Woot! The countdown to the release day for Raw Desires is on!
And that means I am allowed to share the first chapter while we wait.
Today, I’m sharing the very first scene.
***
Chapter One
Taytu crouched by her mom’s grave. “I buried a boy from the Semeni settlement this planet rotation.” His body had been partially hidden between the roots of a tree in a nearby forest. “I missed him on the last twelve searches.”
She uncovered fewer and fewer of the dead with each trek around her tiny home planet.
“He’ll be at peace now.” That was the least she could do for one of her kind. She’d been far away, attending an off-planet academy when the Humanoid Alliance and their heartless cyborgs had brutally slaughtered the conflict-adverse Abebans. By the time she was informed of the massacre and had arranged transport home, there was nothing left to do but bury the bodies.
And plot her revenge. Her fingers folded into tight fists.
“The enemy will have no peace.” She felt a tinge of guilt after issuing that statement. “I know you don’t approve of my plans, Mom. If you were here, you would tell me to lay down my anger before it eats me alive. But I don’t have your gentle heart.”
She’d always struggled with the serenity her kind practiced. Her parents had sent her to the academy with the hope she’d find oneness with the universe there.
That was the only reason she had survived.
“I am the last Abeban.” That truth ravaged her soul. “And my heart holds no kindness for our enemy.”
They would pay for what they’d done to her family, friends, and neighbors. She touched the carved stick that marked her mom’s final resting spot.
All around her, thousands of sticks dotted the terrain. Every one represented a soul lost.
When she arrived on the planet, the stench had been overpowering. Her nose wrinkled.
She’d buried everybody, performed a service for each being, carved their grave marker.
And she had trained. She’d studied the enemy, watching footage, replicating their movements, learning their tactics and their strategies.
With each self-taught lesson, she had become more and more like warriors she despised. Her kind’s culture of peace was cast aside. She molded herself into a being who could ruthlessly end lifespans.
The trap she’d set for the enemy was as carefully designed. Every possibility was considered.
It was…perfect. Satisfaction coursed through her.
When the cyborgs returned, they would die.
There was no doubt in her mind they would come back to Yebeti Abeba. They had forgotten two of their killers in one of the death machines they’d left on the planet.
Human corpses sporting Humanoid Alliance officer uniforms had been found on the bridge. The males must’ve misjudged the landing.
The cyborgs were sealed in the cargo hold of the vessel. They would serve as bait for her trap.
“I’ll end as many of their worthless lifespans as I can.” Taytu pressed her lips together. “I’ll lay my anger at their feet and it will consume them.” As it had consumed her. “Then I’ll join you in the land beyond.”
Her skills as a warrior were now adequate, and she’d have the advantage of surprise when the enemy arrived. She was confident she could kill at least one cyborg.
But she would be facing more than that. The warriors never operated alone. And they were manufactured for battle. The cyborgs would defend themselves. They would counterattack.
And they would kill her. She wouldn’t defeat all of them.
Taytu had accepted her impending death. It was a sacrifice she was willing, was eager to make.
There was nothing in the universe left for her. Everyone she loved was now gone.
All she had was a lifespan of loneliness, of regret.
And a heart filled with vengeance.
She straightened. “Ask the deities to forgive me, Mom.” She missed her family, her friends, and her neighbors so very much. The grief carved into the core of her. The sorrow shrouded her like a cape. “We’ll be together then.” She wiped the wetness from her cheeks. “Your goodness should offset the actions I’ll soon take.”
Abeban deities spoke of forgiveness. They should be equally forgiving of her response to the killing of her kind.
If they weren’t…
Fuck them.
Another wave of guilt swept over her. “I didn’t mean that.” She glanced upward at the cloud-filled sky. “Don’t smite me.” She paused. “Not until I’ve done what I have to do.”
And that was to kill as many cyborgs as possible.
She looked at the grave marker. “I love you, Mom. Tell Dad I love him also. And the others. I love them all, and I’m sorry, I’m sorry I wasn’t with them. But I’ll join them soon.”
Once the killing was over.
***
Read the next scene (available January 30th) here:
http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=10451
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Raw Desires
His human female is attempting to kill him.
This cyborg finds that adorable.
Raw, a K model cyborg, is one of the lucky warriors who has located his genetic match. He hears his human female’s voice over the communication lines and immediately processes she is his.
Winning her affections will be a greater challenge. Battle has always been Raw’s focus. The rough-and-tough warrior has no idea how to engage anyone’s tender emotions.
Fortunately, he isn’t alone in the universe. His unmatched male friends help him craft a plan.
All Raw has to do is relay a few unsettlingly sweet words to his female and give her the thoroughly unfunctional wall decoration he has obtained. He projects she will then jump into his big, strong arms and beg him to claim her.
Taytu isn’t jumping anywhere. She has one mission—kill every cyborg in existence.
The huge, handsome male traveling to meet with her is her first target. His rough hands, firm lips, and sparkling, energy-infused eyes won’t save him from her vengeance. She has trained vigorously for this moment, and she won’t fail at her assigned task.
The cyborg will die.
Raw Desires is an enemies-to-lovers Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BFG8W5JM
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BFG8W5JM
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https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0BFG8W5JM
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/raw-desires/id6443413750
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