She ran past another bunch of overhanging branches, and all of a sudden, they were in a clearing. Alex looked around as the scenery moved past them. They were moving fast through what looked like a darkened meadow with knee-high grass and a pitch black sky above.
Alex made the mistake of looking up. What she saw made her heart thump so fast, she nearly lost her footing.
The sky was filled with fleshy beings, all much bigger than the one they’d seen. Yet, just like the one in the jungle, the only feature that made them resemble a bird was the huge beak-like thing in front of their horrid faces.
She pumped her legs faster, harder, until her lungs felt like they were burning. She was pretty sure her legs would give out on her at any moment, but she willed them to keep moving.
“Don’t look at them,” Damon called beside her. He held her tightly and stepped closer, until their arms were touching.
Not looking was easier said than done. She didn’t want to see the ugly creatures, but they were diving lower, like a shroud ready to cover them.
“Jump!” Damon shouted over their screeching.
“What?”
“Alex, you have to jump!”
He didn’t bother explaining himself, instead stopping long enough to grab and throw her over his shoulder. Before she could protest about his cavemen behavior, he was airborne, taking her with him.
Everything changed around them. The air became thick and hot, weighing heavily on her already overused lungs. The blood rushed to her head as he carried her like a sack.
By the time he put her down again, a flush of anger swirled inside her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Protecting you,” he said, not looking sorry about what he’d pulled.
“Manhandling me is not protecting me!” She took another step away from him, glad the backpack had stayed put. “Besides, I can take care of myself.”
Damon gave her an amused look. “I’m sure you can, but while you’re in Eden, I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure your safety.”
“I don’t need a bodyguard,” she spat. In her experience, people never helped others unless they wanted something in return.
“Listen, I need to tell you something, Alex. I don’t want to be your babysitter or your bodyguard—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” She didn’t want to have this conversation right now. She was too confused and angry, and she didn’t particularly care what he wanted. She’d find out soon enough, anyway.
Damon stared at her, his green eyes intense. “I’m sorry if I offended you. That wasn’t my intention.”
Alex ran a hand through her unruly curls, and her fingertips got stuck in the mess. She pulled out a few leaves and decided to change the subject. “Where are we?”
“We’re home.”
“You live here?” She looked back over her shoulder. Behind them was a concrete wall, but that wasn’t possible. They’d just been inside a jungle and a meadow. She hadn’t noticed any sort of fortress up ahead as they ran. Where had this wall come from?
Alex took a step toward it. She pressed her bandaged palm to it and felt its solidity. The concrete was smooth beneath her skin, and very much there, even if it didn’t make an ounce of sense. “How is this possible?”
“The walls keep our village safe from attack. It’s a protection barrier laced with magic.” She heard Damon move up behind her.
“Did you say magic?” She couldn’t help but chuckle at the notion. They lived in a galaxy where credits and violence were the only form of power and manipulation. Technology ruled supreme. Magic was make-believe, woven into stories. Tales about mythical places—like the ones her father used to tell her about, every night before she went to sleep. Magic wasn’t real.
Yet, she had to admit there was something very strange about this planet.
Alex craned her neck to follow the length of the wall. It continued up and up, seemingly unending.
“We’re blocked off from all threats of danger. You’ll be safe here.”
He stood so close that Alex felt his breath on her hair. She fought to keep the shiver of pleasure from showing, but it was there. Below the surface lay an undeniable attraction she would eventually have trouble keeping at bay. No matter how much his protective actions angered her, the caring nature of this man was somehow softening her up.
“So this wall can magically keep those bird things out?” Alex spun around and met his gaze. If she extended a hand, she could touch him. Run her fingertips along his smooth face and down his chest. She couldn’t help but look at his exposed abs. She bit her bottom lip.
“Yes,” he said.
“What about the other animals out there?”
His eyes darkened. “What other animals?”
“Are you kidding me? You didn’t hear the scary roar out there? I’ve never heard anything like it.”
“I don’t know what that was. Only the birds live outside.”
None of this makes any sense. She’d heard the birds go quiet because of it. Still, she didn’t want to argue with him, anymore. The bottom line was she was stranded on this bizarre planet and needed his help. “Magic doesn’t exist, by the way. It’s a fairy tale.”
Damon shook his head. “It does exist.”
“Well, I don’t believe in it.” Alex narrowed her eyes and stared at him. Was he serious? Did he really expect her to believe without proof?
“You should,” Damon said, taking another small step forward.
“Why?” she whispered.
“Don’t you feel it buzzing, right now?”
She had no idea what he was talking about.
“Didn’t you see the bird walk away from us when we stood right in front of it?”
“That wasn’t magic. It was some sort of shield, a repellant.”
He chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“I can feel it right now. I’ve felt it since the moment I saw you. Maybe this will help you understand.” Damon touched her cheek with the back of his hand, and her skin warmed. When he leaned over, a rush of ecstasy raced through her body, churning her stomach into a hundred knots she wanted to have undone. It felt as if he were pouring something into her, just with his touch. They’d touched outside, and she hadn’t experienced this reaction. Something was different.
Their lips were so close, she could almost taste him, and suddenly she wanted to feel those full lips on hers. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to kiss him.
“Damon, did you find anything?” a male voice asked behind him.
He dropped his hand but didn’t step away. “Tell me you can’t feel something flowing between us?” he whispered.
His warm breath forced her eyes closed for a second. She couldn’t answer, only managing to swallow the ball of desire he was teasing out of her.
“Damon! Did you find anything?”
He sighed, obviously frustrated. “Yes, I did.”
“Well, what was it?” the annoying male voice pushed.
Alex opened her eyes and licked her lips. Damon smiled down at her, as if he’d somehow proven a magical point by teasing her senses. There was nothing magical about it. Hell, she was a sentient being. I’m pretty sure any female with a heartbeat would have felt some sort of buzz from his display. It had absolutely nothing to do with magic and everything to do with attraction.
Damon turned away, and his smile faded. She stared at his broad shoulders and slender waist. This guy’s going to get me into a whole heap of trouble.
Still, he might be just what she needed to get back on track and put a stop to her exclusivity with Ulric.
“I found this.” Damon stepped aside to reveal her.
The other man gasped, his blue eyes widening as if he’d never seen a woman bef
ore. “Where did you find her? Is she an alien?” He wasn’t as tall as Damon, had blonde hair, bronze skin, and on closer inspection, looked more like a teenage boy than a man.
“Levi, she’s a space traveler, and her ship crashed on our planet.”
“I need someone to help me fix it,” Alex said, taking a step forward. “Do you know of any mechanic who can help me?”
“A mechanic?” Levi looked confused, staring from her to Damon and back again.
“Yes, a mechanic.”
“I already told you. We don’t have anyone who can repair a spaceship.”
She turned to focus on Damon. “Why did you bring me here, then?”
“Would you have preferred to stay outside with the birds?”
Alex crossed her arms. She had every right to be angry. Since she’d left Anteris, nothing had gone right. Now, she was stuck on a planet with no one who might be able to help her get Promise back into working order. What would she do if that happened?
A shiver shook her to the core. She refused to even consider such an option. Sackor’s wrath would eventually be on the cards—because she’d failed to deliver his cargo—and she would deal with it, but she wouldn’t give up on her ship. No matter how many of those bird things were out in the jungle, she’d somehow get Promise fixed.
“Damon, Levi. Why are you boys keeping this lovely girl away from the rest of us?” A tall, blonde woman swept past them, her white dress trailing behind her. She looked like a goddess, with long straight hair held away from her face as her cerulean eyes shone. Her skin was tanned, and her face beautiful. “I sincerely apologize for their behavior. We don’t get many visitors on our planet, but I can assure you that you are most welcome here.”
The lady wrapped an arm around Alex’s shoulders and encouraged her forward. “Welcome to Eden. We will prepare a feast in your honor, to make you feel at home. Then, you can tell us how you fell from the sky and came here to help us.”
“Help you?” she whispered.
“Why, of course. We’ve been expecting you.” An entourage of people had appeared out of nowhere. One of them—a thin man with a scowl on his face—didn’t look too happy to see Alex.
“You have?”
“We’ve known about the prophecy of the space traveler who would one day become our savior for a while now.”
“I think you’ve got the wrong person.” What the hell was happening?
“You have to be the right one. You must be the dark-haired beauty who shall fall from the sky and help complete our cycle of utopia,” the lady insisted.
Alex swallowed her response and instead locked eyes with Damon, who had a smirk on his lips. She had no idea what any of this was about but walked alongside the woman as she was led into a gorgeous landscaped garden she hadn’t noticed. She’d been too distracted with Damon and the concrete wall.
Maybe I can get some real answers from this woman. Instead of the hocus pocus Damon had offered her so far.
Chapter Eight
Ulric watched Alex run across the meadow.
If he’d set off right away, he knew he could have reached her before the man threw her over his shoulder and made her disappear, but with the jungle ending so abruptly, he’d hesitated. Afraid the moon would change him, again, and she would see what he had become.
He paused, staring up at the sky. It was filled with birds, but he could still feel the white orb call to his body with a seductive hum.
I might be a prisoner to the moon’s moods and cravings, but I can make it across without turning. I’m sure of it.
The fact that he’d lost sight of Alex was driving him insane.
He lifted his nose and could still smell her sweet tang. She was nearby—somehow, somewhere. Alex was here but unseen. No matter what it took, no matter what hideous thing he’d become, he was determined to get her attention. His humanity might be dangling from a slippery slope, but all the memories worth holding onto revolved around her. Using Alex as an anchor might prove to be his saving grace. He was sure of it.
