“How much?”
Chotgor laughed. “You see? An intelligent question. Ten percent of the profits from the drug.”
“Twenty percent. As you said, it will be some time before you can reap the rewards, and I will be confined to this planet until then.”
“Fifteen percent to begin, but I will increase the percentage each year for five years as long as you remain loyal.”
Aidon paused as if considering the offer. “That is acceptable,” he said finally.
Despite Chotgor’s earlier words, the other male obviously didn’t place a high value on his intelligence. Aidon was quite sure that Chotgor had no intention of sharing any of his profits. He would leave Aidon in charge for as long as he needed him and then dispose of him before he was required to pay out.
During the negotiations, Aidon had been surveying the lab. It would have to be destroyed. He had no intention of letting an entire race be sold into slavery.
“When are you leaving?” he asked.
“Within the next day or so. I intend to take the Hothian female with me, and she is already restless.”
“Why take her? I’m sure you have other…companions.”
“I do, and I begin to grow tired of fur. But she would make a good reward for one of my fighters. Or perhaps…” Chotgor’s eyes gleamed. “Perhaps I would make her a fighter.”
Once again, he forced his face to remain calm. For all the brutality of the fight pits, none of them had yet used females as fighters.
“Which reminds me.” Chotgor gave him a speculative glance. “I will have need of a new slave. Yours seems quite…enthusiastic.”
Anger roared through Aidon, and he clenched his fists before his claws could emerge. “I thought you said she was too fragile?”
The other male shrugged. “It would make a pleasant change from the Hothian female. Sell her to me.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?” Chotgor frowned at him.
“I have no inclination for Hothian females either. I will need someone to warm my bed while I’m here.”
“You can have your pick of my other females. Choose two, even.” Chotgor’s voice hardened. “Don’t forget who’s in charge here. What matters is what I want, and I want to see all that pretty red hair wrapped around my fist while I ram my cock down her throat. See if she’s as good as she looks.”
The thought of this bastard abusing his sweet Hanna filled Aidon with rage, and this time, he couldn’t control his transformation. He felt his vision change and forced himself back under control, but it was too late. Chotgor stared at him.
“You’re not the Hitman. Who the fuck are you?”
“I’m just here to retrieve something that doesn’t belong to you.”
“The Hothian bitch?” Chotgor didn’t wait for a reply, prowling toward him. “Doesn’t matter. Neither of you will be leaving this place. And your little slave is going to pay for the deception.”
Chotgor launched into a flying kick as he finished speaking, aiming for Aidon’s groin. The other male was lightning fast despite his retirement, but Aidon managed to dance back before the foot connected. He used his momentum to spin around and aim a kick of his own. It caught Chotgor’s knee with a satisfactory crack. The male staggered but recovered quickly, abandoning any attempt at finesse for a brute-force attack, trying to lock Aidon in his grip where his weight and bulk would give him the advantage. Aidon let him get close, then slipped past him with another blow to the same knee.
The deadly dance continued. Aidon caught a vicious blow to his ribs but managed to avoid being trapped in Chotgor’s arms. He led the fight to the far side of the room, his body aching as more of Chotgor’s punches connected, then aimed one final kick at the weakened knee. This time the kneecap shattered, and Chotgor went down with a howl of anguish.
“You will never lay hands on my female,” he said as he turned away, his voice ice cold.
“You’re going to pay for this, you bastard.”
“No. You will.”
As soon as Aidon reached the other side of the room, he let his hand shift, transforming to his true form. His nails clicked against each other, natural flints, and with one sharp strike, he drew them across the stone surface of a lab table. A series of sparks followed the path of his nails, and a second later, a beaker exploded. Another one followed, and then the whole lab went up in a roar of flames. He heard an outraged bellow and caught a brief glimpse of Chotgor’s face before the wall of fire separated them. Glass shattered as he threw himself at the nearest window, hoping that the plans had been correct.
He landed on hard-packed snow, the impact jarring his body even as he rolled into the landing. As soon as he regained his footing, he checked his surroundings. The plans had been partially right. He was outside the main portion of the mansion, but an additional wall surrounded the grounds. No matter; he could scale it easily enough.
More explosions sounded behind him as the fire spread, but he ignored them, racing along next to the interior wall as he headed for the owner’s suite. He had to get to Hanna before the fire reached this part of the building. Another wall jutted out into the enclosed area, and he saw the faint glow of a force field over it. Good, this should be the garden outside Chotgor’s quarters.
The claws on his feet threatened to extend again, and this time he let them, allowing the claws on his hand to emerge as well as he started up the wall. He used the slight depressions between the blocks to assist his climb, taking the wall as easily as he had taken the trees of his childhood. His vision wavered, and for a second the bark of a tree seemed to appear over the surface of the wall. He swayed dizzily, then focused on the climb again, moving more deliberately now.
The force field was designed to keep out weather, not bodies, and he slipped through it, dropping silently to the ground below. Once again his vision flickered, and he saw the lush growth of a Pardorian jungle before he blinked.
“Aidon?”
