The Alien's Revenge: A SciFi Alien Warrior Romance (Drixonian Warriors Book 4)

by Ella Maven

  I shot him the best hateful glare I could. In my head, I told him off and described in detail all the ways I’d like to rip him into pieces.

  I didn’t want to be carried by a Kulk. The armor would hurt like hell, and they smelled bad. So, I trudged behind Crius, jogging to keep up to the asshole’s long strides. I got angry. I could feel it burning in my gut. The tears had long dried, and I began to work on a plan. I couldn’t do much with the contingent of Kulks leading us, but no way would I let them get me inside the walls of Alazar. Fuck. No.

  I worked on my gag, steadily loosening it with my jaw and teeth until I was confident I could spit it out. I let it rest between my lips for now. As the sky grew darker, I felt discouraged, but focused on the positives. I was alive. I was conscious. And for now, unhurt.

  A slight buzzing tickled my ear and I brushed it with my shoulder, annoyed. The buzzing grew and I shook my head, trying to work my braids like a horse’s tail. What was that? A hunner?

  Crius stopped so abruptly, I ran into the back of him. He slowly turned his head, eyes assessing the dense forest behind us. I followed his gaze, but everything was blurry to me. Hell, maybe I did have some sort of injury, because the air seemed to vibrate.

  “Hunners?” I mumbled behind my gag.

  Crius started to pant, mouth open, and his eyes widened just before he turned and shouted. “Night Kings!”

  The Kulks turned. Crius yanked on my rope, but I wasn’t moving, not a fucking inch. I fell to the ground and Crius swore. He hauled me into his arms a split second before the trees swayed and a dozen black dots sped toward us.

  I spit the gag out of my mouth and screamed. “Drak!”

  Crius took off at a run, but even as fast as he was, he couldn’t outrun the Night Kings on their bikes. They flew toward us, growing larger and larger the closer they came. I kicked and flailed, refusing to be a good little burden. Crius nearly dropped me twice before finally throwing in the towel. He threw me to the ground, the length of rope held firmly in his fist, and turned to face his former warrior brothers.

  The Kulks turned and ran past us, advancing on the Night Kings and creating an armored wall between us and the Drixonians. Still, I shouted and screamed until my voice was hoarse. Drak’s aura was a red fireball of fury, focused and bloodthirsty.

  About a half dozen bikes remained in the air, the drivers shooting laser guns at the Kulks, while the rest of the warriors touched down. They leapt off their bikes in a coordinated motion, immediately forming a V-shape with Daz at the helm. He shouted a few words and they unleashed their machets, arms crossed in front of their throats.

  Then I heard his next words, clear as day over the beginning sounds of the battle. “She is All!” His warriors repeated his words, and the booming chant sent a shiver down my spine.

  Then the fighting began. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. While the Kulks shot their laser guns with inaccurate aim, the warriors in the air—including Sax, Xavy, and Nero—hit their mark every time. They picked off the Kulks with armor-piercing shot after shot. The Drix were outnumbered four to one and it didn’t matter, not when the Kulks, slow and encumbered with their armor, fell easily to the strong and quick hand-to-hand combat skills of the Drixonians. Gar was a one-warrior wrecking ball, smiling a terrifying grin as green Kulk blood dripped from his machets.

  “Fleck,” Crius spat. He yanked on my rope to retreat further from the battle. But I wouldn’t budge. If he thought I was going to stumble along behind him docilely now that the Night Kings were here, he was out of his mind. I dug my heels in, and though I was no match for the strength of a Drixonian, I would do anything to slow down our progress.

  “Drak!” I screamed. “Drak!”

  A roar answered my call. I glanced over my shoulder as time seemed to slow. Out of the sprayed arcs of blood and dust clouds a dark form materialized in the air, sailing over the barrier of Kulks in front of us which had dwindled to one measly line.

  Drak landed in front of us with a thud, and he rose to his full height, plotting out the last remaining sun rays. His body was streaked with dirt, his muscles bulged, and green Kulk blood was streaked across his chest.

