled the air. It made her nostrils burn.

She noted several Gizzida scientists close by—a little taller and less muscular than the main Gizzida soldiers. They were working at some of the comp stations and strange raptor symbols blinked on the black screens. Tane skirted away from them, and led them up to the octagon.

Selena took in the black metal that formed the bomb’s casing. She pressed her palm to it and was inundated with sensations—warmth, life, death.

“Tane, I need a boost,” Santha said.

The woman held up two clear, heavy-duty storage containers.

“Don’t touch the fluid,” Selena warned. They’d learned that the stuff burned.

Santha nodded. “Noah designed these containers to withstand anything.”

Tane knelt and cupped his hands together. Santha pressed her boot to his hands and he boosted her up. She clung to the edge of the bomb, which was open at the top, and reached inside.

“Got the first sample.” She paused. “And the second.”

Once Tane lifted her down, Santha passed the bottles to Selena. As Selena touched the containers, her fingers tingled. She lifted one up, looking at the brown fluid.

Hard to believe that this fluid was capable of infecting people, taking over their bodies, and turning them into Gizzida. How could they stop this?

“I’ve got two more,” Santha said.

Tane boosted her up again. But a second later, he muttered, “Think we may have trouble.”

Several raptors were congregating on the other side of the space, looking around. Like they were searching for someone.

“We need to go.” Tane lifted Santha down. “You got what you needed?”

“Yes.” Santha packed the containers into her backpack.

“Selena?” Tane murmured.

She nodded. She wasn’t sure there was anything she could do about defusing the bomb. She’d thought that seeing it would spark some kind of inspiration, a way for her to shut down these bombs.

But right now, she had nothing.

Tane pointed for them to leave. There would be time for her to think about the bombs later.

Slowly, Tane picked his way through the space, leading them away from the raptors. They slipped back into the tunnel.

Dev appeared out of the shadows, stepping inside their illusions. “I think the raptors know we’re here, or at least that something is off.”

Tane’s jaw firmed. “Let’s get—” He froze. “Raptors incoming.”

Selena swiveled and saw several jogging down another tunnel. Right at them.

Her pulse spiked. In only a few more meters, they’d be inside their illusion systems and see them.

CHAPTER SIX

Fuck.

Tane watched the large group of raptors getting closer. They’d be on him and the others in a second, and then they were all fucked.

Selena brushed against him. She pressed her slim palm to the wall and closed her eyes.

What was she doing?

He glanced back at Santha and Devlin. Both had their combat knives drawn, faces tense.

Tane studied the raptors again. They might be able to take down all of them, but it wouldn’t be quiet. The aliens would definitely know they were here.

The ground vibrated.

What the hell?

A line of dust poured down from the ceiling.

He focused on Selena. Her face was strained, her fingers pressed hard against the concrete. The vibrations increased.

The raptors slowed, grunted, and looked around.

More dust rained down from above.

Tane looked up. Shit. Cracks were appearing in the tunnel ceiling.

He stepped closer to Selena.

The raptors were communicating in their guttural language, staring at the spider web of cracks overhead.

All of a sudden, a tree root speared down.

Hell. It slammed into a raptor. More roots followed, breaking through the concrete. Chunks fell on the raptors and more roots pushed down, filling the tunnel.

“Oh, my God,” Santha whispered.

The roots wrapped around the raptors. One fired his weapon, poison hitting the wall and some of the roots. The scent of burning filled the tunnel.

Selena’s face turned even paler than usual and was sheened with sweat. Her body started shaking.

Tane pressed against her back, his mouth to her ear. “Enough. They’re trapped.”

But Selena kept staring at the raptors. More roots moved and twisted. The raptors’ shouts filled the tunnel.

Tane wrapped an arm around her. Her heart was beating impossibly fast. “Selena, enough.”

She pulled her hand back from the wall and slumped against him.

“We can get out this way.” Dev pointed at a side tunnel.

Selena looked exhausted. Tane lifted her into his arms.

“Tane.” Her voice was low and shaky.

“Quiet.” She felt so small and light in his arms.

He followed Dev and Santha, moving fast. But with each step, he worried about Selena’s breathing. It was too fast.

He needed to get her out of here first, before he could do anything else.

Finally, they reached the external door, and Dev opened it. They stepped outside and Selena sucked in the cool, night air.

“Let’s put some distance between them and us.” Santha’s pale-green gaze fell on Selena. “She okay?”

“She will be,” Tane said.

They moved into the darkness, but instead of Selena calming down, her shaking increased, her chest rising and falling. Damn, he was worried that she was going to hyperventilate.

“Guys,” he said.

Santha and Dev turned. Both looked at Selena and frowned.

“Hell.” Santha moved closer. “What can we do for her?”

“I’m going to sit here with her for a bit.”

Santha nodded. “We’ll call in the Hawk for an extraction, and keep an eye on the perimeter. We won’t let anyone sneak up on us.” Santha paused. “What she did back there…she saved our asses.”

Not just their asses, but all of humanity. If the aliens had seen them, there was every chance they would’ve immediately detonated the bomb.

Santha and Devlin melded into the darkness. Tane found a clear spot and sat down, nestling Selena in his lap.

She was still shivering, her breathing raspy and harsh.

“It’s okay, Selena. I’m here. Deep breaths.”

Big, glassy eyes met his. He reached down and pulled her chest armor plate off. With that gone, she managed a larger breath. He took his gloves off and started rubbing her arms. The black T-shirt she wore beneath her armor was soaked with sweat.

“Slow your breathing,” he said.

“C-can’t.”

Her teeth were chattering, but she didn’t feel cold, so he guessed this was some sort of shock. He kept stroking her arms. Then, without realizing what he was doing, he started humming to her.

She nestled her head in under his chin, and slowly, she relaxed against his chest.

“W-what’s…that song?”

“My mother used to sing it to us when we were kids. It’s a Maori song.”

“Maori?”

“The native people of the country I’m from. New Zealand. It’s a few hours’ flight east of here.”

She nodded. “I love that humans have so much variety, different histories, so many different physical combinations. On my world, everyone has pale skin, white hair, and green eyes.”

He stroked his hand up her back and cupped the base of her skull. He massaged there and saw her eyes flutter. “I love your hair, and your skin, and your eyes.”

Her chest hitched.

“Keep breathing,” he ordered. “Slow and steady.”

She nodded.

A flutter of color caught his eye and he saw a butterfly. Its wings were a brilliant blue and it moved around Selena’s face. A faint smile crossed her face and she let the creature land on her finger before she urged it to fly off. He’d seen it before in the Garden. Butterflies, birds, they were all attracted to her.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Overload. It’s hard to access and connect with the Earth’s energy through all the concrete.”

“You pushed yourself too hard.” He fought back a shot of anger that she’d risked herself like that.

“I knew you couldn’t fight them without giving us away.” Her hand slid up and cupped his cheek. “And I wanted to keep you safe.”

Fuck. No one, apart from his brothers and his squad, had ever thought about keeping him safe.

Her fingers stroked, moving to touch his lips. She wasn’t shaking anymore, and he felt that small touch right through his body.

“You make me feel safe, Tane. I haven’t felt completely safe since I was taken.”

A conflicting mass of emotion churned inside him.

Then she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his.

SHE WAS SURROUNDED BY TANE. His hands were on her, his big body pressed against hers.

Need throbbed inside Selena.

Now she finally felt the shape of those lips under hers. But he wasn’t moving, and her belly contracted to a hard point. Oh, no.

Then, his hand at the back of her neck clenched on her and his lips opened.

And Tane Rahia finally kissed her.

Oh. Oh.

He pulled her closer and they surged together. She gripped his broad shoulders, trying to get as close as she could.

His mouth moved over hers, like he was memorizing the shape of her lips. Then his tongue touched hers and she tasted him. It was the best flavor she’d ever known.

Selena moaned and he made a deep noise in his throat. She felt like flames were igniting throughout her, burning bright. She was on fire and it felt so good.

This. This was what she’d been waiting for.

She needed more.

She arched into Tane, boldly letting her tongue stroke his.

He lost some of his cool. His hand tangled in her hair, just hard enough to sting. She liked that too.

He angled her head, his kiss going deeper, turning rougher. Liquid heat rushed between her legs and she whimpered.

She rubbed against him, and one of his big hands cupped her bottom.

Oh, she wished their armor was gone. She wanted nothing between them. She wanted to feel him.

Selena ground down against him. She needed more. So much more—

He tore his head away, breaking the kiss.

She blinked, feeling adrift. Then she saw the hard look creeping over his rugged face.

“No,” she murmured. “Please—”

He set her down beside him, then rose, his body stiff. “Selena—”

She pushed up onto her knees. “I hunger for you.” She felt heat in her cheeks at her confession, but she was tired of hiding, of being afraid. “I want to be with you.”

Tane blew out a breath, his face in shadow. “I’m not the man for you.”

His words made her feel cold. Had she gotten this thing between them wrong? She scrambled to her feet. “I’m sorry if I read this wrong.”

“Come on.” His voice was harsh. “We need to find the others and get out of here.”

She frowned, rubbing her chest. She felt a little hurt, and a lot embarrassed. “You don’t need to be rude. I was wrong. I won’t try to kiss you again. I understand now that you don’t want to be with me.” She was so stupid. She was an alien, different, while Tane could have his pick of any woman he wanted.

He made a growling sound.

Before she knew what was happening, he yanked her toward him.

She hit his chest, and he pulled her up on her toes, and kissed her again. Kissed her like he was starving, or like he couldn’t breathe, and she was air.

It was hard and rough, and she loved it. She clutched his biceps, riding the hot wave of desire.

Then he dropped her back on her feet and she swayed.

He grabbed her arm to steady her.

Selena touched some fingers to her lips. They felt swollen, tingling. She was totally confused. “Um, Tane…”

“I’m attracted to you, that’s not the problem.”

“Oh. I have seen the way you watch me…”

Something flared in his dark eyes.

She pulled in a breath. “So, what is the problem?”

“I can’t give you what you want.”

“I’m not sure what I want.” She licked her lips. “I thought we could find out together.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw.

“No.” His voice was harsh, cutting. “If you want to explore sex, find another man to be your test subject.”

She sucked in a breath. Is that what he thought this was? That she was just experimenting?

“Tane—”

“It’s not going to be me. End of discussion.” He turned. “Now, let’s go.”

All kinds of emotions tumbled through Selena. But one of them was winning; a hurt that took her breath away.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Selena kept her arms wrapped around herself as they landed back at the Enclave.

She studiously avoided looking at Tane.

Her hand was hurting, badly. She glanced down. The scratch from the Gizzida bug was red and swollen. Pain throbbed up her arm.

“I’ll get these cubes to Noah and the tech team.” Devlin lifted the bag of data cubes he’d recovered. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and something on there will help us work out a way to stop the bomb.”

Beside him, Santha nodded. “I’ll come with you, after I drop the samples off to Emerson at the infirmary.”

“The general will want to debrief.” With a flex of muscles, Tane opened the side door of the Hawk.

Selena just wanted a hot shower and to snuggle with Fluffy. Her bird would help soothe her.

Tane leaped out, and she tried not to watch the easy athleticism of his body, or the way his muscles moved. His harsh words kept echoing in her ears.

He might want her, but not enough.

Well, screw him.

He reached up to lift her down, but she angled away. “I can get down myself.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked. He grabbed her hand and she hissed in pain.

He frowned, and holding onto her wrist, turned her hand over.

“What the fuck?” Carefully, he touched her fingers, looking at the inflamed scratch.

“The bug must have had some sort of poison—”

“Infirmary,” he growled. “Now.”

“I’m going to shower first.”

“No, this needs looking at now.” His hard tone said he wasn’t going to argue.

“Are you a doctor?” she asked. “A medical expert on Florum physiology?” She tugged on her hand, but he held tight.

“You’re going to the infirmary, even if I have to carry you.”

Selena glanced at Santha, and saw the woman watching them with great interest.

“We can take the samples to Emerson,” Tane said.

“Okay.” Santha handed the bag over.

“Tane.” Selena struggled to keep a hold on her temper. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

He glanced at her face. “Fine.” He swung the sample bag onto his broad shoulder.

Selena felt an irrational stab of disappointment at his easy capitulation, but straightened to her full height. Good. She was going to have her shower—

Then Tane dipped, lifted her off her feet, and tossed her over his shoulder.

She gasped. “Tane!”

He ignored her. She heard Devlin and Santha laughing, then they strode past a surprised-looking Holmes. The general’s eyebrows rose.

“We’ll debrief later,” Tane said. “Selena needs the infirmary.”

“Is she hurt?” The general called after them.

“Yes.”

“No.” Selena huffed out a breath and looked up. “It’s a scratch.”

“We got the samples. I’ll give them to Emerson.” Then Tane strode out of the hangar and into the corridor.

His long legs ate up the distance to the infirmary. Even though it was late, they passed a few people who watched them wide-eyed.

Selena didn’t bother fighting him. When they entered the infirmary, Emerson appeared with a flap of her lab coat.

“I was just about to leave for the night,” the doctor asked. “Is Selena all right?”

“Yes,” Selena insisted.

“No.” Tane set her down. “Bug scratched her. Looks poisoned.”

Selena tried again. “It’s—”

“Sit.” Emerson pointed to a bunk.

Glaring at Tane, Selena flounced over and sat on the bunk.

“We got your samples.” He set the bag on the bench.

Emerson’s face lit up. “Excellent.”

“You don’t need to stay,” Selena said to Tane.

He just folded his arms over his chest and planted his feet.

The doc lifted Selena’s hand and made an unhappy sound. She pulled a scanner out of her pocket. “This has got to hurt.”

“Yes,” Selena conceded.

“You should’ve said something in the Hawk,” Tane growled.

“It’s none of your concern.” He’d made that abundantly clear.

That muscle in his jaw ticked again.

“God, I feel like I should smoke a cigarette just watching you two,” Emerson said.

Selena frowned. “What?” She had no idea what the doctor was talking about.

“Never mind.” Emerson injected something into Selena’s arm. “It’s a surface-level poison, and you’re having a small allergic reaction to it.” The doctor glanced at Tane. “She’ll be fine.”

He released a slow breath. “Good.” Then he spun and strode out of the infirmary.

A small growl escaped Selena’s mouth and she glared at the door.

“He was worried.”

She glanced at Emerson. “I’m not his to worry about.”

The doctor raised a brow. “Really? Has anyone mentioned that to him?”

Selena sighed. “I don’t… I…” She felt the sudden need to talk to someone. “I kissed him.”

A smile bloomed on Emerson’s face. “Really?”

“He stayed frozen.”

Now Emerson’s smile faded.

The words kept tumbling out of Selena. “Then he kind of…snapped and kissed me.”

Emerson’s smile returned. “Was it good? I have to admit I’ve wondered what Tane Rahia’s kiss would be like. All that dark, smoldering intensity.”

Selena licked her lips, her heart pumping just thinking about it. “It was amazing. Hot, fierce, hard, rough. Perfect.”

The machine beside her beeped.

With a grin, Emerson touched it to silence the alarm. “Your heart rate spiked.”

Selena hunched her shoulders. “Then he pulled back.” Hurt flooded in. “He said he couldn’t give me what I wanted, and if I wanted to experiment with sex, to find another test subject.”

“Oh, Tane, you idiot.” Emerson reached out and carefully bandaged the scratch on Selena’s hand. “Want some advice from someone who’s been there before?”

“Been where?”

“Falling in love with a rough, tough soldier who doesn’t think he’s good enough for you.”

Selena blinked. Is that what Tane thought? That couldn’t be right. “Tane’s tough, heroic, brave. He’s a good man, and so…so…”

“Hot?” Emerson supplied.

“Yes. How could he not be good enough for anyone? He could have anyone he wanted.”

The doc smiled. “I know that. You know that. Now you just need to convince him.”

Selena slumped. “I have no idea how to do that.”

“Just be yourself, Selena.” Emerson patted her arm. “That seems to be working just fine for you. Now, go and get some rest, but in the morning, I’d love your help with these samples.”

Selena nodded. “Of course. Thanks, Emerson.”

The infirmary door opened, and for a second, she thought the big muscular man was Tane.

Gabe Jackson stepped into the infirmary.

“Hey, big guy.” Emerson walked over to her man. “I’m just about done.”

The silent soldier only had eyes for the blonde doctor. He reached out, pulling her close to kiss her, one of his big hands resting on her belly. “Bed.”

Emerson grinned. “My man of few words.” She winked at Selena and mouthed something.

Worth the trouble.

TANE WAS IN A BAD MOOD.

He’d slept like shit, and despite a hard workout at the gym, he still felt off.

He kept seeing that look on Selena’s face when he’d pushed her away. It sliced into him, again and again. He needed to get his head back in the game.

He strode down the corridor, heading toward the tech lab. Doc Emerson and Noah had decided to set up a special lab there for the alien samples instead of the infirmary. Noah had some better containment set up, and Emerson was worried about injured patients being close to the alien gunk.

“You look cheery.”

He glanced up and saw Mac and Taylor from Squad Nine. Dark-haired Mackenna “Mac” Carides was a small, toned powerhouse and Squad Nine’s second. Taylor towered over Mac and possessed an athletic body and a gorgeous face. Her brown hair was streaked with red and pulled back in a ponytail. Taylor knew her way around a carbine very well.

He lifted his chin.

“We heard your mission last night was successful,” Taylor said.

Of course, Devlin would have told the brunette. Tane nodded. “We got the samples.”

“Dev said Selena was amazing,” Taylor added.

Tane grunted. Both women grinned.

“I think our gorgeous alien has blossomed,” Mac said.

Taylor nodded. “People are starting to take notice.”

He frowned. “What people?”

Taylor just winked at him, and the women continued down the corridor.

Pulling his bad mood tighter around him, Tane kept moving through the tunnels. Could he have one freaking minute where people didn’t bring up Selena?

Then he heard a sweet, feminine laugh—clean, pure. He should keep heading to the tech lab, but he turned, following the sound.

He rounded a corner.

Selena was wearing faded jeans and a pale-pink shirt today.

There was a man standing with her—a clean cut twenty-something with a wide smile. The guy murmured something, and Selena laughed again.

Tane felt like he’d taken a fist to his gut.

Then her head moved and she saw him. Her smile dissolved.

Damn. A part of him wanted to march up and punch the guy in the face. If the asshole even thought about touching her… Dammit, he’d practically ordered her to find someone else.

Another part of him just watched her—she looked relaxed, all light and smiles.

This guy made her laugh.

Tane had hurt her.

He swiveled, and headed down another tunnel. It took him a moment to realize he’d headed in the opposite direction to the tech lab. With a quiet curse, he kept walking. Maybe taking the long way would help him clear his head.

Near the dining room, he nearly ran into Hemi, Griff, and Indy.

“Hey, where’s the fire, bro?” Hemi said.

“How’d the mission go?” Griff asked.

“Fine.”

Indy raised a dark brow. “You’re moodier than usual. What’s wrong?”

“Woman trouble,” Griff said. “That’s the only thing that puts that look on a man’s face.”

Indy elbowed her lover.

“It’s totally worth it, of course.” Griff lowered his head and kissed her.

Indy wound her tattooed arms around Griff’s neck and kissed him back. A second later, the pair were lost in each other.

Tane ignored them. “We got the samples. I’m heading to the tech lab now to see what progress they’ve made.”

A slow smile crossed Hemi’s face. “Heard you carried a certain cute alien into the infirmary last night.”

Tane felt the need to curse, but swallowed it down. “She got hurt.”

“Is Selena okay?” Indy asked, leaning into Griff’s side.

Tane nodded.

Indy grinned. “Did you kiss her boo-boo better?”

Tane just stared at her. “I’m going.” He walked past them.

“That man is sunk,” Griff said.

“Yep,” Hemi agreed. “But looks like he’s planning to go down with a fight.”

Tane kept moving and soon reached the tech lab. He paused in the doorway, staring at the lines of benches filled with computer parts and wires.

A blonde, curly head popped up from behind one bench. “Tane, hi.”

“Hi, Marin.” Ash’s woman was cute, smart, and sweet. She had the tattooed former biker wrapped around her finger.

“I wanted to check how the work on the alien samples is going,” he said.

Marin’s nose wrinkled. “They’ve set up in there.” She pointed to a large, glass door. “It’s not going well so far. Noah is like a rabid bear.”

Tane strode to the door, and before he reached it, a bad smell hit his nose.

Inside, several benches were covered in what looked like crazy experiments. Tubes filled with liquid bubbled. An area at the back was cordoned off with curtains like in the infirmary.

Noah sat at a comp, scowling, while Emerson leaned beside him. Both of them wore protective eyewear and masks.

They both looked unhappy.

Tane knocked on the glass, and Emerson let him in.

“Hey.”

“Morning, Tane.” Emerson shoved some glasses and a mask at him. Then she tucked some of her hair back and glanced at the curtain.

Noah just grunted.

Tane slipped the glasses on and tugged the mask into place. “No breakthroughs, I take it?”

“Not yet.” Noah thrust his hands on his hips.

Suddenly, a raptor stepped out from behind one of the curtains, a green sample in a small glass vial in his clawed hand.

He nodded at Tane.

“Gaz’da,” Tane said in greeting.

The raptor was an ally who’d turned on the Gizzida. He’d helped them out numerous times, and now called the Enclave home. The alien’s English was even taking on a slight Australian accent.

“Gaz’da’s helping us with the testing,” Emerson said.

“Emerson?” a muffled feminine voice called out.

Tane stiffened. That was Selena’s voice coming from behind the curtain.

Emerson shot him a look. “Selena’s helping, too.”

“The blood sample.” Gaz’da handed the vial to Emerson.

Green blood.

Selena’s blood.

“Emerson…” Selena’s voice sounded wrong. Weak. “I don’t feel—”

Tane strode across the lab and jerked the curtain back.

She sat on the bench, hooked up to several tubes. She lifted her head and blinked slowly. “Tane?” Then she grimaced in pain. “Ow.”

“Emerson,” he growled.

He grabbed Selena’s hand as the doctor appeared.

“Dammit, her heart rate and respiration are elevated.”

“Unhook her. Now.” The Gizzida had experimented on her. He hated seeing her like this.

“Tane.” Her voice was a whisper, her face impossibly pale.

“How could you experiment on her?” he bit out. “You know what she’s been through.”

Selena’s fingers gripped his. “I volunteered. I want to help.”

Emerson was busy unhooking the tubes. “Selena’s blood has several valuable properties that I think can—”

“I think I’m going to faint,” Selena said.

“Hey.” Tane cupped her cheek. “Look at me.”

She blinked again. “I like looking at you.”

Damn. He stroked her cheekbone. “Stay with me.”

She pulled in a shallow breath. “I love your eyes. So dark, but sometimes, they look like chocolate. I like chocolate.” Then she gasped.

“There, the last tube is free,” Emerson said.

Selena dragged in a breath. “I…can’t breathe. Air. I need air.”

“Come on.” Tane scooped her off the bench. “You’re coming with me.” He glared at the others, daring them to stop him, as he strode out.

CHAPTER EIGHT

She hated feeling weak.

Selena clung to Tane—absorbing his heat and strength—as he strode through the corridors.

Here they were, him seeing her like this again. A wave of dizziness hit her, and she tried to get some air into her lungs. She was never going to convince him that she was strong and confident.

She heard him contact someone on his communicator and let them know they were headed outside.

He reached the external door and Selena felt a ripple of energy.

“Wait.”

A squawk echoed down the tunnel and they both turned. A dark, black shape flew toward them like a black arrow.

“Shit,” Tane mumbled. “Tell him not to claw me up.”

Fluffy landed on Tane’s shoulder with a flap of wings. The bird gave Tane a baleful look through bright-green eyes, then leaned down and nuzzled Selena.

“I’m okay, Fluffy.”

He’d been a tiny fluffball of a chick when Finn had rescued him, but now his feathers were a smooth, oily black. Gyrs on her world were different, but his mother had been experimented on by the Gizzida.

“Come on.” Tane walked outside.

Sunlight hit her and her muscles instantly relaxed. She pulled in a shuddering breath, energy filling her.

Fluffy took to the air, and Tane set her down. She kicked off her shoes and worked her toes into the grass.

She walked across the green, absorbing it all.

“Not too far.” His voice came from right behind her. He was sticking close. “Better?”

She looked back at him. “Yes. Thank you.”

His jaw tightened. “You don’t need to be a damn lab rat. The Gizzida did that enough to you.”

“Emerson and Noah weren’t hurting me. I want to help, any way I can.”

Tane thrust his hands on his hips, his face dark. “Don’t like seeing you ready to faceplant on the floor.”

Confusing man. As she absorbed the energy around her, her pain faded. But she still felt the beat of Tane’s anger.

He stood so straight and tall, that sense of aloneness pumping off him.

Her fingers curled into her palms. She wanted him so badly.

“Tane—”

He spun and pulled her against him. With one hand on the back of her head, he pressed her face against his hard chest. His fingers slid into her hair.

She absorbed his energy—it was strong and hard.

They stayed there, pressed together, Fluffy whirling overhead.

“You tempt me.” His voice was gritty.

“I’m not doing anything,” she said.

“You don’t need to.” He made it sound like an accusation.

Under her hands, his muscles coiled. Everything about this man pulled her. And despite his harsh words at the end of the mission, she knew that he was drawn to her as well.

She tipped her head up, letting her hand move up to stroke his jaw. Maybe Emerson was right. Selena just had to convince him they could be together.

“Stop fighting so hard,” she whispered.

A tremor went through him. “You don’t need more nightmares.”

She saw them boiling in his eyes. Understood what it was to be haunted by old hurts.

