Beast's Beauty: A Xeno Sapiens Novel (Genetically Altered Humans Book 4) Read online

  BEAST’S BEAUTY

  A XENO SAPIENS NOVEL

  Rena Marks

  Beast’s Beauty

  A Xeno Sapiens Novel

  Rena Marks

  Welcome to the world of Xeno Sapiens!

  Beast’s mate doesn’t know she’s his. Controlling his immense strength means he’ll hold off so as to not hurt her. But when humans take what’s his, all holds are off.

  Sunny has a hidden strength of her own. A dangerous power that can sap the life energy, the soul, of another during high emotion. She’ll keep away because the last person she wants to hurt—and the person she feels strongest about—is Beast.

  There may be more pain in fighting her desire than in defending his soul.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Epilogue

  Xeno Sapiens

  Alien Stolen

  Abducted

  Space Babies

  Artificial Intelligence

  Stargazer Series

  The Hunter

  Also by Rena Marks

  Chapter One

  “She’s still out cold.”

  “Goddamnit! She better not die! I told you not to fucking cut off her fingers yet!”

  “I din’t see no difference if we did it now or later. We still needed the gold!”

  “Now we ain’t got no gold, just dead fingers. And our bargaining chip might die because of your stupidity, Duane.”

  “That bitch deserves to die. Did you see what she did to Mike?”

  Sunny Xeno Sapien jarred awake from the loud voices. It had taken Sunny’s shocked brain a few minutes to realize it was her they were talking about. When she remembered everything, she had to stop a wail from escaping her mouth.

  They’d cut off her fingers.

  But underneath the bloody kitchen towel someone tied around her hand, her fingers didn’t hurt. They didn’t throb like they had before, once the shock settled in her brain of watching the cleaver come down. She wriggled them.

  Strangely, they felt whole. For a minute she felt elated, and then dejection reared its ugly head. She’d watched the cleaver drop. There was no way her fingers were still there. It was just some sort of phantom feelings. Wishful thinking.

  “It’s fucking weird that her blood is black. Did you see it spurting all over the table?”

  She could almost imagine the shudder that came over the one who made the statement.

  “Yeah. While she’s still out, I say we move to the storm shelter. Lock ourselves in with her. There’s only one entrance, and we’ll be ready for any motherfuckers who try to come.”

  Sunny was so entranced with listening she barely heard when someone pierced the cloudy recesses of her telepathic mind.

  Sunny? It’s Lily.

  Lily. Her thoughts were still dazed, slow as if they came from deep within her mind.

  Stay with me. We’re going to try to trace your location through the link.

  They cut off my fingers. To sell the gold. Like I’m a statue.

  I know. But your fingers are fine. They re-grew. Kaden took some of my power, and some of Tempest’s regeneration power, and some of his own, and blasted your hand with all three.

  What? The baby?

  How could Robyn and Steele’s hybrid Xeno Sapien baby do something of the sort? He was a helpless infant. Surely Lily was misunderstanding.

  Are you sure?

  I watched them. They re-grew while you were unconscious.

  I thought they felt normal, but I didn’t want to look under the towel.

  No, keep them covered. We wouldn’t want your kidnappers to notice and try again. Do you have any idea where you are?

  I was unconscious for the trip and woke just as I was brought inside. It’s an old house. Old wood, nothing beautiful like what Jett and Brax create from fallen trees. This is dried and splintered, and everything’s covered in filth and dirt. Windows are broken. Around the house, there are fields everywhere.

  That much she could see from the filth of the broken windows.

  What else?

  There’s a living room and a kitchen. My cage is set up in a bedroom. It’s all on one floor, no stairs.

  Okay. I’m writing all this down for the others.

  There was silence for a few moments.

  How’s Beast? Sunny was tentative, wondering why he wasn’t on the link with them.

  He’s out searching for you, along with the others on the security team. Renegade. Steele. Jason. Sam. No one can get onto this link. This link is just a tracer between you and me. We can open another one after we get the general direction of where you are.

  Lily, I—I’m not sure if it’s good for me to be found. I did something horrible…

  Yeah, we found the dried up man.

  Mentally, Sunny sobbed. I couldn’t stop it. And when I got here, they locked me in a cage. So if I wind up zapping the two guys out in the kitchen, I’ll starve to death.

  If they try to hurt you again, go ahead and try to zap them. We’ll find you now that we’ve established contact. I just couldn’t track you when you were unconscious. Keep them from knocking you out because that will break our connection.

  “Boss, she’s up.” A third man was present, watching her from the doorway. Sunny had never seen him before. How many were there? Goodness, what if she had zapped the two in the kitchen and the others killed her in retaliation?

  “Let’s get her moved.”

  Lily, they’re going to move me to a storm shelter, whatever that is.

  Okay, I’ll ask Robyn and Amanda what it is. Stay with me. Let’s see how far it is from the house you’re in now.

  But the man who entered the cage grabbed her and covered her mouth and nose with a wet cloth. Sunny twisted her face, trying to get away. Sharp, pungent fumes smelled bitter before they burned her sensitive nostrils, and everything went black.

