by Luna Hunter
My mouth is as dry as sandpaper, and with every passing moment, the dark pit in my stomach grows.
The soldier sits down next to me and grabs the control stick. In front of him are so many buttons and switches it makes my head spin.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
“You’re looking a bit pale. First time going into space I take it?”
“Yes,” I answer.
That’s it. I’m nervous about flying.
Not because you’re delivering me into the hands of bloodthirsty alien warriors.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be over in a flash.”
The soldier speaks some lingo I don’t understand into his headset, and starts flipping switches. I close my eyes and pray for the best.
The ship starts to rumble, to move, to quake, and my heart beats faster and fast until I feel like it’s going to explode at any second. Pressure builds and builds and builds, until it feels like I can’t take it anymore, like my last breath has left me, like…
“Open your eyes.”
I do, and I’m greeted with the amazing sight of space.
As far as I can see there’s stars. It’s nothing like being on Earth — the sky is filled with dazzling, sparkling lights, as far as I can see.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” the pilot asks.
“Eh,” I chuckle. “Not great either.”
The man is focused on piloting the shuttle, which gives me plenty of time to think about the predicament I’m in.
Mary told me to stay calm. After all, they wouldn’t send you on a mission if it was dangerous, right?
I’m not so sure.
I couldn’t help myself — I had to tell someone.
You can’t learn about aliens and then not tell anyone, right? Even if the penalty for talking is high treason. If there’s anyone I trust to keep a secret, it’s Mary.
Still, even she couldn’t help calm my nerves.
“What do you know about these Elbans?” I ask.
I need to get out of my own head, and hopefully, this guy knows more.
“The giants?” the pilot shrugs. “I thought you were the expert, doc.”
“I’m not a doctor.”
The man turns his head.
“Then why are they sending you?”
“Beats me.”
Because Dr. Bellamy is scared of these aliens, and so he dumped the work on me — like he dumps all of his work on his students, that’s why.
“Well, all I know is one of them big fuckers ripped a whole squad apart with his bare hands. Say the shuttle was dripping with blood from head to toe.”
I turn as pale as a ghost. The aliens must be more savage then I thought.
“Ehm, just a rumor I heard,” he continues. “Could all be a lie.”
Yeah, right.
A lie.
No, you’re delivering me into the hands of interstellar demons, and I’m going along with it because… hell, I have no idea. Should I be fighting for my life?
Are these aliens going to kidnap me like they did Victoria Snow?
“There they are, right on time.”
A massive spaceship looms in the distance, and it takes my breath away. It’s curved and startlingly beautiful, and as it gets closer, I see the outside is covered with murals.
No species who would fly such a beautiful ship could be pure evil… I hope.
As we get closer and closer, my heart starts racing again, sweat drips down my palms, and my stomach is doing somersaults.
I want to run.
To flee.
To sink into the ground.
But there’s no place for me to go. The only way out of this ship… is into the Elban one.
The ships dock, the metal groaning.
“This is your stop.”
“You’re not going to lead the way?”
“Hell no,” the pilot chuckles. Beads of sweat run down the side of his face, and his knuckles are gripping his control stick tightly.
He’s not joking — he’s as scared as I am.
Chivalry is truly dead.
My boots are filled with lead, but I manage to make my way towards the docked alien ship, one step at a time. My hands shake as I grab the metal wheel and turn, opening the door, the only thing standing between me and the aliens…
I still have no idea what these Elbans look like, except that they are big. Giants, they’re called. And they’re so dangerous they got soldiers quaking in their boots.
My mind runs rampant with images of tentacled monsters, horned devils and hunchbacked monstrosities as the door hisses and opens…
There’s no one on the other side.
An empty hall awaits me, with marble floors and high ceilings. It looks more like a palace than a spaceship, and for a moment I’m confused, as if I’m in a dream.
“Can you close the door?” the intercom cackles. It’s the human pilot, and he wants to go home as soon as possible.
Can’t say I blame him.
I enter the alien ship and close the door behind me. The lock turns with a loud clack, and I can’t help but feel like that sound just signed my own fate.
Through the small porthole on the door I see the human ship speed off as if its life depended on it. It quickly disappears into a small blip, and then… nothing.
I’m all alone now.
Except there’s an alien warrior somewhere on this ship.
I take a deep breath.
Keep calm, Alexa.
They wouldn’t have sent you on this mission if it was dangerous.
These Elbans want to make contact with Earth.
You’re here to gather information.
It’ll be fine. Mary promised it would be.
“Anyone there?”
Nothing.
I tip-toe down the hall, my heart racing.
Weapons clash in the distance, iron on iron. The sounds echo down the empty halls, and a cold shiver runs down my spine.
“Hello?”
Low, animalistic grunts is all I hear.
My worst fears are coming true.
Shaking like a leaf I turn the corner… and what I see makes my blood run cold.
