by Belle Harper
“Where was she last seen?” Daku asked a worried Jaim after we searched him out. Jaka had gone to find Vetok, and we alerted our head warrior from Clan Wolf. He was still in charge of the warriors here, making sure there was always protection from the outside.
“In the fall of water. I looked for her and Aalee, I could not sense either of them.” Jaim repeated the same story he told me back to Daku. I could hear so many males now accusing my littermate of stealing her away.
“He was quiet and cunning, he has taken the female,” one called out for all to hear. I protested. He wouldn’t have done such a thing, we had been together always and I knew my litter brother. Something must have happened to both of them.
“Maybe they were swept down the river? The fall of water pushing them along?” I didn’t want to think of such a thing, but it was possible. I had heard of males drowning in the water, we didn’t know how to swim like I had seen the females do. Maybe Aalee fell in and Hadley was trying to help him and they were swept away.
“We have to consider that, yes. But we also have to consider the real possibility that he took her away. We will find their scents and track them,” Vallyn announced to everyone with Luna by his side. She was agreeing this was for the best. She didn’t know Aalee like me, she didn’t know he would never harm Hadley.
I had never run so fast in my life. The fall of water was where she had washed herself earlier and I wanted to get there before the others. I wanted to prove them wrong and show that Aalee hadn’t taken her. But when I arrived, I saw her cloths laying on the edge of the water. I was frozen in my shock. Others approached from behind until most of the clan was standing here now. I watched as the female with hair the color of the twin suns picked up my Hadley’s cloths, the ones she had worn earlier to come here.
“Oh my god, she’s naked. Hadley doesn’t just roam around naked,” Jessica called out, her voice cracked as she held the cloths to her chest. I knew now, something bad had happened to them both. Aalee would never hurt her, I was sure of it. But for Hadley to be naked…
“Everyone, gather round. Aalee has taken the female Hadley—” a large warrior started to announce. I interrupted him. I didn’t want others to think Aalee had taken her, there was no proof of this.
“Hadley wasn’t taken by Aalee,” I called out, angry at the accusation. “I know him, he wouldn’t do that. I think maybe others took her and he has followed.”
I could see Vetok pacing wildly beside me now. He eyed me, not believing my thoughts. I could see he believed that other male, that Aalee took her from me… us. He didn’t know Aalee like me, like Jaim. But when I looked at Jaim, he looked conflicted.
I needed to gather my thoughts as I moved to the water’s edge. I would find her scent, and his scent I knew well. But I couldn’t find anything else, everyone tried in the area but nothing. It was like they disappeared. Maybe my theory of them being swept downstream was right.
“We need to go across the water.” Elle pointed to the other side. She was a very strong female, Elle. And I knew she was Hadley’s closest friend.
All the males rushed away from us, towards the bridge that was located further down the river, but I wasn’t waiting. I rushed forward into the water. The fall of water was spraying water onto me, but I didn’t care. I needed to find her. She might be over the other side, maybe picking fruit, and everyone was overreacting to it all. I could see her laughing and Aalee being confused when we all appeared. But that wasn’t the case. I couldn’t sense either of them.
“I can smell her here, look.” Jaka rushed to the cliff. It was built from rocks and so tall. How could she have gone up there? Even Aalee wouldn’t have climbed that. This was the same place I had been found, but I knew I had never climbed the cliff. Everyone thought otherwise, but I wasn’t a stupid male.
“I smell Aalee also. And… his blood.” I looked down to all the rocks littered around the area. I didn’t know why there were so many here, maybe they did climb and they fell? But there were so many. Why was his blood streaked on this one? It wasn’t right, I felt sick thinking about what had happened.
“There are other males’ scents here also. Did your littermate have other male friends?” I looked to Vetok, who asked, and shook my head.
“No, he never spoke to anyone,” I replied. But the truth was, I didn’t know. He could have made friends while I had been busy trying to impress Hadley. But I knew in my heart he wouldn’t have taken her. He would have protected her.
“We must get to the top of the cliff.” Jaka started to climb. But Daku told him to stop, that they would go around the safe way.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Hadley and our kits. How could this have happened? We had all the protection, but it still wasn’t enough. The females needed to have more protection when they were far from camp.
“Let’s go.”
We had made it to the top of the cliff. We could sense someone here, but it wasn’t the same scents we were tracking. No, this was different. Not Aashi, but also not human. Behind some low bushes we found the pink Zalli warrior. He was bleeding and barely alive. Everyone knew then that Aalee hadn’t taken her, that this was the work of outcast males.
These outcast males must have worked in a large group to take down a Zalli warrior. I was grateful he wasn’t dead. Jaim worked on him with Axoh as the rest of the warriors spread out and searched for Hadley.
We spent all day searching and came up with nothing. They didn’t have that big of a lead on us, but they must know this area well to travel fast.
As night fell, I worried about Hadley. These males knew how to mask their scent, and every hour we seemed to lose Hadley’s scent also. I couldn’t sense her or smell her anymore. I felt like a terrible mate. I hadn’t even officially mated her yet. I had spilled seed before I could put it into her body.