  Sunny? Sunny! Lily screamed through the channel.

  But the last thing on Sunny’s mind was what had happened to get her into this mess.

  * * * * *

  “You’re one of the Xeno Sapiens.” The handsome man who approached had called out to her. She’d seen him before. He watched her lots of times when she patrolled the top of the gate. It was thick, about two feet wide, and security walked alongside the top, looking down over it.

  “The beautiful one,” the man whispered, a smile curving his full lips.

  It made her want to smile back, but she didn’t. “Sir, please stand back. You cannot approach the gate this closely.”

  He brought his hand up to his heart as if it wounded him. “How can I resist? Are you still paired with the big fellow? The black and gold one?”

  “Beast? No, we are not paired.” Sunny’s voice was short. It was just once. One magical night between her and Beast, back on the island—after the escape from the underground laboratory—before their city, Xenia, was constructed. One night that she never cared to repeat.

  His smile was bright, if not well practiced. “Then I have a chance? Tell me I have a chance.”

  Sunny blinked. He—a human�
��was interested in her? He saw past the metallic sheen of her gold skin? The differences that made her other? Suddenly she was aware of how lonely she’d been. A loneliness she’d created, of course, but a loneliness nonetheless.

  The two weeks on the island, after they were rescued by Robyn from the underwater facilities, were the most magical weeks she’d ever had. She and Beast were inseparable then. She’d been fascinated by his sparkling blue eyes, his sense of humor—even as his dual personalities battled for supremacy. The scientists had been playing with the computer chips Xeno Sapiens had embedded in their brains, making the Esson Four test group which included Beast, change to snarling, testosterone-smacking cavemen.

  She was able to bring him down from the wild highs. On the island, during the respite from constantly watching human eyes, a freedom they’d never enjoyed before, they explored life. Tentative touches, kissing after they’d watched Steele and Robyn do it, even hand-holding. And then one day in Xenia, they’d gone all the way.

  It changed him.

  He thought he owned her, was able to tell her what to do. She rebelled, though in retrospect, it was probably a protective quality to his makeup that she took as a domineering controlling aspect. No one should ever tell her what to do. No one would ever again take her freedom away. She started to avoid him, aware that she needed space. Her temper grew, bubbled and boiled out of control, out of character for her.

  She discovered why when Amanda and Robyn traced her roots to her home galaxy. She was a soul-sucker. A walking bomb, unable to control her mood swings from her targets. She had to harden her heart against Beast, knowing that of all people in the world, he was the one who could cause her to lose the tentative control. She didn’t want to suck his soul from his body. Not him.

  So she avoided him, joining the human security force for a distraction. Watching as Beast grew more and more jealous, but that was never her intent. She’d hoped he’d get on with his life because he had so much to offer a female. While she wished it could have been her, she would never run the risk of hurting him to find out.

  He was so handsome he made her girly parts scream. So tender, so caring. She’d forever have the memory of their one night together imprinted on her brain. He’d worshipped her like a goddess, loved her like she was the most delicate being ever created. She wanted so desperately for him to find that intensity of happiness he’d brought her…and that meant to find it with another woman. Much as it tore her up inside.

  Eventually, she hoped the pain would lessen. Her plan was to forget him. Keep away from reminders of him. Focus on something new.

  This human—peering at her carefully—who studied her so intently, might be the key.

  “I am a Xeno Sapien,” she verified, aware of his eyes on her skin. All that was exposed through her black, high-tech uniform was her face, and he stared as if he could memorize the details.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered reverently. A strange feeling flipped in her stomach. Almost like when Beast had first uttered it. But not quite. Nothing could really compare to Beast. It was flattering in a way that might help her forget him.

  That had been the first meeting with the human. Mike, he was called. She hadn’t planned on deliberately meeting him again. Hell, it was hard to, what with the way the task force watched over her so protectively in her new job. With the way her friend Tempest hovered, making sure she was always within contact since they were the only two women on board the team. Sheesh, she rivaled Beast with her constant attention toward Sunny. But the motherly instinct in Sunny roared. Tempest had a hard time making friends, and Sunny found herself welcoming her. The things that came out of Tempest’s mouth were atrocious, appalling her with ferocious laughter. Much like she’d missed laughing with her Beast.

  Despite Tempest having a crush on the human leader, Jason, he only had eyes for Lily. Jason was supposed to train Tempest, but when Lily was kidnapped, he dropped everything—including the deal to train Tempest—to go to Lily’s aid. Tempest’s heart was broken when he couldn’t keep that promise. Then Lily came back, all grown-up at once, and it was obvious Jason wasn’t going to be attentive to anyone else but the love of his life, Lily.

  So Sunny took Tempest under her maternal wing. And despite all the caring Sunny tried to spread everywhere, subconsciously she still sought the human’s secret visits.

  He’d talked about children, that last day. He was a widower, with two little ones. One just a small baby. He needed a nurturing wife, the human equivalent of a pairing. A mate.