A shirtless, gigantic man is standing in the middle of an arena, the ground covered with sand, a massive sword clutched in his burly hands.
The man is surrounded on all sides by hooded figures in black robes. They’re carrying knives, and they hopelessly outnumber him.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I watch as the robed men circle him, and my heart leaps into my throat when the one behind him charges at the warrior.
“Watch out!” I cry.
The alien man looks up, his radiant eyes finding mine, and I’m rooted to the spot. A jolt of electricity courses through my veins, making the hair on my the back of my neck stand up, as I take in the tall alien warrior’s glorious physique.
I can’t help but notice his massive pecs, coated in a thin layer of sweat. They look like they’re hewn from marble.
No mortal man has a body that perfect.
A smirk spreads across his chiseled jaw.
Just before the robed man strikes, the warrior swirls around, as fast as lightning, and cuts straight through the man.
I utter a cry.
The robed man flickers… and disappears.
What?
The half-naked warrior plants his broadsword in the sand.
“Computer, end simulation.”
The hooded figures fade away, like an old TV being turned off.
It was all… fake?
The alien approaches.
“You interrupt my training.”
His voice is a menacing low growl that I feel in every fiber of my body.
I press my back against the wall. He frightens me. I want to run, but there’s nowhere for me to go. With a jolt I realize that I’m completely at his mercy.
As he gets closer, I can’t help but take another proper look at him. Oh, who am I kidding — my eyes are glued to his fr
ame.
I can see why the soldiers call them giants now.
He towers over me, as tall as a basketball player and as broad as a linebacker. His dark hair, deep brown eyes and Herculean physique make my stomach flutter and my heart race.
A big scar runs diagonally across his handsome face, proving to me that this man is dangerous.
Yet it doesn’t distract from his beauty. If anything, it adds to it… which confuses me deeply.
The Elbans were supposed to be monsters.
I didn’t expect them to be this gorgeous.
“Who are you?” he growls.
“I-I’m Alexa,” I stutter. “Alexa Oakley.”
“Ah. The human who is supposed to watch me.”
He turns and grabs a towel, exposing his massive shoulders to me.
Damn it.
Every single piece of him is good enough to sink my teeth into.
But — I’m not attracted to him.
No way.
No alien warrior for me, thank you very much.
“And you are…?”
“Romulus Valerius,” he answers. “And I must disappoint you. You will not find the answers you’re looking for.”
“And what is it I’m looking for?”
Romulus turns back, smirking.
“You were sent here by the human governments to spy on me. They want our secrets, our technology. And you’re not getting it. Not if I have anything to say about it.”
He grabs a piece of red armor, adorned with the golden image of an owl, and slips it on, hiding his broad chest from my view.
I’m equally relieved and disappointed.
“Now, get out of my way,” he says. “I have more important business to attend to.”
Chapter Four
Romulus
“Hey! Hey! Wait a second!”
The small human tries to get my attention, her voice echoing down the empty halls. I continue walking.
She hops in front of me, spreading her arms wide.
“Hold on a moment,” she says. “Don’t walk away from me.”
She’s got guts, this one. I can’t believe the sent me a female — and such an attractive one. Were they hoping that her looks would distract me from their attempts to steal Elban secrets?
Her luscious curves, her crystal clear blue eyes, her voluptuous figure… it’s all lost on me.
I will not surrender to temptation.
No matter how intensely my body is responding to the sight of her.
“Alexa,” I say.
I like the way her name rolls of my tongue.
“Get out of the way.”
“Look, I don’t want to be here anymore than you do, trust me on this.”
“Oh? Then why are you here?”
“Long story. I don’t want to get into it right now. Let’s just start over. I’m Alexa Oakley, and yes, I was sent here by the US government, because you agreed to host a researcher. That would be me. Now, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get back home and get out of your hair. That’s what we all want, right?”
“Perhaps,” I answer.
I haven’t made up my mind quite yet.
With Nero and Victoria gone, it’s been rather quiet on the Classis lately. I sent them both down to Earth in secret, to enjoy some time alone, without the human governments prodding at them… for Victoria is carrying Nero’s child. The Octavius line will carry on!
I placed the rest of the crew in cryogenic sleep, to save their strength in case Magnus Bruttius returns from the dead to haunt us. I don’t expect him to, but I’m prepared for the worst.
“Answer my questions,” Alexa says. “So I can go back home.”
“I’m not yours to command, human,” I growl. “You are on my ship, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll obey my rules. If you ever want to see your home again, that is.”
I have no interest in holding this curvy one hostage, but I certainly enjoy watching her grow angrier with the second.
“I’m not your prisoner,” she says defiantly. “You can’t keep me here!”
“I can’t?”
I grab her wrist and slam it against the wall above her head. She struggles, legs flailing, her cheeks flushed red.
“Let me go, you brute!”
I lean in and whisper into her ear.
“I can do whatever I want, human. Don’t. Tempt Me.”
