The idea of Becky fearing him was for his shield to create the fluids he needed to calm her. He had calmed her in the instant she touched him, even though it wasn’t him she was afraid of. There was something else in her moisture. Strength, character, and will. Those traits made his shield take note.
Huck punched in new coordinates. There was a place he could take Becky before they went to Cobra. Watching his parents together hadn’t prepared Huck for human females. Both his parents were Tonan. Because of his evil side no one assumed he would mate or want to. He had been wrong about females. Nothing he learned about human females in the last few years prepared him to mate. His mate wasn’t supposed to cower from him and have him soothe her. The human females who were on the last ship with him weren’t at all what a mate was supposed to behave like. They were prisoners, plain and simple. A mate was different; a mate was, well, a mate.
Well, how the hell was I supposed to know?
Chapter 3
Becky looked up as the Tonan came into the room, his shield was down. He hadn’t shrunk any since their last encounter. For a large being, he moved with a predator’s easy gait. She sighed; she was wet but no longer reeking of the disgusting stench. Those filthy bird wolf beings would make a skunk scream in terror. The water was no longer flowing in the stall. Her cheek rested on the clear wall of the shower, she was exhausted. Time had no meaning in space, for all she knew she could have sat there for hours. Her insides were so messed up from jet lag, or perhaps shuttle lag, that she could have slept for days if she wasn’t so worried.
Naked, I’m naked with an alien warrior.
It was then she noted the warrior had material in his hands, and when the door opened he dropped them on her.
“When you come out, you will eat.”
“What if I don’t want to eat?”
“Then you can watch me eat.”
When he left, she uncurled from the ball she was in, left the stall and dressed. The shirt he’d given her was a tube. It covered her boobs to her midriff leaving her shoulders and belly bare. The shorts were ass hugging but flexible, the material moved with her. Everything she wore was grey.
“Figures.”
Becky had a lot of time to think while soaking, and she did soak. Her skin pruned. At least she didn’t stink anymore. She wandered over to a wall and slumped. Her captor didn’t want her dead. He moved like a cheetah when he needed to. When the creatures attacked, she thought he’d abandon her. Chivalry wasn’t mentioned in the same sentence as Tonan. Now it was apparent he wanted to talk to her. Why, she had no clue. He wasn’t going to scare her—he might confuse her to death.
His reasoning was odd. He wanted to mate with her to belong to a race she was positive he warred with. She had no idea a Tonan mated, sex yes, but if what he was saying was true, it meant he wanted to keep her. No man, male, wanted to keep her after they got to know her, let alone bring up the subject of marriage or in his case, mating.
Becky knew she was a nightmare on feet. The Tonan was a heavy bastard; the creature was heavier. Her arm ached, and she guessed she tore a muscle. There was redness and swelling near the elbow, and the spot was warm to the touch. A dumb move on her part. Tonans were a lot stronger than she gave them credit for. Then again, this was the first one she’d gotten up close and personal with.
After hurting her arm, Becky was concerned, especially when the beast’s reinforcements showed up. If the Tonan hadn’t tossed her over a shoulder, she’d be dead. He was also the reason she was there on the planet. They were going to have a problem; she had no fear of him. She should, really, he was a monster.
“Well?”
Becky jumped when the Tonan appeared.
“I’m thinking.”
“Eat and think. I hear human females are pros at multi-tasking.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“Good.”
Huh?
He left. Becky was too curious; she scrambled to her feet and raced after him to the room where the bed was. A table was pulled out. The room was unimpressive; the table hadn’t been there before so she wondered if it could be put away when not in use. A good idea, evasive manoeuvres from the enemy tended to send objects not secure flying and deadly.
“I suppose I should mention my name is Huck.”
“Huck and Becky, cute. Still, not fate.”
Huck kicked a chair in her direction. It was a big chair, warrior sized and her feet dangled when she sat on it. She felt dumb as her toes wiggled in the air and resisted the temptation to swing her feet. A plate of food was sitting in front of him. Another near her was filled with delicacies Becky hadn’t tasted in years. Her rumbling tummy was too loud to ignore. She grabbed a turkey leg from the closer plate and, like the chocolate ice cream, dove in. The meat was even more delicious than she remembered.
