Crex: Alien Abduction Romance (Captured By Aliens Book 2)

by A. G. Wilde

  “Know your place, guard. Do you wish to harm our wares?” The second Tasqal interrupted and the guard paused in mid-motion.

  The other’s deep bubbly laugh reached Piper’s ear again. “It surprises me,” it said.

  Suddenly, it leaned forward to study her. “It doesn’t seem to be afraid.”

  Piper swallowed hard, her teeth seeming to be permanently gritted.

  “We are taking you to meet our Ceqtaq.” Its big dark eyes closed then opened for a microsecond and Piper realized that was probably how it blinked. “You will do well to survive the night.”

  It seemed to pause to see her response before bubbly laughter echoed in its throat again.

  She could feel her nostrils flare. If she could never hear that sound for the rest of her life, she would willingly give an arm or a leg.

  As the two Tasqals began walking again, the guard behind her poked her in her spine for her to continue the trek down the corridor.

  “What is a Ceqtaq?” Her voice was level but, even to her own ears, she could hear that it was laced with anger. This time, she could hear bubbly laughter from both of the toad-like beings as they came to stand in front of a cell.

  There were four guards in front of the cell with metal rods that looked suspiciously like weapons that used an electric current. One had a bandage over its eye, covering what looked like a fresh wound.

  “Open the cell,” the Tasqal ordered, and the guards glanced at each other.

  Did the one with the bandage just quiver? Piper frowned and averted her gaze to the inside of the cell.

  It was dark in there. There was no movement and no sound. But that didn’t mean there was nothing in there.

  “Maybe we should watch from the surveillance,” the smaller Tasqal whispered to the other, which paused then nodded.

  “Let us retire to our quarters then,” it said, before glancing at Piper then at the guard behind her. “Put her in the cell. We will watch from our lodging.”

  Putting two and two together, Piper’s frown deepened. Judging from what she’d seen so far, she could only assume that whatever alien was behind the bars was even more hideous than the ones she’d met so far.

  What was it going to be? Tentacles? Spikes? Slime? Something else that wouldn’t have made it in a male strip club?

  If the gator-like men seemed wary, then probably she should be too but, unlike them, she was missing one thing...the ability to feel. That had been taken away when she’d seen her sister’s life end right in front of her eyes.

  Nothing was going to bring her sister back and she could admit that a small part of her wanted to die too.

  As the Tasqals shuffled off, the gator-guard behind her loosened the chain from her neck. But before she had time to move, one of the guards by the cell bars grabbed hold of her arm.

  It was a strange feeling, its leathery skin against hers, and Piper cringed.

  It must have taken that response as weakness or fear because it seemed to chuckle.

  “This little meaty thing? How long do you think it will last?” It was speaking to the others and Piper scowled at it.

  She was so over being called every disparaging word in the dictionary.

  “Five, maybe ten minutes,” the one with the bandage spoke up.

  “I say an hour. He seems to have cooled down after taking your eye out.” One guard laughed nervously.

  “Throw it in. The High Tasqals would have reached their quarters by now,” the guard who had accompanied her spoke and again the others glanced at each other.

  As one gingerly unlocked the cell, he stepped back quickly as the other shoved her into the darkness.

  The movement was so sudden, she fell on her hands and knees on a cold, hard floor.

  Glancing back towards the well-lit corridor, she could see the guards were now looking with interest into the cell, their eyes searching the darkness.

  When she turned to peer into the darkness again, she sensed nothing. There was no movement, no sound...nothing. It was as if she was alone.

  Piper gulped and squinted hard, willing her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Despite her senses picking up no imminent danger, she could feel her heartbeat rising in her chest. Even her breath seemed loud in the silence.

  That was just the thing.

  It was silent.

  Too silent.

  Dangerously silent.

  As her eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness, her breath caught in her throat and a chill went down her spine.

  There! Two eyes.

  Two eyes looking straight at her.

  Two cold eyes.

  Unblinking, they were focused. Focused on her.

  She wasn’t alone.

  It was there. The Ceqtaq.

  It was there...and it was looking right at her.

  Chapter Three

  It felt as if it was boring into her soul and stripping her bare, that stare.

  She couldn’t move. She couldn’t even breathe.

  It was strange.

  She’d seen countless horrors since being taken from Earth. Yet, when she’d thought fear was an emotion she’d lost, here it was again, coursing through her veins like her blood was no longer a valid option.

  There was something about those eyes. Something...terrifying. As if they belonged to a being that didn’t feel emotions like she’d thought she no longer did.

  It was the type of stare that made her forget that she was completely naked and had but her obvious fear to hide behind.

  They were the eyes of a predator.

  They seemed to become brighter as her own eyes adjusted to the darkness and Piper stumbled back towards the cell bars.

  She could see it better now.

  But there weren’t any tentacles or spikes as she’d imagined before. It was a man.

  Well, at least, it looked like a man but it definitely wasn’t human. There was something about it that was otherworldly…something that made her senses go on edge.

  As her back hit the cell bars, Piper gulped.

  How could she not have seen him before? He was huge! Definitely well over six feet tall—and she was sure of that even though he seemed to be crouching.

