by Piper Stone
However, he had no way of knowing what manner of revenge I could still enact.
“Well, I digress. Time is of the essence. Soldiers. Secure our illustrious guest, but keep in mind that he must remain alive. I have other plans in mind.” The Scorpion walked away, shaking his head.
Soldiers came from the blackness, storming toward me. While I continued to swing, catching several of them with hard blows, there was nowhere for me to go.
Several chains were tossed around me, locks snapped into place. Within seconds, I was immobile.
The Scorpion raked his fingers through his hair as he approached me, finally grabbing the pipe from the floor. “I should have known just how ungrateful you would be for my kindness. Perhaps I will take out my anger on your little... mate.”
As I opened my mouth to roar, able to lunge forward several inches, the asshole raised his arm, swinging the pipe and...
* * *
“Welcome back, Commander Zecon. You’re just in time for the show.”
I took a deep breath, opening my eyes. We were much deeper in the jungle, the foliage entirely different. I dragged my tongue across my lips, able to taste blood. While I was still somewhat foggy, my senses were coming alive. “Where are we?” I’d been dumped on the ground, only my wrists remaining shackled. As I struggled to sit up, the Scorpion walked closer, a weapon in his hand.
“Far removed from anyone and anything. I’ve already begun breaking down our camp anyway. I have other work to attend to.” The Scorpion glanced around the area, taking a deep whiff. “I can’t lie and say I’ll miss this place.”
“What are we doing here?”
“Just finishing up details, alien.” He motioned to some of his other soldiers. “Let’s get this over with. I want to be out of here by noon tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir,” one of his men said, moving toward a massive vehicle. When the side door was opened, the remaining technicians and instrument specialists under my command were dragged out, their hands tied behind their backs.
I lurched forward only to be stopped by the barrel of the weapon placed under my chin.
“I suggest you don’t do anything that you’re going to regret, Commander Zecon. You can possibly save the lives of a few of your warriors I’ve deemed acceptable.” The Scorpion had the same smile as before, digging the weapon into my skin. “Don’t worry. This won’t take long.”
Acceptable. What the fuck was he going to do?
We’d started out the mission with two hundred and seventy-five men and women, the battles we’d fought only taking forty-two. Only nine stood in front of me, which meant my warriors remained in a different location.
“If you touch them, trust me, you will die. There will not be a location on this vile planet or any other where you can run, Major General Sampson O’Rourke, formally of the United States Marines, former scientist with NASA and the scientific core of the Earth Federation until you lost your mind.”
He glared at me, narrowing his eyes, only a hint of surprise in his expression. I’d learned his true identity weeks before, gathering as much vital information as possible. Many of the soldiers working for him were unhappy with his tactics, giving me firsthand knowledge of why he’d been stationed on this wretched outpost. The Federation had wanted the major general as far away from Earth as possible. “I guess we shall see about that, Commander.” After tipping his head, he nodded once.
I’d listened to stories of gun wars and other battles fought on the streets on Earth, drug lords and other criminals enjoying the brutality they doled out to their enemies. While the weapons the humans used no longer contained bullets, the effects were even more radical.
And instantaneous.
A single human soldier moved down the line of my men, placing the barrel of the weapon against the back of their heads. There were no sounds, no words of pleading from those who’d served with me during the years. They simply dropped one by one, their lives taken by a monster.
Once the last trigger had been pulled, the man known as Scorpion turned toward me, lowering his own weapon.
“A fitting end I believe. Take the commander and the rest of the... beasts to the cave.” He turned then shifted around to face me once again. “As you well know, the caves on this planet contain some of the densest rock located on any of the Habitable Units. If your species attempts to find you, there will be no trailing heat source. If you have other hidden attributes, including some internal communication system, you won’t be able to penetrate the tons of rock. If you escape your pod, trust me, you won’t be able to dig your way out of your prison. And if any one of your people attempt to harm either this outpost, any of the others or Earth, I will dig you out and sent you home to Papa in a body bag. But not before having some... fun with your mate.”
As he walked away, his head held high and his shoulders square, every aspect of humanity that I had learned to enjoy and even respect was stripped away.
Now only the desire for revenge remained.
No matter what was done to me, I would hunt him down. I could withstand whatever the asshole had planned. I took a deep whiff, the scent of the tropical environment filling my nostrils, a solid image remaining in the back of my mind of her face.
Her dazzling eyes.
Her long legs.
Her voluptuous figure.
The human.
And I could swear I was able to gather a whiff of her fragrance, the luscious scent intoxicating. She and I would meet again and while she was also my enemy, she was destined to be mine.
My captive.
My mate.
My... Annabella.
Chapter Five
Annabella
Outpost 14, Present Day—2257
Maywag Mountains, Bellenia
“Rrrroooooaaaarrr!”
The deep and throaty growl was utterly terrifying, the husky guttural sound floating over the horizon, echoing for a full minute. We’d heard it once before, the middle of the night cry chilling. While frightening before, the tone held absolute rage this time, sending a shiver straight into my spine. And I would swear it was coming from the boughs of the mountainous cave we were digging in. The sound of a...
A predator.
A monster.
And one that was very familiar.
