3013: SALVATION (3013: The Series Book 5)

3013: SALVATION

3013: THE SERIES

Laurie Roma

The 3013 Series

3013: MATED by Laurie Roma

3013: RENEGADE by Susan Hayes

3013: CLAIMED by Laurie Roma

3013: STOWAWAY by Susan Hayes

3013: SALVATION by Laurie Roma

3013: SALVATION

Officer Skylar Aris is a woman with a troubled past.
As a Class-A Conduit, she is beautiful and deadly, making her stand out among
the rest of the elite soldiers. She has worked hard to succeed as one of the
only female interrogators in the Security and Interrogation Division, but
everything she has dreamed of is put in jeopardy when she’s given an ultimatum
that will change her fate.

Strong and dominant, Director Dominic Stryker is a man
who doesn’t let anything stand in his way. When he meets Skylar, he knows she’s
the woman he wants to claim, but he never expected she’d also be destined to
belong to his best friend, D’Aire Ambassador Arik V’Dir. Two Alpha males, Dom
and Arik don’t want to share, but they realize that it’s the only way they can
have Skylar...if they can get her to agree.

When a mission forces Skylar to deal with her past,
Dom and Arik are determined to stand by her side. But discovering where she
comes from changes everything. Will their love be enough to give her salvation,
or will the truth shatter their bond and take her beyond their reach?

An Erotic Romance Novel.

3013: SALVATION by Laurie Roma

First E-book Publication: November
2014

Kindle Edition

Cover design by
Sloan Winters

Editing by S.L.
Whitcomb

Copyright © 2014
by Laurie Roma

ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or
in part, without express written permission.

All characters
and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons
living or dead is strictly coincidental. It is fiction so facts and events may
not be accurate except to the current world the book takes place in.

DEDICATION

To my mother...one
of the sweetest women in the entire world.

Thank you for
being my most devoted supporter, greatest ally and my best friend. I am so
grateful to have you in my life...thank you for being you.

***

Prologue

The year is 3013.

Earth barely survived the Alien
Wars that have ravaged the planet, and an unknown virus had nearly wiped out
the entire population. On the brink of extinction, humans struggle to rebuild
their civilization, although nothing would ever bring back what once was.

Enforcing martial law, a new age
of mankind is born, where warriors rule and women are the ultimate prize.
Only the elite earn breeding rights and are granted
leave to claim a woman in pairs.
Men dream of the day that they will be
able to claim a woman to love, but for those chosen being claimed
means the end of their freedom and a beginning to a
lifelong bond with two strangers.
The warriors may have the choice, but
the battle for their woman's heart has only begun…

***

Chapter One

“Oh, for fucking star’s sake. Not
again.”

Skylar Aris glared at the two Alliance
generals across the bar that were staring at her with looks of pure
determination on their faces. Disgust and resignation filled her as she turned
away, trying to dismiss the men for the moment, but she still kept them in her periphery
just to be safe. If she was reading them right—and she was damn good at reading
people—she was going to have a problem with them.

The type of problem that was
going to get her on her commander’s shit list...again.

She and her friend Reva Golaris were
sitting in a bar on Alpha Station: X7, one of the more isolated space stations
in Alliance territory. Since it wasn’t located near Earth—or any of the home
worlds the Alliance called allies—X7 was a station many used as a launching
point for extended trips into unknown regions of space. It was large, but not
as glamorous as other Alpha Stations scattered throughout the universe, with
the majority of the levels being used as storage of goods that vessels could
purchase for their journeys. Still, like all the stations, X7 had a few bars
where travelers could relax and grab drinks or food...if they were courageous
enough.

And the patrons in the bar were
just as suspect as the libations.

The walls of the bar were a dingy
gray, and the tables were dented in places that hinted at past bar brawls that
had bent the metal where bodies had fallen on them. The chairs were
uncomfortable, but in a place like this, one couldn’t expect much more.
Regardless of the unwelcoming ambience, the bar was packed with people. Most of
which were all too happy just to have a drink in their hand to give much notice
to their surroundings.

It was a seedy joint, but that
didn’t bother Skylar or Reva. Neither female worried much about where they were.
As long as the drinks kept coming and they could talk in relative privacy,
that’s all that mattered. In the past few days, Skylar and Reva had been
spending a lot of time together and had gotten pretty close.

Of course, being kidnapped and
helping each other kill their captors had a way of bringing people together.
Talk about a bonding experience.

A week ago, Skylar and several
other high ranking Alliance officers had left Earth and arrived on the floating
pleasure palace, New Vega, as part of a mission to track down a traitor trying
to sell stolen classified stealth technology on the black market. The stealth
tech had been created by Skylar’s friend, genius Serra Spartan-Archer. A woman
named Eloise Greer had been working as the assistant to Serra’s mother, Tania,
and she had used her position to steal technology off of Serra’s data units.
Eloise had tried to frame Serra for the thefts, but when that failed, her plan
turned more sinister.

