by Erin Raegan
“Yes,” he said firmly and turned away as Olynth tossed me over his shoulder.
My pack slid down and whacked me in the head, and I grunted. “Let me go, you giant jackhole.”
Olynth rested his palm over my ass gently, and I stiffened. I twisted and lifted to look over my shoulder. His head was turned, and he was glaring at me in warning. His claw tapped lightly once then twice on my ass.
I sighed and sagged against him. “If any of you drop my brother, I swear I will shove my boot so far up your ass, you’ll be choking on it.”
“Mouth,” Nathan taunted happily from behind me.
“Don’t test me, squirt.” I tried to keep my cursing to a minimum around him, but lately, it was becoming more and more difficult.
“I will take the youngling,” Fihk said on a sigh.
I twisted uncomfortably, trying to see around Olynth’s enormous wing. It was impossible. I patted his ridiculously muscled back impatiently. He grunted and swung around so fast my head spun.
Nathan was cradled in Fihk’s arms. That boy only weeks ago refused to even hug me anymore, but now he was grinning and shaking in excitement while cradled like a baby. I smirked at him. He stuck out his tongue.
Olynth flipped me over without warning so I was clinging to his shoulders and neck, my legs wrapped around his waist. I watched in horror as his wings shot out so wide, they must have each been longer than my entire body. His knees bent, and my fingernails dug into his neck. His claws curled around my thighs reflexively before softening. Then he shot in the air, and I couldn’t hold back a short, startled yelp.
Curses, I was always telling myself I would never utter around my brother came flying out of my mouth.
“Not so high!” I screeched over the whistling wind.
Nathan’s giggles answered me. “Higher!”
“No!” I shouted, twisting to see Fihk tilt back and forth, grinning at my brother.
Olynth bent close and sniffed my neck. I startled and twisted, losing my grip on him. My back bowed back, and I yelped as the sky spun and dizziness assaulted me. Olynth gripped me tighter and pressed my head against his shoulder, his other arm under my ass curling tighter.
“Still,” he grunted into my neck.
I shivered as his blunt nose ran down the length of my neck. “Stop sniffing me.”
Olynth moved so my back was parallel with the rippling water and dipped down until we were inches away. I squeezed my eyes tightly and felt the sun burn along my face. He let go of me with one hand, and I yelped again and squeezed my thighs tighter against his sides. His palm came up with a scoop of water and trickled it down my neck. I gasped at the cold and scowled at him. He kept his face impassive and did it again on the other side.
“What the hellcats was that for?”
“You smell like those human males,” he said furiously.
I startled, and my eyes shot to his. They were burning. I nodded and let him do his thing. Why it mattered that my neck smelled, I had no clue, but he was focused, and I was currently relying on him to fly me safely over a body of water.
He did it a few more times before sniffing along my neck again. He grunted, then flew us up to fly evenly with the others.
Nathan had a perma-grin, and I couldn’t help myself—I grinned back. I loved his smile. I had been there to see every one of those teeth come in as he lost his baby ones. I still had them in my apartment. I frowned. They were one of so many things I may never see again.
Olynth frowned at my frown but didn’t ask, then we were slowing down. Olynth pulled back and hovered as Fihk muttered something in the device on his ear. Then there was a loud noise, and we were moving again. Suddenly the sun was gone and replaced with darkness. I squinted as my eyes adjusted. Olynth thumped down onto something hard just as I could make out a low golden glow and black metal.
He didn’t let me go as he walked, and I was a-okay with that as several Dahk aliens circled us. There were four of them.
“Lieutenants,” a deep voice murmured, and one of the aliens bowed.
“This is Nahythahn and Bahyly,” Fihk said. “They will be helping us find Mother Lyhndah.”
The four of them nodded and bowed again.
One stepped forward. “There has been a comm from Dahk One.”
Fihk nodded.
The alien stepped up to Nathan standing beside Fihk and bowed, “I am Wyvr.” Then he turned to me, his eyes snagged on Olynth’s firm hold, and curiosity flitted over his face before it turned impassive.
