His by Right

by Linda Mooney

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  About the Author

  His By Right

  A sensuously erotic sci-fi romance

  By

  Linda Mooney

  HIS BY RIGHT

  Copyright © 2014 by Linda Mooney

  ISBN 978-1-941321-00-3

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 (five) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

  Editor: Diana Castilleja

  Cover Art: Linda Mooney

  Chapter One

  Trapped

  What a lousy day. And it’s only seven AM.

  Meredith Powell wrapped her scarf around her neck and looped it closed. Next was the coat, but she left it unbuttoned. She already had on three layers. Attempting to fasten up her coat would have been too much like trying to wrap an overfilled taquito. Or, as her mother had been fond of saying, trying to stuff ten pounds of sausage into a five pound casing.

  Add the fact that she was having a majorly bad hair day, she chose a knitted cap to jam over her head. Toss in a pair of leather gloves, and she was bundled as warmly as she could be. Now it was left up to the snow gods as to whether or not she’d make it to work on time.

  Thankfully, not too much more of the white stuff had fallen since she’d cleared the driveway. Carefully pulling onto the road, she hunched forward in her seat and tried to steer clear of any large humps that resembled blanketed parked vehicles.

  On a typical day, it took her just over fifteen minutes to get to the office. With the bad weather conditions, she estimated it would take her an hour, tops, and had set the alarm to awaken her earlier than usual to make the trip.

  The stretch of County Road 108 was the longest part of her trip, and it was also the most dangerous. The blacktop was barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other, and the road’s shoulders sloped downward. Normally, she took the interstate into town, but the radio was warning everyone to stay off and find an alternate route due to a major accident. That left her with taking either the county road or winding through several subdivisions. She figured the country road would be faster, even though it would add another six miles to her commute.

  So much for suburban living.

  Most of the time, she liked living on the outskirts of the city. There was less traffic, less crime, and the neighbors seemed friendlier. But on days like this, she cursed the weather, along with the rest of the drivers.

  She found herself making good time. There were only three other cars plowing through drifts along with her. After another couple of miles, they turned off, until there was only her.

  She stopped at the sign at Blue Ridge Drive. To her left, the road ended at the interstate. To the right, it led into the Blue Ridge subdivision. She kept going straight, knowing she would eventually reach the road leading to Capital Hills Mall. From there, it was simple matter of circling the mall and hitting the interstate. It was a straight shot from there to the office, and little chance of being slowed down by another accident.

  She was keeping to the posted speed limit when her front tires hit a patch of black ice. The car went into a spin, throwing her violently against the door. The vehicle slid off the road and plunged into the ravine, where it teetered dangerously on the edge of a concrete culvert. Meredith barely had time to register the fact that she was about to plunge head-first into the ditch, when the car rolled sideways down the embankment.

  The seatbelt prevented her from being tossed around the interior as the car made three complete turns, finally coming to a stop on its right side, where it rocked back and forth for a moment before stopping.

  There was silence. Then there was the soft howl of the wind. Snow fell more persistently, completely covering the small white import.

  She was roused by the spluttering engine. Once it died, the car’s interior began to lose its warmth. Meredith tried to move her arm, but her seat belt prevented her from raising it. She could feel something wet trickle down the side of her face. Something that was cooling quickly. It tickled, but she couldn’t lift a hand to wipe it away.

  A shadow passed in front of the windshield. For a moment, she thought she was imagining it, until the form darkened it again.

  “Hey! Hey! Help me out of here!” She hit the horn several times.

  The image vanished. Meredith struggled to free herself from the seatbelt, but her weight prevented her from unlocking the catch.

  “Hey! Can somebody out there hear me? I’m trapped in here! Help! Help me out of here!” She hit the horn again and banged on the dashboard, but no one responded.

  What did the weatherman say the temperature was going to be? High in the twenties, dipping down into negative numbers tonight.

  “Hello? Is someone out there?”

  Maybe she had imagined it. She knew she’d hit her head on the doorframe. She knew she was bleeding around her hairline or forehead.

  A shiver ran through her. Thank goodness she had dressed in layers. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t prevent her from freezing to death if help didn’t arrive soon.

  Oh, God, her head hurt, and her eyes were going blurry. She probably had a concussion. She tried to look for her purse, but it was nowhere in sight. There was no way she could look for it, which meant she couldn’t call anyone to tell them what had happened or where she was.

  “Boy, the boss is going to be pissed when I don’t show up for work.” Her words came out in a puff of warm mist.

