A month had passed and while Mishka grew more confident every day, Wrylack knew that his mate was still worried about her other child. Norkov had left two weeks ago to find the Vrotu and ask him directly about the child, as no amount of digging had produced any results. The commanders had given him access to enough funds to purchase the child if necessary, assuming the Vrotu even still had the baby. Wrylack hadn’t mentioned the trip to Shaylee in case things didn’t end well. The other cyborg was due back any time, and Wrylack hoped it was with good news.

He stood in front of the glass doors that looked out over the back of the house. A courtyard, Shaylee had called it. His mate had asked for a bench to be added to the space, and Wrylack had provided one for her. In addition, Maggie had helped set up some planters with various flowers along one wall so there was a splash of color out there. Shaylee took Mishka out back every day and let her run around in the fresh air for a while, carrying out a handful of toys with them.

Something made Wrylack turn from the touching scene in front of him and go to the front door. He pulled it open and saw two commanders on his doorstep. Norkov stood behind them, a resigned expression on his face. The males stared at him and Wrylack stepped back, allowing them entry into his home. If Norkov had returned without the child, the news couldn’t be good. He hoped Shaylee remained outside until he’d heard what they had to say.

“Your trip went well?” Wrylack asked Norkov.

“I found some disturbing things while I was there,” the cyborg said. “You’re certain Shaylee said he was the least brutal of her owners? The male was clearly unstable.”

“She said he wasn’t exactly kind, but he didn’t pass her around.”

Norkov shook his head. “I won’t tell you the things I witnessed while I was there. You’d never sleep again.”

“And the baby?” Wrylack asked.

“The Vrotu’s mate claim it died within minutes of being born,” Norkov said.

“Mate? He’s mated and keeps slaves?” Wrylack asked.

“She’s Perigen and can only mate once per month, is only fertile once per year, so she allows him to keep one slave… as long as no children are born between them. And Shaylee had a child,” Norkov said.

“So she was sold because of that,” Wrylack surmised.

“The mate forced the Vrotu to get rid of her, but even though I have no doubt he abused Shaylee, I think in some twisted sense he cared for her. You should have seen his face when I mentioned her,” Norkov said.

“So the child is dead,” Wrylack said.

The commanders looked at one another. Then Warver focused on him. “The child is in medical. We thought you should be the one to run any necessary tests.”

“Why would tests be necessary?” Wrylack asked, a feeling of unease settling in the pit of his stomach.

“The Vrotu kept the child hidden from his mate. He made sure the baby ate, and it had clothing. I suppose he took care of it the best he could under the circumstances,” Norkov said. “But there’s something not right. A Vrotu-human pairing shouldn’t have produced a child that looks like this one. We need to know what the baby’s genetics are before you bring it home to your mate.”

“Why do you keep saying it and baby?” Wrylack asked. “Is it a female or male?”

“We don’t know,” Kiril said.

Wrylack stared at them. “You don’t know? Has it been so long since you’ve been with a female you’ve forgotten the differences between us?”

Kiril snorted. “No. The baby won’t let anyone near it.”

Wrylack opened his mouth to question them, and then decided to just go see for himself. They left and walked to medical on the other side of the facility. All was quiet when they entered the room, and Liroz was staring intently at a bundle on the table. It lay still, and Wrylack didn’t understand what they meant when they said the baby wouldn’t let anyone near it. How could a swaddled baby keep full-grown cyborgs at bay?

“Show him,” Kiril demanded.

Liroz winced and slowly approached the child. When he was within arm’s reach, the cyborg grabbed his head as if in severe pain and dropped to his knees. Wrylack stared in shock and looked from his fellow medic to the child on the table. Approaching, he paused partway across the room. How had they managed to rescue a child who had that kind of power?

“Does the baby have a name?” Wrylack asked.

“Lycon,” Norkov answered.

Wrylack watched the baby, unable to see so much as a hint of what lay under the blankets. The name sounded male to him, but what did he know?

“Lycon, my name is Wrylack. I’m mated to your mother, Shaylee. Do you remember your mother?”

He felt ridiculous talking to a baby who couldn’t be more than a year old, but if he was part Vrotu, then he would understand. Perhaps that’s how the baby had been rescued? Had they reasoned with the child? The blankets shifted, and a small head poked out. The first thing he noticed was the silvery hair and the pale icy blue skin. A set of violet eyes peered over at him as the baby sat up completely.

No, this child wasn’t just a mix of human and Vrotu. There was definitely something else in there. The silvery hair came from the Vrotu genes, and the baby’s sense of knowing. The eyes came from Shaylee. But that ice-blue skin… and the ability to cripple a full-grown male with some sort of psychic ability. There was only one race like that, and Wrylack could hardly believe what he was seeing. The Kristos were supposed to be extinct, and yet this child clearly had Kristos genes.

