Warrior Forever (Warriors in Heat)

by Amber Bardan

  “I know it must be horrendous, but can you hold out where you are for five months?”

  “It is too late.” Macca’s volume increased.

  “I’m sure it feels that way but—”

  “No, stubborn human. It is too late for me. I am to be reclassified.”

  A chill seized me. “What does that mean?”

  “I am in a breeding farm, Leila. A breeding farm and I took measures to ensure I could not be bred in the moments before my capture. I have the length of one cycle before they realize and I will be reclassified.”

  I grabbed onto my upper arms. “Reclassified how?”

  “From breeding stock to produce.”

  No. I doubled over. Produce . People meat. My forehead touched the console.

  Deep breath in through your nose…

  My pulse regained regular rhythm. “So, we have a cycle, how long is that?”

  “Thirty-nine human length days.”

  “Well that’s more than you’d have if you were human.” I sat up. “If we had a faster ship, like the Baratican’s would use if you’d been able to hire them, how long would it take to get to you?”

  “Perhaps four to six days.”

  I breathed out and stared at the console. “This thing must have maps. Can you show me on here?”

  Lights rose out of the dashboard forming a picture.

  A picture of meaningless dots…

  “You are here, on the Baratican home planet.” One of the yellow dots turned blue and flashed. “I am here, in the Nexiumnos system.”

  The image zoomed, deepening and almost seeming to turn inside out, before another yellow dot flashed blue. Space . You couldn’t so easily flatten it like a map of earth.

  “Show me again.” I leaned forward and studied the images. “Slow it down slightly, so I can see the route.”

  “It will make no difference but if you insist.”

  The map moved again, but this time flooded with dimension.

  “Is it possible to have a physical copy of this map to study?”

  Something clicked on the console.

  I glanced down, and pulled a small disk out of a slot. The image faded from the console. “How does this work?”

  “Hold the map flat between two fingers.”

  I squeezed the disk between my thumb and index finger. “It’s not doing anything.”

  My hand tilted. A three-dimensional image burst to life in front of me. The route to Macca’s location ran on a loop in a three-dimensional projection.

  “Well this is handy.” I watched the images again, then changed my grip on the disk, ending the loop, and tucked it away in a compartment on my suit.

  I turned back to the console. “Now show me Earth from here.”

  “I cannot.”

  “Come on Macca, I thought we were allies helping each other?” I frowned. “You can’t expect me to believe that you know so much about Earth but not where to find it?”

  “I was able to access plentiful databases on your species. Your biological makeup, physical environmental needs, behaviors, cultural history, genetics, evolutionary patterns. Gillans keep extensive resources on alien stock. It significantly increases sale value to have as much data as possible on new species. However, one thing they do not make readily available, one thing they guard fiercely, is the coordinates of harvestable planets.”

  My stomach churned.

  “I am sorry, Leila. I do not know the location of your Earth.”

  I rocked backward. After only a glimpse at the vastness of space, the impossibility of trying to find an uncharted planet struck.

  My breath flowed out slowly. “It’s okay. Let’s focus on one impossible thing at a time. We’ve got thirty-eight days to bust you out.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  I loosened the cap to the water tank in preparation for the second last water deposit from the drone.

  Before the ship would leave this planet for good…

  We’d gone through dozens of strategies, and still the only feasible plan was to get everyone to Crestonia—without Macca.

  There were still other options rolling around the back of my mind we hadn’t discussed. Sensitive options . But we were running out of time for sensitivity.

  “Macca.” I set the cap on the bench in the cargo hold, and stepped cautiously back. “The measures you took before you were taken, are they reversible?”

  My inner ear snapped with sound. “I would rather be reclassified.”

  “I’m sorry, I had to ask,” I whispered. “The possibility might’ve bought you some time.”

  “You need not bother raising unacceptable options.”

  I licked my lips. No surprise there. It was almost impossible to introduce Macca to an idea that she was uncomfortable with.

  And there were other ideas churning in my mind I knew Macca would find equally unacceptable.

  Ideas she would put a stop to if I couldn’t keep them secret from her…

  “It’s not a possibility in any case.” Macca’s voice dulled. “I’d need access to a Crestonian Medipod.”

  “You need a Medipod just for contraception?” Geez, it was easier to manage ovaries on Earth.

  “Of course not. The pod is only required to reverse a permanent dosage of contraception found in every common Crestonian ship First Aid kit.”

  I glanced around. Hold up . I’d used a First Aid kit just the day before when one of the younger girls cut herself.

  I crossed to the shelf, and took the kit down, snapping open the lid. “You have them in here?”

  “The green tube.”

  I fished through contents until I came to a green tube.

  “It’s a marvelous thing really.”

  I rotated the glowing tube.

  “One press against the skin and you are protected for six cycles. Two presses to cover for twelve.”

  My fist closed around the tube. Almost like an EpiPen…

  “Three and you will never be anyone’s breeder.”

  My head went quiet. Almost as though Macca’s voice moved from my ear to someplace deeper inside.

  “It is easy. A simple press against the skin ensures you are protected.”

