War For Earth: An Alien War Romance (Galactic Order Book 3)

by Erin Raegan

  My knuckles split from its rock-hard skull, and it snarled and twisted my flailing arms behind my back with one hand. The other hand grabbed my hair and pulled, straining my neck. It shoved its ridged face into mine and bellowed furious growls.

  “You let my brother go, asshat,” I threatened.

  It growled again. I thrusted my knee between its legs as hard as I could. It howled and dropped me, clutching itself between the legs. Guess it was a he. Good to know.

  The alien holding Nathan shook with low growls. Grinning. It was laughing. I bared my teeth at it. It was built like the guy grabbing his junk, so I’d bet it was also a dude. I glanced at his crotch and told him with my eyes I was so ready to find out. He dropped Nathan and backed away from me.

  Nathan ran and grabbed my arm, bravely throwing himself in front of me. I pushed him behind me, ignoring his protests. The alien I’d sprayed was still wiping his eyes and glaring daggers at me. I glared back.

  “Grab my bag,” I told Nathan.

  He wasted no time pulling it away from the groaning alien clutching himself between his legs. Nathan pulled out a bear repellent without my having to ask him and handed it to me before pulling out one for himself.

  “My gun.”

  He paused but handed it to me. I aimed it at the alien recovering on the floor to my left and aimed the repellent at the aliens to my right.

  “We’re leaving,” I told Nathan and the aliens.

  The alien on the floor growled something and stood. The alien I’d sprayed growled something back and pulled out a silver metal thing. It looked like a gun. I aimed my gun at him. He gnashed his teeth angrily and tossed the gun to the alien with the throbbing balls. I aimed my gun back at him.

  “Don’t shoot them,” Nathan whispered.

  “Shut up,” I spat.

  “Seriously, they haven’t hurt us.” His hand trembled on my arm. “The white aliens would have eaten our brains by now. These ones haven’t.”

  “Maybe they want to save us for a snack,” I told him furiously. The alien who had carried him screwed up its face. “Be quiet, Nathan.”

  He sighed and aimed his repellent at the two to my right.

  “Back away toward the door.” I elbowed him toward the door when he didn’t move fast enough.

  He stumbled but crept to the door. The big alien on my left tensed and growled. The one I’d sprayed growled back and forth with him. The big one spat a short, furious growl. It shocked the sprayed one, and his face slackened with disbelief. His reddened eyes shot to me and widened. The one who had restrained Nathan growled and laughed uproariously. His smooth head glinted with the dimming sunlight shining through the door as he threw back his head. He didn’t have skull ridges like the other two.

  The one on my left crept closer. I glared and moved my gun up to aim at his head. I doubted the gun would help much, but I was a good shot. A bullet to the head had to do damage. The alien stopped and eyed my gun. Yeah, I told him with my eyes, I will blow your brains out, Gigantor.

  “Bailey!” Nathan shouted.

  I turned to see the one I’d sprayed lunging for me. Nathan and I sprayed him again at the same time. He roared and backpedaled, but the smooth-headed one had the opening and tackled us. My repellent and gun were ripped from my hands, and he grabbed Nathan from behind me, holding him to the floor.

  The big one pounced on my legs, trapping them beneath his thighs, and held my hands above my head in one of his. My back bowed, but I couldn’t get free. I shouted in his face. My ears were hot, and my hands chafed under sharp claws.

  I shouted my brother’s name over and over, barely able to hear his shouts over the aliens’ growls filling the room. The alien on top of me pressed the metal gun thing against the back of my ear, roaring nonsense at the one I’d sprayed.

  “Don’t you dare,” I gritted into his face.

  He grimaced and pulled the trigger, cutting off my ability to hear Nathan’s terrified screams. Pain shot through my skull. So sharp, I nearly blacked out. I would have thought I was dead if it weren’t for the never-ending sting reverberating through my skull.

  But I was alive. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a gun. It still fucking hurt. The big one tossed the gun to the alien holding Nathan.

  “You are so dead,” I breathed to the alien.

  “We shall see, little warrior,” he said low with a scowl and bit my neck.

  So, not vegetarians. Shit.

