by Averi Hope
But Gabrielle needed her. The president needed her. And her father needed her.
She knew Dream Jumping in her current state was dangerous, but she’d be cautious.
Sitting up, she closed her eyes, gathering the strength to walk to her bed.
No, first she would change, then she would crawl beneath her covers and start the process.
She sensed a movement to her left.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, instincts flaring into panic. She sprang back from her chair as the man’s arms grabbed at her. They stared each other down. The man with his silver eyes, his face hidden beneath a tight black mask.
“You’ll get out of here if you know what’s good for you.”
His eyes twinkled. “I’ll tell you what. I won’t fondle those ample breasts of yours if you submit without a fight.”
She looked at the cloth clutched in one of his hands. Soaked in chloroform, no doubt. “You really think this is my first rodeo, cowboy?”
In her life, there’d been more than a few failed kidnapping attempts. But never when I was this tired. With each second, she inched closer to the door, maneuvering so the oversize chair and coffee table separated them.
“You want this the hard way?” He laughed. “Good. I like a girl with a little fight in her.”
Her fists clenched in anticipation.
But faster than her eyes could follow, he leaped onto the chair, and then sprang onto her. She hit the ground, the back of her skull smacking the carpet. Her head spun as one of his hands gripped her breast, while the other one pressed the rag to her mouth.
His strength was incredible. Almost like Caleb’s.
She fought not to breathe and moved to the left, body-slamming him as hard as she could into the wall. She pinned him and shot her hand out, digging her fingers into his eye. It popped with a sickening squelch. Her attacker gave a high, bloodcurdling scream.
She rolled to her feet and stood over him. Even though she’d tried not to breathe, she’d gotten a whiff of some of the chloroform. Her head was starting to spin.
The rag had dropped to the ground and she picked it up, jumping on him and smothering his face with it. He wrestled her with one hand, finally kicking her off him.
She sprang up and he climbed to his feet more slowly, hands pressed over his eye. Blood leaked through the cracks between his fingers.
She kicked him in the groin, then spun, sweeping his legs out from under him. He fell back, his head hitting the side of the table with a sickening crack.
He lay where he fell, unmoving.
Running to her intercom, she called down to the security desk and reported the breach. A panicked guard responded they’d be there in moments.
Going back to the man, she touched the side of his throat. No pulse. All his many enhancements, and a table did him in. But who is he? Peeling back his mask, she stared into the face of the head of security, Rick.
Her stomach twisted. Why the hell did he attack me? Is it revenge for rescuing Caleb from him? Or does someone know who I am?
Given the chloroform rag, whoever it was didn’t want to kill her, but instead planned to take her. It was everything her father had warned her about.
She lay on the ground, leaning against the couch, staring at the dead man with his eye clawed out. Her father would want her to leave the academy, effectively destroying any hope she had at ever commanding a Level 10 spacecraft. She could not let that happen.
Whoever was after her, she’d figure out who it was. And she’d make them pay.
Her mind started to turn over the events of the past few weeks. Caleb had probably been right. That night at the bar, someone had drugged her drink. And the attack on the roof might’ve been yet another attempt against her. Then the attack tonight. But to accomplish all these things…whoever was after her had to have a lot of power.
Who could have been close enough to slip a drug into her drink? Who could shut down the school’s defenses and allow the enemy vessel onto the grounds? And who could buy off the head of security?
She wasn’t safe here any longer. But she wouldn’t be chased off.
The door to her room slid open. Half a dozen security guards rushed in, then froze at the sight before them.
“What the hell?” one of them stuttered.
She raised a brow. “I hope one of you has a good reason why your boss tried to kidnap me…”
It was utter chaos until Dean Sufters rushed in ten minutes later. To Erin’s satisfaction, her dark blue uniform hadn’t been tucked in and she’d missed a button on her shirt.
“What—?”
Erin pointed to the dead body. “It looks like even though you guys beat an ambassador’s son, blaming him for your breach in security, it was your very own head of security to blame.”
The dean paled and gripped the edge of the door. “This can’t be—“
“I hope you aren’t too attached to your job because by the time my dad and Caleb’s dad hear about this, you’ll be lucky if you get to scrub the bathrooms at the academy.”
Sufters’s shoulders fell and she stuttered apologies, but even she knew it was too late.
The next hour dragged on as they took her statement, cleaned her room, and the dean personally called both her father and Caleb’s. It was by far the most satisfying conversation Erin had ever witnessed. While her father took the information with a calm that warned Erin that there would be hell to pay, Caleb’s father ended the call by smashing the screen in.
Dean Sufters looked as if she was about to faint.
“I’d hoped to wait until morning to call…” she whispered.
Erin shrugged, feeling pleased that the bitch who’d allowed Caleb to be injured was going to get her comeuppance. Even if it was a different method of suffering. “They wouldn’t have taken the news any better in the morning.”