  Soft ringing sounded.

  Protected …

  I glanced at the exposed top of my other hand, and pressed the pen to the skin. A ripple of sensation moved up my arm.

  Macca was right. This was so easy…

  “Another, keeps you safe for longer.”

  I blinked, almost missing the second jolt to my skin. My eyes widened. Wait . Had I meant to do that?

  “A third and you will never be anyone’s breeder…”

  My fingers twitched. I jerked, and opened my hand before the tip touched me again. The pen fell to the floor, rolling under the bench.

  “What the hell did you just do to me?” I clutched my stung hand.

  “I did nothing to you.”

  A queasy feeling overtook me. “You told me you couldn’t make me do things.”

  “And I cannot.”

  “You did do something. Did you hypnotize me?” I slammed the lid closed on the kit. “That’s not what friends do.” My heart pounded in an odd tempo. I shoved the kit into its place. “That’s not what allies do.”

  “Allies protect each other. They strengthen each other, and that is all I have done.”

  I touched above my ear where the hearing implant was. “By taking control, making me do things before I could decide?”

  “You understand the fundamentals of hypnotism. You cannot be made to act against your own will.”

  I shuddered. This was so wrong.

  “You wanted to protect yourself. You chose it. All I gave you was a nudge.”

  Macca in my head. A chip in my brain. Coercion so subtle I’d barely noticed it occur.

  Had this happened before without my knowing?

  I rubbed the lump under my hair. “Why would you even care if I made that choice or not?”

  “We are
looking out for each other aren’t we, Leila?” There was Macca’s voice going all silky again. “I am trying to help you.”

  Oh, god, had Macca been influencing me this entire time?

  “It’s been three nights and you still pine for your Baratican.”

  My fingers froze in my scalp.

  “You cry for him when you should be sleeping.”

  No . My chest clamped. There was nothing I could keep secret from Macca. She was inside me. She could hear my breathing. Could monitor my pulse. There wasn’t a private sacred space left in me.

  “Your weakness has always been your emotions. I’m helping you overcome them.”

  I sunk my teeth into my lower lip.

  Macca knew .

  She knew that I didn’t abandon friends. Did not give up on allies. She knew that I wouldn’t skip out on Thor this way.

  That I’d do something .

  No matter how I’d tried not to let on.

  “Now you can put any indecision and conflict to rest.”

  “What do you mean?” My skin prickled.

  My thoughts whirled around a single memory.

  He would desire you if you were green, swollen, bloated, and covered in pustules…

  “Macca,” I moaned and leaned on the bench. “Why?”

  So long as you could be bred.

  Pain drove picks into my lungs.

  “This is why,” Macca cooed softly. “He has sabotaged your emotions with his Baratican mating tricks. I have given you the strength to move on by eliminating unacceptable options. I have freed you.”

  My chin curled into my neck, and all my muscles pulled tight.

  No . Macca was wrong. The Crestonian couldn’t understand because there was only one kind of love she knew how to process.

  My eyes squeezed closed.

  A thunk sounded. The air-lock activated on the door to the passenger bay.

  “The drone approaches. Collect yourself. Put on your space suit.”

  I exhaled, and moved on legs without feeling to put the space suit on over my clothes, then fastened the helmet in place.

  The hatch opened, and the drone flew into the Cargo bay.

  I attached the hose to the drone and inserted the other end into the water tank. The sound of the water pump pulsed. I leaned my forehead against the water tank.

  Heat radiated into the cargo bay from outside.

  “Trust that this was done in friendship.”

  Now— now Macca used that word. Friends .

  “I forgive you,” I whispered. And I did. Macca was in a breeding camp. Facing the unimaginable.

  A click sounded and I removed the hose, first from the tank, and then from the drone. The drone lifted into a hover, moving to the hatch for its final load.

  But forgiveness did not equate to acceptance…

  I moved in one swift motion, lunging for the hatch, and slid down it—shooting myself outside.

  Into the merciless heat.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  “Stop, Leila.” The screech pierced my head.

  I scrambled to my feet, and ran, leaping over rocks and sprinting for the hills. That one thing I’d learned from last time was to minimize exposure to the surface.

  “I said stop.”

  I reached the base of the mountains, pulse thundering, and sprung up rock.

  “Deceiver.” Macca’s voice amplified. “Traitor.”

  There wasn’t time to argue, I had to make it to the cave. Sweat trickled off the end of my nose. My breaths amplified in the helmet. I reached the ledge to the cave in half the time it’d taken before.

  A high-pitched sound cut through my skull. The world went bright. I went to a knee, almost slipping off the ledge, and grabbed the sides of the helmet.

  The sound grew more intense. Pain drove into my temples as though my head expanded. “Stop, Macca. I can explain.”

  The heat . It poured around me, in me, through me.

  The frequency silenced.

  “You have betrayed me, abandoned Prespherona, neglected your people.”

  “You’re one to talk about betrayal.” I held onto the rock, and dragged myself to my feet. “Nonetheless, that’s not what’s happening.”

  “You swore to help me.”