Being this close to him warmed something inside her. Some small core of ice she hadn’t even known was there. She’d found her feet over the last months, and now it was time to test her newfound balance.

“I’m tough enough to handle your demons, Tane.” She went up on her toes and kissed his jaw.

His fingers flexed on her. Then he turned his head, his mouth taking hers.

The kiss was slow, deliberate, but it still had her gasping for air. His mouth moved down her neck and found a sensitive spot.

She moaned. Oh.

“You like that?” he asked.

“Yes.”

His teeth scraped her skin and she moaned again, clinging to him.

Suddenly, Fluffy’s screech cut through the air.

Selena stiffened. “That’s a warning.”

Tane lifted his head, just as the communicator attached to his belt beeped. He pulled the device out.

“Tane!” Elle’s panicked voice. “Get inside. Now. We’re detecting alien signatures all around you.”

“Fuck.” He grabbed Selena’s hand. “Come on.”

They’d barely taken two steps when a violent buzz filled the air. Selena felt the vibrations and she turned to see a black cloud in the sky, descending on them. Fast.

“Run,” Tane barked.

They broke into a sprint, but the Gizzida bugs flew faster.

She could see them now. They had bat-like wings attached to a long black body with a large stinger on the end of a sharp tail. The creatures were almost as big as she was.

“We can’t risk opening the door,” she panted. “If one gets inside…”

Tane cursed and her pulse spiked. If they couldn’t get back, they had to fight.

“Keep going.” Selena spun to face the swarm. She wouldn’t let them hurt Tane.

“Fuck, no,” he growled. “I’m not leaving you.”

He leaned down and yanked a knife from his boot. Then he stood beside her.

THE FLYING scorpion aliens flew closer.

Fuck. Fuck.

Tane hated that Selena was in danger. He glanced at her.

Nothing about her said she was afraid. Her feet were planted, her small body tense and her eyes narrowed.

She was pure courage.

She met his gaze. “Ready?”

He nodded.

The first bug reached them. Selena dodged, spun, and raised a hand. She looked like she was dancing. She pressed a palm to one of the creature’s wings. The alien screeched, its wings collapsing in on themselves.

Tane ran, leaping into the air. He swung his knife and caught one of the bugs’ wings. He ripped down, cutting through the tough skin.

The creature crashed to the ground and Tane landed, rolled, then came back up on his feet.

He saw Selena running away from him, the swarm whirling to follow her.

Fuck.

He broke into a sprint. One bug swiveled in his direction, its wings flapping wildly. Tane threw the knife. It hit the bug’s face and it flew to the side, screeching.

He powered toward Selena, pushing for all the speed he had.

The swarm rose up overhead, stingers aimed at her. He dived, tackling her to the grass. He stayed on top of her, covering her body with his.

A shadow fell over them, and she looked up, her eyes widening. He knew a scorpion bug was launching itself at them.

Selena threw a hand up, and he felt a charge of energy in the air. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.

A bug crashed down beside them on the grass. Then, he heard the distant sound of carbine fire.

He turned his head and saw berserkers sprinting toward them from another entrance.

Tane rose and pulled Selena up. The bugs circled, some breaking away to attack the berserkers.

But his squad was still too far away.

“Run for the door,” he said. “Get inside.”

Her green gaze met his. “I’m not weak or broken or useless, Tane. I don’t need your protection.”

The bugs overhead dived.

Suddenly, another shadow streaked through the sky.

Fluffy hit the lead bug hard, sending it crashing to the ground.

Selena raised her arms, her eyes closing. Tane stayed close to her, willing the squad to cross the field faster. Damn, he wished he had a carbine.

He heard the beating of wings, followed by wild squawks.

He frowned. That sound wasn’t coming from the bugs. Nearby, the bugs buzzed angrily.

He turned.

Another dark cloud was descending. This one aimed at the bug swarm.

He sucked in a breath. It was a flock of black cockatoos.

The birds hit the aliens hard. The sky turned into a frenzy of birds and bugs, beating wings and screeches. The cockatoos used their sharp beaks to tear into the wings of the alien bugs. Several of the alien creatures hit the ground with dull thuds.

He looked at Selena.

She lifted her slim hands and the cockatoos intensified their attack. She was incredible. Somehow, she was linked to these living creatures that would risk themselves to protect her.

The carbine fire got closer and his squad mates arrived, picking off the alien bugs one by one.

Selena’s skin was glowing. The grass at her feet started to grow before his very eyes.

She opened her eyes, and they were glowing an eerie green. “Raptors.”

Fuck.

Hemi appeared right beside Tane. “You guys okay?”

Tane nodded. “Need a weapon. Selena said raptors are incoming.”

Hemi slapped a laser pistol into Tane’s hand.

The raptors leaped out of the long grass ahead, their guttural roars filling the air.

Selena made an angry sound and looked at Tane. “Stay back, I’ll protect you this time.”

She walked toward the raptors. Closer to the aliens, the grass waved, and started growing wildly. It wrapped around the strong legs of the raptors.

“What did you do to piss off our cute little alien?” Hemi asked with a grin.

“I just wanted to protect her.”

His brother nodded. “Yeah, some women hate that. Especially if you haven’t asked their opinion on it first.”

The grass kept growing, covering the raptors even as they struggled and fought. Tane kept pace behind Selena, gripping his laser pistol tightly.

“Bro, my advice,” Hemi said. “You grab ahold of that woman and worship her. We might all be fucking dead, or growing scales, before we know it.”

Tane’s heart kicked against his ribs.

“You do it,” Hemi continued. “Not just for you, but for her. She deserves some damn happiness and pleasure.”

His squad converged, firing on the trapped raptors. Tane aimed and fired.

Then there was silence.

The raptors were dead and scorpion bug carcasses littered the ground.

Selena turned. She was covered in dirt and alien blood, her silver hair floating behind her like a breeze was blowing at her. Her skin glowed.

Fluffy swooped in and landed on her shoulder. She looked like some kind of fairy warrior goddess.

“Who’s weak now?” she asked.

Tane shoved the pistol into the waistband of his trousers. “I never said you were weak.”

“Poor, little Selena,” she said. “She needs protection from the big, bad berserker.”

Tane heard a snicker behind him and was pretty sure it was Levi.

“Selena—”

She walked toward him, Fluffy taking to the air. “I can take you on, Tane Rahia.”

Damn, his cock was hard. She was glaring at him, and all he wanted to do was kiss her.

He lowered his head. “You want to take me on?”

Her gaze was unwavering. “Yes, if you have the courage to let me.”

Then suddenly, the glow went out of her skin. Her lips parted and she crumpled.

He lunged and caught her before she hit the ground.

She turned her face against his chest. “I ruined my speech.”

He rose, sweeping her into his arms. She was burned out. “Don’t worry, you made your point.”

CHAPTER NINE

Selena was too tired to argue with Tane.

She closed her eyes and let him carry her. Again.

As they entered the Enclave, Fluffy streaked in behind them. The bird landed on Tane’s shoulder.

“You did good work, bird,” he said.

Fluffy ruffled his feathers, then nuzzled Tane’s cheek.

Selena blinked. Fluffy was only fond of her, Finn, and Lia.

Like she’d summoned them, the couple appeared, jogging down the corridor. Their faces were stamped with concern.

“I’m okay,” Selena said.

Finn frowned, looking at Tane.

“She’s just burned out,” Tane said. “Fought the Gizzida off until there wasn’t a single one left.”

His words sent a warm flush of pride inside her.

Fluffy flew to Finn, and Lia reached out, stroking the gyr’s wing.

“We’ll take care of him,” the Hawk pilot said. “You take care of Selena.”

“I can take care of myself,” she said.

Unsurprisingly, no one listened.

With a nod, Tane kept heading down the hall. It didn’t take him long to reach her room. He turned so she could press her palm to the electronic lock. When the door beeped, he strode inside.

She watched him flick on the lights and take in her space. She’d filled her quarters with plants—some large, some small. As many different ones that she could beg from Hamish, the grizzled, grumpy man who helped take care of the Garden—an open-air garden cut into the rocky escarpment above the Enclave. It was protected by a retractable roof and illusion system. It was one of her most favorite places in the Enclave.

Fluffy’s bed—a plump pillow with a collection of ratty, soft toys—was tucked into one corner of Selena’s quarters and there was a soothing green cover on her own bed. Claudia had given her a string of lights and helped her hang them. They twinkled prettily on the far wall.

“Nice,” Tane said.

Then he took her into the bathroom. He set her down and the tiles were cool under her feet. Then he started stripping her stained clothes off.

Her muscles locked. His liquid dark gaze met hers.

“Let me take care of you,” he said.

She managed a nod.

He stripped off her trousers and T-shirt, leaving her in her underwear. Then he turned on the shower and urged her inside.

Steam billowed, and as soon as the warm water hit her skin, she swallowed a moan. She washed her skin clean, then her hair, looking at his dark shape through the glass.

Once the glass fogged, she slipped her wet underwear off. Her energy was coming back, and she was so incredibly aware of him.

She turned the shower off and he reached over the top of the stall, handing her a towel.

Selena dried off and then wrapped the fluffy fabric around herself.

When she opened the door, he took her hand. “Bed.”

He was so careful and gentle with her. She was certain not many people saw this side of tough, dangerous Tane Rahia.

She climbed on the bed and settled against the pillows. When she looked at him, she noticed his gaze drop to her bare legs and she felt heat in her cheeks.

“Tea.” He spun to the kitchen, clunking around in the tiny area.

Moments later, he was back with a cup of the herbal tea that she liked.

Tane making her tea. It was all so surreal.

“I’m going to clean up,” he said. “If you need anything, just yell.”

He disappeared into the bathroom, and a second later, Selena heard the shower. She pressed a hand to her throat, feeling the heavy beat of her heart.

Tane was in her shower.

Naked.

She imagined all that smooth, brown skin with water cascading over it. She shifted on the covers and felt a throb between her legs.

She was sipping her tea when he came out. He had his cargo pants back on, but his stained T-shirt was missing.

Oh, wow.

Her gaze traveled over his bare chest. He was perfect. His torso was all carved muscles, his abdomen rows of delineated ridges.

He had an incredible black-ink tattoo covering one of his shoulders. She couldn’t breathe, but this time it had nothing to do with overtaxing herself, and everything to do with her deep, hungry desire for Tane.

He sat beside her on the bed. “You need anything?”

Unable to talk, she just shook her head. The only thing she needed was him.

“How are you feeling?”

Like I’m going to jump you. She cleared her throat. “Better. I like your tattoo.”

“Thanks. It’s a Maori design. Hemi has a matching one.”

“A piece of your history on your body. I like that.” She had to physically stop herself from reaching out and touching it. Her fingers itched.

He eyed her for a second, then grabbed her hand. “You can touch it.”

She reached out and gently stroked the lines of ink, hyperaware of his warm skin. She felt dampness pool between her legs, and her breath hitched.

His dark gaze traveled over her body, then flicked up to her face. “You’re tired. You should nap.”

“I’m not tired anymore,” she said.

“I should leave.” His hand formed a fist resting on his thigh.

“I don’t want you to. And you don’t want to.”

Shadows shifted in his eyes. “I’m not that good-looking, easy-going guy you were with in the hall. I won’t make you laugh and smile.” He shook his head. “I’m not always a good man, Selena.”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” she said fiercely.

“In my past, I’ve done things, seen things, let things happen—”

She closed her hand around his fist. “None of us are perfect, Tane. We’re good and bad, an accumulation of right choices and wrong ones, but I’ve watched you for almost a year. You are a good man, even if you don’t believe it. And I want you. Just as you are.” She licked her lips.

Like a laser sight, his gaze zeroed in on her mouth.

He groaned. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to walk away again, Selena.”

“I don’t want you to walk away. We just survived the Gizzida. We won today, but we both know what we’re facing.”

She sensed the fight going on inside him. Why wouldn’t he let himself feel?

“Hemi told me to claim you, worship you, because we might not win the coming fight.”

“Your brother loves you.”

Tane still didn’t touch her, and she felt like she was bursting out of her skin.

Dark eyes met hers. “He told me to do it for you, not for me. For however long we’ve got.”

She stroked Tane’s tattoo and wondered what his skin tasted like. “When I look at you, I don’t even think of the Gizzida, only you.”

He made a sound, then lowered his head and kissed her. He smelled like soap and Tane.

She moved her hands up to his fascinating dreadlocks, touching the texture of his hair. She opened her mouth and he matched the movement, his lips moving on hers, his tongue plunging deep. The kiss turned harder.

Selena moaned. The kiss was a rough possession. She’d never been wanted like this before. Her body throbbed, sensation coursing through her. It felt so good, she felt so alive.

He lifted his head and she whimpered. “More.”

A streak of color filled his cheeks, his eyes glittering. “Have you been with a man before, Selena?”

She shook her head. “It’s not considered important on my planet. It’s more a chore than anything. On Florum, we don’t feel as deeply.”

He shuddered, his hands flexing on her arms.

“Um, Emerson’s done my medical checks.” Oh, this was harder than she’d guessed. “I have similar physiology to humans. Um, and all the bits in the same places.” She cocked her head. “It’s fascinating really, we must have a common ancestor—”

Tane pressed a finger to her mouth. She stopped talking.

“Can I see you, Selena?”

His words sent a jolt of desire running through her. Oh.

She nodded.

BIG, luminous green eyes looked up at him.

God, she was beautiful. Tane drank in Selena’s almost-translucent skin and her pink lips. He was going to go to hell for touching her, but he couldn’t stop.

In his head, he saw her facing off with the Gizzida. Throwing attitude at him.

Hemi and others were right. Selena wasn’t lost or confused. She was a strong, sexy woman.

Gently, he pushed the towel aside.

Her breathing hitched and he took in her small, perfectly formed breasts.

“So pretty.” He cupped one. It was a perfect fit for his palm.

His skin was so dark compared to hers. He flicked a thumb over one pale, pink nipple.

She gasped, arching a little.

Her ribcage was small, and he slid his hands down her sides, then back up to those pretty breasts. He lowered his head, cupping and squeezing her silken flesh. He rolled one nipple between his fingers and she made a husky sound.

Shit. Need hammered at him.

Her short nails dug into his biceps. “Tane—”

He trailed his lips across her skin. His stubble scraped across her nipples, the nubs tightening even more.

Wild, possessive urges rocketed through him. He’d felt them for her for so long, fought them for so long.

Everything in him wanted to claim this unique woman as his.

Slowly, he licked one sweet nipple and she quivered. Then he sucked it into his mouth and she moaned, arching into him.

Tane rolled his tongue over the sensitive nub. “You like my mouth right here?”

Her eyes glittered. “Yes.”

He moved his mouth to the other breast, sucking as he kneaded her sweet curves. She made hungry, needy sounds.

She was so open, so pure. There were no lies or games from Selena. She showed him every bit of how much she liked what he was doing. She was incapable of lying to him.

He raised his head, desperate to see more, desperate to pleasure her.

He flicked the towel completely open. Naked, she shifted on the bed, and he stroked his hands down her flat belly.

There was no hair between her legs, just smooth, pale skin.

“Look at you,” he murmured.

He shifted down and kissed one slim thigh.

She let out a shaky breath.

He nipped at her skin, the scent of her filling him. All Selena—sweet honey and a floral undertone.

He pushed her legs apart. “Let me see you, Selena.”

Her muscles were tight, her body trembling. Between her legs she was all pretty folds and a luscious scent that made his mouth water.

He gripped her thigh and stroked his hand up. Then he touched her swollen folds.

“Oh.” Her hips lifted.

She was soft, wet, delicate. He stroked, finding her swollen clit, a little larger than a human woman’s. He caressed her, and her hips undulated.

“Does that feel good?” His voice held a gritty edge.

“Yes.”

He moved his fingers, circling her slick entrance. Tane’s cock throbbed painfully, but right now, he was all about Selena. Exploring her, giving her pleasure.

“I want to slide a finger inside you.” Fuck, just saying that had a sweat breaking out on his brow.

Her green eyes flashed. “I want that. I want you.”

He nudged her thighs wider. Her skin was flushed pink and she opened for him.

He slid a finger inside her. Shit, she was tight.

Her hands clenched on him. He stroked, then added a second finger, stretching her. She moaned his name, her eyes glazed, and her lips parted.

“More,” she panted. “Show me more.”

He wanted to cover her, free his hard cock and thrust inside her.

But he wanted her ready, wanted her incoherent with pleasure. He could still satisfy some of his hunger with a taste of her. He closed his mouth on her, licking her with slow laps.

She arched up and made an inarticulate sound.

He pressed his fingers deeper, sucking at the same time and drawing in the taste of her.

She cried out, her hand shifting to his hair, holding tight.

He found her clit, sucking, then flicking with his tongue. A moment later, her body stiffened.

“Tane.” A throaty, feminine cry.

He sucked harder and felt her shatter. Her thighs tightened and her body shook.

Tane growled against her skin, holding her as the aftershocks of pleasure rippled through her.

A sense of raw satisfaction hit him, but under it was something darker, something needier, something desperate to possess this woman.

CHAPTER TEN

Wow. Just wow.

Selena lay pressed against Tane, her face to his bare chest and her hand against his beating heart.

One of his hands lazily stroked up and down her spine.

Aftershocks of pleasure still simmered through her body. She wondered what was next. She wanted more.

She looked up at his dark, glittering eyes and her belly contracted.

It had been amazing. He’d made her feel so much. And those eyes promised more.

She reached up and kissed him. A hungry sound rumbled out of him.

Then a beeping noise broke through their intimate cocoon.

He muttered a curse. “My communicator.”

He rose and she watched the muscles in his back flex, covered by all that smooth, brown skin.

Selena swallowed. He turned, and her gaze was immediately drawn to the obvious bulge in the front of his cargo pants. A large one.

“Rahia.” He stiffened. “She’s okay. Yeah. All right, we’re on our way.”

His serious tone cut through her daze, and she dragged the sheet over her naked body.

“Get dressed, Butterfly.”

Butterfly? The name made her belly flutter, but she focused on him.

“What’s wrong?” She scrambled off the bed, trying not to feel self-conscious about being naked. He’d seen her, all of her. He’d touched her, with his hands and his mouth.

“There’s something wrong at the tech lab.” His jaw was tight. “A problem with the alien samples. They want your help.”

Oh, no. Hurrying to her closet, she yanked some panties on. Next, she slid into some jeans and grabbed a long-sleeved T-shirt.

When she turned back, Tane had his T-shirt back on. She slipped on some shoes.

“Let’s go.” He took her hand and they walked quickly into the tunnels.

They were close to the lab when suddenly, the ground rocked. Selena was knocked off her feet and slammed into Tane. He grabbed her.

“What was that?” she breathed.

“Explosion.” His tone was grim.

She gasped.

They ran down the corridor. As they neared the lab, she heard screams and alarms blaring. Smoke filled the corridor.

She saw the fire crew arrive and start putting out the flames. Marcus appeared out of the smoke.

“Marcus,” Tane called.

The big man’s face looked like thunder, his scar pronounced.

“Something went wrong with the alien samples in the lab.” His gaze flicked to Selena then back. “Containment kicked in. Noah, Marin, Emerson, and Alyssa are trapped inside.”

Selena sucked in a breath. Alyssa was a survivor who’d been rescued by the berserkers. The woman had lost her two children, Mickey and Annie, when the Gizzida had detonated a test bomb. The woman was still grief-stricken, but it turned out she’d been a lab technician before the invasion. She’d been working like crazy to keep busy, and she was lit with a furious need to defeat the Gizzida.

Steeling herself, Selena pushed through the doorway.

“We’re keeping everyone out for now,” Marcus said. “Until we know what’s going on.”

Noah’s main lab was smoking, with small flare-ups burning all around. The sharp stench made her belly turn over.

They stepped through the rubble and reached the heavy glass door that had slammed down, blocking off the sample lab.

Gaz’da stood there, banging his claws against the glass.

They reached the raptor and his scaled face twisted. “I left for a few minutes. I can’t get in.”

“It’s bad,” Marcus warned.

Every muscle in Selena’s body stretched tight. She felt Tane step up behind her, pressed against her back. She looked through the glass.

Her body locked, and nausea rolled through her. “No. No!”

The sample lab was a disaster. Furniture was overturned, and the equipment smashed. Water dripped off the walls and she realized the containment sprays had been triggered.

Emerson was crouched behind an overturned table, her face lined with terror. Her lab coat was wet and streaked with stains, her blonde hair was tangled. She was cradling her belly. Other than that, she didn’t appear injured.

Noah and Marin were in the center of the lab. Noah’s back was arched, and his shouts echoed off the walls.

No. Selena saw the scales crawling up his neck and face.

Marin crouched on the floor, her curly hair a wild mess around her face. One of her cheeks was all scales, her eye glowing red. Tears poured out of her human eye.

The dark-haired Alyssa lay on the ground, writhing and screaming. The scales on her arms and legs were multiplying.

At that moment, Emerson rose shakily from behind the table, but Noah spun and hissed at her. The doctor crouched back down again.

“No,” Tane breathed.

Selena knew that if someone told Gabe or Ash, or Noah’s lover, Laura Bladon, what was going on, this would get even worse.

“Can we open this door?” Tane asked.

Marcus shook his head. “Containment protocol. Has to be opened from both sides at the same time.”

“Gaz’da,” Tane said. “Can we stop the transformation?”

“It is in its early stages…” The raptor shook his head sadly. “This isn’t my area of expertise. All I can tell you is that we don’t have a solution yet. We can’t reverse the change.”

“Fuck!” Marcus kicked the wall. “Fuck.”

Horror and sorrow slammed into Selena at the same time. No. No. No. Noah and Marin were loved. Alyssa had been through so much already, and had lost her children.

Emerson appeared unharmed, for the moment, but they had to get her out without the others tearing her apart.

Gaz’da stared through the glass at Alyssa. “She doesn’t deserve this. My kind have taken everything from her.”

“Gaz’da, you are not the Gizzida. They took everything from you, too.”

“She found me difficult to work with at first, but we’ve become friends.” His red eyes met Selena’s. “This is her worst nightmare, to change into the ones who stole her children from her.”

Something swelled inside Selena. She looked at Tane. At the man she wanted more than anything. She wanted more than stolen moments together.

She couldn’t go home to her planet, but she had created a life here. And she knew that there was lots more to explore with him.

“Emerson isn’t infected,” she said. “It’s not airborne.”

Gaz’da nodded. “It appears that direct exposure to the liquid caused the transformation. The water sprays have washed it away now.”

“Get the door open,” Selena said.

Tane stiffened. “Selena—”

“We have to get Emerson out. We have to at least try and help the others.”

His dark gaze scanned her face and then he nodded. “Let’s do this. We’ll have to bust the door down.”

Tane and Marcus grabbed some equipment from Noah’s lab. Using long screwdrivers, they tried to pry the door open. Both men strained and heaved.

The door didn’t budge.

“Allow me.” Gaz’da joined them, throwing his incredible strength into the effort.

“When we get in, Marcus, you need to subdue Noah,” Selena said. “Tane, grab Marin, and Gaz’da, you get Alyssa.”

The men nodded at her.

“I’ll get Emerson free.” Selena swallowed, nervous.

“Then what?” Tane asked.

“I don’t know. But we have to try.”

But as the three of them kept grunting and shoving, it soon became apparent that they couldn’t pry the door open.

“Fuck.” Marcus slammed his fist against it.

“We’ll smash it,” Tane said.

“It’s reinforced glass.”

Selena pushed past them and pressed a palm to the slick surface. She focused and sent a shot of energy into it. A spider web of cracks appeared.

“Neat,” Marcus said.

Tane, Gaz’da, and Marcus picked up one of the benches. Gripping it, they ran forward, using it like a battering ram.

Boom.

The glass held, but the door shuddered.

Noah and Marin’s heads whipped around.

The men retreated and advanced again. Boom.

Selena saw the way the pair inside watched and moved. Like predators.

Anger swelled. “You can’t have them,” she whispered.

Boom.

The glass door shattered.

TANE GRITTED HIS TEETH, glass spraying across the floor and showering his boots.

Selena ran forward, but he grabbed her and yanked her back.

Her face was panicked, and he saw that she wasn’t thinking clearly.

With a guttural snarl, Noah launched out of the door first.

Marcus caught the man and slammed him facedown into a bench. Noah struggled, enraged. Marcus grunted, straining to keep Noah down.

“Stay back,” Tane warned Selena.

Her horrified gaze stayed on Noah, tears welling.

A blonde figure raced out of the lab next, moving fast.

Tane grabbed Marin, lifting her off her feet. She snarled, trying to bite him. She was much stronger than normal, but he wrapped his arms around her trapping her arms by her sides. She twisted and made a horrible guttural noise.

Tane’s gut was like a rock. Ash would be gutted by this.

“Marin,” Selena said.

The woman’s eyes glowed red. “We’ll kill you all.”

The scales on the woman’s arms were expanding.

Tane heard a scuffle and saw Gaz’da just inside the sample lab, holding a partially morphed Alyssa in his arms. The woman jerked and hissed at him. “Traitor.”

Selena darted past them.

“If you see any Gizzida fluid, don’t touch it,” Tane yelled.

“Emerson,” Selena called.

The doctor rose, shock on her face. “Selena… Oh, God…”

“Are you hurt?”

“Get her out,” Tane ordered, holding Marin tighter as she twisted.

He watched Selena take Emerson’s hand, leading the shell-shocked doctor out.

“Did you get any of the fluid on you?” Selena asked.

Emerson shook her head, a sob tearing out of her throat. “Noah pushed me down, he shielded me.”

“Deep breaths,” Selena said. “You need to calm down.” She pressed a palm to the doctor’s back.