  Yes, he would be angry after giving her a little extra time because of the road conditions. But maybe her continued absence would make him eventually call the police, who would send out a search party. Maybe he’d have someone try to call her, and when they couldn’t reach her, it would get the ball rolling.

  She had no inkling of the passing of time since she couldn’t lift her arm high enough to check her watch. She finally heard her cell phone ring. Unfortunately, it sounded like it was on the backseat floorboard, and out of reach. It rang a total of eight times, with the calls coming further and further apart.

  At one point, she knew she was hungry, but after a while that need went away. The thirst, however, stayed with her. It was persis
tent, and seeing the drifts of snow mere inches away from her face was torture. The only thing that lessened the craving for a drink of water was sleep. Fortunately, unconsciousness came easily.

  The next time she opened her eyes, the world had gone dark. Somehow, she’d slept through the entire day. Why hadn’t someone found her before now? Surely someone had notified the authorities and told them she had never shown up at work.

  She couldn’t feel her feet, and moving her legs was like moving cement blocks. She managed to reach the ignition key. The engine gunned to life without hesitation. She kept the motor running just long enough to get the interior warm again, and to thaw out her legs and feet before shutting it off.

  She guessed it had to be late at night, or some time after midnight. The road had to be close-by, but there were no headlights to give her any indication where it was. Worse, she seriously doubted anyone would be able to distinguish the white vehicle from the snow. Next time I buy a car, it’ll be black, and have a wider suspension. And dome lights.

  “God, I’m hungry.” Her breath felt warm on her lips. Her voice sounded thin and muffled. She sniffed. Was that gasoline she smelled?

  A long distance away, a small circle of light glowed, visible through her back window via her rearview mirror. It didn’t sway or move in any way, other than gradually draw closer, larger, and brighter.

  “Hey! Hey! I’m trapped in here! Help me! Help me out of here!”

  She hit the horn, letting it blare. If she was lucky, someone might hear it. She thought about flashing her headlamps, but wondered if it would be worth it if they were covered by the snow.

  At first, the faint glow appeared suspended in midair. But as it got nearer, Meredith wondered what kind of light source it was coming from. It was already too big to be a flashlight. In fact, it was large enough to be one of those spotlights businesses put in their parking lots and shined up into the sky to attract attention. When it got too bright, she squinted to see past it, when the brightness suddenly seemed to vault over the car and hang directly overhead, shining down directly on top of the vehicle and through the side window.

  “Hello! Help me! Can you help me? Please!”

  It was so quiet, and the light never wavered. She continued to watch it until her vision grew blurry. Shaking her head to help clear her sight, she looked again.

  The light was gone.

  Panic struck her. “Shit! Where did it go?”

  She tried to get closer to the window to look out, when a dark shape suddenly slammed against the glass. The last thing she remembered were the bloody red eyes and the mouth full of teeth before she screamed and passed out.

  Chapter Two

  Found

  Something screeched. In the back of her mind, Meredith envisioned a large hawk or eagle sitting somewhere outside, maybe on the branch of nearby tree. It sounded so close.

  The screeching repeated itself. No. It sounds more like tires on the pavement. Maybe it’s the police. Or an ambulance. They found me!

  She stirred. She could move her arms again, and she opened her eyes.

  “Oh, my God.”

  She jerked to a sitting position and stared around her, unable to believe, unable to accept what she saw around her.

  Creatures. There were creatures everywhere. Not animals. There was nothing recognizable about these…things…that sat or oozed or pranced inside their individual glass-like cubes.

  “Dear God, I’m on the set of a Star Wars movie!”

  The sound of screeching came from behind her. Meredith whirled around to see a greenish thing in the cube next to her. A neon pink ring circled part of its anatomy.

  She tried to move away when her left arm halted in midair. Glancing down at it, she spotted another one of those neon pink rings around her wrist. An experimental tug confirmed her suspicion. The ring would allow her some movement, but for the most part, she was chained inside her own little transparent box, although there was no chain to speak of. Her wrist simply stopped about a foot above the floor and would go no further. She tried to move it sideways. There was some leeway that way, letting her wrist semicircle from one side to the other.

  “It must work on magnets, or something like that.”

  Meredith reached out with her other hand and rapped on the wall. Nope, it wasn’t glass. Not even plastic. It was made of something she wasn’t familiar with, so why did that surprise her, considering everything else surrounding her?