  Surely if Beast took up with another female, she could invite Mike and his child to live in Xenia with her? That would surely take her attention from the heartache of watching Beast with another. Because against all else, Sunny craved motherhood. Mike was attractive for a human but not enough to stir her deathly power. And he had two adorable, cherub-faced sons with dark hair and dark eyes, and dimples.

  She loved dimples. Too bad the human didn’t have them, but that was probably a good thing. She couldn’t grow too attached to him, just enough to like him. To stir her interest. Not enough to kill him.

  He’d showed her pictures of his little ones during their visits and promised the next time, he’d bring the baby, at least. On that fateful day, she’d planned a quick perimeter check of the gates and then a visit to Tempest in medbay, who lay unconscious following a skirmish with Lily and Shawn, another human on the security team. It meant they were three people short, and she wasn’t as watched as she had been before. So when she’d seen Mike walking in the distance, a bundle of blankets in his arms, she’d hopped right off the top of the twenty-foot fence, landing on her feet in a show of Xeno Sapien strength.

  After all, if Mike would be her man, shouldn’t he know a little of what she was capable of?

  His eyes gleamed, unusually proud of her as she landed safely.

  “Is that him?” she asked eagerly, tilting her chin toward the bundle in his arms.

  “Yes, but he’s sleeping for a bit. We can visit while he finishes out his nap. Your jump was amazing.”

  She’d shrugged, and stupid vanity reared its head. “There are a lot of other things we can do. You’ll find out if you come live with us.”

  “Or you can come see my house first.”

  “Your house?” She looked back at the solid fence that surrounded Xenia, protecting them from the rest of the world. “I can’t. I’m on duty.”

  “Would they miss you? It’s not far from here.”

  “Yes, they would miss me. I have a responsibility, especially with Tempest in medbay.”

  “Who is that?”

  “My…friend. She had broken bones that she’s regenerating.”

  She realized her mistake when his eyes widened.

  “You all can regenerate?”

  “No,” she stammered. “Not all of us. Just her. She’s the only one.”

  “I can’t wait to meet all your friends.” He smiled easily enough, but something was off. His voice wasn’t lowered, for one thing. She knew that when others carried Kaden—the secret baby of Steele and Robyn—they spoke in quieter, soothing voices. Especially when he slept. It was a matter of respect for the baby who slept peacefully.

  Mike didn’t seem to care that his son slept in his arms. That was…odd.

  “May I see him?”

  “In a minute, I said.” His harsh tone was softened by his sudden smile as if he realized it came across wrong. Perhaps he was simply protective of his little one, still sleeping away. She couldn’t fault a man for that.

  “You need to come to see my place. When can you get off work? Will you be able to sneak back here again?”

  “I don’t know. Like I said, Tempest is out of work. Blaze is covering for Shawn, a human who is also injured. And Jason can’t help…”

  “God, I asked a simple question. I didn’t ask for the whole backstory.” Hatred shone in his black eyes, startling her for a second. How had she once thought they were warm?

  She stiffened
her spine. Something wasn’t right. She glanced over her shoulder at the fence. It was too high for her to jump all the way up. She would be able to climb, but it would be awkward. She’d tear up her palms.

  “We’ve been flirting for long enough,” he said.

  Flirting? Is that what they’d been doing when he visited with her?

  “I’m wasting time on you. I told you I need a wife. My son needs a mother. If you can’t see how desperately the baby wants you, then I need to move on to a loving, caring human. I should have known you wouldn’t have enough human qualities.”

  “Wait—” Was that pathetic sounding voice hers? She was desperately afraid he’d reject her just when she needed him the most. Needed him to help her forget about Beast and a woman he’d soon take up with. “Please—”

  “Please what? You won’t take the chance to come with me. You don’t know when you can get off work. What exactly do you know? Only what others tell you? Do you even know what you’re made of? Is it gold?” He leaned in, his lips drawn in a harsh sneer.

  “Of-of course, not,” she stammered.

  “Do you stutter also? Is that a brain defect?”

  She felt so ugly inside. Never had she felt this way around Beast. Around him, she felt appreciated. Perfect. Graceful. Elegant. She felt…loved.

  Now she just felt monstrous. An abomination. And suddenly she knew. Despite all the brief titillations she’d felt in her tummy at his compliments, she could never let this…man…touch her. She’d been fooling herself.

  “Your pussy better be made of gold,” Mike snarled. “Because that’s the only way my dick’s getting near it.”

  Her skin glowed suddenly, lighting the air around them with a bright, golden light. He blinked in surprise before closing his eyes against it, as if in pain. Uncontrolled, it fettered toward him and then zapped like a wave of electricity. A stench of decayed flesh, putrid and overwhelming hit her nose, and then it was gone, burned bright in an instant of fiery blaze.

  “No!”

  Her arms reached out for the baby, but it was too late. She remembered the tales from Amanda and Robyn of the victims from her people who clawed their eyes out. Mike couldn’t. Even in his death, he protected his infant in the safety of his arms.