The investigation group had
tracked down the potential buyers and a Strike Force Team had taken them down
in a small camp in the Odalla Sector on the planet Reema, but before they could
take Eloise into custody, the woman had drugged the entire group tracking her
and had taken Skylar and Serra captive. When they had woken up, they had found
themselves locked in a cell with Reva on a ship run by a bunch of mercenaries.
Eloise had been prepared to sell the three women as slaves, and to say that
they had been pissed off when they had discovered Eloise’s plan did not even come
close to describing it.

Reva had arrived on New Vega with
her mother, Ambassador Solange Golaris, and as part of her security detail had
done rounds around the large vessel to make note of any potential threats. When
Reva had seen something suspicious in the loading docks, she had gone to check
it out and had ended up getting taken by the same people that had kidnapped
Skylar and Serra.

The three of them had broken out
of their holding cell and had held off the mercenaries long enough for Serra’s
bonded to track their location with the Strike Force Team. Despite the danger,
Skylar had loved the exhilaration of the situation. It had taken her years to
gain a spot in the elite Security and Interrogation Division, and she was damn
good at her job as an interrogator and investigator of crimes.

Yeah, life would be close to
perfect if not for the fucking scroll mark on her face.

“I don’t suppose we can kill them,”
Reva remarked with a sigh as she eyed the two men staring at Skylar from across
the room. She took a sip of her drink, then scowled down at her glass. “By the
Gods, that is horrible! What is this again?”

“It’s called whiskey. It’s a
staple back on Earth. You’ll get used to it, although I don’t think they serve
the good stuff here.” Skylar fought back a grin as she picked up her own glass.
The dark amber liquid burned like battery acid as she took a sip, then the
blaze settle into a nice warm glow in her belly after a few seconds. Yeah, getting
the good stuff just wasn’t possible in a place like this, but she could make do.

The two women sat in a dark
corner they had chosen to keep from garnering attention from the men
surrounding them.

Not that it did any good.

Skylar and Reva were both too
beautiful not to gain notice wherever they went.

Reva Golaris was a Helios shifter
from the planet Helix, an almost primitive jungle planet that was a perfect
home for the beings that could shift into the form of massive saber tooth tiger-like
creatures. Reva was a tall female, standing at a few inches over six feet and she
had the golden skin of her race, with long hair a few shades lighter she’d
pulled back into a tight braid that ran down the center of her back.

She
was dressed in her usual uniform of tight brown leather pants and a matching
vest that showed off her generous curves and corded muscles that had been honed
from countless hours of training. By the looks men always gave her, they were
obviously interested, but few were willing to take on the dangerous beauty who
wore her primal nature for all to see.

As
if on cue, Reva narrowed her amber eyes at three men looking at them from a
table close by and let out a soft, menacing growl. The men quickly averted
their eyes, smart enough to take her warning to heart.

“Apparently,
I just need to keep you with me whenever I go out,” Skylar said, amused by the
other woman’s casual display of hostility.

Reva
let out a snort of derision. “You know as well as I do that we attract more attention
together. At least most males know better than to bother a female Helios
without invitation. I would rip them apart. You, my friend, are not so lucky
having to follow the horrid rules that govern the women of your planet.
That
stupid mark on your face is like a beacon for the horny and stupid.
”

Skylar
couldn’t help but agree.

On Earth, all children under
Alliance rule were tested when they turned ten years old. Only the strongest
and brightest males and females were chosen for the biological enhancements to
become elite soldiers. For males, the modifications gave them additional muscle
mass, making them larger and more adept at fighting. For the girls it was to
determine if they were to receive the scroll tattoo near their eye, marking
them as one of the rare fertile females.

In the aftermath of the Alien
Wars against the Zyphir—a colony race of insect-like creatures that stood on
two feet—a virus had spread over Earth, altering the genetics of the survivors.
More accurately, the virus seemed to attack the female reproductive systems,
leaving most women on Earth infertile. No matter how advanced medical
technology had become, the cause for the infertility remained untreatable,
causing a divide between human women.

The scroll tattoos given to fertile
females became darker with age, turning a mercurial black when the woman turned
a claimable age. Fertile females were also implanted with nanotechnology that
made it impossible for them to get pregnant until the birth control was
deactivated after their eighteenth birthdays or later when they were claimed by
a pair of elite soldiers.

It was a somewhat archaic system
that was put in place by the United Federation Command Alliance, but it was
meant to ensure the continuation of the human race. And so far, it was working.
Although women were protected, strong, capable females were also given the
opportunity to become elite soldiers, but they were given safe duties.

Skylar hadn’t wanted safe, nor
did she need anyone’s protection.

