by Averi Hope
“Damn it. All right,” the human’s voice was high and pleading.
Caleb released him. “Whatever your issue, I need to find Erin.”
To his surprise, all the anger drained from the man’s face. “Is she okay?”
A spike of jealousy buried itself in Caleb’s gut. How well did Erin know this man for him to show such obvious concern?
“I don’t know, but I plan to find her.”
The other man climbed off the ground, wincing as he stared at his wrist. “After the attack on the academy, everyone is sort of nervous. But…I mean, are you just being cautious, or do you think there’s actually something wrong?”
Caleb debated not telling him. But Erin’s life might be at risk. This is not a time for pride.
“I think she’s in danger. You may wish to alert security.”
The blond nodded, his gaze clinging briefly Caleb’s face.
Yes, I know what I must look like. My stitches still bandaged. Bruises still black-and-blue. But no, it doesn’t matter.
“Are you sure you don’t need me to go with you?”
Caleb stiffened. “No.” A Keltair does not need the help of a weak human.
“If you’re sure.” Greg’s voice held doubt as he turned to head back the way he’d come, but froze midstride. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
Love…is that what this is?
“I’m going to look for her.” His voice was gruffer than usual.
He left the prying human behind as he hurried farther into the gardens. The shadows grew deeper as he left the better traveled paths. He inhaled sharply, smelling Erin, but also… there! On the ground. He knelt down and touched one of the spots of dark red blood.
Bringing it to his nostrils, he breathed in the coppery scent. Erin’s blood, but also someone else’s. He took two more steps before his gaze caught something shiny. Kicking it with his foot, he knocked the syringe out of the bushes.
Shit.
He didn’t run. Running meant he might miss some sign of the direction she’d taken, but he moved more quickly, his ears pounding with the sound of his racing heart. Without thinking, his hand went to the blade at his side. Personal weapons were not allowed by cadets, but he’d concealed his Keltairian fighting dagger in his ship anyway. The raw and powerful weapon was too important to leave behind. Besides, after all the years of training, he felt naked without it.
He’d hesitated to bring it when he awoke with the odd sensation Erin was in trouble. Especially after the recent episode on the roof, but now he was glad he’d taken the risk. Whoever had shed his female’s blood would pay for the mistake with their life.
Old memories followed Caleb with each step he took. Memories of his time among the Keltairs. It was hard to breathe as his chest tightened. He’d hoped to forget the person he’d become in those dark years. A person who was more animal than human. A person who was pitted against his fellow males. A person who killed.
And killed.
A chill ran along his spine. He’d wanted to leave that Caleb behind so badly and embrace his human half, but the dangerous killer within him would have a far better shot at saving Erin.
So that’s who he would become.
If Erin sees who I really am, she cannot love me.
The pressure on his chest built as sweat dampened his flesh. When he came upon the hole beneath the academy wall, he knew without question that’s how Erin was taken. He maneuvered his large body awkwardly into it, climbed into the darkness, and eventually came back out the other side.
In the jungles of Turonga, anyone could become lost. But Caleb’s steps never hesitated. He could sense Erin. Not much farther now.
And when he found her, blood would run.
Chapter Thirty-One
Erin’s mouth was no longer numb. And even though she hid it from them, she was able to shift her hands and feet. Heter adjusted her on his shoulder, then gave her ass another hard slap. She clamped her teeth on the hiss that nearly escaped. Her butt cheeks were probably as red as an Endorian sun, but she wouldn’t give the Letchi the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her.
“You sound out of breath,” she taunted.
Another firm slap sent her teeth gritting together.
“So much attitude,” the Letchi said, running a hand down her upper thigh. “I know exactly how we’ll get rid of it.”
Her stomach twisted. She could not let this creature put her on his ship, no matter what.
“You must be enjoying this, William.” She twisted her head slightly to look back at the little green traitor as he scrambled after them.
Vines and plant life that Heter easily stepped over were far more of a challenge to her short ex-friend. His gaze met hers, then slid away.
“I bet you told yourself that this was your way of getting back at all the privileged people out there,” she continued, “too bad that this won’t hurt them. It won’t make things better. It will just prove what they always thought about you and your race.” She choked on her anger. “Despite how those other people felt, I was your friend. And it was all just a lie you told yourself to justify betraying me.”
He said nothing, which only fueled the fire of her anger.
“What do you think they’ll do to me? Huh? While you’re at the academy, only succeeding because someone privileged has paid your way, how are you going to sleep at night knowing what I’ll be enduring?”
Finally, he met her gaze and held it. “I’m sorry, Erin. I really am. But what I want is worth your life.”
Bile rose in the back of her throat. “My father was right about you. A Chamyion simply lacks the natural ability to be anything more than a useless follower.”
Anger flashed over his face. “Yet, I’m not the one being kidnapped.” And then, more softly. “I wish I could show you exactly what I’m capable of.”
How could I have missed every sign about what a psycho William was all these years?
Something beeped in Heter’s pocket. He pulled out a device. “The security cameras are back up. No one has been alerted to her disappearance.”
