Chapter One
Raven
I’ve been on patrol in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana for three days. All I’ve seen so far are animals: two grizzlies, dozens of elk, wolves, coyotes, rabbits, foxes, and a few wild horses. If any Mesaarkans are hiding out here, I haven’t found them. Neither have my brethren cyborgs, just miles and miles of rugged wilderness.
After the raid on the Mesaarkan base a few months ago, I had hoped that we’d find more aliens to subdue. So far, all I’ve done is a lot of sky-riding. I’m starting to envy my friend Steele Nova, who found his genetic mate held captive at the Mesaarkan base.
The group that raided Gretchen had escaped from California. Once we scooped them up, life in Gretchen returned to mundane. Such was rural life in post-war America, still recovering from the alien attack 100 years ago.
When I first joined the team, they considered me a bit of a hotshot because I always strived to be better than they were. One of the cyborg shrinks suggested that might be because of an underlying fear that I would not be good enough. After I thought about it, I had to agree it was at least partly true, but I was always highly competitive. I not only wanted to be good enough; I wanted to be the best.
Maybe that’s why I was so frustrated that all the miles I put into these patrol sessions yielded no results. I rarely even saw people in need, so I did not have the opportunity to help anyone, which was the second part of our job.
Heading back to Gretchen for food and rest, my musings were interrupted by a message from the Cyborg Matching Project. They found my genetic mate. She lived in Eastern Wyoming just outside of Brislow, a small town, if you can call it that, near the Medicine Bow Mountain Range. Like many towns in Wyoming, it claimed only a few hundred residents.
The female, who was my mate, lived on a small ranch outside of town. Her name is Hannah Lawrence. I certainly didn’t expect that, but I knew it would shake up my life. I seriously doubted that she would want to move to Gretchen since she had a farm already. In the five years of my awakened life and 87 years of virtual life, I could only imagine how it would feel to get this news.
It almost felt like a punch in the gut. I had yearned to find my genetic mate, yet it was terrifying at the same time. What if she didn’t accept me? What if I couldn’t protect her?
On the positive side, she had voluntarily entered the Cyborgs Matching Project, which means that she wanted a cyborg mate.
The project would have notified my sergeant and Lieutenant Hawk so that they could make plans for my expected absence. I didn’t have to wonder what she looked like because they sent pictures of her along with the message that went directly into my onboard CPU. As soon as I saw her in my mind’s eye, I knew Hannah was the one. She was incredibly beautiful, with warm brown hair and dominant blue eyes. One picture made me feel like she was looking straight into my eyes and had discovered all the secrets of my soul.
I knew I had to go and find her as soon as possible because the service had lost contact with her. They could only notify her that they had located me. Something must have happened to the com tablet that she received when she applied for a cyborg mate because she never replied. But I had the coordinates of her ranch, so I would head there as soon as I could arrange for leave.
I wouldn’t make the same mistake that Steele Nova had made by waiting months to seek his genetic mate. By the time he found her, she had been a captive of the Mesaarkans for several months, and it wasn’t a pretty tale. The fact that they were unable to contact her had me quite concerned.
Sergeant Rowe was waiting for me when I returned to the barracks a couple of hours later. “Congratulations, Guardian Blackwood. I just received a message that your mate has been found, and so has Lieutenant Hawk. Hawk is giving you open-ended leave to seek her and establish a relationship,” he said, extending his hand to shake mine.
“Thank you, sir. There seems to be little information about the town of Brislow. The report from data collection stated that it is a small village, much like Gretchen, with only a few hundred residents. They had no formal law enforcement, so I may be able to continue my service there with approval from Cyborg Command.”
“That is a possibility,” said Rowe. “We’re not expecting you back. In fact, we have put in for your replacement. Once a cyborg finds his mate, she takes priority over your obligation to cyborg command. Taking care of her and her community is one of the most important duties you will have.”
“Yes, sir.” I needed no further explanation because I knew the mission of the Enclave was to build strong families. After all, strong families build cohesive communities.
The next day, I left for Brislow, about a three-hour trip from Gretchen. As I neared the coordinates of Hannah’s ranch, I decided to approach in stealth mode as a precaution. I’m glad I did because I discovered what looked like ten men intimidating two women in front of the ranch house.
I flew on past and landed quietly about half a mile away behind a stand of conifers. Climbing off my cycle, I engaged my nanite armor, donned my gun belt, and took out my ion rifle. I approached with practiced stealth and soon got close enough to hear what was going on.
“Your time is up, Hannah. If you can’t pay up, we will evict you today,” said a baritone male voice.
“Come on, Markus! You know damn well if we gave you the grain, we won’t have enough until harvest for our cattle,” said the female. “Can you take one of the steers instead? We don’t even have as much grain as you are asking for.”