  He wasn’t alone. The last remaining Kulks fell under the machets and boots of the Drixonians. Crius, seeing that the battle was lost, dropped my rope and ran. He didn’t get far. Gar tackled him as Drak reached my side. I threw myself into his arms as he slashed the bonds around my wrists.

  “I’m so sorry,” I cried into his chest. “I never should have left. I just wanted to get your favorite flowers. So stupid.” I banged my forehead on his breastbone. “So stupid.”

  He held me tight, his chest heaving with the exertion of battle. His fingers wrapped around the base of my skull, his palms on my jaw, and forced me to look into his eyes. They swirled a brilliant purple. “So smart, my bloom. I will always follow your petals.”

  I will always follow your petals. I sank into his embrace. He’d come with an army to save me, and he promised he always would. I believed him.

  Shouts at my back forced me to turn my head to look over my shoulder. Gar and Daz stood over Crius, who was on his knees between them, his hands tied behind his back.

  He was no longer snarling. He knelt a defeated man, his shoulders hunched, his head hung low.

  “I cast you out,” Daz said. “I didn’t take your life, and you repay me by taking one of our females. We have injured warriors who will need medis we can’t spare.”

  Crius remained silent and still.

  “No more silence. Tell me why you’re working with the Uldani.”

  Crius inhaled sharply before finally lifting his head. He looked right at me, his eyes black and empty. “I’m sorry.”

  Those were the last words I expected him to say. Drak’s arms tightened around me. “Don’t speak to her,” he rasped.

  Crius’s eyes dropped again. “I never wanted to betray you.”

  “But you did. Why?”

  Crius sank back and leaned his head back toward the dark sky with his eyes closed. “The Uldani sold our warriors to fund their experiments.”

  “We know this,” Daz spat. “It happened before the Uprising.”

  Crius opened his eyes and shook his head. “No, it happened during too. Many of the warriors we thought died were instead captured and sold.”

  The air rippled with tension as Daz’s nostrils flared. He gripped Crius’s hair in his fist and tugged. The kneeling warrior winced. “You lie,” Daz gritted out.

  “The Uldani promised me they’d tell me where my brother was sold and give me passage off this planet. As long as I supplied them one of your mated females.”

  Daz shoved Crius to the ground, and he landed with an oomph in a cloud of dirt. He managed to pull himself back up to kneeling as Daz growled at him. “You would trade a female for your brother’s life?”

  Crius turned his head, eyes glowing purple as he sneered,” Not just my brother, but yours too. Rex is alive, Daz. And the Uldani know where he is.”

  “You lie!” Daz roared just as the sharp pew of a laser gun cut through the night. Crius’s body jerked, and a hole opened in his chest. His eyes went wide before they dulled to black before he crumpled to the ground. Drak pushed me to the ground and covered me with his body.

  Warriors immediately circled Daz, protecting their drexel. Nero raised his modified gun and fired off one round. A cry followed, and then a Kulk body fell to the ground in the distance with a crash of armor.

  “Go find if more are hiding,” Daz ordered. A dozen warriors took off into the distance. Sax knelt at Crius’s side, checked for a pulse, and shook his head.

  “They must have had orders to kill him if he told us the truth,” Ward said.

  Drak finally stood and helped me to my feet. He fussed over me, brushing dirt from my arms as if I gave a fuck that I was dirty. I was alive, and so was he. All the warriors were alive too, even though some were injured.

  When the dozen warriors returned, they reporte
d the Kulk had been alone. “I’m impressed one of them could actually hit a target,” Nero said.

  Daz hadn’t moved much. He remained tense, staring at Crius’s body. Sax stood next to him, speaking quietly, but Daz shook his head violently and turned away.

  Sax didn’t let up. He grasped his brother around his neck and smash their foreheads together. Daz fought it for a moment, before letting his shoulders sag. “Rex,” he said, and the one word was laced with pain.

  I’d heard of his brother, the youngest of the three Bakut brothers who died in the Uprising. Frankie said Daz had a lot of guilt for his brother’s death, so I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling. As much as I missed my siblings, I knew they were safe. They had each other, and they were loved. What kind of life had Rex had all these years?

