“The Heronas,” his jaw clenched, “they killed my father.”
“I know. And I’m sorry.”
“They tortured him before…” Zar glanced aside, trying not to think about his father’s body lying in the grass. “They deceived us.”
“Did you find the Heronas who did it?”
He dipped his chin once. “I hunted each of them down and made them pay.”
The methods were cruel and malicious. If Si-Moon knew about the lengths he’d gone for revenge, she would probably balk.
He had uncovered a vulnerable side of her today and, though she acted big, brave and untouchable, she was just as fragile on the inside as her body was on the outside.
“Zar,” she rubbed his knuckles, “I can’t love someone with so much anger. Your rage…” She gestured to her temple. “It’s going to consume you. It builds and builds until it destroys everything. Whenever I see that anger in you, I’m dragged back to that time in my life where everything around me was scary and painful. And it frightens me that one day, you might take that anger out on me.”
Zar frowned. “Never.”
He would die before he put his hands on a female—any female—but especially his mate. She was his highest priority. The most valuable thing in the world to him.
“More than that,” Si-Moon turned, “you deserve to be free. The Heronas who killed your father are dead and you’re still on the rampage. You’re still on the mission. Even those who don’t deserve your anger, like Chozo—”
“He is Heronas.”
“He is a kid,” she stressed. “One who was mistreated and abused just like me. One who had a stand-in parent who didn’t love them. Can’t you see that he’s different? Can’t you… be at peace.”
“I will be at peace when all Heronas are dead.”
“They are. They’re dying out.” She tilted her chin up as she said, “And when they’re all gone, what will you have left?”
The question echoed in his mind.
When they’re all gone, what will you have left?
Nothing.
He would have nothing.
Zar gritted his teeth as fear wound its way around his throat. Without revenge, who would he be? What would he do?
Si-Moon raised her body and pressed a soft, gentle kiss to his lips. “I don’t want my past to have so much control over me. I don’t want to be held captive by what damaged and broke me. I want a future.” She pulled her lips back and nervously admitted, “I want a future with you, Zar. That rage, that fury, it’s going to consume you and it’ll take me with it. Please. Let’s fight that darkness together.”
Choose me. It was what his mate cried out from the depths of her heras. It rang in her brown eyes that glistened like marbles. In her lips that she chewed between her blunt white teeth. In the fingers that rolled over his muscular shoulders and down to his abs.
Choose me.
Zar captured Si-Moon’s lips. She smelled like something familiar and yet so special and new. His mouth grazed her jaw and up to her ear. He tasted the salt that the leaking liquid had left on her cheeks.
Her fingers dug into his shoulder, anchoring her as he sucked her lips. Zar struggled to find his footing in the furious whirlwind that his mate’s touch created.
His rage was a part of him. Just as Si-Moon was now a part of him. The thought of cutting her out and separating himself from her was inconceivable. He could not even begin to fashion such a thought.
But living without the rage that had given him purpose…
Si-Moon slid her hands down and gripped him.
Zar’s body throbbed with desire. He pulled away from her just long enough to stand and drag her to her feet. A moment later, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body flush against his.
Zar’s tail moved in tandem with the strokes of his mouth and Si-Moon began to moan loudly. He threw himself into pleasing his mate’s heat, ignoring the conflict that tore at his heras.
When Si-Moon was ready, he pushed her against the wall and buried his rage, his sorrow, and his dark thoughts inside her. Relentless, he let it pound through his body and erupt against hers until they were both limp and sweaty.
Then, he cleaned her off again, gently washing her hair with the cleaning chemical and dressing her tenderly in the tunic Sah-ah had laid aside for her. By the time he’d finished pulling up his mate’s undergarments, she could barely stand.
He took Si-Moon gently into his arms and pressed his lips against her forehead. She snuggled into him, a small, contented smile on her lips.
As he left the wash, he found the one called Eema passing through the hallway.
Zar arched an eyebrow nub at her. “I need a room.”
The female pointed. “You can use the one on the left.”
He took Si-Moon there and laid her on the mat. She rolled over, her curls billowing behind her and her plump, dark brown lips parted in heavy sleep.
Touching a finger to her cheek affectionately, Zar stared at her face before dragging himself away and heading through the back exits.
His comrades would be waiting to discuss their next steps, but Zar did not want to face them right now. His head was too full of Si-Moon and her pleas that he relinquish his rage.
Zar kept walking, letting his feet aimlessly guide his way. Suddenly, he heard a twig snap. Every muscle tense, Zar glanced around, his eyes searching through the dark foliage for threats.
A lone figure stepped out of the shadows and Zar unleashed his spine dagger when he recognized the bulky mask of a Heronas.
“Don’t fight, Plutonian.” The Heronas lifted both arms high. “I come in peace.”
Twenty-Seven
Zar
“A Heronas knows nothing about peace,” he snarled, snapping his dagger off his spine and preparing himself for battle. He would lodge the blade into the Heronas’s throat before the beast could blink.
“I am Dizid—the brother of Ziag.” His voice dropped to a hardened whisper. “The Heronas you and your Plutonian comrades nearly killed.”
