By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Skye MacKinnon

They want to make me their captain.
I can’t even fly a bloody spaceship.

I’m no longer a captive. No longer alone. But we’re still on the run. And the four alien males who seem to think the universe of me are only making it more complicated for me.

New life. New rules.

We can’t be free until we escape the Athions hunting us, even if it means accepting the help of untrustworthy space pirates.

What price am I prepared to pay for my freedom?

The third and final book in the Between Rebels trilogy, a sci-fi reverse harem.

Note:
Planet Athion is a shared world contributed to by multiple authors. Discover more about this exciting new Reverse Harem, Sci Fi Romance series HERE.

When we left Wren and the guys they were entering pods to escape from the Athion ship coming to ‘rescue’ them. This was their only hope.

Now they’ve arrived on the pirate ship that came to help them, a huge vessel with an interesting character for a Captain. Ki’to’lok was one of the most powerful pirate captains with many and varied connections. After he gives Wren a tour of the ship he brings her to rejoin her men.

Raf, Vuk, Kilo and Kili were trying to figure out the next steps. With the Athions still out there, they were going to need a new ship and they aren’t exactly cheap. They couldn’t seem to agree on what they were going to be either, the only agreement was with regard to Wren. She would be their Captain and she was to be protected and loved by all of them. In order for her and them to be truly free they decided they needed to find and kill the Athions that were responsible for kidnapping and hurting her to begin with.

Kion shared a bit of a secret with them in the form of an inheritance he just has sitting there. It’s more than enough for a ship and they transfer that to Wren since she is an unknown in the universe except for a few.

With their ship purchased they leave to start their own journey whatever that will be. As they tour their new possession, they come across a very interesting entity.

This is a favorite scene.

We continued our exploration, passing several small empty rooms that could be used as sleeping quarters, until we reached a communal area. A large glass cylinder sat in the centre, filled with water.

“Is that an aquarium?” Wren asked, letting go of my hand to step closer.

I cursed soundlessly. My hand felt empty where I’d touched Wren. She was only a few steps away, yet it felt like an endless distance.

The water had a strange green tinge, not the colour of algae but something brighter, like the juice of a worys worm. The tank seemed empty with the exception of a layer of grey pebbles at the bottom.

“Whatever was in here must have died or been taken out before they sold the ship,” Kili said while walking around the aquarium.

“Wait!” Wren shouted when he was directly opposite of her. “There’s something…”

She screamed and even I let out a small yelp when I realised what she was staring at.

Kili’s image was distorted because of the tank, but in front of his chest, this distortion took on an entirely different shape. An elongated head with eight arms that drifted beneath it in the water. It was almost completely translucent, blending in with the greenish water. Only having Kili’s body as the backdrop had revealed the creature.

“Is that an octopus?” Wren gasped, now keeping a safe distance from the tank.

“I have no idea what an octopus is,” Kion muttered, “but if I’m not completely mistaken, this is a kalitrys, an extremely intelligent being from the other end of the galaxy.”

I’d never heard of such an animal before. Neither had the others, judging from their expressions.

“Are they dangerous?” I asked, keeping my eyes fixed on the eight-armed creature. Strong glass separated it from Wren, yet I was still worried about her safety. I doubted that would ever change. If I could, I’d wrap her in blankets and lock her into a room just to make sure no harm came to her. Sadly, I didn’t think she’d like that.

“They can be if they feel threatened,” Kion explained. “But usually, they’re harmless. Very intelligent, more so than some computers.”

Kili scoffed. “Wait, you’re telling me this squishy thing is better than a computer?”

“An octopus has nine brains,” Wren whispered, starting at the creature as if she was spellbound. “One in each tentacle. Maybe this one is the same.”

I still didn’t know what an octopus was, but nine brains sounded way too creepy for my liking. I knew several species with two or even three brains, but I’d learned that the more brains someone had, the higher the likelihood of them being a crazy psychopath. Having a creature with nine brains on board of our ship was a disaster waiting to happen. We’d have to get rid of it, and quickly, before Wren decided to adopt it as a pet. I could already see the first signs of her warming to the creature. She was approaching the tank, a smile on her face, and before I could stop her, she pressed her hands against the glass.

The lights in the room flickered once, then became a warm bright, a lot more welcoming than the previously fluorescent lighting.

I hurried to Wren’s side, my scales hardening, ready to defend her. Raf was already between her and the tank, and Kion had taken position at her back, guarding her in case the threat came from somewhere in the room.

“What’s going on?” Kili shouted from the other side of the tank. “What did you do?”

WELCOME.

Wren

The word echoed through my mind. A soft, melodious voice speaking in the same English accent I did.

I looked at the guys. All four of them seemed confused, turning back and forth to find the origin of the voice.

I didn’t have to search for it though. I already knew.

The kalytris stretched out one arm and gently tapped the window with it, as if it was knocking on a door. It wasn’t as translucent as it had been when we’d first entered the room. An iridescent shimmer now covered its skin, making it visible even without needing Kili as a dark background.