“Lycon, I need to make sure you’re healthy, and then I’ll take you to your mother. Some of the tests might hurt a little, but I would never willingly cause you pain,” Wrylack reasoned with the child who had the power to knock him on his ass.

The baby stared at him, and Wrylack took that as a sign of acceptance. He retrieved a needle and a few vials so he could take blood samples. Getting the painful part out of the way first, he kept a steady eye on the child. Lycon merely watched him. When he’d gathered the samples he needed, he handed them to Liroz and then scanned the child.

“He’s perfectly healthy,” Wrylack said. He looked over at Liroz who was testing the blood samples. “Anything?”

“It’s fascinating, and I don’t understand it at all,” Liroz said. “He’s not just a mix of Vrotu and human. There’s Kristos in there, which shouldn’t be remotely possible, and even some Keshpan.”

“Shaylee is just a human,” Wrylack said. “Are you certain the father is Vrotu?”

“He looked Vrotu,” Norkov said.

Wrylack reached for the child, hesitating only a moment, before lifting the baby boy into his arms. The child was an anomaly, and something of a miracle. But Wrylack didn’t understand how this baby’s genetic makeup was even possible. Lycon reached a chubby hand toward Wrylack’s face and placed his palm against Wrylack’s forehead. Images burst into his mind that left him reeling.

“How do you know that?” Wrylack asked the child.

Lycon gave him a grin with two teeth showing and then more images burst into his mind.

“What’s going on, Wrylack?” Warver asked.

“I need to talk to Shaylee before I discuss it with anyone else,” Wrylack said. “I’m going to take my son home. Please have his belongings delivered.”

The commanders stepped aside as Wrylack carried Lycon back to his home, and his waiting family. During the mental link with the Wrylac, Lycon had seen images of his mother and sister, and now the child seemed to buzz with excitement. The moment Wrylack stepped through the door, Shaylee and Mishka came toward him. Shaylee’s gaze was fastened on the child in his arms.

The baby reached for her, and Shaylee cuddled him close.

“His name is Lycon,” Wrylack said. “And he’s different from what we expected.”

Lycon placed his hand on Shaylee’s temple, and she gasped, her eyes going wide. Wrylack didn’t know what the child was showing his mother. He gathered Mishka in his arms, and they waited until the mental link was broken.

“I don’t understand,” Shaylee said softly. “How is that even possible? Kinlor was Vrotu. I saw plenty of them while he owned me, and he looked just like them.”

“It seems he’s hiding something from his people. Without testing Kinlor’s blood, I can’t say for certain, but it seems he’s a hybrid of three races. During my medical studies, I was required to study many races. The Vrotu were one of them. Their females are… unique. Their bodies are designed to take more than one male at a time. If I had to guess, Kinlor’s mother was Vrotu, and he has two fathers. A Kristos and a Keshpan. I know such a thing isn’t common on your Earth, but there are races where such a thing is possible.”

Shaylee stared at the child in her arms. “And my baby looks different because of those genetics?”

“Yes. I tested Lycon’s blood. It shows a mix of human, Vrotu, Keshpan, and Kristos DNA. He shouldn’t exist, but he does.”

“Why shouldn’t he exist?” Shaylee asked. “If Kinlor’s mother had two mates, then it seems logical to me.”

“Kristos are thought to be extinct. No one has seen them in several of your Earth centuries. Their race was supposedly wiped out because of their abilities. People feared them.” Wrylack came closer and smoothed his hand over Lycon’s silvery hair. “He’ll need to remain on Xpashta until he’s old enough to seek a mate. There are those out there who would hurt him, want him dead just because he exists.”

“How did you get Lycon?” Shaylee asked. “Kinlor wouldn’t have just handed him over, not if it would expose who he really is. If he’s kept that part of himself hidden all this time, he wouldn’t risk it now.”

Lycon snuggled against her shoulder and grabbed a handful of her hair. Wrylack wouldn’t tell her the other images the baby had shared with him. Not in detail. Shaylee had had enough violence in her life and didn’t need more. She especially didn’t need to know what the baby was capable of, not just yet. The feelings Lycon had shared through the mental link assured Wrylack that his family was safe with the child. Anyone the boy deemed a threat was another matter. His psychic abilities were stronger than anything Wrylack had witnessed before, and a little frightening.

He felt Warver linking with him.

The child poses a problem, Warver said.

He’s my son. Shaylee’s son. If you didn’t intend him to live with us, you wouldn’t have brought him here.