  Finally, the two brothers separated. Daz cleared his throat. “Ward take Crius’s body back to the compound. We will bury him. He’s still a Drixonian. Leave the Kulks here for the Uldani to clean up.”

  Drak picked me up to carry me back to his bike. “Are you injured?” he asked.

  “I can walk,” I protested.

  “That wasn’t what I asked.”

  “I’m okay,” I said. “Bruised, but I’ll live.”

  “You will,” he said and brushed a kiss over my lips. “We go home. Rest in our furs. With our blooms.”

  I didn’t miss that he’d called the Night King clavas home.

  Sixteen

  Drak

  Miranda slept beside me so deeply I’d had to check if she was breathing. Val had given her medis for her substantial bruising she’d tried to hide from me. After we’d both taken a turn in the cleanser, she’d fallen asleep as soon as I’d tucked the furs in around her.

  The sun was almost halfway across the sky, and still she slept, making small snuffling sounds. I smiled at her and ran my hand over the furs covering her bare shoulder. I wanted to tear them off and ravage her, but my mate needed her sleep.

  A gentle knock rapped at the door and I smiled to myself, I was surprised they’d waited this long. Careful not to wake her, I rose from the bed, pulled on a pair of paints, and walked to the door. I swung it open to find Daz and Ward on the other side. I nodded at them.

  “Morning,” Daz handed me a mug of steaming brew. It was made with an herb called pula, which the women steeped in water for a flavored drink. I took a sip and gestured for them to step back so I could walk outside.

  I fell into step beside them as we walked leisurely through the camp. The morning training session was in full swing with the warriors currently sparring.

  “I wanted to check how you and Merr-anda were feeling,” Daz said.

  “Good,” I answered. My voice was growing stronger each day. My words were coming back, and while I couldn’t talk long, my speech was less broken. “She needs sleep.”

  We stopped to watch the training session. Sax and Gar faced off against one another. Daz watched, his brow furrowed, eyes stormy.

  “I’m sorry about Rex,” I said.

  A muscle in Daz’s jaw clenched. “Thank you. Nero has been studying some information we stole from the Uldani, but there is no record of warriors being sold during the Uprising.”

  “Do you believe Crius?” I asked.

  Daz sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I do. One of the Uldani commanders I killed recently mentioned Rex right before he died. I’d written it off but…” he shook his head. “I can only guess he was sold to Vixlicin. That was where the warriors were sent before the Uprising.”

  I grunted, remembering tales of the hot, red-sanded planet ruled by the ruthless Plikens.

  Sax swung at Gar, who dodged the blow and swiped Sax’s legs out from under him. Sax hit the ground with a thud and Gar growled, eyes black with bloodlust. He raised his machets and drew his arm back to slice into Sax.

  “Hey!” Sax hollered before rolling, narrowly avoiding Gar’s machets.

  Daz was already running, Ward at his heels, and I wasn’t far behind. Ward threw himself at Gar, and they both went to the ground, wrestling in a cloud of green dust. Daz hauled a shaken Sax to his feet.

  “Calm down!” Ward hollered as Gar fought, spat, and cursed.

  “Gar!” Daz roared, and finally the big warrior went still. His eyes cleared, remaining black but lost the turbulence. He blinked, took in Sax, and slumped. “Fleck,” he muttered. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I was … somewhere else.”

  “Yeah, no kidding,” Sax glared at him, his usual humor gone. “You nearly took my head off.”

  “I’m sorry,” Gar said again. Ward stood up, wiping at a cut on his chest, made from his brother’s machets. Gar watched Ward miserably.

  “I know you’re flecked up about what Crius said,” Ward sighed. “But you have to find a way to work through this. You can’t let it consume you.”

  Sax reached out a hand to Gar, who took it with an unsteady hand. He patted the larger warrior on the shoulder. “I forgive you. But I’m not sparring with you again. For a long time.”

  “Understood,” Gar muttered. “I just want … revenge.” He looked at me. “I bet it felt good to see Crius fall, right?”

  “No,” I rasped, and Gar went still. The other warriors watched me. “I wanted revenge for so long, but that didn’t make me happy. Merr-anda did. Returning to this clavas did. Being a Night King again did.” Daz sucked in a breath, but I kept going. “You have to find a way to look forward, not back.”

