Alien Romance: Hunted By The Alien: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Romance, Alien Invasion Romance, BBW) (Celestial Protectors Book 4)

by Aana Celestya

  But there was only a terrible silence that had settled through the building; so all Kara could hear was the sound of her breathing, her own footsteps echoing.

  She heard them before she saw them, and she threw herself into a small alcove, willing them to rush by, for her to remain unnoticed.

  But it wasn’t to be. With an angry shout, an alien soldier in full armor reached out and snagged her around the arm, jerking her into the hallway. The rest of the group swarmed around her, so she was blocked in from all sides.

  Angry clicking filled Kara’s ears, the air, and it seemed like they were arguing over where to take her, what to do with her. One yanked her in on direction. Another pulled her back. Then the soldiers were a snarling mass of anger and testosterone, pushing and shoving one another as well as her.

  Kara was wondering if this was going to lead to another possibility to escape, but the truth was she didn’t think she’d be able to move fast enough, to be able to navigate the building well enough, to escape the angry mob of soldiers.

  There didn’t seem to be a clear leader in the pack, but one finally managed to wedge himself between the two main instigators, physically keeping them an arm’s length apart by propping his massive clawed hands against their chest plate armor.

  He snapped some clicks at them that sounded disapproving, irritated — even to someone who had no command of the language.

  With one last angry sound, he reached out and pulled Kara toward him. She tripped over her own feet in the process, landing in an undignified heap at his feet.

  He yanked her back into a standing position; her shoulder screaming in protest, and all but dragged her down the hall.

  They weren’t going back to the Warlord’s room. She knew that immediately, when they continued down the hall in the same direction she had been moving in the first place.

  By the time they’d reached their final destination, Kara had regained her ability to stand on her own, and was walking of her own accord, no one gripping her limbs.

  She was determined to keep her head high; she wasn’t going to feel badly that she’d tried to escape. Perhaps, the universe would take pity on her and they would determine she wasn’t a good candidate for the mating ritual.

  Kara had run through a whole selection of alternative punishments and she was fairly certain she would have preferred any one of those — even a death sentence.

  Here’s hoping, she thought bitterly.

  They were in a room of cells. Each one boasted intimidating bars and an unfinished floor. One of the soldiers shoved her unceremoniously into an open cell, swinging the door closed behind her, the click of the lock loud and unmistakable.

  He gave another burst of clicks, and the bulk of the group turned around to exit, heading back to wherever they’d been on their way to when Kara had interrupted their progress.

  One stayed behind, glowering at her through the bars, apparently on guard duty. He snarled at Kara, flashing his set of disturbing teeth at her.

  She shuddered, nothing left to do except wait there in the cell and see what was coming her way next.

  Arthos made his way through the halls.

  He knew this place like the back of his hand. It was one of the advantages of being kicked out of the fold, of having the opportunity to have an ex-comrade as an adversary.

  And there was no doubt about it, Mirnam and the Warlord were officially and indefinitely adversaries.

  When Arthos had first butted heads with the Warlord, it had been over Mirnam — through little fault of the Warlord’s. Mirnam believed her body was her main weapon in achieving her social goals.

  When Arthos stopped being her vehicle to the top, when he was no longer the biggest fish in the pond, and she thought the Warlord was the one who would move up to take command of the people, she had joyfully leapt into his bed.

  Unfortunately for everyone, when Arthos had found her, literally, in his bed, their whole tenuous structure had imploded.

  Arthos had left the community, fracturing the people. The Warlord, then just a commander, had moved up by default. Those who had wanted to see Arthos in the top spot had left.

  They’d created a new community on the other side of Arthos’ compound, free from the Warlord and his twisted definitions of society.

  Those who’d stayed behind were like the Warlord himself. Scrupleless. Selfish. Cruel.

  The whole place was spiralling into destruction.

  And Mirnam was there to watch it happen; the future she had envisioned for herself nothing but a hazy memory, stuck with a choice that had been no good to her in the end.

  Arthos shook his head, as if to clear his own memories of the last time he’d walked through the halls.

  This time he had a mission, and he didn’t plan on leaving until it was complete.

  He seethed. He’d known Mirnam’s appearance at his compound wasn’t a good thing, but he hadn’t anticipated it would lead to this, that Kara would be returned to the Warlord like little more than a borrowed play thing.

  He didn’t want to think about anyone else playing with her the way he had. A little growl of frustration welled up inside of him. It seemed impossible that he should be here, searching for a woman who barely seemed to want anything to do with him, unable to imagine living as he had been living before he’d first brought her to his home.

  It didn’t seem possible, and if there was any way he could avoid it, he was going to see to making that the case.

  He’d been to the Warlord’s chambers first; the same place he’d found Mirnam all that time ago, spread beneath the Warlord. For a moment, he wondered if he would be greeted with a similar scene, but when he forced the door open, there had been no one in there at all.

  He shook his head and tried not to smile. Kara’s scent still lingered in the room, and he was certain she had been there until recently.

