by Jenika Snow
Quietly setting the bag on the ground, she frantically searched for something to use as a weapon. Aside from a few plates in her cupboard, rusted tattered utensils, and her less than attractive mattress, she had nothing. Running over to the utensils, she found a two pronged, dented and beaten to hell fork, and snatched it up. It was a primitive instrument used for eating, but on this planet technology was less than appealing. Silently moving behind the door, her gaze dropped down to the bag. Lifting it, she tested its weight. It was heavy enough that she might be able to knock him down with it, which would throw him off balance and give her enough time to escape. Maximo’s clipped voice came through the front door once again.
“I knew you’d run, just didn’t think it would be so soon. Come out here, Luna!” He started to chuckle, and her heart beat faster. “Open the door like a good girl. I won’t hurt you, that is, not unless you beg.” His voice sounded off-key, crazed even. Gods, had he finally snapped, well, even more than normal?
Keeping quiet, she hoped he left, but knew that was a lost dream. This scenario was a long time in coming, but even knowing this, she wasn’t prepared. The handle jiggled once, and when he realized it was locked he started beating on the door. Thank the heavens she had been smart enough to turn the lock when she got home, but the thin barrier that currently kept him back wouldn’t hold for very long.
“Open. The. Fucking. Door!” He roared out. Gripping the fork tighter, she braced herself. It would only be seconds before he busted through, and when he did she needed to be ready to attack and run. Maximo slammed his body against the door. The already rotting wood bowed forward. He did this over and over again, and when the strain became too much for the abused wood it busted forward. A crack of lightning filled the room. Maximo stumbled forward, his face a mask of sweat and redness. He stood in the center of the room, and he clenched his hands as he frantically searched for her.
She stood perfectly still, not even daring to breathe, but it didn’t matter because when he turned around and spotted her, his face broke out in a sick, predatory grin. Eyes blood-shot and glazed from his rage, he looked crazed. He stepped closer, and the scent of bloonda berry liquor laced his breath. The very thought that he had partaken of the potent alcohol made her breath freeze in her lungs. Not only was the liquor rare and lethal, it also altered a person’s perception and caused raw fury to overtake them. That made Maximo’s normally rage-filled species even more unsteady. The alcohol was illegal in fifteen different planets, including the one they were currently on, and that was saying a lot since nothing seemed to be illegal here.
“I had a few drinks with some Kleebo males.” He licked his dried lips and let his eyes move up and down her body in a disgustingly suggestive glare. “I went back for you, but you can imagine my surprise when I realized you left me.” His words slurred together, but she knew he hadn’t meant the latter in the literal since. The problem with bloonda liquor was that it hit hard and fast. It became more potent with each passing minute. The longer she stayed in front of him, the more dangerous the situation became.
“I didn’t, Maximo.” Trying to keep her voice level and steady, she made herself appear calm when she was anything but. She needed to lie, and make it believable. “I simply came home to freshen up. I intended to come back.”
He stared at her, his gaze traveling up and down her body once more. Her skin crawled. “You lie.” Spittle dripped from his mouth, and he advanced.
“Stay calm.” She internally winced at her choice of words. He stopped, gritted his teeth, and came forward again. That was probably not the smartest thing to say.
“I am calm, princess. I’m going to show you how calm I can be.” Lunging toward her, she dodged out of his grasp, but it was far too close for comfort since she felt the pads of his slimy fingers brush along her shoulder. His roar of outrage seemed to rattle the walls. She turned, held the fork high in the air, and watched him unsteadily. His laughter was maniacal, loud and cackling. “What do you plan on using that for, Luna? Fork me to death?”
He lunged toward her again. Despite his intoxication, Maximo was quick. As he grabbed a chunk of her hair, she cried out in pain. Lifting her arm high, she tried to blindly stab at him. Failing several times, she twisted in his arms until she could see a clear shot. Without thinking Luna brought the fork down. She felt resistance and then heard him roar out in pain as the utensil hit its mark. The impact caused him to loosen his hold on her hair, and she slipped from his grasp.
Time was of the essence. Rushing toward the door, adrenalin pumped through her body. Just when she was almost free Maximo tackled her from behind. Feet coming out from under her, she lifted her arms to shield herself as gravity and Maximo’s weight took her down. Raw pain spread up her arm as something thick and sharp pierced her flesh. She was rolled over roughly. Maximo straddled her waist and slapped her across the face. The taste of blood filled her mouth. He slapped her again and again, finally stopping when she couldn’t hold off her tears any longer.
“You made me do this, Luna.” Caressing her face almost lovingly, he whispered the words. Hauling her from the ground, Maximo pulled her close for an embrace.
The pain that encompassed her was like nothing she had ever felt before. Head cradled to his chest, she didn’t fight him, didn’t have the strength to. As he murmured unintelligible things against her hair that was when she remembered what was in her pocket. Using slow movements as not to alert him to what she was doing, she pulled out the hair barrette. Luna tightened her fist around it and leaned back to look at him. One of her eyes felt swollen, and her vision was blurry and out of focus. He looked down at her and caressed her face once again.
