by Sara Fields
“Name’s Greyburne. Maybe you’ve heard of me,” he answered with a smirk. “Where’s the rest of you? My intel told me there where fifty of you and here I find only one, which seriously cuts into my expected profits.”
He hadn’t seen the others yet. I moved away from the vent and exited the cage, doing everything in my power that would take the attention away from where they were and shift it to me instead.
“I woke up and everyone was gone,” I replied.
“One measly, lazy little human,” Greyburne sneered.
“How’d you get on the ship?” I pressed, trying to think of ways to distract him in case one of the Aberrants lost their footing or made even a single sound from the vents below. Their escape was most important now. They were more important than me.
“Distraction. Most of my men met Vane’s crew outside the ship, while I and a small group of my most trusted men snuck in another way. Brute force is an adequate measure to take what you want sometimes, but more often than not, sneaking and stealing what you want is a far more successful venture,” he answered.
My stomach rolled nervously.
“Vane isn’t going to like this,” I continued. I needed to figure out how to get Greyburne off the ship so the Aberrants could escape in safety. Greyburne sauntered closer toward me and I had to keep myself from backing away. His gaze dragged up and down my body and I was keenly aware of the fact that I wore nothing under the blanket covering my flesh.
“What Vane likes doesn’t matter to me,” he answered. He swayed from one foot to the other before he cocked his head and spoke again.
“At least you’re a pretty one. You’d probably fetch top dollar at auction, if I didn’t decide to keep you for myself,” he muttered suggestively, and a cold shiver raced down my spine. He reached for me and I had to stop myself from recoiling. I found myself suddenly wishing that Vane had never left my side. Greyburne felt dangerous, unhinged even, and I wasn’t looking forward to learning what he had in mind for me.
“Vane would never let you sell me,” I retorted, pulling my shoulders back and glaring at Greyburne. His black eyes narrowed as he studied me, trying to figure me out.
“Why? What would he care about some human cargo he stole that his sole intention is to sell? Why would you be special to him?” he questioned, the black of his eyes darkening dangerously. I didn’t want to answer, but I did it anyway.
I was about to sign my very own death warrant, one that would ensure that the Aberrants below us would never be found.
“Vane has claimed me for himself.”
“As what?” he asked.
“As his mate.”
Greyburne started to laugh, a great terrible sound that grew louder and louder. His amusement echoed throughout the cargo hold, horrifying as it surrounded me. I was left with a terrible sense of foreboding and I suddenly regretted the words that had sealed my fate.
“Vane’s very own concubine. I suddenly see my profit dollars returning!” he exclaimed, before turning back to his men. “Seize her. I don’t care about the others, wherever they’ve gone. We’re taking her and leaving immediately. Grab whatever other valuable cargo that you can find and get out of here as fast as you can.”
I tried to fight them, but there were too many. They were bigger and far stronger than me, but I didn’t make their job easy. I wasn’t a meek little human. I was an Aberrant and they didn’t know what that meant.
“Fucking assholes!” I cried out. Every punch I threw was stopped by larger hands than mine. My ankles were bound, stopping me from kicking any of them. Before I knew it, my feet were no longer on the ground and they had lifted me high overhead. In my struggle, the blanket had been whipped away from my body, leaving me entirely naked once more, but I no longer cared. I just wanted to get away.
“You’re going to make me a fortune,” Greyburne said, his smirk growing larger by the second.
“I’m going to kill you,” I retorted, struggling against the bonds that held me tight.
“You can try,” Greyburne laughed. “Many have tried and failed. You won’t be the first.”
I growled and the last sound I heard was my own fierceness reverberating off the metal walls all around us.
Chapter Ten
Vane
When we’d landed on Kraken Prime, things had gone quietly, at least at the start. We’d fueled up without delay and were now prepared to depart and continue on our way to Nassarc to sell off our goods. It wasn’t until I’d received a message from Greyburne himself that I started to feel really uneasy, like things had been too quiet.
He’d requested a meeting with me and my men, an alliance of a sort that he was interested in. For a period of time, I wasn’t even going to go. I feared him openly attacking my ship though, so I finally decided to hear what he had to say, although I was going to be exceedingly cautious. I’d taken the majority of my men with me, preparing for the worst.
Only when I’d gone down to meet him myself, he’d never shown up. A large group of his men had though, and it had turned violent extraordinarily quickly.
They hadn’t stood a chance against us. My men were strong. They turned into berserkers in battle just as they always did. Traditional weaponry wouldn’t pierce our flesh and we didn’t use them against our enemies. Instead, we used our bare hands to tear them apart. His men were strong, but they were no match for my men.
I’d brought most of my crew with me, expecting something like this. My men far outnumbered Greyburne’s, which left us in a very good position. It didn’t take long for the metallic tang of blood to scent the air and for dark color to stain the dirt beneath our feet. The grass soon became slick with it. No one came to stop us. There were no governing forces on this small planet, as most of the fueling process was entirely automated, and many of the other ships at the docks made it their mission to leave as quickly as possible once they realized that there was blood to be spilt.
