by Alison Aimes
“You were able to get the information though, right?” There was no missing the hard edge that had crept into her tone. “Malin told us about how the creature took the missing females and how it refused to tell you where they were.”
“She’s not a creature, she’s humanoid. Just like you and me with a few superficial differences.”
“Oh, I…I hadn’t realized.” Some of the bloodthirstiness leached from her tone. Cam looked equally contrite.
“And Malin is incorrect,” he continued, “she has given us the location. Part of the reason she took the females in the first place was because she believed she was saving them from additional rapes and beatings by 223 and his men.”
“Right,” his teammate scoffed. “She tell you that before or after she tried to sell you a luxury dwelling with great sand views on Dragath25.”
“Shut up, Malin.” Ryker got there before he did. “Lana and Cam, I need you to do me a favor. Gather everyone outside so we can give them the latest news.”
His request went unacknowledged.
“Why do you have those? If she’s a human and all?” Lana stared at the manacles hammered into the wall. Her hand reached for Cam’s and held tight, both of their faces leaching to white. “D-did you use them on her?”
Grif wondered how they thought he’d gotten the information they were so excited about only a heartbeat ago.
“Part of my work.” At their deepening looks of horror, he decided he’d had enough. “Malin, take them outside.”
“What?” objected the other male. “I’m not some errand boy.”
“Do it.” Ryker’s tone brooked no argument. “Then return immediately. I need you to brief Grif, stat.” His scowl deepened. “We have complications of our own, and they may be related.”
The alarm in Grif’s gut blared louder.
Malin hustled Lana and Cam out.
The instant they cleared the exit, he told Ryker, “No one is touching Nayla.”
“Nayla?” Ryker studied him, his expression giving nothing away. “Is that the target’s name?”
“Yes.”
“So, it got messy?”
A muscle ticked in Grif’s jaw. “She’s my responsibility. I want your assurance she’ll be protected.”
“There’s more you haven’t yet shared about what you learned.” Ryker’s tone was equally hard. “I want the full report now.”
They studied each other, a battle without words.
Grif’s aggression spiked. He reeled it in.
Ryker was second-in-command and, one rotation soon, might lead them all as commander. The lives of more than just a single female rested on his shoulders.
Grif cleared his throat. “Extraction should be fairly easy. The females are loosely guarded and in a low-traffic area. The real trouble is more long term. The pack leader, Talg, is nursing a legitimate grudge and hates our kind. He sounds like not just an asshole but a fanatic. Even after we retrieve the females, he’ll continue to be a problem. Nayla indicated there was war on the horizon. I believe he’s using the females to help produce weapons he intends to use against us. Soon.”
“That’s not good.” Ryker paced. “Especially now.”
Malin stormed back in. “I better not have missed anything big.”
Ryker sighed. “Malin, share your news. It just got more relevant.”
Grif braced himself.
The other male’s expression hardened. “Someone’s been hanging around the settlement. I only started seeing the signs since we were last here: barely discernable prints, tiny scuff marks on a rock. Little things I almost didn’t catch, and I’m good.” Beneath his usual arrogance, Malin sounded impressed, and a little worried. “Whoever it is, they’re like a fucking ghost.”
“Any clues as to who?” Grif might not like the guy, but he trusted him to do his job. “Could it be one of 223’s gang? There’s still plenty of them lurking around the area.”
Malin shook his head. “I considered, but those assholes are never subtle. Whoever this is, they’re good at staying hidden. Definitely a professional. Watching for what, I don’t know.
“Though, around here,” added Ryker, “it’s hard to believe it’s just a friendly neighborhood voyeur.”
“Council?” It was always Grif’s first thought. It wouldn’t be the first time Council had sent professionals to wipe them from the planet.
“Maybe.” Ryker hesitated, and Grif knew they were thinking along the same lines. “Or someone connected to the target. I mean, Nayla.”
A definite possibility. One Grif really hoped was not the case.
“Exactly why we need to ensure the hostile tells us all she knows before we take her out.” Malin either didn’t notice, or care, that Ryker had called her by an actual name. “The commander won’t stand for any threat. Especially now that his female is pregnant.”
Another direct hit to the solar plexus.
“Ava is pregnant?” Grif tried to absorb his teammate’s latest intel. A baby? On Dragath25? No wonder the commander wanted more time with his female. It was an open secret that Ava had been trying to find a way to use elements from Dragath25 to neutralize the technology inside her that kept her sterile. Looks like she’d finally succeeded.
“Yes.” Ryker’s expression was heavy with warning. “The news is good. The timing bad.”
Grif understood the unspoken message, and why his friend had hesitated to honor his request that Nayla be protected. Their commander had always been ruthless. He’d be a thousand times more so with a pregnant mate, and Grif’s prisoner was currently part of a pack of hostiles threatening his family and the settlement.
Their leader’s impulse to simply wipe out any potential hazard would be stronger than ever.
Talk about messy. Inserting himself between his on-edge commander and a captive who continued to insist they were enemies was a surefire end to his ambitions.