“Hi,” Nate and I said together.
He nodded to me then left.
“I am Vylbor.” Another alien bowed to us.
I squirmed in Olynth’s arms. These guys were introducing themselves to us, and I was clinging to Olynth like a terrified monkey. That was not the impression I wanted to make.
Olynth snarled but let me drop down.
“Bailey.” I held out my hand.
Olynth snarled again and stepped in front of me. Vylbor squinted curiously and nodded, stepping back.
The other two stepped forward and introduced themselves, careful not to touch me and completely ignoring my outreached hand. I noted they shook Nathan’s hand. So it must not have been an offending gesture. Unless it was offensive for women to do it. That got my back up.
Their names were Gunnor and Albun. Vylbor and Albun were as muscly as Fihk and Tohn, but Gunnor was a whole different kind of massive. He was even bigger than Olynth and missing an eye. He didn’t even cover it up. He flaunted the grotesque scar proudly. Well, if you could call impassive coldness proud. All their head ridges were different, and they had more than Fihk and Olynth. Gunnor’s came down in long, dread-like coils to his brawny shoulders.
Nathan’s eyes were roaming around the room wildly. We were in a big bay with a smaller ship. There were all kinds of boxes and tools I had never seen before.
Fihk impatiently waved us forward and escorted us through a doorway, leaving Tohn behind with the three new aliens. Olynth followed on my heels. We walked a short way through dark hallways into another large room. It had alien seats and technology and massive windows looking out over the water.
“You may clean your cuts here while I speak with Wyvr,” Fihk said and waved us to a few open seats and a table.
Then he turned and met Wyvr in front of a panel of buttons and gadgets. They growled lowly to each other. When I stepped toward them, curious what they could be whispering about, Olynth gave my back a push. I huffed and followed Nathan to the table and took off my pack. Olynth stood with his arms crossed as Nate and I dumped the pack.
I kept Nathan from seeing the scrapes on my thighs and belly, only cleaning them when he was distracted by the contents of the room. Olynth, however, didn’t take his eyes off me, and Fihk seemed nervous as he watched Olynth grow more and more angry with every cut I revealed. After taping the last bandage on my belly, I shoved everything into my pack. Then Nathan and I explored quietly while Fihk talked to someone on the communication device in his ear.
“You okay, kiddo?” I asked.
He nodded quickly and looked around the room. “This is so cool, Bails. We’re on an alien ship.”
“Nerd.” I laughed and flipped up his cap.
He grinned, straightening it.
Chapter 6
Bailey
Fihk talked to someone on his comm for a while before directing Wyvr to fly the ship to Peyton’s house. Apparently some of them had already been there. We were in Seattle going to Idaho, so it was a short journey, full of Nathan’s amazed exclamations as he watched Wyvr fly the ship and Fihk and Olynth glaring at each other on and off.
Now that we were out of the city and crammed into the main room on the ship, it was clear that Fihk had some serious reservations about Olynth. Their silent conversation was unnerving, especially because I had a sneaking suspicion it was about Olynth and his new attachment to the human woman.
Me.
I didn’t know why or what was driving Olynth to
stay so close to me. I didn’t think he liked me the way a boy likes a girl. I was an alien to him. And although he was pretty freaking hot for an alien, I highly doubted he saw me as any kind of catch. No, it had to be something else. Ever since they caught us, Olynth hadn’t let his eyes off me, and he hadn’t let anyone touch me other than Nathan. It was weird. But I really didn’t think he had a hard-on for blue-haired humans. But he did sniff me―and try to spank me. Huh. No, no way.
It had to be something else.
I looked at him, and yup, he was staring right at me. Glaring really.
The big guy glared at me all the time. No smiles and come-hither looks from him. He was a giant pillar of don’t-fuck-with-me. All those blades and bulging muscles—I shivered, and not from fear. I looked at him, our eyes meeting. His nostrils flared, and he tensed. I licked my lips and ran my eyes over his strange features.
