“Get your asses to the north ridge. Now.”
“What about you?”
She tilted her head. “We’ll be there. Move. That’s an order.”
“Shoot him.”
“I can’t! I’ll hit the chief.”
“Stand down!” His woman was spitting mad.
Azros gripped her arms.
A sharp knee to the gut forced air out of his already burning lungs. She rolled to a kneeling position in a graceful maneuver. He glared at her, but the part of his mind that was still Azros was relieved. He moved carefully, rising to his feet. She stood slowly, a slight grin curving her lips. She could hold her own. The instinct part of Azros bared his teeth in a feral grin. She was worthy to mate. Mine. Mine alone. His peripheral vision kept the other two in sight.
“Chief. I have a shot.”
The ginger beauty’s gaze didn’t stray from his, challenging him on a primal level. “I said stand down, Mase.”
“What do you want us to do?” The petite female’s hands touched the tall male, restraining him.
The one they called Chief eyed Azros warily, staying out of reach. They all did. Smart. “You can obviously move and talk. Can you run as though your life depends on it?”
The fierce cry of freedom burned in his chest. “Try me.” It came out in a half growl.
She caressed the butt of her weapon. “Good. Believe me when I say it does.” She jerked her chin toward the plateau. “We’re running out of time. Get to the ridge. Move out, or so help me I will shoot your asses myself.”
The petite female hesitated. “He’s Valorian, and showing territorial madness. A mating frenzy. He’ll chase if you run.” The two outsiders moved from his sight and he shifted to keep them in his peripheral.
“A mating frenzy.” The redhead sighed, drawing his attention back to her. His mind and body calmed, ready and expectant. As if he’d waited all his life for this moment. “Fates never make it easy, do they?” She rolled her shoulders and smiled. “You want to play? Let’s find out just how much power you have in those incredible muscles of yours.”
She ran.
Chapter Two
Kendra evaded the newcomer as if her life depended on it. The fact that it actually did helped tremendously. He was a powerful hunter, pacing her, waiting for her to tire.
Reeva called him Valorian, and the communications expert had yet to be wrong. Even wounded, the Valorian was a formidable opponent. Pressure change in the air told her morning was coming fast. The reek of rotting vegetation leaked through the cracks on her face shield. She shifted the pack to a more secure hold and dug in for the last leg. Too many questions swirled in her mind.
The first rays of Para Sol tinged the horizon blood red. A sinking feeling told her they wouldn’t make it in time, not before the slimes woke up. So how do you tell a testosterone-ridden he-man that he needed to hold on to his hormones?
Her thoughts raced. This wasn’t the first time she’d faced the slimes, but the Valorian was green and thinking with other parts of his obviously spectacular anatomy. She puffed out a breath at the spike of interest his erection had created. Valorian lore was very sketchy. Her people had begun trading with the Valorians about the time she was exiled. What the hell did a mating frenzy consist of?
The universe was full of strange traditions and dangerous rituals. It would be her luck if Valorian mating consisted of a human sacrifice.
She couldn’t remember anything solid, even if rumors of their endurance already proved incredibly accurate. Not many could maintain this kind of race in thin atmosphere. Even fewer could do so with a side wound. Her deviant mind went to other areas of endurance. Head out of the slag, Kendra.
Her internal chrono wound ever closer to wake-up time. Legs and lungs burned at the loss of oxygen. Too much of her reserves were leaking out of the facemask.
The first bubble of crimson slime oozed from the thick morass of swamp grass. Overly sweet and horrifically familiar stench twisted her gut. Her hand gripped one of the sonic grenades, unlatching it from her belt, and she prayed they wouldn’t need to use it. “Don’t let it touch you.” With a strain of her already tapped leg muscles, she cleared the mass in a jump that brought her too close to the Valorian.
“What is that?” His gaze burned with the same possessive lust, but he seemed torn. Almost sane.
“Slimes. Deadly. Think flesh-eating toxin.” Kendra’s lungs burned from the thin atmosphere. She jumped over a bubbling crevice. “Let me be very clear. Don’t let it touch you. Follow my lead if you want to live long enough to tell me what the hell a mating frenzy is, and how to stop it.” A slime spurted at her from a jagged crack. She screamed.
