Gravel and Grit

by Stacy Jones

  They didn’t say anything as they beat her, their blows methodical and devastating, carried out with silent detachment. She wasn’t important to them, not really. She was bait, a means to get to Zaek.

  Mira couldn’t let that happen.

  40

  Zaek

  He hadn’t seen them coming, hadn’t heard them until they were on top of her. He didn’t know what kind of helicopter this was, but it wasn’t the same one that chased him in the town near his cabin. This one was almost silent. The only sound coming from it was the faint whine of rotors and the gust of wind.

  Mira was gone, snatched up and hauled inside it before he could do more than roar a denial.

  Fear, the likes of which he’d never felt, erupted inside him. The Prime Directive was forgotten in an instant. Ripping off his human jacket, he unfurled his wings and took to the air, uncaring who saw, his only concern getting his mate back.

  He flew fast, chasing after the helicopter as it ascended high above the little town. It turned just before he reached it, spinning so he had a perfect view of the man, the one who had no idea he was about to die, haul Mira up by her hair and press her battered face to the window.

  Zaek saw her eyes flutter open and lock on him, the bright blue he loved now glazed with pain as tears spilled down her cheeks, but the look in them one of love. He saw her mouth move, a silent plea shaped by blood-soaked lips.

  I love you. Go. Please.

  He shook his head in immediate denial and mouthed his response.

  Never, my heart.

  Just before it finished its turn, he glimpsed the man yank Mira back. He aimed a gun at her chest, smiled, and fired.

  A moment of shocked stillness then… rage.

  A bellow clawed its way up his throat, scouring it raw. Fury to suffocate the fear fell over him. Wrath to mask the anguish swallowed him. He embraced it, let it consume him.

  He would kill them for that. Nothing else mattered.

  A sound like static filled his ears until it was all he could hear. With it came a feral kind of calm. The need to feel their lives leave them, to tear them apart was like knives in his chest.

  The next minute was broken images, like snapshots appearing before him. His body acted without him. His mind was blank. The only thing left was cold, murderous fury.

  The helicopter spun to face him and opened fire. Tucking his wings close, he darted below them then rose quickly and gripped the landing skids.

  They would die, choking on blood and fear.

  Zaek bared his teeth and turned to stone. Alarms immediately blared inside the cockpit. Men's voices screamed orders as they were thrown off balance.

  He could smell her, her pain.

  They tried to correct their flight, but he was too heavy. They spiraled toward the ground, bucking and spinning out of control.

  Using his claws to rend the metal, he ripped off the door with a roar and climbed inside.

  Horror and agony were the last things these men would ever feel.

  The closest soldier tried to raise his rifle. Zaek jerked it out of his hand and slammed the butt against his face with such force the rifle snapped in two, and the man’s face caved in. He was dead before he slumped to the floor.

  The next two struggled to their feet amidst the spinning of the helicopter and tried to rush him. Snarling, he kicked one in the chest, revelling in the sound of bones crunching under the blaring of the alarms and the tang of blood that perfumed the air. The second tried to stab him. He felt the impact, as the blade broke on his stone skin, but nothing more. Turning slowly, he looked down at the man.

  This was the one who’d hurt his Mira, the one who’d shot his mate.

  Zaek roared in the man’s terrified face and snagged his arms in a brutal grip. Stretching them out wide, ignoring the soldier’s feeble struggles, Zaek pulled. Bones popped out of place, muscles tore, and flesh gave way under the pressure. Blood sprayed everywhere. The man screamed in agony. Zaek didn’t stop there. Spittle flew from his mouth as he bellowed again and beat the man to death with his own dismembered arms. When he was barely recognizable as Earthian, Zaek turned on the last two soldiers and the two pilots. They all went down with gurgling cries of terror, their blood mixing in with the rest already soaking the interior.

  With the helicopter corkscrewing to the ground, he tore them apart with such savagery their blood painted his stone form red and coated the walls.