  Chapter 2

  Bailey

  We could understand them.

  They told us the gun had shot a little translator chip into our brains. I was so pissed, and I let the big alien know it when he finally let me up. I hoped his balls would feel the damage from my steel-toed boot for days.

  Nathan was ecstatic. “I told you, Bails! I told you! We can understand them! This is so cool!”

  I shoved his dancing body down onto the couch. He bounced but sat still, grinning at the aliens.

  “Don’t move.” I pointed at him, warning him with my most serious I-will-shred-your-comics face.

  He flushed but kept grinning.

  I prodded my bleeding neck. Sighing, I grimaced and turned back to the three aliens watching us, crossing my arms. He bit me, the bastard. “What the hell was that for?”

  The big one scowled at his colossal demony-feet. The one with the sore eyes―thanks to my awesome spray―bared his fangs but held my stare. He was as muscly as the big one, but an inch or two shorter. The middle, bald one grinned at the ceiling.

  “Well?” I huffed when the silence continued for too long.

  “Are you a spy for the human army?” the sprayed one asked. His eyes were bloodshot. His face shined from exertion. He rubbed the bumpy ridges between his horns roughly. It was weird that I could now understand their creepy growls.

  “What? No.” What kind of question was that?

  “You were spying,” he accused.

  I glared back at my brother. We were, but we weren’t. “It’s hardly spying when you invade our world.”

  The big one kept silent, but the bald one grinned again.

  “We did not invade,” Blood-shot Eyes rumbled and stepped forward.

  Nathan jumped from the couch and stepped up beside me. I pushed him back down.

  “We are here to save your species,” he announced grandly, arrogantly.

  I tilted my chin and raised my brows just as arrogantly. That explanation wasn’t going to cut it. Three winged freaks were not going to save our planet. And they were aliens themselves. I didn’t believe him for a second.

  “Quiet,” I ordered Nathan without looking back. I just knew he was going to open his mouth to spit out some sarcastic comment.

  He huffed.

  Sprayed growled something unintelligible and crossed his arms, mirroring my stance. “I am Fihk. I am acting commander of the Dahk in my commander’s absence,” he announced and watched me expectantly.

  “Is that supposed to mean something to me, Fihk?”

  He growled again. “Deal with your female,” he rumbled to the big one.

  Your? Fat-chance of that.

  The big one kept his eyes averted, throwing some serious hate vibes to his creepy claw-toes.

  “Why did you bite me?” My neck stung worse than the injection site. I felt a steady trickle of blood soaking the neckline of my shirt.

  He scowled at me.

  Fihk sighed heavily. “That is Olynth.” Then he pointed at the bald one. “This is Tohn.”

  Tohn’s grin grew.

  “I’m Nathan.” My brother stood again and waved while I glared at him. “This is Bailey.”

  Fihk scrubbed his face. “You do not trust us. This is not a surprise.”

  “You’re right. I don’t. And we’re leaving.” I grabbed Nathan’s arm. “Let’s go.”

  The big one jumped in front of me.

  “Back. Off.” My fingers twitched. I needed my gun and my spray. They’d taken it all from me.

  He flashed his fangs. “You
stay.”

  I shook my head. “I’m going to give you three seconds, then I’m going to rip your balls off,” I grated.

  “She is tiny but fierce.” Tohn laughed. “Tahk would approve.”

  “We could use your help,” Fihk said to me but palmed Olynth’s shoulder, watching him warily.

  The big guy stiffened and shuffled to the side so Fihk couldn’t step closer to me.

  Nathan bounced on his toes. “Cool. How can we help?”

  “No, we’re not helping them. We’re leaving.”

  “Where are you going?” Fihk asked.

  “Somewhere far from here,” I muttered, inching back from the tall aliens. I squinted at them. They were blocking the door.

  “You seek to keep your charge safe, yes?”

  I snorted. “Nowhere is safe anymore.”

  “We could keep you safe.” Fihk patted Olynth and looked at him expectantly. The big guy was so tense. Veins popped out all over his mammoth forearms from how rigid he was. “Tohn, comm Wyvr to prepare the prison cell on the ship.”