Tane frowned. She was doing something. He sensed something, and a second later, Emerson’s body relaxed a little.

“One sample started swelling, growing.” Emerson pressed a hand to her mouth. “We couldn’t contain it. It overflowed, and then something exploded.” Emerson tried to hold back another sob.

“Tane.” Hemi appeared in the doorway with a carbine in his hand. As he took in the destruction, his mouth tightened.

Marin snarled and Tane tightened his grip.

“Fuck,” Hemi breathed.

Ash came through the door and froze. “Marin!”

“Lock him down,” Tane ordered.

Hemi turned. Ash shoved into him, making a desperate sound, trying to reach his woman. Levi and the other berserkers appeared. There was a scuffle.

A second later, the group shoved Ash out into the corridor.

“Marin!” Ash roared.

Cruz appeared, his dark eyes pained.

“Find Laura,” Tane said. “Keep her away.”

“There’s no way to help them.” Tears spilled down Emerson’s cheeks. “I’ve tried everything before to help people who’ve been infected with Gizzida DNA. I can’t help them. Alyssa had a patch of scales from the test bomb when she first came here. It was small enough that I could cut it out, but this—” Emerson shook her head.

“Gaz’da,” Marcus said. “Any ideas?”

The raptor was on the floor now, holding a violent Alyssa in his lap. “No, Marcus. I’m sorry.”

“No.” Selena shook her head. “The Gizzida don’t get them.”

Marin howled, twisting against Tane. Noah snarled.

Dammit, Tane didn’t know what to do next.

Then Selena stepped between the pair.

“Selena—” His gut cramped with fear, and he saw her skin start to glow.

She touched one hand to Marin’s scaled arm, then her other to Noah’s bicep. Her eyes closed for a second, then they snapped open and energy filled the air.

“Fuck me,” Marcus muttered.

Tane kept his gaze on Selena. Her skin turned silver, glowing with an inner light. Her eyes were a vibrant green.

Marin twisted and screamed, and then Tane sucked in a breath. He saw the scales on Marin’s arms receding.

Incredible.

“Oh, my God,” Emerson breathed.

Selena gritted her teeth and made a pained sound.

Marin’s eyes flashed bright blue, then the scales were gone, leaving behind smooth skin. She slumped in Tane’s arms.

Noah went still, panting. His raptor scales were gone as well.

“Noah?” Marcus asked.

The tech team leader nodded, looking exhausted. “I’m…all right.”

Then Selena staggered and dropped to her knees.

“Selena.” Tane thrust Marin toward Emerson.

Selena pressed a slim palm to Alyssa’s leg. But Tane saw that Selena was trembling, she was pushing too hard.

“Enough.” He dropped down beside her.

“Not yet. A bit more.”

Alyssa stopped struggling and slumped against Gaz’da, her skin back to normal, her body shivering.

Selena collapsed onto the floor.

“Dammit.” Tane scooped her into his arms.

“I’m…all right.”

But as he looked into her face, he saw her eyes were unfocused.

“Dizzy.” She reached up and cupped his cheek. “You are so handsome. I love looking at you. I love kissing you.”

Damn, she looked like she was drunk.

“I like when you touch me. And orgasms. I think I like orgasms.”

Fuck. He heard Marcus bark out a dry laugh, cutting the tension.

Bodies rushed through the door. A wild-eyed Ash charged across the ruined lab and snatched Marin into his arms.

“Ash.” The blonde clung to him, sobbing.

Laura Bladon blazed in next, her gaze zeroing in on the exhausted Noah.

“Hey, my Dragon,” he gritted out.

She strode straight to him and threw her arms around him.

Gabe Jackson thundered through right behind Laura.

Emerson straightened. “I’m ok—”

The soldier snatched her off her feet, tucked her close, then swiveled, and left.

Ash dropped to the ground, rocking Marin in his arms. Alyssa clung to Gaz’da, and Noah’s cheek was pressed to Laura’s red hair.

Selena began to cry.

“Butterfly.” Tane shifted, and Selena climbed into his lap, and buried her face in his chest.

“I hate the Gizzida.” Her voice was muffled against his T-shirt.

“Me too.” He slid his palm into her hair, holding tight.

“You’re excluded, Gaz’da,” Selena said with a sniffle.

“Thank you, Selena,” the alien murmured.

“Don’t let go,” she whispered to Tane.

He tightened his arms on her. He’d always known if he ever touched her, got a taste of her, he wouldn’t be able to sever the hold she had over him. “I won’t.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Selena woke up in her bed. She stared up at the ceiling. Her body ached, and her eyes were gritty from crying and a bad night’s sleep.

She’d slept in fits and starts. Tane had tucked her in and waited until she drifted off before he’d left. But the nightmares had started right away—she’d kept seeing her friends trapped behind the glass, turning into Gizzida.

Fluffy stirred. Her bird had nestled into the covers beside her and tried to comfort her during the night. She stroked his feathers. “Hey, Fluffy.”

She scrubbed a hand down her face. She wanted Tane. She wanted his arms wrapped around her, and she wanted more of what they’d shared right here on this bed.

Sitting up, she sighed. She knew he’d had to help with the cleanup, and he would have checked in on Ash and Marin.

On autopilot, Selena showered, dressed, and forced down some food, even though she wasn’t hungry.

There was a knock at the door and her pulse picked up. Maybe it was Tane?

She yanked it open and saw Finn.

The pilot reached out and touched her hair. “How are you doing, sweetness?”

“Finn.” Her voice broke.

He tugged her to his chest, hugging her hard.

“It was so horrible,” she said.

“You saved them. You’re a hero.”

Selena didn’t feel heroic. “I was so scared.”

Finn ran a hand down her back. “That’s the thing about heroes, they feel fear, too, but they still risk themselves to help others.” He paused. “General Holmes has called a debrief. I’m your escort.”

She nodded, called out a goodbye to Fluffy, and closed her door. They walked to the Command Center.

When the glass doors slid open, she saw that the room was packed. The vibe of the crowd was dark with outrage. People were very, very angry.

She spotted the berserkers and then, as though he sensed her, Tane turned. His dreadlocks were pulled back and tied at the base of his neck. His gaze swept over her and snagged on Finn’s arm around her shoulders. A dark glare formed.

Tane strode over to them. “Don’t you have your own woman, Erickson?”

Finn grinned. “Yes, but this one is so pretty.”

Tane tugged her away from the pilot with a scowl. As soon as their bodies touched, something inside Selena sighed with happiness.

He took her hand and pulled her over to the berserkers.

Ash came straight up to her. His eyes looked a little hollow and haunted, but he cupped her cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers.

“It’s okay, Ash,” she murmured.

There was so much emotion roiling in his eyes. He nodded.

“How’s Marin?”

“She had a rough night. The doc ended up sedating her so she could get some rest.”

“She’s strong, and she has you.”

The berserker nodded. “And Selena, you have all of us. Whatever you need.”

She felt warmth slide through her, and a prick of tears in her eyes. Then Tane slid an arm around her and pulled her close to his side.

“Okay, everyone.” Holmes stepped forward at the front. There were circles under his eyes, and his face was lined with fatigue. “You’ve all heard about the accident in the sample lab.”

Rumbles echoed through the crowd.

“Work is resuming on the Gizzida material, but with increased safety protocols.”

“We shouldn’t mess with that shit,” someone yelled.

“We don’t have that luxury.” Holmes’ voice grew sharp. “That shit will soon be spread by the Gizzida bombs. We must do everything we can to stop it.” Holmes glanced at Selena. “Selena, thank you for what you did.” The general clasped his hands behind his back. “Now, I’m increasing the number of squads on patrol. The aliens are increasing their attacks on our base, and we can’t let our research be interrupted, or our focus to be disrupted. We don’t know for sure when the bombs will be detonated, but time is running out.”

Tane tipped Selena’s face up. “I need to head out with my squad.”

She nodded. “Be careful.”

He ran his fingers along her jaw. “You, too. When I get off patrol tonight, we’re having dinner. Just you and me.”

Her heart thumped in her chest. “Okay.”

Gabe appeared, a big and hulking shadow. His jaw was working, as though he couldn’t bring himself to say anything, then he reached out and touched the top of her head.

“I love Emerson,” Selena said. “I’ll always look out for her.”

Gabe nodded. “Thank you. She’s going to continue work on the samples today. They’ve set up a new lab in the infirmary.” He pushed the words out like he was chewing glass.

“I’ll help her.”

A shudder of relief went through the Hell Squad soldier. “Thanks.”

“Be extra careful,” Tane warned her.

“You, too.” She really wished they weren’t in the center of a crowd.

But then Tane shocked her. He pulled her up on her toes and pressed a quick, hard kiss to her mouth.

“See you tonight.”

He strode out, and Selena just stood there, in a Tane-induced daze.

She looked around and caught a few knowing glances. Elle grinned at her and winked.

Pulling herself together, Selena headed out of the Command Center and down to the infirmary. When she stepped inside, one of the nurses pointed to a doorway at the back of the room.

Emerson and Noah were already working—masks and glasses in place. Large rectangular glass boxes with gloves built into them were set in a long row, the samples inside them. They weren’t taking any chances.

When she stepped inside, Noah came over and gave her a hard hug.

“Grab some tea or coffee,” Emerson said. “We have work to do.”

The doctor was putting on a brave face, although she was pale, and clearly trying to put the accident behind her.

“You okay?” Selena asked quietly.

Emerson gave her a small smile. “Working on it.”

“Alyssa?”

“Taking some time off, but that woman is tough. She’ll be fine.” Emerson’s lips twitched. “Plus, she has someone waiting on her hand and foot.”

Selena frowned. “Who?”

“A certain alien resident.”

Selena’s brows rose. “Gaz’da? Alyssa was very hesitant around him at first.”

“Apparently, not anymore.”

In the small kitchenette in the infirmary, Selena made herself a frothy coffee with extra sugar. It would rev up her system too much, but she’d learned she had a weakness for Earth’s coffee.

She drank it, then headed back to the lab and got to work on the samples.

“Selena, you reversed the Gizzida transformation,” Emerson said. “How?”

“I’m not sure. I was panicking, I was angry. I just knew I wanted to save you, Noah, Marin, and Alyssa.”

“Can I run some more tests on you?” the doctor asked.

“Of course.”

“You sure a certain badass won’t bust in and chew us out?” Noah grumbled.

Selena smiled. “He’s on patrol.”

Emerson hooked Selena up to several machines. When the needle pierced her skin, she tried not to wince.

“Thank you, Selena. For everything you’re doing to help,” Emerson said. “Tane’s right, you’ve been through so much—”

Selena placed her hand on the doctor’s. “I’ll do whatever I have to in order to help save the Enclave, my friends, and Tane.”

Emerson smiled. “So, you finally got through to him.”

Heat flooded Selena’s cheeks. “He said we’re having dinner tonight.”

“Ooh, a date. What are you going to wear?”

She blinked. “I don’t know.”

The doctor winked. “Knock his socks off. Something simple but sexy.”

Noah made a sound. “If you two have finished discussing dates and wardrobes, we have to save the world.”

Selena nodded. “Of course.”

Emerson smacked Noah’s arm. “We know, Mr. Grumpy. But we can still have a little fun while we save the world.” She patted Selena’s hand. “In fact, we need to take all the small pleasures when we can to see us through.”

“I’m pretty sure that Tane is not a small pleasure,” Selena said. No, he was big and overwhelming.

Emerson laughed briefly. “That is the truth. Now, let’s put our superhero capes on, and see if we can beat the Gizzida and their bombs.”

TANE STOOD under the spray in the squad locker room, his squad mates around him in the shared showers, washing off the dust of a boring patrol.

Part of him had wanted the damn raptors to attack. He wanted to take out his rage on them—for what happened in the lab, for what they had planned, for what they’d done to Selena.

He flicked the shower off and grabbed a towel. As he dried off, he vaguely listened to his squad mates talking and joking.

“Beer?” Hemi elbowed him.

Tane pulled on his jeans, followed by a clean, gray T-shirt. “Got plans.”

They all turned to look at him.

“Plans?” Hemi’s brows rose. “You never have plans.”

“Dinner.”

Hemi grinned. “With Selena.”

Tane didn’t bother to respond, just did his belt up.

“Hot damn,” Levi said. “Our fearless leader is finally going to break his dry spell.”

Tane shot the man a look.

“Take her flowers,” Dom said. “I bet she likes flowers.”

“Spoil her,” Ash added. “She fucking deserves it.”

“Take care of her,” Griff said. “Otherwise there will be a line of people waiting to kick your ass, led by Claudia, Finn, Noah…”

Tane held up a hand. “I should stay away from her.”

Hemi gripped his arm. “Don’t start with that shit again. You deserve her. Her sweetness, her light, her smiles. You keep hiding in the damn shadows…let that woman shine some light on you.”

Almost as one, his squad nodded in agreement.

“Don’t you all have your own women? Go and bug them.”

With a wave, and ignoring the good-natured teasing, Tane headed off. He stopped by the kitchen to pick up the picnic basket he’d ordered. Then he caught the autonomous open train up to the Garden. He’d left a message for Selena to meet him there.

He stepped into the Garden and breathed in the rich, green scents of plants and vegetation. A bowl had been cut in the rock of the escarpment. Overhead, the last hints of orange and pink from the sunset painted the sky. Often, the roof was closed up for security, but when they could, they left it open for the vegetable gardens, garden beds, and green area to get sunlight. An illusion system kept it hidden from the Gizzida.

He set up under the trees, setting the basket down and spreading out a blanket. Then he jumped the small fence surrounding the garden beds and plucked some flowers. There would be hell to pay with Old Man Hamish, the gardener. The old man guarded every petal and leaf, but Selena was worth it.

Fuck, now what?

The sound of the train arriving caught his attention. He turned to face the entrance.

Selena walked in and his breath caught.

She hadn’t spotted him yet. Tonight, her silver-white hair was loose, and she was wearing a pretty dress. The deep-green fabric fell around her slim body in soft folds. Tiny straps were the only thing holding it up, leaving her arms bare. He frowned. She’d get cold. Winter was approaching, and the nights were cooling off.

She kicked off her sandals and stepped onto the grass. She lifted her face up and he saw the bliss on it.

His gut clenched. Damn. He wanted her more than he wanted to breathe.

He took a careful step forward, and that was when she spotted him.

Her smile grew bigger. “The roof’s open.”

“I organized it for you.”

Overhead, in the darkening night sky, stars were appearing. He took her hand and led her over to the picnic blanket.

Her lips parted. “This is wonderful, Tane.”

Once she sat down, he handed her a drink of sparkling apple juice.

She stared at him. “I never guessed that Tane Rahia did picnics.”

“My first one.” He laid out the cheese and crackers, the fruit, and salad. “I heard that you’re vegetarian.”

She nodded, and popped a piece of cheese into her mouth.

He dipped a cracker into a special dip that the chef had made just for them. “Try this.” He held it to her mouth. As she ate it, her tongue brushed his fingers. He froze.

She sucked in a breath, and his cock twitched. He sensed the tension in the air.

Selena chewed and swallowed. “How was patrol?”

“Boring. Uneventful. How about you? How was your day?”

“We did more work on the samples.” She ran her hand over the lush grass. “No promising results yet. Noah swore a lot.”

“They all okay?” Tane took a sip of his beer.

She nodded. “They’re still a little shaken.”

He reached out and touched her fingers. “Everyone is. Ash was edgy to get back to Marin about one minute into patrol. No one wants to get turned into a Gizzida.”

She looked around the trees. “I wish the Gizzida weren’t driven to destroy and assimilate.”

Tane jerked his chin up. “Part of me wishes they’d never found Earth.” He looked at her. So damn pretty. “But if they hadn’t invaded, I’d have never met you.”

She smiled. “I know what you mean. Part of me wishes I was never abducted.” Her fingers tightened on his. “But there are things I’ve discovered on Earth that I like. A lot of things.”

God, he felt things inside him shift. “You must miss your home.”

She lifted a fat grape and bit into it. He was mesmerized by her lips and neat white teeth. He breathed deep, drawing in the scent of her, and fought to control the desire twisting inside him.

A part of him knew he should stay away from her. But he couldn’t fight the pull anymore.

Every day, he lifted a carbine and went out to fight for his friends, his brothers, and now for Selena.

“I miss the Forest of Oxalis.” She closed her eyes. “It’s on the moon where I worked. Sometimes, I can imagine the smell, the scents of the trees and flowers, hear the animals, feel the throb of energy.”

“What about your family?”

She bit her lip. “I miss them, but we’re different from humans. I would see them sporadically, but our relationships are…cooler, more routine. Less intense.”

“Is that what you’re looking for?” He couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to worship Selena.

“No.” Her fingers clenched on his. “That’s not what I want.”

He shifted closer. “What do you want, Selena?”

“You.”

He cupped her neck, his finger rubbing on her pulse point. Her breathing quickened, her gaze on his lips.

“I’m the opposite of what you just described. I’m intense, possessive.”

She nodded.

He stroked along her slim shoulder and saw the goose bumps pimple her skin. “Cold?”

“No. Definitely not.” She tilted her head. “Are you going to kiss me?”

“Soon.” He dropped his mouth to her shoulder, nibbling along the delicate line of it. “I want to take care of you. Make sure I give you the best I can.”

She hadn’t been with a man and he didn’t want to rush this. He wanted to make it good for her.

“Okay.” She did a poor job of hiding her disappointment.

“What?” he demanded.

She tucked some hair behind her ear. “I’ve seen Hemi and Cam, Finn and Lia, Levi and Chrissy. What they have is hot, desperate—”

Tane yanked her close. “Don’t think going slow means I don’t want you, or that I’m not desperate for you. My control is hanging on by a thread. My cock is rock hard for you, but this first time, I won’t rush it. I won’t hurt you.” The air shuddered out of him. “Damn, I want my hands on you.”

He saw a flash of something in her eyes, and then she arched her back, pushing those pretty breasts forward. “So, touch me.”

His finger slid along her collar bone, and he nudged the strap of her dress off her shoulder. Then he pushed the other one down and her dress pooled at her waist, leaving her breasts bare.

He growled. “Look at you.” He leaned down and took her mouth, kissing her deeply, and forcing her head back. She moaned, clutching at him.

He lifted a hand and palmed her breast, then her drew close, letting his lips move over her skin, until he was kissing the sweet curves of them. He sucked one nipple into his mouth.

“Yes. Oh, yes.” Her voice was breathy.

Sensing something in his periphery, Tane looked up.

“Jesus.” His eyes widened. Butterflies filled the air around them, fluttering gently. Selena opened her eyes and gasped. Her face was flushed, her eyes glazed with need. “Please don’t stop.”

Ignoring the butterflies, he leaned down and kissed her. He grabbed one of her hands and tangled her fingers with his. Then, he moved their joined hands, sliding them under the skirt of her dress.

She stilled. “Tane?”

“Shh, just feel.”

His fingers and hers pushed higher, sliding along her thigh. Then he touched her silk panties, and using their joined fingers, pushed her panties aside. He slid through her wet folds and found her clit.

She made a strangled sound.

“That’s it. I want to see you come.”

Using her fingers, they stroked, rubbing until she was shifting wildly, her body tense.

“Tane.” He picked up speed, rubbing that swollen nub. Then she came on their joined fingers, crying his name. The butterflies took flight into the night above them.

Finally, she slumped against him, a faint smile on her face.

Damn. Need, vicious and hungry, clawed at his insides.

He jerked to his feet, pulling her up. Quickly, he slipped the straps of her dress back up, covering her breasts.

“Tane—”

He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door. When she almost tripped, he swung her into his arms.

“What—?”

He slammed his mouth down on hers. “What I want to do to you, I can’t do here.”

She shivered.

“You’re mine now,” he growled.

Her hands flexed on his shoulders. “Yes, yours.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Tane’s room smelled like him.

Selena gripped his shoulders as he carried her inside and turned on a lamp.

There were no decorations, just a book by the bed, knives resting on the table, and an interesting carved piece of wood resting on the shelf.

Simple. Masculine. Tane.

He set her down by the bed and she looked up at him, her entire body trembling. He flicked the straps of her dress off again and the fabric slithered to the floor.

The way he watched her made her suck in a breath, her belly tight.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he said.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.”

At her whispered confession, he shuddered. She gripped his shirt and together they pulled it over his head.

Oh, that chest. All power and strength.

His head lowered and he kissed her, hard and rough. Yes. His hand slid into her hair, and he backed her up until she pressed against the wall beside the bed.

She moaned into his mouth. His kiss felt like a stamp of ownership, his tongue stroking deep, mastering her.

Selena gripped his sides, one hand sliding over his abs. They were taut and she craved him. She wanted to explore every bit of his body.

He pressed close, and she felt his hard erection—long and thick—against her belly.

“Tane,” she moaned.

He nipped her bottom lip. “Tell me what you want, Selena.”

“Everything.” Her hands clenched on him, and she fought to find the words to explain the nameless things she wanted. “I ache, and I want you to make it stop.”

He spun her and she found herself spread out flat on the bed. Tane stood above her, big, dark, and handsome.

“I want to see you,” she said.

He unbuckled his belt, then flicked open his pants. The air caught in her lungs.

He shoved his cargo pants down and she felt a throb between her legs. He was perfect—not smooth or pretty, instead, he was hard angles and raw strength, with a long, thick cock that made her belly catch.

She held out a hand to him. Something crossed his face—need, hunger, wonder.

Then his big body covered hers and she took the weight of him. Oh, he felt so good. He braced himself on his arms, and she absorbed his heat and energy.

“Selena.” His voice was deep and guttural.

She was surrounded by him—his heavy weight, his hot skin, his delicious scent. He swamped every one of her senses, and she couldn’t get enough.

He kissed her, and then his mouth slid to her neck. She arched into him.

“So beautiful,” he said against her skin.

She ran her hands over his back, and down to the hard curve of his ass. She hesitated.

“Touch me,” he demanded.

She stroked, feeling the flex of his muscles. His big body shuddered.

“Tane?” Her voice was breathy.

“Need you.”

She could barely believe that all this need was for her. That this man wanted her so badly that his body shook with it. It was intoxicating.

“Tane, please.” She pressed her hips up.

“Be sure, Selena.”

“Yes. I want you more than anything.”

He shoved her thighs wider, pulling her legs around his hips.

Anticipation made her shiver. He kissed her again, his mouth like a brand. His hands shifted between their bodies, stroking over her belly, and making her suck in a husky breath.

She felt him circle his thick cock, then he rubbed it between her legs.

She moaned. The round head pressed against her.

“No man’s ever been here.” His voice was a deep growl. “It might make me sound like a caveman, but I’m fucking glad I get to show you this, even if I’m damned for touching you.”

“I need you inside me, Tane. Only you. Show me.”

“Tell me what you want, Butterfly.” He pushed the tip of his cock inside her.

She gasped and clutched at him.

He groaned. “Tell me.”

She arched up, trying to slide more of his thickness inside her. “I want you.”

“I need more than that. Say you want my cock.”

“I…I want your cock inside me.”

He pushed in another inch. “Why?”

“I…want you to fuck me. I want to watch you fucking me. I want to watch you enjoy me.”

Tane made an inarticulate sound. He moved a little deeper, stretching her. With a moan, she clamped her legs around him. It hurt a little, pain threatening.

He kissed her again, giving her no chance to think of anything but him.

“I’m going to go deeper now.” He bit her lip, his hips pressing harder against her. He pushed inside her, muttering a string of curses. “You’re so damn tight, Selena.”

The pain stung and she gripped his shoulders. With another slow thrust, he was seated inside her.

He groaned and she sucked in a breath. The sting was starting to fade, replaced with the realization that Tane was inside her. They were locked together, joined.

“Butterfly?” There was concern in his voice. “You okay?”

“Yes.” She tightened her legs on him. “You feel so good inside me.”

He gave a strained laugh. “Not as good as you feel.”

“Now what?” she asked.

“I’ll show you.”

He pulled out and thrust back in. He started slowly, with deep, steady thrusts. But it wasn’t long before he was pumping inside her, driving small cries from her throat.

As his cock plunged deep, he rubbed against her clit. Her body felt tight, and she was trembling on the verge of being inundated with so much sensation.

“Come, Selena. Scream for me.”

After another rough thrust, the most intense pleasure exploded inside her. His strong body kept pumping into hers and she screamed, her gaze hitting his.

He watched her with dark intensity, like he was memorizing every expression on her face.

“Beautiful. Fuck, if I still had a soul, I’d sell it to possess you.”

She clamped her hands on his ass, her nails biting into him. “You already have me, Tane.”

With another groan, his next thrust was harder, deeper. She felt his body shudder, a growl torn from him. He kept moving inside her.

The muscles in his neck tightened, his gaze still on her. “Selena.”

Then with a low roar, he poured himself inside her, giving her everything she’d ever wanted.

FUCK. Fuck. Tane gathered Selena close and pressed his face to her hair.

Her body was still trembling, and he hadn’t quite calmed his own raging senses. He tilted her head up and looked down into her face. She gave him a lazy, blinding smile.

It was like a kick to his chest. He’d put that look on her face. He’d made her smile.

He didn’t deserve her, but he wasn’t giving her up.

He nuzzled his nose against hers. “Sore?”

“A little, but my body heals fast.”

Still, he was determined to take good care of her. He rose, moving to the bathroom, and grabbed a washcloth. He held it under the warm water before returning to her. He shifted her legs gently to wipe between her thighs. He noticed heat in her cheeks.

He took the cloth back to the bathroom, rinsing it out before he returned to the bed. She snuggled into him, a warm sexy presence at his side and her slim hand pressed over his heart.

“Thank you,” she said.

He grunted. “For what?”