  He was also certain it would be just like her to take the sudden rush of confusion as an opportunity to try and make her excuse. He had to admire her spunk, even if it made it more difficult to rescue her.

  He called for her, just in case, but knew she was long gone. When there was no response he was back in the hall. There was one more place he could look for her.

  If she’d been intercepted during her escape, they would have brought her to the holding pens, to wait there until the Warlord was available to decide what to do with her.

  If she wasn’t there, maybe she’d made it out beyond the walls, and was as safe as she could be, all things considered.

  Not that it mattered. If he didn’t find her in the holding pens, he was going to go out there and look for her. And he wasn’t going to stop until he had her safe in his arms again. He’d meant what he’d said when he had told Mirnam and the Warlord that Kara was his. His alone.

  ******

  Kara had found a place at the back of the cell. She wasn’t interested in being any closer to the soldier guarding her than she had to be.

  He was clearly unimpressed with being put on guard duty; she wondered what was happening out there that could be so much more exciting.

  Of course, sitting in a cell wasn’t very exciting at all, so it was possible that there was nothing happening out there at all, and he just wasn’t one for guard duty.

  She’d made a quick tour through the cell, looking for anything that might help her escape, knowing there was little she could actually do with the guard so close, watching her every move.

  Not that it really mattered. The cell was designed to keep people — aliens, maybe — in, and it was designed well. Even if there hadn’t been a guard on duty, Kara doubted she would have been able to make a mistake.

  But at least she could have tried, and that would make her feel like she was doing something, instead of just being there, waiting like a sitting duck with no hope for an escape.

  She never heard him coming. One minute, she was sitting there in the corner, knees tucked up to her chest, arms wrapped around them, like maybe she could pull herself in
to nothing.

  The next minute, the guard was roaring to life, weapons drawn, angry voices in the air.

  By the time Kara had leapt to her feet and was pressed into the corner, the guard was on the ground, gurgling and twitching.

  And Arthos was at the door, finger moving over a keypad, pulling the door open and gesturing for her to come to him. His face was taut, his beautiful face hard, that tattoos on his arms seemed endlessly dark in the overly bright light of the cell.

  She went toward him, eating the distance between them with giant steps until she was leaping into his arms, wrapping herself around him, her whole body eager to have him close,

  “Arthos!” she said it more loudly than she had meant to, knowing that it was important they get out as quietly and quickly as possible.

  She was taking deep, heaving breaths, like she couldn’t get the air she needed, and realized there were sobs caught in throat. “I didn’t think you would come.”

  His hands were moving over her, as if double-checking that she was still intact. They were in her hair, moving down her arms, tipping her face back so he could get a good look at her.

  She blinked back tears. “Thank you,” she said.

  “Of course I came. I told you; I will always come for you.” He drew his thumbs over her cheeks, brushing away the tears that had spilled there.

  She nodded, trying to pull herself together, knowing they hadn’t escaped yet.

  He grabbed her hand and they stood there a moment longer. Then, he was giving her a gentle tug. “We can do this later. Let’s go.”

  She didn’t need to be told twice.

  He took off out of the pen, leaving the fallen soldier on the ground, and she was right behind him.

  Chapter Seven

  It took Arthos no time at all to navigate them out of the building and into freedom.

  The adrenaline was still coursing through Kara when they had made it safely over the first hill and into a waiting pod. This time, there was no one driving. Kara and Arthos were alone in the pod and he was speeding away.

  They rode in relative quiet the rest of the way to Arthos’ compound, a tension in the silence that seemed to slip away once they’d crossed through the gates and pulled to a stop.

  “Will they follow us?” Kara finally asked, dreading the answer.

  “Not this time,” Arthos said, turning grimly toward Kara, his voice gruff. “I took care of the Warlord.”

  In truth, when Arthos had discovered Kara and Mirnam were gone, he had raged. He’d called together everyone he knew who owed him something, everyone he knew who had hate boiling within them for the Warlord, and had lead them to the invasion, eager to dispatch of the Warlord himself, feeling more than satisfied as the life had drained from him, as he had fallen to a heap and ceased to move.

  The community would be in turmoil, certainly, but the Warlord would no longer be the cruel dictator of those people. In the end, Arthos was sure it would be the best-case scenario for everyone.

  And neither Kara nor Arthos would need to fear retribution, though Arthos would have welcomed it, if that were the only option for having the threat of the Warlord fully removed from them.

  Undoubtedly, the society would put the pieces back together and be in a better place for the removal of the Warlord. It would only be a matter of time.

  If Kara was surprised by his words, she didn’t show it. She looked away from him, her eyes studying the floor. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left. I wanted…to go home.”

  Arthos reached for her, pulling her close, his arms wrapping tightly around her, reassuring himself that she was there, warm and intact. “I’m sorry you were so unhappy here. That you would risk that just to be away from me.”

  “No, no,” she rushed to correct him. “It’s not that at all. I…I don’t want to leave you, Arthos. I just…I don’t know. It didn’t really feel like there was a space here for me.”

  He pulled away from her. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go,” he said flatly, his voice removed, like he had no stake in where she went or whom she was with. His jaw was hard. Angry.

