Future warrior - part 1 (free subscriber bonus image) (Patreon)

The warrior just sort of appeared in that narrow gap between buildings, right behind the diner with the buzzing neon sign that kept flickering like it was about to give up. Rain had left everything slick, and his boots hit an oily puddle hard enough to send a splash up his shins. His chest - still broad, still carrying the old muscle from years of fighting - felt wrong. Heavy in a new way. Two soft swells pushed out against the torn vest, the fabric rough where it dragged over nipples that had gone tight and aching with every breath he took.

He tasted ozone on his tongue, sharp and burnt, like wiring after a short circuit. Tried to mutter a curse, the kind that used to come out low and steady, but it cracked halfway through, climbing higher. Softer. He pressed a gloved palm there and felt the weight shift under his hand. Lower down, heat gathered too, pulling inward, making everything feel loose and urgent at once. The mission data still scrolled faintly across his vision, half-glitching: find the woman who would carry humanity’s last hope. Get her pregnant before the machines scrubbed the timeline clean.

Traffic rumbled somewhere beyond the alley walls. Rain picked up again, metallic smell cutting through the air. He shoved away from the damp brick, boots thudding as he started moving. Jaw felt a little less square now. “Gotta find her quick,” he said, and the voice that came out made his stomach twist - higher, unsteady, already slipping away from what he’d been. Sirens wailed in the distance. They sounded too much like the drones he used to hunt.