Her scent surrounds me, and to my own surprise, my cock grows as hard as a rock.
It would be so easy to slip one hand around her neck, tilt her chin towards me, and press my lips against hers. I could slip my tongue into her mouth if I wanted to, I could wrap her body around mine and bury my cock deep inside of her, I could make her scream and moan, I could show her what a real man is like…
I pull away, flustered.
What is wrong with me?
Humans are not my kind.
They are small. Weak.
Nero might have found his fatum, but I will not find one in this galaxy. Everyone I’ve ever sworn to protect has died, except for Nero. I have promised myself I would never allow that to happen ever again.
I will not lower my guard. Not for anyone.
Certainly not for a human.
So why is my heart racing?
The solitude must be getting to me.
I haven’t fought a proper battle in weeks. The holo-deck doesn’t even come close to matching the intensity of a real fight.
If you can’t draw blood it’s not worth doing.
Yes, that’s got to be it. Too much pent up testosterone.
Alexa rubs her wrist, avoiding my gaze. Perhaps I’ve been too hard on the small human.
“Ask your questions, then,” I say. “Get it over with.”
My calm exterior is a lie — on the inside I am brimming with pent up lust, rage, and aggression.
Yes, get it over with.
Perhaps I just ought to fuck the human and get it over with.
Alexa
I try to collect myself, but I feel like a ship lost in a storm. My knees are weak, and my heart is pounding like a drum.
Romulus dangled me in the air like I was nothing but a toy. I was absolutely and completely helpless. If he wanted to he could have ravished me right there on the spot.
He made that abundantly clear.
I felt his hot breath on my neck, his fingers on my wrists… and it filled me with fire.
A fire that has yet to die. Even now my core is burning for him, for this muscular brute, this… savage.
He’s not my type.
At all.
So I wish my knees would stop trembling. After what happened back in high school… I’m done with men. That way lies trouble. Love isn’t meant for me. I put all my time and effort into my work.
That’s what I’m here to do.
Work.
Not swoon over the alien warrior’s muscular frame, his intense gaze, his powerful, strong, athletic forearms…
“Ask your questions, then,” Romulus says. “Get it over with.”
Yes. That’s a good idea.
Get it over with.
Be done with it.
The sooner I’m off this ship, the better.
The longer his gaze lingers on me, the more I see the hunger in his eyes, the more likely I am to do something foolish.
“Err, right,” I say, running my hands down my body and straightening my uniform. “Questions. Let’s see. Where do I begin?”
Romulus rolls his eyes and walks away, and I have to walk twice as fast to keep up with him.
“You’re not prepared?”
“I didn’t have a lot of time,” I pant.
“Then ask your questions while I work. I don’t have time to wait.”
The Elban warrior leads me down a hallway while I pull out a tablet and scroll through my files, trying to make sense of it all. He’s got me so flustered that my thoughts are all over the place.
“Erhm, Nero Octavius,” I say. “Where is he?�
��
“That’s classified.”
I stop dead in my tracks.
“You’ve got to give me something.”
“Next question.”
“But—”
“Next. Question.”
“Okay. Victoria Snow. Where is she?”
“That’s also classified.”
“Did you kidnap her?” I ask. “Is she your prisoner as well?”
Romulus’s unhelpful attitude is rubbing me the wrong way. I just want some answers I can give Dr. Bellamy. Is that too much to ask for?
The alien warrior chuckles.
“She is as far from a prisoner as one can be. If anything, she ensnared Nero.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Next question.”
Sigh.
“For that matter, where is the rest of the crew? Or do you run this massive spaceship all by yourself?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Bullcrap.”
Romulus turns and smirks at me, and I glance away quickly, before my cheeks turn to fire again.
“I’ll show you.”
He leads me deeper into the ship. I struggle to keep up with him — his strides are immense. Finally, he stops, and I nearly bump into him.
“Look.”
I gasp when I look around the corner.
There are dozens of pods in the room, each with an Elban warrior inside, coated in an eerie blue light.
“Cryogenic pods,” Romulus says. “Don’t worry. They’re just sleeping.”
“Why?” I ask as I slowly walk into the room, my eyes darting around.
“To save their energy, in case that we’re attacked.”
“By us?”
The Elban warrior chuckles softly, as if the thought of humanity posing a threat to him was laughable. “No, not by you.”
“By whom then?”
“That’s classified.”
I whirl around and jab my finger into Romulus’s chest. It’s as hard as a damn rock.
“Are you going to answer any of my questions?”
“That depends on the questions.”
Argh.
I rub my temples and take a deep breath to calm myself.
Keep it together, Alexa. You’ve got this. Don’t let him get to you.
Meanwhile, Romulus has his arms folded and he’s looking at me with a bemused grin. I want to hate that cocky smirk of his, but for some reason, I can’t.
“What can you tell me?” I ask. “Where are you from? What is your planet like? I want to know your culture, your art, your kind, just give me something.”