He didn’t look bad. Just different. His ears were flat and pointy and his nose was flat and wide, but he had chiseled cheekbones and gnarly scars. And his fangs were wicked cool, sticking out from thick, plump lips. I bit my bottom lip and looked at his wide chest and veiny forearms. My breath snagged, and my belly warmed.
Olynth rumbled a low curse and took a slow step toward me.
“Bails!” Nathan shouted, and I jumped.
Flushing, I looked away from Olynth. Jeez, it had been too long since I’d gotten laid. I was objectifying an alien.
“Look!” Nathan pointed out the window when I stepped up beside him.
Fihk was to my other side, and his nostrils flared like Olynth’s had as he looked at me. I couldn’t help but compare him to the big guy. Where Olynth was all burly masculinity, Fihk was carved and lean perfection. He was still so much bigger than a human man, but I’d bet he was a lot faster than the big guy. He had a more squared face and lighter skin than Olynth’s darker purple. More lavender-ish.
He also had a softer disposition and an authority that demanded attention. Where Olynth was blunt words and orders, Fihk was a thinker, calculating. He spoke and moved with confidence. Sure, he ordered us around like Olynth liked to do, but when Fihk dealt out orders, they were with purpose and self-assurance. His dignified stance and pretty face didn’t hurt either.
If Olynth was gruff and rugged, Fihk was regal and poised. Both total turn-ons in human men. Their wings and fangs didn’t do anything to sway where my new thoughts had gone.
Fihk’s nose flared and his eyes shot to mine, then he looked behind me then back at me, surprised. A spark of heat spread in his eyes, and his nostrils flared again. A low rumble vibrated my back as a chest pressed against it. Fihk blinked and cursed, clenching his jaw before he aimed a strained grin behind me and shook his head, stepping back.
A hand shook my arm. I looked at Nate, a little dazed and out of breath. He had a curious look on his face. I blinked and flushed again and glared at him.
“Doofus.” He shook his head and glared at the two aliens watching me.
I squished his cheeks and kissed all over his face. He shouted and wiggled away from me, wiping furiously at his face. “Cooties!”
“What are you, five?” I laughed.
“Look,” he said, annoyed.
I ignored the warmth in my belly and looked out the window. We were high above earth, and we had left the city a while ago. I was ashamed I hadn’t seen the destruction as soon as I came over to the window. I had been too distracted by alien muscles, and now was not the time or place for that. I needed to stay focused, but it didn’t help that they were flaunting those bodies all over the place in tight leather.
Below were trees as far as the eye could see, and they were burning. Smoke and fire billowed in the air, but what had Nate’s attention was a camp far outside the city. It was massive and surrounded by a wall. There were so many soldiers and guns at that wall, it was hard to make out numbers this far up.
More shocking were the piles of Vitat bodies surrounding the outside of the wall, and surprisingly, they were all dead Vitat bodies.
“They killed them,” I muttered.
“They must have found a way to fight back,” Nate said excitedly.
My eyes followed the camp as we passed it. How many were in there? How many had survived?
“We believe it was some sort of gas,” Fihk murmured.
Nate clamped his hand on my arm. “Like our spray.”
“Perhaps,” Fihk said thoughtfully. “We have not gone down to investigate. There are many more similar groupings of humans fighting back all over Earth. We are watching their progress carefully.”
Hope was a dangerous thing. But I felt it anyway.
That was where we needed to be. If we could get to one of those camps, I might be able to keep Nathan safe.
“Why won’t you help them?” I asked. It had been bugging me for a while now. Looking at all their technology, my distrust grew. If they were able to hide a ship in broad daylight, what else were they capable of? Why wouldn’t they help us?
Fihk sighed and rubbed between his brows. “Come sit.”
It was hard to tear my eyes away from the burning trees, but I did. The rest of the flight was spent in a range of chaotic emotions as Fihk spoke. Disbelief, anger, loathing, fear, and so much hope it crippled me.
The Dahk had come here specifically to save us, following an order from their king before he died. But stupid, stupid arrogant government officials wouldn’t let them. And stupid, stupid galactic laws prevented them from interfering without approval from humans.