“You expect me to have pity? Ziag kidnapped one of our own.”
“Keeping score, Plutonian?”
Zar’s fingers tightened on the dagger.
“Be very careful. If I die…” Dizid pointed upward.
Zar glanced up and saw the gleam of large ray guns. They were bigger than the usual weapons the Heronas carried and seemed capable of more destructive and widespread damage.
“What is that?” Zar hissed.
“We made a few… modifications to an old model. The humans call it a ‘bomb’. Has a nice ring to it, no?”
“A bomb?”
“If you make any foolish moves, we will destroy the dwelling and all of your comrades.” Dizid tilted his head. “I believe we also saw some females as well.”
“Hurt them and I will—"
“Uh-uh, Plutonian.” Dizid rolled his shoulders. “I believe there is one female in particular that you have attached yourself to. We saw you arrive together. You could not take your eyes off her.” Dizid waved his fingers in the air. “What did my scout say? Ah, yes. Like you were under a spell. Perhaps it is magic. I have heard that a human female’s heat is… particularly invigorating—"
“Shut your mouth before I slit your throat,” Zar warned.
His blade demanded blood.
Dizid’s blood.
“Like I said, I come in peace. I would like to make a deal.”
“And why would I make a deal with you?”
“Did you not just hear me?” Dizid pointed at the trees. “We have bombs aimed at your dwelling. Your female will die. Your comrades will die. Is that not reason enough?”
Zar’s lips curled up in a stony smirk. Whipping his wrist, he flung his dagger through the branches.
Perfect aim.
He heard a choked grunt and the thump of a body hitting the forest floor.
Glancing back at Dizid, he tilted his head. “It seems the wielder of your bomb is no longer a
vailable.”
“I wouldn’t be so arrogant. There are plenty more where he came from.”
Zar studied Dizid. “You are bluffing.”
“Is that a chance you are willing to take?” Dizid tapped his mask with flat fingers. “Hm?”
Zar imagined Si-Moon sleeping on the mat. When he left her, her fingers were cupped beneath her cheek, her breaths strong and steady and her eyelashes fluttering.
Signs of their mating lingered in the bruises on her dark thighs and neck. He tried so hard to ease into her heat, but Si-Moon was so tight and fragile that even in his restraint, he overwhelmed her.
She seemed to like the pain, if her moans of pleasure were any indication, and that only made him lose control.
His mate was strong and fierce and innocent. Nothing could harm her. If he was wrong and Dizid did have more bombs…
“There.” Dizid grinned. “Now that you understand, we can negotiate.”
“I do not make deals with Heronas.”
“Then don’t think of it as a deal,” Dizid clasped his hands behind his back. “Just say that I am threatening you.”
Zar growled. “How did you find this place?”
“Oh, it was easy. After your comrades made their escape, we had drones follow them. You Plutonians really shouldn’t have gotten caught up with the human females. Your brain now lives in your pants and your decisions are all so foolish. It’s quite sad.”
“What. Do. You. Want?” Zar’s nostrils flared. He could taste the fury pulsing through his veins.
Think about Si-Moon. If you kill him, she is in danger.
Zar forced himself to hold his peace when every fiber of his being strained to eliminate the Heronas until he was nothing but strips of bone and skin.
“Like I said. I would like to make a deal.”
“And you thought I would be the one to make such a deal with you? Our terros—”
“Why do you think we chose you, Plutonian?”
Zar glared. “Because you have a death wish.”
“Because you and I have the same goal.”
Zar almost laughed aloud. Dizid must be high on spirits. Or maybe he inhaled the root of a hallucinating plant. Surely this Heronas must not be in his right mind if he assumed that Zar and he would ever be on the same side.
“Your father was killed in a Heronas raid—”
“Neh.” Zar fisted his hands. “Not killed. He was tortured and then murdered.”
Dizid continued as if he had not heard. “And, since then, you have taken on a crusade against us. In our cities, there are frightening tales of the Plutonian with the tattoos that curl like so.” Dizid lifted his fingers and traced the shape of one of his tattoos in the air. “A warrior with such a strong vengeance that Heronas all over the region would whisper about him.”
“Do you have a point?”
“My point is,” Dizid stepped boldly toward him, “we are dying.” He jutted his chin down. “But you need us to survive.”
“You crazy Heronas…”
“Without our kind to hunt down, you will have no purpose. Without our kind to hate, you will have no energy. You need the Heronas so you can keep on killing us. You need the Heronas to bring meaning to your sad, pathetic life.” Dizid paused. “And to survive, we need the Heronas brood you have in your camp.”
Zar froze. “Chozo?”
“He belongs to us. We want him back.”
“Want or need?”
“Does it matter?” Dizid’s annoyance sizzled through his voice. “That is the deal. Bring Chozo and your mate lives. You can go back and pump her full of your seed, knowing she will be safe from harm. You can live the rest of your days happily hunting down the species you helped to save.”
“I reject your offer.” Zar snatched Dizid by the throat.
“Don’t… be so sure,” Dizid choked.
