Colton: Scorpio Sons, #1

By Nhys Glover

Staring into glowing cat-eyes, while her attackers lay like broken dolls in the snow around her, shouldn't have been a turn-on. But it was. She shouldn't consider the man who killed to save her from her rapists a hero. But she does. She shouldn't feel as if she belongs to that hero, mind body and soul, but there's no way she can deny it. And the hardest part for Alyssa Aimes to get her head around, besides his extraordinary eyes: the knowledge that she'll never see him again.

But four years later, Colton Blake does come back into her life, just as dramatically as he left it. And this time she's determined to keep him there, even if she has to risk her recording contract and her life to do it.

For Colt, much has changed in four years. No longer a homeless drifter with a dangerous secret, he has found his place among the Scorpio Sons, an elite band of genetically engineered cloned warriors charged with bringing to justice a secret cabal that has been exploiting the world for millennia. But one thing that hasn't changed during that time: his obsession with Alyssa, the stranger he met just once and can't seem to forget. But now his mission has brought Alyssa back into his life. And with her comes a secret she doesn't even realize she harbors; a secret that could bring not only Colt to his knees, but the whole band of the Scorpio Sons along with him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nhys Glover
• Release date: Nov 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223190622

Nhys Glover

After a lifetime of teaching others to appreciate the written word, Aussie author Nhys Glover finally decided to make the most of the Indie Book Revolution to get her own written word out to the world. Now, with more than a quarter million of her ebooks downloaded internationally and a winner of an SFR Galaxy Award for 'The Titan Drowns', Nhys finds her words, too, are being appreciated. At home in beautiful Durham County England, Nhys these days spends her time "living the dream" by looking out over the moors as she writes the kind of novels she loves to read.

Book preview

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. With the exception of historical events and people used as background for the story, or those clearly in the public domain, the names, characters and incidents portrayed in this work come wholly from the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental

Published by Belisama Press

© Nhys Glover 2014

The right of Nhys Glover to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

This book is copyright. All rights reserved.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please delete it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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OTHER BOOKS BY NHYS GLOVER

ANCIENT ROMAN HISTORICAL ROMANCES:

Liquid Fire

The Barbarian's Mistress

Lionslayer's Woman (Sequel to Liquid Fire)

White Raven's Lover (Sequel to Barbarian's Mistress)

The Gladiator's Bride (Sequel to White Raven's Lover)

WEREWOLF KEEP TRILOGY:

Guardian of Werewolf Keep

Imprisoned at Werewolf Keep

Defiance at Werewolf Keep

Insane (A novella)

NEW ATLANTIS TIME TRAVEL SERIES:

Nine Lives (Cara/Jac)

The Dreamer's Prince (Jane/Julio)

Savage (Faith/ Luke)

Shared Soul (Maggie/Travis)

Bitter Oath (Liv/ Rene)

The Titan Drowns (Eilish/Max, Karl/Lizzie, Pia/Marco)

The Key (Kat/Bart)

Pieces (Krista/Dirk)

Second Chance (Bree/Hakon)

Watcher (Jin/Rafe)

Vision of You (Ellen/Duke)

Osiris (Takhara/Dan)

Causality (Willow/Jarvidh)

Gods of Time (Teagan/Jason, Lucien/Alba)

Book of Seeds (Shay/Cy)

Echoes of You (Josie/Chen)

Breathe (Meg/Rico)

SCORPIO SONS SF/SHIFTER ROMANCE SERIES:

1: Colton  2: Connor  3: Cooper  4: Chase

5: Cameron  6: Caleb  7: Conrad  8: Charles

GREYWORLD SWEET PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Your World or Mine?

Her World or Ours?

