Grace Goodwin - The Colony Boxed Set 1

Maxim sighed, clearly impatient, but unwilling to argue with the warden. “What do we need to do?”

“Place her in the water and step back. I’ll transport you two first. Once the protocol is initiated, she will be just a few minutes behind.”

Ryston squeezed my hand and released me, albeit reluctantly. Maxim, too, seemed strangely upset at the idea of being separated from me, even for a short time.

For big, bad-ass aliens, they were acting like marshmallows. And I liked it. A lot.

Maxim kissed the top of my head before bending down and settling me in the water, clothes and all. The water was warm, like a nice hot bath, and I immediately began to feel lethargic, sleepy.

Processed for transport? What the hell did that even mean?

I turned my head to look at Warden Egara. She looked strange as the blue lights surrounding the water cast odd shadows. I tried to ask about the lights, but my questions were already fading from my mind, as if they no longer mattered. Nothing mattered. I felt like I was in a dream. An amazing, comfortable, wonderful dream. The warden gave a little wave and swiped her finger over the table. “Good luck, Rachel. Your new life will begin in three…two…one…”

I tried to stay awake, but the bright blue light surrounded us and my head was suddenly too heavy to hold up.

The wall made a soft scraping noise as large panels shifted, closing us in like rats in a cage. For a split second, all I could think about was the scientific reality of transport, of my body being torn into billions of chunks of data and somehow streamed hundreds of billions of miles away, across the universe, to some strange planet I’d never seen.

Assuming all of those billions of tiny pieces of me were reassembled in one piece, I’d still never see Earth again. I’d never again put on my white lab coat or drive my car. Or smell a rose. Or watch snow fall in the mountains. Or hold a puppy. Stupid things. Little things. But losing them all together, in one big clump, hurt.

I wasn’t ready for this. If I’d volunteered for the Brides Program, or planned to accept a match, I could have figured all this shit out before I had to give it up. In the rush, I felt like something was being stolen from me. Like the millions of little things that made me who I was were being taken away. And I had no choice.

Yes, I had two hunky aliens who vowed to protect me, but somehow, I wasn’t quite sure that was going to be enough. The thought of never sleeping in my own bed again had tears streaming from the corners of my eyes. Stupid, but there you go. I couldn’t get them to stop.

A little whimper escaped before I could control myself, but Maxim’s voice found its way inside me, calming me.

“You are mine, Rachel. I won’t allow any harm to come to you.”

The vow sank into my head and heart as I felt the vehemence of the words flow through Maxim’s body. He meant what he said.

He was mine. All mine. This giant, powerful, fierce warrior was devoted to me and only me. Like, die-for-me devotion.

It wasn’t a new life, but it was a start.

And damn it that didn’t make it a little too easy to trust him and surrender to the darkness that rose to take me.

Rachel

Head spinning, I woke lying in some kind of medical station. The room was sparse, to say the least. My mates stood beside me, one at each shoulder as a third Prillon wearing a dark green uniform stood near my feet.

I blinked and my mates leaned down. “Am I on Earth?”

I knew the answer, but it was almost too unreal to assume otherwise.

“No, you are on The Colony,” Maxim said, tucking something around me. “Your processing was successful and we transported directly to the medical unit so the doctor can ensure you are well. Two transports in one day can be taxing, and you are so small and fragile.”

Small? Fragile? I was above average in every way, height, weight, cup-size and attitude, and I’d worked fourteen hours a day, every day, for the last four years. I’d worked two jobs through grad school. Just because I didn’t want to be murdered in jail didn’t mean I was fragile. Or weak.

I looked down, noticing the soft gray blanket. I was naked beneath as I could feel the chill of the exam table. The idea of being bare while they were clothed held appeal, but not like this. Not with the stern doctor. This wasn’t hot at all.

“Yes. I will assess her now and ensure that the biological regulatory implants are functioning properly.”

The doctor was Prillon as well, his coloring a shade between Maxim and Ryston. I was recognizing their physical traits, their size. Their dominating personalities. That was all fine and good with my mates. I could sense their emotions. I could forgive them being a bit bossy and overbearing when I felt the desire and longing that accompanied their words and actions. But the doctor? No.

Pushing up first on my elbows, then up to a sitting position, I took in the doctor as I wrapped the blanket around my back. Seeing my struggle, Ryston assisted in covering me, his gaze flicking once to the doctor. He wore a dark green uniform, more like scrubs than armor. His coloring was golden, more like Ryston than Maxim, but darker. Like honey mixed with a dash of cinnamon. I couldn’t see all of his body, but his left hand was strangely silver, just like Ryston’s temple. That was the only thing I could see that was cyborg. Maybe he had more under that shirt, but I didn’t care to see it. The only aliens I was interested in seeing naked were mine.

The doctor held a strange instrument in each of his hands, lifted one and waved it before me. Lights glowed on the cylindrical tube and he studied them.

“What does your magic wand do, doctor? Can it detect vascular changes, blood oxygen levels? Just the usual vitals?” I asked. “Of course, I don’t know what you guys consider vital.”

He arched one brow.

“This tool analyzes everything from your capillary refill to your kidney function. If there is an abnormality, it will inform me. Then I will perform secondary testing.”

A reasonable answer. As he continued to wave that stick around, Maxim and Ryston eyed me as if I might either leap off the table and run away or possibly implode from transport. I could sense their worry, but didn’t understand the cause. Was I missing something? I looked down at myself. What had been part of the transport processing? What about me had to be modified to live on The Colony? To be a Prillon bride? Lifting my hand to my face, I felt to see if I had a metal implant in my eye.

“Are you hurt?” Maxim asked. The doctor lifted the wand to my face.

I shook my head. “No. I just wondered…wondered what had been done to me before transport. Did I get some silver stuff, too?”

“No. Absolutely not. No Hive implant will ever taint your perfect flesh. I assure you. We will keep you safe from the Hive, from any harm that may come to you.”

The doctor cleared his throat. “Greetings. I am Doctor Surnen.”

“Doctor.” It wasn’t, perhaps, what I was supposed to say, but sitting there naked with three aliens was making me a bit edgy.

The doctor continued with his weird scanning thing as he spoke. “A typical Prillon bride receives body regulatory implants and a full health assessment prior to arrival.”

“Body regulatory implants?” What. The. Hell.

Doctor Surnen turned a slightly darker shade of gold and I wondered if he was blushing? Seriously? Had he never seen a girl before? What, exactly, had they done to me before I woke?