“For making that wonderful. For taking care of me.” She paused. “I know you held back and made it good for me.”

He tightened his arm on her. A wave of something went through him, an emotion he hadn’t felt much before—tenderness. He thought it would be sweet and gentle, but what he felt for her was raw, powerful, and tinged with the need to possess and protect.

He stroked a hand lazily over her ass. She nuzzled into him, her face pressed to his neck. This felt nice. He didn’t tell her that he’d never lain like this with a woman before.

Pre-invasion, sex had been quick, something to scratch an itch. He’d never hung around, and he’d never snuggled. He hadn’t really liked anyone touching him more than necessary. After the invasion, he’d been too busy fighting and hadn’t felt the urge, until Selena.

He breathed her in. Yeah, he could get used to this.

Her fingers brushed over his chest. “What did you mean when you said if you still had a soul?”

The quiet words cut into him. “I’ve been a soldier all my life. Fighting’s all I’ve ever been good at.”

“Tane—”

He squeezed her hand. “I became a mercenary. I didn’t join the military because I don’t like too many rules. I fought in some dark, shitty places for a really long time.” How could someone as light and good as Selena understand? Understand that he’d felt a need to be in the shadows, doing terrible things so others didn’t have to. “I’ve killed. I’ve killed people who had families, were parents, had wives and kids.”

She pressed up, glaring down at him, her face fierce. “Did you kill children?”

He sucked in a breath. “No.”

“Innocent people?”

“No.” An uncomfortable sensation moved through his gut. “But I’m certain some innocents got caught up in the fighting we were involved in—”

“Tane, I can only imagine how many people you saved. You stopped bad people, and yes, you killed, but those people made their choices.”

“Some of them didn’t want to do what they did.” He still saw their faces in his nightmares. The poor and desperate who’d worked for some of the drug lords.

She made a sound. “They made their choice. They chose an easy answer, a wrong answer.”

He stayed silent, turning her words over.

“There will always be bad people,” she said quietly. “Gizzida. People who think that because they’re more powerful they have the right to interfere with others’ lives. We need people like you to fight and protect.”

Fuck.

“You risk your life every day, and I’ve seen you save people.” Her tone was fervent. “You’ve saved me.”

“Selena—”

“No.” She held up a slim hand, clearly on a roll. “I won’t let you keep feeling bad about this. I’m going to work on you, Tane Rahia, until you believe me.”

He fought a smile. She was usually so calm and sweet, but he liked this fiery side of her.

“I’ve seen evil and bad up close,” she murmured.

His smile dissolved and his hand tightened on her. He wished he could kill every damn raptor right then and there.

“You are not bad,” she said. “You have a soul. On my planet, we call it the naria. We believe all naria are one, are linked.” She cupped his cheek. “And your naria is influenced by the naria of those closest to you.”

He stroked his thumb across her plump bottom lip. “You gonna shine some light on my naria?”

She tossed her silver-white hair back. “Yes.”

“Come here.” He tumbled her onto his chest and kissed her.

The kiss was slow and deep, then she moved lower, peppering kisses along his jaw and down his neck. She took her time, kissing across his chest, her lips teasing one of his nipples.

Damn. He felt every kiss in his cock. “Selena—”

“My turn to explore you.” Her nails raked across his abs. “My turn to give you pleasure like you’ve given me.”

She wrapped her hands around his throbbing cock. Shit, the look on her face.

She stroked him. “So long, so heavy.”

His cock twitched in her hand.

“Show me what you like,” she breathed.

He wouldn’t survive this. His hand circled hers around his cock, and he showed her how to stroke him. Soon she was panting, her body shifting restlessly on the bed.

“You turned on?” he growled.

“Yes.”

“Wet?”

She nodded. “Very.”

Shit. He couldn’t stop his groan.

“Before,” she said, “you put your mouth on me. To pleasure me.” A pretty flush filled her cheeks. “I’ve heard the women talk about sex.”

“I bet.” His voice was strained.

“I want my turn.” She leaned down and guided the head of his cock to her lips.

Every single one of his muscles tensed. “Shit.” His voice was so guttural he was hard to understand.

She licked him, then slid him into her hot mouth.

He tangled his hand in her hair. “Jesus, baby.”

She licked and used her hands and mouth, finding her rhythm. She took her time getting used to the length of him.

Tane cursed again. It was good. Too good. “Come here, Selena.”

She moaned and it vibrated through his cock. He gritted his teeth against the pleasure. He reached down and yanked her up.

“Tane!” It was a protest.

He pulled her up until she straddled his chest.

“I wasn’t finished,” she said.

“I was about to come down your throat.”

She paused and licked her lips. “I think I’d like that.”

He groaned again.

“Tane, I don’t want you to be careful and gentle. I want rough, I want hard, I want passionate.”

“You want that?” His control was gone, burned away. He gripped her hips, his fingers digging into her skin.

Her chest hitched. “Yes.”

“Then that’s what you’ll get, Butterfly.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The intense look on Tane’s face stole Selena’s breath.

His fingers bit into her hips and he jerked her forward. She found herself straddling his head, his mouth right there.

“Tane,” she breathed.

“Addicted to the taste of you. Will never get enough of it.” He put his mouth on her.

Oh. Air rushed out of her. She arched, sensations arrowing through her. He licked her, that amazing tongue knowing just how to give her pleasure.

He urged her to move, and soon, she was lost, her inhibitions gone. She rode his face, his mouth driving her to places that made her sob.

Her orgasm grew, swelling, then it crashed over her. Her husky scream filled the room, her pleasure making her shatter.

Distantly, she heard Tane groan, and felt the bite of his fingers on her bottom. Her body was still trembling when he nudged her back.

“Ride me, Butterfly.”

Excitement wound through her. “How?”

“Lift your hips and take my cock. Position me right where you need me.”

She’d just come, but the frantic, harsh need in his voice made excitement shoot through her. She gripped his cock and made a humming noise. So thick, so hot. The head lodged in her folds and she froze.

“That’s it, Selena.” Tane’s hand pushed her down.

Her gaze locked with his, and slowly, she took his cock inside her. The delicious stretching felt amazing.

He made a harsh sound. “Too damn tight.”

“Isn’t tight good?” she panted.

“Not if I hurt you.”

Warmth filled her. “You won’t. Don’t hold back.”

He groaned again. With a growl, he thrust his hips up, and then he was all the way inside her.

Selena gasped for air, her hands on his hard pecs.

His dark eyes glittered. “Selena, so damn gorgeous.”

She moved her hips slowly, testing it out. She rose and fell, listening to the deep, masculine sounds coming out of him.

Soon, she was moving quicker, feeling sharp bursts of pleasure.

“I’m sorry,” he growled.

She frowned. What was he sorry for?

His grip on her hips tightened, and he thrust her down as he bumped his hips up.

She made a strangled sound. So deep. He took over, plunging into her with hard, relentless thrusts.

Selena matched the rhythm. Harder, more. “Deep.” Her voice sounded different, hoarse, needy. “So deep inside me, Tane.”

“I’d go deeper, if I could. Find a way to be a part of you.”

His possessive words filled her. She felt the heat of her climax growing, like a fire building into a raging blaze.

She stared down at his rugged face, the harsh lines she loved so much. He fingered her clit, his thumb shifting to rub right where she needed it.

With another hard thrust, Selena came. The force of her orgasm made her entire body shake, her vision blurring. The pleasure was so intense, like the brightest light had illuminated inside her.

Tane made a harsh sound. He surged up to sit, so they were face to face. His arms wrapped around her, his swollen cock lodged deep.

He made a sound—part groan, part growl. His big body shuddered, and she clung to him as he came.

Selena pressed her face to his neck and nuzzled his pulse point. She absorbed the life and energy of him. He was like a thunderstorm with lightning sparking, and she gorged on him.

She felt possessed, protected, claimed. He was hers, and she was his. She stroked her hands up and down his back. “Thank you.”

He pulled back, one eyebrow raised. “I hope you aren’t thanking me for fucking you hard and coming even harder inside you?”

She flushed. “I am. It was amazing.”

He kissed her. “You’re amazing. “Sleep now, Butterfly.”

It only took her seconds to fall asleep, held tight in Tane’s arms, his scent deep in her senses.

SELENA WOKE WRAPPED around Tane’s strong body.

She smiled, warmth spilling inside her. She’d slept in Tane’s arms. She’d felt his big body moving inside hers. She’d kissed him. She’d spent the entire night, safe and warm, beside him. Inside her chest, her heart was dancing.

A big hand stroked up her side. “You’re awake.”

His low was low and gritty with sleep. She nodded.

“Feel all right?”

She rolled and met his dark gaze. “Better than all right.”

He cupped her ass and she made a small, husky sound.

“Wish we could spend some more time here, babe, but I’m due at training soon,” he said.

Disappointment skimmed through her happy. “And I’m due at the lab.”

“Well, we still have time for a shower.”

Her pulse leaped.

They took a shower together, an experience that left Selena breathless. It was all lazy kisses, and soapy, exploring hands. He showed her how to stroke his cock until he came with a groan, spurting against her belly. Then he’d pinned her to the tiles, his hand working between her legs, until her cries echoed off the walls. Afterward, when Tane smiled at her—something he did so rarely—her heart squeezed.

Finally, they dressed, and he took her to her quarters so she could change into clean clothes. He was wearing cargo pants and a tight, black T-shirt stretched over his hard chest. Just looking at him made her feel a flicker of hunger.

Apparently, she was well and truly addicted to sex. Or at least, sex with Tane.

She quickly changed into jeans and a top of a pretty sea blue. When she closed the door, he took her hand and they headed to the infirmary.

Even just walking with him made her happy. Ahead, the infirmary doors appeared.

She turned to him. “I hope you—”

He backed her up against the wall.

“—have a good day,” she finished on a squeak.

His big body was pressed against hers. “Be careful.”

She nodded.

“I’ll meet you at the rec room for drinks this afternoon.”

“I’d like that.”

Then he kissed her. Slow, deliberate, until it had her blood humming.

“Miss you already, Butterfly.”

“See you later,” she said breathlessly.

She watched him stride down the corridor. All that sexy strength. Mine.

“Holy cow,” a feminine voice said. “That was hot.”

“Smokin’.”

Selena spun and saw Claudia, Cam, Taylor, Sienna, and Mac standing in a group at the other end of the corridor.

A flush hit her cheeks. “Hi.”

“So, he finally stopped fighting and gave in.” Mac grinned.

“Um.” Selena tucked her hair behind her ear.

“I don’t even have to ask how it was,” Cam said. “You’re glowing. Not literally, which I know you do sometimes, but you look happy.”

Selena smiled. “I am happy.”

“He took care of you?” Claudia demanded.

The Hell Squad soldier’s brow was creased. This woman had been Selena’s first human friend. Had protected and helped rescue her from the Gizzida.

Selena nodded. “Sex is…” The memories made her shiver.

“Oh, it was your first time.” Sienna Rossi clapped her hands together, her dark curls bouncing. She was so sweet and pretty that it was hard to believe she was a Squad Nine soldier. “Excellent choice for your first, carina.”

The heat in Selena’s cheeks deepened. “I’ve wanted him for so long.”

“He was gentle?” Claudia asked.

“Um, no.”

Taylor frowned, one hand on her hip. “He hurt you?”

“Gosh, no,” Selena said. “He was hard, rough, intense.”

“Oh, boy,” Mac murmured.

“Did you enjoy it?” Claudia demanded bluntly. “He made sure you came?”

Selena felt a wild flutter of embarrassment. “Um, yes, four times.” She thought it was four, she’d kind of lost count.

Claudia blinked. “Four times?”

“Nice work, Tane,” Taylor drawled.

“If he doesn’t treat you right, you tell me,” Claudia said.

Selena hugged the woman. “I love you.”

“Love you, too. Happy that you’re getting some hot sex from a hot berserker.”

“I can vouch that hot berserker sex is awesome.” Cam winked.

“I’ve got to get to work,” Selena said.

She got hugs and waves, and watched the women walk away. She felt another flush of warmth and love inside her. She hadn’t just made friends here, she’d found a family.

Feeling light and happy, she entered the infirmary. When she reached the lab, Emerson spun, her eyes wide and excited over her mask. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“Early results from one of the solutions I made with your blood are very promising.” The doctor looked at all the samples on her bench. “Selena, it’s killing the Gizzida DNA.”

“That’s great.” Selena felt a leap of excitement.

Emerson paused. “You look different.”

Selena cleared her throat. “I slept well.”

“Right. Well, the other solutions haven’t worked, and I haven’t deciphered why this one did yet.”

Noah sauntered over, rolling something between his fingers. It was a metallic set of dice. Selena had noted that the man had a large collection of the small items.

“She’s mixing your blood with cineole,” Noah said.

“The solution is in here somewhere,” Emerson said. “I know it. Now, let’s do this.”

Noah leaned closer to Selena. “Nice stubble-burn on your neck.”

Selena’s hand flew up to her throat. “Um.”

Noah winked and Selena smothered a laugh.

TANE WALKED into the rec room with the rest of his squad. They were all showered and changed after a day of training, followed by an emergency call to bring in a group of survivors.

The small, ragged group had been malnourished, and hadn’t bathed in days. They’d escaped from some group in the mountains, where some asshole had declared himself supreme leader. When he’d started eyeing teenage girls to be his potential “wives”, a lot of people had decided to take their chances against the Gizzida.

Selena was right. There would always be bad guys, and there would always be the need for good guys to help keep them in line.

Hemi grabbed some homebrew beers from the bar and handed them around.

“I am thirsty.” Hemi chugged his back.

“Pool?” Griff called out to Dom.

The dark-haired man nodded and the pair snagged a pool table.

There was no sign of Selena. Tane was itching to see her. All day, the slightest thought of how she tasted or the sounds she’d made under his hands, had gotten him hard.

They sat in some armchairs, and a moment later, Indy appeared. Their comms officer made a beeline for Griff.

The berserker turned and Indy jumped on him. Griff cupped her ass as she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him.

“Howdy, boys.” Cam said, as she and Arden appeared.

Arden, an elegant brunette who was Squad Nine’s comms officer, smiled and nodded to the squad. Dom appeared beside her, sliding an arm around his woman and nuzzling her cheek. He murmured something that made her smile.

Arden had lost her family in the invasion. Every time Tane had seen the comms officer, she’d often been sad and never smiled. But falling in love with an ex-Mafia enforcer who loved her completely had brought her smile back.

Cam sat on the arm of Hemi’s chair and smacked a kiss to his bearded face.

Then she shot Tane a knowing look, which told him that the cat was out of the bag about him and Selena.

Ash and Marin arrived next.

“Hey, Marin, you okay?” Cam asked.

The blonde nodded. “Fine. Some stellar nightmares, but I have a big, tattooed berserker to cuddle.”

Ash pulled her closer. “It’s my pleasure to distract you and help you get back to sleep.” His tone left no doubt as to how he did that.

Marin slapped his chest.

“I’m not talking to you!” A sharp female voice cut across the room.

“Babe.” Levi, his hair tied up at the back of his head, strode in behind an angry Chrissy.

The redhead tossed her hair over her shoulder. The fiery pair were always arguing, then making up. Sure enough, Levi lunged, lifted Chrissy off her feet, and spun her. His mouth landed on hers. Chrissy fought him, managed to slap him on the back, then she melted into the kiss. A second later, her hands were in his hair and she was kissing him back.

Tane shook his head. The pair got off on fighting.

Then, he saw Selena.

She stood in the doorway like a sexy fairy. Her hair was in a ponytail, she was wearing the jeans that drove him crazy, and that blue shirt that made her skin look like a pearl.

She spotted him and smiled.

“Here comes our pretty alien,” Hemi said. “My bro’s been very tight-lipped about their dinner.”

“I bet,” Cam drawled.

Selena arrived. “Hi.”

Tane tumbled her into his lap and swallowed her gasp of surprise with his mouth. He took his time kissing her until she was clinging to him.

He ignored the hoots and hollers of their friends.

“Hi,” he murmured.

“Hi.”

“I fucking love this.” Hemi stood, leaned over, and planted a big kiss on Selena’s mouth. “You are perfect for him.”

She blushed.

“We need more drinks,” Hemi bellowed.

Tane held her close. “Missed you today.”

She smiled. “We were so busy. Emerson thinks one of her mixtures might work on the Gizzida DNA. She used my blood—”

“Your blood?” He frowned. He hated the idea of her being a damned lab rat.

She cupped his cheek. “Emerson’s not hurting me. If it helps save us—” her gaze dropped to his lips “—save you, it’s worth it.”

It might be helpful, but he still didn’t like it.

“Anyway, she’ll run more tests overnight. We should know more in the morning. This could be it, Tane. A way to stop the Gizzida bombs.”

He ran his hand over her hair. “Good.”

She fidgeted in his lap.

He caught her hip. “If you don’t sit still, I’ll embarrass myself.”

Her tongue touched her lip and she lowered her voice. “When can we get out of here?”

Shit, she wasn’t helping his erection go down. He reached up, brushing his thumb over her lips. “You hungry, Butterfly?”

Her voice was a whisper. “Yes, starving.”

Damn. His cock throbbed. “I want to be inside you so badly.”

“Hey, Selena,” Hemi said, interrupting them. “We were talking earlier about your home world, and what you do for fun there. Like sports.”

Tane took a sip of his beer, taking the time to cool himself down, but still enjoying holding onto her.

“We don’t play sports on Florum,” Selena said.

Hemi froze. “No sports? None at all?”

She shook her head. “We aren’t a very physical species. We’re more academic. We do enjoy hiking, connecting with nature.”

“Well, you’ll have to learn rugby now,” Hemi said.

“Okay.”

The conversation moved and shifted, drifting over various topics. It was clear that everyone was trying hard not to think of the alien bombs.

Tane’s chest tightened. They could all feel the clock ticking, the sound getting louder as time passed. He looked at Selena. She was laughing at something Cam said, and her face looked happy and serene. He would do whatever he had to in order for her to survive.

“Evening, everyone.”

Tane tilted his head back and saw Manu and Kate. Manu studied Selena sitting in Tane’s lap, and caught Tane’s gaze. His brother nodded his approval.

“This is what life would be like after the Gizzida,” Selena murmured.

“Yeah.” Tane hadn’t thought much about it. He was a soldier; it was all he knew. He was always thinking of the next battle, not what it would be like if they won the war.

If they did drive the Gizzida away, he couldn’t see himself farming, or anything like that. But spending time with his brothers, his friends, Selena, yeah.

“What would you do?” she asked. “If the Gizzida were gone?”

“Not sure. I told you, I’m only good at fighting.”

Her eyes sparked. “You’re strong and protective. I’m sure you’d find a way to put those skills to good use.”

A secret wish welled up, one he never consciously acknowledged or told anyone before. One he hadn’t thought he deserved.

Her hand slid up to his cheek. “Tane?”

“I’d like to be a dad.”

She stilled. “What?”

“I had a good childhood, good parents. I want to raise a kid, keep him or her safe. Teach them. Take them climbing, hiking, teach them to play rugby.”

He saw something shift in her eyes, her happiness leaking away.

“Selena?” He tipped her chin up.

“I… We… Might not be compatible.”

He smiled and stroked her cheek. “We aren’t so different. Like you said, we have the same bits in the right places.”

Her green eyes shot open, impossibly wide. “We have ways to control conception on Florum, but I’m obviously not using any of that. Do you have some form of contraception?”

“No.”

“Oh!” She tried to scramble out of his lap. “What if…? What if…?”

Her panic was cute. Tane rose and pulled her with him. “Excuse us.”

“I knew you’d abandon us, Rahia,” Levi called out.

“I think he’s got better things to do,” Cam drawled, followed by some good-natured laughter from the assembled group.

Tane pulled Selena into the corridor.

She spun to face him. “What if I’m pregnant?” Her face was pale, voice panicked. “What if—?”

“If you’re pregnant, then we’ll make a beautiful baby.”

She stilled, staring at him.

He cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look at him. “I want you pregnant.”

“Tane,” she breathed.

He rubbed his fingers along her temples. “I want you tied to me. I wanted to be an us, not a you and me.”

She blew out a breath. “Until we beat the Gizzida, I can’t…”

He nodded. He wanted the world to be safe for a baby to grow up in, too. “I’ll talk to Doc Emerson about getting an implant.”

Selena smiled. “Thank you.” She fidgeted for a moment. “Will that take long?”

He grinned. “Let’s go find her.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Oh, yes, Tane.”

Selena clung to Tane. He had her pinned to the wall in her quarters, hammering inside her.

She held tight to his hard shoulders, her legs clamped onto his hips. It was hot, hard, and perfect.

“Get there,” he growled.

She moaned and the look on his face made her shiver. “You feel so good inside me.”

She loved wild sex against the wall.

He kept moving inside her, each stroke filling her up. Their eyes were locked, and the way he claimed her made her feel like she was his everything.

Soon, Selena couldn’t talk. Her breathing quickened, whimpers broke free. With each thrust, a grunt broke out of him. His thrusts got faster, harder.

Her climax hit—a wild, hot rush. She buried her face into his neck, crying out his name.

Tane thrust deep, his big body shuddering, his growl long and low.

She held him tight. Right here, in Tane Rahia’s arms, she felt safe and right. Like she was where she belonged.

“Wall sex is amazing,” she murmured.

He lifted his head and gave her a sexy grin. “Glad you approve.” Then he blinked. “You’re glowing.”

Her skin was glowing. “All your fault.” She nipped his lips. “It’s when I have excess energy.”

“I made you glow.”

He looked rather pleased with himself. Happiness filled her. They’d well and truly tested out his new contraceptive implant. Both during the night, and this morning.

She nuzzled him. “I need to get to the lab. Emerson will already be working.”

“And you want to be there, in case something goes wrong.” He smoothed a hand over her hair. “My sweet Selena.”

Warmth bloomed. She’d expected rough and tough from Tane, but she loved the little pieces of sweetness as well.

They showered and dressed. She wished they had time to take longer in the shower, but they had work to do. Tane had brought a change of clothes with him, so soon they were both dressed and ready.

He held her hand as they walked to the infirmary.

Inside, the medical team was working quietly, stocking equipment and gear. Most patients were being treated down the hall in a secondary infirmary so they weren’t too close to the lab.

Selena waved at Norah, one of the head nurses. The woman shot an appreciative look at Tane before a frown formed on her face. “The doc is not happy this morning.”

“What’s happened?” Selena’s stomach clenched.

Norah waved a hand. “Go and see.”

Selena glanced at Tane. His brow furrowed.

In the small office attached to the lab, Emerson sat slumped in a chair, her mask shoved around her neck. Noah leaned against the wall nearby, wearing a ferocious scowl.

“What’s wrong?” Selena asked.

Emerson looked up. “My tests failed.”

“Failed?” Selena took a step forward.

Emerson’s blonde hair bobbed as she nodded. “The mixture that was killing the Gizzida DNA…it stopped working. Today, the samples are covered in Gizzida cells.”

Selena’s stomach dropped to her feet. No.

“Fuck,” Tane muttered.

Tears appeared on Emerson’s face and she dashed them away. “Damn pregnancy hormones.”

“We’re back to square one,” Noah said.

“And we’re running out of time,” Tane added.

“I know that,” Emerson said sharply.

“No.” Selena shook her head. “That one mixture worked, at least for a little while.” She spun to look through the window into the lab, staring at the benches where the test vials were set up. “We keep working, and we find out why. We aren’t giving up.”

Emerson swiped at her eyes again. “Selena—”

Selena moved to her friend, touching Emerson’s belly. “You have babies in here who deserve a safe world, a world where they can run in the sun, laugh and play under the trees.”

The doctor bit her lip, then set her shoulders back. “Okay, okay. I’m all right now, I’ve had my pity party.” She squeezed Selena’s hand. “Thank you.”

Tane appeared behind Selena shifting her hair to one side and kissing her neck. “Nice work.”

She smiled. They all had so much to fight for. She reached out and touched the window, her gaze on a vial of fluid. They would find a way to make it work.

Suddenly, the brown fluid inside the vial started to froth.

One of the comps beeped and Emerson spun, looking at the screen.

“Oh, my God, it’s killing the Gizzida cells again.” She looked through the window, then at Selena. “What did you do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Sit.” Emerson pushed Selena into a chair, then she reached out and grabbed a monitoring patch. She pressed the small adhesive to Selena’s temple.

Tane scowled, but Selena reached out and squeezed his hand. “I’m fine.”

“I’m just taking some scans,” Emerson said.

Noah and the doc worked together, Noah tapping furiously at one of the comps.

“I’ll do some more tests,” Emerson said. “I need to run—”

Alarms blared through the room, lights flashing overhead.

“Shit,” Tane said.

Selena gasped. It was the base’s general emergency alarm.

Tane yanked out his communicator. “Indy?”

“Tane.” Indy’s voice burst out of the communicator. “Get to the Command Center now.”

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“A large alien force was spotted. They’re coming in from Sydney airport and headed this way.”

“Oh, God,” Emerson gasped.

“They’re on a direct course with the Enclave,” Indy added.

Tane spun, cursing. “I’ve got to go.”

Selena tore off the monitoring patch. “I’m coming, too.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, he took her hand and nodded.

THE COMMAND CENTER was abuzz with activity. Everyone was tense, talking in low tones or rushing between comp stations.

Holmes stood near one of the computers, his hands on his hips and his gaze glued to the feed showing on the big screen on the wall.

“Oh, no,” Selena whispered beside Tane.

Yeah, it wasn’t good. He scanned the screen. A large contingent of aliens—row upon row of marching raptors, big and rugged spiked vehicles, and huge, lumbering rexes—was headed their way. Several flying, dinosaur-like aliens moved through the sky.

All headed to the Enclave.