Dean Sufters tried to stand but her legs wobbled. A guard rushed to her side to help her.
“Your father is immediately sending his own men to guard you, but has asked that we place our own people outside your door until they arrive.”
Erin had heard it all, but still enjoyed watching the dean sweat over it. “He can’t trust you to do your job, so he’s left with no other choice.”
The woman’s blue eyes met Erin’s. “And, your father plans to be here in a week’s time.”
Erin smiled. “If you thought he gave it to you on the phone, just wait until he arrives in person.”
The older woman visibly swallowed. “Get some sleep, cadet. We’ll discuss this in the morning.”
The dean and the guards left her room, with two of the men taking position on either side of her door. When the door slid shut, her smile fell. After all this, she still had work to do.
Chapter Twenty-One
Erin stood outside the murky green bubble that represented Ahmed Zhou’s dream. Her stomach twisted with anxiety as she crept closer, peering in. The alien lay on a wide couch, leaning back with his large arms thrown across the back of the couch on either side of him. His face was a cross between a bull and a human. Dark hair covered him, running across his wide, bare chest, and down his nude body. His erection lay across his leg, stopping at the top of his kneecap.
She wrapped her arms around her chest and took a deep breath. Stick to the plan. You know this alien…well enough. You’ll be able to fool him. If not, all you have to do is get out.
Plucking her power from the dream world, she transformed herself.
Blinking, she stared at her own reflection on the outside of the bubble. She looked just like Ahmed’s ex-wife, who’d been murdered years before. According to his records, she’d been the one true love of his life, and he harbored a great deal of guilt that he couldn’t save her life.
The woman staring back at her was a Vuret, just like Ahmed. She had two twisting horns on her head, but a mane of long blond hair. She was massive in comparison to Erin’s true size, but still petite in comparison to Ahmed himself. The clothes
she wore were little more than a one-strapped leather bra and a pair of underwear. The cool material felt odd against her furry body.
“Here goes nothing.” She took a deep breath and stepped into the dream.
Music swelled around her. A pounding, bass-filled music that assaulted her ears. Naked women danced on shimmering platforms not ten feet from where the Vuret lounged.
Erin felt a wave of panic. If she’d known this man well enough, she would’ve seen the women when she stared at the bubble surrounding his dream. She would’ve heard the music. The fact that she was aware of neither was frightening.
The big creature’s gaze swung to her and froze. “Imera!” he cried. “Come!”
She did, swinging her hips the way the woman had. Although she’d only watched a handful of vids of her.
Motioning her to sit down beside him, the Vuret grabbed her hand and pulled it to rest on his leg, just next to his manhood.
She had to hold back a shudder of disgust. I need to get out here as quickly as possible. “You’ve done well, my husband.”
The Vuret smelled of wet fur as he leaned closer to her. “And how is that, wife?”
Erin forced a seductive smile. “The newest shipment of girls…”
Now, it was his turn to smile. “They will fetch the highest price of any group before.”
Caution now. Don’t do anything to alarm his subconscious. You must sound like his wife. Act like his wife.
“Which one will go for the most?”
He laughed. “Why, the wide-hipped daughter of the pretentious humans, of course! My special buyer has desired her since she was a child.”
Ugh! “But they must know you took her. Even you may not be able to keep her hidden.”
The music faded away, and the room shifted. Suddenly, they were on a couch in the middle of a freezing room. If not for the fur covering her body, she was sure she’d be shivering.
“You think they will look here?”
The room blurred again, and suddenly, there were huge meats hanging on hooks from the ceiling. “They will search my many ships carrying arms, but they will not think to look through one carrying exotic foods.”
Erin stared around the room. But where were the girls? “I’m certain they’ll search everywhere. Can you really be so certain they won’t find them?”
He gave a roar of laugher and stood, walking to the panels on the wall. He dug his fingers into the sides of one and yanked it from the wall.
She gasped.
He continued to move about the room, pulling panel after panel off.
Erin stared in speechless horror at the dozens upon dozens of women crammed into the purple liquid. Large beads pulsed in the water, shimmering. The women opened and closed their mouths, but no words came out. Frightened eyes stared, while their arms and legs stayed bent in odd positions spread out around them.
Every woman was nude.
And then, she caught sight of Gabrielle.
Don’t show your reaction. Stay in character.
But Erin couldn’t help rising and walking toward the woman she’d grown up with. Putting her fingertips on the glass, she cried out at the intense cold and pulled back.
“Glorious, isn’t it?” He placed his hand on the small of her back, sliding it lower to cup her ass.
She tried to pull away from him, but he yanked her back, cupping her ass yet again. You’re not supposed to let him touch you, but you’re also not supposed to alert him. His wife wouldn’t pull away from him.
Just stay calm. Move away as soon as you get the chance.
“Your plan was the perfect one, wife. These beautiful creatures help to keep our precious meats cool. The Kirlian crystals keep their body temperature so low that they’re undetectable by other ships, and no matter how hard each government has tried to discover how we do it, they cannot.”
