Grace Goodwin

When the first mate had been assigned to someone on The Colony, a woman from Earth named Rachel, I’d been skeptical. But watching as she’d held one of us as he died in her arms had changed my mind about the Interstellar Brides Program. About having a mate. I’d wanted a female’s gentle hands to caress my flesh, to look upon me with something other than fear

Kiel was our first Hunter, and I wasn’t quite sure yet what we were going to do with him

These men needed work, purpose, a place to live and a new group of brothers-in-arms to help them cope with their new lives

That lingering stare, and the disdainful snarl on his lip at the sight of my collar, didn’t improve my mood

I refused to believe this lonely life was my destiny. I refused to take it off. She would come. Someday

But he wasn’t just dealing with being on The Colony, his beast was, too. It was an internal battle of wills and I had yet to know who would win with Warlord Rezzer

Now, the only emotion flowing through me, as I watched Rezz fight for control, was resignation. He would either control himself, or he would not. There was no half-measure

The Hunter, Kiel, watched and waited like the predator I knew he was. He hadn’t spoken, not a single word, but I had no doubt he knew the position of every one of my security forces in the room, including what weapons they carried and how attentive they were being to the meeting

And he was the only Everian on Base 3. As far as I knew, he was the only Hunter ever to survive Hive capture

With the recent Hive attack, and the defection of one of our own, a medical officer named Krael, I needed men I could trust