In a blink he had her in his arms and on another rock. “Thanks, uh—”
“What makes you think I want to stop it?” The smoldering heat lit a fire deep inside. It had been too long. Way too long since a man had burned for her.
“I’ve fought too hard for my freedom to let it end on this rock.”
“Interesting that you think mating and imprisonment are the same thing.” His grin was fierce and determined. And too damn arrogant.
“We need to move. They trace prey by carbon emission and you’re reeking of it. Most of them will focus on your ship, but it won’t take long to digest. This rock won’t stop them.” She pushed away from his hold and climbed the next rock. They were too far away from the safety of the caves. “Keep an eye out for the yellow ones. They’re more intelligent than the others.”
“And far deadlier, I take it.” He followed close behind, but she could see a shift in focus. “You said the slimes could devour an entire ship. How long are we talking here?”
“Less time than it would take to brew a pot of kaffe.” Para Sol peeked over the mountain range, spilling golden light across the swamp. Morning touched the sluggish slime packs. Her eyes widened. Shit. Yellow. Was it yellow, or was it a trick of the light? Slime bait. She needed slime bait.
Light blinded her through the reflective sheen of her cracked helmet. She twisted the bucket and took it off. Without missing a beat, she threw it away from their path. The awakened slimes converged on the helmet and she tapped harder into her reserves, taking the narrow patch of rock. “This is it.” She had seconds before they would finish off the helmet. With a flick of her wrist she released the catch and tossed the sonic grenade in the center of the bubbling red mass. Yellow slime moved slowly around the morass. The translucent veins webbed throughout each bulbous predator, pulsing with toxins designed to paralyze the victim while the slime dissolved its prey. A horrible death. The sonic disruptor triggered on the grenade and she turned. “Run!”
The ground reverberated in a dissonance that set her teeth on edge. She ducked behind a sludge tree, yanking Azros with her.
She dragged in a breath and the piercing scream of slimes exploding left a satisfying feeling of temporary victory.
“Are they dead?”
She took out her last grenade and prepped it for use. “No, just disrupted. Their core consciousness has to regroup and rebuild the neural network.” She jerked her chin toward the tree. “Don’t touch the sap.”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
With Para Sol shining behind him, the Valorian resembled hero sculptures from the Atella museum on her now dead home world. Rugged. Handsome. Too much to handle. Definitely too arrogant. She shook her head. “That black stuff is a trap, an inescapable invitation to be slime food.” An oppressive breeze threaded through the swamp, carrying the stench of more slimes. She brushed a sweat-soaked tendril behind her ear.
“This world is just full of fun and happiness, isn’t it?” His breaths came in hard gasps. The thin atmosphere had to be tearing up his already abused lungs.
She eased her braid over her shoulder. “You should hang around for mating season. The flying Ka’lary rip each other apart to impress their mates. When the season nears an end, they turn to other prey to replace their fallen brethren.” She bent over and put her hands on her knees,
dragging in deep breaths and stretching her back for the last burst. Too many lazy nights at Destiny’s Palace. “Guess who the lucky ones are?” She grinned.
He shook his head.
“We’re almost there. More slimes up ahead, so watch your step. One drop and you’re as good as dead. Catch your breath now.”
“Great.” He was as happy about this as she was. “Do you have any more of those grenades?” He pressed a hand against his side and stretched.
“We each carry two, and I’d rather not use this one if we don’t need to. The slime spatter is uncontrollable.”
He held out a hand. “Azros, Valorian Prime.”
Kendra jerked in surprise. She tentatively held out her hand. “Kendra St. Thomas, chief security contractor for Destiny’s Palace.” His hand engulfed hers in a firm grip.
“Pleased to meet you.”
Warmth spread from his touch up her arm. She tugged loose from his grasp and cleared her throat. “Likewise. Do you mind if we do this a little later? I’d like to survive long enough to enjoy the rest of my weekend.”
