Breaker: The Tradrych Strain, #3

By Marissa Farrar

I've been kidnapped by an alien race, but I'm no victim.

Now I'm part of a rebel group, including two Trads, Nad and Miko, and an Athion, Diarus. The four of us have become more than just comrades, and we steal every moment we can together, sealing our bond.

But we have an important task at hand—to take down the facilities where the Trads are housing other kidnapped women, and break them out.

A dangerous journey lies ahead, filled with the possibility of losing those I love, and I'll be forced to face up to those I hate most.

What future, if any, will I have on Tradrych?

Will I live long enough to find out...

This is a dark sci-fi romance and is reverse harem. It is also part of the Planet Athion multi-author reverse harem sci-fi world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Warwick House Press
• Release date: Sep 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215932896

Book preview

Chapter One

L ast night was fucking incredible, a deep voice crooned against the shell of my ear, rousing me from sleep.

My heartrate rocketed, and I launched myself upright, lurching away from the voice. My sleep-jumbled mind filled with panic, and blood thundered through my veins.

Tara! the same person called from behind me. Hey, it’s all right. It’s Nad. It’s only me, girlie.

Not even turning to look at him, I swung my legs out of bed and put my face in my hands, breathing hard. I’d been dreaming I was back in Polityk Borys’s house, asleep in the bed he’d made my prison. In my dream, I’d thought Nadeusz’s voice belonged to Borys.

The others began to stir, and memories of the previous night came back to me. I was in a rebel safe house which we’d come to after escaping from Polityk Borys’s place. I’d found the plans that would tell us where the other facilities in the district were located. Our strategy was to take down the facilities, which weren’t yet in use, but would be utilized to house other pregnant human women brought from Earth. We needed to remove the infrastructure that was allowing the Trads to breed from human women, in the hope it might slow or even stop future abductions. It was a tiny step forward on this planet, but we hoped it might be the start of the end for what the Trads were doing.

Is she okay? Diarus asked from where he’d spent the night on a recliner in the corner.

Mikotaj had slept on the floor. The sex had been fun, but the bed was nowhere near big enough for two large Trads, an Athion, and a human woman. Nad was the one who’d pulled the long straw, and had gotten to spend the night curled up in the bed with me, but the others had relocated themselves. I’d suggested they may have wanted to seek out more comfortable spots in the house, but they’d insisted they wanted us to all be together. We’d ended up having something akin to a sleepover on Earth. One sexy, freaky sleepover.

Yeah, Nad replied. Just a bad dream, I think?

I nodded in confirmation, but though I might have only dreamed I was back there, the actual experience of forcing myself to be with Borys had been very real. I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to have gone through what I had and not suffer from nightmares. And I wasn’t only talking about Borys penetrating me and laying his eggs inside me, though I knew that was something I would probably never get over fully. Previous to that, I had also gone through abduction from my home planet, Earth, impregnation, and birthing a Trad baby.

I wondered if the baby was safe and well taken care of. Was it loved, even? I struggled to imagine the father, Rhett, loving anyone but himself, and my chest tightened at the thought. The reason Nadeusz and Mikotaj had turned out differently than other Trads was that they’d been raised by a female Trad who had survived the virus that had wiped out most of the female Trad population. By not being involved in the baby’s upbringing, wasn’t I allowing history to repeat itself? The child would grow up to be no different to its father.

Is it morning? I asked Nad, the remnants of the dream fading away.

He nodded and jerked his chin toward the window, where a faint light was pressing its way through the gaps in the shutters. Almost.

There was another person who had probably slept as badly as me, and she was in the bedroom on the other side of the house. Zoe had been through almost as much as I had, and I wondered if her first night where she was no longer a prisoner had been more restful than mine. Nad, Miko, and Diarus had done their part in keeping me awake last night, but I wasn’t going to complain about that.

I pressed my thighs together at the memory of what we’d done. Never had I considered that I’d willingly have sex with a creature that wasn’t human, never mind three of them at the same time. But even though the person I’d been before all of this wanted to insist it was wrong and I was doing something bad or immoral, deep down I knew this couldn’t have felt more right. I was a part of something when I was with them all, something greater than myself. I had a purpose in life that went beyond drinking and partying and having a good time—not that there was anything wrong with those things. I’d thought I’d loved my life before any of this happened. But things were different now. I was different now, and I discovered that if I was offered the chance of going back to a time when things had been normal, I wasn’t sure I’d take it. Despite the trauma I’d been through, I’d go through it all again if it meant I’d be able to meet these three.

I rose to my feet, planning to leave the room and see how Zoe was doing.

You can stay in bed, Nad said, his tail sliding across the bed to wrap around my wrist and tug me back again. You won’t hear any of us complaining.