  “Cell? No, you aren’t locking us up.” I yanked Nathan back and away from the aliens and looked behind me. There had to be a back door.

  “Not you,” Fihk murmured dismissively, observing Olynth closely.

  “It’s not necessary,” Olynth growled, his voice rough with restraint.

  “Him?” Nathan looked him up and down. “What’s wrong with him?”

  Olynth glared at Fihk warningly. “I am under control.”

  “Are you?” Fihk asked with worried brows.

  Olynth sent him a scathing glance and shook off his arm. The big guy stomped to the far side of the room. His eyes were fixed on my face with unnerving intensity.

  Fihk sighed. “Very well. We are searching for a human female.”

  I ignored him and backed farther into the room, closer to the kitchenette in the back.

  “You will not get far,” Olynth warned, his voice a deep, choppy bark.

  I shot him a heated glance but stood still.

  “Why are you searching for her?” Nathan asked, his face alight with curiosity.

  “She is the mam to my commander’s mate,” Fihk told him, still watching Olynth.

  “A human mated one of you guys?” Nathan was trembling with anticipation. Great. He was completely infatuated. It was going to be a pain to get him away from these guys.

  “Yes. Pehytohn. She is a human female. My commander saved her and her companions from the Vitat, and they bonded.”

  “Vitat? Are those the white aliens?” Fihk nodded, and Nathan asked, “Why are you looking for her mom?”

  I pinched his arm.

  “Stop, Bails.” He rubbed his arm. “Maybe we can help them.”

  I sighed and pinched my nose. We had been here too long. It wasn’t good to stay idle with the white aliens―the Vitat―out there.

  “I owe Pehytohn a debt,” Fihk said gravely.

  “Is her mom even alive?” I asked, unable to ignore the seriousness of Fihk’s statement.

  Fihk thumped his chest. “I made a vow. I will find her.”

  That wasn’t an answer. But it made me question my suspicions toward him a little. Maybe Nathan was right. Why would they look for a woman to save if they were harming other humans?

  Nathan widened his eyes at me. I shook my head. It didn’t matter why or if they weren’t going to eat us. It was going to be dark soon, and we needed to find a place to hide for the night. Ever since the lights went out, it was too dark to be caught outside at night. Too dangerous.

  “We can keep you safe,” Tohn added from behind Fihk.

  “We can’t help you.” I scowled when Nathan made a rude noise. “They’re aliens, Nate. Come on. You can’t be serious.”

  “They’re good aliens,” he said aggressively.

  My jaw slackened. Unbelievable. Comic books had destroyed all self-preservation for this kid.

  “This is her mam’s domicile. I scent her here. But we are unfamiliar with human patterns and instincts. Perhaps you can guide us in the proper direction?” Tohn asked hopefully.

  Nathan shook my arm. “They’re looking for her mom. We have to help.”

  I sighed. He wasn’t going to let this go, and I couldn’t take the chance of him running off on me again. “If we help you, you let us go.” Fihk and Tohn blinked at me, ignoring Olynth’s low growl. “We leave, and you don’t follow us,” I warned.

  Silence. I knew we were going to have to run, but maybe if we helped them, they would let their guard down long enough for us to hightail it out of there. Olynth was too watchful right now. I would have to distract them somehow.

  “How did you find this house?” I couldn’t believe we were going to help. I was so pissed at Nathan. But my brother was unpredictable. I should have anticipated his move by the dumpster. That was on me, and now it was on me to get us out of this mess.

  Fihk grinned, relieved. He looked a little manic with his bloodshot eyes. “Pehytohn gave us the coordinates before my commander took her to Home World. Our world.”

  “Your world?” Nathan screeched.

  I smacked his arm. He was going to alert every Vitat in the area. I couldn’t believe they hadn’t found us already.

  “Do you, like, travel in space? On spaceships?” he continued, much quieter but just as amazed.

  Tohn stepped forward and filled us in quickly on the commander and his kidnapper ways. Apparently a girl had gotten herself tangled with a purple, horned alien and he’d flown her and her friends away to another planet. Tohn seemed insanely happy for the kidnapper, but it made me more wary of our present company. No way would I let that happen to us.

