by A. G. Wilde
“What did she say?” The leader jerked his gun into Riv’s skull.
Riv paused before answering. “She said it’s a mini brain scrambler from her planet.”
Lauren almost choked but she caught it in time.
“It is completely useless. It can’t even tell the time anymore.”
“Translate,” the male said.
“She said it’s one of the most dangerous weapons on her home planet. It’ll fry your brain in a matter of seconds.”
The male stiffened, his eyes darting to the side as he tried to look at her without moving.
Lauren kept her face unaffected, though that was a monumental task.
“I should probably slap you with it, make it hurt you for real, just a little,” she whispered.
The male blinked and his blaster shifted a little. “What was that?”
“She said the longer she holds it, the longer your brain will fry. All she has to do is tell it to do so.”
The male shifted slightly.
“How do I know you’re not lying?”
Riv didn’t hesitate to answer. “You don’t.”
The male paled a little and after a few seconds, he lowered his blaster. Hands outstretched to his sides, he dropped the weapon.
Shit.
She hadn’t expected that to work.
As Riv released the male was who choking and the male scampered off, Grot eased off the male on the floor and turned to growl at the male before her.
Grot looked utterly terrifying.
All his teeth were bared and there was thick slobber dripping from his sharp fangs as if he was just dying for a meal.
He moved to stand beside Riv but the way the dog was standing told her that he was ready to pounce at any moment.
“I knew this watch would come in handy, but not like this.”
“What did she say now?” The male’s eyes darted backward as if he was trying to look at her without turning his head.
“She’s going to let you go now. Walk away and never phek with us again. Understand?”
The male nodded slightly.
As soon as she removed the pressure of the watch from his neck, the male hurried away with a few backward glances, almost tripping over his friends who was just rising from the ground.
Lauren watched him go, her shoulders still stiff with apprehension.
As the male moved away from the human, Riv glanced down at her to ensure she was okay.
He didn’t know why but the males irritated him to high phek.
Even more than the human did, and everything about her irritated him.
She seemed unhurt. Her eyes were still alert, though, as she kept her gaze on the retreating males.
She’d surprised him.
He had no idea if her device was indeed dangerous but her quick thinking had been impressive.
As she fixed the device on her wrist once more, he studied her.
No whimpering, no hiding, no playing the victim, no dramatics…
Not what he’d expected.
It’d felt a bit strange having someone who wasn’t Sohut or Grot in a standoff beside him, but she’d held her ground when he’d initially thought she’d have run away.
He didn’t know how to feel about that.
As he studied her, Grot moved forward and bumped his head against her side. The female reached down to pat the tevsi on the head immediately.
And he hesitated.
For a second he hesitated.
For phek’s sake. Was one incident going to make him forget his reason for bringing her to the exchange in the first place?
No.
Steeling himself, he pushed all wayward thoughts from his mind and refocused.
“Come,” he said to her, slipping his blade in his trousers once more and ignoring the onlookers as he led her to the other side of the job exchange.
Maybe they’d have better luck on that side, where pesky idiots with fur for brains probably wouldn’t be.
That side wasn’t better, though. The human seemed to be gathering the attention of more males, and not in a good way.
Riv frowned, scanning the area.
Off to one side, he caught sight of the merkannian who’d been trailing them on the street. The male was standing there still watching them and now his interest didn’t only irk Riv, it made him uneasy.
This idea of finding the female a new home wasn’t going according to plan. Her species was new, too new, and it seemed most males wanted to try her.
It made him want to wring all of their necks.
Grot made a sound low in his throat and it was obvious the tevsi was picking up the negative atmosphere as well.
Riv scanned the males who were looking their way and his jaw tightened.
The majority had a look in their eyes that he’d seen so many times before while in the mines, it was burned into his memory.
It was clear.
Sending the female away with anyone at the exchange, despite the protection of the Interplanetary Union, would probably put her in danger.
She’d be used for sex. No doubt about it.
He didn’t want her to stay at the Sanctuary but it would be cruel to thrust her into such a life without a choice.
And he wasn’t cruel.
Closing his eyes, he held back a sigh.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to do it, even if he forced himself.
Phek.
He’d have to find another way to get her out of his life.
He was just about to walk away when a large male about his size approached. As the male advanced, the imprint of his cock in his trousers almost made Riv rebrandish his blade.
Was this what females went through daily or just this human?
Constant visuals of hard cocks wanting to find solace within their bodies?
The human’s eyes widened as the male approached. No doubt she spotted the same protruding body part.
“I can give you three hundred credits for this…female.” The male’s eyes fell on the human and Riv followed his gaze.
The female glanced up at him, her glare filled with anger, shock, disbelief, and anxiety.
He knew that look and, for a moment, time stood still for him.
He’d had the same look when his mor had brought him to the exchange.
