Shaylee felt safe, truly safe, for the first time in her life. Wrylack had kept her by his side, and even though the other cyborgs eyed her in curiosity, none made a threatening move toward her. They seemed a little in awe that he’d managed to get a mate. There were comments about his freakish eyes, and there was mention of a mail-order bride. Had her mate intended to order a bride from somewhere? Shaylee looked up at her handsome cyborg and didn’t understand why everyone thought his unusual eyes were such a big deal. She thought they were rather amazing. They allowed him to see things others couldn’t and made him an even better healer.

Wrylack smiled down at her and squeezed her waist. He’d been touching her in one way or another since he’d brought her on board. She didn’t know if he was trying to keep her calm or letting the others know she was taken. It still amazed her that someone like Wrylack would want a woman like her. He was so kind and incredibly sweet. And the way he’d taken out those Meori on his own… She’d never seen something so brave before. It seemed to her that any woman would be lucky to have him as a mate. She didn’t know why he’d settled for a slave who had been ill-used for so many years. Her past seemed to make him angry, but he never looked at her as if he thought she was less for the things she’d endured.

Norkov studied her from across the room, his arms folded over his chest. Wrylack had introduced them and explained that Norkov would be the one searching for her children. He’d been staring at her for the last few minutes, though, his gaze scanning her from head to toe, and she was starting to feel nervous. Did he think she wasn’t good enough for Wrylack?

Wrylack noticed her unease and glared at his friend. “You’re scaring her.”

Norkov’s gaze slid to Wrylack. “Just making sure I remember what she looks like. There’s a chance her children may resemble her.”

“Try again,” Wrylack said. “You had every detail of her memorized the moment you met her.”

Norkov’s eyebrows rose. “Perhaps I just like the way she looks.”

“Get your own mate,” Wrylack muttered.

“The males who may still have your children, did they have other human slaves?” Norkov asked.

“Yes,” Shaylee said. “You’d be surprised how many human women I’ve seen in captivity since being captured all those years ago. Some don’t make it, couldn’t survive what their owners did to them. Others slowly go insane.”

“But you didn’t, which means there may be others who withstood everything they’ve been through and remained strong.” Norkov pushed away from the wall and approached her. “The males who owned you, if offered the right amount, would they part with any human females they have?”

Shaylee shrugged. “It’s possible. It’s not like they’re in love with them, so if you offered enough for them to replace those women, I don’t see why they would turn you down. Slavery is a business to them, and a way to slake their lusts whether sexual or otherwise. But why do you want them? I thought cyborgs didn’t own slaves.”

“We don’t,” Wrylack assured her.

“I thought of purchasing them and bringing them to Xpashta. You seem content being Wrylack’s mate. It stands to reason the others might be receptive to a cyborg mate as well.” Norkov studied her again. “Are all human females small and pretty like you and the ones already on our world? All three of you are so tiny.”

“Humans come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some are thinner than others, or taller… I’ve seen women on my world as tall as you. We have many races, so humans aren’t all one color. We also speak many languages,” Shaylee said.

“The two mates already on Xpashta speak your Earth English, but since you can understand us, you were fitted with a translator at some point,” Wrylack said. “I noticed the small implant behind your ear when I did my scan of you in the med bay that first time.”

“It was likely done so she would understand the orders given to her,” Norkov said with a grimace.

Shaylee didn’t care why it was done. She was thankful for the implant if it meant she could understand Wrylack. No one had ever been as kind to her as he had been. The moment she’d been given to him was the best in her entire life, even if she hadn’t realized it at the time. She only hoped any females Norkov tried to bring back to Xpashta would realize that he was going to help them. She hated that they might be afraid of the large cyborg.

“Are we near Xpashta?” she asked.

“We’re a few days from home,” Wrylack said. “I know this ship is smaller than the one the Meori had, but you’re free to wander. No one on board will bother you, even if they are extremely curious. You may get asked some questions, but they know you’re mine.”

“I’d rather stay with you, if that’s all right?”

Wrylack nodded and brushed a kiss against her lips. “I want you to be happy, Shaylee. If you’re happier when you’re with me, then stay by my side. I want you to enjoy your freedom.”

“Why are there only two other mates on your world?” she asked.

“Females are scared of cyborgs,” Norkov said. “The other two were found during a recent mission. Lathim rescued his mate from pirates, and Rorwick claimed a woman rescued from a life pod.”

