Yes, it was expected that a large enterprise such as The Hunt would experience glitches and unforeseen technical difficulties, but the technicians in place were the best in the sector. Xrez hadn’t been so naïve as to think the malfunction had happened as a coincidence. No, Bradliix had saved the humans when Xrez couldn’t.
Xrez, behind closed doors, was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. It was expected to lose two on the first day, but to drop five out of ten? Disastrous.
He needed to focus his attention on the humans who most likely could make it to Level Three. Without his help, none of them would stand a chance. The woman and her beast—probably. The male, if he could separate him from the mother and his female.
What was her name?
Why did he even care?
He shouldn’t.
He spent the rest of the night trying to push the thoughts of the female out of his mind and regain focus on the task.
Save The Hunt.
Xrez spent his dinner reviewing the files on humans again. This time he read it thoroughly, looking for anything that could be used as an advantage to help them in The Hunt. But as his eyes grew tired and weariness weighed on his mind, he found that he didn’t have the fortitude to ignore his body’s reaction to the human female.
He couldn’t push her image from his mind. His shaft grew as he thought about running his hands through her hair. He began stroking himself, trying to find some relief from his aching. He pictured scraping his claws across her breasts. He pumped his cock fast as he imagined her sitting astride his shaft. His cock swelled in his hand and he wished it was buried deep inside her, stretching her walls.
That thought was his undoing. He released his seed. Only then was he able to let sleep claim him.
* * *
The next morning Xrez was at the doors again, waiting for the morning alarm. This time when the tag-alongs tried to follow him out the door, he stopped them with a warning.
“I could kill you all before the collar shocked me and my only punishment will be a few minutes of agonizing pain. I can live with that consequence,” he’d growled.
The opportunistic hunters backed off.
Xrez put his nose to work, searching for the female and her beast. He passed other hunters and caught the scent of other humans. But before long, Xrez’s path veered when he found another scent.
Her.
Her scent permeated his nostrils and made its way to that particular part of his brain that flashed irrational thoughts of her across his mind. Xrez couldn’t think of anything else besides getting closer to her.
Then he finally found her.
Relief washed over him.
She was unharmed and unclaimed.
Xrez followed the female and the other humans she traveled with, trying to convince himself that saving these three—and in essence five—was better than saving a lone human and her beast. He followed them, for the good of The Hunt. Nothing more.
Not because her scent intoxicated him.
Not because when he closed his eyes, he still saw her face behind his dark lids.
Not because he longed to hear her voice.
Not because he was curious to know what her name was.
Not because he longed to touch her smooth skin.
Not because he wanted to run his claws through her hairs to see if it was as soft as he imagined.
Not because he wanted to hear her whispers of pleasure against his ears.
Not because he wanted to see her sprawled beneath him.
Xrez shook the last thought from his head. A hard shaft wouldn’t do him any good where he was and would only make for an awkward conversation with Bradliix later.
Xrez resigned to clear his mind and regain his focus. He concentrated on his steps, light, and silent. None of the humans saw or knew he followed. He stayed so far away that the jungle swallowed any sight and sound of him, but close enough that with his exceptional eyesight, hearing, and scent he had no problem tracking her. The group traveled slowly, making their way through the thicket of trees, bushes, and grass.
The females tripped and stumbled, weary from walking. They dripped sweat, leaving a trail for anyone with a good sense of smell to follow. A few of the hunters tried to close in, but he sent them on their way with a hard stare. They balked, but it was in his right to stalk his prey before claiming them.
If any hunter wanted to claim one of the humans before he did, they only had to make an attempt. No one did. There wasn’t a need to fight over these. At least not yet.
With the day coming to an end, the group stopped when they’d reached one of the lakes. The male stalked around a small perimeter, ensuring the safety of their camp. Xrez would have done the same. The females called for food pods as the male stayed vigilant and on the lookout as they ate. He scanned the jungle and peered right past Xrez. He hadn’t expected the human’s eyes to spot where he sat, high in the tree, still and blending well with the jungle around him.
As they ate their evening meal, so did Xrez. The high energy bars he consumed replenished his cells and eased the hunger pains. His diet usually consisted of tough meat that provided the protein and calories needed to sustain his frame and bulk.
Xrez ran his tongue across his sharp teeth more than once as he ate the small offering. While not satisfying, the compact bar was meant to give him all the nourishment he needed.
When the females went to the lake to bathe, he quickly forgot about sinking his teeth into a sweet chilzai beast and thought about something else.
Xrez crept closer, keeping his distance as his female undressed. She pulled the shirt over her head. She had on another scrap of clothing underneath. A binding of some sort held her breasts down. She reached behind her back and released something that made the binding fall. Xrez’s balls tightened. The human pushed the binding down her arms, freeing voluptuous breasts. Smooth, round and perky with large brown nipples, ripe for the sucking, licking, and plucking.