I sighed. You have no idea how tempting that is, but I want to check on Zoe.

Nad frowned but released me. She’s not your responsibility, you know. You saved her, but that doesn’t mean you have to be accountable to her all the time.

I shrugged. Maybe, but we’re both in the same situation, and I can’t help but feel the two of us are in this together. We’re humans on a planet of Trads. Both the odd ones out. I don’t know, maybe it’s a female solidarity thing, but we look out for each other.

You care about people, Diarus said from the recliner. That’s a good thing.

Yes, and I cared about him, too.

How’s your chest? I asked.

He’d been cut by the claws of a creature Borys had forced him to fight for their entertainment.

Healing. Another couple of days and I’ll be good as new.

I knew that wasn’t strictly true. It’s going to leave one hell of a scar.

He smiled, but there was a coldness behind his amber eyes. One more to add to the collection.

His back was already littered with scars from the time he’d spent on Tradrych, working undercover as a slave, when he was actually a part of the Athion military team, the Custos. I admired that he didn’t think all Trads were the same. I imagined it would be impossible to be as involved with Nad and Miko, and the rest of the rebels, if that were the case. In a way, Diarus’s role was no different to what I was doing, in not tarring all the Trads with the same brush. I hoped Zoe would come around some time soon, as well. We were going to need to hook back up with the other rebels, and I remembered the leader, Aleksy’s, reaction to me when I first arrived. There was a good chance he’d feel the same way about having Zoe around, but that was something he was going to need to get over. If things went our way and, eventually, we were able to free any captive women from the facilities, he was going to have a whole heap of other human women to deal with.

Do you think Borys has realized his plans are gone yet? I asked, looking around at the others.

Diarus twisted his lips. I guess it depends on how much of his property has burned. If we’re lucky, the fire will have reached his private quarters and there will be too much damage for him to tell if the plans were taken or if they were burned in the fire.

But Nadeusz shook his head. The cylinder the plans were in is fireproof. Even if the fire did reach that area, it would have remained intact.

I wrinkled my nose. So, assuming the building hasn’t been reduced to rubble, he’ll have figured out it’s gone fairly quickly.

Nad nodded. Yep.

And he’ll be able to tell I was the one who took it.

Not necessarily, Tara, Diarus said. Remember that I escaped, too. He’s just as likely to assume I was the one who took the plans.

It doesn’t matter either way, Miko said. They’re going to put us all together, and there’s a good chance they’ll link us as being the same ones who got Tara out of the first facility, too. Knowing Borys, he’s going to rip the city apart until he finds us.

A tremor went through me. I don’t like the sound of that.

The one thing I wouldn’t handle was going back to Borys. If something happened to the others, and there was no chance of escape, I didn’t think I’d be able to go on. Was it braver to end things, and deny Borys his next generation of Trads—at least produced by me—or would it be braver to keep going, no matter what? I wasn’t even sure at this point, and I hated that I was even having to think of these things.

Miko continued. We just have to stay low and be faster and more cunning than him. The city has enough tunnels to let us move around in relative darkness, so we can take advantage of that. Plus, we have friends in the city who can help.

Like Ewa, I interjected, remembering the female Trad who’d helped me give birth.

Miko nodded and twisted the bolt through his nose. Yes, like Ewa. Borys doesn’t have enough guards to cover the whole city, even if he wants to.

A noise came from outside the room, followed by a clatter and an exclamation.

I stiffened and turned toward the door.

Tara, wait. Nad was in front of me before I even managed to take a step. I’ll go first.

It’s only Zoe, I said.

Better to be sure.

He was being protective, though there was no need. I recognized Zoe’s voice. It was easily identifiable to me after we’d spent the days back in Borys’s property communicating through the vents.

I followed Nad out of the room to discover her standing in the kitchen, a plate in her hand. I sensed movement behind me and glanced over my shoulder to see both Miko and Diarus had also followed us out. They were all half-dressed, exposing bare chests, and I wondered what Zoe would make of all the scale-covered muscles and Diarus’s scars.

She spotted me and lifted the item of crockery. Sorry, I was hungry. No one was up, so I thought I’d help myself to breakfast.

Of course. I offered Zoe a smile. How did you sleep?

She rubbed her face. Like shit. You’d think considering I wasn’t tied up or locked in anywhere for the first time in forever that I’d have slept like a baby, but I was having nightmare after nightmare. Every time I woke myself up from one, I went back into another.

I nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. Hopefully, they’ll fade in time.

Her gaze darted to the two Trads and the Athion beside me. But this isn’t over yet, is it? It’s far from over. It’s not as though we can just hop on a bus and go home. We’re still on an alien planet and surrounded by people like Borys.

Her eyes filled