That. Same. Look. When he couldn’t believe what was happening to him.
When he couldn’t believe his life was being ripped from underneath his feet and there was hardly anything he could do about it.
“Two thousand.”
The voice and offer snatched him from his memories.
Riv’s eyes snapped up in time to see the large male in front of him turn to look behind him.
Standing behind the male was the merkannian that had been following them.
It was obvious he’d been the one to make such a ludicrous offer.
Two thousand credits could buy his Sanctuary three times.
It was a lot of money that would have made his pockets really comfortable but Riv knew for certain one thing…and it was a thought that came so forcefully, he wasn’t going to be able to deny it… He wasn’t letting the female leave with any of these fools.
“Two thousand,” the merkannian repeated. “More if you have additional females of this kind in your possession.”
Riv’s eyes narrowed behind his shades. The shades were good cover, hiding his thoughts while he kept his voice unaffected.
“No.”
He pulled the female closer to his side, his gaze locked on the merkannian as the male followed the movement with his gold-ringed eyes.
“She’s not for sale,” Riv said.
The words came from his mouth and he heard them but he wasn’t sure what the phek he was saying.
In that moment, though, it felt like the right thing to do.
He’d find another way to get rid of his chatterbox guest.
The Grumpster pulled her closer to his side as he left the group of males who were obviou
sly wanting to buy her for inappropriate reasons and a sigh shuddered through her shoulders.
She’d known his intent was to hand her off to someone but—and maybe a year having no real interaction with aliens was to blame—when it had come down to it, she’d been terrified.
She’d seen aliens all the time while in her terrarium, but interacting with them without a protective glass in between was another thing.
And it’d been clear what these males wanted from her. Very clear.
Like more than ten inches clear.
The most acceptable male she’d seen had been the gold-skinned one with the gold hair and eyes. He’d looked like an angel walking on land and she couldn’t imagine he’d be one of the bad ones.
So when the Grumpster had declared that she wasn’t going to be sold, the shock had been real.
But now what?
He was leading her back down the market street and instead of looking where he was taking her, all she could do was look up at him, trying to read his mood or what he was thinking.
It was difficult to do so when almost all of his face was covered but it was clear when he realized she was staring at him for his body stiffened and his grip on her loosened a little.
When they stopped in front of a stall with large brown cloaks, Lauren’s brows furrowed.
The merchant for the stall appeared a second later. He looked like an old slug hovering on a light blue ring.
Lauren stiffened, her eyes going wide, her entire being suddenly flooded with a singular thought: RUN!
She knew this type of alien.
It’d been his kind that had taken her from Earth.
18
His mood was sour.
The exchange.
The males.
Their attention.
It was all rubbing him the wrong way.
Stopping by a cloak merchant, he set to buy the female one of the garments when he realized that she’d suddenly stiffened.
Her eyes wide, she was taking small steps back into the throng, her gaze fastened on the merchant.
Riv frowned, his attention moving from her to the merchant and back.
She was looking at the Isclit as if it was a phantom.
Quickly transferring credits for the cloak, he moved to the human’s side and it seemed she didn’t even realize he was there.
Her chest was heaving, her forehead damp. Her eyes were wide, but it was clear she wasn’t seeing anything there and now. She was seeing something else in her mind.
Something far away.
Something gone a long time ago.
“Female,” he said, but that didn’t seem to break her from her trance.
“Female!”
Nothing.
An uneasy feeling began to grow within him and he grasped the female by her shoulders, bringing his face close to hers. “La-rehn?” He shook her lightly. “La-rehn!”
It took a few moments for her to focus on him.
“Riv?” she said.
Her eyes nictated like wild googloos as she searched his face.
“Riv,” she repeated before gripping his hands holding her shoulders.
Before he could move away, she moved into him, pressing her face against his neck as she inhaled deeply and her shoulders shook.
Riv stiffened, his eyes going wide, his heart ceasing to pump lifeblood.
Every principle he’d taught himself, every rule he’d followed were being broken right at this moment.
His life code told him to push her away, but every neuron in his brain said no.
She was obviously affected by something. Something was very wrong. And though he knew females were deceptive, this didn’t seem like an act of some kind.
This seemed real.
Swallowing hard, he found he couldn’t move.
Instead, he let her bury her face against him as the world slowed down around them.
He could feel moisture against his neck as her hot breath warmed his skin.
He could feel a lot of things—everything except anger and irritation.
Those weren’t there right now and that surprised him. It made him feel lost a little.
With the female so close, he’d thought that’d be the only thing he’d be feeling.
But those feelings were missing and for the first time in a long while, he felt…unladen.
He could feel La-rehn calming down against him. Her breathing was evening out as her body relaxed. Just a little, for there was still tension in her bones.