“Of course.” He sounded contrite but there was something in his gaze that told her he knew exactly how his touch affected her.
“It’s a short distance. Ready?”
His head jerked in a nod, and she didn’t hesitate. The push-off was painful to her straining muscles, but the pace was less brutal than it had been. The ground was treacherous this close to the plateau and one false move would bring their escape to a horrific end.
His breathing patterns settled into short gasps, as did hers. The cool water, the hot springs, and refreshing oxygen producing moss banks waiting in the caves became a mantra in her mind.
“Look out!” Azros slammed into her with all the finesse of a mining train’s lift-off.
Air rushed out of her lungs and in a split second he had her weapon discharged in the central core of a yellow slime. It made a horrific scream and splashed against the rocks. Kendra covered her head and heard the hiss of slime. Cloyingly sweet stench mixed with the reek of her suit’s destruction.
Kendra didn’t hesitate. She jerked the straps of her pack loose and tried to shrug it off. Panic choked her, but she couldn’t stop. A horrific roar tore from the Valorian. He grasped the material. “It’s no use. You can’t break it.”
The material tore apart as if it were muslin. Muscles bulged and his gaze burned deep. He ripped the sleeve of her suit off and tossed it to the yellow sludge. It fell on the material, devouring it.
Hard lips pressed against hers in a firm kiss. Teeth scraped on her bottom lip and she jerked back, surprised. “Close your mouth before I take it for an invitation.” He handed over the pistol, and she slid it into the holster without saying a word. His hands pushed her forward, but her mind spent a moment in shock. No unaltered human could rip appelite mesh apart with bare hands. No one had ever stripped her of a weapon, not since her exile. What kind of creature is he?
Azros cursed in his native language, wondering what in the nine hells had possessed him to kiss her. His cock pulsed, aching to fuck her into submission. He shouldered the pack with its single strap, and tucked the loose one in a mesh pocket to keep it from snagging. They climbed the razor-sharp rocks, carefully making their way through the rubble. She would be a hellcat in bed.
He cleared his throat. “Are we safe?” He watched the way her ass moved in the suit, wondering what it would feel like to scrape his teeth on the skin. Fuck. He couldn’t remember his rise to Prime being this violent, this aggressive. Blood thundered through his veins in a primitive call, sending his already energy-tapped body into an adrenaline overdrive. His cock throbbed with the desire to fuck. To take. The red haze dropped over his vision.
“Azros.”
His attention snapped back to Kendra, her voice clearing his sight. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog of aggression from his mind. “I’m sorry, what?” He was close enough to see the storm raging in her eyes. The rich scent of her body teased him like a spring breeze.
Kendra stood on a rock that had them almost at eye level. “I said we should be safe. For now. We have to get to the caves before a windstorm rolls through.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. Hang in there a bit more.” Her grip was firm. Loose tendrils flowed around her face like a halo of flame.
“I’m fine.” His hands shook with the need to pull her braid loose and bury them in her hair.
Her smile was lovely, if cautious. He could remember a time, before his ship was overrun, when a woman’s smile held sweet secrets. A lifetime ago. He ran a thumb over her bottom lip, expecting resistance, but her lip softened under his touch. “I think we’ve had more than enough close calls today. Let’s keep moving.”
Her eyes darkened, and for a moment she rubbed her lip against his thumb. “Let’s go.” She cleared her throat and turned. They climbed the rocks, grabbing footholds where they could.
“That was a remarkable show of strength and skill, Azros.”
He liked the way his name rolled off her tongue. “Was it?”
She gave a small chuckle. He moved carefully, his energy depleting. The energy loss would slow his body’s healing. An ache formed at the base of his skull.
“You know, up until today appelite mesh was thought to be unbreakable.”
Azros bit back a reply, shocked to find that he’d almost answered her without reservation. He was the prince of his people, keeper of their secrets. Six months of torture at the hands of Skreeta hadn’t brought him close to confessing. Exhaustion. Too much blood loss. “You must have a knock-off brand, then.”
He saw her lips tighten and a strange sense of loss clenched within his chest. “Must be.” She jumped down the next rock and brushed her suit with hands tense with anger. Dirt swirled around her. “We’re here.”