Norkov told me what happened. Your son psychically killed his own flesh and blood, making his head explode, when the male refused to let Norkov take Lycon. What happens when your mate tells him he can’t have something? Warver asked.

The male brought up a good point, but he didn’t think Lycon would ever harm his mother. The link he’d shared with her had not only projected images into her mind, but if he had the abilities Wrylack believed he possessed, then he’d been able to read her memories. The boy knew what his mother had been through, even if he didn’t quite understand everything. Or maybe he did. The way the boy looked at Wrylack made him seem ancient. There was something in his eyes that spoke of a being far older than any Wrylack had met, and yet the child was only a year old. He didn’t understand it. But after what he’d witnessed in medical, he had no doubt the boy understood far more than he should. As long as he understood he was safe here, that no one on this world was a threat to him, then everything should be fine.

I don’t think he would ever harm Shaylee, Wrylack said.

If he kills anyone on Xpashta, you know what will need to be done, Warver said. He may look like a baby, but he’s not. He’s something more, something dangerous.

Shaylee gave him a worried look. “What’s wrong?”

“The commanders are worried,” he said, his gaze going to Lycon. “Our son is rather powerful, and they are concerned about the safety of those on Xpashta.”

The baby lifted his head and looked at Wrylack, reaching for him. Wrylack didn’t hesitate to pull the child into his arms. Despite what the commander said, Lycon was a baby, his mate’s son and therefore his son. The child needed love and encouragement, just as Mishka had, not fear.

Lycon placed his hand against Wrylack’s head again, and a sense of calm infused him. Images played in his mind, an older Lycon and Mishka, and other children who looked like a mix of Wrylack and Shaylee. A happy family. More images spilled into his mind, Lycon much older and ready to become a warrior, telling his family goodbye before boarding a ship. Through Lycon’s gaze, Wrylack saw his family as they would be in years to come. Mishka with one of the younger cyborgs by her side and baby in her arms. Three other children at various ages, and an older Wrylack and Shaylee.

“You see all of that?” Wrylack asked the boy as Lycon removed his hand.

Lycon grinned at him, showing those two teeth again.

“What did you see?” Shaylee asked.

“Our future.” Wrylack smiled at her. “And let me just say that in twenty years or so, you are every bit as beautiful as you are now.”

Her cheeks flushed. “He can really see the future?”

Wrylack nodded. “It’s his Kristos genetics.”

“And what else did this future show?” she asked, reaching for her son again.

“That our family will be truly blessed, not only by these two, but our other children as well. We’re going to have a long, happy life together, Shaylee.” He looked at Lycon, now sleeping against her shoulder. “The commanders and other cyborgs will learn in time they have nothing to fear from our son. He’s going to grow up to be a strong male, a good warrior, and I have no doubt he will be an asset to our people.”

Mishka rubbed her eyes, and Wrylack picked her up. “What do you think of your baby brother?”

Mishka reached for the boy, her fingers softly stroking his arm, then she grinned at Wrylack. They carried the children into Mishka’s room and laid them both in the bed for a nap. Mishka curled protectively around her baby brother, and Lycon snuggled against her. Wrylack paused in the doorway, just watching his children for a moment. It hardly seemed possible that he, a cyborg thought least likely to find a mate, would have a woman as delectable as his Shaylee, and would one day have a large family.

Shaylee pulled him away from the children’s room and dragged him into their bedroom. She cupped his cheek and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before wrapping her arms around his waist. Wrylack held her, stroking her long hair, and feeling her heartbeat’s steady thump against him.

“You are my everything, Shaylee. The day the Meori gave you to me was the best in my life. You’ve brought two wonderful children with you, unique in their own way, and the gift of a child we’ve created together.”

She smiled up at him. “I love you, Wrylack. And I love that you’ve accepted my children as your own, despite how they were conceived. There’s not another male out there with as much heart, as much compassion, as you have. The day you entered my life my entire world changed for the better.”

His hands framed her face as he kissed her slowly, softly. He didn’t want to just tell her with words that he loved her, adored her. He wanted to show her what she meant to him. And as their children slept peacefully in the next room, he worshipped every inch of her body, taking his time and giving her so much pleasure she was soon begging him for his cock.

Wrylack joined their bodies together, his lips tasting hers. “My mate. My love.”

“My gentle cyborg,” she said softly, her hand going to his cheek.

Their gazes held as he made love to her gently. In her eyes, he saw such passion, such love, that it made his heart nearly burst from the emotional connection they shared. Wrylack knew that no matter how many times he drove his cock into Shaylee, no matter how many times they kissed, touched, or just held each other all night… he would always crave more. She was the light in his world, the air he breathed, and every beat of his heart was now dedicated to her and their children.

And he couldn’t have been happier.