“Shit.” He jumped back. “Watch out. Fierian quicksand.”
Heter walked carefully sideways until finally striding forward. Finally, she saw what he was talking about. This jungle was dangerous in many, many ways, but the Fierian quicksand was one of the deadliest. Not only could it drag a person under in minutes, it also burned like hell.
She slid from Heter’s shoulder and hit the ground with the side of her body. The breath ripped out of her chest, and for a moment she was too stunned to process what had happened.
“Chamyion, you wanted to show her what you’re capable of, and I’ve always wanted to put my dick in this female. We have some time, so which hole do you want?”
Her stomach twisted sharply. “William wouldn’t do that.”
Silence met her words.
Heter kicked her with his foot, flipping her onto her back. William and the Letchi stood over her. William knelt down next to her.
“We were friends.” She refused to beg, even realizing the note of desperation in her voice.
He met her gaze. “I’ll start here.” His hand brushed her womanhood.
She tried to twist away, but couldn’t.
“Good,” Heter muttered, slapping William on the back. “I wanted her asshole anyway.” He grinned. “At least for now. We’ll have lots of time for more once she’s on my ship.”
Both men began to undo their pants.
And that’s when the reality of it slammed into her. Terror tore through her body and she started to scream, even knowing that no one would possibly hear her.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Hunt. Kill. Save your female.
Already Caleb’s thoughts were changing. He felt the dangerous creature inside him rearing its head. Every sound of the jungle echoed loudly within his ears. Animals moved in the distance, the screaming songs of birds came from all around. But everything ignored him. They sensed in
him his right to be there, just as much as their own.
Erin’s scream cut through the natural sounds.
And he was running. Leaping over roots and bushes. Maneuvering around trees. Closer and closer until she was just beyond the next set of trees.
A slight disturbance stopped him in his tracks.
Crouching, he moved forward, hiding around the trunk of a tree. To his left, an immense pool of Fierian quicksand bubbled and spewed forth a putrid, acidic smell. He edged around it, inching closer till he saw them.
Every muscle in his body tightened.
Erin’s pants and underwear had been removed. William lay on the forest floor, his own pants down. A Letchi held Erin up, then tossed her on top of William. The lizard-man pulled his own pants down.
“Put your little Chamyion’s cock in her. Who knows if she’ll even feel it, but she’ll definitely feel my big, scaled cock vibrating in her ass.”
Caleb saw red.
He leaped toward them.
William cried out.
The Letchi turned with surprising speed, and Caleb knocked him to the ground. Wrapping his hands around the reptile’s neck, he squeezed. The lizard’s eyes widened as his pale skin turned paler. Caleb growled, enjoying seeing the life drain from his body.
A searing pain ripped through his stomach, and the Letchi rolled on top of him, a laser pistol in his hands. If I hadn’t been in such a rage, I would’ve noticed it. The reptile brought the gun toward his face, but Caleb knocked it away. Using his head, he slammed the creature in the face. Black blood sprayed from its nose.
The creature screamed.
Caleb threw it to the ground, knocking the pistol from his grip and onto the forest floor. He sat on its chest, and started to pummel the creature’s face. Over and over again he struck, his adrenaline pumping as its face became a swollen, bloody mass. The Letchi tried to strike back. Caleb took the hand and snapped it, drawing a horrible scream from its lipless mouth.
Suddenly, he felt a pistol touch the side of his head. “Get off him.”
William’s voice shook, high and feminine.
Caleb slowly turned to look at the coward. “Don’t.”
The pistol shook harder and harder in his hand. “I’ll kill you. I really will.”
“Not before I kill you.”
The weapon shifted slightly, and Caleb knocked it away.
William’s eyes widened as oh god formed on his lips.
Caleb grabbed him and tossed him into the Fierian quicksand.
The little green man was silent for one painful second, and then he began to wail. Burns like hell, doesn’t it, coward?
The Letchi rose unsteadily onto his feet, reaching for the other gun at his side. Caleb caught the hand, snapping it. The reptile shrieked and crumpled to his knees. Caleb withdrew his dagger.
“You took the one I love. For that, you deserve a slow death.” His words were clear, even over the sound of William thrashing and screaming.
But somewhere in his clouded thoughts, he was aware of Erin still lying on the ground. Half-clothed, and probably terrified. He slashed the dagger across the creature’s throat. Blood struck his flesh. It tried to reach for its throat with two useless hands, then fell back.
Caleb kicked him once. Then again. Dead.
Turning back to William, only his neck and head were still out of the quicksand. But even that bubbled with sickly, swollen green and yellow bumps. A very painful death. One deserving of a coward.
“Help! Help me, please!” William begged, tears streaming down his swollen flesh.
Caleb ignored him and finally let himself look at Erin. Her face was swollen. A cut bled from her cheek, while her lip bled, too. Her pale skin was even paler, and tears swelled in her eyes.
His heart ached, even though he didn’t want it to. He ignored William’s desperate pleas while he began to dress his battered human. Fears sprang to his mind. Had they succeeded in raping her? Or had he been fast enough?