“It’s dead you know,” Huck drawled. “There’s a good chance it won’t get away.”
“It’s been so long since I had turkey.”
“What about the replicator on your shuttle?”
“Before it broke, it was programmed to only replicate mush and water. Tonans are so thoughtful.”
“You can bet it was my kind who allowed the machine to work and replicate at all.”
“Your kind? Aren’t all Tonans alike? Ass wipes?”
“We can’t all be cupcakes.”
His tone dripped with sarcasm. She owed him nothing, but an explanation wouldn’t kill her. He did technically save her.
“I call certain people or things cupcake to remind me I almost died eating something I thought was innocuous. I mean how dangerous can a cupcake be? I didn’t realize it had nuts in it. I went into anaphylactic shock. So when someone as big as you comes along and I feel all, ‘oh I can take him on,’ I remind myself not to get cocky. Death by cupcake may sound funny but it’s scary as shit.”
“So you do think I’m scary?”
“Well, you don’t have to look so happy about it.”
“I wondered when the werevul attacked. I sensed fear, yours. Nothing scares me.”
“Is that what that thing was? God, it was ugly. Its cock reeked and the shit that came out. I’d rather sleep with a skunk.”
“I saved your life.”
“You took me there.”
“I had my reasons.” He was gazing at her. “Tonans discovered humans had severe allergic reactions to many of the foods they created, human foods. Odd. There is nothing on my planet that could possibly cause me harm. I’m surprised with Earth, but it stands to reason humans are not indigenous to the planet. You were colonized and allergies are all the proof I need. A home planet should bear nothing dangerous to its inhabitants.”
“But how can that be? There are animals that eat other animals. Something must have existed on Earth, been created on Earth.”
“Ah yes. Humans consider themselves to be animals, not aliens. Earth is nothing more than a zoo. A nut is a weapon in some cases; they were at one time only found in certain areas for a reason. Those humans were given the tool to fight off invaders, humans not like them, but similar. Earth dumb asses distributed the seeming innocuous, as you call it, weapon abroad. Weapons can be certain plants to different humans. At a time when humans of old would be collecting bounty from the Earth, others are rendered inactive. Inability to breathe or see through watery eyes, how do they capture prey? Collect foods? A primitive weapon that hasn’t worn off over time and became more widespread as humans began traveling.
“Your species adapted, but you are different in the way you look, speak, eat. Mars was at one time inhabited. Planets die when there is no longer harmony.”
“Tonans killed Earth,” Becky countered.
“Earth was already dying. The atmosphere was ripe for destruction. Your planet was overpopulated, humans were starving, diseased. Old sicknesses began to reappear and mutate. It was time to recolonize, but you didn’t have the means. Like warring tribes, you fought each other instead of working together. Earth and the inhabitants
wouldn’t have been so quick to fall into enemy arms if you simply worked together.”
“Your kind war with Castians.”
“Not for much longer. The evil will be destroyed, and we will again join with our cousins. At least the ones who mate.”
And—we’re back to mating.
Becky finished the turkey leg and munched on a slice of pizza. She settled back in her chair to look at Huck. He was easier on the eyes when he wasn’t demanding she fear him.
“Why has your attitude changed? Why aren’t you all like—be afraid human female, cower, cow—er.”
“I’m supposed to be the thing humans fear the most. A powerful Tonan warrior, there is nothing as deadly. All humans I have met were saturated in sweat scenting of terror. If you were scared to death of me and I calmed you, then you wouldn’t be afraid anymore.”
“You realize how stupid you sound, right?”
“From my perspective I’m not stupid. I was being considerate.”
Becky could see they were going to have to agree to disagree. “I’m not mating you.”
“There is safety with Cobra.”
“Then take me to him.”
“No.” Huck jumped up and his chair toppled back startling her. “He’d give you to one of his warriors to mate.”