If the creature had eyes, then they were camouflaged well. It did have a mouth; small, lipless and with two small fangs that reminded me of a vampire. With the exception of the mouth, its large head was smooth and without any distinguishing features.

It was still becoming darker. Pulses of colour shot across its skin, ending in the tips of its arms, before another colourful wave started at the top. I’d never seen anything like it.

WHO IS THE CAPTAIN? I

t took me a moment to remember that it was me. I held up my hand like a school pupil.

“Me.”

The guys didn’t leave their protective formation around me. They formed a wall between me and the tank, leaving just a small gap enabling me to stare at the kalytris.

WELCOME TO MY SHIP. I HAVE BEEN AWAITING YOU.

“Your ship?” I blurted before I could stop myself.

“Is it talking to you?” Vuk whispered. He rubbed his ears.

“Yes, can’t you hear it?”

I’M SPEAKING JUST TO YOU, CAPTAIN. WE HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS. BUT FIRST, DO YOU HAVE A NAME?

“Yes. I mean, my name is Wren, Wren King. What’s your name?”

MY FULL NAME IS TOO LONG TO BE UTTERED IN THIS VERY MOMENT. YOU MAY CALL ME M’HIL’TA-KAT’ORL THE FOURTH.

I choked. “That’s the short version of your name?”

IT IS VERY SHORT.

“Can I call you Hil?”

The kalytris groaned, a telepathic message that was both a sound and an emotion. YOU’RE THE CAPTAIN. YOU’RE IN CHARGE.

I grinned at it – I wasn’t quite sure if the alien octopus had a gender. “Hil it is. Now could you tell me what you’re doing here? Why did they leave you here when they sold the ship?”

I AM PART OF THE SHIP. I AM THE PILOT.

“What is it saying?” Raf whispered.

“Hil, can you talk to all of us? That will make it much easier. We don’t have secrets from each other.”

To my surprise, Hil laughed. ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?

I swallowed but didn’t respond.

I AM THE PILOT, Hil repeated and I knew from the shocked expressions of the guys that it was now speaking to all of us at once.

I AM THE HEART OF THE SHIP. THE BRAIN. THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. I CONTROL EVERYTHING ONBOARD AND I AM UNDER YOUR COMMAND.

“Everything?” Vuk echoed. “How is that possible?”

THE DESIGNERS OF THIS VESSEL WANTED TO MAKE IT SPECIAL. A SIMPLE AI WASN’T ENOUGH FOR THEM, SO THEY LOOKED AT OTHER OPTIONS. I ENDED UP BEING THEIR SOLUTION.

“Did they force you to do this?” I asked, dread pooling in my stomach. I didn’t want an enslaved alien on my ship.

NO. I VOLUNTEERED.

I sighed in relief. That was better. It was still weird to have an octopus controlling the ship, but at least it was here by its own free will.

MY MATE DIED AND I NEEDED A NEW PURPOSE IN LIFE. MY KIND RARELY LEAVE OUR PLANET, SO THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY I COULDN’T PASS ON. I’D ALWAYS WANTED TO TRAVEL AND SEE THE UNIVERSE.

“But you’re stuck in this tank,” I protested. “How can you see anything from here?”

I AM LINKED TO ALL THE SHIP’S SYSTEMS. ALL THE CAMERAS. AND ALL THE CREW.

“Wait, you’re linked to us?” Kion growled. “How? We didn’t give you permission.”

NOT YET. YOU ARE RIGHT, I NEED YOUR PERMISSION TO ESTABLISH A MENTAL LINK. BUT THAT IS FOR LATER. RIGHT NOW, I NEED YOU TO SET A COURSE. THE SHIP IS DRIFTING AND I WOULD FEEL BETTER KNOWING WHERE WE’RE GOING. BY THE WAY, WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO WITH THIS VESSEL?

I grinned at Hil. “We’re pirates.”

I swore that even though he didn’t have eyes, I could see his eyes widen.
Skye MacKinnon. Chosen by them: Between Rebels Book Three (Kindle Locations 876-943). Peryton Press.

M’Hil’Ta-Kat’Orl the Forth, is essentially part of their ship and something all of them would have to get used to.

As Wren and her guys find their way together, what they look for finds them. In spite of being human, Wren begins to adjust to her new life mastering tasks she could never have dreamed of.

This book is fun, suspenseful, with simmer to sizzle. I hate to see this end, I love these characters so much!

5 Contented Purrs for Skye!

Skye MacKinnon

Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today & International Bestselling Author whose books are filled with strong heroines who don’t have to choose.

She embraces her Scottishness with fantastical Scottish settings and a dash of mythology, no matter if she’s writing about Celtic gods, cat shifters, or the streets of Edinburgh.

When she’s not typing away at her favourite cafe, Skye loves dried mango, as much exotic tea as she can squeeze into her cupboards, and being covered in pet hair by her two bunnies, Emma and Darwin.