If he’d been too slow, he’d never forgive himself.
As he reached for her and drew her into his arms, his chest twisted in pain. He gritted his teeth and stood.
“You’re hurt,” she whispered, her head lolling back.
He frowned. “So are you. Did they…?”
“The injector was filled with a paralytic.”
She hadn’t answered the question he was asking, but maybe she wasn’t ready to. He turned and started back to the academy, striding around the outside of the quicksand.
“Please,” William begged.
His heart hardened, and he didn’t slow.
“Caleb.” His named sounded like something precious from her lips. “We should save him.”
His grip tightened around her. “If I save him, you will never be safe.”
She made a sound that was almost a laugh. “I’m not afraid of him.”
He looked down, staring into her impossibly green eyes. “Trust me. Knowing he’s alive will haunt you.”
“Caleb…”
“His death is by my choice. Not yours. You’ll have no guilt in this.”
As if to end their argument, William grew silent behind them.
“It’s done. You’re safe now,” he whispered.
Relief washed over her face. “Let’s hurry back then. You look like you’re about to fall over.”
He forced himself to stand up straighter. “I’m not even tired.”
She gave a soft laugh. “Liar.”
Caleb took one step when a sickly sweet voice had him freezing.
“Well, what do we have here?”
Chapter Thirty-Three
At first, Erin saw nothing. But then shadows separated themselves from the jungle trees, and a sight from her nightmares had her blood turning to ice. The most dangerous race of creatures in the known universe.
Darogos.
One of them stepped out into the light, his oily skin shimmering like diamonds as the rays slid across him. From his bald head to his nude body, the darkness that cloaked his skin was almost painful. White eyes with pale golden pupils stared without blinking. And after a moment, he opened his mouth to hiss, displaying a mouth full of sharp, golden teeth.
“Erin, we meet at last.”
This is impossible.
Her father was said to be responsible for the attack that stopped his interplanetary-child-genius smuggling ring and killed every last one of his gang. There were whispers that a few of them had escaped, but the admiral had done everything in his power to squash the rumors.
Although now I know they weren’t rumors at all.
More shadows stepped forward. Her heart quickened as she counted…there were eleven of them in total. Too many. A cold hand wrapped around her heart. Darogos were fast—predators that fed on the flesh of other creatures. They believed they could absorb strength and memories from other intelligent beings, so their preference was for humans or humanoids. It was said one Darogos could strip the flesh of a person in under a minute.
God, I hope I don’t find out if that rumor is true.
“What?” he asked, his sickly sweet voice sliding against her skin like a shark rubbing across her leg. “Do you have nothing to say before we take you and eat your friend?”
She swallowed. There was no getting out of this. If they were faced with one or two Darogos, she wasn’t sure they could make it. But against these odds? They were doomed.
You are doomed. But Caleb can still get away.
She took a deep breath, barely moving her lips. “Throw me at them and run. It’s your only shot.”
To her horror, Caleb’s grip tightened around her. “Not a chance.”
“This is suicide,” she ground out, her gaze never leaving the creatures.
He was quiet for half a second. “Clearly you have never seen an enraged Keltair.”
Very slowly, he knelt and set her down.
No! How the hell can I help him if I can’t move?
Come on, Erin, you know how.
&
nbsp; “Darogos. Hmm… this is awkward. I thought all of you were dead.”
The creature crouched, hissing again, and the other Darogos followed his stance. “We are immortal. Death can never take us.”
Erin laughed, although it sounded hollow. “I seem to remember seeing a lot of your immortal bodies exploding like overripe fruit.”
The creatures threw back their heads and a horrible, high-pitched chattering filled the air.
“What are you doing?” Caleb growled, crouching further over her.
“Providing the distraction, so you better make good use of it,” she whispered.
She thought he would sneak away, plan a surprise attack, or something. But apparently, he had other plans.
His shadow passed over her as he leaped, driving his Keltairian blade into the eye socket of the lead Darogos. He pulled back the impossibly sharp blade and let the creature fall to the floor. He sliced two more heads off before they reacted. But to her horror, they did the worst thing possible; they came at him as one.
Razor-sharp claws raked toward him.
He sliced one hand off.
Another Darogos leaped onto his back, sinking its teeth into his shirt, ripping through the fabric like butter, before chomping into his flesh.
Caleb ran backward, slamming it into a tree and scattering the other Darogos from him. As it slid to the ground behind him, he sliced its throat.
Two more dived at him.
Caleb sliced. He missed. One slashed his stomach.
Caleb grunted and cut off its arm. Blood sprayed him and the other Darogos.
They surrounded him, ignoring their wounded. Caleb stabbed out. Missed. They sliced with their claws. He darted out of the way.
One raked Caleb’s arm.
The Keltair roared, the sound shaking the trees around them.
He rushed them, knocking them to the ground. His blade caught one. Another rose and sank teeth into his shoulder. He shook it free, tossing it to the ground and shoving his blade into its chest.
The Keltair male spun, and the Darogos were running. He gave another roar and ran after them into the darkness.
