“And Vow as your son.” She reminded him. They were a package deal.

  “And Vow as my son.” Her friend bent down and pressed his lips against her forehead. “Think about it, Zebrina, and give me your answer before the last transport leaves.”

  He turned and walked away from her. She watched him go. When he was out of sight, she rubbed her fingers over her forehead, her thoughts on that kiss, on the future.

  If it was merely about herself, about what she wanted, what she needed, she would stay on Waaban Two, wait for Stealth forever if she had to. He was her male, would always be her one and only love. No one could replace him.

  She wasn’t alone, however. Vow would benefit from having a father. He craved the social acceptance Odoon was offering them.

  His son hadn’t found that on Waaban Two. She hadn’t either.

  The Ahkians on the voyage to the planet had been so hostile Odoon had to isolate her in a chamber for her protection. He’d recommended she purchase the domicile at the edge of their community, had situated his domicile between hers and the others. His kind wouldn’t speak to her, associate with her.

  Vow’s birth had strained matters more. Although he didn’t have a model number like his father, the Ahkians soon realized he was a cyborg. He had physically matured within a solar cycle, was stronger, faster, taller than any human.

  When confronted, she had explained who his father was. She wasn’t ashamed of that fact. Stealth was a wonderful being. They would see that for themselves when he returned.

  If they remained on the planet.

  They would soon leave and Odoon would go with them. She and Vow would be alone, cut off from everyone. There was chatter of Palavian raiding parties in the area. There would be no one to help them if there was an accident or she became ill or there was a drought or fire or some other disaster.

  She might be endangering her son by waiting. And she’d be denying him what he truly wanted—acceptance.

  Odoon was a hero to all of his kind. The male, with her assistance, had saved the lifespans of many Ahkian children, conveying them to Waaban Two while the war waged on their home planet.

  The parents were grateful and would likely accept anyone he claimed as his family, even a human and a cyborg, their enemies. He could give Vow the position in the community he desired.

  Her son would belong, have friends, fit in. That was his dearest wish.

  Odoon would also protect him. The Ahkian had risked his lifespan for complete strangers and Vow would be family. He would safeguard her son with all the resources he had.

  And he’d be a good example for her child. The male was honorable, brave, intelligent, selfless.

  But he wasn’t Stealth. He’d never be the equal of her warrior, not in her eyes. Despite his assurances, their friendship wouldn’t flow into romantic love. She knew that in her soul. He wouldn’t touch her heart.

  Her friend would want to touch other parts of her. Her stomach churned at that thought. If she agreed to the arrangement, she would have to allow Odoon to use her body.

  Could she do that to give her son the lifespan he wanted, to safeguard him?

  She didn’t know, didn’t want to find out.

  “Please, Stealth, return to me.” She looked up at the blue sky. It was clear, frustratingly devoid of ships. “I need you desperately.”

  Her gut told her she was about to make a big mistake.

  Chapter Seven

  It had been 2 solar cycles, 35 planet rotations and 1.0895th of a shift since he’d touched his female and Stealth’s need for her threatened to shut down his processors. He burned for her, craved her.

  But he required the cyborg council’s authorization to leave the Homeland. If he left without it, they would send warriors to find him and execute him. Those warriors might harm his female.

  He couldn’t risk her safety. She was the most precious being in the universe to him. He gazed at the small plot of green on the structure-dominated planet. His brethren had died to protect her, to ensure they would eventually be together.

  His fingers folded into fists as his losses swept over him. His grief hadn’t abated, was as fresh and as raw as it had been when he arrived at the Homeland. It was a live circuit inside him, stripped and bare and snapping with energy, endangering everyone he interacted with.

  Only his female could help him deal with his emotions, soothe him, comfort him. Her touch would repair his damage.

  He had to go to her, see her. That was system critical.

  He realized why the cyborg council restricted warrior movement before the mass rebellion. If the Humanoid Alliance spotted them, the humans would determine cyborgs had free will and would decommission every warrior under their control.

  As of thirty-two planet rotations ago, however, all cyborgs were free. The humans knew their secret. There was no reason to deny his request to leave the planet.

  Getting an audience with a council member had the next challenge. The newly liberated warriors had urgent needs. One cyborg’s special request was low priority for them.

  He sensed Vengeance and his human mate as they approached behind him. Unable to conceal his emotions, he didn’t look up, didn’t turn around.

  “We’re engraving the names of our fallen brethren on our structures’ walls.” The council member stood beside him. “The members of your fighting batch have earned their places there.”

  Vengeance represented the C Models. He was one of the best warriors in the universe.

  Boom would have been proud to claim him as his leader. Lethal would have chattered non-stop about Vengeance’s female Astrid, the Buoir Berserker, a being as rare as Zebrina.

  Sorrow pushed down on Stealth’s shoulders, the pressure almost unbearable. “I have to leave the Homeland.” He had to see his female. She was the only being who could help him, who could pluck him out of the abyss.

  Vengeance and Astrid glanced at each other.

  “You’re a K Model.” Vengeance stated that truth. “You weren’t designed to be solitary. Allow your databases to be accessed.”