Their Worlds Collide

His World on Repeat

REVERSE HAREM ADVENTURES:

THE AIRLUDS TRILOGY:

The Sacrifice

The Chosen One

Goddess Unbound

THE AIRSHAN CHRONICLES

The Five

Daemon

The Devoure

r

GLADIATOR

Typhon  2.Asterius  3. Talos  4.Orion  5.Marcus

THE DANANS

Captive

Escape

Reunion

Outliers

Gift

Shattered

Stolen

PROTECTORS

Sand, Stone & Steel

Ice, Shard & Smoke

Blade, Hilt & Amphion

Galaxeans

Shadow

ALFIE WIMPLE TRILOGY (Paranormal Romantic Comedy)

Sticks and Standing Stones Can Break my Bones

But Ferrets Can Never Hurt Me

Dragons, On the Other Hand...

MINERVA’S MYSTERIES (Cozy Mysteries)

The Lost Child

The Missing Party-Girl

The Troubled Man

OTHERS:

The Way Home (Ghost Romance)

Caught in a Dream (SF Sweet Romance)

Labyrinth of Light (New Age Inspirational)

For Love of Liam (A Sweet Romanic Comedy)

Haunted (A sweetish Romantic Mystery)

Return to Me (New Age Healing Romance)

Find out more about Nhys and her books here:

www.nhys-glover.com

PROLOGUE 

Four years ago, Clearmont College, OREGAN

COLT WAS THE LAST OF the few stragglers to leave the College library as it closed its impressive oak doors for the night. His eyes automatically adjusted to the darkness and took in what his unknown, studious companions­­­—buried deep in upturned collars, eyes trained on the icy paths beneath their feet—could not: The old-fashioned lamps shedding meager light on the paths that led to other parts of the campus; the full moon illuminating more of the building, but still hiding much in its shadows.

Hiding much from everyone but Colt, that was. For him, nights like this were as bright as day. No insidious shadows could keep their secrets from him. He missed nothing.

For a moment, he took in the winter scene before him, abnormal in so many ways for this part of the country. On a cold, unusually clear night like this, the moon seemed huge and glowing. The day-old snow, a rarity on the grassed recreational areas, looked pristine in its light. Pristine, except for the shadows of leafless trees that seemed to leave elongated stains across that purity.

And just as those shadows left no true mark on the ground, neither did he leave any actual mark on the human systems that governed his surroundings. Colton Blake was not a registered student on campus. There was no record of his existence here or anywhere else in the U.S.

Yet he could come and go without question because he looked as though he belonged. He wore decent, clean, casual clothes. His shiny, sandy colored hair was a little too long and untidy for the preppy types that attended this high-profile college, but not enough to make him stand out or indicate he didn’t belong.

On nights like this, he wanted to belong. Wanted to have a warm place to go home to, where he was welcomed and accepted. Instead, he prowled along the path that led to the Sporting Complex, where he slept in the basement in a sleeping bag on gym mats.

His acute hearing picked up the sound of a struggle.

Not here, he thought with anger. This is my sanctuary. This place is safe. Violence isn’t supposed to intrude on me here!

But the female cry and the derisive male laughter were enough to have him turning in its direction. It didn’t matter if they had breached his sanctuary. He wasn’t about to turn his back on someone in need, just to preserve what he’d created for himself.

He prowled through the shadows until his keen eyes caught sight of what his ears had identified. His nose picked up the coppery scent of blood.

Not a lot.

Not yet.

Am I too late?

Jarrod sends his love, he heard one attacker say, his cruel laughter loud.

Jarrod? Jarrod Hastings? I don’t understand, a soft, terrified voice replied.

That voice belonged to a girl, and it was such a sweet timbre that it sent goose-bumps up his arms.

"You’re not real bright, are you? You haven’t got the little messages he’s sent you before, so he’s making it obvious this time. This time, even a dumb bitch like you can get the point." The youthful male voice became crueler and uglier as his words went on.

Colt threw caution to the wind and let his beast out. It didn’t matter if he lost his hiding place here and had to be on the run again. No bastard was going to hurt a girl, just so she’d get a message.

He moved faster, his feet barely touching the snowy ground. In an instant, he took in the scene behind the hedge that separated the grass from the path. Two men had the girl pinned by the arms to the snowy ground while she struggled. The third, the bastard doing all the talking, he assumed, was unbuttoning his jeans. He was preparing to rape her.