  Dismissing the gore and death with cold satisfaction, Zaek turned to his mate. He tenderly, carefully lifted Mira’s still form off the floor and cradled her to his chest.

  He flew out seconds before the helicopter crashed to the ground with a scream of crumpling metal and an explosion of fire and shrapnel.

  Almost lost under the noise of the deafening blast, Zaek just barely heard her heartbeat, the soft thud of it faint and uneven, but it was there.

  She lives. We have not lost her, not yet.

  Zaek pushed himself, flying faster than ever before. His wings ached and his heart was thundering with the strain, but he did not slow. They were close, so close.

  Mira had begun shivering in his arms from the cold. He held her closer, but rejoiced because her shaking meant she lived. He would not lose her. He would make it to the retrieval location, activate his sigil, and get her aboard the ship. They would have a fully equipped Med-Bay. They would save her.

  Zaek could feel her blood seeping out of her, sluggishly but steadily. Bending down, he pried her lips apart with his tongue as he flew and fed her every drop of dassa he had to give. Her body barely twitched as she swallowed automatically.

  “Do not leave me, my heart. Hold on, please, hold on,” he begged, pushing himself harder.

  The bitterly cold wind stung his eyes, and snow flurries tried to blind him, but he landed on the designated mountain with a stumble and immediately dropped to his knees. Not daring to put her on the snow-covered ground, he held her to him as he pulled out the sigil and activated it, adding an emergency code to make them hurry.

  Now, he had to wait, dying inside a little more with every second that crawled by.

  Bowing himself over her, he enclosed them in his wings to protect her from the cold. He rocked her, back and forth, whispering his pleas into her hair.

  “Stay with me. Do not leave me, my heart. I beg you, stay,” he rasped, his voice breaking.

  Do not leave us. We cannot live without you.

  He fed her dassa one drop at a time, expressing his gland the moment he felt it begin to replenish. It throbbed from the abuse but it was distant, unnoticed under the agony in his heart.

  Her heart stuttered, its weak thump faltering.

  “No! NO! You cannot leave me! You will not go!” he roared, denial the only thing holding back the grief trying to crush him. “Please… ”

  Bending himself over her farther, Zaek pressed his forehead to hers and rocked her faster. He breathed her in, desperately trying to find their combined scent under the blood covering them both, but it was already fading, leaving him, just as she was.

  Deep, plaintive moans vibrated his throat, low and broken. It was too much, unbearable and inescapable, but he didn’t fight it. This was his fault. Madness—true, suffocating, unrectifiable madness—hovered at the edges of his mind, ready and waiting to drown him, to tear him to shreds, to save him from this pain.

  His entire world narrowed to a pinpoint, the halting thud of her pulse the only thing that existed.

  Zaek was so focused on Mira that he didn’t feel it at first, didn’t notice the tingle that spread through his body. It wasn’t until the freezing wind ceased its battering that the change filtered through, and he opened his eyes.

  The transport room materialized in front of him, sending hope surging back to life.

  Zaek lunged to his feet. The room was full of gawking Khargals, their wide gazes locked on him, staring in shock, taking in the blood coating him from head to toe, the feral look in his eyes, and the broken body of a small Earthian
female clutched in his arms.

  Expanding his wings with a snap, he coldly knocked the people gathered out of his way, uncaring of their shouts of outrage. They stood between him and the only chance he had at saving his Mira.

  Zaek ran, tearing around corners, bowling unsuspecting Khargals over, determined to get her to the Med-Bay. All their ships had a similar layout so he knew where to go. Desperation clawed at him, and his ears were trained on the dying beat of her heart.

  His gaze locked onto the Khargal female standing in the middle of the room the second he skidded into the Med-Bay, her green uniform marking her as the senior medical officer.

  “HEAL HER!” he roared.

  The female jumped at his bellow, but immediately leapt into action, her eyes calm and collected as she scanned Mira lying limp in his arms.

  “Lay her there!” she ordered, directing him to a Med-Pod. “Utark, activate the scanner!”