Unfortunately,
it wasn’t her decision to make. While the mark on her face gave her the added
protection of all Alliance elites, it also made her a target for all unattached
males who wanted to claim her. Skylar didn’t have Reva’s primal appeal, but
what she did have was what she liked to call her curse. She knew exactly what men
saw when they looked at her, and from a young age Skylar had learned to guard
herself against all men.

She had been born with a natural
beauty that made her stand out, with hair black as midnight and pale, ice-blue
eyes that could steal a man’s breath with one look. As an extra bonus, the
enhancements had only increased her appeal by giving her the body of a
sex-droid. All men seemed to react to her, despite her efforts to mask her assets.
It infuriated her that men wanted to claim her after taking one look at her
face, even though they knew nothing about her.

It made her feel like she was just
an object they wanted to possess.

Sitting in the bar wearing the
standard Alliance steel-gray uniform jacket with black sleeves, black pants and
black boots should have made Skylar blend in. With her face, there was never a
chance of that happening.

Yeah, it was her curse.

“You are far too appealing,” Reva
declared as she studied Skylar’s face. “Perhaps we should mark you. I could
scar you with one of my claws. That might help dissuade unwanted attention.”

Skylar eyed her. “Thanks for
offering, but I think I’ll pass.”

“For the Helios, the scar would
be a badge of honor,” Reva said with a shrug. “They would be attracted to you,
although most males know better than to approach a human female if she is not
agreeable.”

“That still won’t solve my
problem.” Skylar shook her head. “The mark on my face is a fucking nuisance.
Most men see an unclaimed scroll and immediately want her, even if they know
nothing about her. I can’t believe how many men have tried to claim me without
even speaking to me once. They deserve to get knocked the fuck out, even if I
do get in trouble every time I take one of them down.”

“Have you thought about claiming
a bonding pair yourself to just be done with it all? You should make the choice
instead of allowing the males to control the situation.” Reva gave the glass in
her hand a dubious look before she took another sip and grimaced.

“I am allowed to choose for
myself. The Council of Regents gave me special status after they found out what
I could do, but that doesn’t stop men from trying. Plus, there is no one I
really want to claim.” Skylar knew that was a lie as soon as she said the
words, and she could see by the look on her friend’s face that Reva knew it.

“That is a lie. I know for a
certainty you are attracted to Dominic Stryker and Arik V’Dir. I can smell it
every time you are near them.”

“Damn you and your sense of
smell!” Skylar hissed with embarrassment, making her friend laugh. It was true,
she was attracted to Dominic and Arik, but the situation was...complicated.

“You cannot lie to me, my friend.
Speaking of them, how is it that we are here on X7 for the day and they are not
following you? Since I have known you, they always seem to be wherever you
are.”

Skylar sighed. “Fine. I lied.
They think I’m at a spa on New Vega.”

Reva let out a startled laugh. “They
believed that tale?”

“Probably not, and that is part
of the issue with them. Even if I’m attracted to them, they’re fucking
smothering me, and we aren’t even together. Besides, Arik is a D’Aire. I don’t
even think they can bond in pairs.”

“I have heard they only take one
mate.”

“They call it the keeper of their
heart. I’m not really sure what it entails, but I don’t think I even want to
know. And Dom...he’s my commanding officer. The director of my division. He
already bosses me around all the damn time, I can’t even imagine how much worse
it would be if we were bonded. He’d probably lock me in our quarters and never
let me leave.”

Reva nodded. “I see the issue.
You would have to kill him then.”

Skylar didn’t agree or disagree,
because she honestly couldn’t say for certain if he wouldn’t push her that far.
She thought back months ago to the moment she had reported for duty to Director
Dominic Stryker, the head of the Security and Interrogation Division in the
Capital. The attraction between them had been instantaneous. It had been so
strong she had been surprised there hadn’t been sparks crackling in the air
between them as she had stood in his office. She’d had to fight her reaction to
him, struggling not to give any outward sign of the turbulent emotions rolling
around inside of her.

And she knew it had been the same
with him.

His obsidian eyes had gleamed
with hunger as they had looked at her for a few seconds before he banked the
fires of his lust. At the time she had appreciated his control, even admired
it. From then on, he had been careful never to act inappropriately around her,
but he ensured he was never far. Over time, his constant shadowing got on her
nerves, and he was always quick to censure her whenever she did something he
didn’t like...which seemed to be all the damn time.

Skylar had wanted to be an
interrogator for as long as she could remember. She had always been fascinated
with solving mysteries, and was also driven with the need to find justice for
those who couldn’t do it for themselves. With her particular talents, investigating
crimes was the perfect outlet for her. The interrogation unit was one of the
most dangerous divisions within the Alliance—outside of being a combat soldier
in one of the task forces or security detail—but Dom made sure that Skylar was
never too close to danger.