Erin swallowed and forced the word past her lips. “Glorious.”
“I’ve missed you,” he said, his grip on her ass growing harder. “You’re the only woman who can take me the way I like and not die from our coupling.”
She inched out of his grip, glad to be relieved of his touch, and turned to him. Just one last thing, and I’m free. “What ship are we on?”
He frowned. “The Magic Spicery, of course.”
Without warning, his fist slammed into her face.
She fell backward onto the floor, her head spinning. He kicked her in the stomach, then leaped on top of her.
Time to wake up. Time to wake up.
But in her fear, she couldn’t focus enough to pull herself free.
He put an arm against her throat, tightening it until she saw spots. “You’re going to love this,” he panted into her ear. “You always could take all of me.”
She tried to scream as the world went black, but no sound came out.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Caleb awoke, an overwhelming feeling of panic coming over him.
Something’s wrong with Erin.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Where was Erin?
Sitting up, Caleb winced. His entire body ached, even his bones. All he wanted to do was take a pain pill and lie back in bed, but he had a horrible feeling something bad was happening to the little human he’d so recently made love to.
Love to? Since when do I call mating a female making love?
And the way they’d done things. The sex was different than it had ever been before. She’d taken the lead. She’d touched him so gently, setting the pace for them both.
But where is she and why do I feel she is in trouble?
That’s crazy, a tiny voice whispered in his mind. She probably just went to her room to sleep.
He climbed to his feet and limped to his dresser, pulling clothes out at random. It took an embarrassing amount of effort to clothe himself, and he was exhausted and sweaty by the time he was done.
I’ll lie down when I know she’s safe.
As the doors to his room slid open, he found himself staring at two strange guards positioned on either side of her door.
Probably a precaution after their attack on the roof.
“What’s going on?” he asked anyway.
Had there been a new problem?
One guard glared at him. “Mind your business, Keltair.”
Even this dickshit knew he was a Keltair? Geez. “Erin is my business.”
The guard walked up to him, and hesitated. A full head shorter than Caleb, maybe he’d realized that threatening the large Keltair male wasn’t a good idea.
Or maybe it’s the sight of your battered face.
“Look,” the guard said, his voice wavering just a bit. “No one is to bother her tonight.”
Caleb hesitated. Hadn’t he had enough trouble already? Was he really going to fight a guard just because of a horrible feeling that Erin was in trouble?
“Is she in there alone?”
The guard rolled his eyes. “Yup. We’ve been stationed here since we were assigned.”
Maybe I should just go back to bed. She’s not my mate. I don’t have some extra heightened sense of her. This is nothing more than a feeling, probably brought about from all the drugs.
Still he hesitated. Should he listen to logic or the nagging feeling in the back of his mind?
He advanced on the guard. “Get out of my way.”
The human took two steps back, looking at the other guard.
Caleb moved to the keypad beside her door. He typed in the security code, long ago having memorized it. Her doors slid open.
“We’re going to contact the dean and let her know, Keltair,” the man spat. “I’m guessing you’ll be handing over your uniform before the night’s over.”
Caleb stepped into her room, speaking over his shoulder. “Yes, let the dean know. I’m sure she’ll be excited to give my father another reason to kill all of you.”
The doors closed behind him.
Inside the room, silence stretched. The lights were dim and nothing stirred. C
aleb made his way to her bed, wondering if he’d been a fool to break into the human female’s room over nothing more than a feeling. All logic said the mound in her bed was simply Erin sleeping.
And then, she cried out in her sleep.
He frowned, limping slowly past the small kitchen to his right, and the standard academy couch and chairs to his left.
She screamed, and he bolted across the remainder of her room.
As he stared down at her face, he knew instantly that something was wrong. Her long black hair was matted to her sweaty face, and her pale skin looked ashen.
A nightmare?
Sitting at the edge of her bed, he brushed the hair back from her face. “Erin?”
Her hands twisted in the blankets. She struggled against some unseen force, whimpering.
“It’s just a nightmare,” he said, trying to wake her from it gently, but she didn’t respond to his voice.
“Erin?” Now, he shook her.
Still, she didn’t respond.
He picked her up, wincing as the stitches on his stomach and chest pulled. “Wake up, damn it.”
She fought with heavy limbs against his hold as tears streamed down her face.
His heart twisted. Something is very wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Erin bit into the Vuret’s hairy arm as her vision blackened.
He cried out and released her. “Bitch!”
She crawled away from him, gasping for breath. Turning, she stared back at him.
He grinned, transforming his half human, half bull face into something terrifying. “You always did know how to turn me on.”
She just needed a minute, a minute to calm her pounding heart, so that she could Jump right back out of the dream. Touching her bruised throat, her fingers curled back from her hairy neck. She’d forgotten for half a second that she’d made herself look like his deceased wife.