  Watching the fading sun nervously, I searched the lower floor for any clues the girl’s mom may have left behind―under the big guy’s watchful eye. He followed me everywhere, nearly stepping on my heels at every turn. No matter how many times I scowled at him, he wouldn’t leave me alone. Fihk stayed close, watching the big guy just as carefully. Something told me that might have had a little something to do with him becoming my new shadow. The fact that Olynth might need a cell was enough of a reason for me to keep Nathan far away from him, but seeing as I couldn’t get away from him, that was impossible. Nathan wasn’t leaving my side around these guys.

  I doubted we would find a giant I-went-this-way sign. Nathan and I had only returned to my apartment because I’d worked at an outdoors store and had known plenty doomsday fanatics to learn enough that I knew not to run off without being prepared. My apartment had a ton of useful supplies because I was a rock climber in my free time. So we’d run back there and loaded up. I wasn’t going to risk not having my pistol after seeing those aliens make a meal out of the customers. The bear repellent was a happy accident.

  But still, I didn’t stop to leave a note behind. Not that I’d had anyone to warn. I was a foster kid, same as Nathan. I’d met him in my last home before I turned eighteen. He was still living with those lazy assholes, but I didn’t bother alerting them that I was skipping town with him. They barely gave a shit when he didn’t come home at night, which was why he stayed with me most of the time.

  If this woman had a daughter she cared about, she wouldn’t have left a note. She would have bailed immediately to get to her. If I were a mom, like a real I-love-my-daughter mom, I would be on my way to her. Like I did for Nathan.

  “Did you check Peyton’s house?” I asked Fihk.

  “Yes, we have been watching it for some time. There has been no sign of the female.” He sighed and sniffed along the kitchen countertop.

  I grimaced. There was a bowl of very old soup sitting by his face. It couldn’t smell good if it had been there for the last three weeks.

  “Why do you keep sniffing everything?” Nathan asked, also grimacing at the gross bowl. “Didn’t you say you already smelled her? Can you, like, smell which way she went?”

  I scrunched my brow. Comic books. “I doubt even they have that kind of sniffer, squirt.”
<
br />   “Yes, Nahythahn, the Dahk can smell essence and a variety of emotions, as well as intention.”

  “Cool,” he breathed.

  “Seriously?” I couldn’t help but question. They hadn’t smelled us in the store.

  Fihk grinned at me. His reddened eyes were still watering. It made them twinkle. “Yes, the Dahk evolved with our planet’s dark skies. Ancient Dahk hunted in the dark. Their other senses had to be heightened to compensate for their loss of sight. We sniffed out our prey.”

  I shuddered, but Nathan’s eyes lit up. “Wicked. That’s what you guys are? Dahk?”

  Fihk nodded again and moved to the stairs leading to the top floor.

  I blew out a breath and shuffled through a pile of mail. Bills, bills, more bills. This woman loved her credit cards.

  A shiver tickled the back of my neck. Tensing, I turned my head to the left and saw Olynth out of the corner of my eye. I jumped and bumped my hip into the counter. He was way too close, huddled around me, his nose an inch from my neck. I gulped and ducked underneath his arm, nearly getting whacked by a wing.

  “Not cool, dude.” I frowned hostilely. He could keep that thing well away from me. I was nobody’s prey.

  He grimaced and shuffled back from me. He looked nearly as uncomfortable about his inappropriate sniffing as I did.

  “Bails!” Nathan shouted from somewhere in the house that was damn well not downstairs!

  I growled and darted up the stairs. Running down the hall, I nearly mowed him down as he came out of a door at the end. His smooth, milk-chocolate complexion was flushed.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “What the hellcats, Nate? You stay with me,” I growled.

  He gaped and spat out a string of unintelligible words. Coughing, he pointed wordlessly into the room behind him.

  “Don’t. Move.” I pointed at the floor and stepped around him, Olynth at my heels. I got tangled in his wing as he tried to step into the room before me.

  Nathan bounced into the wall and fell to the floor as we bumped into him. I elbowed the big guy in his stomach, grinning triumphantly as he fell behind me.

  I tumbled into the room, and it was my turn to gape. “What the fudge-sticks do you guys think you’re doing?”