  A snarl behind her echoed in her ear before the metal weapon one of the guards carried was pressed into her back and she was pushed forward again with such force she stumbled much further into the room than she would have liked.

  To her horror, the eyes followed her with precision, as if the Ceqtaq was tracking her.

  Yes, just like a predator.

  Shooting the guards by the cell bars a look that could kill, Piper scrambled to the other side of the room. Her arms and legs a less-than-gracious flailing as she reached the far end of the room.

  The Ceqtaq’s head didn’t even turn, but his eyes tracked her there.

  He didn’t move.

  He didn’t even look as if he was breathing. But he was alert. Very alert. And it made every hair on her skin stand on end.

  Piper gulped.

  “Go in there and push the slave over to him,” she heard one of the guards say and it immediately drew her attention to the idiots by the cell bars. Her contempt grew for them even more. “The High Tasqals have ordered it.”

  “You go.” The one with the bandage shoved another.

  The High Tasqals.

  Piper couldn’t see much but she was sure it was a closed cell. If they were watching, they were watching from the “surveillance” they’d mentioned earlier.

  Creeps.

  Just what did they want to see?

  As her eyes shot back to the Ceqtaq, his lack of movement and intent stare made another shiver run down her spine.

  She gulped again.

  That’s what they wanted to see.

  They wanted to see her being ripped apart by this...man...alien...being…thing.

  A soft creek penetrated the darkness as the cell door opened slowly. But Piper didn’t bother to look. No doubt it was one of the spineless gator idiots coming in
to do just what they’d discussed—push her into the mouth of the beast. In the corner of her eye, she could see one of the gator-guards carefully approach. But her gaze was held by his—the Ceqtaq’s.

  She couldn’t read what was behind his eyes and the darkness wasn’t helping.

  But the more she looked, the more she felt...less afraid.

  It made little sense. Maybe she was making his human-like appearance cloud the fact that he was an alien. One with a reputation.

  But he was just staring. He wasn’t doing anything.

  Maybe he wasn’t as fearsome as they’d made him out to be.

  Maybe—

  Just as the thoughts were flowing in her head, his gaze suddenly sliced from hers to the guard that had entered and Piper inhaled sharply, her eyes widening.

  Her response caught the guard’s attention, and it turned its head to look in the direction of the Ceqtaq, but it was too late.

  He moved fast. Too fast for it to be possible. Yet, it was.

  In one moment, he was crouching in the corner and, in the next, he was looming in front of her, his back towards her as he faced the guard.

  Piper blinked rapidly, her body flattening like paper against the wall.

  What the hell?

  It wasn’t possible for anything to move that fast. It wasn’t—

  A shriek almost left her mouth but her hand fastened itself over her lips just in time as she watched the Ceqtaq grasp the throat of the guard, lifting the big gator-like being off the ground effortlessly.

  The guard snarled, its limbs dangling shamefully. It had a rod in one hand, which it tried to jab toward the Ceqtaq, but that attempt to release itself was futile as the Ceqtaq grasped its arm with his free hand.

  In the next second, the undeniable sound of bones breaking echoed in the cell.

  The cry of pain from the guard sounded like a wounded jungle animal that had been shot and Piper pressed her other hand over her mouth as well, her eyes wide, her heart now in her throat beating as if it was trying to escape the confines of her body.

  The Ceqtaq’s back was still turned to her and Piper found herself staring at the back of his head. Dark hair cascaded down his shoulders, shielding the side of his face, and, apart from the trousers he wore, he seemed to be bare.

  Bare.

  He just did that bare-handed. No weapons.

  As she came to terms with that fact, she watched in horror as he catapulted the guard back toward the cell bars, causing a deep clang to echo in the cell as the guard’s body connected with the metal.

  He turned then, and the cold, dead eyes were directed at her again.

  Her legs suddenly felt like jelly and if she wasn’t basically dehydrated, she was sure she would have pissed herself.

  But he didn’t come closer.

  He just glanced at her before stalking over to the guard who was left panting by the cell bars.

  Piper let out a breath of relief, but something told her she shouldn’t be rejoicing just yet.

  It just might not be her turn to be decimated yet.

  Maybe he was like those predators that played with their food before they ate it. Maybe he was just full on violence at the moment and was saving her for later when he got bored.

  Glancing around the cell, Piper squinted as she searched the darkness for something, anything that she could probably use to defend herself.

  Might as well make use of the time while they distracted him.

  The guards outside the cell stepped back as the Ceqtaq approached, leaving their colleague to fend for himself. Then, as if remembering that he couldn’t walk out of the cell, they sneered at him, pushing their metal rods through the spaces in the bars.

  The rods activated and sparks of electricity crackled at the ends of them. The Ceqtaq paused just far enough so the rods couldn’t reach him and watched as the guards clambered to open the cell and rescue their friend.

  As soon as they achieved that, the lights in the cell came on, illuminating the darkness, and Piper realized that apart from a slab with a white billowy material over it, there was nothing else in the room. In one corner, there seemed to be an indentation in the ground. She hoped that wasn’t what they thought was good enough for a toilet.