  She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Okay, Merry. Watch your blood pressure. You’re imagining all of this, all right? You’re dreaming. You’re really back inside your car, and the cold is starting to get to you.”

  But in this new reality, she was starting to overheat. She was still wearing her layers of clothing, including her sweater and coat. All she was missing was everything else, including her purse, her keys, her cell phone, and her car.

  She began to unbutton the coat one-handedly. Sliding it off, she slipped it down her cuffed arm and let it bunch in a heap. Next was the pullover sweater, which proved to be more of a problem.

  Pausing, she wiped her brow with her shirtsleeve, when a movement outside her cell made her look up. A small shriek jumped from her throat, and without realizing it, Meredith scuttled backwards until she reached the far wall. From there, she nearly hyperventilated in fear as the creature with red eyes and a mouth filled with enormous teeth hovered over her cell.

  In the light, it was easier to see the monstrosity, and to note that it stood a good five or six feet tall. It was hard to tell, cooped up inside the little box. Meredith glanced at the cube around her and prayed it was strong enough in case the thing attacked.

  “Why did you remove your skin?”

  The words echoed inside her skull. Meredith stared up at the monster that continued to bend over her. From this angle, she could see it was built like a centipede, but with an overall purplish exterior. Hundreds of yellowish tendrils coiled and slithered like snakes around the creature’s underbelly.

  “Can you understand me?”

  The words were there, but the thing’s mouth, if it was a mouth, didn’t move.

  “Uh, yeah. Yes, I heard you.”

  “Then answer me. Why did you remove your skin?”

  “My skin?” Meredith frowned, then looked down at where her clothes were bunched up on the floor. “Oh! You mean my coat and all! It’s not my skin. It’s clothes.”

  “Clothes?”

  Something wriggled through her mind, like a worm going from one end to the other. The feeling was unpleasant and irritating. Meredith put a hand to her head.

  “Hey, if that’s you, stop it.”

  “Clothes. Outerwear. Warmth. Protection. Modesty.” The thing raised up slightly. “You are emitting water. You are not comfortable?”

  “No, I’m not comfortable!” Meredith gave the monster an angry scowl. The nearly impenetrable cube gave her a sense of security, albeit a false one. She was sure the thing had a key, or at least some way of accessing the cell.

  The last thing she expected was for the walls to fall away from her, like a magic box suddenly dropping its walls. Now the being loomed above her with nothing to stop it from swooping down and taking her head in its massive jaws, and—

  Meredith threw an arm over her head as she ducked, a scream forming in her throat. But when nothing occurred, she slowly opened her eyes and peeked upward. The monster remained where it was. It hadn’t moved.

  “I do not mean to frighten you,” it finally commented.

  “You’re not going to eat me? Or shred me to pieces?”

  The thing reared upward, and its body shook slightly. Was it laughing at her?

  “No. I will not eat you. Nor will I tear you apart. You probably would not taste good, even if I tried.”

  “Then why am I here?”

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “Stand.”

  Meredith looked at the neon bracelet. “How?”

  “Stand.
”

  Giving a little shrug, she got to her feet. Her coat and sweater slid the rest of the way off her arm and remained at her feet.

  Impulse took over, and Meredith took off, running as fast as she could away from the creature. Running for any place that would lead out of this huge room filled with transparent cubes and nightmarish animals.

  It was as if an invisible hand grabbed her by her wrist and threw her onto the floor. Meredith hit the metal plating with a grunt that knocked the air from her lungs, and she skidded partly on her chest and stomach before coming to a stop. Her chin struck the floor, scraping away the skin and leaving a slick of blood. Pain blossomed and spiked in her head with a hot, red flash.

  Dazed, it took her a moment to realize what had happened. Turning her head so that she rested on her cheek, Meredith stared at her cuffed arm. It resisted any attempt to lift it. She could move, but her wrist appeared to be permanently adhered to the plating.

  Something approached from her blind side.

  “Will you try to escape again?”

  “No. I’ve learned my lesson.”

  And just like that, she could move her arm. She rolled over to find the creature hunched over her. A single tentacle squirmed out and touched her chin.

  “We will heal that.”

  Oddly, the thing no longer frightened her. It withdrew its extension and stepped away. Meredith slowly, painfully, got to her feet. She would have bruises to show for that stunt, but she didn’t regret trying. At least, now she knew her limitations.

  Facing the thing, she realized her original estimate wasn’t too far off. She was five foot five, and the top of her head barely reached its mouth. “Where are we going?”