Fihk and the others were trying to figure out a way around getting approval, but it was taking too much time. Their commander was millions of light-years across the galaxy, meeting with a Galactic Council of hundreds of alien species to get their approval to act against the law. Fihk seemed pretty sure he would get it, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
In the meantime, Fihk and his enormous mothership—Dahk One—was busy preventing more Vitat from entering Earth’s atmosphere by using some kind of loophole in the rules. Apparently they couldn’t start a war on an alien planet without approval, but space? That was fair game. Or sort of. There would be repercussions for the Dahk, but Fihk said Commander Tahk and King Uthyf—the dead king’s brother—were prepared to deal with them.
That was kind of cool, them putting themselves in that position for a planet full of humans they certainly didn’t owe it to. It said a lot about who the Dahk were, and if it was true, it definitely did a lot to dampen my distrust of them. But that was if it were true.
I had no idea if they were lying or not. But I also had no idea why they would lie.
Why go through all the trouble to begin with? It had to cost a lot for the Dahk to come here just to do a good deed. No one did anything for free. Not even humans. There was always something to be paid back.
But then I remembered a lady I’d met in a homeless shelter when Nate’s and my foster parents kicked me out the day I turned eighteen, without even a happy birthday. I had two hundred dollars to my name and nowhere to go. It had been too hard to save anything when those assholes demanded I pay them room and board the moment I was old enough to get a job.
I’d walked into that shelter after I was down to pennies. Adelaine was working there, and she took one look at me and rented a hotel room for me for four weeks. I was able to work my ass off and get a crappy apartment. I was so grateful for her. She’d never wanted anything from me. I tried to pay her back every cent, but she refused.
That was the first and last bit of true selfless kindness I’d ever received from a complete stranger.
The memory kept me from biting off Fihk’s head when he insisted they were there to help us. Of all the people I’d met over my hard life, I hoped that woman was safe. That she had survived.
Now Fihk and the others were waiting to hear from their commander before they could whoop some Vitat ass. In the meantime, Fihk was making good on a vow he’d made to Peyton.
We finally made it to her house when I was near to c
oming out of my skin. I needed to move. I was suffocating in this ship. Olynth never gave me any space, and Fihk was bombarding me with promises I wasn’t ready to accept.
“We have arrived,” Fihk murmured, still watching Olynth as though he expected him to go berserk or something.
The house was little and in the middle of a clearing, woods surrounding it on all sides except for a small dirt road.
More important though were the bodies. Fihk and the others had been there all right.
There were dozens of Vitat bodies, and parts of bodies, littered all over the ground. It was a massacre. And they stunk so badly. I gagged along with Nathan. Covering my nose, I walked up to the house, spotting the writing on the front door. It was a note from Peyton to her mother, telling her to wait here, that they would come back for her. I snorted. Liar.
She didn’t come back. She flew off to another planet.
“This amuses you? Why?” Fihk asked me curiously.
I looked at him and shook my head, pointing to the note. “We’re all liars deep down.”
Fihk tilted his head and followed me as I pushed into the house.
“Pehytohn did not lie to her mam.” Fihk sounded offended on the woman’s behalf.
“Sure, she didn’t. Why is it that you’re here and not her?” I asked him snottily.
“My commander had no choice but to take her back to Home World. He could not part from her, and she would have been in great and unnecessary danger had he been able to leave her behind.” Fihk crossed his arms as I dug through the cabinets.
Most of the food was gone, but I bit into a pack of Pop-Tarts and groaned. Fihk shifted on his feet. I tossed a pack to Nate as he came into the room.
“Maybe.” I swallowed and drank from a bottle of water. “But I would have kicked that guy's ass if he tried to take me from Nathan.” I winked at my brother when he looked between us.
“You will not be parted from your brother,” Olynth stated in that no-nonsense tone. He was hunched over in the doorway and looking between Fihk and me.
Fihk glared at me. “Tahk is the commander of all Dahk and its armies. His responsibilities did not allow for emotion and reckless actions.”
