MINE! [New World Book 8] by C.L. Scholey Read Free Book Online Page A

As it were, his strange shield tempered him. Huck warred with a vengeance, he was a Tonan warrior after all, but outright evil cruelty was hard to stomach when berated by emotions from his shield. The shield made him feel emotions he otherwise wouldn’t have, it was why he was receptive to a mate. Perhaps that, his age and the need to keep living. Except his female possessed way more emotion than Huck expected or experienced.
    The Tonan who raised him always watched him closely. His mother loved him and her mate. Neither was openly expressive toward one another in public, but Huck sensed the strange emotion. She knew Huck battled his emotions. His mother considered no open expression of too much love was easier on Huck because of who his biological father was. Both his parents assumed the emotions would be too confusing. No one could have known Tonans would kill females.
    For eight hundred years, he tried to follow in his stepfather’s footsteps. When all females died on his planet and others close by, his mother and stepfather died. Huck’s bio father came to him and told him he was a warrior to be proud of. Huck killed him; his shield didn’t bat an eye, so to speak.
    Too many years of fury manifested. Huck’s shield took care of him, but in the moments it took Huck to kill the warrior, Huck realized his shield had its own anger issues. The shield was meant for another, Huck should have been born to listen and cohabitate unconditionally with the shield. They were stuck with each other; they survived because of each other. Instead of being angry, Huck killed his father; the other Tonans laughed thinking he did it because he was as evil as his father. Huck killed him because he had lied to his mother and didn’t care if Huck died.
    He hadn’t thought about either his father or his mother in hundreds of years. When Becky enraged him, he grabbed her. His shield controlled his grip and settled his heartbeat. It also made him feel what she felt. For an instant Becky was afraid. Your mate should never fear you. Instantly, his shield sent a message to his secretions telling him what she needed. By calming her, he calmed.
    As she lay there, Huck realized if he mated her there might be a problem. The urge to war and kill every day was elusive with her in his care for such a short time. A warrior warred. Right at that very moment, he didn’t want to war. The idea startled and confused him. His shield mentally pushed him closer to the female. If he killed her, there would be no Cobra; there would be no hive or home. If he mated her, would he lose who and what he was or should be? Who was it that needed a mate? Him or the shield? Both?
    Becky rolled toward the edge of the mattress and in a mere moment he stopped her from falling off the bed. It didn’t take much to settle her back to the middle. The other human men mentioned she had nightmares. With his hand hovering over her midriff he took a breath. Lowering his hand, his fingers caressed the flat of her belly. She was dreaming. Huck knew if they were mated, he could go to her in her dreams. What he could do was calm her.
    Droplets of moisture dripped from his hand to roll down his finger. A small bead of sweat dotted her skin then slipped into her. She moaned and visibly relaxed. A red angry mark he hadn’t noticed on her arm caught his attention. More secretions seeped into her dulling the redness. If they were mated he could fix her, not just ease her suffering. Huck rose and went to the next room where he replicated a warm blanket. When he returned, he draped the blanket over her, tucking it around to keep her from rolling. When he left the room, he went to stand at the console. His thoughts were conflicted.
    I can’t mate her. I can’t have a home. There is too much of my father in me and Cobra will see.
    His shield didn’t agree. Huck hadn’t lied. He liked to kill; he was a warrior and killing was part of what every Tonan was, good or bad. The battle continued in