New Species 08 Obsidian (18 page)

He looked proud. “I enjoy seeing your eyes while I’m inside you and thought about ways to do that. You don’t need strength to hold your weight in this position.”

Some of his contentment faded while memories tugged him into the past. 46 had never looked at him the way Alli did or allowed him to get close to her. She’d have fought him by now to put space between them despite the uncomfortable difficulty of separating their bodies. He’d never understood why she’d been so resistant to being his mate until he’d met the human female.

Is this the strong bond that 46 made with the male before me? Is that why she hated our time together?
He’d resist caring about another female if she weren’t Alli. He’d resent her and be angry if they were locked inside a room together, forced to mate. 46 had rage. He suddenly understood the source. It hadn’t been personal dislike for him but instead that she hadn’t been allowed to be with the male she’d chosen.

“Hey? Are you okay?” Soft hands left his arms to cup his face, drawing his attention back to the present while he stared deeply into her expressive eyes. She liked to touch his cheeks. “You looked a million miles away.”

“I am right here.”

“What were you thinking about?” Small lines appeared on her forehead that he identified as anxiety. “Are you sure you’re okay? Are your knees still bothering you from when you jumped off the roof? I want to look at them.”

“I am fine.” He paused. “I understand something I did not before.”

“What is that?” Her fingertips lightly traced his facial bones.

Alli worried he had deep feelings for 46. There was nothing wrong with his intelligence. He’d grow angry if she spoke of another male while they were physically joined so he quickly sought a reason to be stressed.

“I wonder what kind of task they will have me do at Homeland. I have no skills that would be useful. I’m one of them but I don’t know how to fit in.”

Her expression relaxed. “They will find some kind of job you enjoy. Some of them are guards who patrol Homeland or Reservation while others learn new skills. Destiny, for example, is learning how to be a nurse.”

A snarl tore from his throat, insulted and jealous in a flash that she’d dare mention that male. “He wants you.”

“Calm down,” she whispered, stroking him as her legs tightened around his waist. “I’m not interested anyone but you. I don’t know why you hate him so much. I work…worked with him. That’s all.”

“He wants you,” he repeated firmly. “He can’t have you. You’re mine.”

Her hands slid down to his throat, lower, to his shoulders. She gripped him firmly and he tensed, believing she’d begin to fight. Instead her fingers dug in and rubbed. It felt good and some of the rigidness eased.

“That feels good.”

“It’s meant to. Shoulder massages always relax me. I just brought him up as an example. There are lots of things you can do or learn in order to be a part of New Species society. That’s the last thing that you should be thinking about right now.” Her gaze lowered to his chest. “You’re regaining your body mass and strength. You were down for a long time and lost a bit of weight.”

“I’m big.”

“I bet you were bigger before you were hurt.”

He couldn’t deny that. His body had changed from the way it used to be. The changes had reminded him of when he’d angered the technicians at Mercile and they’d refused to feed him before 46 was brought into his room to be his mate.

“They aren’t expecting you to get a job right away. You’ll be moved to the men’s dorm and adjust to life on the outside first. You’ll learn how to live independently and they’ll take you out with different males to show you what they do. You’ll also be asked if you want to see a therapist.” She paused. “A doctor who will help you work through the anger and pain you suffered while you were in captivity. I strongly suggest it. Kregkor is a good guy. He’s a bit of a nerd but he’s excellent at what he does.”

Suspicion and jealousy flared. “The male doctor Moon told me about? Do you know him well? Does he want you too?”

Her eyebrows rose. “Kregkor? No. He’s married. Mated. You know what I mean. He’s got a few kids. You’ll see pictures of them and his wife if you visit his office at Medical. He works part-time for the NSO. I barely see him since he only comes when they call him.”

“Are there any other males who have shown interest in you?”

“No.”

He keenly studied her to judge if she was being honest but didn’t see any signs of deceit. “Good. I’d fight them.”

“You really need to stop attacking males. They are your people.”

“You are mine.”

The doorbell rang. Obsidian growled. “They will go away.”

“You need to let me up. We have to see who is there. They’ll come in if we don’t answer the door since they know we are home.”

“I have the key to your space.”

“I’m sure they have spares.”

“What are those?”

“Other keys.”

“I will make them give me all of them.” He didn’t want anyone to have access to Alli but him.

The swelling in his dick had subsided. He gently pulled out of her, watching her face to make sure there wasn’t any discomfort for her. She released him as he lifted up to rise to his feet.