In no time at all, there was only one man left. My crew surrounded him, leaving me to handle him and dole out his fate. It was something of a tradition for us and they always looked forward to watching me deal the final blow. The man should have been scared, but when I entered the circle of my men, I saw that he wasn’t afraid at all. In fact, he appeared to be rather proud of himself. That was unexpected.
The uneasy feeling in my belly spiraled into open anxiety. There was something going on here that I hadn’t quite figured out and I was afraid of what it might be once I did.
“What is your name?” I pressed furiously.
“Does it even matter?” the man answered giddily. An insane grin broke out over his face and I was suddenly reminded of the glint of madness in my own men once the virus had progressed too far. He started laughing, the sound deviously dangerous and I drew back slightly as a quiet feeling of menacing fear tore at my insides.
“The great almighty Vane. So easily thwarted,” he muttered.
“What do you mean?” I pressed, hiding my dread with fury.
“Greyburne send his regards,” the man answered. Then, in a feat of unexpected strength and gore, the man ripped open his shirt and tore into his chest with his hand, ripping his own heart out with a bloodcurdling scream. He dropped to the ground as blood poured from his open wound. His shirt rustled in the breeze and I could see the vicious fiery red of the very same mark that afflicted my crew surrounding the bloody hole in his chest.
He had the virus too. And it looked like it had gone too far.
He’d descended into madness.
Upon closer inspection, most of Greyburne’s men had the mark. It had progressed to the very limit in all of them. The more we looked at the evidence, the more I was convinced that I was missing something and then it clicked.
These men were meant to be sacrificed because they were so close to the eventual descent into insanity that the virus demanded. Knowing the capabilities of myself and my crew, I also realized that they hadn’t fought as hard as they were capable of. I knew what this w
as now, and I could have kicked myself for not seeing it sooner. Greyburne had sent his dying men into battle in order to keep us busy. He’d distracted me and taken me away from my ship.
I’d left it mostly unguarded. Vulnerable.
Nina.
Fuck. I was going to kill him. Tear him apart and feed his limbs to the monsters that swam beneath the vast oceans on the surface of Nassarc. I was going to put his head on a pike and leave him for the birds to pluck out his eyes from their sockets.
“Back to the ship. Prepare yourselves, men, this battle isn’t over,” I snarled.
They didn’t say a word. They knew I was pissed.
I abandoned the battlefield and rushed back to the Black Ranger as quickly as I could. It appeared untouched, but I knew better. Greyburne could still be inside. Just as I turned the corner and jumped into the entry hatch though, I was met with a number of human faces staring up at me. Human faces that should still be secured behind bars in my cargo hold. I sneered with displeasure.
How the fuck had they gotten out?
“See to it that all of the Aberrants are detained back where I left them,” I ordered. The humans didn’t fight and went back inside without showing even a hint of defiance. There was a slender male with green eyes that had the audacity to glare at me, but I didn’t respond to his challenge. Now was not the time.
I didn’t see Nina anywhere.
“Search the ship immediately. Find Nina. I want every square inch examined. I want to ensure Greyburne and his men aren’t on board. I also want to know exactly how these humans got out of their cages,” I demanded, and my crew scattered, rushing to fulfill my orders. With a sneer, I walked onto my ship and headed toward the helm.
Heaving an aggravated sigh, I went back inside directly to the helm, and I saw that everything seemed to be in working order. Our fuel systems indicated that we were at full capacity and I took some time to ensure that all other systems were in top condition, including air and ventilation. After I was positive that we were prepared to make the rest of the journey to Nassarc, I looked out the front window and watched as a single ship flew off. When I looked closer, I realized it was the Shadow Star.
Fucking hell.
I was missing something.
I hurried down to the cargo hold and observed my men as they put the humans back where they belonged. Only something was different.
That’s when I realized what had changed.
There was at least a dozen female Aberrants missing. Not only that, but my own beautiful little human was nowhere to be seen.
Nina was gone and I had a sneaking suspicion that Greyburne had taken her.
This meant war. If he touched a single hair on her head, I was going to fucking tear him to pieces.
A flash of pain tore across my chest and I staggered at its intensity. With an angry swiftness, I ripped my shirt open to look at the mark on my chest.
It was fiery red again and it had progressed faster than I had ever seen it before. From my estimation, I didn’t have much time left before I went mad. I should have had years left of my life, but now it looked like it was going to be over in a matter of days. My crew would have no choice but to end my life before I took one of theirs.
I was convinced that it had everything to do with the fact that Nina was gone. She was the reason the virus had halted and without her, it would only get worse.
“Where’s Nina?” I roared.
The boy with green eyes came forward.
“I can tell you where she is,” he answered with an unexpected boldness.
These humans were quickly proving to be more than I had anticipated. No wonder Earth had wanted to get them off the planet. Every single one of them was a threat. It was clear now that I had underestimated them all. It was also clear that I had made a great number of mistakes today. Those green eyes hardened, and I met them back just as fiercely.
“Speak,” I growled.
He didn’t back down.