Hanna rushed over to him, throwing her arms around his waist, and he lifted her into his arms, burying his face in the scented warmth of her hair. His cock throbbed angrily, and the need to mate pounded through his veins. Retracting his claws, he thrust his hands under her dress, blindly seeking the sweet heat between her legs. She gasped as he found her core, wetness flooding his fingers before her voice finally penetrated.
“Aidon, stop. We have to get Zemma out of here. Remember?”
Fuck. His need for her still raged in his blood, but he forced it back with every particle of self-control he had managed to gain over the years and lowered her to the ground.
“Yes, of course.” His voice sounded strange, hoarse and dazed, and he realized grimly that the sickness had begun.
Zemma was studying him warily. “This is your idea of a rescue?”
“You’re welcome to wait for the next one. We’re leaving. Are you coming?”
Her face hardened. “Damn right. What’s the plan?”
“Over this wall, then over the outer one. Your clan is waiting.”
“You make it sound easy,” she muttered as the three of them headed for the back wall.
“With any luck, everyone is too busy worrying about the fire to check on you.”
Flames were now shooting high enough to give the sky an orange glow, but even as he spoke, the doors to the bedroom opened. A Bukharan stood there, and Aidon growled, crouching into a fighting pose. Zemma touched his arm.
“Wait.” Stepping past him, she looked at the guard. “Please, Strax. I can’t stay here.”
For an endless second, the male didn’t respond, and Aidon prepared to spring, but then Strax dipped his head.
“I know, Mistress. Go quickly.”
“Thank you, Strax. I—”
“Go,” he repeated and stepped back inside, closing the door behind him.
Zemma stared after him until Hanna took her hand.
“He’s right. We have to leave now.”
The three of them raced to the
wall. He lifted Zemma over his head so that she could grasp the top of the wall and pull herself up. She straddled the surface and reached down as he lifted Hanna up to her. His vision blurred again as Hanna’s body rested briefly against his, but he gritted his teeth and retained enough control to release her to the other female. As soon as both females were up, he scaled the wall. They reversed the process on the other side.
The outer wall was taller, but it was also rougher, and Zemma grinned.
“I can handle this.” She started to climb, then looked back. “Do you need help, Hanna?”
“I’ve never been much of a climber,” Hanna said hesitantly.
“I can carry you.” He bent down. “Climb onto my back.”
“Are you sure?
“I’ve been climbing since before I could walk,” he said truthfully.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t counted on the effect of her closeness on his rapidly deteriorating body. He spent the entire climb fighting the urge to swing her around and take her the way his ancestors had taken their mates. To his surprise, Zemma didn’t rush ahead but stayed close, snapping his attention back to the present several times.
When they reached the top of the wall, he could see a line of Hothians waiting below. Zemma gave a quick sob, but even on the descent, she stayed with them, waiting until they were close to the ground before racing ahead and throwing herself into Njkall’s waiting arms.
“I’m so sorry, Elder Njkall.”
“Be at ease, young one. You are returned to us. That is all that matters now.” Njkall kept his arms around her as he turned to Aidon. “You have earned your fee, but you have also earned our gratitude.”
“I just need my ship,” he growled. His body trembled, fighting the sickness.
“Wait,” Hanna said, gesturing at the flames now shooting into the sky behind them. “What about all those people in there? Not the fighters, but the slaves.”
“We are forbidden to interfere,” Njkall said reluctantly. “Unless there is a breach of contract.”
Aidon’s thoughts felt thick and slow, but he remembered Chotgor’s plan.
“They’re attempting to synthesize sothiti, using some type of stolen parasite,” he managed. “Is that a breach?”
“Yes.” Njkall grinned fiercely, his fangs gleaming, and turned to his men. “Go. Free as many of the slaves as possible.”
“Don’t hurt the guards,” Zemma added. “They’re just doing a job—and one of them helped us escape.”
“Indeed?”
“His name is Strax. I would like to…thank him.”
Njkall sighed and shook his head. “I suppose I must as well.”
“Thank you, Elder.”
“Your ship has been released.” Njkall studied Aidon. “Do you need assistance returning to the spaceport?”
No. An instinctive need to hide his weakness made him shake his head.
The Hothian hesitated, but a loud cry from further along the wall distracted him. “Very well. Go to the end of the street and turn left. You will find a service road. It is the fastest way back to the spaceport. Go in peace.”
“Thank you.” He forced out the words through clenched teeth, trying to prevent them from chattering.
“Yes, thank you,” Hanna added.
He bit back a protest when she slipped free from his grasp long enough to give Zemma a quick hug and whisper something in the other female’s ear. Zemma lifted one of her necklaces over her head and placed it around Hanna’s neck. When Hanna turned to Njkall, Aidon’s patience disappeared. He snatched her back against his side, and she gave him a startled look.
“You’re burning up,” she murmured.
“Have to get back to the ship.”
She didn’t argue, waving to Zemma and Njkall before the two of them headed in the direction the Hothian had indicated. He only prayed they would make it back to his ship in time.
Chapter Nine
Aidon’s skin burned against Hanna’s side as she put her arm around him. Something was obviously wrong, but she had no idea what to do. She cast a quick look over her shoulder, but Njkall and Zemma were already walking away. Flames continued to shoot into the sky, and she could hear people yelling over the roar of the fire. She paused uncertainly.