“Stay!” He’d deal with whoever wanted access to Alli’s space.

He pulled the sweatpants up enough to cover his dick and closed her bedroom door when he stormed out of it. The doorbell annoyed him as it rang again. Whoever was outside was persistent. He remembered to unlock it before yanking it open. Two males waited on the other side. They stared at him grimly. He’d met one of them before but the second one was unfamiliar.

Justice spoke first. “Hello, Obsidian. It’s good to see you doing so well.”

The smell of a female mixed with the male’s scent. His sense of smell had been weakened after he’d awoken that first time at Homeland and he’d missed that before. He investigated the other male by turning his head to look that one over from head to foot, picking up another female scent coming from him. They were both mated, judging by the strong combination of scents. He decided they weren’t at the door to attempt to lure Alli into sharing sex with them.

“I want the other keys to Alli’s rooms.”

Dark eyebrows arched as Justice frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I do,” the other male with the long brown hair announced. “I read the report that Kit filed this morning at the end of her shift. She complained that Moon stole a key from her because Obsidian believed we were locking Dr. Allison inside her house.” His focus shifted to Obsidian. “I am Fury. We don’t have any other keys. That was the only one.”

“Alli said there are more.”

“She probably assumes that but that was the only key Security had.” The male smiled. “I give my word.”

“I don’t know or trust you.”

Justice stepped closer. “We understand. You need time to learn that we won’t tell lies. How are you adjusting to freedom? I apologize that I haven’t spoken to you recently but I’ve been very busy.”

“Justice deals with the humans outside the walls of our home,” Fury informed him. “It’s a tough job with long hours.”

Obsidian didn’t care about that. “Why are you here?” He eyed them with suspicion.

“I wanted to check on you and I’d like to talk to Allison.” Justice smiled. “I realize now we came at a bad time.”

Fury cleared his throat. “Real bad, judging by our noses. We’re sorry if we interrupted the two of you. I spoke to Moon earlier. He said you and the doctor were close and that you felt secure being with her. He just forgot to mention how close.”

Fury stepped closer and a fainter scent teased Obsidian’s nose. “What is that?” He sniffed more, moving out onto the porch. “It’s sweet and strange.”

The male didn’t back away. “You’re probably picking up baby powder mixed with my son.” Pride deepened the male’s voice. “My mate and I had a child. His name is Salvation.”

Shock tore through Obsidian. “You bred a child? How?” He sniffed again, fascinated by the unknown smell. It was pleasant and nice.

“We can breed with humans.” Fury hesitated and inched even closer, holding up his hands to make it easier for him to pick up the scents. “I was holding my son before I left for my shift this morning to allow my mate to sleep longer. Her name is Ellie and she’s human.”

Obsidian backed away, confused. He stared hard at the male, hunting for clues of deceit but knew he spoke the truth. The scent he picked up was fresh and nice—life. His mind reeled from the knowledge that one of them had impregnated a female. Emotion rushed at him next, nearly overcoming him with grief.

“I even failed her with that.”

Justice appeared alarmed. “What do you mean? Dr. Allison?”

“46,” he rasped, shame gripping him. “The technicians wanted me to impregnate her but I wasn’t able to.”

“His mate,” Fury whispered. “She—”

“I know.” Justice cut him off. “Our females aren’t able to become pregnant as of yet. The doctors who work for us are running tests to find out why and hopefully fix the problem. They believe it might be a genetic problem between our males and females. We have dominant genes. All our children were born to male Species and female humans. Mercile created us too well and our children share our exact DNA.”

“I don’t understand.”

Fury was the one to explain. “Our children are Species. My son will look exactly as I do when he grows. We were designed so well that males only create male children who carry all our traits but none from the mother.” He paused. “Our females were designed the same way we were.”

“We have a few genetic experts who believe that’s why we always failed to reproduce children with our females. Our genes are too strong to combine to create a life.”

Fury nodded. “What Justice means is that we can only create males and our females will probably only be able to create female children. They think that’s why no Species couple has ever bred children.”

Obsidian allowed the new information to settle. Some of his shame lifted. It wasn’t a defect with just his body. The technicians had always been crueler when their breeding attempts didn’t gain the results they expected. It wasn’t his burden to carry for the unhappiness she’d suffered.

“Do you understand?” Fury gave him a sympathetic look. “You didn’t fail 46.”

“Yes,” he rasped. “Can our females breed successfully with human males? They are weaker.”