I swallowed hard, running my fingers through my stringy hair as I stared at the massive piece of rock. The day had been exhausting, my body covered in sweat and dirty after the long hours. I was in no mood for some creature hunting for food.
However, why did I have the distinct feeling I’d heard the very sound before?
“Fuck!” Kyle hissed as he jerked to his feet. “What the hell are we doing here and what the fuck was that?”
“Just a jaguar,” Logan suggested.
“That was no goddamn jaguar, asshole,” Kyle retorted. “They don’t exist here. The beasts on this shithole of an outpost aren’t just carnivorous, they’ll rip you to shreds in seconds, sucking on the bones.”
“Take it easy,” Stephen snarled in return, moving to the center of the group as everyone stood in a semicircle. “Yes, there are various wild animals in the jungle. You all know that, but they aren’t going to venture near the fire. You’re damn professionals so act like it.”
Our illustrious team leader had spoken, and I couldn’t help but glare at Stephen with daggers in my eyes. The other members of the geology group were obviously shaken.
Wild animal. The creature was primal.
He was pissed.
And he was very hungry.
You are mine...
I shifted in a full circle, the words whispered all around me. So sexual. So enticing that my pussy quivered, the arousal unnerving.
A wash of visions floated into my mind, paralyzing my arms and legs. I struggled to breathe as the images became vivid in color and detail, terrifying in every manner.
“Come here, little human.” His lips didn’t move yet I knew what he was saying. As he pointed toward the odd-looking
bench, I held back a whimper.
He’d already stripped me of my clothes and the look of savage desire on his face was only matched by his throbbing cock standing at full attention. I found it difficult to take my eyes off his hard body, muscles sculpted from years of battle, his skin scarred from horrific injuries. As his eyes burned into me, I knew there was no method of escape.
I was his prisoner.
My legs were heavy as I moved forward, trying to steel my mind from the ravages that I knew would occur.
His leer became even more barbaric in nature the closer I came. When I was finally only inches away, he eased his long fingers around my breasts, squeezing until my legs began to shake. As he lowered his head, his tongue darted out, the guttural sounds erupting from his throat creating a wave of desire and excitement, mixing with humiliation and fear. The dichotomy left me unable to breathe.
“You belong to me, every inch of your body. I will fuck you when I want. I will punish you when it’s required. I will mate you when it’s time.”
The moment the tip of his forked tongue flicked back and forth across first one then the other nipple, I knew I’d fall to the ground. I was so wet, my pussy quivering from his touch alone. He fisted my hair with one hand, holding me in place even as my legs began to shake. I was going nowhere.
“Mmmm...” The sound was elongated, husky and riddled with a dangerous aura. As he began to suck on my hardened bud, he crawled his other hand down my stomach, very slowly slipping a single finger into my wetness.
“Oh. Oh!” I gripped his arms, my body swaying. I couldn’t believe that the touch of this... beast was enticing in any way, but I was electrified, red hot, and unable to think clearly. I realized I’d parted my legs, as if begging him to touch me.
A dark and throaty chuckle left his lips as he dragged his tongue to my other breast, biting down on my tender tissue before pinching my clit.
I was lightheaded, my nails digging into his skin. Nothing had ever felt so good, so incredibly amazing. He continued to taunt my clit as he slipped his other fingers past my swollen folds, thrusting in hard jabs. I knew I would come within minutes.
When he tipped his head, his cold eyes boring into mine, his words send a chill straight through me.
“Now I’m going to fuck that pretty pink pussy of yours. Then I’m going to claim your ass.”
What. The. Fuck? I was shaken, my body even pitching forward, every part of me trembling. I was finally able to swallow, the ringing in my ears fading away.
“Jesus.” The trip was more hazardous than originally planned, dangerous in every manner. Maybe I should have paid more attention to what I was getting myself into. Granted, the surroundings were better than the dust bowls of Outpost 15, and the bloodsucking bats of Outpost 8, but I knew whatever was hunting us was much more dangerous.
I rubbed my mouth, taking cautious glances around me, my heart racing. The vision had seemed so real.
Just like before.
No. This was... different. Maybe. The last few years had been haunting, a creature’s face appearing in the darkness of my dreams.
Only he wasn’t a man but a beast.
An alien.
That was terrifying in every manner. While other species had been documented, close calls occurring within the ranks of our military, so far, very few aliens had sought interaction with either Earth or the various outposts.
Another hum sounded in my ears, the same drumming that I’d heard on dozens of occasions. I’d even thought I was sick, a disease plaguing me given the various geological mining exercises I’d been a part of the last few years.
Even if they’d all been on Earth.
The difference this time was the amount of fear snaking through me, ready to wrap itself around my neck.
“Are you okay?” Sandra asked, gripping my arm.
“Uh-huh.” This was ridiculous for a woman with my background, one who’d spent years studying martial arts and weapons training.
A danger junkie.
That’s what I’d been called my entire life. This trip was the perfect example, although as a geologist, I’d been in some dangerous situations, locations that were precarious on several levels: the most brutal deserts where the sun scorched skin within minutes, the highest mountain peaks where breathing was almost impossible, and jungles ripe with damning diseases and reptiles hungry for a simple snack of human flesh and blood. That’s exactly what I was used to.