“You made me do this, princess. If you would have just come to me willingly, I would have been kind, gentle even. At first at least.” His words were lies, all of them. Just as he bent down to kiss her she lifted her arm and stabbed the barrette into his neck. She nearly gagged as she felt the shell meet the thickness of his flesh before it sank in. She pulled it out just as quickly, but not before she twisted it into his throat.
Maximo howled in pain and pushed her away. Great arcs of blood the color of the night sky sprayed from the wound in his neck. His hands went to his throat to try to stem the blood flow. Shards of the shell had broken off and were still embedded in his skin. A sickening noise gurgled out of his mouth, and that same noxious blood gurgled out of his throat. As he stumbled toward her with an arm outstretched, she didn’t waste any time in turning and running away. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, through the dusty terrain, with pain still coursing through her body. None of that mattered, because escaping and living were her only options. When darkness threatened to take her down, she pushed it back and ran harder. Wet warmth seeped rom her at various points of her body, but she didn’t dare stop and see all the places she was hurt. Everything she owned that was of any importance was in her bag, lying on the floor next to Maximo, who was bleeding out. But she was still alive, and that was far more important than any physical possession she could have possessed.
Chapter Five
Erak and his brothers finished loading the ship with a few supplies they purchased in the city. The little human female Luna had never come back out, and despite his raging hard-on, he hadn’t gone after her or looked for another female. Maybe he should have, but he wasn’t a male to push a female to do his bidding, no matter how much he wanted to. Raimi had been all about going to find her, but he had explained to his brother that they were Aktulla males of the Asek line, and if a female didn’t want them they certainly didn’t go and hunt her down for a little pussy. Egotistical perhaps, but an Aktulla never bowed to anyone. There were no human females where they were from, and so he decided she was a commodity, something that was strange and delicate and piqued his interest. Their mission was far bigger than fucking random females anyway. They need to find women to carry their sons. But he also couldn’t dismiss that there was something about Luna that called to him on a primitive le
vel, and one that he hadn’t been able to shake no matter how hard he tried or how he reasoned with himself. Just one thought of her and he was hard as fuck. Her bow-like lips, so red and succulent, made him imagine them wrapped around his aching shaft.
“How much longer until we take off?” Genet stepped out from behind the ship, cords of rope in hand. His voice had a hard edge to it, and he could tell Genet was just as pissed about not getting to sample Luna as he and Raimi were.
“Once we finish loading everything, we should be able to head out. It appears the majority of the other ships are staying put tonight.”
“Lucky bastards.” Genet mumbled under his breath. “I agree with Raimi on going back and finding the little human female. My cock is still hard for her.”
Genet headed to the other side of the ship, grumbling about blue balls. Erak should have never let his brothers talk him into stopping at this fucking planet. . He tossed the last of the jugs of water and nonperishable food in before latching the door shut. The main hatch was still open, which meant someone wasn’t doing their job. He needed to get off this planet and away from temptation.
****
Luna wiped the sweat from her brow and pushed forward. When she had first run, the sound of Maximo’s voice had seemed to follow her. She swore she had been able to feel him right behind her, his hot breath right on the back of her neck. That just made her move faster. She still had the money in her shoe, thank the heavens, and her plan now was to find someone who was traveling and would be willing to take her with them. Maybe her cash and virginity could buy her a way off this damn planet? At this point she didn’t care who it was or where they were going. All that mattered was escaping away from Maximo and her nightmare of a life. Because if she couldn’t get a ride away from here, she would rather travel into the mountains and let one of the beasts consume her.
The thick foliage around her made seeing anything nearly impossible. Tripping over a dead branch, the momentum had her hurtling forward. Red dust puffed around her when the ground met her. Pain lanced through her whole body, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Male voices carried by the wind wrapped around her, and hope sprang up inside of her. Crawling through the brush, branches scraped her flesh like talons of the planet trying to keep her from escaping. It was just like this damn carnivorous world was trying to hold her back, sucking the life-force from her until she was nothing but an empty shell. She peered through an opening in the bushes, and her heart sped up.
Dozens of ships were scattered throughout the murky blackness of the desert. All of them were monstrous contraptions, but only one seemed to be ready for takeoff. Closest to her with the back hatch open, like a sign from the gods, sat a fine piece of machinery. It wasn’t the biggest, but it certainly was the newest and most advanced. She could still hear male voices, but they appeared to be on the other side of the ship, where they could not see her. This had to be a sign from fate. Could it really be this easy to just run up and climb aboard? Wariness slammed into her, wrapping its icy fingers around her and forcing her to lower herself to the ground again. Nothing on the planet of red dust was easy, but she would die if she didn’t at least try.
You can do this. You can do this.
Anything had to be better than what she faced if she stayed here. Looking around to make sure she wouldn’t be caught, Luna stood slowly and limped as quickly and quietly as she could toward the ship. Once she was right beside it, she pressed herself against the cold metal and held her breath. The baritone voices spoke in a language unfamiliar to her, and a prickling of recognition filled her, but she pushed it away and only focused on survival. Using all her upper body strength, Luna hauled herself onto the platform and made her way quickly to the back of the ship. Thick piles of rope were haphazardly scattered across the floor, and she tripped over it. Holding her breath and stalling her movements, it was imperative no one heard her disastrous move. When there wasn’t a chorus of shouts that her position had been revealed, she let out a relieved breath. That was all she needed right now, to be found stealing a ride.
