Kira, Classroom 731-D, Coalition Academy, Zioria

“—and so the need to have two teams infiltrate from opposite flanks simultaneously can limit casualties, confuse the Hive and allow for a remote transport point to be set up on the far side.”

I pointed to a vid display that took up the wall of the classroom, the graphics that were shown moved to match my words. The combination of audio and visual learning was backed up with afternoon practical scenarios on the tactical training outdoor simulator. That would take place after lunch.

While I’d missed the first lecture this morning and another instructor had filled in for me, my team was ready to test their knowledge. It wasn’t the same as the off-site training, not as intense or terrifying as the deep cave battle sims we ran on The Colony, but these worked. Got their feet wet. Many of the cadets would fail this afternoon, but they’d be able to work with their teammates and run the simulations over and over again in their free time until their teams successfully survived the simulated op.

Since it was the first day of this practical, I only expected a few to succeed. The cadets had learned that the first day meant—typically—failing, which was a lesson in itself. Battle never went as planned. I’d learned that the hard way, and been painfully reminded of that fact on Battleship Karter just a few hours ago.

The reason I’d been on that mission was to act as a signal boost for Commander Phan, to help take down another Hive mine network. And I’d failed. My cranial implant had not synched with Chloe’s. We’d both been flying blind out there in our space suits, praying for a breakthrough when all we could see before us was black space. We knew the mines were there. We just couldn’t find them.

And so I was tired. My eyes were dry, almost gritty feeling, as if I’d been in a desert instead of on a battleship. My body was weary, all but begging me to sleep. I’d gone to my quarters, showered and changed into my instructor’s uniform—my I.C. garb was a dirty, torn pile on the floor of my quarters. I’d looked at my bed, then the time, and skipped my bed for the second half of the morning curriculum.

The Vice Admiral was adamant that our missions not disturb the classroom schedule any more than necessary. And if that meant going to work feeling like I’d been run over by a tank…well, that was part of the job. No one could know just how many I.C. operatives were on Zioria. The Academy the perfect cover. As long as none of us messed it up.

People noticed I missed a class now and then—they’d have to be blind, and idiots, not to—but working for the I.C. required my disappearance at random times, top secret clearance and an ability to live a double life.

Right now, I was on perma-loan to Commander Phan’s squadron stationed on Battleship Karter. But that might be a thing of the past.

They’d want Warlord Anghar now. I hoped they would keep me in the loop, let me try to help because I really, really wanted an excuse to see him again, and I didn’t want to have to wait until the end of the next student quarter when we took the next graduation class there for battle sims.

That was months away. And judging by the obsessive nature of my thoughts, and the almost debilitating desire I had to curl into a ball next to him in bed and beg him to hold me as I slept, that was too long. Way too long.

I answered student questions and ignored the way my body ached, and it wasn’t just from the mission. That had been nothing. No, this ache was from the wild night with Angh. God, that had been…hot. Insane. Amazing. Melody had been right; I’d needed to get laid. And now that I’d had a hot Atlan and his beast, I was pretty much ruined for any other male. In. The. Universe.

He’d practically frazzled my brain cells with the orgasms. The guy was good. The sex, intense. He’d called me mate, put his Atlan cuffs on. He’d spouted almost-romance and I’d been too drugged up on endorphins and all the other chemicals released in my body from orgasm overload to process everything he was saying. No, not overload. That would mean what he’d done to me was enough. More than enough.

I could never come too much where that smoking hot Atlan was concerned. I wondered if he’d be around on my next trip to Battlegroup Karter. Maybe I could talk the Vice Admiral into some time off, and Angh into a repeat performance. Fun for both of us, two consenting adults having wild monkey sex. All. Night. Long.

My pussy clenched with heat at the very idea. I would check the training calendar as soon as class got out and make sure my name was on the instructor roster for the next Colony run as well. If I had to wait months, then I had to wait. But at least I had a guaranteed way to see him again. Normally, we instructors did our best to avoid traveling to The Colony, trading favors and committing everything up to and including bribery to avoid the three days of dark cave training. But now? If I knew that beast was waiting for me, I’d volunteer every damn time.

But that was crazy thinking. It had just been one night. One night to pull out my wild side, let my inhibitions drop to the floor beside my clothes and let a beast take control. It had been hot and crazy and totally wild. But it was just one night.

The Earth saying, ‘That guy was a beast in the bedroom,’ really was the truth. I’d just had to travel a galaxy away to prove it. I doubted any of my Earth friends would believe me, besides Melody. She’d been giving me looks all morning from her desk. I knew I’d have to spill all the steamy details after-hours. If I could stay awake that long. I needed a ReGen wand for my pussy…and my brain.

I cleared my throat. “Any more questions?” I asked, trying to keep my mind on the topic, not how big an Atlan’s cock was in beast mode.

Gah! Focus.