“Stop,” Vetok said to me. I froze. Did he see her?
“You are not healed, Adee. You push yourself too much, you must rest.”
I didn’t disagree. I wished I could keep going, but I was slow, too slow, and I was making it hard for everyone in my group.
“I will rest here. The moon is high in the sky, I will catch up to you all in the morning.” I sat down against a tree. I would rest a few hours and follow their scents.
I woke to the twin suns blaring heat into my skin. I sat up, startled.
“It’s okay, I’m here.” It was Jaim, he had come and found me.
“We need to leave now,” I told him, standing to my feet. I must have passed out from exhaustion. I didn’t mean to sleep this long. But as the first drops of rain started, I cursed the Goddess. Why would she do this to me?
We would lose all scents in the rain. I wouldn’t be able to find Hadley or Aalee. There was nothing I could do.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hadley
The hut they constructed was rough. If that held up I would be very surprised. But I guess they weren’t trying to build some amazing hut to impress me. This was just so they could mate me… rape me. Fuckers were going to feel the wrath of my heel in their stupid hairless balls.
One came to grab me and I did everything to slow him down.
“No, stop,” I screamed, my feet digging into the earth in front of me, legs out straight, and being as much of a dead weight so it was hard for him to carry me. But that wasn’t going to stop an almost-seven-foot-tall alien with four arms and two tails. No, he wrapped his tails around my ankles and lifted me off the ground, and carried me like I weighed no more than a feather.
“Stop, no. Get off me.” I lashed out, trying to hurt him, but my nails were blunt. I had a habit of chewing them down. I wished I didn’t so I would have something to scratch him with.
The fear rose in my chest. This was it. As he took me into the crudely built hut, there were five other males inside already. Their cocks out… they were stroking them, watching me. I was dropped into the middle of them all, naked, cold and shaking. A few of them turned to the opening of the hut, b
ut I didn’t look. I didn’t want to take my eyes off any of them. I needed to be prepared to fight them off.
They started speaking, their hands no longer on their cocks as they grabbed weapons. I took that chance to look outside. The rain was heavy and making everything hard to see, the fog was thick, but I could see the shape of a male.
“Aalee?” I called out. Someone hit me in the head and I saw stars before everything started to become fuzzy. But as I slowly laid my head down, I could see the male come running, and calling out in an Aashi war cry.
Aalee… he came for me. He was here. I closed my eyes and felt my body grow heavy.
He was here…
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aalee
I had found the warrior Jaemay, he was on guard at the cliff farther up from the fall of water. He told me that a Zalli male was supposed to be guarding that section where the males had taken Hadley. I knew this male… it was Jeralk. The pink Zalli warrior who I had stayed with, he had become a friend. But where was he now? Was he working with these Aashi? It made no sense. I didn’t see him when I was at the top.
We had tracked the scent, but these males knew how to cover their tracks and made it difficult. But they had become careless the further they got from the clan. Maybe because they didn’t expect anyone to find them after they hid their tracks. When we got close, we had sensed Hadley, but also many other males. We knew they could sense us too, so we backed right off. I didn’t want to start something with them, something I couldn’t finish with being so outnumbered. That wouldn’t help Hadley at all.
We made a small camp in hopes we could wait for backup to come. We needed more males to take them on. I had heard Hadley cry out my name so many times, and it broke me inside not to be there for her. If Jaemay wasn’t with me, I knew I would be dead already. I wouldn’t have waited, I would have charged in and done anything to protect her.
He was a male of reason and good strength. He held me down every time she cried out to me and I tried to run to her, only ever letting me go when he knew I would use my mind and not my heart.
When the rains began it wasn’t getting better for us. The clan wasn’t here, they never came. I didn’t understand, we had left marks and our scent for them to follow. But now the rains were here, that was going to be impossible to find. Did they not know Hadley was missing? It didn’t make sense to me. Jaim would have told them. They would have known. But why weren’t they out here looking for her?
“We need to move now, they are building a hut… They will mate Hadley against her will.” I was pacing as I tried to explain to Jaemay why I couldn’t wait. He knew we couldn’t take them on, but I couldn’t sit here and wait any longer.
When I heard Hadley scream, I lost it. Jaemay tried to grab me and hold me back as he had done so many times before, but all those times I had let him stop me. This time I broke free and ran to her. I would do whatever I could to stop this.
The males knew I was there as I slowed down my approach.
“Aalee?” Hadley almost whispered my name. I stepped forward. I sensed the six males emerge from the hut. The odds were stacked heavily against me, but I would die trying to protect Hadley.
The fog was thick from the rains, making it hard to see, and I tried to see where they were as I sensed them surrounding me. Caging me in. Even if I could only stop them for a short time, it would be worth it. Giving her a chance to run, for the clan to find her… anything was better. Hadley was everything to me, I didn’t know that until now, how much I loved her.
The males charged me as one and I wasn’t expecting that. I moved, but not fast enough as one caught my chin with their fist. I swung out, hitting them. But they overpowered me. Shoving me to the ground and hitting me over and over. I tried to hit back, but it only left me vulnerable to attack as I couldn’t block that many fists.