“Mayor Jenkins doesn’t care. You either pay what you owe or pack up and leave.”
Markus stepped closer, but before he could respond, I stepped into view, leveling my ion rifle at the group.
“That’s close enough,” I said, my voice calm but stern enough to make the men freeze.
All ten turned to look at me, their eyes narrowing as they took in my armor and weapon. One of the thugs reached for his gun, but I shifted the rifle slightly, targeting his hand.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I added. “You’ll lose more than this little shakedown.”
Markus, the leader, squinted at me, his confidence faltering. “Who the hell are you?”
“Someone who you don’t want to mess with,” I replied. “You have two choices: leave now or find out just how bad I can make your day.”
They had no idea how easily I could have killed them all with a sweep of my ion rifle. Little did they know how tempted I was just to do it. But the odds were too high that Hannah would be traumatized.
Markus’s bravado wavered as he sized me up, glancing back at his men. One of them muttered, “That ain’t no regular man. Look at the armor. He’s one of them, cyborgs.”
The fear in his voice rippled through the group, and I saw their resolve start to crack. Markus tried to save face.
“This ain’t your fight,” he growled. “We’re here on official orders.”
“I don’t care whose orders you’re following,” I said, stepping closer. My nanites subtly shifted, enhancing the glow of my armor and amplifying my voice for effect. “You will not lay a finger on these women or their property.”
Markus hesitated, his hand twitching toward his holster. Before he could draw, I fired a warning shot at his feet. The blue ion bolt scorched the ground, sending a clear message.
“Next one won’t miss,” I said.
The men exchanged uneasy glances, and one finally broke, backing away. “This ain’t worth it, Markus. Let’s go.”
Markus glared at me, then at Hannah, before spitting on the ground. “This ain’t over,” he snarled. “You’ll regret crossing Mayor Jenkins.”
“No, he will regret crossing me if he continues this course,” I replied coldly.
With that, the men backed away and retreated, muttering curses under their breath. I waited until they mounted their horses and rode out of sight before lowering my weapon and turning to face the women.
Hannah stepped forward, her expression a mix of relief and curiosity. “You must be Raven,” she said, her voice steady despite the tension.
I nodded, retracting my helmet. “And you must be Hannah. Are you alright?” I couldn’t help staring at this beautiful woman who was to be my mate. I loved her already. The scientists programmed it into my genes.
She glanced at the other woman, who was visibly shaken but unharmed. “We’re fine, thanks to you.”
Hannah studied me for a moment, then offered a small smile. “Man, you are a sight for sore eyes. Thanks to that damn cow, I was afraid I would never get to meet you.”
I couldn’t help but smile, although I didn’t understand what she meant. “Not to worry, there’s nothing that could have kept me away.”
Chapter Two
Hannah
“You know who I am, but you never answered the notification that we matched,” Raven remarked.
“Well, my com tablet had a little accident. My milk cow got a little restless when I stopped to answer the call. She bumped into me while I was looking at your picture, knocked the tablet out of my hand, and stepped on it. There was nothing I could do, but I figured you might show up sooner or later.” I gave him a self-deprecating smile.
“I brought extra coms and came as soon as I was notified; I was worried that you might be in trouble.” Raven finished retracting his helmet and returned my smile. “Apparently, I was right. Exactly what did I just see?”
For several long seconds, we just stared at each other, perhaps a bit overwhelmed at meeting for the first time. His picture had barely done him justice, nor hadn’t prepared me for his breathtaking presence. He was a big man by any standards, head and shoulders taller than me. I wasn’t a tiny woman. The skintight armor covering his ripped, muscular body hid little of his physique. My body zinged with sexual awareness. I wanted him.
The quirk of his full lips and the heat in his gaze told me he knew it.
I shook my head and sighed, glancing at my sister-in-law. “That was Mayor Jenkins’s regular shakedown. He sends his goons around to all the ranches to rob us of whatever we have. They don’t care whether they’d take more than we can spare,” I explained. “We haven’t had enough to satisfy their demands in months. We’re just scraping by as it is. My sister-in-law, Grace, is pregnant, and my brother disappeared over a month ago. We’re pretty sure that Jenkins’s goons took him. Zach had the only weapon we owned with him. One gun against that crew, no matter how good a shot I am, isn’t going to stop them.”
Raven frowned as I said that, and I could see a hint of disapproval in his eyes. “Don’t even think about it. There’s no way you could stand up to all those thugs. I am trained for this, and even I will have to be cautious.”
“Well, aren’t you bossy?” I quipped with a smile because he sounded more protective than bossy. He was definitely impressive in person.
“I just don’t want to see you hurt. Then I might have to kill somebody.”