“What’s happening?” Hemi’s voice.

The berserkers pushed into the Command Center and Tane jerked his head at the screen.

“Oh, fuck.” Hemi scowled.

Tane slid his arm around Selena. The other squads finished arriving, filling the room.

Holmes turned. “As you can all see, we have a big problem. We have a few choices of how to handle this. We can lock down and bunker in the Enclave. We have food and resources that would last us over a year.”

Like a siege. Tane shook his head. “But then we can’t get out, and we’re potentially still screwed at the end of that year.”

The general’s eyes flashed. “Correct.”

“They must be almost ready to detonate the bombs,” Selena said. “They want us locked down. They don’t want any interference.”

The general gave a tired nod.

“We aren’t hiding,” Marcus growled. “We fight. We all have too much to live for. They won’t make us cower like rats.”

There were murmurs and shouts of agreement from the crowd.

Holmes nodded. “We’ll lock down the elderly and the children, as well as all non-essential personnel, in the heart of the Enclave. All medical and Command Center staff will need to be on duty.” His gaze scanned the room. “And I want—no, I need—all squads out there. We need to slow the aliens down, and show them that we won’t be easy targets.”

Tane felt the energy swell in the crowd. The squad soldiers all cheered.

“Everyone ready to go to hell?” Marcus said.

“Hell, yeah,” his squad cheered. “The devil needs an ass-kicking.”

“Let’s roll, Squad Three,” Tane said.

“Time to kick some alien ass,” Hemi boomed.

Nearby, Roth Masters nodded. “Squad Nine, we’re taking to the air in the Darkswifts.”

Tane turned and saw Hemi kiss Cam. Not far away, Mac was clinging to Niko as the civilian leader kissed her. Taylor and Devlin were holding hands, whispering to each other. Near Roth, Theron from Squad Nine had Sienna tucked to his side. The big man caught Tane’s gaze and nodded.

A brunette appeared. “Be careful out there, Masters.”

“Always, Masters.” Roth kissed his wife, Avery.

“Devlin, Santha, and I, and a couple of others from the Intel team, are going to join Kate’s security team.” Avery smiled briefly at Tane. “And Manu and his armory team are helping as well. We’ll beef up security around the base.”

Tane felt a burst of pride. He knew Manu, Kate, and the others would deal with any raptors that got close to the base.

Roth slid a hand into Avery’s hair. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Go be a badass.”

Selena spun to Tane. “I’m coming with you.”

His gut went tight. “You should help Emerson—”

“I’ll be of more use in the field. I can help.” She pressed a hand to his chest. “Don’t make me wait here, wondering if you and the others are okay, wondering if I could be out there helping.”

Dammit. They had to slow the aliens down. They needed everything they had to make that happen. If they didn’t…

He wanted Selena safe, but he couldn’t lock her up, and they needed her skills.

“All right. Get some armor.”

She beamed and went up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”

“You’ll stay right with me the entire time.”

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to help.”

Tane didn’t miss that she hadn’t agreed to what he’d said.

But it was too late to argue. He took her hand, and with the rest of the berserkers, they jogged toward the squad locker rooms. After she disappeared into the Squad Nine locker room, he headed for his locker.

He slammed on his armor and checked his carbine. “Selena’s coming with us.” He gritted his teeth against the slice of fear that cut through him.

Hemi gripped his shoulder. “We’ll keep her safe.”

“Hell,” Griff said. “She’ll probably help keep us safe. But you know we’ll protect her.”

He looked at his friends, his brothers by blood and choice. They all nodded and he knew without a single doubt that they had his back.

When they exited the locker room, Selena was waiting for them. Her silver-white hair was braided, and her black armor was dark against her pale skin. She lifted her chin, a determined glint in her green eyes.

Tane grabbed her hand and they made their way down to the hangar where the berserkers kept their bikes.

They walked in and the lights clicked on automatically, gleaming off the dull metal of the armored bikes. His squad had spent a lot of time working on the bikes, adding enhancements and weapons to them. Tane climbed onto his and patted the seat behind him. Gingerly, Selena climbed on behind him.

“Hold on.”

Engines gunned, filling the space. The bikes had both silent thermonuclear engines and regular engines. When they needed stealth, they ran on the thermonuclear one, and when they didn’t, they enjoyed the rumble.

He took off first, leading the way to the end of the big room and then up a ramp, Selena clinging tightly to him. The others followed.

Moments later, they were outside, driving through the field toward one of the roads leading past the Enclave. Nearby, he spotted Hell Squad in some of the big, rugged Z6-Hunter armored vehicles. Several other squads were in Hunters, and Hawks were lifting off, heading toward the incoming aliens.

Several fast shadows shot through the sky overhead. Squad Nine in the Darkswifts—powered gliders.

Tane gunned down the road and realized that this was it. They were heading toward the final battle with the Gizzida. All the fighting, all the missions, all the struggle to survive was leading to this.

It’s our planet, motherfuckers.

They hadn’t gone much farther when explosions ripped into the sky ahead of them.

“Squad Nine has engaged,” Indy said on the comm line.

They rounded a curve and went up a hill.

“Fuck me,” Hemi said.

Gizzida filled the valley below.

“So many,” Selena murmured.

Tane’s mouth firmed. “Not for long.”

He gunned his bike and headed down the slope. He was flanked by his berserkers, the engines of their bikes rumbling.

These were the best men he knew. And he had no doubt that they would fight with everything they had.

Hawks appeared above, dropping their illusion as they disgorged squads into the green field below. Hunters rolled across the grass.

As they neared the aliens, Tane primed the rocket launcher attached to his bike. He thumbed the firing control.

A missile shot forward and hit the first line of raptors.

Several aliens were thrown into the air, the grass catching fire. Behind them, two rexes roared and stomped closer. One veered to the left, chasing one of the Hunters.

Behind Tane, Selena stood up.

“Selena,” he growled.

She held onto his shoulder with one hand, her other hand raised into the air.

Suddenly, a black cloud whipped out of the trees, dipping and whirling. It descended on the rex.

Bees. He’d seen her do this before. The rex shook its head wildly. It darted sideways, stomping its clawed feet. The rider on its back fell off.

Then the rex turned and rampaged back through the Gizzida, stomping on its own troops.

Tane kept firing, the berserkers joining him.

Ahead, canids and hellions were leaping over downed aliens. Raptors fired their weapons. The valley turned into a horrifying vision of hell.

Darkswifts dipped low, dropping cineole bombs. The fluid hung in the air, the sharp stench of eucalyptus hitting him.

Selena moved her hand gracefully and the wind picked up, whipping past them. It spread the oil across the aliens.

The raptors’ guttural cries filled the air.

Several flying aliens tried to attack the Darkswifts. One Darkswift shot lasers, turning sharply. The lasers clipped the alien, and the flying creature’s wings collapsed. It tumbled to the ground, taking out a raptor vehicle.

“Pteros,” someone yelled.

The small alien ships whipped through the sky, looking like the pteranodons they were named for. Laser fire lit up the sky and missiles hit the ground nearby, explosions shaking the earth. Several Hawks dropped their illusions, autoturrets firing on the pteros.

One Hawk flew in hard and fast, its lasers arcing through the sky. It clipped a ptero and the alien ship went spinning out of control. Only one pilot could fly like that—Finn.

Something exploded right in front of Tane.

“Look out!” Selena screamed.

Jerking the handlebars, Tane avoided the blast. But before he could take a breath, projectiles peppered his bike.

Fuck. Sniper.

He reached back and yanked Selena down. His bike skidded to the side, hit a raptor, and flew into the air. He spun, grabbed Selena, and leaped off.

They hit the ground and rolled across the grass.

“You okay?” he yelled.

She nodded, pushing up. Her cheek was streaked with dirt.

Suddenly, poison hit nearby, burning the grass and sizzling against the dirt. Tane leaped on her, covering her with his body.

Then he yanked her up. “Come on.”

There were too close to the aliens. He turned his head and saw canids leaping toward them. He spun, and on the other side, raptors were racing in, scaled weapons clutched in their claws.

He turned again and a huge rex loomed, roaring and stomping closer.

Fucking hell. He whipped his carbine up, firing.

“We’re coming,” Hemi shouted across the comm line. “Hold on, bro!”

Tane swiveled and saw the berserkers roaring across the field toward them.

“Hold on, Tane.” Marcus’ gravelly voice.

He glanced to the east and saw Hell Squad fighting their way closer. Marcus, Cruz, Reed, and Gabe were on foot, charging forward and firing their carbines. Next to them, a Hunter swerved, autoturret blasting. Shaw would be at the turret controls while Claudia drove.

More sniper projectiles peppered around Tane and Selena. He leaped in front of Selena and one of the bone-like bolts hit his shoulder.

Fuck. It rammed through a joint in his armor and pierced his skin. He grunted.

“Tane.” Selena stared at his injury. “No!”

She spun and threw her arms up.

A blast of energy knocked all the nearest Gizzida back. Then she bent over and thrust one hand to the ground.

For a second, nothing happened, but then near the raptors and canids, he saw the grass move. A black wave welled up out of the greenery. He sucked in a breath. It was insects—ants, spiders, beetles. They welled up like a dark tsunami and swamped the raptors and alien dogs.

Holy shit.

Selena took two steps, her skin glowing. She thrust both hands to the ground, one leg bent, the other straight out to her side.

Tane felt a tremor under his feet and a huge well of energy. It felt like lightning was about to strike.

Ahead of them, the ground leaped up, buckling. Like a wave, it rolled through the soil and knocked the aliens off their feet.

The ground reared up again and a rex toppled over.

Any aliens still standing, turned and ran.

Selena rose, then strode toward Tane. Around her, the grass tried to slither up her legs.

She reached him, snaked one hand around the back of his neck, and jerked his head down. Then she kissed the hell out of him.

“Butterfly, you sure know how to kick ass,” he said against her lips.

She gave him a sweet smile, then frowned at his injury.

“This is going to hurt.” She yanked out the projectile.

He winced and bit his tongue.

Then a slim hand moved over his shoulder and he felt warmth as she healed him.

Once he was healed, he jerked her into his arms and kissed her.

“The fuckers are retreating,” Indy said. “But there’s bad news.”

Fuck, of course there was.

“Drone team say this is the advance guard. There are more aliens incoming.”

Selena squeezed her eyes closed.

“Acknowledged,” Tane said.

His squad pulled up around him, their bikes idling. Hell Squad reached them.

“More aliens on the way,” Tane said.

“Bring it,” Levi grumbled.

Marcus’ face was grim. He lifted a pair of binocs, looking north. Then he muttered a curse.

Dread pooled in Tane’s gut. When the squad leader held out the binocs, Tane took them. He lifted them and waited for the autofocus to finish.

A huge black shadow dominated the view. There were more raptors marching on the ground, but above them, a giant shape was flying.

“Indy, you seeing what we’re seeing?”

“Yes.” Her voice was subdued. “It busted out of the ground near the airport. It’s massive, Tane. Some alien creature we haven’t seen before.”

It had a long, almost-bullet shaped body with several long tendrils flowing back behind it. It powered through the air and it was absolutely huge. It looked a little like a giant squid.

“They must have been cooking it all this time,” Marcus said. “Elle said they have reports coming in. It sprays poison and the tentacles move fast.”

Fuck. “Okay, we need to plan how to take the damn thing down.”

“Wait a second!” Indy’s voice turned frantic. “We just got fresh intel…”

“What is it?” Tane demanded.

“Oh, God, Tane. We just picked up increased alien activity at Blue Mountain Base. There are huge energy readings. And we’re getting similar reports from Groom Lake and Setermoen.”

Fuck. His gut knotted. Selena’s green eyes met his.

She sucked in a breath. “They’re ready to detonate the bombs.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Fear welled in Selena.

This was it.

The Gizzida’s endgame.

“Tane, this is Holmes.”

She glanced up at Tane’s rugged face, listening to the general’s voice in her earpiece.

“You and your squad need to get to the Blue Mountains. And Selena, too. The other squads will continue to hold off the attack. You need to get to Blue Mountain Base and try to stop that bomb.”

A Hawk appeared in the sky above them, lowering down with a gust of air. A grim-looking Finn sat in the cockpit. He nodded at them.

Selena touched her ear. “General, it’s Selena. Tell Emerson to prepare the antidote. As much as she can.”

“She told me it’s not guaranteed, that it had unpredictable results,” the general said.

“It’s all we’ve got.” She met Tane’s dark eyes.

“All right,” Holmes said. “See you soon.”

“Listen up, Squad Three,” Tane said. “We’re headed to Blue Mountain Base to fuck up the Gizzida and their bomb.”

“Oh, yeah, baby,” Hemi said.

Shaw stepped forward, grinning. “We’ll take good care of your bikes.” The sniper eyed the armored bikes eagerly.

Levi pointed at the man. “One scratch, Baird, and I’m taking you down.”

Shaw stroked the side of Levi’s bike. “I know how to treat a lady. Ask my woman, I handle her just right.”

Claudia snorted and smacked him in the back of the head. “Lucky I’m in love with you.”

Selena looked at Hell Squad, wondering if it was the last time she’d see them. They’d been the ones to free her from her Gizzida nightmare. Her gaze met Claudia’s and the tough woman’s face softened.

Claudia hugged her. “Whatever happens, however long we’ve got, it’s all worth it.”

Selena felt a prick of tears and nodded.

“No regrets. Let’s go do what’s right and fight. With our men and our friends by our sides.”

Releasing Claudia, Selena followed Tane onto the Hawk. The rest of the berserkers climbed in with them. It was a tense ride back to the Enclave. She looked to the north and saw the shadow of the giant alien and her belly tightened.

They were facing impossible odds.

The general and Emerson met them in the Hawk hangar.

“Here.” Emerson held up two heavy-duty vials. The antidote glimmered inside. “Selena, it needs more testing. Since I saw you, it stopped working again.”

Selena touched the woman’s arm. “We have to try.”

Emerson nodded. “Gabe?”

“Out kicking ass with Hell Squad,” Tane said.

The doctor hugged Selena. “Be careful.”

The time to be careful was over. Selena nodded at the general. She was surprised when the usually stoic man leaned forward and hugged her as well.

“You’re one of us, Selena.”

Her heart swelled. “Thank you.”

She turned and let Tane help her back onto the Hawk. Moments later, they were taking off and spearing into the sky.

They turned away from the fighting. She caught one last glance of plumes of smoke rising into the air. Be safe.

Tane sat and pulled her into his lap. On this journey, there was no joking or laughing. The berserkers were all tense.

“Our chances aren’t good,” she whispered.

His arms tightened. She reached down and traced the ink on his forearm. She wanted more time with him—loving him, laughing with him, living.

“No,” he said. “But that won’t fucking stop us from fighting to survive.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I’d die for you, Selena.”

Her chest hitched. “Don’t say that. Instead, promise me that you’ll live for me.”

That got her one of his rare smiles. “Okay, Butterfly. So, are you going to call in some bugs, or cause an earthquake?”

“Maybe.”

“My beautiful warrior fairy.” He played with her hair. “How come you aren’t burned out? You did some pretty wild things back on the battlefield.”

She shrugged. “I’m a little tired, but I feel more energy ebbing and flowing in me.” She focused on it, that core inside her. “I actually think it’s you.”

He raised a brow. “Me?”

“Our connection. Our naria are linked.” And Tane Rahia was an intense man, filled with powerful determination and strength.

He smiled. “I guess my naria is corrupting yours.”

She kissed him. “I like it.”

“Coming up on the drop zone,” Finn called out.

The plan was to use the same entrance they’d used on the recon mission. The Hawk lowered down into a clearing and stopped in a hover above the ground.

As Tane opened the side door, Finn appeared. The pilot hugged Selena hard, and she held onto him tightly. There were no words to say. Her throat was tight at the thought that she might never see her friend again.

“Selena.” Tane waited at the door.

She released Finn and took Tane’s hand.

She leaped down and the berserkers surrounded her. Big, muscled, tattooed, they were all wild in their own ways, and so full of life.

As the Hawk lifted off, the berserkers turned, and they moved in a tight group into the trees. Selena looked up at the sun shining through the dappled leaves. She sensed water flowing nearby.

Such a beautiful place, but below, death was waiting.

“Illusion armor on,” Tane murmured.

Ahead of them, Levi and Ash disappeared from view. Then Hemi, Dom, and Griff.

But she knew they were close by.

They reached the doorway, and Ash worked on the lock. The door slid open.

Selena followed the men into the dark, dank tunnel and pulled in a deep breath. They moved quietly and quickly through the tunnels. They closed in on the inner core where the bomb was. A hum of ragged energy filled the air, prickling over her skin.

There were lots more raptors than last time. Lots more activity.

“Hide,” Tane murmured.

They ducked into an empty side tunnel. A moment later, a group of raptors stomped past.

Tane peered out, then ducked back. “More, don’t move.”

Selena sucked in a breath. She felt jagged energy hit her senses.

More raptors moved past the entrance to the tunnel, and one was holding the leash of an alien creature.

She’d never seen a Gizzida like it. It was almost cat-like, moving with a feline grace, but it was large, bigger than the canids. It had wicked spikes all over its body.

It paused, looking down the tunnel, and it made a funny coughing sound.

She felt Tane’s fingers digging into her hand.

The creature could sense them.

Selena tried to connect with it. She never attempted this with a Gizzida before. She gave it a mental nudge.

The raptor holding the creature grunted and tugged on the leash. The creature roared, and a second later, it moved on.

She sagged against Tane. It had worked.

“Let’s keep moving,” he ordered.

They crept out of the tunnel and pushed through until they found a shadowed spot near the central core. Sunlight filtered in from above, and they crouched by a broken railing, looking down at the bomb below.

“Fuck me,” Levi said.

Selena stared at the bomb in the center of the alien activity.

It was no longer all black.

Now, red lights were flashing all along the side of it.

DAMMIT. There were so many damn raptors around the bomb.

Tane stirred. “We need to get down there and get the antidote into the bomb.”

“I have to be the one to put the antidote in place,” Selena said. “It appears that without me, it stops working.”

Fuck, he hated this. He hated putting her right in the middle of the aliens and risking her life. It hurt, especially when everything inside him wanted to keep her safe.

“Okay, we’ll—” A wild squawk echoed off the concrete walls and a bird-like creature flew down from above. It arrowed straight at Tane.

What the hell? He spun, but the bird slammed into him. The thing was clearly Gizzida, covered in gray scales. He batted at it, dodging the claws and sharp beak.

“Shit.” Hemi and Dom hit the bird and it fell onto the ground with a squawk. They kicked it, then Dom ripped a knife off his belt and stabbed the creature.

It slumped, and they all stared at it. It was big and mutated. Instead of feathers, it had scales, and wicked, curved claws.

Selena crouched, looking almost sad. “It sensed us through our illusion.”

Tane looked up. “There are more of them.” Three dark shapes wheeled above, near the high, broken ceiling of the central core.

“We need to be careful, or they’ll give us away.” He paused. “Okay, let’s get to the lower level and get Selena to that bomb.”

“Tane.” She grabbed his arm. “Wait. Look.”

He turned and saw that she was looking at the bomb. More of the red lights had appeared on the side of it. Some were still flashing, but a short row of solid red lights glowed brightly.

She swallowed. “I think when the row of lights are all on, no longer blinking…”

The bomb would detonate.

Shit. “Let’s move. Fast.”

They snuck down the stairs and waited at the bottom until a patrol of raptors had walked past, then they darted out.

“I’ll go with Selena,” Tane murmured. “You guys stay hidden.”

He could tell Hemi didn’t like the plan by his thunderous scowl.

“We all go out there, the greater the chance we’ll get caught,” Tane said.

His brother lifted his carbine and reluctantly nodded. “Any trouble, and we’re there.”

With nods, his squad melted into the shadows. Then he and Selena started across the space, heading toward the bomb.

Just like the last time they were here.

Get in, dump the antidote, get out. He had to keep his eye on the prize.

A wild, guttural roar echoed across the space.

He and Selena froze.

“Oh, fuck, Tane, you seeing this?” Hemi’s voice came across the comm line. “To the left.”

There was a large doorway in the wall. It had once been a standard-size entry, but it looked like the raptors had knocked parts of the wall down to make it larger.

Three huge raptors stepped inside.

But these were no ordinary raptors.

They’d encountered enhanced raptors previously, like the wild super-raptors they’d fought before. But these ones were even bigger.

Over seven-feet tall, these aliens sported spikes around their shoulders, and tentacle-like protuberances dangling from under their chins. The tentacles were covered in scales and moved a little…almost like they had a mind of their own.

What the fuck?

“Tane.” Selena spun, her voice frantic. “I’ve seen creatures like this before.” She pulled in a breath. “Those tentacles are highly sensitive. They pick up scents, vibrations.”

Shit. “So they could detect us?”

She nodded.

Damn, Tane was getting the feeling that the Gizzida suspected they’d sneak in. The birds and these monster-raptors were here to be guard dogs.

One of the monster-raptors roared again. It was looking in their direction.

“Tane, get out of there,” Hemi bit out.

“Can’t. This mission is too fucking important.”

He grabbed Selena’s hand and they circled around some black crates. Get to the bomb, that was what he had to focus on.

The three monster-raptors moved, heading in their general direction.

Tane’s pulse jumped. “Keep moving. They can’t see us.”

Selena nodded, half running toward the bomb.

Several regular raptors stepped into view. They looked like scientists, clutching sheets of black glass that were probably some sort of portable comp.

Tane and Selena paused, and crouched in behind some equipment.

The monster-raptors roared again, the sound deafening in the cavernous space. The scientists broke into guttural speech, staring at the monster-raptors.

One monster-raptor took a step forward, then another. It was coming toward Tane and Selena.

“Move.” He pushed her.

A second later, the monster-raptor broke into a run, barreling at them. Shit.

It swung out a brawny arm, knocking over several crates. Tane dived on Selena, tackling her to the ground. A second monster-raptor charged in their direction.

Shit, the mission was going to hell.

Several raptor soldiers appeared, weapons in hand. They knew something was up.

Tane rose. They can’t see us. That was still their advantage. Selena scrambled up, her skin starting to glow.

Suddenly, a blast of energy rippled out of her. It washed over Tane, but it hit the raptors hard, toppling them. Several crates exploded.

The monster-raptors knocked into each other, losing their balance.

Carbine fire broke out.

“Keep your heads down,” Hemi warned.

Several raptors jerked and fell, slashes opening up on their chests. Dom was clearly getting up close and personal.

The carbine fire focused on the monster-raptors, making them roar.

“We can still get to the bomb.” The squad would keep the Gizzida busy.

There was fear in Selena’s eyes, but she nodded. Together, they darted toward the bomb. He saw that the device had more solid red lights on it now. They didn’t have much time.

Nearby, a raptor scientist leaped onto a crate. He held some strange device in his clawed hand.

What now? Tane grabbed Selena’s arm, jerking her away from the asshole. The raptor hit a button.

There was a blinding flash of light and Tane winced. He saw Selena lift her arm to shield her eyes.

“Oh, fuck,” Levi said.

Tane turned.

He saw all the berserkers in position, weapons aimed, firing on the aliens.

He could see his squad.

He sucked in a sharp breath and looked at the alien device. The raptor scientist holding it was looking right at him and Selena.

Whatever it was, it had caused their illusion systems to fail.

“They can see us!”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Shock and fear thundered through her. They were no longer hidden.

Selena watched the raptors explode into action. Poison sprayed around them, and she ducked behind some equipment. Tane slid in beside her.

She reached down and touched the antidote containers attached to her belt. They were safe. But she felt the weight of them, of the responsibility. They needed to get to the bomb.

“Come on, you scaly assholes.” Hemi’s booming voice.

Selena peeked around and saw the berserkers advancing, Hemi in the lead.

“I’m borrowing Hell Squad’s battle cry,” Hemi yelled. “You devils need a damn ass-kicking.”

Griff threw a grenade. The device sailed through the air and exploded. He tossed another one, and this one was cineole. The sharp scent of it filled the air.

A monster-raptor charged with an ear-splitting roar.

“Come on,” Tane said. “While my squad keeps them busy.”

She took his hand and they leaped up, running toward the bomb.

Two raptors sprinted right at them.

Tane launched into a brutal attack. The aliens towered over him, but the exoskeleton in his armor increased his strength and speed. He fired his carbine, then lunged and ducked. He whirled, his combat knife in hand. He stabbed the second raptor in the side.

He was rising when a canid leaped over a crate right at him.

Gasping, Selena darted forward. She threw her hand out. Bright light flashed from her palm. Blinded, the canid landed badly, then stumbled and shook its head.

She lifted both her arms up, drawing whatever power she could. A stream of water flew through the air toward her. She moved her hands, the water forming a huge ball between her fingers.

She threw it at the canid.

The water engulfed the alien dog’s head. It jerked and shuddered as it drowned.

“Remind me to really not piss you off, Butterfly.” Tane wrapped an arm around her and urged her toward the bomb.

Energy hit her senses, like an itch over her skin. Oh, no.

“Tane, I can sense more raptors flooding into the base. Hundreds of them.”

He closed his eyes for a second. There was no way out. He knew it, and she knew it.

“We complete the mission,” he said.

The berserkers were still fighting ferociously and laughing. They showed no fear. They lived their lives flat-out, with everything they had.

They had to make this count.

Selena and Tane sprinted to the bomb. Tane shouldered into a raptor and kicked it.

She would never get tired of watching him move. He fought with a ferocity that made her breathless.

As they approached the bomb, she yanked one of the antidote containers off her belt. They were almost there.

She just needed to get up—

Something dived at her from above.

Selena screamed and dodged, glancing upward. One of the scaled birds was flying back toward the ceiling, while another one arrowed down toward her. She ducked, trying to evade it.