The room reminded me of a typical college classroom on Earth. Movie theater style, with each row being tiered up so the vid wall—okay, not part of an Earth college classroom—could be seen from their desks. Windows overlooking the outdoor simulation area were along one side, and the Academy hallway on the other, but the windows were tinted dark for the lecture. No one could see in or out.

The theater seating also reminded me of the fighting pit on The Colony, although that had been in a semi-circle, almost gladiator style. I remembered the movie about the gladiator, the one with the hot movie star…Australian, maybe? I’d thought he’d been gorgeous, all ripped muscles and male intensity. But Angh had him beat. He was bigger, badder and the testosterone that Atlan oozed had ruined my panties.

Even now, hours later, my nipples got hard just thinking about him. And as for wet panties, mine were still ruined. Every time I thought about Angh, which was about every other minute, my panties got another dose of lust. If it weren’t for the birth control shot I took, I’d be in a panic right now, not just under-slept and over-sexed.

A cadet from Viken called out. “Instructor Dahl, how will those who set up the transport area be able to go ahead?”

I walked to the right side of the vid wall, pressed a button on the remote I held. The simulation started at the beginning and I began to explain how the transport group would be coming in behind the two teams to capture the enemy base and set up a transport zone. That would be a mine team, and the job in a real battle was both risky and dangerous. I paused the display at the spot I was looking for to answer his question, walked so I could point right at a specific spot.

“There. We’ll take high ground. That’s the vantage point we need to take out their rear guard and—”

A huge bang startled everyone. I stopped talking, heads swiveled to the classroom door.

Another loud banging sounded from the closed door, as if someone wasn’t just knocking, but pounding. I didn’t have a weapon, neither did any of the cadets. Weapons were for the outdoor training simulator or the other building where classes on that topic were held. The building alarm was silent. The comms unit on my wrist had no alerts—and I’d had them come through in the past for random emergency drills—and they had woken me from a sound sleep. This was something else.

I walked toward the door, watched the knob rattle. I held up my hand as some cadets stood, ready to do…something. We didn’t even know what the threat was yet.

I pressed the button on the remote, the windows going transparent, the room brightening. If there was a threat, I wanted to be able to see it.

The door opened—this wasn’t a sliding door like on a spacecraft, but a door just like they had on Earth. With the sound of rending metal, the door was ripped from the hinges. I didn’t even get a chance to step close because in stormed Angh, holding the door in his hand. He still gripped the knob, the metal bent, the hinges shredded as if made of tin foil.

I sucked in a breath as his gaze roved over the room for a brief second then landed on me. He was breathing hard, as if he’d been in a fighting pit. I recognized he was partially transformed into beast mode, huge, but not enormous. His hair was wild, his uniform pristine. The cuffs glinted. Not just the ones about his wrists, but the ones he’d laid on my bare chest the other night, the ones he’d wanted for me. They hung from his belt like bells, clanging together in my ears. The slight tinkling music was, for me, loud as cannon fire.

He said nothing, but he didn’t have to. He was here for me.

Holy shit.

My lady parts perked up at his presence, although I was too tired to go another round. Knowing how Angh liked to fuck, I needed more than a nap. I needed to eat my Wheaties first.

He was more attractive than I remembered. Bigger. More powerful. More intense. My heart rate kicked up, my palms were damp. Other places were damp as well. My body knew him and wanted him. I wanted to jump into his arms and have him spin us about so I was pressed against the wall again. Crazy thoughts for a crazy situation.

I vaguely noticed a man following him, but when he slapped his hand on Angh’s shoulder, I couldn’t miss him. He was human. Dark skinned, dark hair, dark uniform. Everything on him was dark. Like a six-foot tall chocolate mocha.

“Dude, you could have just opened the door.” He shook his head and if he didn’t have silver, Hive integrated eyes, he probably would have rolled them.

Dude? I hadn’t heard that expression since Earth. Angh’s sidekick was human. African-American, based on the accent. And from the South. I looked at him. “You from the South?”

“Atlanta, Georgia.” He bowed low and Melody stepped forward.

“I’m from Berlin. Germany.” Her voice was a bit higher than normal and I turned my head to narrow my eyes at her in warning. She ignored me, of course, and kept talking. “I saw you. On The Colony. I didn’t know they had any humans there. Except the mates of course.” She flipped her hair and smiled. A really big, come and get me, smile. I so did not need this right now. One set of female hormones getting us in trouble was enough.

And I was in deep fucking trouble if the Atlan with the heaving chest was any indication.

Angh just stared and breathed. Hard.

The human gripped the door by the side and tugged. Angh finally let it go and I was shocked when the much smaller human man took the door like it weighed nothing more than a piece of driftwood and tossed it into the hallway.

“Do you want me to notify security?” a male cadet asked, although I didn’t turn my head to see who it was.

I shook my head. “Yes, although not because there is a threat. Notify them that everything is fine. I’m sure the door alarm was triggered.”

“But—”

“Stand down, Cadet,” I replied in the voice I usually used outdoors in the training simulator.

The whispering began then. The murmurs. This was going to be talked about. Forever.