She hooked her hands on the material around her small waist and pushed down, stepping out of her clothes. Xrez let out a whimper. There was a patch of brown hairs between her legs. He opened and closed his fingers, itching to let his claws play through her hairs there. He’d studied the specs and knew what he would find between her legs. There were folds of skin, a sex organ called a clitoris and her vagina. All which he wanted to explore first hand.
She dropped to her knees by the water’s edge. That beautiful sight made Xrez grasp onto the tree trunk and sink his claws into the wood. He wanted to take her in that position. He imagined himself behind her, massaging her round butt. His thoughts continued to run to the obscene as she went about her mundane task of scrubbing her clothes. Xrez was having a hard time keeping his hand off his cock to find release again.
Xrez hadn’t intended for the female to see him. Not yet anyway. But after the mother and children left, he stepped from the cover of the trees and onto the bank of the river.
She talked under her breath about boyfriends and dating as she laid her clothes out to dry.
Boyfriend. A male friend. Boyfriend. A regular male companion whom one has a romantic or sexual relationship with. Boyfriend. An item of clothing for a woman or girl that is designed to be loose fitting or oversized.
Dating. When two people spend time with one another. Dating. To establish the date of an object or event. Dating. To indicate or expose as being old-fashioned.
Xrez frowned. The intelligence file he’d read on humans had warned their speech was riddled with nuances often hard to decipher. He’d found this true. He couldn’t understand most of what was talked about as he’d followed the group. Now he was confused yet again as she spoke about, “All the things I’m going to do when I get home.”
She went back into the water, deeper than she’d been before and dipped her head back. She hummed as she ran her fingers through her hair. He watched her for a while as she used her fingers to work out the kinks there. Then, as if in slow motion, she straightened. He knew
the moment her eyes caught sight of him, panic and fear crossed her features. His female inhaled sharply.
His?
When had he begun referring to her as his? When I started spilling my seed like a youngling every time I think of her.
“I’m not here to harm you,” he said before she could bolt, hoping she didn’t try to run. And if she did…
The thought of chasing her down stirred within him. His blood spiked with adrenalin.
His predatory nature was already in hyperdrive. He hadn’t stalked and hunted in so long that his body thrummed with excitement. He felt more alive than he had in a long time. He now understood why hunters came from across the galaxy to participate in the games and why they hunted for mates and companions. Xrez longed to have his needs sated. And he wanted her small, supple and soft body under him.
A sound escaped from deep within his throat.
If she’d heard it, she didn’t respond. Her dark eyes held his, watching intently, assessing his every move. She was more beautiful up close. Her thick hair hung in wet clumps. Her neck was supple. He longed to kiss her shoulders. Her full breasts floated on the water, bouncing and swaying with the waves. This female stirred something deep within him. He couldn’t deny it.
Her skin had darkened since the first morning he’d seen her. He’d read that the sun could be dangerous to human’s skin, causing the cells to mutate. After she completed Level Three, he would make sure she received the appropriate amount of nanomites, enough to stave off any sickness and disease.
“If you break open a leaf from the zuka tree and rub it against your exposed skin it may help to lessen the effects of the sun’s radiation on your body.”
She didn’t say anything. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were large and round.
Females with hairless skin had never appealed to him. He’d found them exposed. There’d been no point in getting to know any of them. They would never survive the harsh temperatures of his homeworld. But for this female, he would gut a deadly taralin and skin its hide and drape it across her body to warm her.
So caught up in the vision of her, he’d almost missed the slight movement of her hand. She’d raised it to summon an escape pod.
“Are you sure you want to transport while wet and naked? There’s also the possibility you would drown before you made it to your next destination.” Xrez indicated his head toward the water. “When the bottom opens up. The escape pod will fill with water. How long can humans hold their breath?”
He tilted his head in thought. He hadn’t read anything about that ability. Or maybe he’d stopped reading the information file when he’d become bored with everything humans couldn’t do.
She lifted her chin in his direction. It was square and smooth. It brought his attention to her round, full lips. He wanted to run his tongue across them.
“Maybe drowning wouldn’t be so bad if it got me away from you. I’m not yours.”
Xrez smirked. “I don’t want you.” Lie. “Humans are pathetically weak.”
She squinted at him. He could imagine that she had a retort at the ready and was wondering if she should reply. “Good. I’m nobody’s. Those other things…yesterday. One of them said I was his.”
Things. She thinks I’m a thing.
“They’re called ‘hunters’.”
She gasped.
Chapter Eleven
Her finger trembled as it hovered over her comlink. “So it’s true then. We’re being hunted.”
Xrez nodded. Most other species, unless they were taken from a distant planet in the galaxy were well aware of The Hunt. It was the tale that parents told their children to keep them in line. “Don’t frequent unsavory places. You might wake up in The Hunt!”
“You’re in The Hunt.” He glanced at the sky. The sun was beginning to set.
There was enough light that the diurnal animals were still out and about. Their calls were loud but not as boisterous as they’d been earlier. The nocturnal animals were still asleep in their burrows, waiting for their turn to roam the night. It was the time in the day where he could easily see Sorol, Turolois’s uninhabitable sister planet and the twinkling stars and planets that made up the constellations. He didn’t have much time to explain, the evening alarm would ring soon.