  Zaek laid her down gently and had to force himself to let go, to get out of the way so they could save her.

  The light of the scanner passed over her in a second, sending her anatomy, genetics, and makeup to the medical sigil in the female’s hand. She read it quickly, her mouth moving as she muttered the diagnostic, too low for him to hear. Before he yelled at her and demanded she tell him what she saw, she spoke.

  “It looks like a small metal projectile tore through a seam in her armor. It pierced her lung and nicked her heart. Get me the serum, now!”

  The nervous underling hovering behind her jumped to obey the barked order and retrieved a digital syringe from a nearby hover cart. Zaek didn’t breathe as he watched her activate the nanos in the serum and inject it into Mira’s neck. He waited, motionless, for some sign that it was working, that he was not too late.

  He watched her mouth, praying to any deity that would listen.

  “Breathe. Come back to me,” he whispered.

  As if in answer to his prayer, a short, bubbling gasp came from her pale lips.

  Relief, so intense it made him dizzy, spread through him, leaving him swaying on his feet for a moment. Gritting his teeth to fight back the weakness, he lunged forward.

  Dropping to his knees, he bent over the Med-Pod and stared at Mira unblinkingly from inches away, waiting, hoping. A frown twitched across her brow a second before her lashes fluttered open, revealing hazy, blue eyes—eyes he didn’t think he would ever see again.

  “Zaek,” she slurred, then coughed weakly.

  “I am here, my heart. You are safe,” he choked out, closing those inches to press the softest of kisses to her lips.

  It tasted of blood and tears, but he savored it. She lived. The madness retreated, just a little, at the taste of her. It lurked, though, waiting in the shadows, unconvinced this was real.

  He stroked her hair, brushing it off her face so he could run the backs of his fingers along her cheeks, down her neck, over her chest to feel her heartbeat, then back up again. He tried and failed to slow his frantic touches, but he could not stop.

  “She needs rest, General,” came the medical officers voice from the other side of the Med-Pod.

  His answer was to bare his teeth and growl. The female narrowed yellow eyes at him but backed off with raised hands.

  “Where… ” Mira started, but another cough kept her from finishing.

  “We are on the rescue ship, my heart. We are safe. Rest now. I will not leave you,” he swore.

  Forcing himself to say the words he knew she needed to hear was like tearing off his own arm. He wanted her to stay awake, to tell him again and again that she would not leave until he believed it, and the shattered, broken feeling in his chest went away. But, his needs did not matter. Only she mattered.

  She relaxed, the frantic glaze leaving her eyes.

  “Love you,” she breathed as her lashes fluttered closed again, in sleep now instead of unconsciousness.

  Zaek did not move from his position kneeling beside her Med-Pod, hovering over her, wings tense and ready to envelop her at the first sign of danger.

  He could feel the medical personnel’s eyes on him alongside those of the people who’d followed him to the Med-Bay. He could feel their shock. But he did not care.

  Let them see him—their long-lost, fearsome General—brought to his knees for a tiny Earthian. Let them know she held his heart in her fragile hands.

  Epilogue

  Zaek did not leave her side even once over the next five days, not to sleep or eat or discover what had happened on Duras during his time on Earth or how many of his brethren made it aboard.

  None of those things mattered more than Mira.

  People filtered in and out. Other than growling a warning, they went unacknowledged. He did not take his eyes from her to see who they were, his sole focus on counting her breaths, listening to the sound of her heart beating, no longer faint and weak but steady and strong.

  Even after she woke and tried to prod him into leaving, just for a short while, to take care of himself, he refused. There was time enough for that later.

  It took a long while to see her as she was, healing and quickly getting better, instead of the image seared into his mind of her lying limp in his arms, silent and covered in blood.

  It took even longer for the anxiety eating at him to lessen, for the worry that at any moment he would blink and find that she was still dying, to begin to fade.

  He fed her, cleansed her, and when she was stronger, ate and bathed with her. She did not chide him or complain about his hovering. He thought, perhaps, she needed the closeness as much as he did after what they went through.