  “I’m trying. I have a fucking plan.” I scooted sideways toward the cave. “If you calm the hell down, I can tell it to you.”

  “I know your only plan human.”

  Shade fell over me, giving relief from the burning sun.

  “Your only true desire is for your warrior. You sacrifice us for him.”

  “That’s not how it is.” But my chest panged. Because the first part was true. “Just listen for once would you.”

  “I have listened, and listened, and listened. And I have learned. You are mindless to all but your feelings.”

  I reached the entrance to the cave, and almost cried in relief as the air cooled. “I’m doing what I have to do.”

  “You were the only human I trusted to protect Prespherona. The only I trusted to lead.”

  The cave darkened, and green moss spread over the walls. I flopped down onto the floor and removed my helmet, dragging in lungful’s of fragrant air. “If you trusted me you’d hear me out now.”

  “I trust you no longer. If your plan were true you’d have spoken of it.”

  My blood still pumped at overtime. “I knew you wouldn’t agree.”

  “You were correct. I do not agree. This is not your place. Your place was with us.”

  I wiped the sweat from my face with a gloved hand. “Macca…”

  “I will not risk Prespherona if alerting the Baratican to our presence is your clever plan. A highborn Crestonian is too valuable to them.”

  “Macca just—”

  “You have chosen.”

  A sound droned.

  I glanced up in the dark cave. “Wait, is the ship leaving?”

  Silence met me. A deep and absolute silence.

  “Macca?” I rolled up onto my knees. “Macca, are you there?”

  My breath held. There wasn’t even the static in my ear, only an odd blankness.

  The implant…it was off.

  They’d left.

  They’d left me alone here.

  I swallowed. That was fine. Better they did.

  Better they went and found their sanctuary. That wouldn’t change what I had to do here.

  I reached for the cave wall, no lantern to light my way this time. Macca was right about one thing—I’d made my choice.

  And there was no undoing it.

  Pale blue light filtered through darkness.

  Trickling water gave life to the quiet.

  “Thor,” I called, then found my voice and called louder. “Thor.”

  Light glittered off the cave walls and I increased my pace to the spring.

  I collapsed to my knees and put my hands into the stream, slurping warm water through cracked lips. I washed my face, then removed the space suit from over my bodysuit.

  Another sound added to the roar of water.

  I leaped to my feet. “Thor?”

  A beastly figure hunched at the entrance of the merging tunnel.

  Fuck no. I stumbled back. Not again.

  Not another horny alien. My foot slid in water. What if Thor didn’t win this fight?

  My heart rioted.

  The warrior snarled, slinking closer.

  I almost wished I hadn’t called for him. Now he’d show up and have to battle for me a second time. The Baratican weaved toward me, his growl low, his movements more…my pulse rattled. More animistic than the other Baraticans.

  I backed closer to the spring. That hole in the ground seemed pretty damn appealing right now. The warrior moved on all fours, sharp horns directed at me.

  I inched to the tunnel.

  A snarl froze me. My system jolted. Thank god, he wore his helmet.

  Each Baratican has his own unique genetic linage… And this one. I gulped. Better I never saw how m
onstrous this one was.

  The Baratican drew closer. “What doing here?”

  My pulse quivered.

  No . Nope. Couldn’t be.

  “Thor?” My hand moved slowly, cautiously, to my chest. No, this creature couldn’t be him . “Is that you?”

  “Told La La go.” The growling got sharper.

  I stumbled back against the wall. No . This wasn’t my Thor.

  My eyes stung. What had I done to him?

  I scanned his hunched form. What had I reduced him to?

  “Thor, it’s okay.” I held up my hands. “I came to tell you something.”

  He straightened in one violent movement—all billowing fur and rearing helmet. “Not need hear untruths of yours.”

  I gasped. Pain shuddered through me. But didn’t I deserve that?

  Didn’t I deserve to be distrusted…

  My mouth went bitter as poison. Didn’t Macca warn he wouldn’t want me now?

  “I’ve been dishonest.” I reached behind me and tugged the tag at the back of my neck twice. “And now you worry my feelings are insincere.” The captains suit loosened. The thud of my heart boomed. He would hear it. He would’ve heard it a hundred times. “But there’s some things that can’t be pretended, and I think you know them. I think you know my secrets.”

  The growling expanded.

  His vibration shuddered under my feet. Supersonic . Like a helicopter gearing up to take off.

  He hadn’t had his special juice…

  For the first time since I’d gotten to know him—I was actually afraid of him .

  “I know what you did.” I wet my lips. “I know you sent me away because I put myself in danger trying to leave.”

  He fell back to all fours.

  “Because you think that’s all I really want. To leave.”

  His entire being shook. He blurred. Actually, fucking blurred with movement.

  “Because you don’t want to hurt me. Even if not hurting me hurts you worse.” I found the courage somewhere to pry the suit from my shoulders, and pushed it to my waist. “But I don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want you to hurt.”

  He moved in a dash.

  I grabbed the horns of his helmet as he materialized in front of me. “I didn’t speak false about one thing.” My fingers shook around the sharp horns but I managed to drag the helmet off him.