Wrylack snorted. “Except Rorwick’s mate hasn’t been happy with her situation. She wishes to return to her world and has been very vocal about it. Anyone passing their house can hear her screaming at him. I don’t know why he wants to keep her.”

“Maybe she’s just scared,” Shaylee said. “If she had a good life on Earth, it must have been hard for her to lose her friends and family. And now she’s on a strange world with only one other human.”

Norkov nodded. “I supposed none of us have thought of it that way. Rorwick would give her a good life, if she’d allow him to. Hopefully I can find human females like you and Lathim’s mate. You both seem… quieter.”

“It’s easier to accept something new when what you’ve left behind is so horrible,” Shaylee said. “No one has ever treated me as well as Wrylack does. Perhaps Lathim’s mate feels the same about him.”

Norkov nodded.

“My Maggie loves me,” Lathim said as he strolled into the room, a big smile on his face.

“Do I need to remind you of her reaction when you got her pregnant against her wishes?” Wrylack asked.

Lathim’s cheeks flushed a dark purple. “I thought I was doing the right thing. She forgave me, and now she’s thrilled about the baby.”

“Thank you for leaving your mate and daughter in order to come find me,” Wrylack said. “I didn’t want to chance an escape with Shaylee’s life in the balance. They threatened to rape and kill her if I didn’t do as they said.”

Lathim’s gaze darkened. “I wish we could kill them all over again.”

“Anyone who threatens violence against a female should be taken out,” Norkov said.

Shaylee had never known men like these existed, and she only wished she had met them sooner. What if Wrylack had found her when she’d first been taken? They could have had so many good years together. He tipped her chin up and looked concerned as he gazed into her eyes.

“You’re sad,” he said.

“Only wishing I could have met you sooner.”

“You would have been so young then. You wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with me. You were still a child when you were taken.”

“Seriously?” Norkov asked incredulously. “They’re stealing children as slaves?”

“I was seventeen. Hardly a child,” Shaylee said. “In some places on my world, that’s old enough to get married and start a family.”

“Were all of the human slaves as young as you?” Norkov asked.

“Some were younger,” Shaylee said. “There was a girl who was barely fourteen. She was a favorite of one of my owners.”

Norkov looked sick, and as Shaylee looked around the room, she saw the others felt the same. She’d never met anyone like them before. Even the men she’d known on Earth had thought they could take what they wanted, regardless of how old she was.

“If there are young ones when you go,” Lathim said to Norkov, “bring them home anyway. They will grow and will eventually be old enough to mate with someone. Don’t leave them in that hellish situation. We’ll find a place for them to live, or assign them to someone.”

“Assign them to someone?” Shaylee asked. Maybe she’d been wrong. They were going to enslave them?

“A male who would watch over them and protect them. Nothing sexual would happen between them. My people would never harm a child,” Lathim said.

Shaylee nodded.

“We would give our lives to protect a female or child,” Norkov said.

“Enough talk of dark subjects,” Wrylack said. “My mate has suffered enough without thinking of those still in captivity. Do what you can to find her children.”

“I won’t stop until I find them,” Norkov said, then looked at Shaylee. “You have my word. If they’re still out there, I will bring them home to you.”

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“You should rest,” Wrylack said, leading her away from the others and back to their room. “I don’t want their words to upset you. They shouldn’t have had such a discussion in front of you.”

“It’s all right, Wrylack. I lived it. I know how bad slavery can be, especially for a woman or child. If I can tell them anything that could save someone else, I want to help. If Norkov really thinks he can free more women or save those girls, then it will be worth it.”

Wrylack caressed her cheek. “You have such a tender heart, even after everything you’ve suffered. If you wish to help them, you may. I don’t want to hold you back from anything, Shaylee, but I will protect you at all costs. If I think for one moment that anything you tell them could endanger you, I will remove you from the discussion immediately.”

“What could I possibly tell them that could put me in danger? I’m going to your world. I’m safe there, right?” Unless he’d lied.

He nodded. “I suppose you’re right. I just worry. I don’t want to lose you now that I’ve found you.”

Shaylee wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled close. “I’m not going anywhere. I like being with you, Wrylack.”

And she did. She loved being in his arms, loved his kiss and his touch. Being with him was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and perhaps because of that, part of her feared this new life would be ripped away from her.

“Not even if you were allowed to return to your world?” he asked.