  Slowly, bit by bit, Zaek began to relax and trust that she was whole, now, to believe in his heart what his eyes told him. But, he would never forget the horror of almost losing her. And he would never let it happen again.

  Mira could see it in him, a new darkness that didn’t leave, even after she was safe and the blood was washed away. But, Zaek knew she understood. She, too, had a new shadow in her eyes.

  Even in this they were one, their scars a match to the other’s.

  She quipped that his two-mile wide protective streak was now ten, at minimum, and he responded that his Fluffy Bunny now had claws.

  “I will carry you, my heart,” Zaek offered a little too sharply when Mira jumped out of the pod and landed lightly on her feet.

  She tipped her head back to give him an indulgent smile, but her raised brow told him the answer was no. He grumbled under his breath, but managed to contain the urge to pick her up in spite of her refusal.

  They’d been on the ship five day cycles and had just been given the all clear. Both of them were more than happy to be leaving the Med-Bay. In perfect agreement, neither of them planned to make any stops until they reached his quarters.

  They’d learned there were human females on board, mated to some of his brethren. He knew Mira was looking forward to meeting them, but they both agreed they needed some alone time first. His need for her was reaching critical levels, and if the looks she was giving him were any indication, hers for him was just as urgent.

  The ease with which she moved, the feeling of her small, warm hand entwined with his, and knowing they would be alone and naked very soon all worked to lighten his mood more than it had been since being brought aboard.

  Perhaps that was the reason he didn’t ignore the summons.

  They were nearly to the quarters he’d been assigned when someone shouted his name as they passed by the common room. He glanced at the speaker automatically and saw Roc headed their way.

  Zaek gauged his distance then sighed with resignation when he realized his impertinent friend was too close for them to retreat. He was happy to see the sticky-fingered male, but he would be happier if he was rolling around in bed with his mate.

  “I’m glad to see you’re still alive and as hideous as ever, General,” Roc joked, smiling widely, looking genuinely happy to see him.

  Zaek growled, but slapped the smaller male on the shoulder in gree
ting and returned his grin.

  “Hideous? He’s joking, right?” Mira broke in, a confused smile on her lips as she gazed back and forth between them.

  Zaek gave Roc a smug smile when the male looked equally confused.

  “My mate thinks I am handsome.”

  Roc scoffed, “You’re shitting me.”

  “I am not. Mira, tell him you find me attractive.”

  Mira chuckled and shook her head but dutifully responded, “It’s true. I think he’s sexy.” A mischievous glint entered her blue eyes just before she leaned closer to Roc and stage whispered, “He makes this super cute face when I touch his—”

  “Well, it was nice to catch up, as the Earthians say! But we really must be on our way,” Zaek interrupted, his eyes wide and his tail twitching as he hurriedly ushered her away, leaving Roc laughing behind them.

  “Troublesome female,” he muttered in response to her giggle, but a smile he didn’t bother to hide tugged at his lips.

  “Are you going to take me somewhere to ravish me in retribution?” she whispered tauntingly, leaning closer and giving him a look that had his cock hardening in his suit.

  “You may bet your pretty, tailless ass that is exactly what I am about to do. And I will show you that I most assuredly do not make a ‘cute’ face when you touch my—”

  “I’ll take that bet,” she interrupted, laughing.

  When they reached his quarters, she darted through the door. Walking backward, she grinned up at him and slowly, torturously, opened the seam of her suit, revealing pale, unmarred skin one inch at a time.

  Blindly activating the lock behind him, Zaek stalked her, his gaze tracking her movements as a delighted, anticipatory smile bared his fangs. He followed her through the room, herding her toward the bed. The grin stretching her lips widened, and her muscles tensed a moment before she darted left.

  She was fast after so many doses of dassa, but he was faster. Zaek chuckled as he extended his wing out with a snap and caught her. He had her swept up quicker than she could blink and held her giggling, squirming form to his chest as he strode to the bed.