Zar squeezed his neck harder, but the thought of a bomb tearing through the cabin stopped him. He roared and, one by one, released his fingers until Dizid was completely free. The Heronas massaged his neck, his mask fogging up as he coughed and caught his breath.
Si-Moon was both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. This was the second Heronas he had encountered and spared because of her.
Denizi.
Dizid dropped his ray gun on the ground between them. “The Healer is dying. He loses strength every day.”
Zar clenched his teeth. The Healer got his power from the sacred damas. Without it, his strength would wane. But he would never share this with the Heronas.
“The other Plutonians in our capture have little to offer us in the way of an immediate cure. But the expeh in your camp survived the Red Death. He managed to get away unscathed. The Healer’s blood runs through his venas. We may find the key to our survival within his cells.”
“You mean to cut him open and torture him?”
“He is nothing but an expeh.” Dizid arched an eyebrow. “And he is a Heronas. Does it matter whether he dies by our hands or yours?”
“And if I say I refuse?”
“You won’t,” Dizid spoke confidently.
Zar unleashed his spine dagger again. “I will enjoy killing you.”
“I am sure you will.” Dizid offered his hand. “But you must save me first.”
Zar slapped Dizid’s hand away and turned.
“Remember, Plutonian, my bombs will be waiting.”
Zar started walking.
“You have until sunrise,” Dizid yelled. “Bring the expeh back to this point before the moon’s fall or the only thing you and your mate will be waking up to is the afterlife.”
Zar dug his fingers into fists, corralling his rage with all his strength even as he longed to tear Dizid limb-from-limb.
When he returned to the dwelling, he headed straight to the room where Si-Moon was sleeping. Kneeling beside her, he draped his fingers along her cheek.
Zar heard a shuffling sound and spun to find Chozo standing in the doorway. The brood stared at him with dark eyes.
His heras burned as he stared back.
To protect his female, he had to save the Heronas.
Zar had no other choice but to give Chozo over to Dizid.
Twenty-Eight
Simone
A pulsing fog slipped through her mind, redder and thicker than a storm. Simone opened her eyes, wary of the nightmare that lingered still.
Hoping to calm down, she sucked in a breath and thought of what had happened in the bathroom. Sharing her past with Zar had felt like she was peeling her skin off. Painful as it sounded, she had never felt freer.
Zar had taken the ugly parts of her, cradled it in his hands and made it beautiful. That an alien had been the one to make her feel more human was something Simone couldn’t really figure out.
“Zar…” Simone reached around in the darkness.
He was gone.
Strange.
She’d expected him to be lying next to her.
Maybe he was with the other Plutonians?
Simone shuffled her legs, moving carefully. Zar had not been gentle when he filled her. It was as if he’d been trying to get all the frustration out of his system. He’d bitten and stroked and nuzzled her until her body almost split in half.
Simone knew that walking properly would not be an option for at least several days. Not after the way Zar had manhandled her.
She’d accepted it. The pleasure. The pain.
The way they’d both cried out as they unraveled made her think they were on the same page.
Zar had emptied his rage out in her.
It was time for them both to heal and move on.
“Zar…” Simone stood. Discomfort eased between her thighs and she winced, wondering if her body would ever get used to the size of him. During mating, the pleasure made it easier to bear but afterwards was still uncomfortable for her.
Simone felt thin, flat fingers bounce on her shoulder. She whirled around. In the shadows of the empty room, she saw Chozo sitt
ing beside her. His mask fogged up with every heavy breath. Through the white mist, she could make out his eyes, downcast and sad.
He swallowed and the movement rippled down his long neck. “Are you alright?”
How did she explain that her emotions were rubbed as raw as her thighs? That awful memories had been brought to the surface by talking about her childhood? That being devoured in an alien bathroom stall was as rowdy and risqué as it sounded?
Simone shook her head. “I’m okay.”
“Good.” Chozo’s lips inched up, but his eyes still carried that sorrow.
“What did you want to talk to me about?”
He hesitated. “Just… remain safe and happy, Simone. You must always be okay. Can you do that for me?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Chozo glanced into the distance. Though he looked like a child with his flailing arms and small torso, his voice cracked like it bore the weight of a lifetime of pain. “You were my first friend.”
Simone bit down on her bottom lip. She hadn’t been a good one. The moment she met the other humans, she’d been so excited that she’d basically forgotten about Chozo.
She should have checked on Chozo after she and Zar were finished with each other. Instead of being carried to bed and laid out like a damn princess, she should have gotten on her feet and found the kid. Made sure he was okay. Maybe then he wouldn’t be sitting here looking like a forgotten puppy.
“I’m sorry, Chozo,” Simone said.
“No. Do not be sorry.” Chozo paused. “Do you know what I was doing three sun rotations ago?”
“What?”
“I was staring at the ceiling thinking about what I would do when I became free. The creatures I would meet. The food I would eat. The friends I would make.” He laughed softly. “I always had these dreams when they were cutting me open and taking blood from me.”
The Alien Warrior's Heart : A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Plutonian Warriors Book 3) Page 13