In what would have appeared little more than a blur to the observers, Colt took down the standing man in one smooth leap. A loud grunt was the only sound he made as his neck broke.

Turning from his first prey, Colt grabbed the collar of the closest male holding the girl and ripped him backwards, away from her. With the flip of Colt’s wrist, the youth—because he wasn’t much more than that—flew across the small clearing and crumpled against a nearby tree.

The third male let go of his prey and skittered backwards, scanning for a means of escape or defense. He wouldn’t find either. Colt’s blood was up. His vision was red. His beast wouldn’t know satisfaction until this last attacker was dead or injured and no longer a threat.

With a growl, he launched himself on the frantic male and slammed him hard on the jaw with his fist. He heard a crack, and the body went limp beneath him.

For a long moment, he stared down at the last of the men, assuring himself he’d eliminated the threat. Once he was certain, he turn to look at the girl.

He felt the air burst free of his lungs in a huff of astonishment.

It wasn’t that she was anything special. There were hundreds of pretty girls on campus, just like her. She was young, only a freshman. Her honey-blonde hair, which she’d braided into a long plait down her back, was now loose and bedraggled, tendrils of curls forming a halo around her face. Eyes that were almost black in the darkness were too large for her small, pointed face. And though any normal person wouldn’t have been able to see them in the shadowy darkness, he could pick out every faded freckle on her upturned nose and flushed cheeks.

Soft, full lips hung open in stunned surprise as she took in the surrounding devastation.

You okay? Colt demanded.

He hadn’t planned to talk to her. The plan had been to save her and go. Nothing came of making connections. Nothing good.

Bruised and shaky, but otherwise ... Are they all right?

She sounded shaky. Her voice shook more now than it had when she spoke to her attacker. Why? She was safe. There was no need for fear now.

Does it matter? You know what they were going to do to you, right?

She let out a harrumphing sound and tried to clamber to her feet. With reluctance, he offered her his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, she took it.

Touching her wasn’t a good idea. His beast still seethed within him. It could smell the blood and wanted more. Letting it get too close to this unprotected girl was risky. She was too soft, too fragile. But he could no more withhold his hand than he could have walked away without a word.

Once she was on her feet, Colt jerked his hand back, rubbing it against the leg of his jeans, trying to get the feel of her off his skin. But the memory of that touch wouldn’t fade.

The back of her coat had to be soaked and she must be freezing, but except for brushing snow off herself, she didn’t seem aware of it. Her gaze kept returning to the three fallen attackers.

I ... I have to call 911. They’re hurt. They need a doctor.

Running frustrated fingers through his untidy hair, Colt groaned and lifted his face to the sky.

Why? They’d have left you here to die. You would’ve, too, if you weren’t able to drag yourself to shelter. Maybe they even planned to kill you after they had their fun, to make sure you couldn’t identify them. They don’t deserve your compassion.

She looked at him for the first time, really looked at him. He gazed back, despite his best intentions to avoid further entanglement.

No, she wasn’t anything special. But she was special to him. Something about her called to him, and he couldn’t ignore that call any more than he could stop breathing in the icy air around him.

I’m not them. I don’t hurt people and leave them to die. Her wobbly voice undermined the determination in her words.

Get somewhere warm before you call. Shock’ll set in soon. You don’t want to be cold when that happens.

Will you stay here with them until the ambulance comes? You’ll have to tell the police what ... I mean ... I’ll tell them you were saving me. You won’t get arrested or anything.

Colt laughed and leaned in so he could more effectively breathe in her scent. That had to be it. That had to be the reason she differed from any other female he’d ever met. It was crazy to tempt his beast as he was doing, but he just had to have this small part of her. To remember.

Her breath caught at his closeness. He expected to scent fear. After all, he was a stranger, taller by a head and shoulders than she was, way stronger, and he’d just proven himself deadly. She should be afraid. Instead, he picked up the subtle fragrance of arousal.

And she hated it, he could tell. It confused her. She wanted to deny her body’s responses, just like she wanted to deny the simple justice of leaving these jackals where they lay.