It took a while before her body stopped shaking and he wrapped the cloak around her shoulders, raising the hood so her face was mostly hidden.
Was it the males that were making her react like this?
He hadn’t known her for long but he’d never seen her so …vulnerable…and it tugged at something within him.
He could hardly find his voice as he spoke.
“Wear this. Then they won’t be able to see you easily.” He swallowed and continued. “You can choose who deserves your attention then. With the cloak, no one will know you’re a new species here.”
The female sniffed and wiped her eyes.
She eased off him but she didn’t meet his gaze.
“T-ank yoo butt izz not dat.”
For the first time, he really wished he could understand what she was saying.
She wiped her eyes again and finally met his gaze.
Her eyes looked slightly red and he opened his mouth to ask about it before closing it again.
Her shoulders were still stiffened and she seemed extremely wary, her eyes moving back to the merchant.
Riv turned to look at the merchant too but the old Isclit wasn’t paying them any attention.
“Let’s go,” he said and the human nodded, moving by his side.
Whatever had caused that reaction lingered, for as they walked, her shoulders remained stiffened and though he couldn’t see her face now because of the cloak, he could see her head move as she surveyed the crowd of shoppers.
Whatever had set her off was still in her mind and she hastened her steps beside his, as if she couldn’t wait to leave the exchange.
He couldn’t wait either, but her response was sending alarms bells ringing all throughout his mind.
It was not until they reached the tech center, where most of the stalls had gadgets and off-world technology, that the human stopped walking suddenly and grabbed his hand.
Her other arm shot out of the robe as she pointed across the street at something.
A specific stall.
As he allowed her to weave him through the throng toward the stall, Riv fastened on her hand holding on to his.
Her skin was pale against his blue, a contrast that kept him staring at their skin touching.
He should pull away. He should break this physical contact.
He just…couldn’t.
And he didn’t know the phek why.
La-rehn stopped in front of the stall and pulled the hood of her cloak back.
“Xid,” she said. “Mee talk too yoo.” She pointed to herself then back at him. “Hee kyann help.”
Riv’s brows furrowed a little before his gaze moved to the stall’s merchant, who was rising from beneath the stall.
The long, gray neck of the peeli merchant appeared. The alien blinked at them with large, dark eyes.
A flash of excitement crossed La-rehn’s features.
“Da lan-gwedge up-lohd. Kyann yoo gihv it too him?” She motioned to him and Riv narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what she was saying.
The merchant blinked at her.
“Da lan-gwedge up-lohd!” La-rehn made an exasperated sound before she began miming something, using her free hand to make an open and shut motion, which she mimicked with her mouth.
Riv glanced back at the merchant.
There were language disks in the back of the stall and La-rehn’s meaning became clear.
His eyes widened a little. “Do you have her language file here?”
The merchant La-rehn referred to as Xid blinked at him with large eyes. “Depends. But I don’t know what she is. Which language does she speak?”
La-rehn’s brows dived toward her nose. “Hees not speekin da troot. Hee nohz mee. Ai was heer wit Geblit.”
He wished he could understand what she was saying but he recognized Geblit’s name.
“What language are you speaking?” he asked.
“Een-glish,” La-rehn offered.
“Een-glish?” Xid blinked. “Never heard of it. Can’t help you then.” The long neck began retreating behind the stall and Riv reached his hand in his pocket to retrieve a teruva coin.
They were untraceable but valuable and rare. He always travelled with a few.
Setting the coin on the stall’s counter immediately stopped the neck from retreating.
“Scan for it,” Riv said.
“Ah, yes, I can scan for it.” Xid eyed the coin. “Will take a while, though.”
La-rehn let out another exasperated breath, her frown etched deeper into her skin.
He supposed he understood what was making her upset.
Xid already had her language file. How else would she know the merchant?
Sliding another coin forward, he eyed the merchant.
Xid tilted his head. “Might go a little faster.”
Riv slid another coin.
Xid snatched all three with a skinny hand. “Okay. I can do it for you now.”
Riv made a sound of annoyance in his throat.
The merchant retrieved a language transmitter. “Een-glish. Planet Earth. Ready for upload.” Xid glanced at Riv. “There are other languages from that planet in the database. Would you like them uploaded too?”
“No.” He lifted his hand and realized then that La-rhen was still holding on to him. Forcing his gaze away, he used his free hand to release his messhi from around his face. “I only need to speak to her. I’m not interested in speaking to others of her kind.”
It took only a second for Xid to administer the download to his translator implant behind his ear and Riv gritted his teeth as the chip updated.
It produced a weird sort of feedback that lasted for a few seconds as the update went through.
“Is it painful?” La-rhen asked, and he stared at her.
Her voice.
He knew her voice was entrancing but now, being able to understand her added a level to it that he hadn’t been prepared for.