“You’re in an arena made specifically for this game.”
“A game?” She slapped her hands on her face and splayed her fingers. Her voice came out slowly. “We’ve been kidnapped for a game?”
Kidnapped. To take someone away by force and illegally. Abduct, capture, seize, snatch, take hostage.
“We’ve been taken from our homes,” she continued, her words were tight with strain. She curled her fingers, her nails scraped against her skin leaving light scratches. “To be hunted.” She took in two deep breaths then glared at him. “Is this some kind of simulation? Are the…hunters wearing costumes to scare us?” Before he could answer, she continued, this time speaking low. “I can’t believe a bunch of crazy people made us believe we were on another planet and being tracked by real aliens. I’m going to press charges. So many charges.”
He got the feeling she was talking to herself rather than to him.
Press charges. Accuse someone formally of a crime so they can be brought to trial.
“Yes, you’ve been taken from your homes. The trackers have seen to that. We’ve already established you’re being hunted. No, this isn’t a simulation, and no one is wearing a costume.” He frowned, thinking about it. “Some hunters may qualify as crazy. We don’t require mental examinations to participate. You’re not on Earth anymore and again, you are being tracked and hunted by who you would consider ‘aliens’. There would be no point in pressing charges as the bureaucrats in this sector have sanctioned The Hunt, privately, not publically.”
She closed her eyes. “Calm down, Esme. Calm down. Breathe,” she whispered. She inhaled slowly then let out steady breaths.
“Who are you talking to?”
When she opened her eyes tears fell from them. “Myself. I have to keep a calm head. It’s not every day I have an alien telling me that I’m on a different planet and I’m being…hunted.”
“Esme? That is what you are called?” He liked the sound of it. Esme.
“What planet is this called and in what galaxy?”
“You were brought to the planet Turolois. We call this galaxy Vela CE-182, but humans call it the Milky Way.”
“On one hand I would be crazy to believe any of this is true. And on the other, if I don’t then I might end up like Mary Ann and Spencer.”
“What is a Mary Ann and Spencer?”
“The others that were with us. They stayed behind in the camp after we decided to leave. They’re missing now.” She nodded toward him. “What happened to them? Did you or one of the others kill them?”
“I met them. Unfortunately, they decided not to heed my advice and leave the camp. I tried to help them. I warned them they were about to be captured.”
“Were they taken by something like you?”
Xrez growled low. “My name is Xrez. I am head of House Ym’ihla, Dar’E from the planet Pi Vesna. I am not something.”
Her eyes went wild with fear then in a flash she was squinting at him. “Oh, excuse me. Did I offend you?” She let out a cross between a laugh and grunt. “I’m being hunted, and you’re copping an attitude.” She lifted her chin. Her dark eyes burned with resistance. “Well, get on with it then. If you’re going to capture me or whatever, do it.”
“I already told you. I’m not interested in you. I’m here to help.”
“Right, like you helped Mary Ann and Spencer.”
“I gave them sound advice. They wouldn’t listen. If you want to end up like them, then tell me to go away and I will.”
“And how exactly did they end up? Dead?”
“They were alive when they were presented to the processing center.”
“Processing center?”
“When hunters claim their prey they tak
e them to the processing center. It’s a requirement to leave Turolois.”
“Wait. So they got to go home?”
He shook his head. “No. They were taken in Level One. They were most likely acquired to be used as domestic staff, possibly a lower level mate.”
“So that’s why we’re being hunted like animals? I will not be your maid or your wife. If that’s what your plan for me is then you might as well kill me now.”
“The hunters aren’t allowed to harm prey in Level One. But there are other means of dying. There are poisonous plants and trees. You can also kill yourself by not having your wits about you.” He nodded toward her. “Like calling an emergency pod and drowning yourself before you arrive at your next destination.”
She frowned. “Wait. Did you just call us prey?”
Xrez nodded. “It’s what you are called.”
“Prey! You actually refer to us as prey? We’re human beings with rights. You can’t bring us here, hunt us and treat us like animals. It’s inhumane!”
She seemed to be missing the point of this entire conversation. Xrez had to get her to re-focus. “Do you want to get off of Turolois?”
She frowned. “Of course I do.”
He pointed to her arm. “Look there on your communication link—comlink. The first column should have a one and next to it should be universal numbers counting down. When the countdown finishes, you’ll progress from Level One to Level Two.”
She quickly glanced down, then returned her gaze on him. “What does that even mean? I want to go home. I don’t care about Level Two.”
“Believe me. You’ll want to progress to Level Two as quickly as possible. There are three levels to The Hunt. All prey begin in Level One. Your value in this level is low. Level One prey are considered the weakest and the easiest to capture. For serious hunters Level Three prey would be the most prized and highest valued.”
“So we’re being forced into this hunt, that we have no say about, and we’re expected to play along while you guys determine how valuable we are.” She shook her head. “This has got to be a joke.”
The Game Warden's Mate Page 9