“Calm down, cupcake, I’m not mating anyone.”
Huck up righted his chair and crashed his ass back into it. “Don’t call me cupcake.”
His piercing blue gaze was narrowed onto her. The short dark, jet black hair that was spiked, made him look like a SEAL on reconnaissance. Without his shield, he was gorgeous as sin. He picked up a piece of raw carrot and snapped it in half between his teeth. Becky sipped from a large mug of chocolate milk. From the spread before her, she knew Huck’s intent was finding a female and catering to her every desire.
“I thought your kind and Castians were at war. Why try joining?” she said after setting her drink down.
“The war is dying down, to an extent. Make no mistake, there will be one last battle to end battles. I don’t plan on being on the losing side. I need a mate before I can go to Cobra. He only allows Tonan warriors who have mated to join him. Human females are few and far between. Not only do my kind of Tonan want the females, so do Zargonnii warriors. I’m told dark winged warriors want them. A water warrior has found a human female if the rumors are true.”
“Weelll,” Becky drawled. “Looks like I’m a hot commodity and can take my pick of the litter. Again, not you.”
“You are safer with me, especially out here. I’m the pick of the litter ’cause there’s no litter mates but me. There are other renegade evil Tonan who want you dead. So do the Gorgano. The Gorgano explode, literally, into a human mind. I’ve seen it, very messy. The Tonans will rip your bowels from you and laugh while they do it. Again, seen it done.”
Cocky ass.
“Fascinating. So you want me to mate a cold blooded killer? There’s two chances of that, slim and none, and slim just left the building.”
“If I were a cold blooded killer…fuck…” Huck’s shield went up and he jumped from his chair and spun in a tight circle. Becky blinked. A stub stuck out his ass, he was bellowing as though he spoke to someone. “You didn’t let me finish you condescending grey mass of shit.”
“Um, there’s like a giant dick on your ass.”
“It’s a tail, not some dick. When I lie, a tail grows, but I didn’t finish my sentence. Stupid shield. What’s up with this shit?”
“You have a tail that grows when you lie? Awesome. Lie again, Pinocchio.”
Huck gripped the stub and yanked. His bellow made Becky cover her ears.
“Fuck me, that hurts. I was going to say I let you live, and your companions live. That wasn’t an act of cold bloodedness. Holy shit, now I have to change the way I fucking speak.”
“You want to mate me. So I’m guessing you letting me live is more you than me sided. As for my companions, only one was kind enough not to hound me for sex every second.”
“The little one?” Becky nodded. “Yes, he begged me not to hurt you. The other, Jack, was an ass. I will tell you the shuttle you were on is on its last legs. Next atmosphere and the males will—I’m guessing—die.”
The shield came down, no new tail. Becky thought the ‘I’m guessing’ was tossed in posthaste to avoid a repeat. Her thoughts focused on what he said.
“Then I’m alone.”
“No, female, you have me.” Huck flopped into his chair again, cringed as he shifted, no doubt his ass hurt, and Becky marveled the chair was made of a tough substance. A regular chair and Goldilocks would have busted it.
“You could at least call me Becky. And I mean there are no humans left.”
Huck sat straighter. “Cobra has humans there. Females, children, males.”
“Nice try.”
“You will mate me, Becky. We will go to Cobra, he will grant us a home. Then I can be the Tonan I was born to be. A warrior. I will battle with my Tonan companions against enemies. I like being death. I was born to spill blood. I like to kill.”
“Creepy, cupcake.” The mental image alone was invading her thoughts.
“Uhg. Don’t fucking call me cupcake.”
Huck’s chair went flying again, so did the table until he was standing in front of her. He picked her up, scooping her up under her arms as though she were a small child, her legs curled at the knee and he dropped her on the bed and stalked out.
Becky sat for a moment stunned. For a second, she thought he was going to smash her skull in. She pressed her back against the wall and drew her knees up. For a moment, she had been scared. Becky hadn’t been afraid of any man since she was eleven and her father taught her every move he knew of until she could toss a wrestler on his ass without a problem. Normally, her instincts kicked in. Instead of striking out, she had pulled her hands to her breasts. His hands were sweaty. Not in a yucky way. Moist and warm, and huge as shit. Confusion muddled her brain.