“Selena!” Tane yelled.

Bent over, she darted toward the bomb. So close…

A bird hit her head, its beak stabbing at her face.

Ahh. She threw an arm up. The bird’s heavy body crashed against her. The antidote flew out of her hand, hit the ground, and rolled.

No. No. No.

She shoved at the bird. She threw a flash of energy at it and it flew off, squawking angrily.

Pain throbbed in her head and she felt wetness sliding down her face. She couldn’t see out of one eye. She swiped her hand across her face and saw blood on her fingers.

“Selena.” Tane appeared, firing up at the birds.

“I’m okay. Just scratches. The antidote.”

They both spun…just in time to see a raptor step on the antidote. The container cracked under his boot and broke.

“No!” she cried.

Tane fired, unloading a barrage of laser fire into the raptor. More raptor soldiers appeared from around the other side of the bomb, their weapons up.

“Fall back!” Tane roared.

“We need to get the antidote in there.” Selena fingered the last vial. “We can still—”

A monster-raptor charged toward them, knocking equipment out of the way. Now that she was closer to it, she saw that it had a long tail behind it, with a sharp spike on the end.

“We can’t help anyone if we’re dead,” Tane barked. “Come on.”

Together, they ran toward the berserkers.

The monster-raptor gave chase, its steps making the ground vibrate.

Her breath hitched. It was gaining on them. Tane turned, firing behind them.

“Keep running.” He stopped, continuing to fire on the incoming raptor.

“No.” She wasn’t going to leave him.

He scowled “Selena—”

“Hey, butt-face!”

Hemi stood nearby, standing up atop some crates. He fired a deadly-looking shotgun.

Boom.

The monster-raptor stopped and roared.

Hemi roared back, then leaped off the crates. He fired again. “Go!”

Tane picked Selena up and ran.

Hemi walked backward, still firing his shotgun. The monster-raptor lowered its head, its tentacles waving madly. Then it charged.

“Hemi!” Tane yelled.

Hemi spun and ran, but he wasn’t going to be fast enough. The monster-raptor bore down on him.

Selena’s throat closed. She’d fallen for Hemi’s rough charm and sense of humor, and she knew how much Tane loved his brother. She lifted her hand and focused.

The monster-raptor stopped like it had hit a wall. It tried to move its arms and legs but was stuck.

Tane set her down, keeping his arms around her.

“Can’t…hold it…long,” she said through gritted teeth. She’d already used too much energy, and her abilities were flagging.

“Hemi!” Tane roared. “Retreat. Now!”

Hemi shot a finger at the monster-raptor and turned, running toward them.

Suddenly, the monster-raptor’s tail whipped around. Selena saw it coming and she felt Tane tense.

The sharp tip of the tail speared into Hemi’s side. Blood spurted.

“No!”

Selena fought to hold the Gizzida. Hemi fell backward, clutching his bleeding stomach and side.

“Get him,” she whispered.

She had to hold the monster-raptor back. She had to buy them time to get Hemi.

Tane sprinted forward, and Griff bolted to join him. Together, the two men pulled the injured berserker away.

“Fuck…hurts,” Hemi groaned.

“I can’t h-hold it much longer,” Selena gasped.

Tane and Griff hefted Hemi up between them, his arms slung around their shoulders.

Dom took Selena’s arm. “Let’s go, cara.”

They turned and ran. Selena dropped the flow of energy. Behind them, she heard the monster-raptor roar.

TANE GRITTED his teeth together so hard his jaw hurt. “We need somewhere to hide, or we’re going to have raptors all over us.” He hefted Hemi higher. “You hanging in there, bro?”

“Hell, yeah.”

But his brother’s voice was weak and laced with pain.

“I know a place,” Levi said. “Ventilation ducts off the lower maintenance area.” The berserker lifted a shoulder. “Fucked a maintenance engineer a few times way back. She showed me.”

They followed Levi deeper into the bowels of the abandoned base. Every now and then, they heard the distant roar of a monster-raptor.

“They’re coming,” Selena said. “They’ll keep hunting us.”

“Fuck ’em,” Hemi grunted.

Finally, they burst through the door into the maintenance area. All the ventilation equipment was quiet, and covered with dust.

“Dom, hide our footprints,” Tane ordered.

“On it.”

“Here.” Levi rounded some equipment and Tane spotted the large, mesh grate set into the wall.

He nodded at Levi, and Ash joined the other man. The two of them grunted and growled, and pulled the grate off.

They all ducked into the ventilation tunnel, which was not quite high enough for them to stand in. Once they were all inside, Ash turned and set the grate back in place.

They laid Hemi out on the concrete, and Tane clicked on the flashlight attached to his shoulder.

His gut clenched. There was so much blood, and Hemi’s face was pale behind his beard.

“Just a tiny scratch,” Hemi said, weakly. “Once I get my breath back, I’ll be fine.”

“Let me.” Selena moved closer and Tane felt a punch of relief.

When she saw Tane’s face, she cupped his cheek for a second, offering him comfort. Damn, Tane was in love with this small, alien woman.

“Get his armor off,” she said.

Griff reached out and helped. Hemi hissed out a breath. Selena gasped, and Tane gritted his teeth.

The alien spike had made a mess, tearing up Hemi’s gut and side.

She put her hands over the injury, and Hemi groaned.

“I know,” she murmured. “It won’t hurt for long, I promise.”

Her hands glowed, lighting up the narrow tunnel. Hemi grunted.

Tane moved closer, pressing his palm to his brother’s shoulder. Hemi would be okay. He had to be.

Slowly, the tension in Hemi’s body drained away. Relief shuddered through Tane, but when he looked at Selena, he saw she was trembling. Lines of strain bracketed her mouth.

“Selena?”

“Low…on energy.” Her voice was slurred. “Almost there.”

She’d used up too much energy in the fight, and she’d already healed him earlier.

“Enough,” he said.

“Just…a bit more.”

Hemi sucked in a deep breath and Selena grimaced.

“Enough.” Tane pulled her away.

She slumped against him, shivering. Hemi’s injury was still red and raw, but the skin had started to knit, and it was no longer bleeding.

“Patch him up,” Tane said.

Ash grabbed his medic bag and opened a small field kit. “I could give him a dose of nanomeds.”

“No,” Hemi growled. “That’ll put me out of action for a while and you’ll need to monitor me. I’m feeling much better.”

“Got most of the deeper damage.” Selena’s voice was soft, weak.

Tane pressed her face to his chest. “Rest now.”

Suddenly, they heard a clunking noise out in the maintenance area. They all froze and Tane clicked his flashlight off.

In the dark, his pulse hammered. He felt Selena’s fingers bite into his arm, and they heard guttural speech, followed by heavy footsteps.

The raptors were searching for them.

Selena gripped Tane’s arm and he slid his hand up and tangled their fingers. He saw the shadow of a raptor move past the grate.

Keep moving, assholes.

The berserkers waited, tense, all of them clutching their weapons. They all knew they were in the worst possible position if they were discovered.

Moments later, there was silence.

They were gone.

Everyone relaxed and blew out a sharp breath.

“That was fun,” Levi muttered darkly.

Hemi sat up. “I’m already feeling better. Thanks, Selena.”

She nodded, still slumped against Tane.

“You need to eat something.” Tane pulled a granola bar out of his emergency rations.

She broke a chunk off, and chewed robotically.

“Right, we get one more chance to get the antidote into the bomb,” Tane said.

His squad looked at him, faces grim but determined.

They all knew the odds weren’t great that they’d survive this mission, but it would be their most important one.

“We won’t be able to get across the main floor to the bomb again. There are just too many aliens and we have no idea if our illusion systems will work again.”

Everyone nodded.

“We can try to get to the bomb from above,” Tane suggested.

Selena tilted her head. “And drop the antidote down?”

He nodded.

“That’s risky,” she said. “If anything goes wrong…”

“It’s the best option we have.”

She nodded.

“While Selena and I deliver the antidote, I need you guys to make the biggest diversion you’ve ever done in your entire lives.”

The berserkers broke out in grins.

“Now you’re talking,” Levi drawled.

“We’re fighting for humanity’s survival. The survival of all the people we know and love.” Tane looked down at Selena. “And for our planet. These bastards do not get to take it.”

“Hell, yeah,” Hemi said.

“Watch out, motherfuckers,” Griff muttered.

“Hemi, you ready to roll?” Tane asked.

“Yeah. Ready to show some raptors the business end of my carbine.”

They waited a bit longer, then they crawled out of the vent and carefully back into the tunnels. He saw a child’s discarded teddy bear, stained and torn, shoved against the wall. He spotted a pretty, pink shoe. A book lay open on the concrete floor, pages torn and damp. Signs of life. Once, Blue Mountain Base had been a sanctuary and home for them. Now, it was in ruins, desecrated by the Gizzida.

Just another thing to make the aliens pay for.

After having to hide several times, and a tense moment where a canid almost found them, they were back at the central core.

Somewhere, a monster-raptor roared. Its cry echoed through the tunnels.

“Selena and I will head up those stairs.” Tane jerked his head.

Hemi held up a grenade. “We’ll move to the other side and make a little mess.”

Tane pulled Hemi in for a one-armed hug. All the berserkers hugged Selena and slapped Tane’s back.

“Let’s make it count,” Tane said.

“Beers are on me when we get back.” Levi smiled, the expression not quite reaching his eyes.

There was a tightly wound thread of tension in the air. Each of them knew the odds were well against them having those beers.

They had to make this last attempt worth it.

Tane took Selena’s hand. He took one last look at his brother and friends, then headed up the stairs.

He kept his voice low. “We’ll wait for the diversion to start—”

A raptor rounded the landing.

Fuck. Its red eyes widened, and Tane threw himself forward. They crashed together.

Grunting and straining, they shoved against each other. Tane took a hit to the gut that made him stagger. The raptor’s red eyes zeroed in on Selena.

Hell, no. Tane yanked his knife off his belt and stabbed the raptor in the chest. The alien swung and Tane ducked, then stabbed again. He kept stabbing, doing whatever he had to in order to protect his woman.

The raptor slumped against the wall, leaving a smear of blood down the concrete.

“Come on.” They ran upstairs.

They broke out onto the level above and moved to the edge. The concrete was jagged from where the walls had been blown up. They peered down.

They were positioned almost directly over the bomb.

Explosions started on the far side of the space, and Tane heard Hemi’s wild laugh. Damn, his brother was a rough, crazy bastard. He’d never once let Tane down.

Raptors were tossed through the air, and a monster-raptor fell, equipment crashing on top of it.

But Tane spotted some movement in another area of the cavern. Several raptors were lifting what looked like some sort of Gizzida rocket launcher.

Tane touched his ear. “Hemi, watch out. They have an RPG—”

Boom.

The missile launched. The explosion rocked the entire base, parts of the roof caving in from above. Giant chunks of concrete rained down, smashing into equipment and raptors.

Selena lost her balance and threw her arms out. She screamed and tumbled over the edge.

“Selena!”

He lunged for her and managed to grab her hand before she was completely gone.

Crouching on the edge, he looked down into her panicked face as she dangled over the dangerous drop.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Selena’s heart was trying to burst out of her chest.

She dangled helplessly over the battle below. Projectiles whizzed past her, slamming into the concrete wall. She swallowed a scream.

Tane heaved and pulled her up and over the edge. They collapsed together onto the floor.

“Damn, damn, damn.” She tried to slow her racing pulse.

“I’ve got you,” he growled.

And he did. She closed her eyes and absorbed his energy. His muscled arms were tight around her, and she’d never felt so safe.

Whatever happened, she’d always know that she was right where she was supposed to be. She belonged to Tane Rahia.

The echo of running footsteps and guttural grunts reached them.

“Raptors,” she cried.

Tane leaped up. The first raptor came up the stairs toward them, just as Tane whipped up his carbine and fired.

Following, she moved close behind him and glanced down the stairs. She sucked in a breath. There were so many raptors thundering up the steps.

Tane planted a boot in the chest of one raptor, and the alien crashed down the stairs, knocking into others. He sprayed carbine fire down at them, and others dived for cover.

But more were coming.

They’d just keep coming. That’s what the Gizzida did.

Selena pressed her hand to the concrete wall. Her abilities were weak. She was so tired, and the concrete made it difficult to connect, but she pushed for everything she had.

She strained. Come on. Carbine fire rang in her ears. A crack appeared in the concrete.

“Get back,” she warned Tane.

An instant later, the concrete wall collapsed. She leaped away as chunks crashed down the stairs.

A thick rain of dust fell over them, and she coughed.

“That’s my clever Butterfly.” Tane grabbed her and quickly kissed her.

Concrete rubble blocked the stairs. No raptors were coming up this way now.

“Come on.” He pulled her back towards the edge.

They peered into the cavern again. Down below, the fight raged on. Selena glanced up. Above, the sky was visible through the large hole. Huge chunks of the ceiling had caved in. The sun was setting, staining the sky with streaks of orange, red, and gold.

“Come on, you scaly motherfuckers, let’s dance.” Hemi’s loud shout came from down below, snagging Selena’s attention.

She sucked in a breath, watching him jump from crate to crate, firing his weapon.

Levi and Ash were locked in hand-to-hand combat with several raptors. The fighting was all hard kicks and brutal punches. Dom whirled like some sort of dervish, his knives flashing. Griff was on one knee, firing his carbine.

“Best men I know.” Pride filled Tane’s voice.

She turned her gaze to the bomb. It was almost directly below them, and the top was open. She stared at the churning, brown liquid inside.

The red lights on the side of the bomb were almost solid red. Only three still blinked. Her throat closed.

She held up the antidote. What if it didn’t work?

No. She wasn’t losing hope. These humans—her friends, the berserkers, Tane—they’d taught her how to hope, even when everything was dark and bleak.

When she and Claudia had been trapped in Gizzida chains, Claudia had never stopped believing that Hell Squad and Shaw would come for her.

It didn’t matter what they faced, or how many times life knocked them down, humans kept getting back up. They were the epitome of grit and resilience; they were full of hope and love.

And now Selena knew the depths of a love that left her feeling so wanted and cherished.

Now, she understood what it was to truly love someone.

“We can probably throw the vial in there,” Tane said. “It’ll be risky, but there’s a chance it’ll make it.”

She shook her head. It was the last one they had, and in her heart, she knew she needed to stay close when it went in.

She spun and grabbed Tane, pressing her mouth to his.

He groaned, taking control of the kiss so that it turned raw and ferocious.

“I love you,” she said.

“Damn, Butterfly. It feels good to hear that.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “I love you, too. I’ve never said those words to a woman before.”

Warmth made her chest swell. “I would have liked to have given you that child you want. To watch you love them, teach them.”

He scowled. “You will.”

A sad smile crossed her lips, the inner pain tearing her to pieces. “Tane—”

There was a crackle of sound in their ears.

“Tane…” Indy’s static-filled voice. “…copy?”

Tane touched his ear. “The hole in the roof must be letting the signal in. Indy? I can hear you. Just barely.”

“Hell Squad…inbound to assist you.”

“Acknowledged.”

“Oh my God, Tane!” Indy’s voice turned panicked. She broke into a rush of words.

“Slow down. I can’t understand you. What—?”

“The Norway bomb. It detonated.” Indy’s sob cut across the line.

No. Selena pressed a hand to her mouth.

“Cloud of…moving fast. Across…” Indy sobbed again. “We’re too late. Groom Lake says…bomb about to detonate.” Indy gasped. “No…Groom Lake bomb just exploded.”

Selena looked down and saw the lights on their bomb go all red.

The top began to close.

“Tane!”

TANE FROZE.

Everything had gone to hell. The berserkers were still fighting below.

For what?

The Gizzida had just sentenced them all to death.

Selena pressed a hand to his chest. It helped calm his rage and let him think. He looked into her beautiful face. One he didn’t want to see covered in damn scales.

“I love you,” she said.

There was something in the tone of her voice. “Butterfly—”

She lifted the antidote vial. “You taught me to fight for what’s right, to risk it all for the ones you love.” She touched his jaw. “Live for me, Tane.”

She turned, took two steps, and leaped off the ledge.

“No! Selena!”

His roar echoed in his ears and time slowed down. He watched her graceful body arch, her arms out, like an Olympic diver.

No.

Without thinking, Tane backed up and jumped. He fell fast, and a second later, his body hit hers. He curled around her.

“Tane.” Her face twisted.

“Together, Selena. There’s no you and me, just us. Always.”

She clung to him and they plummeted, falling into the bomb.

The fluid hit them.

There was a blinding flash of light.

Then there was nothing.

Hemi

HEMI’S HEART felt as though it had stopped beating.

No. Fuck, no.

He watched his brother fall from high above, clutching his woman tight.

They landed inside the bomb.

Horror and shock tearing through him, Hemi roared, “Down!”

He hit the floor, just as the explosion ripped through the base.

The sound was so loud, he thought his head would shatter. He clapped his hands over his ears and groaned. Searing, white light cut through the cavern, and he heard the screams of the raptors.

After a few moments, the light finally dimmed a little, and Hemi himself pushed up, squinting at his surroundings. His ears were ringing.

Tane. God. Hemi’s hands shook. He pressed one palm to his chest. He was still fucking breathing, so that was good. He swiveled and saw the other berserkers getting up off the floor.

Then he turned to look at the center of the space, and sucked in a sharp breath.

“Holy hell,” Griff murmured.

He sensed the others moving close, all of them staring. The bomb was gone, leaving behind a column of silver-white light. It speared up through the shattered roof and into the sky.

Overhead, he saw a cloud of silver material was expanding in the air, moving fast in all directions.

“Is this it?” Levi asked, his voice rough. “Are we going to grow scales?”

Hemi saw a faint, green tinge, flowing through the light.

“Selena and Tane jumped into the bomb before it detonated.” His voice was wooden, hiding the pain growing inside him.

“What?” Ash breathed.

Hemi stared down at the crater where the bomb had been. “Tane!” He lunged forward.

He had to find his brother.

The others grabbed him and held him back.

“Tane!” he roared.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Alexander

Screams echoed in Alexander’s ears. He stumbled down one of the corridors of Setermoen Base.

The Gizzida bomb had detonated.

His chest burned, and he slammed into the wall. He lifted his hand and watched the scales crawling up his arm. His gut lurched.

The bomb had detonated, and the ugly, brown cloud from it had hit Setermoen soon after. It seeped through every crack and into the base.

He had to get to Liv.

Alexander pushed through crowds of panicked people. Some were on the floor writhing, others scratched at the scales growing on their skin. He thought of his family—his parents, his brother, his niece and nephew. They were together on the far side of the base, and his mind tormented him with what was happening to them.

He thought of his brother, Finn, in Australia. By now, the Australian bomb would have detonated, too.

A man ran past him, his terrified screams ringing in Alexander’s ears. Pain ripped through his chest. He’d vowed to protect these people, to keep them safe.

He’d failed.

Finally, he reached his quarters and slammed through the door. Not very long ago, they’d stopped being his quarters and become their quarters.

A large wolf spun in front of the bed and whined, clearly agitated.

“I know, Freyja.” He wanted to stroke the wolf and comfort her, but Liv’s pet was already eyeing him and the scales growing on him with wary confusion.

He had only just convinced Liv to be his, to love him. They’d had so little time together. Although even a lifetime with his Liv wouldn’t have been enough.

He heard breaking glass in the bathroom. He strode across the room and stopped in the doorway. She’d dropped a bottle in the sink, the glass sparkling under the lights. She clutched the edge of the sink and caught his gaze in the mirror. She spun, her blonde hair flying out around her face. Scales covered one of her cheeks, and one of her gorgeous blue eyes was now burning red.

“Alexander.”

She flew at him and he took her in his arms. “I’m sorry, Liv.”

She clung to him. “It’s not your fault.”

They stayed there, locked together, knowing there was nothing more they could do.

Liv swallowed. “I want to be outside.” She fought back a sob. “I want to set Freyja free.”

He nodded. As they moved into the tunnel, he gripped the back of the wolf’s neck. He held Liv and Freyja close as they moved through the base. The wolf growled at the changing people, but stayed at his side. His fingertips brushed against something rough in her fur and he looked down. When he saw the tiny patch of scales, he sucked in a breath.

He didn’t tell Liv.

Finally, they reached the external doors and stepped outside. A tiny layering of snow covered the ground. Winter hadn’t wanted to leave this year.

Alexander looked down and saw the tears on Liv’s cheeks.

“Go, Freyja.” Her voice was thick. “Go, be free.”

Not understanding what her best friend was telling her, Freyja merely sniffed the ground nearby.

“Damn you, Alexander.” Liv pressed her face to his chest. “I was fine alone, then you made me fall in love with you. I don’t want to lose you.”

He tipped her face up and kissed her.

They clung to each other, and pain blossomed under his skin. The scales were multiplying fast.

“It hurts,” she whispered.

He held her tighter and looked up. The early-morning sky was covered in a cloud of brown—the deadly, alien material that was turning them all into the enemy they’d fought so hard against.

Suddenly, a pulse of energy hit him. Like some sort of shockwave. Gasping for breath, he felt Liv jerk in his arms.

“What was that?” she whispered, her voice breathless.

A woman rushed out of the base behind them, tearing at her body. “It burns!”

A strange, tingling feeling moved over the scales on his arm. He stared at the woman, and as she screamed again, he saw that the scales on her body were receding.

What the hell?

He looked at Liv. The scales on her face were dissolving.

“Liv?” The burning sensation was already fading, along with the scales on his arm.

“Alexander, look,” she breathed.

They looked up at the sky. He tilted his head back and saw that the cloud was turning silver-white with a heart of green, the morning sun streaking through it.

Dak

IN THE DARK OF NIGHT, Captain Dak Vaughn fired on the incoming raptors. They were too damn close to the Groom Lake Base, and it wouldn’t be long before they overran his security team and got inside.

Around him, his team fired their carbines.

“Oh, God, Dak.”

The love of his life, Naomi, was fighting beside him. But her gaze was on the horizon, on the huge, brown cloud just visible in the moonlit sky. It was heading their way, spreading fast.

His gut tightened. He knew it would change them, steal their free will, and turn them into Gizzida.

He looked at Naomi’s face—beautiful and fierce. She’d blown into his life and become his everything.

Lowering his carbine, he grabbed her and kissed her. She kissed him back, as always, so passionate and loving.

In his earpiece, he heard the voice of his recon team leader, Marlon, at Hoover Dam. They’d been monitoring the aliens and the bomb.

“Captain—” wild screams came across the comm line “—sorry, we’re all changing.”

More screams.

Dak pressed his forehead to Naomi’s. “Fuck, Naomi.”

“We’ll go down fighting, Dak. It isn’t over yet.”

He cupped her cheek. “My optimist.”

Together, they turned and lifted their carbines, firing on the incoming raptors.

Suddenly, Dak felt a punch of energy through the air. Beside him, Naomi gasped. Was this some other weapon?

Then, white light speared through the brown cloud.

Dak froze.

“What’s happening?” Naomi said.

“I’m not sure…”

The cloud continued to move closer, turning silver-white, with a touch of green. Tensing, he watched the edge of the cloud reach the raptors in the desert below. He saw the aliens stop fighting. They were agitated.

He waited to see if he, Naomi, and the rest of his team would start changing.

“Dak!” It was Marlon from the recon team again. The man’s voice was strained. “The change has stopped. We’re okay.”

Dak looked down into Naomi’s wide eyes.

All of a sudden, the raptor fighters dropped to the ground. They writhed in the sand, their guttural screams filling the air.

“They’re dying,” she breathed. “What the hell is going on?”

He slid an arm around her, disbelief coiled with a thread of hope. “I think we won.”

Elle

“MARCUS.” Elle’s fingers clenched on the edge of her desk. It never got easier knowing her squad was out there, fighting for their lives, while she sat deep inside the Enclave and listened. “Do you copy?”

“Here, Elle. We’re almost at Blue Mountain Base.”

His gravelly voice filled her with love. On the screen, she saw the blip of their Hawk.

“Do you have a visual on the explosion?” she asked.

She sensed General Holmes hovering behind her. Niko had left hours ago to join the fighters in the field.

“Yes,” Marcus replied. “There’s a white cloud in the sky. Whatever the berserkers did, they outdid themselves this time.”

She glanced at Indy’s desk. The berserkers’ comms officer was holding her head in her hands. Elle’s belly clenched. The woman didn’t look happy. Elle prayed the berserkers were okay.

“Fuck,” Marcus suddenly barked.

On screen, she saw the Hawk veering wildly.

“Marcus?” she cried.

“It’s okay, the Hawk just had to take evasive maneuvers. There are damn Gizzida birds falling out of the damn sky. We’re coming in to land.”

“Hang on, Marcus.” Elle shifted her headset and looked at Indy. “Indy?”

The comms officer lifted her head, tears streaming down her face.

Air locked in Elle’s lungs. “Indy, what’s wrong?”

Beside them, Arden leaped up. “Roth and Squad Nine just reported in! They said the Gizzida are dying.” The woman beamed. “The giant alien creature dropped out of the sky. It crashed into the ground and isn’t moving. The raptors are falling down right where they stand.”

“Really?” Holmes said.

Arden nodded.

The general turned and raised his voice. “The Gizzida are dying.”

Cheers broke out across the Command Center.

Elle grabbed Indy’s hand. “The berserkers?”

Arden stiffened, her gaze locked on Indy. “Dom? The others?”

“Griff and Dom are okay,” Indy said.

Arden’s shoulders sagged. “Thank God.”

“The bomb detonated,” Indy said carefully.

Elle frowned. “But the Gizzida are dying and we aren’t growing scales. The berserkers got the antidote in. It worked.”