“Not so far.” Justice shifted his stance. “We only have one female who has shown interest in mating to a human. He’s one of our doctors but they are newly together. She’s refused testing and wants time to see if it happens naturally before she allows that. It’s understandable after everything she’s survived at Mercile. We all know how painful their tests could be for our females.”

Anger tinged Fury’s voice when he spoke. “We don’t think it’s going to be that simple. Some of our females were raped by humans during captivity but thankfully no pregnancy resulted. It would have only encouraged the bastards to hurt them more.”

“We’re not giving up hope though.”

Alli’s voice startled Obsidian. He spun, glaring at her. He’d been too focused on the males to hear her approach, distracted by the information they’d shared.

“I told you to stay.” Anger exploded inside him over her defiance.

She had dressed in a pair of jeans with a white T-shirt, her wet hair pulled back so it hung in one clump down her back. She rolled her eyes then stared evenly at him.

“We really need to work on your bully issues.” She glanced behind him and her smile seemed forced. “Hello. Won’t you come in?” Her hand shot out and gripped his forearm before she glanced up at him while tugging him closer. “Move out of the way. They obviously came here for a reason. It’s polite to invite them inside. We sit down and talk.”

“I don’t want you near other males.”

The top of her cheeks turned slightly pink. “Enough,” she whispered. “Don’t be rude. Justice North controls the NSO and Fury is his second-in-command.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want any males near you.”

“Oh my god,” she hissed. “Stop! They have mates.” She stared at Justice. “I’m really sorry.” Her cheeks were a brighter red. “He is working on his social skills still.” She directed an angry glare at him. “And doing a bad job right now. Will you please let them inside? Stop blocking the door. He’s my boss, Obsidian. I work for him. Or I did. Please just behave? For me?”

The plea in her voice softened his reserve to keep the males outside. He grimly nodded and allowed her to tug him into the house. “I’m watching them though. I will attack if one of them touches you.”

Justice cleared his throat. “We won’t.”

“No,” Fury agreed. “This is interesting.”

“I have a feeling things just got more complicated.” Justice sighed. “Shit.”

Chapter Sixteen

Alli had to practically wrestle the stiff Species into a seated position on the loveseat and sat next to him in case he tried to attack Justice or Fury. She wouldn’t put it past Obsidian to start a fight with either of them. She gripped him firmly, ready to tackle him if he tried to stand. He had no idea how important both of them were to his future life at the NSO.

“Please,” she whispered, leaning into him. “Let me handle this and just be quiet.”

Rage flashed in his glare.

“Do you trust me?”

It hurt, seeing the indecisive expression wafting over his face as he debated the answer. “Yes.”

Relief swept through her. “Thank you.”

She relaxed slightly but kept hold of him. She gave her attention to the two men who settled on the couch across the coffee table from them. Justice appeared a bit stunned and Fury stared, his expression grim, at her hands gripping Obsidian’s arm. They might be checking on the newest member of the NSO but she had a sneaking suspicion it was about her fate. Justice confirmed it when he spoke.

“We held a meeting this morning about what you did, Allison.” He paused, holding her gaze. “Your plan worked. Don’t think we aren’t grateful for that.”

Her stomach felt as if it lodged in her throat.
Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good. But?—there is always one of those coming when someone talks that way.
She ignored her rapidly beating heart while trying to outwardly appear calm and collected since she sure wasn’t on the inside.

“We are,” Fury agreed. “You were very brave to put your life at risk. He could have woken feral and killed you.”

“You should have contacted Trisha to detail your ideas on how to wake the male. I realize she was at Reservation but we have procedures you agreed to follow. Rules.” Justice paused. “You betrayed the trust of everyone by using the friendships you’ve made to smuggle Obsidian out of Homeland. The medical staff knew you had access to him and no one realized you posed a threat to his security. The officers at the gate allowed you to pass without searching the truck because you’ve always shown them kindness when they came in for ailments you treated.”

Guilt weighed on her. “I know.”

“Part of me wants to ignore the things you’ve done because I believe the reasons were pure. You had no malice in your heart.” He glanced at Obsidian before staring at her. “You are an excellent doctor.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say. A spark of hope that she might keep her job ignited at the compliment. It died quickly when Justice resumed speaking.

“Unfortunately, the trust has been broken. We can’t have someone who does irrational things when she or he is told no. That’s what you did. Do you understand how fortunate it was that the members of the task force found you, instead of our enemies?”

“I know.” Tears burned behind her eyes but she blinked them back, unwilling to break down. “In my defense, may I point out that no one outside of the NSO knew we were missing? You were the only ones looking for us.”