He’d always been loyal to his crew. They’d been the family he should have had from the start. The missions he undertook for them offering him the purpose he needed.
But going back to the man he’d once been was impossible. Returning to the life he’d once had untenable.
He’d promised Nayla he’d protect her and he damn well would. No matter where the threat originated.
He stepped in front of the tunnel leading to where she was hidden, blocking the way. “It just got more complicated, no question. But what I’m about to say is real simple. The commander will have to be made to understand. Nayla is under my protection. I don’t care what orders you were given, she is not to be harmed.”
21
Nayla pressed close to the rocky wall, doing her best to take in what she could. The twisted corridor kept Grif and the other two speakers blocked from view, but their deep, guttural voices bounced off the walls loud and clear.
“Are you kidding me? Your disobeying a direct order? For a hostile and a flesh trader? Are you insane?” The shouting male’s words erupted in little punches, the mix of aggression and bravado in his tone reminding her of some of the less mature pack hunters who swaggered around as if they had something to prove. “You can’t be thinking right.”
“I’m calm. I’m cool. I’ve never been more clearheaded in my life.” Grif’s voice was a low, dangerous rasp. “I understand and respect the commander’s impulse to protect his mate and young, but he doesn’t have all the facts.”
“So, she wasn’t the one who took our females prisoner?” challenged the angry one, his tone thick with mockery. “Her kind isn’t currently planning to wipe us from the planet? The commander wants all threats put down yesterday. That includes your target.”
Grif remained unruffled. “Nayla is not a hostile. She’s a young female caught in a difficult situation. She’s as much a victim as the women she took.”
Nayla pressed her hands to her belly, silencing the protest in her throat. Victim. A word she recognized. Hearing it from Grif’s mouth made her stomach hurt, as if she’d eaten the wrong ki
nd of lanta berries. Of course he thought her weak. She’d proven him right.
“You believe that bullshit?” The smack of hands suggested the angry male had thrown his together in exasperation. “You and I are interrogators. We’re supposed to rip aside their lies, not fall for them. And you’re the one they want to run the extraction mission? Makes no sense to me.”
Nayla’s finger pressed so hard into the rock, the pads of her fingers bled.
“What are you actually proposing, Grif?” The third speaker was far calmer. “Let’s say I go back to the commander with your intel and the news that you’ve taken responsibility for her. What then? You can’t keep her prisoner forever.”
“She won’t be.”
She bolted upright. What did he mean?
“Not a chance.” The younger male seemed to understand more than she did about Grif’s intent. “She’s not one of us.”
“Malin, I’m not going to tell you again. Quiet.” The third male sounded a little less calm than before. “The commander won’t want her at the settlement. Not now.”
“I prefer her with me, anyway.” Grif hadn’t even hesitated.
Her breathing hitched.
Another long pause. “Clearly, her time here has not been a pleasure cruise.” The third man spoke once more, the rattle of chains made her think he’d nudged her restraints with his boot. “Why would she agree to come with you?”
“Agree or not, she’s coming.” The steel in Grif’s voice was familiar, thick with the same hard command he’d used with her when he’d strapped her down. “I’ll take full responsibility for her and her actions.”
Her body responded immediately, the area between her thighs heating as the urge to please washed over her. She hated it, and wanted more.
“No one is going to like having a hostile in our midst during the mission, and what if you have to keep her confined?” barked the angry male. “That will cause even more tension. You saw how Lana reacted to even the sight of the manacles. The people we’ve rescued have been through enough.”
Unwanted again. Ostracized. She’d had enough of that to last a lifetime.
“How can you be assured she won’t be plotting revenge and escape at every turn?” questioned the third male.
“I will handle it,” growled Grif. “I will handle every fucking thing when it comes to Nayla.”
“The fate of prisoners is something we all decide.” The angry male’s voice had dropped to an even more menacing rumble.
“I’m not bringing her along as a prisoner. I’m bringing her as mine.”
Shocked silence.
It mirrored Nayla’s own.
“That’s, ah…” the calmer male recovered first. “Do you…love her?”
“Love?” Grif’s shout echoed through the cave. “Hells. You see everything through romance-covered glasses now that you’re with Jade. That’s nice for you, but this isn’t about love. It’s about responsibility. It’s about doing what is right. I did what I could to save Melody and Hope. The same goes for Lana and the other females we rescued. I will do the same here, too. Nayla is in a shit situation that is in part my making, and she needs help.”
“Ah, so you pity her,” said the younger one. “Except you also want to fuck her.”
“Malin, you are dangerously close to pissing me off,” growled Grif. “I’m going to ensure she’ll continue to cooperate with us, and, in exchange, I’ll help her integrate into settlement life. I’ll get her through. Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes. She’ll adapt eventually. I’m sure of it.”
“Really? What if Mr. Boy Scout can’t control everything?” Malin continued to taunt Grif. “What if she doesn’t prove as susceptible to your will or pretty-boy smile as the rest and you end up having to put her down anyway? It’s kinder to just do it now and not piss off the commander.”
