Her Alien Mates (The Drift: Haven Colony Book 1) Read online

  Her Alien Mates

  Susan Hayes

  Contents

  About The Book

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  More Sci-Fi Romance from Susan Hayes

  SUSAN HAYES

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  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. It is fiction so facts and events may not be accurate except to the current world the book takes place in.

  Copyright © 2020 Susan Hayes

  Her Alien Mates (Book 1 of the Drift: Haven Colony)

  First E-book Publication: November 2020

  Cover Design: Mina Carter

  Editor: Amanda Brown

  Published by: Black Scroll Publications Ltd.

  ISBN: 978-1-988446-68-4

  Dedication

  For my Mum and Dad, for all their love and support.

  And for my readers, thank you. Your support and enthusiasm for The Drift turned one story into a series, and now, into an ever expanding world with new series and new stories.

  About The Book

  She dreamed of being free to make her own decisions. When it comes to a mate, why must she pick just one?

  Haven colony has everything a newly freed cyborg could hope for. After a life of violence and forced obedience, Shadow can finally make her own choices. But freedom comes with its own challenges – and hers includes a pair of sexy as fraxx aliens who both lay claim to her heart.

  He wants her – but it’s complicated…

  After a tragedy, Denz needs a change. Haven offers him a new life, a chance to finish the work his friend started, and enough work to keep him from thinking about everything he lost… until Shadow arrives at Haven. She’s everything he’s ever wanted – smart, sassy, and heartbreakingly beautiful. There’s just one problem. She’s not the assassin who murdered his best friend, but she wears the same face.

  He lost his anrik and any chance of a mate long ago…

  Kade is close to having it all. One last debt to pay off, and all his mistakes will be behind him. He just has to live with the mistakes of his dead anrik... the one that condemned him to a lifetime alone. Everything changes when he sets down in a backwater colony and catches wind of the impossible – the mate he wasn’t supposed to have.

  When trouble comes to Haven, all three will have to make a choice – protect their hearts, or protect each other, no matter what the cost…

  Prologue

  Beyond the edge of civilized space is a newly colonized planet. It’s a haven for the homeless, the hopeful, and those dreaming of freedom.

  The beings who live here might be different species from vastly different worlds, but they all have one thing in common. Whoever they are, and wherever they came from, Haven is now their home.

  The land is uncharted. The dangers are unknown. It’s a world full of possibilities—for those willing to risk everything.

  Welcome to Haven Colony.

  1

  Kade was dozing in the cockpit of his ship when a soft chime alerted him to an incoming message. The tone indicated it was a prerecorded vid, and the sender’s name flashed up on his screen a moment later.

  “Again?” He sat up and stretched until his shoulders popped. Nesht was not one of Kade’s favorite beings. Like most of his species, Nesht’s personality matched his appearance—thorny and highly unpleasant. No doubt the damned Jeskyran was sending another vid reminding Kade what he owed and how many days he had left to pay up.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose and grunted in frustration. He couldn’t ignore the message for long or his “business associate” would get annoyed and start sending more messages.

  This close to the new colony, Kade couldn’t take any chances. The inhabitants of Liberty weren’t likely to be intercepting communications, but it was possible. He’d have to play the recording and send a reply to appease the petty jerk.

  Kade shifted in his seat, leaning forward enough to let his wings shift and refold into a more comfortable position along his back as he activated the message.

  Nesht’s gaunt yellow face filled his monitor. “D’vrayn. I expected to hear from you before now.” His thin lips parted in a smile, revealing a mouth full of needle-sharp teeth that added a slight hissing quality to his words. “I hope your silence means you’ve been busy making arrangements to acquire the information you owe me. If not…” His expression hardened. “It would pain me to have to end our friendship in such a messy way, but business is business.”

  As threats went, it was more subtle than usual. Kade wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a worrying one.

  Nesht kept talking. “Because we’re such good friends, I’ll do you a favor. I’m on my way to Liberty’s shiny new orbital platform. I should be there in a day or two, so we can do the transfer in person. I’ll let you know when I’m due to arrive and we’ll set a time to meet for a drink. I’m buying.” The Jeskyran nodded once, and the recording ended.

  “Fraxx.” Kade cursed in Galactic Standard, shifting mental gears as he composed his response in the same language. The Jeskyran didn’t speak any of the Vardarian dialects, not even the simpler trade languages.

  This news complicated things. He hadn’t expected Nesht to make a personal appearance. Usually Kade sent along whatever information he’d gathered in an encrypted file, and that would be the end of it.