Jaemay came into view as he dropped from the tree above and attacked the males with his knife. At least the odds were a little more in my favor with Jaemay. The males had underestimated me and didn’t come at me with weapons, only fists. They had left their weapons behind. If I could get to one, I could use it against them.
Jaemay jumped back into the tree and it seemed to distract the males from me, but my body was injured severely. I knew I had many broken bones, but I could see Hadley. She was safe for now, but how long could Jaemay last? Once they brought him down there would be no one. I had to get to Hadley. I needed her to run. I wished she was already running. I didn’t understand why she stayed in the hut.
I crawled over to her, each movement making my chest scream in pain. I had broken ribs but I had to block out the pain. It was crippling, but what would be more crippling would be if I was like this for no reason and Hadley didn’t escape.
“Hadley,” I whispered as I got closer. But she didn’t respond. I could smell blood. They had hurt her. Anger flared through my system as I moved faster, the pain causing my vision to blur, but the fear of losing Hadley pushed me on. I cupped her head in my hand. I choked back a sob at her lifeless body. Her face was covered in blood.
“Hadley, wake up. Please,” I begged her as I wiped the blood from her face as best I could. I heard a horrible sound from Jaemay and knew then we were losing this fight faster than I had hoped. I sat up on my knees, sucking breath through my teeth. I used my lower left and upper right arms to scoop Hadley up. They were the only ones not completely broken.
I used my knees to walk and slowly made my way from the hut. I wouldn’t get far. I needed to walk, but I knew my ankle was broken. I heard the males now, they were coming closer.
“Please wake up, please,” I begged her. She might have a better chance if she ran from me and left me here to fight them off with whatever strength I had left.
I rose up on my good leg and tried to place my left foot down but the pain was unbearable on my left ankle. I couldn’t walk. When she didn’t move in my arms I decided to try and use my tails, as if they were a leg, to support me. I twisted them together. It was hard to move with my good leg and tails, but I limped forward. Every inch was another that Hadley was away from them, the pain was worth it.
“Aalee, Hadley.” I turned. Someone had called our names. Was that…
“Here,” I screamed out, my chest constricting in pain. Vetok. He found us… he found Hadley. I collapsed on the ground but cradled Hadley to my chest, breaking her fall.
“Here we are… Jaemay,” I called out the other male’s name. They needed to go back for him, he wasn’t safe with those males.
“Aalee?” someone questioned. I could sense them all now, my clan had found us. They came… I couldn’t see them, it was as if my eyes wouldn’t work now. I held Hadley, protected her. I couldn’t speak, words were lost as I felt Hadley being taken from my arms. I called out to her, reaching for the emptiness I now felt. I needed to be touching her…
I touched Hadley. That was the last thought I had before I passed out.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Hadley
I had been through so much in my life, but nothing prepared me for death. I was young… too young to have someone I know die. And worse… die for me.
“My heart, my heart. Please.” Vetok rubbed gently on my back but I couldn’t stop crying. I woke up in my own bed, in my hut, with Luna and Elle sitting with me. Jaim and Axoh tried to help me, but when they told me that… that Jaemay had died protecting me, I cried and I hadn’t been able to stop since.
At first, I thought it might be the hormones making me so worked up. But then I realized it was everything. I had been running from my ex who had treated me bad. I ran to a whole other world to get away from him. I escaped those Aashi assholes that had been chosen for me. I finally met the men of my dreams, then fell down a cliff… only to find more amazing guys and be kidnapped by others.
How the fuck did this keep happening to me? What did I do to deserve so much pain in my life? I had no family I could turn to… no friends until I came here.
“It’s o
kay, Hadley. He would have done that for any of us. It wasn’t your fault.” Luna kept trying to make me feel better, but it wasn’t happening. I was in a downward spiral that didn’t have an end.
“Aalee?” I finally had the courage to ask. If Jaemay was dead—I didn’t even know he was there—then maybe they weren’t telling me about Aalee because he was dead too.
When no one answered me, I sat up, my head spinning before I laid down again. Everyone was fussing, telling me to lay down. But if they weren’t going to give me an answer then I was going to find him. I needed to find Aalee, now.
“He is… not good,” Elle finally said. I choked back another sob.
“Can I see him?” I asked, but really, whatever their answer was I was going to see him. I was just being polite in asking.
“Yes,” Adee said as Vetok said, “No,” at the same time. I eyed Vetok, and I could see the sadness in his eyes. Not jealousy. He was trying to protect me. It was so bad that he didn’t want me to see him. My heart sank.
“I will see him now.” I had to see him, if only to say thank you, and goodbye. I couldn’t stay here a moment longer without seeing him.
He was in the original hut of his, but he had Jeralk in there with him, the pink Zalli warrior. He smiled at me. He wasn’t that badly injured. I was glad. He healed fast like Aashi and would be out of here by tomorrow from the looks of him. But when I looked over to Aalee, I gasped.
I had never seen an Aashi covered in so many wraps and so injured. I moved away from my mates, but I still felt dizzy with the headache I had woken with. Being hit in the head so many times did that to a person…
