Free Damaged (Planet Alpha) by Erin M. Leaf Page B

thought of the photo of her parents and brother. That’s all I really have left of a family, she thought bitterly. A worn-out picture, as damaged as I am.
    “Be at peace, Cori,” Kyuk said. He rubbed his thumb over her wrist.
    The sound of her name on his lips sent shivers of heat through her.
    “We would never have done this if you had not truly been our destiny,” he murmured.
    “How can you talk of destiny?” she asked him, thinking of Reiyn’s back. No one deserved that, destiny or not. “I don’t even know who you are.” She glanced at Reiyn. “Either of you.”
    “I was born a slave. My mother found a way for us to escape. Before we left, I swore blood-oath to Kyuk. He was my only friend as a child.” Reiyn had propped himself on his elbows. “My mother died soon after we reached Earth, and I grew to adulthood with one vow: I would do whatever I could to free those still in captivity.”
    Cori bit her lip. “And that’s all of who you are?”
    He inclined his head. “Nothing else matters.”
    He has a point. I don’t usually tell people that I was a slave. Being captured by the Xyrans doesn’t define who I am. Sky taught me that, Cori thought. She put her hand over Kyuk’s stopping his fingers. It was harder to think with him touching her. “I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.
    “You need not do anything,” Kyuk said, sitting up. “What does your spirit tell you?” He put a fist to his chest, then slowly moved it to hers, touching her lightly. “You already know the truth.”
    Cori felt his touch as if he’d rung a bell inside her ribcage. She trembled. When Reiyn sat up and gathered her into his arms, she began to cry harder.
    “Shh, you are safe. You will always be safe with us,” he whispered.
    She’d had no idea he could be so tender. This male was a far cry from the unemotional man who’d fucked her up against her ship on Earth.
    “Promise me you mean that,” she said tightly, gripping him as hard as she could.
    “He does.” Kyuk answered for his blood-kin. “As do I. You have our oath.”
    Cori knew she could ask for nothing more than that. And it is way more than I ever expected.
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Several days later, Kyuk watched as Cori leaned back in her chair on the bridge. After the bonding, they’d cleaned up and eaten more terrible food. Cori hadn’t let him or Reiyn touch her again yet, and he couldn’t fault her decision. She didn’t completely trust them, despite the blooding and the time they’d spent together, but it did not matter. He would give her time, as much as she needed. He understood. After what she’d been through as a child, giving someone else access to her deepest self would take courage and strength. All three of them were damaged in their own way, but she would soon understand that what they’d shared was irrevocable.
    And I am also still adjusting to being alive. He smiled inwardly at himself and turned back to the display. Soon after the bonding, Xyran raiders began to penetrate the edges of the asteroid field. They’d had to continue hiding, and the three of them took turns checking the sensors, not willing to leave it up to the ship to alert them to danger. Every time they thought it would be safe to leave the system, another Xyran ship had shown up on the edges of the system. Sometimes they’d stay for a few hours, sometimes a day or so. While the raiders combed the asteroid field for their location, Cori, Reiyn, and Kyuk had no choice but to remain hidden.
    “It makes no sense,” Cori said, staring intently at the screen. “There’s another one. I thought they’d give up by now. After the first few days when no one showed up, I thought we were home free. What could possibly be so valuable about you that they’d go to such an expense of manpower?”
    Kyuk sensed her exhaustion through their bond. “I have come to believe that they want the location of the gem mine on Sarton,” he said.
    She swiveled in her chair to