by Erin Raegan
“The market is there.” John pointed at a large building at the far end of the road. “I don’t know what’s left inside. It was raided pretty hard when this all started.”
“Thanks.” I nodded and looked at the soldiers scoping out the road.
“We’re gonna hit the hardware store and gun shop,” he added. “Macy and Tanner will head with you to pack up one of the trucks with any food you can find.”
“Got it,” Nick said shortly. He watched Walt with a wary look.
John and Walt split off with several other soldiers, and we started down the street. A woman waved to us from the driver’s seat of one of the trucks as she drove ahead of us.
“Watch your back,” Nick warned beneath his breath. “They don’t trust us.”
I nodded. “I know.”
Olynth glowered between us. “Tell the humans we will not allow them to attack.”
Not all of the soldiers had opted for translators. I couldn’t blame them after Kil’s show.
“They won’t,” I said but didn’t quite believe myself. Not all of them had been in the room when Fihk talked to Burin.
“If they harm you, I will slaughter them,” Olynth snarled.
“Calm down, big guy, I don’t think any of them are stupid enough to try it.” Except maybe that guy Walt.
Gunnor scowled at the humans searching the shops as we walked. Most of them looked away, not meeting his cold glare.
We walked up to the store, after we navigated the body-ridden streets. I was suddenly glad Nathan hadn’t come with me. Bodies had been an everyday occurrence before the Dahk, but now he’d gone days without seeing a mutilated body. I was grateful. If we could stay in the compound until the end of this, he may never have to again.
The door was wide open, and thankfully the inside of the store was free of bodies. The floors were coated in dried blood though. The Vitat hadn’t left anything behind. I shivered.
We waited in the doorway as Olynth, Gunnor, and two other Dahk searched the store. When it was cleared, a woman pushed me a cart. She smiled tensely, but I didn’t get any malice from her. Just curious suspicion.
She and the man, Tanner, went down one aisle with two carts. Nick went right down the feminine products section without an ounce of hesitation. I left him to get his daughter’s supplies while I went to the clothes.
Olynth stayed by my side as Gunnor went with Nick. I went to the boy's section and picked out several pairs of jeans and shirts in Nate’s size. Socks, Spider-Man underwear, and a new pair of sneakers went into my cart next. I grabbed things for Nick in the men’s section, then I went to the ladies’. Olynth was silent while I picked out the ugliest mom clothes I could find for Linda.
I held up a shirt with a bunch of cats on it, deciding Linda would be sufficiently horrified, and peeked back at Olynth. He was glaring at a sparkly silver sundress.
“So,” I said casually, “are you still mad at me?” I looked at him from under my lashes and thumbed barf-green sweatpants. I doubted Linda had worn anything like them in her life. I tossed them in the cart.
“I am not angry,” he growled, avoiding my eyes.
I turned and folded my arms. “Yes, you are.”
“No.” He scowled at me, his claw lifting the edge of the dress.
I sighed. “Fihk―”
He cut me off with a snarl. “Do not speak his name to me.”
“Big guy, we have to talk about this.” I pinched my nose. “If I hurt you―”
“You did not hurt me,” he scoffed.
I searched his face. “No? I made you jealous then?”
He huffed and glared at me.
“Why won’t you talk to me then?”
Olynth snatched the dress off the hanger and handed it to me. “This one.”
“No, Linda would love it, she needs this one.” I grabbed what looked like a sack with a unicorn pattern.
“For you,” he grumbled and tossed it in the cart.
I raised a brow at him. He turned away. I pulled the dress out, noting how he stiffened, and replaced it with one in my size. He relaxed.
“He wants to spend time with me when he gets back,” I tried again while grabbing things for Star. I was kinder to her. I liked Star, but she was shy. I picked neutral clothes and a few girly things so she would have options.
Olynth made an angry sound and cursed but kept looking through the racks. I tried not to laugh as I watched a winged alien shop for clothes. I expected it came out a little hysterical.