She squeezed between two large barrels and prayed they would hide her until they landed, wherever that may be. All Luna knew was that if she stayed another night on this planet she wouldn’t survive. Pain sliced through her arm, and she looked down at it. A large gash ran up the length from whatever she had landed on when Maximo tackled her. Other various scrapes and cuts littered her arms and legs from the thorny branches in her haste to escape, but it was minimal compared to what could have happened. Her face throbbed, and she lifted her hand and gently ran her finger along her cheek. Pain assaulted her. The tissue surrounding her eye felt swollen to the point that she could barely see out of it. Closing her eyes, exhaustion settled heavily within her. Dreaming sounded so much better than reality.
****
Erak sat in the control center of his ship and started the engines. They had finished loading up and were now on their way to depart from the planet of red dust. His brothers sat beside him.
“Ready, brothers?” Erak spoke into the microphone by his mouth, the sound traveling to each of their earpieces. They all gave their confirmation that it was safe to ascend. As the engines warmed up, the power could be felt throughout the entire craft. It was a welcome feeling for Erak, a powerful one. As the ship started to lift, Erak switched on the exterior lights. Bright beams illuminated the vast expanse of desert in front of them. Navigating their way around other ships, each brother did the important job of making sure everything worked properly and without fault. The higher they went, the more the pressure in the cabin increased.
“Genet, switch on the pressure minimizing latch.” Erak could hear the hiss of the inner pressure being equalized. The cockpit went from minimally uncomfortable to leveling within a few seconds. Then the inky darkness started became brighter with the illumination of the stars. Once they were in space and stabilized, Erak and his brothers set the craft on autopilot. Erak stood and stared out the front windows. Great vastness was right in front of them, and it never got old for him to see this sight. They programmed their destination for Hete’kkia, a planet that flourished with healthy, viable females, and the planet his kind had found mates on for centuries.
Although there were plenty of planets that had females, only a select few held ones that had compatible DNA to carry the offspring of his species. Hete’kkia happened to have a ratio of five to one, females dominating the male gender. They were humanoid, and were compatible in every way with the Aktulla warriors. It was the most logical place to go to first. The planet was one of the smaller ones in their galaxy, and lay on the outer recesses of the galaxy.
Erak unhooked the harness around his chest and was about to stand when a warning signal sounded. Bringing up the holographic map of the ship, he saw there was some sort of life force stationed in the cargo dock. He swiped his finger across the screen and brought up the thermal heat activated monitor. The life force was humanoid, that much he could tell from the shape of the form.
“Looks like we have a stowaway,” Erak said. Although the creature appeared human in nature, there were creatures that may appear humanoid, but were anything but. It wasn’t unusual for a Lerra lizard, or even a Nura beast to crawl into the ship in search of food, and those particular beings were vicious despite their human-like appearance. He had his Tonna gun strapped to his thigh and his sword between his shoulder blades. The long forged piece of metal was barbaric and hadn’t been used in a millennium by any other advanced race, but it was quick, effective, and there was nothing better to an Aktulla male than feeling the power it wielded as their enemy was taken down.
He made his way down into the very bowels of the ship. With one hand on his gun, he used the other to enter the security code for the cargo dock. The door slid to the side, disappearing into the wall, and allowing him an unobstructed view of the storage dock. The temperature was several degrees lower than the main part of the ship, just enough to chill the skin. Standing at the entrance, he s
tayed absolutely still and inhaled deeply, letting his attuned senses tell him what his machinery couldn’t. The main aromas that filtered into him were of their freshly bought food and water supply. When silence and still air surrounded him he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply once more, and that was when he caught the scent of blood.
Eyes closed and senses wide open, he waited. The metallic scent was not of a wild humanoid animal, but of a human female.
Mine.
That one word slammed into him over and over again, and a primal urge to go to her moved inside of him like nothing he had ever felt. He knew that scent that mingled with the tangy smell, and despite his need to go to Luna and make sure she was okay, he couldn’t help that his dick instantly became hard. The sound of her faint beating heart pierced his mind, and he opened his eyes. Her heartbeat came from where several large drum barrels sat against the side of the ship. Once he reached the edge of the barrels Erak could make out two small tattered shoes. There was still no movement from her, and a panic the likes of which he had never felt assaulted him. Erak had never felt fear before, but it was like a living entity inside of him. He grew tense and quickly moved closer to her, feeling this territorial emotion grow within him like another warrior. He wanted to kill the being that dared harm her, that put their hands on her. When he was close enough that he could see her small, huddled body on the hard, cold floor, his heart squeezed painfully in his chest.
“Fallina.”
The endearment fell from his lips on its own accord. She was his mate, and a pang of sorrow, regret, and self-hatred filled him. All it had taken was that first scent of her blood to wake up the instinct in him, that one thing inside all Aktulla males when they found their mate. Her face and body, fuck, she was so battered. “Fallina.” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. She was alive, but growing weaker by the second.