  “Arthos,” she said, moving back toward him.

  “I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to be with you. But just, not like this. Like a kept person. It’s just one step away from what the Warlord had in mind for me.”

  She bit down on her lip, hard, tears welling in her eyes that had nothing to do with the pain. “I just, I definitely can’t be that to you. I want to have more than that.”

  He tipped her head back, his mouth coming down on hers, hard and possessive. She linked her arms around his neck, pulling her as close to her as possible.

  “I will give you whatever you want,” he growled, pulling away from her, her lips swollen from the sweet assault of his mouth. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you satisfied. You only need to say the words, and I will make them happy.”

  “Oh, Arthos,” she sighed, the breath ragged. “That’s everything I want.”

  And then she was kissing him again, her hands in his dark hair, pulling him close, unable to get enough of him.

  He was never going to let her go.

  Epilogue

  Kara stretched leisurely, hoping to work out the kinks that seemed a perpetual presence in her life now. The bed was soft beneath her, warm. The kind of place that could lull you right back into sleep if you weren’t careful. Though she’d slept well and for a full night, she was still tired. She was always tired.

  “Well, finally.”

  Arthos was propped up against the doorframe, his rakish hair beautifully unkempt, his arms resting across his chest. Kara had the striking impression that he’d been there for some time, watching her sleep.

  She blushed, her skin turning a pretty shade of rose. “Good morning,” she murmured, sliding out from under the covers and standing, reaching for a sheer robe to pull tightly around her, feeling self-conscious despite the number of times he’d seen her in a state of undress.

  “Good morning,” he said, crossing the room to her, his eyes appraising her until her face was no longer tinged with pink, but blazing under his gaze, heat beginning to travel through her.

  “And how are we this morning?” he reached out to place a hand on the gentle swell of her stomach, letting his hand run over the curve of her ever-growing belly. “Afternoon, I suppose I should say. Are you ready for lunch?”

  She slipped her hand over his, stilling it and letting it rest there, enjoying the feel of his hand on her. “We’re quite well this morning. Getting big.” She chuckled, knowing that she was, indeed, getting bigger, and she would continue to do so, as the baby grew, as they became closer to welcoming Arthos’ heir into their home. It was something that filled her with great pleasure, and Arthos, too, she knew.

  And it couldn’t have come at a better time. When the dust had settled around the Warlord’s death and Arthos’ invasion, the remaining fraction in charge had approached Arthos again, asking him to consider returning as their leader.

  This time, he’d agreed, and had heralded Kara out as his chosen mate.

  Kara hadn’t been thrilled about returning to the Warlord’s space, her recent negative memories and associations so strong, but with Arthos by her side, it had quickly become theirs — a fresh start for all of them.

  And then, with all this time to have Arthos to herself, and with Arthos capitalizing on Kara’s newly voiced devotion to him, Kara had quickly found herself expecting.

  The first hybrid to be born in a position of power; the coming change for the hybrid population was heavy in the air, almost palpable as the social lines began to evolve.

  Arthos began to stroke her belly, letting his hand slid up toward her breast, fuller than they had been in the past. “Just the way I like you,” her growled close to her ear before dipping down, pushing the robe off her shoulder to leave her naked body exposed to his view and his hands.

  Kara felt the growing heat spiral through her. It was impossible to remain
in control when Arthos had his hands on her. Cupping one of her breasts, he lowered his mouth to her nipple, his tongue flicking over the tender peak.

  Kara moaned, moving her hands to his thick hair and pressing him to her. It was amazing how little he had to do to have her melting into a puddle of need for him.

  While he continued to lavish attention onto her breasts, his other hand slid down between her legs, stroking her wet core, his thumb brushing up against her clit until she was moaning, the sound soft, seductive, everything that set Arthos’ blood on fire.

  When he didn’t think he could take it a moment longer, he spun her around so she was up against the bed, her hands reaching forward for the mattress, propping herself up, and he was unzipping his pants and sliding into her hot depths, his hand reaching around to continue to play against her sensitive nub as he moved in and out of her.

  “Mate,” he growled in her ear, nipping at the flesh there. “There’s no other way I’d rather start your day.”

  She purred against him, feeling her body tighten, rocking her hips back to meet his every thrust.

  “Me either,” she said, loving the feel of his hands as they moved over her body, the curve of her ass, the length of her arm. Every time was like they’d never touched before, with an urgency that grew until they were rushing toward orgasm together. Always complete. Always sated.

  And this time was no different, though they’d been together only hours earlier in the darkness of night, Arthos sent her flying into another powerful orgasm, Kara shuddering around him as she cried out in pleasure, and he was finishing just as readily, thrusting into her as he came, groaning her name.

  They stayed there, panting, for another few moments before Arthos withdrew from her, pulling her to a standing position.

  Her legs were still trembling as she slipped her arms back around Arthos for another long, slow kiss, never tiring of the feel of him, his taste on her tongue.

  There certainly was no other way she’d prefer to wake up to the world. He pulled away to give her a wink and a sweet little slap on the behind.