“Why won’t you talk to me about this if you’re not hurt or jealous?” I grumbled and snatched up jeans and shirts for myself.
He didn’t answer.
I moved to the underwear section. I was not above using my wiles to get what I wanted.
Olynth followed me, looking at the panties and bras curiously. I smiled to myself and turned my back before removing my shirt. He made a choked sound behind me. I ignored him and pulled off my pants and underwear.
He cursed.
I ripped the tags off a pair of jet-black, lacy panties and bent over.
Heavy breaths hit the nape of my neck when I stood up. I got the panties all the way up my hips before hands curled around my waist from behind.
“It is not wise to tease a Dahk in my state,” he warned, his voice gravelly.
Goosebumps ran down my back. “What state is that?”
Raged perhaps? I needed him to say it. I wanted to know how he was controlling it.
“Do not test me,” he rumbled against the back of my head. His hands curled in, and his claws scraped my sides lightly.
I took an unsteady breath and turned to face him. His eyes fell to my bare breasts and slowly moved up to my face. They were hungry. I bit my lip. My hands moved to his bare chest and curved around his pecs before molding to his sculpted shoulders.
“I know,” I said breathlessly. Touching him was moving this beyond what I meant for it to. He was warm and hard everywhere. “I know what you’re hiding from me.”
“What is that?” He rumbled and moved his hands down my hips and around to my ass. They stopped and curled, squeezing.
My chest heaved. He pulled me tight against him until my breasts were smashed against his chest and I could feel how hard he was on my belly.
I licked my lips. “What Fihk didn’t hide from me. I’m your Pythe.”
It was the wrong thing to say.
He shoved me away.
I teetered on my feet and watched in shock as he bent and snarled in my face. “You are not. I did not choose you.”
“Well, I didn’t exactly choose you,” I snarled back. “You can’t lie to me. I felt how much you want me.” I looked at the steel rod in his pants.
“My body’s reactions do not control my mind. They are instinct and easily ignored.”
I winced and looked away from his furious glare.
“Do not bare yourself to me again.”
I flushed and crossed my arms around my chest and stomach, staring at my feet.
He watched me in tense silence before cursing and walking away.
I let out a shaky breath and ripped a bra off the racks. I tore off the tag and put it on, hating the sting in my eyes.
I felt like an idiot. Worse than an idiot.
I felt like Tandy, the hussy.
Numbly, I put on jeans and a shirt.
I ignored Olynth’s glare as I finished with the clothes and went to find Nick. He was by the toothbrushes. He looked at me then away before he startled and looked back at me. He searched my face as I avoided his eyes. His head moved to look behind me, and he stiffened, glaring.
“You okay?” he asked, not taking his eyes off Olynth.
“Yeah,” I croaked. I cleared my throat. “I’m fine.”
He searched my face slowly. “I got the basics.”
I nodded and lifted a few razors.
“We need a few bags for this. I don’t want it all lost in the soldiers’ stuff.”
I nodded again an
d walked ahead of him for duffel bags. We packed everything in four bags then went for food. Two more bags later, we left the store with a few carts we’d put together for everyone else at the compound.
We helped Macy and Tanner load the truck, then we walked down the street. I spotted a book store and pulled Nick in with me. I grabbed a few I thought Nate might like and a few magazines for Linda. She would hate me for the clothes I’d picked for her, so I thought I would soften the blow.
I had decided to be nice and grab some sexy underwear for her. Hopefully Nick would get the chance to appreciate them.
Nick grabbed a few books for Star and some outdoor guides for himself, and we left. The soldiers were waiting impatiently for us, the trucks so packed I wasn’t sure how we were all going to fit inside.
Then we found out they expected us to walk.
John and another soldier said Nick and I could ride, but the Dahk wouldn’t fit. Olynth refused, so we all started back toward the compound on foot. I didn’t see Walt anywhere and was glad. I was feeling too raw to deal with his disgusted glares.