  It was the cyborg way to share every experience, every piece of knowledge. Stealth couldn’t do that. What had happened on Ahki was too painful.

  “Fighting might also help. There’s a mock battle in two planet rotations. Use it to expel some of the grief.” Astrid spoke from experience. She had lost her entire clan during a Humanoid Alliance attack.

  Purging his emotions while fighting was a temporary fix. He required more.

  “Being alone will make it worse.” She added that insight.

  “I won’t be alone.” He gazed at them, willing them to see what he couldn’t express.

  Vengeance’s jaw dropped. “It can’t be. You’ve been here for almost two solar cycles.”

  Every planet rotation had been torture. Stealth looked back down at the ground.

  “I couldn’t last for planet rotations.” The C Model stared at him. “Being apart from my female almost shorted my circuits.”

  The male could have lasted if his female’s life had depended upon it. “I wasn’t given permission to leave.”

  “You asked Power.” The relationship between the two council members was strained. “He doesn’t have a female. He wouldn’t recognize the signs.”

  Stealth had been told to ask the E Model. Not wanting to get in the middle of the feud, he said nothing.

  “You have authorization to leave the Homeland.” Vengeance finally gave him the permission he needed. “Fly my new ship.” The C Model surprised him with that offer. “You’ll arrive at your destination faster.”

  “I might not return that ship.” Once he found his female, he wasn’t leaving her side. She might not wish to visit the Homeland.

  “If your female blows it up, she blows it up.” Vengeance glanced at Astrid, his eyes glowing. “It won’t be the first time that has happened to one of my ships.” His gaze returned to Stealth. “I’ll leave my transmission lines open if you should need me.”

  Stealth dipped his head, unable to speak. Waves of relief swept over him, fraying his control over his emotions. The wait was over. He would soon see his female, touch her, hear her laughter.

  She would repair him. He knew she would.

  Vengeance looked at Astrid. She nodded. The two of them walked away without another word, giving Stealth the privacy he needed.

  He crouched, placed one of his palms on the patch of vegetation. “You made it to the Homeland, Boom, as you always said you would.” He’d buried both of his friends in the small plot. “Lethal, I—” His voice broke. He owed him so much, didn’t know how to express it.

  His friend would tell him he did it for Zebrina, not for him, that he expected him to protect her, be with her, make her happy.

  Stealth would try. He straightened. It had been so long since he felt joy. He didn’t know if he could experience it again.

  “Good-bye, my friends.” He looked at the plot of green once more and strode toward the council member docking bay.

  It was time to return to the female he loved.

  * * *

  The voyage took twenty-eight planet rotations. Stealth landed at the coordinates his female had given him, choosing a site a short run away from the nearest humanoids, according to the lifeform scans. The high vegetation should conceal his ship.

  He exited, relying on his other senses and his scans for orientation. The sky above him was clear. The air smelled like blooms. Insects buzzed around him, their wings bright and colorful.

  The terrain was green and serene, the type of planet he’d hoped his female would find. He placed sensors around his ship, activating a containment field few beings could penetrate. The vessel belonged to another and was the only means he had to leave Waaban Two. He wouldn’t take risks with it.

  He skimmed his hands over his body armor. All of his blades were in their sheaths, his guns in their holsters.

  He jogged toward the occupied spaces, crossing the field.

  The tall vegetation parted to reveal a gravel pathway. Judging by the sprouts poking their way through the rock fragments, it was rarely utilized.

  Stealth followed it, passing domiciles. Some of them were deserted, the doors open, vines covering the structure. Some of them were inhabited by humanoids.

  He detected no humans.

  Was he too late? Had his female given up on him, left the planet?

  Had she arrived? He frowned.

  Was Zebrina alive? Or was she dead like everyone else he loved?

  He walked, the solitary sun’s rays unable to dissipate the chill in his core. His processors strained as his hope for any sort of happiness, of peace, flickered.

  The main pathway became more and more narrow, the plants fighting for dominance. Dust covered his boots. A small fur-covered creature crossed his route, hopping in front of him.

  He doggedly continued, his sole mission to find his female.

  His scans finally detected a human lifeform, along with one humanoid and one…cyborg. His forehead furrowed. That wasn’t possible. There had never been any transmissions from Waaban Two.

  He ran his scans again, received the same results. Either one of his brethren was on the planet or Stealth himself was more damaged than he had originally processed.

  All warriors on Waaban Two, transmit. He sent that communication on every open line.

  There was no reply.

  Was the warrior hostile? He drew his guns, his senses on full alert, crept closer to the lifeforms.

  The most delectable scent teased his nostrils.

  Zebrina. He hardened, his cock pressing against his body armor. Was he malfunctioning again, fabricating her distinct fragrance based on his memories?

  He breathed deeply. The scent was stronger and unmistakable. His female was on the planet. Joy crashed into him. He’d located her.

  “Where are you, my male?” Her voice flowed down his form, lighting up his processors, providing further confirmation of her presence.

  My male? He replayed her words and his stomach twisted. That was his role, what she called only him.

  Unless he had been replaced. Cyborgs were genetically compatible with one being. Humans could mate with multiple beings.