Exactly what Earth had been turned into.
Bellenia was a sublime representation of what our planet had once been, or so I’d seen vicariously through photographic documentation. The outpost had been colonized years before, as the majority of the planets in this solar system had been. We’d been told the colony was over the large mountain range, scientists using elements found from every mining mission, turning the minerals into fuel.
Yet here we were, stuck in the middle of freaking nowhere, forced to face whatever monsters lurked in the darkness of the jungle.
Was there danger lurking at every excavation site on Earth? Absolutely. Were there venomous snakes and other predators hunting for their latest feast? Of that I had no doubt.
Here there was also extreme beauty; lush green foliage and the most incredible waterfalls and rivers I’d ever seen. Surreal was the term I’d used. Unfortunately, I’d been unable to get over the foreboding feeling I’d had since we landed almost nine days before. The two horrific howls hadn’t eased my anxiety in the least.
He’s coming for you. He’s coming for you!
The very words had remained constant in my mind since the first time we’d heard the creature bellow. This vision wasn’t the first, but it was certainly the most vivid, every detail still boring into my head. A bead of perspiration trickled down the side of my face. Everyone in the group continued to gaze up at the mountain toward the very cave that had provided scintillating data, at least in my mind.
The others hadn’t seemed as excited, intent on finding precious gems amongst the tons of rock—freebies the Earth Federation didn’t care about. We were here for an entirely different reason, mining, a job that had taken months of red tape to secure. However, my instinct was never wrong. There was something odd occurring on this outpost.
“Look, it’s been a hell of a long day for all of us. We all need to get some sleep. Five o’clock comes early.” The clap of the man’s hands, as if we were all schoolchildren on a field trip annoyed the fuck out of me. Stephen Myers was considered a god in his field, a professor at Stanford University as well as a renowned geologist and trinket gatherer. At least that’s what I liked to call his carved rocks he kept in his office under lock and key.
“A thing of power and beauty,” he’d called them.
“Jesus,” Mark huffed. “Why the hell are we here? There is no way we’re going to find enough minerals to make our quota.” He was always the brooding one, doing what he did best in the evening, drinking to dull the pain. I had to wonder if any geologist had a life outside of dirt and grime. I know I certainly didn’t, my home little more than a three-room apartment with limited secondhand furniture. Life on Earth was difficult, but I’d forged my way and what I owned was precious to me.
“You signed up for this trip, Mr. Sanchez. You’re required to do your part, which doesn’t include sucking down liquor,” Stephen snapped, referring to Mark’s cavalier attitude. We were certainly a motley group.
“Even if it means fighting off flesh-eating predators?” I asked defiantly, attempting to get under Stephen’s skin. His expression of admonishment was exactly what I’d expected. We had no love for each other.
I also had no understanding of why Stephen had invited me on this particular adventure given we’d never gotten along. I’d been a thorn in his side for years, questioning his methods. Perhaps I was merely a female body meeting the government’s quota. That had to be who was funding our excursion, even though Stephen had remained mostly silent about the details. The other six in the group only knew w
e were being paid damn well for three to four weeks spent in a jungle on a distant outpost mining for specialized rock.
The expression on his face was cold, even threatening, the warm glow of the fire highlighting his clenched jaw and narrow eyes.
“Wow. He’s been in a mood lately,” Sandra hissed through clenched teeth, snarling under her breath. “Do you think the creature is hunting us?”
I didn’t particularly like Sandra Withers, her family’s wealth the reason she was here. However, she was my tent mate, the other token female. Stephen required us to get along.
“Naw, I think the creature just wants to suck out our blood,” I retorted. “And Stephen is pissed because we’re not moving fast enough. He should bring out his long whip and punish us for the delay.” I studied the makeshift camp before turning my back on the other members of the group, heading for one of three tents, the men sleeping in hammocks. I’d balked at the suggestion at first, special treatment because of our sex. Now I was happy for some sort of cover.
Not that a filmy tent could keep away the beasts of the night.
I had to admit I was exhausted, the damp and cramped quarters of the dark cave we were digging in giving me the heebie-jeebies. It didn’t help I was claustrophobic.
“Hmmm... Can you imagine,” she quipped as she flanked my side. “I have a feeling he uses old-fashioned discipline for his students. You know, bare ass spankings?” Her laugh was halfhearted; Stephen’s stern reputation was widely known. We were all nervous as hell, but not because of what the professor might do. “At least we get to run some tests tomorrow on what we have found. I’m exhausted.”
Yeah, we all were.
“Get some rest. I expect you to be in top form tomorrow,” Stephen demanded once again, huffing under his breath as he turned toward his rather luxurious accommodations.
I rolled my eyes as we trudged through the dense underbrush, the call of various night creatures even more eerie tonight. My skin was suddenly on fire, blood rushing to my head. He wants you. You belong to him. He’s going to devour you. I clenched my fists, taking deep breaths. Christ. Maybe I was completely exhausted. Just before I pulled the zipper on the flap, I lifted the lantern in the direction of the mouth of the cave, a second cold chill shifting down my spine.