It was only about four miles back, but it was already getting dark. Some of the Dahk left with us flew ahead above the trees. Olynth wanted to fly, but Nick was adamant he would barf, and Gunnor didn’t seem too excited to give him a lift. Two other Dahk stayed behind with us to walk back.
It was awkwardly silent. I didn’t know the other two Dahk, and they didn’t seem open to friendly conversation. Gunnor was himself—stoically unsocial. Olynth tried to catch my eyes a few times, but I refused to meet his. Each of us carried a duffel bag. Nick didn’t trust the soldiers with them. It was still warm, so I was sweating, and my arms ached when Olynth lifted my bag and took it from me.
“I can carry it,” I grumbled.
He scowled at me and slung it over his shoulder. I sighed and sped up to walk next to Nick.
“What’s going on with you two?” he whispered.
I rolled my eyes. Olynth and all the other Dahk could still hear him with their freaky super-hearing. He nudged his shoulder into mine.
“I messed up,” I said as low as I could.
“You did?” He looked back at Olynth.
I smacked his arm, and he smiled contritely.
“Yeah, I pissed him off.”
“How?” Nick looked back again, but I scowled, and he faced forward.
“I just did something really stupid,” I grumbled and looked away. My cheeks flamed.
Nick smiled softly. “I doubt that.”
“No, I did.” I felt dirty, and not from the heat. I couldn’t believe I came onto him like that. In my defense, Olynth had been sending me mixed signals since I met him. I’d just read them wrong. He was an alien after all.
Fihk seemed insanely happy about me being his Pythe. I didn’t know why I thought Olynth was too, just, I don’t know, maybe shy? I snorted. That was the wrong word. Not shy. Just unsure or something.
His rejection hurt though. If I was being honest with myself, his rejection hurt a lot.
Fihk had come out of nowhere and I wasn’t even sure if I liked him, but Olynth? It had been building. Slowly, every day. I was feeling more for him than I had realized.
“Star, she’s shy,” Nick said casually.
I laughed. That was an understatement.
“Yeah, she’s always been that way. Got it from her momma.”
“What happened to her mom?” I asked.
He fisted his free hand and squinted at the trees. “She left when Star was three.” He looked at me. “She wasn’t a bad woman. She just couldn’t handle emotion well, and Star brought on a lot of emotion for her. It was easier for her to leave.”
I nodded. “My dad and mom were pieces of crap.”
He looked at me.
“Drugs and stuff. I wasn’t worth getting clean for. They didn’t want me.”
“Sorry, kid,” he said gruffly and palmed my shoulder.
“I’m used to it.” I looked down. “Star’s lucky to have you.”
He smiled and dropped his hand. “I wasn’t the best dad. I didn’t know how to handle her when she started getting older.” He looked at the bag over his shoulder wryly. “Women need things men don’t know how to give them.”
I laughed. “But you figured it out.” I nodded at the bag. He had gotten those tampons, not once asking me which ones to get.
“Yeah, but it took me a while to figure it out.” He looked me in the eye then nodded behind us. “Men? We can be stubborn and a pain, but if you give us time, we’ll usually find our way.”
“Give him time then, huh?” I grinned. “Maybe I won’t wait around.”
He chuckled. “Then he better step on it.” He looked back over my shoulder. “I don’t think you’ll have to wait long.”
I turned to see Olynth watching me with his normal intensity, but his jaw was clenched and his nostrils were flared. He opened his mouth to say something, but I wouldn’t ever know what it was.
Something exploded, and I flew to the side, slamming into the ground.
Chapter 18
Olynth
I watched her walk beside the older male. Her shoulders were hunched. Her vibrancy dulled.
I had done that to her.
I had swept away her light.
She had watched me with an open acceptance I had not expected, and I smothered it.
I did not know what to do with the pain that squeezed my chest.