The rock face looked solid. He didn’t speak the obvious.
She glanced back at him. “It’s an illusion, a natural rock formation. Come this way.” She hiked down the final rock path, gripping straggled roots for support down the steep descent.
He trekked behind her, cursing the lack of grip on his boots as tiny rocks slid under his feet. Azros used his reflexes, stretching out his hand to grasp a root. The bag swung. White-hot pain pierced his side and he gasped, cursing the fact that he’d forgotten his wound. He jerked to a stop at the bottom, dragging in a breath to fight the pain. The pack dropped at his feet. She steadied him, gazing at him with those soulful eyes. “The first time I came down that bit, I ate the ground.” She grinned, a sexy stretch of her full lips. “You had far more grace than I did, and I didn’t even have a wound in my side as an excuse.” She picked up the pack and slid her arm around his waist. His arm came over her, not wanting to use her support, but unable to do anything to stop his reaction to her touch. If he was the cat his race was compared to, he would purr. Of course, he’d been known to do that a time or two. Instead, he wanted to find a warm nook to curl up with her and allow his body to finish healing. A rock floor was far better than a Sheon prison cell any cycle.
She stilled, her head lifting toward the rising sol. “Windstorm is coming.”
It was then that he noticed the oppressive humidity pressing down against him.
She lifted her hand to the comm in her ear. “Alpha Two, this is Alpha One, do you copy?”
His ears could pick up the faint sounds in her earpiece.
“We’ve made it to the other side of the cliff face. There’s one helluva storm rolling in. Hunker down until it passes. We’ll head out at nightfall and return to the Palace.”
She paused, tilting her head and gave a small chuckle. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. Alpha One out.” She tugged out her comm and let it dangle over her suit. “Storm is tearing up the comm lines.”
“They make it okay?”
“Yeah.” She glanced at him. “Is that mating thing over?”
He gave a rough laugh, too worn down to want to tempt his mating urges to return. “No,
but I may have a bit of time before another episode hits me. Survival instinct kicked in to save the day, for now.” She paused and he waited for her to absorb that before they stepped through a sensor shield. The familiar buzz of the barrier eased his mind. He breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing would sneak up on him without an alarm sounding. They rounded a curve and he jerked to a stop. An instinctive awareness stood his hair on end. His gaze couldn’t take in everything at once. He knew he bared his teeth, but couldn’t help it. There was no way he could mistake the iconic dragon’s eye illuminated on the wall.
She laughed, letting her hands fall away. With a grin of relief she gestured to the advanced construct. “Welcome to Terraform Lab 1289A, but you can call it Bob. I do.”
His mind refused to register her words. Blood pounded in his head. He was in a Sheon lab.
* * * * *
At seven, a few months before her family’s murder, Kendra had visited a traveling zoo. From that early age giant cats fascinated her. Most of the cats were content, lounging around their manufactured habitats. All but one. He paced the cage, stalking his way from one end to the other. Every muscle was rigid with tension and aggression. Growls and feral snarls came from his throat. She caught his eye and he paused, staring down at her with hungry eyes. Not for food. No, he was hungry for freedom, and at that moment she realized he would kill her if she stood in his way. He lifted his incredible head and pressed against the bars, closed golden eyes, ripping an emotional hole deep in her heart. An emptiness she never understood.
Until now.
All the power and grace of the giant cat radiated from Azros. She could see the same desperation, the same dangerous intent. Her fingers itched to caress the butt of her weapon, but any sign of aggression might unleash whatever imperative held him frozen.
“Azros, you’re in a terraforming lab cell. It hasn’t been inhabited for quite some time.” She kept her voice calm, trying to ease the wire-tight tension.
“It’s Sheon.” He spat the word like a curse. Her hackles rose.
“That’s a name rarely spoken around here.” Her voice was deadly quiet. A knot of cold fury tightened in her gut. “This facility belongs to Destiny’s Palace now. We track the terraform process to keep our facility safe.”
PrimalHunger Page 2