  Gar didn’t want to hear that, I could see it in his eyes. I understood that. I had to figure it out for myself too. He looked away. “I’m going to take a ride. Clear my head.”

  “Stay within our boundaries,” Daz said.

  Gar nodded, and then strode away, his shoulders weighed down with anger.

  “I should check on Merr-anda,” I said.

  Daz placed a hand on my shoulder. “Did you meant what you said? You’re ready to accept that you’re a Night King again?”

  I nodded, and a piece of my cora settled into place. “You were right when we rode to rescue Merr-anda. I couldn’t have done that without you. This clavas. I was fighting it, but that proved to me that this is my home. I’m one of you.”

  Sax whooped and Ward grinned. Daz’s eyes crinkled as a smile split his face. “I’ll get your tag. Welcome back, Drak.”

  I grasped him around the back of his neck and touched our foreheads. “Glad to be home.”

  Miranda

  The sound of little feet slapping the floor alerted me about my visitor a second before a body flew at me. “Oomph,” I grunted as a giggle reached my ears and soft hair swept my cheek.

  “Miranda’s back!” cried a little voice.

  I peeked over the furs to see Bazel’s face inches from mine. “Hi Bazel.”

  “I missed you!” she cried.

  “I missed you too.”

  “Bazel!” Anna cried from outside my room a second before she stepped through the door. She spotted her daughter on the bed and heaved a sigh. “Honey, I told you Miranda needed to sleep.”

  “But I missed her!”

  “It’s fine,” I said, reaching for a shirt and shorts and slipping them on under the covers before sitting up. “I slept long enough.” I yawned. “Have you seen Drak?”

  “I saw him talking to Daz,” Anna said.

  “Oh,” I frowned. “I hope everything’s okay.

  “I’m sure it is,” she smiled.

  Frankie sauntered through my door, Naomi at her side. “How are you feeling?” Frankie asked, handing me a mug of pula while Naomi dropped a pastry in my lap. Justine and Tabitha joined her, followed by Val and then Reba bringing up the rear. They all crowded around me, giving me hugs and telling me how glad they were I was home.

  “I’m feeling good,” I said, sipping my drink.

  “You’re feeling good?” Justine asked before landing a solid punch on my shoulder. “Well then I get to yell at you. Fuck you for leaving. What the hell were you thinking? Why didn’t you tell one of us? Why di
dn’t you bring one of us! What the hell?”

  I rubbed my shoulder with a wince. “Damn, who taught you to hit?”

  “Don’t change the subject!” She hollered.

  I sighed. “I wanted to gather flowers.”

  Tabitha blinked at me and flung her arms out to her sides. “You didn’t think you had enough?”

  “I wanted to get my favorite and Drak’s, to welcome him back and make him feel at home. And it would have gone fine, but I mistook Crius’s body for something else and—”

  “What do you mean?” Val asked.

  I stared at her, realizing what I’d said. Maybe if I’d been able to see properly, I would have never gotten close enough to get caught.

  “Well, he looked like something else.”

  Val’s gaze was like a laser. “And why’s that?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  I bit my lip.

  “What’s up?” Frankie said. “Is something wrong? We can help.”

  “I don’t … I want to be someone you can depend on,” I said. “I don’t want you to be worried about me or think I can’t be there for you.”

  “I don’t know what this is about, but sure we depend on you, but you depend on us. We all depend on each other. We’re a team here, just like all those warriors are better together, so are we. You’re not an island, Miranda.”

  She was right. I’d spent so long wanting to be everything for them, that I’d let myself down. And them. “I can’t see,” I blurted out.

  “What?” Frankie asked.

  “I mean, I can see, but really poorly. My vision is terrible. I wore contacts, which weren’t in my eyes when I was asleep, and it wasn’t like the Rahguls grabbed my glasses when they took me.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us,” Justine said.

  “Looking back, it’s stupid, but I’ve never been good showing weakness. Drak noticed, and he helped me learn to use my other skills better. He’d mark our trails with bright flowers so I wouldn’t get lost…”