“She will do as I say,” snarled Grif. “She needs approval. Praise. She’s been told she was worthless her whole life and is desperate to hear otherwise. I know exactly how to deal with her. Believe me, she will not be a problem.”
The roar in Nayla’s brain was so loud she almost didn’t catch Grif’s final words.
“I may have been her punisher. But I’m going to be her fucking savior, too.”
Nayla pushed back from the rocks, spun, and ran.
22
“Give me fifteen.” Grif did his best to sound agreeable, but the itch beneath his skin was growing. He wanted to get back to Nayla.
Malin had really pissed him off, and he’d mouthed off more than he’d meant to, revealing things about Nayla he hadn’t meant to say aloud.
It had worked though, convincing Ryker to agree to take his request to the commander. It left a bad taste in his mouth nevertheless.
Still, he’d done what he had to do. He’d make it up to her. From here on out, she’d be safe.
Once he got the missing females back and proved he was fit to be second-in-command, her position in the settlement would be even more secure.
It was all going to work out. He’d make sure of it.
“I need to explain the plan and find out what she knows about this ghost of ours. I also want to make sure she eats and drinks before we set out. Everyone else should do the same. We’ll want to move fast.”
Ryker and Malin exchanged a look.
Grif didn’t give a shit. They could think what they wanted, as long as they continued to agree to his plan.
“Okay, mother hen.” Malin clomped toward the exit. “I hope you at least let her chew the food herself. And, please, at least don’t hand her the ax she’s going to stick in your back.”
“Ignore him.” Ryker gave him a meaningful stare as the other male left. “But not me. As soon as you let me know about the ghost, I’ll head back to the settlement and report to the commander. The more help she offers, the less pissed he’ll be about his order being countermanded.”
“I’m on it.” Grif offered up his signature confident nod, but a bead of sweat slid down his spine. Nayla’s cooperation and a smooth extraction were more imperative than ever.
His second-in-command headed toward the exit, then paused. “You know, messy isn’t always the worst thing in the world. Sometimes buried in all the mess is exactly where people really find what they’ve been looking for.”
“True.” He agreed to be polite—and to move his second along. He wasn’t a fan of messy. Fortunately, his potential mess was all cleaned up and everything squared away. Nayla was safe under his protection, and he was leading the mission to save the missing females.
Things were back on track.
Sliding the rock back in place, he strode down the corridor.
He knew it was going to be hard to convince Nayla to trust him after this interruption. Her walls were up and she felt betrayed. But he was more determined than ever.
This time he was going to be more than enough.
“Finally.” He turned the corner and entered the cavern where he’d left her. “You okay, wild thing? I—”
The space was empty.
23
Nayla’s head burst out of the water, her lungs sucking in a desperate gasp of air as the chute she’d bounced through finally spat her out.
The underwater tunnel originating in the bathing hole had proven deeper and longer than expected, the chute tighter and darker, but thankfully her lung capacity hadn’t been tainted by her origins. Like the rest of the pack, she could hold her breath for long periods. As she’d learned from painful experience, Others were not so well equipped.
Bobbing along, she sought to orient herself, the churning pink and orange rapids cooling her skin while never quite reaching the fire burning between her thighs.
Or the bleeding wounds in her chest.
Her captor had never used a dagger or whip, never broken her skin, and yet she’d felt cut to pieces all the same.
She needs approval. Praise. She’s been told she was worthless her whole life and is desperate to hear otherwise.
&
nbsp; With a shuddering breath, she surveyed the rocky underground river canyon.
Glittering crimson- and gold-colored stalactites, stalagmites, and domes covered every inch. Like so many of the subterranean waterways that snaked beneath the planet’s surface, the churning water had created something unbelievably beautiful. It was also nearly inconceivable, given the harsh, dry desolation at the planet’s surface.
But so much of the Ancients’ creations, like the pack itself, existed mostly in secret.
She paddled closer to the middle of the raging water, ignoring the pleasure pain of the friction as she moved, her muscles still tight and wrung out from her captive’s touches. Usually, Sharluff was with her and she could ride him easily while his bulk carried them both along the current.
This time, she’d be required to do all the work.
She could only hope her animal friend had run all the way back to the safety of the pack. The thought of him alone and having to fend for himself pressed heavy on her chest. But isolated creatures tended to look for the familiar herd—she knew the instinct well—and so she had hope.
For herself, not as much.
The waterway twisted around a corner. She bobbed along with it, trying to stay as still as possible so as to resemble waste rather than food, on the lookout for sharp spikes, rocky shallows, or the shadowed creatures that lived within. Since this was not a network she’d used before, she had to be alert. In this section, the water crashed directly against the tunnel walls, but in other sections the tunnels were much wider. Some even had rocky beaches or twisting boulders where the water never reached. She’d need to find one of those sections and a cave in the tunnel wall that led to the outside so she could make her way back to the surface and access a more familiar network.
Clearly, Grif and his people knew even less about the underground waterways. Otherwise, he’d never have been so cavalier about showing her the bathing hole that was an obvious chute to the water tunnels beneath.