“Do you need help? Should I call Njkall back?”
“No. I just need to get back to the ship. The only thing that will help is returning to Pardor.”
Aidon seemed determined to leave and started down the street, tugging her along with him. It wasn’t until they reached the turn onto the utility road and the wind swept over them that she realized she no longer had her cape or her boots. The icy breeze sent shivers over her body, and she clung to Aidon. Although she didn’t think the heat he was omitting was healthy, it did help to offset the biting wind. Unfortunately, it did nothing for her feet, and her steps grew slower as the bitter cold penetrated the thin sandals.
Aidon had been moving steadily, although not quite with his usual confident stride, and he frowned down at her as her pace slowed.
“Is something wrong?”
“J-just c-old. I’m s-s-sorry.” The words were almost unintelligible between her chattering teeth, but he seemed to understand them. With a muttered curse, he lifted her into his arms, placing a big hand over her frozen feet. The heat was almost painful, but she didn’t complain as the feeling started to return to the numb flesh.
“I’m sorry, pet. I didn’t think of that.”
“That’s all right. I know you’re not feeling well.”
This close to him, it was even more apparent. In addition to the fiery heat radiating from his body, a series of fine tremors skated across his skin. Even though he no longer had to moderate his pace to account for hers, his speed didn’t significantly increase. She would have been concerned that her weight was slowing him down, except she already knew how easily he could carry her.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked.
He looked down at her, his eyes black, and she realized that they had remained that way since he had come for her.
“Your eyes—they’re still black.”
He swore, and for a moment, they flickered to the pale blue of his original appearance, but then they returned to black. He shook his head.
“I’m losing control over the shift.”
“Is that bad?”
“Dangerous,” he said grimly, casting a quick look around. The road was deserted. One side was flanked by what appeared to be warehouses and an occasional tall fence. The other was nothing but icy tundra rapidly rising into snowy foothills. “At least there’s no one else here. But we must hurry.”
He started to move more rapidly, but as he did, the tremors across his skin increased. She was looking up at him, studying his face anxiously, when his horns disappeared, and she gasped. It had been one thing to emerge from the bathroom and see him in a different form; it was very different to see the change sweeping over him. His short dark hair was replaced by long, waving strands in shades that ranged from green to gold to brown. She lifted her hand and touched one wayward lock. It didn’t feel like hair exactly but rather like strands of ultrafine velvet.
“Is this your real hair?”
He swore again as he lifted a hand to his head. She tried not to notice how much it was trembling.
“Fuck. Yes, it is.” Those black eyes burned down at her. “No one has ever seen a Pardorian in his true form and lived to tell about it.”
“I would never tell anyone.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “I don’t even have anyone that I could tell.”
“Hush, pet. I wasn’t trying to threaten you. I just need to make sure that no one sees me as we return to the ship.”
“I understand,” she assured him, relieved that he trusted her.
The lights of the spaceport were coming closer, and she tried to remember their previous trip. Had it only been that morning? It seemed so long ago now. From what she remembered, his ship had been parked along one side of the landi
ng field with few other ships around. Her sense of direction wasn’t good enough to know if they were arriving on the same side.
Just as they came within a few feet of the outer band of lights, she felt another tremor ripple across his chest, and this time his skin changed as well. Gleaming blue skin was replaced by soft suede in a swirl of colors that echoed those in his hair. Beneath the velvety skin, his muscles seem to expand, growing even larger and harder, and she realized that he was taller now. Each time he changed, he seemed to get bigger, she thought and had to suppress a half-hysterical giggle.
He staggered as the change washed over him, and blue skin ebbed back and forth as he fought to hold his original form. His arms shook, probably with the intensity of the battle, and she realized that holding her must be diverting his strength.
“Let me down,” she urged. They had reached the hard surface of the landing field, and her sandals would no longer have to contend with the icy ruts of the utility road. He started to object, but he staggered again. Reluctantly, he let her slide down his body.
Oh my. His muscles weren’t the only things that had gotten larger. His fully erect cock pressed briefly against her stomach.
Would he still taste the same? she wondered and then was immediately ashamed of the question when he was obviously suffering. The shame didn’t prevent a quick rush of arousal as she remembered their encounter at the mansion.
He growled, and she gave him a startled look as his hands clamped down on her ass and pulled her back against him, letting her feel every massive inch.
“Need to mate,” he grunted, his hands kneading her ass as he rubbed against her. He felt so good that for a moment she leaned into him, no thought of denial in her mind. One hand came up to cup her breast, tweaking the sensitive nipple with the perfect pressure to send a fiery line of heat straight to her suddenly throbbing clit. But then his hand trembled, and she remembered where they were and what they needed to do.
“We need to get to the ship,” she reminded him breathlessly.
“Need you.”
He wasn’t listening.
“Aidon, please. I need you to protect me.” Her plea was a shot in the dark, but it seemed to penetrate his lust, and he raised his head. “I need to leave this planet, remember? You promised to take me on your ship.”
Hanna and the Hitman: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Abduction Book 8) Page 6
