Mated to the Beast of the Wasteland (Gillian and Merrick) novel Chapter 1

"The hell is wrong with this kid? Half his body's covered in black scales."

"He's tainted. The whole city shield's gone. Nothing left but monsters."

A tall beastman kicked the child clinging to his mother, sending the small body flying into the roadside ditch.

"Finish him off?" a squadmate asked.

"My kick did the job. He's got one breath left, maybe. Let's move; mission first."

A squad of beastmen in sleek tactical armor walked past the piles of corpses, indifferent. They updated their command while moving toward their target coordinates.

"Wasteland City is clear, sir. Proceeding as ordered."

The small figure dragged himself to his mother's side. He pressed his face against Gillian Sterling's cold cheek, his gaze sweeping over the lifeless ruins. The stench of rot was overwhelming.

"Mom, everyone's dead. Let's burn it all down. These b*stards deserve to die."

With the last of his strength, he shifted her body aside. Underneath her was a dormant taint core. He clawed at his own chest and tore out his primal core, then thrust it into the dormant one.

The dormant core, hit with that energy, woke like a wild animal. It exploded from the ground, swallowing everything in sight.

"No!"

A sharp pain in her chest jolted Gillian awake.

Darkness surrounded her. A pair of familiar, aged hands held her tight, gently patting her back.

"Gillian, sweetheart, it's okay. Grandma's here."

"Grandma?" Gillian mumbled, her mind foggy.

Mabel Sterling had been sitting by her bed, watching over her. She pulled her granddaughter into a crushing hug, her heart aching.

"You've been through hell! No amount of hush money from that damned Cleric Academy is enough! I'm suing them!"

"Cleric Academy?"

Gillian's eyes were unfocused. The words made no sense.

And... Grandma died years ago, didn't she?

"Gillian, please, say something. You're scaring me," Mabel pleaded, her voice trembling.

Her precious granddaughter had collapsed in her arms that afternoon. Her clothes were torn and messy, her skin covered in bruises. It was painfully clear what someone had tried to do to her.

"Let me take you to the hospital. We won't worry about gossip. We'll get those animals arrested."

"I..."

The warmth of Mabel's hold and the date on her wrist terminal left no doubt. This was real.

This wasn't the hellscape of Wasteland City. This was... Goldspine City. Eight years in the past.

Void Star had two parts: the fancy Capital Planet and the rougher Outer Planet. Goldspine City was just a small spot on the Outer Planet, but it was a thousand times safer than Wasteland City.

Did I... go back? Am I really twenty again?

Gillian's hand flew to her lower abdomen. She pushed inward with her psionic power, a skill long unused and terribly rusty.

There. Two faint, new life-sparks, bound to her by blood.

Asher? Elias? Is it really you two?

A wave of emotion hit her so hard it made her head pound.

The memories of that day came flooding back.

It had started with her graduation from the Cleric Academy.

After the ceremony, they never handed over their Cleric Licenses. Instead, she and the other female clerics were led to a private hall.

The moment she walked in, everything went black.

She came to with a jolt. A disgusting man with a face full of freckles was tearing at her pristine white cleric's robes. The fabric was already in shreds on the floor.

Fire raged under her skin. Someone had forced heat powder down her throat. He wanted her completely, chemically subdued.

Gillian had played along, biding her time.

At the last second, she struck—a vicious psionic blow that snapped his d*ck clean off for good.

Luckily, there were no beastman guards outside.

Burning through her remaining strength, she'd fought her way out of the hotel.

But she'd waited too long. The heat powder had turned her primal core solid pink. If she didn't bond soon, it would burst.

A female without a primal core was as good as dead.

As if by fate, a temporary recruitment outpost for the 9th Legion was just down the street.

A bright, garish hologram flashed above the gate.

"Love Her. Protect Her. Provide For Her. The 9th Legion: Prime Beastmate Material. Each one 6'3", built, and packing heat."

She knew the legion sometimes arranged bonds between their soldiers and willing civilians. If both consented, they could form the bond right there.

Better a soldier sworn to protect than the monsters who tried to break me.

Gillian didn't hesitate. She ran straight into the 9th Legion building.

The guys chasing her saw where she went and scattered. They weren't stupid enough to follow.

Gillian breathed a sigh of relief. I made it.

The woman behind the front desk, Freya Reed, looked up, one eyebrow arched in surprise.

A female walking in for a bond? And a cleric, by the looks of her robes—a powerful one, too. But her clothes are ripped...

Freya glanced outside and saw a few shady-looking beastmen lurking.

This girl's in deep trouble. Then again... trouble is the 9th Legion's business.

Any female brave enough to choose a military bond was a friend in their book.

"Don't you worry, honey," Freya said, her smile warm. "We've got the finest selection in the system here. All handsome, all loyal, all prime specimens. Every single one a solid 6'3" and built to last."

She was laying it on thick. It had been ages since a female just walked in.

Gillian forced out, "Someone my age. Healthy. Not hideous. Someone who can be here in three minutes. I need to bond. Now."

Those were her only terms. No time to be picky.

Freya frowned. Such basic demands. She's desperate.

Talk about luck. The legion's getting a two-for-one today.

This is it? This is where I tie my life to a stranger?

Oh, my. Can I even handle that?

She's no ordinary female.

She is meant for me.

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