Why didn’t I hoof him in the face?
* * * *
Huck stood with his shoulder against the doorframe to the room Becky was sleeping in. She lay on her side, knees drawn up, and ankles crossed. She was a human with many emotions. It came as somewhat of a revelation. Huck only ever sensed terror or pain on a human female. Their captive area reeked of fear, never ending horror. It was the only scent he knew, really. He’d heard humans had many emotions but wasn’t privy to them all. This, her, was so confusing and new to him.
A Tonan female could be as cold as a male; Huck had only been with cold Tonan females who didn’t want to mate and didn’t want a child. Huck knew his mother was like him, or part of him, his father had been like the renegade Tonans, evil. When Huck was born he had a baby shield. It wasn’t from his biological father. His mother thought his father would mate her, he lied. She found herself pregnant and alone and in danger from warriors. A pregnant female carried a scent so intoxicating they were hard to resist. It was why in their history a shield formed, to save the females. The act was self-preservation or the race would die out. Nature at its best.
Terrified, Huck’s mother went to the strongest and oldest warrior she knew to ask for protection. The warrior not only protected her, he mated her. To their surprise because his must was so high he was able to give Huck the baby shield he needed. A shield the warrior would have given his own son.
The relationship Huck had with his shield was stranger than most. Huck should have been born evil, but without a shield, he would’ve died. When his shield first materialized into the grey protection he sported, both Huck and the shield mind warred. At any time Huck could denounce the shield and become vulnerable. The shield was meant to be created with love. The shield was meant for another.
There were times Huck hated his shield. If the shield were a gift from his true father, neither Huck nor the shield would care what Huck did. As it were, his strange shield tempered him. Huck warred with a vengeance, he was a Tonan warrior after all, but
outright evil cruelty was hard to stomach when berated by emotions from his shield. The shield made him feel emotions he otherwise wouldn’t have, it was why he was receptive to a mate. Perhaps that, his age and the need to keep living. Except his female possessed way more emotion than Huck expected or experienced.
The Tonan who raised him always watched him closely. His mother loved him and her mate. Neither was openly expressive toward one another in public, but Huck sensed the strange emotion. She knew Huck battled his emotions. His mother considered no open expression of too much love was easier on Huck because of who his biological father was. Both his parents assumed the emotions would be too confusing. No one could have known Tonans would kill females.
For eight hundred years, he tried to follow in his stepfather’s footsteps. When all females died on his planet and others close by, his mother and stepfather died. Huck’s bio father came to him and told him he was a warrior to be proud of. Huck killed him; his shield didn’t bat an eye, so to speak.
Too many years of fury manifested. Huck’s shield took care of him, but in the moments it took Huck to kill the warrior, Huck realized his shield had its own anger issues. The shield was meant for another, Huck should have been born to listen and cohabitate unconditionally with the shield. They were stuck with each other; they survived because of each other. Instead of being angry, Huck killed his father; the other Tonans laughed thinking he did it because he was as evil as his father. Huck killed him because he had lied to his mother and didn’t care if Huck died.
He hadn’t thought about either his father or his mother in hundreds of years. When Becky enraged him, he grabbed her. His shield controlled his grip and settled his heartbeat. It also made him feel what she felt. For an instant Becky was afraid. Your mate should never fear you. Instantly, his shield sent a message to his secretions telling him what she needed. By calming her, he calmed.
As she lay there, Huck realized if he mated her there might be a problem. The urge to war and kill every day was elusive with her in his care for such a short time. A warrior warred. Right at that very moment, he didn’t want to war. The idea startled and confused him. His shield mentally pushed him closer to the female. If he killed her, there would be no Cobra; there would be no hive or home. If he mated her, would he lose who and what he was or should be? Who was it that needed a mate? Him or the shield? Both?
MINE! [New World Book 8] Page 4