“We’ve had breaches of information leaked to our enemies in the past.” Fury cleared his throat. “By trusted human employees. There could be more of them that we haven’t discovered yet. What if they told someone that you and Obsidian were out there within their reach? You risked his life and your own.”

She couldn’t argue with that, even though she wanted to. “I’m really sorry. It was an extreme situation. He was wasting away and Trisha wasn’t here. I really believed my plan would work but it was shot down.” She stared at Justice. “You said no but you were wrong.” Her chin lifted, knowing she had nothing to lose. “You hired me to save Species’ lives and that’s what I did. That’s my job and I was doing it, despite the limitations you put on me. Can we at least agree that while I was wrong to take him, you were wrong too, by denying my requests? We both made mistakes. I’m no threat to the NSO. I’d never hurt or willingly endanger a Species if I believed there was a real danger to their lives. I was sure we’d be safe at that farm. I get the fact that I screwed up somehow because we were found but the bottom line is Obsidian is right here with us.”

Justice wasn’t angry, judging by his calm expression at her tirade. “I agree. We both fucked up. That’s why we won’t hold you criminally accountable for stealing him.”

She rapidly blinked to prevent tears from slipping out. She wasn’t going to prison. Her shoulders sagged a little in reprieve. “Thank you.”

“We don’t trust you anymore though. What kind of message would we be sending if we allowed you to continue to work for us?” Fury leaned forward. “We don’t want to throw you into the out world though, unprotected. It’s too dangerous if anyone discovered your prior association with us. Justice made some phone calls this morning on your behalf and we came up with a solution. We are grateful to you for all you’ve done.”

“I have spoken to Jerry Boris. He heads a special department assigned to us by the government.” Justice paused. “He’s not an easy man to work for but they could use a doctor at the facility he runs. It is self-contained, as the NSO is, and you’ll be assigned living quarters. The pay and benefits will remain the same. You’d be treating humans.”

Fury held her gaze. “This is classified information. Fuller is a prison that contains captured Mercile employees and others who have harmed Species. They would be your patients along with the staff. It’s a completely human facility. You can accept the job or enter the out world. It’s your call.”

Her mind blanked for seconds. They were offering her a job treating criminals but she’d be living in a highly guarded location where she’d never have to worry about NSO enemies coming after her for payback for her time spent at Homeland. She’d been warned of that possibility before she’d agreed to work for them. It was a good, fair solution. It just made her sad that she’d have to leave the home and friends she had made.

“You can think about it.” Justice rose to his feet. “We’ve hired your replacement and he’ll arrive tomorrow evening. We need your answer in the morning so we can arrange for you to move out of this house.” Sorrow filled his eyes. “It’s the best we could do. I hope you understand.”

“I do.”

Obsidian had been silent the entire time but he growled low, alarming Alli. She turned her head to stare at him.

“Don’t.”

He was too strong to hold on to when he stood, almost knocking her off her perch on the edge of the loveseat when he tore out of her grasp. “I go where she does.”

Fury stood. “Fuller is heavily guarded and secure but they aren’t equipped to have one of us live there. It’s in direct violation of its purpose. We send our enemies there to be punished by fellow humans. No Species are allowed. It would be too tempting to kill the prisoners.”

“I go with Alli.” He snarled, hands fisting at his sides, ready to do battle.

She grabbed his thigh, clinging in case he lunged at one of the other men. “Obsidian? Look at me.”

He glared down.

“Stop. You don’t understand what is going on but I do. Trust me. It’s really nice of them to offer me this job and not send me to prison…on the wrong side of the bars.” She shot Justice a grateful look. “I’ll take the job. I don’t need to think about it. I know my contract clause says if I leave the NSO that I’m banned from here but can I visit him?” She glanced at Obsidian, then back at the NSO leader. “Please? Fuller is a subdivision of the NSO, right? That would mean the no-contact clause isn’t in effect, right?” Desperation clawed at her from the inside out, terrified he’d tell her she’d never again get to see the man she loved. “Please?”

Justice’s features softened. “We could arrange visits.”

The tears wouldn’t be held back anymore and slid down her cheeks. “Thank you so much.”

Obsidian growled loudly. The rage refused to be contained anymore. He’d allowed it to build while he listened to his Alli talk to the two males. She’d asked him to trust her but it was clear she had no control of the outcome of her fate. He did.

The males backed away, alarmed.
They should be.
He wanted to beat on both of them. “She is mine!” he snarled. “I go where she does.”