  He pulled his dagger from its sheath and started flipping it between his fingers as he considered this new twist. Liberty was several weeks of travel away from Nesht’s usual haunts, which meant the Jeskyran had been in transit almost since he’d given Kade his newest assignment. This entire stunt had been planned, and he hadn’t been informed. Not a good sign.

  “They don’t trust me. And they’re really eager to get their hands on those codes.” The blade of his dagger flickered with the reflected lights of his console as it spun. In the beginning, the arrangement had seemed simple enough. He passed on information about the colony on Liberty, and in exchange, Nesht deducted an agreed-upon amount from the debt he owed.

  It wasn’t the first time he’d traded in facts instead of material goods. Good information was a currency all its own, but this time something was off about the whole thing. He didn’t like the way this deal tasted, but he also didn’t have a choice. He owed them too much money. A three-day lapse in judgment had put him in debt to Nesht’s employers, and this was what they wanted in payment. “I should have never set foot in that damned casino.”

  “Ship, take over piloting duties. Notify me five minutes before we’re due to transition to standard drive engines.” His nanotech enhancements allowed him to interface with the ship directly, but he preferred to issue his orders out loud. If he didn’t speak to the AI, he’d have no one to talk to at all.

  “Affirmative, Captain D’vrayn.”

  He rose from his chair, sliding the dagger back
into its sheath as he did so. His cabin was only a few paces down the corridor from the cockpit, and it wouldn’t take him long to clean up and change. He ran a hand over his unshaven jaw. Time for a shave, too. He’d answer once he looked like a successful trader instead of an interstellar vagabond. Impressions were important, and Nesht had enough leverage on him, already.

  When next he took his seat at the console, he was cleaner, neater, and had his reply ready to go. He activated the recording function and leaned back in his chair with a practiced grin on his face.

  “Nesht. Good to hear from you. I’m a few hours out from Liberty at the moment, and I have no reason to expect any problems. You didn’t need to come out all this way just to buy me a drink, but hey, who am I to argue with such largess?” He opened his hands in an expansive gesture and widened his smile. “Have a safe journey. We’ll talk again once you have arrived. I look forward to concluding our business deal.”

  He ended the recording and sent it on its way to the automated resupply station that also acted as a message depot. It was easier to send and receive messages from one fixed point than to try to route communications directly. Kade grimaced. It also allowed Nesht to hide his location. It was a good thing this was the last favor he needed to do for these beings. He’d done what they asked, and soon he’d be free of the arrangement. So far, he hadn’t provided them with anything that would put the colony at risk. He wanted to keep it that way. He liked the beings who lived in Haven—Vardarian and cyborg alike.

  The colony had ambitious plans but a simple premise. Everyone was equal. He’d even seen the prince working side by side with the people he led, as tired and dirty as the rest of them. And the princess… Kade grinned. Phaedra was tiny, human, and as fierce as any Vardarian warrior he’d ever met. She was delightfully different from the pampered females of his home world. If he were destined to have a mate, he would have asked the ancestors to send him one like her. He’d never made that request, though. There was no point. He was one of the onar. He had no mate. He was certain of it. He had lost that chance long ago.

  Still, his life wasn’t so bad. Instead of duty, family, and expectations, he had freedom, friends, and a fast ship. His life was so full he didn’t have room for anything else, or anyone.

  Shadow put away her hand terminal and stylus and then got to her feet, her head full of new data and fascinating tidbits. Her onboard systems had the entire lecture itemized and stored for future reference, but she’d discovered that the act of writing notes helped her think about them as more than abstract facts. It was one of the many things she’d learned about herself since arriving at Haven.

  “Hey, Shadow, joining us for drinks?” Skye asked. The cyborg female was part of the panel that had presented today’s session on sexuality, mating, and courtship rituals.

  “Sure.” She grinned at her mentor. “Do I get to ask more questions?”

  Skye laughed. “Only if you’re buying.”

  “Deal.” She had more than enough scrip to her name to afford a few drinks. She’d been offered the same corporate-sponsored compensation package as the other cyborgs living here. They had all been held captive, some of them for years, and the corporations had turned a blind eye to their existence. As far as Shadow was concerned, giving them a bit of money and a place to live was the least the bastards could do.

  She walked with the others, letting the conversation flow around her without taking an active part. Shadow hadn’t been held captive with Skye and the rest of the cyborgs at the colony. Her experience had been very different. She’d been kept isolated from almost everyone for most of her life, and as much as she enjoyed the comradery, it took some getting used to.

  Her freedom had come only recently, and she was still adjusting to a reality where she could make all her own choices. There were no punishments, no threats, and no one issuing orders she had no choice but to obey. Just thinking about it triggered a rush of unwanted memories. Recollections of all the things she’d done against her will pushed in on her until it was hard to breathe.