Indy gave a nod, fresh tears falling, struggling to get the words out. “Tane and Selena leaped into the bomb to deliver the antidote.”

“What?” Elle’s chest compressed.

“They were in the bomb when it detonated.”

“Oh, no.” Arden pressed a hand to her throat.

Sadness swamped Elle.

“Elle?” Marcus’ voice in her ear. “What’s going on?”

“Marcus, Squad Nine reported that the Gizzida are dying on the battlefield,” she said.

“What? That’s fucking brilliant.” She listened as he relayed the news to the rest of Hell Squad. Elle heard their cheers.

“Marcus, there’s more.”

He paused. “What’s wrong, Elle?”

“In order to deliver the antidote, Tane and Selena dived into the bomb before it exploded.”

“Fuck.”

Elle fought back a sob. “Go and find the berserkers. Bring them home.”

They’d won, but right now, Elle couldn’t help but feel like they’d also lost, as well.

Roth

ROTH MASTERS LOWERED HIS CARBINE.

His squad had landed the Darkswifts and had joined the ground fighters. He was covered in sweat, blood, and gore.

But now his enemy was on the ground, writhing and screaming. He glanced over to where a rex lay on its side. It let out a pained bellow. In the distance, the giant alien monster that had been incinerating everything below it, was now still on the ground.

He couldn’t quite believe it. He turned to the west where a huge, silver-white cloud with a tinge of green dominated the horizon of the darkening sky.

Roth sucked in a breath. Fucking hell, they’d done it.

He toed a dead raptor in front of him. Its face was shriveled and desiccated.

Mac and Cam jogged over to him.

“Best damn day of my life,” Mac said. “Except for when Niko told me that he loved me.”

Cam cast a worried glance to the west. “Any news on the berserkers?”

Roth shook his head. “Not yet. But they’re tough bastards. They’ll be fine.”

He hoped to hell he wasn’t lying.

Theron and Sienna finished taking down a canid that was still trying to fight, even though it was clearly dying.

Taylor lifted her carbine to her shoulder. “I can’t believe the Gizzida are dying.”

“Roth, this is Arden.” Arden’s cool, modulated voice came through the comm line.

“Hey, Arden. The raptors are still dropping like flies.” Roth smiled, starting to let himself believe.

Across the field, he saw the rest of the Enclave fighters cheering and hugging each other.

“The berserkers did it,” he said.

“They did.”

Arden’s tone made something spike in his chest. “Arden?”

“To stop it, Tane and Selena jumped into the bomb before it exploded.”

“Ah, fuck.” Roth pressed a hand to his forehead.

Cam stepped in front of him, her mouth tight.

“The rest of the berserkers?” he asked, not looking away from Cam.

“They’re alive,” Arden answered.

Roth released a breath. “Okay, we’ll clean up here and be back soon.”

“Acknowledged.”

“Roth—” Cam started.

He gripped her lean shoulder.

“Please,” she whispered, her eyes imploring.

“Hemi’s alive.”

She released a shaky breath. Then she tilted her head. “What aren’t you saying?”

Roth sighed. “Tane and Selena didn’t make it.”

Cam’s face spasmed. “No.”

Emerson

IN THE INFIRMARY, Emerson hugged her friend, Norah. “Oh, God. We did it!” The medical team was all grinning and cheering. “The bomb was neutralized and even better, the Gizzida are dying.”

She’d already had confirmation that her baby daddy was safe. She pressed her palm to her belly. We’re going to all be okay, my babies.

Noah appeared in the doorway. One look at his face had Emerson’s happiness shriveling. She hurried over to him. “What?”

“I just got off the comm with Laura.”

“And?”

“Tane and Selena…”

Emerson’s chest locked. “No, don’t say it.”

“I’m sorry, Emerson.”

She shook her head. “No.”

He pulled her close. “Damn, I’m so sorry.”

She clung to him and the tears fell. “They’d just found each other. She was so damn happy. She’d survived so much, and deserved to live.” Emerson sobbed quietly.

“There’s good news,” he whispered. “Word’s coming in from Setermoen.” Noah patted her back. “Their people had already started to change, but the change was reversed. They’re okay.”

Emerson swiped a shaky hand under her eyes. “That’s good.”

“And the Gizzida are dying, Emerson. They started dropping mid-battle, along with several of their hybrid creatures. We won.”

Emerson stiffened, pushing through her grief. A horrible thought hit her. “Gaz’da.”

Noah’s eyes widened. “Shit.”

Together, they broke into a run and pushed into the corridor. Emerson tried to keep up as they headed toward the alien’s quarters.

He lived slightly separate from the main area, both for privacy, and because some people still felt nervous around him. Noah thumped his fist against the man’s door. There was no response.

It took Noah seconds to get the electronic lock open.

They raced inside. Gaz’da was on the floor, a panicked Alyssa beside him. Tears streaked the woman’s face.

Gaz’da groaned in pain.

“Help him,” Alyssa pleaded.

Emerson carefully knelt down beside her alien friend and checked him over. “We’re here, Gaz’da.” His pulse was racing. His red eyes were filled with agony as he looked at her.

She saw the scales on his skin were receding in places, leaving raw, angry wounds, and she hissed out a breath. In some spots, however, smooth, blue-gray skin appeared from beneath the scales.

“What can we do for him?” Noah asked.

Emerson bit her lip. “I don’t know. It looks like his Gizzida DNA is dying.” She brushed her hand over Gaz’da’s scaled head.

“You have to help him.” Alyssa clutched his clawed hand. “Gaz’da, don’t leave me.”

“I’m sorry…” He managed to push the words through his lips.

“Let’s get him to the infirmary,” Emerson ordered. “Noah, get some of the paramedics down here with an iono-stretcher.”

With a nod, Noah rose and pulled out his communicator.

Emerson fought back her grief. So much loss in order for them to win.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Marcus

With his carbine up, and his squad behind him, Marcus moved into the ruins of Blue Mountain Base.

The center of the base had been blown completely out. Above, the white-silver cloud was starting to disperse in the evening sky.

They stepped into the open area, littered with overturned Gizzida gear and dying raptors—and spotted the berserkers. Hemi was on his knees, distraught, his squad mates close beside him.

Ahead, a crater marked the spot where Marcus assumed the bomb had sat.

The place where Tane and Selena had sacrificed themselves, so humanity could live.

“Squad Three,” Marcus said.

The men’s heads whipped around. They were all covered in dirt and blood. They’d fought hard.

They were wild, but Marcus knew each berserker had a core of strength and honor.

But right now, they looked broken.

“Cam?” Hemi asked.

“Fine. Worried about you.”

“Tane…” Hemi swallowed, his hands clenched into fists. “Selena. Fuck, they needed to get the antidote in from above. The bomb was about to blow. She jumped…he followed.”

“He loved her,” Marcus said quietly.

Hemi gave one short nod. “She made him smile, brought him out of the shadows.”

Marcus understood that so well. Elle was his light in the darkness.

“It’s not fair!” Hemi slammed his fist into the ground. “They deserved to live, to find their happiness.”

It was true of so many people who had lost their lives in this alien invasion. “They died protecting the people they loved. And they were with each other.” Marcus knew that the words wouldn’t help, wouldn’t take the pain away. At least, not right now. “You guys beat the Gizzida. The raptors and their creatures are dying. You won.”

Hemi nodded tiredly.

Something fluttered on Marcus’ face. With a frown, he swatted it. He felt another flutter, and another.

He saw Hemi blinking and waving his arm in front of his face as well.

“What the hell?” Cruz murmured.

A butterfly landed on Marcus’ gloved finger. He looked up, and the air stuck in his lungs. There were thousands of them fluttering in the air above.

“Oh, my God,” Claudia murmured.

The small creatures filled the space, fluttering through the dispersing cloud.

Several fluttered over to the detonation crater.

Marcus took a step forward. Hemi rose, his brow creased.

As a group, they moved toward the crater.

“Fucking…fuck,” Hemi bit out.

Tane and Selena were lying on their sides in the bottom of the crater. They were naked, and not moving. Tane’s bigger body was curled protectively around Selena. Her skin was glowing.

“Ash,” Hemi barked.

Marcus nodded at Cruz.

The two men skidded down the steep side of the crater, and Marcus saw Griff grip Hemi’s shoulder in silent support.

The stocky berserker’s face twisted as they waited.

Ash bent over the couple and then looked up. “They’re alive!”

Holmes

ADAM PACED THE COMMAND CENTER, waiting for Hell Squad to report in. Around him, so many of the base residents were happy, ecstatic at beating the Gizzida.

Others were not so happy. All the comms officers were subdued, and Indy’s face was streaked with tears.

They were mourning those who hadn’t made it. For the soldiers who’d fallen, defending the Enclave. For Tane and Selena.

War demanded great sacrifice. His hand curled into his palm. Adam would make sure that none of them were forgotten.

A hand stroked down his back and he turned to look at Liberty. Her blonde hair was perfectly styled as always, gorgeous, loose curls falling over her shoulders and framing her beautiful face. She’d stayed beside him through the entire fight—brought him coffee, held his hand, been his silent support.

He couldn’t remember how he’d survived without her. His woman had a radar for when he was stressed and pushed to the limit.

He lowered his head and touched his mouth to hers.

She smiled, then a tiny grimace crossed her face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She smoothed her hand down his arm. “It’s nothing.”

“I read you, Marcus.” Elle shifted, then shot straight up in her chair, her eyes going wide. “What? You’re sure? Oh my God!”

Adam frowned.

Elle swiveled, a wide smile lighting up her face. “They found Tane and Selena! They’re unconscious, but alive.”

Adam closed his eyes, relief sweeping through him.

Cheers erupted and Indy leaped onto her desk, threw her head back, and screamed with joy.

Damn. Elation swamped him. He swiveled and lifted Liberty off her feet, careful of the round belly that held their child.

He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve this gorgeous blonde, but he was damned glad she was his. She smiled, big and beautiful. He set her down and she gasped, pressing a hand to her stomach.

“Liberty?” God, had he hurt her? “What’s wrong?”

“Well, my water may have broken.”

“What?” His mind went blank. “Now?”

“No, about an hour ago.” Her smile turned pained. “I’ve been having contractions all afternoon.”

“Oh, God.” Liberty was in labor. The baby was coming. “I… We… Need…”

She cupped his cheek, an indulgent smile on her face. “Is my tough, take-charge general going to panic?”

He sucked in a breath. “Yes.”

She slid her arm around him. “How about we head to the infirmary, instead?”

Elle smiled at them. “Go, we’ll hold down the fort.”

“We’re having a baby,” Adam said.

Elle’s smile widened. “I know. Now, go.”

“Thanks, Elle.” His hands tightened on Liberty. “Take deep breaths. Don’t panic.”

She rolled her eyes. “I think you need to listen to your own advice, my love.”

“Good luck,” Elle called after them.

SELENA OPENED HER EYES.

She was lying on her back on a soft bed. She blinked, disoriented.

Then everything came back in a breath-stealing rush—the bomb, jumping, Tane’s arms around her, an explosion of bright light.

She sat up with a gasp.

Emerson appeared. “Oh, thank God. I was so worried.”

“Emerson?” Selena was fighting through the fog in her head, trying to wrap her mind around everything.

“You’ve been unconscious for three days—”

Selena grabbed the doctor’s arm. “Tane?”

Emerson swallowed. “Selena…”

A wave of jagged emotion crashed over her. “Where is he? Please. Please, Emerson.”

A machine nearby started beeping wildly at her distress.

The doctor grabbed her shoulders. “Shh, calm down, he’s alive.”

Selena slumped, a sob in her throat.

“But he hasn’t woken from his coma yet.” Emerson stepped aside.

Tane was in the bunk beside Selena’s. His smooth skin was brown against the sheets, but he was so still.

She didn’t feel the hum of his energy like she normally did.

Selena scrambled up, yanking a cord off her arm. Dimly, she realized she was in a tank top and panties.

“Selena—”

She dodged Emerson and climbed off the bed. Her legs felt weak and wobbly, but she crossed the small space to his bunk and climbed in with him.

He was warm. That soothed some of her panic. She lay down against him, her face to his chest.

“Hi,” she whispered, breathing in his scent.

Emerson moved closer, smiling. “We’re all so glad you made it. And so grateful for what you did.”

“What happened, Emerson?”

“Whatever you did, when the bomb exploded, it neutralized the material inside of it. It spread through the air and around the globe in some sort of energy wave. The tech team still haven’t quite worked it out. It also neutralized the material in Norway and Groom Lake. It was already changing people and you reversed it. And—” Emerson smiled “—it killed the Gizzida. They died, Selena. All of them.”

Selena gasped.

“Their DNA started reverting, and as far as we can tell, only a few hybrid animals with smaller amounts of genetic contamination survived. Full Gizzida creatures died.”

Selena swallowed. “Fluffy?”

“He’s fine. His DNA was different because he was born from the contaminated mother. He’s with Finn and Lia.”

Selena stilled. “Gaz’da?”

The doctor’s smile dissolved. “He’s alive, but only because we have him hooked up to equipment.” Emerson glanced at a curtained-off area at the back of the infirmary. “It doesn’t look good. His DNA has reverted, and part of his original DNA has reinstated itself. We’re just not sure what’s going to happen.”

“Poor Gaz’da.”

Emerson patted Selena’s arm. “You need some rest. We all thought you and Tane were dead, Selena. I have no idea how you made it through the explosion alive…”

“My energy.” Selena swallowed. “Or rather our energy.” She stroked Tane’s hair. “It combined and we were safe in a bubble of energy. That’s what the antidote needed, my blood and my energy running through it to keep it active.”

Emerson squeezed Selena’s arm. “Rest. Be with your guy.”

“When will he wake up?” A part of her was worried he wouldn’t wake up.

“I don’t know,” the doctor answered. “You woke, so that’s a good sign.”

Selena talked to him. She stroked his bare chest. “No one loves me like you do.” He’d leaped with her. Risked his life for her. “Humans are so passionate about life, about loving the people they care about.” She pressed her face to his neck. “Don’t leave me.”

“Not going anywhere. I earned my redemption loving you.”

That deep voice, a little rusty, made her heart leap into her throat. Selena sat up.

That dark, dark gaze was on her. Her heart thundered in her ears. “Tane.”

He reached up and pulled her down for a kiss.

“I love you so much.” She pressed her forehead to his.

“That’s lucky,” he said. “Because I love you, and I’m not letting you go.”

Emerson appeared, her eyes glimmering with tears. She checked the monitor. “Don’t mind me. Pregnancy hormones.”

“They’re awake?” a deep voice asked.

The general. Selena glanced over her shoulder and saw him standing tall and authoritative, if a little tired, at the end of their bed.

“General,” Tane said.

“I’m very glad you’re both okay,” Holmes said. “We, all of humanity, owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“Is everyone okay?” Tane asked.

“We had some casualties on the battlefield. Your squad is fine.”

Selena felt Tane’s fingers flex on her and she snuggled into him. She knew he was relieved.

Liberty appeared. The woman was holding a tiny baby wrapped in a pink blanket. “I’m glad to see you two are awake.”

Selena smiled. “You had your baby. Congratulations.”

Holmes beamed. “This is Hope Annabel Holmes. She loves to sleep all day and be awake all night.” The man leaned over and kissed the sleeping baby’s head, his face alive with love and wonder.

Joy spread through Selena. Life and love. Even in the darkest of circumstances, they found a way to grow and thrive.

She looked at Tane and saw the love in his eyes. In her darkest time, she’d grown stronger, found a new home, and discovered a love she’d never dreamed of with her intense, handsome berserker.

The doors of the infirmary burst open.

Hemi and Manu rushed inside, the other berserkers and their women right behind them.

“We got a message,” Hemi boomed.

When the men spotted Selena and their brother awake, they both grinned.

Hemi threw his arms in the air. “Party time!”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Almost five months later

As the Hawk moved into a hover above the landing pad, Tane thrust the side door open.

Cam was waiting for them, wearing a sleek, green, strapless dress that made her look like a knockout. It hit at midthigh, showing off her long legs.

Hemi leaped off behind Tane. “Babe, you look edible.” He moved toward her.

Cam held up a hand and touched a finger to Hemi’s armor-covered chest. “Hemi Rahia, you are sweaty and dirty, do not touch me.”

Tane’s brother grinned. “Aw, baby.”

“After your shower.” Her gaze skewered Tane. “You’re late. You were supposed to be back hours ago.”

“I know. We ran into some problems.”

Since defeating the Gizzida, life had changed dramatically.

He glanced to the right. The grassy hill nearby was covered in trees, and nestled under them, were several wooden cottages, their windows gleaming in the sunshine.

Several more were under construction. Noah’s tech team and the Enclave maintenance workers were busy expanding the power and water supply from the Enclave to support the above-ground residences.

One of the first places built had been his and Selena’s. Many still lived in the Enclave, not quite trusting that the Gizzida were truly gone, but he’d known his Selena needed the trees, the sky, the sun, and the wind.

But even as the human survivors had slowly come out of hiding, it became apparent that several hybrid alien creatures had survived.

Squad Three had become monster hunters.

They spent most of their days hunting down any creatures that were spotted. Other squads, including Squad Nine, were busy dismantling the Gizzida tech and ships. Hawks did daily trips between the Enclave and the new settlement at Sydney Airport. A few other squads, like Hell Squad, were tasked with law enforcement. Several survivor camps and townships weren’t too keen to follow rules—and those that were mistreating people, or acting inappropriately, got visits from the squads.

He glanced downhill to the field where crops had been planted in long rows. Selena had happily joined Old Man Hamish and the new farming team. With the addition of her skills, they had healthy, lush crops.

Cam snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Go. Clean up and change. We have a wedding to get to.”

With his squad, they all headed back to the cottages. Selena had decorated their place in her usual style. Lights were strung up on the wall and plants were everywhere. Every week, he made sure he went out and cut flowers for her, which she lovingly arranged in a vase and put in the middle of their wooden table. Manu and Hemi had helped Tane make the table and Selena loved the natural wood.

He quickly showered off the mission and got dressed.

He met the rest of the berserkers outside the cottages. They were all wearing the same white shirts, with the sleeves rolled up, and gray suit pants. Cam had been on a mission, sending people out to scavenge from some of the shops in Sydney to make sure they were all decked out.

Cam appeared, pinning sprigs of green on their shirts.

She patted Tane’s shoulder. “Ready to get married?”

“Yeah.” He wasn’t nervous. He wanted to make it official, and make Selena his wife.

They headed down the hill. In the center of the green field above the Enclave, chairs had been set up in front of an arch covered with flowers.

Guests were already seated and several musicians were playing. He strode down the center aisle with Hemi and Manu.

In the crowd, he spotted Marcus and Elle. Hell Squad’s leader was rubbing his wife’s burgeoning belly and they were both smiling.

In the row behind them sat Santha, smiling as she watched Cruz chasing their young, speedy toddler around, while their other daughter, Bryony, ran beside him, laughing.

“Monster.” Cruz snatched the giggling toddler off her feet and little Kari squealed with glee.

Behind Santha sat the rest of Hell Squad. Shaw was talking with Gabe, and a heavily pregnant and overdue Emerson. The doctor had been complaining a lot, having expected her twins to arrive early. Reed sat with his wife Natalya tucked close to his side, nuzzling her cheek. The scientist survivor looked radiant in a pink dress.

Squad Nine sat on the other side of the aisle. Roth caught Tane’s gaze and jerked his chin up. Beside him, Avery—in a one-shouldered, blue dress—winked. Taylor was kissing Devlin, the pair looking like they should be on the cover of a pre-invasion magazine. Sienna sat in Theron’s lap, laughing. The big man was smiling down at her, playing with the hem of her flirty dress.

Tane passed Noah and Laura. The tech team leader whispered something in the redhead’s ear which made her shake her head and grin. Mac and Niko sat with them. Niko had one arm draped around his woman’s shoulders and his other paint-stained hand resting on her flat stomach. The man had recently taken great pleasure in announcing they were pregnant.

Next was Holmes and Liberty. Holmes was bouncing his drooling daughter on his knee. The tiny thing was decked out in a dress spotted with large flowers and a tiny bow strapped around her near-bald head.

Holmes nodded, and Tane nodded back.

Finn and Lia sat in the front row with Fluffy. The bird saw Tane and took flight, landing on his arm. He stroked the gyr’s sleek feathers. The bird had claimed Tane, and he had a hell of a time keeping the damn animal out of his and Selena’s bed.

“She’s on her way. Go sit with Finn.”

The gyr flew back to the Hawk pilot.

Finally, Tane stood at the front with Manu and Hemi. Manu stepped into the center of the fragrant-smelling arch. He was going to conduct the ceremony.

Hemi stood beside Tane. “Ready, bro?”

“Yeah.”

The music changed.

Tane looked up and saw Claudia coming down the aisle in a green dress like Cam’s. The Hell Squad soldier held a clutch of colorful flowers.

Shaw stood, put his fingers in his mouth, and whistled. Claudia blew a kiss at her man.

Cam came next, and Hemi made a deep sound.

“Devour your woman after my wedding,” Tane said.

Then he saw Selena.

His chest swelled. She was beautiful—pure and light.

She wore an ethereal dress in silver-white. It cupped her slender torso, nipped in at her waist, then fell around her legs to her bare feet in a swirl of fabric.

It also clung to her small baby bump.

Love, joy, excitement, contentment, it all twisted inside him. He was about to claim his woman and celebrate their love. A love that saved him from a life of holding back and staying in the shadows.

And now, with the child they’d made, they’d live in a world that they’d saved.

She drew closer and he drank her in. A beautiful pink bloom rested behind her ear, bright against her pale hair and a larger bunch of colorful flowers was clutched in her hands.

She smiled at him.

Tane closed the last two steps between them, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her.

Laughter broke out from the guests.

“A-hem,” Manu said. “Let’s get the wedding finished, first.”

SELENA DECIDED there was nothing better than dancing with Tane under the stars.

Dancing with her husband.

Just saying husband gave her a thrill.

She rubbed her cheek against his shirt. Okay, they weren’t really dancing, they were just swaying. Tane had told her that he didn’t dance, and despite her friends trying to teach her, Selena had no rhythm.

“Happy?” he asked.

“Completely.” She looked up at the sky.

The reception was outside. All around them, their friends sat at tables, eating, drinking, and laughing.

The berserkers had set up poles earlier that day, and lights were strung between them. Huge urns filled with flowers rested on the tables. Hamish had done them for her. She was apparently one of the few people he liked.

Nearby, Hemi and Cam were dancing, too, along with Marin and Ash. The couples crashed into each other, Cam and Marin dissolving into laughter. On the other side of the dance floor, Ari was trying to teach Nate some dance moves, but the big man just kept trying to kiss her. Her laughter was light and happy.

Manu and Kate stood at the edge of the dance floor, talking with Marcus and Elle. There was a teenage couple with them—the girl wore a pretty dress, and her boyfriend kept a protective arm around her. Leo and Clare had been rescued by Hell Squad from the ruins of Sydney. The pair had shaken off everything they’d suffered, and looked happy and healthy.

Levi and Chrissy appeared out of the darkness—her hair was mussed, and Levi had red lipstick smeared on his mouth. A young boy ran over to them, and Levi ruffled the boy’s hair. It was young Max, who Chrissy had helped rescue from the Gizzida. The three of them started dancing together.

Indy was sitting with Griff, a cocktail in her hand. The tattooed comms officer looked gorgeous in a tiny, silver dress. They were talking with Gabe, who was not hiding the fact that he was hovering over Emerson.

Poor Emerson—despite looking lush and vibrant in a cute red dress—looked uncomfortable. Selena knew that the doctor was ready for her babies to arrive.

She touched her own belly and felt the pulse of energy from her child. You’re safe and loved, baby. She looked at her husband. You’ll always be protected.

Tane lowered his head and kissed her. “Glad you’re mine, Butterfly.”

“Me too.”

“You’re my reason to breathe, to live, to love.”

“Tane.” She leaned into him.

They danced for another song, and then Hemi appeared.

“Mind if I steal my little bro for a Rahia brothers drink?”

She smiled. “Go.”

As they moved toward the bar, she turned and spotted a couple standing in the darkness at the edge of the reception.

The man had a scarred face—it was covered in patches of blue-gray skin and scar tissue. He lifted his head, saw her, and nodded. A smile stretched his scarred lips.

Selena smiled back.

Gaz’da had survived his transformation. He was scarred, and partly transformed back to his prior species that he didn’t remember. He still had some health issues, but the medical team was helping him.

Someone else was helping his recovery as well. The woman beside him went up on her toes to kiss him. Gaz’da wrapped an arm around Alyssa and closed his eyes, happiness on his features.

Selena’s heart did a double rap against her ribs. She was happy for them. They’d both come through so much, and had earned their chance at happiness.

Suddenly, a sharp, feminine cry cut through the party.

Swiveling, Selena saw Emerson doubled over, clutching her belly. Gabe’s normally bronze skin turned pale.

Selena rushed over. “Emerson?”

“The babies are coming,” the woman panted.

“We’ll get you to the infirmary.”

Emerson cried out. “No time. They’re coming now! I’ve been having contractions all day, but I thought they were just Braxton-Hicks. I’ve been having loads of them the last few weeks.” She moaned. “I’m a doctor, I should have known.” The last word turned into a wail as a contraction hit.

Selena sucked in a breath. “Gabe, grab that jacket off the chair. Spread it out and lay her on it.”

The man obeyed, looking freaked out.

Tane appeared at Selena’s side and Emerson moaned again.

“The babies are coming,” Selena said to Tane.

“Oh, hell.”

“Call the infirmary and get someone here.”

“On it,” her husband replied.