Who is this Jarrod Hastings? What message did he want you to get so bad that he set shitheads like this on you? he growled into her ear.

Her trembling increased, and it forced him to steady her.

Had he moved closer, just so he’d get this reaction? Just so he’d have to hold her up, feel how fragile she was, and how soft?

An ex. He didn’t like that I wouldn’t give him my virginity, so he dumped me. But I didn’t...I didn’t think... I just thought I was unlucky...

Unlucky?

He breathed in her scent again. It was becoming more irresistible with every passing moment. If he didn’t get away from her soon, his beast might claim her. And that would make him no better than the bastards he’d taken out.

My car was keyed, my dorm room vandalized, I got heaps of threatening messages on my FB page, I failed my last paper because my professor said I didn’t turn it in. But I did. I ... I can’t believe someone would do all this just because I said no.

Some people never take no for an answer. He let his nose graze the soft tendril of hair at the side of her face. They were just as silky as he expected them to be, and they smelled of honey and almonds.

Who are you? That’s a Canadian accent, isn’t it?

The words were only a whisper, but they galvanized him into action. She couldn’t know who he was. He didn’t exist.

He released her. Her legs took back her weight and held. Stepping away, he turned to go.

So, you’re just going to leave? Just going to play Superhero and leave? You can’t stay and do what you have to do? You can’t be just John Smith, a decent college student, who wanted to help? No, you have to play the role of the mysterious stranger, who steps in and then leaves, creating as many problems as he solves? Her tone was scathing.

You have no idea how much I wish I was John Smith, a decent college student. Goodbye ...? He paused to allow her time to tell him what he desperately needed to know.

After a momentary pause she answered him. "Alyssa Aimes. I have no problem telling you who I am.’

He gave her back a sad smile. "That’s because, Alyssa Aimes, you exist. I don’t."

And before she could argue the point further, he loped off into the shadows in the opposite direction from the Sports Complex. That place was closed to him now. Once the police started their search for the stranger who killed students on campus, they’d cover every hiding place on campus.

No, his time here was over. There was only one loose end he needed to tie off, and he’d do that as soon as he could hack into the College servers and locate details on Jarrod Hastings.

Guys who wouldn’t take no for an answer wouldn’t stop until they were made to stop.

And that’s what he did. He forced ‘No’ down their throats until they choked on it.

CHAPTER ONE

Present Day, SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIGHT WAS WARM for early December and silky on his skin, like a lover’s satiated fingers stroking with lazy grace over his flesh. If he didn’t breathe in, he could maintain that illusion and not have it corrupted by the reality of exhaust fumes clogging the air.

This was new. When did he ever fantasize about a lover’s touch? Sex was an itch he scratched fast, giving as much as taking pleasure from his faceless partner, so the exchange was always even. It was always anonymous and easy to forget. Never something to fantasize about.

Above the rumble of passing vehicles, he heard a sound he’d never expected to hear again. The sweet, unique voice that was impossible to forget. Even after almost four years, it hadn’t faded in his memory.

Increasing his pace, he followed the sound. Without a word, Connor adjusted his prowling gait to fit with Colt’s strides.

More than any of the other Sons, Connor matched his temperament and understood his needs. He didn’t require excessive words to be satisfied with his company.

The sound—a song, for that was what it was—seemed to come from an electrical storefront.

As he reached it, he slowed his pace and came to a standstill. Behind a mesh-protected window sat a massive TV screen, a ridiculous price-tag attached to the upper corner.

How many people could afford tech like this?

Not many, he answered himself in the next thought. But that wouldn’t stop them from buying it. Which was just what the Guild wanted.

But he had no time to think of out-of-control consumerism when She was there in front of him. After four long years, his eyes were being gifted with the sight of her again. And his ears. Oh, the sweet, plaintive melody she sang made tears prick his eyelids and a lump to form in his throat.

He wasn’t the only one staring at the enormous screen. A short black guy in gang colors was staring at Alyssa too, his mouth agape. When he noticed Colt