Shaylee looked up at him. “Not even then. I’m happier with you than I’ve ever been in my life. You’ve given me something no one else ever did.”

“And what’s that?” he asked softly, his thumb lightly rubbing her cheek.

“Kindness. I could lose my heart so easily to you, Wrylack, and that should scare me. But it doesn’t.” Not in the strictest sense. Although, she did worry that he would never love her in return.

“Why doesn’t that frighten you?” he asked.

“Because I know that you will always keep me safe. Even my heart. If I give it to you, then I know you will treat it just as gently as you do me.” And he did treat her gently, as if she were spun glass. He was protective of her, and made her want things she shouldn’t. She knew that he would never harm her on purpose, but he could destroy her so easily without even trying, without meaning to.

“You saw me rip out a male’s heart with my bare hand. I worried that you would be scared of me after that.”

“I could never be scared of you, Wrylack. You saved me, in every way possible. I used to hope that I would meet someone like you, before I became so hardened and broken that I decided people like you didn’t exist.”

“You’re not broken.”

“Until I met you, I’d put up a wall around my heart. I’d tried so hard to make sure nothing would hurt me anymore. It only took one touch from you before that wall started to crumble.” What she didn’t say was how much that scared her. Yes, Wrylack was a gentle giant, and the cyborgs seemed different from the men she’d known in the past. But it was still hard to believe that things were really different for her now.

He hesitated only a moment before his lips brushed against hers. He kissed her softly, his arm banding around her waist to pull her tight against his body. She felt the thickness of his cock and knew he wanted her, and yet he took his time. The others had never been soft with her, had never cared if she enjoyed what happened between them. They’d found pleasure in her body while creating pain and humiliating her every chance they had. But not Wrylack. Her cyborg was tender and caring.

Tears slid down her cheeks, and he drew away. His brow furrowed as his fingers wiped the moisture away.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said.

“You didn’t. I’m crying because I’m happy.”

Wrylack didn’t look convinced. “Females cry when they are upset or in pain.”

“And sometimes we cry when we’re really, really happy. And you make me happy,” she said. And perhaps that was the worst part of all. She’d experienced true joy with him, and it terrified her that she could lose it, could lose him.

His thumb caressed her cheek. “You should rest. It’s been a difficult day.”

“Will you stay with me?” she asked softly.

He glanced at the bed that was much smaller than the one they’d shared previously, but nodded. Wrylack pulled her dress over her head and tossed it aside before removing his clothes. He nodded toward the bed.

“Lie down while I get cleaned up. I rinsed off in the med bay, but I want to make sure no blood remains on me.”

Shaylee crawled under the covers and pressed her back to the wall, leaving enough room for Wrylack to join her when he was finished. He left the bathroom door open, and she admired the hard lines of his body. When he stepped into the cleansing unit, he disappeared from her sight. She still didn’t quite understand what was between her and Wrylack. He wanted her, that was no secret, and he treated her really well. But she wondered if he’d ever be able to love her. She didn’t know anything about cyborgs, didn’t know if they were capable of such a thing as love.

Even if he couldn’t love her, she knew her life was far better since meeting him. He’d make her happy -- already did for that matter. And she knew that he would make a wonderful father. She hadn’t seen him interact with children, but anyone as kind as Wrylack would never be cruel to a child. He’d promised to treat her children as if they were his own, if they could be found. There was a pang in her heart as she thought of the babies she’d carried. Those who had been born and taken from her, and those who had never lived to draw breath.

Could she have a child with Wrylack? He’d said her body was still capable of bearing children, but what if she got pregnant and couldn’t carry to term? What if she had another miscarriage? Would Wrylack see her as defective? Would he come to resent the fact he’d claimed her?

He said he wanted her, that she was his. But she’d belonged to so many over the years, and they’d eventually tired of her. He seemed so different from the others, but what would she do if Wrylack ever tired of her? He said they didn’t own slaves on his world, but that didn’t mean he had to keep her. She didn’t think he’d ever be so cruel as to abandon her, but if her children were too much of a burden, if she couldn’t give him a child of his own, what would happen to her?

Wrylack returned and stared down at her, his expression concerned. He slid into bed and drew her into his arms, holding her against his chest. His hand smoothed down her hair, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Shaylee tried not to think of what could happen in the future, and reminded herself that Wrylack had saved her. Yes, she was afraid, terrified of the unknown even after all this time. But he was a good man, and he’d given her no reason to doubt him. Her past was best left where it belonged, and she’d try not to let it ruin her future.