Her form, covered and hidden from me, called to me even now. Gunnor stiffly walked beside me. He had heard our quarrel in the human market. I knew he did not agree with my decision to refuse the mating rage.
The gift of a Pythe.
But he did not condemn me for it. He was among those present when I returned from the Juldo camp, the lifeblood of my captors still staining my hide. He was aware of the torment I had faced there. He aided me when I returned to claim my revenge and free the other captives.
He did not agree as I pushed away my mate, a bid to save her from my dark desires, but he understood. “You cannot continue to deny her,” he had told me on the ship as I watched her from afar. How right he was.
I felt my control fray every moment in her company.
But I could not keep away from her.
And she was not simply mine any longer. Another had a claim on her.
I wanted to rage at the skies.
Fihk was now her Pythen as well.
The thought of him touching her enraged me. And he had done more than that. He had felt her caress. The warmth of her female canal. Her embrace. I gnashed my teeth.
I was a damaged male. I could not give her the soft caresses he could. I could not soothe her in a mating as he would. My desires were far darker than his. It was why I had refrained from taking a female for so long.
I was young when the Juldo enslaved me. Any embrace I felt was unwanted and filled with pain. I was forced to mate with females of varying species. They were not gentle with my young age. Most were angry in their captivity, blaming the male captives when they were forced to mate and birth babes for them to be made Juldo.
I had not fathered a dahkling with any of them. I was too young, a mere twenty, at the time, and it was so rare for a Dahk to bear young with another species. When I grew and was able to overpower my captives, they did no longer placed me with females. They left me to rot.
And so I did. For hundreds of sunspins.
It was a Guhuvin male who saved me. He released me while he was searching for his mate.
I did not hesitate in slaughtering any who denied me freedom.
I was too weak to free the others, but my commander, Tahk, trained me. He allowed me to release my rage in battle. I would never be so weak again. I would not allow it.
But even now, I could not bear to lay with a female. My desires were born of darkness and demanded control. I could not do that to my little warrior. She was fierce but would not submit. I feared she would not survive it.
I would sooner succumb t
o death.
But now, as she spoke to the human male of her parentage―of their rejection―I felt my gut clench. How could they toss aside such a beautiful creature? I wished to disembowel them.
I moved closer. To attempt to soothe her, assure her I had not meant my heinous words. They were a lie. It was not merely instinct that called me to her, but a knowing. She was meant to be mine.
I could never regret who the ancestors had chosen for me. I would choose her. There was no other for me but her.
I did not know what to say to erase the hurt I caused her, but urgency drove me to try.
I did not have the chance.
An explosion rocked the earth.
It came from my mate’s left. She flew through the air, crashing into the male. They hit the ground.
I roared and charged for her.
Another explosion came from the right, raining broken earth on her still body.
I covered her with my body, my wings curling around her to protect her delicate hide.
I bared my fangs on another roar and looked around. One of my Dahk was picking himself up from the ground and snarling ahead. Two human males were down the road, long weapons over their shoulders.
“Kill them,” I thundered.
He nodded and flew, avoiding another explosive volley. It hit the woods and exploded. Gunnor covered the human male beside me.
“The human warriors,” he snarled.
We had been betrayed again.
“Walt,” my mate gasped beneath me. The male would die.
“Hush, ruhasha,” I murmured and moved her blue hair from her eyes. They were dazed and watering. “Where are you hurt?”
She groaned. “Everywhere.”
My hands moved from her legs to her stomach, removing dust and debris. Her side was bare and scraped, but it was shallow. “Where?”
“I’m okay. Nick?” She coughed smoke and dust from her lungs and tried to look around my wing.
“Alive,” Gunnor grunted.
My mate sagged against the ground. “Thank god.”
Lorn returned with the two males battered and bleeding. He tossed them to the ground before me. Huarg walked up to them and roared in their terror-filled faces. I stood, cradling my mate. She groaned in pain.