  She slowed her steps and looked up into the wide blue sky. “I’m free,” she reminded herself softly. A glint of gold caught her attention, and she turned her gaze to the high-flying form of a Vardarian wheeling through the endless blue. She envied them their wings. If she could fly like they could, she’d never want to land.

  “You okay?” Skye asked.

  “Memory ambush,” Shadow explained. The first thing she’d learned at the colony was to be honest about how she felt. It wasn’t always easy, but after a lifetime of hiding their thoughts and reactions, it was freeing to be able to talk about it all.

  “Ugh, I hate those. You okay now? Or do you want to take some time on your own?” Skye asked.

  “I think I’m good. Besides, I still have questions!”

  “Drinks first.” Skye slid a companionable arm around her shoulders. “And nice job fending off the ambush. It took me months before I could move past them as fast as you can. Care to share the trick?”

  Shadow pointed up. “It’s easy to remember I’m free when there’s nothing above me but open sky.”

  “Which is exactly why I picked my name.” The cyborg turned her head to glance at her. “Can I ask why you picked Shadow?”

  “Because I was cloned from a cyborg who called herself Nyx. Apparently, that was the name of an old Earth goddess of night who was also the daughter of chaos. I’m sort of her daughter…so I figured, Shadow.”

  “I like it. Even though you are the least dark and shadowy person I have ever met.”

  Shadow appreciated the compliment, but she knew it wasn’t true. She’d been created as part of the Fury project, and while there had been some minor adjustments to their design, all the furies had one thing in common. They were assassins.

  Most corporate-created cyborgs were soldiers. A handful were made to serve other purposes. Some were spies. Others were capable of incredible data processing that made them almost prescient. She and her sisters—the furies—were executioners.

  “C’mon. It’s time for drinking, not thinking,” Skye teased and pointed ahead of them. “After all that talk about sexuality, pleasure, and mating, the males of this place better watch out. I’m thinking about taking a few of them home with me tonight!”

  “A few?” Shadow was intrigued by the idea of having more than one mate, but her seduction programming had all involved enticing one being at a time. And her personal experiences… well, she might have been ordered to sleep with various beings, but she’d never made that choice for herself.

  “Why not? That’s how most Vardarian relationships are structured, and the ratio of male to female cyborgs skews heavily to the males.” Skye shrugged. “And for me, it’s all about blowing off steam. I’m not looking for a relationship. I just want to have fun.”

  Shadow nodded, but she felt a discordant twinge of emotional energy from her companion that told her Skye wasn’t being entirely honest. She did want more, but she couldn’t admit it yet. Fair enough. They were all on a journey, and it wasn’t her place to try to change someone else’s trajectory just because she could tell what they were feeling.

  “What about you? You ready to find a little fun? Or maybe put some of the things you learned today into practice?” Skye waited a beat before casually adding, “Like, oh, flirting with a certain broody Torski male who happens to be due back this afternoon?”

  “Denz is home?” Her query somehow bypassed all her internal filters and was out of her mouth before she could zip her lips shut.

  Skye’s blue eyes flashed in triumph. “Ha! I knew it.”

  “Does everyone know?” One thing Shadow had learned in her time here was the colony’s cyborgs were the biggest gossips in the galaxy. They shared data files and tidbits of information with breathtaking speed and unrepentant glee, and she had a great many reasons to keep her interest quiet.

  “I don’t think so. I’m training to be a counselor, and I’m your mentor. It’s my job to watch ou
t for you and make sure you’re acclimating to your new life. That means I’m paying more attention than most. I saw your face when you heard he was leaving.” Skye winked. “And I’d bet another round of drinks that at least one of the questions you wanted to ask me about had to do with Torski courtships.”

  “Anyone ever mention that you’d have made an excellent spy?” she asked.

  “Me? Fraxx, no. I think it’s more that you’re becoming a worse one. When you first got here you had three expressions, and only one of them involved smiling. Now, you’re not hiding your feelings as much. It means you’re settling in.”

  Shadow twisted a lock of hair around her finger and tugged. “I guess. But that’s really not information I’m ready to share. I mean, I like him, but trying to initiate anything with Denz would be…complicated.”

  “Maybe.” Skye pitched her voice low enough so there was no chance of being overheard. “But you’re not the one who pulled the trigger. He knows that.”

  Shadow tugged a little harder on her hair. “I might not be the one who murdered Zale, but you can’t tell by looking at me. The killer was my clone. Same face. Same design. Same programming.”

  Skye grunted. “What was the first thing I told you when you and I started talking?” She asked as they crossed the bridge to the small island that sat midway between the cyborg and Vardarian sides of the colony.

  “We’re more than our programming,” Shadow answered automatically.