“My sweet mate,” he murmured, his arms tightening around her. “We’ll be home soon, and you’ll be safe. Nothing will ever harm you again. I won’t let it.”

Shaylee breathed in his scent and closed her eyes. If Wrylack said he would protect her, then she would believe him. He’d killed for her. He’d asked someone to find her children so she would be happy. Despite what her past had taught her, she was going to have to believe in him. If he said she was safe, then she was.

Her words came back to her. She’d told him that she trusted him, that she knew he would never hurt her, even said she would give her heart to him. And then her past had scared her into thinking the worst about her mate. She felt horrible for letting those doubts creep in for even a moment, and vowed to never let it happen again. Wrylack was good to her, and was nothing like the men in her past.

She curled tighter against him, her hands pressed against his hot skin.

“What’s wrong?” Wrylack asked. “I can tell something is bothering you.”

“I’m being stupid. It’s nothing.”

He eased away enough to tip up her chin so she was forced to look at him. “If it’s something that has you worried, then it’s not nothing. You can tell me anything, Shaylee.”

She knew better than to voice the thoughts in her head, knew it would only bring trouble. But the look in his eyes said he wouldn’t relent until she told him something.

“I’m scared,” she admitted.

“The Meori are gone, and we’ll be home soon.”

“It’s not that.” She bit her lip, ashamed of her doubts. She couldn’t voice them, couldn’t see the look in his eyes when he heard the turn her thoughts had taken.

“Tell me,” he said. His words were soft, but she heard the demand, and years as a slave had taught her to obey, even if she knew there would be consequences. She only hoped she could pay the price without breaking.

“I’m scared of what will happen if you decide you don’t want me one day. That my children will be too much for you, or that I won’t be able to give you one of your own. I’m scared that I’m going to fall in love with you, and you’ll decide I’m too much trouble to keep around,” she confessed, the words falling from her lips. “That you’ll realize you can do so much better than someone like me. The way they’ve used me… I’m no better than garbage.”

He was still and silent. When she looked into his eyes, she saw the hurt there, the betrayal. Her heart shattered as she felt him withdraw, could feel him pulling away even if it wasn’t physical.

“You think I’m like the others, the other males who have laid claim to you,” he said. “That I will make my demands of your body and then throw you away. You think I wish to own you, to use you? You believe that I could ever degrade you the way they did?”

She bit back her sob as her tears flowed freely.

“Answer me,” he said.

“No, I… “ Shaylee reached up and cupped his cheek. Wrylack flinched but didn’t pull away. “I didn’t want to tell you because I knew it would hurt you, and I never wanted to do that. I’m trying, Wrylack, I’m trying to trust that my life is different now. But it’s hard. My past… I want to forget it, to move on. I want a new life, with you.”

He stared at her, his lips thinned, and he remained silent.

“The way you touched me, the way you kissed me. It gave me hope that things could be different, and I want that so much. But I’m afraid that when I least expect it, everything will come crashing down, and I’ll be left even more broken than before.” Her fingers caressed his cheek. “Because you have that much power over me. No one could ever destroy me the way you can, and I know you won’t mean to. You could never be cruel on purpose. You’re a good man, Wrylack, and I know that. But I don’t feel worthy of you. If you knew… “

She cried harder and withdrew her hand, curling in on herself as the memories assaulted her. All the faceless men, all those hands touching and inflicting pain. The degrading things she’d been forced to do. If he knew, he would never touch her. She’d told him a little, glossed over what had happened to her. But the worst of it she could never voice. No matter how many times she scrubbed herself, she’d never be clean. Not ever again. And she’d learned to live with it, had accepted her fate, until he’d come into her life. Now she wanted something she’d never have, something she didn’t deserve, and it was far worse than anything she’d been through.

Time passed and still she cried. Arms came around her, pulling her closer, and she stifled a gasp and looked up at him. Wrylack pulled her against his chest and tried to soothe her, even though she was the one who had inflicted pain. It had been her words that caused a rift between them, her words that had hurt him. And yet he held her, comforted her. It just made Shaylee cry harder and feel even worse. He was so good, so kind… and she was less than nothing. How could something ever work between them? How could he ever come to love someone like her?