“Lean her against you,” she told Gabe. “Touch her, talk to her.”

The Hell Squad soldier settled on the ground, pulling Emerson close to his body. He stroked his woman’s hair, murmuring to her.

Selena pressed her hands to Emerson’s large belly. She let her pulse of warmth go from her hands into Emerson.

“Oh.” The doctor relaxed a little. “That is magic.”

The birth went fast. Emerson had several more contractions, panting and groaning. “I need to push.”

Selena moved the woman’s legs. “Push.”

The first baby slid into the world, bawling.

“Doc, you sure know how to do things with style.” Norah dropped a bag down and knelt beside Selena.

“Norah,” Emerson panted, “I—” She groaned again, clenching Gabe’s hand.

Gabe—badass, enhanced super-soldier—winced, his face sheet white.

Selena held the baby while Norah dealt with cutting the cord. Tane held out someone’s jacket and Selena placed the baby in the fabric.

She clutched the tiny infant close. “Look at you, cutie. Your mama is busy right now, but soon you can snuggle.”

The baby stopped crying, looking up with her with steel-blue eyes. Selena’s heart bumped in her chest. Soon, she’d be holding her own baby—her and Tane’s child—like this.

A moment later, Emerson bore down and groaned. The second baby arrived, slightly smaller, but just as noisy. Norah dealt with the cord and checked the baby over. “Big and healthy, Doc.”

Tane held out a pretty, silk shawl and Norah placed the baby in it.

Selena grinned. “They’re beautiful, Emerson.” She pressed the baby she held to Emerson’s chest.

“God.” Emerson laughed. “Look, Gabe.”

Tane handed the other baby to Gabe. The big man looked stunned and stared at his child.

“You have two perfect sons,” Selena said.

“Sons,” Gabe said, his voice a shaky rumble. He pressed his lips to Emerson’s temple.

Their friends gathered around.

“Congratulations, Gabe,” Marcus said. “Emerson.”

“This is Zeke.” Gabe stroked his baby’s cheek.

Selena’s heart squeezed. He’d named his son for his lost brother.

“And baby Marcus,” Emerson said.

Marcus looked shocked, while Elle beamed.

“Zeke and Marcus.” Tane slid an arm around Selena. “Nice work, Emerson.” He lowered his voice. “Nice work, Butterfly.”

“Thanks. I’ve never been this happy, Tane.” She lifted her face, and suddenly three butterflies appeared, landing on her bare shoulder.

Tane shook his head. “If our kid inherits your abilities, we’ll end up with a house full of animals.”

“Maybe.”

“I’m going to make you happy every day for the rest of our lives,” he said.

“I know.” Under the stars, Selena kissed her tough, rugged husband, their baby snug in her belly between them.

She knew he’d make her happy—and sad, angry, content, thrilled, desired—because that was the glorious chaos of life. Selena couldn’t wait for every minute of her amazing, colorful, bold life to come. One always filled with love, hope, and light.

I hope you enjoyed Selena and Tane’s story!

Thank you SO much for joining me on all the Hell Squad adventures. This is a series of my heart and all these strong, tough characters are so very real to me, and I know that so many Hell Squad readers feel the same. I absolutely loved writing this final instalment and giving them all an ending they so deserved.

For more action-packed adventure, read on for a preview of Edge of Eon (Eon Warriors #1) to check out Eve Traynor’s wild ride as she’s forced to abduct a fearsome alien war commander.

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PREVIEW: EDGE OF EON

She shifted on the chair, causing the chains binding her hands to clank together. Eve Traynor snorted. The wrist and ankle restraints were overkill. She was on a low-orbit prison circling Earth. Where the fuck did they think she was going to go?

Eve shifted her shoulders to try to ease the tension from having her hands tied behind her back. For the millionth time, she studied her surroundings. The medium-sized room was empty, except for her chair. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was dull-gray metal. All of the Citadel Prison was drab and sparse. She’d learned every boring inch of it the last few months.

One wide window provided the only break in the otherwise uniform space. Outside, she caught a tantalizing glimpse of the blue-green orb of Earth below.

Her gut clenched and she drank in the sight of her home. Five months she’d been locked away in this prison. Five months since her life had imploded.

She automatically thought of her sisters. She sucked in a deep breath. She hated everything they’d had to go through because of what had happened. Hell, she thought of her mom as well, even though their last contact had been the day after Eve had been imprisoned. Her mom had left Eve a drunken, scathing message.

The door to the room opened, and Eve lifted her chin and braced.

When she saw the dark-blue Space Corps uniform, she stiffened. When she saw the row of stars on the lapel, she gritted her teeth.

Admiral Linda Barber stepped into the room, accompanied by a female prison guard. The admiral’s hair was its usual sleek bob of highlighted, ash-blonde hair. Her brown eyes were steady.

Eve looked at the guard. “Take me back to my cell.”

The admiral lifted a hand. “Please leave us.”

The guard hesitated. “That’s against protocol, ma’am—”

“It’ll be fine.” The admiral’s stern voice said she was giving an order, not making a request.

The guard hesitated again, then ducked through the door. It clicked closed behind her.

Eve sniffed. “Say what you have to say and leave.”

Admiral Barber sighed, taking a few steps closer. “I know you’re angry. You have a right to be—”

“You think?” Eve sucked back the rush of molten anger. “I got tossed under the fucking starship to save a mama’s boy. A mama’s boy who had no right to be in command of one of Space Corps’ vessels.”

Shit. Eve wanted to pummel something. Preferably the face of Robert J. Hathaway—golden son of Rear-Admiral Elisabeth Hathaway. A man who, because of family connections, was given captaincy of the Orion, even though he lacked the intelligence and experience needed to lead it.

Meanwhile, Eve—a Space Corps veteran—had worked her ass off during her career in the Corps, and had been promised her own ship, only to be denied her chance. Instead, she’d been assigned as Hathaway’s second-in-command. To be a glorified babysitter, and to actually run the ship, just without the title and the pay raise.

She’d swallowed it. Swallowed Hathaway’s incompetence and blowhard bullshit. Until he’d fucked up. Big-time.

“The Haumea Incident was regrettable,” Barber said.

Eve snorted. “Mostly for the people who died. And definitely for me, since I’m the one shackled to a chair in the Citadel. Meanwhile, I assume Bobby Hathaway is still a dedicated Space Corps employee.”

“He’s no longer a captain of a ship. And he never will be again.”

“Right. Mommy got him a cushy desk job back at Space Corps Headquarters.”

The silence was deafening and it made Eve want to kick something.

“I’m sorry, Eve. We all know what happened wasn’t right.”

Eve jerked on her chains and they clanked against the chair. “And you let it happen. All of Space Corps leadership did, to appease Mommy Hathaway. I dedicated my life to the Corps, and you all screwed me over for an admiral’s incompetent son. I got sentenced to prison for his mistakes.” Stomach turning in vicious circles, Eve looked at the floor, sucking in air. She stared at the soft booties on her feet. Damned inmate footwear. She wasn’t even allowed proper fucking shoes.

Admiral Barber moved to her side. “I’m here to offer you a chance at freedom.”

Gaze narrowing, Eve looked up. Barber looked…nervous. Eve had never seen the self-assured woman nervous before.

“There’s a mission. If you complete it, you’ll be released from prison.”

Interesting. “And reinstated? With a full pardon?”

Barber’s lips pursed and her face looked pinched. “We can negotiate.”

So, no. “Screw your offer.” Eve would prefer to rot in her cell, rather than help the Space Corps.

The admiral moved in front of her, her low-heeled pumps echoing on the floor. “Eve, the fate of the world depends on this mission.”

Barber’s serious tone sent a shiver skating down Eve’s spine. She met the woman’s brown eyes.

“The Kantos are gathering their forces just beyond the boundary at Station Omega V.”

Fuck. The Kantos. The insectoid alien race had been nipping at Earth for years. Their humanoid-insectoid soldiers were the brains of the operation, but they encompassed all manner of ugly, insect-like beasts as well.

With the invention of zero-point drives several decades ago, Earth’s abilities for space exploration had exploded. Then, thirty years ago, they’d made first contact with an alien species—the Eon.

The Eon shared a common ancestor with the humans of Earth. They were bigger and broader, with a few differing organs, but generally human-looking. They had larger lungs, a stronger, bigger heart, and a more efficiently-designed digestion system. This gave them increased strength and stamina, which in turn made them excellent warriors. Unfortunately, they also wanted nothing to do with Earth and its inferior Terrans.

The Eon, and their fearsome warriors and warships, stayed inside their own space and had banned Terrans from crossing their boundaries.

Then, twenty years ago, the first unfortunate and bloody meeting with the Kantos had occurred.

Since then, the Kantos had returned repeatedly to nip at the Terran borders—attacking ships, space stations, and colonies.

But it had become obvious in the last year or so that the Kantos had something bigger planned. The Haumea Incident had made that crystal clear.

The Kantos wanted Earth. There were to be no treaties, alliances, or negotiations. They wanted to descend like locusts and decimate everything—all the planet’s resources, and most of all, the humans.

Yes, the Kantos wanted to freaking use humans as a food source. Eve suppressed a shudder.

“And?” she said.

“We have to do whatever it takes to save our planet.”

Eve tilted her head. “The Eon.”

Admiral Barber smiled. “You were always sharp, Eve. Yes, the Eon are the only ones with the numbers, the technology, and the capability to help us repel the Kantos.”

“Except they want nothing to do with us.” No one had seen or spoken with an Eon for three decades.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Okay, Eve felt that shiver again. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a platform, about to be shoved under the starship again.

“What’s the mission?” she asked carefully.

“We want you to abduct War Commander Davion Thann-Eon.”

Holy fuck. Eve’s chest clenched so tight she couldn’t even draw a breath. Then the air rushed into her lungs, and she threw her head back and laughed. Tears ran down her face.

“You’re kidding.”

But the admiral wasn’t laughing.

Eve shook her head. “That’s a fucking suicide mission. You want me to abduct the deadliest, most decorated Eon war commander who controls the largest, most destructive Eon warship in their fleet?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Eve, you have a record of making…risky decisions.”

Eve shook her head. “I always calculate the risks.”

“Yes, but you use a higher margin of error than the rest of us.”

“I’ve always completed my missions successfully.” The Haumea Incident excluded, since that was Bobby’s brilliant screw-up.

“Yes. That’s why we know if anyone has a chance of making this mission a success, it’s you.”

“I may as well take out a blaster and shoot myself right now. One, I’ll never make it into Eon space, let alone aboard the Desteron.”

Since the initial encounter, they’d collected whatever intel they could on the Eon. Eve had seen secret schematics of that warship. And she had to admit, the thought of being aboard that ship left her a little damp between her thighs. She loved space and flying, and the big, sleek warship was something straight out of her fantasies.

“We have an experimental, top-of-the-line stealth ship for you to use,” the admiral said.

Eve carried on like the woman hadn’t spoken. “And two, even if I got close to the war commander, he’s bigger and stronger than me, not to mention bonded to a fucking deadly alien symbiont that gives him added strength and the ability to create organic armor and weapons with a single thought. I’d be dead in seconds.”

“We recovered a…substance that is able to contain the symbiont the Eon use.”

Eve narrowed her eyes. “Recovered from where?”

Admiral Barber cleared her throat. “From the wreck of a Kantos ship. It was clearly tech they were developing to use against the Eon.”

Shit. “So I’m to abduct the war commander, and then further enrage him by neutralizing his symbiont.”

“We believe the containment is temporary, and there is an antidote.”

Eve shook her head. “This is beyond insane.”

“For the fate of humanity, we have to try.”

“Talk to them,” Eve said. “Use some diplomacy.”

“We tried. They refused all contact.”

Because humans were simply ants to the Eon. Small, insignificant, an annoyance.

Although, truth be told, humanity only had itself to blame. By all accounts, Terrans hadn’t behaved very well at first contact. The meetings with the Eon had turned into blustering threats, different countries trying to make alliances with the aliens while happily stabbing each other in the back.

Now Earth wanted to abduct an Eon war commander. No, not a war commander, the war commander. So dumb. She wished she had a hand free so she could slap it over her eyes.

“Find another sacrificial lamb.”

The admiral was silent for a long moment. “If you won’t do it for yourself or for humanity, then do it for your sisters.”

Eve’s blood chilled and she cocked her head. “What’s this got to do with my sisters?”

“They’ve made a lot of noise about your imprisonment. Agitating for your freedom.”

Eve breathed through her nose. God, she loved her sisters. Still, she didn’t know whether to be pleased or pissed. “And?”

“Your sister has shared some classified information with the press about the Haumea Incident.”

Eve fought back a laugh. Lara wasn’t shy about sharing her thoughts about this entire screwed-up situation. Eve’s older sister was a badass Space Corps special forces marine. Lara wouldn’t hesitate to take down anyone who pissed her off, the Space Corps included.

“And she had access to information she should not have had access to, meaning your other sister has done some…creative hacking.”

Dammit. The rush of love was mixed with some annoyance. Sweet, geeky Wren had a giant, super-smart brain. She was a computer-systems engineer for some company with cutting-edge technology in Japan. It helped keep her baby sister’s big brain busy, because Wren hadn’t found a computer she couldn’t hack.

“Plenty of people are unhappy with what your sisters have been stirring up,” Barber continued.

Eve stiffened. She didn’t like where this was going.

“I’ve tried to run interference—”

“Admiral—”

Barber held up a hand. “I can’t keep protecting them, Eve. I’ve been trying, but some of this is even above my pay grade. If you don’t do this mission, powers outside of my control will go after them. They’ll both end up in a cell right alongside yours until the Kantos arrive and blow this prison out of the sky.”

Her jaw tight, Eve’s brain turned all the information over. Fucking fuck.

“Eve, if there is anyone who has a chance of succeeding on this mission, it’s you.”

Eve stayed silent.

Barber stepped closer. “I don’t care if you do it for yourself, the billions of people of Earth, or your sisters—”

“I’ll do it.” The words shot out of Eve, harsh and angry.

She’d do it—abduct the scariest alien war commander in the galaxy—for all the reasons the admiral listed—to clear her name, for her freedom, to save the world, and for the sisters she loved.

Honestly, it didn’t matter anyway, because the odds of her succeeding and coming back alive were zero.

EVE LEFT THE STARSHIP GYM, towel around her neck, and her muscles warm and limber from her workout.

God, it was nice to work out when it suited her. On the Citadel Prison, exercise time was strictly scheduled, monitored, and timed.

Two crew members came into view, heading down the hall toward her. As soon as the uniformed men spotted her, they looked at the floor and passed her quickly.

Eve rolled her eyes. Well, she wasn’t aboard the Polaris to make friends, and she had to admit, she had a pretty notorious reputation. She’d never been one to blindly follow the rules, plus there was the Haumea Incident and her imprisonment. And her family were infamous in the Space Corps. Her father had been a space marine, killed in action in one of the early Kantos encounters. Her mom had been a decorated Space Corps member, but after Eve’s dad had died, her mom had started drinking. It had deteriorated until she’d gone off the rails. She’d done it quite publicly, blaming the Space Corps for her husband’s death. In the process, she’d forgotten she had three young, grieving girls.

Yep, Eve was well aware that the people you cared for most either left you, or let you down. The employer you worked your ass off for treated you like shit. The only two people in the galaxy that didn’t apply to were her sisters.

Eve pushed thoughts of her parents away. Instead, she scanned the starship. The Polaris was a good ship. A mid-size cruiser, she was designed for exploration, but well-armed as well. Eve guessed they’d be heading out beyond Neptune about now.

The plan was for the Polaris to take her to the edge of Eon space, where she’d take a tiny, two-person stealth ship, sneak up to the Desteron, then steal onboard.

Piece of cake. She rolled her eyes.

Back in her small cabin, she took a quick shower, dressed, and then headed to the ops room. It was a small room close to the bridge that the ship’s captain had made available to her.

She stepped inside, and all the screens flickered to life. A light table stood in the center of the room, and everything was filled with every scrap of intel that the Space Corps had on the Eon Empire, their warriors, the Desteron, and War Commander Thann-Eon.

It was more than she’d guessed. A lot of it had been classified. There was fascinating intel on the four Eon homeworld planets—Eon, Jad, Felis, and Ath. Each Eon warrior carried their homeworld in their name, along with their clan names. The war commander hailed from the planet Eon, and Thann was a clan known as a warrior clan.

Eve swiped her fingers across the light table and studied pictures of the Desteron. They were a few years old and taken from a great distance, but that didn’t hide the warship’s power.

It was fearsome. Black, sleek, and impressive. It was built for speed and stealth, but also power. It had to be packed with weapons beyond their imagination.

She touched the screen again and slid the image to the side. Another image appeared—the only known picture of War Commander Thann-Eon.

Jesus. The man packed a punch. All Eon warriors looked alike—big, broad-shouldered, muscular. They all had longish hair—not quite reaching the shoulders, but not cut short, either. Their hair usually ranged from dark brown to a tawny, golden-brown. There was no black or blond hair among the Eon. Their skin color ranged from dark-brown to light-brown, as well.

Before first contact had gone sour, both sides had done some DNA testing, and confirmed the Eon and Terrans shared an ancestor.

The war commander was wearing a pitch-black, sleeveless uniform. He was tall, built, with long legs and powerful thighs. He was exactly the kind of man you expected to stride onto a battlefield, pull a sword, and slaughter everyone. He had a strong face, one that shouted power. Eve stroked a finger over the image. He had a square jaw, a straight, almost aggressive nose, and a well-formed brow. His eyes were as dark as space, but shot through with intriguing threads of blue.

“It’s you and me, War Commander.” If he didn’t kill her, first.

Suddenly, sirens blared.

Eve didn’t stop to think. She slammed out of the ops room and sprinted onto the bridge.

Inside, the large room was a flurry of activity.

Captain Chen stood in the center of the space, barking orders at his crew.

Her heart contracted. God, she’d missed this so much. The vibration of the ship beneath her feet, her team around her, even the scent of recycled starship air.

“You shouldn’t be in here,” a sharp voice snapped.

Eve turned, locking gazes with the stocky, bearded XO. Sub-Captain Porter wasn’t a fan of hers.

“Leave her,” Captain Chen told his second-in-command. “She’s seen more Kantos ships than all of us combined.”

The captain looked back at his team. “Shields up.”

Eve studied the screen and the Kantos ship approaching.

It looked like a bug. It had large, outstretched legs, and a bulky, segmented, central fuselage. It wasn’t the biggest ship she’d seen, but it wasn’t small, either. It was probably out on some intel mission.

“Sir,” a female voice called out. “We’re getting a distress call from the Panama, a cargo ship en route to Nightingale Space Station. They’re under attack from a swarm of small Kantos ships.”

Eve sucked in a breath, her hand curling into a fist. This was a usual Kantos tactic. They would overwhelm a ship with their small swarm ships. It had ugly memories of the Haumea Incident stabbing at her.

“Open the comms channel,” the captain ordered.

“Please…help us.” A harried man’s voice came over the distorted comm line. “…can’t hold out much…thirty-seven crew onboard…we are…”

Suddenly, a huge explosion of light flared in the distance.

Eve’s shoulders sagged. The cargo ship was gone.

“Goddammit,” the XO bit out.

The front legs of the larger Kantos ship in front of them started to glow orange.

“They’re going to fire,” Eve said.

The captain straightened. “Evasive maneuvers.”

His crew raced to obey the orders, the Polaris veering suddenly to the right.

“The swarm ships will be on their way back.” Eve knew the Kantos loved to swarm like locusts.

“Release the tridents,” the captain said.

Good. Eve watched the small, triple-pronged space mines rain out the side of the ship. They’d be a dangerous minefield for the Kantos swarm.

The main Kantos ship swung around.

“They’re locking weapons,” someone shouted.

Eve fought the need to shout out orders and offer the captain advice. Last time she’d done that, she’d ended up in shackles.

The blast hit the Polaris, the shields lighting up from the impact. The ship shuddered.

“Shields holding, but depleting,” another crew member called out.

“Sub-Captain Traynor?” The captain’s dark gaze met hers.

Something loosened in her chest. “It’s a raider-class cruiser, Captain. You’re smaller and more maneuverable. You need to circle around it, spray it with laser fire. Its weak spots are on the sides. Sustained laser fire will eventually tear it open. You also need to avoid the legs.”

“Fly circles around it?” a young man at a console said. “That’s crazy.”

Eve eyed the lead pilot. “You up for this?”

The man swallowed. “I don’t think I can…”

“Sure you can, if you want us to survive this.”

“Walker, do it,” the captain barked.

The pilot pulled in a breath and the Polaris surged forward. They rounded the Kantos ship. Up close, the bronze-brown hull looked just like the carapace of an insect. One of the legs swung up, but Walker had quick reflexes.

“Fire,” Eve said.

The weapons officer started firing. Laser fire hit the Kantos ship in a pretty row of orange.

“Keep going,” Eve urged.

They circled the ship, firing non-stop.

Eve crossed her arms over her chest. Everything in her was still, but alive, filled with energy. She’d always known she was born to stand on the bridge of a starship.

“More,” she urged. “Keep firing.”

“Swarm ships incoming,” a crew member yelled.

“Hold,” Eve said calmly. “Trust the mines.” She eyed the perspiring weapons officer. “What’s your name, Lieutenant?”

“Law, ma’am. Lieutenant Miriam Law.”

“You’re doing fine, Law. Ignore the swarm ships and keep firing on the cruiser.”

The swarm ships rushed closer, then hit the field of mines. Eve saw the explosions, like brightly colored pops of fireworks.

The lasers kept cutting into the hull of the larger Kantos ship. She watched the ship’s engines fire. They were going to try and make a run for it.

“Bring us around, Walker. Fire everything you have, Law.”

They swung around to face the side of the Kantos ship straight on. The laser ripped into the hull.

There was a blinding flash of light, and startled exclamations filled the bridge. She squinted until the light faded away.

On the screen, the Kantos ship broke up into pieces.

Captain Chen released a breath. “Thank you, Sub-Captain.”

Eve inclined her head. She glanced at the silent crew. “Good flying, Walker. And excellent shooting, Law.”

But she looked back at the screen, at the debris hanging in space and the last of the swarm ships retreating.

They’d keep coming. No matter what. It was ingrained in the Kantos to destroy.

They had to be stopped.

Eon Warriors

Edge of Eon

Touch of Eon

Heart of Eon

Kiss of Eon

Mark of Eon

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PREVIEW: GLADIATOR

Fighting for love, honor, and freedom on the galaxy’s lawless outer rim…

When Earth space marine Harper Adams finds herself abducted by alien slavers off a space station, her life turns into a battle for survival. Dumped into an arena on a desert planet on the outer rim, she finds herself face to face with a big, tattooed alien gladiator…the champion of the Kor Magna Arena.

A former prince abandoned to the arena as a teen, Raiden Tiago has long ago earned his freedom. Now he rules the arena, but he doesn’t fight for the glory, but instead for his own dark purpose—revenge against the Thraxian aliens who destroyed his planet. Then his existence is rocked by one small, fierce female fighter from an unknown planet called Earth.

Harper is determined to find a way home, but when she spots her best friend in the arena—a slave of the evil Thraxian aliens—she’ll do anything to save her friend…even join forces with the tough alpha male who sets her body on fire. But as Harper and Raiden step foot onto the blood-soaked sands of the arena, Harper worries that Raiden has his own dangerous agenda…

Galactic Gladiators

Gladiator

Warrior

Hero

Protector

Champion

Barbarian

Beast

Rogue

Guardian

Cyborg

Imperator

Hunter

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ALSO BY ANNA HACKETT

Team 52

Mission: Her Protection

Mission: Her Rescue

Mission: Her Security

Mission: Her Defense

Mission: Her Safety

Mission: Her Freedom

Mission: Her Shield

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Treasure Hunter Security

Undiscovered

Uncharted

Unexplored

Unfathomed

Untraveled

Unmapped

Unidentified

Undetected

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Eon Warriors

Edge of Eon

Touch of Eon

Heart of Eon

Kiss of Eon

Mark of Eon

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Galactic Gladiators: House of Rone

Sentinel

Defender

Centurion

Paladin

Guard

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Galactic Gladiators

Gladiator

Warrior

Hero

Protector

Champion

Barbarian

Beast

Rogue

Guardian

Cyborg

Imperator

Hunter

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Hell Squad

Marcus

Cruz

Gabe

Reed

Roth

Noah

Shaw

Holmes

Niko

Finn

Theron

Hemi

Ash

Levi

Manu

Griff

Dom

Survivors

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The Anomaly Series

Time Thief

Mind Raider

Soul Stealer

Salvation

Anomaly Series Box Set

The Phoenix Adventures

Among Galactic Ruins

At Star’s End

In the Devil’s Nebula

On a Rogue Planet

Beneath a Trojan Moon

Beyond Galaxy’s Edge

On a Cyborg Planet

Return to Dark Earth

On a Barbarian World

Lost in Barbarian Space

Through Uncharted Space

Crashed on an Ice World

Perma Series

Winter Fusion

A Galactic Holiday

Warriors of the Wind

Tempest

Storm & Seduction

Fury & Darkness

Standalone Titles

Savage Dragon

Hunter’s Surrender

One Night with the Wolf

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I’m a USA Today bestselling romance author who’s passionate about fast-paced, emotion-filled contemporary and science fiction romance. I love writing about people overcoming unbeatable odds and achieving seemingly impossible goals. I like to believe it’s possible for all of us to do the same.

I live in Australia with my own personal hero and two very busy, always-on-the-move sons.

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Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

What readers are saying about Anna’s romances

Anna Hackett Box Set

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Preview: Edge of Eon

Preview: Gladiator

Also by Anna Hackett

About the Author