  Again, the Ceqtaq moved so fast she didn’t see and slammed into the cell bars. The guards outside the cell jumped back and again she found herself pressed against the wall in fright.

  Fucking hell.

  His movements were so sudden, they shocked her.

  As he turned and moved away from the bars, Piper’s eyes widened as she looked at the metal.

  It was bent from where he just hit it. Yet, from what she could see, there were no visible injuries on him.

  He turned then to look at her again, his face expressionless as if he had not just gone on a rampage, and Piper felt her eyes widen some more in their sockets.

  No, don’t look at me. Look anywhere but over here.

  A deep bubbly sound of laughter floated into the room and she watched as he pulled his gaze away with slow precision to glare at something in the top corner of the room. She hadn’t had time to notice it before, but there was a circular thing that looked like a blob of Jell-O fastened to the wall there and the sound had no doubt come from it.

  “Precious,” the Jell-O said—no, that wasn’t right. Mildly distracted by the strange thing on the wall, Piper frowned. Jell-O couldn’t speak. At least, not on Earth.

  “You are precious.” The Jell-O seemed to warp into different shapes as the voice came from it.

  That voice.

  She’d heard it before.

  It was the voice of the fat toad, the High Tasqal; the one that had bought her.

  That meant the strange Jell-O thing was...some kind of webcam device with a speaker and a camera? However that worked. At least she knew where the surveillance equipment was now.

  As she glanced back at the Ceqtaq, she watched his deep brow set into a frown as his nostrils flared.

  It was a response so much like one she would have that Piper’s brows rose a little.

  So, he did have emotion.

  An emotion she was well-acquainted with.

  Anger.

  He hated them as much as she did.

  At least they had that in common.

  Still, when locked in a cell with something that could kill you, the last emotion you wanted it to have was anger.

  “You are beautiful aren’t you,” the Jell-O warped again and Piper tore her eyes from the Ceqtaq for a second. For some reason, she knew the High Tasqal wasn’t talking about her. It was talking about the man—no, the alien, the Ceqtaq—the thing she had just seen make a dent into metal...the same thing they’d freakin’ locked her in a cell with.

  She could think of many words to describe him at the moment.

  Precious wasn’t one of them.

  Movement caught her eye and she realized he was moving again. But the quick jump of her heart in her chest was for nothing because he wasn’t approaching her.

  Instead, he went back to crouch in the corner of the room, brows still set into a hard line.

  As he crouched, he shot her a glance that seemed to cut through the air.

  Fuck. Ok. That was his corner. No problem.

  She wasn’t planning on going over there anyway.

  “Pleasure of my days, why isn’t he doing anything?” The Jell-O warped again and Piper realized it was picking up the other High Tasqal, the one she presumed was female.

  Pleasure of my days? What kind of weird twilight zone shit...

  “Is it injured?” The female toad crooned.

  “Injured?!” The male roared. “The Ceqtaq can’t be so easily injured.” There was a pause. “But you are right. This won’t do. Something must be done about this lack of action. I didn’t spend so much coin for a night of no entertainment.”

  Glancing back at the Ceqtaq, she shuddered to think of what they meant by “entertainment.” Did it involve her limbs getting torn apart or her be
ing beaten to a pulp?

  Footsteps outside the cell caught her attention and she noticed that the injured guard had been replaced by not one, but four others. That made seven of them.

  A look at the Ceqtaq confirmed he noticed as well, but he didn’t seem perturbed. He was shooting them the same glare he had done before.

  As he wasn’t seeming to pay any attention to her, Piper inched slowly toward the slab with the billowy material.

  If she was going to have to fight for her life, she’d rather not do so naked. Some dignity might help her confidence.

  As she reached the slab and took hold of the billowy material, she was happy to find that it was pliable enough to tear with her hands. No doubt she could make some kind of covering out of it...as long as he didn’t mind.

  Glancing at him, she realized he was looking at her intently again. Studying her.

  But this time, instead of pure coldness, there was something else in those eyes.

  Curiosity?

  Gulping, Piper moved quickly, her eyes locked on him the entire time as she tore a big enough piece of the material to wrap around herself and cover her most vulnerable parts.

  His eyes never left her. Even when she hurried back to the other corner of the room, fixed the material around herself, and sat on the floor staring back at him.

  They sat like that for what felt like hours before the sound of an obviously annoyed Tasqal boomed through the Jell-O.

  “So you will not kill it?” The High Tasqal said.

  It? Was she the “it”?

  “Perhaps it is too easy of a game for you to kill,” The High Tasqal continued.

  “I told you the puny thing wouldn’t be worth his time,” the female Tasqal piped up.

  Game? Piper glared at the Jell-O. Game?

  It was talking about her as if she was some prey for the hunting.

  Low bubbly laughter echoed through the Jell-O. “Look, it looks like it is angry again.”

  This time, she knew they were talking about her, and her eyes narrowed some more.

  “I have an idea, my pleasure,” the female Tasqal crooned and Piper once again resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “If he won’t kill her, maybe he will give us a mating show.”

  It took a few seconds for the translation to sink into her head and Piper’s eyes widened slowly as her gaze moved back to the Ceqtaq.