“Obsidian?” Alli hugged his thigh tighter, on her knees at his feet. “Don’t!”

“Silence.” He bared his teeth and growled at the males. “Try to take her from me and you will die.”

“Fuck,” Fury muttered. “I think Moon understated their involvement.” He raised his hands. “Easy. No one is going to attack you.”

“He’s not feral.” Alli hugged his leg tightly enough to restrict the flow of blood in it. “He’s really possessive of me. I’ll calm him down and explain things after you leave. Please go. You’re only aggravating him. I’ll handle this.” She softened her voice. “Obsidian? Please look at me instead of them. Please?”

He glanced down. “Release my leg and go to your room where you will be safe. No one will take you from me.”

She frantically shook her head, refusing. “You can’t fight Justice North, damn it. He’s the leader of the NSO. That will earn you a one-way trip to the Wild Zone and I won’t be able to visit you there. No humans are allowed except one who is a mate. That’s where they keep the more irrational Species who aren’t social.”

“You’re my mate.” His head lifted and he snarled at the males again but focused on the one with the strange eyes. “I don’t care who you lead. Not me. She’s mine!”

“Obsidian?” Justice remained eerily unruffled. “She’s your mate?”

“Yes.” He snarled, tried to intimate them by drawing closer, but only dragged Alli along the floor. He stopped since she wouldn’t let go and he didn’t want to cause her harm.

“We won’t take her from you.”

They were trying to confuse or deceive him. He glowered at the male in charge of the Species. “You want my guard down to steal her from me.”

“No.” The male shook his head. “We’d never separate a male from his mate. We have our own and know how much they mean to us. We just thought you two were sharing sex. She’s considered one of us, as your mate. We won’t allow her to be a doctor here but no one would ask her to leave our lands.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Fury verified. “Your mate stays at Homeland with you.”

“Leave!”

The males backed slowly to the door. Justice smiled but it was tense. “I’ll have someone bring the paperwork. We fill out forms—Allison can help you with them—to make her officially your mate. It’s that simple.”

“Moon will bring them,” Fury offered. “You trust him and he will explain our laws regarding mates. You don’t know us well or trust us yet but you will learn to.”

“Good idea,” Justice muttered. “Let’s go.”

“After you.” Fury opened the door and both of them fled, closing it after them.

It was difficult to release the anger that raged inside him over someone daring to take Alli from him. He looked down at her and noticed how pale her features had grown. She just gaped at him but her hug on his thigh had vastly loosened.

“I can’t believe you did that. They think I’m your mate.” Her voice rose. “They are bringing papers, Obsidian! You don’t know what that means but it’s binding.” She released him and fell back on her ass to sit on the carpet, still watching him as though he’d done something so shocking she couldn’t wrap her mind around it. “Legal. Forever.”

Alli wouldn’t lie to him. The papers must be real and so where the words the males had spoken. They wouldn’t take her away from him to be a doctor for the prison. He wouldn’t have to worry anymore.

“Good.” He inched away from her to stare in the direction of the kitchen. “I am hungry for food. You said you’d teach me how to cook.” He stared down at her and offered a hand to help her up. “Now is a good time.”

She didn’t take his help, unmoving except for blinking. Her little nose flared a few times as she breathed hard.

“Alli? I am ready to learn.”

“Do you understand what you just did? They are drawing up mate papers.”

“It means they can’t take you from me.”

“Mating is forever here, Obsidian.” She spoke low, her words slow. “As in ‘until we die’.”

“Good. Teach me to cook.” He faced her and offered his hand again.

She ignored it. “You will be stuck with me. You won’t be able to be with other women—females of your kind.”

“Good. I only want you.”

“For now. What about next month? Next year?”

“I won’t want another. Take my help to stand.” He bent and grabbed her hand, pulling but she refused to straighten her legs, instead just sliding a few inches along the floor. “I am hungry.”

“Obsidian!” She altered from shaken to irritated in an unsettling short span of time. “You have to tell them you changed your mind or just said that in the heat of the moment. I can’t be your mate. You don’t know what you want. You haven’t been free long enough to even leave Medical except to come to my house. That’s insane.”

“You’re mine.” He fought down his irritation. “I say this often. Do you understand?”

He didn’t wait for a response but bent, released her hand, and hooked her in his arms. She gasped when he lifted her against his chest and stalked into the kitchen. He half expected her to punch him but she just watched him warily. He paused by the long island in the center of the kitchen and deposited her there.