The leather choker was too small to fit around his neck, so he wrapped it around his hand. He couldn’t wait to give it back to her and was determined to find the bracelet, too. She thought the bracelet was just a piece of jewelry, but it was a lot more. When she’d left his quarters, he’d uploaded a surprise onto the tiny microchip embedded inside it. Something that would ensure she lived a long and prosperous life without having to struggle to raise credits from the pathetic courier job he despised.
He’d meant it when he told her he hated her having to spend time out in space, struggling to make a living.
Ulric would change her economic status, and she’d have no choice but to love him for it.
He took a deep breath and raced ahead. His legs might still be human at the moment, but they were more powerful than before. It only took ten strides before he felt something foreign push against him.
The birds squawked, descending from the sky at the same time, causing the moonlight to filter through.
He collapsed to his hands and knees, the fur already rushing over his skin.
After several breaths, he realized that not only had he changed into a furry animal, but he was staring at a garden. The dark clearing was instantly replaced by a garden now rolling out into a maze of concrete, grass, and flowers.
He looked over his shoulder. The lower half of his body remained on the other side of a tall, concrete wall that had sprung up out of nowhere, and if he didn’t move, there would soon be too many birds to fight.
This didn’t make any sense, but he could smell Alex.
This is where she’d disappeared to.
He crawled forward, following her scent, until the savage rumble of his stomach consumed all his other thoughts. The delicious smell of ripe flesh pushed everything else from his mind. For a second, he couldn’t even remember who Alex was.
The only thing that mattered was satisfying the hunger twisting his gut, as the sharp presence of the moonlight urged him forward.
Chapter Nine
There’s just something about her. Something I’ve never felt with anyone else before.
There was a lot more to Alex than her stunning looks and tough attitude. The small swell of magic Damon felt radiating off her body enticed him. He’d never felt an ounce of true magic within anyone else before. Sure, all living things had a little sparkle in their essence, but no one in Eden connected to the arcane like he did.
Now that he’d felt it shimmer from her, he was fascinated. Alex also made him feel strange—happy—and mixed up at the same time. She amused and excited him on a level he couldn’t explain.
Damon ripped off the shirt he’d ruined in order to bandage the space traveler’s arm and threw it in the trashcan in the corner. Of course, he missed, but a little concentration and a lift of his right hand managed to place the tattered shirt where it belonged.
He hadn’t shown anyone the full extent of his magical control, but it seemed to be increasing all the time. As long as the others thought it was only available for seeing and healing, that suited him fine. He hated to be paraded around in front of everyone. He didn’t doubt that if Priestess Aleena learned of his newfound power, she’d encourage him to show it off.
All his life, he’d felt different. Not because he was mistreated—he fit perfectly into Eden’s society—but by being singled out for his power. No one ever pointed a finger his way because the color of his skin and hair were different from theirs. It was almost as if they didn’t notice such details but unintentionally singled him out by continually pointing out his use of the arcane.
Damon shook the thoughts away, instead trying to recall every inch of Alex—starting at her glossy brown, curly hair and down to her curvy body. The memory was enough to cause his magic to short circuit. That he’d been able to control himself a
nd not do something completely stupid while in the jungle was a testimony to the control he had over the arcane, because his body had almost caved several times.
Using his way of protection as an excuse to put his hands on her had served as a good enough distraction, but how long would it work? He tried to hint at his interest in her, but she misunderstood his intentions…babysitter or bodyguard, he didn’t want to be either. Though, he would love to guard every inch of her naked body.
If he kept touching her without context, she might eventually push him away.
He’d already seen her feisty side after forcibly taking her over the fortress barricade, but if he hadn’t, the birds would have mauled her. The dangerous threats outside the walls of this sheltered part of the planet were very real. Eden was marked with opposing terrain and creatures ready to take a bite out of anything human. Well, except for him.
Though he couldn’t explain what had caused the roar in the jungle.
Damon also didn’t understand what the parasitic worms had been doing inside Alex’s ship, but he supposed she had her own secrets. Now that she was stuck here, he had a lifetime of getting to know everything about her, including every inch of her body.
He licked his lips at the thought.
It all comes back to her luscious body…
The knock on his door roused him from the lusty thoughts he knew he couldn’t keep to himself forever. Sooner or later, he’d let her know exactly how she made him feel, because no one had ever roused both his human and magical sides before.
“Come in,” he called.
The door opened, and Elroy appeared. He paused just inside the doorway. “I need to speak to you, Damon.”
He glared at Elroy. The head of Aleena’s security certainly wasn’t his favorite person to chat with. The man hardly had time for him, so Damon couldn’t help but wonder what had suddenly changed. “What do you want to speak to me about?”
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