  His grip tightened on his weapons. No one would touch his female.

  A tall wall of rock, unique to the inhabited plot of land, hindered his view. He passed through an opening in it, the gap wide enough for a small ship.

  And he abruptly halted, his big cyborg heart thumping wildly.

  The female he loved tended a row of leafy plants. Her hair was longer, her black curls cascading to her flight suit-clad waist. Her brown skin had been darkened even more by the sun. Her curves were lusher than he remembered, her hips wider, her breasts bigger.

  A sadness shrouded her, a shadow falling across her beautiful face.

  That shouldn’t be there. Ever.

  “I will kill your new male for making you unhappy.” He made her that vow. His female deserved joy.

  She glanced upward. Her big blue eyes widened. She dropped the container of liquid, slapped her hands over her mouth. Her shriek was muffled yet audible.

  “He isn’t worthy of you.” Stealth stalked toward his female.

  “No.” She held out one of her hands as though to stop him. “You’re a figment of my imagination. You must be. It’s been more than two solar cycles.”

  “It has been two solar cycles, sixty-three planet rotations and three-quarters of a shift.” He had felt every moment of their parting. “You’re not damaged, my female. I’m real.”

  She pinched her right cheek and winced. “I’m not dreaming.”

  “You’re not dreaming,” he confirmed.

  “You’re here.” She took a hesitant step in his direction, trampling one of the plants she’d been caring for. “You’re alive.”

  “My emotional system is damaged.” He confessed to that malfunction.

  “Mine is too.” Her laugh was shaky. “You returned to me.”

  “I returned to you.” It had taken luck and everything he had, everything his brethren had.

  Sadness tempered his joy over seeing his female, a darkness overhanging their reunion, ghosts of sacrifices made.

  “I need to touch you.” She reached out her right hand. Her fingers shook. “I can’t believe you’re real.”

  He caught her wrist, pressed her palm against his cheek. Rightness flowed over him, a burst of energy so strong his knees threatened to buckle.

  She splayed her fingers as though attempting to touch as much of him as possible. Tears streamed down her cheek.

  “They said you were dead. In my heart, I knew you weren’t.” A sob burst from her, the sound ripping him to pieces. “Oh, Stealth, I was so worried for you.”

  “Shhhh…my female.” He pulled her to him, strapped his arms around her, holding her tight, trying to comfort her as she cried. “Sending a communication might have put you in danger.” He refused to take any risks with his female’s lifespan. “But I survived.” He was the only being in his fighting batch who had done that. “For you. You’re the reason I lived.”

  His brethren had sacrificed their lifespans so the two of them could be together. He wouldn’t step aside, even if her other male was more worthy than he was. He couldn’t. She was all of him.

  His female wept against him, wetting his body armor with her tears, her lush form trembling. He rested his chin on the top of her head, stroked her unruly curls, breathing in her sweet scent, experiencing her pain as though it were his own.

  The wait had hurt her as it had hurt him. “I made a mistake.” He should have found a way to convey Boom’s body to the Homeland without being detained there. “I—”

  He looked to the right. The unknown cyborg was approaching them. Quickly.

  “Stay behind me.” He stood in front of his female, placed his hands on his gun handles.

  The cyborg crashed through the vegetation, making no attempt to be quiet. He didn’t act like a foe yet he didn’t transmit, didn’t announce himself.

  Was he damaged?

  Stealth breathed deeply. The warrior’s nanocybotics were detectable. He was a fellow K Model, smelled like…

  Him.

  There could be only one explanation for that. Stealth’s processors spun.

  “My female?” He faced her. “Did we create—”

  “She is not your female.” The cyborg slammed against him, the attack occurring dangerously close to Zebrina.

  Stealth rolled, taking the newcomer with him, moving both of them away from his fragile human female. The cyborg looked like him, had his face, his eyes, and he was freeborn, had no model number on his cheek.

  “She’s my mom.” Their offspring punched him. “Leave her alone.” He was strong but sloppy, his hits all over the place.

  “We created offspring.” Stealth dodged a fist aimed at his chin. He stared at the newly manufactured cyborg with wonder, stunned. Never in his wildest projections had he ever believed he’d have offspring, be a father.

  “We created offspring.” She didn’t sound happy with the situation. “Vow, stop it. What did I tell you about fighting?”

  “Fighting is in our nature.” Stealth explained. And their offspring, Vow, his son, landed very few of his punches. “Cyborgs were manufactured for battle.” And for breeding.

  “I don’t want to be a cyborg.” Their son thrashed his arms and legs.

  Stealth easily avoided impact. Their offspring required training. “You are a cyborg. Our genes are dominant. We were designed to create more warriors.”

  “I’m not a warrior.” Their son continued to fight, his actions belying his words. His fists pummeled the earth around Stealth’s face, pulverizing rocks, flattening vegetation.

  “Our offspring is stubborn like you, my female.” His lips twitched, a giddiness sweeping over him. He was a father. She was a mother. They had a son.

  The hope in his heart expanded until it nearly burst out of his chest, his world brightening to the point of blindness. The future now held something other than sorrow, grief. It hosted his female and a son.

  It was almost more than a cyborg could process.