I could see he was deadly serious, but then he gave me a cocky smirk. From the way he was looking at me, I felt like he considered me his already. But I was warned about that by the cyborg Dagger’s wife after they had done my DNA scan. Cyborgs are possessive mates. I found that both intriguing and disturbing. In any case, I was glad he had arrived. We needed him. I needed him.
Raven took a step closer, his presence almost overwhelming. His nanite armor glinted in the sunlight as he scanned the area, his jaw tightening. “Hannah,” he said, his tone softening slightly, “you don’t have to deal with this alone anymore. I’m here now. And I’ll handle Jenkins and his thugs.”
I crossed my arms, lifting my chin. “Handle it how? If you’re planning to march into town and take him on single-handedly, you’ll only make yourself a bigger target. Jenkins has spies everywhere, and he won’t take kindly to someone interfering with his so-called ‘operations.’”
Raven smirked, his confidence practically radiating off him. “I’m not worried about Jenkins. He’s just another bully who thinks he can rule through fear. And I don’t scare easy.”
Grace, who had been silent until now, spoke up, her voice shaky but determined. “If you’re going after Jenkins, be careful. He’s not just a bully—he’s a monster. People who cross him disappear, like Zach.” Her hand instinctively moved to her growing belly. “We can’t afford to lose anyone else.”
Raven’s gaze softened as he looked at me. “I’ll do what needs to be done. But I promise you, no one else is going to disappear—not while I’m here.”
He turned back to me, his piercing blue eyes locking onto mine. “But before I make any moves, I need to understand what exactly we’re up against and learn the lay of the land. Can you show me around? I want to see how secure this place is and what resources you have.”
I hesitated, feeling a flicker of both relief and frustration. I was relieved because it was clear Raven knew what he was doing, but I was frustrated. After all, his take-charge attitude made me wonder if he saw us working as a team or simply expected me to follow orders.
“Fine,” I said, gesturing toward the barn. “I’ll show you the layout, but don’t expect miracles. This place is barely holding together as it is.”
As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice the way Raven moved gracefully and efficiently, like a predator assessing his surroundings. It was equally impressive and unsettling as a frisson of attraction rippled through my body. This gorgeous, lethal male was to be my mate. It was a lot to reconcile all at once.
“This isn’t just about the ranch,” I said as we stopped by the garden. “If you really want to help, you’ll need to think bigger. Jenkins has the entire town under his thumb. People are scared and desperate. They won’t fight back unless they know they have a chance—and a leader who can give them that.”
Raven paused, considering my words. “Are you saying you want me to lead a rebellion?”
“I’m saying you might be the only one who can.”
He turned to me, his expression serious. “Then I’ll need your help. You know these people, this land. We’ll need to work together to take Jenkins down.”
I studied him for a moment, weighing his words. He wasn’t just some cocky soldier playing hero. There was a depth to him, a sense of purpose that went beyond duty.
I began to believe that, with Raven’s help, we had a chance against Jenkins and his thugs. “All right,” I said finally.
Raven’s lips quirked into a half-smile. He was staring at me again, and it was making me feel self-conscious. Yet I could hardly take my eyes off him either.
Despite my nervousness, I thought it seemed he liked what he was seeing. I know I did. Finally, I said, “We should get started.” I started walking toward the barn.
As we started the tour, I gestured toward the barn. “This is where we keep the cattle and horses. It’s nothing fancy, but it does the job.”
Raven followed me inside, his sharp eyes scanning the structure. The scent of hay and animals filled the air, and a horse nickered softly from one of the stalls. He reached out, brushing his hand along the weathered wooden beams.
“Sturdy enough,” he said, his deep voice resonating in the quiet. “But it wouldn’t stand up to a siege. What about defenses? Do you have anything to fortify the perimeter?”
I shook my head. “We have barbed wire fencing, but it’s more for keeping livestock in than keeping people out. Most of what we rely on is sheer stubbornness and luck.”
He frowned, his expression thoughtful. “That’s going to change. I’ll set up some perimeter sensors and see if we can figure out how to reinforce the weak points.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure how we’re going to do that because most of our land is out in the open as we’re on a plateau.”
His gaze flicked to mine, and for a moment, something unspoken passed between us—an acknowledgment of the strange, undeniable connection that had brought him here.
“I want you to feel safe,” he said simply, his voice low. “That’s why I’m here.”
However, the heat in his glance told me it was more than that. It was crystal clear that there was a powerful attraction between us, and it excited me. Yet, I couldn’t shake my edginess in his presence.
I quickly turned my attention to the garden outside the barn. “This is where Grace and I spend most of our time. We grow enough to feed ourselves and trade a little extra when we can.”
Raven crouched beside one of the rows, running his fingers through the soil. “It’s good land. You’ve done well to keep it going.”
“Thanks,” I said, surprised by the sincerity in his tone.