Instead, he started to tell me what had occurred in my absence, about how Nina had been brave enough to try to free them all and had been taken by Greyburne and his men because of it.
She’d acted on her own. On my ship. Of her own volition.
Fucking smart little temptress. To be brutally honest, I was impressed. I’d thought she was nothing but a weak little human female, a trophy to be kept by my side, but she’d proven me wrong. She’d shown that she was so much more.
She’d also shown me that she needed a much firmer hand than I’d shown her already.
The next time I got my hands on her, she was going to learn exactly who was in charge. I was going to remind her again and again until she begged me to stop.
I grinned, because that would only be the beginning of her ordeal.
By the time I was through teaching her who exactly owned her delicious little body, she’d learn that I wasn’t afraid to leave any part of her marked and sore. She’d learn that she could scream and that no one would come and save her. She’d learn what it would truly mean to beg as I fucked all of her pretty holes as hard as she deserved, and she’d learn what it felt like to be forced to come with tears running down her cheeks. Over and over again.
I’d make sure that she never forgot again who she belonged to if it was the last thing I ever got to do before the virus took what was left of my ruthless black soul.
Chapter Eleven
Nina
I fought the entire way as Greyburne’s men dragged me back to their ship. Eventually, they grew tired of my tenacity and forced a chloroformed cloth over top of my mouth. I continued to fight even as blackness edged at the corners of my vision. I was no match for the drug though and my body quickly succumbed to its sweet flowery scent. I descended into the shadows, sleeping so deeply that I didn’t even dream. I woke up some time later in what appeared to be a dungeon of some kind.
I was naked. Again. I don’t know why that even surprised me, but it did. I felt unsure and off-balance, once again thrust into an unfamiliar world with unfamiliar faces.
I was bound on a cot with leather straps that were tight enough so that I couldn’t move even an inch. I couldn’t twist or squirm out of them. They held me fast. I tried to move my feet and I quickly realized that they were secured to either corner of the cot, spreading my legs quite wide as a result. My wrists were cuffed to the sides of the bed by my hips. I tried to move and test if there were any weak points, but there weren’t. I was trapped rather thoroughly and that left me feeling really nervous.
I turned my head as much as I could, trying to see where the hell I had been taken.
I was in another cage, this one grittier than all the rest. I closed my eyes and sighed heavily before opening them once more. I was really getting tired of being put behind bars. This was going to have to change. Stat.
This particular prison was dark and dingy. It smelled like dirt, spilt beer, urine, and sweat. It was rank. Somehow, it also reeked of an underground musk, even though I knew I was probably on Greyburne’s ship. Maybe we were on another planet or something. It didn’t make any sense and I stopped trying to make it.
At the end of the bed was some sort of stockade, with holes for my head and my hands. I turned my head and saw a leather chair with straps at the sides, likely to position someone’s feet. A number of straps were hung along the walls, along with many other devices that suggested some sort of painful cruelty. I grew apprehensive at the sight. I was in a torture chamber. A dungeon meant for prisoners that I was quite certain meant that I wasn’t going to survive to see the outside world ever again.
Someone cleared their throat and I turned my head to see who it was. My heart jumped with hope when I saw who it was, realizing that I was not alone here.
It was Mari. She was in an adjacent cell. It appeared that the others she’d escaped with had been caught and detained here too, which meant that I’d failed in my efforts to help them escape.
Fuck.
I couldn’t even break my friends free an
d now it looked like our situation had gone from bad to worse. I wanted to cry, but I held myself together because I had to. For them.
Instead, I just allowed myself to release a soft sigh before I called out to her, careful to keep my words level and calm.
“Mari? Are you alright? Is anyone hurt?” I said softly.
“Oh, my God, you’re okay,” she replied, her voice shaking with worry. “We’re alright. A couple scrapes and bruises. Vicky has a black eye, but we’re all just fine.”
“Did you see any of the others?” I asked, wondering if Greyburne had captured Dex and the rest of the Aberrants too.
“No, but we ran into Greyburne’s men just as we were escaping Vane’s ship. They took all of us and forced us onto their ship. I never saw any of the other Aberrants come out,” she replied. “They brought you in some time after we’d been taken, but you’ve been out for hours.”
“Has the ship left the fueling station?” I asked nervously.
“I think so. It’s hard to tell, but I can’t imagine Greyburne would want to stick around after stealing from one of the most infamous pirates that the galaxies have ever known,” she answered.
I pressed my head back against the cot.
Double fuck.
If I knew Vane, he was going to declare war on Greyburne and all of us were going to be in the middle of it all. He wasn’t going to stop until he’d killed Greyburne and he was going to destroy whatever it took to get his hands on me again.
I licked my lips.
I had no doubt that he’d find out that I’d broken all the Aberrants free. He’d also learn that I’d practically sacrificed myself for them, putting myself out there as a martyr so that they had the opportunity to escape. He’d be angry.
As much as I wanted him to free me from Greyburne’s clutches, there was also a small part of me that was afraid of what was going to happen once he got me alone. That very same part also made me shiver with desire. It also made me wet.
I closed my eyes.
